I came across the following article and must say that I am happy to see what Wheaton is doing. As the article points out, Wheaton is used to doing things different from what society thinks should be done and I join the author in applauding them for sticking by their beliefs and convictions. It's nice to finally see an institution not give way to society and try to placate them in the process.
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What's So Odd About Religious Colleges?
May 13, 2008; Page A15
It's tough to run a college these days. It's tougher still when you set high standards. And it's toughest of all when those standards reflect an Ozzie and Harriet morality in a Sarah Jessica Parker world.
Just ask the folks at Wheaton College.
Wheaton is a Christian college that takes its beliefs seriously. These beliefs are embodied in a "Community Covenant" that all must sign and live by if they hope to teach or study there. The provisions include a biblically based view of marriage, and the understanding that the only acceptable grounds for divorce in this community are those found in Scripture – namely, adultery or abandonment.
Which brings us to two unhappy events. The first is the failed marriage of Kent Gramm, a popular English professor who has taught at Wheaton for two decades. The Gramms recently filed for divorce after 30 years together.
The second unhappy development flows from that filing. Mr. Gramm chose to resign from the school rather than discuss the reasons for his breakup with the requisite members of the Wheaton community. Because he has told his story to the media, his plight has received national attention. And because of that attention, a small evangelical school outside Chicago now finds itself derided as a group of pinched old authoritarians out of touch with the realities of 21st century America.
Then again, you might say that being out of touch is the point. Or at least the point of Wheaton. Back in H.L. Mencken's day, a Midwestern Christian college that frowned upon alcohol and tobacco and dancing might have thought itself as reflecting the conventional morality of middle class America. That day has long passed. Today Wheaton is the counterculture. And the men and women who teach and study there know it.
Being different is nothing new for Wheaton. The most famous building on campus was once a way station on the Underground Railroad. That was a time when abolitionist evangelicals were out of touch with the reality of slavery in a nation whose claim to liberty rested on God-given truths about human dignity. Today Wheaton advances a proposition that may be equally radical, at least in the groves of modern academe: That character is as important as chemistry – and that teachers have some obligations as role models for their students.
This commitment can make for awkward headlines when people stray outside the boundaries, as people inevitably do. Several years back, for example, one Wheaton faculty member was forced to leave the school after he converted to Roman Catholicism. The professor argued that even as a Catholic, he could assent to the school's statement of faith in good conscience. Wheaton took a different view. Its officials argued, not unreasonably, that as an evangelical Protestant school, maintaining the integrity of their mission required professors who shared their interpretation. So they gave him a year to find another job.
That was the same offer given to Mr. Gramm. Wheaton does not impose its beliefs on anyone. Its president says that the school works hard at making sure that its principles are "clear, explicit and public." Mr. Gramm freely signed that covenant when he came to Wheaton. And it does not appear from the public record that he ever found it limiting or unfair until it was applied to him.
Now, whenever an institution or community applies its standards, it will likely be the heavy in the public eye. This is true whether the institution is a church, a school, a local government or even the Boy Scouts. Mostly this is because an institution is by nature more impersonal and hence less sympathetic than a human being. Partly it is because the rest of us, conscious of our own weaknesses, will tend to empathize with good people who come up short. And when the institution in question is an evangelical college, the champions of diversity go silent, and ridicule and caricature become the rule.
Wheaton understands this, and in point of fact, it makes room on its faculty for several members who are divorced. At the same time, it proposes that people who freely join a community that is honest and upfront about its beliefs can reasonably be asked to abide by them. Wheaton's ways are not my ways. Yet there is something refreshing about an institution willing to stand up for its convictions rather than trim its sails to the prevailing winds.
I wish Mr. Gramm and his wife only the best, and hope that they find good jobs and can get on with their lives. But I also find myself wondering how much richer our nation's university life would be with a few more Wheatons willing to be out of touch for the sake of their deepest beliefs.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
You Might Be Emerging If...
Here is a great quote from Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). Read it and have a good chuckle.
After reading nearly five thousand pages of emerging-church literature, I have no doubt that the emerging church, while loosely defined and far from uniform, can be described and critiqued as a diverse, but recognizable, movement. You might be an emergent Christian: if you listen to U2, Moby, and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (sometimes in church), use sermon illustrations from The Sopranos, drink lattes in the afternoon and Guinness in the evenings, and always use a Mac; if your reading list consists primarily of Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, N. T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Frederick Buechner, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, Nancy Murphy, John Franke, Walter Winks and Lesslie Newbigin (not to mention McLaren, Pagitt, Bell, etc.) and your sparring partners include D. A. Carson, John Calvin, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Wayne Grudem; if your idea of quintessential Christian discipleship is Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, or Desmond Tutu; if you don’t like George W. Bush or institutions or big business or capitalism or Left Behind Christianity; if your political concerns are poverty, AIDS, imperialism, war-mongering, CEO salaries, consumerism, global warming, racism, and oppression and not so much abortion and gay marriage; if you are into bohemian, goth, rave, or indie; if you talk about the myth of redemptive violence and the myth of certainty; if you lie awake at night having nightmares about all the ways modernism has ruined your life; if you love the Bible as a beautiful, inspiring collection of works that lead us into the mystery of God but is not inerrant; if you search for truth but aren’t sure it can be found; if you’ve ever been to a church with prayer labyrinths, candles, Play-Doh, chalk-drawings, couches, or beanbags (your youth group doesn’t count); if you loathe words like linear, propositional, rational, machine, and hierarchy and use words like ancient-future, jazz, mosaic, matrix, missional, vintage, and dance; if you grew up in a very conservative Christian home that in retrospect seems legalistic, naive, and rigid; if you support women in all levels of ministry, prioritize urban over suburban, and like your theology narrative instead of systematic; if you disbelieve in any sacred-secular divide; if you want to be the church and not just go to church; if you long for a community that is relational, tribal, and primal like a river or a garden; if you believe doctrine gets in the way of an interactive relationship with Jesus; if you believe who goes to hell is no one’s business and no one may be there anyway; if you believe salvation has a little to do with atoning for guilt and a lot to do with bringing the whole creation back into shalom with its Maker; if you believe following Jesus is not believing the right things but living the right way; if it really bugs you when people talk about going to heaven instead of heaven coming to us; if you disdain monological, didactic preaching; if you use the word “story” in all your propositions about postmodernism—if all or most of this tortuously long sentence describes you, then you might be an emergent Christian.
After reading nearly five thousand pages of emerging-church literature, I have no doubt that the emerging church, while loosely defined and far from uniform, can be described and critiqued as a diverse, but recognizable, movement. You might be an emergent Christian: if you listen to U2, Moby, and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (sometimes in church), use sermon illustrations from The Sopranos, drink lattes in the afternoon and Guinness in the evenings, and always use a Mac; if your reading list consists primarily of Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, N. T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Frederick Buechner, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, Nancy Murphy, John Franke, Walter Winks and Lesslie Newbigin (not to mention McLaren, Pagitt, Bell, etc.) and your sparring partners include D. A. Carson, John Calvin, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Wayne Grudem; if your idea of quintessential Christian discipleship is Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, or Desmond Tutu; if you don’t like George W. Bush or institutions or big business or capitalism or Left Behind Christianity; if your political concerns are poverty, AIDS, imperialism, war-mongering, CEO salaries, consumerism, global warming, racism, and oppression and not so much abortion and gay marriage; if you are into bohemian, goth, rave, or indie; if you talk about the myth of redemptive violence and the myth of certainty; if you lie awake at night having nightmares about all the ways modernism has ruined your life; if you love the Bible as a beautiful, inspiring collection of works that lead us into the mystery of God but is not inerrant; if you search for truth but aren’t sure it can be found; if you’ve ever been to a church with prayer labyrinths, candles, Play-Doh, chalk-drawings, couches, or beanbags (your youth group doesn’t count); if you loathe words like linear, propositional, rational, machine, and hierarchy and use words like ancient-future, jazz, mosaic, matrix, missional, vintage, and dance; if you grew up in a very conservative Christian home that in retrospect seems legalistic, naive, and rigid; if you support women in all levels of ministry, prioritize urban over suburban, and like your theology narrative instead of systematic; if you disbelieve in any sacred-secular divide; if you want to be the church and not just go to church; if you long for a community that is relational, tribal, and primal like a river or a garden; if you believe doctrine gets in the way of an interactive relationship with Jesus; if you believe who goes to hell is no one’s business and no one may be there anyway; if you believe salvation has a little to do with atoning for guilt and a lot to do with bringing the whole creation back into shalom with its Maker; if you believe following Jesus is not believing the right things but living the right way; if it really bugs you when people talk about going to heaven instead of heaven coming to us; if you disdain monological, didactic preaching; if you use the word “story” in all your propositions about postmodernism—if all or most of this tortuously long sentence describes you, then you might be an emergent Christian.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Book Review: Why We're Not Emergent
For anyone who is attuned to contemporary Christian culture, the new movement known as, "Emergent" or "Emerging", has been seen, heard, or read. If Christians have not heard of the movement, they have definitely heard of the leading players, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, Donald Miller, etc. However, the fact that most Christians are not familiar with their teachings or what they are really saying is truly the dangerous part of it. I am pretty attuned to this movement and the articles, books, conferences, and various things that come out of it. Unlike many people who simply hear things at second or third hand, I actually have read their material myself and know not only what they are saying, but the context in which they say it. One of the most disturbing things about western Christianity is the fact that most Christians have no ability (or do not exercise their ability if they possess it) of spiritual discernment. Our churches aren't doing enough to equip believers in the pews with the tools to read something, watch something, or listen to something without being able to discern whether it lines up with the Scriptures. If one were to merely walk into a Christian bookstore and look at what passes as "Christian", it would certainly disturb and frighten anyone who is concerned. Of course, most believers think because it is simply in the Christian bookstore that it must be ok. This assessment applies to the Emergent Church and the plethora of material they produce.
Despite the negatives that pass as "Christian" these days, there is some really good material out there, as well. Ironically, while I was browsing through an advertisement from a local Christian bookstore, I came across the book, Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be). Of course, my interest in this topic drew me to the book so I decided to check it out. After researching, I came to their website and eventually, bought the book and finished it in two days. My overall assessment of this book is extremely positive. Written by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, they do a thorough job of examining various aspects about the movements, especially the theology and teachings from the writers themselves. After reading about 5,000 pages of Emergent material, they examine the basic teachings and beliefs posited by the main leaders within the "conversation". The authors alternate writing the chapters with Kevin DeYoung doing the longer, more theological examination behind their beliefs and comparing it to orthodox Christianity. His chapters are the "meat" here. Ted Kluck writes more "experiential" chapters which are light and add some nice humor into them.
There is not enough space to delve into a specific outline of all that the book entails, but it is definitely worth the read if you are concerned about where the Western church is heading and the dangers posed by those in the Emergent movement. You don't have to agree with everything they say, but read it and consider what they say. If nothing else, at least they are adding to the "conversation". I would highly recommend you get this book!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
I've Heard of Contextualizing, but.....
I read this article today here on the pastor who is replacing Rev. Jeremiah Wright at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and I can't stop laughing. I put it away for awhile and then came back to it and found myself laughing outloud again. I don't remember reading this is in any of my Bible translations or in my hermeneutics class. Does anything good come out of this church? Enjoy!
Barack Obama has finally distanced himself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright after a 20-year relationship, but the pastor who is replacing Wright at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ is likely to be just as controversial.
New Trinity pastor Otis Moss has called Biblical patriarch Abraham a “pimp” and made other statements many would consider offensive.
After Obama called Wright’s comments “divisive and destructive,” a questioner noted that Rev. Moss has defended Wright and asked if Obama would continue attending the church.
“Well, the new pastor, the young pastor, Reverend Otis Moss, is a wonderful young pastor,” Obama responded. “And as I said, I still very much value the Trinity community.”
Moss, the 37-year-old “hip-hop pastor,” as he’s called by congregants, will become head of Trinity in June, after serving as an assistant pastor there for two years.
But a videotape of a sermon he delivered at Wright’s church shows this “wonderful young pastor” referring to “ghetto prophets” and “thug theology,” calling the late rapper Tupac Shakur a “prophet,” and reciting at length lyrics to Shakur’s song “Thugz Mansion.”
Moss also states in the sermon:
· “Jesus has a soft spot for thugs.”
· “God is always using thugs to do God’s work.”
· “Everyone has a little bit of thug in them.”
· Noah was a “thug” who “was drinking much gin and juice and got drunk on the eve of reconstruction.”
· Abraham “pimped his own wife.”
· Jacob was a “hustler” who “stole his own brother’s birthright.”
· Moses was a “thug” and “if he got mad would give you a royal beatdown.”
· Sampson was a “thug” and a “player.”
· David was a “thug,” a “shot caller,” and a “player,” and a man after God’s own heart.
· “Jesus is on the cross being lynched between two thugs. The moment of execution, the moment of murder, Jesus, the son of God, is hanging out with thugs.”
In an interview last month with National Public Radio, Moss refused to distance himself from claims by Wright that the U.S. government was involved in distributing illegal drugs to minorities.
He said: “I think we need to be very, very honest in terms of that our government has the ability to place a Hubble Telescope in the sky but yet we haven’t had the political will to shut down drugs coming into our community. And from that perspective I think that’s something we can look at in terms of policy.”
In his Easter sermon, Moss said Wright was “lynched” by the international media, and compared Wright to Jesus.
In a Trinity church newsletter, Moss maintained that American entertainment companies operate with contempt for the black community, according to World Net Daily.
He wrote: “Currently, there are eight companies controlling 90 percent of everything we hear, read, watch on television or view in the movie theater. These companies operate with contempt and disdain for the black community.”
Moss has also referred to blacks as “lepers” with a “skin disease.”
New Trinity pastor Otis Moss has called Biblical patriarch Abraham a “pimp” and made other statements many would consider offensive.
After Obama called Wright’s comments “divisive and destructive,” a questioner noted that Rev. Moss has defended Wright and asked if Obama would continue attending the church.
“Well, the new pastor, the young pastor, Reverend Otis Moss, is a wonderful young pastor,” Obama responded. “And as I said, I still very much value the Trinity community.”
Moss, the 37-year-old “hip-hop pastor,” as he’s called by congregants, will become head of Trinity in June, after serving as an assistant pastor there for two years.
But a videotape of a sermon he delivered at Wright’s church shows this “wonderful young pastor” referring to “ghetto prophets” and “thug theology,” calling the late rapper Tupac Shakur a “prophet,” and reciting at length lyrics to Shakur’s song “Thugz Mansion.”
Moss also states in the sermon:
· “Jesus has a soft spot for thugs.”
· “God is always using thugs to do God’s work.”
· “Everyone has a little bit of thug in them.”
· Noah was a “thug” who “was drinking much gin and juice and got drunk on the eve of reconstruction.”
· Abraham “pimped his own wife.”
· Jacob was a “hustler” who “stole his own brother’s birthright.”
· Moses was a “thug” and “if he got mad would give you a royal beatdown.”
· Sampson was a “thug” and a “player.”
· David was a “thug,” a “shot caller,” and a “player,” and a man after God’s own heart.
· “Jesus is on the cross being lynched between two thugs. The moment of execution, the moment of murder, Jesus, the son of God, is hanging out with thugs.”
In an interview last month with National Public Radio, Moss refused to distance himself from claims by Wright that the U.S. government was involved in distributing illegal drugs to minorities.
He said: “I think we need to be very, very honest in terms of that our government has the ability to place a Hubble Telescope in the sky but yet we haven’t had the political will to shut down drugs coming into our community. And from that perspective I think that’s something we can look at in terms of policy.”
In his Easter sermon, Moss said Wright was “lynched” by the international media, and compared Wright to Jesus.
In a Trinity church newsletter, Moss maintained that American entertainment companies operate with contempt for the black community, according to World Net Daily.
He wrote: “Currently, there are eight companies controlling 90 percent of everything we hear, read, watch on television or view in the movie theater. These companies operate with contempt and disdain for the black community.”
Moss has also referred to blacks as “lepers” with a “skin disease.”
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
I'm back....for now!
Well, I haven't been here for a month and it feels good. Having a life, instead of writing on a "blog", is quite nice. I guess we should all try it sometime. Just to keep you updated, here are the fun facts that have been happening in my little world.
1. I got married
2. I went on a honeymoon.
3. I had a blast!
4. I finished my final paper for seminary.
5. My favorite soccer team, Manchester United, is on the verge of winning both their domestic title, as well as the UEFA Champions League.
6. I have been observing and pondering some interesting thoughts on modern Christianity. It don't look good.
7. I got married.
I don't have much more to write right now, because I have to get ready for class. I will try to post some new stuff here soon, as my schedule might clear up a little bit.
Until then...
1. I got married
2. I went on a honeymoon.
3. I had a blast!
4. I finished my final paper for seminary.
5. My favorite soccer team, Manchester United, is on the verge of winning both their domestic title, as well as the UEFA Champions League.
6. I have been observing and pondering some interesting thoughts on modern Christianity. It don't look good.
7. I got married.
I don't have much more to write right now, because I have to get ready for class. I will try to post some new stuff here soon, as my schedule might clear up a little bit.
Until then...
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