"Respond to this statement:..."

I am somewhat frequently interviewed by students here at MVNU for Research Writing projects, Public Speaking presentations, or Christian Life and Ministry papers. Tonight I was interviewed by Daniel Coutz. It was one of the more thoughtful interviews that I have experienced and I appreciated the approach. The conversation went something like this:

Daniel: "Respond to this statement: The United States is a Christian Nation."

Travis: "No earthly empire is distinctively in keeping with the way of Jesus. Those who claim the United States to be a Christian nation need to enroll in a post-reformation church history course that discusses the period of American colonization. Also helpful would be a study in theology and philosophy to explore the definitions of theism, deism, and idolatry.

Daniel: "Do you feel the American flag should be displayed in churches? Why or why not?"

Travis: "No. The church is laced with a history of symbol and icon for visual engagement in worship and when one considers what the American flag represents I would have to question what one is worshiping. I would have no problem with displaying a flag in a church if it was displayed beside every other flag of every other nation so long as the symbol is understood to represent equality and unity.

Daniel: "Respond to this statement: The loyalty of a person belongs first to his country."

Travis: "Why would one view an earthly empire as something to which giving loyalty is necessary or a priority? My suggestion is that most would give said loyalty due to an enculturation that promotes a sense of loyalty as nessecary. I would also suggest it has something to do with the supposed 'safety' provided by the military branch of a certain country's government. Fear would be that which fuels loyalty to an earthly empire."

Daniel: "Respond to this statement. Christians living in the United States should be patriotic about the United States."

Travis: "One's definition of patriotism would be primary. I find it problematic for a follower of Jesus to pledge his allegiance to an earthly nation. So in the sense that the recitation of the 'Pledge of Allegiance' is patriotic, then patriotism may be considered contrary to 'worshipping no other gods.'"

Volf, Dawkins, Wright, Smith, Derrida, and Tim.

My friend Tim Barenscheer and I have been highly involved with each other's development as we journey through our philosophical wonderings and thoughts on the Kingdom of God. It's a beautiful thing having a contemporary and friend with whom honesty and vulnerability exist genuinely without pretense. I've been sharing my thoughts with Tim about my "Premodern, Modern, and Postmodern Philosophy" course including readings from Roxburgh's The Sky is Falling: Leaders Lost in Transition, Dawkins' The God Delusion, and James K.A. Smith's Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church. Tim has been conversing with Caputo's What Would Jesus Deconstruct?: The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church and has given me two of N.T. Wright's volumes, Jesus and the Victory of God and The New Testament and the People of God, that I've been wanting and will work through this summer following my course. I gave Tim Miroslav Volf's The End of Memory. Anyone desiring to have a greater understanding of Jesus, culture, and the Kingdom of God may want to check out any or all of the aforementioned texts.

The Greatest Film of All Time is...

Most award or reality TV shows wait until the end of the show or for the season finale to reveal the ultimate winner of any given competition. The "Subversive Reformation Writers Guild Film Awards" however is neither an award/reality TV show nor a competition. Rather, the SRWGFAs exist to rearticulate the goodness of good films. All bad films have already been completely dismissed.

The Greatest Film of All Time is...
BRAVEHEART (1995)

Here are the reasons why BRAVEHEART is the SRWGFA Greatest Film of All Time:

Narrator: I shall tell you of William Wallace. Historians from England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes.

Narrator: In the Year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland - starving and outnumbered - charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets; they fought like Scotsmen, and won their freedom.

Princess Isabelle: The king desires peace.
William Wallace: Longshanks desires peace?
Princess Isabelle: He declares it to me, I swear it. He proposes that you withdraw your attack. In return he grants you title, estates, and this chest of gold which I am to pay to you personally.
William Wallace: A lordship and titles. Gold. That I should become Judas?
Princess Isabelle: Peace is made in such ways.
William Wallace: Slaves are made in such ways. The last time Longshanks spoke of peace I was a boy. And many Scottish nobles, who would not be slaves, were lured by him under a flag of truce to a barn, where he had them hanged. I was very young, but I remember Longshank's notion of peace.

William Wallace: There's a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.

William Wallace: It's all for nothing if you don't have freedom.

Malcolm Wallace: Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.

William Wallace: Every man dies, not every man really lives.

The Week of the Interview.

A week of interviewing 64 candidates for Resident Assistant and Spiritual Life Assistant positions caused a brief hiatus in my posting. It is intriguing to experience different personalities communicating and expressing themselves in both individual and group interview settings. Psychological and sociological observations could be conducted in the setting of an interview. I was fascinated.

I was also highly encouraged to be reminded of the energy and passion that college students have to be servants and to love incoming students so that they may experience the love of Jesus.

Non-Conformist.

I was just browsing Shelfari and came across a member whose screen name is "nonconformist." Isn't it somewhat conformist to claim oneself as a nonconformist? There are enough people claiming the label of "nonconfirmist" that it is now conforming to do so. The pattern toward which conforming is really taking place is that of arrogance. There exists a certain connotation toward pride of self when one labels oneself as a person who does not "conform" as if everybody else does conform to some measurable standard or cultural norm. So to all self-proclaimed "nonconformists," I say, "Quit conforming" to the patterns of this world.
May we seek humility.

Our Lives and Minds on Film.

Coming soon to a Subversive Reformation near you.
Opening Saturday, March 1.

Subversive Reformation will be posting a series of entries dedicated to the screen play writing, the cinematography, the digital editing, and the acting that is the religious and culturally formative film industry. I will be composing several posts that include the competitive ranking of films in pliable labeling systems including:

Most Intellectually Stimulating Film
Best Picture on Reality
Most Inspiring Monologue
Best Character Development
Most Meaningful Film
High Entertainment Value

Please post your film recommendations for any of the above categories and also suggest other categories.

Serving and Controlling.

"One who would be a leader, I am cautioned, has a greater weight of responsibility to honor the despised, share his earthly possessions, model interdependency, and encourage the use of gifts concealed in the unlikeliest among us. To the leader, then, the gift of humility is offered - the gift is the salvation of the proud, which comes from great difficulty from learning to receive from those who are least on Earth, yet greatest n the Kingdom.
:: Robert Lupton: "Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor."

Good People.

Today is good.
Today is good.

Kevin Peterson :: Lucy Peterson :: Simon Peterson
Kyle Meyers :: Kelsie Meyers :: Francis Xavier Myers
John Ballenger :: Adam Sylvia :: Heather Hofacre :: Anna Feeney
Andrew Hendrixson :: James Smith :: Steven :: Tom West
Tim Barenscheer :: Brittney Barenscheer :: Tony Stemen :: Caleb Epperson
Joe Hughes :: Katie Hughes :: Mandy Taylor
Steph Heayn :: Joe Farmer :: Tyler Delong :: Holly Delong
Sarah Keller :: Kyla Keller :: Travis Keller

Several friends and their friends came to Mount Vernon today to hear Shane Claiborne speak in chapel (Click here for the Podcast). We gathered in our apartment for a wonderful shared meal prepared by my wife. We had potato soup, sandwiches, Kyle and Kelsie's bread, spinach salad, crackers and cheese, and raw vegetables. Brittney brought some dessert and helped Sarah prepare. The conversation was casual but rich and whole.

Today is good.
Today is good.

Minimal 1.5

It is fair to conclude that the state of one's heart/soul/mind/being is core to the issue of simplicity and minimalism. Assuming one's motivations and intentions are pure and good then should he/she seek a simple life in terms of minimizing his/her possessions? Do pure and good motivations and intentions necessitate such minimalism?

Political Involvement 1.0.2.

I am restating a question from a previous post:
It is the task of the follower of Jesus to attempt to understand the political climate of first century Israel while considering Jesus' involvement or lack thereof in said arena. Based on such study, if Jesus were to show up in America in 2008, would he involve himself in the American political system? If so, to what degree? If not, what we he do instead and why?

Political Involvement.

Should followers of Jesus be involved in American politics? If so, to what degree? If not, why?

ALTERNATIVE CELEBRATION.

Anyone who has read this blog or anyone with whom I have had any form of meaningful dialogue in the month of December knows of my disenchantment with the popular American "celebration of Christmas." My purpose is not to detract from the Messiah celebration event but rather consider the most appropriate and right way to celebrate the coming of God to earth in the form of man. What would Jesus have us do to celebrate his life on earth?

I have tried to maintain the Brueggemannian concept of criticizing the current consciousness but only while energizing toward an alternative consciousness. I would contend that is what Jesus did. He came as a better way; the right way. He challenged the popular religious practice by submerging the sacred (himself) with the secular. He bridged the chasm between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of earth. He was an alternative consciousness. What then, is an alternative way to celebrate the life of Jesus that adheres to the kingdom of God rather than the earthly empire of consumption?

It is problematic to boycott spending and consumption just for the sake of making a statement or raising awareness. What if, however, we pursue the use of our monetary resource in a different manner? To advance beyond the conceptual I am offering some ideas through which Sarah and I have celebrated mostly this year with some experimentation last year:

+ For Kyla's babysitters we purchased beaded necklaces and bracelets through Bead for Life. For every $1.00 spent, $.93 goes directly to a female in Uganda, Africa who hand crafts and paints the items made from recycled paper. Their income then becomes food, medicine, and school fees to aid in the eradication of poverty.

+ For Sarah, Kyla and I gave to Samirtan's Purse in order to feed hungry babies in other countries. The total giving to this program feeds 22 babies for one week. We also gave to help rescue a child from slavery as a child soldier, menial laboror, and other grossly exploitive bondage.

+ We were actively engaged in the food pantry donation projects in Knox and Morrow counties.

+ From our parents we asked that they use the amount of money that they would normally spend on us and seek to give to others and/or donate money to our adoption savings account, enabling us to continue our process for international adoption.

A friend challenged me in a previous post to "prove it" - to prove a type of giving that does not benefit ourselves. I don't know that I necessarily proved anything. My intention is not to say "look what I did" or "I proved it" but rather to offer a way to celebrate the birth of Jesus that glorifies Him and His Kingdom. I trust that Jesus will be the one to prove his love to be real for those effected by our giving. We have not arrived at that fullness of doing what could be done for others or being who we should be for others. There may be better and more effective ways to engange the brokenness of life with people as Jesus did. We look forward to hearing your giving experiences, ideas, and perspectives.

(1) THING (twice).

(1) thing that I like about Christmas: People.

There could be some valuable sociological studies conducted by means of mall observation. When I had the unfortunate displeasure of going to Easton Town Center on December 21, my introverted self found itself tucked away in some corners simply observing people. I am not sure that I can even articulate my thoughts so I will include a few examples and allow you to formulate your own perspective:

A) Two sisters walking side-by-side wearing matching wreath-printed turtle neck shirts under fluffy "Christmas" sweaters.

B) A two-hour line to have a child's picture taken sitting on the lap of an unknown man dressed in a large red suit with fluffy cotton lining and beard.

C) Anxious and self-indulged expression of teenage girls trying to pick out just the right outfit. In a matter of 20 minutes, 15 other girls painstakingly picked out the same exact outfit.

(1) thing that I don't like about Christmas: People.

There are (3) groups of people that drive me crazy during the holiday season:
1) Parents.
a) who buy there children everything that they want.
b) who scream at their children in stores.
c) with strollers.
2) Drivers: Who determines who is able to obtain a Driver's License anway?
3) Teenagers in Starbucks: See upcoming post entitled, "Who invented the Frappucino?"

DISCLAIMER: It is important to note that I fall into category 1C. Sarah and I use a stroller (see pictured) when in public and walking any extended distances. I actually ran into a girl's bag when she stepped out in front of me. Fortunately, the bag was from Hollister so I didn't mind hitting it. Secondly, it was her fault for not yeilding to oncoming traffic. Who determines who is able to obtain a Baby Stroller Driver's License anyway? Rather, who determines who is able to obtain a Teenage Girl Walking in Mall License anyway?


This post is dedicated to LEE YOWELL.

IN RESPONSE: "You hate Christmas."

In my response to a friend's post entitled "Why I like Black Friday" another friend commented, "you hate christmas." I imagined his tone of voice and the comments that may have followed in conversation such as, "I mean... you really hate Christmas" or "I mean... you really hate Christmas. What did Christmas even do to you? Did it punch you in the face? Would it not get off your shed when you asked it to? I mean... you hate Christmas."
I laughed hysterically when I read his comment. I later asked myself, "Do I hate Christmas?" Hate is such a hateful word.
There are some elements of Christmas that I do loathe. Some obvious examples are:

• The paired colors of bright red and kelly green.
• Inflatable snow globes that function as yard ornamentation.
• Strands of lights that burn out on the tacky, artificial evergreen tree that sits in the corner of the room.
• The commercial exploitation of Jesus.

My disenchantment with the popular American celebration of Christmas does not exist because of what it did to me but rather what it does to others. We waste our time, money, and resources to fulfill our desires for high-definition home entertainment, designer clothing, and other personally selected gods and goddesses. Is Jesus really honored by our consumption that pays homage to stuff, devalues simplicity, and oppresses others who do not have the wealth and resources that the rich (as an American I am a part of this class) hoard for themselves.
There are some elements of Christmas that I value:

• Spending more time with family.
• Intense reflection on God coming to earth as a man.
• Reconnecting with friends.
• Giving to those who have need for food and child care.

So to answer the question, "Do you hate Christmas?" I must respond, "No... but my heart breaks at the consumerism that is the supposed celebration of Jesus' life on earth." I imagine if I were a man in Africa dying of AIDS whose wife could not feed herself or our child and I was asked, "Do you hate Christmas?" then I would respond, "It depends on how you celebrate it."

ADVENT CONSPIRACY.

Please visit Advent Conspiracy then post your thoughts.

CNN: Holiday Edition.

"What Would Jesus Really Do...?: Holiday Edition" will be airing on CNN Friday evening, December 21 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

One Question.

I have saved most of my thoughts about consumerism for one week before Christmas. I think that I become too angry and I needed some time for mellowing before attacking an issue that resonates deeply with me. I will begin with one simple question:

Is Jesus honored by our mass purchases?

ARROGANCE AND AUTHORITY II.

Can arrogance be equated with speech or an action that is one's own claim of his/her authority? In other words, is it "the pot calling the kettle black" for someone to tell another that he/she is arrogant?

American Gladiators.

American Gladiators was one of my favorite shows on Saturday mornings when I was a child. Nitro, Viper, Storm, Electra, and others took on the "contenders" in a series of physically challenging competitions. Though I am a reader of Henri Nouwen, who does not advocate competition, I must appeal to the game-like, simulated-competition entertainment that is the returning American Gladiators. The show returns to NBC on January 6 with a special program this Wednesday evening. I'm sure I will have some upcoming posts comparing and/or contrasting the television show to real gladiator battles about which we read in history books or watch in cinematographically enhanced films starring Russell Crowe. Alas, I have my calendar marked for some American Gladiator viewage.

True.

"Be true to yourself." What does that even mean?