"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.'"

"Emerging" and "Emergent"

Tony Jones was asked a question that I continually hear: "What is the difference between 'Emerging' and 'Emergent?' I have never had a very good response for all of those who seek my opinion/input about issues of ecclesiology but Tony has an :: OUTSTANDING reply :: that I suggest all read. Thank you Tony for giving my reply that I could not articulate.

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.

A Problem with a Solution.

Resurrection. New Life. Hope.
Please visit the International Justice Mission and CLICK HERE --> to WATCH THE VIDEO. The injustice of child sex trafficking is part of why Sarah and I are planning to adopt a little sister for Kyla. What are you going to do about it?

The Word Dwelling as Image // MVNU Podcast

I was asked to teach for one of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University chapel services. I presented an untitled message that could possibly be called, "The Word Dwelling as Image." Hopefully I will be able to post the video soon. There were elements of imagery that enhance the learning experience.
CLICK HERE to listen to the itunes podcast teaching. Texts included are John 1:1, 14; Phil. 2; John 9 regarding the concept of the word, its transition to image, and the emergence of compassion.

Slippery when following.

Tony,
Well said. Thanks, Adam, for including this post.
There is nothing unslippery about Jesus, that is of course, if we allow the real Jesus to be the one we follow. Following Jesus is risky and disenchanting to popular, comfortable life. If we are daring enough to follow we may slip and fall away from empire worship including the state-nation and the doctrines that suppossedly define the church.
Travis

The preceding was a comment I posted in response to a post by Tony Jones included on Pomomusings.

Uncomfortable Habit.

"The longer you look at Jesus, the more you will want to serve him in this world. That is, of course, if it's the real Jesus you're looking at. Plenty of people in the church and outside it have made up a 'Jesus' for themselves, and have found that this invented character makes few real demands on them. He makes them feel happy from time to time but doesn't challenge them, doesn't suggest they get up and do something about the plight of the world. Which is, of course, what the real Jesus had an uncomfortable habit of doing."
Carl Raschke, The Next Reformation.

One final thought for the coming year...

... the Church will be subversively reformed. Part II of the Protestant Reformation is in process and is moving. There is no individual leader. No Martin Luther. That is where the subversiveness enters.

A Community Mind.

Last night I re-watched A Beautiful Mind, one of the films in my "Top 5 Films" list. John Nash is a student at Yale who reforms the dynamics of economic theory proposed by Adam Smith. His underlying principle is that one making a choice must not make a decision for his own benefit but rather make a decision for his own benefit and the benefit of the community. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross initially benefited/benefits the community but not himself. He suffers terribly for the sake of the community. Am I to suffer for the sake of my community or am I to make decisions in line with the Kingdom of God that benefit myself with the hope that a kingdom-approach will ultimately benefit the community (presuming that the community needs realigned with the Kingdom of God)?

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.

4th Sunday in Advent Reading.

Though my personal readings and reflections are, indeed, very personal and private, I find it timely and necessary to share a portion from yesterday's invocation from "A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants." Please excuse the King James-like Old English. It is a beautiful prayer.

"Bestow upon us, we beseech thee, that most excellent Christmas gift of charity to all, that so the likeness of thy Son may be formed in us."

My personal translation (or, rather, paraphrase) reads:

"We beg you. Give us the greatest gift of all. Give us hearts and minds for giving to all so that we may reflect the very gift given to us: salvation, freedom, liberation, life."

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.

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?

Clarity and Mystery.

Apparently, I have been reading too much. I had to get glasses for reading, writing, and blogging due to a slight stigma, farsightedness, and ocular fatigue. It is relieving to have greater clarity when I read. At times I think that I would like greater clarity of thought, perspicuity in communication, and lucidity of vision but am trying to embrace the fatigue that accompanies the beauty of the unknown and unseen mystery of the kingdom of God.

Lee Redeemed.

Please visit Lee Yowell's blog for his post about the "Dark Side of Black Friday." He redeems his sarcastic "Top 5" list with a well stated post on the brokenness of humanity.

IN RESPONSE: part 3 (iii).

3. Waiting in line and making new friends. When waiting in line for so long with other people you just end up chatting and sharing stories. One of the ladies in front of me, while waiting in line at Target, made a Starbucks run at 5am and surprised me with a cup of delicious hot chocolate. I was very appreciative and was able to return the favor around 5:30am, when they held my place in line and I ran to a nearby McDonalds to use the restroom. I returned with a bag of hash browns and we all enjoyed an early breakfast snack.

OK, waiting in line to make friends on Black Friday is as good as putting a coffee shop in every church gathering place's lobby, vestibule, narthex, atrium, foyer, etc. Must we make such excuses to form relationship? I am all for relationship and even while standing in line, however, I do not find successful justification for consumption here. Now the rest of the story is wonderful except for the fact that I throw up in my mouth at the thought of McDonalds. And who buys hot chocolate from Starbucks?

Lost.

Thanks to Mike Rodden for sharing the posted video.
John McArthur referrences Jesus coming to save the lost. I am not making a soteriological statement when I assert that McArthur is the one who is lost. He is lost in evangelical conservatism and is not even listening to other followers of Jesus. His agenda is to hear anything from an "Emergent" mind and decontextualize it in order to destroy any thoughtful contributions to theological thinking. The following video is problematic at many levels. Please share your thoughts and perspective.

A Thought from India.

A friend of mine from college is living in India and included a message in response to my previous post on consumption. I thought it was worth sharing in a post of its own:
"In India, I just went to buy 102 sets of clothes for the orphanage children living next door. This was to be their Christmas gift. I was not able to buy all the same price range because of the amount that I was buying so I asked the mission worker whether the children will be mad if some of them got slightly nicer shirts. He said, "Mam, these children do not see what others have. They are just thrilled that they received something which is necessary for them." These kids suffer horrendous atrocities and are grateful for the smallest gift. I believe that Jesus weeps over these children and weeps over how the church has ignored their plight. I am thankful that this discussion addresses the heart of God for those who have no idea what black friday is and have never seen a computer in order to participate in cyber Monday. Since coming to India, I have seen how many possesions I thought were necessary in the States are now luxuries."
Thank you, Lindsay.