Medicine of Immortality "It's a cold, and it's a broken, 'Hallelujah!'"

The Bush PresidencyPosted by Rick on October 11th, 2006

This morning I read about how Bush has cut the deficit in half, just as he promised, but he’s done it three years ahead of schedule. I started to reflect on all the good things he has accomplished instead of the normal list of all the problems he’s created. I mean, let’s be honest; taxes have been cut dramatically. The economy is the strongest in…well, forever. The stock market is higher than…ever. The unemployment is lower than, you guessed it, than it ever has been in our history. Underemployment is down. Salaries are rising waaaay faster than inflation. Revenues have climbed at 11.7% while spending is down to 7.3%.

So why do Americans hate Bush? Well, I think it’s a no brainer that the War in Iraq is at the top of that list. But the Democrats voted for this war too. Oh, but that was before they voted against it. But Clinton surely wouldn’t have bombed Iraq for suspecting Weapons of Mass Destruction. He was a great president.

Okay, maybe Bush has poor reasoning. Let’s see what he said in a speech after bombing Iraq:

Earlier today, I ordered America’s armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.

Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons.

Boy, that Bush sure is an a…wait, nevermind. My mistake. That was from a speech by Bill Clinton. Like most Americans, I forgot that Bill Clinton spent his presidency bombing Iraq.

So what’s the problem? Bombing other countries is just an American pasttime. I mean, that’s why we supplied Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden with money and arms. Making the war even, makes it fun!

Okay, let me get back to my point. Yesterday, I had the imam of a local Islamic community speak in my class about Islam. (For those of you who object to my bringing a Muslim teacher into my class, just keep this in mind: Islam is a major power. It is growing. My students will all encounter it. Wouldn’t you rather they encounter it in my classroom? )

The imam made a comment about Bush’s religious language that started me thinking. The biggest reason for this never-ending war is that it is full of religious language. The Koran orders Muslims to defend the rights of other Muslims who are being attacked for their religious beliefs. If Iraqis believe this is a religious war, the insurgency will never end. This is how the insurgency recruits other members: “The Koran orders you to defend your brothers.” If this were just a war about democracy, I think you would see less resistance.

Random…Posted by Rick on September 18th, 2006

One of the fun things about the World Lit. class I am teaching is that I have had the opportunity to teach significant portions of the Scriptures. As I was prepping for my class tomorrow, I was reading over the parable of the “prodigal son” when I was reminded about the time I discovered Kenneth E. Bailey back as a freshman. Bailey notes that the parable has an unfinished chiasm, one that leads us to wonder, what is the ending to the story of the older brother? Now, we know what the ending of the story is, but I often wonder how it will play out in history. Right now we see wars and rumors of wars, and it’s hard to see God turning the elder brother to repentance. Just a random thought…

Even though the Gods are crazy…Posted by Rick on September 7th, 2006

In my World Literature class Tuesday, I was talking about the Greek gods being crazy when Paris Hilton sang those words on someone’s cell phone.

Today, I said something about Dionysus being pretty sexy in “The Bacchae.” I then proceeded to say that I got the image of Rob Thomas (someone who fits the physical description of the way Dionysus’s hair is in story) in my head when I read about Dionysus. Somehow that turned into my denying that I thought Rob Thomas was sexy.

This has been an interesting semester so far.

I feel like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders today because I don’t have to work tonight (I’ll be doing some reading for a class I’m taking, not teaching). I feel like dancing…

turns on “Stars Are Blind”

My Dear FamilyPosted by Rick on August 19th, 2006

Kyrie is a pro walker now, though she still isn’t great at pulling herself up without the use of a couch or something. I’ve seen her walk from the gate at the kitchen, through the dining room and living room, down a hall past the bathroom, and into our bedroom. That’s just scary to me. Not to mention that she can now RUN…which is pretty cute when she’s running from mama, but scary when she is running from papa. She can’t figure out how to walk with her shoes very well, probably because they’re too long for her feet (though not thick enough for her feet!).

I noticed last week when we were at Jon and Hollie’s and Dora was on the TV that she really isn’t that interested in cartoons (she doesn’t watch any at home)...or maybe she just isn’t into Dora. She seems to like jingles and kids (something like Barney would probably appeal to her). She loves kids IRL too.

As for me, I have been working 10-14 hours, 7 days a week, unfortunately, and I’m still barely making deadlines. Hopefully that will slow down by mid-September. School starts Monday, and I have prep mostly done for the first week, though I still have to do a bit of research for my new 203 class…though I think we’re just going over Genesis the first week. Well, I should go.

Back homePosted by Rick on July 8th, 2006

Well, we’re back in Monroe. Just about everything has gone wrong since then. The worst thing (though it’s debatable considering our week) is that my Summer II class was cancelled on Friday due to low enrollment. Now, if they had cancelled it on Wednesday, perhaps we could have stayed another 5-6 weeks in Spokane. sigh We probably won’t be around much til Tuesday or Wednesday.

My trip to FloridaPosted by Rick on June 23rd, 2006

So I’m back in Washington, but I am recovering still. For those of you that don’t know, I went down to Florida to take a class at the Institute for Worship Studies (founded by Robert E. Webber) near Jacksonville, FL. I took “Biblical and Historical Foundations of Worship” taught by Dr. Andrew E. Hill (Old Testament Prof at Wheaton College) and Dr. Lester Ruth (Worship and Liturgy Prof at Asbury Seminary), who did his PhD at Notre Dame with John Witvliet under James F. White. But let me try and go in order here.

I met Carrot Top in Phoenix, where I had my layover. He wasn’t annoying at all, and he actually has a deep voice very much unlike his show-voice. Kinda weird. Later, I saw him in a restaurant (eating a cheese steak, if you wanted to know). He had all sorts of Jr. High age girls fawning over him (and some adult women too). He was a really nice guy; they were wanting to take pictures of him while he was eating, and he was happy to oblige. He later ended up on my flight to Orlando. One of the most unexpected things was that this guy was extremely muscular and built on his upper body (yeah, he was huge) and had the lower body of a 12-year-old. Anyway, that was Tuesday.

Late that night, I arrived at the home of Billy and Shirley Creech of Grace Episcopal Church in Orange Park. Talk about a friendly couple. They let me stay with them for the week, and they even let me take their Porsche to class (yeah, sweet, huh?).

On Wednesday morning, I met with a couple of people from Christianbook.com to consult with them about their web site, their catalogs, and their advertising. It was then I realized they’re not selling the 55 volume Martin Luther set anymore! wah I told them if they had any more stuck back in the warehouse, they can send a set to me.

Later on Wednesday, I was oriented to my course. My classmates included pastors, seminary profs, worship pastors, and even a bishop, Bishop Quintin Moore of the Communion of Convergent Churches USA. Two of them were from Alberta, so I gave them a hard time all week. One was from Muskogee, close to where I grew up, and another brought Harlem power. Another classmate, Mick Gilliam, who teaches at Winebrenner Seminary was the smiliest man I have ever met. It was an incredible mix that you wouldn’t find at very many seminaries.

In the evening, I worshipped at the IWS convocation held in Grace Episcopal. What an incredible worship space. Great acoustics. Great chant tones. 150 men singing militaristic tunes with vigor. The Lord’s Prayer was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes; later on in the week, it would bring a spout of hallelujahs off the lips of an African-American friend of the shouting Baptist persuasion.

One of the things I really gained this week was a theology of liturgical silence. It’s something I have read about but I have never seen performed well in a worship service. Our chaplain, Darrell Harris (called the “unofficial conscience” of CCM by Billboard Magazine…ha), had written a wonderful piece of music that led us into this silence.

After convocation, I met the schools’s president, Bob Webber, who is in great shape for a 73-year-old.

He told us about a couple of new books he is writing. One is tentatively called “Divine Embrace: Recovering Passionate Spirituality” and is basically his Ancient-Future Spirituality volume. The title comes from page 101 of the BCP:

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you, for the honor of your Name. Amen.

The other book is called “Who Gets To Narrate the World?” In the book, Bob brings us from the pre-modern, pre-Christian, pagan world to the post-modern, post-Christian, pagan world. Who will narrate the world, Christians or Muslims?

Then I met my housemate, Chester, a pastor in the Chicago area. Ironically, Chester had grown up in Spokane, where his dad pastors a predominantly African-American congregation (an anomaly in our 93% white town).

I also met Dr. Reggie Kidd of RTS-Orlando. We briefly discussed the NPP and FV (he thought many were upset for poor reasons). As I got to know him throughout the week, my respect for Reggie grew; he has a balance of scholarship and pastoral care. He is slow to judge and has a deep heart for God.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about the class. I enjoyed it. I got some great bibliography throughout the week. It did bring a number of thoughts to mind. For example:

St. Mark’s Greek is so poor that it is embarassing. The truth is that St. Mark was willing to humiliate himself to share the gospel. How many of us are like that? How many of us say that we don’t want to embarass ourselves because it might be a poor witness?

Andy (Hill) told the story of a missionary who handed out tracts in the Muslim marketplace in Pakistan. Lucky to be alive, he finally quit after not a single Muslim converted. He resorted to being more like the Muslim holy-men. He started reading his Bible on his porch all day, everyday. After five weeks, a women knocked on his door and said, “I perceive you are a holyman. My child is sick. Will your God heal him?” She had already visited Muslim and Buddhist holymen. He prayed over her child, and the child was healed. Converts started pouring in. In places where they recognize demons as having powers, the truth is if you want someone to know your God, you must have more power than the witch-doctor. This is why Christianity is spreading so rapidly in Africa, Asia, and South America.

Lester appealed for us to bring back a theology “same-sex kissing on the lips” during the peace. I told him the Episcopals do that a lot…

On Sunday, I visited St. Justin Martyr Orthodox. As Rachel said, 61 pages of sung liturgy. Ironically, it took over an hour for me to realize there was no instrumentation. The choir was embedded into the congregation—this was very nice. I don’t think I had ever seen a congregation prostrate themselves. That was nice. Overall, way too Eastern for me to fully appreciate. Perhaps my favorite part was, after the nekkid baptisms of a boy and his little sister, the baptismal party marched around the font while the congregation chanted, “As many have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Hallelujah!”

After worship, I hit the beach.

Then I got a gelati at Rita’s Italian Ice before going over Scott Schultz’s house to chat for a few hours.

Monday was pretty boring, but I did get to see a cool liturgy for a funeral service by Marty Haugen.

On Tuesday, we watched a Catholic service in Africa. It’s amazing to see Catholics dance. I also got to see a great comic strip comparing Puritans, Anglicans, and Catholics.

Wednesday was the last day. Lester gave us a great quote from Dr. White, his dissertation director: “I lived in Texas where there are more baptists than people.” Ain’t that the truth?

In all of this trip to my favorite state, I once again realized my heart is truly for Spokane. When I was down there, I had a thought I’ve had many times: “If I could just convince all my friends and family to move to Florida, life would be perfect.” But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it wasn’t true. I don’t have a desire to serve Florida like I do Spokane.

Well, I am still suffering from jet lag, so I will end this post.

LifePosted by Rick on June 13th, 2006

So tomorrow I’m going to Florida for a week. I’ll be riding on the heels of Alberto, and I will probably be stuck in Phoenix for a few hours if the storm is slow.

I’ll be missing my first Father’s Day I didn’t even realize that until a week or two ago.

Just a few minutes ago, Rachel was videotaping Kyrie when Rachel said, “Say ‘Bye bye!’” Kyrie replied, “Buh bye!” It was her first time to say it, and she did it on camera. That’s pretty cool.

Random 9,127,346Posted by Rick on May 25th, 2006

So I guess I haven’y blogged in over a week. I don’t even remember what I did over the last week. I played some Super Smash brothers, watched Timothy’s Spiderman cartoons, and played fierce battles of Taboo, Cranium, Apples to Apples, Battleship, and Pit.

I caught up on the season finale of House. House has been really interesting the last 4-5 episodes. Foreman praying? A faith healer performing “miracles”? Chase praying over a patient? House questioning whether life is worth living if there is no meaning? What happened to the four heartless atheistic doctors? Wilson is the only one that’s supposed to believe in God.

I can’t even speak about 24. This season was beyond words. I can’t imagine another show comparing right now.

I added about fifteen feeds to bloglines and joined the Belhaven network of facebook (which I don’t even use unless a student emails me through it).

I have become a master of croquet and badminton, two “sports” I’ve never played.

Okay…I sound like a bum.

I’ve read a paltry 200 or so pages this week. Aunt Pari and Uncle Trevor are also in town this week, so we visited with them. Forrest had to go to Utah tomorrow and the girls are having a tea party, so maybe I will get some reading done tomorrow.

Kyrie disliked carrots…and peas. Officially, the only food that hasn’t made her gag is squash…something I don’t like.

I hope everyone is getting up early to hit the Ascension Day Sales at the mall.

Playing catsupPosted by Rick on April 17th, 2006

So it’s been awhile since we’ve blogged anything of substance. Part of this is that we can’t post from our home computer, and part of it is we don’t really blog much of substance anyway

Last Wednesday we took Kyrie to the pediatrician. She was 19 lbs 8 oz. It was a really helpful time for us because our paedocare beliefs are much different from most of our friends down here, and sometimes we feel like the odd ones out. The doctor basically said that we were very informed (he actually gave us a test lol) as parents. He then went on to talk about how it was hard for him to see his colleagues around Monroe refuse to change their beliefs about medicine in the face of the medical evidence. He basically said that the doctors here are way behind the times when it comes to childcare. He also made us feel good for continuing to exclusively breastfeed Kyrie rather than giving into the pressure to feed her solids. He said that Kyrie would let us know when she needed for solids.

It was also refreshing because Kyrie was being a grump last week, and personally, I was feeling like a bad father. She’s gotten more sleep this week, so she’s been better, though she still seems to want to talk in worship.

Her personality is hilarious. For example, the other day, she was sitting in her high chair, and I went through the dining room. As I passed, she growled at me. A few moments later, Rachel went into the dining room, and Kyrie growled at her. She reminds me so much of Esther, who we miss so very much (22 days!).

On Thursday we went to a Maundy Thursday service where my rector kissed my feet. Friday we went to a Good Friday service at noon and spent the rest of the day in a most unholy way: 7 hours of shopping for an Easter dress for Rachel…Wal-mart (we drove through the parking lot but decided it was too busy to go in), the mall (Belk, Dillards, Old Navy, JCPenney, Sears, Limited, Wet Seal, on and on), Target, WM Wal-mart, Dress Barn, Ross, Steinmart, Stage, and finally back to the original Wal-mart where Rachel picked up the last white skirt and shirt left in the store (see pics below).

Yesterday we had a wonderful service. I canted the Exultant at the beginning, and I was dreadfully nervous (I’ve been the cantor at Salem the past two Easter Sundays, so I shouldn’t have been). The service was very well done, and our pianist played the best she ever has (which she attibuted to actually having time to practice the music). Although the rector seemed to indicate that his sermon wasn’t very good, I benefited from the observation that we don’t really come to Easter Sunday with the mind of Christ being dead and in the tomb. For the first disciples, the resurrection was truly glorious because their Messiah was dead.

Somewhere in all of that, I had time to read three books and start a fourth. One of those was Marva Dawn’s “A Royal ‘Waste’ of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World.” I found my heart very heavy from my own sins of failing to be Church. But hey, it was Holy Week, so suffering is good, right?

I started the first volume of Robert Webber’s The Complete Library of Christian Worship this morning, and I have already benefitted from some of his insights. I’m hoping to finish that and the next volume, along with The Oxford History of Christian Worship before we leave for Spokane. I’d hate to have to pack 1500 pages in just three books.

Fortunately this week is Spring Break, so I should have time to do some reading (I should probably do some grading too!)

Anyway, here are some pictures:

There were bunnies at church today!





The whole family!

It’s officialPosted by Rick on April 6th, 2006

I’m a ULM Warhawk.