...we believe that His children will not be foresaken.

Remember that old Twila Paris song? Maybe I just remember it because my mom used to listen to all those oldies who paved the way for what Christian music is today, haha. It's got an excellent message and definitely one that I need to remember right now.

Last week I helped my dad out on a bike ride for missions. I was a support driver and my mom navigated. I drove a fifteen passenger van pulling a twelve foot trailer (one of those extra wide ones that can fit a car inside). You can check out their blog at don.northcantongrace.org.  Wonderful experience except...

On Tuesday I got a call from my friend Karen at seminary that they had found that my friend Glen had unexpectedly passed away in his apartment. I was in shock. He was the same age as me. Went straight from undergrad to seminary. He was a great guy too. It didn't seem fair. Why do bad people seem to live until they're 95 yet Glen had to die at 23? It was really confusing to me at first and I was pretty upset, but I ended up talking to Amy and she helped me sort things out. Plus I was surrounded by my parents, pastors, and some very Godly men and women who lifted the situation up in their prayers. I also pray that God's comfort would be on Glen's fiance, Carly. I talked to Karen earlier today and she said that her family and friends have been very supportive. I'm pretty upset that I had to miss the funeral too. That has kind of bothered me, but I plan to visit his grave as soon as I get a chance. He was a wonderful man of God and I know that I'll see him again, it just kinda stinks that I have to wait so long. Doesn't quite seem fair, you know what I mean?

That's when I have to remember that God is in control. Even if He may not have necessarily ordained this to happen, He still has control of us and how we can respond to this situation. It has actually got me to thinking if I would have acted any differently the last time I had hung out with him. We were at B-dubs the week before celebrating Karen's birthday. He and I had actually split some wings and shared on the buy one burger get one half-off deal. Would I have told him how much I appreciated his friendship? How often do I tell my friends and the ones I love how much I appreciate them? Probably not enough. Granted, when we all know Christ, we can rest in the assurance that we'll all live together again some day, but I think it's important especially to those of us still on earth to make sure we communicate those things. I heard "We Live" by Superchick in the car on my way to church and it helped me clarify some of those thoughts too. We do need to remember that we don't know how long any of us have. The Parousia could come any time or we just don't know what freak thing might happen. Do the ones we love really know how much we love them?

So, some crazy news. First thing is I decided not to work at Lakeside this summer. It was kind of short notice and I felt bad, but I really feel God leading me to stay at Woodlawn UMC this summer and to continue living at home. I think I need to be at home. It's really helped in a lot of ways. Also, school is coming to an end and WAY too quickly. I have SO much stuff left to get done. BUT, I will get it all done and then come June 10th I will not have to worry about another class until October! Woot! AND I'm all registered for this fall, so I'm stoked. I'm taking the MDiv Cohort (Person in Ministry and Worship I think are the two classes), plus Hebrew I, and Theology II. It should be so much more manageable than this quarter was. I've been gradually getting better and better each quarter about staying on top of assignments, so hopefully by next year I'll be a pro and get them done with time to spare. We'll see. That would be WAY out of my nature.

I don't think I fit-in in many circles nowadays. In liberal circles I seem conservative and in conservative circles I seem liberal. My professor, Dr. Byron, said that he often feels the same way. I'm going to stand on what I know. I think it comes down to knowing too much. I'm glad I know it, the amount of information I've learned has truly helped me to grow and shape my faith. It's just I find myself questioning many things any more, things that most Conservative Evangelicals would throw away as fact. I've been reading Velvet Elvis also and if you've never read it, I'd definitely recommend it. Rob Bell is so good at connecting with the post-modern thinking of today. Anyway, I guess this all stems from having views that aren't as solid. I don't think I'm being wishy-washy either, I just don't think anyone knows as certain as they think they do. Example:

Creationism vs. Evolution: HUGE ordeal in the world of secularism vs. Christianity. I believe in intelligent design, I'm just not sure God did it in seven literal days. First off, there is evidence to suggest that Genesis was written after the epic of Gilgamesh (read it, it's surprisingly similar in certain instances) and then also the fact that in the original Hebrew the writing is so poetic, which is generally more figurative. And, just thinking hypothetically, if the young earth view isn't correct, how else would have God explained the creation narrative unless in terms that a more or less "pre-science" people could understand. And this leaves out the most important issue of creation: The theology that we as humans are innately sinful and thus separated from God because of it. It doesn't matter if it happened 4,000 years ago or 200,000,000 years ago, God's still God and we're still human and sinful. Whether there was a literal "Adam" or not, we humans are still separated from the love of God. It also doesn't take away from the wonderful grace bestowed on us through Jesus Christ. The Bible is still authoratative. It doesn't lose anything either way. I'm not sure what I believe, all I know is that I don't have to believe that the earth was created in seven literal days to understand the importance of the creation narrative.

Many Christians will shrug me off as liberal now. Many people will cast me into a conservative box now for still thinking God had an intelligent design. I'm going to make another apphauling statement: I don't care if the ten commandments are posted at court houses or if teachers are allowed to force their students to say an otherwise unheartfelt prayer to my God. Guess what? That's the church's and family's responsibility. Christianity thrived under persecution from the Roman Empire, I think we can handle a more than tolerant American government.

Now I'm going to throw everything for a loop. I do think Jesus is the ONLY way. I just think we end up putting ourselves in these stupid little boxes and completely close the door for dialogue with non-believers. Why do we sit here arguing over stupid issues rather than what's truly important: the salvation of others. I'm almost positive that nobody walked by the ten commandments posted outside of some court house and miraculously came to Christ. BUT, in the slim chance that they did, who followed up? Who made sure this person was nurtured as a brother or sister of the faith? We need to start reprioritizing our battles and stop isolating ourselves from being truly effective witnesses of the Gospel.

 

"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."         -John Wesley