This last Sunday I went to Christ Episcopal Church in San Antonio, TX to see none other than N. T. Wright himself.  It was great service!  There was much standing and sitting and kneeling, and the worship was great.  We sang great hymns that I hadn't sung in a while, as well as Amazing Love, Days of Elijah, and Jesus, Lover of my Soul (Which I would have never expected to sing at an Episcopal Church.)  Good ole' Tom (which is what I like to call him because we are on a first name basis now...in my mind) got up and preached on Luke 23 - the crucifixion scene with the two "brigands" (the exact word Tom used and from now will replace the word "criminal" in my vocabulary).  The perfectly formed sentences that presented the gospel message made my heart melt and my soul passionate.  To my great surprise Mrs. Wright was sitting right behind us.  We did not notice this until the Episcopal "meet-n-greet" time, which I mistook as the end of the service.  Being a Baptist I thought the end of the service was over, but I did not realize that people in most churches actually take the Lord's Supper every week because they care about doing what Christ commanded.  When I received the body of our Lord from good ole' Tom, I realized that you have never taken communion until one of the top five theologians named by Christianity Today puts the bread in your hand.  I also got to experience sharing the one silver cup with many other congregants.  I would have to say that this was one of the most meaningful eucharists I have ever been a part of.  At the end of the service, Mrs. Wright was adamant about introducing us to her husband, and I had no objections.  He was very sincere and asked me where I was going to seminary and where I was going to be pastoring since I just got ordained.  We chatted and laughed about tea, crumpets, and brigands.  It was a jolly good time.

Therefore, for your viewing pleasure:

Here before your very eyes is the only man that could ever come between me and my wife.

Going to hear N. T. Wright I knew that someone of his celebrity caliber would attract other celebrities - therefore we ran into Anne B. Davis - the lady that played Alice on the Brady Bunch. 

It was the most worshipful Sabbath I have ever experienced.

The Kingdom is a great movie...

If you have not seen it you must.  The message is thought provoking and stings the Christian heart...  In the movie a terrorist attack has occured in Saudi Arabia against many American citizens.  When loved ones of FBI agents are killed, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman go over to figure it out.  I will not tell you the whole movie but at the very beginning Jamie Foxx whispers something in Jennifer Garner's ear when she hears that her friend was killed.  You don't find out till the end of the movie what she said, but when the big bad Muslim terrorist is killed he whispers something in his son's ear.  Both whispers were "Don't worry, we'll kill them all!"

I don't know about you but that got me thinking.  How many times do I hear Christians talking about how bad they are?  They continually regard Islam as a stupid religion full of fanatics.  But isn't Christianity like that?  Don't we send people into wars to kill people?  It may not be in the name of our religion, but we still kill people just like Muslims do.  So I think the lyrics of Derek Webb's song can sum it up:

My Enemies Are Men Like Me

I have come to give you life
And to show you how to live it
I have come to make things right
To heal their ears and show you how to forgive them

Because I would rather die
I would rather die
I would rather die
Than to take your life

(Chorus)
How can I kill the ones I'm supposed to love
My enemies are men like me
I will protest the sword if it's not wielded well
My enemies are men like me

Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
It's like telling someone murder is wrong
And then showing them by way of execution

When justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war
The ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor

Does anybody else feel pressure to know exactly what you believe about this or that?  I have been feeling extreme pressure lately and for many years now.  I feel like I have to give a reason or give evidence for every single belief I have.  And if I don't know what I believe about this or that then I feel pressure to figure it out and to figure it out fast.  I enjoy reading the posts of my friends who are debating and expressing their thoughts on the government, on the church, on equality, on the Bible, and any other issue.  They are interesting reads, but often make me feel like I don't know anything. 

So I feel this pressure not only from my peers, my professors, my church leaders, but also the world to have everything figured out.  I don't know much of anything but I am wondering if I am being tempted to make knowledge an idol.  It is not bad in and of itself but when it replaces God then you have to deal with it.  I confess that I often use the search for godly knowledge as a replacement for a spiritual walk.  I would rather research the historical criticism of a certain passage of Scripture than let it actually speak to me and tell me what I need to make right in my life.  In my search for knowledge I forget to sit quietly before my Maker and just sit with Him.  I don't want to have it all figured out.  I know I never will.  So why are so many in such a hurry to have it all figured out?

If you have any thoughts about this let me know.  I haven't written anything in a while because I am starting to think this blogging thing is worthless.  I am not trying to make people feel sorry for me, but it sure doesn't seem like people read my posts very often.  If that is the case, then I could just keep talking to my wife about this stuff and use the extra 10-20 minutes that it takes me to type this to do something constructive with my time.  Therefore, if there are not very many comments, I am shutting this thing down like a woman preacher at a Southern Baptist Convention...