Five for Friday

The next few Fridays, I’m going to focus on my recent dabblings in Western pop culture. Obviously, living here in Kenya, we’re far less exposed to media than most. But, thanks to Internet and magazines and DVDs, we’re able to stay up-to-date with some things. I’m not sure whether my lists will be laughable (“He’s just NOW seeing that movie! Ha!”) or instructive (“Heck, a guy in Kenya says it’s worthwhile, maybe I should turn off Baywatch re-runs and give it a shot!), but I’m going to give it a go anyway.

Today I’ll do the 5 best songs I’ve downloaded on my iPod the last few months.

1--“New Slang” by The Shins. I have no idea what the words are saying or what the topic is even, but man…talk about evoking a mood!
2--“Give me your eyes” by Brandon Heath. I only have one other song by this guy, but this one sounds so much like Mat Kearney that I’m loving it. Rock meets hip-hop. Beautiful message too.
3--“Good people” by Jack Johnson. Gentle surf rock is always nice to have on in the background. Interesting insights as well…if you only watch TV and listen to radio, there is a serious lack of “good” people to be found.
4--“Twilight” by Shawn Groves. Never heard of this guy until my friend Mike played some of his stuff. I could dismiss most of the songs, but not this one. Raises a deep question…Am I fading away because of the sins I keep around?
5--“Your love is strong” by Jon Foreman. Sweet, smooth rock rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer” with such cool language that you might not even recognize the message behind it.

Honorable mention—“Life for rent” by Dido. Dido is one of those vocalist who blew me away every time I heard her, but I never got around to owning anything by her. No longer. I got about five songs, and this one is the most intriguing. Discusses making commitments and being a fully-engaged person versus an empty, self-absorbed, “rent-able” person.

Cramming

As summer vacation winds down, we’re cramming in a lot of things—extra time with friends, extra time on “non-essential” classroom work, extra time on language, extra time with our boys, extra time on extra-curricular things we won’t have time for once school starts. During one of my language sessions, Boniface and I had a classic miscommunication that I have to share.

Boniface borrows DVDs from us occasionally. He asked me last week if he had returned the last two videos he borrowed. I asked him what they were. I thought he said, “A lot of things.” So, I asked him again, “What were the videos?” He said again (I thought), “A lot of things.” Now, I was confused. Why wouldn’t he tell me their names? And I thought he said there were only TWO videos…now he’s telling me there are a lot of them? He said, “No, there were just two.” I was starting to get frustrated and I asked, “Why did you say there were a lot of them?” He said as clearly as he could, “They’re a lot of things!”

Finally, I just stopped in the path (we were walking and talking) and said, “What are you talking about?” Then, we were able to figure it out.

Many cultures have trouble pronouncing the hard “R” of the English language. It often sounds like “L.” And if they have trouble with our “L” it often comes out sounding like “R”. (Remember that classic scene in A Christmas Story when they eat Christmas dinner in a Chinese restaurant to the sounds of “Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra ra-ra-ra ra” sung by Chinese waiters?) So, having said that…let’s insert some “R” sounds into “a lot of things.”

A LO(R)T OF TH (R)INGS

Figured it out yet? I’ll give you a hint—hobbits, dwarves, and “my precious.”

A lot of things was actually The Lord of the Rings. Maybe Kikuyu would be easier to learn if we both spoke English the same way. Grin.

To see a picture of Boniface and I in action, you can check the pictures I just uploaded to Facebook. Click here.

Don't go to this church

While I appreciate the publicity, my humble musings are no substitute for fellowship with other believers or for congregational worship.

Seriously though, if you’d like to make your own church sign, you can click on this link.

http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/

Enjoy! And try not to get too heretical.

Partying because the cow came home

A few months back, a church outside of Philadelphia raised the money to buy a cow for a single mother of two here in Kenya. The process took some time--first to build a pen for the cow, then to shop around for the cow, and then to make the actual purchase--and would certainly be considered "slow going" by our Western standards. But nevertheless, the job is now finished.

Harriet bought a pregnant cow with the money (how's that for a "buy one, get one free" deal?), and I went with her to pay the used cow dealer. The next day, her father rented a pickup truck and driver, drove to the cow mart, and brought the cow home.

This video (if it works) is of Harriet, her mother, and her son shopping. The final cow you see them posing with was the final choice.

Wrapping up "Ray" week

A few years back, my friend Ray said that the only way we can truly communicate is through metaphor, which is talking about one thing in terms of something else. God uses metaphors constantly to describe his relationship to us--I am the vine, I am the good shepherd, I am the gate, etc.. The following was my response to Ray's challenge to write a contemporary psalm using modern metaphors. I hope it both amuses and inspires

Post-modern Psalm

Whem I'm too frantic you're an oxygen shot
When I'm exhausted you're a time share I bought
You are my Starbucks when I'm run down
You are my Happy Meal when my smile's upside down
Some call you peace, some call you the way
I think you're a straight road I've been driving all day

When I need a lift you're a sleek helicopter
When I'm not ready you are my teleprompter
You're a pre-paid VISA when I've run out of dough
You are my fertilizer when I don't want to grow
Some call you love, some call you life
I call you a kiss on the lips from my wife

When I'm so crazy you are my Dr. Phil
When I'm too lazy you're an adrenaline fill
You're my Prozac when the world looks gray
You are my Ridalin when my mind won't stay

Some call you the truth, some call you light
I think you're a boxer always picking a fight

When I'm so selfish you're a homeless man
When I'm self-conscious you're my psychotic fan
You are my deep dish when I'm hungry from junk
You're my seat cushion when my airplane has sunk
Some call you Spirit, some call you the Son
I think you're the shoulders I'm lifted upon

Q and A with Ray

RYAN: I appreciated your wisdom about the Reform Theology vs. Emergent Church debate during our talk in December. I'm still wrestling with it. But I came across an interview with Rob Bell (unofficial Emergent leader) and he talked about all of the venomous attacks he's been getting (mainly from Reformers). He basically said--with thousands of people dying from AIDS and poverty and slavery and you-name-it, I don't think it's worth the time to sit around and debate theology and split hairs. What do you think about that? What's more important? A life spent forming a right theology...or a life spent on behalf of God's glory spread into the lives of the lowliest?

RAY: All the important issues in life are found between a tension of opposites. One of the key ideas in my life has been the discovery, through physics, that the answer to these sorts of questions is never with one side or the other. It is absolutely true that “right theology” is important. That is what differentiates Christianity from other religions, cults, and heresies. But it is also absolutely true that at the heart of the Gospel is “God so loved the world” and that we are to be God’s hands in a world to ameliorate suffering and pain. Jesus’s ministry was mostly to the poor and outcasts. If in the interest of right theology, we sacrifice our love for the Bretheren, or the world for that matter, then our theology is useless. If we give all we have in sacrifice to the wrong God, even if we help some people along the way, then our sacrifice is idolgatry. We are called to live in a unique balance where love (faith) and reason (efforts) coexist in a unity with the Spirit of God. God’s Spirit will help you discern when things are out of balance. I do not know specifically who said what about Rob Bell. But if any Christian leader has spoken out publicly against him without first going to him, gently and in love, then this leader is out of balance with the Word. In a nutshell, it is never either-or. It is always both. Is an electron a particle or a wave? It is both. Is Jesus a man or God? He is both. Do I have free will or does God determine everything? It is both. Are we saved by grace or works? It is both. That’s the short answer. I hope this helps. We can talk about it more later if you want.

Emergent vs. Reform

When we were back in the U.S. in December, I found myself in a sticky situation. While catching up with some friends, I learned that there were two factions that had developed within American Christianity in the three years that I’d been gone. And apparently, one should choose a side for the good of his/her faith. Who knew?

The two sides can be largely grouped as the Emergent Church and the Reform Church.

Perhaps thirty years ago, the factions would have been liberal Christianity versus conservative Christianity, but I guess some of that “battle” has become irrelevant. “Liberal” denominations have gotten so far away from the kinds of ministries and theology of conservative churches that they’re not really on the same playing field anymore. So now, it’s as if conservative Christianity—consisting of sold-out, born-again believers who want to be changed internally and to see change in the world—has turned on itself.

The Emergent side is accused of being theologically relativistic and squishy, of not speaking the hard truth of the Gospel when it comes to sin and hell. The Reform side is accused of spending more time splitting hairs over biblical minutia than reaching out to the lost person of the “post-modern” generation and being Jesus’s “hands and feet” in a hurting world. Both sides seem to, at times, border on hatred for each other as they throw out their barbs of “heretic” or ‘Pharisee” at the other. And even when the intensity of the debate isn’t as hot, there still seems to be an attitude of “you’re for us or against us” coming from each camp.

So I found myself reading more, listening more, and studying more—trying to figure out why my friends had suddenly decided that “mere Christianity” wasn’t enough anymore. And I was trying to find out where I should fit in within this controversy. That led me to write an email to one of my friends and mentors—Ray M.—which I’ll share tomorrow along with his response.