Dropping Swords

Whose party is it anyway?

2008-05-09T09:44:00.004-05:00

Now that graduation season is upon us, I've been thinking....really thinking.....(the exaggerated number of periods indicates serious thinking)..............................................thinking about the way we do parties and celebrations in America....and I have a few thoughts to share. (...)

Let's see...what are the most important events/celebrations that a person might experience in his/her life?

Birth? Certainly.

The repeated numbers of graduations and school promotions you experience? Yeah.

Your wedding? Most definitely.

Death? Without question.

Now think about this: out of all of those major events that give you permission to be the center of attention for just a while--when the whole world (or at least that part of the world that knows you) gives their assent to take time to gather around your life and achievement--how many of those parties are your responsibility to plan? Answer: All but one!! This realization was a shock to me.

The only major event out of those listed where you have no responsibility whatsoever to plan for your guests is your birth. All you have to do is just show up. Your mom does the vast majority of the work. Your dad tries to look like he's helping by bringing the video camera. Even the doctor tries to look important, but most of the time, just collects a huge fee that makes it look like he/she did more than he/she really did (with notable exceptions in cases with birth complications). And then there's the relatives that would really prefer not to be present in the room when the actual event takes place, but would rather just plaster their faces against the glass of the nursery and talk about which parent you look more like.

Graduation....Now, whether it's from high school, college, or grad school, let's face it...a graduation party is just another thing for you to have to plan on top of finishing finals, papers, all of the crazy bureaucratic paper work that is required to graduate from most instiutions, and the logistics of the actual graduation day. Unless you have some very nice relatives and/or friends to plan the party for you, the actual throwing of the party seems like it is more for those who come than for you...even though the actual event that occasioned the party is your graduation.

Then there's the Big Cahuna...your wedding day. In America, the planning and execution of a wedding that usually makes everyone afterwards say, "Wow, what a big, beautiful wedding!" can feel like a nightmare that is finally over when you jump in the limo with your new spouse while picking rice or flower petals out of your hair. Once again, like the graduation, the event is supposed to be for you, but it is almost always through you in such a way that you might begin to wonder at some point who it is really for in the first place. This is why it helps to have relatives and friends so gifted at helping you (like my wife and I had) that the actual wedding day can allow you to focus your attention where it belongs.

("Thanks, mom and dad Tippin.")

But there's still one last event that people come for....your death. But as guests to all of these events, we still figured out a way to make sure that you didn't get out of your responsibility to plan it all for us, just because you've passed on to the next life. Nope. We invented the will. And while we appreciate the fact that you told us in your will where and to whom your possessions will go, we're all also hoping that you told us what songs to play at the funeral, what kinds of flowers you like best, where you would like us to bury you, and what material you want included (or excluded) from the eulogy. It might be your funeral, but you're still planning it, buster!

The Seasonal Gospel

2008-04-01T10:12:00.005-05:00

Yeah, okay. I know, I know. And I have to say that I appreciate that no one has left formal, written complaints, even though you would be more than justified in doing so. I haven't posted for about six weeks. Sorry.

But here we go again.

Although winter seems to be holding on longer in Kansas than everyone wants (I think it may have reached almost freezing last night), the first day of spring was over a week ago and the temperatures are starting to show it, once in a while.

I love how the gospel is reflected in God's creation. I think the seasons are typical of that. In the fall, things start to decay, showing their age and representing the effects that sin and decay take on all of us over time. Even believers are not instantaneously delivered from the effects of the Fall at the moment of saving faith. We still age. We still suffer. We still die. We are still under the curse, waiting for the fullness of salvation to come.

In the winter, everything is dead. It represents where humanity, and the creation humans were created to rule, end up as a result of rebelling and losing our relationship with God. It is the time of death; and apart from the gracious act of an outside force, everything would stay dead. Like Lewis's Narnia, it would be a place where it is "always winter and never Christmas." In other words, it would be a place where hope does not exist--which will be the truly agonizing and torturous part of hell, I think. Whatever the physical pain and loneliness will be, above all other forms of suffering it will be the Eternal Winter--the place where "January" is the name of every month in the calendar, not just of this year, but of all the years to come. No hope. Never Christmas.

But then, the seasons of the year scream out to us that there is hope.

(Don't worry. I don't think that the seasons themselves are a part of special revelation. No one can look at the seasons alone and understand Who Christ is, what He did, and what He will do. But God has so created the world that creation augments His special revelation. It whispers to us what the written Word, proclaimed and lived out by the Church, screams at us).

Spring comes. January does not last forever. Death does not ultimately win. April and May come with new life!!

It is really great, I think, that Good Friday and Easter fall during springtime in this northern hemisphere of ours. We have the added benefit of celebrating New Life because of our union with Christ and His resurrection at the same time that leaves are returning on the trees, grass is turning greener, and flowers are beginning to come up again. Hope has found a resting place. It is rekindled. But harvest has yet to come. It is still a time of planting, not reaping. It is still a time when unexpected freezes can come and ruin crops. It is a time when severe wind, hail, floods, and tornadoes can destroy.

This is where we live now. We live in an age of "already, but not yet." As Martin Luther said, "Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time" (taken from Modern Reformation magazine, March/April 2008, vol. 17, no. 2, page 9). We live in an age where our hope has been proclaimed and we have been given the Spirit as a promise of the coming harvest.

But we are still not living in that harvest yet. We are to be obedient planters and gardeners, under the guidance and empowerment of the Chief Vine-dresser through His Son. But we will taste those freezes and those floods. We will know what it is to sow the same patch of barren ground for long years, hoping for a bountiful crop, when only a few shoots seem to come up from our labors. But you never know what the harvest will bring. You never know how much fruit will come until summer arrives.

I'm still waiting for summer. So are you. Don't' believe those who want to say that it is here. Don't listen to those who say that it is time to come in from the fields and enjoy hot-dogs, watermelon and swimming pools. It's not that time, yet. Trust me. When it is, you will know.

Everyone will know.

A Christian Theology of the Body

2008-02-14T14:45:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite contemporary theologians is N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, Enlgand and fourth highest bishop in the Anglican Church. He is a prolific writer and has written several books. I would highly recommend The Resurrection of the Son of God and his more popular level book, Simply Christian.

I have posted here a link to a Time magazine interview where the Time writer asks Wright several questions about his theology on the importance of the human body in Scripture. Wright, I believe, corrects a lot of wrong thinking that passes for orthodoxy in Christian circles. The link is:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1710844,00.html

This link was recommended reading to me from my oldest, younger brother, Stephen. He sent me the link on Facebook and then asked me what I thought about it. Here are my thoughts below. After reading them, I would invite thoughts of your own on Wright's interview or on my own comments.

"Stephen,

"Yeah, everything Wright said is exactly what we are supposed to believe. It is the teaching of the Bible, orthodox creeds of the early, medieval, and Reformation churches, and should be what we hold to today.

"In fact, you see doubt casted on [Wright's view] of the [End Times and our resurrection] as early as the New Testament itself, I believe. This is why the Apostle John wrote so vehemently in his First Epistle that those who are true Christians are those that confess that Jesus Christ came "in the flesh," that is, as a true human being. He was writing this to his early church community because there were false teachers among them confusing them about the human nature of Christ, teaching instead that Christ was not fully human, or only appeared to be human, like a ghost. But John understood that confessing the full, physical humanity of Christ was absolutely essential for our own salvation (Christ had to identify with those He saved) and for future, bodily resurrection.

"You see, our belief in Christ's full humanity and our value of human physicality are linked. God loves bodies so much that He created them. He loves bodies so much that He took one on Himself. He loves bodies so much that He raised Christ's body (which He still has today) as a "downpayment," or "promissory note" that He will resurrect all bodies some day in the future...some for judgment, and some destined for glory.

"But in our day, we have so de-valued the body (much as the Gnostic heretics of the second century that Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen wrote against), that we think the most important thing we have to give to the world is information. "If we can just tell them the message, give them information about the gospel, then we are doing the only important thing that matters in Christian missions."

"But a true Christian theology means that we don't just want to get a rational, ethereal, verbal message into the minds of people. We care about their bodies as well. This is why for centuries the Church has cared about founding hospitals, clinics, food banks, and education that can help people find gainful employment. The gospel is not just for our souls, a message for our minds. It also affects our bodies. It affects the way we are to treat the bodies of others now (note that Paul says our BODIES are temples of the Holy Spirit--1 Cor 3 and 6), and it affects the state of our bodies later when Christ returns.

"Modernism, the philosophical beliefs arising out of the European Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th centuries, is the main culprit as to why we so de-emphasize and often teach heresy regarding the human body, in my estimation. Modernism told us a whole lot of things that were wrong (and some things that were right, as well). But one of those wrong things was to emphasize rational thought and the human mind as the ultimate source of knowledge, the ultimate arbiter of all truth claims, and our ultimate hope for human better-ment and salvation (hope in science, especially). With such a radical, extreme emphasis on human rationality and thinking, it is no wonder that Western man has come to exalt the mind to such an extent that we often view the body as just a temporary "earth-suit" that we will one day escape. (I have actually heard our bodies referred to as "earth-suits" by SCOPE ministries teachings).

"In my opinion--a point that Wright does not touch on much--it is the uncritical wedding of modern thinking and sub-Christian theology that has allowed so many in Christian circles to develop such unbiblical thinking about the body, soul, salvation, and the End Times.

"I look forward to talking to you more about it this weekend, if you want.

"Love ya,
Your brother."

Going for the Under-dog and Trash Talkin'

2008-02-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

Well, one of the best football games of the year was saved for last (especially if you were a Giants fan). I normally do not cheer for the Giants during the regular season, but I was definitely going for them against the "invincible" Patriots on Sunday. So were a lot of other people.

In fact, everyone at our youth group Super Bowl party this last Sunday was a Giants fan, except for two students. And that was the case, despite the fact that only one of our students is actually from New York. What is it about this year's match up that could cause so many central Kansans to all of a sudden cheer for a bunch of "yankees"? What is it about the Super Bowl this year that brought about such an environment this last Sunday so that well over a dozen "instant-made" Giants fans (just add water) in our group stood on their feet for the last three minutes of play-clock, hoping against the odds that Eli Manning could lead his team to victory?

Well, I certainly don't want to pretend to know the minds of all the screaming fans, but I have thought about one issue that might be a cause of Giant-ism in our youth group. I wonder if so many of us cheered for NY because of the younger generation's disdain for so-called "invincibility?" In other words, it seems to me that the younger generation is instantly skeptical and instantly opposed to any so-called claim to invincibility or perfection. We don't like it when someone claims to be without fault, pretends to have it all together, masquerades as unbeatable, wearing armor reportedly without chinks. This generation hates pride. It hates the idea of someone having a status that places them far above the rest of us.

You might think that this characterizes everyone's feelings. Maybe. But I think the younger generation is even more against pretended perfection than generations before us. For the Super Bowl, that translated into many Mid-Westerners going for New York!! I know I was. I would love to hear any more thoughts on this one.

And that brings up another topic...trash-talkin'. Man, I heard some good trash-talkin' this last Sunday...especially between the many Giants fans and the two Patriots fans at our party. I heard Tom Brady called a "pretty-boy" about three dozen times. I heard the Patriots called a bunch of "cheaters" about fifteen times. I heard Eli Manning called "weak" and "incapable" of leading his team to victory. Someone told Eli Manning that his grandmother could have made a better pass than the "wounded duck" thrown by Manning to a wide-open receiver that dropped dead to the ground. I myself threatened to wrestle both Patriots fans to the ground and serve them a bowl full of pain if the Patriots scored one more time.

Gladly, I was able to do that. It felt good.

So, here is the assignment. Let me know of any good trash talkin' you heard this last weekend or during the exciting football season that just ended on Sunday. I could use some more ammo for next year.

A Shout-Out to Student Wrestlers

2008-01-25T09:45:00.000-06:00

Last night, my wife and I were treated to our first wrestling match of all time. It was quite an experience.

We watched Hesston High School take on Remington and Southeast Saline High Schools. The wrestlers we especially came to watch were high school youth group members Travis and Clint Janzen and Shawn Moffett. They were awesome.

This man is not Travis, Clint, or Shawn.

He does remind me of our pastor, however.

There were no pile-drivers. No men jumping twenty feet into the air off of flimsy ropes and then pretending to land with all of their force on top of their overly muscular opponent. No one smashed anyone else over the head with a chair. It was just good, ole' fashion "wrastlin'." The Greek way, baby!! (except the guys we watched were wearing clothes....the Greeks and Romans didn't. Good improvment on our part, I think).

Let me tell you: wrestling is tough work!! It hurt just to watch those guys go at it for three, two-minute periods. It takes incredible strength, technique, strategy, and patience to wrestle well. And it's not all about who is the strongest. Sometimes, it's a lot more about endurance and waiting patiently for your opponent to make a mistake that you are able to exploit.

Despite the incredible personal nature of the competition, the students from all three schools showed great sportsmanship and kindness to one another, even though one guy had just finished physically dominating the other. That was the best part, for me: watching the guy who technically lost show a humble, undiminished, and congratulatory spirit towards the winner, whose unrelenting body had just been used to smash him against the mat only seconds before. It takes grace to have such an attitude.

All three of our wrestling men were very good at what they did. The Janzen brothers have been wrestling since first grade and kindegarten. Shawn just started last year, but showed incredible skill despite his short career. It was enjoyable for Ellen and I just to watch one of the oldest sports in the world being played so well. It was intense and fun.

I wanted to throw out a public "great job, guys" to these three students who pursue a sport that largely goes unnoticed in our culture. In their honor, I want to request my own plastic Travis, Clint, and Shawn wrestling action figures modeled after those shown below. If anyone reading this knows how to make them, call me. Let's git 'er done.

I'm not sure why these guys are holding hands. Kind of weird. But I like their boots.

A Great Ministry Tool, or Just a Great Excuse?

2008-01-17T18:00:00.000-06:00

Alrighty. I've been silent for long enough, on this one. Most of you know, anyway. So it's time to just let it out.....Here goes....

A little over two weeks ago, I bought a Playstation 3.

There. I said it. (Or wrote it, I guess).

My sweet-dog PS3, baby!!

Now, there are three types of people in this world. First, there are those that think that all video-game playing is a complete waste of time. I've known such people. They're usually very successful and disciplined. They usually get up before people living in other time zones and read three different newspapers before their first cup of coffee, which they drink just for the taste, because caffeine is not needed for them to operate at any time, in any place. They sit at the head of their companies, own large houses, fancy cars, and take vacations for the purpose of seeing other parts of the world they might be interested in buying.

Okay. I lied. I don't know any such people. But I bet such a person doesn't play video games...(probably because he knows I could bring the spank machine in a game of NCAA College Football 2008 on my new Sony PS3).

The second kind of person is a type of person I really have known. They live for one reason, and one reason only...the complete domination of all cyber-space and virtual reality by means of the fictitious character they have spent weeks of play-time constructing on their favorite video game platform. I have literally known guys who have spent thousands (thousands!!) of dollars to attend Grace University (my alma mater, a private Christian school in Omaha, NE) and then failed to even attend most of their classes because they just had to know whether or not they could push buttons fast enough to get their medieval warlord into the dark castle of doom before lunch. I kid you not. I have known a few such college men who had to leave the school because the evil demons of the video game console had replaced their brains with a cool-looking controller (but not a controller as cool as my new SixAxis Bluetooth Wireless controller for my new Sony PS3...suckers).

Then there is the third type of person. I'm not as as successful or robotic as the first type of person. And I graduated Grace University without actually playing a video game, believe it or not. So you know that I can't be one of the first two types.

But I might be of the Third Kind. The Third Kind is the kind who takes a really long time before he even purchases a video game console (my new Sony PS3 is the first console I've ever owned). Deep in his heart, he's always wanted one, but has been too embarrassed to admit it. He's never wanted one badly enough to get a paper route in order to save up, but doesn't mind blowing all of his Christmas money on it.

And here's the kicker. The Third Kind rationalizes the purchase of such a machine with an idea that rings with so much truth that it might actually be true. Here's the idea: "A new video game console could be used to bring more students over. When those students come over, they will be ushered to a new dimension of fun. In this new dimension, they will also have plenty of opportunities to have fun with other people, including their rad, bad, youth pastor."

You know what? That idea is true. It's already proven true for me.

But is that why I really bought the machine? I don't know. I'm not sure I ever will.

But whether or not my new Sony PS3 is a great ministry tool or whether or not I used that logic as a great excuse, you are always invited over for a good time.

Let the games begin...(in moderation, of course).

This one took a while

2008-01-15T18:11:00.000-06:00

For this week, I want to refer everyone to a post that I began thinking about back in mid-December, before Christmas. It has taken a while for me to finish, but I wanted to make sure that my sources were right. The post is entitled "Meditations of an Ex-Protester Protesting Evangelical Protester-ism."

The post is not directed towards any one person or group of people beyond those represented by the poll numbers on plugginonline's website.

I hope it is challenging and encouraging for you. Please feel free to voice your ideas, even if they contradict mine. That's partly what a blog is for!!

in our Lord,
John Buerger

Meditations of an Ex-Protester Protesting Evangelical Protester-ism

2008-01-15T17:48:00.000-06:00

Wow. What a dorky title. For some people it will come across as too academic. For others it will look oxy-moronic, since I have referred to myself as an "ex-protester" but have told you up front that I am, in fact, protesting by writing this blog post. For others still, it just sounds dorky. I think I'm in the latter category, myself.

("Mama Schrag, please feel free to let me know how dorky it is.")

Before I explain what this blog post is about, let me quickly note what it is not about. First of all, this is not a "coming out" post, admitting to all readers that I am a liberal. To think so is just not true. I am not theologically liberal nor do I agree with everything on the liberal political platform either (although they sometimes have some good points to make).

This post is also not about evangelical Protestantism, as a distinctive, historical movement within Christianity. Much has been said, could be said, and, hopefully, will continue to be said about how much of what passes for contemporary evangelical thinking is far from the theology of the Protestant Reformation. But this post is not specifically about that either (although some may find some indirect correlations). Maybe another day.

No. This post is about "Protester-ism," a word that I either made up or heard someone else use and thought was cool enough to steal. I'm not sure which, yet. I have thought about trying to define this word, but have chosen not to. Hopefully you will get the picture of what it is after you read the rest of the post. If not, please post a comment.

As a youth pastor, I believe that part of my job is to keep up on what is going on in culture. This is accomplished in a lot of ways. One of those ways is reading movie reviews written by Christians and non-Christians. One site that I look at occasionally is http://www.pluggedinonline.org/, a site maintained by Focus on the Family for the purpose of reviewing movies, books, TV shows, and other media.

On December 17, 2007, I logged on to that site and found that the folks at Focus on the Family had taken a poll of their readership. The poll sought to measure the evangelical community's response to the recent movie, "The Golden Compass," based on the book by Philip Pullman. Much of the evangelical community has been up in arms lately (especially Focus on the Family) over this book because of its purported anti-God theme. Evidently, the main characters in the story are led to believe that the best course of action at the end of the movie is "to kill God." (To me, the idea of killing God is hardly offensive, simply because of how non-sensical it sounds. It's like calling a square a circle, or saying that two plus two equals seven. I think that it is an idea so absurd that we should not choose to dignify it with anger). (For more, read Focus on the Family's review of this movie at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0003516.cfm, accessed last on January 15, 2008).

The poll that pluggedinonline took read like this:

Your family's approach to "The Golden Compass:"

We will avoid it because of its messages: 70%

We will avoid it because we're not interested: 14%

We'll see it and discuss its messages: 8%

We'll see it; it's just another fantasy movie: 8%

Now, the results of that poll bother me. Let me tell you why. This poll bothers me, not because I think every Christian has a responsibility to see "The Golden Compass." I think that the 14% who don't want to see it simply because they're not interested in the genre or the story-line are perfectly justified in choosing not to spend their money to see the movie, just as any one of us may not choose to pay to see an opera, a hockey game, or some other form of entertainment that fails to capture our interest. The numbers that bother me in this poll are the 8% at the very bottom and especially the 70% at the top.

The 8% at the bottom bother me because they fail to take into account the fact that every movie, book, piece of music, and TV show has some kind of a point. These forms of media are the dominant art-forms of our day and art forms communicate messages....always. Even if your piece of art is going out of the way to not communicate a clear message, that, in itself, is a message. You're simply communicating that you're tired of making serious points with your art and that pure entertainment is somehow more important at the moment. Like it or not, that is a serious message that carries serious implications. Communication always happens--sometimes even by those trying not to communicate at all. We need to get used to it. We need to start engaging our culture by learning how to interpret their messages. We need to stop leaving it to our pastor or favorite Christian author. We need to learn to do it ourselves, as well. It's not just the job of Christian leaders and theologians to look at cultural messages through a biblical grid. It is the job of Christians. We will never evangelize or minister to a culture we refuse to talk to.

The 70% of the poll-takers at the top bothered me the most. They bother me for the same reason as the 8% mentioned above, only their position has even greater weaknesses, in my opinion. These weaknesses go far deeper than the decision to watch "The Golden Compass." In all actuality, I don't really care who sees the movie and who doesn't. I am much more concerned with the heart-attitudes and the wrong-headed theology that is represented by the "Evangelical Protester-ism" of the 70%.

The thinking of the 70% is that the best way to change culture (including the film industry, in this instance) is to protest. If we just create another wall, another strong tower in our own evangelical sub-culture, and we all climb to the top of that wall, look down on those bad film makers and tell them that they are naughty, we will have done our Christian duty. And what better way to tell them that they are naughty than to keep from giving them our money? In fact, if we go and see the movie, and give them our money, doesn't that make us naughty?

One problem with this thinking and strategy is that we don't (and really, can't) apply it across the board. How many Christians will keep from buying a movie ticket to a film that they wish to protest but will turn around and spend a lot more money at Gap, Target, Wal-Mart, JC Penny's, and a whole host of other franchises that support all kinds of social agendas with which we disagree? If I buy some gas at Chevron, take out a loan at Bank of America, buy a hamburger at Sonic, or sell something on eBay, does that mean that I support these companies and their decision to support Planned Parenthood? (see http://www.fightpp.org/ for more; accessed on January 15, 2008). I don' think so. I think it just means that I want a hamburger or that I want a low-interest loan on my house.

And I'm pretty sure that Sonic, although feeding me a hamburger and keeping me alive another day, doesn't think that they're actively supporting a pro-life youth pastor, either.

Unless we're all willing to be Amish (and I'm not), we're probably going to have to realize that our money just has to go to people that don't look at the world the way we do. No where is this more obvious than paying our taxes to our secular government. But...wait...didn't Paul tell me to pay taxes? Yeah. He did (Rom. 13:1-5).

Another problem represented by the thinking of the 70% is the belief that we are somehow doing our Christian duty by protesting. Why are we surprised when a reportedly agnostic person, like Philip Pullman, declares that he hates Christianity? Do we really not believe our Bibles? Christ and His disciples told us over and over again that the world will hate us, because it hated Christ first (Matt. 10:22; 24:9; Mark 13:13; Luke 21:17; John 7:7; 15:18; 17:14).

The real problem is not that the world hates us. The real problem is that we hate them. When we tell them that we are not willing to listen to their ideas, that we are not interested in engaging them in conversation, that we are not willing to be their friends in any capacity, and that we really are only willing to love people who are already like us and who live in our little evangelical sub-cultures, we are sending the world a message that sounds much more like hate than Christian love. When we turn to "Evangelical Protester-ism" as our chosen method of engaging our culture, we have chosen a method that poorly represents the core of our faith.

Yes, as Focus on the Family points out, Pullman hates C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia." Why? I don't know for sure. I've never spoken to Pullman, myself. Maybe he hates talking Lions. Maybe he hates trees that can move and maybe he really likes winter instead of spring. Or maybe he really doesn't like the message of the Gospel.

But I really wonder if he has truly been given the opportunity to hate the Gospel. I say this because the message he hears through the evangelical community that refuses to have anything to do with his book or his movie is definitely not the message of the Gospel. Call that message whatever you want. But we don't dare call it the Gospel. Maybe Pullman does hate evangelicals. But I doubt he hates us for the same reason that Christ said the world will hate us. And that should shame us.

Don't get me wrong. I really don't care whether you go see the movie or not. This blog really isn't about "The Golden Compass." If you were led to think it was, up to this point, I apologize. I haven't communicated clearly, then. What I care about is that we learn to listen to the culture. Not because I think they have found a way to God or because their sources of truth are better, more "edgy," more hip, or more accurate than the eternal, God-breathed words of Scripture. I think we should learn to listen to them for the same reason anyone decides to listen to someone else. We should listen to them because it is how you show love. We should listen to them so that when we engage their ideas in conversation or debate, we actually know what we're talking about.

And if we are scared that watching "The Golden Compass" or an episode of Oprah will ship-wreck our faith and make us want to kill God, then we really need to question whether we are Christians in the first place....or at least whether the pastors we listen to and the books we read are written by Christian leaders who love us enough to help us understand our faith and take us deeper in our relationships with Christ instead of just selling us pop-psychology, self-help for a price.

Have I seen "The Golden Compass"? No. No I haven't.

But if you have, I would love to hear your impressions and interpretations of it.

More on protesting "Evangelical Protester-ism" later....

It's Already Happening....

2008-01-08T11:19:00.000-06:00

Well my friends, it begins. I really thought we might have a couple or three months yet, but we don't. The terror from the skies has already come upon many in the United States in the first of week of January, 2008.

The Midwest and Ohio River Valley have found themselves experiencing severe weather, the likes of which are normally reserved for early and mid-spring. Unseasonably record-breaking temperatures in the sixties and seventies in the upper-Midwest brought about the right atmospheric conditions for large hail, damagaing winds and tornadoes.

As of now, 32 or 33 tornadoes were reported, most of them occurring in Missouri and Wisconsin. Such widespread tornadic activity is certainly considered an official "outbreak." Additionally, large hail the size of golf-balls also accompanied the squall lines moving through these states.

The worst tornadoes were in Missouri and it sounds as if the most intense were F-2s or maybe weak F-3s (winds from 115mph to 160mph). Two deaths were reported in a trailer home park near Monett, MO. A cellular phone picture of this tornado is below.

It will be interesting to see if such an early severe weather outbreak is an indication of a really active tornado season. For those of us that live in tornado-prone areas (hypothetically, take the small town of Hesston, KS for example) let us hope not.

That's it, for now.

I've been needing to clean out my basement for a while. It's really dirty down there!!

Self-Centered Godliness

2008-01-08T10:36:00.000-06:00

I am currently reading a great book by the well-known contemporary theologian, J.I. Packer (probably best known for his book Knowing God. The book I am reading is entitled Keep in Step with the Spirit, which is about how Christians should think, believe, and act in accordance with biblical teaching regarding the Person of the Holy Spirit. It is excellent and I would highly recommend it to anyone, clergy or lay-person alike.

It is theological, but understandable and practical as well. Theology is always practical, something we often forget (sometimes because we would rather be intellectually lazy and pretend that the important things are "easy" and "simple"). But gifted theologians like Packer don't let us forget.

I have printed a particularly convicting passage from his book below.

"Self Centered Godliness. Modern Christians tend to make
satisfaction their religion. We show much more concern for self-fulfillment than for pleasing God. Typical of Christianity today, at any rate in the English-speaking world, is its massive rash of how-to books for believers, directing us to more successful relationships, more joy in sex, becoming
more of a person, realizing our possibilities, getting more excitement each day, reducing our weight, improving our diet, managing our money, licking our families into happier shape, and what not.

"For people whose prime passion is to glorify God, these are doubtless legitimate concerns; but the how-to books regularly explore them in a self-absorbed way that treats our enjoyment of life rather than the glory of God
as the center of interest. Granted, they spread a thin layer of Bible teaching over the mixture of popular psychology and common sense they offer, but their overall approach clearly reflects the narcissism--"selfism" or "me-ism" as it is sometimes called--that is the way of the world in the modern West.

"Now self-absorption, however religious in its cast of mind, is the opposite of holiness. Holiness means godliness, and godliness is rooted in God-centeredness, and those who think of God as existing for their benefit rather than of themselves as existing for his praise do not qualify as holy men and women. Their mind-set has to be described in very different terms. It is an ungodly sort of godliness that has self at its center" (taken from Keep in Step with the Spirit, pg. 82).

May the Lord enable us to do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).

The Confessions of a Blogging Sinner

2008-01-03T15:01:00.000-06:00

Okay. The shame has become too great. The scroll of people who have threatened to black-list my blog has become too long. All because I have long violated the one and only Cardinal Rule of Blogging:

"Thou shalt here and forevermore maintaineth thine blog by making frequent posts for thine readers."

It all began with the gentle urgings of a good friend and fellow blogger, Kayla Schrag, who reminded me almost three weeks ago that it had been about a month since the appearance of my last blog. She said it with kindness, but undaunted solemnity.

But a few days ago, a certain pastor who lives and ministers in our area (who shall remain nameless, but whose name rhymes with "Craig Roams") confronted me near my office and said, "John, did you know that you have a blog?"

Punk.

Then, to make matters worse, my dear sweet mammy told me over the New Years weekend that she sorely missed reading my blog. Of course, such a comment could only affect the kind of heart-felt remorse that any of us feel when our dear sweet mammies bring any kind of embarrassment to our attention. For some of us, it might be picking our nose in public. For others, it might be the length of time we have allowed to pass by since our last shower. But for me, it was the blatant violation of the Cardinal Rule of Blogging (see aforementioned rule above).

And now the final straw has been placed upon the proverbial camel's humped back. A wonderful woman and deacon's wife in our church, who kindly refers to herself as Grandma Vonnie, has actually left a public post on my blog calling me out for the heinous crime I have committed against the online, virtual community.

I have thus endeavored to publicly write out my confession of web-based shortcomings along with a commitment of repentance:

"I, John Buerger, have taken my readership for granted for far too long. I have advertised my blog on Facebook without delivering on the implied promise of frequent posts. I have read the blogs of others and left comments without giving them a post to comment on in return.

"I have stayed up for long hours in my home, watching movies, TV shows, playing games, reading books, performing house-hold chores, talking to friends who live in other states on the telephone, staying at the bedside of those who are sick and down-trodden, fighting for the rights of all those who live in Hesston, staying up long nights in order to defend the weak against the criminals and evil-doers who relentlessly stalk our streets, while all along I could have been writing blogs for those to whom it is due.

"I have taken evil delight, cackling with a laughter only heard from villains on old Disney movies, whenever I have thought of those poor souls who are working so hard to keep their eyes open and their sleep-starven bodies awake while linking on to the Worldwide Web just one more time before the sun comes up in order to see whether or not John Buerger has written another blog post.

"From all of these things, I heretofore repent and promise that blogs shall once again roll down like the spring-time rains of Hesston. Posts shall rise up like Mt. Hesston's snowy peak in the center of King Park.

"So it is written. So it shall be done."

"Thank You, Howard Wohlgemuth, for Looking the Other Way."

2007-11-19T12:40:00.000-06:00

(Warning: This post contains graphic and gross content. If you are squeamish, have a weak constiution, or adore Martha Stewart, then you would be ill-advised to continue reading).

I just suffered a miserable and embarrassing experience that was only spared more embarrassment by the industrious discipline of Howard Wohlgemuth. No pictures accompany this post...and for that, you should be glad.

I was at the church office today, on Main Street. I decided that I wanted to spend some time in prayer and that I would do it while enjoying this wonderful, beautiful, and unseasonably warm day that our Creator has provided. I'm also almost over a cold...but not quite yet, it seems.

Anyway, on the way back from a fairly long walk up to the north part of town, my nose starts to run like Carl Lewis. I had no tissues. I had no handkerchiefs (indeed, I never have those because the very thought of them is quite disgusting to me). There were no convenience stores nearby with a helpful men's room. In short, I was well over a mile from the office with plenty of neighborhoods filled with quaint, Hesston homes to traverse before reaching the safety of a Kleenex.

Of course, my nose cared about none of this. It continued its marathon run and the river had no place to go except in the obvious direction of the earth's gravitational pull. I used leaves. I made friends with several trees and used them to deposit what I could (don't ask how).

I have seen men (usually manly men that are playing professional football or doing construction in below-freezing temperatures) just lean over slightly, cover one nostril, and blow the other out onto the ground. But I had no such recourse. Every time I gathered myself to do such a deed, a sweet little mother on an afternoon run, pushing a stroller with a child cooing softly would be jogging by on the opposite side of the road.

The truly amazing thing is that I almost made it back to the office at a brisk pace without being seen in my most compromising state.

Almost.

A most unfortunate gentleman on a bike happened to be coming by on his way to the bank. He rode by. Looked at me. I waved.

He didn't wave back.

That was embarrassing enough. But just as I was about to cross the perilous street to the safety of the beloved "Backside" (for those that don't know, that's what we call the youth room which is on the backside of the church office--almost in danger of being dubbed "Chris and Julie's Backside" in honor of the great youth sponsors, a name which was rejected for obvious reasons [the congregational vote was close, I am told]), Howard Wohlgemuth pulled up into a parking spot in his powerful, red truck.

That was when I thought I was doomed. For Bike Guy to see my face in its present condition was bad enough. For someone I knew to see me and to want to say "hi" would be quite disasterous. Such a meeting could have only led Howard to two possible conclusions. First, "our new youth pastor has no shame." Second, "our new youth pastor has a numb face and the poor shlub needs to see the doctor right away."

I slowly crept up to hide behind a blue truck parked on the street. And then Howard did the best thing he could have done at that moment. That wonderful man slid open the side-door to his van and walked inside his flower shop to pick up some botanical arrangements for delivery.

He did it for me.

I ran out from behind the truck. I ran into the church office. I ran into the bathroom and my nose, my face, and my self-image found healing from a roll of delightful toilet paper.

Thank you, Howard Wohlgemuth. Thank you for looking the other way.

A World War 2 "Kick"

2007-11-13T09:55:00.000-06:00

Yep. It's happening. I'm officially on a World War 2 kick (hereafter to be referred to simply as "the kick"). I've been on such a "kick" before, but not this bad. I think what makes this current "kick" so potent is the time and resources I have to really study what happened in our world from 1933-1945--something I have not had during the last four years of seminary.

(I also think Ken Burns' series entitled "The War" on PBS also got me going...not to mention the new WW2 strategy game I've been playing lately).

Anyway, the latest chapter in my "kick" was the purchase of an illustrated book called The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by Chris Bishop and David Jordan. It is a fairly in-depth account of every major event involving the Nazis from 1933-45. It is a large, fascinating book with many pictures and over 100 maps. I did a double-take when I looked at the price-tag in Borders yesterday...only eight bucks on sale! I had some left-over money on an old Borders gift card so I bought it...

And a latte.

As I read this book, I am so fascinated by the people who lived during that time...for a variety of reasons. First of all, I am quite fascinated that an entire nation of people could ever follow a short, really loud guy whose native language ensures that every other word will result in large amounts of saliva being flung in a ninety degree arc in front of him. Maybe they liked the mustache.

Name: Adolf Hitler. Interests: I like small, furry animals; lazy days by the beech; Sunday afternoon drives in a Panther tank; taking trips to places I have conquered; and mustaches that look I like I forgot to wipe my upper lip after drinking some chocolate milk. If interested: Please contact Herr von Ribbentropp or Hess. If you survive the trial based on ridiculous, trumped up charges we like to use to convict people we dislike purely based on their ethnicity, maybe we can go out on a date. I haven't conquered India yet. That might be something fun we could do.

But then I am reminded of the social situation in post-World War 1 Germany. These people were ready to follow anyone who promised to restore their national pride, help them escape from the punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and fix the economy so that a loaf of bread could cost less than $20. This doesn't excuse the incredible atrocities of Nazi Germany or the part that the citizenry had in empowering those atrocities. But it does make me pause and ask the question, "If I had been living in Germany in the 1930s, would I have been caught up in the pageantry, display of world-class power, and the gratifying, unifying feeling of extreme nationalism?" Quite honestly, the answer scares me. I don't think I want to know the answer. I guess I would hope that the Lord would help me run into someone like Dietrich Bonhoeffer in such times as those. I would need someone to help me drop my sword...someone to help me suffer for righteousness. That would be tough. I love my sword and I hate suffering.

Anyway, I have a lot more to say about WW2. Gotta go for now...

Preparing the Heart for Biblical Interpretation

2007-11-06T11:32:00.000-06:00

I have continued to be amazed by the great insight the Lord saw fit to give to the fourth century church father, Augustine of Hippo.

In many modern Sunday school, Bible college, and seminary classes that address rules for biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), students are told the importance of studying the historical and grammatical context of the passage under study. Thus students are encouraged to stock their personal libraries with lexicons, Bible encyclopedias, atlases, Bible histories, commentaries and the like in order to increase one's chances of arriving at the original, intended meaning of the biblical author.

All of this is quite important and should not be neglected. However, I find it interesting that when Augustine addresses the topic of biblical interpretation, he begins with the spiritual condition of the interpreter before addressing the proper methods and tools of interpretation. In his On Christian Doctrine, he establishes the importance of approaching the biblical text with two key spiritual ingredients: fear and piety (Book 2, Section VII).

Augustine understood that interpreters of the biblical text are coming face to face with the very words of God Himself, not just a collection of ancient myths to be read with cold, objective, academic dis-interest, much as we might read Homer or Beowulf. As a result, the responsibility upon the biblical interpreter is quite awesome. He or she must truly desire to interpret the text as Christianly as possible, in order to be a person who is accurately handling the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). This should cause a healthy sense of fear to arise in the heart of the interpreter. Undoubtedly, this thought was in the mind of the apostle James when he wrote, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment" (Jas 3:1).

Secondly, Augustine wrote that the reader of Scripture is to interpret the Bible with piety. By this, he meant to say that the interpreter is to come with a heart of faith, a disposition to believe what the Scripture says instead of an attitude of placing oneself in judgment over the claims of Scripture. Augustine would write elsewhere that we come to Scripture with a heart that says "I must believe in order to understand, not understand so that I can believe." This mantra would be repeated throughout most of medieval Christianity, most notably in the writings of Anselm and Thomas Aquinas.

Scripture is in a place of judgment over the thoughts of human beings, not subject to our fallen reason. Believing this captures the piety mentioned by Augustine. When we fail to recognize this and approach Scripture with another attitude or set of beliefs, we set ourselves up for theological and spiritual failure. The effects of post-Enlightenment rationalism and extreme optimism in human science and reason in modern Europe is a testimony to how an entire culture can be swayed to turn from faith in Scripture and church authority to "empty, deceitful philosophies" that are "according to human traditions" (Col 2:8). Many of the incredibly beautiful cathedrals and basilicas of that continent have been reduced to mere museums, left-over shells giving testimony to a once living organism that traded its faith in God's Word for faith in humanity's "potential."

May God give wisdom to the still remaining modern churches and the emerging post-modern churches of evangelicalism so that we will not place our highest confidence in any other source than God's written Word, which gives testimony to the Incarnate Word.

The Psychology of Idolatry

2007-10-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

Recently on Wednesday nights, I have begun teaching on the subject of idolatry. The subject matter has seemed very appropriate to me--not just because it fits with the over-arching theme of Wednesday night youth group this year (which is how to be in the world, but not of it)--but because I find myself to be an idolater in far too many ways.

The subject of idolatry is a major theme in the Bible, which is obvious to anyone who has even a cursory knowledge of Scripture. In the Old Testament it is treated as the culmination of rebellion, the final destination of the nations of Israel and Judah on their path away from God. Rejecting YHWH and turning to the Baals and Asherah poles is the height of personal and national sin highlighted by the Hebrew prophets. In the prophets and 1-2 Kings idolatry is what "breaks the camel's back," so to speak, and signals that the nation's rebellion against YHWH has reached its full measure, resulting in God's wrath upon His people who are no longer His people.

In Hosea, idolatry is symbolized as an act of spiritual adultery. Israel has cheated on YHWH. In Isaiah, idolatry is portrayed as absurd and non-sensical. Why would people turn from a living God Who had performed such incredible acts of grace on behalf of His people to stones and pieces of wood, representing so-called deities that were really not gods at all?

But in Jeremiah 2:10-13, we get another picture of idolatry. Speaking for YHWH, Jeremiah calls out to the southern nation of Judah (Israel had already been judged and destroyed by this time) and says: "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, in order to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (2:13). In this verse, idolatry is the result of misplaced desires. It is the result of looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places. It is the result of believing that true fulfillment, satisfaction, and the meeting of one's needs will be found somewhere else other than the God Who has proven Himself faithful time and time again.

I found that Jeremiah's metaphor for idolatry truly resonates with me, right now. I have an incredible ability to deceive myself into thinking that the best way to assuage my fatigue is to sit in front of a television, computer game, novel, or some other form of brain passivity instead of finding true rest in the One Who gives true rest. I'm not sure what happens in the interval between a satisfying time of prayer, meditation, Scripture study, or meaningful fellowship with another believer (either in person or through a written work) and the time when I am in need of such things again that causes me to dig another broken cistern instead of returning to the life-giving stream. I have no other word for it than laziness.

The "flesh" is probably a better word. More encompassing. More Pauline, anyway.

I have appreciated the analysis of the psychology of idolatry offered by C.S. Lewis and St. Augustine of the 4th and 5th centuries.

A painting of St. Augustine (354-430) by the Italian painter Vincenzo Foppa in 1465-70.

Concerning our continual journey for pleasure, Augustine wrote that it is not pleasure itself that is bad, but a delight in created things that does not point our enjoyment to the Creator Himself. A delight in the created as an end in itself is idolatry. When this delight results in a greater love, appreciation or awe of the Trinity, then we are properly using the created order for that which it was intended.

Augustine wrote:

"When that which is loved is near, it necessarily brings delight with it also. If you pass on through this delight and have referred it to that goal where you should remain (delight in God), you are using it and may only improperly be said to enjoy it. But if you cling to that delight and remain in it, making it the end of your rejoicing, then you may truly and properly be said to be enjoying it. And this kind of enjoyment should not be indulged except with reference to the Trinity, which is the highest good and is immutable."

--On Christian Doctrine, XXXIII.37

With a similar sentiment, C.S. Lewis said in his sermon entitled "The Weight of Glory":

"...it would seem that Our Lord find our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Lately, my problem has been digging another broken cistern or playing in my mud-puddle and then getting angry when I find, once again, that my true needs are not met. My idolatry does not just affect me. My sin always affects others. Especially my sin of idolatry.

I want to know more of finding a "holiday" in God. I don't think it means just a perpetual state of emotional bliss. I think it is akin to what Paul means in Philippians 3:10 when he writes, "...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death..." This passage reveals that knowing Christ in such a way was the pinnacle of Paul's desires. Paul knew and understood from his theology (and his experience, I believe) that there is such a thing as deep joy and fulfillment to be found in knowing God through Christ that puts our sufferings in a new light. This is the delight I seek.

Lord, help me cast down my idols.

Back in Tornado Alley Again

2007-10-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Every Monday morning at 10:00 in Hesston we hear one of the most dreaded sounds known to man...the eerie cry of tornado sirens. Hesston is a small town, which means that the sirens are placed fairly close together, creating quite a loud noise. While some people might be bothered by this, I'm not. If a giant vacuum from the sky is approaching my town at 2:00 in the morning, I want something loud enough to wake me up.

Moving to Kansas at the end of June this year, reminded me once again of my years growing up in the Big WA (Warr Acres, Oklahoma). Every Spring, at the end of March going to the middle of June, and then again briefly in October, the central plains of the United States earn their nickname as "Tornado Alley." Of course, technically, I have always lived in Tornado Alley, even after leaving the Big WA for college in Omaha, NE. Tornado Alley is supposed to encompass the Northern Plains and even part of the Mississippi Valley.

And even though all of these states have tornadoes every year, the fact remains that no area of the country grows storms like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. I have lived in all three of these states and I can say that we grow our tornadoes real proud. They're not just the little white ropes that come out of the sky and create a pretty back-drop for a field of golden wheat...although we have plenty of those too. In KS, OK, and TX those kinds of tornadoes are "garden variety"...normal...almost boring for the people who live there.

I'm talking about the tornadoes that make the national, and even international, news. In these three states we grow huge, black and green thunderstorms with tornadoes so evil looking you might think that half of the stuff mentioned in the book of Revelation is coming true right in front of you.

An F-5 tornado that came through my town of Hesston on March 13 of 1990. The house Ellen and I live in got a new roof as a result of this one. Fortunately no one in Hesston was killed, although this tornado did kill two people in other towns.

This F-5 tornado entered Moore, Okla. on May 3rd, 1999. It killed 44 people and destroyed over 6,000 homes. It has the record for recorded wind speeds in a tornado at over 320 mph.

This is a nighttime shot of the EF-5 (F-4, on the old scale) tornado that entered Greensburg, KS on May 4th of 2007. It killed 10 people and destroyed the entire town. The width of this tornado was near 2 miles. Ellen and I bought our house in KS the weekend this tornado occurred, making us ask, "What in the heck are we doing?"

These storms and others (including the huge hail storms we can get) are a reminder of how little control we have. This has been an unexpected difficulty for me, to be honest, in moving to Kansas. I think part of it has to do with living in the little town of Hesston (about 3000 people). I just feel so exposed, all of a sudden, to the power of the weather. Living in a large city gives you a sense of security, although I think it is a false one. But when I can walk three blocks to the west or five blocks to the south and be outside of town in a field, I am confronted with the fact that there is not very much between me and the elements.

Although I grew up around tornadoes my whole life, for some reason I had forgotten how scary just the thought of them can be. I have learned that my only solace comes from knowing that God is in control of these storms and my future. These storms remind me of God's awesome power. But God's awesome love towards me also means that He will use any blessing and any disaster to further His good purpose for my life.

This helps me sleep at night.

Until the sirens go off. Then I scream like a little girl, hide in my basement, and pray even more fervently.

Do I Qualify as a Star Wars Nerd?

2007-10-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

Okay. So I admit it. In the last month I have seen all six episodes of the Star Wars epic and read one Star Wars novel. Does that make me a Star Wars Nerd?

Notice that there is a need to capitalize "Star Wars Nerd" because such a title actually does refer to a certain class of people. I've known some of them. They usually have posters of Darth Vader on their wall, life-size replicas of lightsabers somewhere in their room, and even figurines of prominent Star Wars characters on their shelves.

Darth Vader's confrontation techniques at work.

One guy I used to work with was actually proud enough of his addiction to Star Wars that he had several figurines on his desk at work. As the supportive co-workers that we were, we used to get to work early and put all of the figurines in crazy positions before he got there. We had Obi-Wan Kenobi doing a Michael Jackson moon-walk, Princess Leia doing some serious kissing with a stormtrooper, and Han Solo doing certain kinds of aerobic exercises that would challenge most Pilates experts. In his desk drawer, this guy also had several Star Wars magazines, complete with full-length articles going into incredible detail on people, places and events that will never exist, yet treating these items as though they were part of the daily news of which all human beings should be aware. The common consensus in our office was that my friend was a hopeless Star Wars Nerd. Indeed, he was a Nerd Supreme.

But what about me? This has become a very important question for me, as of late. Those people who know of my recent viewing of the movies have begun to wonder. People are talking. Phone calls have been made. Investigations have been launched.

All of this has caused me to ask the question, "Why does the part of me that likes Star Wars, like Star Wars?" I frame the question this way because there are several parts of me that do not like Star Wars.

For one thing, I think the acting is deplorable--especially in the first three episodes. Any movie where the dialogue in the most dramatic, romantic scene includes the statement, "Oh Anakin. Hold me. Like you did on Naboo!" cannot expect to win any Oscars. Any director or producers who think that a useless creation like Jar Jar Binx should have been permitted to even be spoken allowed in a writers' meeting, don't deserve any filming awards. And, in general, it is hard to take a movie seriously that has no problem resting the entire weight of a saga on the dialogue and actions of several puppets. It can leave you waiting for Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy to show up for a lightsaber duel.

On second thought, that would be kind of fun to watch. My money is on Miss Piggy. All the way.

However, I have decided that I like Star Wars for the central themes involved. Sure, I like the great graphics and exceptional coreographed fight scenes (especially in the first three episodes). But ultimately, I like the story-line itself. Don't be fooled. The story is not about Luke Skywalker. It's not about Obi-Wan Kenobi. And it's not even about liberal democracy's fight against tyranny.

It is about Anakin Skywalker. It is about redemption.

It is about the rise of a man who had great promise (kind of like like the creation of humanity). It is about the corruption and fall of that Jedi (kind of like the eating of forbidden fruit and the love of the creation that surpassed the love of the Creator, committed by our parents). It is about the consequences of that Jedi's fall for himself and the rest of the galaxy (kind of like the groaning of the creation around us in the form of disasters and the food-chain). And it is about how that man is eventually redeemed from his fall by an unlikely agent--a person descended from his own line (kind of like Christ's descension from Adam).

That's why I like Star Wars.

And I like the lightsaber fights.

What's "Dropping Swords?"

2007-10-05T10:33:00.000-05:00

At first, I really struggled with the title of my blog. In fact, it was the difficulty of trying to come up with a title that began to delay the creation of the blog in the first place...a situation that I started to consider pretty stupid. After thinking for too long on the subject, I decided that my blog wasn't going to be primarily a bunch of news about various events taking place in my life. That did away with such titles as "Buerger Cast" and "The Buerger Times."

I also came to the realization that I didn't want my blog to just be a collection of my theological ramblings, even though theology is a topic that I care more about than anything else. Out with titles like "The Confessions of St. Buerger," "The Purpose-Driven Buerger," "Buergerology," "Velvet Buerger," and "Desiring Buerger" (although I wouldn't mind if that was the title of my wife's blog).

I decided that I didn't want my blog to be about me. But that sounds stupid. How can a blog have nothing to do with its writer? Obviously, it can't. But it can be about what that writer sees as a primary theme in the story God is telling through his life. A theme about transformation. A theme about being less of a fighter and more of healer--less of a talker and more of a listener. A theme about being more concerned with defending grace than being known as someone who is always right. A theme about being someone who doesn't look for opportunities to confront, but only does so when it is necessary; and even then, does it in truth AND love. A theme about being less a person of battle and more a person of peace. In short, I wanted my blog to be about how God is helping me drop my many swords.

And there'll be other stuff too...