“And God said….” These three words pop up a lot in Genesis 1, always to be followed by new realities. Why? Because there is power in God’s voice. Recognizing the creative force of God’s voice, Dietrich Bonhoeffer advised us to be “silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word.”
Cuba: A staff member who has seen much of the world, recently returned from Cuba. Her assessment was that – other than the places Cuba opens to tourists – things are as bad as anything she has seen anywhere. In fact, she said they are worse than the slums of the Majority World.
Three Musts: Over the last year I have become aware that I am not very aware. It’s a horrible feeling. If you have NOT been struck with it, I’ve got bad news. This isn’t just my problem. To see ourselves clearly requires three things many of us lack: 1) an amazement with the Gospel, because the only way we feel safe dropping our guard and seeing ourselves honestly is if we feel safe in God’s love; 2) great friends – i.e., insightful friends who not only see us, but know how to help us see ourselves; 3) Time.
New Words: It’s hard to know whether a word is new or if I’ve just been overlooking it. So I hesitated to list these three as new until I conducted a survey (of two other people) and confirmed my findings. They are: 1) Post-email. My three sons have been post-email for years. I am going to send them this email to let them know there is now a word to describe them!; 2) Snow Plow Parents. First there were “helicopter parents” and then “lawnmower parents”. The new term de jour is “snow plow”. Apparently the path snow-plowers plow is wider than those pushing a lawnmower. BTW, I do think Lythcott-Haims is right when she says they have it wrong. “The point is to prepare the kid for the road, instead of preparing the road for the kid.” 3) Post-vision. Over dinner with some pastors I heard that Millennials are “post-vision”. They do not respond to any calls to “take the hill”. What they rally to is a cause.
On the Night Stand: It’s been a while since I have enjoyed a book as much as I am enjoying two books right now:
- Bird by Bird: Two weeks ago I ran across a blog by J.D. Greear, the new Southern Baptist Conference president, endorsing Steven King’s book on writing. I had read it ten years ago and loved it, but was surprised to see Greear endorse it. When he later put in a good word for Anne Lamott’s book on writing, Bird by Bird, I decided to pick it up. FYI: I know little about Lamott other than a quote I have cited several times — see Quotes Worth Requoting – and the fact that she is a sixty-year old white woman with dreadlocks. I can now add a third thing: I know I love her comments about writing. If you are a writer, I suspect you will as well. (If you are not, no promises).
- Love Your Enemies: Two weeks ago I mentioned a WSJ article on contempt that was written by Arthur Brooks. His new book came out last week. I’m half-way through it. I hope hundreds of thousands read it. BTW, he cites a study claiming that the levels of animosity and contempt between this country’s left and right now equals that found between Palestinians and Jews in the Middle East.
Quotes Worth Requoting:
- Now all my teachers are dead except silence. W.S. Merwin (Pulitzer Prize winning poet who died last week)
- You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. Anne Lamott
Thankful: I’m happy to report: 1) an easy re-entry post-sabbatical; 2) that ExploreGod Chicago went well, and reached the goal of involving over 1,000 churches; 3) Christ Church is making progress towards launching site four.
Higher Education: Most weeks I drop updates about higher ed because they seem so alarmist. But, I am including one this week because I find much of what is happening in “the ivy jungle” to be alarming. I do not think you will enjoy this Youtube video about free speech – or lack thereof. But it is probably good to at least know about it. (By the way, I suspect it has been “selectively edited,” But even if that is true it makes a point).
Closing Prayer: O God, the enlightener of all nations, grant your people to enjoy perpetual peace; and pour into our hearts that radiant light which you did shed into the minds of the wise men; through Jesus Christ our Lord. –Trium Magorum, Gelasian