Liminality

Millennials have been the topic of debate. Blogs, books, newspaper articles and religious institutions have spent time, energy, money and a great deal of worry trying to label the differences between "millennials," "Gen-X'ers," "boomers" and "builders." Experts (and others with access to a computer) debate on defining whether or not millennials will be a positive influence on the world. Some find millennials, like me, a waste of space while others see us as game-changing agents. Some believe we are apathetic, narcissistic and cynical. Others think we hold the key to redefining happiness, simplicity and art. Some are sure we uncaringly tear the tightly woven fabric that is the American dream while others believe we are the generation that builds bridges between racially, sexually, religiously and politically divided worlds. It's unfair to think that millennials hold the future salvation or destruction of the cosmos in ou...

In college, I took an Old Testament course that challenged me to think of Genesis 1 not as a sweet fairy-tale or myth, but rather a very intentional, very nuanced and structured environment that took fully into account the use of the six day metaphor. My professor wasn’t arguing for a six, twenty-four hour day Creation story, but he was expressing his belief that the shape of Genesis 1 (and the intent of the writer) provides six literal days to help author a rhythm to life.  We work six days and rest one. It’s the cycle, the pattern of God, that’s important.  And this got me thinking: What if the structure of Genesis 1 has something to offer how we daily live?  Allow me to explain: First, God   dreams .  God sees in the mind’s eye a world pregnant with possibilities.  Then the  ruakh , the breath of God,   hovers .  God peers out over the deep imagining the potential, calculating the odds and setting in motion the impossible. ...

Death is bigger than us. All of us. And when we brush up against it, we leave wounded—especially when we lose the ones we love (i.e. friends, family, etc). We leave hurt. Over two years ago my wife’s uncle died in a hunting accident.  Full of grief and despair, I didn't remember much from the funeral or the days following.  But looking back on it, I do remember with great clarity the image the pastor gave in the Eulogy, and to this day it still brings me peace. Have you ever heard the phrase, “ angle of repose ”?  It’s an architectural term.  It represents the steepest angle possible for a pile of granular material (i.e. sand, gravel, mulch, etc.) to slope without sliding or collapsing in on itself. That’s Webster’s definition.  Let me say it better. When objects fall, there’s a moment, an angle, a position that occurs in which the object eventually come to rest—including us. If you’re hurt by a loved one’s death and feel like yo...

Baseball is America’s favorite pastime . . . and God’s!  Not really, but maybe.  Who really knows? It’s a game of anticipation, strategy and skill.  It’s a game that can’t be won by one player, but a lot can be decided because of one pitch, one play or one home run.  It’s a game of inches as well as chance.  And it captures the hearts of so many--including Jesus and God! Jesus undoubtedly loves baseball because he’s the“Natural.”  He’s someone with a sense of anticipation, hopefulness and strategy.  He continually demonstrates the skill sets required for both offense and defense.  He has solid eye-hand coordination as well as a coachable spirit.  He trusts his teammates and cheers them on when they boot a routine play.  He’s a leader, quick thinker and mentally strong player.  He knows the rulebook through and through.  He even knows when to burst on the scene with raw quickness and sheer hope.  He’s patient, s...

The wedding party was set.   The three year-old, twin nephews walked down the aisle in their tuxedos ringing bells while their sister follows with flower petals dropping them one by one. But then he enters—the ring bearer.   With ring and pillow in hand, he sprints down the aisle spinning and throwing ‘em in the air!   He catches the pillow, drops it, then chunks it to the minister.   This frees him to run laps around the wedding party slaloming in and out making airplane noises! What seemed to be the perfect wedding was turning into a disaster.   Then out of nowhere the ring bearer’s father swoops in, grabs him and heads for the back door. But you better believe right before they crossed the threshold into outer darkness the boy screamed: “DADDY DON’T BEAT ME!” This would be the worst wedding story ever if it weren’t for Matthew 22.   Do you know this parable? God’s kingdom is like a king hosting a wedding ba...

A couple of years ago, I attended a graduation ceremony at a major university.  The keynote speaker was the chief surgeon at one of the nation’s leading hospitals.  I didn’t know him, but apparently he was a huge deal. As you might expect, he had a laundry list of credentials but wasn’t the most dynamic communicator.  He opened with all the usual pomp and circumstance that comes with graduation speeches. But then he made the switch from flowery, forced graduation rhetoric and started to tell a story.  This story alone goes down in my book as the best/worst graduation speech I’ve ever heard.  It went something like this: When I graduated from medical school, I was dubbed the up-and-comer.  I had opportunities other classmates didn’t have, and I was seen at an early age as a specialist.  I remember the pride I felt for making it to where I was.  I remember the hard work, sacrifice and dedication.  I had earned my place. My first sur...

It seems to me that in order to join a church in today’s religiously charged culture, you have to do more that declare “Jesus is Lord!”  You also have to have an opinion on a litany of questions: MSNBC or Fox News? Republican or Democrat? Liberal or conservative? NPR or Rush Limbaugh? Evangelical or mainstream? Liturgical or contemporary worship? Pro-life or pro-choice? Open and affirming or love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin? Jon Stewart or Glenn Beck? Israel or Palestine? Jimmy Carter Baptist or Southern Baptist? And the list goes on: Heaven-on-Earth or Rapture-from-Earth? Retributive justice or redemptive justice? Social reform or cultural seclusion? Jesus as moral exemplar or sacrificial lamb? Expository or narrative preaching? Infant baptism or believer's baptism? Limited atonement or unconditional grace? I could be wrong, but it appears that to be a member of a church means more about whether we land on the left or right side of th...

On the disciples went into the city to fulfill Jesus’ request. They are clueless as to why Jesus needs a donkey. They are clueless to the fact that they were participating in the in-breaking of God’s kingdom for Jerusalem. They are clueless they were fulfilling prophecy. Clueless Zechariah 9:9 says: Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; Triumphant and victorious is he, Humble and riding on a donkey” (NRSV) But there they go . . . to get the donkey. They grab the donkey and take it to Jesus. He hops on, rides through the dust-blown valley from Jericho to Jerusalem, marches up the steep Mount of Olives and sees the gloriousness of Jerusalem’s city gates. Filled with passion for this donkey-riding king the disciples move towards Jerusalem. The disciples say to one another: “Finally! We’ve been following this man for three years and he’s been promising us a revolution, a change in the status quo. He’s told us he’s the rightful king and he is the prin...

Theologian N.T. Wright finds the parable of the fig tree to be quite strange.  He says, “Jesus' warning in Luke 13 is at once amplified by this almost humorous, yet in fact quite sinister, parable of the fig tree in the vineyard.” And it is sinister.  It’s a hard pill to take.  Jesus' parable goes like this: A man has as fig tree planted in his vineyard.  One day he comes out looking for fruit on it, but there are no figs.  He says to the vineyard keeper, “Look at this tree.  For three years, I've come hoping to find some fresh figs, but what do I find? Nothing.  So just go ahead and cut it down.  Why waste the space with a fruitless tree?” The vineyard keeper replies, “Give it another chance, sir.  Give me one more years working with it.  I’ll cultivate the soil and heap on some manure to fertilize it.  If it surprises us and bears fruit next year, that will be great, but if not, then we’ll cut it down.”...

I’m a part of a lot of peer groups. As a matter of fact, probably too many. I have a group I meet with weekly on Thursday evenings. I have another group I meet with every fourth Thursday. I have a life coach, a consultant, a spiritual director and a counselor for a wife. Most of my friends have gone through multiple units of CPE. My father and grandfather are successful pastors; my wife’s uncle and grandfather are too. My full time job is at a seminary that trains ministers for a living. I eat lunch with world renowned and newly budding theologians and rub elbows with missionaries and congregational leaders. I spend my free time traveling to hear these women and men speak while reading their books. As a matter of fact, I met and heard Barbara Brown Taylor last week. There are lots of people who speak in to my life. And I want this. I surround myself with people who are life-giving and like-minded. We all do. We seek out situations that build us up, allow us to reach o...

Diana Butler Bass (along with others) is publishing frequently about the sociological shifts occurring in churches. She’s helped us see church growth used to be based on the formula: “Believe. Behave. Belong.” If you believe what we believe and behave the way we behave, then you will eventually come to belong. Unfortunately, for some Protestants, this formula no longer works.  It’s not because the variables are wrong – they’re just out of order for some of us. Instead of “Believing. Behaving. Belonging,” Bass argues it should read “Belonging. Behaving. Believing.” This re-ordering is a way to reach those in “Generation Y” from whom belonging is crucial. As a member of Generation Y, and as someone who works daily with future church leaders, here is my take on this ideological shift.  Too often we’re picked on as being narcissistic, entitled and disengaged. The reality is we carry a deep longing to be held, to be fulfilled and to belong. We’re in searc...

Love is much more of a daily decision than a feeling. I’m not sure I would have said this sentence five years ago. Then I was still looking to gratify my own sensual and sexual needs. I was coupling these needs with an imaginative story of success and happiness and believing that love was somehow a concoction of them all. Love, then, was imaginative, playful, hopeful, and ultimately ridiculous. Today, I choose to define it differently. Love can still be imaginative, playful and hopeful but ultimately it’s a choice. We choose to wake up and love. We choose to look across the dinner table and listen with intensity or passivity. We choose to unload the dishwasher and clean the litter box because our partner hates it, even though we’re exhausted and want to go to bed (this is a little insight into my world). We choose to create imaginative spaces where love can bloom and hope can reside. We choose to reorganize business schedules and plans to maintain date nights and vac...