About God & Feminists

(Don’t let me bore you, but try to read to the end). I’m taking a feminist course right now in my masters’ MFT program (yes it’s required). My professor is terrific, mixing in humor, information, discussion, and I appreciate how much she encourages our freely expressing views that dissent with both patriarchal and classically feminist orthodoxies. It’s a riot and epiphany every Monday night.

The largest issue looming in the class right now—in both the books and articles we’re reading and in class discussion—is the role of “sociology.” The trend towards blaming this component for how we are seems simplistic and question-begging to me. Do we blame Homer Simpson, or Archie Bunker, on just their “socialization”? I think this over-credits nurture. After all, isn’t “socialization” just US? WE contribute to the traditions we wind up calling socialization. This really matters because postmodern academics see gender purely as a social construct. Besides reproductive anatomy, they tend to equate the sexes, blaming “socialization” for any other differences.

Genesis offers some clarity. When God casts Adam and Eve out of the garden, he warns them of curses they will face. To Adam, He says, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life…by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food…” To Eve, He says, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Remember, these were consequences, if not curses (“because you have done this…”).

Men, then, seem addicted to work. Women, then, seem addicted to “a relationship” (or their husband). And we all know addiction isn’t the goal. These Genesis 3:16 characteristics are as true today as they’ve ever been, and if all of this is just “socialization” then I’m Gloria Steinem. There is a “nature,” a temperament at work here, not just society.

Keep in mind that these are curses, not strengths. It’s not a strength for women to be “all about relationships”—it’s insecurity. It’s not a strength for men to be “all about career and success”—it’s insecurity. BOTH sexes need the healing that comes from Jesus, and with it, the grace to transcend these consequences, while still affirming the different strengths God respectively gave men and women. Men AND women are each incomplete on their own—and that’s by beautiful design. If you don’t understand that, go see a UW volleyball match.

One Year of Blogging

If you hadn't noticed, April marks one year of the Minister's Blog here on our church website. By no coincidence, April 2007 was also our most frequently blogged month with 30 total posts; that's one for every day of the month, and over double the combined total of 2008 so far! Why the drop off? Perhaps we realized how much time it can take to put together a well crafted blog, or to follow a post by Scott Green. Also, there are now far more articles than ever before, and therefore less blogs. (By the way, what actually distinguishes an 'article' from a 'blog'? Some of my blogs have felt more like articles...)

So, with only eight days left this month, we've got some catching up to do. In a potentially meaningless blog that will increase the monthly total to six, here are my Top Events For April 2008:

- Saw The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, @ KeyArena with Darius Hadjian (Somewhat breaking the rules because the actual concert date was March 29th). This guy still rocks! My ears were sore for seriously three days.
- Met Ed Viesturs @ the Seattle REI. Ed is the first American to climb the world's 14 highest mountains (all over 8,000m) w/o supplemental oxygen. He's somewhat of an icon to me because I admire his accomplishments; his vision and the determination to see it through. You may remember him from the IMAX movie Everest.

- Had our first ever "Downtown Bible Talk Hot Pot Night." A few new visitors came out and the food and fellowship was excellent!
- Inspiring to me as an outsider now is the University of Washington Campus Ministry. The UWMin has baptized five students this month: 4 girls and 1 guy. Three of these girls were baptized in one week. With a Northwest Campus Retreat this weekend, prayerfully there will be more ready to hit the water. What a miracle to watch!
- I spent three days serving my first jury duty summons for the United States Federal Court in Seattle. I found it enjoyable and informative and would recommend serving if your name is called.
- Our mission on Seattle U and the downtown campuses has been challenging. The guy's in our BT have been committed to morning prayer at Madison park, as well as having real and honest talks about our evangelistic efforts. Last week we had a lesson from Psalm 126 about crying out for the lost of Seattle University and sowing with tears in downtown Seattle. We followed with prayer, and a great time of repentance.

- Personally, the greatest moment of the month came in having my 'kid' brother return home from a six month tour in Iraq with the United States Marine Corp. Eric is 2 1/2 years younger than me, an inch shorter, but outweighs me by about 25lbs. (let's just say it's not fat). Eric and I have always been close, and now he is one of my best friends. It is a great relief to have him back on U.S. soil. One of my lifelong dreams is for him to be baptized as a true disciple. Interestingly, a third of the original 12 disciples were brothers: James and John, Peter and Andrew. I think of these guys and try to imagine standing with my brother as disciples. I'm still hoping and praying for this dream to come true!

That's my list. One thing that has always amazed me about being a disciple is the sheer volume of exciting things that happen in such a short period of time. It helps me to go back over my months and years as a Christian and to see the many experiences and opportunities that God puts into my life on a daily basis. It also helps me, particularly in hard times, to remember the victories and good that God has brought to my life. Many of these things I did not even remember happening until I began writing and took a moment to reflect. We would do well not to forget God's involvement in our lives. So, what does your list look like?

Church Members on TV, Northwest Afternoon

by Jay Kelly

On Friday, 4/18, several of our church members met at the television studios of Northwest Afternoon just south of the Space Needle to participate in the taping of their show and have an opportunity to advertise our upcoming auction. Tracey Warren, our auction chair, organized this fun event. We clapped and cheered on queue to three different quests including Phil Donahue. We taped our little commercial, got some free gifts and had fun seeing how TVLand works.


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Visit to Vancouver

~Brian & Sarah, Celia, and Xing & Jane, at our favorite Chinese restaurant (sorry Seattle)

~VCC Song Leaders doing their thing!

~Evangelist Brian Felushko starts our prayer...

"Visit to Vancouver": [First, make sure you read Ryan's great post from April 16th]

What an amazing 24 hours, eh? Lynne and I had the distinct pleasure last weekend of serving and worshipping with the wonderful Vancouver church of Christ (check out their cool website on www.vancouverchurchofchrist.org). We drove up Saturday afternoon and actually arrived, (no thanks to the annual Skagit Tulipfest--yawn) That night we met with Brian and Sarah Felushko, who lead the congregation, and their ministry leadership group, talking for hours about ministry building and strategy—we were all worn out but edified.
Sunday we enjoyed a terrific time with the church—their use of media and their song service inspired us and made it easier for me to preach on “War and Peace.” Afterwards, we had lunch together in my favorite North American Chinese restaurant with the elder candidates Brian and Sarah are training. It was a privilege to be in the pulpit there in Vancouver; we can’t wait to have Brian and Sarah, and some of their lay leadership down to Seattle to return the favor!!!

Remembering the Virginia Tech Massacre

I read online that today marks one year since the Virginia Tech school shooting where 32 people were gunned down by the 23-year old Seung-Hui Cho who, after finishing his rampage, turned the gun on himself.

I had forgotten the date, but the event sticks in my memory. I remember sitting at work a year ago as the breaking news stories came flooding in, and a continual stream of updates followed thereafter. I felt a pit in my stomach and a lump in my throat. I was personally shocked at the stories, and was equally shocked at the callous responses of some of my co-workers. I walked out of the office that day feeling a mix of anger and confusion; I'm sure many others felt the same.

That this could happen today, on a college campus, in the United States of America, is still unreal to me. How could there be so much evil? What brought it to the door of Norris Hall that morning, and to the front doors of youth all across America? How could a college campus, a place of education and endeavor, dreams and ambition be turned to a home for terror and fear?

College should not be that way. That is not college! I rarely, if ever, went to my classes fearing that anything bad (other than the day's test) could ever, or would ever happen to me. There was no fear, no anxiety that I would be physically harmed in any way whatsoever. I'm sure these students and faculty lived their days similar to me. For the most part, we all do.

Even after these horrific events those of us not directly impacted tend to bounce back. We return to life as normal. We say that we will remember, but we forget (at least I do) and it makes me think, in the aftermath, what actually is different? Are people different? Certainly those who lived through it are, but what about the rest of us? Do we look at our lives in a different light? Are our perspectives changed? Are our hearts stirred?

The question I ask myself is, "Am I a different person?" "How would I live differently had I gone through this?" I don't personally ever want to experience what those VT students had to in order to change my life, gain an eternal perspective, and draw some lasting lessons from April 16, 2007. That day should give us pause right now; time to stop, think, and reflect on life in the present, today. Time even to change ourselves where necessary. It should make us more grateful for life, for a new day; simply that we woke up this morning, and that we face a day that we will face only once before moving onto the next, if we're so fortunate. Realize, we must, that nothing is guaranteed!

What would I tell myself if this were how I thought? I'd tell myself to make it count; to live for something bigger than myself and my small and selfish daily desires. All of us, I believe, would be emboldened to not take life as it comes, but to fill our hours, days and years with passionate and inspired living and to not live in regret of wasted time, "for the days are evil."

That is my thought: Make it count! Make it count that you were alive today, that you were present and accounted for, for there are 32 who are not. What else can we do? What other adequate remembrance is there? Change is our greatest memorial. And so I say to you, "Make it count!"

God bless the students of Virginia Tech and the families of those lost.

This Baptism Was Special!

by Jay Kelly

Today Sergio Diaz was baptized in Lake Washington at Magneson Park. The sharing was very inspiring. Brandon Renfrow shared that he'd prayed for one person to love and lead to God at his office. Meanwhile Sergio had prayed for one friend in Seattle after his recent move here. Both prayers were answered.


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To whet your $$ thinking...

Here's a blurb from an upcoming article about our "financial philosophy" in the SCC:

"Money is so often divisive. Most of us can remember parents or grand-parents soberly abjuring us from discussing money, religion, or politics, in or out of our households. For disciples, two of these three are still sensitive topics, and none more so than cold, hard cash. Money can bless the church or divide the church. Since disciples tenaciously strive for the “complete unity” that Jesus prayed for, coming to a consensus about money in the church is a serious and essential step in “contending as one man” for the gospel in Seattle. What can God’s word tell us about such sensitive waters?

Among other things, we know from scripture that the love of money is the “root of all kinds of evil.” And we know the longing to get rich pierces the seeker with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10). And yet we also know, when we stop to think about it, that money is an abstraction that (usually) represents some tangible thing that is valued and usually something that has been made or produced. This produce, whether from the land, the craftsman, the factory, or the computer, is something that according to scripture God historically brings as He sees fit—His blessing to His people (Deut 8:6-20). The blessing of prosperity—and the money that represents it—is always from God, but in our world often replaces God. Prosperity itself is not a curse, but loving and enthroning it is.

How, then, do we graciously accept God’s prosperity while abhorring financial idolatry? In particular, how should we view “sacrificial living” as a feature of Christian life—what exactly does it mean?—and how should we view the support of ministers and missionaries in our congregations and abroad? Times and topics that engender confusion always beg for clarity, and though we long, perhaps, even more for simplicity, often clarity and simplicity are not the same thing."

More to come...