kris mcdaniel

Daily Office for October 19, 2010

2010-10-19T20:19:00.004-04:00

This one comes from the Apocrypha and is a beauty!!

Ecclesiasticus 6v5-17

5 Pleasant speech multiplies friends, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies. 6 Let those who are friendly with you be many, but let your advisers be one in a thousand. 7 When you gain friends, gain them through testing, and do not trust them hastily. 8 For there are friends who are such when it suits them, but they will not stand by you in time of trouble. 9 And there are friends who change into enemies, and tell of the quarrel to your disgrace. 10 And there are friends who sit at your table, but they will not stand by you in time of trouble. 11 When you are prosperous, they become your second self, and lord it over your servants; 12 but if you are brought low, they turn against you, and hide themselves from you. 13 Keep away from your enemies, and be on guard with your friends. 14 Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter: whoever finds one has found a treasure. 15 Faithful friends are beyond price; no amount can balance their worth. 16 Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; and those who fear the Lord will find them. 17 Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright, for as they are, so are their neighbors also.

I have rarely read such wisdom about the importance of choosing friends wisely and how to vet out friends that come your way and seem very interested in us.

At the end of the text Ben Sira says three things about faithful friends. Or rather he describes them using three very powerful images.

He says that a faithful friend is 1/ a sturdy shelter 2/ a treasure and 3/ a life-saving medicine.

We only find a few friends of this caliber over the course of our whole life. Many people come around, but only one in a thousand will be a friend close enough to be an advisor.

I don't know about you, but this gives some good food for thought - both for us as we seek friends and as we seek to be a friend.

And I could not help but think of the fact that Jesus is "a friend who sticks closer than a brother" as I read these words which were penned before N.T.

finish what you start

2010-08-21T16:01:00.009-04:00

The past couple of months we have been spending time in the Epistles rather than teaching from the Gospel texts at Trinity. I love the fact that we have options as we seek to learn how to be faithful to God in our handling of the scriptures.

A theme that has come to us time and time again during our stay in Colossians and Hebrews is related to finishing the race. St. Paul speaks of this concept often, likening our Christian walk to running a race. This is very, very relevant to us because we are a people who start well, but don't often finish that which we begin. You know... half read books, half completed projects, half run races.... the list goes on and on. About the only thing we finish these days are our meals. And we're only doing that because we're not finishing well when it comes to taking care of ourselves.

The Christian life is not a sprint. It is a long race - a race where many do not finish well - and some do not finish at all. I remember hearing something about people in the Civil War and their concern with 'dying well' on NPR a year or so ago. Not only were people thinking about how to begin a thing, they were concerned with ending life in an appropriate manner. This goes back to much of what St. Paul says about running the race set before us...and finishing the race. It is truly tragic when people mail it in, so to speak... but it is understandable. This life is a race fraught with difficulty. One of my favorite quotes likening the Christian life to a race comes from Luke Timothy Johnson. He says,

"The image is that of a marathon run at the Olympic games. The runners begin far away from the city in some remote place with few observers, move through growing crowds and greater fatigue, and finally emerge in the stadium before a massed assembly of spectators, who watch and applaud as the runners complete their final lap. … So vivid is the metaphor that present day readers might forget that this spatial and social imagery intends to communicate something about the moral life of believers: it has a start, it has difficulties and discouragements, there is a time of lapse between start and finish, it requires endurance and most of all there is a reward when the goal is reached.”

(The NT Library, Hebrews, a commentary – Luke Timothy Johnson pg. 315)

We have to know that there are bumps in the road - when we are far away from the support we long for and feel that we need. Because of this, some give up. They throw in the towel and try to find their own way off the course. That is typically not a good idea because it is very, very difficult to find your own way when you've ventured into unknown territory. Remember what they say to children who are lost? Stay put! If you don't know where you're going, you should wait - someone (a Good Shepherd, maybe?) will come looking for you... but if you go off by yourself looking to figure it out on your own, you're likely to get lost(er) ((loster means more lost!)

This race, this life, is a long one. It takes our whole life to complete the race.

I pray that we would all find the endurance necessary to complete what we began when we first said yes to God. And for those of us that have strayed off the path, sit down and wait! Don't take matters into your own hands.

you can't always get what you want....

2010-08-19T21:17:00.002-04:00

We live in an age where support is what we want most. I want it. You want it. We have been told from the time that we could understand what was being told to us that we needed support. If only folks would support us enough then we would realize our potential.

So many times in my walk with God I have asked Him for more support.

But sometimes support is not what God gives us. Sometimes we need our rear ends kicked. Sometimes I want God to be kind but He is severe. And at other times I am sure He'll be severe and then He is merciful.

At the end of the day I wonder if our notions of support and help are out of round. Sometimes we don't get what we want... we get what we need (Credit to the Stones, of course).

from the daily lectionary, August 18th

2010-08-18T09:31:00.001-04:00

For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Psalm 130v7-8.

a reflection while reading "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson

2010-08-14T13:03:00.002-04:00

Life is full of sorrow and sadness.... but it is also full of joy and gladness.

Why do we want it to be another way? Well, because it'd be easier to digest and understand... But then it would not be life. It would be something else, either a fantasy or a tragedy. But life typically falls somewhere in the middle, with moments of swing to either extreme.

More on why I'm now Anglican - Anglican thinkers

2010-08-13T16:36:00.004-04:00

Richard Hooker - man! I love this guy. Here's a bit about some of his thinking which shaped Anglican spirituality maybe as much as anyone...

"So the disjunctions which in the course of the 16th century controversy had become sharpened and hardened, between Scripture and tradition, between grace and nature, between the inward and the outward elements in prayer and worship, and finally between faith and religion, are consistently rejected by Hooker. Always he seeks to unite the two. Hence his high estimate of what we should call culture, his positive evaluation of human wisdom. These things are indeed the words of man, but they are the works of man inspired and sustained by God. For, in the end, Hooker's humanism is a very particular form of humanism - a theocentric humanism. As C.S. Lewis remarks, "Few model universes are more filled - one might say, more drenched - with Deity than his."

Hooker himself, "All things that are of God", (and only sin is not) "have God in them and be them in himself likewise", yet "their substance and his wholly different" God is unspeakably transcendent; but also unspeakably immanent.

Yes. I meant to say that. But I am not smart enough to say that. Chalk one up for one of the most divine Anglican Divines.

Why (at least some of why) I am now Anglican

2010-08-13T16:25:00.004-04:00

I can't log into my other blog, so I am back to this one. The wonders of technology - and the wonder that I ever manage to do anything with a technological bent.

1/ The prayer book - I love the Book of Common Prayer... I came across this today while doing some light reading... "... the Prayer Book makes provision for the total life of the Church and therefore furnishes the shape of ministry in all of its aspects. After presenting a basic liturgy for Morning and Evening Prayer, the Litany and the Holy Communion, the 1662 English book, for instance, moves into cradle-to-grave care of Christians at all of the 'wonder moments' of life: baptism at birth, catechesis for the young, confirmation for those who are ready to take on adult responsibility, matrimony for those who will start families of their own, visitation for those who are ill, and burial for the dead. These rites are followed by Thanksgiving for women after childbirth, the Commination against sinners, the Psalms, a form of prayer to be used at sea, the Ordinal by which persons are provided to engage in ordained ministry, a form for celebrating the anniversary of the sovereign's accession (God save the Queen!), and the Articles which state the Church's position on issues of theological controversy." ("The Study of Anglicanism" by Sykes, Booty and Knight. Pg. 382)

That's a lot! And it about covers it!

more to come on this...

http://krismcdaniel.wordpress.com/

2010-06-29T21:53:00.000-04:00

got tired of this one... started a new one... might come back to this one one day:)

a journey into Anglicanism

2010-02-10T10:36:00.001-05:00

On February 8, 2010 we took the final step in a long process to join the Anglican Mission when TJ Johnston, our new bishop (overseer), joined us at a members meeting. Our journey toward Anglicanism has been in process for quite some time. Even in the early days of the church, we adopted methods of bible reading and church structure from the Anglican tradition. Additionally, our church has been blessed from our observance of the church calendar which includes Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. The sense of rhythm and sustainability introduced by the church calendar have proved to be very useful for our church community.

One of the things we love most about the Anglican Mission in particular is its emphasis on three distinct streams of Christian living. The Anglican Mission affirms the value of the evangelical, traditional and charismatic streams of Christianity. We believe that God has called us to embody these three streams at Trinity and so see a significant point of convergence there.

Also, we know that our church leadership team needs to be cared for and nurtured as we seek to do the very same for our church community. The leadership structure in the Anglican Mission provides this care and support for us as leaders.

We take great comfort in knowing God has truly called Trinity to be part of the Anglican Mission. We have no doubt that God has been leading us down this path.

For more information on the Anglican Mission, feel free to check out their website at www.theamia.org. And for more information about Trinity, please feel free to join us at an upcoming newcomers night.

Thomas Merton on theology and contemplation

2009-09-11T16:29:00.003-04:00

"Contemplation, far from being opposed to theology, is in fact the normal perfection of theology. We must not separate intellectual study of divinely revealed truth and contemplative experience of that truth as if they could never have anything to do with one another. On the contrary, they are simply two aspects of the same thing. Dogmatic and mystical theology, or theology and 'spirituality,' are not to be set in mutually exclusive categories, as if mysticism were for saintly women and theological study were for practical but, alas, unsaintly men. This fallacious division perhaps explains much that is actually lacking in both theology and spirituality. Unless they are united there is no fervour, no life and no spiritual value in theology; no substance, no meaning and no sure orientation in the contemplative life."

Very well said, Mister Merton. I think this describes a tension everyone who's spent any amount of time in the Church feels. We must not choose one over the other... we must integrate these two beautiful things... Our thought about God must be held in tension with our experience of God.

seasons

2009-09-02T23:35:00.002-04:00

Today had that feel of autumn. I love the changing of the seasons. There's something about the air that's different... it makes you realize that things don't stay the same forever- that summer doesn't last forever! I think August is my least favorite month. If I lived in Colorado I doubt I would say that.. but living in Georgia is not living in the mountains!

September reminds me that it's not perpetually hot in our world... It reminds me that eventually things cool off. It also reminds me that football season starts very, very soon!

Here's to another seasonal change. Everyone run find your sweaters... we'll need them in two months!

finn singing

2009-08-06T11:00:00.001-04:00

finn singing
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

He wrote these lyrics himself.

How to shrink a church

2009-04-25T22:09:00.003-04:00

A friend passed this along to me and I figured it was so good that I'd share it here. The title says it all.... "How to shrink a church". The author makes some very interesting points about our current American religious landscape.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/aprilweb-only/116-41.0.html

Ikea = not from around here

2009-04-24T13:55:00.002-04:00

So I'm in Ikea today to buy clay pots for tomato planting. I buy two pots only to note that one of them has a crack in it while I'm packing it into the car. Thinking it would only take a minute to exchange a cracked pot for a good one, I walk back inside with receipt and pot in hand. I am directed to the returns/exchanges station at the end of the store. Upon arrival, I note that there are two employees behind a desk and one other lady present. She is with one of the attendants. The other attendant seems available, so I walk to him to make my exchange. He stops me and points to a ticket dispenser and informs me that I must take a ticket. I smile, walk over and grab a ticket. I wait with ticket, receipt and cracked pot in hand. A coupe of minutes go by and the available attendant walks over to a button on the wall, hits it and then calls out loud, "Number 9." I look down at my ticket... look around and see only myself and one another confused person who'd just walked up, then look down at the number 9 on my ticket. It's my turn. I step forward and a process ensues where he examines the cracked pot, looks at my receipt and then issues me a store credit card that resembles a credit card... Why does everything look like a credit card these days? Everything from library cards, to YMCA cards, to Starbucks gift cards, to store credit(cards) looks like a credit card. I hate that... because I hate credit cards.

Ikea built to handle thousands of returns, I guess. (That makes sense because I am convinced IKEA is a Swedish term meaning cheaply made) But today there were only two of us needing help and the process seemed very odd... very formal. It made me laugh... and then think - IKEA... not from around here.

A ring (on the ground) in the dark

2009-04-20T14:27:00.005-04:00

I've just now got 'round to reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I honestly don't know how I've made it this far without reading this, but I have. Maybe it was all the Dungeons and Dragons folks from my youth that loved the Hobbit stories... At any rate, I'm reading them now.

The imagery of the books is like water to my imagination. I'm glad, after a fashion, to only now be discovering these works for the first time. You know, there is only one first time for everything we experience... it's a joy to be touching this wonderful world for the first time as a 33 year old man. A gift, indeed! What I'd give to read To Kill a Mockingbird again for the first time, or the Narnia books. At least I get this 'first time' at this time in my life.

I was struck by Bilbo finding the ring - and I know enough about these stories to know that this ring changes everything - whilst lying alone in a Goblin's cave in the pitch black darkness. He's been knocked unconscious in a battle and left alone on the cold, hard floor of a cave. He wakes with fear, realizing that he is alone and lost... as Bilbo gropes in the dark, looking for a wall or way out, he comes across something the shape of a ring... he slips it into his pocket (instinctively as he had no idea of it's ultimate usefulness) as he's looking for a way out. Isn't that a funny way to introduce a profound discovery? A Hobbit, alone and terrified - lost, finds a ring that will change his destiny while looking for anything but a ring. Sometimes I've found rings like this in the darkness... but at the time I was never very happy about groping in the dark - mainly because I'm afraid of that kind of darkness. I wonder if Tolkien is trying to show us something about our life and about our own struggles with darkness - and about the things we might discover while in those lonely places.

Again, it's fun to read these books as a grown up... or at least as a person who is (hopefully) growing up.

book reflections, Next Christendom

2009-04-19T18:49:00.004-04:00

Reflections on the North American response to Jenkins' book. I will say this: I was a bit frightened by this book... in a good way, I think. Jenkins raises some very important questions about the changing face of Christianity among our brothers and sisters in the global South churches.
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Philip Jenkins explores the explosive growth of global South Christianity in his work The Next Christendom. The Church in the South is increasingly distinct from the Church in the North (or West), but many Western Christians only consider Christianity on their terms. At the beginning of the book Jenkins says, “Many of us share the stereotype of Christianity as the religion of the West or, to use another popular metaphor, the global North.” This stereotype begs for deconstruction, and that is exactly what Jenkins sets out to do in The Next Christendom. The expansion of Christianity in Africa, Latin America and Asia paints a picture of a vibrant Christianity. This images stands in striking contrast to the declining Churches across Europe and North America, which once served as the center of the Christian world (specifically Europe). Jenkins articulates this reality toward the end of the book when he says, “Looking at Christianity as a planetary phenomenon, not merely a Western one, makes it impossible to read the New Testament in quite the same way ever again. And the Christianity we see through this exercise looks like a very exotic beast indeed, intriguing, exciting and a little frightening.” The statistics offered by Jenkins are mind numbing. Growth among nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America is unparalleled - both in terms of conversion and population expansion. Here in the United States, the emergence of Global South Christianity presents us with many challenges and opportunities. We must embrace the reality of a changing Church if we’re to keep up with the shifting ethos of our faith.

The first opportunity at hand for the Western (also Northern – I will interchange these terms) is to simply recognize the changing world. We have a penchant for ignoring the world around us as it changes. This ignorance is pervasive and very destructive. If we don’t expand our vision of Christianity to include the global South churches, we may just deceive ourselves into thinking that Christianity is a dying religion. Jenkins says, “To adapt the phrase once applied to the increasingly conservative U.S. electorate of the 1970s, the stereotype holds that Christians are un-black, un-poor, un-young. If that is true, then the growing secularization of the West can mean only that Christianity is in its dying days.” I have heard people lament the impending death of Christianity because of the many empty churches in Atlanta’s city center. If we don’t expand our search to areas often overlooked by white middle class Americans, we might be convinced to believe them. The fist step is opening our eyes to see something we might have missed.

This exploration must begin with a question. How is it possible that many in the church of the global North are ill informed when it comes to the dramatic expansion of Christianity among those in the South? There are several reasons for this, but one reason in particular must be addressed. There exists a latent racism in the North when it comes to people of color. This ugly reality manifests itself in many ways, not the least of which being negative media coverage of events in the global South. Our common (and historic) perceptions of peoples in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia are largely negative. We think of tribal warfare and civic unrest more than we ought, all the while ignoring the many advances that have occurred in parts of the world that exist well outside the shadow of Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty.

Facing these attitudes is a crucial step in our being able to fully recognize what is happening in the Church in other parts of the world. Without an appreciation for their contribution to Christianity, we will never embrace and learn from our brothers and sisters in the global South. It is important to note that this embrace and appreciation is not just a foreign missions concern. Atlanta, my city, is home to an increasing immigrant population. We house more refugees than most cities in North America, and the Latin American community is booming. If we’re to truly love our city we must make room for the people groups that do not traditionally originate from here. I must confess that The Next Christendom has been very challenging in this respect. I have not paid sufficient attention to the foreign population that resides very close to my own church, convincing myself that I had my hands full with our North American population. My heart has been pricked in a new way over the past couple of weeks as I’ve noticed resident aliens living side by side with folks who attend my church, and noting that we have not been aware of those who exist outside the mainstream of society.

One reason why we don’t typically pay much attention is due to cultural differences. The old adage of separate but equal comes to mind. Learning new languages and developing sensitivity to cultural divides make for hard work, so too often people groups exist side by side but experience little to no overlap. This speaks to an inherent laziness in majority people groups. This tendency toward apathy and ignorance is as true for middle class Americans as any majority group in the world. I am guilty of this sin. One of the liturgical rhythms in my life is a prayer of repentance, where I confess sins connected to what I have done in addition to those stemming from what I have left undone. My ignorance of local immigrant communities is a sin of omission. I have left this part of my local responsibility undone, and I do not think I’m alone in this respect.

Once we in the North begin to notice the emergence of the Church in the global South, we will have to fight the temptation to use Southern Christians for our own gain. Methods of church growth run the spectrum here in the United States and this will surely prove to be a temptation for Western Christians as they begin to learn of the growth in the South. I am reminded of Wendell Berry’s description of the difference between strip miners and cultivators. Strip miners extract from the environment only what they can use, all the while doing damage to the overall ecosystem. We are often times very effective strip miners in this respect. We must adopt a learning posture with relationship to our brothers and sisters in the South. We must receive, not just take at will by borrowing principles indiscriminately. I see a challenge of humility for those of us in the North that do, in fact, come to recognize what’s happening in the South. In times past, when the Western world saw resources in other parts of the globe, we took what we wanted without much thought to the impact of our actions. Jenkins highlights this as a recurring weakness of Imperialistic endeavor in The Next Christendom. A new sensitivity is needed for this exploration. We cannot see the growth in the South and try to distill principles for church growth on our own soil. We have to look deeper than that, to the heart of what’s happening in the South, so we can participate in the renewal (where it’s appropriate for us to do so) without doing harm to it.

Another challenge will be learning to hold our own models of ministry lightly in light of emerging theology in the churches of the global South. This openness becomes more relevant because of immigrant peoples that may live near us. For too long we have believed the myth that we hold all the cards when it comes to foreign relations. Westerners have presumed to possess superior resources (money) and expertise, regardless of the endeavor. But some of the flavors emerging from the Kingdom expansion in the global South are quite different from what we’ve grown accustomed to here in the North. Elements of Pentecostal fervor feature more prominently in Churches of Africa, Latin America and Asia. South world Christians place great emphasis on a vital experience with God. This stands in sharp contrast to our more staid religious expression here in North America and across many countries in Europe. African writer Chinua Achebe describes the conversion of a Nigerian man in these terms, “ It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it. It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow…” This sense of feeling faith in the bones is demonstrated across a wide spectrum of denominations in the global South, but specifically so in Pentecostal denominations. Jenkins notes, “According to reputable observers, by 2000, Pentecostal numbers worldwide were increasing at the rate of about 19 million each year.” That is remarkable growth indeed!

Western Christians have to work out ways to understand and embrace this Pentecostal fervor as a part of the changing face of Christianity. Too often, we either resist or exploit changing dynamics – either opting to reject an idea that is foreign to us as false or use it as a tool for growth and innovation. In this instance, I believe a learning posture would serve us best. It could be possible that the decline of religion in the west is due, in part, to our lack of fervor. Maybe we don’t hold fast to the God of the scriptures like our brothers and sisters in the South. Jenkins notes that, “… the apostolic world as described in the New Testament is not just a historical account of the ancient Levant, but an ever-present reality open to any modern believer, and that includes the whole culture of signs and wonders.” These words present a real challenge to me. My Charismatic upbringing afforded ample opportunity to wrestle with perceived spiritual excesses. These struggles with a Christian culture that made me feel uncomfortable have caused me to step back from overtly Pentecostal worship expressions. But reading Jenkins reminds me that I cannot simply sweep Charismatic expressions of Christianity under the proverbial rug. Millions of believers per year are embracing elements of Charismatic Christianity, and this reality is changing the face of Christianity. I want to wrestle with this tension – both in my own walk with God and in our community context. Could it be that we have grown too sophisticated? I sometimes wonder if we’ve thrown the baby out along with the dirty bathwater? It seems as if Christians in the South truly do benefit from interacting with the scripture, and the God of the scripture, as a present possibility. We need to sit with this tension and be open to re-negotiate some of the cultural biases that have shaped our worship.

Another opportunity open to the church in North America is mission and engagement in urban city centers of the world. Urbanization and immigration brings many global South peoples to city centers in search of work. This trend is occurring all over the world. As North American churches consider mission work across the planet, we must pay attention to centers of population growth, namely emerging mega cities in the developing world. Jenkins notes that, “More than 1 billion people – one-sixth of the world – are illegal squatters living on the fringes of a Third World city.” If we want to mobilize our money effectively, support in these areas will prove to be as strategic as it gets. But trends suggest that North American churches are giving less than ever before to mission work. One way for the churches in the United States to engage with this process is by partnering with reputable missions organizations in these strategic centers of population growth around the world. This partnership would be money well spent because many of the people living in these parts of the world are among the world’s poorest people, and they are candidates for Christian conversion.

We do have money to give, but we must not assume that means Americans have the corner on the market when it comes to our spirituality. As we’ve noted above, the spiritual vitality in the church of the global South reminds us that Christians in Africa, Asia and Latin America have much to teach us. Due to the fact that the American Church is simultaneously rich in resources and impoverished in our spirituality, there is great potential for a new kind of holistic relationship to emerge between North and South Christians. American money can go a long way toward relieving social ills in Christian communities in the developing world, just as African leadership can help us navigate the problems we are facing in our Western culture. Desmond Tutu’s No Future without Forgiveness is a beautiful account of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and carries with it much insight for racial healing in our own context here in the United States. Additionally, The Bishop of Rwanda by Bishop John Rucyahana contains many valuable insights from the perspective of a suffering Church, which enables readers to look for God’s goodness in the midst of extreme difficulty.

No single book has spoken to this issue more than Never Silent by Thaddeus Barnum. In this work, Barnum tells the story of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) and how the Anglican Church in Rwanda came to the aid of Americans who were suffering due to liberal trends in The Episcopalian Church (TEC). Jenkins references this phenomenon toward the end of The Next Christendom. He says, “AMIA still flourishes. As the use of the “Anglican” term suggests, conservatives were seeking to place their own views in the global context, rather than merely using the local American term “Episcopal.” More conservative Anglicans have placed themselves under global South prelates…” Here we see spiritual oversight of Western churches coming under global South leadership. The Anglican Mission is part of the Province of Rwanda in the Anglican Church. This type of innovation speaks to the increasing collaboration among churches from the North and South. As the future comes to meet us, we must be open to new kinds of partnerships. The Anglican Mission is one of many who are leading the way into the future.

The last challenge I will highlight concerns world religions other than Christianity. The United States is predominately a Christian nation at the moment, but the rise of Islam in the fastest growing centers of population will make for an interesting future. Jenkins states, “The future centers of global population are chiefly in countries that are already divided between the two great religions (Christianity and Islam), and where divisions are likely to intensify.” The attacks on September 11, 2001 testify to this reality. Both religions are enjoying strong growth in the global South, which means American Christians will need to be more thoughtful and knowledgeable when it comes to Islam. One of the largest Mosques in North America stands 3 miles from the church where I serve as pastor. In addition to knowing and loving our emerging Latin American immigrant population, we must seek to know and love our Iranian neighbors. This challenge appears to be more difficult than Latino relationship building because of the massive divide between Christianity and Islam, but it is a challenge that begs for engagement.

At the end of his work, Jenkins states the basic thrust of the entire book. He says, “Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and persecuted, while it atrophies among the rich and secure.” That reality should give us pause here in the states, but should be cause for rejoicing that though increasingly embattled on our shores, Christianity is alive and well! The near future of the faith seems to rest in the hands of our brothers and sisters from the South. My prayer is that we would allow them to teach us something of what they’ve learned from God. If Christians are a worldwide family, with each branch demonstrating a different character component of God, then we need to receive from our relatives in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To this end Desmund Tutu speaks pastorally to African Christians. He says, “Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.”

Book review and reflections on Resident Aliens

2009-04-16T08:49:00.005-04:00

Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon tackle the question of how the church is to function in the world in their work entitled Resident Aliens (A provocative Christian assessment of culture and ministry for people who know that something is wrong). The subtitle says it all. The authors put forward the idea that something is wrong in the world and the church is (as usual) slow to perceive it. Hauerwas and Willimon suggest that the church view itself as a colony rather an a cosmetic enhancement of the prevailing culture of the day. Their definition of colony gives us some insight into what they mean. They say, “A colony is a beachhead, an outpost, an island of one culture in the middle of another, a place where the values of home are reiterated and passed on to the young, a place where the distinctive language and life-style of the resident aliens are lovingly nurtured and reinforced.” There have been times in our history when the church carried the day - times when the church would set political agendas, shape artistic expression, and drive the economy. However those days, according to Willimon and Hauerwas, are gone forever. Consequently, the church must learn to function as an outpost in a society that has moved away from what it was in another time. We are no longer a Christian society, and the authors suggest that might not be a bad thing.

At the beginning of Resident Aliens the authors suggest that the world changed for them in 1963 when a local movie theater decided to air a John Wayne movie on a Sunday. Up until that time the churches in their sleepy town had no competition on Sundays. But, when the film went head to head with local church services something changed. Christianity no longer had a culturally reinforced ‘no compete clause’ to protect her from decline. Willimon and Hauerwas suggest, “Before the Fox Theater opened on Sunday, we could convince ourselves that, with an adapted and domesticated gospel, we could fit American values into a loosely Christian framework, and we could thereby be culturally significant.” The authors refer to this way of thinking as Constantinian Christianity. The end of Constantinian Christianity is not necessarily a bad thing. Hauerwas and Willimon suggest that, “…we have an opportunity to discover what was and always is the case – that the church, as those called out by God, embodies a social alternative that the world cannot on its own terms know.” The problem rests in the fact that too many Christians have no idea that ‘culture with a tinge of Christianity whitewashed over it’ is a bad idea.

My mind immediately goes to the typical mega-church in the southeastern United States. We spend so much time in our mega-churches (really most churches) telling people that they are essentially good and that Christianity will take what’s already there (the good inside of us) and make it even better. But that’s not my understanding of the gospel. It doesn’t seem to be what Willimon and Hauerwas have in mind, either. One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis (I love this dude so much that my son’s middle name is Lewis) is, “ God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature.” Constantinian Christianity teaches us to jump better and better. Many of our churches want us to jump better and better. We are taught early on (as pastors) to produce better men of the old kind. So, our rejection of Constantinian Christianity becomes a matter of necessity if we’re to apprehend and apply the gospel message.

We get into trouble, say the authors, when we take Jesus and divorce Him from His context. Willimon and Hauerwas challenge our modern theological innovations, saying, “By the very act of our modern theological attempts at translation, we have unconsciously distorted the gospel and transformed it into something it never claimed to be – ideas abstracted from Jesus, rather than Jesus with His people.” This is powerfully relevant. I believe that we in the American Church fall into this trap very easily. When we abstract Jesus’ words (or any scripture for that matter) we run the risk of hijacking scripture because it’s easy then to make Jesus say what we want Him to say. Jesus conceptualized as the ideal super human fosters an environment where it’s easier for radicals to begin to worship ‘Jesus the Arian’. The slippery slope is indeed slippery. In our context, Constantinian thinking within the American Church enabled many good Christians to not blink an eye when millions of Japanese people were killed in Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the hands of the military. The bible does not state anywhere (explicitly or implicitly) that the ends justify the means, however an America tinged with Christian ideals can tell us that. We must not confuse the two.

Christians are to live as colonists in the midst of a world that does not share their values. Based on Howard Snyder’s book Models of the Kingdom, Hauerwas and Willimon clearly embody the Counter system kingdom model. We Christians believe (or we should believe) that justice and peace can only come as a result of God’s kingdom dynamic. But the prevailing thought of the world is that those ideals of peace and justice can be attained through positive human effort. As T.S. Elliot said, “We dream of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.” The authors point to the reality that even Christians play into this cultural problem. The fact that religion is seen as private and subjective proves that we see systemic change for good as being somehow disconnected from the action of God working within Christian community. We’ve dressed up Christian values in order to bring them to Washington, all the while leaving Jesus at home.

Willimon and Hauerwas heavily criticize Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture, saying that Niebuhr was clearly promoting the idea of Christianizing culture. The concept of Christ transforming culture does, in fact, seem to be the logical conclusion of Niebuhr’s work. I am not, however, sure that’s entirely a bad idea. Engagement with culture can, in my opinion, be useful when embraced within certain limits. My personal view of the kingdom falls somewhere between the Counter System and Christianized Culture models. I do agree with Willimon and Hauerwas in their assessment of one of the weaknesses of cultural engagement - namely that the world can tame the church. But this does not negate the positive forces that can spring from cultural engagement. I think of William Wilburforce and his abolitionist work in England. Also, the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind. Both men worked for transformative good and brought significant levels of kingdom transformation to the cultures in which they lived. I also see both men as being resident aliens. I don’t see those two worldviews as being mutually exclusive. Measures of societal change can spill over from our faithful living in the Christian colony. I contend that these two worldviews, when held in their proper tension, keep us honest. We are to be countercultural, while at the same time remaining open to larger impact. The danger the authors highlight comes when we forget that we must first be members of a counter cultural colony.

One of the great joys of living colony life in the midst of a crumbling, decadent world is the sense of adventure that results from being different! Hauerwas and Willimon brilliantly describe the adventure of living in Christian community in the second half of the book. Honestly, I personally engaged with the latter portion of Resident Aliens more than the earlier chapters. This was probably due to the fact that I wanted to see what they were thinking once they got beyond the more philosophical groundwork laid out in the first few chapters. First, their use of journey language was good. W and H assert, “When we are baptized, we (like the first disciples) jump on a moving train…We become part of a journey that began long before we got here and shall continue long after we are gone.” Our journey gives us meaning. If we only believe in Jesus as truth or as religious principle or ideal, we miss our on the meaning that comes from being on pilgrimage. I’m reminded of Psalm 84v5, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” When we see life as a journey, we’re able to embrace process. Also, this brings to mind the reality that when we set out on Christian pilgrimage, we’re invited to follow Jesus rather than devise our own pathway.

Whilst on pilgrimage certain tools become necessary for survival. Hauerwas and Willimon call these tools ethics, reminding us that ethics were, “…tools necessary to sustain Israel on the road.” One of these ethical tools is best understood as story. The individual stories of those in the Christian colony – from parishioner to priest – remind us that story locates us along the way. We know whom we are, where we are, by story. Story gives meaning to the bends and turns we experience along the way. This reminds us that following God is not primarily about efficiency, but process. It also reminds us that God loves us enough to bear with us as we walk along the way. To this end H and W say, “…what we have is not first of all a heroic people, but a heroic God who refuses to abandon God’s creation, a God who keeps coming back, picking up the pieces, and continuing the story…” This truth is something we highlight at Trinity (my home church). We continually remind people that God calls us to a long walk. There will be detours along the way, but so long as we remember that God is loving enough to be present with us as we journey, we are more apt to keep after it. The stories of people in the church give strength to others as they work out their salvation.

Much of this adventure, for both parishioner and priest, is found in the ordinary events of life. Willimon and Hauerwas’ treatment of the Christian concept of saint is insightful. The authors suggest that, “An unbelieving world can make a saint out of almost anybody who dares to be faithful.” By sharing life, and not just the highlight reel portions of life, we are able to see God in the midst of the details, thus finding God’s activity where we might have otherwise overlooked it. If the devil is in the details, it would appear that God is there, too. As we journey together, we require constancy if we’re ever going to make progress because the road toward spiritual maturity is fraught with difficulty. In a culture that rewards and exalts independence and fickleness, constancy is a rare virtue. By it we affirm that we are not living according to the virtues and standards of our world, but rather that we are living in compliance with the Way of Jesus.

A very important aspect of living in the Christian Colony is living life together. The authors ask, “What if our true selves are made from the materials of our communal life?” They then state, “By cutting back our attachments and commitments, the self shrinks rather than grows.” When we say yes to Jesus, we’re also saying yes to Christian community. We’re not only linked to Jesus, we’re also linked to one another. I was very challenged by this notion because too often our churches don’t model this very well. Too often, religion takes on that private, subjective nature warned against in Resident Aliens. Life together, as Bonhoeffer put it, is truly a mark of the adventure. I can attest to this. My own life with God is reflective of this concept of shared life. Apart from my community relationships, I’d be hard pressed to live in obedience.

Similarly, the adventure of the faith is deepened when we develop a view of the church (The Christian Colony) as the primary expression of our ethics. Willimon and Hauerwas’ exploration of the Sermon on the Mount explores this in detail. Jesus’ words, “You have heard it said…But I say…” pinpoint the counter cultural shift brought on by the coming of Jesus. There is something very practical about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The goal of the sermon is to create, according to W and H, “ ... a visible, practical, Christian community.” However, this togetherness is not simply practical and logical (though there are definitely practical and logical reasons for engaging in community), our togetherness is mandated primarily because the Church is a community centered on the truth. As we respond to the call of Jesus, we find ourselves in community with others who have also responded to that same call. The Sermon on the Mount also highlights the kinds of people God blesses. This enables us to see who God is, and it’s only after we begin to see the character of God that we can understand what we’re to be like. Thus, the Sermon shapes us. The church learns how she’s to look by sitting with Jesus’ Sermon. God paints a new picture about the way the world works in the Sermon on the Mount. Even the parts that don’t make sense (like the meek inheriting the earth) point to the reality of God’s new world – and the church is called to walk in the truth of God’s new world.

If we’re not careful, we can develop grand ideas about how we’re called, as Christians, to demonstrate God’s new world. This is where Christians are tempted to hide their ‘normalness’, promoting only the superstars among us. Hauerwas and Willimon challenge this notion in their exploration of Saints. Upon reading the subheading “Saints as significant examples” in chapter 5, I fully expected a detailed exploration of the great men and women of the faith throughout history. But that’s not what the authors give us to ponder. Rather, they explore the lives of ordinary Christians who worship in our own communities. Names like Dorothy and Max remind us that the Saints are sitting next to us in church. Learning from one another is a powerful way to acclimate to the new world God has created for us to live in. I found W and H’s example of the woman who’d been assaulted in her backyard to be especially moving. When asked by her pastor who she’d like to talk with in the church, she names Sam Smith, a recovering alcoholic. When asked why Sam she responds, “ Because Sam has been to hell and back. I think he will know what it has felt like for me to go there. Perhaps he can tell me how he got back.” This reminds me of a pastoral session I had recently. I met with a couple in our church who are preparing for marriage. They are both in recovery from substance abuse. Their past troubles would disqualify them from helping others in some worshipping communities, but this couple is a goldmine of wisdom, care and love because of the road they’ve walked. Their voice is one of healing and life to many who are struggling to overcome addictive patterns. The exploration of Saints in chapter 5 made it my favorite chapter of the entire book.

Willimon and Hauerwas turn their attention to pastors toward the end of Resident Aliens. They say that we pastors have forgotten the purpose of our call to ministry. The authors remind us that kindness, politeness and helping are not the primary functions of our calling. No! We’re called to tell the truth, to orientate the people in our churches to truth hearing. When we feel that our primary purpose (as pastors or Christians in general) is helping people feel good, we become merchants of sentimentality. Willimon and Hauerwas state that, “Sentimentality, that attitude of being always ready to understand but not to judge, corrupts us and the ministry.” Those are strong words, but I’ve found them to be very true. In my own ministry context we’ve discovered that young people want to hear the truth, even if it hurts a bit when they hear it. In creating a culture of sentimentality, we’ve treated people with less respect than they deserve. The people that sit in our pews are capable of more – they are capable of hearing the truth spoken in love. This need to tell the truth is not reserved only for those in pastoral ministry. The call to truth telling extends all the way up to the Dean at the seminary and down to the person sitting on the back row on a Sunday night. Otherwise we will end up with cheap grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book The Cost of Discipleship, “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices.”

When pastors and Christians learn to tell the truth, the power of God enters our life and ministry. We gain credibility when we engage in truth telling. Peter’s words to Ananias and Sapphira certainly attest to this! Rather than adopting the role of one in the helping profession, Peter speaks the truth in Acts 5. The result is powerful (and unnerving). When we respond to Jesus’ mandate to speak the truth in love, we find that confidence to be liberating. Willimon and Hauerwas’ words about teaching from the lectionary were especially interesting to me. They say, “The very act of reading and preaching from scripture is a deeply moral act in our age, a reminder of the source of pastoral authority.” Our power comes because we believe in, and submit to, a truth that is higher than us. We have seen this firsthand at Trinity. The scripture shapes us as a Christian colony, not our own personal opinions about issues of the day. I wonder if more and more church leaders will turn to the Lectionary in the coming years in an effort to foster sustainability and to better engage in truth telling. I am seeing this desire emerge among many of my pastoral colleagues (across denominations) around Atlanta. Many of them have watched us teach the Lectionary for several years now and are ready to begin exploring it themselves.

My own ministry context was in the front of my mind as I read Resident Aliens. While I do maintain that an element of the Transforming Culture model can be useful in addition to the views put forward by Willimon and Hauerwas, I did deeply appreciate this book. At Trinity (the church where I serve as pastor) we are working toward forging a community shaped by the story of God with us. W and H speak of the, “…necessity of the church being a community of people who embody our language about God, where talk about God is used without apology because our life together does not mock our words.” That is my prayer – that our words about God won’t be mocked by our actions. That’s where the rubber meets the road. That’s where life matters in the Christian colony. I pray that my own church would increasingly embody this integrated truth.

Eastertide

2009-04-15T16:26:00.003-04:00

Today we had mid day services here at Trinity. The texts were great. The gospel reading came from John 15, where Jesus reminds us that he is the vine and we are the branches. We must remain in him if we're to have life in us. Jason told us in his homily that vine wood is the most useless of all woods... it's meant for nothing more than fire. You can't build with it, you can't use it for other purposes. It's only good for burning. If we live separate from our source then we are most useless. I can attest to this reality in my own life. What good words for us to hear as we stand at the threshold of the Easter Feast!

Here's a prayer for this week: "O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord's resurrection: Stir up in your Church that Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we, being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen."

Sunday, Easter Sunday, we baptized 16 Christians in our community. Two of them were my daughters, Mady and Scout. I can think of no better day than Easter Day to baptize believers into the church. Tears were shed, testimonies were offered, joy was shared. It was a beautiful day. I cannot think of a time where I've been more proud to be part of the body at Trinity... or proud to be a father to my children. This season is a time for renewal. If you are wandering far from the Good Shepherd please know that I am praying for you.

a birthday month

2009-04-11T00:28:00.002-04:00

My children have all had birthdays in the past month. At the beginning of March they were 9,7 and 4. Now they are 10, 8, and 5. Scout was last. She turned 8 on April 7, which we were at the beach. I struggle to believe that I'm a father to three kids who are so big! I'm very grateful for my babies. They are really not babies any longer, but I'm starting to understand why parents call their grown up children babies. That's because no matter how big they get we will always remember the times when they were little.

But....

I know that there will be a time (soon coming) when they won't be little any longer. Mady is the oldest and she's getting there fast. I want to be the kind of father that believes in the goodness of God when it comes to my children and their decision making once they reach that age when they have to stand on their own two feet. Too many parents baulk when it comes time to trust that they've done the job with their kids. There comes a time when we have to let them stand up and be counted. I am already praying for that day with our three kids. I'm praying now because I know that day is coming.... and it'll be here sooner than I'd like.

We have to envision the day when our kids will have to answer for themselves. We have to prepare for it. Parents, your kids won't be any stupider than you were when you had to stand on your own two feet. How is it that we so quickly forget what those growing up times were like for us? We have to give our kids the grace we wanted when we were in that young adult time of life. God help our children grow up well. God help us parents grow up well, too.

southern fiction and a food manifesto

2009-04-05T23:58:00.003-04:00

I'm on vacation and am doing my level headed best to NOT read anything theological. That's not easy when you've got a mountain of theological books to read because you're a pastor (and a seminary student). But this week I'm fighting the good fight. We're in Pensacola, Fla. and have been since Friday night. I've already read my first Terry Kay book. He's a southern author. The book is called "The story of Marie". I liked it. It made me feel southern, which I am so that's a good thing. I think I've found a new friend in the fiction world of today, so I'm happy. He can tell a story in such a way that'll make you feel something. I even shed a tear or two (and finished the book in two days, which says something for his ability to keep me coming back between icy dips in the pool with my kids.)

I also finished "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". It, too, is good but in a different way from the first book. This one will make you think... and think twice about the food we eat! I really enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's way of writing. I am beginning a garden this spring, so this read was quite timely. I'd recommend this one for anyone who's willing to rethink food consumption. She makes some brilliant points about the way our food system works.

After reading these two books... I ended up breaking my rule for vacation. I dug into "The Next Christendom", which is a book I'm reading in seminary. It's written by Phillip Jenkins. He's a Roman Catholic scholar. The book focuses on Global South church expansion... it's a striking book. I am nearly finished with it, too... I'll be writing a paper on it. If it turns out well, I might post my reflections here... (it being the paper I'm tasked to write).

a fantastic blog

2009-03-28T22:01:00.002-04:00

I want to give a shout out to a proverbial oasis in the world of bland blogging. My friend Tim Altork has launched a new blog and it's fantastic. Tim is a journalist by trade and has capitalized on that in the format of his blog. You can find it here thetimtimes.wordpress.com/

Good stuff. Well done, Tim.

preaching sea legs

2009-03-28T16:59:00.003-04:00

I must confess, there was a time a while back when I began to hate preaching/teaching. It was during the stretch right before we moved into our new building when we were doing five services every Sunday. We did five Sunday meetings for almost two years. At first, it seemed fine because I convinced myself that it was temporary. This was easy to do because we were searching for a new church the entire time - it just took forever to find our current building.

Right at the end of our time in the old building I began to grow weary. Sundays were not as fun as they used to be. I was just flat out tired of speaking 5 times on Sunday. I worried that this would stick with me in our new home. For a while, I think the residual feeling of Sunday fatigue followed me. But thankfully I've gradually seen it dissipate. God has been good in this respect. I enjoy preaching again! I look forward to Sundays. This makes me happy because it signals that I'm back in a sustainable place with regard to ministry. For a while there I wasn't so sure. It's a relief to feel good about this fundamental aspect of my job again.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks be to God.

Mady is 10 today

2009-03-27T10:34:00.001-04:00

Mady @ Greek Xmas Pty
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

My oldest daughter, Mady, turns 10 today. It's crazy. She's a double digit kid now. I don't feel quite old enough to have a child her age! I am so proud of Mady. She's entering this next phase of life well equipped. She's smart, beautiful, athletic, funny, kind and sensitive. What more could a parent want?!

From our days in England at her birth to our life today, Mady has been a joy for Karyn and I to parent. She's becoming more and more of a young lady, which makes her mother and I proud.

She'll be baptized on Easter Morning. I so look forward to that day. She's ready to take a step into the family of God. I look forward to another year with my oldest, exploring what life looks like with a 10 year old.

God be with my child. God bless her and keep her safe this day and every day this year. May she continue to grow in fruitfulness and in joy. Mold her and shape her into your image day by day.

Finn's first game

2009-03-21T15:49:00.001-04:00

scoring his first ever run!
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Today is the first full day of spring. It's also the day of Finn's first Tee-Ball game! This photo is of him rounding 3rd base in route to scoring his first run! It was a beautiful afternoon, with the family at the park watching our boy play his first organized sport. I am very thankful for my family. Spring is truly a blessed time of year. And you have to admit, Finn looks pretty awesome rounding third!

Spring

2009-03-20T09:11:00.002-04:00

Today is the first day of Spring. I am not sure how these things are decided - but it definitely feels true. Spring has clearly sprung. I've already contracted Poison Ivy, for goodness sake.

This time of year fills up fast in our house. Scout and Mady are taking a kids yoga class, Mady's playing soccer, and Finn is playing tee-ball. That makes for four days a week of either practice or games of some kind. The funny thing about it is that we tried to get Scout to play her own sport, but instead she opted for yoga only. In retrospect that might have been a good thing.

With all this busyness a family has to fight to stay grounded. Spring seems to be a good time for making changes. I feel like this is certainly true for this year. Lent is a good time for change. Right now (on this first day of Spring) we're far enough into our preparation for Easter that some of the import and meaning of Lent should have hit us by now. I pray that as Spring springs, we would look forward to Easter. I pray that we would wait for the full blossoming of Spring. The fullness of this season doesn't begin on the first day of Spring... full spring happens on Easter Morning.

Gardening and reading

2009-03-14T21:56:00.003-04:00

So, lately I've been working to establish a food producing bit of earth in my backyard. I've built raised beds in the back yard. But before I put the beds in place (they are 8 feet by 4 feet and 1 foot tall) I dug deep into the earth (deep being 10 inches or so). After digging and placing the beds, we filled them halfway with compost. All of this was accomplished with the help of my friend, Cameron Lawrence.

Right now reading is my middle name. I've read some fantastic theological work on the stuff of creation. But I'm currently reading a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It's about a family that chose to live off the land (almost entirely) for one year. The author, Barbara Kingsolver, makes some good points about food and our lack of a food culture in America.

Here's an excerpt before bedtime...

"The main barrier between ourselves and a local-food culture is not price, but attitude. The most difficult requirements are patience and a pinch of restraint- virtues that are hardly the property of the wealthy. These virtues seem to find precious little shelter, in fact, in any modern quarter of this nation founded by Puritans. Furthermore, we apply them selectively: browbeating our teenagers with the message that they should wait for sex, for example. Only if they wait to experience intercourse under the ideal circumstances, will they know its true value. "blah blah blah," hears the teenager: words issuing from a mouth that can't even wait for the right time to eat tomatoes, but instead consumes tasteless ones all winter to satisfy a craving for everything now! We're raising our children on the definition of promiscuity if we feed them a casual, indiscriminate mingling of foods from every season plucked from the supermarket, ignoring how our sustenance is cheapened by wholesale desires."

Now, I'm not suggesting that our kids have sex because we eat tomatoes in the wintertime... but I do think that Ms. Kingsolver (fantastic name, by the way - King Solver) has a point. We do live in a culture where we get what we want, when we want it, without much thought as to whether the thing we want is in season, so to speak. The world is defined by many in terms of instant gratification. No wonder we don't have much impulse control.

This does play into the choices our kids will one day make. Will they be able to say no to temptation if we never teach them to wait for something good? Giving in to our impulses today actually weakens our strength for tomorrow. That's why Lent is so important... and gardening for that matter. Both teach us to wait. But the waiting is not to promote suffering. It's to teach us to enter periods of unknowing in certain hope that there is a bright future looming out there on the horizon. The early church entered Lent knowing that Easter was just around the corner. It's possible to face death when you believe in resurrection! Lent lasts 40 days.... 40 days of wilderness wandering. But Easter lasts 50 days! It's called the Great 50 Days. Easter is bigger than Lent. But Easter is cheapened when we don't pay attention to Lent. They need one another.

Gardening is the same way. We have to wait for certain things - certain vegetables. I was reading in this book that there are vegetables (asparagus, for instance) that take years to mature before the plant can sustain a harvest. Can we wait for asparagus? I'm not sure we can. I want to wait for asparagus. I want my kids to wait for asparagus... not because they can't get it from the store... but because it probably tastes better when it comes from the backyard.

Finn the baseball player

2009-03-11T21:04:00.002-04:00

Tonight Finn started Tee-Ball! It was a great night for Karyn and me. He had to sit out last year because the girls were a bit older and got first dibs... but he's playing this year and very happy about it. He's a Ranger... a Texas Ranger. And he's awesome!

good day in the dirt

2009-03-07T21:32:00.004-05:00

Today was a good day at the McDaniel house. Cameron Lawrence and I worked in the yard almost all day long, building and filling garden beds for the spring and summer veges that will fill them (and fill our belly's). I had this idea a while back to construct raised beds in my back yard. This felt like a massive endeavor because I don't construct much of anything. I am not a wood worker. I wonder if Jesus was a wood worker... we know that he was a carpenter, but my father in law asked the question today as to whether he worked primarily with wood or stone. You know, I'd never thought of it before - I guess I always thought he worked with wood... but stone makes sense, too.

Anyway, the raised beds in my backyard idea came about because we can't get good grass (fescue) to grow back there. As soon as the summer sun comes, the grass just withers away. The direct sunlight, which is bad for fescue ( a shade loving grass), seems like it'd be great for a sun loving garden! This sparked a desire in me to plant things this year. Actually, I've been reading some good stuff on creation lately, too. It has made me realize on a deeper level that planting things... scratching the earth as some smart people have called it... is a good way to express the kingdom of God in your own backyard. This seemed inspiring enough, so I have decided to give it a go. I built two raised beds from lumber! Cameron and I cut the boards, nailed them together, pounded them together so as to level the beds, and filled them partially full with composted soil! And we accomplished this without cutting off one appendage! It's truly a sign of the miraculous!

I must say that if the look of these lumber constructed beds are any indication of the wonderful vegetables we'll be growing... we're set! They look good. I will post a picture here soon to prove it to all... and to prove that even rookie woodworkers can construct something that looks good and that serves a good purpose.

After all this cutting and digging I was alerted to the fact that my in-laws were giving us 11 Azalea plants! 11! We went over to Ben and Lucy's house (brother and sister in law who helped with the latter feat I'm about to describe) and brought 11 plants that were destined for my front yard. These bushes had been brought from Dahlonega where they were being eaten daily by deer. We don't have deer in the city... we city folk took care of that problem a long time ago.

So, tired as a dog, I dig 11 more holes for these beautiful plants (white flowering azaleas) to find their home in front of my front porch.

The azaleas are in the ground now, the raised beds are in place - almost full of beautiful soil... As I said earlier, today has been a good day.

I'm sitting on my front porch right now totally content. I'm tired (very) from the work, but it's more than that. I've been digging in the dirt all day. All day. And I feel grounded. I feel rooted in God's creation... in the stuff of the earth. This makes me feel happy, it makes me feel contented. I feel content. There's something about working in the soil that makes things feel right. There is so much possibility in the dirt. And yet dirt is so normal - annoying even. We wash it off our hands, off our clothes... and yet, if we dig in it and plant seeds good things might happen. There's life (or the possibility of life) in the dirt that surrounds us all the time. I think that's a good metaphor for the Kingdom of God. The possibility of God's life taking root and bursting into bloom is all around us... it's as available as the dirt we walk on every day but we often miss it.

Tonight I finished my daily office readings for the day as well as the collect (prayer) for the week. It's good to say the same prayer for an entire week as a part of my prayer routine. This week's prayer is beautiful... it's a fitting prayer for the early stages of the Lenten season.. It reads, " Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one ﬁnd you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen." What a beautiful prayer for us to pray during this season of fasting and preparation.

God be with you all. I pray that you would find His grace as we wander the wilderness in search of Easter.

girls+Jonas Brothers=loud

2009-03-01T17:34:00.001-05:00

girls+Jonas Brothers=loud
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Last night I took my girls, Mady and Scout, to a screening of the new Jonas Brothers movie. They knew about the movie, but what they didn't know was that the Jonas Brothers themselves were slated to show up to promote their film! I received a tip from a friend, but was sworn to secrecy so I didn't even tell the girls that I thought we'd see the Brothers until we were on the way to the theater.

Needless to say, I was not prepared for what happened when these boys walked into the room. This short video was shot by my oldest daughter, Mady, as they walked into the room from a side door. It's like the Beatles disney style!

All in all, I am a pretty fantastic dad. I can say this because there were WAY more moms present than dads! I was one of the few brave male souls who adores his daughters enough to risk life and limb for their entertainment.

walking trees

2009-02-28T23:36:00.002-05:00

In the past two days I've seen the film versions of Prince Caspian and the second installment of The Lord of the Rings . Both books (and the film versions, too) have walking trees. There's something powerful about trees joining in the battle against evil. I was deeply impacted as I watched trees join in the battle in both films. I am not sure why. But as I've sat watching these two films I am reminded of how I felt reading these books in those moments where nature itself engages in the fight against forces of wickedness.

I know that Lewis and Tolkien were members of a literary group, The Inklings. They often met together at a pub in Oxford called The Bird in Hand. Reflecting on their walking, talking trees makes me wonder what kind of creation discussions they had while knocking back good English Ale at their regular corner table. Clearly these men envisioned a creation alive with God's power.

The scriptures tell us that the trees of the field will ultimately clap their hands in praise to God. But there's something more aggressive in the world of these two men. They envisioned a kind of participation in which the trees would wake up and fight. These trees take back ground that had been stolen from the world of good and right. These trees are either wakened by Aslan's voice or convinced to fight by small hobbits.

I love Lewis' imagery about trees that live. More than grow and put out leaves... these trees live.

This give us (for starters) a look into the solid theology that shaped these men. They obviously believed in a good creation... and that creation would one day go back to it's intended purpose. I am not suggesting that trees will one day talk and walk - but we must begin to uncover a healthy view of creation - the kind of view held by men like Lewis and Tolkien.

The church fathers all affirmed a good creation. They believed that God's world was good. They also believed that sin marred this good creation. Then they taught that Jesus has rescued humanity from the curse of sin. But they also affirmed the renewal and restoration of all things. Too often, we are only given the middle two pieces. The gospel is often presented to us as sin and rescue. Dallas Willard calls this the truncated gospel. Without a view of a good creation and the renewal of all things, we won't care about the whole story. We'll only care about sin and forgiveness. Now don't get me wrong... sin and forgiveness are amazing! But they only constitute half of the story. The whole story is seen when we bring in a view of a good creation - a world made by the Father. And it's a beautiful created order that will not only be forgiven, but also restored by God. That means that this created world matters a great deal to God. He's going to restore it. He's going to bring it though death and into new life. That's the essence of Resurrection, isn't it? Creation matters to God - and it should matter to us.

When I see trees take on human like characteristics in the works of Lewis and Tolkien I get a sense that they believed in the whole gospel story. They didn't adhere to a truncated gospel . No! They believed in the whole thing. The whole story. The question is whether we believe the whole story, too.

a narnian moment

2009-02-27T17:08:00.002-05:00

Finn and I are watching Prince Caspian while the girls are at yoga class.

As soon as Peter, Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and Susan get to the old stone table where Aslan was killed, Finn says, "God died on the cross just like Aslan died on that table. Jesus came back to life just like Aslan came back to life."

Out of the mouths of babes....

This is why I love C.S. Lewis so much - even children (maybe especially children) get the truth of the gospel and see the connections between Aslan and Jesus. There is something about Lewis that inspires/sparks the imagination.

I had not said one word whilst watching the movie to prime the pump... the boy is simply getting it.

Finn also said, "Daddy, sometimes you need to fight what you cannot see."

The boy is full of quotes today.

Thanks be to God.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

2009-02-21T15:29:00.003-05:00

Today I took my kids to see this movie. It was a bit better than I thought it would be. Fatherhood makes one do things they would not have considered beforehand... but the thing about it is that you learn after a while to see things through the eyes of your kids. This makes movies like "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" kind of funny.

At one point in the film, Mister Blart puts a cassette tape into a boom box. Mady, my oldest, leans over and asks what that plastic rectangle thing is. The kid didn't know what a cassette tap was! I have these moments from time to time - you know, moments where you realize that you are kind of old. Well, this was certainly one of them. Mady, who is 9, had not seen a cassette tape. I whisper back, "This is what we had before ipods." She responds with, "Oh, yeah."

As Bob Dylan once said, "Times, they are a changin'." However, I don't think he was thinking about Ipods when he wrote that.

book review

2009-02-20T09:34:00.001-05:00

Kingdom, Church, and World: Biblical Themes for Today by Howard A. Snyder

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I think I might be in love with Howard A. Snyder! This book was fantastic. I would say that it's one of the best expositions on the Kingdom that I've read... ever. He wrote it a while back (1985 and then revised in 2001, I think) so there are parts that seem a bit dated, but the meat of this book is solid. The publisher, WIPF and STOCK Publishers, do in house on demand printing, so it is not the most professional looking book to hold in your hands... but don't let that throw you off the trail. As I was read this I kept thinking N.T. Wright meets Wendell Berry. The first half of the book is very insightful. Snyder gives us 7 different Biblical images of the kingdom - peace, land, house, city, justice, sabbath and jubilee. Then he goes into how church communities (and Christians in general) can manifest/demonstrate the kingdom in the way they live and interact. He also offers commentary on how nations either support or betray kingdom principles. I'm not gonna' lie, this dude will completely piss off many North American Christians with some of what he says... I had my feathers ruffled a few times... but this is good stuff.

I believe Snyder is a Free Methodist (according to my friend Jarrett Dickey). Here's to Free Methodists!

View all my reviews.

What storms may come

2009-02-18T20:38:00.002-05:00

Tonight has been a doozy (not sure how you spell that/or even if it's a word) of a night due to the threat of tornados around our fair city. My wife is sick and so I was on daddy duty with the kids. My plan to order pizza for dinner was thrown off a bit due to the weather as we didn't feel right about calling Papa John's until we were pretty sure the dude wouldn't be killed while driving us our dinner!

Finn thought the storm was pretty funny. Actually, I am not sure he really got it. Scout, my 7 year old, knew what was happening but was not that upset about it. She just figured the house would hold up, I guess. Mady was a different story. She was freaked out. She was so scared about the storm. I really don't know why. I kept assuring her that our house was well built and that it wasn't likely that the storm would even come to us. That advice only helped a little.

She was very relieved when the national weather service stopped mentioning Fulton county. She doesn't know ( neither do I, for that matter) how big (exactly) Fulton county is... but she knows that's OUR county. That's all it took. One word "Fulton" and she was a mess. But after they stopped talking about Fulton County she was okay.

God help her. It broke my heart to see my kid so frightened.

She was okay by the time we hit the pillow tonight, but man, it was hard. The poor kid was worn out from fear.

I am now watching the Godfather and drinking some Chianti from Trader Joe's. I love Chianti, even though it was the drink Hannibal Lector referenced in that movie back in the day.

Another contribution to the sign wars

2009-02-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

this is really bad... and in North Carolina
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

We came across this gem in North Carolina! For those of you who are over 18, this is a reference to Myspace. Haha!

Wendell Berry

2009-02-14T18:09:00.002-05:00

I love this man. Love him. If I didn't love cities so much, I'd farm because Berry farms. Check that, if I weren't called to live in the city ( I love the city of Atlanta because God has given me a deep love for it) I'd live in Kentucky on the farm next to Berry's. And I'd follow him around - you know, I'd duck behind my beat up F-150 truck (which I'd own if I lived in Kentucky) when he came out of the local hardware store. We'd eventually be friends.

Anyway, here's a bit of Berry from his work entitled The Unsettling of America, where he contrasts two attitudes toward land: exploiter and nuturer:

"I conceive a strip-miner to be a model exploiter, and as a moder nurturer I take the old-fashioned idea or ideal of a farmer. The exploiter is a specialist, an expert; the nurturer is not. The standard of the exploiter if effeciency; the standard of the nurturer is care. The exploiter's goal is money, profit; the nurturer's goal is health - his land's health, his own, his family's, his community's, his country's... The exploiter wishes to earn as much as possible by as little work as possible; the nurturer expects, certainly, to have a decent living from his work, but his characteristic wish is to work as well as possible. The competence of the exploiter is in organization; that of the nurturer is in order - a human order, that is, that accommodates itself both to other order and to mystery. The exploiter typically serves an institution or organization; the nurturer serves land, household, community, place. The exploiter thinks in terms of numbers, quantities, 'hard facts'; the nurturer in terms of character, condition, quality, kind."

I believe that there are places in my life where I act as nurturer just as sure as there are other, darker places where I am an exploiter. God have mercy.

What would make a church put up a sign like this?

2009-02-14T11:29:00.008-05:00

I am fascinated with church signs. They are, I believe, truly an American innovation. Signs like this are not totally unique to the church world - we all know that businesses do use signs to advertise. But usually they are advertising something specific, like a sale on mattresses or something like that. But the nature of church signs is a bit different. Typically a church sign broadcasts a bit of unsolicited advice to unsuspecting (and uninterested ) motorists as they pass by in their cars. That just doesn't seem like the best way to draw in the masses of lost souls out there.

The church whose sign ministry is being feature here will remain anonymous to protect them from scorn. I have tried to imagine the conversation that led to this sign being posted. Maybe it went something like this, "Harold, why don't people come to our church on Sundays?" A confused deacon replies, " I don't know. Don't people know that they are welcome?!" "I think you're onto something here, deacon so-and-so. Let's put something like that out on the sign. Maybe that'll convince people that they're welcome!"

And then. Bam. A sign is made.

Teaching our children

2009-02-10T08:34:00.003-05:00

Psalm 78v1-7 (a portion of the daily office readings this morning) says,

"Hear my teaching, O my people;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.

That which we have heard and known,
and what our forefathers have told us,
we will not hide from their children.

We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord,
and the wonderful works he has done.

He gave his decrees to Jacob
and established a law for Israel,
which he commanded them to teach their children;

That generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn;
that they in their turn might tell it to their children;

So that they might put their trust in God,
and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments..."

These words speak to us about the importance of not only believing, but also telling the story of our faith to those who will come after us. Generally speaking, I don't think we Western Christians are very good at passing things along. We're better at using and discarding. But this Psalm, this old song from the story of our faith, tells us to hang onto the stories of God's action. We're taught here to remember. It strikes me that our memories are too short. We forget too quickly. I wonder if some of the challenges we have with faith today stem from this (at least partially). Too much of the time we don't get the stories from our parents. We don't have the deeds of God told to us by them. They may teach us wrong from right - but this is about something else. This text, this song, is here to remind us to tell them about the action of God among His people. This Psalm is here to remind us to tell of God's deeds.

My parents told me the story of God's deeds. I knew from an early age that God had done great things for my mom and dad. God delivered my parents from drug addiction and a life of pain. So when I entered seasons of questioning and doubt, I would remember the deeds of God. I would think of those times where God saved those I loved from destruction - and this would remind me. I would remember. I would believe. I still do. The deeds of God handed down to me by those who went before (in my case my mother and father) taught me to believe God.

Many of us may not have received this kind of spiritual inheritance from our parents. We may have been left to figure it out on our own. Or maybe the heritage our folks gave us was a mixed bag - some blessing along with some curses. But regardless of our experience, we can ask the Father to start a new branch in the family tree with us. If you are a parent to young children, don't be afraid to pray or talk about God in front of your little ones. They will see prayer as natural if you are open with them. I know how scary this can be. I remember teaching my kids the Lord's Prayer. At first, I felt feelings of embarrassment... and I'm a pastor! But now we are able to pray and converse on spiritual matters as a family, and have been doing so for years. Our children will have a faith to hand down if we, as parents, start handing it to them.

Do leaders have leaders?

2009-02-09T16:39:00.003-05:00

Too often, they do not. I just finished reading (for the third time) Eugene Peterson's book "Working the Angles" (not Working the Angels because that'd be weird and wrong). He speaks of three Angles for pastoral work - prayer, scriptures and spiritual direction.

The last one is what got me to thinking. Spiritual direction is not just something that pastors should give to others... they should also receive that kind of direction. This idea of pastors being pastored themselves is something that many of us have lost in the western church. Peterson says, "The widespread loss of what in healthier times was assumed (receiving spiritual direction) leaves the pastor in enormous, though usually unnoticed, peril. And the wreckage accumulates: we find pastors who don't pray, pastors who don't grow in faith, pastors who can't tell the difference between culture and the Christ, pastors who chase fads, pastors who are cynical and shopworn, pastors who know less about prayer after twenty years of praying than they did on the day of their ordination, pastors with arrogant, outsized egos puffed up by years of hot-air flattery from well-meaning parishioners: "Great sermon, pastor... wonderful prayer, pastor... I couldn't have made it through without you, pastor..."

I have determined to open myself up to those closest to me. My friends (Jason Campbell, Matt Yoder and Marty Reardon) provide the safety and security I need to be myself. They have become more and more my spiritual directors. Sometimes that's scary because we're in so much of life together... but maybe that's part of why it works. We're learning to pay attention to the normal happenings of life in order to hear God speak. It's in the normal, the routine, the mundane that much spiritual direction occurs. We need to be around friends in order for that kind of spiritual direction to even have an opportunity to occur.

We need folks to be in this with us. All of us need that. Pastors included. I discovered Eugene Peterson's book on pastoral work a couple of years ago. All four of them ( Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, Working the Angles, Under the Unpredictable Plant, and The Contemplative Pastor) are ground breaking works on how to cultivate a sustainable life before God while serving in pastoral ministry. Thank you, Mister Peterson. You may have saved my life.

finished reading "The Bishop of Rwanda"

2009-02-07T23:02:00.004-05:00

I am thankful to have read Bishop John's book all the way through. His description of the healing process was very moving. One thing in particular stood out to me. He spoke of local trials that were held to deal with perpetrators of the genocide.

I will copy an excerpt here for your perusal as I think it best sums up the spirit of the people of Rwanda and how they're processing and healing from one of the darkest nights in our era. The following is from pages 202-203 in "The Bishop of Rwanda"
---------------------
The Gacacha Courts

The Gacacha Courts began in 2003 as a way for the community to work together to investigate and reveal the truth about the genocide. Gacacha is the name of the grass that grows in the community compounds. Historically, Rwandans sat on gacacha to testify and work out their problems. When there was a grudge between people, they came together and sat on the grass around the compound to discuss it.

....The Rwandan government decided to hold their own courts the old fashioned way, by having a tribunal of people from each area hear the testimony of the local people, and questioning those under suspicion. The process began in a few villages on an experimental basis, but proved so successful that it was soon expanded to one village in each province, and now it is in every district in the country.

The entire community participates in the Gacacha courts. Anyone who attends - from the village elder to the youngest child - may ask questions. There is a group of six or so people who have been elected by the people and trained by the government to preside over the court and lead the investigation. They begin by collecting information on the genocide in that parish or village from every source available. Then they hold the hearings in the open, where everyone can attend, and they question people.

The process restores the responsibility of protecting the community to the people of that community. The people who are asking the questions are from the community, and the people who are giving the information are from the community. The sense of community is preserved, and that is very important to Rwanda, because even if someone goes to jail, he will return to the same community when he is released.

Those who have done wrong are brought to justice by the community. If you offended the community, the community judges you, and eventually it is the community that restores you and welcomes you back. By allowing the people in the community to question someone who is suspected of perpetuating the genocide, the anger and resentment are greatly relieved because they have been expressed. In asking these questions the people are airing their sorrow, and that helps to relieve it.

The Gacacha courts also provide more opportunity for people to repent. Since people from the same villages are there, they are helping each other to be accountable. A person may try to conceal some things, but then someone in the crowd will say, "Wait! You were at a roadblock, and you had a gun! I saw it What did you use that gun for?" Or a person might say, "I just looted." But someone else says, "No, my friend, we were together. We killed so-and-so together. I hit him in the head, and you speared him."

This process helps people to unearth the truth, to overcome denial, and to move toward repentance. The community remembers what happened. People do not forget something that their hearts remind them of every single day. The pain and guilt make them remember vividly.

------------------------------

These Gacacha courts helped to give power back to the community. Beautiful.

Coffee mediations

2009-02-07T11:05:00.004-05:00

A new friend of mine, Jonathan Golden, gave me a Chemex coffee pot. He operates Land of a Thousand Hills, which is a fantastic enterprise that roasts and sells fair trade coffee from Rwanda. They also own a beautiful coffee house in Roswell. This thing is awesome! It takes a little longer than a french press, but is so much more fun.. and easy to clean up after it's all said and done (and the coffee has been consumed).

Jonathan told me that he prays for the Rwandan coffee farmers (who supply the beans that are used by Land of a Thousand Hills) while he brews his coffee in the Chemex. I did the same while brewing my first cups this am.

It's always fun to take something you love (drinking coffee) and make it even better. Better taste and a better experience make for Saturday goodness!

nearing the end

2009-02-06T20:52:00.002-05:00

I am almost finished with "The Bishop of Rwanda". The story has turned a corner now. Bishop John is focusing on the healing of the country after 1.1 million Tutsi people were murdered in 100 days. As I read his account I find my heart not wanting to believe. I struggle to believe that a people could actually heal from something so terrible as Genocide. To consider that people could heal is difficult for my soft, Western heart to grasp. The message being communicated through these words is really the gospel message. God alone can heal broken hearts. For us that usually means something a bit more palatable than machete massacres. But the question we have to ask ourselves is this - Do we believe God? Do we believe in the God of the scriptures? Can He do for us what we see in the scriptures... or is the Gospel story just something from another time?

"I believe, help my unbelief." St. Peter said that. I say it every day now. Every day. I believe. Help my unbelief. Help us all, Lord.

The Bishop of Rwanda

2009-02-05T09:51:00.004-05:00

So, I'm reading this book right now and, honestly, I don't know if I've ever read something so difficult to process. The book is written by John Rucyahana, a Bishop in the Anglican Church of Rwanda. I am about half way through it and feel like my eyes are finally opening up to a horrific world event that occurred in 1994. It makes me feel sick to realize that I wasn't paying attention when this happened. How could so many Americans have missed a massacre of over 1 million people? Don't get me wrong, I knew it had happened... but I didn't truly stop and pay attention. Obviously the United States didn't stop and take note - we didn't do anything. The problem rests in the fact that Rwanda was (and is) one of the poorest nations in the world. They had nothing any Western nation wanted and so we didn't come to their aid. As men, women and children were being hacked to death by machetes in the streets of Kigali (provided by European Governments ) - we did nothing. We didn't truly notice when we heard stories told of mass killings inside churches - sometimes involving clergy who acted on the side of the aggressors.

Report after report made it to our Nation's capital and to the UN headquarters in NYC... but nothing happened when it counted most.

My heart is broken... and it's sad that it's broken 14+ years after the fact.

I keep hearing from folks that I need to finish... that I need to plow through to get to the redemptive places - and I believe them. I believe those people who tell me to finish the book because I met Bishop John (author of book). I saw the healing and joy of Jesus in his eyes. He's seen the darkness of hell and has lived to tell of it. He's lived because Jesus lives. The reconciliation in Rwanda in the aftermath of the Genocide is truly something to marvel at. The fact that surviving Tutsis could forgive their Hutu offenders is something only Jesus could do. I pray that peace and life would continue in Rwanda as it's healing continues. I thank God for Bishop John Rucyahana and Archbishop Kolini.

The people of this poor nation were left on their own by the nations of the world - but not by God. God was (and is) with them in a way that mystifies me. In the words of Bishop John, "There is so much pain here, so many real tears, and so much guilt that our ministry is like preaching hope from the top of a pile of bones. From atop a mount of mutilated bodies, we are stretching a hand upward to proclaim a message of transformation and recovery. And is it happening!"

American Idol

2009-02-03T20:32:00.002-05:00

Does anyone else think that American Idol is only good during the early episodes? You know, the parts where everyone sucks? I think tonight might be my last night (not my wife's last night)! I must admit that the scared kids on the big stage is kind of funny. I am just not sure... and am somewhat embarrassed that I am watching it right now... I will just say this, "My wife made me do it!"

new people, new places

2009-01-31T22:16:00.006-05:00

I have just returned from a conference hosted in Greensboro, NC. It was a conference put on by the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA). These guys invited us up here to meet some folks and to experience Anglicanism up close and personal! It was a great time. I feel like I've learned a lot about our dear brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion. Also, Greensboro is a fantastic place! That was a joke, I think:). All we saw of Greensboro was the hotel/conference center and the parking lot that led us to the Outback Steakhouse! But, alas, we didn't go there to see the sights of the booming metropolis that is Greensboro (no offense, fair residents of aforementioned town).

Our reason for going to the Winter Conference was simple. We wanted to know more about a stream of the faith that has impacted our church so much. Back in the day, we decided to celebrate Eucharist each Sunday when we gathered as a church community. This was one of our first decisions, brought to the table by Jason Campbell. At the time, we didn't have much depth of understanding... but we didn't resist Jason's suggestion and off we went. Then, years later, we took another step into Anglican waters. It came when we decided to begin teaching from the Sunday Lectionary (from the Book of Common Prayer in the Anglican tradition). This desire came from a simple frustration. I woke up one morning and decided that I could not continue to compose 'felt needs' sermons any longer. Basically, the thought of a long stint in pastoral ministry with me having to come up with each and every sermon topic from week to week scared the life out of me. Being in the driver's seat in that way seemed to place me at the center of the life and direction of the church as far as content goes and I simply didn't want to drive things in that way. I just didn't trust my instincts over the long haul. Our search for sustainability led us to the Lectionary, which is a scripture reading/teaching plan that is more than 400 years old. We discovered that we could finally submit to a bible teaching plan where the scriptures came to us instead of us picking and choosing that bits and pieces we wanted to talk about. Too much of the time we adopt a kind of buffet style approach to Christian teaching. We American Evangelicals tend to only pick the parts we like, all the while claiming to love the entire story of the Bible. Teaching from the Lectionary was our way to subvert that tendency, so we jumped in with both feet.

Initially we only read one or two of the Lessons (scripture selections) from the Lectionary, but before long we decided to add the other readings. Now we read 4 different biblical texts on any given Sunday. Our reason for reading more scripture is because we believe the Word is powerful - that it has a shaping ability. That's the beautiful thing about the authority of Scripture... it can form us as we learn to actively listen to it.

I feel like we've touched a stream of the faith that has both encouraged and inspired us. Thank you, Anglicans!

King Plow

2009-01-24T17:28:00.002-05:00

This is a photo taken on Marietta Street circa 1954. A lot has changed since those days... but some things still remain. Interesting...

This is the same shot today.... just for reference ....

NYC

2009-01-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

I spent the day in New York City (or 'the city' as folks call it there). It's a funny place... the kind of place that get's into you... or on you... no wait! It gets on top of you and makes you feel kind of like a loser for not living there. I don't think a person can spend 5 hours in Manhattan and not start to wonder if they'd make a mistake simply by living anywhere else. Don't get me wrong, I love New York. There is really no place like it anywhere else... and certainly no place like it in the states. If you've not spend much time there, take the snobbery that ITP (inside the perimeter ) folks have here in Atlanta toward those that live OTP (outside the perimeter) and apply that to those that live in NYC and everywhere else in the United States. It's not just folks that live in the burbs... it's all of us!

Seriously, I do think there's something about New York. I have a friend, Jon Tyson, who is church planting up there. Jon, you're my hero. It's hard sledding to plant a church in the midst of the big city. I applaud you. New York is a special, sometimes overwhelming place - and it's so good to know that God has got some good folks on the job up there.

While in the cityI came across this fantastic Italian Restaurant. I doubt you've ever heard of it... this is one of those New York originals... Here's to the PizzaPieinthebigcity!!

The Magician's Nephew

2009-01-22T19:30:00.002-05:00

Can I just say that I've forgotten how amazingly beautiful the lesser known Narnia books are?! We just finished Lewis' first installment in the Chronicles of Narnia, "The Magician's Nephew". It starts kind of slow, but man does it end with a bang! I couldn't get through the last page without tears filling my eyes and my voice cracking up.

Young Digory is given a magic apple by Aslan to give to his ailing mother back in London. He returns and gives it to her. She eats the apple and is healed! It's a beautiful moment. Later that day, Digory takes the apple core (from the magic Narnian apple) and plants it in the back garden. It grows (slightly faster than a normal tree) and grows until it's a full grown tree. Many years later that tree is knocked down in a storm. When Digory (then known as Professor Ketterley and living in the country side - not in London) learns of it he can't stand for the tree to be cut up and burned so he has a wardrobe made from some of the timber. The wardrobe is shipped to his huge house in the countryside. Well, the magic from the Narnian apple must have lived on in the sap of the old tree, for many years later a little girl stumbles through this Wardrobe and into a magical land. Thus beginning the next wave of adventures in the Land of Narnia

I mean, c'mon... who thinks this stuff up!?! Lewis, you're an amazing mind. I can't wait to drink a beer with you in heaven!

Martin Luther on Sickness

2009-01-13T10:01:00.003-05:00

I came across this today and it made me think of my friend, Stuart, who is living with cancer (and fighting it like hell).

Martin Luther once wrote to an important man, Frederick of Saxony, who was sick. He links Fredrick's sickness within the context of Christ's sufferings..

"When, therefore, I learned, most illustrious prince (Frederick), that Your Lordship had been afflicted with a grave illness and that Christ has at the same time become ill in you, I counted it my duty to visit your lordship with a little writing of mine. I cannot pretend that I do not hear the voice of Christ crying out to me in your lordship's body and flesh and saying: "Behold, I am sick." This is so because such evils as illness and the like are not born by us who are Christians, but by Christ Himself, our Lord and Saviour, in whom we live."

This is so true! Christ Himself bears Stuart's illness in His body. He carries it. He carries us in our weakness.

Red.... Karyn..... love

2009-01-09T22:55:00.001-05:00

Red.... Karyn..... love
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

This is a pic of my wife's hair. I prayed for Jesus to give me a wife with red hair way before I ever met Karyn. As you can see from the picture, God does answer prayer. Thank you Jesus for my wife.

new camera

2009-01-09T22:53:00.001-05:00

Kris and Karyn
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

We bought a new camera today with some Christmas money. It's a canon elf... cute camera - and I took this shot myself! These don't always work out well... but I got both of us in the shot.

Thanks for the camera, dad!

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus passes away

2009-01-08T10:43:00.002-05:00

Father Neuhaus, Editor of "First Things" died this morning. I love this man. His life has been a gift to the Body of Christ.

---------------------------------
Fr. Richard John Neuhaus slipped away today, January 8, shortly before 10 o’clock, at the age of seventy-two. He never recovered from the weakness that sent him to the hospital the day after Christmas, caused by a series of side effects from the cancer he was suffering. He lost consciousness Tuesday evening after a collapse in his heart rate, and the next day, in the company of friends, he died.

My tears are not for him—for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted.

I weep, rather for all the rest of us. As a priest, as a writer, as a public leader in so many struggles, and as a friend, no one can take his place. The fabric of life has been torn by his death, and it will not be repaired, for those of us who knew him, until that time when everything is mended and all our tears are wiped away.

Funeral arrangements are still being planned; information about the funeral will be made public shortly. Please accept our thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

In Deepest Sorrow,

Joseph Bottum
Editor
First Things

Georgia plates

2008-12-19T22:38:00.004-05:00

Georgia plates
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

I took this picture about a year ago. We were driving up in NW Georgia and came across this amazing collection of cars that had been dumped in the woods - or at least that's what it looked like. We found out later on that the land where these cars are is owned by a crazy old man. It used to be a bunch of cars in a field (many, many years ago) and over time the trees have grown up around them. It's funny how time goes by and things change so much that it brings confusion. I remember Karyn and I guessing as to why on earth someone would put a bunch of super cool old cars in the woods... only to find out that's not how it happened at all. That's life, eh? Sometimes we have no idea how things got the way they are... we just have to meet things where they are - as they are. And when we do that, sometimes cool stuff happens. Like this day in the woods a year ago.

If you're interested in seeing all my pics from this day, go to my flickr page. I think you can do that simply by clicking on the pic to the right...

rhythm

2008-12-16T20:37:00.004-05:00

I am not a musical person. If you put a gun to my head and told me to tap out a beat - I'd be dead. I remember a friend handing me a harmonica once, telling me that it was easy to play... not for me. I was told to lip sync in chorus, which proved that not only do I not have rhythm - but also that I can't carry a note!

But I have found another kind of rhythm. It's a rhythm in prayer. For me, praying at certain times during the day has helped me find a kind of rhythm that I have never had in my life. I've always tried to have some sort of devotion during my days... but this is different than having a 'quiet time'... Like eating, I have found that by coming to the Lord at certain hours (praying the hours, some call it) I've found that I never wander too far in my heart. It's given me rhythm... Hmmmm... I wonder if this is part of what Jesus meant when he spoke of daily bread?

For me, this is what prayer looks like....

I pray using this book. It's super good. It calls me to come to God 4 times per day. I find that I'm praying more now than at most times in my life. It's good... I've got rhythm (more than one beat per day!!)

a long term view of things

2008-12-16T08:43:00.002-05:00

As I was driving my kids to school today a thought popped into my head. It was "you can't know whether you deeply love something (or even someone... or even some place) until you've been invested for a while." So much of what we feel today is fast and powerful. Our culture rewards instant emotion - instant connection. But there's this other way to live. It's a long view of loving that stands in sharp contrast to much of the loving that's on offer in our world today.

I've been married for 12 years to my wife, Karyn. She and I have literally grown up together. The longer that I'm with her the more I love her - or maybe the more I'm aware of my deep love for her. We've gone past the quick start phase. We now know that what we have is for real... forever. The longer that I know my kids the more I am convinced that I truly love them deeply. It's not something that I wonder about. This whole thought popped into my head this morning as I was working to bring my daughter, Scout, out of an early morning funk. She just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It happens to all of us from time to time - but 7 year olds have a harder time covering it up. They are a bit more raw with it, you know? So this morning as Scout is being mean to all of us for no clear reason... I think to myself that it's in the low spots... the raw, sore places that you know what love feels like. I love her deeply. It's just the way it is. I've had 7+ years to figure that out. A bad day won't change that... heck, even a bad year or 10 won't change that. We're in it for the long haul.

This led me to thinking about Atlanta. After 6+ years in the city center I now know that I love Atlanta, too. I love it. When we moved into the city to plant Trinity, I had a kind of romantic love for Atlanta. By that I mean that I'd romanticized what it'd be like to live in the city and start a church for the city. Now I know. Now I am not dreaming.. I'm living in the city center - raising kids, loving my neighbors (doing my best), and learning how to love my city. It's not something that could have been deeply held at the beginning - even though I felt it deeply at the beginning.

As we grow older in our faith, we go from feeling deeply to being deeply... I don't even know if that makes sense... Maybe it comes from being at home - at home with my wife, at home with my kids, at home in my home, at home in my city.

I pray that God would give each of us a longer view of things that we may currently possess. If we can slow down and commit to something long enough to begin to understand the thing we claim to love - we'll find ourselves truly loving, not just feeling like we love. Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) said to his daughter Scout (who my daughter is named for), "Scout, you never really know a person until you step into their skin and walk around a while." Good advice, Atticus.

cooking is an adventure

2008-12-06T12:40:00.002-05:00

I just made lunch for my kids. I've never been much of a cook... I remember trying to cook once when Karyn was pregnant with Mady. I say 'once' because after Karyn tasted the wonderfully prepared vittles (it was chili, I think) she went straight into the bathroom and threw up! It had something to do with me adding too many spices or something like that. It tasted fine to me:)

Well, back to today. I was charged with the task of making canned soup for Mady and microwavable mac and cheese for Scout. That's the kind of stuff we tend to eat when Karyn is not home. I got the soup right.. I mean, how hard is it to open up a can of soup, right? The can top IS a bit sharp around the edges which could result in blood being drawn. This, thankfully, did not happen as I popped the top to pour the soup.

Next... the mac and cheese for Scout. The mac and cheese packets came with directions, which, unfortunately, I didn't read. I dumped it all in - noodles, cheesy power substance, and water - and then put it in the microwave for three minutes. I dig the packet out of the trash after seeing bubbles begin to build in the bowl while the concoction was cooking inside the microwave. It turns out that you're supposed to just put the noodles and water in the microwave and THEN add the cheese like powder. The bubbles continued to rise well above the rim of the bowl. I watched it anxiously - the cook time ends and I take it out. It looks okay...I drain some of the watery stuff off and let it sit.

Scout and Mady end up eating their lunch. Finn is waiting for fast food!

900 years straight

2008-12-05T20:36:00.002-05:00

This photo is of Durham Cathedral in England. Mass has been said here EVERY DAY for 900 years without fail. Stop and think about that. That's what I call a long term view of things.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

2008-12-03T16:42:00.002-05:00

I'm reading this book to all three kids right now. If you're looking for a very funny, very well written Christmas book, this is it. I saw the film as a kid, but reading it is another experience entirely. Hilarious.

finished the books

2008-12-03T16:36:00.004-05:00

Last night I finished reading "The Last Battle" (the final installment in C.S. Lewis' Narnia books) to Mady and Scout. What fantastic books! I had not read them since my early 20's, so having the opportunity to dig into them again with our girls was a treat indeed. I can't wait for the opportunity to pull out the stories for Finn when he's old enough. All adults should read these books!

Susan didn't make it

2008-11-26T21:22:00.003-05:00

Tonight I was reading C.S. Lewis' "Last Battle"( Chronicles of Narnia) to my daughters. It's such a good story, but what happened after our reading time was what made me open the laptop to write... mainly so I won't forget what I feel was a holy moment with two of my children.

We got to a spot toward the end of the book where Rilian (king of Narnia), Jill and Eustace are engaged in a fight to the death with the hated Calormenes. While this fighting is going on, there is a Stable nearby that everyone is afraid of... they fear the stable because it is clear that something supernatural is going on inside it. Whenever someone enters they don't come back out... it's symbolic of death in the story (i.e. Lewis is trying to teach us something about death). Because of this, all the animals, Narnians and Calormenes are terrified of the Stable. In the end, Rilian and one of the Evil Calormene leaders are thrust into the stable. Inside the Stable, the Calormene is confronted by the evil god Tash, who takes him away. It's a terrifying scene for a kids book, but I think the kids managed. After that, a host of voices tell Tash that he must leave now and not mess with Rilian, for he has no right to him.

Rilian (the king of Narnia) then sees who was speaking to the evil god, telling him to leave. It was the kings and queens of Narnia's past. He sees Jill, who had perished in the fight earlier that night. Also, Eustace who'd perished just minutes before. He sees Peter, Edmund and Lucy. He sees Polly and Digory from the first stories about Narnia. But Rilian, being a king who knows his history, asks about the other one. He says that he recalls another girl who'd been a queen in Narnia. He's thinking of Susan.

Peter replies,"Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia." Others in the group chime in to say that she only cares for status and for being grown up now and doesn't even believe that the things that they experienced in Narnia were real. Susan didn't make it. She's not there at the end. She doesn't believe in Aslan anymore. She believes in her job. She believes in friends. She believes in her stuff. But not Aslan. Not Narnia. Not what she'd experienced there. Not any more.

At this point Scout (my seven year old) says, "What? How could Susan not believe?"Both children become very upset. They love Susan. They followed her through the stories. She is part of their story. They feel the loss of Susan not making it.
Mady says, "Why didn't he (Lewis) decide to make Edmund not believe? He was the bad one." That's a great point, I tell her. But it's not about being bad or good ... it's about believing. It's about believing and trusting in the fact that you are forgiven. (Remember, Edmund was the naughty boy who'd fallen under the White Witches power in "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" and had been freed by Aslan laying down His life to save him). This opens it up for us to talk about Christianity. The rest is between a father and his kids but I wanted to share the gist of it with you... beautiful stuff. We prayed the Lord's prayer together after our talk...

And after that Scout said that she always wanted to believe. Me, too.

collect

2008-11-20T08:54:00.002-05:00

O loving heavenly Father, whose blessed Son did suffer for the whole world, grant that we may know you better, love you more, and serve you with a more perfect will. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who reigns and rules with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Collect

2008-11-19T08:45:00.002-05:00

Most merciful and loving God, your blessed Son suffered and died for us. Grant us grace to endure the sufferings of this present time, to overcome all that seeks to overwhelm us, and to be confident of the glory that shall be revealed in us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

a story you must read

2008-09-11T14:52:00.002-04:00

My friend, Allison Mitchell, just posted a part of her testimony on our church website. You should take a minute to read it. I love and respect Allison for who she is in Jesus. Sometimes it's easy to look at leaders like her from a distance and assume that they were born under the altar of a church or something like that. Props to Allison for telling it like it is....

http://www.trinityvineyard.org/articles/Allison%27s%20Testimony

my son

2008-08-20T23:12:00.001-04:00

finn and daddy
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

I am very thankful to have children. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be a father to a boy and to my girls. Finn just started pre-school this week. He's doing so well. He attends a Greek Orthodox school. I think my little Irish boy is doing just fine there. Actually, there are lots of kids from Trinity at the Annunciation Day School.

Finn is a lot of fun. He's growing up very fast. I love him very much. Way to go, boy!

communion

2008-08-20T15:11:00.003-04:00

From my dear brother, T.S. Eliot....

"The dripping blood our only drink,
The bloody flesh our only food:
In spite of which we like to think
That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood-
Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday Good.

Think about that.

An editorial about Todd Bentley's fall from grace

2008-08-20T08:57:00.003-04:00

It's worth a read.

http://fireinmybones.com/Columns/081308.html

feet that climb mountains

2008-08-09T22:24:00.001-04:00

feet at the peak of a mtn.
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

I count them...2,4,6,8,10,12,14 feet. They are surrounding the triangulation marker that sits at the peak of Kennesaw Mountain. It's the highest point of the mountain... and my family climbed it today. It was so much fun. The smallest feet (9 o'clock) belong to Finn. He's four and he rocked the mountain like a champ. He refused help. He made it all the way (as did all of us) to the peak... and then all the way down - all by himself.

I am so proud of Maddy, Scout, Finn, Grace and Zoe for scaling their first mountain ever. They all became mountain climbers on their first try! Well done, kids.

Oh yeah, Kris and Karyn made it, too! Good times were had by all. Check out my flickr page for more pics of the day. (www.flickr.com/photos/krismcdaniel)

Rainbows are free

2008-08-09T10:10:00.001-04:00

Rainbows are free
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

These shoes turned up on my back porch this week. They are a gift from a mysterious stranger. Whoever you are, thank you! I love them. My old ones are totally worn out but I continued to wear them up until the minute I discovered these. I am so happy. Thanks again to whoever it was that dropped them off on my porch. God bless you.

concrete reality vs. spiritual existence

2008-08-09T09:25:00.002-04:00

I'm reading "The Resurrection of the Son of God" (NT Wright) with some friends. We're almost 2/3's the way through it. The book itself is quite a read- it's over 750 pages long. While I think the good Bishop could have said what he needed to say in a much smaller space, I am being challenged and impacted by the read.

One of the principle things I take from Wright's work is the truth of a concrete reality with regard to Resurrection over and above it being simply 'spiritual'. There is so much bad thinking/teaching in Christian circles relating to this. We're taught from early on that one day we'll escape the physical in order to live in the spiritual. We even take St. Paul out of context when he talks of 'flesh' and 'spirit'. We've put our physical self below our spiritual self. The funny thing about that is, at least according to my understanding, the ancients saw no differentiation or compartmentalization like this. When Paul speaks of 'flesh'... it appears to me to mean that he's speaking of the acts of the flesh - not the physical nature of our bodies. Our bodies, or the material world for that matter, are not bad... indeed - it's the physical person that will one day be Resurrected. We will be raised, not into disembodied eternal bliss, sitting on clouds and strumming harps... We will be physically remade. Thus, the soul and body will be together.

Tertullian, one of the great early theologians of the church, speaks to this...Wright says of Tertullian's theological stance, "Flesh is very important within Christian thinking; it received grace, the grace of Christ himself, and when St. Paul said negative things about 'the flesh', he was referring to its actions, not to the substance itself... What matters is God's power as creator. What He made, he can remake."

new church sign idea:)

2008-08-05T19:32:00.001-04:00

church in Dahlonega, Ga
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

I came across this in my wife's hometown (Dahlonega, Ga.). It's good to know that there are still church signs out there that strike a chord. Listen up, Trinity folk!!

I am kidding... just so we're clear about that. If anyone has an old sign where we can put letters on it, I think it'd make for a pretty great piece of cafe artwork. We could say things we'd never really say.... and all have a good laugh.

August 3rd

2008-08-03T21:46:00.003-04:00

I am sitting alone in our church right now. Everyone has gone and I'm here by myself.We've just concluded our first day of services here at Trinity. What a day! We had so many in our church community come out to support this move. I am tired, but really happy. God is doing such good things in our church. Thanks be to Him.

There is such a peaceful feel to this place. I was worried that our new home wouldn't feel like Trinity... but it does. It feels like home. After our first service I started to feel more comfortable. By the time our third one ended tonight, it felt like home. I saw so many faces that were familiar... and some I didn't recognize. Our church has successfully made the transition. If you're part of our family, thank you. Thank you for being flexible. Thank you for moving with us. Thank you for supporting us as we venture into unknown places. I am convinced that God is leading us. Again... Thanks be to God.

T.S. Eliot

2008-07-30T11:11:00.002-04:00

Last night I couldn't sleep. I think it's due to all that's happening in our lives right now. Anyway, I got up out of bed at around 11.30pm, giving up for the time being on sleep. I have a rule that I don't turn on the t.v. when I can't sleep. Both books that I'm currently reading were at the office, sitting on my desk. So I'm forced to find an old friend on the bookshelf in my living room. Thankfully, my dear departed brother, T.S. Eliot, jumps out at me. I love him, but haven't read him in over a year. I sat down and read 3 of Eliot's works last night - "The Wasteland", "Four Quartets" and "Hollow Men". Beautiful stuff.

A couple of things stood out at me. These are random quotes and are in no particular order... they just caught me in the wee hours of the morning. I felt like I exchanged life with God as I read one of my favorite poets...

From "Four Quartets" -

"Do not let me hear of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly,
Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession,
Of belonging to another, or to others, of to God.
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire
Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.

An excerpt from -Choruses from 'the Rock'

In our rhythm of earthly life we tire of light. We are glad
when the day ends, when the play ends; and ecstasy
is too much pain.
We are children quickly tired: children who are up in the
night and fall asleep as the rocket is fired; and the day
is long for work or play.
We tire of distraction or concentration, we sleep and are
glad to sleep,
Controlled by the rhythm of blood and the day and the
night and the seasons.
And we must extinguish the candle, put out the light and
relight it;
Forever must quench, forever relight the flame.
Therefore we thank Thee for our little light, that is
dappled with shadow.
We thank Thee who hast moved us to building, to finding,
to forming at the ends of our fingers and beams of
our eyes.
And when we have built an altar to the Invisible Light, we
may set thereon the little lights for which our
bodily vision is made.
And we thank Thee that darkness reminds us of light.
O Light Invisible, we give Thee thanks for Thy great
glory!

And in "Ash Wednesday", Eliot speaks of Time and Place....

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place...

Good food for thought....

Thanksgiving

2008-07-29T21:59:00.002-04:00

For most of my younger years I was always looking beyond where I was at the time to something else. It seemed like something good was just beyond my grasp. This looking forward often left me feeling like I needed to get to the future in a hurry.

I don't see things that way now. I feel more rooted than ever before. I don't think God is in a hurry. Consequently, I am free to not be in a hurry. I still find myself anxiously looking ahead from time to time... but now I know (more than ever before) that it's now that matters most. God wants to root us in the stuff of creation. Like Adam and Eve, we've been given the gift of time and place. Eugene Peterson's "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places", made this concept come alive for me. The Lord has placed us in this place for a season... and for good reason.

I am thankful for this time... and for this place. Trinity is on the cusp of some major changes. We'll be worshipping in a new sanctuary on Sunday. I have no idea what it'll feel like. But I'm excited. This change has been a long time in coming. For us on staff, this change is not sudden. We've been working on this new house of worship for a year now. But I understand that for many in our community, this change will feel strange. If we give it time, we'll grow to love this new house. We'll love it because it's part of the process of the life of our church.

When I first entered ministry I thought we'd do big things... and do them fast! But now I'm not in a hurry. I want to be doing this when I'm old. At 32, I feel like I'm just getting started. We'll see what happens next.

new signs

2008-07-27T17:15:00.001-04:00

new sign
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Today is Sunday, July 27th. We're working at our new church building. There is a lot to be done, but we're chipping away at it. I can't believe we're going to hold worship services here in 7 days. It's crazy to consider it!

I am looking forward to settling in here. I think Sunday will show us a lot. 3 services! That'll be interesting. I am not sure what I'll do with my time on Sunday. Good stuff is on the horizon.

old home

2008-07-27T10:52:00.001-04:00

more old home
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Last night I drove by the old church building on my way to the new building. I took some pictures of our old home as the sun was fading. So much has happened at 1314 Ellsworth Ind. Blvd. When we moved here almost 5 years ago, the street itself was almost a ghost town. Now there is so much building and development going on it's hard to recognize it from the old days.

Change is a good thing - but it's bittersweet. I went from the old place to the new place. I was able to take some pictures of our new signs as the sun went below the buildings (buildings, by the way, are the city horizon:)

I love Trinity. I love all that's happened here. I look forward to the future.

the last night

2008-07-21T11:34:00.002-04:00

So, last night signaled the end of an era for our church. We held our last services in our old building. It was more emotional than I thought it would be. When we ended that last service I had this odd feeling - so many things have happened in the life of our church during the span of years we've been at 1314 Ellsworth Ind. Blvd. It's been a place of formation for us.

But it's time for change. Tonight we'll be packing up the old building. All this week we'll be preparing to move our stuff from one house to another. I don't really know what to expect, but I imagine that it'll be a lot of work! We've accumulated a fair amount of junk over 4+ years. August 3rd will be our first Sunday in the new facility. I am so excited about this next phase of the life of our church. It's going to be so good for us. We'll have more space in the areas where we need it most. More worship space, more kids rooms, more bathroom space, etc...

I pray that God would prepare our community for what lies ahead. The next week is going to be quite full. We've got boxes to pack, a sound system to disassemble, and lots of stuff to put together at the new building. But somewhere in the midst of all the chaos, God is present. That is a good thing.

Bunny Ears

2008-04-25T09:06:00.001-04:00

Bunny Ears
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

N.T. Wright spoke at Emory University on Wednesday night. It was an amazing experience for all who attended (I am sure). My church represented well. There were well over 100 Trinity people in attendance. Well done, flock.

Bishop Wright gave a talk connected to his most recent book entitled "Surprised by Hope". I must say that this book has renewed me in my own walk with God. It's a must-read for Christians seeking clarity on heaven and how the afterlife impacts (or should impact) the mission of the church here on earth.

Here's to the good Bishop! We're thankful that you came to Atlanta. Please come again (and speak at Trinity next time!).

scout is 7 (and awesome)

2008-04-07T23:09:00.002-04:00

scout on easter day
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Today is April 7th and it happens to be my daughter Scout's 7th birthday. She wrote the exact time of her birth (8.48 am ) on her arm last night before going to bed so she'd remember to ring in her birthday at just the right time. She did. We did. We had such a great day. I am so proud of my little girl. She's growing up quite nicely. I can't believe she's already 7 years old.

We went to the California Pizza Kitchen tonight to celebrate. McDaniel family tradition states that the birthday girl (or boy) gets to choose the eating establishment to be enjoyed by the entire clan. So Scout chose. Her first option would have been Taqueria Del Sol, but those jokers are closed on Monday nights so we went with option number two. We had a great time.

My daughter is just getting started. She's growing up and is doing quite well. She loves life. She loves her family. She loves her friends. She's very much alive.

Today is also the birthday of my friend Brit Johnson. Brit died 4 years ago. Each year as I celebrate the birth of my daughter I recall the birth and death of my friend Brit. He died in Israel doing field work for his PhD. He drowned in the Red Sea. Brit is with the Lord now. My heart feels more sure of that than ever when I sit with friends and family to celebrate life.

So Brit, tonight I raised a glass to celebrate Scout and to celebrate you. I am thankful that you are with the Lord and thankful that one day (at the Great Resurrection) we shall see one another again.

A quote from my dear brother, Dostoevsky

2008-04-03T08:55:00.002-04:00

I am also reading "The Brothers Karamazov". This is one of the most powerful books I've encountered to date in my adult reading.

Dostoevsky says, "I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidian mind of man, that in the world's finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they've shed, that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened."

I don't think Dostoevsky is saying that evil will be proved to be good in and of itself at the great judgement. Rather I believe that his point about the goodness of God at the great climax will be so good that those questions will be answered in Him. Evil will not stand up against the good renewing work of God. It cannot. It will not.

Tim Keller on Resurrection and end of days

2008-04-03T08:41:00.003-04:00

I am reading Tim Keller's book "The Reason for God". So far it's pretty good.

Here are two bits that stood out.

Keller affirms good, biblical thinking on the resurrection and the afterlife.... "The bible teaches that the future is not an immaterial 'paradise' but a new heaven and a new earth. In Revelation 21, we do not see human beings being taken out of this world into heaven, but rather heaven coming down and cleansing, renewing, and perfecting this material world."

I like the words he chooses - cleansing, renewing and perfecting. Especially 'renewing'.

Again, Keller states: ""I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things (Greek palingenesis), the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne."

The greek word ˆpalingenesisˆ, according to Keller, reflected a belief in Greek philosophy that every so often the universe would wind down and burn up in a great conflagration called a palengenesia, after which history, having been purified, started over.

When Jesus speaks of the 'renewal of all things', the image is of a world born anew.

"Jesus insisted that his return will be with such power that the very material world and universe will be purged of all decay and brokenness. All will be healed and all might-have-beens will be."

easter day

2008-03-28T19:10:00.001-04:00

easter day
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Easter afternoon. Easter is my favorite Sunday of the year in many respects. It's the 'Sunday of Sundays' - the holiest day of the year. The only challenge I have on Easter is connected to family. It's the only major holiday that always happens on Sunday... and Sunday is a long day for me. This year I was only able to be home (between church services ) for about 3 hours - but those hours were super great. We feasted and then joined together with a couple of families (The Dolingers and Madlems) to hunt eggs and have fun outside. This pic was taken just before the egg hunt began.

It's good to have friends.

Adopting a long term view

2008-03-13T08:57:00.006-04:00

God promised Abram a home. He told him that his people would be great. He told him that he would be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. This is a big promise. It's far reaching - so much so that there is no possible way for this promise to be fulfilled within his lifetime. The bigger the promise, the longer it takes to bring it to fulfillment.

God said, "I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God."

The promise begins with him (Abraham- who has been newly renamed), but the language quickly shifts to his offspring that would follow after. The promise ends with God promising to be 'their' God - not just Abram's God. In the end, the promise is not about Abraham at all, but rather those that would follow after him.

As I meditate on these words I'm reminded of how important it is to adopt a long term view of change. It takes a long time to see a big promise come to fruition. For me, it's a promise of seeing Atlanta transformed one person at a time. It's going to take a long time to see that happen. Actually, I probably won't get to see it in it's greatest expression of fulfillment. But that's not my business. That's God's business.

The fact that I have children brings me comfort as I ponder these words. They will live on (God willing) after me. But this is more than a reflection on procreation and the positive aspects of family. This is about a spiritual community. If what we do is not bigger than us then it's probably not worth doing. If everything will die with us then we leave no room for God to continue His great work though a larger community. For Abraham, he had to open himself up to those that would follow on after him at the very beginning or else nothing would make sense.

For each of us the question we must ask is this: Are we willing to let go of our dependence on witnessing outcomes in order to fit within the larger framework of what God is doing around us? Abraham would have missed everything if he'd demanded to witness the fulfillment of the promise God made to him. He was just a part of a larger story. He is a significant player - but ultimately one of many - who would walk an uncertain road of obedience.

How about us? Will we walk a similar path? Will we obey God and live our lives like they count - even when we're not sure how things are going to turn out?

Just a few thoughts springing from my daily office today...

May God bless us all as we approach Palm Sunday and Holy Week.

Easter

2008-03-12T10:39:00.002-04:00

At the end of his book entitled "Surprised by Hope", N.T Wright challenges Christians to explore the Easter Season with the same vigor that they engage with the Lenton Season. This, he suggests, is a wonderful way to affirm the Resurrection. If we give 40 days to fasting and 1 day (Easter Sunday) to celebration before we go back to normal living then we're missing an opportunity. He says Christians should pick up new things during the Easter Season (which, by the way is quite a long season - extending from Easter Sunday to Ascension Day).

For starters we should fully engage in feasting during the Easter Season. Eating great food with friends - both new and old friends - is an easy way to start. There's nothing like the combination of good food, good wine and good friends to remind us of God's promise that we'll be participants in His New Creation... So plan your feasts now so you make the most of the season.

Another way to affirm the Easter Season is by engaging in new forms of service - both inside and outside the local church. Start doing something new! Just as Lent is a time for letting go, Easter is a season for beginning anew! Serve, volunteer - get plugged in in new ways over the next 40+ days.

Yet another way to engage with the Easter season is by planting stuff in your yard. This may sound overly simple, but the fact that Jesus Himself was mistaken for a gardener after His resurrection reminds me of the fact that in Him is newness of life... and that means all kinds of life. Plants are important because they speak to us about the process of growth. Farming imagery was often used by Jesus in the gospels - and gardening - whether planting vegetables or simply planting flowers - is a way for us to affirm the process whereby we also grow in faith.

This Easter Season should be full of new life. New ways to engage with life. Celebrate, volunteer and watch things grow. See what happens when we affirm that Jesus is alive with our whole life.

Surprised by Hope

2008-03-07T21:26:00.004-05:00

I just completed N.T. Wright's book entitled, "Surprised by Hope". What a great book. My favorite Wright work yet, I believe. It's about the resurrection, heaven and the mission of the church (in light of resurrection).
Christians have developed much bad theology in these areas and Wright puts the proverbial smack down on us (in a loving, charming British sort of way). I was quite moved by the book and found myself loving God all over again as I read it from cover to cover. I would encourage anyone who wants to dive into some of Wright's stuff to go out and get this right away. You won't be sorry... and you'll seem smart at parties...

Karyn and Finn

2008-03-07T21:26:00.001-05:00

Karyn and Finn
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

They are cute.

finn makes bath time lots of fun

2008-03-07T21:23:00.002-05:00

finn and the knights
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

Being a father is lots of fun... and having a camera at the right time is fun, too!.

flute practice

2008-02-26T22:50:00.003-05:00

flute practice
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

She's been practicing for a recital at school. I just had to take a picture while her mother was helping her hit the notes. She's going to perform 'Ode to Joy'.

Notice my tivoli mp3 player/am/fm radio in the background. Man, I love that thing.

finn

2008-02-26T22:38:00.001-05:00

finn
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

I took this pic of Finn two days ago. You can't tell it, but he's standing on top of a chain link fence holding onto a tree with his other hand. I think this sums the boy up. Finn turns 4 years old on Monday, March 3rd. I can't believe it. He's growing up so fast. Each night as I tuck him into bed I'm reminded what a gift it is to be a father.

Lent

2008-02-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

Now is the time for fasting. I pray that all of us would consider our path during the season of Lent. This is a time to consider our own mortality. That's what Christians are supposed to do during this season. We live in a world of plenty. It's easy to get what we want when we want it. God gets crowded out in that environment. I believe God wants us to reign in during this season. I pray that we would make the most of our time during Lent. I know for me this season is always significant. Fasting doesn't often bring me feelings of enlightenment... for me, fasting is about obedience. It's about joining in Jesus' sufferings in a very small practical way. When I suffer because of fasting, it reminds me of Jesus' sacrifice and suffering. Our fasting does not compare (even remotely) with what Jesus endured... but the point is not to match Him... the point is to join with Him. Fasting allows us to break out of the theoretical. Fasting is practical. It is real. It is, at it's very core, participatory. Lent is a season for participation.

Description of pastoral work

2007-12-19T10:15:00.001-05:00

"Pastoral work consists of modest, daily, assigned work. It is like farm work. Most pastoral work involves routines similar to cleaning out the barn, mucking out the stalls, spreading manure, pulling weeds. This is not, any of it, bad work in itself, but if we expected to ride a glistening black stallion in daily parades and then return to the barn where a lackey grooms our steed for us, we will be severely disappointed and end up being horribly resentful."
- Eugene Pederson

Being a pastor is hard work. But it's good work. I am not a farmer, but I imagine that I'm kind of like a farmer. It's funny how often we recognize only the pleasant bits of pastoral ministry when we are examining it with an eye to begin... but after one does it for a while it becomes apparent that pastoring (or farming, for that matter) is very routine. And I must say - the older I get the more I enjoy routine. It's good to know that we're plowing in the soil - and if we plow long enough we might just see something come up out of the ground.

Just a morning thought on my job.

Advent

2007-12-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

“This is about the birth of a child, not of the astonishing work of a strong man, not of the bold discovery of a wise man, not of the pious work of a saint. It really is beyond all understanding: the birth of a child shall bring about the great change, shall bring to all mankind salvation and deliverance. What kings and statesmen, philosophers and artists, religious leaders and moral teachers have labored for in vain is now brought about by a newborn child. Here a child, born into the midst of world history, has put to shame the wisdom and efforts of the strong. A child, born of a human mother, a Son given by God. That is the secret of the salvation of the world. All the past and all the future is here encompassed. The unending comfort of the Almighty God comes to us, humbly and in the form of a child, his Son. That this child is born, for us, given for us, that this human child, God’s Son, belongs to me, that I know Him, have him, love him, that I am his and He is mine, means that now my life depends only on him. A child has our life in his hands.”

How shall we deal with such a child?
Have our hands soiled with daily toil, become too hard and too proud to fold in prayer at the sight of this little child?
Has our head become too full of serious thoughts to be thought through and problems to be solved, that we cannot bow our head in humility before the wonder of this child?
Can we not forget all our stress and struggles, our sense of importance, and for once worship the child, as did the shepherds and wise men from the East, bowing before the divine child in the manger like Children?
Let’s be like the old man, Simeon, who took the child in his arms and saw the fulfillment of all his waiting, and in this moment recognize the fulfillment of our whole life?

People must laugh when they hear Christians say, “For unto us a Child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.”
But this one thing we know: These shoulders will one day bear the weight of the whole world.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Germany 1940

11 years

2007-11-26T22:20:00.000-05:00

November 30th will mark the 11 anniversary of the day Karyn Handte became Karyn McDaniel. Karyn and I were married in 1996... I am so excited about celebrating with her. We have been together through thick and thin. I love her so much.

My parents were hippies. I say 'were' because they don't give off the hippie vibe these days. Anyway, when they were married they said they'd love one another "As long as love shall last." Later on they decided to change those words in a vow renewal gig - and thankfully they are still together. Love has lasted. Thank God for that.

It's sad how love doesn't always last. So many people don't make it in their marriages. As I approach my 12th anniversary, I pray that God would give us 12 more. I pray that we'll continue to grow closer together and closer to Him. I also pray that God would strengthen marriages that exist all around me. And I pray that God would comfort those whose marriages have not made it until today. There is grace and redemption for all of us.

For me, I am thankful for Karyn. She's put up with me for a long time now. We've literally grown up together. I was 21 years old when we married. I wasn't even able to drive a rental car on our honeymoon! Now I write as a 32 year old man. I am no longer the kid I was (or it feels like it as I look back at myself - no offense intended for folks who are 21 because you're probably better off than I was when I was your age) then. I am a man. A true test of manhood is whether a person is able to settle into a rhythm of consistency. I am learning to be consistent. It's not been easy, but I think I'm beginning to get there.

I am so happy to be in love with my wife. Before her I had never had a successful romantic relationship. I'd never really liked a girl for more than 3 months! I was beginning to wonder about myself until I met Karyn. After 11 years of marriage (12 years of romance with her) I am convinced that she was able to unlock something in me. I am thankful for that.

As I look at our children I am reminded again and again of the fruit of our life together. We're not talking symbols... we're talking about people! There are people that are alive as a result of our being together. They have names (those people). Maddy is 8 years old. Scout is 6 years old. Finn is 3 years old. I have changed countless diapers (so has Karyn). I have caught puke in my hands (I don't think you've joined the club called parenthood until you've done that). I've had my feelings hurt by each of them. I have felt so proud of each of them that I thought my chest would explode... and all this feeling... all this living... has come as result of my loving a woman. The fruit of love is life - real life. A life full of more life. I know that sounds simple... but it's really pretty amazing.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T23:04:00.001-05:00

sign
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

They get lost in the mix. Children don't get hit by cars as much as they are not watched for. We don't watch out for them like we should. Tonight I put all three of my kids to bed. I read Chapter 2 of the "Magician's Nephew" to Finn. He fell asleep while I was reading. I read a while anyway. When I finished, I whispered into his ear the same thing I said to him when he woke up at 6.45 this morning..." Finn, I am thankful for you. I am thankful that you are my son and that I am your dad." I left my sleeping son and went to read to my daughters. We read the last chapter of "Samantha". It's the first book (I think) in the American Girl series. I have read more girl type things to them than I would have ever thought. When our story time was complete - I whispered words of thanksgiving in their ears -- the same words I whispered this morning as they came down the stairs at 7.15am. Tonight they giggled. They love it when I whisper in their ears. They say my whiskers tickle them. I think I'll keep my whiskers.

People, watch out for your children. They are priceless. It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to tell God thank you... and to show them that you're thankful for them.

yeah, a train

2007-11-17T20:17:00.001-05:00

yeah, a train
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

We rode on this train in North Georgia today. It was fun. My grandmother took me on a similar train when I was a kid and it always lingered in my mind as a good time... so Karyn and I worked it out to take the kids up to Blue Ridge to ride an old school train.

A Sacred Space

2007-11-16T08:05:00.000-05:00

So, I'm sitting at a coffee shop on my day off. It's nice to sit down with a cup of coffee (which was poured into a mug I brought into the coffee shop) and do my daily office. I am bringing my mugs to coffee shops more often these days... It just feels right - like I'm saving a tree - or at least some paper and plastic - and it makes my time in a coffee shop feel a little more like home.

My Daily Office today centers around creation - specifically turning our attention to the God of creation. In my meditation there is an excerpt from a Gerard Manly Hopkins poem...
Glory be to God for dappled things
For skies of couple-color as a brindled cow
For rose-moles in all stipple upon trout that swim
Fresh firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings
Landscape plotted and pieced - fold, fallow, and plough...
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change;
Praise Him.

It's funny to sit and contemplate such rural beauty in the midst of Buckhead. My middle child once said about Buckhead... "It's not a bad word - it's a bad place." I tend to agree with her...

But if we must always see God's sublime beauty unmasked and it all it's splendor in order to meditate upon it then we fail to grasp the point. Meditation on creation beauty in the concrete jungle is, in a small way, like the children of Israel meditating on freedom in the midst of bondage... It's like Bonhoeffer seeing freedom in a Nazi holding cell... only I can see the treetops as I look toward my children's school at the corner of Peachtree Battle Road.

As I sit here - I am enfolded by the God of creation. It doesn't matter where we are - we are free Children of a free God. Rejoice in that freedom.

Finn after his first day of school

2007-11-15T09:39:00.001-05:00

Scary Finn
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

It was a tough day.

Finn's first day of school

2007-11-15T09:31:00.001-05:00

Finn's first day of school
Originally uploaded by krismcdaniel

My son's first day of school. He's so awesome. Having children brings back memories of what it was like to be a child. For instance, I used to wear my hat in such a way that it pushed my ears down and out. Like father like son.

Finn goes to the Annunciation Day School at the Greek Orthodox Church. He's learning to identify icons and say bad words in Greek. Special times.

my halloween costume

2007-11-13T16:38:00.000-05:00

I have just learned how to post photos on my blog. Sorry for the random pics... but that's the deal.

sign #4 - feeding of the 5K

2007-11-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

The fourth sign found in the Gospel of John is located in John 6. It's the feeding of the 5k. All of the signs of Christ are designed to do two things: first, they are a moment of revelation... second, they are supposed to make us believe some thing(or things) about God.

The first thing that grabs me about this sign is the simplicity of it. Jesus recognizes a practical need (hunger) and moves to meet the need. He could have gotten away with doing nothing here. In the first three, it seems like Jesus was required to act in order to prevent some distaster. But here all He had to do was send people home. That's interesting to me. It tells me that Jesus' motive for feeding the people was connected to something He was trying to get them to see about Himself.

In order to perform the food miracle Jesus chooses the meal of a poor boy. The child was small and had a small meal with him. There is nothing big about this boy. The Barley loaves his mother had prepared for him were consistent with the type of bread consumed by the poorer classes in ancient Palestine. You can learn a lot about a person by examining their lunch. So, right away I'm struck by the fact that Jesus chooses to use a poor child as the basis for the feeding of the 5K. What does that say to me? For starters, it tells me that Jesus can use just about anything from anybody to do His work. That means none of use are unworthy or under qualified if we'll just submit what we have and offer it to Him. Hmmmm.... Much of the time we don't do this, because who wants to admit that they are poor in front of our peers... or Jesus for that matter? We'd rather hang back... or fake it. But not this kid. Andrew brings him to Jesus and Jesus sees fit to use him for the greater good. As I was musing on this text, a phrase kept bouncing around in my head... "God's not looking for impressive offerings as much as He is available offerings..." Are you available? Are you willing to let God work through your impoverished experience? I wonder if that's part of what Jesus is trying to reveal to us in this sign.

Another thing is connected to Jesus' comments about waste. After the miracle, Jesus gives directions about gathering up the leftovers so that nothing would be wasted. I see this on a couple of levels. First, Jesus wanted the disciples to see the extras because the visual impact of seeing the abundant provision of Jesus piled high in 12 baskets would leave a lasting image in their minds. Another point of meditation for me is connected to simple conservation. My wife has asked family members to scale back the massive piles of presents planned for our children this Christmas. We don't want to waste. I think Jesus would have probably turned off the faucet while brushing His teeth. He would have thrown the plastics and paper in the recycling bin.. It's fun to see (maybe) a glimpse of that in this moment.

The last significant point of reflection for me is connected to Jesus' escape at the end of this text. John tells us that the people intended to make Him kind by force. In order to avoid this, Jesus withdraws. Another gospel account tells us that He flees. Jesus was not willing to be a pawn in a game played by zealots. The men who desired to forcibly make Jesus king had a plan for Jesus that was not consistent with the plan Jesus had for Jesus. So, rather than be controlled, Jesus leaves. How often do we attempt to use God for our own ends? It's election season. It doesn't take a genuis to see where the political system tries to use God for political gain (on both sides of the isle). Jesus doesn't look like a Donkey or an Elephant. He will not be controlled by us... or Presidents.. or anyone. In the words of C.S. Lewis, Jesus is, "...wild and free."

Isn't my wife pretty?

2007-11-13T16:04:00.001-05:00