Intellect

The problem with many who claim to be intellectual Christians, those who are not only passionate about God but passionate about serving Him with their mind, is that it seems that many are falling in love with intellect more so than they are falling in love with God. They are busy writing blogs and debating/arguing with anyone who dare disagree with their point of view while they drift farther and farther away from the love of God and closer and closer to the love of their own mind.

Granted, this happens to all of us, myself included. Falling in love with our student ministry and everything that it has to offer while we neglect the root of these ministries. Grooving to the beat of a kick drum acting as if there is no being behind said groove inspiring our creativity. When we deny the true root of our actions, when we deny the loves that we have been called to, love of God and love of neighbor, the things that come out of our mouths start to sound a little ridiculous. When we fall in love with our theories, ideologies, and our own understandings and beliefs about the world around us while denying the one that gives us the ability to think through all of these things we become fools encapsulated in our own futile thinking. When we deny the love of God which in turn denies the love of neighbor, brother, and sister, we lose our place in the world of loving all of those with whom we come into contact.

This past year I had the opportunity to sit under the teachings of one of the country's best theologians for a week. He was incredibly smart, very articulate, and very wrong in how he chose to deal with those in the world that he regularly debated. This professor often debated or spoke out against Richard Dawkins, in fact, most of his arguments for the existence of God were directly related to rebutting the arguments that Dawkins made in his book The God Delusion. At one point in the week however, he made note that during a debate Dawkins was rather foolish and made an "ass" out of himself.

Now I ask, in calling this man an ass, did this professor bring Dawkins any steps closer to redemption? Did this professor exemplify the the kind of attitude toward the lost that he has been called to live by the God that he so passionately defends the existence of? Or, did he merely give in to the system of debate that has been established by the world?

Fast forward to last week. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is holding meetings where one of the topics up for discussion is whether or not they will allow practicing homosexuals to be pastors in their churches. During these meetings, a tornado came through the town and broke the steeple of the church where the meetings were being held. I do not know what your view on this is, but, John Piper took the stance that the tornado was a "gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and all of us: Turn from the approval of sin." All of that to say this...

You may disagree with the stance that John Piper took, you may agree with it. But, should you find yourself in disagreement and should you like to express this disagreement please do not cross over the lines laid by intellectualism and resort to name calling. Should you claim to enjoy a nice thought-provoking discussion and should you discuss matters with the foundation that no man has exclusive claim to truth, do not make the claim that you have an understanding of the truth that this man that you disagree with does not have. If you claim to love God, seek to edify your brother in Christ and discuss with him personally your disagreements. But, if you are more in love with intellect stripped of its roots, than by all means simply broadcast to the world that John Piper is an unintelligent ass and be done with the matter.

Who/what do you Love?

Listening

"Listening is a rare happening among human beings. You cannot listen to the word another is speaking if you are preoccupied with your appearance or impressing the other, or if you are trying to decide what you are going to say when the other stops talking, or if you are debating about whether the word being spoken is true or relevant or agreeable. Such matters may have their place, but only after listening to the word as the word is being uttered. Listening, in other words, is a primitive act of love, in which a person gives self to another's word, making self accessible and vulnerable to that word."

William Stringfellow

As if anyone actually reads this

So, I am not totally sure whether anyone reads this or not, but, just in case there are a few people that do, I apologize for the lack of posts over the summer. My summer was a busy one but a great one. God really taught me a lot and showed me so much about my own life but also about the world around me. I cannot think of a better way that I could've spent my summer than serving in Downtown Atlanta.
One of the things I began to think about over the summer was the idea of blogging. For me, I would have thoughts during the summer, or something God showed me, or a cool story and I was never in the mood to write up a long blog in hopes someone might read it. I was ready to share this story or thought with someone. To continue building a friendship with someone through conversations and not what can often times feel like talking into an empty room with no one that is listening. (As if I have something worth hearing.)
All that to say that over the summer I tried to focus more on how I was investing in different friendships and relationships instead of thinking about what kind of cool blog post I could write. But, I think that maybe this fall will provide opportunities for me to practice both investing in people through relationships and to practice writing and getting thoughts out there for all to see and read.
I wrote in my journal a lot this summer, so maybe some of those thoughts will start to surface. This summer was filled with great experiences so maybe a summer recap is on the way, maybe not. I will try to get back on some sort of blogging schedule, just know, if you are reading this right now I would find it much more exciting to actually receive the opportunity of sitting with you and discussing the things that I have learned. But if we never get that opportunity, then I will continue throwing out some random thoughts on this blog so that you may have a small window into my life.
Thank you, that is all.