As I wrote in a fb posting recently, I didn't learn how to read until I was out of college after 2 1/2 years and found myself in the navy. I could read the words but I couldn't tell you the plot of what I had read if it was a story or the content of the information if it were a textbook. I got through my 2 1/2 years of college playing bridge when everyone else took a break from studying for finals.
I can remember deciding that I was going to teach myself how to read for comprehension. I determined that I would read a page in a book until I could grasp what was being said. I determined not to put a book down that I had started to read until I was done with it. I have since abandoned that discipline. Some books just aren't worth reading once you get into them.
So for whatever reason I started to read and record the titles of the books I had read. My first one on my list from October 30, 1970 was The Immoralist by Andre Gide. Don't ask me where I got that one!
Since that time I have read over 819 books. I realized the other day when I was typing them into an Excel spreadsheet that there are a few I forgot to write down and there are about a dozen that I have read more than once.
My first year in seminary I was assigned over 10,000 pages of reading. Believe me, some of those books weren't worth reading. I remember sitting in the library at Eastern Mennonite College reading a book on theology. I had read page after page and they all seemed to be the same jumbled up mess. I turned over 50 pages or so and read another page and it seemed just like the one I had finished before. I don't know how someone can make something about God as boring as a theologian can make it.
My most notable books? The first is The God Who Is There by Francis Schaeffer. I'll talk about this in another blog sometime but I'll simply say now that my theology and belief in God was basically "My mommy told me so." In the world I was in in 1970 that didn't go too far.
While in Athens Greece I found an English speaking church (another story for another time). There I met some kids backpacking around Europe. I told them of the things I was encountering in my faith and they directed me to a book. In fact, one of them gave me the book by Shaeffer and told me to read it. If I ever got to Switzerland, I was to drop it off (another story).
I remember sitting in the USO in Athens reading Schaeffer's book...and taking notes on it. Something I had never done while in college. It was transforming because it opened the door of philosophical thought and Christianity. I'll tell you how that impacted my life in...another blog.
The second book came into my hands many years later entitled Wild At Heart by John Eldredge. I had been asking God for some model of what a man of God was supposed to look like. I was interested in the day-to-day face of someone who was walking with God, not some Christian celebrity who was hidden behind the donated wealth they had acquired. I read and reread this book. I've loaned that copy to someone and didn't get it back.
Currently, I've been reading a lot of the classics and appreciating them in a way I couldn't when I was in high school. I've also enjoyed series by Jan Karon, books by John Grisham and many, many more.
I'm an old school guy. I can't imagine not holding a book in my hand when I read it. I hope they always commit some of them to paper. In the meantime, I'll keep reading and expanding my knowledge about so many things. Thank you God for the creativity of yours that you loaned to authors to be able to write for our enjoyment.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Thomas Edison
One of my earliest heros was the inventor, Thomas Edison. I'm not sure where I first learned about him and his exploits. I do remember that Mom and Dad took me to Menlo Park, NJ when we lived in NJ. I was about 12 and we visited on a gloomy fall Saturday afternoon. I remember the beauty of the campus where he did many experiments. The big windows. The work benches and the picture of Edison standing beside one of the workbenches. He was often said to sleep in his labs while working on an experiment.
I do know where he was solidified as one of my favorite persons. That was in my sophomore year in high school. My English teacher assigned all of the guys in the class to enter the Optimist Club Speech Contest. We were to write a speech with assistance from the girls in the class, memorize it and deliver it several places.
I read books about Edison and discovered that he suffered from a hearing impairment that resulted from his father pulling him up on a train where he was a conductor...by his ears! This didn't stop Edison.
He became a prolific inventor having his hands in electricity, the phonograph, the telephone, moving pictures and more. The invention that rested with me the longest was the incandescent light bulb. He worked on finding an element or alloy that could be the filament of the light bulb. The trait that was displayed in this and other inventions of his was persistence. He was said to have tried over 10,000 different options for the filament. He was quoted as saying that he didn't fail 10,000 times. He found 10,000 ways that didn't work.
Part of why I identify with Edison is I am persistent. My mom used to call me hard-headed. That perjorative statement caused me to lose heart and back off of my persistence. I saw it as a flaw and not a gift. I often ask questions and keep asking them until I get an answer I believe covers all the bases. I look for the answer that answers all the questions and doesn't just arrive at a quick solution. I want a long term solution to a problem so I can go on to the next and not have to return to something I've considered solved before. I want to find solutions to problems that others have given up on as unsolveable.
Persistence. Hard-headedness. Bull-headedness (another perjorative term I heard often!). I want to exercise those gifts to bless my world with something that has lasted as long as the incandescent light bulb.
I do know where he was solidified as one of my favorite persons. That was in my sophomore year in high school. My English teacher assigned all of the guys in the class to enter the Optimist Club Speech Contest. We were to write a speech with assistance from the girls in the class, memorize it and deliver it several places.
I read books about Edison and discovered that he suffered from a hearing impairment that resulted from his father pulling him up on a train where he was a conductor...by his ears! This didn't stop Edison.
He became a prolific inventor having his hands in electricity, the phonograph, the telephone, moving pictures and more. The invention that rested with me the longest was the incandescent light bulb. He worked on finding an element or alloy that could be the filament of the light bulb. The trait that was displayed in this and other inventions of his was persistence. He was said to have tried over 10,000 different options for the filament. He was quoted as saying that he didn't fail 10,000 times. He found 10,000 ways that didn't work.
Part of why I identify with Edison is I am persistent. My mom used to call me hard-headed. That perjorative statement caused me to lose heart and back off of my persistence. I saw it as a flaw and not a gift. I often ask questions and keep asking them until I get an answer I believe covers all the bases. I look for the answer that answers all the questions and doesn't just arrive at a quick solution. I want a long term solution to a problem so I can go on to the next and not have to return to something I've considered solved before. I want to find solutions to problems that others have given up on as unsolveable.
Persistence. Hard-headedness. Bull-headedness (another perjorative term I heard often!). I want to exercise those gifts to bless my world with something that has lasted as long as the incandescent light bulb.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Buyer Remorse
Everyone wants a revolutionary until they get one.
I've sat through so many meetings where people clamour over the ideas that bring life to something only to have them turn into the biggest enemies of change once it begins to happen.
Revolutionaries don't leave things the way they are. They cut to the quick and get to the real issues. That's when all the excuses start coming out. "We've never done it that way before. Good luck on that one. I've been trying it for 16 1/2 years with no success. I'm glad someone finally wants to take an interest in that! (but don't ask me to help)"
One of the things revolutionaries bring is conflict. They don't take excuses. They don't take lame answers. They don't let people slide by. They confront old habits. They question someone's sacred calf idea. They ask why we continue to do things this way when they don't produce the results we want. The revolutionary quickly becomes the bad guy who wants to interrupt everyone's little party. Then begins the stream of whiners to the "parents" of the organization. "He's not playing right. Why is he so frustrated? Can't he just relax?" The organization is dying but don't even think of bringing life. We'd rather die a slow death than change.
The revolutionary experiences loneliness a lot. People are afraid to trust someone bringing in new ideas. So many have gone before that they have gotten attached to but didn't last. They hold back to wait and see if this one can pull it off.
Revolutionaries are like stallions. They buck and kick and break down fences. They run off into the sunset with their manes trailing in the wind. They are not easily tamed. In fact, as John Eldredge has stated, the only way to settle down a stallion is to geld him...but then he can no longer bring life.
We had some friends who did their thing with horses once. The oldest of their mares was old and didn't seem to have much life...until the young stallion from across the street got loose and came to visit. That old mare suddenly became a young honey who was thrilled to see the young stallion with life. It was quite a task to get them apart.
Life. We're like the frog in the pot of boiling water. We'll sit there as the heat is turned up until we die, never thinking about jumping out of the pot. We'll stay in a situation, criticize the revolutionaries and stallions until we die.
Having a revolutionary around is hard. It brings conflict but I have seen conflict produce some of the closest relationships I've had as the conflict is worked through. In conflict, someone drops all their guards and the little kid inside comes out. Then you can connect. It isn't pretty. In fact if you are a peace-lover don't ask a revolutionary home to dinner. They'll get you to real peace but it will take conflict to get there. Most of us don't have the heart for that.
I'm a revolutionary and although I'd like to retire from the battles I still get into them without hesitation. I'm more cautious now, letting people know what they are in for but it still seems to go over their heads. They really don't know the price or the benefits of having a revolutionary around.
Anyone need life?
I've sat through so many meetings where people clamour over the ideas that bring life to something only to have them turn into the biggest enemies of change once it begins to happen.
Revolutionaries don't leave things the way they are. They cut to the quick and get to the real issues. That's when all the excuses start coming out. "We've never done it that way before. Good luck on that one. I've been trying it for 16 1/2 years with no success. I'm glad someone finally wants to take an interest in that! (but don't ask me to help)"
One of the things revolutionaries bring is conflict. They don't take excuses. They don't take lame answers. They don't let people slide by. They confront old habits. They question someone's sacred calf idea. They ask why we continue to do things this way when they don't produce the results we want. The revolutionary quickly becomes the bad guy who wants to interrupt everyone's little party. Then begins the stream of whiners to the "parents" of the organization. "He's not playing right. Why is he so frustrated? Can't he just relax?" The organization is dying but don't even think of bringing life. We'd rather die a slow death than change.
The revolutionary experiences loneliness a lot. People are afraid to trust someone bringing in new ideas. So many have gone before that they have gotten attached to but didn't last. They hold back to wait and see if this one can pull it off.
Revolutionaries are like stallions. They buck and kick and break down fences. They run off into the sunset with their manes trailing in the wind. They are not easily tamed. In fact, as John Eldredge has stated, the only way to settle down a stallion is to geld him...but then he can no longer bring life.
We had some friends who did their thing with horses once. The oldest of their mares was old and didn't seem to have much life...until the young stallion from across the street got loose and came to visit. That old mare suddenly became a young honey who was thrilled to see the young stallion with life. It was quite a task to get them apart.
Life. We're like the frog in the pot of boiling water. We'll sit there as the heat is turned up until we die, never thinking about jumping out of the pot. We'll stay in a situation, criticize the revolutionaries and stallions until we die.
Having a revolutionary around is hard. It brings conflict but I have seen conflict produce some of the closest relationships I've had as the conflict is worked through. In conflict, someone drops all their guards and the little kid inside comes out. Then you can connect. It isn't pretty. In fact if you are a peace-lover don't ask a revolutionary home to dinner. They'll get you to real peace but it will take conflict to get there. Most of us don't have the heart for that.
I'm a revolutionary and although I'd like to retire from the battles I still get into them without hesitation. I'm more cautious now, letting people know what they are in for but it still seems to go over their heads. They really don't know the price or the benefits of having a revolutionary around.
Anyone need life?
Monday, October 4, 2010
Revolutionary
It's hard to feel like a revolutionary when you are sitting at home with a cold on a rainy day.
But yesterday was different. Pat and I went for a walk. She tried to encourage me for a few blocks and then we fell silent. I even walked a little behind her for awhile instead of dragging her at my pace as usually happens.
Eventually, she asked me what I was thinking. I'm always a sucker for that question. I enjoy processing things verbally. Part of what I said to her was one of the things I identify myself by. I am a revolutionary. I like to turn things upside down, especially things that have been left alone for so long.
That's why I asked some of the questions I did when I pastored. "Why do we need Sunday School? Why do we meet on Sunday mornings? Why do we do things the way we do them?" Those kinds of questions make people uneasy. It requires them to think about things. I requires them to substantiate their answers. It's not good enough to have them say as the Amishman says, "because we always done it that way."
Part of what stimulated that question was an invitation from my neighbor to attend his church. (He noticed that we don't rush off somewhere on Sunday morning like so many in the neighborhood). He said things were good, okay or something like that at his church except for the changes in worship. The age-old controversy between singing off the wall/scripture songs and singing hymns in perfect 4 part harmony without accompanying instruments. But the sermons were good.
What makes them good? Because they sound good? Because they have 3 points? Because they use a lot of scripture? Or are they good because the Spirit of God uses the message to convict my neighbor and others of areas in their lives where they are far from God? I'm afraid I wouldn't fit in his church. I would shortly offend someone because I wasn't satisfied with the mix of music or the content of the sermons or the fact that I want to grow in my spiritual life. I want to live on the edge. I was to see the power of God unleashed to change the world we live in.
$100,000,000 isn't going to change the home situations of the children in Newark, NJ. It isn't going to change the absence of parenting and moral teaching that their parents didn't get. It isn't going to remove the hopelessness they have. It isn't going to heal their hearts. Only a spiritual, heart change can do that. Only an encounter with Jesus and his healing power can do that. Only the restoration of families and lives will do that. It isn't about money, it's about love.
So I would probably be labeled ungrateful for not being excited about the grant of $100,000,000 just like I'm not excited about "good" sermons and lifeless worship. I would be criticized for not celebrating the microscopic growth of a church over 25 or 30 years. I'm looking for 3,000 added to the church in one day! I'm looking for captives being set free! I'm looking for permanent change in lives. I'm looking for the Holy Spirit to help us sort out the mess when we turn it upside down, shake it up and let him tell us what to keep and what to throw away.
If we don't do some revolutionary things in our world it isn't going to be around long. It's time for the church to be salt and light...one individual at a time. Does anyone out there need a revolutionary? I know one looking to turn some things upside down.
But yesterday was different. Pat and I went for a walk. She tried to encourage me for a few blocks and then we fell silent. I even walked a little behind her for awhile instead of dragging her at my pace as usually happens.
Eventually, she asked me what I was thinking. I'm always a sucker for that question. I enjoy processing things verbally. Part of what I said to her was one of the things I identify myself by. I am a revolutionary. I like to turn things upside down, especially things that have been left alone for so long.
That's why I asked some of the questions I did when I pastored. "Why do we need Sunday School? Why do we meet on Sunday mornings? Why do we do things the way we do them?" Those kinds of questions make people uneasy. It requires them to think about things. I requires them to substantiate their answers. It's not good enough to have them say as the Amishman says, "because we always done it that way."
Part of what stimulated that question was an invitation from my neighbor to attend his church. (He noticed that we don't rush off somewhere on Sunday morning like so many in the neighborhood). He said things were good, okay or something like that at his church except for the changes in worship. The age-old controversy between singing off the wall/scripture songs and singing hymns in perfect 4 part harmony without accompanying instruments. But the sermons were good.
What makes them good? Because they sound good? Because they have 3 points? Because they use a lot of scripture? Or are they good because the Spirit of God uses the message to convict my neighbor and others of areas in their lives where they are far from God? I'm afraid I wouldn't fit in his church. I would shortly offend someone because I wasn't satisfied with the mix of music or the content of the sermons or the fact that I want to grow in my spiritual life. I want to live on the edge. I was to see the power of God unleashed to change the world we live in.
$100,000,000 isn't going to change the home situations of the children in Newark, NJ. It isn't going to change the absence of parenting and moral teaching that their parents didn't get. It isn't going to remove the hopelessness they have. It isn't going to heal their hearts. Only a spiritual, heart change can do that. Only an encounter with Jesus and his healing power can do that. Only the restoration of families and lives will do that. It isn't about money, it's about love.
So I would probably be labeled ungrateful for not being excited about the grant of $100,000,000 just like I'm not excited about "good" sermons and lifeless worship. I would be criticized for not celebrating the microscopic growth of a church over 25 or 30 years. I'm looking for 3,000 added to the church in one day! I'm looking for captives being set free! I'm looking for permanent change in lives. I'm looking for the Holy Spirit to help us sort out the mess when we turn it upside down, shake it up and let him tell us what to keep and what to throw away.
If we don't do some revolutionary things in our world it isn't going to be around long. It's time for the church to be salt and light...one individual at a time. Does anyone out there need a revolutionary? I know one looking to turn some things upside down.
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