Tim Keel's Blog

Some Good Interaction on PoMo

A couple of months ago Christianity Today ran a column by Charles Colson titled, The Postmodern Crackup. For many of us who are taking seriously the challenge of being the church in the emerging world, Colson's characterizations of what is out "there" have been oversimplified and as a result, frustrating.

Fortunately, Brian McLaren wrote a response to Colson's article and sent it to Colson's organization. They have not responded and that doesn't matter. I think what Brian wrote has been incredibly helpful for people who genuinely want to move beyond stereotypes and into real dialogue.

Recently Brian launched his own web-site, A New Kind of Christian, that has some great resources. My friend Rudy Carrasco pointed me to a new little article Brian has written called The Three Postmodernisms that describes post-modernism in some very helpful and accessible ways and is worth reading.

Overheard at Our House

Yesterday, my three-year old, Blaise, walks up to Mimi and says, "Look Mom...cowGollum." Hmmm....this is funny.

I have to admit it is a little disconcerting at times to see him slinking around the house practicing his raspiest, "My prrreciousssss." He's never even seen the movies. He is at turns frightened and morbidly fascinated by this creature. Maybe what cowGollum represents a kinder, gentler version for the younger audience. Maybe we could franchise a baseballGollum and do variations based on headwear - gangstaGollum, perhaps?

I really like this kid.

My precious, indeed.

Out of Pocket

I've been out of town for the last five days. Actually, that's not quite accurate. I have been at a seminar in town for the last five days and staying at a hotel with other seminar attendees during the off hours.

I get to travel a fair amount and stay in hotels usually five to seven times a year. I generally enjoy the experience of travel and being away. There is something metaphysically exhilirating about airports, about being in a place between places. It is a place of possibility. It's a place of departure . It can be way to get out of the routines of life periodically to re-connect to yourself. Sometimes a change of scenery facilitates that.

What was new to me this last week was staying at a hotel while being in town. It was odd to know that all the regular rhythms and relationships continued to pulse just a few minutes away. It was hard to know that my wife was sick and taking care of two sick kids and that she wanted me to be just where I was. And it was good to take time away to attend to myself, even in the midst of the swirling chaos of life and sickness and busyness, so that there might actually be a there there.

And I am reminded of the best aspect of traveling: coming home and looking into the eyes of your family and friends and once again saying, "This is where I belong."

iPod Rotation: January

I confess I am a victim/willing participant in the Apple iTunes music revolution.

$.99 (hey, there's no cents symbol on my keyboard!) a song is a great way to sample and buy music. This month I bought an old Wilco album that I had missed since my Case Logic 96 CD carrier was stolen out of my car in Denver five years ago. "A.M." is such a great record and it has been good to be re-acquainted with it. I can't remember if these guys are still a band or not, though - it seems since "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" the status has been up in the air. Anyone?

Ben Folds record, "Rockin the Suburbs" is another brilliant collection of songs. I painted my daughter's room to it a couple of weeks ago. That guy can really write songs and when I listen to his music I alternately laugh and smirk at his cleverness and choke back tears at his read on the human condition and the poignancy with which he paints it. Something about a piano I think...

The Jayhawks new release, "Rainy Day Music," is by far my favorite new listen. To be honest, I hated it at first. I was totally bummed I spent the money. It is so reminiscent of 60s & 70s music like Crosby, Stills, and Nash (Young, too?), the Byrds, even a little Bowie at times, that I was immediately turned off. I like Bowie. You can have the rest. But...I have done a complete about face. I can't stop listening. My kids can sing a couple of the songs. And I now think that they do that 60s & 70s folk harmony thing better than the originals...IMHO.

Urban Spirituality

Reading through the Open Source Theology site yesterday I found a discussion thread on metro-spirituality, or how living in the city affects how a person lives their life. Moreover, how does a follower of Christ and a community of disciples living in the city express their faith in an urban context? The discussion reminded me of an article I read a couple of years ago in Sojourners Magazine. Fortunately, Sojourners has a great online archive. Check out City Lights.

Eric Jacobsen's book, Sidewalks in the Kingdom is another strong resource.

Connecting to an old friend

I recently received an e-mail from a friend named Jeff Cook with whom I attended seminary. We both received our Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary and graduated in the Spring of 1998. While the education was good in providing a baseline of theological literacy, it was also frustrating. Contemporary seminary largely trains men and women to exist and serve in a world that no longer exists. Seminary often seeks to answer questions no one is asking. What's more, as a modern institution the seminary is often hostile to many of the questions that are being asked with real sincerity.

It might seem harsh but I think the modern institution of seminary is actually destructive to the church's missional presence in world. Obviously there are exceptions. My friend Jason Clark has just begun a doctoral program at George Fox University under Len Sweet that seems to be great and I am thinking of enrolling in it next year. But I am always confused when a young man or woman from my church, hungry to serve God and the church, asks me what seminary they ought to go to. I am really keen to explore the idea of theological training that exists on multiple contexts: locally, regionally, and globally.

Anyway, my original post was about connecting with Jeff, who one week-end disappeared to climb Devil's Tower. Since seminary we've both been on a journey of self-education trying to figure out who we are and what it looks like to have a life in God and how ministry flows out of that individually and communally - or I should say, that has been my journey and Jeff has asked similar questions along the way. Anyway...he sent me an e-mail and he made an interesting comment that reminded me of our conversation at Midrash last week. Jeff doesn't mention creation theology, per se, but it is implicit in what he writes. He says,

"I'm leading a small group discussion on "How we isolate those Christ loves", and speaking of absolute truth.  God is the one who has the corner market on it, not us. We are subjective beings with a bias. All we can do is share our story of how a personal God desperately loves us and how he has engaged us. As subjective beings we dare not push absolute truth on others, but simply share out of our life, and pray that they might seek to discover God's creative movement in their life. Practically what this does is that it keeps us from isolating ourselves from those who have not found peace with Christ because it places us at the 'same level' as all people; rather than a people who are elevated because we have 'the truth.' Also tied to this is a recognition that people are good. It seems to me that the church has spent too long focusing on our sin nature. We're out of balance. God made an excellent investment in us, because he created us good. All people have the ability to do good, (and I would argue are good - to some extent) to participate in sacrificial events. The fact that we have a disease such as sin is obvious, one need only look at the DSM-IV to witness a glaring example. Again, practically speaking, this changes the lens through which I see all people. I see them as good and having something good to offer, though many I encounter may still be in need of finding peace with God. If I can see those people who are not of the faith as good, then again, it keeps me from isolating myself from them - from looking down upon them, from believing that I love my kids or wife more because I am a Christian. It allows to authentically love them with no agenda. Anyway, that is were my thoughts have been as of late."

More open source thoughts

Andrew Jones may have the greatest, longest running blog around. He describes himself as a person who helps people start churches in the emerging culture and helps existing churches and leaders understand them. After my last post about open source as a metaphor for ways that we might consider interacting, I remembered that someone had mentioned a website to that effect, OpenSource Theology, and sure enough it is there and it is really good. And I think the very same Andrew is at the heart of it.

When I went there this morning I read that the most recent posting is announcing a conference on ecclesiology, or theology of the church, with N.T. Wright called The Future of the People of God. I have been reading Tom Wright recently, specificially What the Apostle Paul Really Said. It is an incredible book and now I have two other books on my shelf that are waiting in the dock, or the queue to stay in the right vernacular, The Challenge of Jesus, and Jesus and the Victory of God.

In the "church in the emerging culture" dialogue, specifically the theological discourse, I have noticed a natural progression of thought: epistemology (how we know what we know, the nature of knowledge, truth, etc.) and hermeneutics (dealing with text and interpretation) have dominated the early discussions. To me it seems that coming out of those two subjects must come an examination of ecclesiology (our understanding of the the nature and scope of the church) and missology (how the church understands her mission in the world). I am thrilled about this gathering in the United Kingdom (my friend and recent house guest Jason Clark is one of the hosts), the open source nature of these discussions, and the opportunity to participate.