A Great Loss:

I've been camping with my oldest son Zach this weekend enjoying time away from my phone and laptop. Tonight my friend Jimmy called to let me know about my friend Kyle Lake. Kyle who is about my age died this morning. From what I have gathered, he was electocuted when a mic fell into the baptismal he was standing in. He cried our for help and went under. Doctors in the congregation came to his aid and he was rush to the ER but he didn't make it.

I never met Kyle face to face. We talked on the phone a few times. Once or twice about something one of us had written and once when he was looking for church recommendations for his brother who is studying law at Tulsa University. Most recently he sent me a copy of his new book [re]Understanding Prayer and we made loose plans to get some coffee when he came to Tulsa for his brother's graduation this May.

Kyle was married to Jen and toegher they had 3 children. 1 daughter and 2 sons(twins). Tonight is the first night they are going to sleep with out their husband and father.

I'm trying to make sense of this in my head and I'm a bit confused and unclear. I can't stop thinking about his family. I'm also concerned for his church UBC, my prayers are with Dave and Toni Crowder who will be a couple of the key leaders in leading UBC through this time.

I'm at a loss of what I can do right now. I have this enormous flood of questions. As I was getting to know Kyle, in the few ways I did, it seemed like he was only getting started in his ministry to the world.

I don't know what to say except pray for his family. Jen and the young kids. Pray for UBC leaders, including Dave and Toni. Pray for the UBC community.




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Nashvegas:
I heard from Tic today. I'm in for Nashville and I'll be doing 18 consultations for youth workes while I'm there.

Anyone in Nashville want to get together?

Tulsa Emergent Co-hort:

Thursday November 10th
10:30 am
Nordaggio's at 81st and Lewis.
We'll probably meet until 12:00 or 1pm... Maybe we'll get some lunch nearby.

Etrek:
February 9-10 and April 20-21, 2005

I'm getting more and more excited about this course with Biblical Seminary. Confirmed guests will be Kenda Dean (from Princeton Seminary), Ginny Olson (from North Park Seminary), Mike King (from Youth Front), Tony Jones (from Emergent), Steve Argue (from Grand Rapids Seminary and Intersect), Mark Oestreicher (from Youth Specialties) and Dan Kimball (from Vintage Faith).

Dang. Look at that list! Go here and join in the fun next spring. I'm told people are already beginning to register, though registration has not officially started yet.

My thoughts on each of the guest faculty. Forgive me if this sounds like a commercial of some kind, but I'm excited about the caliber of guest this course will have.

Kenda Dean - Author of "Practicing Passion", which is arguably the best youth ministry book written to date. Kenda has been able to put words to things many of us have been thinking for a long time. She is wicked smart and I'm a little bit intimidated by having her a part of this.

Ginny Olson - Author of "Breaking the Gender Barrier in Youth Ministry: The Emerging Role of Women in Youth Ministry" and professor at North Park in inner city Chicago. A former Willowcreek staffer, Ginny will make you think about social justice issues in new ways. Her energy and insight will make you rethink basic assumption you have about what youth ministry is about.

Mike King - CEO and President of Youth Front. Mike thinks radically different in regards to the role of the youth pastor. He will challenge traditional understandings regarding the role of youth pastors and point you in new directions for measuring success in ministry.

Tony Jones - Author of "Postmodern Youth Ministry" he currently volunteers full-time as the National Coordinator of Emergent. Tony's latest book "TheSacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life" is thought by many to be his best work.

Steve Argue - Former co-leader of Sonlife in Chicago, Steve writes and speaks around the country. He leads with great humility and will help you rethink youth ministry in practical and challenging ways. Steve is co-counder of Intersect.

Mark Oestreicher - President of Youth Specialties, a publishing organization leading the way in supporting youth workers in local churches. Marko will bring a perspective on youth ministry that is global in perspective.

Dan Kimball - Author of the "Emerging Church" and Lead Pastor of Vintage Faith in Santa Cruz, Dan will bring a pastoral and pragmatic presence to the conversation of reimagining youth ministry.

photo by Zachery Riddle (7 years old) at Chicago's Navy Pier

Random Thoughts:

.: I love the weather outside. 40's at night and 70's during the day! yes! Time to make use of my back porch with some friends... anyone interested?

.:Talked with Marko today about potentially working with YS in Nashville doing a bit of consulting for youth workers at the convention. It's Tic's call and I'll likely know if it's a go later this week.

.:Emailing back and forth with Tony Jones about a project this summer revisiting youth ministry. If this happens it will be the first event of it's kind. We will hash out details in Nashville.

.:Consulting: I am loving my job. The new firm is gaining new clients and I'm finding great joy in serving God in such a unique way. I feel like I was made for this. When I sit down with a new friend and I listen to their situation it is always exciting to hear God at work in such amazing ways. I'm humbled by this experience so far and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for the future.

Kyle Lake: Excerpt #2
from the book [re] Understanding Prayer

I'm really enjoying Kyle's book and I'm going to eventually review it on the liquidthinking site. Kyle is Dave Crowder's pastor at UBC Waco.

Here's another quote.
"Henri Nouwen said that when prayer becomes a way of life for you, it does not mean that you think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or that you spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in teh presence of God. AS soon as we begin to divide our thoughts into thoughts about God and thoughts about people and events, we remove God from our daily life and put him in a pious niche where we can think pious thoughts and experience pious feelings. Our instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5 "pray without ceasing," then finds new meaning."

READ THIS!!!

Riddle Day at the Pumpkin Patch

I took the day off since the kids where out for fall break and we went to the pumpkin patch. Fun.

Complete Random Thoughts

I'm tired today. I didn't sleep well last night. Our home is under attack by tiny ants. So last night I dreamt about was ants. Nice sweet dreams!

I'm investigating going to NYWC in Nashville with the Youth Specialties gang.

The stress of owning your own company can be a bit overwhelming at times. Especially on slow days.

My family is doing very well. Zachery is in cub scouts and will get his Bobcat badge this Tuesday.

We are looking forward to getting our house in order (and antless) so we can begin having people over regularly. Our new house has a very large back deck that is covered with recessed lighting so it's perfect for playing cards and hanging with friends.

Theories of Emergent: Theory #1

Many have theories about the emerging church. Many people have opinions. As a follower of Jesus, I know one thing to be true about the future. Some may call it a theory, other will not.
It involves Dan Kimball. (pictured) Last year I heard a critic of the Emerging Church declare his theory regarding Dan. He declared that Dan would splinter off from the Emerging Church movement and start an "orthodox" version. I think that dude is wrong. But I will opine here about Dan's future.

To state my theory concisely, Dan Kimball will never change his haircut. Ever.
Call me a futurist if you must, but I believe it to be so.

I simply can't see Dan in any other haircut. To think of him with an accountant's cut or a long messy surfter mop is unthinkable. No. Dan's hair will remain the same, forever and ever and always. amen and amen.

Pakistan Relief:
Got an email from by friend Dan Hughes in Texas.

"My brother Trevor is in the earthquake disaster zone in Pakistanhelping in the relief effort and blogging what he sees. His organization, Secured Path (http://securedpath.com), is also moving money directly to effected families without any amount being sliced off the top for the typical middleman "expenses". I want to ask if you would consider linking to Trevor's Pakistan earthquake disaster blog(http://humanitarianman.blogspot.com)."

Kyle Lake: Excerpt #1
I'm reading his latest book, {re}Understanding Prayer: A fresh approach to conversation with God. Kyle is the pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

As I'm reading I want to post a few lines that stand out to me and then I'll review it when I'm done.

"My experience of life outgrew my understanding of God. Pure and simple. At some point, I was overcome by the realization that the God I was raised worshiping could not handle the complexities of real life. He was perfectly fit to deal with lollipops, candy canes, and sugerplums, but avalanches, wildfires, and tsunamis He was not. Literally and metaphorically. What's odd about this realization is not it's ridiculous nature but my response to this realization. The next few years I shifted into a defensive posture. I became protective of God, like an older brother watching out for his diminutive little sister who couldn't hold her weight on the school playground. And this posture eventually seemed odd to me. Why did God need defending? Who was I really protecting?"

Etrek:
February 9-10 & April 20 & 21
Topic: Re-Imagining Youth Ministry

We live in an exciting time for the church and youth ministry. Never before have there been so many vocational "youth pastors" with youth ministry now the norm in most American churches. Along with this popularization has come a set of standardized expectations. These higher, and often misplaced, expectations are built on a variety of assumptions related to living for Jesus within a dominant, changing culture. Additionally, in recent years a new group classified as "middle adolescence" has arisen that requires a new approach to ministry. These and other factors have led many in youth ministry to ask significant questions about the future of youth ministry, leading to exploration and the development of new ways of thinking about ministry to adolescents and their families. The questions are expansive in scope and demand a response. This course will discuss these issues, ask questions, explore new ideas, and establish new frameworks for youth ministry.

Field Trip with Jaden
One of the perks of being self employed is carving out time during the day for things like field trips. Jaden's preschool class is going to a pumpkin patch today, and so am I! Last year, the Riddle family went to Kackler Farms outside Grand Rapids. Amazing. There's no place like that down here and with all my recent thoughts of missing my amazing friends up north looking at this picture makes me miss them more.

At Kackler farms we rode on an wagon behind a tractor to various apple orchards and picked apples ourselves. and uh.. gorged on them while riding to the next orchard.

Pastors, living in the way of Jesus:

It's hard to be a pastor. It's hard enough to be a person, but then to lead other people in the way of Jesus... what kind of crazy person signs up for that?

The super spiritual ones will say "God signs you up!" That may be true. But I've got some questions concerning the team he's picked and as a result, questions about His/ Her judgement.

I'm not kidding. Being a person at the least difficult. Bet yet, impossible? Can I say that? We are called to be something we can not yet be?!? Ah, the tension of spiritual life.

So a pastor, struggling to be a person, has to lead people somewhere he has not gone.

I know the cliche's. You can only take someone where you have already been.
I think that's pretty much bunk. But I'm not sure if I'm right.

Don't let me mislead you. I've done the "I've been to the promised land!" kind of pastoring. The kind that says, "Here's what the absolutes are. Here's exactly what you need to do to follow God." I just don't think it works as well as we think it does.

Look. I'm all for leadership. That is to say, I'm for leading people. I just don't think what most up and coming congregations are wanting from a pastor are healthy.

I'll ask again. Who want's to be a pastor? It's an impossible task.

As I write I think about Moses. Leading his people. Learning from his people. He'd never been where they were going. Wilderness.

Maybe a call to pastoral ministry is a call to the wilderness?

Now I know why Moses didn't want the gig. He knew the way of a leader.
But then again. He was called out of his own private wilderness, to a communal wilderness.

And then to aloneness again, when he was not permitted to into the promised land.


So: Are we asking to much from our pastors?

Pastors... are we expecting to much of our congregations?

Being a pastor is hard.

Dreaming of Glorieta:

I have a lot of friends in New Mexico today. Reading Marko's post about he and jeanne leaving started a flow of fragrant memories from a few years ago when I was able to go.
For a variety of reasons I can not attend this year. I can't really describe the New Mexico gathering. I won't try. As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if I could even put my finger on what I loved about this gathering. Maybe it's that I feel more myself with several of the people there.
Maybe it's the mountain air. Maybe it's the incredible Santa Fe food. Maybe I'm just a bit sentimental this morning. Mostly it's the friends I have who will be there.

God told Bush to invade Iraq
according to the BBC

President George W. Bush told Palestinian ministers that God had told him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq - and create a Palestinian State, a new BBC series reveals.

Nabil Shaath (Palestinian Prime Minister) says: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it.'"

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Yes I believe in Metanarrative, but....

Is there an overarching story linking all events and history together? I believe so. But.

It's a big but too.

Understanding our narrative as followers of Jesus must lead us to humility and gratitude. This is not always the case.

Think about it.

When you feel like you know the themes for everything that happens and can connect the dots for every experience in history to a certain position or statement you are walking on dangerous ground. Dangerous because pride and arrogance often creep in.

Outrageous examples?
Every Inquisition that's ever occured.
The Holocaust
Ethnic cleansing

Not so outrageous examples?
Narrowminded Theological structures which lead to judgement upon your neighbor
Justification of fruits other than the spirit.

Love is the way of God.

So I'm watching a TV preacher last week. He says, "As a Christian you are know by your fruit. If you are a Christian it's offensive to the world and the world is going to get angry at you. If people aren't angry with you, then you aren't following God. You need to read your Bible to get right with God."

Suicide:

So an OU student commits suicide during a football game, 100 yards from the stadium.
It's beginning to sound like it wasn't an attack on anyone, just a lonely kid sitting on a park bench near 80,000 fans of his peers in football uniforms.


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The Bible and the American Constitution

If you are familiar with various interpretations of Scripture... it might be interesting to see the various ways of Interpreting the Constitution:

Originalism
Originalists think that the best way to interpret the Constitution is to determine how the Framers intended the Constitution to be interpreted. They look to a variety of sources to determine this intent, including what those individuals actually wrote. Originalists consider the original intent to be the most pure way of interpreting the Constitution. If there is an unclear phrase in the Constitution, who better to explain it than those who wrote it?

The problem with this view is the Framers were not the only people who ratified the document. In other words the document was also a product of hundreds of delagates of 13 states who held views on the constitution as well. In addition the Framers of the constitution were a diverse bunch of folks. They wrote parts of it and took itssue with other parts.

The next group of people are Modernist/Instrumentalist
A modernist approach to Constitutional interpretation ask the questions, "What if the Constituion were to be ratified today? What would the implecations be?" How do things in out modern world affect the words of the text. Modernist argue that the Constituion is irrelevant without reinterpretation throught the lens of modern issues that modern life brings. The world has changed a lot in the past 200+ years and there have been many new laws passed. What does a group of white men in the 1700's have to say to a very diverse America today.
A modernist might argue that the writers of the constitution were intentially vague on many issues so that new ideas could override old ideas. This might hold to the idea of a "Living Constitution" where the Constitution is flexible and dynamic, changing slowly over time as the morals an beliefs of the population shift. Interestingly enough a Modernist does not reject originalism. They believe that understanding intent of the Framers is very important, but current reality outweigh an following an outdated opinion and decision.

Originalists feel that modernism does are rejecting the pure and valid vision the Framers had for the country when they interpret the Constitution.

A Third View is the Literalism - historical.
The only thing that matters to the historic literalist is the actual words of the Constitution. Similar to the originalist, the historic literalist values the 18th century understanding of the Constitution, however they see no need to look to other documents, writings etc. of the authors to further understand the Constitution itself. With a wholesale rejection of modernism, the historical literalist answers all questions by simply investigating the words of the text. The historic literalist values the 18th century understand of the words, not the contemporary understand. Those who only read the words of the Constitution but that use contemporary definitions of the actual words are called Literalist -Contemporary. (our fourth view)