Decatur Book Festival Highlights
I spent my entire day at the Decatur Book Festival, the largest independent book festival in the nation. Fantastic time. Decatur Metro asked for reviews.
Here’s a few of my highlights:
10. Overhearing conversations of a completely different type than usual: “I was disappointed by his alacrity, but compelled by his virtuosic recompense.” (Ok, that doesn’t make sense, but I kid you not, DBF people used a lot of big words.)
9. Seeing random Decatur friends and catching up on the square.
8. Buying a cool $12 Little Shop of Stories t-shirt. (Front says, “Read.” Back has cool retro pic with, “all the cool kids are doing it.”)
7. Billy Collins, poet laureate and just freaking hilarious, reading his work. Check out his cool project called Poetry 180 which suggests 180 poems to read every day of the school year. Not to analyze, not to sermonize, not to dissect, just to read and enjoy.
6. I’m embarrassed to say, I hadn’t heard of Amiri Baraka before this weekend. I was assigned to volunteer at his reading, though, and was really taken by him. Of course, I bought a book:)
5. I was the “pusher” for the Amiri Baraka signing. That means I made sure the books to sign were open to the correct page, and pushed them to an easy place for Baraka to sign. It also means I got to overhear the fascinating conversations while he signed, and take tons of pictures. Baraka told me that if pastor stuff doesn’t work out, I could have a career in photography.
4. Decatur Presbyterian Church hosted big speakers throughout the day. Over the weekend, they will have welcomed almost 5,000 people into their sanctuary. Now that’s community involvement.
3. John Dean speaking on US government and our current political malaise.
2. I usually think of authors as pretty unappreciated in our society, not exactly reaping huge cultural rewards of fame. So it was cool to see people walking up to authors as if they were rock stars.
1. Kids screamed for joy when they met (costumed) favorite characters. Parents purchased hundreds and hundreds of books for their children today. Parents reading to children. Children reading to parents. The world becoming a better place.
PC(USA) Next Steps
On Tuesday (in Presbyterian Church (USA)) lingo, I was finally assessed by the Presbytery of Florida Committee on the Preparation of Ministry (CPM) and certified able to circulate my Personal Information Form (PIF)–”ready to receive a call.” Basically that mouthful just means I’m officially able to begin looking for my first call.
After leading worship and preaching a sermon, I was examined for a little over an hour. It was great. After talking a bit about Scotland and my sense of call, the committee asked practical, worthwhile, and challenging questions in each of the ordination exam categories (Bible, Worship and Sacraments, Polity, Theology). The questions were sometimes tough, but not out to get me.
I’d always wondered what types of questions a CPM might ask, so here’s a few I got, and a few I anticipated.
Questions from CPM/COM:
- After explaining the “priority of Mark” to a Bible study class, how do you respond to a class member who asks, “But is the Bible true?”
- What does it mean to you to affirm the authority of scripture?
- I preached a recent sermon on Jacob, and a member of the congregation came up to me afterwards and related it to predestination. What does predestination have to do with the Old Testament?
- I’ve noticed a recent trent in Old Testament scholarship to discuss Jesus more often, how do you read the OT messiah prophesies in the light of Jesus?
- Why does the PC(USA) recognize only two sacraments?
- Does the Holy Spirit work outside the church? If so, how do we know?
- A small group comes to you and wants to start a new worship service. How do you proceed?
I stumbled a bit when pressed how predestination relates specifically to Christology (I said some stuff on point, but should have brought in Barth). I also made several judgement calls to shut-up rather than pressing unnecessary points. (Probably should have done that more, but oh well.)
My mantra was a both/and. When answering, I wanted to communicate that I knew the history and theology of the Reformed tradition and that the tradition lives on in exciting and challenging ways today. I felt like I was able to accomplish both–affirming my roots in the reformed tradition and claiming my particular understanding of Christ’s call in ways critical and contemporary.
My next step in the ordination process is to find some lovely folks silly and desperate enough to call me, and then be examined by the calling committee’s Committee on Ministry and then on the floor of the Presbytery.
I plan to keep pretty quiet on the blog about such things, as it’s important to see the process through and who knows who else is applying for calls, or how many I’m speaking to at the same time, etc. I think personal communications in such matters is safer and smarter. That said, I’d love to hear any comments from folks who know the process, or any other tips for CPM or COM examinations.
What are other questions to watch for? What was your approach? If you were on the committee and could ask a candidate any question, what would you ask?
[image by saavem]
Presby Meme
Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the PCUSA started this one and I was tagged by Kerri and Adam.
Here ya go:
In about 25 words each, answer the five questions below.
Tag five Presbyterian bloggers and send them a note to let them know they were tagged. Be sure to link to the this original post.
1) What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus? OMG, I’m horrible with favorites and definitely can’t pick a favorite hymn–ever! A few favorites: God is Here, Lift High the Cross, Now Thank We All Our God, Beautiful Savior, and The Day Thou Gavest.
2) What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you? Ok, this is a strange answer, but a few weeks ago I heard a children’s sermon on the sacrament of marriage. Yeah, I know that’s not a sacrament, but what stuck with me was 1) the fact that the world didn’t end and the church didn’t explode when the speaker got a bit confused, and 2) continued wondering how many, if any, members of that congregation noticed.
3) If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why? It’s less Presbyterian than it is cultural/theological, but since it’s still election season, how about Vote Obama for Eschatology
4) What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis? The GA Junkie, Dancing With God, and Divinity School Days.
5) If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why? An Inconvenient Truth.
I can’t think of too many Presby bloggers who haven’t been tagged yet. Here’s a few, though, Island Preacha , Next Gener.Asian, and Wonderings about Wanderings.
Sermon: "One Body in Christ," Romans 12:1-8
Romans 12:1-8
August 24, 2008
First Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee, Florida
One Body in Christ
Whatever happened to lazy August? You remember, back in the day when school started following Labor Day. When summer’s slower pace and relaxed attitude lasted clear to when you could turn the air conditioning off. August’s of old, without tropic storms and flood waters. August, when the news cycle slowed, and family vacations reigned. Oh, lazy August, where did you go?
Today, August 24th, public schools are back in session. Summer vacations are only a memory. The rain continues to fall, and have you been following the news? Newscasters in August 2008 have been busier than mice in a cheese factory.
The olympics have conducted a hostile takeover of NBC…and MSNBC, and USA, and CNBC, and some other networks I’d never even heard of.
Then there’s the far-too-real hostile takeover of Georgia by Russia.
And if you get tired of the Olympics coverage, or overwhelmed by war updates, just turn the channel to politics. You’d think the election was September 4th, not November 4th. The Democrats are scaling the Mile High City, while the Republicans are skiing over the frozen tundra to St. Paul.
And I’m afraid, in August 2008, if we look closely at our culture, amidst all the busyness we’ll see a deep brokenness. We sure are busy, but we’re also hiding many bruises.
Nations rise up against nations. Swords are drawn and wielded in the US political process. A root has risen up in Beijing amidst reports of closed door agreements over previously sacred human rights.
And then we read Paul. As usual, meddling with our worldview, transforming our all-to-conformed thoughts. Paul writes,
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another.
I’m sorry, but Paul must be mistaken. I mean, he wasn’t writing in August of 2008. He didn’t know the issues we face today. We who are many, are one body in Christ?! Not with the Olympics playing, the US staring down China for the most medals. Not with party conventions designed to break the country into red states and blue states, values voters and working class Hillary supporters. Not when the Russian behemoth flexes it bear-like muscles.
We who are many, are one?! Paul is so yesterday. In August 2008, if you ask me, Paul is really showing his age. … Continue Reading
Review: Leif Enger's "So Brave, Young, and Handsome"
Read this book. It’s good. Real good. Read it if you’re a pastor, or if you like adventure stories, or broken characters seeking redemption, or hard cowboy fun, or just really well-written prose. Leif Enger’s (author of Peace Like a River) has some mad skills.
The book came highly recommended to me by a friend whose taste I trust, so I didn’t read the book jacket description (the best way to read books, by the way). Set in America in 1915, the main character and story-teller is Monte Becket, a one-hit-wonder adventure novel writer who quit his job in the post office but fails to do much right. Becket sort of reminded me of Frank Bascombe in Richard Ford’s novels (recommended too, but much more difficult reads). Both are appealing due to their failures, honestly, and innate American optimism.
Well, a resident of Northfield, Minnesota (which I was proud to call home for four years), meets a reclusive neighbor from down the river. The neighbor is kind, full of the most amazing stories, and has a rather dubious history. To the two set off for a six-week trip to Mexico, a journey of mutual benefit. Glendon, the neighbor, must appease his conscience and confess his faults to a previous wife from his Mexican outlaw days. Becket needs to find himself and discover his true calling whether as a writer, a postman, a husband, a father, or a just a failure.
Adventures ensue. Tears and laughter are shared. Hope is kindled and lost.
I won’t ruin the story, but I will say it contains my new favorite baptism scene in modern fiction. It’s beautiful, hilarious, and so complex it could be used in ten sermons, twenty different ways.
[Ok, here's just a bite if your curious...
"A new fear entered me, ‘Glendon, what if it's wrong for me to do it? Suppose I imperil something'"
‘Imperil what?'
‘My immortal soul,' I rather hissed.
‘Why Becked,' he said, with a warm familiarity I found irksome.
‘I'm serious. What if He's got some rule about this? What if God hates impostors?'
He looked bemused, ‘If you're afriad, then I think you're no impostor.'" ]
I’ll be reviewing some churchy non-fiction books next week, but if your taste is anything like mine, you’ll more enjoy the truthful fiction of Enger’s So Brave, Young, and Handsome.
Just for fun, and for some linking love, here’s some other random blog reviews of the novel: Crookedshore, Erik Emery Hanberg, and BitterSweetLife.
Individuality and Community
It’s easy to crack on our culture, in particular, our penchant for selfish individuality. You’ll often hear phrases like, “Well, ultimately it’s not about THEM is it?” Implying it’s ultimately just about yourself. We celebrate the self in ways extreme and dangerous.
In response to our individualistic society, Christians preach and try to practice a self-giving rather than selfishness. Jesus is held up as the ultimate example of self sacrifice, and we’re told to do as he did. Of course, this extreme–total selflessness–can be really dangerous, and is ultimately unfaithful in practice. Too often, especially for women, the giving of oneself for others becomes dangerous and abusive. Lack of self-respect and self-dignity is no good either.
Enter Shirley Guthrie.
As human beings created in the image of God, we can realize our distinctive individuality only in and for the sake of community with God and other people; and we can live in true community with them only as we respect, preserve, and defend our own unique individuality and that of other people. True individuality and true community cannot be separated; each has to be understood in inseperable connection with the other… [Christian Doctrine, p. 209]
May more of us better walk this balance beam of Christian individuality and community.
image by spekulator
Connect Online
