Check out some photos of her here:
http://www.nathanjhill.com/meetemily/index.html

Needless to say, the life transition to parenthood has been challenging. We are pretty exhausted, doing our best to get as much sleep as possible. Eunice’s mother-in-law is helping out wonderfully too. We are trying to keep this little girl entertained, fed, and asleep. I’ve found myself worrying over new and different things, stuff I never thought I would worry about. I’ve even found myself feeling more protective than ever. It’s interesting - but natural too.

She is super precious, super beautiful, and super awesome.

The big news is that Yunkyong and I have graduated. We walked across the stage of the National Cathedral here in Washington, DC on Monday. It felt good to complete that part of the journey. It’s been an interesting one, that’s for sure. I will be working on the rest of my ordination requirements over the summer and plan on being ordained in DC at National City Christian Church.

I am also looking toward my first full-time call as a minister. I don’t know where we will be heading yet, but I am excited about the possibilities. I want to do ministry in a place that is going to be challenging and intriguing. Yunkyong and I are both sort of staring at the void right now, waiting for our first child, Emily, and the next move with some anticipation.

I’ve got mp3s, some video files, new links, and new articles coming up soon - check back this weekend for that stuff.

You can find out about the event here: http://www.advocacydays.org/

In addition, the Disciples and UCC are having a combined event:

On Saturday, March 8th, at 7.45 pm, at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, VA (in the Arbors Room), there will be a special event for Disciples and UCC from across the nation. The main speaker will be Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. Other speakers include: Rev. Michael Paige from Michigan Park and Rev. Noemi Mena from National City. All local Disciples and UCC are invited to this free event. Light food and drink will be provided. An offering will be taken. Please RSVP to DAWN at dawnccca@comcast.net.

This special event is part of the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Peace with Justice (March 7 - 10, 2008). To register for this conference and/or to get directions to the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, please visit www.advocacydays.org. Help spread the word!

I’d love to see you out, but if you can’t or if you are on the other side of the continent, I’ll probably do another podcast of the event, maybe even some video.

I decided to jump into the fray with the Lenten Prayer Project, a 40 day or so experiment with automated prayers. It begins today with a morning and evening psalm and prayer. The only instructions are to stop what you are doing when you receive the email and pray. I figure some folks with have more time to build around it - maybe additional petitions, maybe a moment of quiet, maybe a lit candle, maybe even a favorite song. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you take the time to acknowledge God where you are. The prayers are on a weekly cycle too (minus Sundays), so you’ll get the same prayer each Monday morning. There should be a rhythm that develops out of that. The prayers are from some Celtic resources I’ve collected, and they are beautiful and challenging.

That’s the general idea anyway, but I figure I could expand it in the future. I could see emails sent out each day, calling participants to pray the hours (the ol’ medieval or monastic way). I also imagine that it could be a very simple service that churches could offer to their communities, especially to those folks on the edge who want a taste of spirituality but aren’t ready to trust the church again.

The “how-to” is pretty simple. I used a free email service called LetterMeLater.com to setup each email and schedule it to be sent. I then setup a simple form at nathanjhill.com to receive possible subscribers. Right now, I enter them in manually to a group on the LetterMeLater site and update the scheduled emails. It’s not an automated process - in fact, if I do it again, I will probably look at setting up a mailing list of some kind. Still, it’s a first step to see how this goes.

In fact, I want to hear people’s responses, so as we get past the first week or two, I may add additional spiritual insights that folks have received as they have prayed these prayers. Collectively, we can see what God is doing among us as we try out this spiritual practice together.

If you want to join the experiment, sign up here: http://www.nathanjhill.com/lentenprayers/index.php

When I was in South Korea over the Christmas break, elections were going on in full force there too. At one point, when Eunice, her mom, and I went to the local department store, we came upon a crowded intersection filled with banners, political supporters, noise, and flyers. The sheer audio pollution was overwhelming. Supporters on opposite sides of the intersection were using bullhorns and PA systems to speak about the greatness of their candidate and lead in patriotic songs. In Korea, the system is quite a bit different - there were 10 candidates, and you just voted once for the one you liked. It really was chaotic, though one candidate (MK) came out on top, despite the fact that this was a candidate hit heavy just before the election by a scandal in which it was pretty apparent he was lying about some shady business deals.

I think the one thing that disillusions me most about political campaigns is the dishonesty. When asked what his greatness weakness was during a recent debate, Barack Obama answered truthfully - he has a cluttered desk. John Edwards and Hillary Clinton both rattled off dishonest answers that resembled the job interview scene from season 3 of the Office. When asked what his weaknesses are, Michael Scott answers - “I work too hard, and I care too much.” John Edwards cares too much, and Hillary is too impatient for change. Thanks for the goofy answers, folks.

On the Republican side, compassion is apparently a weakness, revealing how farther and farther into the extreme that party drifts. For example, Governor Huckabee suggested that the compassionate thing to do was allow children of illegal immigrants to get access to financial aid for college. Heck, it wasn’t their fault they are here in the US illegally. But for Republicans, such a show of compassion means being weak on immigration. Later, Huckabee backpedaled on this assertion, rather than stand up for what is right.

I guess what I am watching for in this election is honesty - candidates who stand up for what they believe and aren’t afraid to express it. Like many Americans, I’m tired of politics that is about pandering for votes and pulling some sort of centrist triangulation. I’m ready for change. I’m ready for honesty.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JVRsWAjvQSg

I’ve never been a fan of intelligent design. I certainly respect those who want to affirm that God created the universe (as I do), but that doesn’t mean we have to dress up philosophical ideas in science dressing.

Ken’s best comment (so far) is that Intelligent Design requires people to believe that if a god did create the world in the manner the intelligent design folks say, we end up having to admit that this god intentionally used deception. That does not line up with the witness of the Bible or the life of Jesus. Enjoy the video!

Happy New Year!

One of the things I am supposed to be working on is a 15 page credo paper. A credo paper is all about putting down your beliefs on paper, as you know them right now. Ideally, I take an old creed from the church - like the Apostles Creed - and piece by piece, reveal how I stand with or against the beliefs contained within.

As a Disciple, this is the most awkward task I’ve ever undertaken.

When I look back at old church heresies, my Disciple sense says - hey, why couldn’t they just get along with these differences? I prefer faith communities where multiple viewpoints can be expressed. However, I had a campus minister once tell me that allowing people to print the bible was probably a costly blow (in the long term) for Christians. Uneducated people could read the Bible… and read into it what they wanted. Clergy had no authority any more because of it - sure, they’ve gone to seminary, but my KJV Bible says…

This reminds me of another story. We had a guest preacher/lecturer for an adult class during VBS. The focus was on the Old Testament, and the preacher, a self-professing Jew for Jesus, did have an interesting grasp on the culture of the Old Testament. He explained many references that we often gloss over, but then, as the week drew to a close, he came out with his grand lecture — how he and his buddy figured out when the world was going to end. As soon as those words left his mouth, his credibility shrank to nothing. He joins the long list of other faithful Christians who thought they had this whole bible thing figured out.

Ultimately, that is what I like about faith - at the core of it all, there is always a sense of mystery. There is always more to learn. We believe in a God who, though being beyond comprehension, took initiative to reveal him/herself to the world.

Now, I just have to figure out how to keep that sense of mystery at work throughout my own credo paper.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I invited readers of my blog to it this time - it’s going to be real interesting and a lot of fun.

Michael Scott, for me, is one of the funniest characters on TV. I wrote on the Facebook group for Connections that he is like a trainwreck - he says the worst thing at the worst moment and we (the viewers) get to see it coming in slow motion. We cannot turn away. At times, it makes us squirm in our seats, and at other times, we can’t help but just laugh.

But yet, for the character, there is this deep care and concern that manages to break through at times - ultimately, Michael Scott cares about his employees and wants to do the right thing. It’s just he seems mostly misguided and sometimes sidetracked by his own immaturity and pride. But there are times when he does seem to wise up a bit and deal with an issue in a constructive way, and when that happens, everyone takes notice. It really does mean something.

I think that is what we will be looking for as we begin this series at Connections, and then maybe to ask each other how we can get that goodness within each of us to rise up and make a difference for someone more often.

Here is our worship guide. I’m listing it below just so anyone who is curious can see what we are up to. Note: Some of these are half-formed ideas.

Connections Worship Guide (9/5)

3:00 PM
- delicious fair trade coffee/cappucino (Eunice)
- spanish tortilla (Beth)

3:20 PM
The Office Episode (Season One)
“Downsizing”
We’ll watch the “Downsizing” episode from season one, which really deals with the breakdown of relationships. You have Dwight trying to get Jim to form an alliance, you got Jim and Pam working together to trick Dwight, you got Michael Scott (the boss) totally mishandling office relations by trying to throw an unnecessary party to boost moral, and so on. It’s chock full of dishonesty, avoidance, well-meaning intentions gone awry, division, hearing what you want to hear, lack of reality, and so on.

4:00 PM
Discussion Time

Scripture Readings:
Matthew 6:19-23
During Jesus’ first sermon, called the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew, he begins a section on the piety (lived out faith) that God rewards, and he talks about the internal things, deep down, that define you.

Matthew 12:33-37
After casting out a demon, Jesus is confronted by Pharisees, who claims he uses evil to do good. He responds about the words from your mouths. There is something at stake in what you say and how you say it.

Matthew 18:15-20
In Jesus’ fourth sermon in Matthew, he switches gears and gives instruction about the church (ekklesia), an important theme in Matthew. This section talks about how to deal with conflicts with each other. If the conflict cannot be resolved, you are to treat your offending brother or sister like “a Gentile and a tax collector” - which means as an object of mission. In other words, relationships should be different since we are Christians.

We will discuss how each of these words from Jesus might offer light to the characters of the show and to our own lives… And finally, what are we going to do about it?

4:30 PM
Worship Time

Opening Song/Lighting of the Candles
“Everyone Wants to Know Love” (tentative)

Psalm Reading
Psalm 139
(with slideshow in the background)

Time of Prayer and Reflection
Prayer Stations (reflecting relationship, honesty, words, etc.)

Prayer Songs
“Bless Be the Tie that Binds”
“Jesus Remember Me”

Communion
Laura Arico leads it

Closing Prayer
St. Francis’ Prayer (make me an instrument of thy peace)

End.

Communion Idea:
Let’s do the divide by 2:
Two people cut the piece of bread in half and offer it to others.
Then those two cut the piece of bread in half and offer it to others.
Until everyone has bread. Then we dip into the cup.

Ideas for Prayer Stations:
Some of these are CRAZY.
- A hand mirror and you write lipstick on it… hold it up to your face, and use the lipstick to write a heart over your mouth… A strange way to pray.. but perhaps a way to meditate and ask God to use your lips for good, not evil?
- Friendship bracelets???
- Signs of relationships to touch, hold, and use in our prayer… perhaps rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc, etc… any other ideas?
- Maybe a prayer quilt on the floor, made out of different patches.. that we may sit on and pray for the wholeness of the world
- A truth wall.. to write things of truth, love, and honesty on.. ??

Jesus tells us about the parable of the mustard seed. (Matthew 13:31-35) It’s one of those simple but deceptive verses of the Gospel of Matthew which challenge believers to consider the nature and purpose of the kingdom of God. For example, read what Shane Claiborne had to say about this parable in the Irresistible Revolution.

Matthew strategically places the mustard seed parable in the middle of a story about gardening in which Jesus commands people not to tear up the weeds from the garden but to let the wheat and weeds grow together (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43). Then he tells his listeners that the kingdom of God is like mustard, which grows like a wild bush (Matt. 13:31-35). I once heard a farmer say it is like kudzu (a wild vine that grows everywhere), and a city preacher compared it to the wild weeds that grow out of the abandoned houses and crack the sidewalks. The mustard seed’s growth would have been familiar to first-century Jews and its symbolic meaning unmistakably clear. It may have even been growing in the wild around them as Jesus spoke.

Jews valued order and had very strict rules about how to keep a tidy garden, and one of the secrets was to keep out mustard. It was notorious for invading the well-trimmed veggies and other plants and for quickly taking over the entire garden. (Kind of like yeast works its way through dough… hmm.) Then they’d be left with only mustard! Jewish law even forbade planting mustard in the garden. When those first-century peasants heard Jesus’ images, they would have giggled, or maybe they would have told him to hush before he got killed. Here he is using this infamous plant to describe God’s kingdom subtly taking over the world.

This is a bottom up revolution, an “annoying” revolution. It’s a kingdom that spreads with determination and perseverance. It adapts to its surroundings - it changes as the landscape and climate changes.

Perhaps this most readily fits with the Christian faith as Daniel Migliore states in his book, Faith Seeking Understanding: “The changing, ambiguous, and often precarious world poses ever new questions for faith, and many answers that sufficed yesterday are no longer compelling today.” Migliore writes: “Authentic faith is no sedative for world-weary souls, no satchel full of ready answers to the deepest questions of life. Instead, faith in God revealed in Jesus Christ sets an inquiry in motion, fights the inclination to accept things as they are, and continually calls in question unexamined assumptions about God, our world, and ourselves.”

In both of these quotes, the images given of the kingdom of God and a faithful life suggest a “bubbling up”, a movement that adapts to its surroundings, seeking and growing in new ways in a changing, difficult world. It is a slow revolution - a revolution of little things, of persistence and small questions leading to a deeper understanding of the joy of following Christ. But it is also annoying, ever pushing and challenging our boundaries.

In a sense, this is some element of the life of a follower of Christ and a community of Christians that I hope continues to emerge. I suppose my next question is - what would a church look like if it was ever seeking, ever allowing the questions of God and life to bubble up? What would it look like to be a follower that seeks to be a part of that irresistible revolution that sneaks its way into you bit by bit? What would it do to our world if Christians again focused on doing the little things that changed lives and share the love of God?