Exhaustion at GA.
So, it's no secret that life at the General Assembly is pretty exhausting.
You got to walk everywhere (not really a big deal). The schedule is packed to the brim with opportunities that you have little chance of making. You have to wake up early and stay up late to see all the folks you want to see. The food wavers between great to terrible. You can't engage in a conversation with someone for five minutes without being interrupted by someone else that you may not have seen for a few years.
It's just plain sensory overload.
I wouldn't mind it if GA toned down a schedule now and then to make things easier for folks.
But it may not be the GA folks who are stuffing the schedule anyway.
I'd propose a restructure of the GA into more of a praxis/info setup. I like the wholeness cafe - it's a great start. Workshops are fine too, because people obviously thirst for info. And some of the general units (like Church Extension) are on the right track with their booths anyway.
Think of it like this - an area where you can demo anything that our units and services have to offer. Want to learn about the new VBS resource from DHM? We are doing it together at 3 PM at Booth X. Want to see what a multicultural bible study might be like? Check out the Global Missions booth at Y at 8 AM and 8 PM each day. Then, you have another area that is just more info oriented - brochures, flyers, reps, and so on just to talk and give out info.
With something like this, we could take a step away from schedule glut and have more open time for folks to experiment and taste and see what is out there. Maybe not the best idea - but it's an idea.
Writing Your Faith.
It's Thanksgiving week. We don't have class here at Wesley Theological Seminary. Grad school can be a bit generous about giving break time.
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.
Twitter: nathanjhill
- Mount Righteous from Grapevine, TX is a great band.
- RT @zoecarnate It looks like Derek Webb is giving away his controversial Stockholm Syndrome album - go Derek! Go free! http://bit.ly/94ET6j
- Streaming my email and twitter with #inbox2 #desktop, don't miss out! http://bit.ly/9pHFfd
- Hey San Antonio!
- Someday, all hymnals in churches will be replaced by iPads... and you can play along with the organist like Rock Band.
Recent Posts
- Facing November
- Healing for the Nations
- Exhaustion at GA.
- A Movement for Wholeness
- Gearing up for General Assembly.
Tags
Archives
- October 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- October 2008
- July 2008
- May 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- November 2005
- October 2005