Life In Greencastle

"We begin to realize that, far from being at the periphery of his life, tent-making was actually central to it. More than any of us has supposed, Paul was Paul the tentmaker . His trade occupied much of his time - from the years of his apprenticeship through the years of his life as a missionary for Christ, from before daylight through most of the day. Consequently, his trade in large measure determined his daily experiences and his social status. His life was very much that of the workshop, of artisan-friends like Aquila, Barnabas, and perhaps Jason; of leather, knives, and awls; of wearying toil; of being bent over a workbench like a slave and of working side by side with slaves; of thereby being perceived by others and by himself as slavish and humiliated; of suffering the artisan's lack of status and so being reviled and abused." - Hock, Social Context, pg. 67 as quoted in Ben Witherington III's Conflict & Community in Corinth .

If you were to travel into one of the many schools that are now back in session, what would you find? The teachers, of course: refreshed and still overwhelmed by not just the new schedules and new faces but also the always-there weight of knowing they are not just teaching; they are guiding a life further down the road. And you would find the children: wonder-filled and excitable and bored and stressed and peer-pressured and always in formation. But, you would also find something else. Amidst all the classrooms and corridors, somewhere in those schools you would find textbooks, and you would find curriculum. Tucked away in student's backpacks, in their lockers, and on their teacher's desks, you would find these resources. You will discover sources to give guidance, to help these young lives be shaped as future biologists, writers, administrators or physical therapists. What, then, is our textbook? Where do we go to learn what we need to learn in order to mature into the...

In the last two weeks, I've had the opportunity to spend a large chunk of time at the new Indianapolis Airport and at Holiday World. Not surprisingly, both places were full of people. Hordes of people. And, in both places, I could not help but think, "Wow, the world is just full of people." Because of the advancement of technology, we are ever more aware that there are a lot of people in the world. Planes, trains and automobiles give us access to big cities and vacation hot spots, and every where we go we find there are thousands (if not millions) of people there as well. Theoretically, the technology and movement across the globe should help connect us. Theoretically, technology should make the world feel smaller. And I suppose in certain ways it does. Facebook does bring us back in touch with old high school buddies. Cable news does let us hear about what is going on with your family on the East Coast. But, for most of us, technology works both ways. Yes, it ma...

As we continue in our study of Ephesians, I came across this wonderful quote from Marcus Barth regarding Paul's discussion of the "trespasses and sins" that separate us from God. This is a wonderful piece to read if you are wondering why we confess our sins weekly in the Presbyterian church: "One cannot persuade or convince another of sin. Sin cannot be proclaimed or treated as a topic of teaching. Sin can only be confessed in prayer. When sin really is spoken of, man does not speak against fellow man; he must not do so, even if he should be the 'holiest Joe' dealing with the most insulting backslider. We can only speak of sin in solidarity with fellow sinners, and before God. In the prayer in which we praise God for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in which we cry "Father!" through the Holy Spirit (i.e. the Lord's Prayer), we can and will also confess, "Forgive us our sins." Wes