Life In Greencastle

" Out of charity let us pray for the great ones of politics and war, the intellectuals, scientists, and advisors, the golden industrialists, the CEOs, that they to may wake to a day without hope that in their smallness they may know the greatness of Earth and Heaven by which they so far live, that they may see themselves in their enemies, and from their great wants fallen know the small immortal joys of beasts and birds.” -Wendell Berry, Sabbath Poems 2007 , III Every few days or so, someone says it to me. They throw it out there as a matter of fact. Usually it comes after the conversation has turned towards world politics, the price of gasoline, or something else that seems really complicated, messy, and daunting. Several weeks ago someone said it after we had been discussing the general turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East and the news that Mubarak had stepped down from his seat of power in Egypt. "I think it’s just further evidence that the world is going to e...

The following statement comes from The Evangelical Manifesto: A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment and was published in May of 2008. The whole manifesto is worth reading, but I was particularly struck by the following passage which details the need for Evangelicals to be radically refashioned in their own life and witness. It conforms to my own beliefs and views regarding the Church and culture: Our second major concern [as Evangelicals] is the reformation of our behavior. We affirm that to be Evangelical or to carry the name Evangelicals is not only to shape our faith and our lives according to the teaching and standards of the Way of Jesus, but to need to do so again and again. But if the Evangelical impulse is a radical, reforming, and innovative force, we acknowledge with sorrow a momentous irony today. We who time and again have stood for the renewal of tired forms, for the revival of dead churches, for the warming of cold hearts, for the reformation of co...

Every once in a while I find myself talking with a stranger or catching up with an old friend. Such an occasion came this last weekend as I reunited with several old college buddies. And, as often happens at reunions, the conversation quickly turned to twenty questions: Am I married? Do I have kids? Where do I live? Eventually, I had to tell my friends what I now do to feed myself and my family. And with some hesitancy, I told them that I now serve as a pastor. Why the hesitancy? What could keep me from freely proclaiming myself as a servant of the Lord? Simply: I know what the follow up question is going to be. It is almost inevitable: "So, how big is your church?" It is amazing how often people ask me this. And let me just say this: I hate this question. I think it is a horrible, God-awful question. The people who ask the question aren't bad people. It's like my old college buddies. I have nothing against them; in fact, I appreciate and love them. But...

In just over a week, Karl Rove and Howard Dean will be coming to Greencastle for a debate between the two of them at DePauw University. The debate between these two men brings front and center a topic that seems to create and kill conversation: politics. Many of us can remember our own heated debates at the dinner table; others remember nary a word spoken about elephants or donkeys. All of us have our political opinions, and some of us happen to believe that politics and religion simply should not be mixed. They are like oil and water. And while I too get bored or frustrated with the ongoing circus that politics can become at its worst, the simple fact is God has created us as political beings. What I mean by "political beings" is simply this: we exist and must learn how to live together. This is the basic meaning of what politics is. And, with this basic definition of what politics is - discussing how, learning about and working on living together - we can say clearl...

I just interviewed 10 children. And, all 10 of them agreed: Easter is about ... (drum roll) ... candy! That's right. The high point in the Christian calendar has officially been overrun and co-opted by Mars Candy Corporation. This all began when I started talking to Ms. Juliette January, the director of our daycare who was born in the Caribbean. She was telling me how much more Easter was recognized and celebrated in her native land: Good Friday and the Monday following Easter were both recognized as national holidays, bars and stores were closed, families would gather for large meals celebrating the ancient story. But what did Juliette discover when she came to the United States? Answer: bunny rabbits, candy galore and - for good measure - chocolate bunny rabbits. She could not believe what she saw. I knew she was right. But, I couldn't resist polling the kids. One by one, I asked them, "When I say the word 'Easter', what do you think about?" And, ...