Eating with Pharisees

"Taking Stock of the Reign of God"

2010-02-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

Fuller professor Joel B. Green recently published an article on the kingdom of God in recent study for Catalyst. If anyone is interested in more recent scholarship (from the last 20-30 years) on the kingdom of God (as long, boring summaries of the topic before 1980ish are repeated all over the place), you might enjoy giving it a quick read. This is one of my (perhaps my most) favorite topics, and I'm always surprised at how little there is on the issue from the last 10-15 years. Maybe one day I'll have something interesting to say about it :)

The article is here.

2010-02-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

This morning I was listening to a lecture in a class for which I'm TA'ing, and the topic was the formation of the biblical canon. At the very end of class, the lecturer (Dr. David Downs) read the following quote:

“No New Testament writing was born with the predicate ‘canonical’ attached. The statement that a writing is canonical signifies in the first place only that it was pronounced canonical afterwards by the authorities of the second- to fourth-century church, in some cases only after all kinds of hesitation and disagreement . . . So anyone who accepts without question the idea of the canon places himself under the authority of the bishops and theologians of those centuries. Anyone who does not recognize their authority in other matters—and no Protestant theologian does—is being consistent if he questions it here, too.” -William Wrede, “The Task and Methods of ‘New Testament Theology,’” 71.

I've been thinking about this all day long. I've considered before of the "revolving door" of the canon and the church, but for whatever reason, this quote really caused me to reflect more on my/our place in succession of the tradition(s)/narrative(s) that eventually pronounced the canon to be the canon.

Church Planting Thoughts

2010-02-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Elijah sent me an article on David Fitch's blog that I found really interesting. But I think I should provide a couple of caveats. First, I'm not a regular reader of Fitch's blog (this is the second post I've ever read), so I have no idea how this post fits within the larger framework of his ideas on church and mission (or anything else really). Second, I get annoyed with a lot of the contemporary, post(place an array of words here) church's list of buzzwords, and I have to admit I found parts of this post a bit "buzzy." Just needed to get that out there :)

But for the most part, I enjoyed several of his ideas and would love to hear what others think about it.

You can read the article here.

Our Friends Jim and Aaron had their Baby...

2010-01-18T08:55:00.000-08:00

And we are really happy for them!

Jude Augustine Chapman

Born January 17, 2010 (11:59 pm)

Already flexing his muscles!

Fits nicely into dad's coat pocket.

Richard Hays Interview

2010-01-10T19:32:00.001-08:00

For anyone interested, John Anderson (Ph.D. student at Baylor in Hebrew Bible) posted an interview he recently did with Richard Hays on his blog: Hessed we Emet. I really enjoyed reading it, and so I figured I'd keep up this blogging momentum by sharing with you...all five of you!

You can go directly to the interview here.

Second Post of the Day!

2010-01-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

Church Plant Update: Andre and Courtney have moved to Chula Vista! They moved into their new house officially on New Years day, and they have been doing quite a bit of work on the place. Unfortunately Andre found out that his plan of finishing his classes from Chula Vista won't work because he is still on an international student visa (there are restrictions - kind of complicated), so he'll have to commute to Pasadena every Tuesday and Thursday. He's been bummed about that, but at least they're getting settled and getting ready to move forward.

Now if we can just get down there too. Please keep praying for me to find a job!!

My Newest Post Ever

2010-01-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

So a friend (well, this guy I know who goes to Duke anyway) has been giving me heat for not updating my blog since December 2, but since I don't value his opinion very much, I haven't really listened or cared. But then he e-mailed me and told me his sweet, caring wife called me "lame" for slacking so much, and I figured I would try to get back to blogging more frequently.

So to start, here are a few reasons I've not been blogging so much lately:

Time: Maria has been working full-time, and I've been staying home with Isaiah, looking for jobs and doing some freelance work on the side. I can make time for blogging, but I always feel like free minutes here or there should be used for job applications and getting work done. But I'm trying to see the blog as more of a ministry tool: communication, sharing thoughts, questions, etc. So hopefully I'll be writing a bit more in the future :)

No Inspiration: I can't really think of what to write here.

Insecurity: I know this might sound backwards, but when I comes to posting thoughts on theology or Scripture, I'm more insecure about most of my thoughts now that I'm finished with seminary than when I began. At Fuller I learned that there is a lot I don't know, and It makes me more hesitant to put my ideas "out there" too readily. But I know this is probably a stupid (and prideful) reason not to update my blog, so I'm going to work on ignoring those voices in my head.

So there you have it - my first post of 2010. Let it change your life.

Figuring out Advent

2009-12-02T06:46:00.001-08:00

I grew up in traditions that did not follow the Christian calendar, and so besides the weekly lighting of Advent candles each Sunday, I've never participated in any practices related to Advent. In addition, I've gone round and round in the last 6 or 7 years trying to understand Christmas - where it came from, how to celebrate it, or honestly, whether it's something the church should even celebrate at all. After a lot of prayer, reflection, and conversation, I'm finding that there is quite a bit of legitimacy and value in adherence to the season of Advent and the celebration of Christmas. On the other hand, I'm also bothered by what seems to be the normal celebration of Christmas in our culture. More importantly, I'm saddened by the ways in which the church conforms to culture and imports practices that actually seem to adulterate the entire season by "baptizing" and normalizing activities that run counter to the gospel. But that's another post for another day.

For now, I'm more focused on trying to figure out how to best engage Advent as we prepare for Christmas. Maria and I are having conversations about the sort of practices we should keep. The other night we put together an "Advent wreath" (sans wreath for now!), and on Sunday evenings we're reading Scripture and saying prayers as we light the Advent candles each Sunday evening. We're doing the same things in our life group, and we're looking for ways to share meaningful practices that focus our attention on the Lord's birth and the significance of the incarnation.

I've also been reading over the narrated events leading to Jesus' birth in the first couple chapters of Luke. I'd like to post some thoughts if I have any that I think are interesting!

Church Plant Update

2009-11-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Though there's nothing new to report on the job hunt, we do have some exciting church plant news. We joined Andre and Courtney a couple of weeks ago on a trip to Chula Vista to look at houses. Courtney's parents met us there, and after a day of looking, Courtney's folks made an offer on a house. Last week, the offer was accepted, and they're planning on moving into the house in a few weeks!

We're really excited about the new house because it's in a good location to begin reaching out to families in the area. It's also a great house to be able to host visitors (or long-term, "live-ins"), parties, small group gatherings, or even a larger gathering with a smaller crowd.

So Andre and Courtney will beat us down there, but we hope to join them soon!

Life: Back to Blogging (I hope)

2009-11-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

Since my last blog post was in September, I suppose it's time for an update or two. We've been kind of trying to figure out the direction in which God is taking us, and I've not really wanted to write much lately. The last couple of months have been somewhat trying in different ways - looking for work with no luck, my aunt dying and feeling the need to be "pastor-like" in our family, lack of clarity about the church plant, ect.- and I think my posts would have consisted more of rants, complaints and confusion than anything interesting. But after some prayer/discernment, meaningful conversations and some evidence of God at work, I think I'm feeling a bit more oriented with regard to where we're headed. By the way, I'm not sure this was ever a struggle with Maria. I admire her confidence and trust in God. I also admire her patience with her husband who thinks and worries himself into a frenzy about things and circumstances that have not even happened yet!

So we're confidently looking to move to Chula Vista as soon as I can find some sort of work. A couple here named Andre and Courtney have committed to join us, and their vision for church is really similar to ours. In the meantime, I'm applying for jobs in the San Diego area. It's been frustrating to not have anything at all open up, but at the same time, I'm praying for the right kind of job in the right place. I need something that will work well with the other things we sense the Lord calling us to do. So in some sense, it's kind of exciting to imagine the possibilities. Meanwhile, Maria has been a rock star in her job! She recently got a promotion that will allow her to work 32 hrs. a week from Chula Vista once we move. I'm thankful beyond words for my wife and her constant support and encouragement.

So that's kind of where we are - I'm home with Zay, looking for work and praying/dreaming/talking about a church plant. I'm also trying to use the time to continue to build relationships with the people thinking about joining us. There is also the matter of another academic degree or two between Maria and me in the future, but that's probably the subject of another post. For now, we're praying and following the Lord with great expectations.

A Book we Should All be Excited About

2009-09-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

Of all my professors (or friends or pastors for that matter) I've had at Fuller in the past three years, I can't think of one who I respect more than Old Testament scholar John Goldingay. And so naturally, I was interested when I was reading a post entitled, "Only Superlatives Will Do!" on a blog done by the editors at InverVarsity Press, and they mentioned that the third volume of his Old Testament Theology is going to print this week. They had posted some blurbs that will appear on the back cover, and I was more and more excited as I read each one. Christopher Wright's (the last one) was especially enthusiastic.

One of Wright's comments in particular really nailed not only the way Dr. Goldingay writes, but also the way he teaches:

Section after section makes you stop and think—challenged, enlightened, astonished, disturbed, sometimes provoked to disagreement, but thereby forced to go back to the text.

You can read the blurbs here.

Church Branding and Consumerism

2009-09-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

I think I like this.

Questions

2009-07-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. After a whirlwind at finals week, graduation and the awkward-feeling summer schedule so far, I guess I just sort of took an unofficial break from blogging. I guess this is partly because I also haven't felt that I've had anything particularly interesting to say.

For the last month or so, as we look forward to our (hopeful) church plant, I've had tons of questions. But strangely, they've not been "church plant questions" per se. They've actually been some real questions and struggles over the ways in which we "do church." After three years at Fuller and a whole lot of reading on the Bible and theology, I guess I'm really hungry for more - not only for more learning, but more in the church. The kind of community and sharing and mission I see in the pages of Scripture has left me wondering how we can actually new realities embodied in the church. I've also wondered if sometimes the ways we "do church" might actually hinder us from achieving some of these ideals. But then, I'm not sure I have any answers either - only plaguing questions about what church should actually look like.

I've also been teaching this week at Oasis. I've been leading the interns through a three day study on the kingdom of God. This is a topic I have become really enthusiastic about, but after going back through a lot of literature and wrestling with some biblical texts, I'm left unsatisfied again. I keep thinking that everyone one I read is just not quite getting something, but then, I don't know what they're not getting either! Once again, I'm left with more questions than answers.

So here I am, nearing the end of my time at Fuller, and I'm wrestling with excruciating questions about church and the kingdom of God. Though it's frustrating, it's also a pretty exciting place to be - hoping that my questions and my searching will lead to discovery.

Carry Nation

2009-06-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

I'm cramming for an American Church History final I have tomorrow, but I wanted to take a moment to mention a particular person I found to be...well...interesting.

Carry Nation - a woman on the forefront of the temperance movement around the turn of the 20th century. Her method? She "smashed" saloons! Direct quote:

"I threw as hard, and as fast as I could, smashing mirrors and bottles and glasses and it was astonishing how quickly this was done. These men seemed terrified, threw up their hands and backed up in the corner. My strength was that of a giant. I felt invincible. God was certainly with me."

Yikes! A little piece of advice for men and women thinking about going into ministry: hatchets, though persuasive, are not optimal "ministry tools."

The Kludts

2009-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

When Maria and I moved here to Pasadena nearly three years ago, Dave and Krissy Kludt were some of the very first people we met. They too had recently married and had come out for Dave to begin Fuller in the same quarter as me. During the last three years we've shared a lot of meaningful experiences. Dave and I took at least one class together almost every quarter of our M.Div. degrees, and over the past two and a half years, we've wrestled through challenging ideas together, celebrated together, ate together, had lots of talks over coffee where we dreamed about our future in ministry.

Today the Kludts are moving to East Hollywood. I know it's only like 15 miles away, but I'm sad about it. For the first time since September of 2006, I won't expect to see Dave on campus, be able to run by the Kludt's apartment to borrow a book or to say hi, or easily set up one of those early morning coffees at the last minute where I share all my thoughts/struggles/questions with Dave. So in some ways, it's a sad day.

But on the other hand, I'm really excited for Dave and Krissy. Of anyone I know, they truly reorient their lives around what they believe to be right. They're moving to East Hollywood to be a part of a unique community, and they're largely influenced by their understandings of community, mission and simplicity. You can read about what they're doing here. It's actually not to far from some of the ideas we would love to see happen in our church plant. I think it's awesome. I think they're awesome.

So in some ways, with our time here at Fuller nearing an end and seeing such close people move onto the next step in their lives, it kind of feels like we're nearing the beginning of a new era. It's exciting, even if some of the changes can be a little bittersweet.

Interesting

2009-05-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

So, as is my usual habit when I'm feeling kind of busy, I'm posting something that someone else wrote!

So a few of my friends are in a class on the Gospel of John this quarter, and their professor is probably one of the top people in the world right when it comes to scholarship on John. A couple of days ago my friend Dave posted some reflections on Jesus' washing of his disciples' feet in John that I thought were pretty interesting.

If you have a couple of minutes, you can check it out here.

Some Updates

2009-05-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I guess I just haven't been able to find the right times. When I've had a moment to two, I've been basically uninspired to write anything interesting. When I've had something interesting (or at least that I thought was interesting) to say, I haven't had the time.

So in my last post, we had a church of 3 (Maria, Isaiah and me) planning on heading to Chula Vista. But not long after I made that post, our church grew to 5! There's an engaged couple here in Pasadena who are about to finish up at Fuller, and they committed to come with us. We were so excited - our church grew by 40% in one weekend! If you're thinking about joining us, now is the time...this church is booming!

I'm a few weeks away from finishing up my last full-time quarter at Fuller. Then the summer is starting to look pretty full - 3 classes, Maria working full time, Zay's birthday, and a week-long trip to Guatemala and a relentless search for a J-O-B.

I'll try to be a better blogger then.

Irony

2009-04-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was pretty eventful for the Carrs. I've been trying to write about it all week and am just now getting the chance. On Sunday morning Oasis had a special baby dedication service, and Isaiah was dedicated in our community to God, and others committed to helping raise Isaiah in the Lord. Then that night, Isaiah worked out his new dedication to God by helping us get ready for our first church plant meeting - by which I mean he opened cabinets and threw bowls and pots and pans all over the kitchen floor while Maria and I cooked frantically and tried to straighten the place up. Oh, and he also knocked over a small file holder, dumping papers and folders everywhere - quite the little helper!

So we had our first info meeting the for the church plant in Chula Vista. A handful of people came, we ate some tacos, and I shared the vision over coffee and some dessert. I thought it went pretty well, and when it was all over, everyone had gone home except for our friend Elijah. Before leaving, he looked at me and said that the vision for our church plant is very close to the type of church he has always dreamed of being a part of. Then he told me he was going to go home and pray and even ask God if he should just quit his degree program and Fuller and come with us. Needless to say, I was encouraged and moved.

So then Elijah came back the next night to talk with us. He told me that he had gone home and prayed, and to his surprise, he felt that the Lord spoke to him very clearly. He said to us, "There have only been 3 or 4 times in my entire life where I have ever felt that I truly heard from God clearly and powerfully. Last night was one of those nights. It was amazing." Excited, I asked him what the Lord had said to him. His response? "Wait." In essence, Elijah sensed that the Lord has something like this in store for him, but he's pretty sure God is telling him not to go with us.

So all that to say that we had our first meeting, and afterwards, God spoke to someone very clearly...and he told him not to go with us! I thought that was pretty funny. God is answering people's prayers, and he's telling them not to join us! Actually, I never thought I would be so encouraged by someone feeling led to not go with us. Elijah wrote about it on his blog. You can get to it here. I thought he had some really nice things to say.

Thoughts on Church Part V

2009-04-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

I have been learning quite a bit lately about the Greco-Roman world in the first century. With regard to social and economic relationships, the Romans had a strong notion of what's called reciprocity. It's a pretty simple idea: if one person gives to another person, then the recipient owes something to the giver in return. So when someone of higher status gave to another person, the recipient was in some way in debt (or sometimes in servitude) to the other person. But the interesting thing is that within families, things worked differently. In families, resources were shared in love, and nothing was expected in return. Sharing was normative.

This idea isn't so foreign to us right? If an acquaintance buys me coffee, I say, "I'll buy yours next time," but if my brother Blake buys me coffee, I say, "Thanks," and that's it. No big deal. But here's the interesting part. As the church, we are called to operate not like acquaintances but as family, even with regard to resources. One author I'm reading claims that Luke 14 (esp. vv. 12-14) calls us to break down cycles of reciprocity among God's people. We're to invite outsiders to the inside, and the inside works like a family...well, because we are family!

This kind of idea sounds nice and easy when it relates to cups of coffee. But when it comes to bigger resources like cars, homes, college tuition, etc. it gets more challenging, and this kind of sharing would certainly make us more radical. But the principle is true nonetheless. Maybe Christians are simply called to be more radical than we are...and maybe our perceptions of practicality are not always with Christian spirituality. So why don't we give it a try? Why don't we try to financially relate to people in the church like we do our sisters and brothers and parents and children? Why don't we begin to give and share with other believers like we do our families? It might get a little messy, but at least we'd be taking steps in the right direction.

Rich?

2009-04-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

This quarter I'm in a class called "Wealth and Poverty in the New Testament," and one of the books I've been reading is called, The Jesus Movement: A Social History of its First Century by Ekkehard Stegemann and Wolfgang Stegemann. This book contains quite a bit of data about social and economic circumstances of the Roman Empire in the first century, which provides a backdrop for the writings of the New Testament. On wealth and poverty, the authors say this:

On the whole, the boundary between wealth and poverty was largely identical with that between the upper and lower strata. Yet wealth is a relative term. Because of the conditions of the time, one could regard as rich those who had enough to eat, were well clothed, and lived in pleasant circumstances. In any case, those who had it so good could be satisfied. Thus regarded, the living conditions under which we in highly industrialized countries exist today would seem like those of rich people to most of the people in antiquity.

It's important to remember that "wealth is a relative term." I think our tendency in the U.S. is to compare our circumstances with especially wealthy Americans to determine whether we are rich, and we often determine the we are not. After all, we don't make nearly what big time movie producers or professional athletes make right? But in light of definitions of wealth in antiquity or even in most of the world today, we are incredibly wealthy. If you are reading this from your own computer or a computer at work...or if you're at home or planning on going home later, trust me: in the grand scheme of things, you're rich.

In the least, according to what I'm reading by Stegemann and Stegeamman, when the Bible speaks of the rich and wealthy, you and I qualify. I find it's so easy to criticize people I perceive as wealthy for the ways in which they spend their money. But I can't forget that, even as a "struggling grad student," when Jesus says that it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, he's talking about people like me. My own wealth can easily be a disadvantage when it comes to participating in God's kingdom.

Just something to consider when reading about the rich and the poor in the New Testament.

Good Friday Reflections...on Saturday

2009-04-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was Good Friday, and Maria and I decided to have a small handful of people over for dinner. Oh, and by the way, Thursday was also Passover. I love it when the Holy Week on the Christian calendar and the Jewish Feast of Unleavened Bread (beginning with Passover) overlap. It's always a great reminder of the larger story of which we as Christians are a part. Our faith tradition didn't begin in the first century - it was in continuation with something God began long before. I think the "big picture" of our faith gives it so much more meaning. But, I digress...

Last night before we ate dinner, we read some Scripture and shared the Lords' supper with one another. I decided to read from Luke (which is probably no surprise to several of you). In luke 22, just after Jesus enacts a new covenant by sharing the bread and the wine (Luke 22:13-20), and after Jesus predicts his betrayal (vv. 21-23), Luke recounts something I find to be extremely powerful. Even though it will make the post a bit long, I've included the section (vv. 24-30) below:

A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

.

On the eve before Jesus was crucified, something happened. Before Jesus' birth (Luke 1:30-33), Gabriel had prophesied that David's throne (i.e. the kingdom of God) would be given to Jesus. Throughout Luke, Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God. But here at the "Last Supper," Jesus "confers" that kingdom on his disciples. Jesus is about to be raised to the right hand of God, (Acts 1:9-11; 2:22-36), and his followers are left to continue the ministry of the kingdom until he returns.

What a powerful idea - to think that we, as the church, are called to continue the ministry of those who participate in the kingdom of God on earth. And the other shocking part is that, according to Luke 22:24-26, this is not a kingdom that works like we probably think a kingdom ought to function. Jesus resists the position of a "benefactor," the position of one to whom others owe service. Instead, Jesus, the Davidic king, is the one who serves!. Part of what happened just before Jesus' death was that his followers received a certain call, the call to join with God's kingdom and to become servants of all. What a beautiful, difficult, backwards, light-bearing, painful, glorious kind of life we've been called to live. Not terribly different from the kind of life Jesus himself lived I suppose.

Great Theologians have X-Ray Vision

2009-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

So I'm writing this paper for my church history class on Anselm's Atonement theology. It seems the oldest source for biographical information on Anselm is a fellow named Eadmear who was a contemporary of Anselm. As I've read through different works on Anselm, I've noticed Eadmear's name pops up all the time. For historians, I'm sure it's incredibly valuable to have a biographer write during the lifetime of the person you're trying to study. But this morning, I came across the following (Eadmer on Anselm):

The three years he spent in prayers and spiritual exercises when he first became a monk gave him a power of seeing into divine mysteries, he says. Indeed, by Eadmer's account, he could even see through solid walls.

Wow, just when you thought you were working with a reliable source...you start to wonder...

Thoughts on Church Part IV

2009-03-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Rubber Meets the Road: Family Continued...

If we take Jesus' "reorientation" of family seriously, I think it could have dramatic consequences. Here in the U.S., we exalt the the "nuclear family" to the extent that we minimize the reality of the family we have through Christ. Simply put, things work differently with our blood relatives. When our family gives to one another, there is no expectation of return. When I was in college and my parents sent money, they didn't expect me to pay them back or to return the favor...thank God! If my car was messed up, I borrowed one of theirs. When Nanna and Papa send Isaiah amazing toys, they're not looking for a check in the mail (which is a great thing!) If we lived in GA right now, they would watch Isaiah for us, and we would do things for them...as well as our brothers and sisters. If I buy my brother lunch or if he buys me a drink, we don't keep tabs. It's an "all hands on deck" kind of mentality - everyone doing for everyone. But according to the New Testament, the church is supposed to operate this way too - just like the family we literally are.

I had never experienced this like I have here in California since we had Isaiah. It's tough for us to be away from our parents and blood siblings...and I know it's tough for them. But having Isaiah during such a challenging season has shown us more than ever the ways in which the body of Christ is our family. We have friends who come over and help with Isaiah so we can get things done. My friend (or maybe I should say, brother) Dave comes over all the time to play with Isaiah and to let me get some homework done. My friend Jim e-mailed me last week and wants to work out a schedule in which he can come over and watch Isaiah so that I can do some schoolwork and work for Oasis. Our friend Grete called us one day a while back and told Maria, "I have free afternoon. Can I come over and help you with whatever you need while David is in class?" She went grocery shopping with her to give her an extra set of hands.

It's hard for me not to get emotional when I think about the way the church has been a family to us here in Pasadena. Again, it's not that our blood families are not our families...it's that what we know as family (and what they know as family) is not limited to blood kin. Maybe this is why Maria has an "uncle Chuck" who is not in her family tree!

And on another note, I don't think it's enough for Maria and me to raise Isaiah. He has family here outside of his parents through the church. So we love for other people to hold him, to play with him, to give him a sense of safety. We want Isaiah to grow up raised by lots of dads and moms and aunts and uncles and grandparents who are related to him through the blood of Jesus.

Just think about what things might be like if the church really embraced our call to be family to one another. What a radical community we would be.

Thoughts on Church Part III

2009-03-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some blog posts lately on some of the more challenging ideas I've been pondering about church lately. If you want to see the early posts, just check out part I and part II.

And looking at those who sat around him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and my mother.' - Mark 3:34-35

The next facet of church I want to look at here is family.

As I've studied the Gospels more and more, I've come to realize that Jesus really took the notion of family in his own culture and sort of turned it on its head. And when I look at our own culture in light of what Jesus taught and did (and Paul too for that matter), I'm realizing that the Gospel takes our American understandings of family and reorients them as well! See, for Jesus, your family wasn't just your family.

Here's what I mean: the New Testament uses "family language" to refer not only to a person's mother or brother or father, but also to other believers. For followers of Jesus, other followers of Jesus also literally become one's family. That's why Jesus asks in the Gospels "who is my mother and father?" And it's why Paul constantly refers to the recipients of his letters as "brothers and sisters." I'm sure Jesus would not have denied that Mary was his mother or that James was his brother. But, "his family wasn't just his family" - those who were doing the will of God were just as much family as Mary and James were!

Some Pics of Zay

2009-03-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Below is a link to some pics of Isaiah my friend Dave took. Sorry, Maria isn't in any of them. It's because Dave has been coming over and helping with Zay while Maria is away at work, and I'm trying to do homework.

Thanks Dave! You and Krissy are great friends.

The link is here

Oh, and thanks to Jim as well for all your help with Zay!

A Boring Road Ahead?

2009-03-06T07:11:00.000-08:00

The other day just before we went to bed, Maria said out of the blue, "Hey, give me something to Wikipedia really quick. I feel like reading about something random before I go to bed."

This was the first time she's ever asked me to give her a Wikipedia topic so I said, "How about Chula Vista?" If you didn't know, Chula Vista is the city to which we are thinking God might be leading us for a church plant. She began reading the opening demographic/statistic information out loud and then she came across a line that really got my attention:

"In 2009 Chula Vista was ranked as one of the most boring cities in America by Forbes."

Wow, not exactly the kind of thing one normally advertises to recruit people for a church planting team! I guess it's a good think San Diego is like 5 miles away.

Some of my friends who know a lot about missions and culture talk quite a bit about "contextualization." Does this mean we need to become more boring to plant a church in Chula Vista? Or is it that we're already boring people, and that's why God is calling us there? Either way, it creates such exciting campaign ideas "Get on bored with the new church in Chula Vista!" Maybe we'll call it the "bored-and-got-nothing-to-do Vineyard!"

Jeff Frymire's Version of Sermon Preparation

2009-03-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Jeff is a Ph.D. student in homiletics at Fuller. He's close to finishing up, and he's teaching a preaching practicum I'm in. Last night when our class was evaluating a couple sermons that were preached, Jeff said something related to sermon preparation that I thought was really profound. He said,

"What you know about a text and don't say gives power to what you know about a text and do say."

He was saying this to a young woman in our class who had just preached a sermon on forgiveness from a story in Mark 2. A classmate had remarked that she seemed extraordinarily confident in handling the text and the the material in general. She told him that that her normal practice is to do word studies on a given text and that she tries to read every single occurrence of important words (in the original language) in the Bible, up to 50 occurrences.

That's when Jeff made his comment. His point is that for preachers, the "Saturday night special" sermons can work. But to really have a hold on what's happening in a text and for what's happening in a text to have a hold on you, then you have to immerse yourself in it as much as possible.

I think this was great advice for young preachers like myself...though still not as interesting as Martin Luther's!

Martin Luther's Version of Sermon Preparation

2009-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

The following is a quote from Martin Luther's Table Talk. I Thought it was pretty funny:

"Tomorrow I have to lecture on the drunkenness of Noah [Gen. 9:20-27], so I should drink enough this evening to be able to talk about the wickedness as one who knows by experience."

Thoughts on Church Part II

2009-02-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

"All who believed were together and had all things in common; They would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."

- Acts 2:44-47

The first facet of church I want to look at is one that seems to have become a wonderful Christian buzzword: community.

I've been learning quite a bit lately about the church as community from an exegetical class I'm in right now on Acts. The above text is in one of many of Luke's (Acts' author) "summary statements." Such statements were used to demonstrate what was normative among the followers of "the way." They give us a glimpse into how things were among the early church. On top of that, I recently learned that there is a pattern in Luke-Acts where Jesus (and later, Jesus' followers) move from the synagogue to people's houses in sharing the word of God (Luke 4, 13-14; Acts 10, 16, 18). The early church met (and ate) not in official/institutional facilities, but in houses, and this had all sorts of implications for community, sharing, hospitality, leveling of status, etc.

Now I'm not going to say the right way to do church is with house churches (though it is a legitimate possibility), but I do think this calls into question the way we "do church" and the way we think about community. The early church was spending time in one another's homes, breaking bread together and praying. And please notice this: they weren't just being generous, they actually considered their possessions to be the community's common property. That was one result of God's pouring out the Spirit on God's people, and our calling is to "live into" this reality...to somehow embody it.

Rubber meets the Road: Thinking about a Church Plant

In our context, I think our wealth, individualistic tendencies and notions of personal property make this difficult. I have a friend who puts it this way: "You can be wealthy and have privacy, or you can be poor and have community." It's just tough be wealthy and have community. So perhaps those of us who have enough to live with plenty of privacy should consider making some adjustments for the sake of community. And from my experiences, I'm not sure such community - the kind with shared meals, shared lives and shared worship - can really happen apart from close proximity.

For our church plant, this has had challenging implications. Maria and I have thought/talked about this quite a bit, and our conclusion has been that for this type of community, we can't make it happen by fitting it into our normal lives. We'll have to reorient our lives in order to make it happen. As a result, we've told the small handful of people who are thinking about coming with us that we want them to live (in the least) within walking distance of one another. Best case scenario (our goal): we all live in an apartment complex together. Think about it; what if a bunch of Christians moved into an area and started living out the Gospel around their neighbors - sharing possessions, giving, caring, loving, suppporint...shining light. What if, instead of inviting them the church, we brought ourselves to them in really tangible ways?

I guess the question for us all might be: How can we better embody the type of community that is normative in places like Acts 2?

Oh, and I'll tree to keep the next posts a little shorter!

Thoughts on Church

2009-02-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Maria and I are looking to try and plant a church plant in southern San Diego County after I finish up at Fuller. The reality of actually looking forward to a church plant has brought me to an interesting place: the "where the rubber meets the road" kind of place.

See, in the last two and a half years at Fuller has caused me to think quite about about the church in light of all that I have read about it in Scripture and the works of a lot of really smart people. Also, I've been having several conversations lately with some good friends about the church, and I'm beginning to reach a somewhat alarming conclusion - namely, that reading the Scriptures seem to indicate that the church is called to be much more radical than I have ever realized! So my hope is to do several blog posts (we'll see how this goes with the end of the quarter approaching) on some of the different facets of church I have been considering and how I think it will affect our approach to planting a church.

I think I'll go ahead and do the first area now in a different post.

Thoughts on Conversion

2009-02-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hi all, sorry it's taken so long to post anything new. This quarter has been pretty crazy, and it's been tough to carve out a few minutes to jot down any thoughts or pics.

At any rate, I'm in an exegetical class on Acts this quarter, and some of our discussions have caused me to think about conversion quite a bit lately. When I was growing up, I was taught that conversion is something that happens in an instant, with a clear decision, usually involving a prayer. But in the last few years, I've been persuaded that the majority of conversions must happen over time, through a process. I'm thinking that people on their journeys of faith likely experience a series of conversions, even after we might officially call them "Christians."

So with that in mind, Joel Green (our professor) offered our class his definition of conversion that he has developed from his work on Acts (in conjunction with concepts of conversion in ancient literature). He says the following:

Conversion is the transformation of one's orienting allegiances, which (1) gives rise to and is confirmed in practices appropriate to those allegiances, (2) opens the way to ongoing transformation in one's theological and moral imagination, and (3) necessarily locates on and immerses one in the multi-ethnic community of God's people.

He then adds that conversion in Acts "calls into question the homo-ethnic orientation" of many churches.

So what do you think about this definition?
Is conversion something that happens in an instant?
Are Christians continually converted?

Something I Really Like about Fuller

2009-01-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

I don't normally post about things I like or dislike about Fuller, but I've been thinking a lot about something that happened in one of my classes on Monday. Actually it's something that happens all the time, but Monday was a classic example that got me thinking more than usual.

I'm in this church history class with around 60 or so people. On the first day of class, our professor had everyone go around and say their name, where they're from and their denomination (if any). In our class, there were people from all over the U.S., Korea, Tawain, an Australian guy and a guy from Haiti. This is pretty common. Last year on the first floor of our apt. complex alone, I was surprised when I realized we had two people from Hong Kong, a family from Kenya, a family from Ethiopia, a Korean lady who had moved from Brazil, a Romanian, a Singaporean, one woman who is half Korean/half Syrian, a Filipino, one Vietnamese lady and a family with an Armenian Father/husband who married a woman from Panama...plus we had two Korean families!

As for the denominations represented in my class, there were 10-15 PC USA folks, several United Methodists, a few Anabaptists, American Baptists, Southern Baptists, a few Vineyard folks, a couple of Pentecostals, several non-denominational people, a couple of Lutherans, at least one Evangelical Free, one Roman Catholic and one 7th Day Adventist. When I was in Georgia and received brochures and such from Fuller, I noticed they talked quite a bit about diversity. But I guess because I'm used to seeing advertising not really match a product, I didn't get my hopes up. Well, I can honestly say this is one thing Fuller does have going on here in Pasadena.

But most of all, the diversity has greatly enriched my education, my understanding of community and church, but also, it has enhanced my relationship with God. I hope, wherever you are, that you can embrace and engage with people of different backgrounds, perspectives and world views. It just might make you a better person.

My (not so new) New Years Resolution

2009-01-06T06:24:00.000-08:00

Last quarter I picked up this little book written by pastors with practical insights from personal experiences on time management, balancing ministry and family life, etc. The book was alright, but this one little statement somewhere in the middle stood out, and I have been thinking about it since around last October or so. The author quoted some Harvard Psychology study that said something along the lines of,

It's much easier to act yourself to motivation than it is to motivate yourself to action.

That's not the exact quote, but the idea is that action perpetuates more action and that trying to mentally psych oneself up for hard work is not often enough to actually get the work done. Instead, a person needs to begin working towards a task before he or she feels like doing it. Then, motivation follows.

This has been an important idea for me over the last months. Believe or not, if I don't have at least some demands in my life, I have the tendency to get really lazy and to put things off. I set little reminders on my icalender, but I often recycle them over and over until I find myself starting a task at the last minute. So much for early reminders right?

So beginning in the fall, I began to challenge myself to not put things off and to just start doing things I didn't feel like doing, whether it was little projects for Oasis, an assignment that wasn't due until later in the quarter or feeding Isaiah...Just kidding! Trust me, he wouldn't let me put that one off! But seriously, during times when I'm feeling particularly unmotivated or even a little burnt out, I know that to get things done, I just have to start doing them. And just like the study indicates, I usually find myself becoming more motivated and more productive as I go.

Thought I'd share that, since it's the closest thing I have to a New Year's Resolution.

Back to School

2009-01-05T07:40:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I was a little under the weather for a couple of days there. Well, the winter quarter starts back up today: Ten weeks of class, then a finals week. I've got to be honest, I'm a little nervous. Last quarter was really challenging, between my work for Oasis, taking care of Zay and classes, but my class schedule this quarter is tougher than last quarter's. So the expectation of the business and pressure kind of creates knots in my stomach. But at the same time, Isaiah is a bit more capable of keeping himself entertained than he was last quarter. Plus, he's napping a little better...at least most of the time.

So here we go. This should be my next-to-last, full-time quarter at Fuller. After that, I'll have a couple of summer classes, but I hope to be able to spread them out. I may even do one as an IDL. We'll see. As for the blog, I hope to post some pics from the break and some other thoughts soon.

Back in Cali

2008-12-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I had planned on writing out more on some of my thoughts from Christmas Eve that I had mentioned the other night, but I guess it took a little longer than expected. We left on Christmas day (around 3 or so) and headed to Dublin, where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. So right now, I'm sitting in our living room in Cali surrounded by 3 huge suitcases that need to be unpacked. The funny part is that we took one to Georgia! Needless to say, Isaiah did really well this Christmas :)

As usual, even though the whole trip was great, there were a few highlights that really made it great:

Hanging with Ty, Cathy and Bill on the Eve of the Carr Family Christmas gathering: was awesome to see Ty since we never get to hang out these days.

Watching Zay go to his first high school dance with his aunt Amy: He was pretty handsome in his vest and tie (takes after his old man).

Carr Family Christmas Gathering: always fun...and hilarious!

Coffee and Conversations with bro-in-law John: As always, it's great to talk about church, family, and life with John. I really appreciate his insights.

Starbucks runs with sis-in-law Amy: Even though Maria tried to sabotage them this year! Was great to see Amy when we weren't doing coffee runs as well. She really loves her family, is fun to talk to and is awesome with her nieces and nephews. What can I say? Amy's an elf.

Visits to the Quest: Always a meaningful experience.

Parents-in-law: Always a blast to talk/watch sports with Jack and to gather around as he reads "The Night Before Christmas" in his own little way. Always amazed to see just how many cookies Nan can make each year! Love watching both of them with Isaiah and all their grandkids...and to eat their amazing food!

Kenney Family Traditions: Quirky, funny, but most of all, meaningful. Was great to see Thomas and Sharon's family. Love being around Ross and watching Cameron stumble/roll around and smile about basically everything.

Brother Blake: Love being around my brother and his interesting sense of humor. This year, we had a great time hitting/losing golf balls in my uncle's field.

Meeting my new nephew Cohen: And seeing Jason and Chris for a short time was pretty fun too.

Coffee with Beth and Erik: This was a true highlight this year. It was awesome to have a couple of hours to catch up with them and talk about life, ministry music and family, which includes dogs. Was great to hear about what God is doing in their lives...great just to hang out. I hope this becomes a tradition.

The Carr House: Enjoyed the usual slow pace of being home with my parents. It's so fun to see them loving on Zay and to have time to hang out. Had a nice trip to visit the Hollidays and to hang out at the "Holliday Inn." Great food and great family time. Really enjoy our Christmas traditions and watching lots of late night movies.

Zay's Constipation Crisis: Won't go into too much detail here. Was a rough time, and we're really thankful that the Fletchers saved the day! Well, really Beth, but Erik provided some important moral/comic support.

Visiting the Yates: Wonderful, beautiful people. We only got to see them for a half hour or so, but it was truly a blessing, as always.

HEARING THE GREAT NEWS ABOUT MY AUNT CATHY: My aunt Cathy had switched to yet another type of chemo, and things were looking really bleak. She has been fighting cancer for quite a while now, and for a while things were not looking so good. But out of nowhere, she experienced a miracle! She had found herself breathing better and doing things without her oxygen tank. When she went in for a scan, they told her that some nodules (is that the right word? don't remember; either way, the "cancer") were shrinking and others had disappeared completely! Praise God! We're so pumped about it, and we're continuing to pray for her. That was great news just before we came back home. What a great way to end the trip!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm sitting among a huge pile of gifts waiting to be opened at the Kenney house. My nieces and nephews are on the way over from bro-in-law John's. Once they get here, sheer gift-opening chaos will ensue! Until then, I'm just sitting here watching A Christmas Story play over and over.

We've had an awesome time in Augusta. Last night we went to two Christmas Eve services at the Quest (that way we could see more people). They were great services and had a really sacred kind of feel to them. The worship time gave me a really good opportunity to reflect and meditate on Jesus' coming in light of all I have been reading and studying about the kingdom of God. I was really moved and felt this overwhelming sense of excitement over the significance of Jesus' coming and the reality that we are a part of something so much greater than ourselves. I'll try to write out some of those thoughts later...probably tonight sometime.

But for now, Merry Christmas everyone! I hope today is full of meaningful traditions and gratitude for the advent of Christ.

Christmas in GA

2008-12-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been in Georgia since Friday. It's been much colder here than it was back in Cali, but it's actually kind of nice. The cold weather and trees (that aren't palm trees) without leaves on them kind of make things feel more like Christmas time.

So far, our time here has been filled with family time. Last Saturday, my parents' house was full of Carrs, which was as chaotic as one would expect. That's pretty normal for us. The Carr family Christmas gathering is one of my favorite traditions because it's always so much fun to see everyone together at once. It was especially nice to catch up with my aunt Cathy and my cousin Ty. I feel like I hadn't seen Ty in forever, so it was really nice to hang out and talk with him like when we were kids...though I'm sure our discussion topics are now much more adult-like (i.e. boring).

From there, we went to Augusta for some Kenney family time. Ironically, the house here in Augusta was just as full as the Carr house was Saturday, but there was no extended family in town...just Maria's immediate family! It has been lots of fun here (interpretation: we eat until we hurt), and I'm enjoying what seems to be the emerging traditions whenever I come to Augusta: at least one trip to Starbucks with sis-in-law Amy, a visit to the Quest and a conversation over coffee with bro-in-law John. So far, Isaiah is loving it. He's gotten all kinds of stuff, including a really sweet hat he'll probably be wearing a lot over the winter.

A couple more days here, and then we're off to Dublin. I'll try to keep the updates coming.

Questions Part II

2008-12-17T12:04:00.001-08:00

I need to make an adjustment to the post below. I think it's important for people of all disciplines and professions to continue to learn things that will help them in what they do. Plus, I know lots of people who simply like to learn just to be learning, or like to read just because they enjoy reading. So my questions in the post below are for you guys as well.

For instance, sis-in-law Amy, I know you're working with high schoolers and have a busy schedule...and that you're also a reader/learner. Do you have any suggestions?

Bro-in-law John, you have three kids and you pastor a church, but I know you continue to learn about a variety of different topics. When do you make time to read and study?

Do you all have some sort of daily rhythm that helps you in this? I would love to hear from anyone on this issue?

Some Questions

2008-12-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, I spent most of the day in Ventura in a church planting assessment. In the Vineyard, an assessment is one of the first steps in a longer process of moving towards a church plant. Basically, they seek to assess a person's strengths and weakness, and they give feedback on whether they think a person is ready to move towards a church plant or whether they recommend that the person wait for whatever reason. Or sometimes, they might even recommend that a person pursue a ministry other than church planting. A pastor named Bob Harper conducted my assessment. Bob is the pastor of the Ventura Vineyard, a church he planted back in 2000. I had met Bob a couple of times before last Friday, and I had always been impressed with his insights into church and church planting.

Well, after hanging out with him all day Friday, I am now really impressed with Bob. Though he's really knowledgeable about church ministry and church planting, the thing I found most impressive was how much he reads and engages with scholarship while in ministry. I have seen the importance of continuing to learn while in ministry, but I have often been concerned about how to do it. I know that being in ministry full-time is draining and time consuming, and when I find someone who is doing this well, I always ask for advice.

When I have asked other people in the past (people I have seen also do this well), here are some of the suggestions I have gotten:

• Read in the "margins of life:" Take books everywhere you go, and study in the five minutes here and the 10 minutes there, while you are waiting for a meeting, etc.

• Set apart reading days: Use the majority of a least one day every week just to study, and be resolute that study time is an important part of your job as a pastor

• Put a couple of books on the toilet: enough said!

When I asked Bob what he does, he had an approach I had not heard. He actually plans his preaching schedule a full year in advance. He seems to normally work through a book of the Bible (or a few). Like next year, he's doing a series on Romans, and so for the last months he's been reading everything he can on Paul, the New Perspective on Paul, those who oppose the "New Perspective," atonement, justification, etc. That way, he can spend a year doing in-depth study, and as he approaches the time to do the sermon series, he shifts more towards non-critical sources, like Tom Wright's little books (Paul for Everyone, etc.) or commentaries for preachers. I thought this was a really interesting approach, and I suppose it could work for topical sermon series as well. Like if I knew I wanted to do a series on something like community or on the kingdom of God, it would be nice to be learning about those topics well in advance so I could really have time to delve into them.

So here are my questions: How do some of you do it? For those of you in ministry, how do you continue to engage in theology and new scholarship? For those of you who are looking to go into ministry, how do you plan on doing this? How have you seen others do it in ways that work?

I'm about to finish school after just a couple more quarters, and I could really use some insights on this. So any suggestions are welcomed!

The Break is Here

2008-12-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

The fall quarter has finally come to an end...and I'm already doing work for next quarter! Having the baby and working part-time (while Maria works 32 hours) proved to be really difficult...and really exhausting. That's why I'm getting to work on things for next quarter in advance. One of my professors sent me his syllabus early so I could get a head start. Every little assignment and bit of reading helps.

So I'm enjoying a week with a slower pace, and we're looking forward to our upcoming 10-day trip to Georgia! We leave this Friday morning, and Maria and Isaiah are staying with sis-in-law Amy Friday night. Amy works at a school, and she is chaperoning a dance Friday night...which means Isaiah will be her date! I'm heading on to Dublin that evening to hang out with family. Cousin Ty (I think everyone else in his life calls him Tyler...but we've always called him Ty) and aunt Cathy are supposed to be there, so it should be a lot of fun. Then on Saturday (20th), we have the Griswa...um...Carr family Christmas party! The Carr Christmas gathering is one of my favorite traditions, and I'm pumped I get to be there this year!

Then we're off to Augusta for a lot of family time and hopefully a lot of Nana's cookies! I love hanging out with Maria's big family and the whole Augusta crowd at the Quest and everything. Then on Christmas afternoon, we're back to Dublin for the remainder of the trip...where I will then enjoy my mother's Christmas snacks. I expect to eat pretty much the whole trip, and I am really excited about that.

Can't wait to see everyone in Georgia!

Interesting Stuff I saw Today

2008-12-01T17:09:00.001-08:00

Well, it's week 10 (of 10) of the quarter, and next week is finals week. So things are beginning to heat up a bit, and as I usually do when I'm a little extra busy, I want to post some things some other people wrote! Today when I was feeding Isaiah, I read a couple of blog posts that I found particularly interesting.

The first is post by Mark Batterso n called "Are you Okay with this?" I was really into the ideas behind this experience he had at the Civil Forum for Global Health. The conclusion: the church can make a huge difference by simply finding ways to be the church...without having to outsource to someone else. I'm also really starting to think that networking is key, especially for those hoping to plant churches and to make big impacts while still small.

The second is by Will Willimon, bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the UMC (and former Duke president). I was surprised that the study he references indicates that multiracial churches may actually be more likely to grow. I don't know how trustworthy the stats and research are, but I do know that the converse has been true for churches I've been in: churches that are monoracial, unhappy and that burn out women for lack of male involvement generally have not grown! But then, is that really news to anyone? Just thought it was interesting.

So does anyone have any thoughts on these ideas? Have you seen small churches network with others and accomplish big things? Have any of you been involved in multiracial churches that really thrived?

Isaiah's First Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Well, Isaiah had his first thanksgiving yesterday. Our friends offered their house for about 10 of us from our church to go over and have a big Thanksgiving dinner. Maria made the turkey (her first ever). She did a great job!
I guess Isaiah enjoyed Thanksgiving so much that he didn't want to miss a thing. He refused to nap all day and was awake basically from 7:30 in the morning until around 9 at night. He napped a total of about 45 minutes in there somewhere (usually in 10 minute spurts).

As a result, he seemed a little delirious as we were driving home. He was in his car seat in the back, by himself, laughing hysterically. It was really funny. He was really loopy until he finally went to sleep. I guess he was so tired that he just started losing it!

Below are a couple more pics from yesterday. We expect to get some more soon from a friend who took some on her camera.

The end of a smile.

For some reason, Isaiah was really interested in the root beer bottle Maria was holding. He kept trying to put it in his mouth!

Maria pulling the bottle out of his mouth before he actually took a swig!

Isaiah

2008-11-24T18:12:00.001-08:00

Isaiah is rolling over on his stomach now with no problem. He tries to crawl, but he ends up just squirming around and not actually moving anywhere.

Does that mean he'll be crawling soon?

Scary, I feel like he's a handful when he's not mobile!

Weekend in San Diego

2008-11-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

We drove down to San Diego this weekend. Our purpose was to connect with a pastor named Duke (from Mississippi) who has planted a church just north of Chula Vista in National City. They are really doing some awesome things, and so in our and our process of trying to discern whether God might be leading us towards that area, we thought it might be a good idea to head down and meet them. We've been trying for three months, but this was the first weekend it has worked out for all of us to get together.

But on Friday night, we stayed with our friend Emmet and his family. Emmet has 7 siblings, and the family lives in a ranch house in Escondido (north of SD). They're apparently always having people come through and spend a night or two, and they often have people (like missionaries, etc.) come live with them while they need a place. I love hanging out there. It's a big family, and so when you walk in, Emmet's mom usually says, "There's the kitchen, you know where the bedroom and bathroom is, so just fend for yourself!" We had a great time talking with Emmet and one of his brothers late into the evening. It was nice to sit around and talk about the Lord and church and the world in general. It was also nice to have a family who is so used to having babies around. Isaiah just sort of got passed from one person to the next, and his crying never bothered anyone!

So then we headed south and met up with Duke and his wife Marie. I was really impressed with them and their stories. God has done some pretty incredible things in getting them from Mississippi to southern California to plant to this church, and he has done all sorts of amazing things since they arrived in National City and gotten started. It was a really encouraging visit, and we left refreshed and excited.

Then, we were back Sunday morning for everything we're doing at Oasis. So it was a nice quick trip, followed by an enjoyable Sunday. So now we're plugging along, looking forward to Isaiah's first Thanksgiving!

Stuff from this week

2008-11-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Author and professor Scot McKnight has a weekly post on his blog called "Weekly Meanderings" where he posts a random list of links of things he's seen during the week in the news, on other blogs, in sports, etc. Well, I'm not going to start doing that, but there were a few things this week that I wanted to mention here, but didn't have time to. So I'll just mention them all at once:

• Jon Sampson, our church's life groups coordinator, posted a few animated gifs on his blog that he'll use for background pics during life group announcements. You've got to check out the one of Maria and Zay and me. It looks really disturbing, but really funny!

• Also, Greg Boyd this week posted a few comments on racial reconciliation and the gospel within our American context. It's titled "The Heresy of an Unreconciled Church." I like what he says, but I also think "heresy" is a huge word to toss around. What do you guys think? Is that a good word for what he's discussing?

• My friend Dave posted a really short but provocative little post about Brazil's recent oil finds. Can Brazil be different?

• Also, bro-in-law John is doing a new series at his church. It looks like it's going to be called "American Jesus." It sounds really awesome/challenging, and I love the graphic they decided to use for it. You can see his description of it here.

Maria

2008-11-13T10:15:00.001-08:00

Okay I've never done a post quite like this, but I think it's important...and frankly, it's about time!

As I've been doing homework, washing dishes, changing Isaiah, etc. here lately, I've been thinking a lot about my wife. I have to say, I've met some really interesting and impressive people in my short life, whether it be quirky folks in other countries, a certain baseball hall-of-famer who owns the record for most consecutive games played or or some of the world's top biblical scholars. But to this day, nobody I have ever met has impressed me as much as Maria.

For one, she's an amazing wife and mother. She left everything to move across the country and has worked and supported me while in seminary. Times are busy now, and we're both working and trying to do everything, but she still selflessly supports me and my dreams more than anyone in my life. But the amazing part is that this whole thing isn't about my dreams. I now share lots of dreams that "belonged to" Maria. Somewhere along the way Maria's hopes and mine seemed to merge and create these huge dreams that are now our family hope for the future.

Beyond all this, the most amazing thing about Maria is her love. I've learned a lot in the last couple of years at Fuller, but I've never learned as much about God's love as I have through simply being around my wife. What she has is so much more powerful than great ideas or concepts. She lives out God's love in ways that are incredibly tangible. People often say you learn a lot about God from becoming parents, and I've found that to be the case. But honestly, I've learned the most from watching Maria as a mother. Her selfless love, devotion, protection and passion for Isaiah has left me thinking, "If what I'm seeing here in front of me is anything close to how God truly views me and his church, then it seems overwhelmingly beautfiul...almost too good to be true."

I'm usually really big on the church "being the church" in the world. How else will people see God? Well, I think that looks sort of like the church living like my wife, because in her, I've seen God at work, loving everyone she comes into contact with. Not to mention, she's really good-lookin!

Maria almost never reads my blog, so she may never know I wrote all this. But I wanted to put this out just to say how thankful I am for my wife. She deserves it...and much more.

Here are some pictures of my son

2008-11-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

Isn't he cute! Please comment...

More Poltical stuff

2008-11-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

Bro-in-law John posted some thoughts and questions earlier today. They're bolded below. I wanted to separate them out so I could respond to each little section. But from here out, I would really prefer not to keep going with the political discussions. They seem create way too much tension. So if you want to respond, please do so. I may respond in the "comments" section, but I don't want to do more posts here on the main page.

Interesting thoughts. However, I challenge you to study the history of America (the Revolution, Civil War, Civil rights era, etc) - which you may have already done - to understand that the ability to vote and choose our leadership is something we should participate in. In addition, look to other countries where people cannot vote for their leaders or where they may be able to "vote" - but where the governments have subverted and undermined the process. Scary to say the least.
Here, I feel a certain tension. As a Christian, I don't really find any reason that I should vote, meaning I don't think voting, in and of itself, is rooted in any certain "Christian conviction." At the same time, I don't see voting as inconsistent with my faith. But on the other hand, as an American, I'm part of a story that does include people having died for certain liberties, such as voting. So as an American and a member of a state, then perhaps I do have a certain responsibility to vote. But again, I find that to be rooted more in the American story than as inherently part of the Christian story (and I see two stories with different values). So in that respect, by not voting I wasn't a very good American, but it didn't mean I was being a bad Christian (again, voting doesn't make you bad Christian either). Perhaps, for that reason, I maybe should have voted. I'm not sure.

But keep in mind, my reason for voting was not my way of saying that Christians should not vote or that I won't vote again in the future. It was more like a personal political fast for me because I have the tendency to get overly caught up in politics in ways that are not appropriate. So in this case, I was avoiding getting too caught up in the American story because it would distract me from trusting in the kingdom of God. Obviously, not everyone needs to do this. But maybe a few others might! Again, I'm not sure.

Also - you truly don't have an interest in who is the next president? Is that really what you mean? Share some more thoughts on that..
Okay, I didn't actually say I "don't have an interest in who is the next president." What I said was, "It did not matter to me which candidate won this election." But I certainly see how it could come across looking like I just don't care in general. What I meant was that I was pretty much okay with either of these men winning. There are things I like and don't like about Obama and things I like and don't like about McCain. I've actually done several of those little political tests online, and I always get a different presidential choice. And when I do, the candidates are usually separated by one or two "points," which is usually the result of me picking a random answer about some ambiguous law I'm not familiar with. So it looks like I truly was "in the middle" on this election.
So what I was really trying to say in #2 was that I did not feel strongly about either candidate. I was more or less persuaded by each one at different points, and I could have easily changed my mind on the way to the booth if I had voted!

here,

Appreciate the open conversation :
Thanks for appreciating the open conversation! I only intended to offer a few posts on the kingdom and politics with hopes that some might relax and not feel overwhelmed with the tensions and pressures surrounding this election. My goal was that we might find hope in that no matter who was elected, we could still trust in Jesus as our Lord. But that may have backfired. I certainly didn't want to end up talking about my political choices yesterday! But then again, that's fine too I suppose.

Why I Didn't Vote

2008-11-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

Well here's my question to you: why didn't you vote?
And here's the challenge for you: Answer that question in 5 sentences or less and don't use any words with more than 4 syllables.

The above question and challenge were posted by my sis-in-law Amy. Here's my response. I think I can do it in 4.

1. I did not register to vote.

2. It did not matter to me which candidate won this election.

3. Not voting was important for me personally, since I have the tendency to put too much stock in American politics and can easily get sucked away from truly trusting in Jesus.

4. With that (#3) in mind, not voting does not really allow me to complain about politics, which forces me to work to affect change through the church, where I might otherwise rely too much on the government to do it for me.

If I were to add a #5, I would say: See my post "Kingdom and Politics Part III" for more. But including that post would pass the sentence limit!

More Questions? If so, I'll gladly try to respond. And I'm really willing to hear criticism as well.

questions

2008-11-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

I noticed that in my writing lately, I begin new ideas with a question and then try to comment on it.

Why?

I'm not sure.

Kingdom and Politics Part III

2008-11-04T14:10:00.001-08:00

Well, the elections are fully underway. I guess I'll just add this one last post on my thoughts on politics. I wish I had time to really work all of this out here in my blog, but I just don't. Isaiah only gives me moments here and there!

So without being able to fully flesh out or really support this (hehe), I'll just say I think that, in Bruce Chilton's words, "'The kingdom of God' was the burden of Jesus' message." Jesus' overarching purpose in coming was to proclaim and do the works of the kingdom.

So I'll sum up a few of my conclusions that I draw from the kingdom of God as it relates to the elections.

1. First, our primary means of affecting change in the world is as the church cooperating with/joining with God in what God is doing . I would say that since Jesus is the "king of kings" and since he formed a community whose purpose was to also participate in God's kingdom work, we are called to make a difference in the areas we complain about. I firmly believe that the church has enough resources (not to mention the power of the Holy Spirit!) to affect change in this world in ways that worldly politics never can.

Our faith is inherently political because we are people of the anointed one. That means we are to engage in actions for justice, peace, reconciliation, etc. that are "political." But, that does not necessarily involve the American political system. Instead. we subvert the kingdoms of this world simply by being the people of God! Now I'm not downplaying issues like abortion, etc. I'm also not naive enough to think the outcome of this election isn't important or that it won't change anything. I'm just saying that we, as the body of Christ, are called to action in areas that need "change" (to use a suddenly popular buzz word).

2. I think we err when we put undue trust in political systems or politicians. I don't know who is going win this election, but the winner will never be the Messiah, and that person will not usher in the kingdom of God. Instead of outsourcing our prophetic role to political candidates, what if the church took the charge on the issues we are so concerned about? If the church could affect change in the areas of poverty, abortion reduction, social justice, etc. then perhaps God, not Caesar, will receive glory for it! (to steal a phrase from Greg Boyd)

3. So am I saying it's wrong to vote? No. Just check out Jeremiah 29:4-7. When God speaks to Israel as they go into exile, he basically says, "Go and make the land you end up in prosper. That way you'll prosper with it." When my wife Maria votes on certain local legislation, it directly affects the well-being of her clients. So why shouldn't she take advantage of the opportunity to try to make things a little better for people who need it if politics offers the chance? (but think of what a couple of churches could do if they teamed up and decided to help the same people...)

My point is that we, as Christians, are often so easily caught up in the elections that we sometimes end up assuming our entire futures live or die in the hands of the next president. Not to mention we end up incredibly divided! I'm proposing instead that we live as a radical community that runs counter to the ways of this world...a radical community that trusts in the Lord of Lords and not in political systems.

So in the end, go out and vote today. Think and pray about what you vote for, and pray for our government. But when it's all said and done, know that our trust is in Jesus, and our faithfulness to the kingdom of God trumps all of our earthly political loyalties. God's kingdom is our affiliation, and that's way more important than who we vote for.

Kingdom and Politics Part II

2008-11-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

So my sermon text was Mark 1:1-15. But before I read it, I pointed out the importance of understanding Mark's historical context in order to understand what he's doing in these first 15 verses (esp v. 1). I used the example of something I heard on the radio back during the GOP convention. Joe Lieberman was speaking, and he said something along the lines of (this is summary): "John McCain offers more than eloquent speech, he offers a strong record. Eloquence is never a substitute for a record!" [and the crowed cheered wildly (yay)].

So in my warped-by-seminary mind, I thought to myself, "Suppose those words were taken out of the speech and scribbled down somewhere on paper. And what if someone 300 years from now read those words (I know, quality paper right?) with little knowledge of the 2008 presidential race. They would think, "Wow, John McCain must have had a good record. But was he not an eloquent speaker or something?" Without knowing that Barack Obama (like him or not) is a very eloquent speaker and that he was running against McCain, one would not realize that this statement at was actually a political jab at Barack Obama. .

Now Mark 1:1 sort of works the same way. See in Mark's context, there was one particular individual who was known by such titles as Savior, Lord, Benefactor and yes, Son of God. That person was Caesar, and we actually have ancient writings that read, "The beginning of the Gospel/Good News of Augustus..." I don't have time to go any further on this, but if you're interested, you can check out a short article on the subject written by Craig Evans.

So, how does Mark begin his Gospel? "The beginning of the Good News/Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

So what's the point? Mark ripped off a phrase, "The beginning of the Gospel of..." normally used for Caesar, and he inserted Jesus' name! Why? Well, I think he was saying, Caesar is not actually in charge! Jesus, also known as "Christ" ("anointed one" i.e. the king) is actually the one in whom Israel should be placing her hope and her trust. Jesus is said to usher in a new kingdom (v. 15), which is obviously different from Caesar's kingdom. Thus, don't look to Caesar or the Empire for your salvation, your security or for something that resembles the kingdom of God. Something other than Caesar's kingdom is present in the world through the person of Jesus. So look to Jesus, the true son of God!

So what does that have to do with this election? I hope to keep posting more thoughts (if Zay keeps napping, and if I can keep doing it quickly!).

Kingdom and Politics

2008-11-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

So I preached yesterday on the issue of Jesus and politics. I've also been doing an independent study/directed reading all quarter where a few friends and I are studying the kingdom of God with one of Fuller's NT professors. I've learned quite a bit, and some of it came out in my sermon. This could end up long, so I'll jump right in (and may make this into more than one post).

To begin, I noted the growing face of evangelical Christians heavily involved the US political process. Though certain names like Pat Robertson, the recently deceased Jerry Falwell, or the Christian Coalition might bring all sorts of emotions and images to mind, a new wave of Evangelicals are also having significant influence on the election process. These folks shoot for a more balanced or "holistic" view of politics, and they emphasize issues neglected (or distorted) by the religious right, such as poverty reduction, a more robust meaning of "pro-life" (as applied to war) and poverty reduction. Some of these types include Jim Wallace of Sojourners and the Vineyard's own Rich Nathan (Columbus Vineyard). A brief video of one of Nathan's short speeches can be seen here. I would say some of these guys are probably more representative of the "middle of the road" type political perspective I see a lot of Christians in my generation moving towards (you can see evidence of this shift through media like Relevant magazine or the influence of people like Donald Miller...but I don't have time to go into really go into it).

But whether right, left or somewhere in between, a lot of these more politically active folks share one common assumption: It is our responsibility as Christians to affect change through the American political process .

The focus of my sermon was to ask whether or not this assumption is true. I held it up to a certain text (Mark 1:1-15) to see what would happen. The result was the rest of my sermon!

I have to run, but I'll try to really cover this issue in a series of posts (if I have time!). But I want to add that the reason for the compilation of Bush bloopers below was an attempt at some light-hearted political humor during a really intense season. I wasn't trying to make a political statement by putting it on my blog. Instead, I posted it for no other reason than that I thought it was funny. So, sorry if it was offensive to anyone. If it really bothers you, let me know. I'll be happy to take it off.

Really Funny Video

2008-11-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm preaching this Sunday about Jesus and politics. We show a lot of pointless Youtube videos at our church, and so I wanted a political one to show this week since It's the Sunday before the elections. I looked forever and stumbled across this short video of hilarious George Bush quotes. Maria and I thought they were so funny that I wanted to put it on my blog for everyone to enjoy.

Politics

2008-10-28T06:55:00.001-07:00

So I have a pretty daunting task this Sunday at Oasis. I'm supposed to preach a sermon on the relationship of the church to politics on the Sunday before the national elections...elections that have, no less, been publicized as the most important since the time of the Great Depression!

I don't have time for a long post on the issue right now, but this morning I picked up the book Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon. It's been a couple of years since I've read it, but there are a couple of spots I remembered that I thought I needed to read over before this weekend. So, as I often do during times in which I'm really busy, I've decided to post some of their comments instead of my own!

Following up a section where they propose that a Christian response to violence in Lybia (during the 80s) may have been for a particular denomination to mobilize and send 1000 missionaries to the area (regardless of the fact that it may have been illegal to do so) to plant a church. I know, pretty radical right? Here's what they say:

"We would like a church that again asserts that God, not nations, rules the world, that the boundaries of God's kingdom transcend those of Caesar, and that the main political task of the church is the formation of people who see clearly the cost of discipleship and are willing to pay the price." - p. 48

Also one of my favorite sections (which I may have posted before...can't remember):

"The most interesting, creative, political solutions we Christians hvae to offer our troubled society are not new laws, advice to Congress, or increased funding for social programs - although we may find ourselves supporting such national efforts. The most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. We serve the world by showing it something that it is not, namely, a place where God is forming a family out of strangers" - pp. 82-83

I'll try to do some more posting on some of the thoughts I'm working through during the week.

Record Day for Zay

2008-10-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've had so little time to write. But I figured that I could take a moment to announce that Maria has just reported a record high day for Isaiah in several categories:

• 5 changed outfits due to poop or spit-up, including one poop on mommy

• 1st time peeing on bed sheets (also pooped on comforter, but was earlier in the week)

• 2 pees in one tub of bathwater

• 3 separate farts in bathtub, all three evidenced by bubbles

Needless to say, it's been quite a day in the Carr residence.

Thoughts on the Kingdom of God

2008-10-10T06:57:00.002-07:00

I'm doing an independent study this quarter on the kingdom of God. At the same time, I've been reading through the book of Isaiah during my time with the Lord in the mornings. Isaiah is the most quoted First Testament book in the gospels, and as I've read, I've often thought about ways in which the First Testament creates a backdrop for understanding the kingdom of God in the New Testament.

So through reading various texts and taking a few glances at scholarly opinions, it seems that the hopes and expectations for the people of God during the time of the prophets and during the intertestamental period (the time between the OT and the NT) were pretty diverse. Not all too different from the current setting in the church, in which people are looking for all sorts of differing and conflicting things to happen at the "end of the age," early Jews also had all kinds of different expectations about what God was going to do in the future.

But, in general, the expectations seem to have had some common themes: primarily that God was going to come near to God's people, and that God was going to judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous. Though people had different beliefs about how this would play out, this seems to have been the "general expectation." A text I read this morning hints at this idea: "For the LORD comes out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no longer cover its slain (Isaiah 26:21). The whole of chapter 26 leading up to this describes God's giving new life to God's people in the midst of this judgment.

As far as I can tell, the NT depicts Jesus fulfilling these expectations. God "comes out of God's place," drawing near/visiting God's people through the person of Jesus, gathering the people of God, redeeming God’s people (salvific death/resurrection) and judging the wicked (turning over temple tables). What about now? After the ascension, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, God’s presence among God’s people. Now, it seems God is continuing to draw near to people in and through the people of God (i.e. the church).

There is obviously more to be said, but I needed to write out some thoughts on the OT expectation that God would draw near to God's people in this way. Writing helps me to process things, so I'll likely be using the blog to do this sort of thing over the course of the quarter. Please feel free to not read it if it bores you!

Some questions I still have?

• What of God's judgment with regard to the church as God's agent for God's kingdom? Is it purely eschatological: a wheat and tares kind of thing?
• Though Jesus came into a diversity of Jewish hopes and expectations, do his teachings and his actions appear to align more with a certain group (or groups) than with others? Was anyone more "right" about what God actually did? I really want to learn a ton more about apocalyptic and other intertestamental writings.
• Are any of my thoughts correct at all?! I'm still becoming familiar with this whole conversation, and I'm not really confident about much of what I say!

Animal Crackers

2008-10-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I love them. That's all...I'm eating some right now.

Life

2008-10-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

I feel like Maria and I are still trying to catch up after our whirlwind trip to GA this weekend. Though it was a short trip (with a long trip back due to delays), it was really nice to see family and friends, even if only for a bit. Whitey's wedding was really nice, and the whole weekend was a lot of fun.

Now I'm back trying to knock out a bunch of reading and a couple of assignments that have to be done this week. But in the midst of our crazy schedule this quarter, we're trying to keep our future in mind. I've been thinking a lot about how each year in seminary has had its own little flavor, and this year, I think it's important for us to be praying about what God has ahead for our lives. It's important that if this year does anything, it prepares us for where God is calling us next. My friend Dave just posted some similar thoughts on his blog.

This whole discernment process is always somewhat stressful and frightening. Throw in the fact that we now have a child and that the economy appears to be crumbling before our eyes, and it just adds that much more discomfort. But it's in these times where we usually see God's hand working the most. I'm not sure exactly where we'll end up in a year from now, but I know we can trust God to lead us. I guess this is all part of why following the Lord is such an adventure!

Oasis Launch

2008-09-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

Oasis, the church plant Maria and I have been helping out with, had its official launch today. We've been having meetings since January, but today was the day we officially opened to the public. There has been a ton work leading up to this point, and it's kind of crazy that we're already off and going.

Honestly, I was really blown away by how many people joined us. We've been having around 55 - 65 people come to our "preview" services in the last few weeks. But today, I counted 153 for our launch Sunday! It was pretty crazy...and really packed.

But as Jon (pastor) keeps reminding us, this doesn't mean we have a 150-person church, which I find relieving at this point. With most church plants, it seems there's a bit of momentum towards the launch and often a drop after that. So basically, we've worked hard, had a lot of momentum and gathered a pretty solid core team. Now that we've gone through the launch, the hard work of ministry (especially the hard work of reaching out to Pasadena) really begins.

It's kind of cool. Even with all we've done so far, it still feels like this journey is just getting started.

Shots Really Suck

2008-09-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

So Zay had to go in today for his first immunizations. He had to have three shots and 1 taken orally. Man, it was a hard thing to watch. I was sitting in a chair watching them stick him with big needles and seeing him scream and cry really loudly. It was awful. But it wasn't as awful as it was for Ria. She had to hold his arms down while they did it! It's amazing, I know they need to do it because it's better for him health-wise, but it's crazy how much it hurts for a parent to see their kid screaming because they know they're in pain. And needless to say, he's not the happy little boy in the picture below...at least not today. He's usually not a cuddly baby that likes to be held, but today, he's burying his face in Maria's shoulder and only seems to feel comforted when she's got him close.

But on a happier note, the doc says he's normal! She says he has good tone, good strength and is proportionate. He's a little guy (in the 25th percentile), but she says he's really healthy. Oh yeah, he was 22 inches and like 11.5 pounds. He may be small, but like one of his outfits says, he thinks big!

Maria's home today, so I'm trying to clean up and set up some things around the apartment and trying to do a lot of work for Oasis. We launch this weekend, so there's much to be done. I'll try to update some more this week.

Pics of Zay

2008-09-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

With the week off, I'm finally having some time to update some photos. I'm putting some pics (and hopefully some video at some point this week) of Zay on his blog , so go check them out!

Some Vineyard Music Excitement

2008-09-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Wahoo! Ryan Delmore's CD comes out tomorrow! Now, I know you're thinking I'm only into this CD because Marc Ford plays on it, but that's not totally true (though I am excited about that part).

Here's the truth: It wasn't until we came into the Vineyard (little over a year ago) that I discovered that there it still a lot of really good Vineyard worship music out there. It just wasn't being played in the churches I was attending before (well, a little here and there thanks to Erik Fletcher back in Augusta). But now, I'm really loving Vineyard worship music because of the intimate/profound/solid expressions that are coming out of it.

So then I discovered Ryan Delmore, whose style really vibes with a guy like me from Georgia. Then, I find out Marc Ford (former lead guitarist for favorite band - The Black Crowes) was playing on it.

So, add the spirit of Vineyard worship music + Ryan Delmore's newest songs + Marc Ford = A lot of excitement for David about tomorrow!

One of those weeks

2008-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to leave a quick note to say I probably won't be making any updates (besides this one) this week. It's just one of those weeks. I'm trying to finish 4 papers by Friday, I am preparing a sermon to preach Sunday morning at Live Oak, and I'm working with the other community coordinators to plan our biggest community event of the year Sunday afternoon. Combine that with taking care of Isaiah while Maria is at work and doing work for Oasis, and I'm pretty strapped this week.

I write all this to say that I plan on updating Isaiah's blog soon with some pics and some little videos we've done, but it will have to wait until next week.

Oh, by the way, I just discovered that he likes Baby Einstein videos. Well, I don't know if he actually does, but we plopped him down in his swing and turned one on (one that's a little more advanced than he's ready for). He's been fixated on it for the last hour! I think he must see a big square with lots of changing shapes and colors and feel sort of mesmerized.

Anyway, more updates to come next week I hope!

Stuff

2008-09-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

So I'm preaching in a next Sunday (21st) at Live Oak. Live Oak uses the lectionary, so I think I'll be speaking from Exodus 16. I'm just beginning to prepare, but I've got some ideas I'm tossing around/praying about. I'm looking forward to it.

The last couple of weeks of hanging out with Zay have been pretty fun. Maria is off tomorrow, so I'll probably spend the whole day in the library working on my IDL. I hope to get at least one paper written and another started. I have 4 papers (pretty short: 4-5 pages) that have to be finished by next Friday. Good times. That could make the sermon planning a little difficult, but we'll see.

I'm excited to have a week coming up (after the 19th) with no classes. I had a good time relaxing on our trip to Georgia, but I ended up doing a lot of work while I was there. It will be nice to just work for the church, hang with Zay and not have classes hanging over my head for a bit.

I'm off to bed now. We've been up early every day...well...since Zay was born. Though he and Maria will sleep in, I need to be up early taking advantage of every hour I have that she's taking care of him.

A Little Vineyard Worship for Ya Thursday Mornin'

2008-09-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

So that's Marc Ford, with Chris Lizotte there in the background. They have that, "Yeah, we're taking a break from the kickin' CD we're making" look on their faces. Ford appears to be falling out of his chair. Either that, or Marc Ford doesn't sit in chairs...he just hovers over them while others (in this case, Lizotte) watch in amazement. I choose to believe the latter. At any rate, thanks to J@VLG for the pic.

I'm looking forward to both of the new albums.

Life Groups at Oasis

2008-09-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a meeting for life group leaders at Oasis. Maria and I are planning on leading a life group that a couple is hosting in their home in Northwest Pasadena. As I've thought about life/small/cell groups (whatever your church calls them), I've often wondered about how they should be best organized. I usually see groups organized around either age (like say a "young adult" group) or special interest (like the artsy crowd or the music folks). To me, groups are ideally intergenerational and diverse in order for members to learn and grow with different types of people with different experiences, and though they're tight-knight, they continue to keep an outward focus. But too often, I see groups end up pretty homogenous and inward focused. But last night, I really discovered how Oasis is trying something a little different.

Before I continue, I need to first say that Jon Sampson (friend and life group coordinator) is pretty sharp and is doing an awesome job getting things started at Oasis. I'm continually impressed with his vision and his planning.

So, here's what we're doing. Regardless of what the life groups look like (age/interests), they are basically organized around a certain mission. For instance, we know some in our church who are heavily focused on issues like social justice and children at risk. So they form a group (which technically is organization around an interest I suppose), but in addition to meeting, eating and sharing life, they focus on their mission as a group from the beginning. From the outset, each group brainstorms and prays for ways that they can engage in that group's mission to children at risk together, right where they are (whether they meet on a college campus or in NW Pasadena). Then they go out and do the stuff together, say, once a month or so.

Going back to the question of how groups are organized, some (like ours) just meet in a certain area that works for the members. So their task is to understand their areas and the needs of the people who live there so they can reach out to them. The more we reach out, the more likely we are to connect with a diverse crowd.

This means that from the beginning, Oasis will start with maybe 4 or 5 life groups of 5 to 10 people. But these groups are expected to engage regularly in missional/outreach efforts. This way the church has ongoing mission work to our city through small groups of people who spend time together each week. Also, this allows us to do out missional work in several different capacities without everything having to be organized and executed from the top. As a result, our primary way (though not the only way) of "doing missions" is through life groups.

Pretty cool right?

Oh, and Jon, if you read this and I've said something wrong/dumb, just let me know!

Updates and some Thoughts

2008-09-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty busy week. I've been trying to make some progress on my IDL while taking care of Isaiah. It's amazing how much time that little guy can take up! I'm having a blast though. Maria hates leaving him to to go work, but this is an opportunity that I may never have again. Maria wants to one day be able to stay home with our kids (yes, that's plural...she wants like 10 I think!), and I hope to be able to work to give her that opportunity. So having all this time to hang out with Isaiah might be the only time I'm able to bond with one of our kids in this way. It sucks that she spends 8 hours of her day away, but we both agree this is a unique and special opportunity for me.

So now we've been back for four days, and we're gonna be out of town again this weekend. We have a Rescom retreat at Thousand Pines (in Crestline: couple of hours from here). So in the first 8 weeks of his life, Isaiah will have spent a weekend in a cabin in Big Bear, spent 2 weeks in Georgia and a weekend at Thousand Pines. Quite the traveler for a two-month old!

Back in Cali

2008-09-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back in Pasadena after the two-week run to Georgia. Maria just left for work. She's working three days a week for the month of September. I'm finishing up an IDL in the next couple of weeks, and I'll also be doing some work for Oasis. It's nice that I don't have to actually go to campus for classes this month. That means I'm able to take care of Zay and devote some time to the church.

So it looks like it's just Isaiah and me. My first 8 hour day as a stay-at-home dad. Right now he's sleeping in his little pin-striped sleeper that says "Dad's Team." I think if it were a competition, mom's team would beat dad's team! I say that as a compliment to Maria. She is such an awesome mother. Don't get me wrong, I love being a dad. But she's always so patient and seems to know exactly what Zay needs. I, on the other hand, feel much more like I'm doing the trial-and-error style parenting...with mostly error!

Well, at any rate, we really enjoyed our trip back to Georgia. This last Sunday, we drove up to Milledgeville (where my dad's side of the family is from and where I went to college). I got to hang out with some aunts and uncles and cousins at the Brick (one of my favorite spots to eat in Milly). One of the highlights (not to pick favorites!) was getting to spend a couple of days with my aunt Cathy and her husband Bill. Cathy has been in a fight with breast cancer for a bit here. Well, actually (Cathy correct me if I'm wrong) she sort of beat it up, and then it came back for a second round in her lungs. Cathy has an online journal where she writes updates on her story and how she's doing. If you're interested, you can check it out here. We're all praying for her all the time and would appreciate your prayers as well.

So, back to life in Pasadena. I've been reading some interesting stuff that I might try to discuss later, for all my nerdy friends.

Georgia

2008-08-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

We're still relaxing at my folks' house in Dublin. College football has begun, and I'm pumped about it. Last night, we watched Stanford and Oregon State, and South Carolina and North Carolina State. Tomorrow, Georgia kicks of their season against Georgia Southern. We're going to watch it on pay-per-view. I know the bulldogs are stacked this year, but they also have a really nasty schedule. I'm looking forward to the season, but I'm not sure they can meet everyone's expectations. Either way, I'll be watching on Saturdays!

The last few days have been a lot of fun. Isaiah started smiling a little bit just before we left for Georgia. In the last few days, he's begun to smile a lot. We've loved playing with him and hanging out with him since he was born, but now that he's becoming more and more interactive, it just makes things that much more fun!

We're spending the weekend here, and then we're back to Pasadena on Monday. Looking forward to a fun weekend with some good friends swinging by to hang out.

Still in Georgia

2008-08-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

I decided to update the blog because my mom was just making fun of me for all my spelling mistakes. She was just laughing at me for writing that I was soar (not sore) from running and because I said I was relazing (not relaxing) in Dublin. Pretty funny.

Well, at any rate, we're still hanging out with my parents and brother here in Dublin. My dad has covered the back deck since I was last here, and so we've been sitting outside and talking by the grill a lot. Last night Amy dropped in from Macon, and she joined us for dinner.

So in a nutshell, Dublin has been mostly relaxing and good eatin'!

I'm going to try do to some homework now.

Runnin'

2008-08-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

I went running with my brother last night. He runs two or three miles every day. I hadn't run in like a year. I was feeling kind of gross from not really getting any significant exercise in the last couple of months.

So I thought,"I can probably run a couple of miles with him and be fine."

As we went out, Maria said, "Are you sure you want to try to keep up with Blake?"

My response: "Sure, I've been watching the olympics. I'm pretty motivated."

After the first mile, I remembered how much I hate running. I often hear people say things like, "I love running. When I run, I just drift off and think about life. I pray. Running is really a time of worship for me."

I hate those people. For me, I'm only praying that God will make it end soon!

Well, I made the two miles with Blake. Now I'm really sore. I figure, a two mile run should keep me in shape until around this time next year right?

Hanging out in Dublin

2008-08-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

We've been in Dublin since Sunday. It's a change of pace from Augusta. We've just been hanging out with family and introducing people to Isaiah. My dad fixed up the back porch with a nice cover and a ceiling fan, so I think we'll sit out side by the grill tonight and hang out.

Grandma Carr is doing a great job with Zay. She got him to sleep for a long time last night, and I think he would have slept even longer if his dinner hadn't been cut a little short. Maria couldn't get him to eat because he kept falling asleep! But he was probably worn out because he had a complete meltdown before he dozed off. But as usual, Grandma got him to calm down.

Last night he met his cousin Gabe. Gabe is four years old. He got Zay to hold his hand and he looked at me wide-eyed and said, "This is the first time I've ever met a baby Isaiah before." It was pretty funny.

Well, more relazing...and eating...and more eating in Dublin. I'll try to keep more updates coming.

Ge-owja

2008-08-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Nana got Isaiah to sleep for another 6 hour shot last night. Then he ate. Now he's asleep again. Crazy. I honestly don't know how she does this.

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. We went to a restaurant in Evans called Takosushi. It's a Japanese/sushi-Mexican fusion place. We ate tons of sushi (veggie for me, esp. since I'm allergic to seafood), and then we headed over to Jon and Shauna's (my bro and sis-in-laws) to hang out for a couple of hours. It was a really nice evening, and the first time we've been out together since Zay was born. Thank you Nana!

We're still loving our time in Georgia. Yesterday, I needed to get some reading done, so I went over to this little lake in the neighborhood we're staying in. I sat on a little doc and looked out at the lake and some trees while I read. Some ducks joined me for a while. It was really nice, and really green. I love Pasadena, but it's awesome to get away to somewhere a little slower, quieter, and more nature-ish for a bit.

In some of my highlights from yesterday, I forgot to mention a pretty big drop-in thing we did on Sunday. It was great to see some folks that we hadn't seen in a while! It was also cool to slip away with Amy (sis-in-law) for a Starbucks run. It happens every trip. Things will get a little chaotic, children running around, people eating and talking loudly. Then, Amy and I look at each other from across the room, and we don't even have to say anything. I give this look that says, "I'll meet you at the car," and we're out! Amy, I expect one more trip this weekend when you're back in town!

So today is another day of grabbing coffee with friends, doing some shopping and hanging out for dinner and a drop-in birthday party tonight.

More Georgia Highlights

2008-08-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Quest Sunday morning was great. I love the intimate and sacred feel of that church. It was cool to watch John decided on the spot (unexpectedly) to do a little "invitation," type announcement during communion at the end. A couple and another guy went up for prayer, and John decides to baptize them on the spot. It was very organic/natural feeling and very special not only for the people who went up, but for the whole church. There was a sense that people weren't just coming to faith. Water was dripping down their heads as a way of also initiating them into the Quest's little community. It was a special time.

I also got to hang out with some of my former youth Sunday night at a banquet. It was really cool to see how they're growing (spiritually and physically, one kid passed me by like 3 inches since I last saw him!).

I spent most of the day yesterday in a coffee shop listening to a lecture and doing some reading for a class I'm in. John dropped in to hang out for a bit. It was great to talk about life, ministry and family. It's cool to hear of everything God is doing in him and in the Quest. It was also good to hear his words of wisdom and advice. After three years into a growing church plant, you know what his biggest piece of advice to me was as we talked about Maria and me going out to one day start a new church?

"Stay close to God. If you don't, you'll end up going out, planting a big church, and you'll look up years later and ask, 'what happened?'"

How profound. He encouraged me to keep chasing the dreams that God is laying out in front of Maria and me and to keep trusting God. It was a nice conversation.

Then last night, it was just Maria, Isaiah, Nana and me (oh and Henry, the dog). It was great to hang out and relax for a bit. Somehow Nana has gotten Isaiah to sleep at least 6 hours a night, and the first night here, he slept 7 1/2 hours! How does she do it? He'd never done that before. Must be like a spiritual gift or something.

Well, that's it for now. So far, we're loving hanging out with family and friends in Georgia. We've got dinners, coffees, etc. lined up for the rest of the week. But for me, in about a half hour, I'm going to Barbara to get my haircut. I know none of you know Barbara, but she's this lady I used to get to cut my hair in Augusta. I call her before every trip and set up an appointment. I don't know what it is, I just love that lady!

The Land of Sweet & Humidity

2008-08-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ummm, love that sweet tea.
Well, we landed in Georgia last night around 8:30 east coast time. We were worried that Isaiah would scream the whole time, but he did great. We fed him as we were taking off, hoping the sucking would keep his ears from popping too much. Then, he slept the whole way up until our descent into Atlanta. We fed him again on the way down, and he was good to go. What a relief...mostly for the people around us!

We're here in GA until Labor Day, one week in Augusta and one week in Dublin. We've been hanging out with Ria's family all day today. The Kenneys are a big clan, and it's a lot of fun to hang out, eat well and enjoy all the family humor. We're heading to a wedding shower tonight for Whitey (Ria's bro) and his fiance Sheila. Tomorrow we're looking forward to visiting The Quest and Sunday Lunch at the Kenney house!

Looking East

2008-08-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

We're just a couple of days away from heading to Georgia for a two-week trip. We're getting really excited about getting to hang out with friends and family. We're also really excited about the prospect of getting some sleep when we hand Isaiah over to the grandparents!

There are just a few things we're finishing up here, and we'll be ready to go. Right now, I'm working on a "creative paper," which is a first for me since coming to seminary. I'm finishing up a class on the Pentateuch, and for my final paper, I requested that I rewrite the hymn "Jesus Paid it All" as if the author had only the Torah to use for inspiration. It's basically my attempt to express Old Testament atonement theology (as I understand it) through a revised song. It has about 1500 or so additional words of explanation, with my research cited throughout, as a way to explain my choices. And my buddy Jonathan agreed to record the revised version on a CD for me so I can turn it in with my paper! It's a tricky assignment, but a lot of fun.

Well, enough with all of the seminary stuff. Friday night, we roll into Augusta!

What is Wrong with this Picture?

2008-08-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Indeed, the Apocalypse is nigh.

Dawgs

2008-08-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like Georgia is the team to beat this year.

Man I love college football. The fall is just a great time of year all around. Can't wait!

I love/hate books

2008-08-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

In the last 6 weeks or so, I've picked up 40 or 50 new books. My pastor cleaned out one of his little home libraries (he has 1000s of books...when I walk into his office, I can barely talk for checking at all the book titles), and he told me I could go through 7 full boxes of books and take whatever I wanted. I picked up around 35 (theological and practical) books and had to find a way to cram them onto a new book shelf we picked up ($7/yard sale) before Ria got home from work!

Then in the last week, one of my neighbors (who just finished his PhD) was giving away and selling tons of books he didn't want to take with him on a new move from Pasadena). I picked up 10 or so from him as well.

I only took books I knew I would read and use, and a free bundle of books is always better than having to buy them later. Man, I love reading new stuff!

But on the other hand, I hate books because they take up so much space. I've recently filled two book shelves, and the worst part is, I have like 50 books I haven't read...and that drives me crazy! So as much as I love books, and as smart as having so many books makes me look, the simple truth is that unread books don't actually make anyone smarter! They only take up space, which is why people were giving them away for free in the first place.

How much longer until I learn from my foolish ways?

Genesis

2008-08-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, I turned in a paper on: The Origin and the Significance of Genesis 12-50.

It was a busy week, so I felt some pressure to do it well with little time. I'm a little nervous about the feedback because I made some claims in there that I felt were sort of risky. I began the process by reading Genesis 12-50 as carefully as I could (a few weeks ago...around the time Zay was born!). Then in the next step, I read Genesis 12-50 as carefully as I could. After that, I did some research...and as I began to write and outline, I continued to read Genesis 12-50 as carefully as I could. But this is not a post about my paper, though I may write about it later.

Instead, this is about a book I stumbled across in my research. There was a lot of really good stuff out there, and it was tough to quit reading and begin writing. But at some point, I found Tremper Longman's
How to Read Genesis.

Of all the books I used for my paper, I am posting about this one because I think it is somewhat of a bridge-building work. I read a lot of books in seminary that have required two years in seminary to understand. But Longman's book is a book by a solid scholar, written for anyone. Longman surveys scholarly perspectives on authorship, historical background, structure, genre, etc., and he also engages in some abbreviated narrative criticism. But he does so in a way that is both accessible and informative. I love it when scholars can take what they know and communicate it in such a way that can be understood outside of the scholarly realm without losing the strength of what they're saying. Best I can tell, Longman does that.

So if anyone is looking for a quick-n-easy resource for small groups, Bible studies on Genesis, etc., I recommend this as an intro type book. And of course, I also recommend becoming a Brueggemanniac in the process as well!

Oh, and I noticed Longman has also written How to Read the Psams and How to Read Proverbs. I haven't looked into either of these books, but they may be worth checking out as well.

Friday

2008-08-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the library finishing up a paper that's due at midnight tonight. I just left the house, and Maria and Isaiah were in the same bed asleep. She was on her back, and he was nestled down between her arm and her side. I just stared at them for a second with a smile on my face. Then, I thanked God for them, kissed them both on the forehead and headed over to campus.

Our little family...what an amazing thing...

Some Shakin' in LA

2008-07-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

Welll, today, our little family experienced our first ever earthquake. The epicenter was located around 30 miles east of LA. We felt some pretty strong jolts here in Pasadena, but we're okay. Zay didn't like it...he cried.

Some stuff flew off our shelves, but like I said, we're all okay.

Just wanted everyone to know we're okay.

2008-07-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

So those of you who know me know how much I love the Black Crowes (Thank you Erik Fletcher!). Well, at some point in the last year or so, it appears that Marc Ford (former Crowes guitar player) has somehow slipped into the Vineyard! You can check out Ford's Wikipedia page here. My inside sources at Vineyard Music (hehe, that'd be Scott and Mel) tell me that Ford has his hands in two upcoming Vineyard albums, both with production and with some of his nasty guitar playin' skillz (Sorry, I'm not sure I've ever said "nasty guitar playin' skillz" before, much less put it in a post).

So there's a video snippet below of a Ryan Delmore's new album, set to be released in October. And yes, Ford is playing guitar here. Thank you Mel for connecting me with this video! I plan on buying the album the day it comes out!

Catching Up

2008-07-28T18:08:00.001-07:00

I see that I haven't posted anything on here in 2 weeks. As you may have guessed, we've been a tad busy! I've been working 4 days a week with the tutoring agency, and I've been filling in other times helping out with an apartment remodel my pastor is doing. I've also been finishing up an intensive and have a paper due Friday. I've also been trying to catch up on all of the little CC details we need to take care of. Add all that on top of helping take care of Zay and not sleeping much, and it's not surprising that I've barely cracked open my computer to do anything other than write.

But, Isaiah is doing well. Some nights (and days) are better than others, but all in all, he's great. We're still unpacking from our move. It's a slow process, but we'll get there eventually. It's really amazing how a little 8 pound 3 ounce person can affect every single decision we make! But it's worth it. Already, after 2 weeks, we can't imagine life without him. So, in some bullets, here are some Isaiah highlights from the last couple of weeks:

• Sunday, the day after we moved in: Zay pooped his pants. I started changing his diaper. He began to squirt poop everywhere as I tried to wipe him. Had to use new diaper to catch new poop. Got him cleaned, strapped on new diaper, picked him up...he pooped again. Three diapers, five minutes.

• Last Tuesday night, took him to movie night with college kids. Two girls tickled his feet and woke him up from sleep...he ended up not going to bed until 1:30 in the morning. Learned not to touch his feet when he's asleep.

• The next day, Zay peed on me, twice...in one changing.

• Thursday night, our friends Scott and Melisa came over. Zay was screaming. Maria and I both tried to calm him down for an hour and a half. Melisa (AKA baby whisperer) took him and within 30 minutes of walking and rocking, had him sound asleep. We asked Mel to move in. She declined...but we're still trying to change her mind.

• Friday: after a hectic week, we went on our first family trip - an abbreviated stay at a leadership retreat for Oasis at Big Bear. Thought to ourselves: this is either a really good idea, or a terrible one. It ended up being great. Zay slept and ate, slept and ate. Plus, we had multiple folks helping out, holding him, feeding him, etc. The Griswald's first family trip was a success...except that Sparky (me) fell into a 5 foot well and bruised his butt really bad. Zay was embarrassed.

• Saturday: we put Zay in the car to come home, and he began screaming immediately. He didn't want to leave Big Bear. He seems to like trips.

• Work work work all day today. Zay started screaming and scratched his face. Mommy cried when she saw it (daddy thought it looked tough, but wouldn't say that to mommy).

Now I'm here, cooking dinner (actually heating up a dinner someone brought by). Zay and mommy are napping. I am going to the library to work on a paper after I eat.

Well, that's it in a nutshell! I'll try to do a better job of keeping everyone up to speed.

Grandparents are Awesome!

2008-07-14T14:15:00.001-07:00

So we've been staying at the guest center for the past few days. We didn't plan on hanging out over here night and day, but Maria's parents have a suit that's more comfortable than our little apartment. Plus, GRANDPARENTSs are in the suit!

It's really nice to have grandparents here with us for a week. They're hustling around, changing diapers, burping Zay, cooking dinnner, etc. I had no idea what a blessing it would be to have them here. I don't know what we're going to do when they leave! But for now, we're taking advantage of it.

For anyone in Pasadena who wants to come visit, we're in unit 225. Come on by and see Isaiah!

Also, we're moving to our new apt. this Saturday. If anyone is around to help out, we could really use a couple of extra hands. We're going to get started around 10 am, and we're providing lunch. But please let me know if you're coming so we can plan.

Also, as for Zay, he's doing pretty well. He got really gassy last night for the first time (when Ria's milk came in), and he screamed for hours and hours. He kept farting (really bad-smelling farts at that) and then the floodgates opened. He pooped like 3 times in 45 minutes. So now I think I know what it feels like to be a parent: you're pretty much tired all the time. So far it's kind of like being a zombie, a zombie who really loves his kid. But it's going to get worse when the Granparents go back home! But other than that, he seems to be healthy.

If anyone has any advice for dealing with his gas issues, let me know. We're willing to to give most things a shot.

Pics of Zay

2008-07-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

We finally got out of the hospital, so we can actually upload pics now. I'm about to add a bunch to my facebook album, but if you go to Zay's blog, you can see a small handful. But there are more coming, I promise!

Oh, and I never got to say thanks to everyone who prayed for all three of us throughout the labor. We really do thank God for a smooth delivery and for Zay and Ria's health. God's hand was evident throughout the process (especially the end!), and we know it was because of your prayers.

Baby Zay is Here!

2008-07-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

What a crazy ride! Isaiah Kenney Carr was born last night at 11:05. He was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches long. He's healthy, and as far as his parents are concerned, he's perfect!

So here's how things went yesterday (I have a feeling this will get long).

9:30 am We finally got in around 9:30 am yesterday, and they got the pitocin started around 10:30. Within an hour, Maria was having firm contractions and they were only 1 to 2 1/2 minutes apart. So the contractions were 1-2 minutes apart from the beginning, and they just increased in intensity. But after the first few hours of labor, Maria hadn't dilated any more.

12:00 pm The doc came in, and said that she hadn't progressed any so far, and that if she didn't begin to dilate some more by midnight, he would do a C-section, no questions asked.

5:00 pm Around this time, the doc came in checked on Maria's progression. After six and a half hours, she was only at 3 cm. He said that if she went another four hours without progressing 3 or 4 cm, then we would need to do a C section.

7:30 pm After 9 hours of hard labor, the contractions really started cranking up to another level. I knew it was serious when our doula (who has had two kids all natural and is pretty hardcore) looked at Ria and said, "You know, there are other options. You can get an epidural if you want." At that point, Maria was almost unable to speak, but she was still only 3 cm. In essence, she was experiencing the intensity of the kind of labor that happens just before the transition into pushing, but she was not even to 4 cm yet. So she opted for the epidural. Our hope was that with the epidural, not only would it relieve Ria's pain and help her have enough energy to push, but we were praying that the epidural would help Ria relax her body enough to progress.

But I have to say that Maria was amazing. She is really, really tough. She hung in there for 9 1/2 hours before opting for the epidural. Kate (the doula) said that Maria was a real rock star and that if it wasn't for the pitocin, she could have gone through a natural labor with no problem. Inducing just really intensified things.

9:30 pm So the doc came back, and we were praying for some progression. In the first 9 hours, Ria had not progressed but 1 cm. But when the doc checked, we were blown away with what he said,

She's progressed to 6 cm. I bet that she will be at 10 in an hour and ready to start pushing.

Our Response: Wahoo! Zay is coming soon!

10:00 pm We talked with the doc about what would give us the best chance for a vaginal birth and not a C section. He said that Zay's heartbeat had been dropping quite a bit and that unplugging the epidural would give us the best chance for pushing him out without having to go under the knife. So at 10, we unplugged the epidural.

10:30 (ish) The doc came in and Ria started pushing. After 10 minutes or so, he checked Zay's heartbeat (which is pretty low, since he was fully engaged and sort of squished). He decided to stop, take a rest and wait thirty more minutes until Maria felt the urge to push.

10:50 (ish) The doc came back, we got all set up, and Maria started pushing. She pushed 4, maybe 5 times, and Isaiah was out! It was a crazy.

So from 10:30 am - 7:30, Maria only progressed 1 cm, and the doc was talking C section. From 7:30 - 9:30 (after the epidural), Maria jumped to 7 cm, and within an hour of that, she was at 10. Then, out came Zay at 11:05.

So after a long wait, Isaiah is finally here. But bad news: I accidentally packed the cable that connects our camera to the computer with our moving boxes for next weekend. So I can't upload any of our pics just yet. The only ones I have for now are these couple of grainy pics from our camera phones. But don't worry, they're coming soon! Keep an eye on Zay's Blog.

One more Pre-Zay Post

2008-07-10T07:59:00.001-07:00

Well, we got up and went to the hospital this morning. We went to the admissions spot, filled out some paper work and then went up to delivery. When we got to delivery, we met a nurse who said, "Sorry, we had several moms come in last night and our beds are full. I don' think we'll be ready for a couple of hours."

So, here we are back at home for a little while longer. We just went on a little date to Noah's, and now we're just sort of hanging out. Funny thing, on the way back, Maria had a couple of small contractions. So we're still praying (for one more hour) that Maria will go ahead and go into labor on her own. Either way, he's coming soon for sure.

Maria is pretty quiet this morning. I think it's because we had to get up so early, and she hates mornings! Other than the grumpiness, she seems focused and calm.

I, on the other hand, am a nervous chatterbox! I'm 100% positive that I am getting on Maria's nerves. In fact, in the car ride over here, she was like, "Are you going to be okay?" Pretty funny, I'm the one who is supposed to be supporting her through this. Hopefully that will change a little as the day moves on :)

So Isaiah has been late on the day he's supposed to come, and now he's even a couple of hours late on getting induced. I think he takes after his mother already!

So anyway, please keep praying for us. We go back to the hospital around 9 (Cali time).

Baby...tomorrow

2008-07-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting in class listening to a lecture right now. It's a great lecture, but I'm kind of distracted. Maria is scheduled to be induced tomorrow morning. That means we'll be parents like really soon. I'm pretty nervous. I'm praying for Maria and Isaiah to both be healthy. I'm praying for a quick (for Maria's sake!) labor and strength for Maria to be able to endure. And grace that I don't pass out!

So please be in prayer for us. I don't think I'll sleep a wink tonight. But I'm praying that Maria will. I know she's going to need the rest.

Oh, and grandma and grandpa Carr are here! They'll likely be sitting in the waiting room for a long time tomorrow. And by the way, it's been a huge blessing to see people post and for our friends here to encourage and pray for us. Thank you all so much. You've been a great support.

So here we go. We'll see what happens. I doubt I'll be blogging through the labor, so this might be the last update until Zay comes. So until I post again, please be praying for us.

Two Days from Baby

2008-07-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't get a chance to give any updates yesterday. We went to the doctor in the morning, and Maria was only dilated 2 cm. By the way, speaking of 2 cm, my cousin (who is a doctor) joked to my dad the other day that a woman's dilation during labor is the only thing in the US that we use cm to measure. I had never thought about that before. Why is that?

So anyway, there wasn't any real progress, and the doc explained to us that after the due date is passed, the risks to the baby's health and the chance for a for a C-section go up. The risks to the baby are slim for the first week after the due date, but after the first week, the risks increase the longer we wait. So we have an appointment to induce on Thursday morning at 6:30.

Maria is kind of bummed about the prospect of having to induce for a couple of reasons. For one, the doc says that it ups the risk for a C-section. Also, it seems that labor after being induced is a tougher labor than normal. We've been reading about it, and it both causes a different (quicker) progression of labor and more painful contractions (because inducing creates a different type of contraction than natural labor). We get mixed stories from our friends who have been induced, but we don't know anyone who has been induced (except Nana!) who did not end up with an epidural. Maria has been hoping to go natural. But like I said, Nana was induced with her third son (Whitey) and went natural after that. I think she's Ria's biggest inspiration there. I think Nana's a pretty tough woman though (Nana is Ria's mom by the way...for all our Cali friends), and Maria is hoping she'll be able to be as tough.

So that's where we are. We'll be parents by Friday or so for sure.

Please continue to pray for us. We are asking our friends to pray that Zay will decide to come on his own so Ria doesn't have to worry about being induced. But then, if she is induced and needs some more medical intervention, it's not the end of the world. In the end, I'm just desperately asking God that both she and Zay will be safe and healthy. This is where I have to have some faith. It's just one of those things I have absolutely no control over, and I think that makes me (and people in general) somewhat nervous.

Oh, and Maria is home this week! She thought she would have Isaiah by now, so she is already home on maternity leave. She hates sitting around. So to fill her time, she has started cooking for me! I personally think it's a great way to fill her time...hehe. Right now, she's in the kitchen whipping up a big "country" breakfast. W-hoo!

6th of July

2008-07-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

We had kind of a rough night last night, but it was all my fault!

I have been fighting a cold for a week, and every night when I lay down, I start coughing pretty bad. Last night was awful. I have been taking medicine, but nothing has worked so far. We thought maybe it was because the apartment is so so dry from running the air so much. So we turned off the AC last night, and I woke up sweating and coughing because I was so hot! I felt sort of helpless. So I got up at like 2:30 in the morning and sat on the sofa coughing and drinking some mint tea. After an hour of sipping hot tea and breathing in some steam, the cough calmed down enough to get back in bed. I think I'm going to go buy one of those humidifier things today. Maybe that will help.

So Maria didn't sleep well because I was yacking, and we just slept in and didn't go to church. We've already had one phone call from church asking if we are in labor!

No such luck. But we did go for a walk this morning for just over a mile. We're going to spend the day trying to get Zay to come on out. I hope today is the day.

5th of July

2008-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the 4th came and went, and Zay just sat there in his mamma's stomach. Though we were disappointed that another day passed without Isaiah coming, I would say we had a pretty enjoyable 4th of July.

We went to Noah's in the morning for Ria's weekly pizza bagel. Then, we hung around and pretty much finished cleaning the apartment in preparation for Isaiah. Maria is feeling much more relaxed now that the place is fully in order. Around 2:30, we went for a walk in South Pasadena with the Kludts. Actually, Maria did a ton of walking yesterday, hoping Isaiah would be motivated by it. Went to this really cool drug store with a vintage soda fountain and lots of vintage toys and gadgets all over the place. Maria ordered the largest chocolate ice cream thing I have ever seen. We shared it. Afterwards, I was saying, "Oh my goodness, I feel sick." Maria was rubbing her stomach and saying, "Mmm, that was some good chocolate!" Pregnant Maria loves chocolate even more than not-pregnant Maria!

Then we met up with some of our friends in a park for a late afternoon picnic/barbecue. We walked from there to the Rose Bowl to see a pretty ginormous fireworks display. Funny thing, right before the show started, Maria asked if I would walk to the bathroom with her. So we went, but the women's line was twice as long as the men's line and moving half as fast. I went to the bathroom and then joined Ria, but while we waited, the fireworks started! This was probably the biggest show I've seen in person, with a huge variety of fireworks. It lasted for 30 minutes, but Maria and I watched the first 20 from the line at the bathroom!

So it's Saturday, and we're starting all over. Just another day of trying to persuade our son to join us outside of the womb. For all you parents out there, does this mean that he is already stubborn?

July 4

2008-07-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Maria has been convinced that Zay's coming today, but so far, he's not showing any signs of heading out (no pun intended) for Independence Day. We really haven't planned much for today because we know he could come at any moment. Right now I'm doing some homework, and I think we're going to hang out with the Kludts for a bit in South Pas here shortly. If he doesn't come by this afternoon, we're thinking about dropping in on a picnic with some folks from the church plant. If no Zay by tonight, we'll likely hang out with the Kellers.

So we'll see. I'll try to keep the updates coming. Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys the fourth!

Still No Zay

2008-07-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Yep, we're still waiting. Maria is convinced that he is coming tomorrow (on the 4th). I guess we'll see if she's right. If so, I need to finish up some homework that is due Saturday. That is my goal for today. I have a meeting in 15 minutes, and I am working from 2-4:30, so I need to squeeze in homework time in between.

Maria decided to take a day off work today. But as you can probably guess, she's not sitting around watching movies. She wanted to take a day so she can finish cleaning and setting up the apartment. I guess she wasn't satisfied with my progress! Oh well, she's not one for sitting around.

Well, I'm off to the meeting. We'll see what happens.

4 Days past Due Date

2008-07-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

Still waiting.

I have a pretty big class on Monday and Wednesday nights, and I have lots of friends in it. So last night, I had tons of people come up to me and ask, "So? Do we have a baby yet?" Though it's a bummer to keep having to tell everyone we're still waiting, it is really nice to know we have so many friends out here who are thinking about us and who pray for us.

So today is a work day. I'm dropping Ria off at the metro here in about 45 minutes. I'm off to work with my pastor from 9-12 and then I'm back to the tutoring gig from 2-4:30. Then we're having dinner with the new community coordinators on the second floor of our complex. So I don't think I'll get much (if any) school work done today, but I've already posted this week's homework so it should be okay. The good thing is that I will have the car all day today. So I'll be able to get to Maria at any point really (after fighting traffic of course).

Other than that, just waiting on Isaiah.

3 Days Past the Due Date

2008-06-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well, Maria just left for work. Isaiah held out another weekend. Maria thinks he's waiting for the fourth of July. I wonder if that would be confusing for him as a kid. I could see him asking, "Dad, why do they do fireworks every year for my birthday?"

So anyway, thanks for the responses to my question on inducing labor. We're trying a number of different things we've read about, so hopefully something will work. We'll see. I've finished all of my homework assignments for this week, so I feel pretty good about that. I need to get started on an IDL I'm taking. I hope to begin listening to some lectures by tomorrow for that.

Other than that, we're just moving forward. Maria is at work all week, and I will be doing a mixture of school work, work that pays money (yipee!) and a handful of community coordinator tasks I need to get going on.

I'll try to keep the updates comin'.

Updates

2008-06-28T11:04:00.001-07:00

So we went to the doctor this morning. We have some good news and some news that Maria didn't think was so great. First, the good news is that Maria and Zay are both healthy, and everything is looking good. His heart beat is perfect, and he seems to just be hanging out in there.

Now, the news that doesn't make Maria too happy is that the doc says Zay is in no hurry to come out. Maria is still only dilated 1 cm, and he told us that there is no real progress. In his words, "He's not knocking on the door yet." But doc is also considering the due date to be July 3 (though the original date was yesterday...confusing), and he does not want to consider inducing until July 10. We don't want to induce if at all possible though. From what we hear, it's tougher on the mom and the baby during labor, and doc says that it really ups our chances of having to have a C section. So we're praying Zay will come out on his own sometime in the next week or so.

If anyone knows any "tricks" to make babies come on out, just let us know. We'll gladly take the advice!

Oh, and one more thing. I whipped up a quick little blog for Zay so we can post pics after he's born. The link to it is here.

One Day Past Due Date

2008-06-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Zay's due date came and went, and he's still hanging out in Ria's stomach. I guess he's holding out for his birthday! Sorry, that was a weird, corny joke.

So anyway, we hung out with Ria's dad last night. We grilled some steaks here at the apartment, and then we went for a walk in Old Town. Maria is trying to be active to see if we can jump start this whole labor process. We'll see if we can convince Isaiah to get a move on while Jack is still here.

Tonight, more food from the grill of course. Our friends Scott and Melisa are coming by to join us for dinner, and I'm really looking forward to a relaxing evening with friends and family.

So we go to the doctor here in about 40 minutes. We're excited to see what he says and what his predictions are about when Isaiah is going to come. I'll try to update everyone as soon as we get back. But first, I think we will need to run by Noah's and grab Maria's weekly pizza bagel!

Due Date...Today!

2008-06-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Isaiah's due date. Maria said she wants him to come today because she woke this morning feeling rested and confident. Being our first kid, everything is a little uncertain, and we often just don't know what to expect, which can leave both of us a little nervous/anxious. So I guess what Maria meant this morning is that she feels especially confident and excited today. Plus, she would love to have the baby while her dad is in town this weekend. I think that would be kind of cool too. Either way, I'm looking forward to hanging out with Jack for a couple of days. It's always fun to have family and friends out here with us for a bit.

So I am at home now working away on some homework assignments due next week. I want to get them done so I can turn them in and not have to worry about them. I have a full day to get after it with no work or meetings, so I hope I can take advantage of the free day.

So we're just kind of still going through life as usual, but with an unusual sense of expectation, knowing that our whole lives are about to change at any moment. It's funny, my heart stops every time my phone rings! I know that any one of these calls could be The Call.. Well, I'll try to keep everyone updated. But if the updates suddenly stop for a bit, well you know...