Strange Week

This has been a strange week. We got a pretty good snowstorm Monday night into Tuesday. The 8 or 10 inches of snow wasn't that big of a deal, but the inch solid ice that covered everything was. Luckily we didn't get anything near what they did south of us, but it made for a strange week. The preschool was closed at the church every day but one (Monday), meaning our schedule was completely off. Me being a not real scheduled guy meant I struggled through the entire week. I think I had a bit of depression lingering in too (probably still do). That's a solid family trait so I'm sure it will come around from time to time. More than anything, I think it is an internal anxiety knowing how much our lives are about to change. Within the month now, we'll have the baby. Been there, done it before . . . I think that brings more anxiety instead of putting it to bay. In any case, I haven't gotten nearly what I wanted to get done this week (or probably should have). One of the biggest challenges in ministry is being totally at it alone (know what I mean here, I know God is here, but . . . well, you should get it). It's one of the best parts of it - that side everyone envies, but seldom do those same people acknowledge the difficulty that lies there too. Seldom is there a "right" thing to do. There are several options - some good, others better, and a few wrong, but mostly, the onus is on me. That's burden to carry. Haven't carried it well this week.

Anyway, I noticed I have't posted this week and I am trying to be regular. I appreciate everyone's comments. I have had a couple positive interactions this week from folks that I have met here, furthering reassuring me that this blogging things isn't a total waste of time :-) Due to the weather, I was not able to watch the next installment of the Truth Project. Our church finished with the project Sunday, and I need to go back and watch one episode on the state, one on America, and the final one on community. I'll try to briefly (yeah right) comment about each of the three separately. It seems to have been good for many folks to see some critique of each of the vidoes (though I did miss a few).

I also finished the book Onward Christian Soldiers: Freeing the Gospel from Political Captivity by Charles Marsh. Wasn't my favorite book in the world, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but there were a few places where I thought it was great. He just skipped around and the logic of the book was a little tough for me to follow.

In this book Marsh offers a stinging criticism of evangelicals in this country and the way they have sold out the Gospel for political power. I don't have time to offer a review of the book, but I'll say that it was a solid work and offered critique consistent with other books I have reviewed (see Jesus for President, The Myth of A Christian Nation, Mere Discipleship, et at.) This book differed slightly in that he took on the evangelical priaise for George W. Bush a little more directly. For Marsh, Bush's election marked the pinnacle of evangelicalism's selling out for political gain. He offers direct criticism of Bush's claimed evangelical faith (it was a little uncomfortable to read him being critical of another's faith, but I think he proceeded cautiously, and offered rationale for doing so).

For me, the real profit of this work came in Marsh's second to last chapter on "Passing the International Test." I found it incredibly moving and convicting to see how incredibly America-centric evangelicals in this nation have become. His argument culminates with the inclusion of five pages worth of statements from faith communities around the world standing in opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Brazil, International Movement of Catholic Students, the church of England, Germany, the conference of European Churches, Ghana, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and all Africa . . . and on and on . . . groups, churches, brothers and sisters, who opposed the invasion. And yet, at the height of the invasion, the approval rating for going through with the invasion among evangelicals was an incredible 70 or 80 percent. How could they not consider these voices?

Whatever you think about the war, Marsh offers a challenge for you to see the actions of our nation (this war most specifically) through the eyes of the church of the world - something that I know is sorely missing in my church, in my personal faith, and every faith community I've ever been part of. I must realize that I have more in common with the persecuted believer in Djibouti, than I do with my neighbor who votes the way that I do and who likes the same sports teams. That is an important first step forward in our discussions of faith and politics.

The Truth Project Twice More

We are nearing the end of our small group study of The Truth Project. Last night I watched the second to last installment about the "sphere of labor." I did not get to see the last video about "The American Experiment" but have a pretty good idea of where he was going with it - a place I will be spending a great deal of time arguing against in the coming weeks. Essentially believing that America is a great last hope for the Gospel and we need to continue to try and "save it for God" or bring it back to God or whatever. Anyone reading this who has been here before knows that I especially struggle with such a perspective. I just finished reading Gregory Boyd's book entitled The Myth of a Christian Nation. It is a great pastoral piece written to challenge and make people uncomfortable in dealing with their idolatry of nationalism. This problem is alive and well and way too often has gone unaddressed. I would like to say more about the book as I found it to be a poignant and sharp pastoral treatment of a topic that is all too often left in academia.

However, back to the truth project. I had many misgivings and much reserve in studying this material knowing that it was produced (or at least marketed) by Focus on the Family. I knew there would be some underlying agenda-driven points along the way. It met me squarely with this video on labor. Now, I do applaude the inclusion of this topic in the series. He is right that we too often do not speak of the place of labor in our theological framework. And for the first part of his video I felt he did a fair job of presenting a biblical perspective. Our role in work is rooted in God's working in the Genesis account. God worked. He created us to work. Work is not inherently evil. The Fall did affect work (he states that the text shows it affected the ground, not work itself, which may be a semantical variation, but I don't feel as though he gives enough credance here to the affect the Fall has had - he sure was adament that the Fall had affected our moral capacity in the rest of the series!)

When he moves away from Genesis, however, he begins some hermentuetical gymnastics to make his right wing political ideology fit the Bible. I found his use of the biblical text in this video to be incredibly selective and misleading and incredibly unfortunate. He loves the Old Testament where it talks about leaving behind the gleanings for the poor people to work - to ensure they WORK for their wages. The poor should not be given hand outs. OK, I'm with him there. Systematic rehabilitation is at the core of addressing the complex issues of poor - but little progress will be made by wood-working factories leaving the sawdust for poor people to collect and recycle (the "incredible" example he gives). But here, as throughout this series, he is showing an incredibly myopic and fundamentalist perspective of the text. The Bible says it, I believe it, let's move on. He came across to me as a very well-intentioned (I don't doubt his heart) white, middle class American who has taken little time to sit down accross the table from the impoverished families who are all out of "easy" answers. For Tackett, everything is flat. The poor need jobs; people with money need to make jobs so they will work. If only it was that simple!

This is, to me, one of the most frustrating aspects that frequently surfaces from evangelical Christianity - an utter disregard for the complex sociological and economic factors affecting the world. Please don't take this the wrong way, but there comes a point and time when we need to put our Bibles down and learn from economics, sociology (and all other disciplines) and struggle and wrestle with how this impacts our understanding of the sacred texts. It is like Tackett has been unaware through this entire series how he has been shaped by these disciplines and through his life experience, and instead stamps his perspective as the way.

Unfortunately, his way doesn't consider the fundamental economic program in the Old Testament. I have had disagreements with his teaching throughout the series, but felt as though it served as good discussion. Some of his statements and teachings in this series are downright misleading and un-biblical. I am flabergasted that he would spend 15 minutes of his hour long session on the gleanings passage and NEVER mention jubilee. Jesus reads from the text in Isaiah at the beginning of his ministry in Luke stating that he has come to fulfill this (in their hearing). Israel was intended to be built around the idea of redistrubtion of wealth - something he lists on the screen that the Bible teaches is a SIN! A sin! It is a biblical teaching! I'm not supporting socialism or anything like that . . . my point is that Tackett has allowed his culture to dictate his understanding of the text. The Bible does teach that this is a sin. It actually looks a lot like what the early church did. Jubilee forcefully redistributed the wealth every fifty years. I don't believe that this makes everything easy to understand . . . but if you are going to have a Bible study you CAN'T spend a fourth of your times talking about the gleanings (because that fits into your Republican/Protestant work ethic ideology) and not address the jubilee (because that fits more into a Democratic/liberal sharing of wealth that you don't agree with). Why else would he avoid this teaching? It is even more central to Old Testament theology? And of course he went to the Proverbs to uphold the value of work and all that. There is a lot to be wrestled with here, and he avoids the conflict altogether and instead presents our form of economy as though it is ordained in Scripture - it is not. It may be a better version than most or all other economies . . but it is not presented in the Bible (our economy is totally foreign to the biblical authors).

He makes the same mistake in the New Testament. He rushes to you don't work you don't eat and says . . . See, told you. But totally avoids Jesus' fundamental teachings from the Sermon on the Mount - if someone asks for your tunic, give him your cloak as well. Tackett would say give him a job. Hey that's great . . . but all I've got is a tunic and cloak. His poor use of the Bible in this episode shows that he is not a theologian working outside his field, mistraining those in the ways of his ideology.

He shows his card and the house of cards falls out from under him by a simple and seemingly harmless comment he makes off the cuff and on the side. To completely understand this you'll have to know the general outline that he uses for his teaching. There are great foundations built on the nature and character of God, anthropological insights, supporting pillars of philosophy and others and on top are these spheres: labor, sociology, and others. His premise is that these spheres are the created order set in place by God with a purpose. It is when these spheres overlap into another sphere that sin enters. It sounds great, but it's not biblical. The Bible nowhere lays out some created order that everything follows. This is where modernistic scientific models break down. Sure, there is some good in organizing things this way and it is a helpful way to talk about things that don't get addressed enough. However, you can't draw logical conclusions based on these faulty logic premises. That fails to see them for what they are. They are illustrates for the sake of discussion, not ontologically secure facts.

His comment is that the spheres of government (the state) and labor are different and that jobs can't come from the state. Wait . . . was that John McCain or Dell Tackett. The Bible doesn't say anything about that. He knows that, that's why he quickly moves on, but if you're paying attention, you can't let him get by with that comment. His whole system breaks down if you begin to use it in that way. My postmodern mind was fatigued by trying to follow his thoroughly modernistic approach and application to Scriptures. It furthers my suspicions that The Truth Project is a thoroughly modernistic agent dressed up with some bells and whitles (there was a really well done and cool video at the beginning of this session depicting God's creation), but riddled with the same issues that are being debunked by postmodernity.

In the end, Tackett offers too many answers, and not enough questions in an area that is very challenging and complex. I appreciate his willingness to address the topic, but wish that he would do so acknowledging his biasses.

Reflection from The Shack author, Wm. Paul Young

Last night Mary Beth and I went to hear Paul Young, author of the book everyone has now heard about, The Shack. The church was charging $10 a person to hear him, which was kind of a bummer, but I have to tell you it was totally worth it. You never know what you are going to get when you go to hear an author speak. Most authors make their money by writing and are not dually blessed with the gift of speaking. Young, however, was quick to point out that he is not an author, but became one on accident. He was humorous and engaging throughout.

He took a few questions from the audience about the book (there were probably about 700 or 800 of us there) and then segued into some personal reflections from the book. If you have done research on him, then you probably know a lot of this, but it was all new to me. He had written the book for his children, not intending that anyone else would ever see it. He has six children (I think he said six), and The Shack was a gift to each of them, and some of their close friends, as the result of a long process of Young's travel back toward his shack. The symbolism of The Shack is especially poignant after hearing firsthand its background.

The entire discussion was worthwhile, but I'll try to offer a few random tidbits from the night that I found memorable. If you haven't read the book, I really would suggest it. Very enjoyable and thought provoking - and if you are a Christian, everyone's talking about it, so join the discussion!

The first question of the night was about the name of the Holy Spirit in the book. The origin came from a phone conversation Young had while working in his previous job with someone in India. He asked her for the different names they had for the wind in Hindi. Sarayu seemed perfect - that unexpected but refreshing wind that all of us love (think of a hot day when it is almost unbearable - and then the freshness of the breeze). I thought it was great!

Another asked whether he was concerned with the controversy the book had stirred. Nobly, he answered that rather than disappointed, he was excited by all the discussion the book had stirred. He did note that some of the criticism had gotten personal which he regretted, but the vast majority of it had been the work of God. He told specifically of a women who had emailed him and just railed the book as a "juvenile piece of trash." Young promptly responded by pasting several responses from others who had emailed him responding with thanksgiving for the life it had breathed into their spirituality. The woman responded by asking for his forgiveness.

William Young spoke humbly as a guy whose life's baggage was now out in the open for all to see. He acknowledged that he had created something that was now way bigger than he was, and his role was to sit back and watch God work, something He is clearly doing.

With all of that said, the true highlight of hearing Young speak was gaining valuable insight into where the concept of the shack came from. The book amounts to the closing chapter of the healing process he and his family went through. Young was the overlooked child of missionaries in New Guinea where he grew up in a terrible environment. His perspective was a reminder to me to never neglect your family "for the work of the Lord." Quite the contrary, Young's father treated him harshly and allowed him to be severely molested throughout his childhood by the tribal people. Young tells the story of burying this trauma deep below the surface of perfectionism he constantly kept up through his young life.

He eventually married and his whole life of deception and duality culminated with a three-month affair his wife uncovered, setting off 2 years of hell. His wife was committed to keeping the family together, and so committed to being together and spent the next two years beating Young up emotionally and spiritually. She told him she would never believe anything that came from his mouth again - and who could blame her. The process of counseling was intense and long - he spent 8 months in intensive counseling with a counselor Young believes saved his life. He tells the story of his counselor, whose family life Young knew nothing about because of counselor-patient protection, whose son was addicted to narcotics, accidentally killed his father. This crushed Young to the point he could not go to the funeral.

The two years sped through eleven long years of healing and dealing with the matters of the shack, and finally came around full circle when he received a letter speaking to an incredibly healing a woman had received after her son had inadvertently killed her father. Young knew immediately the similarities were too close for this to not be the same person. He emailed her back and asked for her phone number . . . what an incredibly story of grace! He went on to talk of how his marriage was better than ever (something he said at least 10 times at the close). That the woman with whom he had an affair with had a daughter who was now a close friend of their own daughter and regularly at their home. Again, an incredible story of grace.

It was enjoyable and uplifting to hear the incredible story that now is being told all over the world. Hopefully Christians can focus on that and not let our divisive and obnoxious tendencies prevail as they so often do.

I was drawn to my own shack even deeper through Young's personal testimony. I thanked God then and there I didn't have to endure the journey that he has, and I thanked God that he has delivered him from his. However, it still left me to confront what is in my own shack that so often I want to avoid and change the subject. I continue that journey and need prayers in doing so.

Reflections from The Blue Parakeet

I have kicked off my New Year's reading with Scot McKnight's very interesting book on biblical interpretation: The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking how you read the Bible. The book is built around the metaphor of McKnight seeing a blue parakeet in their back yard at the bird feeder - an escapee pet blue parakeet. McKnight uses the concept of the parakeet to apply to teachings in the Bible that don't "fit."

He begins by asserting all of us are inconsistent in the way we read the Bible. I love the brass tacks approach he takes - direct, yet tactful and humorous. He uses several examples of the ways we are inconsistent with our applications - "We all pick and choose" how to apply the Bible, McKnight states. Whether it's the sabbath, tithing, foot washing, surrendering our possessions, or a host of other contentious issues (ie. abortion, war, homosexuality, etc.), we all pick and choose what we want the Bible to say. I didn't find this statement all that earth-shattering, but he dresses his argument in a palatable way that is difficult to argue.

He asserts our inconsistency, and then provides keys for moving forward in our interpretation of the Bible. Central to his proposal is that the Bible must be understood as fundamentally a story (narrative). Contrary to what many critics have accused, reading the Bible as story is actually more involved and complicated than other options. We have become lazy in our Bible reading. Think about how much more time consuming it is to consider the entire biblical story in framing a text as opposed to taking the text as a tidbit of teaching!

McKnight outlines the narratives in what he calls "wiki-stories" (Creating eikons, cracked eikons, covenant community, Christ (the perfect Eikon) redeems, consumation). He states: "The unity of the Bible is this story. It is this story that puts the Bible together. Our grand systems do not form the unity of the Bible; the story that God tells forms and frames that unity." p. 67. This unity and wiki-stories approach to Scripture is how I have learned to frame all of my teaching and preaching in recent years. It is, as McKnight states, much more complicated and involved, and takes deep committment to the stories.

Next, McKnight explores the relationship between the Christian and the Bible. He wants to clearly affirm that the Bible must not be equated to God. "God gave us this papered Bible to lead us to love his person. But the person and the paper are not the same." p. 87. The Bible is a means to an end . . . and too often we have made it the end. I think McKnight really helps to ground us and remind us what the chief end of the Bible's teaching is in the first place. "Our relationship to the GOd of the BIble is to listen to God so we can love him more deeply and love others more completely." (p. 96).

He brings this all to bear in our every day application of the Bible in the final section addressing interpretion entitled "Discernment." In this section he addresses the matter of consistency and knowing how to "apply" teaching and how to "disregard" teaching. He's not so interested in the specifics invovled at this point, but in the process we go through in determining this. I believe this is the most overlooked step in our churches today. We just right in to the "issues" (women's place, homosexuality, worship battles, ethical quandries, etc.) and we fail to realize that these issues are not the issue. The real issue is discernment. How do we do with the teachings that are there. McKnight goes on to address the matter of women in ministry and leadership for the last third of the book. I have seen some reviewers critical of the amount of time he spends on that issue, but I believe it provides a good case study and makes practical the matters he's laid out in the first sections of the book.

One of McKnight's main points throughout the book is that God has always communicated with people in their ways and in thier days. This requires great discernment and process in bridging the gap between their days and our days and their ways and our ways. I think the following statement is a good summary of what McKnight is working towards:

"What is good for Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Ezra, Jesus, Peter and Paul is also good for us. But, the precise expression of the gospel or the manner of living of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Ezra, Jesus, Peter, and Paul may not b e our expression or our manner of lving. Living our the Bible means living out the Bible in our day in our way by discerning together God would have us live." p. 143.

For what it's worth, I think McKnight is right on in this book. He provides a way forward in a time when we are quickly nearing an impasse in our churches as our hermeneutics prove insufficient for today's cultural challenges and vicissitudes (I like to throw that word in there whenever I can - thanks to Mr. Johnson my high school American history teacher). What he states about women in ministry I believe will be pivotal for churches to understand. It is something that many churches wish to ignore arguing - that's just the way that it is. However, we must begin asking what God is communicating to us today in our way.

McKnight's thesis in this book reminds me of a more evangelical clothed approach that Luke Timothy Johnson sets forth in Scripture and Discernment (I don't think McKnight ever references the work), and Johnson uses as his case study the more difficult issue, for many Christians, of homosexuality. Discernment is not easy and diversity is difficult, however, I hope that Christians will only become more willing to listen to one another and understand one another instead of demonizing and hating one another. The Emergent Village has gone a long way in increasing everyone's presence at the theological table. As the table becomes larger, those sitting there now will be faced with difficult choices and interesting discussions will abound. I believe we are on the cusp of a revival . . . but it will be a revival that looks much differently than previous ones.

I will be beginning a series of posts next week that will be especially challenging for most to grasp. I am preparing a paper for a conference this summer, and in preparation for it, I will be reading several books on the matters of nationalism and the intersection of faith and politics. If you have read much here, you probably have sensed that I have a strong pacifist leaning towards political invovlement coming partly from my tradition (David Lipscomb, Lee Camp) and also some of the ideology I have been exposed to in recent years (Stanley Hauerwas, J.H. Yoder, et al.) This will be a particularly difficult discussion for many to participate in, and even for some to stomach the reading. I won't focus on this topic exclusively, but that will be a major focus of mine through the next several months. [As a side note, I missed the recent video from the Truth Project entitled "The American Project" and from all that I have heard about it, strikes fundamentally against what I will be affirming in my upcoming project. I find it extremely unfortunate that so many Christians have so easily bowed to the idol of nationalism.] I hope you will give me the benefit of the doubt, that you will hear me out, and that you will allow the discernment process to take place, because much of what I will set forth will probably be new to many of your thinking. I hope you find it beneficial and will be prompted to pariticipation. I'll work on not being so verbose in these things . . . I just type . . . type . . . type my little heart out. That's enough. God bless you.

Ringing in the New Year

Now that the holidays are finally over, I have found a few minutes to update the old blog. Actually, I'm avoiding the long list of things I need to get after today in the office, but wanted to get things updated on here. I've had several thoughts of what to post here in the new year, but I figured I'll just offer a few random thoughts. The holiday foray lasts a little longer for the Metzes as we have managed to cram as many significant events in a short amount of time as possible: December 18 we celebrated our 9 year anniversary (even writing it now, doesn't seem possible), December 25 - duh, then the New Year (a.k.a. stay in pjs and watch football all day), and, just to get one more week's worth of planning and festivities in - Clark's birthday is Jan. 7 - Wednesday! So . . . next week EVERYTHING will finally be back to normal. Clark's going to be 4 - amazing.

I thought I might look back at last year and process some of the excitement that was 20o8. Major events seemed to occur on just about all counts:

In the family: there's no doubt our biggest event was finding out we'll be having our third little runt running around (due in about 7 weeks now). Mary Beth and I both felt as though one more baby would complete our family and God has once again been good to us with fertility and, so far, another relatively smooth pregnancy (easy for me to say!) Clementine had a run-in with a pretty nasty infection around her birthday last year that gave us a bit of a run - really our most serious health "crisis" to date - we ended up in urgent care. Other highlights were our trip to Cleveland for our fourth Opening Day event - probably our smoothest to date. Later, in May, we took Clark on the biggest surprise of his life when we watched the Indians get mauled by the Rangers, stayed the night in Cleveland, and then went to Day out with Thomas. (Thomas the Tank Engine rules at our house). I took Clark to his first "official" Ohio State football game (he went to two games when he was just a baby) at the Youngstown St. blowout - the big news of that game was Beanie Wells' injury.

On vacation: We had two great vacations last year. About a year ago we were anticipating our cheap flight down to Miami, FL - thanks to the now bankrupt Skybus airways. We sure are glad we got it when we did. We had a great week spent with our friends in Miami, at the beach, in the everglades, and then capped it off with three great days in Key West. It was a fantastic trip we'll always remember. Mary Beth and I took an early 10 year anniversary trip (a year early, but we're anticipating having trouble finding babysitters for 3 kids this year for our actual 10 years) in Maine. We stayed at a quiet bed and breakfast near Acadia National Park across the harbor from Bar Harbor. We had an amazing trip looking at some of the most incredible scenery I've ever seen. We even made an unexpected, but fortunate, trip to New Brunswick on Campbello Island - a really neat place I would highly recommend to anyone. It was a great week to get away with my wife.

On the job: We had a rather tumultuous year on the job - positive and negative tumults. The year started off with some major challenges as we had to fire my co-minister. He had just started working with us less than a year previous and the situation was never positive. He had misrepresented himself and reaped what he had sown. It was a learning experience for our congregation, our eldership, and, most especially for me. I admired our elders leading us through an especially difficult time and believe that we will be better for having lived through it in the end. However, enduring the process has no doubt tested the patience and faith of our members. Once some time had passed, and after extensive talks with our elders, my role changed a bit in October and we have brought on one of our members in part-time capacity to work alongside me. My title is now Family Life Minister, and while I maintain my focus on teenagers, I also now have an expanded role working alongside my co-minister planning our Sunday events, establishing a leadership framework, and doing whatever else comes along. The situation is a bit of a stretch for some, and I am doing my best to learn as we go each day.

A more exciting reality for our professional lives has been Mary Beth's venture as director of the new Alum Creek Preschool. Her hard year's work has paid off, and the preschool opened in September. It is a part-time program with three teachers and enrollment now around 30 children. The school meets on Mondays - Thursdays from 9:00 - 12:00. It has made our roll at the church even more complex as we now serve as preschool director, preschool parents (Clark is in the 3 year old class), preschool-church liason, and countless other roles.

On a personal level: I hope that 2008 was a year that I have become a better dad, husband, and friend. Those are truly immeasureable roles, and undoubtedly I have grown in areas - and shrank in others! The role as dad becomes increasingly more complicated by the day. Having a third child to be responsible for this year scares me even more! Finding time to be a husband through all of this is even more of a challenge. Through the year, my relationship with Mary Beth is more challenged than anything. We have to work so hard to see each other, and talk, and maintain and actual relationship - being married to the best woman in the world helps me out there alot!

I set personal goals to read more books and I have found time to do that (not having a newborn helped there alot! - we'll see that lag again this year). I also hoped to blog more regularly and I have found 2008 to be better served there as well. I have in the back of my mind plans to work towards my D. Min. degree, but time and finances continue to be an issue. I continue to be interested in Fuller Seminary, but have accepted that to be a far-reaching plan.

I have also continued to work towards becoming a better minister, professionally. Having our children with us, and with the preschool opening, I have Clementine by myself in the mornings, has tested my efforts of time management and organization. I press on and hope to improve in those areas this year. THere is a great need for improvement there. I have maintained relationships with only friend I've met through benevolence at the church this year - he was the first to call me on Christmas morning - and I'd really like to see that area of my life improve as well. I joined the Family Promise board in Delaware looking to open homeless beds in Delaware County - which will be a tenable effort.

The political scene of 2008 has gone a great dinstance in solifiying my pacifist positions. I got a bit sucked into the political season and it led to a time of reconsidering. One of my elders offered me a book that has challenged some of those presuppositions and has helped me think through some of the more challenging aspects of my opinions (thanks, Curt), and it has helped confirm to me much of that perspective. Academically, I feel as though I have grown in that area as much as any. Shane Claiborne & Chris Haw's book Jesus for President helped lead me in that area a great deal. I was most challenged in 2008 by my reading of Miroslav Volf's The End of Memory and have found a new theological mentor. I began Exclusion and Embrace, but will have to eat some more Wheaties and try again this year to really delve into it. The End of Memory really challenged the intersection of practice and theory in dealing with enemies for me. It was just great!

Spiritually, 2008 was a very challenging year. While I found renewed vigor in my academic pursuits, prayerfully and biblically, I continue to wrestle to find peace and quiet and solitude. I feel as though I have had four challenging years re-inventing this all-encompassing area of my life since Clark was born. I do not believe that spirituality is a part of life, but the whole of it, however, part of that spiritual life is maintaining the spiritual disciplines in rooting my faith - and that, frankly, continues to be a struggle. Prayer, especially, is a constant challenge. I continue to recover from the truncated prayer-life I was taught growing up, and the total absence of a family prayer life. Without that example and experience to pull from - leading my own family in that is especially a challenge. Following a friends suggestion, we have recently begun reciting both the Shema and the Lord's Prayer with our children before bed each night. That renewed emphasis has been a breath of fresh air that I hope will spill into my own spiritual fervor. My passion and desire for Scripture is higher than it's been in awhile. I hope in 2009 to find more time to sit and meditate as the Psalmist of the 119 Psalm does. I continue to look for his incredible desire for the Word in my own life. I prayerfully and humbly move on knowing the incredible need for growth in this area.

Well . . . if you've hung on this long reading this post, you've probably seen more about me than you've ever wanted to. A few words on the blog. I again hope to give the Supermetz blog added attention and time as the year procedes. I foresee a major facelift as I glance through some of the new tools available. It has been a neat tool to meet some new people - a few of you I've know for a long time and I appreciate you stopping by regularly to check out the thoughts here. Those of you who are new, I also appreciate whatever common cord I've seem to struck with you. I have added the feature in recent months to better track who visits here and how often they stop by and how they got here, and all that (the series of the Truth Project has added some additional traffic to be sure - I will probably be seeing the final three videos beginning next week, so I'll try to post on those).
I'd also like to see the blog become more dialogue-driven, but I understand the extra time that takes for everyone, so we'll just see what happens. I remain committed to commenting here regularly, as it proves to be theratpeutic for me . . . this post has especially prepared me for the New Year of excitement that awaits. Godspeed to everyone, and may this year be a year of blessings to all!