fluidfaith   ver. 0.4.3

Fluid Faith has moved to a new location 

Yes, I'm still blogging. Or I'm blogging again. Or I'm blogging temporarily.

I guess it's just a matter of how you look at it.

Anyway, the new (not yet improved) Fluid Faith can be found here.

So come on by and see what's new.

More Seminarians Equals
Fewer Preachers? 

Interesting article from the New York Times on the high number of seminary students who do not see themselves as destined for the pulpit.

Across the country, enrollment is up at Protestant seminaries, but a shrinking portion of the graduates will ascend the pulpit. These seminarians, particularly the young ones, are less interested in making a career of religion than in taking their religion into other careers.

Only about half of those graduating with a Master in Divinity now enter parish ministry, Mr. Aleshire said. The portion has fallen sharply in a generation, he said, and declined 10 to 15 percentage points in the last five years alone.

Something is going on here. These bright, capable minds are seeking out theological training and reflecting deeply on the way their faith should be lived out in the present world. But they do not see that as a preparation for employment in the established church realities.

I have friends who are graduate students of theology and ministry but express the same sorts of reservations. They may see themselves as ministers in a way, but they are not at all inclined toward professional training for a ministry life inside the dominant church culture.

They might be church planters.

They might work in efforts of justice and economic development among the world's poorest citizens.

They might end up as servants of God living in Christian vocation as teachers, counselors, or public servants.

But they cannot see a fit between where they are and the life of establishment ministry.

Is this a cause for concern? Or a reason for hope?

World Water Day 2006 

Today is World Water Day.

I know what you're thinking. "Water has a DAY?" Mothers get a day. Fathers, too. Columbus gets a day. So does Martin Luther King Jr. Saints Valentine and Patrick have a day. Secretaries, er, um ... Administrative Assistants, Grandparents, Ghosts and Goblins. And oh my, does Nationalism and Independence have a day!

So, why in the world does Water need a DAY?

Well, I figure if the greeting card companies, candy companies, florists, and governments can give us a long litany of holidays, memorials, and mindless party days, surely one of the most basic units of human sustenance deserves a day, too.

So, in recognition of World Water Day 2006, here are a few important facts for you:

-- Nearly 1.1 billion (with a 'B', people!) lack access to safe drinking water
-- The lack of clean water kills almost 4500 children every day!
-- There were 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths in 2004 and 90% of those were children under age 5.

But here's the biggest factoid of the day:

Consumers in the USA and other developed industrialized nations spend an estimated $100 billion every year on Bottled Water! Wait, there's more. The world's drinking water crisis could be cut in half over the next decade just by spending $30 billion each year. That's right, for 30% of what we spend unnecessarily on bottled water we could ensure a supply of drinkable water for more than half of those who presently do without.

We have perfectly good, drinkable, clean tap water available everywhere we go. But we wastefully purchase bottled water which has been shipped needlessly from some other place while nearly one-fifth of the world's population is compelled to drink unsafe water. And apparently in some cases that wonderfully tasty water we drink from plastic bottles has been extracted from various "exotic" locales so that even those local communities and villages risk running out of good water because of the practices of water bottlers like Coca-Cola's Dasani brand.

So, forget Columbus and St. Patrick. I say, "Happy World Water Day!" Now, let's do something about it. I suggest we start by taking some of the money we spend on bottle water ... or bridges to nowhere ... or perhaps pre-emptive military invasions and invest in solving one of the world's greatest humanitarian crises.

As a Christian who has grown up among conservative believers I've been part of a segment of this country that has often staked out a significant political position on defending a "right to life." But what exactly is a "right to life?" Are unborn children in the US more entitled to this right than the tiny malnourished and endangered children of the developing world who have no water? Water! It's one of the Big Three! Air, Water, Food. They could have clean water, if only we had the will to bring it to them. I'll close with a quote for you to consider:

"There is some hope, I think, in the idea of the commonwealth, which seems to acknowledge than we all have a common interest or share in the land, an interest that precedes our interest in private property. Of the precedence of our share in the common wealth the best evidence is that we share also a common health; the two, in fact, are inseparable. If we have the "right to life," as we have always supposed, then that right must stand upon the further right to air, water, food, clothing, and shelter." :: Wendell Berry, "Private Property and the Common Wealth"

What exactly is a right to life without water? They are indeed inseparable.

So even while some are so active in defending the right to life, I have to wonder if we are not guilty of infanticide by neglect.

Contentment 

C o n t e n t m e n t.

Ann Coulter is just like the rest of us 

Reader's Guide: This post should not be read as a "See, I told you so."
______________

Ann Coulter had an appearance Thursday night at Philander Smith College -- a private christian college in central Arkansas -- at which she reportedly joked about liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens: "We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee."

There you have it: brutality masquerading as wit. In a world of violence and anger we often encounter viciousness disguised as political discourse, vengeance as self-defense, and open war as defense of freedom.

But really, Ann Coulter is not the problem; she is simply a troubling symptom of a much larger problem, one which goes deep into each of our hearts. A pernicious streak of violence runs through our collective way of life, one in which we all are perpetrators and our world is the victim. The ways in which we participate in such violence should be obvious to us; that it is not obvious is just another symptom of our disease.

When we buy their books, listen to their radio programs, pay their speaking fees, or attend their speeches we are granting an audience to such violent speech and giving it the credibility and currency of our presence. In a media-culture economy that seeks to quanitify every person as a rating point, book-buyer, conference-attendee or some other unit of consumption, our viewing eyes, listening ears or seat-filling bodies are not simply passive receivers of what is being said.

Every cheer and jeer, every angry epithet hurled from either side contributes to the culture of violence and to the fame of those who incite it. And it is Fame which is fuel for the fire, the oxygen which keeps it burning. Fame is the supply train for the army of ideologues who would gladly dominate our world with their 'Truth' by winning an open war with other ideologues who also threaten to dominate our world with their 'Truth.'

I believe that we should not abandon ourselves to a world of violence and retribution. And yet, we do. Often. And in so doing we lose our way, neglecting the path of peace to which we were called. Unwittingly and unreflectively, we become complicit in the violence which surrounds us. Don't we?

-- When we dehumanize our enemies or torture the detainee don't we debase ourselves as well?

-- When we cast our vote to elect a President who vows to kill in our name (which I will remind you was BOTH of the major party candidates in the 2004 election), haven't we committed ourselves to his path, perhaps even prostrated ourselves before the throne of vengeance?

-- When we build our wealth on the labor of those who cannot sue for wages don't we join in the global oppression of the poor and participate in the violent injustice which uses the powerlessness of the weak to increase the economic power of the strong?

You see, Ann Coulter is in many ways just like the rest of us; her violent speech is merely emblematic of the sins which engulf us all in this empire of wealth, profit, and power.

I believe that as followers of Jesus, we should no sooner participate in the abusive speech of political punditry than we should oppress the poor, do violence to our enemy or take revenge on those who do us harm. But since we are so frequently engaged in or complicit in these latter sins, it should not surprise us that we so easily tolerate the former.

As I've mentioned before, I live very near to the campus of a private christian college in central Arkansas -- my alma mater, Harding University -- that first invited and then uninvited Ms. Coulter to speak as part of a university lecture series. It was big news; I won't rehash it here.

But in the end, I'm quite glad (even grateful!) that such things will not be spoken this semester from the stage of this valuable christian institution. (Reader's Guide, pt. 2: This post can be read as "Whew! That was a close one!")

Resisting the opportunity to promote this way of speaking, refusing to lend our ears and the credibility of our presense to these ideological 'truths' -- this is an important first step in resisting the violence of our age.

After that comes a second step which is more difficult by far.

To persuade our institutions (colleges and churches) and our theologians, ministers, professors and thinkers to assist us in the birthing of a new way of thinking about our world.

To imagine and practice a politics and economics of resistance against the consumptive, exploitive, violent ways which dominate our existence.

To recognize "the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you to the truth." To name that blindness and live as a people who see "with and not through the eye."

To live in solidarity with the world's poorest citizens and to refuse every opporuntity we are given to profit by exploiting them. To abhor violence and seek true reconciliation at every turn even if doing so has disastrous results for our own wealth, position or power.

Of course, what I'm suggesting will almost certainly not increase the Endowments of our colleges or the offerings in our churches. But it just might help to form us as the people of God committed to the redemption, reconciliation, and justice we find revealed in Jesus our Lord.

It's Official: I hate the mouse 

Question of the day: How did I ever get by without knowing keyboard shortcuts? A recent conversation with my brother about the greatness of Firefox led to further conversation about keyboard shortcuts and other really great aspects of keyboard functionality. First, I started using URL aliases in Firefox, then the typeaheadfind feature, then gmail keyboard shortcuts.

I've come to the point where I simply Hate My Mouse!! Not hate my mouse in that ergonomic/stylistic way based on how it feels in the hand or glides on the surface or looks on the desktop. No, I mean I dislike the very functionality of the mouse. I hate moving my arm over to find it and click a drop-down menu. I hate trying to keep it out of the way of papers and books I'm using on my desk. I hate using it almost any time.

It just simply seems too far away from the place where my hands are already working. My hands are here -- typing. The mouse is way over there -- sitting, mocking me:

"Here's Mousy! You're gonna have to use me sometime. Pretty soon, you'll have to stick a label on that piece of Gmail. And you'll be needing me then! And I'll be right here waiting."

In the end it seems I have very little choice. Some applications just simply require a pointing device of some sort. But if any of those great Web 2.0 developers are out there listening, I'm begging you: More Keyboard Shortcuts!!

Here Kitty, Kitty 

I have to wonder what my friend Mike Cope would think of this. At the risk of calling out the world's most prominent Church of Christ blogger, I present to you one of history's great theological conundrums:

Who's Your Favorite Cat: Aslan or Hobbes?

Clearly, this is a difficult question (for some more than others) and demands assessment by our most gifted and astute theological minds. Especially those who are committed to the deep theological truths contained in comic strips. And most importantly, those preachers and theologians who have an avowed allegiance to Calvin's indefatigable, tummy rub-loving tiger!

Of course, the humorous question raised by this CT article -- A Tale of Two Kitties -- leads directly to some more serious reflection on the nature of communication, the relationship between message and medium, and the unmitigated commercialization of our age. The writer draws some really significant contrasts between choices made by the creator of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and the producers/distributors/marketers of the recent Narnia film.

It's a worthwhile read and a set of questions worth considering. It makes me wonder what C.S. Lewis might have thought.

As for me, I think I'll have to vote for Hobbes.

Faster, Faster! Learn More! Hurry! 

I was born into a christian family. Went to church on my third day of life. Spent almost every Sunday of my childhood in Sunday School. Had a Bible in my hands at the earliest of ages and always seemed to have a one that fit the ongoing development of my faith. In other words, I've pretty much always been a part of a christian family/church/world and had the Bible near the center of my existence for all that time.

And yet, surprisingly, in all those years it never once occurred to me that I should try to read the Bible in Ninety Days. Hard as it might be to imagine, I have never stopped to ponder the potential value or feasibility of a ninety-day Bible reading program. Just never crossed my mind.

Until this weekend, that is, when I found out that the church we've been attending was encouraging everyone to participate in a ninety-day Bible reading plan. Of course, as a person who never even paused to consider reading the Bible while brushing my teeth, I'm quite uncertain how to begin such a daunting task.

But good news! Reading the Bible like it's the HOV lane on the highway to heaven is far simpler than you'd think. And the folks at Zondervan have it all mapped out for you in their specially designed Bible-in-90-Days program. Of course, I know what you're thinking: my regular Bible -- you know, the one of long liturgical usage and leather-bound heritage (several translations of which are in the public domain) -- doesn't really come readily divided into 90 convenient chapters.

Well, Zondervan has good news for you, too! That's right, for only $20 you can get the specially designed Bible in 90 Days(TM) version of the sacred 1900 year-old text.

Or, if you're really committed to getting the most from this exercise -- those of you who always wished for spiritual guidance under the tutelage of Evelyn Wood -- you can purchase the whole Bible in 90 Days Curriculum Kit for a completely disposable $79. The kit includes everything a growing speed disciple needs (participant guide, DVD curriculum, and Bible).

The website (which is also specially designed to help you get the most from this experience) includes a special 90 Days Challenge from the Bible's "creator." You can read the challenge here. It promises that "something just happens to you when you do this."

Now that I think about it I can suddenly imagine all the things I've been missing all these years when I wasn't reading the Bible in 90 Days(TM). And I'm a little upset with my mom and dad, my professors, my christian mentors, and a whole bunch of other people for denying me the opportunity to have something happen in my life by not teaching me how to read the Bible in 90 Days(TM)!

In fact, I sort of feel bad for all those believers who followed the teachings of the Bible during the past 2000 years and never had something just happen to them. And I think especially how hard it must've been for those very early believers who had to endure that terribly long and spiritually unproductive period in which the Bible was being written, copied, debated, and canonized.

For the New Testament that took about 109,500 days. If only they could've read the Bible faster, Christianity might've made a real difference in the world during those first 300 years.

Friends, we're missing something in all this. But what we're missing is NOT the great blessing of reading the Bible in 90 Days(TM). And until we begin to see through these kinds of faux need/benefit marketing, we'll continue to miss out on the simple pleasures of living in this world as followers of Jesus. We'll keep looking for the Faster Easier Life-Change Special Plan for Believers Who Don't Have Enough Time to Talk to their Kids and dropping another $20 for the product and promises they offer.

If somebody ever figures out how to put the Bible into a capsule, food additive, or communion wafer, you can bet there will be a company ready to sell it and churches and christians lining up to buy it and consume it.

Meanwhile, Jesus stands by the shore -- with "no purse, no bag" in his hands, "no place to lay his head," no market to sell his wares -- and says simply, "Come, follow me." Sounds like that might take awhile.

Where's Waldo?
the christian metaphor edition 

Quick! Go read this brief article about Ants and Food in the Tech/Sci dept. at CNN.com

Then, we can play a game together. Okay kids?

I think there might be a useful analogy to Christian faith embedded in this article. Can you find it?

Leave your response in the comments section.

Oh wait! Unlike Waldo games, with our little search there is no inherent value in finding the metaphor.

The only value is in LIVING the metaphor!

The Art of the Coffee Maker 

From the 'Oooh! Let's Tell a Story about My Wife (and see if I can stay out of trouble while doing it)' File:

Angela (who never drinks coffee!) got me a new coffee maker. I think the old one was our original, first-married coffee maker...no wait, our first one was REALLY minimal (and broke within a couple of years)...so this was our second one.

Anyway, she got a new one this week, even though she never drinks coffee. I came home one afternoon and it's just sitting there on the counter. The kind with a thermal carafe instead of a heating element. All black and silvery, kinda like the oven and the dishwasher and the toaster oven. Nice, I guess. No big deal really. The other one was doing a fine job for a ten or twelve year-old Mr. Coffee.

But you wanna know why she got it?

For me? NO.

She got it for herself. (Did I mention that she never drinks coffee?) Because lately I've been drinking more coffee at home, which meant the old (i.e. 'ugly') coffee maker was constantly sitting on the kitchen counter instead of hiding in the pantry where it typically has been. So she got something that would look nicer on her counter.

This is the woman I married. Just so we're all clear here: I'm not complaining at all! In fact, there is a whole lot about this story that I like because it reminds me of some of the things I really like about my wife. One of which is that she cares very much how our home looks and functions. Neat is the order of the day. Which it wouldn't be if I was actually in charge, because ... well, I'm a bit of a slob.

The other part of the story I like is where she found a coffee maker she could have on the counter and didn't spend too much money to get it.

Oh, and this part too... I now have a coffee maker (for the first time in my life) with a clock and timer on it! This is really kinda cool because -- and maybe some of you didn't know this -- you can actually set the machine at night before you go to bed so that there will be coffee already made when you get up in the morning. Brilliant!!

What's next? A TV with a remote control?