a yet more glorious day

I've had some blessed conversations, both public and private, over the past few weeks, and I need to be a bit more disciplined about writing things down. It's a busy season, despite the 90+ degree July heat, and the words of "For All the Saints" have been a continual encouragement. A couple verses that seem appropriate for summer's fits and starts:

The golden evening
brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful
warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm
of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Allelu... 

But lo! There breaks
a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant
rise in bright array;
The King of glory
passes on his way,
Alleluia, Allelu...

This hymn reminds me of the powerful imagery in Over the Rhine's "The Trumpet Child" (lyrics below) and the complete totality of the eschaton. Our pastor has been preaching in Romans and encouraging us to remember that "the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." Our adoption as sons means the "redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:18-25). Amen.

The Trumpet Child

The trumpet child will blow his horn
Will blast the sky till it’s reborn
With Gabriel’s power and Satchmo’s grace
He will surprise the human race

The trumpet he will use to blow
Is being fashioned out of fire
The mouthpiece is a glowing coal
The bell a burst of wild desire

The trumpet child will riff on love
Thelonious notes from up above
He’ll improvise a kingdom come
Accompanied by a different drum

The trumpet child will banquet here
Until the lost are truly found
A thousand days, a thousand years
Nobody knows for sure how long

The rich forget about their gold
The meek and mild are strangely bold
A lion lies beside a lamb
And licks a murderer’s outstretched hand

The trumpet child will lift a glass
His bride now leaning in at last
His final aim to fill with joy
The earth that man all but destroyed

new rhythms

About three weeks ago, I switched to half-time at work. I’m now working remotely and putting in about 20-25 hours a week editing, abstracting, and prepping web content. And I gleefully gave back the Blackberry. So far, it’s just lovely. But I don’t take it lightly.

This change is the result of about a year of reflection in our household, six months of conversations with my supervisors, and a commitment to try our best to flourish in our fast-paced environment. We’d like to stay in the D.C. area for more than the typical two years, and that’s going to take a lot of intentionality (I know, I’m not supposed to use that word) and investing in our home and community rather than our work. I’m praying for wisdom about how to best use my “free” time and how to balance my husband’s 12-14 hour days as an attorney.

So far, it’s been filled with (in no particular order): a new church committee, a garden, a car accident (no one was hurt), unrelated car maintenance, roller coasters, splashing in the pool with some toddler friends, a little more reading, and “The Bachelorette.” Oh, and the two bridal showers. How am I doing?

how do you do church?

As we’ve become more involved at our new church here (an Anglican church plant), I have thought about how different churches emphasize different things about their mission and operation. The following thought from Tim Keller really crystallizes the concerns facing many evangelicals who are dissatisfied with certain church models … but Keller also offers a hopeful, appreciative way forward in the “church-model wars.” He says,

“John Frame's 'tri-perspectivalism' helps me understand Willow. The Willow Creek style churches have a 'kingly' emphasis on leadership, strategic thinking, and wise administration. The danger there is that the mechanical obscures how organic and spontaneous church life can be. The Reformed churches have a 'prophetic' emphasis on preaching, teaching, and doctrine. The danger there is that we can have a naïve and unBiblical view that, if we just expound the Word faithfully, everything else in the church—leader development, community building, stewardship of resources, unified vision—will just happen by themselves. The emerging churches have a 'priestly' emphasis on community, liturgy and sacraments, service and justice. The danger there is to view 'community' as the magic bullet in the same way Reformed people view preaching.

“By thinking in this way, it makes it possible for me to love and appreciate the best representatives of each of these contemporary evangelical 'traditions.'”

Our church here is really strong on the “priestly” points: community, liturgy, sacraments, service, and justice. But we also have strong preaching (which healthfully drives those activities forward) and volunteers who keep us organized!

fall-ing

September is determined to put an end to summer. There was a nip-in-the-air when the local kids went back to school, and I cheerfully donned a jacket and scarf for the morning commute. Fall has always been my favorite season, and if it comes early that is fine by me. With it comes the realization that we are still here in Arlington. We’ve survived an entire season (both real and metaphorical) and we really live here now. There will be only two Saturday football games – not six or seven. Wes won’t have law school classes to attend or exams to take. I won’t change jobs, as I’ve done every year to mimic the academic calendar. There will still be fellowship groups and potlucks and dinner parties. Yet all the faces will change.

This reflection on late summer from a former college newspaper colleague (I really recommend his blog!) helped me bid summer farewell. But I’m still looking for a perfect tomato.

week-end-ing

This reflection is an antidote to my previous post:

We’ve settled in to a bit of a weekend routine, and it’s my favorite time to be out and about in the neighborhood. I’ve walked up and down our high-rise-ridden avenue, and out away from the traffic through quiet, tree-lined streets with tidy brick colonials and bungalows. We had a few friends over for a relaxed Saturday lunch and dipped our feet in the pool across the street. They brought a blueberry pie.

Our new church meets in the evenings on Sunday, and I really enjoy being home in the morning. It’s the only day out of seven that I can ease into. After a quiet day, it seems natural to close the weekend in worship and fellowship, and to go out into the week reminded of God’s active grace.

welcome wagon

We’ve undertaken some proverbial church-hopping during our first 3 weeks here in Arlington, and we have been blown away by the hospitality and welcoming spirit of Christians in the city. It’s confirmed for us the benefits of smaller churches, where newcomers are (hopefully!) instantly recognized and greeted. The downside is that we now feel attached to several wonderful congregations.

We’ll do our best not to over-analyze the process and to trust the Lord that he will bless us with good teaching and strong community wherever we go. And we’ll keep telling new acquaintances about the little church we left behind in Iowa.

chesterton at long last

I know, I know. I should have read “Orthodoxy” ages ago. Well, I finally did. And I plan to again. My church group has been discussing postmodernism, absolutes, and politically-correct language about truth. Here’s a quote you may have seen before:

“But what we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed.”

how does your garden grow?

Spring is coming (almost) and some recent reading dovetailed nicely with the soon-to-be season. Nate Jones, a friend from college, wrote a book review/reflection on “gardening in the cracks” for the latest issue of Books & Culture. He argues that we need a “theology of gardening.” (My good friend Michelle reminds me we need a theology for everything.) An excerpt:

“Any theology of gardening must be first a project of recovery, exploring the place of the earth in the biblical narrative and the story of God’s people upon the land … we have too often regarded the land as essentially an object of production rather than a creation.”

Barbara Kingsolver makes a similar point about “land as object” in her 2007 book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I could write 1,000 words on my mixed feelings about this memoir, but overall I’m interested. The book helped me ask: How have I lost a connection to what I eat every day? Nate’s article helped me ask: What cultural attitudes about food and land do Christians have that we might have just adopted without thinking about it? I know this discussion ties into the larger evangelical turn toward environmentalism – and I like the moniker “creation care.” In terms of daily life, though, let’s face it: I’m looking for good food. And sharing it is the best part!

culture making

I recently finished "Culture Making" by Andy Crouch, and it left a little of itself behind after I returned it to the library. There's a lot to reflect on in this book.

byFaith magazine (A PCA publication) interviewed Crouch for their latest issue. His responses provided a great distillation of the book's themes, though the interview focused more on his critique of current "Christian culture" and not as much on the positive, biblical vision he set forth for cultivating and creating culture in our communities.

I can't find the interview online, but Crouch discusses a "sense of dissatisfaction, not just with the political strategy [of evangelicals], but with the subculture strategy--the strategy of creating culture by and for Christians rather than out in the public marketplace, for our neighbors whether they're Christians or not."

I think this is what makes so many Christians eschew the label "evangelical." It has so many bad political and cultural connotations. Crouch offers a helpful way forward, centered on examining our posture toward culture. I need to think of more ways to cultivate and create culture, not just critique and consume it. Ideas?

seek the city

Jeremiah 29:5, 7
“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce … seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

I’ve been considering this verse as we prepare to live in/around Washington, DC, because it’s a city preoccupied with national policies, international events, and just power in general. The city itself seems secondary, and a lot of its residents are just passing through. What will it mean to “seek the welfare of the city” there? What will it mean in the context of a church community?

This interview offers some good thoughts on the church engaging city leaders, instead of being set 'against' local government.

I also like the part of the verse about planting gardens and eating their produce. Scrappy backyard, please!