New Seminarian: Morning Coffee and a Plea for Restraint

*sip*

Okay. I've been mulling this over for a few months and I think I may have found some sort of solution. Now, what I am about to talk about is generalized and most certainly open to nuance. I welcome that. But I feel like I may be onto something and, well, time to talk about it.

*sip*

I've been guilty of many things in my life, and one of them was that I would shill off a blog response to anything that got me riled up. Be it John Piper, Mark Driscoll, or ... more Mark Driscoll. Because of this, I want to offer a possible method of blogger restraint.

I think instilling a three day waiting period before offering a blogging response is the best way for bloggers to blog. 

* extra long sip*

That's good.

Now where was I?

Oh yes.

I am not saying that reposting data is necessarily the same thing. The recent Gospel Coalition/ SGM sexual abuse scandal is a great example of something that demanded reporting and discussion.

I am, however, wanting to offer bloggers a chance to reflect. Imagine this: being angry is not necessarily a positive or negative emotion. Its a reaction, good or bad, against something. Injustice. Sexism. Et cetera. When we are angry, we can become quite insulated and reactive, prone to acting in anger rather than grace.

I'm not thinking of any one in particular. Know this. I have myself in view here as well.

By the way, if you've not seen much 'controversy' on this blog, that is why. If something makes me angry, I take three days to think it over, mull responses, reap data, drink more coffee...

*sip*

... and do my best to read up on it. Mostly, I want the anger to dissipate. However, if I am still angry after three days, that means something. It means a lot. That lets me know that I've not only taken the time to listen and reflect, but because of that time, my anger hasn't decreased. So it offers a buffer against overreaction. Its a marvelous prophylactic, in my experience.

*sip*

It doesn't have to be this way for you. Probably, you are more instantly reflective than I am. Fair enough. Then proceed as you are. Go with God.

For those of you who are like me, who can get angry and are prepared to tell the world everything, take some time. It isn't about the blog hits. It isn't about starting wars in disqus. It isn't about talking *censored for my mother's sake* on people.

*sip*

Its about listening, reflecting, and being socially responsible. Sometimes this rule can and should be bent. But not for the sake of personal indignation, but for the other. 

I could be way off, and I welcome nuance. This post is a bit pointed in parts, but if you are angry, take some time and let me know. Chances are, I will agree with what you say.

Blessings.

--Nick

Sick Burn Theology

Sick Burn Theology -- : a method, or expression, of putting down anyone who falls outside of your tribe. Usually within the realms of uninvolved social media.

Its something we're all guilty of, especially in the age of faceless opponents. Often, in my case, its very easy to dismiss and condescend to someone you don't know. Rendered in pixels and imager instant backhands, its become sort of a phenomenon. This isn't hindered by Twitter which reduces complexities to something the length of a single sentence.

This can include everyone from myself to you to Mark Driscoll to Brian McLaren. This generally isn't regulated to a single group or tribe. You can sense simmering piety in the words of emergent leaders who talk beyond the fundamentalists, and you would be hard pressed to find a fundamentalist who genuinely cares to listen.

Part of the issue could be accounted for in the millennial controversy (Rachel Held Evans for instance; see Greg Boyd for the general debate). For instance, one wonders if millennials are vindicated in leaving the church, especially when the church is only just beginning to emerge from a post-fundamentalist era. Do we change or die? Or do we just keep things static and horizontal? The answer is elusive and beyond the confines of my research so I will just leave this here to extrapolate later.

Millennials, in reduction, are a generation home-grown on social-interactive media, pixels and sarcasm. Its no secret that twitter is far more popular amongst us and we are singularly the one group that feels the most isolated. What does this have to do with theology, especially the kind I alluded to in the title?

Simply, I do worry that my generation is part of the problem. We've reduced interactions, in some significant part, to putting down the established church. For example, you find fundamentalist pastors who enjoy putting down opponents in their sermons while never actually engaging with their concerns. You also have a decentralized network of post-emergent leaders who thrive off the same sort of condescension, equating cultural shifts with theological necessity.

It is difficult to tell the church why you are leaving when you only have 140 characters. Many of us are at least two characters, maybe more.

So what do we do?

Its easy for those of us not in the neo-puritan movement to write blog posts about Mark Driscoll and John Piper, and it is just as easy for them to throw off some 'sick burns' from the pulpit at unnamed (but obvious) opponents.

So we need a Pope.

Not really.

But I do wonder if "sick burn theology" is simply a fad -- or worse -- a reduction of my generation. Since we tend to proclaim openness and inclusivism and dialogue as major tenants of our faith, why then are we so fractured? Its no secret that I tend to be theological conservative, but most of my conservative friends consider me liberal.

In a polarized culture torn between two extremes, I don't see millennials getting any better at bridging this gap simply because we have no sense of history. We could simply change and be perfect, but in some sense, we might like the conflict. In some ways, it may make us 'morally superior.' In other ways, it just makes us petty. Personally, I've been guilty of both so this is something more for us to reconsider.

Consider this a plea: continue to dialogue in humility with your brothers and sisters within the church. The church has gone from radical abolitionism to Jim Crow to wherever we are now. The church, she is flexible. Us, on the other hand, should drop the 'sick burn' mentality and practice some more yoga.

In short, stop. Just stop. Listen. Breathe. Take a chill pill. Step away from twitter, Facebook and instagram. Avoid reduction and embrace the complexities of life.

And we really need a Pope.

--Nick

Pulse Intrology

It doesn't take much to realize that lines are being drawn and rhetoric has been microwaved to the point of bubbling the plastic. In my experience, such things lead to more unwarranted heat than illumination. So, in my hubris, I asked several friends to contribute to a moving dialogue, shaped by our culture.

The goal is -- frankly -- to illuminate. My original title of this series was "Illuminate" but I didn't want to put off any rappers. Therefore, since this is my generation's attempt at opening Pandora's theological box, I decided Pulse was a more appropriate title. Putting our fingers on what culture says, where the church is going and what is left to us to do.

I will post an essay roughly each week, depending on when they are submitted. The topics will range from homosexuality to how we view the Bible. I've hopefully grabbed enough diverse individuals to more than compensate for varying voices and movements.

For the sake of exonerating myself from any criticism, the opinions expressed on these blog posts may or may not by supported by myself. There. Hands clean.

Look forward to our dialogue.

--Nick

Ten Questions with Micah Murray

Micah Murray, a good friend of mine, recently interviewed me and I decided to return the favor, as it seems a great way to generate some good fun between like-minded writers.And I didn't feel like copying someone's material this evening.

Micah is a good soul, and far wiser than beyond his years. We went through an odd phase where we dished out compliments on twitter before we decided that friendship was a viable option and the rest is history. I highly recommend his blog for those that like a challenge and those that are curious about the diversity within our theological demographic.

And he looks like Bradley Cooper. Seriously. Check it out. The guy has a career in modeling sun screen.

1. Give me the prologue to your life, who were you before we met?

I've taken a circuitous route to get here. It involved growing up in Amish country, attending a KJV-only church, some basketball and volleyball, many years with a very conservative homeschool organization, six months in Africa, a film degree from a Bible college, and falling in love with a redhead. Also, a long slow trek from the bondage of legalism to the freedom of Jesus.

2. How happy are you?

Depends on how recently I've eaten. Also, if I'm around people. I love being around people I know, and that makes me happy. I get lonely very quickly. Also, I'm somewhat of a restless spirit, always wanting to be on the other side of the globe. So sometimes it's hard for me to maintain a good attitude. But usually if I get enough sleep I do okay.

3. Who is your favorite blogger (besides me)?

Christian Piatt, because he makes me think. That guy who writes Experimental Theology, Richard Beck. Tony Jones. My wife, but she only blogs like twice a year. And John Cheese from Cracked, but I can't recommend him because he really likes swear words.

4. Favorite bible verse and why?

That one about Him making everything beautiful in His time, because it got me through some really dark days. Also, all the things John said about how God and love and Jesus are all tangled up together.

5. Ideal evening?

Impromptu grilling of burgers with friends. Cracking some jokes. Talking some serious topics. Staying up way too late.

6. If you could be any super hero, who would you *not* be?

I don't like those super heroes who have super powers. That's lame. Anybody can be a super hero if they have super powers.

7. What do you want to be when you grow up?

A movie director. If not that, a guy who gets payed to talk/write/film. Something that will let me take my kids around the world. Famous on the internet.

8. How has your theology changed or matured in the past year?

I almost gave up on god a few years ago, when I was in college. There were a few weeks where deism looked really attractive. I say "god" because the god I had heard about wasn't the God revealed through Jesus. So the past year has been all the crap getting stripped away that had grown up and choked my faith - the rules, the politics, the petty religious stuff. Instead, realizing that the whole Bible is summed up in two commandments: Love God, love your neighbor.

9. What is the fundamental question that you seek an answer to?

"What's for lunch?"

10. Burgers or ribs?

Without a doubt, burgers. I'm pretty good with words and writing, but I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy burgers. I spent a few years as a waiter at Red Robin, and could down two delicious burgers a day. Not a day goes by that I don't miss that. Also, I love McDonalds. By my own best estimate, I've probably downed over 1000 double cheeseburgers from McDonalds in the past five years. The only good thing about ribs is sometimes God turns them into women.

And with that, enjoy the ensuing conversation with Micah below. Tell him I sent you. He'll blush.

Micah on twitter.
Micah on facebook.
Micah elsewhere.

--Nick