charlieDEAN’S Blog

A couple of months ago our office computers were upgraded to Windows Office XP. One of the features of XP is that new, incoming email messages show up on your monitor, no matter what application you are doing. After a few seconds (maybe 5), it disappears.

So I was reading either Reader’s Digest or Newsweek (I don’t remember which), and there was a report that people who constantly monitor email are less productive than people who are stoned.

Just found this amusing…

Okay…recent posts have gotten a little heavy, so here’s my inner sci-fi nerd expressing himself. Last week I got my tickets to opening night (errr, morning — 12:01 am) for the new Star Wars movie. Frankly, I don’t care if critics think it sucks and I don’t care if the uber-geeks don’t like it. I was introduced to Star Wars…well I don’t remember when, it’s just always been part of my life. I do remember seeing Empire Strikes Back at a drive-in. My dad has always been a Star Wars/Star Trek/Planet of the Apes fan and so he introduced me to the genre shortly after I learned to walk!

Anyway, here’s the deal. I love Star Wars. I don’t care if it’s not realistic and if the dialogue is weak and if there are some minor holes in the plot. What I want to say to some people, is “CHILL OUT! Sit back, relax, and enjoy it for what it is! It’s not the answer to the world’s problems, it’s not trying to get an Academy Award for best acting.” So to all my fellow nerds, who will be standing in line to get good seats…enjoy, and don’t over-think it!

ps…Jennifer and I have tickets to the 12:01 showing at The Rave, in auditorium 17, if those of you in the Peoria-area want to join us!

This verse jumped off the page at me this morning and reminded about something that I’ve been processing, namely the whole idea of what it means to be a “mature” Christian. First off, I think that we all, at first blush, want to consider ourselves “mature.” I mean, have you ever heard anyone say, “I’m immature for my age.” Of course not! Almost everyone, at some point in their lives, says, “People tell me that I’m mature for my age.” Instead of seeing immaturity as something that is a phase and a plcae that we should learn from, we see it as inferior, or second-class, or something.

When it comes to spirituality, I think it’s the same deal. We all want to consider ourselves as mature when in reality we’re probably not…especially as a 31-year old, what right do I have to claim maturity for myself? So, as I read this passage two thoughts struck me.

One, I’m grateful for the mature Christians in my life that have patiently resisted the urge to argue with some of the stupid ideas that I’ve proposed in my immaturity!

Two, related to the first, it confirmed for me the importance of having relationships with people where I put myself in the learner’s seat. It’s easy to always see myself as mature and therefore in the position of teacher, but in reality I probably ought to be the Padawan more often than I am the Jedi Master (Star Wars geek talk!)

Three, I was challenged between my role as a pastor - to challenge and introduce new ideas — and my role as a Christian in light of Romans 14, to avoid arguments. (I’m out of time, or I’d write more)

Early this morning I finished reading A Widow for One Year by John Irving. I was moved and awed again by his remarkable talent (see previous posts). Anyway, it led me to start thinking about fiction and particularly Christian fiction (actually the thoughts started yesterday in our bookstore, where Katie and I had a discussion regarding a new novel by Frank Peretti.)

Here’s my question…do “the rules” of Christian publishing work against the development of good Christian literature? When I say “the rules,” here what I mean. In my limited experience with Christian fiction, there seem to be certain rules, such as the book must deal with “Christian idea,” or that the hero or heroine must be or become a Christian in the course of the novel and that even if they are shaken at some point, there will be a resolution in which everything will be righted.

However, when I read the kind of literature that gets me excited, the characters are almost never as simplistic as they are in Christian novels — they’re twisted and screwed up and complicated and often, in the end, while the plot resolves, the character may not be better off, in fact, sometimes they’re worse off for their adventure.

So here’s what I’m asking — do ya think it would be possible to have a publishing house that publishes great literature, just because it is quality, and don’t ya think that God is in some way honored when a writer creates something of beauty, regardless of whether or not everyone gets “saved” in the end?

WARNING: Here Comes the Cynicism — I guess though, that really the Christian publishing industry is like every industry in that the bottom line is making profits, and in the end, it’s more profitable to publish formulaic, sappy novels for 30-something year old females than to publish literature that would be stimulating and controversial.

Two of my colleagues were talking about a conference they attended earlier in the week about small groups and community life. In the context of some other thoughts, they told a story about a church in Texas where several families had chosen to pass up job transfers that would have meant $15-20,000 pay increases, in order to stay in the city they were living in because they felt like God was doing a work there and was using them in a way that they didn’t want to walk away from. (Actually, I guess the point is, it had nothing to do with their “wants” but that they felt compelled.)

You know, when I chose the land that we built our house on, I chose it because I liked it. I chose it becuase of its proximity to a state park, to Peoria, and to my job. Honestly, I don’t ever remember thinking about my location and kingdom impact. (Now, to be fair, I think God has us in the perfect place for us, surrounded by other young families…but that’s got more to do with God than it has to do with my desire to seek out the best place.)

I guess the reason I’m posting this, is that it gives me a lot of hope — that there are Christians out there who will choose hard things for the sake of the kingdom of heaven over the kingdom of the american dream. I’m not saying that we never move, or that our decisions never benefit us in some way, but I guess I wish that there were more people (myself included) who really take seriously what it means to be citizens of heaven living in a foreign land.

ps. I think in general, most pastors are unbelievably hypocritical in this arena. On one hand they get upset that parishioners that move away or switch churches, and yet most pastors move every couple of years. I think we move more than ever in the history of the world, and yet we probably also feel less connected to our fellow human beings than ever before, and yet we continue to sell our souls for the sake of the American Dream…what does that say about us?

If this post steps on anyone’s toes, I’m sorry…I don’t mean to be a jerk, it’s just what I was thinking about.

If you’re a Cubs fan, or even just a fan of baseball, check of George Will’s article in the April 25, 2005 issue of Newsweek. It’s about how, even though baseball has been tainted in recent year by the steroid abuse scandals, Greg Maddux, as a pitcher, has been up some spectacular numbers. Here’s my favorite part of the article:
“And the key to his [Maddux] success has been less the speed of his arm than that of his mind…Leading 8-0 in a regular-season game against the Astors, Maddux threw what he said he would never throw to Jeff Bagwell — a fastball in. Bagwell did what Maddux wanted him to do: he homered. so two weeks later, when Maddux was facing Bagwell in a close game, Bagwell was looking for a fastball in, and Maddux fanned him on a change-up away.”

I love the idea of living to fight another day…great article!

I was reading Newsweek last night before I went to bed and I was bothered by what I perceive as a growing trend. In four unrelated articles (one on the status of the judiciary, one on Bill Frist, one on pharmacists who won’t fill prescriptions for the “morning after” pill, and one on Republicans and their partnership with the credit card industry) there were some remarks made about Christians — particularly “Evangelicals” — that I personally found disturbing. Here’s a sample:

Now, says Family Research Council [a conservative Christian group] president Tony Perkins, the issue of judges is so important to his members that it’s replaced gay marriage at the top of his agenda.”

He [Bill Frist, Senate majority leader] and his aides thought they had found a politically surgical way for him to participate in a nationally televised prayer service with fervent religious conservatives at a megachurch in Louisville, Ky., next Sunday. The topic: the need to ease the Senate filibuster debate rule so that the Republican majority can confirm President George W. Bush’s most controversial judicial nominations.”

In the Senate, one amendment would have protected those declaring bankruptcy for medical reasons. Another capped interest at 30 percent, which is usury by any standard. Both failed. Although the Bible clearly bars usury, all of the big congressional Bible thumpers sided with their corperate contributors.

I guess what was gnawing at me last night is how Christianity seems to becoming more and more of an ideology or political stance rather than a lifestyle committed to following Jesus. I understand the argument of those who say that Christians need to involve themselves in the public square, but if we do so at the expense of losing the ability to talk to people about things that really matter, we lose.
One of my friends was saying that she read on The Ooze, that in a Barna poll of various people-groups, evangelicals were considered only higher than prostitutes (less popular than lawyers!) I guess that I’m concerned that when people look at evangelicals they’re tripping over their conservative politics and are never hearing the real message that I think evangelicals want them to hear. Or maybe I’m too optimistic. Maybe they are hearing exactly the message the evangelicals want communicated — that to be evangelical, one must be a conservative Republican.

Okay, this is a great story. A Baptist Church in Tennessee put this sign (It reads, “No Truth, No Hope Following a Hell-Bound Pope”) up until the local television station called attention to it and then people started getting pissed. The best part is that the pastor, in response to all the press, said that the sign was misunderstood and was not meant to be offensive to Catholics. Huh? For a fuller discussion, click here.

Two stories of life this weekend and then I’ll make a point.

1. Jennifer and I got together with our friends Ryan and Molly this weekend. Ryan and I share a love of cooking, so while the girls played with my kids and put them to bed, Ryan and I went shopping, cooked a meal together for the girls and then had a wonderful candlelit meal. Here was the menu: appetizer - Italian bread with an olive oil, fresh cracked pepper and fresh Parmesan dip. salad - iceberg wedges with tomatoes, cucumber and egg on the side with a homemade organzola dressing main course - seasoned chicken breasts sauteed and then topped with a basil pesto sauce with 5-cheese torellini tossed in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic complemented with an inexpensive, sweet white wine. dessert - creme brulee.

I’ll (not so humbly) admit it was pretty good…my wife told me the next day that she couldn’t think of a meal that would be better at any restaurant!

2. Went to a cookout at my brother-in-law’s to celebrate his 28th birthday. When we got there, Brian, one of his friends, was manning the grill. He had dry-rub chicken, teriyaki chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers slathered in BBQ sauce and his signature burgers (that had a nice kick to them…I was bummed because I was one of the last to dish up and they were gone, so I only got a bite of Jennifers!) Anyway, Joel was telling us that Brian and been at his house the day before creating all the marinades and giving Joel instructions for how to care for the various meats overnight because he loves grilling and is obsessive about how it all turns out.

So here’s the moral of the story: I don’t know if it’s just my Midwestern, blue collar ethic or what, but I have a high degree of respect/admiration for people who find pleasure in the small things in life like food. I guess I’ve come across people in various stages of my life that seem to always be chasing after something, whether it be by buying cars, or going on exotic vacations, or by buying clothes all the time. And then there are the people who get exited about the weather, sunrises, good hamburgers, a well-grown shrub, good snow, the beauty of a well-written song, etc. I guess I’m lucky that I’ve gotten to know a lot of people that are more of the latter and not the former!

I’ve had two different people let me know that my apparent googlewhack “espistemological lanyard” is not really a googlewhack. In fact, someone hit 58 results. However, I tried it again today and it only resulted in 1 hit for me, which leads me to suspect that my Google is ‘whacked.’ I’m confused…(or I’ve mispelled - which is a distinct possibility!)

If you want some googlewhacking help, here is a resource that can get you started.