Sen. McCain at New Town
Well, here's the story. I first heard Sen. McCain was coming to town last Friday. When I discovered he was coming on Monday morning at a rally starting at 9:00 a.m., however, I was disappointed. I have a class at 11:30; I never skip class, but even had I wanted to, I couldn't, since there was a quiz.
That aside, I wondered if maybe just maybe there would be enough time to squeeze in the rally. I've been to rallies in 2000 and 2004, and I really hated to miss the opportunity to cheer on “my candidate” this year. There is something about the atmosphere of a rally which is worth experiencing, and just seeing the living, breathing candidate (and his entourage) is an amazing experience. It makes the race seem all the more personal.
Doors opened at 7:00 a.m., at which point the New Town amphitheater was rather empty, but by 9:00 a.m. it was relatively crowded for an early morning, weekday rally. Rep. Kenny Hulshof (running for governor) started the series of speeches at 8:45 a.m. or so. Amidst live country music from a local band, Mike Gibbons (running for attorney general of Missouri) and my district's U.S. congressman, Todd Akin (a Covenant Seminary alumnus), spoke as well. Finally right before 10:00 a.m., retired Sen. Jack Danforth (R-MO), now heading up McCain's effort to stop voter fraud, and Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) spoke.
Then, nearly perfectly on queue, the motorcade pulled up — you could see it, since this was an outdoor event — and out came Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John McCain (R-AZ). It struck me as interesting that I was seeing two members of the Gang of 14 at once.
After Graham's introduction, McCain started speaking and a few things were striking. He seemed much younger, more passionate, more, well, John McCain-y, then he has seemed in a long time. Sen. McCain's voice boomed as he gestured wildly, defending Joe the Plumber, explained his plans, countered Sen. Obama's “spread the wealth” remarks, and worked his way to the crescendo of “Fight with me […] Stand Up! Stand up and Fight! Fight with me […] Now let's go win this election.”
It ended roughly like his nomination speech, but in person it was even more powerful. It works not just because the words are eloquent, but because the idea of Sen. McCain arguing for Americans to stand up and join him in a fight, fits his personality and his story. “We never hide from history. We make history.” McCain is a fighter, and a genuine American hero, for his service. That makes his call for so effective. While politically I have often had differences with him, I have been and remain confident he is the best man for the job. I supported him in the 2000 primary, and though I did not vote for him this primary season, I'm glad to have him as the nominee. It was an honor to see him in person.
Be sure to check out the photos I posted yesterday. I missed a few of my favorites, which I will post in the near future.
O'Reilly and McCain
I've had an amazingly fun last two days. In short, with more detail later:
- Yesterday, I discovered a signed copy of Bill O'Reilly's new book, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity, was at my door in a DHL envelope. It seems I won Parade Magazine's Bold Fresh Contest that I entered a few weeks ago. What a wonderful surprise!
- I saw Sen. John McCain today at New Town. I've posted some photos. The story will come tomorrow, hopefully. This makes for 3 presidential rallies I've attended, one in each of the last three presidential election cycles. Everyone should attend one.
Late Night Haiku XXVIII
LXXVIII. Oh strange breeze
That blew past me four years ago,
Let thy wind return.
LXXIX. A flea fled to me,
And then I was Donne away,
How much past has past.
LXXX. Familiar autumn,
Lean thy kind embrace on me.
Hint again of then.
Viva la Vida
Coldplay's single from their new album, which continues to get significant air time, fascinates me. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but there are some definite, useful themes on can draw out of it. I'm planning to use it as a discussion point in my Sunday School class either this week or next.
What does it make you think of?
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep alone
Sweep the streets I used to ownI used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
“Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!”
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sandI hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the worldIt was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Wednesday Weirdness
From Wednesday Weirdness. Feel free to put your answers in the comments.
1.) Do you think you're approachable?
I think so. I hope so. I don't know, what do y'all think?
2.) Out of the two, would you rather be able to predict things before they happened or be able to read minds whenever you wanted to? Why?
I think I'd go with “predict things before they happened,” that would be really helpful. My suspicion is that reading minds could be relatively unpleasant. Although, I could think of a few times that it would have been useful and still would be. The two would work in tandem nicely.
3.) Have you ever kissed, fooled around or slept with an ex significant other AFTER you were already broken up?
No. Two wouldn't be appropriate even before a breakup unless we're talking marriage here, so certainly not after.
4.) Do you believe dreams are your imagination running wild as you sleep, your subconscious showing you what's really on your mind or something else entirely?
A little of each. I think it certainly is a chance for my imagination to run wild, but it also sometimes seems like dreams will remind me of things that may have been under the surface bothering me but I had not (recently) thought directly about. Freud did get some things right.
Dreams can sometimes be quite painful in that respect.
5.) How often do you use cuss words? Does your use of cuss words vary on your moods or situations?
I don't. I gained somewhat of an amusing reputation in the English program at LU because I would “adjust” certain words if I were reading a part in a play. It was a running joke, of sorts, of which my cohorts in the program would kid me about.
I made a clear distinction though concerning appropriate uses of words. For example, I had no problem with saying the word “damn” when used, say, in Doctor Faustus where the context of damnation. This drew some inquiries during those readings, since the fact that I proceeded with those uses stood out more than that which I omitted. That remains my policy, much as it was C.S. Lewis's, as he notes in a footnote in Mere Christianity (he had received complaints over his usage of the term). Some words, I really don't see any appropriate context for and I simply feel it best not to promote.
I'm really sounding puritanical tonight, aren't I? To be clear, I don't have a burden to suggest what language other people should use. Though I find most people ratchet down their use of expletives when the other does not reciprocate, I won't complain if a person chooses not to around me.
6.) Do you ever purposely lead people on so you can get what you want?
No, only to pull their legs. I enjoy giving people a hard time. 
7.) When was the last time you did something you told yourself you wouldn't do? What was it?
I told myself I wasn't going to watch On the Record tonight, but when Greta said she had an interview with Gov. Sarah Palin, I couldn't pass it up. I'm a total political news junkie on election years…
I even read the white papers released along side polling data. Yes, I'm a sad case.
8.) If you could meet one musician who is no longer alive, who would it be?
Obviously not Elvis since Elvis lives, right?
Right now, I'm thinking Mozart. That's a tough question, though.
Quarter Century
A week ago, I passed the quarter century mark. It strikes me as an interesting number. I cannot say I feel any different, but there is something fascinating when I think about the number. Perhaps more than feeling older, I do feel sort of like I should have accomplished more thus far than I have.
Many of the great poets had written their master works by the time they were 25. On the other hand, many of the great poets were dead within ten years of their twenty fifth birthday. Keeping that in mind, perhaps it is quite good that I keep plowing along, slowly but surely.
Moving Forward...
One has to wonder, why doesn't this bit of McCain's nomination speech get plastered everywhere by the McCain campaign? If McCain is going to win this race, this inspiring call is the sort of thing that will do it. Hope, change, all that stuff — it goes right along with this video. Does McCain need a new campaign manager, perhaps? I could free up some time on my schedule…
The Message of Acts
Luke could have written a statistical analysis of the growth of the church – if he had lived today, we might expect him to do that on a few PowerPoint slides with a cool animation or two and a little laser pointer in his hand to note the ups and downs. He could have written an epistle-like book that summarized the key teachings of the apostles in a handy “talking points” fashion. He even could have written a narrative that focused primarily on long quotations from the apostles with just a small bit of context, something more like the continuing coverage of the Israelites after the Exodus. But, he didn’t.
Instead, Luke wrote a full fledged narrative that seems to adopt many of the same qualities that one might see in an epic. There is an invocation of sorts, not to the muses, but given by the muse behind all these events, the Holy Spirit. From there, the apostles went boldly forward, empowered by the Holy Spirit, giving speeches that demonstrate the immediate triumph of the Gospel in their own lives. Theses speeches often include recasting and expansion of the information given in the narrative, another quality of classical epics, and one that serves to give the written word a near vocal quality. While Luke has a serious and high-minded purpose, he recognized the importance of telling a good story too.
The Gospel is far too valuable to drown in a death of prosaic dryness! It is a story that deserves the fullness of a rich and visual report, carefully laid out so that the reader can see the amazing power of the triumph of the Gospel. Though the stories to us can be all too familiar and hard to get excited about, these are surprising events! Why ewould Gamaliel so comfortably assert that there was no need to actively snuff out the Christians in chapter 5 if not for the surprising nature of the continued expansion of the church later in Acts? Much as Goliath never thought he had to worry about that little shepherd boy who was walking up to him, so too the opponents of the Gospel had every reason to expect that this movement too would pass. Quickly.
That’s not to say that there wasn’t opposition. Luke continually supplies details of how the epic hero – the Gospel – is facing bitter enemies that ought to bring it down. External persecution follows everywhere, from the high priests in chapter 4, the determined Saul in chapters 7-9, pagans such as Demetrius in chapter 19, and so many more. The Gospel does not arrive by default; it does not spread as matter of convenience. Rather, it spreads only by the Holy Spirit, who overcomes showstopper after showstopper that should have made Acts in to a tragedy. It triumphs by being. It progresses by being alive and transformative.
Like every good storyteller, though, Luke is conscious of the fact that those he supports aren’t prefect. A good writer describes the flaws of the protagonist and not just the antagonist. And Luke does this brilliantly. If he had fancied himself a propagandist, he might have painted the apostles as perfectly clear minded fellows who were bold, determined and ready to do all of Jesus’s mission without any convincing. Instead, we meet a sad band of followers, who, while giving triumphant speeches at times, can’t get the message. As early as Acts 1, we find they still do not understand the nature of the Messiah. There is lying amongst the ranks of the young church (Acts 5) and even ethnic division (Acts 6). These flaws ought to be the tragic flaw that brings down the hero, but like Odysseus, the hero of this story – the Gospel prevails. It prevails against its external foes and its internal foibles.
Luke accomplishes two things by these means. First we can be encouraged that we are not all that different from the people in Acts. When we have disagreements, we can see that even two people as faithful as Paul and Barnabas had major disagreements (Acts 15.36-38). When we realize that we are not doing as good of job bringing all cultures into our midst, we can see that the early church struggled with this too. When some in the congregation seem to betray everyone’s’ trust, we realize that Ananias and Sapphira did that long before. None of these events are justified by Luke, but rather, like a good hero, the church in its triumphant declaration of the Gospel is “someone” that we can see ourselves in.
Aristotle suggested that a good drama needed a main character that was neither perfectly good nor perfectly evil, because a person of either extreme we cannot connect with, and, if they come to a fitting end of one kind or another, everything seems right without the events impacting us. Likewise, if Luke had white washed the history of the church, we might find that though it was perfect, and we could cheer for it, we could not really associate with it, given the less than perfect reality of the church today. The church today triumphs through both internal and external adversity – and so did the church in Acts.
Second, Luke’s inclusion of the flaws keeps us from seeing Acts as merely a feel good story. When we righteously condemn that certain widows got preferential treatment (Acts 6) or scorn the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), we soon realize, much as David did when being addressed by Nathan, that the story being told is a mirror to our own condition. I lie, I discriminate, I fail. Luke uses history to bring us to repentance, to catharsis – the book of Acts is a tool for the Holy Spirit to use to bring us to repentance. And, of course, once brought there, Luke reminds us again and again and again of what our goal should be: to work as part of the Holy Spirit’s triumphant spread of the Gospel.
The story not only starts in the midst of the action, but it ends in the midst of the action. The Gospel does not finish spreading. The lights fade and the camera pans with Paul still preaching unfettered (Acts 28.31). The vicious persecutor who was broken and turned into the Apostle to the Gentiles is still hard at work as we depart; he is still putting in the good word for the good news that is triumphant. Much as Homer did in the Odyssey, Luke leaves us here with an improved hero, a triumphant hero, but a hero with much still to accomplish. The triumphant Gospel does not end and sit statically meaning, it continues to be.
Acts is both exciting and intimidating to me because of this triumphant Gospel. Homer and Virgil never ask me to enter into their epic worlds and share in the triumph, but God does ask each one of us to be “fellow workers” in His triumphant Gospel. In sorting this out, I find comfort in both Peter and Paul. Both of them are reluctant participants in the triumph – Peter does not want to be involved with Gentile evangelism, but God makes him do so. Paul wants to destroy the church, but God makes him do a 180. Given that I am a Christian, obviously I have no desire to destroy the church – but I do sympathize with Paul’s position and doubly so Peter’s. At times I resent and resist that which violates my comfort zone, my traditions. And, indeed, sometimes it is good to stand up for “cleanliness” – though not for salvation, the Jerusalem counsel did note that some behaviors were worth strongly encouraging (Acts 15); but all too often, it has more to do with me. I can be like the Pharisees who tithed their garden herbs (Luke 11.42), or Peter who sat under Jesus and heard the command to go to the ends of the earth (Acts 1) and yet needed a vision just to go down the road to a Gentile’s house!
How many times am I like Ananias? I give my time to benefit others, but really just want to hear praise (and make sure the praise that goes to me is greater than that which goes to others around me). How many times am I like King Agrippa – well aware of what the Spirit is urging, and yet content to sit back and say, “So fast? No way” (Acts 26.32). Even in this essay, and this very confession, am I really doing this to bring glory to God and serve the triumph of the Gospel or in hopes that I will receive praise for the “land money” I am donating?
The convicting element is strong in Acts, but the triumph of the Gospel is stronger. Those who are willing to let God correct them are still used! What wonderful news! And news that impacts me directly – without the unfettered Gospel preaching that Paul was allowed to do, would I be here today in seminary saved by the Gospel of grace?
This triumphant Gospel promises curves in the road. We can see that God often works through what appear to be inconveniences, problems and setbacks. This is reassuring, as I have sought to understand my calling and serve in my church. Over the last year, I have been given the blessing to teach the youth group Sunday School class. It is not an opportunity I sought and not one I really had wanted. I was reluctant to say the least – I have always felt called to teaching college age and older, not high schoolers. And when I started, the project seemed anything but triumphant. The students did not seem interested (to understate the situation) and they didn’t remember anything afterwards. I felt hopeless. And yet God has worked in this to the continuing triumph of his Gospel. I have learned a great deal of humility that I lacked (I need more!) and have become better at dealing with the ins and outs of this sort of ministry. Like Peter, God put me out of my comfort zone – but not for an arbitrary purpose, but as part of the continuing epic triumph of the Gospel, however small my part may be.
And that is the message of Acts, the message I continue to struggle to internalize and continue to draw hope from where God has presently placed me to serve. The message of Acts is not simply meaning – even splendid meaning filled with great doctrines – it is being. It is not a proclamation of triumph – it is the active, living triumph of the Gospel. It is a triumph, an epic, a grand story filled with imperfect people – like you and like I – who are called, indeed, drafted to serve that story to push it forward. Forward it is pushed with purpose and direction to spread the Gospel unhindered to the ends of the earth. Active triumph.
Acts of Remembering
For a major exam on Thursday, I need to be prepared to outline the book of Acts, noting a major theme for each chapter. To prepare, while keeping everything straight, I thought I'd take advantage of a very basic tool for keeping the chapters in the right order: the alphabet. I did have to get a little creative, switching to numbers, for the last two chapters, since Acts has 28 chapters and English only has 26 letters. For your amusement, I present my list:
1 Away from here — go spread the word to the ends of the earth.
2 Broadcasting Pentecost Peter does.
3 Crippled is healed by Peter
4 Denounced, the Gospel is/Apostles are, by the Sanhedrin,
5 Errors in accounting end Ananias and Sapphira's lives.
6 Finding seven to care for the widows
7 Gospel boldly given by Stephen, Stephen killed.
8 Here and there w/ Philip (Samaria and conversation with Ethiopian)
9 “I was wrong,” says Paul.
10 Judge not Gentiles, Peter is told, goes to Cornelius.
11 “Kill and Eat” was what I was told, Peter tells disciples in Jerusalem.
12 Lapse in judgment of his own worth kills Herod.
13 Missionary journey one for Paul, Barnabas; they go to Cyprus, Antioch (Antioch is Barrs's Evangelism Style Sample #1)
14 “No, we aren't gods,” Paul and Barnabus to Lystrans (Lystra is Barrs's Evangelism Style Sample #2)
15 Only a few requirements are sent out from Jerusalem Counsel.
16 Prison for Paul (Timothy is now along for the journey with Paul and Silas)
17 Queries from philosophers in Athens.
18 Rhyme Priscilla & Aquilla (in Corinth)
19 Silversmith, Demetrius, in Ephesus.
20 Trying departure from Ephesus (a very sad goodbye)
21 Unquenchable anger at Paul in Jerusalem.
22 Value of citizenship in escaping said anger.
23 Wise dividing of Sanhedrin by Paul (“I am accused because of the resurrection”)
24 feli(X) questions Paul.
25 “You have appealed to Caesar,” says Festus.
26 Zero guilt, Aggripa assesses, but Paul must be sent to Caesar.
27 1 big storm = 1 big shipwreck = no 1 harmed.
28 2 years Paul preaches in Rome unhindered.
Sharing a Joy
I too often come onto my blog sounding melancholic, if not downright depressed. I don't want to convey the image that I'm just a perpetual rain cloud, I'm not. It just seems on issues such as my last post, my blog is such an inviting canvas on which to paint that I can't resist. And, really, troubling issues are often the ones I need to dwell on in writing, for better or worse.
But, tonight I'll share a joy I had over the last few days: I've translated my first little Hebrew sentences. Sure, they aren't much more complex than “See Spot run, run Spot run,” but to just to get that beachhead feels marvelous with as intimidating as Hebrew appears. Especially since one sentence was even a little snippet from Genesis. I know the language is going to do its best to kill me in the coming months, but for the moment, I'll bask in the joy of what is past.
