revslick.com

It is Good Friday and for me I’ve heard way too much explanation for this day. There is a virtual mound of mush coming from theologians, biblical scholars, preachers, historians, and more. The countless earthen vessels and crackpots amount to an overwhelming mound that threatens to collapse anyone trying to make sense of this night. I could explain my take, but I won’t because this day is not meant for explanations.

This day begin with an observation and if you are able then move to the experience. Put yourself in everybody’s viewpoint. Let the explanations, justifications, theories, and theologies lie where they are for today. There will come a time – say Monday – for such things, but now just relax and be with the story of the crucifixion.

Here are links to get the juices flowing. A cartoon from the naked pastor, one of my favorite blogs.

Creative passion pictures .

Manga style 12 stations of the cross (be sure to check out Jonny’s creative media at the bottom of the post)  offered free from Proost today only.

Feel free to post to comments any creative resources you find.

A common practice during Lent and especially for Holy Week is the liturgy called Stations of the Cross.  This is a meditative time to reflect and experience the points that are highlighted of Jesus making his way to the cross.  A unique one I discovered is the Kenyan Way of the Cross hosted by Sacred Space.

If you’d like an added moment of reflection this day take time to read in one of the gospels the time of Jesus progression to the cross - Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18-19.

Holy Week can conjure up some very imaginative images.  To get the creative juices flowing for Holy Week ASGM has some Easter message videos.

What are the visual elements that connect you to Holy Week?

Spend some time today listing those sights and sounds then take one central image and spend some time with it.

This week is Holy Week and I’m excited! Holy Week is an emotional and spiritual roller coaster ride for the Christian pilgrim. It begins on Palm Sunday with excitement and shouts of Hosanna! Then it moves from the last meal and commandment on Maundy Thursday to the complete downer of Good Friday. Saturday is next, the day we don’t know what to do except live in the great mystery. Easter! Celebrate! Hallelujah!

I usually take this week to let the creative juices flow. Too often Christians make this approach without engaging all that God has gifted them. When they finally reach Easter the celebration may still be there, but it is not near the release and celebration it could be.

To begin the journey this week let’s begin with the Palm Celebration. Read Mark 11:1-11. The crowds were pumped about Jesus coming to town, but they were pumped with what they thought Jesus would do for them. Far too often, we (me too) make so many demands on Jesus of what we want Jesus to do for us – wants, desires, irritations, frustrations, and wrinkle remover. None of those things may be what we need, but that’s another post for another day.

Today, list your expectations and demands: pray over them, weep over them, laugh about them, and then let them go.

This week I invite you to experience this amazing pilgrimage.

Peace and biscuits,

Rev. Slick

The following is an excerpt from an article on Journey with Jesus located here. Jesus’s alternate reign and rule, Borg and Crossan argue, subverted major aspects of the way most societies in history have been organized. Whether ancient or modern, most societies have normalized a status quo of political oppression that marginalizes ordinary people, economic exploitation whereby the rich take advantage of the poor, and religious legitimation that insists that “God wants things this way.” It’s easy to think of other components of the cultural status quo that Jesus might also subvert, like ethnic stereotypes, media propaganda, gender roles, consumerism, and our degradation of planet earth.”

The question that haunts me is how can the church best live out this truth, if it is truth? Some could run with these questions:  Are we still marginalizing the ordinary? Are the poor still being exploited? As a pastor, I can say we definitely oppose religious conformity; whether the greater pressure is self, society, or church that is up for grabs.  For the sake of brevity, I’m putting on the line that this is definitely truth.

The more pressing question for me is if we still politically oppress the ordinary, exploit the poor, and promote religious conformity, what ways are we currently seeing people subvert the status quo and how can we best celebrate those heroes?

I recently read Poet in residence and was amazed. M. Craig Barnes not only has a great command of the English language, but has set up a metaphor for pastors that is truly refreshing. He challenges pastors to view their calling to that of poet, which not only engages my calling gives a wonderful lens to live that calling out. Here are some of my favorite observation from his article:

“Complaining is usually a veiled lament about deeper issues of the soul. Since people are unaccustomed to exploring the mystery of their own souls, they will often work out their spiritual anxieties by attempting to rearrange something external, like a church’s music program. But it doesn’t matter how many changes they make to the environment around them. They will never succeed in finding peace for the angst of the soul until they attend directly to it. This is why people have pastors.

To be of service to the Holy Spirit, who is at work in human lives, the pastor can never reduce ministry to servicing parishioners’ complaints about the church.

To be faithful to our particular calling, we need to get beneath the reality of what is being said and down to explore the often mysterious truth of what this means.

Central to what it means to be ordained is to open the doors of one’s soul to the complexities, pathos, longings and even sins of those the pastor has vowed to serve.

One of the reasons that people need pastors is precisely that God is always present but usually not apparent.”

And finally the closer is killer… “What if, instead of working so hard at omnicompetence, pastors were free to work hard simply at being better poets? And is it possible that the call to parish ministry can come not at the expense of our soul but at their delight…”

For more, read the article and let me know what you think.

The article is excerpted from his book, which I’d love to read.

Why Lesbians, Priests, Athletes and Chubby Chefs All Agree on the Meaning of Life

great article about labels.

The Noise of Politics poem by Walter Brueggemann

warning to Christians and people in ministry - The Long Haul

Critique of American Culture (as portrayed by the media)

Principles of the American Cargo Cult

Back at the docs, I gave enough blood to resuscitate a small child for numerous tests and they told me check back with results. In the meantime I had to struggle with extreme fatigue, fever, migraines, confusion, and general frustration. After a week, the results came back Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever, which was actually good news because it is treatable. RMSF is the last step before declaring West-Nile Virus, which was good because at least with this they some meds that address it better than West-Nile. The only time I’ve been outside while recovering was the mow and weed the lawn and don’t remember being bitten by a tick. Oh, well.

The hardest things about recovery weren’t the physical pain, headaches, or the loss of strength (thought they all sucked). The first hard part of recovery is that it takes an admission of mortality whether you want to admit it or not. Whether you take an ‘I’m invincible’ approach or just ‘stuck in the routine of life.’ Either way we all get caught up round and round thinking our bodies will hold up and what could happen then bam!

I’m a constantly on the move person and here’s my body and Mother Nature telling me to slow down in more ways than one. What now? Rebuild my strength and get back on track or should I say get lost again in the hustle? Being forced to look from the inside out sucked, but it is also exactly what I needed to see the holes and cracks in the bubble around my soul that desperately needing popping. When the fuzziness slowly subsided I began to meditate on the dissatisfaction that has been covered up by busyness. It is so easy to cover up - to smooth over, to tell yourself that you just need to get more lost in the routine, nothing is wrong here, ignore the man behind the curtain, get more distracted, get bogged down in the details - and miss out on something so much more.

Yes, recovery sucks!! For me, the worst part is not the choices that flood my vision. The worst part to me is the decision of what to do next. The choice! You could do nothing, but inaction is a choice as well. So choose! For right or wrong, I prayed, contemplated, then decided. “God, if this is the direction you’re leading me then let’s go. If it isn’t then drop me a sign, open a door and I’ll go there as well.”

The final part is the first step. For some of my friends this is the hardest point. For me, I’ve always been someone who ways a billion options. I’ll look at it upside down, sideways, inside, outside, and while running around it, but once the decision is made action comes quickly. Pick you catchphrase and run with it. Let it be. Do it! Grab the bull by the horns. Be proactive. Discover thyself. I say this not to be trite, or too cheesy peppy, but to say to all my friends in recovery (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, additional, whatever) don’t let the process stop you from becoming more. Let it be a time where you recapture what it means to be you – not the masked covered, saturated, promotional self but the amazingly gifted and graced person that God recognizes in us each and every day Jesus chases after us to show us the image that is there in our midst.

Peace and biscuits,

Revslick

Recovery sucks part 1 ! It has been awhile since I’ve posted. I haven’t posted in quite some time but believe me this was not intended. Mentally, it has been a grueling process of slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Here’s how it all started. Around December, I learned about a wonderful exercise program called crossfit. Even though I couldn’t perform the workouts as recommended, I was immediately hooked. Before crossfit my exercise program was a beginner strength training program, which was my first exploration into lifting weights. Crossfit has it all metabolic conditioning, strength training, and more. I’ve seen remarkable changes in my physique. I’ve gone from a 36 inch waist to a 32, dropped 30 pounds, increased endurance, and feel great. Now, once you drink the cool-aid you begin to go whole hog with the program. After three months, I started the Zone diet. After six months, I started experimenting with IM Fasting and an added strength training. This was in addition to Wednesday and Friday Wallyball games. I should have known better or at least checked my workout journal more closely. Honestly, I was wanting results far quicker than my body could provide thus two months ago I came down with a mild case of Rhabdo.

It began with a crossfit workout of deadlifts, rowing, and kettle bell swings while extremely dehydrated (hindsight and blood work) then at lunch played wallyball and followed that up with some deep squats and shoulder presses. One hour after the workout my muscles started locking up and shutting down and then the rest is history.  Snails travel at light speed compared to how slow I was moving.   Recovery consisted of medical help, lots of fluids, and sleep.  I’ve never slept more in my life.  I hate sleeping!!  After taking a month off, I started to get sick all over again. At first I chalked it up to the rhabdo but this time with migraines. That would have been ok for me but it started to affect my whole persona. I was confused, which frustrated me and then got me irritated which would make me more frustrated and confused. Soo back to the doctor for more tests.

I’ll post the rest of the story tomorrow.

peace and biscuits,

rev. slick

The Day After Independence Day

Originally uploaded by jhhwild

Happy Fourth! I pray everyone had a good fourth of July. For me, the fourth conjures up memories of gunpowder in the afternoon, picnics, hamburgers and hot dogs, and the best ideals of those that fought and died to help found this great country. What are the images that conjure up for you on the fourth of July?

This fourth I’ve read three great articles I want to share. One is from Time magazine (New Patriotism) on how Conservatives and Liberals need each other. Their best quote is the line, “Conservatives think patriotism is a tribute to the past. Liberals believe it’s a key to the future.” I can relate to this. I look back to see the great things this country has accomplished and I’m filled with pride, but I’m hesitant also because we’ve done some horrendous things to be ashamed about as well. Ultimately, for this country to reestablish itself into the global community we need to come together (all cultures, races, ideologies, etc.) and begin the conversation on what makes us distinct and great. Then we need to do the hard work that will be needed to remind and rebuild ourselves into what it means to be a part of the USA.

Another article is from the blog Orienteering about representing the flag in worship. I can’t agree more! I’ve seen too many pastors manipulate congregations into frenzied nationalism using religion in the mix and it makes my stomach churn. Many of the churches I served had the Christian flag and American flag displayed in the sanctuary. As pastor, I would slowly (education not trickery) move the flags outside of the sanctuary to either the fellowship hall or the Narthex doors just before entering the sanctuary. I did this not to disrespect the flag but to be honest in reflecting the symbols Christians are called to recognize in worship. Unfortunately, this hasn’t always been successful. I served one church in which someone who would always arrive early to move the flags back.  This person even snuck into the church cut the pole on the Christian flag so that the American flag would take dominance.

—-Some people just don’t get it.

The last article is from Peter DeGroote describing some of the hard work that is still left to be done in this wonderful country.

I pray everyone continues the celebration of Independence.

peace and biscuits,

revslick