Today at 2:54 MST it became twitter and facebook official (and shortly before that real life official) that I am moving back to Indiana to serve the middle school and college ministries of the Community Church of Columbus, with which I lived and worked until moving out to Montana in April.
Montana has been a very interesting and overall very good experience for me. First of all, this place is gorgeous. I will miss the terrain of Big Sky Country. However, in the midst of living in one the prettiest places in the U.S., I lived with troubled teens from a very wide variety of backgrounds, supervising and counseling them. These young men (indeed that is the goal, and the majority of our students are almost adults) have been a handful. I hope that by the things I have taught them about Christ, forgiveness, being the first to make things right, and that by insisting steadily and gently on truth life is much better for them. I have shown them how to take a few steps, and when I leave Missoula on August 12 or 13th, will leave contact info but hand them over to the Lord to help them stay on “the path of the righteous [which] is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day”(Prov. 4:8).
I know that I am best suited for ministry within a church, and that is what I think about most often. Volunteering at Shec’s youth ministry has been tons of fun, and it made me miss being in the student ministry game terribly. That combined with CCC having such great students, volunteers, parents, supportive members, and fellow staff members(this is such a quality team!) made the choice to go back pretty easy. I am extremely grateful for Shec and the good people I have met there. They have welcomed the strangest stranger 
I will be leaving Missoula early on the 13th of August for the beginning of my seminary studies at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, OR and my cousin’s wedding. From there, I am embarking on a road trip (yes, another cross country drive in a VW!) and visiting friends along the way. I will post a predicted itinerary soon.
Montana, farewell.
Indiana, get ready.
May the Lord’s will be done,
CWillZ
@ Glacier National Park
This is my first attempt at stitching photos together. This is actually 8 individual pictures that I have made into a panorama using Hugin, an opensource(free!) program. This is Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. I took the photos last week on my days off. It took some time playing with it, but I’m fairly satisfied with it.
Albulm Artwork
This morning we found a burned cd in our office. We had no idea how it got there, but I popped it into my lappy to see what it was. It turned out to be “The Cream of Clapton”, which was a delightful surprise to me. My boss told me that I could keep it if I wanted, but that we shouldn’t give it to the students. I must have crinkled my forehead because he started in on the reason why. His position basically that because Clapton has been a drug user and writes songs about drug use and that our students have or do struggle with substance abuse and addiction issues, we shouldn’t let them listen to music made by a man with a past drug use.
I can follow his line of reasoning. Also, we have a Christian music only policy because we are a ministry and some parents are concerned about the music that we allow students to listen to, which obviously is a very good thing. Being concerned about the media input into our student’s lives is a very good thing. Yet, I am very hesitant about throwing Clapton out so easily.
Where this line is broken for me is what we call “Christian”.
(Pause for a minute. At this point I simply agreed to follow the direction he was giving, but have been thinking about this topic today. The dialogue between my boss and me is representative of some tensions in the daily lives of sincere believers, and that is why I want to explore it here (actually, I am just going to present the side I believe to be most correct in order to get you to agree with me). I will continue to follow his direction for the program. )
Where is the line between what is Christian and “not”? Obviously there are expressly Christian artists, musicians, magazines, etc. What is it about them that makes their art Christian art? I submit that we must claim truth as truth without regard to the person expressing it, and that logically if you believe in a Christian worldview, then all truth is proper to God. What that means is that it cannot be true unless it belongs to God. Therefore, if it contains truth, that truth is “Christian”.
So how is Clapton’s music “Christian music”? (The italics below are an accident that I can’t seem to fix – please ignore)
1) Clapton has an almost indisputable ability to create beautiful things (there is subjectivity here, but many if not most people experience a level of connection to his music). People who study philosophy at a level much higher than I could explain this in more meaningful terms, but a leading thought in aesthetics(commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values) is that the beauty of something is directly proportional to the truth it contains. Clapton’s art is beautiful, therefore it must contain truth. If it contains truth, it can be called “Christian”. 2) Christ’s call on our lives is to participate in a new humanity. Part of this call to a new humanity is a call to excellence, even perfection. Humans benefit from models of excellence and can be inspired to more fully participate in the New Humanity in Christ through examples of excellent artists, athletes, scholars, teachers, parents, life-livers, etc EVEN if they are not expressly Christian. 3) Clapton’s life may not be perfect, but his example of music as a creative and or cathartic outlet for pain is a great example of how to handle life’s hardships. Clapton’s life is marked by identity issues and also with terribly tragedies during some parts of his life. “Tears in Heaven” (the first single and tape I ever owned) is admittedly written in response to the tragic death of Eric’s 4 year old son and of his good friend and tour-mate Stevie Ray Vaughan within a year of each other. This song contains a blatant and obvious reference to heaven, which could be biblically supported. While heaven is part of our western culture mythology, one should note the aspirations and hope found in heaven by a grieving father and artist seriously. May the Lord’s will be done, CWillZSkinny review: Worth the read, answers problems within pop atheism and combative Christianity.
In late February, Ed tweeted about having some books available for bloggers to review. I had him send me Becky Garrison’s “The New Atheist Crusaders and Thier Unholy Grail: The Misguided Quest to Destroy Your Faith.” The point was for me was to read and review in on my blog, and I imagine that it was supposed to happen faster, but here goes.
I didn’t know much about Becky before reading this book. After reading the book, I am glad that has changed. Why? Because she is smart, witty, confessional, and has a deep love for Jesus Christ. By the title of the book, you can expect it to be a defense of faith against the “enemy” pop-academic atheists or agnostics like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and people who contribute to blogs like “Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?”. She has something to say to these people, while remaining sensitive to the sincere questioning and seeking going on by most people.
A main point of the book is that you cannot disprove the existence of God by the bad behavior of those who claim his name. This bring the believer and unbeliever alike into the stark reality that not all who claim the name Christian have really considered what it means to follow Jesus Christ with not only thier minds but also their lives. Garrison asks the same consideration from both those “in” and “out” of the faith: read the New Testament and consider the God that is there. Then, ask yourself if this is what you follow. If you want to follow this God, leave the rest behind.
I really was hesistant to read this work becasue I have been caught in the crossfire of those who have been wronged by churched Christians and those who are still finding grace in that context despite of the pain that comes through those within the instituions. At any rate, once you catch a glimpse of the ugliness coming from both sides of the culture wars, a book with this title tends to repel you. After all, the proverbs warn “Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.” How many times have I wanted to “defend the faith”, when I could have been following Jesus by loving others instead?
However, this book seems to be more about encouraging us to join in God’s mysterious salvation and favor through a life lived with and in Christ instead of proving once and for all that aetheism sucks. Since the church is also a great love of mine, I would like to provide this quote from Garrison as a conclusion:
As we all seek what it means to be the church in the twenty-first century, I’d love to take the New Atheists along for the ride. Maybe then they will see that we’re not black-and-white, cookie cutter, stereotypical Christians. Rather, we’re a living, breathing body that, despite our earthly infirmities, seeks to be the embodiment of Christ here on earth.
Thanks Becky! I am better for reading it!
May the Lord’s will be done,
CWillZ
A few weeks ago I took a bike trip out form the ranch here. Just me and the road bike and western Montana. It was sunny and warm, but still bearable. I decided to ride to the Montana Valley bookstore in 
Alberton because I had seen a sign for it on the interstate. I am happy to report that this bookstore is a goldmine. I spent $40 dollars in used books!
So before I left I met the owner, Keren Wales. She related her affinity for biking as well and told me about a trip that she was going to take. She told me that she is going to Europe to tour the continent and buy books while retracing some of the steps her father took when he made they same endeavor and also to retrace some of the military history her father was involved in. Sounded pretty cool to me.
She refilled my water bottle graciously and even provided me with a snack bar for my energy on the way back. That is customer service! The energy was much needed because to a nasty headwind and the weight of the $40 of used books.
I checked out the stores website today (www.montanavalleybookstore.com) and found that Keren has already started the trip and I have been missing out on the blog posts. Either way, you can follow the store too at Keren Wales is Re-Cycling History(kerenwales.blogpot.com).
If you are into books and live in or are travelling through Western Montana, be sure to stop in Alberton and check out this family business. Great treasures in the books and people alike!
May the Lord’s Will be Done,
CWillZ
About a month ago (I’m a little behind on my Reader) Greg Boyd posted his review of The America Patriot’s Bible. It’s version of the Bible that puts American nationalism next to the scripture. As far as I can tell, the commentary misrepresents the historical truth of history and of the Biblical narrative.
Part of Boyd’s take, fully available here:
* Perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16 which tells us “God so loved the world he gave his only Son…” This inspires the commentators of the Patriot’s Bible to quote Colin Powell on how “the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.”
Really? Really?? With all due respect to the bravery of American soldiers, are you really suggesting that in sending soldiers to war, the United States is acting like God did when he sent his Son? Would you be willing to grant this parallel for every nation that has sacrificed young men and women in war, or is it just the United States that is God-like in doing this? Don’t Russians and Iranians love their children too? And aren’t we tip toeing dangerously close to blasphemy when we compare our nations military with the sacrificial love of God? Just wondering.
* Jesus statement that “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36) inspires a page long commentary on the Bill of Rights, with an ominous emphasis on how the “wall of separation” between church and state today is threatening freedom of religion.
Really? Doesn’t the wall separating church and state protect the freedom of religion? But more importantly, are we to actually believe the freedom Jesus was talking about had anything whatsoever to do with political rights? Why didn’t he say so, since his audience happened to have zero political rights. He could have inspired a violent political revolution, similar to the American Revolution, if he’d connected his freedom with political freedom.
Wait a minute: this is exactly what many in his audience wanted and expected Jesus to do. How did Jesus respond? He rebuked them, telling them instead to love and do good their enemies. It’s kind of what got him crucified. His “freedom,” like his Kingdom, apparently is “not of this world.” Nevertheless, the Patriot’s Bible succeeds in accomplishing what Jesus’ audience could not. Jesus becomes the champion of political freedom after all! Patriot’s Bible — 1. Jesus — 0.
Thank you, Greg for posting this. I hope that all of us will see that our first and only real allegieance must be to Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
May the Lord’s will be done,
CWillZ
Here’s the deal. Right now I am living as a domestic missionary in Montana, where I spend almost everyday on a ranch where I help troubled teens get a grip on this thing called life and hopefully bring them to reconciliation with God, each other, and their families. What’s important about that is:
1) I don’t have much extra money to give to a world in need right now.
2) I don’t have as much of a use or need for my 2nd generation 8-gig iPod touch, a Nike+ sensor, nor the arm band I have for it.
I put those two ideas together and came up with the solution: I can auction off the iPod and give the money away. Ebay makes this surprisingly easy through MissionFish and Ebay giving works.
I have decided to donate 100% of the auction to the International Justice Mission, an organization that I wrote about earlier.
You can find the auction at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330336878330.
Bid high, set some captives free.
May the Lord’s will be done,
CWillZ
This morning I had a dream that I was at the house I grew up in on Wolfcreek Rd in Columbus, IN. I was in the kitchen with some new friends that were somehow connected with Franklin College, which in my dream was about a 1/2 mile away from the house (in reality about 45 minutes away). I asked if I could walk through the house becasue I used to live there, but the person in charge said there was some official reason they couldn’t let people tour the house. bummer.
I have never really dreamed about the house, especially inside, and would really like to know if there is some kind of hidden significance here. Any ideas?
May the Lord’s will be done,
CWillZ
I recently read G.K. Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy”. In it there is a line that states something like “we show we are grateful for beer and Burgundy is by not drinking too much of them.” I think this show a great way to have a correct attitude towards the freedoms given to believers in the Gospel.
This line also gives a path to becoming a grateful person or a person who exhibits the virtue of gratitude. First, it begins with realizing that life itself, no matter what the quality of that life may be, is a gift from God. God created us and loved us. If we have learned anything about God as humans, it is that God does what he wants. Evidently he wants us- which is crazy to think about in itself. The path towards being a grateful person is first to realize that you did noting to deserve life at all, let alone to be judge of the one who gave it to you for making it either “good” or “bad”. Then, we must not take anything as expected – we are not entitled to anything. At all.
After we have stripped ourselves of the fact that we were helpless in the matter of our own creation and that therefore we simply cannot deserve anything, we are free to see how worthy we are simply because God chooses us. He chooses humanity and humans, even killing himself to do it. So how do we thank him?
Chesterton said that we thank him for beer and (wine) by not drinking too much of it. For some, that might mean not drinking them at all. We can thank God for our blessings of abundance by not eating too much and by sharing with others that are going without. We can be grateful for his faithfulness to us as his people by being faithful to our own commitments. We are grateful for his forgiveness when we forgive others. We are grateful for his discipline when we accept it ourselves or we learn how to properly correct each other.We are grateful for someone bringing us food by tipping. etc.
The list goes on and on. If you would, please leave a comment about one way you have learned to show gratitude.
May the Lord’s will be done,
CWillZ
