ONE WORD 365 // Book 2, Week 2

The second book in my quest to read one book per week in 2012 was...

Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we made up
By Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle
Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2011

Confession: I downloaded Rob Bell's Love Wins the day that it came out and started reading it while sitting in missionary associate orientation. I don't remember how it took me to read. Not long. I finished it rather quickly. Now it's been a while since I've read it so any reflection I type here will be rather vague.

I remember agreeing with Bell about seeing the kingdom of heaven here and now. But things feel apart for me after that -- that hell is here now as well (don't quiz me on his exact position; I'd need to go back and read through it again).

I liked what Chan had to say in Erasing Hell and tracked with him through his process. I think I understood the overall gist of Bell in Love Wins and agreed with some. I also really liked the footnotes in Chan's book; they dug in a little deeper.

I marked a few things (via the Kindle app*) as I read along:

1) "Don't get so lost in deciphering that you forget to tremble." (Page 87)

Creator God invented justice and knows what everyone deserves. And he didn't leave it to me or you or any human to figure out. "He has only asked us to embrace His Word and bow the knee, to tremble at His Word..." (Pages 86-87) This reminds me that we can have these conversations and we can talk about these questions but don't lose sight of God or stop trembling before the One who knows.

2) "Could it be that his [Paul's] drive to reach the lost was directly related to his willingness to ponder their fate if he didn't reach them at all? It sure appears so." (Page 98)

Chan here is talking about Paul's efforts to reach unbelievers and wonders, "Would Paul be so motivated if he didn't also believe that there would be punishment for those who didn't believe?" This sounds like a "if it's good enough for Paul, it should be good for me" theory.

3) "Maybe we don't want to admit that we believe in a God who is so free to do whatever He wants." (Page 128)

And then...

4) "...The more important question is not whether or not you want to, but could you believe these things, if in fact God says they are true?" (Page 130)

These two books (Chan & Bell) cover (or uncover as the case may be) some unpopular and/or difficult-to-swallow topics. But I like where Chan takes this discussion. Ultimately, can we know the answer? I don't think we can be fully certain, though we might have a glimpse of the answer. One phrase I took from seminary is "don't paint yourself in a corner." Don't cling so tightly to your theory that you don't leave room for any other option or God. Chan's point here is: Will you leave room for the idea that God just might show his wrath and judgment in a way that seems unfair to us? Can you still believe in a God like that?

My answer was, "Yes. I could believe in a God like that."And then I continue with: "Now let's work for God's kingdom to come here on earth now."

Have you read both Chan's and Bell's book? One or the other? Thoughts?

*Page numbers above from the Kindle app

ONE WORD 365 // Week 1, Book 1

Ok, I'm finally getting around to writing down my thoughts about the first book in my quest to read one book per week in 2012.

Parade of Faiths: Immigration and American Religion
by Jenna Weissman Joselit
New York: Oxford University Press, 2001

I found this book at Brattle Book Shop while in Boston for New Year's. It was too cold to scour through all the books outside -- and too close to closing time. I'll need a return visit for that.

It was a quick read; I started and finished it on the plane rides home to Nashville.

The book has a simple outline and premise -- how immigrants and their faiths arrived and planted themselves in America. It devotes full chapters to Protestant, Catholic and Jewish immigration and lumps all remaining religions in one chapter. The first three chapters were good and gave good insight into the Judeo-Christian background of much of America. I was most interested in the more recent immigration experiences of the Chinese and Japanese, the Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, but all of that information was crammed into the last chapter.

This book is a basic starting point for anyone researching faith and immigration in America. The stories are interesting, though pretty basic and taken from other historic accounts. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in studying faith in America and immigration as a starting point. It won't take long to read and I'll loan you my copy if you're interested.

LIFE IN TENNESSEE // Hospitality

Last week I had the honor of teaching the ladies of The Church At Indian Lake during the Wednesday night service. I thought I would post my musings here for those who didn't hear it, including the men who had a separate teaching.

*****

I had been thinking about hospitality and what it means to show hospitality. I was inspired by a friend's entry in the Live Dead Journal. Here's an excerpt from Day 23, "Hospitality: Our Faith in Action":

There is a knock at my door and my heart sinks. I anticipate who stands on other side. It is a neighbor who knows that I am home. She loves to spend time together, although the language barrier is so great we can barely communicate. I feel like a prisoner in my own home! She knows I am home, so choosing not to answer my door is to risk offending her.

I go to the door. Suspicions are confirmed and I invite her inside. I smile outwardly and grumble inwardly. At this point I am new on the field and a young mom with two toddlers. I enjoy spending time with this neighbor, but she always seems to knock at the most inconvenient moment--and this day is no exception. I offer her a seat in my living room as I go to the kitchen to prepare something to drink. Alone in my kitchen, I throw my hands in the air and "scream" in a whisper, "I don't even want you to be here!"

Alone in my kitchen? I might as well have spoken those words in front of an audience of thousands. More sobering is that I had just spoken those words in front of Jesus Christ himself. Just months earlier I had stood before churches that sent me overseas for opportunities like this very one--and yet here I was in my kitchen, resentful of the "imposition." God forbid that I ever see a human soul as an imposition..." (Live Dead Journal 2011, 122).

The entry goes on to talk about how hospitality is faith in action, how hospitality is us extending Jesus' heart to others and looking for God's plan in the midst of seemingly inconvenient moments.

I've been doing some reminiscing recently as I prepare to leave my home of 14 years. And thinking about the good times, the difficult times, what I would do the same, what I would do differently. And I've been thinking more about my house and my neighborhood as I sit and wait for a buyer. Putting those two things together, I think, "How have I shown hospitality to those around me?" Answer: Uh, not very well--at least not to my literal neighbors.

But hospitality is about more than just opening my house to my neighbors, though it is that, too. This is about a different attitude and change of heart towards people. It is about fellowship and sharing a meal, but it is also about the relationships made.

One of my classes in grad school looked at hospitality. We used the book Making Room by Christine Pohl. As I read the above entry, I revisited the topic and the book and put some of these thoughts together.

The tradition of hospitality was once the practice of welcoming strangers into one's home with the offer of food, shelter and protection. It covered physical, social and spiritual aspects of life. But more than just meeting needs of a person, hospitality was about recognizing people's worth and our common humanity. It was (and is!) about seeing others in the image of Christ. "Hospitality is central to the meaning of the gospel...a lens through which we can read and understand the gospel, and a practice by which we can welcome Jesus himself" (Pohl 1999, 6). We welcome others as Christ welcomed us.

In the early days of the Church, hospitality was a means for the spread of the gospel; it went above any ethnic or national distinctions in the Church; and it was for the care of the sick, the strangers and the pilgrims. Hospitality was meant to build relationships with family and friends, but also to include those on the outside, to bring them into relationship as well.

Pohl talks about the definition of hospitality, using the Greek word philoxenia. That Greek word combines the general word for love or affection (philo) and the word for strangers (xenos) (31). It literally means "love for strangers" or "stranger love" if you will. So, by definition showing hospitality is showing love to strangers. But aren't all believers considered aliens here on earth and citizens of heaven? We're all strangers here. Showing hospitality is about caring for physical and social needs of family and friends and strangers, and about developing the spiritual dimensions of those relationships, too.

That said, how do we reclaim the art and the practice of hospitality?

There certainly are opportunities for offering hospitality; I don't think anyone would disagree with that. Pohl even thinks that our situation today is much like the situation of the early church:

"We, like the early church, find ourselves in a fragmented and multicultural society that yearns for relationships, identity and meaning. Our mobile and self-oriented society is characterized by disturbing levels of loneliness, alienation and estrangement. In a culture that appears at times to be overtly hostile to life itself, those who reject violence and embrace life bear powerful witness" (33).

This thought by Pohl still makes sense, even 12 years after publishing. People are hungry for relationships and to be known. Maybe they feel connected through social media (Facebook, Twitter), but are people really connected in those virtual worlds?

I can feel like I know complete strangers based on our interaction on Twitter--but I don't really know them. And then there are the widows and orphans, the homeless and destitute among us. How do we reach out and connect to them? It will require doing more and opening ourselves up more.

It was probably easier in the "olden days"--when the community took on all the physical, social and spiritual needs of the family, acquaintances, strangers and foreigners within it. Consider Israel of the Old Testament or the early Church of the New Testament--meeting the needs of those who lived among the community. Nowadays we have others to do that for us. We have hospitals for the sick, orphanages for the orphans, shelters for the homeless, retirement communities for the elderly and so on (57). It doesn't take much for us to show hospitality as we deliver canned goods to the food bank, coats to the shelters, make dinners for the sick, etc. We have specialists to do the day-to-day with those people. Giving to those institutions is good, but something more is required for true hospitality.

We also have to overcome our own American mindset. We like our privacy; we like to retreat into our homes after a long day at work or at school or just being out in the community. "A man's home is his castle." But oftentimes I think we make those castles into fortresses; we shut the outside world out. "No one's getting in here right now. I need to my space." [Raising my hand] I'm guilty of this. I could easily be a hermit; just shut myself up in my house for days at a time. This is not the best behavior for showing hospitality.

Where do we start? I think of my friend above. What needed to happen in her? I think of my hermit self. What must happen in me? It's about a change of heart, a new perspective on people.

Pohl notes that hospitality begins in worship. Hospitality is about God's grace and generosity, and not about my duty or responsibility. This is a response of love and gratitude for God's love for me (172). "Our hospitality both reflects and participates in God's hospitality. It depends on a disposition of love because, fundamentally, hospitality is simply love in action. It has much more to do with the resources of a generous heart than with sufficiency of food or space."

This is about giving our full attention to people--to all the strangers in our lives. Whether they come over to your house at your invitation or just show up at your door unannounced. How do you welcome them? How much interest do you show them? What kind of time do you give them? All of this communicates how much they are valued (179).

Do we show hospitality at home--to our family? In our neighborhood? At work? At church? At school? At the grocery store? Where is hospitality happening? And what is our response when we encounter those moments in which we should show hospitality?

Hospitality can happen anywhere. We need to make sure our hearts are ready to give it. We need to make a place for hospitality, not just in our homes but in our lives and in our hearts.

In Matthew 25 Jesus gives an illustration of the judgment. In addition to offering food, drink, clothing and visits, he says, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (v. 35). This could very well be about welcoming Jesus into a physical place, but could it not also mean welcoming Jesus into a relationship? That's what we are talking about here. Hospitality is about sharing meals and offering a roof to sleep under. But it's also about relationships, about welcoming people into our lives, not just into our homes. And if Jesus said, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me," then are we welcoming people into our lives?

Hospitality is about relationships. It's not about entertainment. Though if you want to invite me over for a game of Apples To Apples, I will gladly come. It's not just about hosting a dinner. Though if you want to have me over for dinner, it needs to be vegan (a meatless chili will do just fine). Hospitality is about putting primary attention on the person. Hospitality is about welcoming people INTO your life. Hospitality is about relationships. Hospitality is about loving others with the love that God has shown us. God has shown us great love and generosity; we should do the same.

LIFE IN TENNESSEE // One Word for 2012

I participated in One Word for 2011 last year. My one word was: SEE. Still processing how I did with that one.

But I am ready with my One Word for 2012: READ.

I took 2011 off from reading. After over three years in grad school with much required reading and research, I found it hard to crack many books last year. I think I've come around now and I'm ready to dive back into books. Plus, I bought a bunch of books last year that I just couldn't bring myself to read so I have to catch up.

Alongside that, I want to process my thoughts on the books I read here on the ol' Learning blog. I'm gonna dust off some books and dust off the blog and go for it.

The general goal is to do one book per week. Though once my house sells and I get ready to move, things might get hectic and I'm already prepared to be behind. Still, I shall give it my best to do one book per week and at least one blog entry per book. The blog entry might be a general review of the book or it might something more personal about what I'm reading. Depends on the book, I think. Because this is a hodgepodge list of books: some classics, some work-oriented, some pop fiction, etc.

Here are the books on my list so far. Some are new to me; some I have started and never finished so I'm going to start them over and try again. Some are real books with paper covers and pages; some are e-books on my Kindle and iBooks apps.

In no particular order....

*1) Parade of Faiths: Immigration and American Faiths by Jenna Weissman Joselit -- Week 1 DONE
*2) Just Kids by Patti Smith -- Week 14 DONE
*3) The Pacific and Other Stories by Mark Helprin -- Week 33 DONE
*4) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin -- Week 19 DONE
*5) Night by Elie Wiesel -- Week 25 DONE
6) In Allah They Trust by Kamran Karimi
7) The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
8) Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott -- Week 34 DONE
9) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
*10) Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle -- Week 2 DONE
11) From the Roots Up by Joann Butrin
*12) Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons -- Week 12 DONE
*13) The Wagon and Other Stories from the City by Martin Preib -- Week 10 DONE
14) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
*15) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- WEEK 22 DONE
16) After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart
*17) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- Week 4 DONE
*18) Bossypants by Tina Fey -- Week 11 DONE
19) Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed
*20) While You Were Micro-Sleeping by Steve Moore -- Week 3 DONE
*21) Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner -- Week 7 DONE
22) Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck
*23) Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin -- Weeks 5 & 6 DONE
*24) The Iron Lady by John Campbell -- Weeks 8 & 9 DONE
25) The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak
26) Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
27) Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
28) World War Z by Max Brooks
29) Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
*30) Chasing Fire by Suzanne Collins -- Week 7 DONE
*31) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- Week 7 DONE
32) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
*33) Parables of the Cross by Lilias Trotter -- Week 23 DONE
*34) Parables of the Christ-Life by Lilias Trotter -- Week 24 DONE
*35) A Passion for the Impossible by Miriam Huffman Rockness -- Week 27 DONE
*36) Axe to Grind by Grey West -- Week 22 DONE
*37) The Non-Profit Narrative by Dan Portnoy -- Week 13 DONE
38) 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp
*39) A Muslim's Mind by Edward J. Hoskins -- Week 29 DONE
*40) Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate -- Week 41 DONE
*41) Bruchko by Bruce Olson -- Week 39 DONE
42) The Next Christian by Gabe Lyons
*43) Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson -- Week 42 READING NOW

And that's the start. I'll add to this list as I go along.

There will also be numerous cookbooks or food writing books consulted throughout the year including:

1) Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson
2) The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon
3) Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
4) Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
5) The Conscious Kitchen by Alexandra Zissu

Check out other's One Words here: One Word 365.

LIFE IN TENNESSEE // Hello, Blog! How've You Been?

OK, it has been almost a year since I last posted here. How sad. I guess I've been busy elsewhere online. But I'm back.

My New Year's resolution and/or 2012 goal, whatever you want to call it, will be tied to this blog so I know that I will need to check in and write here. It'll be good for me. And hopeful fun and/or insightful to for you.

Here we go...