Back in Baltimore

After a great weekend in Fayetteville, we're back in Baltimore. We're hanging at the Panera in Columbia mall, using the free wi-fi and enjoying the souffles. The folks at Covenant in Fayetteville were great - they were a real encouragement to us. On the flight back I was reading Free of Charge, and it reminded me of our experience this weekend. The author talks about the circular flow of giving and receiving, and shows how God's giving is never simply for our sake, but that we receive from him in order to be givers to others. We're meant to be conduits. That's why Paul can talk in Romans about being "mutually encouraged by each others' faith". Paul's statement was in the broad context of his planned trip to Rome, in which he hoped to have the Roman church provide him with support on his mission to Spain (which probably didn't happen in the end). But that's exactly what we experienced this weekend - that mutual encouragement. Anyway, thanks to everyone who fed us, housed us, and just plain loved us.

Off to Fayetteville

We've been invited to participate in a missions conference this weekend at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We'll be sharing stories from London during the Sunday evening session. It turns out that one of the guys I know who goes to Westminster is from this church, and he's given us the names not only of some of his friends, but also of the best places to eat in town. So we're looking forward to it, especially in light of the Nav videos I mentioned in a previous post, which encouraged us to preach the gospel wherever we find ourselves. We're looking forward to letting this church preach the gospel to us (we need to hear it!) and also to having opportunities to tell of God's love in our lives.

I'm a Mall Walker

Yes, it's true. I have entered the world of suburban soccer moms and retirees. Somer and I have been in desperate need of exercise recently, and we've found that walking at the mall before it opens is a great way to start our day together. Somer helps me plan my day while we avoid the hazards of double strollers and slow old people. After our first day of mall walking, we discovered the mall walker's code demands that everyone walk in a counter-clockwise direction (it took a few dirty looks from otherwise pleasant looking grandmothers to clue us in as we walked counter-flow).
The best part is that it's warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and filled with stuff that we don't need but want to buy anyway.

Preaching the Gospel

One of the nice things about being a missionary with World Harvest is that they provide us with a support raising coach. Our coach walks with us through the process of raising support and provides encouragement and the occassional butt-kicking when we need it. He sent us these videos that the Navigators use in their support-raising training.
Well, the videos are about 20 years old and the speaker keeps referring to stuff that happened before I was even born, but the stuff he's saying is just great. One of the things that has really impacted me has to do with preaching the gospel. Sometimes us "professional missionary" types tend to think of ourselves as called to preach the gospel in another country. And that's true, we are called to do that. But that calling flows from the more basic calling that belongs to us as followers of Jesus - to be ambassadors for God. Like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, God is making his appeal through us: "Be reconciled to me!" And that calling doesn't get put on hold until we make it overseas.
So, even though we are talking to churches and individuals about supporting us, our most basic calling is to preach the gospel - wherever we may find ourselves. That's a refreshing challenge that has captured my heart, and I'm hoping it'll translate into telling more stories about God's faithfulness in Jesus, and doing less worrying about where the money's gonna come from.

Hot Soup

I took my first glassblowing class on Saturday at Hot Soup in Center City Philadelphia. It was so much fun! We learned the basics of how to gather the molten glass out of the crucible and how to work with some basic tools. I made a paper weight and a "snowman" - basically two lumps of glass on top of each other.
It's a short class - just four Saturday mornings - but by the end I'll be able to make a drinking glass. I can't wait for the next class, which will be in two weeks because we're heading to a missions conference in Arkansas this weekend, so I have to make up the second class later. Maybe next time I'll bring the camera and post some pics.

As seen at 2006 ETC

Probably the single most valuable part of the Theological Conversation was the people I met. Not surprising, since Emergent sees one of its primary functions as connecting people. So here are a few of the connections I made:
Craig - pastor and good friend to one of my closest friends in life. We had never met before, but knew we would both be there. We had lunch together and discovered that our stories have various points of connection. The coolest intersection? The head of his D.Min. program was one of the priests at the church I grew up in outside Baltimore. Craig's a good guy...hope to see you again brother.

Postmodern Negro - I met Anthony at the diversity conversation. He goes to Warehouse 242 in Charlotte and knows my London teammate Pat Wallin from the same church. He's still at the conversation, but should have some good reflections on his blog when he returns.

Sarah - sister-in-law to a guy I know from Westminster. Just a cool and crazy connection.

The Conversation

Had a great time at the Emergent Theological Conversation at Yale. I'm skipping the final session this morning - not 'cuz it was bad, but 'cuz I'd rather be spending time with my family and working on getting our support together to get back to London.
So...here are a couple thoughts:
1. Miroslav Volf was great. It's refreshing and powerful to hear a theologian speak out of his personal experience. Volf's views on forgiveness, exclusion, and embrace have been worked out in the midst of his life in the conflict-torn Balkans, and he has experienced the real-life outworkings of his theological views. One of the most gripping aspects of oppression that he discussed was the fact that both victim and oppressor are in need of repentance and forgiveness. There are no "innocents" in the world. This doesn't mean that victims are to be blamed for the violence they suffer, but that violence has a way of creating and inciting sin, even in the heart of the victim. The desire to plan and enact revenge is but one example.
2. One of the strongest things he had to say in my mind was in response to a question from Brian McLaren about the nature of the atonement. He spoke of his understanding of an "inclusive atonement", as opposed to an "exclusive atonement". The idea is that inclusive atonement entails our inclusion in Christ in his death and resurrection. Our guilt is not simply transferred outside of us and into Jesus...but our very selves are included in Jesus on the cross and out of the grave. He freely admitted that this raises the question of "how were we present?" to which he doesn't have easy answers.
3. I went to a break-out group on Diversity within the Emergent Community. A lively discussion...but I'm still processing it, and I'm not sure how far we really got in the conversation. One interesting thing I discovered from the conversation is that Emergent is seen by some in the church who would call themselves "liberal" as being very conservative...funny, since some "conservatives" see Emergent as far too liberal.

Emergent Theological Conversation

Heading up to Yale for the 2006 Emergent Theological Conversation tomorrow. It actually begins tonight, but I couldn't stomach another night away from the family. We've been doing lots of travel lately, and I have more scheduled for the end of this month.
The Conversation promises to be very interesting. Miroslav Volf is providing the theological fuel for the discussion, both in person and through his two books Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation and Free of Charge : Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. Check back tomorrow for updates.