Imaginative Remembering

I attended a poetry reading last Sunday evening...I even participated. A bunch of lyrical, thought provoking English profs - and then me - a theology / youth ministry punk way out of his league. I really enjoyed listening to the poems and short stories read by the good people from the Dordt College English dept. I have strong feelings about the connection between the world of poetry and literature, and the world of theology. For too long it seems we "conservative" theology folk have been influenced by a combination of modernism and fundamentalism. We have turned the Bible into a deposit of doctrinal truth...a book of historical and scientific facts...facts that came be pulled out of their context and thrown at people like grenades - "The Bible says.....the Bible says....the Bible says...". And then we wonder why the Bible loses it's meaning for our young people? If it's a book of facts to be conquered...many of them believe they have conquered! They know all there is to know...their arsenal of weaponry is full. So when I ask students to read along with me in class...many do...some don't. Some take that time to glance at their planners, or whisper something to their neighbor, or just totally space out. But their not alone...look around during a church service sometime when the Bible is being read.
Could this have something to do with a loss of imagination? We have worked really hard to drain the biblical story of mystery, magic, and along with it- meaning. The North American Christian community is no longer a story telling community. We have left that to the "heathen". So called "secular" authors, filmmakers, musicians, artists...tell wonderful stories - but far too often we lob our bible grenades back at them, afraid of letting ourselves be human lest we venture away from the "truth".
We need our poets, our authors, our story tellers. We need more theology students to engage the creativity of poetry and literature...and we need more of our English majors to delve into theology. The Christian community has to remember that we are a people with a story, and we all need to learn how to creatively enter into and share that story. We need to be awakened to the mystery and power of the Biblical narrative, and reclaim the Bible for what it is...the memory of Israel and the memory of the Apostles as they proclaim what God has done for us, and the hope of what he is about to do.
The phrase "Imaginative Remembering" comes from Old Testament scholar Walter Bruggemann. I love that phrase and use it every chance I get. Sometime is causes students concern...after all to "imagine" something is to make something up. But I reassure them the phrase does not mean the Bible is fiction...but that the Bible is memory rooted in the historical actions of the God who has entered into covenant with his people, and with his creation, revealed to us through narrative . A story about a God who has, as Exodus 3:7 proclaims, "seen the misery" of his people - and more importantly - has come to do something about it. This is a wonderful story, a powerful story...and it's about time the Christian community once again allow the story to speak.

American Beauty

The Dordt College Faith and Film club was brought to life last year. I, along with a handful of students and a few community members, picked some films we thought were significant and once a month we watched one and discussed it. The club survived the summer, and now the students are in control. They have picked some good ones...

The first film chosen for the new year was American Beauty - which we watched last Tuesday - but not without controversy. Some on campus thought the film shouldn't be shown. There is vulgarity, violence, and sexuality...and, to be honest, the film is not easy to watch. But does this mean we shouldn't watch it?

Admittedly, the film is one of my favorites...so I'm biased. The reason for this bias is that I'm a father. I know this should probably put me on the other side of the debate...after all fathers are supposed to oppose such films that corrupt the minds of their children, but in my case being a father has caused me to embrace this film all the more. I can identify with Lester, the main character of the film. We are all seeking the big deal...we are all trying to make sense of the world, to find happiness and contentment, to find those things in life that will wake us up from the comatose stupor we too often find ourselves in. So we frantically look for the next big thing...

This happens in the Christian community as well. Our young people feel this need to move from spiritual high to spiritual high. They want to make a difference...which means traveling the world to bring the gospel to a people in desperate need. At our college campus it means being a part of praise and worship, prayer retreats, mission projects - the list could go on. For others in the church is usually manifests itself as the next big book or author with some new big idea. After all, Christians have been failing miserably in living out the gospel, we have failed miserably in carrying out the great commission...so these books and authors try to get us back on track with these grandiose ideas and spiritual exercises. So we go out and climb rocks...quit our jobs...beat our chests...watch Braveheart...go on retreats and mission projects - all in search of the next big deal.

This is what American Beauty is really about. For Lester, he is searching for meaning in sexual conquest, power, and drugs...but we are allowed to fill in the blanks for ourselves. The point of American beauty is that Lester doesn't "get it" until he has tried all of these things...and failed to arrive at contentment. When does he finally "get it"? Looking at a picture of his family. I'll admit...I am moved by the final scenes of American Beauty as Lester discovers meaning and purpose in the ordinary things of life. The leaves in fall, his grandmother's leathery hands, lying on his back and watching the stars...and Jane his daughter...and Carolyn his wife. When I see the shot of his daughter standing in the doorway with a princess costume on, I am reminded of my daughter fluttering around the yard with her Tinkerbell wings. I think of my son pretending to be a monkey on the rocks at Oak Grove...I think of my newborn daughter and the spiritual act of changing her dirty diapers. Here lies the meaning of life...too be found in the ordinary things of life. If we could only quit looking to the horizon, and look instead at what has been put right in front of us...that is the point of American Beauty. That we might finally give thanks for the explosions of grace and beauty to be discovered in the ordinary moments of our "stupid little lives."

Life in the City

Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I just spent about five days in New York City. Five days of the subway, buses, walking, running (trying to catch the trains and buses), baseball (Yankee stadium), and eating. I've been to New York twice before...but this time I felt like I finally caught a glimpse of city life. Being a Midwestern Iowa / Minnesota boy...the city usually makes me long for the open prairie and the comfort of the familiar. But this time I noticed something. In the midst of the busyness, noise, and obnoxious symbols of hyper-capitalism; I witnessed the fusion of culture and community. The African American elders staking their claim to the storefront sidewalks with their plastic lawn chairs in Harlem. The Puerto Rican flags perched proudly atop the roofs of automobiles and the heads of young Hispanic women. What looked like a Hasidic Jewish picnic in Central park, amidst the families and lovers trying to find small pieces of Eden in the midst of concrete and high rise buildings. And the rowdy mob of young men who have found ritual and religion in the bleachers of Yankee stadium; proclaiming solidarity with the poor in the face of the oppressive wealthy box seat holders, and celebrating a secular form of vicarious atonement with chants of "Derek Jeter" and "Hip Hip Jorge!"

But what impacted me the most were the improvised signs of life and beauty in places that seemed desolate and barren. The graffiti on bridges and empty storefronts depicting pictures full of color and hope. The mariachi band singing in the middle of a subway train to people trying hard not to notice each other. The young African American men dancing in the midst of Time's Square station. Most strikingly...the different groups of people from all walks of life, from every culture and nation, living together. While New York is far from a utopia (I witnessed plenty of brokenness ...), my time in the big city helped me better understand why John uses the imagery of a city, the new Jerusalem, in talking about the "new heavens and the new earth."

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ' Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself with be with them and be their God'" (Revelation 21:2-3)


What I experienced during my time in New York, to borrow from the Eastern Orthodox, were icons; snapshots of city life that point beyond themselves to something much greater. To life as it was meant to be...and to a life that one day will be once again.

What my Father Gave Me

My father and I really do not have much in common. It used to bother me, but not as much anymore. We are different people with different experiences. My father grew up in a blue collar family, and began working in a local meat market at a young age. He served in Vietnam, came home and got married. He started a family and needed to pay the bills, so he began working. Going to school may have been an option, but not a very good one. He worked hard to support his family, buy us some toys, pay for Christian school tuition, and he took us to the occasional movie.

My dad liked action movies, James Bond, war flicks, etc…but he also liked science fiction. I remember staying up late on Saturday nights…until midnight!...watching Dr. Who. He took us to see the original Superman movies, and I will never forget going to The Return of the Jedi. Never mind the critics…I was a kid, and I was mesmerized. Blown away. Inspired. I became a Star Wars nut, collecting as many of the action figures as I could, recreating the battles between the Imperial forces and the Rebels. I also was hooked on superheros. Superman, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk – you name the hero, and I was into them. (Except for Batman…he really didn’t have any cool super powers.)

Whether he knew it or not, my father had given me a gift. Imagination. I would get caught up into entirely different worlds, where good battled against the forces of evil. Where there was more to the world then met the eye…there was something beyond the way things were. There were other forces at work in the world…forces from other dimensions, other places.

I still get caught up into these worlds. I love the Lord of the Rings, the new Spiderman films (although I was disappointed with the third one), and I can’t wait to read the Chronicles of Narnia to my kids. But the influence these things had upon me goes much deeper then entertainment. I am a teacher, and for 9 months I stand in front of 18-23 year old young men and women and share ideas. To be a teacher, from my perspective, is to be a story teller. We take all kinds of narratives...historical, scientific, social, theological - and try to help young people understand them, and find the meaning and purpose in them. To teach from a Christian perspective, means we cast visions. We speak of the hope that the way the world is - the violence, oppression, and suffering - is not the way it always will be. We speak of incarnation, of resurrection, of the new heavens and the new earth...and this takes imagination. C.S. Lewis feared that the modern educational system would produce "men with no chests"...people with no heart...no imagination. I am thankful that I did not need to rely on an educational system to open my mind to think grand thoughts. Imagination is a gift my father has unknowingly given to me, and I am forever grateful.

Little Miss Sunshine

Let me begin by saying if you did not like Little Miss Sunshine, in the words of my good friend Lee, "you didn't get it did you". Ok ok, so maybe you did get it and still didn't like it. Fine. But too often in Christian circles we judge films by shallow, moralistic, criteria. Many Christians believe good films have little to no vulgar language, no sex or violence, and a straight forward, preachy, message that is usually moralistic . Little attention is given to the art of film making, or the intricate interweaving of images, music, and dialogue. Recently, I showed clips from two films to students in the Engaging Culture course I teach. The first was from the film Time Changer - a so called Christian film, made by a Christian director, and distributed by a Christian film company. This film was moralistic, preachy, and the acting was horrible. (Not to mention a plot that was contrived and laughable.) The second was Pulp Fiction, a Quentin Tarantino film that focuses on thug hit men and the underbelly crime world of Los Angeles. The question I left students to ponder over spring break: Which of these films is a "good" film? My answer? Pulp Fiction - hands down. Which of these films is a Christian film? Pulp Fiction...without a doubt.

The first time I saw Little Miss Sunshine I left the theater moved by the gospel and stirred by the Spirit. As far as I am concerned, there are few better cinematic presentations of the gospel. It begins with brokenness; a family made up of people who by the standards of American culture are all losers. A suicidal homosexual, a drug snorting grandpa, a divorced mother, a desperate and bankrupt father, a depressed and nihilistic son, and a slightly overweight young daughter who wears the disproportionately large round glasses of a grandmother. They are all brought together around Olive, the daughter, who by default ends up in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The story focuses on their road trip to California, in an old, unreliable, Volkswagen van, trying to get Olive to the pageant on time.

At first glance there doesn't appear to be much that sets the film apart from other cheap laugh road trip films. But two important keys unlock the film: the Sufjan Stevens song playing as they begin their trip, and a discussion Olive has with her suicidal homosexual uncle. The Sufjan Stevens song is "Chicago", from the Come on Feel the Illinoise album. The film only includes the instrumentation, but listen to the lyrics and one discovers the song conveys a redemptive theme. The chorus begins with this refrain: "You came to save us....all things go, all things go. To recreate us...all things go, all things go." Eventually, the somber admission "I've made a lot of mistakes" gives way to a wonderful proclaimation of new creation. In this context we encounter the discussion between Olive and her uncle concerning the existence of heaven. Olive tells him that she believes there is a heaven, to which her uncle asks if he will get in. "Yes" Olive emphatically replies...too which her uncle, who has been depressed and suicidal, can only smile.

The Roman Catholic tradition has historically understood redemption as a pilgrimage, with the vehicle for this journey being the church. We come to her broken and battered, and are led through the wilderness of this world by her instruction as we encounter the crucified and risen Christ. Lately, the church has taken quite a beating, and most of the time, it is well deserved. The church is not perfect...and this is why the Volkswagen van in Little Miss Sunshine is a perfect symbol for her. It is old, battered, first gear doesn't work, and the horn keeps going off. But it is in this van, gathered around a child, the characters are transformed.

Throughout the film Olive provides a beautiful picture of incarnation. The most powerful example being her descent into Dwayne's (her brother) despair, and her silent solidarity with him in suffering. As the film ends, Olive is the one around whom the family rallies, hand in hand joyfully dancing. Every time I see these final scenes, I am reminded of Jeremiah's proclamation to the people of Israel, living with the despair of exile:

Yes, God's Message: 'You're going to look at this place, these empty and desolate towns of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, and say, "A wasteland. Unlivable. Not even a dog could live here." But the time is coming when you're going to hear laughter and celebration, marriage festivities, people exclaiming, "Thank God-of-the-Angel-Armies. He's so good! His love never quits," as they bring thank offerings into God's Temple. I'll restore everything that was lost in this land. I'll make everything as good as new.' I, God, say so. . (Jeremiah 33:10-11 from the Message)

Amen.

Including the Excluded

This past week has been an interesting one for Dordt College. On Thursday the campus was visited by the group Soulforce as a part of their Equality Ride. Soulforce is a group that promotes issues of justice and equality on behalf of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans-gender people. While I believe the group has Christian roots (I think it was founded by Mel White), technically I do not believe they claim to be a Christian organization. The Equality ride is a bus tour that visits Christian college campuses in order to challenge what are believed to be unjust policies toward GLBT individuals. But the main focus of thier campaign is to dialouge with Christians about the issue of homoseuxality.

The issue of homosexuality is both controversial and complicated. There are so many factors that influence how people percieve the issue. This visit forced the Dordt community to move the issue from the abstract to the concrete. It's one thing to talk about it in the context of a classroom, constructing "homosexuals" into some type of artifical abstraction. But to come face to face with a real person, to talk to them, and interact with them, changes things. A friend and I were able to talk with a couple of members of the Soulforce team in a local coffee shop the Friday after they visited. It was a good conversation. We disagreed about some things...but I think we found some very important common ground.

The gospel of Luke does not allow us to turn a blind eye to the plight of the homosexual community. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus redraws the social boundaries and structures as he ministers to those who have been excluded. Luke's birth account establishes Jesus' place amongst the excluded - he is the ultimate outcast, forced to be born amongst the stink of livestock, because there was "no room in the inn". In Luke 4, Jesus defines his own ministry in the context of Jubilee. He has come to set the captives free - to proclaim the Year of the Lord's favor...to break down the barriers that keep people on the outside, and bring them home. Read through the gospel and you see Jesus touches the lepers, he eats with sinners and tax collectors, he allows women to sit at his feet and learn (the Mary and Martha story); everywhere he goes he challenges the status quo and aligns himself with the oppressed. He proclaims a new order - a new Kingdom - the Kingdom of God, and throws the doors of His royal banquet wide open so all may come and eat at the table.

Regardless of how we view homsexuality Luke's gospel does not allow us to shut the door on our homosexual brothers and sisters. We don't have to agree with them...but we had better be ready to love them. We had better be ready to stand alongside of them and advocate for them in the face of oppression and exlcusion. We had better be ready to proclaim the good news of the gospel - that the grace of God does not depend upon our sexual orientation. The grace of God in Jesus Christ comes to all of us - broken and inwardly turned - in order to make us new creations.

Youth Ministry as Truth Telling

In the book Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon give an assessment of the Christ and Culture problem. From their perspective, the church tends to fall off on either side. We either withdraw from the world content to let it all "go to hell", or we accommodate ourselves so much to the prevailing cultural winds, the gospel is no longer recognizable. Resident Aliens calls us to a different way - the way of being the Christian community. A community within which our identity is formed by the Christ event, and the Biblical testimony concerning that event. But this community does not exist for itself...it must never become an inwardly turned community. The Christian community exists for the world...to remind the world who it really is, and who it will one day once again will be. This is what it means to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

I am using this book with Youth Ministry students, trying to help them grapple with the essence of Christian Youth Ministry. So many youth ministry programs want to meet the needs of young people - emotional, relational, sometimes even physical needs. What else can we expect from a consumer culture? EVERYTHING is about meeting my needs. Maybe we are asking the wrong things from our youth leaders. The last thing young people need is another person to give them strokes, to tell them how great they are, to tell them they can and should do anything they want to. Maybe what they need are people who will tell them the truth. People who will help them question, discern, and probe the culture that is coming at them. People who are more interested in helping them remember who they are; leaders who are more interested in helping them form a Christian identity rooted in the scriptures and born out in Christian community. After all, isn't this what Christian ministry is about? Prophetically proclaiming the new reality that has come upon us because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...not the affirmation of the way things are.

Is this easier said then done? Of course...but most things worth doing are.