Jack-of-all-Trades but a master of none

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42102677412667770192011-07-30T15:51:41.622-05:00Jack-of-all-Trades but a master of noneFinding the way to communion in the midst of freedom.c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.comBlogger281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-87626244315852719372010-01-18T17:32:00.002-06:002010-01-18T17:54:33.117-06:00it's on

It has been a long time since I have blogged. Times have been a little tough on me as of late. I have been getting "beat up" in places where I thought it would never happen. It still suprises me on how people react when intimacy builds. We all have lived in a broken world our whole lives so we know really of nothing else.Yet it has been good times as well. I went on retreat with my jr

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-67654983128670180642009-10-01T15:13:00.001-05:002009-10-01T15:15:45.238-05:00a lapse

I have been having trouble with this blog as of late. Therefore I have not written anything in a long time. It seems not to work so well on my computers so I may just switch over to wordpress or something. I will let keep you posted.

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-19019452026908991622009-08-13T21:55:00.003-05:002009-08-13T22:12:45.233-05:00A Wierd Moment

So I am sitting in my study, I was trying to pray and my mind wandered to how God has blessed me. To others, God's blessings means one thing or another; for me God has blessed me with a mind and a library. I have noticed that I am kind of a nerd. I really like to read. I like outside stuff, I mean that. But, I have taken vacation to do work that most would not consider as vacation activity. So

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-36709653977098360262009-08-04T17:03:00.008-05:002009-08-04T17:07:42.689-05:00Preaching is not speeching!

In recent conversations, I have been pulled into a discussion over the nature of preaching. I have preached (though I am novice) and believe that preaching is a fundamental aspect of what I do as a minister of the Gospel and member of the Church. Therefore, I have obvious biases. I got all riled up when preaching was equated with what happens in a speech, thus preaching is speeching. I refused

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-37033315356888134502009-07-10T09:51:00.002-05:002009-07-10T10:14:45.774-05:00It's all about the words we use . . .

We as peoples are a people of communication. We communicate by using words. All our lives revolve around such communication or lack thereof. Therefore, the words that we use are very important.Recently, I have been accused of arguing too much about words and their definitions, and that such arguments really do not matter. Obviously I am in disagreement but it seems to be a road with no outlet

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-1558998216546292532009-05-16T21:26:00.007-05:002009-05-21T10:31:51.033-05:00Decisions, decisions

I have been rolling the theological issue of evangelism in my thinking. What this has come down to is the issue of a "personal decision" and hence a "personal" Lord. I think that this theological issue needs to be re-thought (which some are doing). We are in a post-Christiandom, post-Constantinian age (for those who do not know what those mean, simply think postmodern. if that still is drawing

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-43505479756428162842009-05-09T07:53:00.006-05:002009-05-09T13:47:47.307-05:00Theology and "real life"

Theology has been on my mind as of late, with a few conversations that have brought the subject up. One conversation in particular spoke as if what is happenening in theology or more generally "academia" is not what is happening in the local congregation, or more appropriately in "real life."I disagree. I believe what I am going through in seminary is real and it is concerned with what is

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-64803879086569690572009-04-14T23:19:00.004-05:002009-04-14T23:27:52.304-05:00He is Risen!

Easter has passed and it has been one of the most spiritual Easters that I have had. There is so much going on in my life that I do not know where to look, whatever way I look it is something new and more confusing!So, here is some things that I have found on the Bible in my Bible said by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "In our meditiation we ponder the chosen text on the strength of the promise that it

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-88539207152453069052009-04-03T09:17:00.005-05:002009-04-09T21:02:27.157-05:00The mist that entails life here . . .

Easter is coming, and I have been on a journey of preparation for the celebration. I have fasting for the lenten season and it has been a life changing experience. Along with this I have been reflecting on my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the King.This reflecting has made me realize how much the world still has its grip upon me. Its as if the world has me in a choke hold and I break out of it

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-86530795677307586332009-03-05T17:07:00.002-06:002009-03-05T17:21:21.770-06:00What the church may look like?

It seems that I have created a series of blogs. It was asked of my last post basically what would this look like according to worship, community, architecture, administration, staffing, volunteer, service; and then there is the values that would need to be addressed. I will attempt my best at addressing these yet it should remain in the fore-front that this is a very large range of topics for

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-6489719418879808782009-03-03T09:50:00.006-06:002009-03-03T10:45:20.468-06:00the church's response to the thread

In my previous post, I spoke briefly about the thread of culture that runs through the tapestry of America. This thread was summarized by democratic and capitalistic values that create a rabid individualism. I want to address that there may be a response to this from the Church which is the Body of Christ.Generally speaking, regardless of what cultures we are talking about, when they are found in

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-6348373423159423072009-02-26T17:41:00.002-06:002009-02-26T17:51:39.849-06:00Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism has been recently brought back to my attention. This, I think, is an interesting topic for discussion and it has shown itself in all places that I have studied. Now I do not really know what is meant by “multiculturalism” but I do know that when I was up in northern Minnesota by the reservations, there were cultural clashes going on. I have moved into western Chicagoland and

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-71158937493601537992008-12-31T22:13:00.002-06:002008-12-31T22:43:34.302-06:00A new year

Well, it is official, now I have neglected the post. It has been over two months since a post. I have been busy puttin in work as they used to say. School is on hold right now for the season and I have been puttin in quality time with the family. I am trying to get refreshed for the new quarter.The meditation for this post: Renewing our relations with the Lord of all lords, the Christ.This

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-57626147823447323822008-10-29T10:40:00.003-05:002008-10-29T11:07:53.402-05:00Topics

Oh man have I been neglecting the blog. I have been so busy with work, school and church that I let this go. So I will give some topics that I have been pondering and that God willing, I will address in the future. I have been thinking about open/closed communion and regarding the reasons for practiciing each.I have been thinking about the "other" or the "stranger" and when he or she enters the

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-44617701269197980572008-09-02T21:14:00.002-05:002008-09-02T21:26:44.678-05:00A brief pause

There has been a brief pause in my writing in this blog as well as in my personal journal. I have been slowing myself down, trying to get my hours in line with my pursuits along with some deeper soul searching. The summer is over and I am about to embark on my second year of seminary training. To say it shortly, I have been going through some changes.Change is good essentially, not too much

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-35544012996123213772008-08-06T21:19:00.004-05:002008-08-06T22:18:24.572-05:00a Sadness

Today, some 63 years ago . . . the world seen a true moral difficiency, all in the name of "winning."May today and the 9th be symbolic to our moral incapacitation, towards our losing the will and the resources to resist vast evil.Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. Have mercy upon me, a sinner.

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-62038643522227079832008-07-22T06:01:00.002-05:002008-07-22T21:02:26.792-05:00Our society and our formation

When it comes to democracy and our formation, it is obvious that there is not a state-payed person who comes to me and tells me how to raise my children. It is my argument that the formation comes in a great many subtler, quieter forms. American society is a liberal, capitalistic, democracy. "Freedom" could be said to be the catch phrase. Yet, as Mr. Will was addressing in his book, it forms it's

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-3951355654070661362008-07-11T09:47:00.003-05:002008-07-11T10:28:34.925-05:00Statecraft as Soulcraft!?!

I finished reading George Will's Statecraft as Soulcraft: What Government Does. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983). It was an interesting read I suppose. What I think his major claim is to reorient people's thinking what government does. He says that people and politicians act as if government has a low-view in the public's eyes especially according to conservatives (less government is a

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-47163755290957876802008-07-06T21:12:00.002-05:002008-07-06T21:15:51.966-05:00Simplicity

Life is like the movie "Man on fire"You are either trained;or you are un-trained.

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-66545840574983108042008-06-14T21:01:00.003-05:002008-06-14T21:39:21.982-05:00a random thought

Here is a quote from a philosopher named Richard Rorty that I pulled out of Stanley Hauerwas' book After Christendom? : Accommodation and tolerance must stop short of a willingness to work within any vocabulary which one's interlocutor wishes to use, to take seriously any topic which he puts forward for discussion. To take this view is of a piece with dropping the idea that a single moral

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-91169360815007645702008-06-07T09:47:00.009-05:002008-06-07T10:06:10.834-05:00I wonder . . .

Oppression is an interesting thing. According to Wikipedia oppression is the act of using power to enpower one group while marginalizing another group, then makes a note that this could happen on individual levels. Wikipedia also states that the term derives from the idea of being weighted down.I wonder about oppression often. I wonder if there is such a thing as justifiable oppression. Is the

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-36370071881420493592008-04-19T23:31:00.003-05:002008-04-19T23:42:26.756-05:00A day of mourning

A few minutes ago I listened to the local Minnesota sports radio broadcast channel and heard the Wild hockey team lose the series in the first round. I am very saddened by that and decided that it needed a post.If you faithful readers are going to help me find communion then I better share my deepest feelings . . . And tomorrow will be a day of mourning. I will wake up and when 11:30 comes around

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-75447130100937815492008-03-21T21:35:00.003-05:002008-03-21T22:01:00.317-05:00Justice

As I stopped my last post, I left with speaking about individual justice. I must say, a good read on this subject is Stanley Hauerwas "A Community of Character." Within the first chapter, he uses the adult novel, "Watership Down" by Richard Adams as a story to help illustrate and illuminate his thesis therefore I recommend that novel as well, it was really good.To then move on to the theme of

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-42861679281299107812008-03-04T09:59:00.005-06:002008-03-04T11:00:51.128-06:00Power in the word

I have heard that there is power in words. I can agree with this statement for i believe that there is power in words but I will only go so far with this. This idea has been in the back of my mind for sometime now and has been revived by recent conversations I have had.I believe there is a certain power in what I speak, for instance, I can come home everyday and speak to my wife in a derogatory

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-81614616022555838362008-02-24T22:12:00.004-06:002008-02-26T22:52:20.933-06:00a purpose?

I am going to lay out an opinion, and it is an opinion because i have not much real knowledge of the issues but i readily feel the effects of the issues everyday. The Church in america is in a particular situation!What i see is that the television is a major part of life here in america. I have seen numerous news broadcasts that would be talking about lifestyles and during the show, the

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-44086131837410154602008-02-18T13:13:00.003-06:002008-02-18T13:33:02.802-06:00church worship

I have been rolling around my head for the last week about Church. Why to some is it called a "service?" Are we providing a service like my auto mechanic or our banker or our mail persons? IF we are then what is the service?And on top of this, what are church models? I have heard that there are some church models like the traditional model that so-called "fundamentalists" would like, a seeker,

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-38768148174055123492008-02-14T21:10:00.004-06:002008-02-14T22:21:07.108-06:00Today

Today NIU was shot up.That makes me very sad. We pray . . . Hope to God that He can save us. . .Please pray for NIU and the victims of this . . .It brings to mind the very topic that i preached on last suday. I have begun to understand that we as a people and a humanity have been created by God for communion. And i mean true community. Not the cheesy, neighbors but strangers that we get (to my

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210267741266777019.post-78649894954201867902008-02-13T22:16:00.003-06:002008-02-14T21:34:11.413-06:00Thesis Statement

Since this is my first blog, i will begin with stating what i want to accomplish. Basically, i want to let my mind wonder over the things and ideas (i imagine mostly theological) that i do not get a chance to express while chasing my children all over the house.Therefore, with that said . . .I will post my first real blog later.

c.blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08977119815903546509noreply@blogger.com0