(3784,48,'2012-01-07 20:26:56','2012-01-08 04:26:56','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nThe term cult is perhaps an unclear term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-70','','','2012-01-07 20:26:56','2012-01-08 04:26:56','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-70/',0,'revision','',0),(3785,48,'2012-01-07 20:28:13','2012-01-08 04:28:13','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indisti term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, so it is important to be careful before immediately sticking the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly hurt us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the \"Christian flag\" do exist, and it is a good thing to consider these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-71','','','2012-01-07 20:28:13','2012-01-08 04:28:13','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-71/',0,'revision','',0),(3788,48,'2012-01-07 20:32:45','2012-01-08 04:32:45','There\'s a  four-letter word getting thrown around a lot lately. It\'s a word I\'ve heard used flippantly, jokingly, and disparagingly. Admittedly, sometimes it seems like the most accurate, albeit inflammatory, word to use. Often this word is spoken, perhaps rightly so, by broken and hurting people out of pain and frustration. It\'s a word that was used by a commenter on my previous post in Provoketive Magazine, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/12/08/slap-on-a-little-lipstick-youll-be-fine/\">Slap On a Little Lipstick, You\'ll Be Fine</a>. If I am being completely honest, it\'s a word I\'ve used, sometimes quickly out of anger, and a lot more cautiously after great deliberation.\n\nThat\'s right, I am talking about the \'C\' word: Cult.\n\nCult is a term used by many Christians to describe Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and many other fringe religious groups and doomsday groups like Peoples Temple and Heaven\'s Gate.  It\'s also been used to discredit Christian churches and ministries with an authoritarian structure, rigid rules, and/or apparent spiritual abuse. The commenter from my last article used it in reference to what he thought was a minister requiring me to wear lipstick (as a note, I never stated in that article whether that incident occurred at a secular or religious organization). And I\'ll admit it, I\'d be pretty tempted to slap that label on a minister requiring women to wear lipstick.\n\nGiven that it carries such negative overtones, it is probably not a word one should use unless it is known for certain that a group is a cult. But what <em>is</em> a true cult?\n\nMerriam-Webster\'s Online Dictionary gives the following definition:\n\n<span class=\"ssens\">1    : formal religious veneration : worship</span>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">2</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">3</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents</span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">4</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\">: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <span class=\"vi\">&lt;health cults&gt;</span></span></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"sblk\">\n<div class=\"snum\" style=\"float: left\">5</div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">a</span> : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">b</span> : the object of such devotion</span></div>\n<div class=\"scnt\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 20px\"><span class=\"ssens\"><span class=\"sn\">c</span> : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion</span></div>\n</div>\nGoing by this definition, any religious group or faith is a cult. That\'s right, that means any Christian church or group, mainstream or otherwise, by definition is a cult. And it doesn\'t stop at religion: any fad or craze with a following is a cult, like the cult of Mac or my personal cult following of choice, that of the canceled Sci-Fi show, Firefly. Really, with the exception of the third listed definition of cult (i.e. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious), the word shouldn\'t necessarily carry a negative connotation.\n\nIf, for the sake of this article, we decided to simply run with Webster\'s third definition of cult, it would be difficult to find a fully objective person or governing body to determine what is unorthodox regarding religious beliefs and doctrine. So who gets to decide? If you asked a Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Mennonite, and Episcopalian each about what constituted orthodox versus unorthodox beliefs in other denominations, you would undoubtedly find each denomination labeled unorthodox (and thus a cult) by at least one other denomination.\n\nEven sociologists and psychologist tend to disagree over whether or not to continue the use of the word cult, since what started as a mostly neutral term now tends to bring to mind the poisoned Kool-Aid victims of the Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, there more of a continuum or spectrum between what constitutes \"cult\" and \"non-cult,\" rather than simple black and white definitions. As such, many have given to using further descriptors for cults, such as \"dangerous\" or \"benign.\"\n\nThis is why I appreciate the resources that the <a href=\"http://www.icsahome.com/\">International Cultic Studies Association</a> has online regarding cults.  The ICSA acknowledges upfront the difficulty in cult terminology, and then focuses on the damaging aspects and practices that can occur in cults, without giving a subjective list of cults or bad organizations on their website.  Instead, it is up to the reader to use the information to decide on their own. That being said, here is the list of characteristics often found with cultic groups, according to Michael D. Langone, Ph.D, Executive Director of the ICSA:\n<ol>\n	<li>The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.</li>\n	<li>Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.</li>\n	<li>Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).</li>\n	<li>The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).</li>\n	<li>The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).</li>\n	<li>The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society</li>\n	<li>The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).</li>\n	<li>The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members\' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).</li>\n	<li>The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt<span class=\"SpellE\" style=\"text-align: left;padding-top: 1px;padding-right: 3px;padding-left: 3px;padding-bottom: 6px;margin-top: 1px;margin-bottom: 1px;margin-left: 1px\">in</span>order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.</li>\n	<li>Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.</li>\n	<li>The group is preoccupied with making money.</li>\n	<li>Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.</li>\n	<li>Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.</li>\n	<li>The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.</li>\n</ol>\nPlease note that this list is not meant to be a definitive or all-encompassing checklist to diagnose groups, but merely a guideline of characteristics that cults often display. Even if an organization were to have many of these characteristics, I think we should be careful before immediately labeling a group as a cult, given how loaded a word it is. Also, I propose that it is entirely possible that a group everyone would agree is not truly a cult could be shown to display many of these traits, depending on how you describe them.\n\nFor example, a sports team could easily be described in such a way as to seem cultic. For one thing, all the members are committed wholly to the coach; questioning the coach can lead to losing the game, being benched, or even being completely removed from the team. Also, team members often engage in weirdly scripted pre-game chants with indiscernible grunts, meant to increase team unity and create a team mind-set. Furthermore, the team must all dress in complete uniformity, down to the color of their clothing, or they are not allowed to participate. The team also has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, viewing all other teams as opponents they must defeat. Being apart of the team will also likely affect their relationships and other personal goals; due to long practice sessions and traveling for games, they will have little to no time to pursue other activities, and they may not see their family very often during the on-season. Now granted, this example doesn\'t fit every characteristic listed, but as you can see, it could be easy to make a group fit these characteristics if you were already prejudiced against it.\n\nBecause \"cult\" is an indistinctly defined term that can be misused and misapplied to great detriment, it is important to be careful before immediately slapping the cult label on any religious group that we disagree with or even one that has truly injured us. That being said, damaging groups and cults flying under the Christian flag do exist, and it is wise to look for these characteristics found in spiritually and psychology destructive characteristics in groups you may join or even those you may have already joined. It is easy to have the \"I\'m to smart or balanced to get pulled into a cult\" mentality, but people of all walks of life are susceptible to cults, especially as cults often give misleading information about their true nature, organizational structure, rules, etc., when you first become involved.\n\nI certainly thought I was too intelligent or psychologically sound to get involved with a sketchy ministry or (gasp!) a cult. I was a part of a 5-fold para-church Christian ministry for approximately eight years. For those of you unfamiliar with that terminology, essentially it was a Christian ministry that was not a church, but rather worked alongside Christian churches, with a particular focus on the 5-fold ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher). I knew of the ministry through respected friends and acquaintances from the church I attend in high school, and my first involvement was merely as a member of the worship team while I was still in college.\n\nShortly after college, my husband and I \"joined the team,\" becoming more deeply involved and committed to the ministry.  As time progressed, the ministry\'s meetings (both public meetings and private \"team only\" meetings) became more frequent and went into the early morning hours (I often arrived back home after 3 am). In addition, more rigid rules were created and enforced regarding everything from not drinking alcohol, meeting attendance, how to act around the leader of our ministry, dress code, taboo discussion topics with non-team members, and much more. Public questioning of the leader was not allowed, and if you questioned him in private, somehow it was always turned around that you had a  \"heart issue\" and \"issues with authority.\" Really though, with the high demands on the team, long hours volunteering, etc., everyone was usually too tired to think, let alone have the faculties necessary to find fault with the ministry or leadership.\n\nThe \"heart issue\" was a commonly employed method to get the team to stay in line. When other members left the team (by choice or otherwise), or if the leadership found out we were associating with people who did not agree 100% with the ministry, we were discouraged to continue anything more than a superficial relationship with them. The head of the ministry was always careful to point out that he wasn\'t saying we couldn\'t associate with them, but that the fact that we would want to, knowing what they thought of the ministry, revealed our true heart. Even missing <em>optional</em> extra-curricular team events was taken as evidence of  having heart issues.\n\nEventually I became even more involved with the ministry, to the point of being privy to much of the leadership\'s confidential information regarding the inner workings of the ministry, other ministers, and even other team members. At first, it was an honor to have such a position. However, eventually I began to see the cracks in the leadership and the ministry-- cracks I could not point out unless I wanted to have a \"come to Jesus meeting\" where my supposed heart issues, authority issues, and God knows what other issues might be raised, to deflect from the flaws in leadership. Many things were done at the bidding of the leadership that I did not really agree with. Team members were booted from the ministry when they wouldn\'t toe the line, and the rest of the team was given false or highly misleading information about why they left. Long weeks of meetings were called because \'God was moving\', when behind closed doors in staff meetings, we discussed having extra meetings to get more money to keep the ministry afloat. These are just a couple of examples of the many issues I could mention.\n\nDespite my dislike of who I was becoming at this ministry and my disagreements with what the leadership were doing, I deeply struggled with leaving. Anyone who left the ministry was declared to be \"out of God\'s will,\" and I certainly did not want to be that! Furthermore, we had put eight years of our livelihood into that ministry, and leaving would lead me to question whether we had wasted the entirety of those years. At the same time, I could no longer believe that the ministry was truly acting in a way that glorified or modeled Christ.\n\nWhile I struggled and prayed for God to either release me or give me the fortitude to leave on my own, my husband was absolutely certain we needed to leave. He met with the head of the ministry about this, who disagreed that it was time for us to leave. On his request and advice, my husband agreed to take 30 days to pray about this, after which they would meet again. At the same time, I decided it was time to move out of my current job within the ministry, even if we still remained on the team. After the 30 days, my husband\'s decision remained the same. The day before his scheduled follow-up meeting, the leader called us up and kicked us off the team.\n\nDespite my relief at being released from the team, I still had an incredible amount of anger and pain stemming from how things were handled, both during our time at the ministry and in the way in which we were released from the team. In the first few months after we left, I easily decried this ministry as a cult. And I suspect that many others may jump to that same conclusion after reading my account from my time there. Looking through the list from the ICSA, this ministry does fit at least 13 out of 15 of the characteristics of cultic groups. Given that, is my original declaration correct, even if it was spoken out of pain and anger? Perhaps there is more to the story.\n\nDespite the many issues I have with that ministry, I do believe that everyone there, including the leadership, truly believes that they are helping people and doing God\'s will. Granted, having good intentions doesn\'t keep people from hurting others or doing incredible wrong. Many horrific acts have been done and continue to be done in the name of God and God\'s will.  And, the belief that you are helping people is certainly not a litmus test to prove non-cult status. But does it count for something, along the spectrum of dangerous cult/benign cult/non-cult?\n\nAt this ministry, I do think they end up doing more damage to people than they do good; but, it certainly isn\'t at the same level as drinking poisoned Kool-Aid and committing mass suicide. Is there a certain point of damage, where cult status becomes clear?  And, cult or not, what is the correct and appropriate response for Christians when faced with a Christian ministry, church, or organization that is clearly damaging to people? Do we publicly denounce them or silently pray for them?\n\nWith this particular group, and perhaps with many other cult-like Christian groups, I think the root of the issue may be with a dictatorial authority structure that does not brook any questioning of leadership, which easily leads to abuse of power. However, this is an authority structure that many groups of Christians believe is biblical and ideal. So what then? Are they right <em>technically</em> but abusing the God-given structure, are they wrong and simply misunderstanding scripture, or worse, are they twisting and manipulating scripture? At what point are doctrinal disagreements and differences in interpretation of scripture so far off that they are grounds for pulling out the cult label? Who really gets to decide who is a heretic nowadays, anyway?\n\nI certainly won\'t recommend this ministry to anyone, friend or foe. If anything, I tell them to run in the opposite direction. But at this point I also won\'t publicly denounce them as a definitive cult. No, it\'s not because I \"drank the Kool-Aid.\" They certainly straddle that fence between spiritual abuse and cult with more aplomb than a sure-footed tight-rope walker. The line between a legitimate ministry that has fallen due to abusive authority and a full-blown, destructive cult blurs so much to me that I just won\'t make that final judgment. Instead I pray for them, holding out hope that, in their desire to do God\'s will and minister to the body, they will see the damage they are doing and change. And, I pray for myself, that if I have somehow misjudged them, God will open my eyes.\n\n&nbsp;','The \'C\' Word','','inherit','open','open','','3704-revision-74','','','2012-01-07 20:32:45','2012-01-08 04:32:45','',3704,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/07/3704-revision-74/',0,'revision','',0);


INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (4379,1,'2012-01-18 09:02:00','2012-01-18 17:02:00','Hope is an expectation, an inventive vision, a dream. Hope is a desire.\r\n\r\nHope imagines what faith can create and build. Hope is the designer, the architect, the plans on paper; faith is the carpenter that constructs something tangible, something that you can see and touch from what was once only a dream.\r\n\r\nWhen hope is dashed by doubt and fear, love perseveres...and love always has hope!\r\n\r\nFaith, hope and love, a partnership of pursuable, learnable virtue.\r\n\r\nAs a visionary, a dreamer, hope is where I live. I wake up in the morning with hope at my side, having dreamt together all night. I try to spend time with faith and love, but hope I know.\r\n\r\nOne of my most vivid experiences with hope occurred while standing on the most eastern point of Mexico, on a tiny island called Isla Mujeres. It was September 2009, and my soulmate Brandee and I were celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary.\r\n\r\nIf God is love, and love always hopes, than God hopes. So I believe that standing at the edge of the ocean, in the warmth of the sun and of God’s love, he was inspiring me with His hope. Inspiring me to open my heart, our home, and live out our love. He was whispering hope to my soul on the rhythm of the waves.\r\n\r\nAdoption. This was the message of hope that He was nudging into my thoughts. He was making His hope become mine. Somewhere a little girl is hoping for a forever home, and He was bringing her hope to me.\r\n\r\nUp until this time, I’d never considered adding another child to our family, especially not by adoption. I fully supported the concept of adoption of course, but felt it just wasn’t for us. Everything changed on that beautiful beach in Mexico. Hope was sparked. I remember hearing children laughing, looking back at the boardwalk and seeing two little girls playing together, one American and one Mexican. I looked back at the ocean, contemplating the message God was entrancing me with before looking back to the boardwalk, finding that the two little girls from two different cultures had disappeared, their laughter only memory etched in my mind.\r\n\r\nTeary-eyed, I looked back to the waves and watched them slowly roll in and I was amazed at the peace, the vision, the hope that God was filling me with. My wife asked what I was thinking about, and I said, “You wouldn’t believe it...” but went on to share what was happening in my heart. That afternoon, nearly two years ago, we began our hopeful journey of adoption.\r\n\r\nIt hasn’t been an easy journey, and on occasion it feels like we’re in the middle of the ocean with no idea which way to go, but our God is faithful, and He ignites hope when we have none. In Romans 5, we read about how suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope.\r\n\r\nSometimes the dark clouds roll in and it becomes difficult to see our destination on the horizon; but it is in those stormy times that we cling to hope. Our daughter is out there, we pray for her to be held safe in the arms of God until we hold her in ours.\r\n\r\n<em>Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23</em>\r\n\r\n[This post is part of the <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/synchroblog-on-hope/\">Synchroblog on Hope</a>.  For a full list of participants and posts, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/synchroblog-on-hope/\">go here</a>.]','Adopting Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4206-revision-5','','','2012-01-18 09:02:00','2012-01-18 17:02:00','',4206,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4206-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4380,1,'2012-01-17 08:42:08','2012-01-17 16:42:08','Sometimes, ok, perhaps it’s <em>often</em>, I weary of the discipline it takes to stay faithful to the routines of tending life. I begin to skimp on the practices that nurture body, mind, soul and community. Fortunately, every now and then something wonderful comes along to enliven my efforts.\r\n\r\nMy husband and I met with friends for dinner a couple of nights ago. They are the type of friends with whom you always wish you could spend much more time. We enjoyed delicious food, wine, conversation, and heaping platefuls of hope. Interestingly, we had decided beforehand that we would discuss the end of the world. We were only half-joking. This idea was instigated by the distress of another mutual friend, a very wealthy man, over his fear of an impending world-wide economic collapse. He was ready to liquidate all his assets, pack up and move to South America. (I am not sure why South America would be better if the whole world was in trouble but there you have it.) One of our dinner mates is also in the financial world and well acquainted with the inner workings of the struggling economy. We looked forward to hearing what she might have to say.\r\n\r\nWe agreed that the mutual-friend-turned-conversation-starter is very bright and very rational man. This reaction seemed very out of character for him. But this sort of thinking is entrenched in our collective psyches and probably has been since the beginning of time. We are all afraid of what we cannot control. We are all afraid of loss. This fear is amplified through the lens of round the clock disaster movies and documentaries, and the Mayan, Nostradamus and Left Behind theories that all seek to interpret many world events in catastrophic terms. In response, there are survivalist websites selling packaged food and gear. Self-protective instincts run deep.\r\n\r\nOur conversation moved to <em>what if</em>? Specifically, if major calamity does strike, how do people of faith respond? How do we create safe space for ourselves and how do we care for our neighbors? How do we share meager supplies with those who have run out? How do we offer the hospitality of God?\r\n\r\nAnd, what would it be like? Would desperation finally push us to the faith that we have not grown into yet? You know, the kind of faith that feeds 5,000 from a few loaves and fishes, the faith that heals sickness and that finds the coins we need in the mouths of fish? We had no answers. These probably weren’t our real questions anyway. We have not been asked to live this way, not yet.\r\n\r\nIt was in this context that one friend brought up the idea of spiritual eldering. Spiritual elders are the folks who have been around a while. They have seen suffering and they have seen great beauty. They have seen heart-breaking betrayals, and they have seen love and sacrifice like that of Christ himself. They have seen faith fail and they have seen grace overflow. These are the ones who have “set their faces towards Jerusalem”, that is, they have set out <em>finally</em> on the journey that is Christ’s. They have seen Kingdom and can do nothing else but live in a way that brings it forth. They have let go of what brings only fleeting hope here on earth. They have learned what is truly important.\r\n\r\nAnd there we were, the four of us, each moving into our sixth decade on earth. We recognized that we are entering the elder stage. And of course, none of us felt ready or adequate. My friend then asked, “So, when will we be old enough to give it all away?” It became apparent that while we are not old enough yet, our shared conviction was to move in that direction together as community. This is never a journey that we need walk alone. In that realization, we felt the growing potential, desire, and <em>joy</em> of the possibilities held between us.\r\n\r\nTherein lies the hope. We were sitting in communion with friends who hope for Kingdom. Their hearts were for the left behind, the people in need. They were not thinking about preparing for disasters as much as much as learning to be good shepherds. They were concerned about growing into the people we would each need to become in order to bring forth the equities and the sweet, inclusive s<em>halom</em> of Kingdom life, no matter what happens. We all felt caught up in a quiet thrill at the thought of this communal dream. And just for once, the cost didn’t seem to obscure the prize.\r\n\r\nNone of this stuff would be surprising to my dear mentor nun, Sr. Marilyn. She is a spiritual elder in the truest sense of those words and she is helping to grow us up. She once told me a story of a priest whose South American monastery faced apocalypse when it was invaded by gunmen. The humble priest greeted them with open arms. They shot him. “It was the practices,” said Sister, “that prepared his heart to meet them that way.” Indeed, it was the practices that prepared him for anything.\r\n\r\nRichard Rohr notes that in our younger days, we typically use the type of prayer posture that we feel will help to build our careers, fill our coffers, and create a life. As we move towards eldering, we need the kind of prayer practices that help us to let it all go. We need what will bring us to the place where being emptied enough to truly open ourselves to the reality and need of the other, becomes as compelling a desire as any other we have known here. Then, instead of grasping and protecting what is ours, we can begin to walk this earth with arms held open wide.\r\n\r\nHow do we get there? “Do the practices,” says Sr. Marilyn. “The practices will get you ready.” And the hope birthed by good friends does, too.\r\n\r\n[The practices she refers to include regular engagement with faith community, Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, the daily Examen and others.]','Hope Is Held Between Us','','inherit','open','open','','4179-revision-15','','','2012-01-17 08:42:08','2012-01-17 16:42:08','',4179,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4179-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(4381,1,'2012-01-17 20:26:35','2012-01-18 04:26:35','<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Even before I became a Christian I had crazy idea embedded inside of me that life was supposed to be pretty clear and easy if you did certain things.  Maybe it was growing up with a single mom who struggled and scraped and believing that <em>\"if I got a college education, it wouldn\'t be like that\"</em> or \"<em>If you don\'t rock the boat, you can keep everyone happy.\"</em> The message of \"Do this that and you can get this or that\" was engrained in me from early on, and this was long before I became a Christ-follower.  I sort of think it\'s human nature.</p>\r\nOnce I made the leap toward Jesus in my early adult years, the message was actually more strongly reinforced, only with a little twist of adding \"God\" to it:   <em>\"If you do these things, believe these things, memorize these things, God will _________.\"</em>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Really, this kind of thinking makes an assumption that life is supposed to look like this:</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/linear-the-past1.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-4279\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/linear-the-past1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"258\" height=\"194\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">It\'s ladder-like living where we keep moving forward and don\'t look back.  One rung after another after another, somehow expected to forget what\'s behind us and keep pressing forward to what\'s ahead. With enough faith, forgiveness, prayer, and fortitude, we\'ll keep rising higher and higher and getting better and better.   It\'s formulaic and if you just do the right things, the right things will come together.</p>\r\nYeah, it didn\'t work so well for me<strong>.</strong>  As much as I secretly long for \"linear\" my life was anything but.  In fact, my life has always felt a lot more like this:\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/linear-roller-coaster.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-4280 aligncenter\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/linear-roller-coaster.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"258\" height=\"194\" /></a></p>\r\nLook familiar?\r\n\r\nAbout 16 years ago I heard a very wise woman named Jan Frank speak at a women\'s retreat.  I have no idea what she\'s doing these days, but I will always remember this imagery.  She shared that even though we long for life to be linear, and to be healed quickly from things in the past or negative messages about ourselves, it just doesn\'t work that way.  Rather, <strong>over the course of our lives we will continually hit our \"stuff\" over and over again, but each time at a new place. </strong>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The model she shared looked like this:</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/linear-spiral.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-4281\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/linear-spiral.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"258\" height=\"194\" /></a></p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>The spiral is bringing me hope right now.</strong>  Sometimes longing and hoping and wishing and begging for life to be linear can be so frustrating.   I don\'t want to still be saddled with the same messages I have struggled with for years. The ones that all-roads-lead-to for me are \"I\'m not enough\" and \"I\'m really on my own.\"  As much healing work as God has done with them, as much as I know they are not true, as much as I can put them in their proper place, they still show up in my heart and my head and relationships.  Meanwhile, I keep consciously and unconsciously expecting them to be done, in the past, and happily moving up the next rung of the ladder.</p>\r\nBut I am reminded, yet again, as this new year begins that life is so not linear.  <strong>It never was and it never will be. </strong> I am going to hit my woundedness again, and again, and again over the course of my life, <strong>but each time at a little different place. </strong> Instead of expecting the messes to be gone and being angry at myself and God for not taking care of it as quickly as I\'d like, I am learning to lean into God\'s ongoing transformation in my life.   I will continually bump into these core messages, especially during times of trial and challenge, and each time God will work to heal and restore yet another layer that needs tending to.\r\n\r\nLinear expectations of ourselves, of God, of other people tend to lead to shame, self-hatred, and anger.   I think a lot of our church experiences have subtly and directly taught us that linear living was possible.  In this model, we always fall short and end up feeling bad about ourselves.  It eventually leads to hopelessness.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Thinking that life is just a chaotic, crazy roller coaster ride with no rhyme or reason to it isn\'t very hopeful, either.</p>\r\n<strong>Accepting the spiral-ness of life leads to freedom, hope, and peace.</strong>  It <a href=\"http://kathyescobar.com/2011/05/10/letting-god-off-the-hook/\">lets God off the hook</a> and helps us notice <em>\"Yep, there it is again, rearing its ugly little head, trying to teach me something</em>\" instead of being royally ticked that we\'re still struggling.   This infuses me with hope.\r\n\r\nHope that I\'m not a total screw-up.\r\nHope that there\'s a bigger story unfolding.\r\nHope that God is always at work, transforming, rebuilding, renewing, restoring.\r\nNo matter how many times I hit the same stuff.\r\n\r\n<strong>Hope is remembering that every time I bump up against my weaknesses and painful parts of my story, it is at a new place, there to teach me something really good about what it means to be human in need of God\'s help and hope in a messy, broken world.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Yeah, life is not linear.  Never was and never will be.</em>','Linear:  Never Was, Never Will Be ','','inherit','open','open','','4277-revision-12','','','2012-01-17 20:26:35','2012-01-18 04:26:35','',4277,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4277-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(4382,1,'2012-01-16 14:12:43','2012-01-16 22:12:43','<em>Oh, January</em>. The turning of a page, the start of a chapter, and the beginning of a journey into undiscovered country. A time of pledging to not repeat the same mistakes or failings that the preceding twelve months brought time and again. Looking at the world with fresh, clear eyes and the chance for a new start. A hope in the unseen.\r\n\r\nThe irony that \"hope\" is a four-letter word is not lost on me. And like other four-letter words, this one can cut with its sharpness.\r\n\r\nFor such a simple word, \"hope\" carries a world of power behind it. It instills something inside of us. We can use it to project a sensation into others. As a verb, it is full of action, but never unfocused intensity. \"Hope\" always directly correlates to someone or something. Is it any surprise that \"Hope\" is a relatively popular name to give baby girls? Like the individual who would bear the name, \"hope\" implies strength, inspiration, and a sense of wonder.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the passage we are most familiar with in the Bible where \"hope\" occurs is found in the oft-quoted verse <em>\"Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love\"</em> (I Corinthians 13:13, NIV). It\'s interesting that \"hope\" falls between \"faith\" and \"love,\" because there is something to be said about how important \"hope\" can and should be when linking these three idea together. ...and yes: I know that \"the greatest of these [three] is love,\" but hope is the bridge we must cross in order to transition between the three.\r\n\r\nHope (pardon the pun) is most often found in our lives on a metaphorical rope, dangling before us. The idea and definition of hope is perhaps more difficult to spell out than its companion terms from I Corinthians 13, because the idea behind where and when we find hope is at times as elusive to grasp as is the concept itself. But when we can grab ahold of it, we hang on for dear life.\r\n\r\nYou can <strong>lose</strong> faith in a person or idea, but there remains an implication that it could be found again. You can <strong>fall out</strong> of love with a person, but there remains the possibility that you can fall in love again. To <strong>give up</strong> hope not only feels like a personal loss, but it also seems darker, like a curtain is drawn to a close around something. Think about it this way: when you hear on the news that a search and rescue team has \"given up hope\" of finding a missing individual or of finding them alive, we almost automatically begin to assume the worst, even with no evidence to corroborate that this is the end. When we give up hope, we have a sense of something being taken from us. When we say or hear someone say that they have given up hope, it carries a sense of profound finality with it.\r\n\r\nConversely, \"hope\" can simultaneously seem a more fluid idea than \"faith\" or \"love.\" To say \"I have faith that this will happen\" carries a conviction of assurance that your belief can make it real. To state \"I would love for this to happen\" makes it personal, and to not take action to see that whatever the idea or plan comes to fruition would almost feel like an attack on the individual making the wish. But when we hope, we more than make expression of trust for something to occur; we imply a sense of child-like belief.\r\n\r\nMaybe that\'s why January seems such a perfect time for hope to come into play in our lives. Other than the literal start of a new year, it feels symbolically appropriate as a time for a new beginning: we are coming off a season of mystery and beauty, of looking and giving beyond ourselves. We will have just celebrated the birth of the One who brought hope into the world, even going so far as to sing that His birth was a \"thrill of hope.\" And as we carry this attitude beyond the turning of the page of the calendar, to paraphrase Scrooge, we honor Christ in our hearts, as best we can.\r\n\r\nAt least, that\'s my hope.','Now These Three Remain...','','inherit','open','open','','4074-revision-8','','','2012-01-16 14:12:43','2012-01-16 22:12:43','',4074,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/16/4074-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4383,1,'2012-01-17 20:40:23','2012-01-18 04:40:23','Yes, my 13-year-old daughter has political aspirations.  She is a total drama queen, highly photogenic and that red hair is sure to catch the attention of voters.  But she has more than her looks and dramatic personality.  She has a clear platform that will save lives and lead America into a brighter future.\r\n\r\nHer new found interest in politics was sparked by a Rick Perry ad with this quote:\r\n<blockquote>“I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school. As president, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion, and I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again.”</blockquote>\r\nShe asked me,\r\n<blockquote>“Why does Rick Perry hate gays and why is he making such a big deal out of them serving in the army? Why is he so concerned about prayer in school when the real issue is people being beaten and picked on because people think they are gay?  They don’t even have to be really gay, if they just look a little gay, people pick on them and he is just going to make it worse for kids. Why does he make it sound like being Christian is about hating gays and pushing Christianity on non-Christians?  If I was going to run for office, I would focus on making America a place where no one is picked on – a place where people can just be who they are; gay or straight, Christian or non-Christian, black, white, Hispanic, or Asian.   That is what people my age care about!  We want a country that treats everyone equally.”</blockquote>\r\nI asked my budding politician if she wanted to someday be president and she said, “No, I want to be a congresswoman because they have the real power.” She is one smart little cookie.\r\n\r\nI know Governor Perry is a politician who is playing to the Christian right.  Perhaps he would see my daughter’s dream as naïve and political suicide.   I am sure his campaign manager has little interest in the dreams of a 13-year-old red-head from Virginia.  However, it is the dreams of that little red-head and young people just like her who give me hope for this country.\r\n\r\nSo, if you are a pollster trying to figure out how I will vote – my vote is for Caroline and future generations.  May we all listen to our children and embrace their dreams of a more loving society.\r\n\r\nToday the <a href=\"http://embracerichmond.org/\">Embrace Richmond team</a> celebrated MLK Day in the Hillside community and Qasarah Bey, our program director, did a dramatic reading of <a href=\"http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm\">Dr. King’s “I have a Dream Speech.” </a>Dr. King’s dream and that of my daughter don’t really sound all that different to me.  They sound surprisingly like the dreams of our founding fathers who envisioned a country that affirmed that all men (yes, not only blacks but also gays) were created equal.\r\n\r\nSo as the rhetoric and politicking continue, and as our politicians crawl into the gutter and sling mud at one another, I pray we will not get swept up in the ugliness that tends to only polarize and divide us as a nation.  I pray instead we cling to a dream, a dream that will lead to freedom, equality and the pursuit of happiness for all our nation’s citizens.\r\n\r\nOne of my favorite quotes from <a href=\"http://wendymccaig.com/wendy-books/\">my book</a>, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Sanctuary-Streets-Revolution-Transformed-Community/dp/1608990893/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1281559609&amp;sr=8-1\">“From the Sanctuary to the Streets”, </a>was from an interview I did with a case manager named Martha who is helping homeless women break out of poverty. Martha said,\r\n<blockquote>“With a dream comes hope, hope in a future that is better than today’s reality.  A dream is a powerful motivator.”</blockquote>\r\nToday in Hillside Court, one of Richmond’s most distressed communities, we took the time to dream together.  We gave the children from the community a large banner and asked them to draw their dreams.  The children drew pictures of people caring for one another, of a more beautiful neighborhood complete with an apple tree, but the overarching theme was one of peace and mutual respect.  It was amazing how that same theme of love for our fellow man dominated not only the drawings of the children but also of the four adult groups who drew their own dream banners. It was the hope of a more loving society that inspired our dreams today.\r\n\r\nHope in a better future – it is the beginning of every dream.  When our dreams grow out of God’s desires, our dreams have the power to change the world. Have you ever noticed that dreams are contagious?  Dr. King’s dream ignited a hope that spread across this nation and changed our society.  Today in Hillside, I saw people rediscovering hope for their neighborhood and the power of unity to bring it to life.  My daughter’s dream gave me hope in our future generation of leaders and inspired me to write this post.  Want to start a revolution of hope?  Start sharing your dreams!\r\n\r\n<strong>What are your dreams for this community and this country?</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>What are the dreams of your children?</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Do we dare dream of a society defined by its love?</strong>','Caroline for Congress:  Hope for the Future','','inherit','open','open','','4302-revision-8','','','2012-01-17 20:40:23','2012-01-18 04:40:23','',4302,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4302-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4384,1,'2012-01-17 20:36:33','2012-01-18 04:36:33','I grew up hearing how great and necessary hope is, which is why I was so shocked when I first heard about the notion to \"abandon hope.\"\r\n\r\nLast year I participated in the tradition of choosing one word as a sort of theme for the year.  <a href=\"http://gracerules.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/one-word-for-2011/\" target=\"_blank\">My word for 2011 was Awaken</a>.  I chose Awaken because I wanted to pursue the practice of being fully present in the moment. In my efforts to learn more about being fully present I ran across the Buddhist idea of \"abandoning hope.\"\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NOW.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-4300 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NOW-300x258.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"258\" /></a>Pema Chodron, a Tibetan Buddhist nun, wrote, “One of our deepest habitual patterns is to feel that now is not good enough.”  Chodron encourages us to abandon hope and put our energy into being where we are. She informs us that as long as we are putting our energy into the desire for something or someone to be different (which is what hope leads to) the present moment will be lost.  When the present moment is lost we lose opportunities that can only be found by staying in the moment that hope wants to sweep us away from. When we are swept away from the present reality to a vision of an imagined future we lose answers and solutions and healing that we can only know when we stay and face our pain and our fears.  If we are caught up in hoping for a future result we cannot embrace the present moment.\r\n\r\nA famous Buddhist saying is \"Hope and fear chase each other\'s tails.\" In other words, hope and fear are intrinsically connected - you hope because you are afraid of what is happening or not happening - without fear hope would not be needed.  The present - which is demanding your attention here and now - may not look appealing and yet it may have something deeper to offer you than a hoped for future. The idea is that this method of befriending our present concern affords us a clarity of action that we can never gain while trying to avoid or rid ourselves of our pain and fears.\r\n\r\nNone of this is to say that you shouldn\'t have a positive attitude. And there are certainly times when hope allows people to take that next step and behave \"as if,\" despite all evidence to the contrary.  But abandoning hope isn\'t really about being negative.  Abandoning hope is more about detaching ones self from success or failure.  It isn\'t about giving up in a way that would make you stop working or striving.  It is a kind of positive giving up that not only has the potential to reveal to you what it is that makes you more fully alive but at the same time affords you the ability to put even more effort and energy into whatever that is.\r\n\r\nThomas Merton, the late Christian mystic, advised a friend: \"Do not depend on the hope of results ... you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect.  As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself...\"\r\n\r\nWe typically have a purpose for everything that we do.  We want to succeed at accomplishing our goal and not fail.  That is fine.  However, what happens so much of the time is our thoughts of success or failure begin to become more important than what we are doing and how we are doing it.  The fear of failure causes us to become more rigid, less compassionate, more impatient, less creative, more cautious, less willing to take risks - all because we cling so desperately to a successful outcome.\r\n\r\nWOW!  This new way of thinking about hope was making sense to me.  At least enough sense that I wanted to try to put some of this stuff into practice, so over the past year I have tried to merge what I was learning about hope with my pursuit to be more present in the moment.\r\n\r\nWhere did all of this new thinking about hope lead me?\r\n\r\nWell, I still find myself hoping as a reaction to fear or worry.  But at least I am usually aware of that happening and can stop and focus on remaining in the moment - letting myself experience the feelings more fully - being more aware of myself in the present moment (Buddhists call that being mindful or waking up).\r\n\r\nAnd I still find myself performing a task or doing work with a goal in mind but at least I am getting better about the goal not overshadowing the action.  As a result I feel less attached to outcomes and more interested in the value of what I am doing and how I am doing it.  I don\'t know if I am accomplishing as much but I think what I do is a higher quality, more enjoyable and unique.\r\n\r\nMy problems have not all disappeared because none of this stops life from happening.  The hope and fear continue to return because the practice of letting go of hope and fear is hard to embrace. But I keep training and practicing and the more I train and practice the more I am able to lessen unnecessary suffering and worry.  I believe that I am more present in the moment and that the more I wake up the more compassion I have towards myself and others, the more creative I feel, the more risks I am willing to take, the more discernment I seem to have about what I should spend my time and energy pursuing.  It\'s a process and honestly I feel like I could let all the progress slip away without much notice if I don\'t remain vigilant but all in all I think I am discovering something better than hope.  I think I am discovering now.','Better Than Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4284-revision-5','','','2012-01-17 20:36:33','2012-01-18 04:36:33','',4284,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4284-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4385,1,'2012-01-17 08:13:34','2012-01-17 16:13:34','A few weeks ago I posted this prayer on <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Light-for-the-Journey/143510882359774\">Facebook:</a>\r\n<blockquote>‎”Jesus may we see in you the ways of life,\r\nMay we love justice, show mercy, practice generosity,\r\nAnd love our neighbours as we do ourselves.”</blockquote>\r\nSomeone called these lofty but admirable goals.  On a similar post several months ago someone else called it admirable idealism and another commented – impossible.  What kind of hope fills our lives How sad when God\'s hope for a world made new are viewed in this way.\r\n\r\nLove of neighbour, generosity, mercy and justice are at the heart of the gospel and the backbone of the commands that Jesus invites us to live by.  They are the fabric that is meant to shape our lives. At least that is what we tell people or pretend to believe, but underneath do we really think that they are unattainable idealism? Have we lost hope in what God plans to accomplish?\r\n\r\nHow we live is driven by who we are and what we believe.  Asking people to love their neighbours and forgive their enemies is pointless unless we first enable them to confront their inner disbelief in the attainability of these goals.  Sure we will never love our neighbours as well as we should and forgiving enemies can be very, very hard but if don’t believe it is possible we will never move an inch towards this seemingly unattainable goal.\r\n\r\nOne of my great role models in this struggle is the apostle John His story is one of the greatest stories of hope in the Bible. We first meet in Mark 3:17 as one of the Sons of Thunder.  I suspect he must have had a pretty fiery temper to be given that name. By the end of the New Testament he known as the Apostle of love.\r\n\r\nWhat an incredible transformation of heart, spirit and life that must have taken place.  And I don’t think that it is surprising that we also hear him called “the disciple that Jesus loved” (John 21: 20).  The closer we walk with Jesus, the more intimately we enter into the love of his presence, the more possibility we have of being transformed and the more possibility we have of loving justice, showing mercy, practicing generosity and loving our neighbours as we do ourselves.\r\n\r\nSo what do you think?  Is the hope we have in Jesus message attainable idealism or is it a powerful vision of hope and promise for a world transformed and a people reborn?','Are We Afraid to Hope? ','','inherit','open','open','','4196-revision-4','','','2012-01-17 08:13:34','2012-01-17 16:13:34','',4196,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4196-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4386,1,'2012-01-16 14:05:04','2012-01-16 22:05:04','This is an image that I shot just after the new year of the time just following sunset over Lake Pend Oreille in the Idaho Panhandle.  To explain why I chose this time, I will tell you that while I am a huge fan of the golden hour and have been known to take a sunset shot or two occasionally,  my real love is that time after the sun has set over the horizon. That’s when the magic really happens. As I look upon this particular sunset, I am reminded that another year has come to pass and now the sun has set on yet another chapter in history. 2011 was a great year; one full of events both forgettable and memorable. .\r\n\r\nOn the downside, 2011 almost saw me throw away a career that I love over nothing more than simple perception. 2011 saw me make the move completely away from organized religion and come to a point where I no longer wish to participate at all. 2011 almost saw me walk away from a loving relationship because of selfish pride. 2011 claimed the lives of four very good friends; three of those in December.\r\n\r\nLast year was not all about negatives though. God had other ideas for me. He was on top of things and I’m certain that the entire time, he was sitting there with my life map unfolded in front of him; drinking a cup of coffee and grinning from ear to ear while trying not to laugh because his kid had done something completely ridiculous again. I am quite certain that he has passed coffee through his nose on more than one occasion while watching me navigate through this life. In my darkest moments though, He gave me some valuable gifts. For the first time, I was able to put away my selfish pride and instead of projecting out, I found that I could now look inside myself to find, more often than not, the cause of my angst.   Last year, I got a front seat view of what a lot of people never get to see; why it is that I do what I do for a career.  The most important gift was epiphany.   I began to see what is truly important in this life, what is not and how I have been misplacing my priorities.   Last year, I received the greatest gift of all; God’s presence when it was the last thing I expected and more so the last thing I wanted. In a word, I received hope.\r\n\r\nSome time ago, a very good friend of mine wrote a piece on Caleb and how he remained determined for 45 years to collect on the promises that God had made him. Caleb was one of twelve spies sent into the land of Canaan to “scope it out”. He was also one of only two people who believed that Canaan could actually be taken. Caleb trusted in God and never looked any other direction. Me? I have a tendency to be one of the other ten. I have a knack for dwelling more on how big the obstacles are and less on the end game behind the obstacles. I am the king of disheveled focus.\r\n\r\nThere have been two locations that I have found in this world where I felt more at peace than any other place on earth. One is Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. The other is right outside my front door after a new fallen snow. On late nights after a new snow fall, a walk around the city takes on a quality that is seldom seen on a regular basis. There are few or no people out. It is indescribably quiet. If you listen, you can hear the tree squirrels scampering around the branches as they make their infrequent visits to the outside world. You can hear a slight breeze blowing through the city, the sound of a roaring fire from behind the protection of someone’s four walls or even a kiss on the lips of two lovers bundled up in front of that fire. It is peaceful like nothing else.  It is this type of peace that allows me to stay focused and keep my eye on what’s important. This steadfastness is so important because sitting on the other side of the horizon, outside of view is the dark clouds of a storm; lurking around waiting for our focus to be lost. When it is, they will move in faster than any super cell you\'ve ever seen and will create more havoc than the largest tornado you’ve ever heard of. Without focus, grey will be the color of your skies and the shape of your outlook. With your focus intact, you can keep the storm at bay; not only from yourself but from others as well.\r\n\r\nEver wonder why the New Year falls in the winter?   It is because laying there dormant underneath all of the ice and snow of winter, the grass, plants and flowers wait for the spring time when they will erupt into a flurry of color, growth, beauty and renewal. Is it any surprise that Easter is in the spring?   <em>\"I Make All Things New\".</em>\r\n\r\nWe don\'t have to wait though. At the turn of the clock at midnight on the 31st of December (<em>or for that matter, every other day</em>), we get a \"do over\".   We get to start all over again with a fresh slate and bright eyes that look toward the future - a future worth living for and a future worth living in.','Little Reminders','','inherit','open','open','','4055-revision-7','','','2012-01-16 14:05:04','2012-01-16 22:05:04','',4055,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/16/4055-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4387,1,'2012-01-17 08:06:55','2012-01-17 16:06:55','<blockquote><em><a href=\"http://mauricebroaddus.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Maurice-HOPE.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3573\" src=\"http://mauricebroaddus.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Maurice-HOPE-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" align=\"right\" /></a>Maurice woke up from yet another night of nightmares, his pillow once again soaked with sweat as he waited for the images to fade into dim memory.  Checking the time, it was only 7:40 a.m. and once again, there were no messages for him.  So once again, he laid in bed and let the feeling of helplessness and rejection wash over him.  He liked to give it full reign for about a half hour before he pulled together the will to once again face another day.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>With something approximating optimism, he got dressed.  He couldn’t muster the energy to go through the complete ritual of shaving and showering, because in his heart when he believed no one wanted him, he didn’t bother.  But he had his plan and he planned on working it.  Searching for a job meant treating the act itself like a job.  So he otherwise prepared himself, went through the rest of his getting-ready-for-work ritual and prepared to face his day.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Most days it was hard enough pulling himself out of bed rather than giving into the depression which always threatened to suck him into its waiting embrace.  The family’s anxiety level rose, conflating with his own.  The thing about anxiety was the toxic cloud it created, leaking into the fabric of everyday life like a creeping entropy.   So each morning begins by answering the questions “what’s the point?” and “where is the hope?”</em></blockquote>\r\nI lost my job in December of 2009.  I’ve done odd jobs here and there from <a href=\"http://mauricebroaddus.com/?p=2626\">freelance writing</a> to <a href=\"http://mauricebroaddus.com/?p=3089\">substitute teaching</a>, but I haven’t had anything steady in over two years.   Prolonged unemployment can do strange things to your sense of self-worth.  You start listening to all of the voices that run around in the back of your head about how no one wants you or you’re not good for anything.  After a while you have to come up with good reasons to even get up because you begin to lose hope.   Hope is one of those ephemeral things, intertwined with faith and just as fragile.  Some days it flares like the sun and others I have to turn off all the lights so that I can catch a glimpse of the embers.  So each day I get to remind myself  of all of the reasons I have to keep getting up:\r\n\r\n-A beautiful wife who even after eleven years loves me better than I do myself.\r\n\r\n-Two knucklehead boys who seem to have their own R&amp;D department committed to finding new ways to get into mischief, who also depend on me.\r\n\r\n-Some of the best friends a man could ask for.\r\n\r\n-Good health.\r\n\r\n-And a continued sense of hope.\r\n\r\nSometimes the dark circumstances are the exact times that God uses to transform us.  We feel that God is not at work, that He has abandoned us, and it is the belief that all of our cries are going unanswered that causes us the greatest pain. We need encouragement to endure this time.  Look, true faith is not without hardships, nor is it all that pragmatic. So when problems arise, there are no pat answers. There are no steps. It sucks. We have to hold on and endure it. These times of crisis will either break us and cause us to abandon God or break us down and draw us nearer to Him.\r\n\r\nA lot of times we place our love and faith in the wrong things (or good things that aren’t the best things), confusing our spiritual ideas with some distorted ideas of God. Sometimes it takes a loss of control to remind us, to re-shape us. Hopefully we will figure out what’s really important about our faith and walk, and be led to deeper faith.\r\n\r\nThe key is to be vulnerable, but still believe in my darkest moments of unbelief.  I need to remember to go before God without pretending. Be broken, empty, terrified. Be honest with my pain, rather than put it behind me. Relief comes through honest dialogue. The more doubt expresses itself, the more it is allowed to be exposed, the easier it can be dealt with. Rather than keeping it inside, eating away at me like cancer.  God is sitting shiv’ah with us during our dark nights of the soul. Grieving with us. Restoring us. In that we need to have, and can find, hope.\r\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: 12.75pt; background: white;\">My hope is that <a href=\"http://mauricebroaddus.com/?p=954\">God is not through with me yet</a> and that I still have not only gifts but also a job to do.  Even without full-time employment, I still have worth and can join in God’s missing to reconcile people to one another and to Him.  To continue to make this world a better place.  The story we find ourselves in shouldn\'t be reduced to we sin and God forgives, but that we’re children of God’s, co-heirs with Jesus, called to a life of joy. We are to make His life our own, transforming us, sometimes through the refining fire of pain, to look like Him, as children come to resemble their parents.  My hope is in that story.  My hope is in the story of redemption available for each and every one of us.  And that in recognizing our mutual need for redemption, we view one another with mercy and a measure of grace.</p>\r\nThe story of my faith is a hope that life, with it pains and joys, laughter and tears, matters.  Hope that relationships are eternal and reconciliation is possible.  Hope that we are significant and matter.  Hope that we are known, all of our good, all of our bad, through what we’ve done and for what we could be.  Hope that we are loved, as we are for who we are.  And all of that give me hope to get up in the morning, face another day, and dream anew of what could be.','Keeping Hope Alive','','inherit','open','open','','4187-revision-4','','','2012-01-17 08:06:55','2012-01-17 16:06:55','',4187,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4187-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4388,1,'2012-01-16 14:18:02','2012-01-16 22:18:02','<blockquote><em><em>Not, I’ll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee;</em>\r\nNot untwist—slack they may be—\r\nthese last strands of man\r\nIn me or, most weary, cry I can no more. I can;\r\nCan something, hope, wish day come,\r\nnot choose not to be.\r\n(from Carrion Comfort, Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1887)</em></blockquote>\r\nWe see through a glass darkly – but there are times that seem darker than others. Winter nights close in; the accumulating sorrows of friends and family pile like snowdrifts against our windows. We find ourselves wishing for summer, or surfing vacation rental websites, longing for escape. We wrestle with hope: Is healing possible? Is wholeness an illusion? Does it make sense to invest, again, and again, in systems that seem irrevocably broken, in people who seem determined to fail?\r\n\r\nReading Hopkins’ “Carrion Comfort”, I find myself wondering what struggles sapped his strength, stole his joy, led him toward the dark place of doubting God’s goodness. His poem points back toward Jacob, running from home, wrestling in the dark with God.\r\n\r\nAnd it calls to mind Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, confessing his own  temptation to despair.\r\n\r\nFor some reason, we pretend that conversion to Christ is a guarantee of a smooth and easy ride. Trust God and all will go well. Believe and your problems are solved. Let go and let God.\r\n\r\nBut there’s Hopkins, a Jesuit priest in his prime, bruised by his dark night of the soul. And Paul, acknowledging that he and his fellow workers were “under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself” (2 Cor. 1).\r\n\r\nI could list countless friends, faithful people living lives of deep obedience, who struggle with unexplained tragedies and wrestle with doubt, with a sense of abandonment that rivals David’s when he cried out:\r\n\r\nIf suffering is part of the human condition, God\'s people are not exempt.\r\n\r\nThere’s a word play in 2 Corinthians 4 that we miss in English translation. Paul says “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”\r\n\r\nAporeo (perplexed) means to be without resources, in doubt, not knowing which way to turn: stuck. I’m beginning to feel that’s my natural state. Daily, I find myself perplexed. I don’t have what’s needed. I can’t do what I promised. The challenges I face are more than I bargained for. My resources are few, my wisdom is slight, and the situation is beyond me. I laugh as I write this: I thought that state of perplexity would end when I stepped away from full-time ministry with youth. Instead, it’s more pronounced, as God leads me into more and more perplexing missions, with fewer resources at hand.\r\n\r\nPaul says: aporea, but not exaporeo. Perplexed, but not to the point of despair. Without resources, but not without hope of help. In doubt, but not in such confusion I can no longer pray, or trust, or wait. Stuck, but not - literally - \"out of a way through.\"\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on the past year, and the years before that, I see that some of the moments when I was most perplexed, God was most at work. Those places where I found myself standing still – uncertain, doubtful, at the end of my resources, ingenuity, understanding - God’s grace intervened, sometimes in ways that were immediate and dramatic, much more often in ways that could only be seen looking back across time.\r\n\r\nYet there are situations where I still wrestle, still stand in perplexity, still see no sign of resolution, no clear way through. What then?\r\n\r\nIn Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians 4 I find clear advice for my own cases of “aporea”:\r\n\r\nOne: Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. He says it at the beginning and end of the chapter: We do not lose heart.\r\n\r\nEasy to say. Not so easy to do.\r\n\r\nTwo: Admit, acknowledge, even embrace weakness. We aren’t the ones who need to be strong. I love that. We are jars of clay. Frail, flawed, struggling creatures.\r\n\r\nI’ve certainly had the temptation, at different points along the way, to “look strong for the kids,” to try to hold it together. That never works. Much better to say “I’m struggling here. But don’t worry: God will help us.”\r\n\r\nThird, Paul says: Keep your eyes on what’s ahead. Don’t let this present moment drag you down. “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”\r\n\r\nI have lots of areas of weakness, but one in particular has sometimes been a problem. I hate long, high bridges. I start focusing on the side: the flimsy rail, the too-close edge, the long drop to deep water below. And then I focus on myself: my sweaty hands, the fact that I can’t breath. If I can keep my eyes and attention out ahead, I’m okay. If I start thinking “what if . . .” I’m in trouble.\r\n\r\nThe bridges are hard. But the other side is worth it.\r\n\r\nAnd these struggles we face are hard, but they’re not the end of the story, just as those miserable bridges are never the end of the road. As Paul says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”\r\n\r\nI pray that will be so.\r\n<blockquote><em>We travelers, walking towards the sun, can’t see\r\n</em><em>Ahead, but looking back the very light\r\n</em><em>That blinded us shows us the way we came,\r\n</em><em>Along which blessings now appear, risen\r\n</em><em>As if from sightlessness to sight, and we,\r\nB</em><em>y blessings brightly lit, keep going toward\r\n</em><em>That blessed light that yet to us is dark.\r\n</em><em>                  (Sabbaths 1999, IV, Wendell Berry) </em></blockquote>','Perplexed, But Still Hopeful','','inherit','open','open','','4090-revision-10','','','2012-01-16 14:18:02','2012-01-16 22:18:02','',4090,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/16/4090-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4389,1,'2012-01-17 08:55:46','2012-01-17 16:55:46','<strong>Hope is the synchroblog theme</strong> for this first month of the new year and as I talk about what gives me hope, how I keep returning to hope despite evidence and experience, why not begin by introducing myself for my first post on provoketive?\r\n\r\n<strong>A few weeks ago a Facebook friend</strong> status updated asking about our identity. Mine? I am a daughter of the church, claimed by God in baptism. And I added, \"now what?\" Last Wednesday evening I let myself into the dark church building to prepare for playing liturgy for our celebration of the Baptism of Jesus. As I always do, I walked toward the entry way and the baptismal font and as always, I signed myself with the cross. What gives me hope? I am baptized, sealed with the sign of the cross forever. Being baptized means an identity and lifestyle  shaped according to the contours, demands and relentless grace of the gospel that seeks justice, freedom and shalom for all creation. It is life sourced from Word and Sacrament, modeled by the order of creation, the actions and words of the prophets, the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Christ.\r\n\r\n<strong>What gives me hope?</strong> That in choosing, claiming and trusting me in baptism, God has brought me into an ecumenical community that is supposed to be home wherever I journey, that is supposed to hold me accountable. In his song \"The Ark,\" from <em>City to City</em>, Gerry Rafferty sings, \"We’ll take the road that leads down to the waterside // And set out on the journey // Find a ship to take us on the way. // And we’ll sail out on the water // we’ll meet out on the water // Where are all strangers are known.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>I prepared for a life of service</strong> to church and world, and surprisingly found myself on the other side of mainstream culture and on the subverse of mainline church for longer than I\'d anticipated. In the above paragraph I made a couple of transparent comments about what the summoned assembly of forgiven sinners is \"supposed\" to be and do, and that simply doesn\'t always or even often happen.\r\n\r\n<strong>Abram was an <em>ivri</em></strong>, a Hebrew, someone from the other side. In Jesus of Nazareth, we encounter the God from the exceedingly \"other side,\" who even arrived on earth in a manner very \"other\" from usual expectations and spent most of his life and ministry on the other side of - or at least on the edges of - established religious and social systems, accredited authorities and conventional cultural boundaries. During his brief public ministry, Jesus invited everyone to become part of his insider circle. In my own baptism, has God not called me to live as an outsider to politely authorized, tamed, predictable structures of most kinds? Is that not how the Body of Christ is supposed to be and to live? As an insider to the way of Jesus?\r\n\r\n<strong>What brings me hope?</strong> Sacraments and liturgy are ways to remember who I am and Whose I am. The eucharistic liturgy that retells and re-enacts the history of salvation brings me into an ordered place within those arrays. Like water in the font, bread on the table, wine in the cup, I am an organic part of creation, birthed out of the substance of earth, sky, sea and air. Liturgy and sacraments remind me that God\'s presence is not something far off, invisible and unattainable; it\'s as close to us, as sensibly (smell, taste, touch, vision, hearing) apparent and as paradoxical as water, bread and wine, as the neighbor next door, the colleague at the next computer.\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve found myself on the other side</strong> of mainline church and midstream society for a painfully long while. But isn\'t the covenanted community supposed to be an upside down image of prevailing economic, political (and ecclesiastical) realities? Is it not supposed to challenge and subvert the status quo? Is it not supposed to live counter-culturally to the prevailing culture of consumerism and objectification? \"The Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World\" is one of the PC(USA)\'s Great Ends of the Church. The worldview of the bible is open-ended, no longer the endless, predictable recycling of the same thing, yet there is a sense of constancy, of divine design and purpose to the order of nature and creation. Similar to the way hue shifts, layer styles, filters and effects reveal previously unseen aspects of an image I\'m editing, the Holy Spirit edits, styles, filters, re-colors and reformats people, communities, and institutions and brings prophetic promises and broken hopes to life. In large part because of the continued liveliness of the Church, the Christ and the Spirit are active in the world.\r\n\r\n<strong>So I\'m hoping to emerge</strong> from my current location and back into the embrace of the called-out, covenanted community because I know I cannot do life on my own, cannot revive and reformat my own life; that only can come to me as gift. God has claimed me in baptism; I am a daughter of the church.','Paradox, Hope and Revival','','inherit','open','open','','4226-revision-7','','','2012-01-17 08:55:46','2012-01-17 16:55:46','',4226,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4226-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4390,1,'2012-01-16 14:02:29','2012-01-16 22:02:29','For those of us who are parents, the question of hope takes us directly to our children. Our hopes are for our children and the life that we launch them into. Then at some point, usually later in life, we discover our hopes are in them, as we look to them to achieve what we were never quite able to pull off. Things like a cleaner, safer, more peaceful planet, whose driving force is love, rather than violence, destructive consumption and greed. Wowser, that’s idealistic. Yes it is, but isn’t idealism the structural helix of a healthy imagination? And isn’t imagination the magnifier of possibility?\r\n\r\nWe (together with my wife) have three beautiful children. Our experience of hope is expressed and experienced in their lives. Each is a separate facet of our hope, but I want to focus on my youngest, and only son, and from my perspective, rather than ours. Mark was born late in the game, ten years late. Everything went smoothly, and he was a beautiful boy, who from his first moments was very obviously my son. Even today, seventeen years later, people look at him, and then at my worn out gray and fuzzy face and they say, he looks just like you. I’m not sure what they see, but when compared with my boyhood pictures, the resemblance is uncanny. I was a very proud father, who immediately began to imagine the possibilities. This boy, with the benefit of his mothers genetic superiority, would be able to achieve all the athletic goals that I fell short of. I would be the next Walter Gretzky, teaching my boy to skate and handle the puck. Or maybe I’d make the rink and send Mom out to teach the skills. I hoped he’d be a better me.\r\n\r\nWithin the very first month of Mark’s life, I had to let go of that dream. Although there was no exact diagnosis, it was very clear that, genetically speaking, Mark was a few genes short of a full helix. I remember going for a walk, late on a cold winter evening, letting go of those dreams, and weeping from the deepest part of me. And yet there was hope.\r\n\r\nI got up the next day, freed from expectation, freed to imagination. I simply had to change the equation from, hope = (genetic potential x opportunity + encouragement + discipline – laziness) x expectation, to hope = possibility x imagination.\r\n\r\nIn the first few years I watch Mark learn how to crawl. I remember the moment so well when he manage to climb the one single step out of the family room, into the foyer. We were watching the Oakland A’s and keeping one eye on Marky. Once he figured out how to get past that step, possibility would be magnified. Mark had been working on get up over that step for weeks. He was able to get one knee up, but then seemed unable to get any further. This day though, his determination was palpable. After consistently failing for a more than an hour, he suddenly found that perfect tipping point, and up he went. There it was, hope. Mark, all on his own, demonstrated everything I hoped for him. He multiplied all the limited possibilities that life had dealt him, by his own unlimited imagination. Mark was 3 years old.\r\n\r\nWhen Mark was 4 years old we moved downtown. Both Linda and I had been volunteering with a homeless shelter and we wanted to get closer to the action. We were commissioned by a suburban church to be missionaries to the homeless in the inner-city. Our job was to nurture hope in a very marginalized group of people living on or near the street. I set up a woodworking shop and invited a few to come discover possibility. At the time we had no idea what a vital role Mark would play in that work. I thought he would be received as that retarded kid in the wheelchair. I thought we’d get the usual polite yet awkward stares that had become such a regular part of our suburban existence. Not so. The street folks took to Marky like he was one of their own. They seemed to understand the unlimited possibilities inside the little kid with so many outward limitations. They talked to him, directly. Marky was instantly accepted, and deeply loved, and I don’t think I had ever considered that possibility. In collaboration with his new friends, Mark was defining the possibilities.\r\n\r\nThis little man is now 17 years old, and still, despite having no language, and having lost the mobility he once had, he’s constantly redefining possibility, and bringing hope that changes the world. His condition, although not diagnosed, is clearly a neurodegenerative disorder. Today the physical possibilities for Mark are very limited, he’s very weak, just hangin\' on, but if you catch him during one of his six or seven waking hours, he’ll flash you a grin that tells you he believes otherwise.\r\n\r\nMy hope is that for the rest of my life I will always see the possibilities through the magnifying lens of God’s imagination. That’s what Marky discovered in his short life, that’s the gift he’s given us. There is hope.','Hope = Possibility x Imagination','','inherit','open','open','','4004-revision-7','','','2012-01-16 14:02:29','2012-01-16 22:02:29','',4004,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/16/4004-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4391,1,'2012-01-16 16:41:01','2012-01-17 00:41:01','A friend of mine recently asked me, \"Why are you so confident in your conclusions?\" The question caught my attention and caused me to ask some very deep questions about where is my hope.  I don\'t spend a lot of time trying to prove anything anymore, and yet he was still seeing me as firm in my convictions.\r\n\r\nOver the last fifteen years, I\'ve spent a great deal of time listening deeply to my own faith and the process that goes into it. I wrote a <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Discovering-God-Imagination-Reconstructing-Christianity/dp/1453650741\" target=\"_blank\">book</a> about my conclusions and then spent the last several years allowing my own conclusions to be put to the blender.  Would it blend?  I taken on my own historical understanding of the Christian faith and found it wanting.  But instead of abandoning it, I sought to redeem it.  And after publishing it, I felt like I had...at least for me.  And that was enough.  I had discovered the relentless nature of love and grace, and just when I though I had found the end, God blew up my box.\r\n\r\nBut when my friend asked me the question, I had to step back once again and ask, \"Where is my hope?\"  Was it in my own conclusions?  Had I constructed a new box in which to live in, one that would imprison me in an unreasonable certainty and potential blindness?  Had I rebuilt the very same thing I had attempted to tear down.  Gone were the deep caffeine laden conversations that lasted four hours long.\r\n\r\nAt the core of my faith was the idea that there was nothing we had done or could ever do to lose the love of God.  But we could lose sight of the love of God.  The problem of original sin was that as human beings, we could lose site of God\'s original judgment of humanity (<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%201:31&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\">Gen 1:31</a>). We could construct a <em>false</em> conclusion that we could do something that could change God, and thus God\'s judgment.  And in losing site of that judgment, we\'re getting it wrong (sinning). The problem was then not in God, but in us.  The cross was God saying, \"This is how far I will go to show you that you are loved.\"\r\n\r\nI spent several days pondering the question, asking myself, \"What if I\'m wrong?  What if my understanding of the Christian faith was wrong?\"  I had offered conclusions that were counter to my own historical, evangelical perspective of faith.  If I stood before Jesus, what would I say?\r\n\r\nAnd then it hit me once again, that my hope was not in my constructed understanding of the Gospel, one that I felt was both logical, restorative and consistent with Scripture. My faith was then not in my faith.  It was in Jesus to be my faith for me.  My hope was in the love of God to judge for me.','Where Is My Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4046-revision-7','','','2012-01-16 16:41:01','2012-01-17 00:41:01','',4046,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/16/4046-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4392,1,'2012-01-17 21:01:02','2012-01-18 05:01:02','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">When I was young, hope was easy. I hoped for a trip to the near-by ice cream stand on a hot summer afternoon. I hoped for the perfect new toy for my birthday. I hoped that I would be able to fake my way through my piano lesson without my teacher recognizing just how little I had practiced.</div>\r\nBut as I aged, my relationship with hope grew rather uneasy. Despite my youthful abandon with hope, the adult me has frequently been afraid to hope.\r\n\r\nI’m not afraid to share my opinion, even if it’s controversial. I’m not afraid to ask difficult questions, even if it means that I may not find a satisfactory answer. I’m not even afraid of spiders, and those things have eight legs and like a million eyes!\r\n\r\nBut hope? That one throws me.\r\n\r\nFor much of my adult life, I have tried to learn contentment. To see what I have as enough. To accept that I am sufficient. To avoid striving. To avoid beating myself up. To avoid looking down on my circumstances.\r\n\r\nBut in the process of working toward contentment, I lost much of my ability to hope.\r\n\r\nI want to believe that hope is good, but it often feels negative. What if I hope for something and it doesn’t happen? Isn’t disappointment a regular companion to hope? Isn\'t the point of hope that the thing hoped for is somewhat unattainable? How do I live with hope that is unfulfilled?\r\n\r\nDisappointment is one thing if we\'re talking about a soft serve ice cream cone, but quite another when we\'re talking about a difficult relationship that needs to be restored. A birthday where I didn\'t get exactly the gift that I wanted might be bad for a day or two, but a rejection of my creative offerings can feel much more devastating. When the stakes get higher, hope seems like a danger that might not be worth it.\r\n\r\nBut I have seen glimpses of hopes fulfilled. When I was content to believe that music was something that had been excised from my life completely, hope allowed me to ask for just one more chance to participate in something that opened up so many other musical opportunities. When I was content to think that my writing was just for me and that it wasn\'t really for public consumption, hope nudged me to share something that touched people in a way that was more far-reaching than I could have seen.\r\n\r\nYes, hope can be a precursor to disappointment, but it can also be a gateway to joy and excitement.\r\n\r\nI want to live in a world where hope is the norm, where we are free to dream for things that seem impossible. I want to be able to stretch my mind open and see things that are beyond what my practical or logical self is able to envision. I want my kids to hope for ice cream and toys and beauty and justice and amazement.\r\n\r\nI want all of us - me, my family, my friends, you - to be content to hope.','Content to Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4320-revision-9','','','2012-01-17 21:01:02','2012-01-18 05:01:02','',4320,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4320-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4393,76,'2012-01-17 18:40:34','2012-01-18 02:40:34','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Hands.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4216\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Hands.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"350\" /></a>I\'m writing this fairly late on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I\'ve been feeling like I wanted to write about Rev. King\'s life and ministry, more intentionally this time than I have in past years, and I\'m not totally sure why.  I wonder if it has to do with the babies. Everything has to do with the twins, D and A, these days, now that they are growing up at the speed of light with all their crawling around and manipulating me with their cute, pout-y faces. They\'re 10 months old. Old. And I know there\'s still so much more to come with them.\r\n\r\nI digress, but only slightly. I worry about them. I wonder what it will be like for them in elementary school, the horrible season of middle school, and the much-too-adult-like world of high school - if they will be judged or bullied, ignored or peer pressured because they look different. Not quite white. Not quite Korean. Granted, I know this will probably happen, and not simply because of their race, but because of their genders, or whatever their choices, even their faith (whatever it is in the future). But, for those who don\'t have to deal with the question of race being an equation in people\'s assumptions and expectations of you...they don\'t get it. They don\'t get that this question plagues you, haunts you, burdens you, and just sometimes makes you feel less certain about not only your ability, but about your humanity.\r\n\r\nOf course, I want to protect them. I want to plant the seeds of King\'s words deep into their consciences so that nothing can possibly tear out their dreams. I want their roots to grow into something beautiful, wild, free, and true. Because I had hoped for these babies for so long and hard that I can\'t imagine anyone hurting them or taking away their experience of love and grace, and how they are God\'s dear children.\r\n\r\nAnd then, I remember what it was like to hope for them.\r\n\r\nHope is funny. And, not always funny in the \"HA-HA, that\'s hilarious,\" or \"HA, that\'s clever/ironic/interesting.\" Hope can be a bitch, too. When we were first trying to get pregnant, when my days were saturated with longing, possibility, despair, strange hope...I hated and despised hope for awhile. Hope, which created all these feelings and desires only seemed to accentuate the pain and loneliness of failure and disappointment, but I couldn\'t help but get up each day because of that hope, only to get knocked down again...a vicious cycle. But, when that hope was finally and miraculously fulfilled, when we were cautiously optimistic, when they showed up and stole my heart and changed everything, I knew that hope would always be an undercurrent in my life.\r\n\r\nNot simply as optimism or a naive clinging to fantasies, but as something that would constantly transform me from the inside out even if the world around me stayed the same. The babies literally transformed me from the inside, and out now. And because of that hope, I can and do hope andwork for a better world for them. Better schools. Better churches. Better communities. Better lives. Not a painless or pain-free world, but one where they will get up each day and use their hands and hearts to live honestly and passionately.\r\n\r\nSo, the timing of this post is serendipitous because who else to inspire hope more than MLK Jr? My 2012 MLK Jr. quote (since I and so many others post quotes on Facebook, which I actually do love and look forward to each year) is: \"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.\" There\'s something poignant and real about the creatively maladjusted, and extremely appropriate to me and my life, particularly as I figure out motherhood and ministry. There\'s hope for all of us, particularly the maladjusted, which I count myself to be wholeheartedly. I hope the babies feel free to do so in the future, too, no matter what others say or expect of them, as they grow into God\'s beloved, and share God\'s love and compassion with others.\r\n\r\n[Photo from <a href=\"http://www.etsy.com/listing/71493674/romance-sweet-love-heart-hands-wedding?ref=sr_gallery_8&amp;sref=&amp;ga_search_submit=&amp;ga_search_query=holding+hands&amp;ga_order=most_relevant&amp;ga_ship_to=US&amp;ga_view_type=gallery&amp;ga_page=3&amp;ga_search_type=handmade&amp;ga_facet=handmade\">Etsy</a>]','Hope: In the Hands of the Creatively Maladjusted','','inherit','open','open','','4211-revision-7','','','2012-01-17 18:40:34','2012-01-18 02:40:34','',4211,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/17/4211-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4395,1,'2012-01-18 09:19:55','2012-01-18 17:19:55','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Hands.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4216\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Hands.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"350\" /></a>I\'m writing this fairly late on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I\'ve been feeling like I wanted to write about Rev. King\'s life and ministry, more intentionally this time than I have in past years, and I\'m not totally sure why.  I wonder if it has to do with the babies. Everything has to do with the twins, D and A, these days, now that they are growing up at the speed of light with all their crawling around and manipulating me with their cute, pout-y faces. They\'re 10 months old. Old. And I know there\'s still so much more to come with them.\r\n\r\nI digress, but only slightly. I worry about them. I wonder what it will be like for them in elementary school, the horrible season of middle school, and the much-too-adult-like world of high school - if they will be judged or bullied, ignored or peer pressured because they look different. Not quite white. Not quite Korean. Granted, I know this will probably happen, and not simply because of their race, but because of their genders, or whatever their choices, even their faith (whatever it is in the future). But, for those who don\'t have to deal with the question of race being an equation in people\'s assumptions and expectations of you...they don\'t get it. They don\'t get that this question plagues you, haunts you, burdens you, and just sometimes makes you feel less certain about not only your ability, but about your humanity.\r\n\r\nOf course, I want to protect them. I want to plant the seeds of King\'s words deep into their consciences so that nothing can possibly tear out their dreams. I want their roots to grow into something beautiful, wild, free, and true. Because I had hoped for these babies for so long and hard that I can\'t imagine anyone hurting them or taking away their experience of love and grace, and how they are God\'s dear children.\r\n\r\nAnd then, I remember what it was like to hope for them.\r\n\r\nHope is funny. And, not always funny in the \"HA-HA, that\'s hilarious,\" or \"HA, that\'s clever/ironic/interesting.\" Hope can be a bitch, too. When we were first trying to get pregnant, when my days were saturated with longing, possibility, despair, strange hope...I hated and despised hope for awhile. Hope, which created all these feelings and desires only seemed to accentuate the pain and loneliness of failure and disappointment, but I couldn\'t help but get up each day because of that hope, only to get knocked down again...a vicious cycle. But, when that hope was finally and miraculously fulfilled, when we were cautiously optimistic, when they showed up and stole my heart and changed everything, I knew that hope would always be an undercurrent in my life.\r\n\r\nNot simply as optimism or a naive clinging to fantasies, but as something that would constantly transform me from the inside out even if the world around me stayed the same. The babies literally transformed me from the inside, and out now. And because of that hope, I can and do hope andwork for a better world for them. Better schools. Better churches. Better communities. Better lives. Not a painless or pain-free world, but one where they will get up each day and use their hands and hearts to live honestly and passionately.\r\n\r\nSo, the timing of this post is serendipitous because who else to inspire hope more than MLK Jr? My 2012 MLK Jr. quote (since I and so many others post quotes on Facebook, which I actually do love and look forward to each year) is: \"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.\" There\'s something poignant and real about the creatively maladjusted, and extremely appropriate to me and my life, particularly as I figure out motherhood and ministry. There\'s hope for all of us, particularly the maladjusted, which I count myself to be wholeheartedly. I hope the babies feel free to do so in the future, too, no matter what others say or expect of them, as they grow into God\'s beloved, and share God\'s love and compassion with others.\r\n\r\n{Photo from <a href=\"http://www.etsy.com/listing/71493674/romance-sweet-love-heart-hands-wedding?ref=sr_gallery_8&amp;sref=&amp;ga_search_submit=&amp;ga_search_query=holding+hands&amp;ga_order=most_relevant&amp;ga_ship_to=US&amp;ga_view_type=gallery&amp;ga_page=3&amp;ga_search_type=handmade&amp;ga_facet=handmade\">Etsy</a>}','Hope: In the Hands of the Creatively Maladjusted','','inherit','open','open','','4211-revision-8','','','2012-01-18 09:19:55','2012-01-18 17:19:55','',4211,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4211-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4396,0,'2012-01-18 10:42:12','2012-01-18 18:42:12','Helloe Jonathan, is there a way to subscribe to your blog so I can get all the latest updates?\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Ed Damas\nAUTHOR EMAIL: ed@inpulsearts.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.inpulsearts.com/Word\nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] The United States Is Being Extracted\nIP: 68.108.128.243\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Ed Damas\n    [Email] =&gt; ed@inpulsearts.com\n    [Website] =&gt; www.inpulsearts.com/Word\n    [Message] =&gt; Helloe Jonathan, is there a way to subscribe to your blog so I can get all the latest updates?\n)\n','Ed Damas - 2012-01-18 10:42:12','','publish','open','open','','c0bd52846eb4c2fac57a205aeda33319','','','2012-01-18 10:42:12','2012-01-18 18:42:12','',3055,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4396',0,'feedback','',0),(4398,12,'2012-01-18 11:58:43','2012-01-18 19:58:43','','costa','','inherit','open','open','','costa','','','2012-01-18 11:58:43','2012-01-18 19:58:43','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/costa.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4399,12,'2012-01-18 12:00:24','2012-01-18 20:00:24','','captn','','inherit','open','open','','captn','','','2012-01-18 12:00:24','2012-01-18 20:00:24','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4400,12,'2012-01-18 11:57:08','2012-01-18 19:57:08','We watched in horror recently as the <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087249/Costa-Concordia-cruise-ship-accident-Bodies-4-men-1-woman-found.html\">cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed</a> upon the rocks in Italy, causing the deaths of many. Horror turned into blame as it was discovered that the ship\'s captain, Francesco Schettino, may have had a large part in the ship\'s crash. Worse, he may have jumped ship before ensuring the safety of his passengers.\n\nHe was quickly dubbed, \"Captain Coward\" in Italy and t-shirts were even made with the words a <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2088472/The-wrecked-Costa-Concordia-hapless-Captain-Coward-perfect-symbols-magnificent-malfunctioning-Italy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml\">coast guard official yelled</a> at him: \"Get back on board for &amp;%*#\'s sake!\"\n\nIn stories such as these, it\'s easy to find outrage within ourselves. The imaginary conversation within our minds goes something like this (whether we actually internally verbalize it or not):\n\n<em>\"I can\'t believe he did that! Coward. If that had been me, I would have stayed on board until everyone was accounted for!\"</em>\n\nAnd thus, our morality stays superior to at least one human being on planet earth for another day. We\'ve judged when we cross the line from saying, \"That was a terrible act,\" to saying, \"What a terrible human being.\" But in reality, and in our hearts, each of us is a hypocrite.\n\nSure, none of us will probably ever get the chance to pilot a cruise ship and face the moral dilemma. Even if some reading this have been in a situation where they did save lives at some point in their life, it wouldn\'t give us the right to pass judgment on anyone.\n\nI sat thinking today about a slightly different scenario. What if everyone in my church was on the deck of a cruise ship and one of our members fell overboard? I\'m pretty sure we would do whatever it took to rescue them. We\'d call the coast guard, lower a life boat, throw them a preserver, or jump overboard ourselves, wouldn\'t we? Yeah, that\'s not the same as being the captain of the Costa Concordia, but I think that\'s a pretty reasonable response.\n\nAnother thought - we do have people who go overboard in the church every single week. People who abandon ship due to weariness, moral failure, backsliding or other sin. Some are pastors, some are deacons, some are single mothers, some are youth, some are new members. But they leave. They jump overboard. And what is the most common response?\n\nWe typically act like Captain Coward. We look the other way. Mental discussion again: \"Well, that person had issues. And we don\'t really need to be associated with that sin. God will bring them back if He wants them back.\"\n\nI get it. The cruise ship captain did something that caused people to die. And the thing I\'m discussing is just about people who are leaving the church due to sin. Apples and oranges, right? To a degree.\n\nBut when we don\'t seek to restore people who fail, who leave, who jump overboard, who will? And what do you think typically happens to them? If the captain doesn\'t take responsibility to right the ship, who will? And if the Christian community doesn\'t seek out and help her own, they aren\'t typically going to make it.\n\nOver and over, we hear the statistics of how many \"unchurched\" there are in our country. It\'s an alarmingly high percentage. In my experience, a vast number of the \"unchurched\" are those who went overboard, those whom the church forgot or didn\'t care to chase after or rescue. Kinda like a captain who forgot what his duties were.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','\"Captain Coward\" and the Failure to Rescue','','inherit','open','open','','4397-revision','','','2012-01-18 11:57:08','2012-01-18 19:57:08','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4397-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4401,12,'2012-01-18 12:01:11','2012-01-18 20:01:11','We watched in horror recently as the <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087249/Costa-Concordia-cruise-ship-accident-Bodies-4-men-1-woman-found.html\">cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed</a> upon the rocks in Italy, causing the deaths of many. Horror turned into blame as it was discovered that the ship\'s captain, Francesco Schettino, may have had a large part in the ship\'s crash. Worse, he may have jumped ship before ensuring the safety of his passengers.\n\nHe was quickly dubbed, \"Captain Coward\" in Italy and t-shirts were even made with the words a <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2088472/The-wrecked-Costa-Concordia-hapless-Captain-Coward-perfect-symbols-magnificent-malfunctioning-Italy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml\">coast guard official yelled</a> at him: \"Get back on board for &amp;%*#\'s sake!\"\n\nIn stories such as these, it\'s easy to find outrage within ourselves. The imaginary conversation within our minds goes something like this (whether we actually internally verbalize it or not):\n\n<em>\"I can\'t believe he did that! Coward. If that had been me, I would have stayed on board until everyone was accounted for!\"</em>\n\nAnd thus, our morality stays superior to at least one human being on planet earth for another day. We\'ve judged when we cross the line from saying, \"That was a terrible act,\" to saying, \"What a terrible human being.\" But in reality, and in our hearts, each of us is a hypocrite.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4399\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" /></a>Sure, none of us will probably ever get the chance to pilot a cruise ship and face the moral dilemma. Even if some reading this have been in a situation where they did save lives at some point in their life, it wouldn\'t give us the right to pass judgment on anyone.\n\nI sat thinking today about a slightly different scenario. What if everyone in my church was on the deck of a cruise ship and one of our members fell overboard? I\'m pretty sure we would do whatever it took to rescue them. We\'d call the coast guard, lower a life boat, throw them a preserver, or jump overboard ourselves, wouldn\'t we? Yeah, that\'s not the same as being the captain of the Costa Concordia, but I think that\'s a pretty reasonable response.\n\nAnother thought - we do have people who go overboard in the church every single week. People who abandon ship due to weariness, moral failure, backsliding or other sin. Some are pastors, some are deacons, some are single mothers, some are youth, some are new members. But they leave. They jump overboard. And what is the most common response?\n\nWe typically act like Captain Coward. We look the other way. Mental discussion again: \"Well, that person had issues. And we don\'t really need to be associated with that sin. God will bring them back if He wants them back.\"\n\nI get it. The cruise ship captain did something that caused people to die. And the thing I\'m discussing is just about people who are leaving the church due to sin. Apples and oranges, right? To a degree.\n\nBut when we don\'t seek to restore people who fail, who leave, who jump overboard, who will? And what do you think typically happens to them? If the captain doesn\'t take responsibility to right the ship, who will? And if the Christian community doesn\'t seek out and help her own, they aren\'t typically going to make it.\n\nOver and over, we hear the statistics of how many \"unchurched\" there are in our country. It\'s an alarmingly high percentage. In my experience, a vast number of the \"unchurched\" are those who went overboard, those whom the church forgot or didn\'t care to chase after or rescue. Kinda like a captain who forgot what his duties were.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','\"Captain Coward\" and the Failure to Rescue','','inherit','open','open','','4397-revision-2','','','2012-01-18 12:01:11','2012-01-18 20:01:11','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4397-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4402,1,'2012-01-21 10:26:22','2012-01-21 18:26:22','We watched in horror recently as the <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087249/Costa-Concordia-cruise-ship-accident-Bodies-4-men-1-woman-found.html\">cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed</a> upon the rocks in Italy, causing the deaths of many. Horror turned into blame as it was discovered that the ship\'s captain, Francesco Schettino, may have had a large part in the ship\'s crash. Worse, he may have jumped ship before ensuring the safety of his passengers.\n\nHe was quickly dubbed, \"Captain Coward\" in Italy and t-shirts were even made with the words a <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2088472/The-wrecked-Costa-Concordia-hapless-Captain-Coward-perfect-symbols-magnificent-malfunctioning-Italy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml\">coast guard official yelled</a> at him: <em>\"Get back on board for &amp;%*#\'s sake!\"</em>\n\nIn stories such as these, it\'s easy to find outrage within ourselves. The imaginary conversation within our minds goes something like this (whether we actually internally verbalize it or not):\n\n<em>\"I can\'t believe he did that! Coward. If that had been me, I would have stayed on board until everyone was accounted for!\"</em>\n\nAnd thus, our morality stays superior to at least one human being on planet earth for another day. We\'ve judged when we cross the line from saying, \"That was a terrible act,\" to saying, \"What a terrible human being.\" But in reality, and in our hearts, each of us is a hypocrite.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4399\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" /></a>Sure, none of us will probably ever get the chance to pilot a cruise ship and face the moral dilemma. Even if some reading this have been in a situation where they did save lives at some point in their life, it wouldn\'t give us the right to pass judgment on anyone.\n\nI sat thinking today about a slightly different scenario. What if everyone in my church was on the deck of a cruise ship and one of our members fell overboard? I\'m pretty sure we would do whatever it took to rescue them. We\'d call the coast guard, lower a life boat, throw them a preserver, or jump overboard ourselves, wouldn\'t we? Yeah, that\'s not the same as being the captain of the Costa Concordia, but I think that\'s a pretty reasonable response.\n\nAnother thought - we do have people who go overboard in the church every single week. People who abandon ship due to weariness, moral failure, backsliding or other sin. Some are pastors, some are deacons, some are single mothers, some are youth, some are new members. But they leave. They jump overboard. And what is the most common response?\n\nWe typically act like Captain Coward. We look the other way. Mental discussion again: \"Well, that person had issues. And we don\'t really need to be associated with that sin. God will bring them back if He wants them back.\"\n\nI get it. The cruise ship captain did something that caused people to die. And the thing I\'m discussing is just about people who are leaving the church due to sin. Apples and oranges, right? To a degree.\n\nBut when we don\'t seek to restore people who fail, who leave, who jump overboard, who will? And what do you think typically happens to them? If the captain doesn\'t take responsibility to right the ship, who will? And if the Christian community doesn\'t seek out and help her own, they aren\'t typically going to make it.\n\nOver and over, we hear the statistics of how many \"unchurched\" there are in our country. It\'s an alarmingly high percentage. In my experience, a vast number of the \"unchurched\" are those who went overboard, those whom the church forgot or didn\'t care to chase after or rescue. Kinda like a captain who forgot what his duties were.','\"Captain Coward\" and the Failure to Rescue','','inherit','open','open','','4397-autosave','','','2012-01-21 10:26:22','2012-01-21 18:26:22','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4397-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4403,12,'2012-01-18 12:01:44','2012-01-18 20:01:44','We watched in horror recently as the <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087249/Costa-Concordia-cruise-ship-accident-Bodies-4-men-1-woman-found.html\">cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed</a> upon the rocks in Italy, causing the deaths of many. Horror turned into blame as it was discovered that the ship\'s captain, Francesco Schettino, may have had a large part in the ship\'s crash. Worse, he may have jumped ship before ensuring the safety of his passengers.\r\n\r\nHe was quickly dubbed, \"Captain Coward\" in Italy and t-shirts were even made with the words a <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2088472/The-wrecked-Costa-Concordia-hapless-Captain-Coward-perfect-symbols-magnificent-malfunctioning-Italy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml\">coast guard official yelled</a> at him: <em>\"Get back on board for &amp;%*#\'s sake!\"</em>\r\n\r\nIn stories such as these, it\'s easy to find outrage within ourselves. The imaginary conversation within our minds goes something like this (whether we actually internally verbalize it or not):\r\n\r\n<em>\"I can\'t believe he did that! Coward. If that had been me, I would have stayed on board until everyone was accounted for!\"</em>\r\n\r\nAnd thus, our morality stays superior to at least one human being on planet earth for another day. We\'ve judged when we cross the line from saying, \"That was a terrible act,\" to saying, \"What a terrible human being.\" But in reality, and in our hearts, each of us is a hypocrite.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4399\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" /></a>Sure, none of us will probably ever get the chance to pilot a cruise ship and face the moral dilemma. Even if some reading this have been in a situation where they did save lives at some point in their life, it wouldn\'t give us the right to pass judgment on anyone.\r\n\r\nI sat thinking today about a slightly different scenario. What if everyone in my church was on the deck of a cruise ship and one of our members fell overboard? I\'m pretty sure we would do whatever it took to rescue them. We\'d call the coast guard, lower a life boat, throw them a preserver, or jump overboard ourselves, wouldn\'t we? Yeah, that\'s not the same as being the captain of the Costa Concordia, but I think that\'s a pretty reasonable response.\r\n\r\nAnother thought - we do have people who go overboard in the church every single week. People who abandon ship due to weariness, moral failure, backsliding or other sin. Some are pastors, some are deacons, some are single mothers, some are youth, some are new members. But they leave. They jump overboard. And what is the most common response?\r\n\r\nWe typically act like Captain Coward. We look the other way. Mental discussion again: \"Well, that person had issues. And we don\'t really need to be associated with that sin. God will bring them back if He wants them back.\"\r\n\r\nI get it. The cruise ship captain did something that caused people to die. And the thing I\'m discussing is just about people who are leaving the church due to sin. Apples and oranges, right? To a degree.\r\n\r\nBut when we don\'t seek to restore people who fail, who leave, who jump overboard, who will? And what do you think typically happens to them? If the captain doesn\'t take responsibility to right the ship, who will? And if the Christian community doesn\'t seek out and help her own, they aren\'t typically going to make it.\r\n\r\nOver and over, we hear the statistics of how many \"unchurched\" there are in our country. It\'s an alarmingly high percentage. In my experience, a vast number of the \"unchurched\" are those who went overboard, those whom the church forgot or didn\'t care to chase after or rescue. Kinda like a captain who forgot what his duties were.','\"Captain Coward\" and the Failure to Rescue','','inherit','open','open','','4397-revision-3','','','2012-01-18 12:01:44','2012-01-18 20:01:44','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4397-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4483,1,'2012-01-18 12:08:16','2012-01-18 20:08:16','We watched in horror recently as the <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087249/Costa-Concordia-cruise-ship-accident-Bodies-4-men-1-woman-found.html\">cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed</a> upon the rocks in Italy, causing the deaths of many. Horror turned into blame as it was discovered that the ship\'s captain, Francesco Schettino, may have had a large part in the ship\'s crash. Worse, he may have jumped ship before ensuring the safety of his passengers.\r\n\r\nHe was quickly dubbed, \"Captain Coward\" in Italy and t-shirts were even made with the words a <a href=\"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2088472/The-wrecked-Costa-Concordia-hapless-Captain-Coward-perfect-symbols-magnificent-malfunctioning-Italy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml\">coast guard official yelled</a> at him: <em>\"Get back on board for &amp;%*#\'s sake!\"</em>\r\n\r\nIn stories such as these, it\'s easy to find outrage within ourselves. The imaginary conversation within our minds goes something like this (whether we actually internally verbalize it or not):\r\n\r\n<em>\"I can\'t believe he did that! Coward. If that had been me, I would have stayed on board until everyone was accounted for!\"</em>\r\n\r\nAnd thus, our morality stays superior to at least one human being on planet earth for another day. We\'ve judged when we cross the line from saying, \"That was a terrible act,\" to saying, \"What a terrible human being.\" But in reality, and in our hearts, each of us is a hypocrite.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4399\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/captn-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" /></a>Sure, none of us will probably ever get the chance to pilot a cruise ship and face the moral dilemma. Even if some reading this have been in a situation where they did save lives at some point in their life, it wouldn\'t give us the right to pass judgment on anyone.\r\n\r\nI sat thinking today about a slightly different scenario. What if everyone in my church was on the deck of a cruise ship and one of our members fell overboard? I\'m pretty sure we would do whatever it took to rescue them. We\'d call the coast guard, lower a life boat, throw them a preserver, or jump overboard ourselves, wouldn\'t we? Yeah, that\'s not the same as being the captain of the Costa Concordia, but I think that\'s a pretty reasonable response.\r\n\r\nAnother thought - we do have people who go overboard in the church every single week. People who abandon ship due to weariness, moral failure, backsliding or other sin. Some are pastors, some are deacons, some are single mothers, some are youth, some are new members. But they leave. They jump overboard. And what is the most common response?\r\n\r\nWe typically act like Captain Coward. We look the other way. Mental discussion again: \"Well, that person had issues. And we don\'t really need to be associated with that sin. God will bring them back if He wants them back.\"\r\n\r\nI get it. The cruise ship captain did something that caused people to die. And the thing I\'m discussing is just about people who are leaving the church due to sin. Apples and oranges, right? To a degree.\r\n\r\nBut when we don\'t seek to restore people who fail, who leave, who jump overboard, who will? And what do you think typically happens to them? If the captain doesn\'t take responsibility to right the ship, who will? And if the Christian community doesn\'t seek out and help her own, they aren\'t typically going to make it.\r\n\r\nOver and over, we hear the statistics of how many \"unchurched\" there are in our country. It\'s an alarmingly high percentage. In my experience, a vast number of the \"unchurched\" are those who went overboard, those whom the church forgot or didn\'t care to chase after or rescue. Kinda like a captain who forgot what his duties were.','\"Captain Coward\" and the Failure to Rescue','','inherit','open','open','','4397-revision-4','','','2012-01-18 12:08:16','2012-01-18 20:08:16','',4397,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4397-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4405,0,'2012-01-18 12:57:34','2012-01-18 20:57:34','Choosing joy after disappointment.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Heidi Chase\nAUTHOR EMAIL: hchase@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.chaseus.blogspot.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 67.220.29.11\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Heidi Chase\n    [Email] =&gt; hchase@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.chaseus.blogspot.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Choosing joy after disappointment. \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; hchase\n)\n','Heidi Chase - 2012-01-18 12:57:34','','publish','open','open','','0f76bce0e57172c30074d3207197c1c7','','','2012-01-18 12:57:34','2012-01-18 20:57:34','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4405',0,'feedback','',0),(4406,43,'2012-01-25 09:00:15','2012-01-25 17:00:15','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\r\n\r\nDarn.\r\n\r\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\r\n\r\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\r\n\r\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: <strong>I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.</strong>  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\r\n\r\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  When we ask why people (including men) don\'t come to church, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  When we talk about relationships, we\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation, asking the deep <em>whys</em> and speaking plainly with each other. Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','publish','open','open','','mark-driscoll-is-right','','','2012-01-24 09:31:11','2012-01-24 17:31:11','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4406',0,'post','',10),(4407,43,'2012-01-18 13:05:36','2012-01-18 21:05:36','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\n\nDarn.\n\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\n\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my probable dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning.  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly un','Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision','','','2012-01-18 13:05:36','2012-01-18 21:05:36','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4406-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4408,0,'2012-01-18 13:42:06','2012-01-18 21:42:06','Heidi has an engaging writing style and a unique perspective on matters of faith, family, and life. She earnestly seeks the heart of God in all that she does, and I think many readers would easily relate to her.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Brooke Eikenberry\nAUTHOR EMAIL: brooke.eikenberry@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.chaseus.blogspot.com\nSUBJECT: Nominating A Writer For Provoketive\nIP: 65.190.94.26\nArray\n(\n    [Your Name] =&gt; Brooke Eikenberry\n    [Your Email] =&gt; brooke.eikenberry@gmail.com\n    [The Writer\'s Name] =&gt; Heidi Chase\n    [The Writer\'s Website or Post] =&gt; www.chaseus.blogspot.com\n    [The Writer\'s Email] =&gt; hchase@gmail.com\n    [Why You Think They Should Write For Provoketive?] =&gt; Heidi has an engaging writing style and a unique perspective on matters of faith, family, and life. She earnestly seeks the heart of God in all that she does, and I think many readers would easily relate to her.\n)\n','Brooke Eikenberry - 2012-01-18 13:42:06','','publish','open','open','','0a57d71f67e4e4024a61651d36a6a3b0','','','2012-01-18 13:42:06','2012-01-18 21:42:06','',1537,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4408',0,'feedback','',0),(4411,151,'2012-01-18 22:41:31','2012-01-19 06:41:31','Hope in the promise of yet another spring to come\r\nis what keeps us from chopping down the firewood\r\nof the apparently dead trees of winter.','SynchroBlog: Hope','','publish','open','open','','synchroblog-hope','','','2012-04-18 13:21:51','2012-04-18 20:21:51','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4411',0,'post','',0),(4412,151,'2012-01-18 16:19:57','2012-01-19 00:19:57','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','4411-revision','','','2012-01-18 16:19:57','2012-01-19 00:19:57','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4411-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4422,1,'2012-01-18 08:13:55','2012-01-18 16:13:55','January\'s Synchroblog is about hope. Below is a list of writer\'s who are thinking and dreaming about it.  We believe the power of voice has tremendous capacity to inspire and give hope to people.\r\n\r\nBelow is a list of participant\'s and their posts:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/the-trouble-with-hope/\" target=\"_blank\">The Trouble With Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://www.johnptacek.com/\" target=\"_blank\">John Ptacek</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/hope-possibility-x-imagination/\" target=\"_blank\">Hope = Possibility x Imagination</a>: <a href=\"http://markysroom.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Wayne Rumsby</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/little-reminders/\" target=\"_blank\">Little Reminders</a>: <a href=\"http://stillanightowl.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mike Victorino</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/where-is-my-hope/\">Where Is My Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://jonathanbrink.com\" target=\"_blank\">Jonathan Brink</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/hope-for-hypocrites/\" target=\"_blank\">Hope for Hypocrites</a>: <a href=\"http://www.tillhecomes.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Jeremy Myers</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/now-these-three-remain/\" target=\"_blank\">Now These Three Remain</a>: <a href=\"http://www.lookthrough.net/\" target=\"_blank\">Sonny Lemmons</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/perplexed-but-still-hopeful/\" target=\"_blank\">Perplexed, But Still Hopeful</a>: <a href=\"http://wordshalfheard.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Carol Kuniholm</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/a-hope-that-lives/\" target=\"_blank\">A Hope that Lives</a>: <a href=\"http://unchainedfaith.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Amy Mitchell</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/generations-come-and-generations-go/\" target=\"_blank\">Generations Come and Generations Go</a>: <a href=\"http://www.missionaljourneyman.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Adam Gonnerman</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/demystifying-hope/\" target=\"_blank\">Demystifying Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://glennhager1.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Glenn Hager</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"etive.com/2012/01/18/god-in-the-dark-on-hope/\" target=\"_blank\">God in the Dark: On Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://www.quietanthem.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Renee Ronika Klug</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/keeping-hope-alive/\" target=\"_blank\">Keeping Hope Alive</a>: <a href=\"http://mauricebroaddus.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Maurice Broaddus</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/are-we-afraid-to-hope/\" target=\"_blank\">Are We Afraid to Hope?</a>: <a href=\"http://godspace.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Christine Sine</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/on-wobbly-wheels-split-churches-and-fear/\" target=\"_blank\">On Wobbly Wheels, Split Churches and Fear</a>: <a href=\"http://lauradroege.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Laura Droege </a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/adopting-hope/\" target=\"_blank\">Adopting Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://earthtourist.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Travis Klassen</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/hope-is-held-between-us/\" target=\"_blank\">Hope is Held Between Us</a>: <a href=\"http://ellenharoutunian.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Ellen Haroutunian</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/hope-in-the-hands-of-the-creatively-maladjusted/\" target=\"_blank\">Hope: In the Hands of the Creatively Maladjusted</a>: <a href=\"http://miheekimkort.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mihee Kim-Kort</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/paradox-hope-and-revival/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Paradox, Hope and Revival</a>: <a href=\"http://desertspiritsfire.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">City Safari</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/good-theology-saves/\" target=\"_blank\">Good Theology Saves</a>: <a href=\"http://theologybird.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Reverend Robyn</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/linear-never-was-never-will-be/\">Linear: Never Was, Never Will Be</a>: <a href=\"http://kathyescobar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Kathy Escobar</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/better-than-hope/\" target=\"_blank\">Better Than Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://gracerules.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Liz Dyer</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/caroline-for-congress-hope-for-the-future/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Caroline for Congress: Hope for the Future</a>: <a href=\"http://wendymccaig.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Wendy McCaig</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/fumbling-the-ball-on-hope/\">Fumbling the Ball on Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://morechrist.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">KW Leslie</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/content-to-hope/\">Content to Hope</a>: <a href=\"http://www.alise-write.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Alise Wright </a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/hope-oh-the-humanity/\">Hope: Oh, the Humanity!</a>: <a href=\"http://www.soullikeaspider.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Deanna Ogle</a>\r\n\r\nA Synchroblog is a collective response to a particular topic.  Everyone writes about the same issue and then links to each other’s post.','Synchroblog On Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4042-revision-20','','','2012-01-18 08:13:55','2012-01-18 16:13:55','',4042,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4042-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(4413,151,'2012-01-18 16:21:00','2012-01-19 00:21:00','Hope in the promise of yet another spring to come\r\nis what keeps us from chopping down the firewood\r\nof the apparently dead trees of winter.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/images/20100101214616_wintry%20trees200911241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" /></a></p>','SynchroBlog: Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4411-revision-2','','','2012-01-18 16:21:00','2012-01-19 00:21:00','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4411-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4414,151,'2012-01-18 16:21:26','2012-01-19 00:21:26','Hope in the promise of yet another spring to come\r\nis what keeps us from chopping down the firewood\r\nof the apparently dead trees of winter.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/images/20100101214616_wintry%20trees200911241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" /></a></p>','SynchroBlog: Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4411-revision-3','','','2012-01-18 16:21:26','2012-01-19 00:21:26','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4411-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4415,151,'2012-01-18 16:21:59','2012-01-19 00:21:59','Hope in the promise of yet another spring to come\r\nis what keeps us from chopping down the firewood\r\nof the apparently dead trees of winter.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/images/20100101214616_wintry%20trees200911241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" /></a></p>','SynchroBlog: Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4411-revision-4','','','2012-01-18 16:21:59','2012-01-19 00:21:59','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4411-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4417,0,'2012-01-18 16:57:59','2012-01-19 00:57:59','Life\r\nFaith\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Ken Hagerman\nAUTHOR EMAIL: kensebay1@yahoo.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.ramblingbarba.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 190.104.162.218\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Ken Hagerman\n    [Email] =&gt; kensebay1@yahoo.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.ramblingbarba.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Life\r\nFaith\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; hagermank\n)\n','Ken Hagerman - 2012-01-18 16:57:59','','publish','open','open','','acb152440c0ec03130f74a5def43f40f','','','2012-01-18 16:57:59','2012-01-19 00:57:59','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4417',0,'feedback','',0),(4421,1,'2012-01-18 22:41:31','2012-01-19 06:41:31','Hope in the promise of yet another spring to come\r\nis what keeps us from chopping down the firewood\r\nof the apparently dead trees of winter.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/images/20100101214616_wintry%20trees200911241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" /></a></p>','SynchroBlog: Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4411-revision-6','','','2012-01-18 22:41:31','2012-01-19 06:41:31','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4411-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4419,1,'2012-01-18 22:41:08','2012-01-19 06:41:08','Trees on a ridge in Irving, Texas, bare of leaves for the winter.','Wintry Trees','','inherit','open','open','','wintry-trees','','','2012-01-18 22:41:08','2012-01-19 06:41:08','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20100101214616_wintry-trees200911241.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4420,1,'2012-01-18 16:22:52','2012-01-19 00:22:52','Hope in the promise of yet another spring to come\r\nis what keeps us from chopping down the firewood\r\nof the apparently dead trees of winter.\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/\"><img class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http://www.leftyrodriguez.com/images/20100101214616_wintry%20trees200911241.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\" /></a></p>','SynchroBlog: Hope','','inherit','open','open','','4411-revision-5','','','2012-01-18 16:22:52','2012-01-19 00:22:52','',4411,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4411-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(7409,1,'2012-08-01 17:19:14','2012-08-02 00:19:14','Explain the two words spoken by Jesus—“Follow me”—in 1000 words or less? Hmmm. Maybe I should just stop right there and let you think this through on your own.\r\n\r\nMy understanding of what it means to follow Him has changed over the years. Perhaps our understanding of “following” is <em>supposed</em> to change over time as our maturity in the Lord grows in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the ways we experience Him with others. Because I can’t claim to know <em>everything</em> about following Jesus, the best I can offer is to share <em>some</em> of the things I’ve learned about following Jesus—beginning with what “following Jesus” is <strong><em>not</em><em>.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Following Jesus is not the same thing as: </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Following the teachings of Jesus, or following doctrines, creeds, or denominational statements of faith.</li>\r\n	<li>Following a Bible Reading Plan, memorizing scripture, or claiming a “life verse”.</li>\r\n	<li>Following “religious convictions”, or acting upon those convictions, alone or as a group, purely for the sake of acting upon convictions.</li>\r\n	<li>Attending a weekly worship service, and maybe a midweek prayer meeting or Bible study, or meeting with a small group or accountability partner.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThere isn’t anything wrong with doing these things. In fact, I  follow  Jesus today because others encouraged me to do these things over the course of my spiritual journey.  “Christian practices” are not the same thing as following Jesus. <em></em>I know a lot <em>about</em> <em>Jesus</em> by studying, talking about or meditating on these things—but knowing a lot <em>about Jesus</em> isn’t the same as <em>knowing Jesus</em>. It helps to know Who you’re following.<strong><em></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>“Follow me.”</em></strong>  Two words caused Simon and Andrew to drop their fishing nets.  James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him.” (Mark 1:20 Amplified). Levi, son of Alphaeus, left his tax booth: “he arose and joined Him and His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.” (Mark 2:14 Amp). Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael and they too followed Him. Twelve men, in all, apparently left their life’s work to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\nI find it interesting that the Amplified Version conveys that the words “follow me” carry the connotation, “side with my party\".  Against the backdrop of  first century Hebrew culture—oppressed by the conquering Romans, looking for Messiah to deliver the Children of Israel and fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament—we read Nathanael’s confession, “Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) and the reason the twelve “followed” begins to come into focus.  Over the course of the next three and a half years, these men—and later Saul of Tarsus, among others—would come to understand that following Jesus isn’t about following teachings, doctrines, scriptures, convictions or attending religious meetings.  Men and women down through centuries found, in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament, not <em>something</em> to believe in and follow, but rather <strong><em>Someone</em></strong> to believe in and follow.\r\n\r\nTo follow Jesus is to follow a living <strong><em>Person!</em></strong>\r\n<blockquote><strong><em> </em></strong>“And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.”__John 1:14 (Amp)\r\n\r\n“For it has <strong>pleased</strong> [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should <strong>dwell</strong> in Him permanently.”__ Colossians 1:19 (Amp)</blockquote>\r\nFollowing a living Person, who is the Christ, comes with a cost, which He explained Himself to His disciples:\r\n<blockquote>“And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, <sup> </sup>forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” __Luke 9:23 (Amp)</blockquote>\r\nWhat do we have to gain by following this all-wonderful, all-glorious, all-divine Person? What is the outcome we look forward to? For starters, eternal life! Make that eternal, <strong><em>abundant</em> </strong>life, sustained by Christ who <strong><em>is</em></strong> our life! Many more “rewards” are promised to faithful followers who overcome the trials and temptations of this world—check out the letters to the seven churches in John’s last book!\r\n\r\nThere’s another important thing I’ve learned about following Jesus: it’s something we do <strong><em>together</em></strong>.\r\n\r\nFollowing Jesus is following a living <strong><em>Person</em></strong>…<strong><em>together!</em></strong>\r\n<blockquote>“When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory. __Colossians 3:4 (Amp)</blockquote>','Two Words','','inherit','open','open','','7337-revision-25','','','2012-08-01 17:19:14','2012-08-02 00:19:14','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/2012/08/01/7337-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(4424,126,'2012-01-20 08:00:14','2012-01-20 16:00:14','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Brieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Brieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','publish','open','open','','driscoll-vs-brieley-whats-really-at-stake','','','2012-01-20 09:29:15','2012-01-20 17:29:15','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4424',0,'post','',3),(4425,126,'2012-01-18 23:00:38','2012-01-19 07:00:38','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Grieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\n\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\n\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\n\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\n\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision','','','2012-01-18 23:00:38','2012-01-19 07:00:38','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4424-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4426,126,'2012-01-18 23:01:54','2012-01-19 07:01:54','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Grieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\n\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\n\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\n\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\n\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Gr','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-2','','','2012-01-18 23:01:54','2012-01-19 07:01:54','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4424-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4427,126,'2012-01-18 23:02:11','2012-01-19 07:02:11','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Grieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Grieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-3','','','2012-01-18 23:02:11','2012-01-19 07:02:11','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4424-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4684,48,'2012-01-25 10:44:27','2012-01-25 18:44:27','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from silk scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. We were discussing life paths and career choices-- still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, families, and all recently having reached the milestone 30th birthday. It was in this context that one of my friends mentioned the aerial violinist, Janice Martin. We collectively wondered: what is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this performer does?\r\n\r\nTo be sure, thinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought. Most follow the same pattern into our adult life: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\r\n\r\nTo add to this, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemata”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside already pre-conceived schemata. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into an existing schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause the existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for these “exceptions from the rule”. The question is: do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles sometimes needlessly box us in?\r\n\r\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents with aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist,\"¹ and also returned to headline the show <em>Encore!</em> aboard the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a> in Branson, MO for the second season.² Watching the videos of her performances, I am struck by not only her musical prowess (and I am a classically trained violist, so I can tell that the pieces she plays are difficult enough while performing them on solid ground, let alone while dangling by scarves), but she also displays an amazing grace, power, and strength in her aerial performance. Her vocal and piano performances are equally impressive, even if not performed while hanging from the ceiling. Truly, she is a formidable artist, putting the often touted \"triple threats\" to shame.\r\n\r\nMs. Martin is a unique artist to say the least, so it should be no surprise that her path there is equally unique. Musically trained at the Indiana University and the Juilliard School of Music, she found her first job in perhaps an unlikely place: the US Army, where she played in the US Army Band in Washington, D.C., as a solo violinist, including performances at the White House, the Capitol, and the State Department for President Bill Clinton and other world leaders.³\r\n\r\nAfter her enlistment with the army, Martin was awarded honorary use of the 1708 Burstein/Bagshawe Stradivarius Violin by The Stradivari Society.¹ She then toured domestically and internationally, soloing with the Milwaukee Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Portland Symphony, European Union Chamber Orchestra and the New York Symphonic Ensemble, to name just a few.¹ Her career and accomplishments as a musician alone are truly impressive.\r\n\r\nHow then did Janice Martin go from an internationally recognized musician to an aerial violinist? Where do the aerobatics come in to this story, exactly? After the death of her friend and sponsor, Joseph Burstein, Martin returned to New York in hope of creating a show of her own that encompassed more than just the realm of classical music.³ The necessary creative inspiration came one evening while Martin was in the audience of a Cirque du Soleil show; the performance that night moved her so much that she determined to become an aerialist and, combined with her violin virtuosity, have a one-woman show like no other.³ No doubt this is where her training in the Army came in handy once again, what with the vigorous physical training, including rope climbing. Janice Martin debuted at Carnegie Hall and then spent over a decade traveling and performing her self-choreographed shows.³ From there, it is all history, as they say.\r\n\r\nSo, what can we learn from this fascinating woman? Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly my dream job, but I certainly enjoy watching Janet Martin live out her dream.  And that\'s what I want to do-- live out my dream; the trouble is, I don\'t just have one, and I haven\'t quite figured out how to combine them all so snugly like Ms. Martin has. Do I-- or you-- have gifts, talents and interests that seem incongruous, but somehow together create one exceptionally unique career, much like this daring aerial violinist? How can Ms. Martin\'s unique path help to inform our own search for a fulfilling and interesting career or life?\r\n\r\nFirst of all, Ms. Martin pursued her passions diligently and put in the hard work. Take it from this former music major (who admittedly dropped it only three semesters in to pursue a psychology degree instead), getting into Juilliard doesn\'t happen by doing the bare minimum in your practice sessions. Opportunities to grow, use, and express your talents won\'t open up for you if you aren\'t seeking excellence in whatever it is you do. So, the things you love to do? Learn to do them well. Practice. Practice. And then practice some more.\r\n\r\nMs. Martin also did something a lot of us could do more of: get out there and live life. She didn\'t just sit at home, absorbed in her own brainstorming sessions or creating a mission/purpose/vision statement. No, she was out enjoying life, and it was there, while taking time to attend a Cirque du Soleil show that she found the final inspiration. New experiences, new relationships and new adventures will bring fresh ideas and inspiration. You know what the same old thing brings? More of the same old thing.\r\n\r\nI don\'t have all the answers on how to think outside of the box, as I\'ve gotten myself into some ruts that lasted for years. But at this point in my life, I\'ve realized that life is too short to try to squeeze myself into a box, be it someone else’s or one of my own creation.  And to you, Ms. Martin, I say, \"Bravo.\" You are truly an inspiration.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo courtesy of Silver Dollar City Publicity</em>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n¹<a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">www.janicemartin.com</a>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n²Silver Dollar City Publicity (2012). Encore! Returns after Stellar First Season [Press Release].\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n³Silver Dollar City Publicity (2012). From Humble Beginnings to Carnegie Hall [Press Release].\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>\r\n&nbsp;','Not Your Ordinary Day Job','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-92','','','2012-01-25 10:44:27','2012-01-25 18:44:27','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/25/4550-revision-92/',0,'revision','',0),(4430,0,'2012-01-19 09:49:12','2012-01-19 17:49:12','theology, current events\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Rick\nAUTHOR EMAIL: rickmorganwwjd@yahoo.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://diggingtheword.blogspot.com/\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 192.76.82.89\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Rick\n    [Email] =&gt; rickmorganwwjd@yahoo.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://diggingtheword.blogspot.com/\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; theology, current events\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; rickmorganwwjd\n)\n','Rick - 2012-01-19 09:49:12','','publish','open','open','','9036a7052006c8be0404926646c07e24','','','2012-01-19 09:49:12','2012-01-19 17:49:12','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4430',0,'feedback','',0),(4439,1,'2012-01-19 10:48:41','2012-01-19 18:48:41','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-5','','','2012-01-19 10:48:41','2012-01-19 18:48:41','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4434,1,'2012-01-19 10:46:03','2012-01-19 18:46:03','','question_everything','','inherit','open','open','','question_everything','','','2012-01-19 10:46:03','2012-01-19 18:46:03','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/question_everything.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4433,1,'2012-01-19 10:43:07','2012-01-19 18:43:07','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\n\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\n\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /]  [contact-field label=\"Current or New Wordpress Login Name (We\\\'ll send you a password.)\" type=\"text\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision','','','2012-01-19 10:43:07','2012-01-19 18:43:07','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4435,1,'2012-01-19 10:45:27','2012-01-19 18:45:27','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-2','','','2012-01-19 10:45:27','2012-01-19 18:45:27','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4436,1,'2012-01-19 11:12:09','2012-01-19 19:12:09','Question Everything is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are often afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\n\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.  You can submit questions as \"Anonymous\" but you must provide an email.\n\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-autosave','','','2012-01-19 11:12:09','2012-01-19 19:12:09','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4437,1,'2012-01-19 10:46:22','2012-01-19 18:46:22','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-3','','','2012-01-19 10:46:22','2012-01-19 18:46:22','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4438,1,'2012-01-19 10:48:06','2012-01-19 18:48:06','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-4','','','2012-01-19 10:48:06','2012-01-19 18:48:06','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4440,1,'2012-01-19 10:49:23','2012-01-19 18:49:23','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name (Anonymous is acceptable\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-6','','','2012-01-19 10:49:23','2012-01-19 18:49:23','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4441,1,'2012-01-19 10:49:50','2012-01-19 18:49:50','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name (Anonymous is acceptable)\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-7','','','2012-01-19 10:49:50','2012-01-19 18:49:50','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4442,1,'2012-01-19 10:54:11','2012-01-19 18:54:11',' ','','','publish','open','open','','4442','','','2012-12-18 12:55:09','2012-12-18 20:55:09','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4442',70,'nav_menu_item','',0),(4443,1,'2012-01-19 10:54:06','2012-01-19 18:54:06',' ','','','publish','open','open','','4443','','','2012-12-18 12:55:03','2012-12-18 20:55:03','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4443',5,'nav_menu_item','',0),(4444,1,'2012-01-19 11:03:24','2012-01-19 19:03:24','','storm','','inherit','open','open','','storm-2','','','2012-01-19 11:03:24','2012-01-19 19:03:24','',4431,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/storm.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4445,1,'2012-01-19 10:57:26','2012-01-19 18:57:26','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. You can submit your question here.\n\nToday\'s question comes from Anonymous in Albuquerque NM.\n\n\"If God sends people to hell, then doesn\'t that mean God is not forgiving them?  And if so, why does God command us to forgive but is unwilling to forgive when our lives are on the line.\"\n\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #1: When God Doesn\'t Forgive','','inherit','open','open','','4431-revision','','','2012-01-19 10:57:26','2012-01-19 18:57:26','',4431,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4431-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4446,1,'2012-01-23 08:55:05','2012-01-23 16:55:05','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/category/question-everything/\"><strong>Question Everything</strong></a> is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are often afraid to ask. You can submit your question <a title=\"Submit A Question\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/submit-a-question/\">here</a>.\n\nToday\'s question comes from Anonymous in Albuquerque NM.\n\n\"If God sends people to hell, then doesn\'t that mean God is not forgiving them?  And if so, why does God command us to forgive but is unwilling to forgive when our lives are on the line.\"\n\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #1: When God Doesn\'t Forgive','','inherit','open','open','','4431-autosave','','','2012-01-23 08:55:05','2012-01-23 16:55:05','',4431,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4431-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4447,1,'2012-01-19 11:04:26','2012-01-19 19:04:26','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. You can submit your question here.\r\n\r\nToday\'s question comes from Anonymous in Albuquerque NM.\r\n\r\n\"If God sends people to hell, then doesn\'t that mean God is not forgiving them?  And if so, why does God command us to forgive but is unwilling to forgive when our lives are on the line.\"\r\n\r\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #1: When God Doesn\'t Forgive','','inherit','open','open','','4431-revision-2','','','2012-01-19 11:04:26','2012-01-19 19:04:26','',4431,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4431-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6429,1,'2012-05-01 09:05:33','2012-05-01 16:05:33','','Brandon Wallace','','publish','open','open','','brandon-wallace','','','2012-05-01 09:05:33','2012-05-01 16:05:33','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6429',2,'nav_menu_item','',0),(4449,1,'2012-01-19 11:08:28','2012-01-19 19:08:28',' ','','','publish','open','open','','4449','','','2012-01-19 11:08:28','2012-01-19 19:08:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4449',5,'nav_menu_item','',0),(4450,1,'2012-01-19 11:06:18','2012-01-19 19:06:18','Question Everything is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. You can submit your question here.\r\n\r\nToday\'s question comes from Anonymous in Albuquerque NM.\r\n\r\n\"If God sends people to hell, then doesn\'t that mean God is not forgiving them?  And if so, why does God command us to forgive but is unwilling to forgive when our lives are on the line.\"\r\n\r\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #1: When God Doesn\'t Forgive','','inherit','open','open','','4431-revision-3','','','2012-01-19 11:06:18','2012-01-19 19:06:18','',4431,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4431-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4451,1,'2012-01-19 10:50:52','2012-01-19 18:50:52','Questions is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.  You can submit questions as \"Anonymous\" but you must provide an email.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-8','','','2012-01-19 10:50:52','2012-01-19 18:50:52','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4452,1,'2012-01-19 11:10:55','2012-01-19 19:10:55','Question Everything is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are often afraid to ask. The fundamental assumption in these posts is that God is not afraid of the hard questions.  To ask is actually an expression of faith.  Each post serves to provide a space for the collective voice to answer that question with possibilities.\r\n\r\nIf you would like to submit a question for the series, use the form below.  You can submit questions as \"Anonymous\" but you must provide an email.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Submit A Question\" to=\"jb@civitaspress.com\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"City\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Your question\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Submit A Question','','inherit','open','open','','4432-revision-9','','','2012-01-19 11:10:55','2012-01-19 19:10:55','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4432-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4455,126,'2012-01-18 23:02:34','2012-01-19 07:02:34','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Grieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Grieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-4','','','2012-01-18 23:02:34','2012-01-19 07:02:34','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4424-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4456,0,'2012-01-19 17:51:39','2012-01-20 01:51:39','I write about various aspects of a life of faith - specifics of discipleship, untangling cultural and biblical values and examining them, and what theology looks like in real life.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Aubry Smith\nAUTHOR EMAIL: aubrygrace@hotmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://myofferings.wordpresscom\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 98.99.146.166\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Aubry Smith\n    [Email] =&gt; aubrygrace@hotmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://myofferings.wordpresscom\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; I write about various aspects of a life of faith - specifics of discipleship, untangling cultural and biblical values and examining them, and what theology looks like in real life. \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; aubrygrace\n)\n','Aubry Smith - 2012-01-19 17:51:39','','publish','open','open','','5d0d8db080cf26f36f51c1c036813e39','','','2012-01-19 17:51:39','2012-01-20 01:51:39','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4456',0,'feedback','',0),(4457,1,'2012-01-20 17:10:15','2012-01-21 01:10:15','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Brieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\n\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\n\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\n\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\n\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Brieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-autosave','','','2012-01-20 17:10:15','2012-01-21 01:10:15','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4424-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4458,1,'2012-01-19 18:03:52','2012-01-20 02:03:52','','driscoll-brierley1','','inherit','open','open','','driscoll-brierley1','','','2012-01-19 18:03:52','2012-01-20 02:03:52','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/driscoll-brierley1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4459,1,'2012-01-19 17:28:20','2012-01-20 01:28:20','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Grieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Grieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-5','','','2012-01-19 17:28:20','2012-01-20 01:28:20','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4424-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4700,12,'2012-02-01 08:00:28','2012-02-01 16:00:28','I\'ve had a fascination with Stephen King since I was in high school. It\'s been an off and on relationship. I used to love reading his short stories. In fact, some of his stories that I read in <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Skeleton-Crew-Stephen-King/dp/0451168615/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1327631959&amp;sr=1-1\">\"Skeleton Crew\"</a> back in high school creep back up in my imagination while I\'m walking down a dark hallway at night.\r\n\r\nThe book that meant the most to me was, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Buick-8-Stephen-King/dp/0743417682/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1327631987&amp;sr=1-1\">\"From a Buick 8,\"</a> published in 2001. I\'ve read it four times and listened to it on audiobook at least three times (which I highly recommend). It marked a moment for me when King became more than a horror writer and a \"character developer\" for me.\r\n\r\nIt probably wasn\'t about him, it was about me. I learned to love characters. It was about the same time I fell in love with the Coen Brother\'s, <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/\">\"The Big Lewbowski.\"</a> It was when I learned a novel or book didn\'t have to be about a story. It needed to be about the full richness of the characters within. It\'s like life. We can\'t sum up our lives within a story, but during a eulogy, we can tell people about what a character someone was.\r\n\r\n<em>Now, here\'s the obligatory spoiler alert. I\'m going to tell you at least what the Amazon.com page tells you. If you don\'t want to know that, stop reading. If you are comfortable with that, feel free to indulge yourself in my review.</em>\r\n\r\nOkay?\r\n\r\nHere we go.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/king2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-4702\" style=\"margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/king2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"251\" /></a>My sister, who is  a library scientist (yeah, there is such a thing) told me that they can\'t keep King\'s book, 11/22/63 on the shelf. It\' s booked up in reserve for three months. There\'s a reason. It\'s worth your time. Don\'t bother reserving it at your library. Go buy it. In hardback. On your ebook. Now.\r\n\r\nIf you know your history, 11/22/63 is the date of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. What you may not know is how King uses that day in the writing of his novel. King, like any master of fiction, does a great thing. He takes a common person and puts him into an impossible situation.\r\n\r\nThe main character, Jake Epping, an English teacher, is forced to go back in time to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. That\'s the spoiler Amazon.com gives you, and that\'s all I\'m giving you.\r\n\r\nWho should read this novel? Three groups of people.\r\n\r\nFirst, anyone who grew up in the time of the Kennedy assassination. King is very familiar with the surroundings of the time. It\'s obvious he did a ton of research and he says so in the Afterword. He captures the flair and nuances with the atmosphere, the characters and the racial tensions of the time. I was born in 1973. There were times I was lost with history. I hate history. But I fired up my iPad and got on Wikipedia and darnit, I learned a few things. Those who grew up in that generation will appreciate King\'s savvy in weaving around the time period.\r\n\r\nHe deals with Oswald and the conspiracy. He is very cogent of all the facts. But when it comes right down to it, it\'s a work of a master blend of characters and fiction. Characters that will come off the page and make you wish you were sitting right there with them, having an ice cold Coke in 1960.\r\n\r\nThe second group of people who should read this is anyone who loves good fiction. <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Pastor-Finding-Restoration-Broken/dp/0615567096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1327633802&amp;sr=8-1\">I wrote a non-fiction book.</a> But my love will always be for fiction. Good fiction. Characters that jump off the page and live in your heart. People who come alive and make you think that maybe they really existed at some point in time. King always seems to interject himself in some character in his books. His own interests and hobbies come alive and it\'s true in this book as well. His writing makes you turn each page in anticipation of concern and care for each individual character, their own well-being, and their future.\r\n\r\nFinally, any author worth their salt should read this book. For that matter, King should be on the reading list of any author who desires to be published. About eight years ago, I read the best book I\'ve ever had the pleasure of ever setting my eyes on. Believe it or not, it wasn\'t a fiction novel. It was <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1327631779&amp;sr=8-1\">King\'s, \"On Writing.\"</a> In it, he tackled the task of answering <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/onwritng.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4703\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/onwritng-184x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"184\" height=\"300\" /></a>the questions that many people ask him - \"how do I write good fiction?\"\r\n\r\nHe didn\'t try to write a manual. Instead, he was just honest with his life story and gave a \"toolbox\" of sorts that he used. I\'ve read it four times and listened to the self-narrated audiobook the same amount. It is priceless. Even for those writers who write non-fiction.\r\n\r\nDirty secret - I used to write songs. But before I wrote lyrics, I\'d listen to my favorite band, U2, for at least 12 hours at a time. Why? Because it made for good inspiration. And it made me feel like I was capable of something.\r\n\r\nGuess what? If you want to climb Mount Everest, you should watch someone else do it first. If you\'re a writer, talk to someone who has published first. Or read their work. Stephen King has published an amazing library of works and made <a href=\"http://www.stephenking.com/index.html\">himself open to his readers</a>. Seek out good writing. Don\'t copy it, but absorb it. Wallow in it. Cherish it.\r\n\r\nThe characters leap into your mind and your heart. They will dwell there. Not just for days or weeks, but for years. You may forget about them for a while, but one day you will remember them. And you will find yourself wanting to crack open that old novel again days down the road to remember that old friend. And that\'s how a good novel should be. That\'s what a good writer wants.\r\n\r\nOh wait. I guess I got away from a book review and started talking about Stephen King. Let me say this about the book: It\'s phenomenal. It deals with the so-called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect\">\"butterfly effect\"</a> and how every decision we make has consequences. It\'s true. King brings out how we impact people\'s lives for the worse and the better. How each of us can make a difference, small and large. Every single difference, every single word or action makes an impact. He also shows how life goes on around us despite ourselves. Even though we think we are a big deal, we really aren\'t. I like that too.\r\n\r\nThank you, Mr. King, for another great work. For more great characters. For another amazing, redemptive read.','Stephen King\'s 11/22/63: Book Review','','publish','open','open','','stephen-kings-112263-book-review','','','2012-01-28 10:20:47','2012-01-28 18:20:47','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4700',0,'post','',1),(4461,137,'2012-01-18 09:16:20','2012-01-18 17:16:20','For those of us who are parents, the question of hope takes us directly to our children. Our hopes are for our children and the life that we launch them into. Then at some point, usually later in life, we discover our hopes are in them, as we look to them to achieve what we were never quite able to pull off. Things like a cleaner, safer, more peaceful planet, whose driving force is love, rather than violence, destructive consumption and greed. Wowser, that’s idealistic. Yes it is, but isn’t idealism the structural helix of a healthy imagination? And isn’t imagination the magnifier of possibility?\r\n\r\nWe (together with my wife) have three beautiful children. Our experience of hope is expressed and experienced in their lives. Each is a separate facet of our hope, but I want to focus on my youngest, and only son, and from my perspective, rather than ours. Mark was born late in the game, ten years late. Everything went smoothly, and he was a beautiful boy, who from his first moments was very obviously my son. Even today, seventeen years later, people look at him, and then at my worn out gray and fuzzy face and they say, he looks just like you. I’m not sure what they see, but when compared with my boyhood pictures, the resemblance is uncanny. I was a very proud father, who immediately began to imagine the possibilities. This boy, with the benefit of his mothers genetic superiority, would be able to achieve all the athletic goals that I fell short of. I would be the next Walter Gretzky, teaching my boy to skate and handle the puck. Or maybe I’d make the rink and send Mom out to teach the skills. I hoped he’d be a better me.\r\n\r\nWithin the very first month of Mark’s life, I had to let go of that dream. Although there was no exact diagnosis, it was very clear that, genetically speaking, Mark was a few genes short of a full helix. I remember going for a walk, late on a cold winter evening, letting go of those dreams, and weeping from the deepest part of me. And yet there was hope.\r\n\r\nI got up the next day, freed from expectation, freed to imagination. I simply had to change the equation from, hope = (genetic potential x opportunity + encouragement + discipline – laziness) x expectation, to hope = possibility x imagination.\r\n\r\nIn the first few years I watch Mark learn how to crawl. I remember the moment so well when he manage to climb the one single step out of the family room, into the foyer. We were watching the Oakland A’s and keeping one eye on Marky. Once he figured out how to get past that step, possibility would be magnified. Mark had been working on get up over that step for weeks. He was able to get one knee up, but then seemed unable to get any further. This day though, his determination was palpable. After consistently failing for a more than an hour, he suddenly found that perfect tipping point, and up he went. There it was, hope. Mark, all on his own, demonstrated everything I hoped for him. He multiplied all the limited possibilities that life had dealt him, by his own unlimited imagination. Mark was 3 years old.\r\n\r\nWhen Mark was 4 years old we moved downtown. Both Linda and I had been volunteering with a homeless shelter and we wanted to get closer to the action. We were commissioned by a suburban church to be missionaries to the homeless in the inner-city. Our job was to nurture hope in a very marginalized group of people living on or near the street. I set up a woodworking shop and invited a few to come discover possibility. At the time we had no idea what a vital role Mark would play in that work. I thought he would be received as that retarded kid in the wheelchair. I thought we’d get the usual polite yet awkward stares that had become such a regular part of our suburban existence. Not so. The street folks took to Marky like he was one of their own. They seemed to understand the unlimited possibilities inside the little kid with so many outward limitations. They talked to him, directly. Marky was instantly accepted, and deeply loved, and I don’t think I had ever considered that possibility. In collaboration with his new friends, Mark was defining the possibilities.\r\n\r\nThis little man is now 17 years old, and still, despite having no language, and having lost the mobility he once had, he’s constantly redefining possibility, and bringing hope that changes the world. His condition, although not diagnosed, is clearly a neurodegenerative disorder. Today the physical possibilities for Mark are very limited, he’s very weak, just hangin\' on, but if you catch him during one of his six or seven waking hours, he’ll flash you a grin that tells you he believes otherwise.\r\n\r\nMy hope is that for the rest of my life I will always see the possibilities through the magnifying lens of God’s imagination. That’s what Marky discovered in his short life, that’s the gift he’s given us. There is hope.\r\n\r\n[This post is part of the <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/synchroblog-on-hope/\">Synchroblog on Hope</a>.  For a full list of participants and posts, <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/synchroblog-on-hope/\">go here</a>.]','Hope = Possibility x Imagination','','inherit','open','open','','4004-revision-8','','','2012-01-18 09:16:20','2012-01-18 17:16:20','',4004,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/18/4004-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4463,64,'2012-01-13 17:19:20','2012-01-14 01:19:20','<em>The Resignation of Eve</em> is a thoughtful experiment, one that challenges men and women of the 21<sup>st</sup> century church to shake off their old ideas about where women fit in the Church. In a charming and disarming style, Jim Henderson tells the evangelical Church, its pastors and ministry leaders to start listening to the women in their lives, their daughters, wives, mothers and friends, and those women that work tirelessly by their side every day in the service of the Kingdom. (I was tempted to write \"their kingdom.\") Henderson, a spirited advocate for powerless people, has done the work for you. Through the narratives of fifteen women, he threads together themes that he found while listening. <em>The Resignation of Eve</em> is a daring challenge to the Church to reconsider the issue of women in ministry and issues a gentle threat for what may happen if you choose not to listen.\r\n\r\nWhile I do not doubt the sincerity of the author, the irony that lingered with me as I read the hundreds of pages of narrative is something Henderson alluded to himself that <strong><em>those with power</em></strong> don’t understand the necessity of the conversation.  I believe the very same people this book is challenging, made up their minds long ago (in seminary) and are unlikely to be swayed by the singularly sad stories of women, even women in their own church.  Through research done by the Barna Group the author has dug up another mostly silent, ever resilient group of people serving in the church, <strong><em>the oblivious</em>,</strong> those who “drank the cool aid” long ago and trusted those with authority for their own beliefs.  They feel there is no need for this conversation either. My personal experience has been that the more you challenge someone’s core belief the more rigid they become – asking who has the right to challenge long-held “biblical” truths, certainly not women.\r\n\r\nKnowing the push back, Henderson valiantly reinforces through his stories the idea that <strong><em>those without power</em></strong> are growing weary, doubtful and even suspicious of the Church.  And that women of faith and conscience who do choose to stay in the Church, are balancing on a tightrope every day; feel the tension between living with their convictions and the lingering thought of just not showing up.  Both options many days are simply untenable.  While <em>it seems that the only ones who do want this conversation are a small minority of mostly women whose theological views make them misfits in the evangelical church today I would encourage the reader to ask why?   </em>\r\n\r\n<em>The Resignation of Eve</em> is primarily written as a challenge to (male) pastors.  It is a grave warning with the promise or threat that if pastor’s are unwilling to reconsider these issues, more and more women will simply leave the community of faith. If pastors are unwilling to listen and think, the threat is that more and more women will walk. Ultimately I don’t think your average pastor believes that, nor does he think this issue is important enough. As he reads <em>The Resignation of Eve</em>, he may be compelled by the stories and even feel genuinely bad for the women described in the book, still <em>for the most part your everyday mainline denominational male leader won’t be swayed by a bunch of stories about women. </em>Because this about more than just “Eve.” And that is a lingering, unanswered question in the book.\r\n\r\n<strong><em>We are talking about a culture that defies change. </em></strong>As they defend their point of view, today’s pastor believes they are protecting their church from culture creep. I agree with Tom Wright when he says that the authority of God is embodied in Jesus himself, not in the literal words of the Bible. But most pastors today would hold that the issue of women’s empowerment in the church is a <em>cultural phenomenon stemming from the evil of feminism and therefore must be stopped.</em> By choosing which verses in the Bible are cultural and which are not, they cherry-pick a more patriarchal view that I would contend is culturally inappropriate for the 21<sup>st</sup> century.  Take 1 Timothy for instance. Even if you interpret it <em>literally, </em>these are instructions and restrictions for the behavior of some women in the first century church.  Some churches prohibit women\'s leadership in churches because they use these verses to \"prove\" that God doesn\'t approve.  But they happily ignore the verses right beside them, about how women are adorned and how they should dress, saying that is cultural. When you read it with context, and contrast this text and other texts in the New Testament, I believe it requires the reader to listen to more than one or two voices speaking about the role of women.\r\n\r\nHenderson is quick to point to the other examples: Jesus’ treatment of women, women as apostles and teachers, women financing the ministry, women sitting at Jesus\' feet learning from him with the other disciples, a woman being the first to speak to Jesus after his Resurrection, all examples of empowering of women in the early church, which you can see if you don\'t restrict your reading to a few very restrictive sections.\r\n\r\nWise pastors must begin to recognize and listen to women’s voices in the church. And women must with discernment do their own homework!  The early church does not need to be prescriptive for how we run churches today, but this idea challenges the essence of how most pastors view scriptures.\r\n\r\n<em>The Resignation of Eve</em> acknowledges with compassion the tensions women face but the premise is unfair. We are dared to bolt from our churches and force the church’s hand, in order for them to somehow see how important we are. <em>But you must</em> <em>appreciate the tragic fact that this will be held against us.</em> The very nature of our character will be called into question, women who have faithfully worked, loved, served the Church for generations. This would be a heartbreaking ending to the story.\r\n\r\nWomen in the church today are being pulled between being perceived as unfaithful, driven by need for power and by living by our God-given convictions within the faith community.  Reading <em>The Resignation of Eve</em> I found myself utterly exhausted by the trouble the women must exert to be faithful in the church today. The intentions of this book are so good! But I was left with questions hanging.  The same question that I live with every day. Are men and women ready to have a serious conversation about the role of women in the church? Or will it, as I fear, fall on deaf ears because the Church, her pastors and ministry leaders have already made up their minds?\r\n\r\nIn the introduction Lynne Hybel’s message was liberating, as she flirts with women challenging us to \"<strong><em>take ourselves seriously.\"</em></strong>  I wanted to say “There are so many of us that do, Lynne, if only it were the same for men.” I do recommend this book to you because it does that most enigmatic and beautiful thing, it listens to women.  Whether you choose to eavesdrop on these stories in <em>The Resignation of Eve</em> or sit down for a cup of tea with an actual breathing woman in your life, I challenge you to please, start listening.','The Resignation of Eve: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','3951-revision-8','','','2012-01-13 17:19:20','2012-01-14 01:19:20','',3951,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/13/3951-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4464,126,'2012-01-19 18:04:45','2012-01-20 02:04:45','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Grieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Grieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-6','','','2012-01-19 18:04:45','2012-01-20 02:04:45','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4424-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4466,1,'2012-01-20 09:21:24','2012-01-20 17:21:24','','jesus_arms','','inherit','open','open','','jesus_arms-2','','','2012-01-20 09:21:24','2012-01-20 17:21:24','',4465,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jesus_arms.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(4467,1,'2012-01-20 09:22:45','2012-01-20 17:22:45','A few years ago I picked up and read “<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Generous-Orthodoxy-conservative-contemplative-fundamentalist/dp/0310258030\" target=\"_blank\">A Generous Orthodoxy</a>” by <a href=\"http://www.brianmclaren.net/\" target=\"_blank\">Brian McLaren</a>. I really liked the book for the reason that it explored the beauty of our differences. I appreciated listening to different traditions than my own. It helped me process the beauty in other ways of thinking.\n\nMy formative years were spent in a very loving but small Baptist church. It had the small chapel with the hard pews and the stained glass windows. From junior high through high school I went to a non-denominational church (which is a code word for we don’t want you to realize we really are a denomination) that was located in a former computer technology complex. The church was deeply influenced by the Baptists but never said so. In college, I floated around, attending several high profile mega-churches in Southern California. I couldn’t remember what they were? Nothing really stood out to me other than they were really, really big and had 67,000 different programs that were entertaining.\n\nAfter marriage, my wife and I chose to specifically find a small church, settling on a church that was from the <a href=\"http://www.rca.org/\" target=\"_blank\">RCA</a> (Reformed Church of America). It was here that I got my first introduction to a true, distinct denominational mindset. It forced us to wrestle with issues of child baptism and women in leadership, etc. Loved the process. We visited a Lutheran church once for a Christmas Eve service and had to stand for the entire 90 minutes. My wife attended a Greek orthodox church with a friend and also had to stand for 2 hours while she suffocated under the potent fumes of the incense. (No slam intended). I went with the youth group to a Catholic church and appreciated the beauty of the building but don’t remember anything else. When my family moved, we found ourselves attending a small <a href=\"http://www.crcna.org/\" target=\"_blank\">CRC</a> (Christian Reformed Church), which is split from the RCA over the question of the masons. Then we chose to leave and attend a covenant church. I really like the <a href=\"http://www.covchurch.org/\" target=\"_blank\">evangelical covenant church</a>. They have found a way to agree to disagree.\n\nWhich brings me back to McLaren’s Generous Orthodoxy. In each of the churches I attended, I found people who strongly believed they were right. They believed that their way was the correct way to believe. In a lot of cases the differences were minor (RCA/CRC). And in reading the book I began to ask, “What denomination would Jesus attend?” Would Jesus choose the Catholic church, with it’s strong emphasis on liturgy and reverence? Would he choose a protestant church with its strong emphasis on grace? Would he choose a charismatic church, with its strong emphasis on words of knowledge and communicating with God? Would he choose the Methodist church, hoping to find Wesley’s strong emphasis on going to the people and building leaders? Would he choose the Baptist church for its strong emphasis on salvation and baptism? Would he choose the Lutheran church with its rich historical protestant background? Would he choose from one of the other <a href=\"http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a120.htm\" target=\"_blank\">30,000</a> denomination for their unique distinctives?\n\nWhich begs a couple of questions. How would he have the time to visit all 30,000 different denominations? If he visited every one on every Sunday, that would take 82 years. And would visiting one more than once validate that denomination above the other ones that he either visited once or never visited? Would it invalidate a denomination if he chose to leave the service early because he had to catch an early flight to the next location? Or would he choose to skip the big churches all together and worship in a house church?\n\nAnd then I began to realize that maybe form is a product of our own need for validation? Maybe we separate ourselves into smaller and smaller camps to validate what we believe? Maybe we find the smallest of differences to argue about so that we can be right and others can be wrong, which elevates the individual above the other, at least in one’s own mind.\n\nI keep thinking of how God chooses to identify himself. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is <em>one</em> LORD.” (<a href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut%206:4&amp;version=31\" target=\"_blank\">Deut 6:4</a>) (emphasis mine) How do we find our way back to a shared community that is one, living with a sense of wholeness and togetherness, celebrating our differences yet working together? How do we find a way past our differences to His church?\n\nYour insights are appreciated?','Which Denomination Was Jesus?','','inherit','open','open','','4465-revision','','','2012-01-20 09:22:45','2012-01-20 17:22:45','',4465,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4465-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4468,1,'2012-01-20 09:12:35','2012-01-20 17:12:35','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Brieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Brieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-7','','','2012-01-20 09:12:35','2012-01-20 17:12:35','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4424-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4469,1,'2012-01-20 09:28:42','2012-01-20 17:28:42','I don\'t want to make a habit of joining in on overly discussed topics from the blogosphere, but I\'m going to take exactly that risk with this post. In the last few days I have seen countless Tweets, Facebook posts, and blogs all drawing attention the controversy surrounding a recent interview of Mark Driscoll by Justin Brieley of the podcast, \"<a href=\"http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable\" target=\"_blank\">Unbelievable</a>.\" The first part of the interview features both Mark and his wife Grace in connection with their Book Real Marriage, the rest focuses on Mark\'s ministry as pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, his approach and theology. Having been witness to so much of the discussion, even in my own family, I decided to skip past the chatter and listen to the unedited interview in its entirety—and I\'m glad I did, because it revealed a lot I believe is being overlooked. In fact, I think the discussion is extremely illuminating, not so much for the words that were said, but for the dynamic between Mark and Justin, and for the polarization that\'s occurred in the days following the interview.\r\n\r\nMy first observation is that the interview itself is far less controversial than the blogs that have followed. The differences of theology between Mark and Justin, while real, are not nearly as dramatic as they\'re portrayed – even Mark makes it clear they\'re secondary issues of theology. Based on the reactions I\'ve read, I expected to hear a heated debate becoming deeply personal where one or both parties would leave deeply offended. I heard nothing of the kind. Instead, I heard two articulate people with much in common, passionately discussing highly relevant issues, some of which they don\'t completely agree on.\r\n\r\nMy second observation, is far more sobering. The very fact this discussion has created such a stir underscores the point I made previously in <a href=\"http://blog.realfaitharts.com/2011/11/love-respect-unity-and-other-pipe.html\" target=\"_blank\">Love, respect, unity... and other pipe-dreams</a> — that people from differing theological corners have an insanely difficult time communicating effectively. This is a real problem and we need to all commit to doing our part to overcome it. The bar is even higher for pastors and leaders, who REALLY need to encourage those who follow them to stop taking-up their battles, emphasizing differences rather than their similarities, and further polarizing their positions.\r\n\r\nFinally, social media is not helping with this, by the way. I\'m actually a big fan for the most part, but the fact that opinions are being passed around the Internet constrained to servings of 160 characters or less is causing people to make statements that are stronger, less qualified, and often careless. Then when reposted by people who haven\'t actually done the work of reviewing the original material, it devolves to a grand game of telephone. In this case, it means that the two people involved are further polarized and vilified by their respective supporters or detractors. The medium absolutely does not help us have productive discussion in this case.\r\n\r\nI challenge you, before jumping to conclusions about this conversation or others like it, go back to the source and honestly consider it. We do far to much judging of people and their ideas by passing judgement on what people say about them rather than considering them on their own merit. It\'s more work, but it\'s worth it.','Driscoll vs. Brieley: What\'s Really at Stake','','inherit','open','open','','4424-revision-8','','','2012-01-20 09:28:42','2012-01-20 17:28:42','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4424-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4470,0,'2012-01-20 12:33:05','2012-01-20 20:33:05','You\'re on my blogroll now!\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Camille Sobalvarro\nAUTHOR EMAIL: csobalvarro@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://blog.realfaitharts.com\nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Blog List\nIP: 71.146.132.171\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Camille Sobalvarro\n    [Email] =&gt; csobalvarro@gmail.com\n    [Website] =&gt; http://blog.realfaitharts.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; You\'re on my blogroll now! \n)\n','Camille Sobalvarro - 2012-01-20 12:33:05','','publish','open','open','','5b8b0536b6564e60fd632fe033308bdd','','','2012-01-20 12:33:05','2012-01-20 20:33:05','',683,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4470',0,'feedback','',0),(4474,100,'2012-01-20 13:12:28','2012-01-20 21:12:28','','luke harms','Luke Harms','inherit','open','open','','lukeharms','','','2012-01-20 13:12:28','2012-01-20 21:12:28','',4473,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4475,100,'2012-01-20 13:14:17','2012-01-20 21:14:17','[caption id=\"attachment_4474\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Luke Harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4474\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n [caption id=\"attachment_1826\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"luke harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/?attachment_id=1826\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1826\"><img src=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/luke-harms-300x301.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"301\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1826\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThis week we talk with US Army veteran Luke Harms.\n\nHarms served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the US Army and then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.\n\nHarms shares his unique perspective on the war and the military meta-narrative and the struggle he faced adjusting from living in a combat zone to civilian life.\n\n<strong>Things to consider as you listen ::</strong>\n\nHow does Harms\' story compare to the narrative you\'ve heard about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?\nHow did 9/11 shape and inform your theology and ideology?\nHow has the \"army hero\" meta-narrative shaped your view of the military?\nHow has nationalism and/or american exceptionalism shaped your view of the current war on terror?\n\n[audio=','','','inherit','open','open','','4473-revision','','','2012-01-20 13:14:17','2012-01-20 21:14:17','',4473,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4473-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4478,100,'2012-01-20 13:16:41','2012-01-20 21:16:41','[caption id=\"attachment_4474\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Luke Harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4474\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with US Army veteran Luke Harms.\r\n\r\nHarms served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the US Army and then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.\r\n\r\nHarms shares his unique perspective on the war and the military meta-narrative and the struggle he faced adjusting from living in a combat zone to civilian life.\r\n\r\n<strong>Things to consider as you listen ::</strong>\r\n\r\nHow does Harms\' story compare to the narrative you\'ve heard about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?\r\nHow did 9/11 shape and inform your theology and ideology?\r\nHow has the \"army hero\" meta-narrative shaped your view of the military?\r\nHow has nationalism and/or american exceptionalism shaped your view of the current war on terror?\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/011312.mp3\"]','','','inherit','open','open','','4473-revision-4','','','2012-01-20 13:16:41','2012-01-20 21:16:41','',4473,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4473-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4477,100,'2012-01-20 13:16:17','2012-01-20 21:16:17','[caption id=\"attachment_4474\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Luke Harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4474\" /></a>[/caption]\n\n [caption id=\"attachment_1826\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"luke harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/?attachment_id=1826\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1826\"><img src=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/luke-harms-300x301.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"301\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1826\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nThis week we talk with US Army veteran Luke Harms.\n\nHarms served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the US Army and then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.\n\nHarms shares his unique perspective on the war and the military meta-narrative and the struggle he faced adjusting from living in a combat zone to civilian life.\n\n<strong>Things to consider as you listen ::</strong>\n\nHow does Harms\' story compare to the narrative you\'ve heard about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?\nHow did 9/11 shape and inform your theology and ideology?\nHow has the \"army hero\" meta-narrative shaped your view of the military?\nHow has nationalism and/or american exceptionalism shaped your view of the current war on terror?\n\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/011312.mp3\"]','','','inherit','open','open','','4473-revision-3','','','2012-01-20 13:16:17','2012-01-20 21:16:17','',4473,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4473-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4476,100,'2012-01-20 13:16:11','2012-01-20 21:16:11','[caption id=\"attachment_4474\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Luke Harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4474\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n [caption id=\"attachment_1826\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"luke harms\"]<a href=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/luke-harms-5-2/attachment/luke-harms/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1826\"><img src=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/luke-harms-300x301.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"301\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1826\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with US Army veteran Luke Harms.\r\n\r\nHarms served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the US Army and then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.\r\n\r\nHarms shares his unique perspective on the war and the military meta-narrative and the struggle he faced adjusting from living in a combat zone to civilian life.\r\n\r\n<strong>Things to consider as you listen ::</strong>\r\n\r\nHow does Harms\' story compare to the narrative you\'ve heard about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?\r\nHow did 9/11 shape and inform your theology and ideology?\r\nHow has the \"army hero\" meta-narrative shaped your view of the military?\r\nHow has nationalism and/or american exceptionalism shaped your view of the current war on terror?\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/011312.mp3\"]','','','inherit','open','open','','4473-revision-2','','','2012-01-20 13:16:11','2012-01-20 21:16:11','',4473,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4473-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4479,100,'2012-01-20 13:17:02','2012-01-20 21:17:02','[caption id=\"attachment_4474\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Luke Harms\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms.jpg\"><img src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/lukeharms-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4474\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with US Army veteran Luke Harms.\r\n\r\nHarms served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the US Army and then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor.\r\n\r\nHarms shares his unique perspective on the war and the military meta-narrative and the struggle he faced adjusting from living in a combat zone to civilian life.\r\n\r\n<strong>Things to consider as you listen ::</strong>\r\n\r\nHow does Harms\' story compare to the narrative you\'ve heard about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?\r\nHow did 9/11 shape and inform your theology and ideology?\r\nHow has the \"army hero\" meta-narrative shaped your view of the military?\r\nHow has nationalism and/or american exceptionalism shaped your view of the current war on terror?\r\n\r\n[audio=\"http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/011312.mp3\"]','','','inherit','open','open','','4473-revision-5','','','2012-01-20 13:17:02','2012-01-20 21:17:02','',4473,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/20/4473-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4480,100,'2012-01-11 14:35:31','2012-01-11 22:35:31','[caption id=\"attachment_3935\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"298\" caption=\"Joy Bennett\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/joy-bennett.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-3935\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/joy-bennett-298x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nWe\'re kicking off 2012 with a conversation with blogger and author Joy Bennett.\r\n\r\nJoy is, \"a Christian woman writing through grief and loss depression, and the overhaul of my faith in the face of suffering.\"\r\n\r\nJoy\'s oldest child was born with severe special needs and passed away in 2008 at the age of 8 and she shares her journey on her blog and this week with the sbpodcast family.\r\n\r\nJoy describes herself:\r\n<blockquote>I am a writer, mother of four, wife, reader, follower of Christ, bereaved, asker, and lover of rich soil, good food, music, and sunshine, listener... in no particular order. Two of my children were born with serious congenital heart defects, including my first. It was quite an initiation to motherhood. Between the two of them, we’ve been through six open-heart surgeries and countless nights in the hospital. This writer learned to give shots, insert feeding tubes, run i.v. pumps, measure in mLs, and pronounce words like tracheomalacia. I’ve blogged since 2005, writing on faith and doubt, family life (which is always humorous even with the medical spin), grief, and the depression that I only recognized a year after our oldest died at the age of 8.</blockquote>\r\n<strong>Some questions to ask yourself while you listen ::</strong>\r\n\r\nWhat tragedies or crisis in your life have shaped your faith?\r\nWhat helped you through the crisis?\r\nHow can you use your experience to help walk others through their journey?\r\nDo you believe that all things are good - even the \"bad things\" - or do you agree more with joy that \"good can come out of bad things?\"\r\n\r\n<strong>Related ::</strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://joyinthisjourney.com\" target=\"_blank\">Joy\'s blog</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://twitter.com/WritingJoy\" target=\"_blank\">Joy on twitter</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/joyinthisjourney\" target=\"_blank\">Joy on facebook</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://blog.worldvision.org/forbloggers/bolivia/\" target=\"_blank\">Bloggers for Bolivia</a>\r\n<a title=\"deeper story\" href=\"http://www.deeperstory.com\" target=\"_blank\">Deeper Story</a>\r\n\r\n<strong>Music ::</strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.stratospherik.com/stratospherik/3.html\" target=\"_blank\">Ureiel Asher - I Don\'t Know</a>','Something Beautiful - Joy Bennet','','inherit','open','open','','3934-revision-5','','','2012-01-11 14:35:31','2012-01-11 22:35:31','',3934,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/11/3934-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4484,0,'2012-01-21 10:28:10','2012-01-21 18:28:10','Chloe, thank you for your first article on Provoketive.  It was really good.  I want to encourage your voice on our magazine because we often have a US slant and I would love to hear a larger world voice.  Please consider that as your craft your future posts.\r\n\r\nMuch love\r\njonathan\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jonathan Brink\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jb@thriven.org\nAUTHOR URL: http://jonathanbrink.com\nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] In Returning and Rest\nIP: 75.5.246.252\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jonathan Brink\n    [Email] =&gt; jb@thriven.org\n    [Website] =&gt; http://jonathanbrink.com\n    [Message] =&gt; Chloe, thank you for your first article on Provoketive.  It was really good.  I want to encourage your voice on our magazine because we often have a US slant and I would love to hear a larger world voice.  Please consider that as your craft your future posts.\r\n\r\nMuch love\r\njonathan\n)\n','Jonathan Brink - 2012-01-21 10:28:10','','publish','open','open','','f62cac28b9ab34e3af23d395ac1aefc0','','','2012-01-21 10:28:10','2012-01-21 18:28:10','',3975,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4484',0,'feedback','',0),(4485,1,'2012-01-21 10:52:24','2012-01-21 18:52:24','','Chloe Lynch','','publish','open','open','','chloe-lynch','','','2012-12-18 12:55:06','2012-12-18 20:55:06','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4485',38,'nav_menu_item','',0),(4486,0,'2012-01-21 10:52:07','2012-01-21 18:52:07','Falth, life &amp; culture\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Johnny Douglas\nAUTHOR EMAIL: revjohnnydouglas@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.johnnydouglas.org\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 78.145.18.192\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Johnny Douglas\n    [Email] =&gt; revjohnnydouglas@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.johnnydouglas.org\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Falth, life &amp; culture\r\n\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; johnnydouglas\n)\n','Johnny Douglas - 2012-01-21 10:52:07','','publish','open','open','','68093d01d5eea5c67d30ed4eb7a94cae','','','2012-01-21 10:52:07','2012-01-21 18:52:07','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4486',0,'feedback','',0),(4487,1,'2012-01-21 10:54:29','2012-01-21 18:54:29','','Camille Sobalvarro ','','publish','open','open','','camille-sobalvarro','','','2012-12-18 12:55:08','2012-12-18 20:55:08','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4487',58,'nav_menu_item','',0),(4488,0,'2012-01-21 10:55:20','2012-01-21 18:55:20','Great article Camille.  Thanks for posting.  I look forward to hearing your voice more in our magazine.\r\n\r\nMuch love\r\nJonathan\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jonathan Brink\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jb@thriven.org\nAUTHOR URL: http://jonathanbrink.com\nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Driscoll vs. Brieley: What\'s Really at Stake\nIP: 75.5.246.252\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jonathan Brink\n    [Email] =&gt; jb@thriven.org\n    [Website] =&gt; http://jonathanbrink.com\n    [Message] =&gt; Great article Camille.  Thanks for posting.  I look forward to hearing your voice more in our magazine.\r\n\r\nMuch love\r\nJonathan\n)\n','Jonathan Brink - 2012-01-21 10:55:20','','publish','open','open','','f763750cd21de8a78b98f6e5cc5ce81f','','','2012-01-21 10:55:20','2012-01-21 18:55:20','',4424,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4488',0,'feedback','',0),(4490,119,'2012-01-21 10:57:31','2012-01-21 18:57:31','<img src=\"http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=theartofste-21&amp;l=as2&amp;o=2&amp;a=1936034883\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" /><em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','Review: Frequency: Walk with God the way you\'re wired','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision','','','2012-01-21 10:57:31','2012-01-21 18:57:31','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4491,119,'2012-01-21 11:01:40','2012-01-21 19:01:40','<img src=\"http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=theartofste-21&amp;l=as2&amp;o=2&amp;a=1936034883\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" /><em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February with a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-2','','','2012-01-21 11:01:40','2012-01-21 19:01:40','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4492,119,'2012-01-21 11:04:23','2012-01-21 19:04:23','<img src=\"http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=theartofste-21&amp;l=as2&amp;o=2&amp;a=1936034883\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" /><em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.  It has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-3','','','2012-01-21 11:04:23','2012-01-21 19:04:23','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4493,119,'2012-01-21 11:04:40','2012-01-21 19:04:40','<img src=\"http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=theartofste-21&amp;l=as2&amp;o=2&amp;a=1936034883\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" /><em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\r\n\r\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\r\n\r\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\r\n\r\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\r\n\r\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\r\n\r\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\r\n\r\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\r\n\r\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-4','','','2012-01-21 11:04:40','2012-01-21 19:04:40','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4494,119,'2012-01-21 11:04:48','2012-01-21 19:04:48','<img src=\"http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=theartofste-21&amp;l=as2&amp;o=2&amp;a=1936034883\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" /><em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\r\n\r\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\r\n\r\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\r\n\r\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\r\n\r\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\r\n\r\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\r\n\r\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\r\n\r\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-5','','','2012-01-21 11:04:48','2012-01-21 19:04:48','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4496,119,'2012-01-21 11:12:59','2012-01-21 19:12:59','<p style=\"text-align: center\"></p>\n<em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\n\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-7','','','2012-01-21 11:12:59','2012-01-21 19:12:59','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4495,119,'2012-01-21 11:10:46','2012-01-21 19:10:46','<p style=\"text-align: center\">Image credit</p>\n<a href=\"http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=112\">Image: Matt Banks / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a>\n\n<em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\n\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-6','','','2012-01-21 11:10:46','2012-01-21 19:10:46','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4497,119,'2012-01-21 11:17:22','2012-01-21 19:17:22','','oie_21201149QvF8Fded','','inherit','open','open','','oie_21201149qvf8fded','','','2012-01-21 11:17:22','2012-01-21 19:17:22','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/oie_21201149QvF8Fded.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4498,119,'2012-01-21 11:14:42','2012-01-21 19:14:42','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3248\">Image: Kittisak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>\n<em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\n\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Ennegram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-8','','','2012-01-21 11:14:42','2012-01-21 19:14:42','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4499,119,'2012-01-21 11:22:16','2012-01-21 19:22:16','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3248\">Image: Kittisak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>\n<em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\n\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Enneagram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-9','','','2012-01-21 11:22:16','2012-01-21 19:22:16','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4500,119,'2012-01-21 11:24:13','2012-01-21 19:24:13','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3248\">Image: Kittisak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>\n<em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\n\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Enneagram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-10','','','2012-01-21 11:24:13','2012-01-21 19:24:13','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4506,1,'2012-01-16 14:16:42','2012-01-16 22:16:42','I\'ve had a chance to read a lot of articles on Provoketive about people who have had awful experiences in church life. These experiences put such a bad taste in their mouth, they ended up leaving for good. Typically, these experiences with church stemmed from one major problem - bad leadership.\r\n\r\nI have to admit. Before my fall from ministry, I did some things I regret. I was very heavy-handed at times, I had a tendency towards legalism and I was very, very unforgiving. That being said, I don\'t want to sound like a tyrant. Most people, I believe, remember me as a pretty decent guy. But the one thing I regret is my lack of forgiveness. It pains me to think about any I might have sent away with a bad taste in their mouth. They ended up rejecting church because of a man and never knowing the love of Christ.\r\n\r\nMy own peak of unforgiveness came with my relationship with my father. He and I were at odds for most of my life. He was very critical of me and had trouble expressing any love for me. While I was pastoring, he left my mother for another woman and I took that opportunity to judge him, condemn him and speak harshly to him. In return, he yelled right back.\r\n\r\nI decided to shut the door on him completely. I hated him for how he had treated my mother. People would say, \"Ray, you can\'t do that. He\'s your<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/wait.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-4081\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/wait.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"252\" /></a> father.\" I\'d say, \"I don\'t care. If he wants forgiveness, I guess I\'ll listen. <em>But he has to come to me first.</em> And he has to mean it.\"\r\n\r\nI was still in ministry when he died in an accident a year and a half after he left my mother. We had never reconciled. I had spent my days spewing venom at him. Toward the end, I tried to sit down with him and tried to have a civil conversation with him, but we would never have a father-son relationship.\r\n\r\nA year later, my mother died in an accident and I found myself without parents, alone. Another year later, I committed adultery and needed my mom and dad more than ever. I began to rue the days when I cursed my father for his mistakes. I began to see him as human and understand that like him, I was imperfect. Woefully imperfect. I was, in fact, my father\'s son.\r\n\r\nAnd I began to understand the wide gap between the \"forgiveness\" of man and the restoration of God and how He wants us to practice it.\r\n\r\nI began contemplating passages Like Matthew 18:12 where a shepherd has 100 sheep. One of them went astray. What did the shepherd do? Did he say, \"Oh, it\'s alright. I\'ve got 99 other ones.\" Nope. The shepherd left the ones that he knew were fine and he sought out the <em>one</em>. He didn\'t wait for it to come back, he sought it out.\r\n\r\nI started thinking about Galatians 6:1, \"<em>Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted</em>.\"\r\n\r\nPaul tells the church that if anyone sins, that we ought to go get them and restore them. We shouldn\'t wait for anyone to be thrown on the trash heap of society. We grab them, help them, shake them to their senses if we have to. But we walk with them and see that they are restored to the community of faith. We don\'t stand idly by and hope that they come waltzing back one day and ask for our forgiveness. It\'s our job to restore people.\r\n\r\nContrast that with my reaction towards my father. I was so angry, I wanted to ignore him. Forever. I wanted his heart to change. I wanted it to change the way I wanted it to change. I wanted him to act and conform to my standards. Sure, he was sinning. But I wanted nothing to do with his restoration. It was easier for me to sit and hate.\r\n\r\nBut that\'s not what the community of faith is called to do. We are called to seek people out and restore them. That\'s what Jesus does for us. He seeks us out. And as His representatives, He wants us to seek out those who need restoration. Is it easy? Nope. Does it require our time and compassion? Yes.\r\n\r\nUltimately, it is worth it. What Christ did to save us was worth it and He calls us to be sacrificial in our lives toward others as well.\r\n\r\n____________________\r\n\r\nRay Carroll is author of <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Pastor-Finding-Restoration-Broken/dp/0615567096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1325370631&amp;sr=8-1\">Fallen Pastor: Finding Restoration in a Broken World</a> which is available at Amazon.com and is also available for the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Pastor-Finding-Restoration-ebook/dp/B006TKJV0U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1326661898&amp;sr=8-2\">Amazon Kindle</a>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','\"Waiting On Forgiveness\" vs. Restoration','','inherit','open','open','','4076-revision-4','','','2012-01-16 14:16:42','2012-01-16 22:16:42','',4076,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/16/4076-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4873,125,'2012-02-04 11:18:28','2012-02-04 19:18:28','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','4872-revision','','','2012-02-04 11:18:28','2012-02-04 19:18:28','',4872,'http://provoketive.com/2012/02/04/4872-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4502,1,'2012-01-22 11:08:18','2012-01-22 19:08:18','<em><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Frequency.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-4504 alignleft\" title=\"Frequency\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Frequency.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"173\" /></a>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\n\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\n\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\n\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\n\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Enneagram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\n\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\n\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\n\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\n\nPhoto Credit: <a href=\"http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3248\">Kittisak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-autosave','','','2012-01-22 11:08:18','2012-01-22 19:08:18','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4503,0,'2012-01-21 17:57:51','2012-01-22 01:57:51','Justice and Faith\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Bud Wilson\nAUTHOR EMAIL: Thebud99@bellsouth.net\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 65.13.98.197\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Bud Wilson\n    [Email] =&gt; Thebud99@bellsouth.net\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; \n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Justice and Faith\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; Thebud99@bellsouth.net\n)\n','Bud Wilson - 2012-01-21 17:57:51','','publish','open','open','','662a05e1901f9e987ae964bd25c773f3','','','2012-01-21 17:57:51','2012-01-22 01:57:51','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=4503',0,'feedback','',0),(4504,1,'2012-01-22 11:05:35','2012-01-22 19:05:35','','Frequency','','inherit','open','open','','frequency','','','2012-01-22 11:05:35','2012-01-22 19:05:35','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Frequency.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4505,1,'2012-01-21 11:25:47','2012-01-21 19:25:47','<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3248\">Image: Kittisak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>\r\n<em>Frequency</em> by Eric Parks and Casey Bankord is a new book coming out in February which is bound to be popular in some Christian circles.\r\n\r\nIt has a foreword by John Ortberg.  That\'s because this book is part of the Monvee offering, a programme for the spiritual growth of individuals and churches which has been championed by various U.S. pastors and writers, including Ortberg.\r\n\r\nYou may have an immediate response to that piece of information.  Monvee has created a bit of a stir, for all the usual reasons - it seeks to be a comprehensive and programmatic method for making disciples; it claims to celebrate the individuality of believers before classifying them(!) into nine types; and it celebrates the contemplative approaches to spirituality popularised in recent times by Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.  These things, in themselves, are enough to arouse strong opposition in some quarters of the church.\r\n\r\nBut I think it is still possible to engage with this book as a standalone resource and that is what I have tried to do.  I felt that the first half of the book was potentially quite useful for me to share with others in my church.  It talks about the uniqueness of believers: how each of us may connect with God using slightly different devotional practices; how we have different personalities and gifts, different ways of serving God and his people; how some of us are more prone to certain sins than others, again because of personality and personal history.\r\n\r\nThis first half also offers examples of such differences, using tools such as a learning styles indicator, the \'spiritual pathways\' material popularised by Bill Hybels and Gary Thomas, and the Enneagram (although without admitting that these are the Enneagram descriptors - again, a bone of contention for some, I would imagine).  I am torn in my response to this choice of examples.  On the one hand, it is good and useful and I have benefitted from similar material in the past.  And yet, on the other hand, it is surely something of a contradiction to spend pages celebrating the uniqueness of each person\'s frequency when it comes to God and then to categorise people by seven \'spiritual pathways\', five learning styles and nine Enneagram descriptors!\r\n\r\nThe second half of the book was probably not intended to be read as a whole.  It comprises descriptions of the different \'personality styles\', as the authors have chosen to characterise what I think are still the Enneagram categories (despite their spiritualisation by the attachment to each category of the name of a Bible character - almost exclusively Old Testament characters, by the way.  I wonder why?!).\r\n\r\nThese sections are all right; I think they are made more readable by the inclusion of a \'famous\' Christian\'s story about what it is like to be one of these types.  But I do note that most of these testimonies seem to be from believers who have adopted the Monvee programme wholesale in their churches!  I would also question what would be so wrong with inviting Joe Bloggs to give testimony in each of these sections instead of \'celebrity Christians\'.  After all, if anyone other than a church leader is going to read this book, then testimony which relates to living as a believer on the frontline in the marketplace would probably be much more use than yet another description of how to do church or parachurch ministry as someone of this personality type!\r\n\r\nSo, in overview, my response to this book is mixed.  There are some good sections but I\'m not sure that they are enough to warrant the cover price of the book for me, at least.  (I received a free galley copy of this e-book from www.netgalley.com.)\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1936034883/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=6738&amp;creativeASIN=1936034883\"><img src=\"http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;Format=_SL110_&amp;ASIN=1936034883&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=theartofste-21&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" /></a></p>','On the right frequency?','','inherit','open','open','','4489-revision-11','','','2012-01-21 11:25:47','2012-01-21 19:25:47','',4489,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/21/4489-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(4509,1,'2012-01-23 08:51:23','2012-01-23 16:51:23','','mary Magdalene','','inherit','open','open','','mary-magdalene','','','2012-01-23 08:51:23','2012-01-23 16:51:23','',4508,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mary-Magdalene.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4510,1,'2012-01-23 08:46:46','2012-01-23 16:46:46','Question Everything is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are often afraid to ask. You can submit your question <a title=\"Submit A Question\" href=\"../submit-a-question/\">here</a>.\n\nToday’s question comes from <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/author/thesethingsmatterbymelody/\">Melody Harrison Hanson</a>.\n\n“If there is historical evidence that Jesus affirmed and loved and served with women, even has them as disciples, why is the Church so stuck on this issue?  Why don\'t pastors/leaders/teachers care about learning the historical truth?  (My sources Ben Witherington, Scot McKnight)  What will it take to change?  (Asked by implication/threat of women leaving the church by Jim Henderson, in Resignation of Eve)”\n\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #2: Jesus and Women','','inherit','open','open','','4508-revision','','','2012-01-23 08:46:46','2012-01-23 16:46:46','',4508,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4508-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4511,1,'2012-01-23 08:53:49','2012-01-23 16:53:49','<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/category/question-everything/\">Question Everything</a></strong> is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are often afraid to ask. You can submit your question <a title=\"Submit A Question\" href=\"../submit-a-question/\">here</a>.\n\nToday’s question comes from <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/author/thesethingsmatterbymelody/\">Melody Harrison Hanson</a>.\n\n“If there is historical evidence that Jesus affirmed and loved and served with women, even has them as disciples, why is the Church so stuck on this issue?  Why don\'t pastors/leaders/teachers care about learning the historical truth?  (My sources Ben Witherington, Scot McKnight)  What will it take to change?  (Asked by implication/threat of women leaving the church by Jim Henderson, in Resignation of Eve)”\n\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #2: Jesus and Women','','inherit','open','open','','4508-autosave','','','2012-01-23 08:53:49','2012-01-23 16:53:49','',4508,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4508-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4512,1,'2012-01-19 11:09:28','2012-01-19 19:09:28','Question Everything is a series of posts that asks the questions people are really thinking, but are often afraid to ask. You can submit your question <a title=\"Submit A Question\" href=\"http://provoketive.com/submit-a-question/\">here</a>.\r\n\r\nToday\'s question comes from Anonymous in Albuquerque NM.\r\n\r\n\"If God sends people to hell, then doesn\'t that mean God is not forgiving them?  And if so, why does God command us to forgive but is unwilling to forgive when our lives are on the line.\"\r\n\r\nHow would you answer the question?','Question #1: When God Doesn\'t Forgive','','inherit','open','open','','4431-revision-4','','','2012-01-19 11:09:28','2012-01-19 19:09:28','',4431,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/19/4431-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4513,35,'2012-01-25 08:00:28','2012-01-25 16:00:28','<span style=\"font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;\">I</span> know I was supposed to be paying attention to the sermon in church yesterday, but I wasn’t.  I was busy paying attention to the sermon inside me that said, “Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.”  Why not cry?  Because a loved one hadn’t died and I hadn’t broken my arm five minutes earlier and my family adores me.  And I was in public.\r\n\r\nOK, so I was having a bad day, right?  Or feel like my life sucks?  Or I’m just a naturally negative person.  No.  What about: I have clinical depression, and depression is my “normal”.  There’s a lot more to living with it than just taking my meds and seeing my doctor and/or therapist on a regular basis.  To keep the disease from taking over my life, I work hard at my job and relationships, and keep active social connections through church, choir, two weekly small groups, yoga class.\r\n\r\nBut none of those change the fact that I fight going under, cry frequently, feel overwhelmed and alone and afraid <em>almost every day</em>.  Depression is my constant companion, but NOT socially acceptable.  I absolutely hate the almost automatic greeting between two people in our culture:  “How are you?”  You know the response.  “Fine.”  If your brain is engaged at all, you might say, “Pretty good” or “Tired.”  If someone is more than just an acquaintance, you might answer, “Queasy.  I’m still getting over the flu,” because you believe they care enough about you to be interested in such a personal detail.\r\n\r\nBut “I’m depressed, and am having trouble coping this morning”?  I promise you, not even the people who truly love me want to hear that, even though they may be aware it’s true when they ask.  “Why can’t you just suck it up, quote positive affirmations, help someone else…for God’s sake DO something and make it go away, or at least don’t let it show.”  Even my closest friends try to “fix” me by offering encouragement or prayer, and believe me, those really help.\r\n\r\nBut nothing makes the depression go away, and nobody struggles to make that happen more than me.  Comparing myself with other people has been a debilitating nemesis lately.  Those who are able to keep their commitment to exercise on a regular basis (or at all).  Authors who vigorously market their book and themselves, and it pays off.  The women with full-time jobs who come home, cook dinner, help this child with homework and take that child to soccer, and still have the mental energy to write tomorrow’s blog before bed.\r\n\r\nGod says, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, not even yourself.  Let me help you plan today’s agenda, and give yourself grace.  Do what you can, and if you cry, it’s the way it is.”\r\n\r\nI don’t always listen to God, but it’s more helpful than listening to myself.  And you?  If you ask how I am, I’ll guarantee I won’t say “Fine”, and chances are I won’t tell you the truth if I’m in a bad place.  But please don’t pretend I’m invisible if you see pain in my eyes.  I didn’t choose this disease.','\"How Are You?\"  \"Depressed. How Are You?\"','','publish','open','open','','how-are-you-depressed-how-are-you','','','2012-01-24 09:25:40','2012-01-24 17:25:40','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4513',0,'post','',14),(4514,35,'2012-01-23 09:23:21','2012-01-23 17:23:21','','sad smile','','inherit','open','open','','sad-smile','','','2012-01-23 09:23:21','2012-01-23 17:23:21','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sad-smile.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4515,35,'2012-01-23 09:24:58','2012-01-23 17:24:58','','sad smile','','inherit','open','open','','sad-smile-2','','','2012-01-23 09:24:58','2012-01-23 17:24:58','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/sad-smile1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4516,35,'2012-01-23 09:21:46','2012-01-23 17:21:46','<span style=\"font-family: Calibri;font-size: small\">I</span> know I was supposed to be paying attention to the sermon in church yesterday, but I wasn’t.  I was busy paying attention to the sermon inside me that said, “Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.”  Why not cry?  Because a loved one hadn’t died and I hadn’t broken my arm five minutes earlier and my family adores me.  And I was in public.\n\nOK, so I was having a bad day, right?  Or feel like my life sucks?  Or I’m just a naturally negative person.  No.  What about: I have clinical depression, and depression is my “normal”.  There’s a lot more to living with it than just taking my meds and seeing my doctor and/or therapist on a regular basis.  To keep the disease from taking over my life, I work hard at my job and relationships, and keep active social connections through church, choir, two weekly small groups, yoga class.\n\nBut none of those change the fact that I fight going under, cry frequently, feel overwhelmed and alone and afraid almost every day.  Depression is my constant companion, but NOT socially acceptable.  I absolutely hate the almost automatic greeting between two people in our culture:  “How are you?”  You know the response.  “Fine.”  If your brain is engaged at all, you might say, “Pretty good” or “Tired.”  If someone is more than just an acquaintance, you might answer, “Queasy.  I’m still getting over the flu,” because you believe they care enough about you to be interested in such a personal detail.\n\nBut “I’m depressed, and am having trouble coping this morning”?  I promise you, not even the people who truly love me want to hear that, even though they may be aware it’s true when they ask.  “Why can’t you just suck it up, quote positive affirmations, help someone else…for God’s sake DO something and make it go away, or at least don’t let it show.”  Even my closest friends try to “fix” me by offering encouragement or prayer, and believe me, those really help.\n\nBut nothing makes the depression go away, and nobody struggles to make that happen more than me.  Comparing myself with other people has been a debilitating nemesis lately.  Those who are able to keep their commitment to exercise on a regular basis (or at all).  Authors who vigorously market their book and themselves, and it pays off.  The women with full-time jobs who come home, cook dinner, help this child with homework and take that child to soccer, and still have the mental energy to write tomorrow’s blog before bed.\n\nGod says, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, not even yourself.  Let me help you plan today’s agenda, and give yourself grace.  Do what you can, and if you cry, it’s the way it is.”\n\nI don’t always listen to God, but it’s more helpful than listening to myself.  And you?  If you ask how I am, I’ll guarantee I won’t say “Fine”, and chances are I won’t tell you the truth if I’m in a bad place.  But please don’t pretend I’m invisible if you see pain in my eyes.  I didn’t choose this disease.','\"How Are You?\"  \"Depressed. How Are You?\"','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision','','','2012-01-23 09:21:46','2012-01-23 17:21:46','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4513-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4517,35,'2012-01-23 09:25:28','2012-01-23 17:25:28','<span style=\"font-family: Calibri;font-size: small\">I</span> know I was supposed to be paying attention to the sermon in church yesterday, but I wasn’t.  I was busy paying attention to the sermon inside me that said, “Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.”  Why not cry?  Because a loved one hadn’t died and I hadn’t broken my arm five minutes earlier and my family adores me.  And I was in public.\r\n\r\nOK, so I was having a bad day, right?  Or feel like my life sucks?  Or I’m just a naturally negative person.  No.  What about: I have clinical depression, and depression is my “normal”.  There’s a lot more to living with it than just taking my meds and seeing my doctor and/or therapist on a regular basis.  To keep the disease from taking over my life, I work hard at my job and relationships, and keep active social connections through church, choir, two weekly small groups, yoga class.\r\n\r\nBut none of those change the fact that I fight going under, cry frequently, feel overwhelmed and alone and afraid almost every day.  Depression is my constant companion, but NOT socially acceptable.  I absolutely hate the almost automatic greeting between two people in our culture:  “How are you?”  You know the response.  “Fine.”  If your brain is engaged at all, you might say, “Pretty good” or “Tired.”  If someone is more than just an acquaintance, you might answer, “Queasy.  I’m still getting over the flu,” because you believe they care enough about you to be interested in such a personal detail.\r\n\r\nBut “I’m depressed, and am having trouble coping this morning”?  I promise you, not even the people who truly love me want to hear that, even though they may be aware it’s true when they ask.  “Why can’t you just suck it up, quote positive affirmations, help someone else…for God’s sake DO something and make it go away, or at least don’t let it show.”  Even my closest friends try to “fix” me by offering encouragement or prayer, and believe me, those really help.\r\n\r\nBut nothing makes the depression go away, and nobody struggles to make that happen more than me.  Comparing myself with other people has been a debilitating nemesis lately.  Those who are able to keep their commitment to exercise on a regular basis (or at all).  Authors who vigorously market their book and themselves, and it pays off.  The women with full-time jobs who come home, cook dinner, help this child with homework and take that child to soccer, and still have the mental energy to write tomorrow’s blog before bed.\r\n\r\nGod says, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, not even yourself.  Let me help you plan today’s agenda, and give yourself grace.  Do what you can, and if you cry, it’s the way it is.”\r\n\r\nI don’t always listen to God, but it’s more helpful than listening to myself.  And you?  If you ask how I am, I’ll guarantee I won’t say “Fine”, and chances are I won’t tell you the truth if I’m in a bad place.  But please don’t pretend I’m invisible if you see pain in my eyes.  I didn’t choose this disease.','\"How Are You?\"  \"Depressed. How Are You?\"','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-2','','','2012-01-23 09:25:28','2012-01-23 17:25:28','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4513-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4518,35,'2012-01-23 09:27:35','2012-01-23 17:27:35','<span style=\"font-family: Calibri;font-size: small\">I</span> know I was supposed to be paying attention to the sermon in church yesterday, but I wasn’t.  I was busy paying attention to the sermon inside me that said, “Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.”  Why not cry?  Because a loved one hadn’t died and I hadn’t broken my arm five minutes earlier and my family adores me.  And I was in public.\r\n\r\nOK, so I was having a bad day, right?  Or feel like my life sucks?  Or I’m just a naturally negative person.  No.  What about: I have clinical depression, and depression is my “normal”.  There’s a lot more to living with it than just taking my meds and seeing my doctor and/or therapist on a regular basis.  To keep the disease from taking over my life, I work hard at my job and relationships, and keep active social connections through church, choir, two weekly small groups, yoga class.\r\n\r\nBut none of those change the fact that I fight going under, cry frequently, feel overwhelmed and alone and afraid <em>almost every day</em>.  Depression is my constant companion, but NOT socially acceptable.  I absolutely hate the almost automatic greeting between two people in our culture:  “How are you?”  You know the response.  “Fine.”  If your brain is engaged at all, you might say, “Pretty good” or “Tired.”  If someone is more than just an acquaintance, you might answer, “Queasy.  I’m still getting over the flu,” because you believe they care enough about you to be interested in such a personal detail.\r\n\r\nBut “I’m depressed, and am having trouble coping this morning”?  I promise you, not even the people who truly love me want to hear that, even though they may be aware it’s true when they ask.  “Why can’t you just suck it up, quote positive affirmations, help someone else…for God’s sake DO something and make it go away, or at least don’t let it show.”  Even my closest friends try to “fix” me by offering encouragement or prayer, and believe me, those really help.\r\n\r\nBut nothing makes the depression go away, and nobody struggles to make that happen more than me.  Comparing myself with other people has been a debilitating nemesis lately.  Those who are able to keep their commitment to exercise on a regular basis (or at all).  Authors who vigorously market their book and themselves, and it pays off.  The women with full-time jobs who come home, cook dinner, help this child with homework and take that child to soccer, and still have the mental energy to write tomorrow’s blog before bed.\r\n\r\nGod says, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, not even yourself.  Let me help you plan today’s agenda, and give yourself grace.  Do what you can, and if you cry, it’s the way it is.”\r\n\r\nI don’t always listen to God, but it’s more helpful than listening to myself.  And you?  If you ask how I am, I’ll guarantee I won’t say “Fine”, and chances are I won’t tell you the truth if I’m in a bad place.  But please don’t pretend I’m invisible if you see pain in my eyes.  I didn’t choose this disease.','\"How Are You?\"  \"Depressed. How Are You?\"','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-3','','','2012-01-23 09:27:35','2012-01-23 17:27:35','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4513-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4520,157,'2012-01-26 08:00:02','2012-01-26 16:00:02','It was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. Unlike in the biblical story, I killed Jesus just after midnight when most people are sleeping. I killed him as privately as possible; few were there to actually witness his death. And I didn’t make it a big bloody display, beating him senseless, and nailing him to a cross. Oh no, Jesus was dispatched cleanly and humanely. He simply went to sleep.\r\n\r\nJesus was quietly taken into his execution chamber. It was medically sterile, as germ free as humanly possible. I know on that last walk he felt every lash he had received from the <em>criminal</em> “Justice” system. I imagine him recounting the loss of his acquaintances, then his friends. Family may even have abandoned him.\r\n\r\nHe was strapped to a gurney that night, and an IV line started. First we gave him a powerful barbiturate to calm him, and make him drowsy. Next we injected him with a drug that paralyzed his entire muscular system. No unseemly jerking or twitching permitted. Then potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart.\r\n\r\nGood night, Jesus. No suffering here.\r\n\r\nIt was almost the same protocol as when I had to put my wolf-dog Taz down last year. We had been together for nine years. She was abused as a young dog and we rescued her, giving her a loving pack and me a furry companion. She became my “best girlfriend”. We used to go to the woods a couple of times a week to run and play together. She was an amazing animal who loved me, my wife and kids, and our other four-legged family members.\r\n\r\nBut she was suffering. Old age had taken a great toll on Taz. She couldn’t run with the wolves any longer. Many days she could barely walk to the door to go out and do her business. The day came when she couldn’t do even that much.\r\n\r\nWe took Taz to our friend Bill’s veterinary clinic where I gently lifted her up onto an examination table. First Bill injected her with a tranquilizer to calm her, and make her drowsy. Joy and I were talking to her soothingly, and stroking her head. The paralytic and potassium bromide were administered, and Taz died in our arms. It was an end of suffering for her.<strong>            </strong>\r\n\r\nYes,<strong> </strong>it was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. I was hundreds of miles away, standing on a street corner in the middle of the night freezing my ass off and holding a sign. There were about ten of us. We were in front of a church that left one door unlocked so we could come in and get warm as needed.\r\n\r\nMy sign said something inane like “Why do we kill people who kill people to teach people not to kill people?” It was a small protest against Tennessee’s death penalty, staged at the same time Cecil Johnson, one of “<em>the least of these,</em>” was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville as I described.\r\n\r\nI still grieve for Taz. Her body is buried in our pet cemetery along with several others. Her last dog-tag hangs from the front axle of my Sportster, so every time I ride she gets to run with me again. But as I sat down to write this, I couldn’t even remember that Jesus’ name for me that night was Cecil Johnson. And so I wonder.\r\n\r\nI wonder if our protest was any more effective than spitting in the wind.\r\n\r\nI wonder if my standing in the cold made any difference whatsoever.\r\n\r\nI wonder if I was merely trying to mitigate my own guilt.\r\n\r\nI wonder why, if our execution protocol is so humane, I still heard Cecil/Jesus cry out in anguish that night “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”\r\n\r\nI claim to follow Jesus, but still, I killed Jesus that night.\r\n\r\nAnd if nothing changes, I will almost certainly kill Jesus again.','I Killed Jesus','','publish','open','open','','i-killed-jesus','','','2012-01-24 09:28:53','2012-01-24 17:28:53','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4520',0,'post','',8),(4521,157,'2012-01-23 10:43:56','2012-01-23 18:43:56','','execution_gurney','','inherit','open','open','','execution_gurney','','','2012-01-23 10:43:56','2012-01-23 18:43:56','',4520,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/execution_gurney.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4523,157,'2012-01-23 10:43:17','2012-01-23 18:43:17','It was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. Unlike in the biblical story, I killed Jesus just after midnight when most people are sleeping. I killed him as privately as possible; few were there to actually witness his death. And I didn’t make it a big bloody display, beating him senseless, and nailing him to a cross. Oh no, Jesus was dispatched cleanly and humanely. He simply went to sleep.\n\nJesus was quietly taken into his execution chamber. It was medically sterile, as germ free as humanly possible. I know on that last walk he felt every lash he had received from the <em>criminal</em> “Justice” system. I imagine him recounting the loss of his acquaintances, then his friends. Family may even have abandoned him.\n\nHe was strapped to a gurney that night, and an IV line started. First we gave him a powerful barbiturate to calm him, and make him drowsy. Next we injected him with <strong>a drug that paralyzed his entire muscular system. No unseemly jerking or twitching permitted. Then potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart. </strong>\n\n<strong>Good night, Jesus.</strong><strong> </strong>No suffering here.\n\nIt was almost the same protocol as when I had to put my wolf-dog Taz down last year. We had been together for nine years. She was abused as a young dog and we rescued her, giving her a loving pack and me a furry companion. She became my “best girlfriend”. We used to go to the woods a couple of times a week to run and play together. She was an amazing animal who loved me, my wife and kids, and our other four-legged family members.\n\nBut she was suffering. Old age had taken a great toll on Taz. She couldn’t run with the wolves any longer. Many days she could barely walk to the door to go out and do her business. The day came when she couldn’t do even that much.\n\nWe took Taz to our friend Bill’s veterinary clinic where I gently lifted her up onto an examination table. First Bill injected her with a tranquilizer to calm her, and make her drowsy. Joy and I were talking to her soothingly, and stroking her head. The paralytic and potassium bromide were administered, and Taz died in our arms. It was an end of suffering for her.<strong>            </strong>\n\nYes,<strong> </strong>it was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. I was hundreds of miles away, standing on a street corner in the middle of the night freezing my ass off and holding a sign. There were about ten of us. We were in front of a church that left one door unlocked so we could come in and get warm as needed.\n\nMy sign said something inane like “Why do we kill people who kill people to teach people not to kill people?” It was a small protest against Tennessee’s death penalty, staged at the same time Cecil Johnson, one of “<em>the least of these,</em>” was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville as I described.\n\nI still grieve for Taz. Her body is buried in our pet cemetery along with several others. Her last dog-tag hangs from the front axle of my Sportster, so every time I ride she gets to run with me again. But as I sat down to write this, I couldn’t even remember that Jesus’ name for me that night was Cecil Johnson. And so I wonder.\n\nI wonder if our protest was any more effective than spitting in the wind.\n\nI wonder if my standing in the cold made any difference whatsoever.\n\nI wonder if I was merely trying to mitigate my own guilt.\n\nI wonder why, if our execution protocol is so humane, I still heard Cecil/Jesus cry out in anguish that night “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”\n\nI claim to follow Jesus, but still, I killed Jesus that night.\n\nAnd if nothing changes, I will almost certainly kill Jesus again.\n\n&nbsp;','I Killed Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','4520-revision','','','2012-01-23 10:43:17','2012-01-23 18:43:17','',4520,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4520-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4526,157,'2012-01-23 10:47:54','2012-01-23 18:47:54','It was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. Unlike in the biblical story, I killed Jesus just after midnight when most people are sleeping. I killed him as privately as possible; few were there to actually witness his death. And I didn’t make it a big bloody display, beating him senseless, and nailing him to a cross. Oh no, Jesus was dispatched cleanly and humanely. He simply went to sleep.\r\n\r\nJesus was quietly taken into his execution chamber. It was medically sterile, as germ free as humanly possible. I know on that last walk he felt every lash he had received from the <em>criminal</em> “Justice” system. I imagine him recounting the loss of his acquaintances, then his friends. Family may even have abandoned him.\r\n\r\nHe was strapped to a gurney that night, and an IV line started. First we gave him a powerful barbiturate to calm him, and make him drowsy. Next we injected him with a drug that paralyzed his entire muscular system. No unseemly jerking or twitching permitted. Then potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart.\r\n\r\nGood night, Jesus. No suffering here.\r\n\r\nIt was almost the same protocol as when I had to put my wolf-dog Taz down last year. We had been together for nine years. She was abused as a young dog and we rescued her, giving her a loving pack and me a furry companion. She became my “best girlfriend”. We used to go to the woods a couple of times a week to run and play together. She was an amazing animal who loved me, my wife and kids, and our other four-legged family members.\r\n\r\nBut she was suffering. Old age had taken a great toll on Taz. She couldn’t run with the wolves any longer. Many days she could barely walk to the door to go out and do her business. The day came when she couldn’t do even that much.\r\n\r\nWe took Taz to our friend Bill’s veterinary clinic where I gently lifted her up onto an examination table. First Bill injected her with a tranquilizer to calm her, and make her drowsy. Joy and I were talking to her soothingly, and stroking her head. The paralytic and potassium bromide were administered, and Taz died in our arms. It was an end of suffering for her.<strong>            </strong>\r\n\r\nYes,<strong> </strong>it was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. I was hundreds of miles away, standing on a street corner in the middle of the night freezing my ass off and holding a sign. There were about ten of us. We were in front of a church that left one door unlocked so we could come in and get warm as needed.\r\n\r\nMy sign said something inane like “Why do we kill people who kill people to teach people not to kill people?” It was a small protest against Tennessee’s death penalty, staged at the same time Cecil Johnson, one of “<em>the least of these,</em>” was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville as I described.\r\n\r\nI still grieve for Taz. Her body is buried in our pet cemetery along with several others. Her last dog-tag hangs from the front axle of my Sportster, so every time I ride she gets to run with me again. But as I sat down to write this, I couldn’t even remember that Jesus’ name for me that night was Cecil Johnson. And so I wonder.\r\n\r\nI wonder if our protest was any more effective than spitting in the wind.\r\n\r\nI wonder if my standing in the cold made any difference whatsoever.\r\n\r\nI wonder if I was merely trying to mitigate my own guilt.\r\n\r\nI wonder why, if our execution protocol is so humane, I still heard Cecil/Jesus cry out in anguish that night “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”\r\n\r\nI claim to follow Jesus, but still, I killed Jesus that night.\r\n\r\nAnd if nothing changes, I will almost certainly kill Jesus again.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I Killed Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','4520-revision-3','','','2012-01-23 10:47:54','2012-01-23 18:47:54','',4520,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4520-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4524,1,'2012-01-24 09:19:32','2012-01-24 17:19:32','<span style=\"font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;\">I</span> know I was supposed to be paying attention to the sermon in church yesterday, but I wasn’t.  I was busy paying attention to the sermon inside me that said, “Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.”  Why not cry?  Because a loved one hadn’t died and I hadn’t broken my arm five minutes earlier and my family adores me.  And I was in public.\n\nOK, so I was having a bad day, right?  Or feel like my life sucks?  Or I’m just a naturally negative person.  No.  What about: I have clinical depression, and depression is my “normal”.  There’s a lot more to living with it than just taking my meds and seeing my doctor and/or therapist on a regular basis.  To keep the disease from taking over my life, I work hard at my job and relationships, and keep active social connections through church, choir, two weekly small groups, yoga class.\n\nBut none of those change the fact that I fight going under, cry frequently, feel overwhelmed and alone and afraid <em>almost every day</em>.  Depression is my constant companion, but NOT socially acceptable.  I absolutely hate the almost automatic greeting between two people in our culture:  “How are you?”  You know the response.  “Fine.”  If your brain is engaged at all, you might say, “Pretty good” or “Tired.”  If someone is more than just an acquaintance, you might answer, “Queasy.  I’m still getting over the flu,” because you believe they care enough about you to be interested in such a personal detail.\n\nBut “I’m depressed, and am having trouble coping this morning”?  I promise you, not even the people who truly love me want to hear that, even though they may be aware it’s true when they ask.  “Why can’t you just suck it up, quote positive affirmations, help someone else…for God’s sake DO something and make it go away, or at least don’t let it show.”  Even my closest friends try to “fix” me by offering encouragement or prayer, and believe me, those really help.\n\nBut nothing makes the depression go away, and nobody struggles to make that happen more than me.  Comparing myself with other people has been a debilitating nemesis lately.  Those who are able to keep their commitment to exercise on a regular basis (or at all).  Authors who vigorously market their book and themselves, and it pays off.  The women with full-time jobs who come home, cook dinner, help this child with homework and take that child to soccer, and still have the mental energy to write tomorrow’s blog before bed.\n\nGod says, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, not even yourself.  Let me help you plan today’s agenda, and give yourself grace.  Do what you can, and if you cry, it’s the way it is.”\n\nI don’t always listen to God, but it’s more helpful than listening to myself.  And you?  If you ask how I am, I’ll guarantee I won’t say “Fine”, and chances are I won’t tell you the truth if I’m in a bad place.  But please don’t pretend I’m invisible if you see pain in my eyes.  I didn’t choose this disease.','\"How Are You?\"  \"Depressed. How Are You?\"','','inherit','open','open','','4513-autosave','','','2012-01-24 09:19:32','2012-01-24 17:19:32','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4513-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4525,157,'2012-01-23 10:44:45','2012-01-23 18:44:45','It was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. Unlike in the biblical story, I killed Jesus just after midnight when most people are sleeping. I killed him as privately as possible; few were there to actually witness his death. And I didn’t make it a big bloody display, beating him senseless, and nailing him to a cross. Oh no, Jesus was dispatched cleanly and humanely. He simply went to sleep.\r\n\r\nJesus was quietly taken into his execution chamber. It was medically sterile, as germ free as humanly possible. I know on that last walk he felt every lash he had received from the <em>criminal</em> “Justice” system. I imagine him recounting the loss of his acquaintances, then his friends. Family may even have abandoned him.\r\n\r\nHe was strapped to a gurney that night, and an IV line started. First we gave him a powerful barbiturate to calm him, and make him drowsy. Next we injected him with <strong>a drug that paralyzed his entire muscular system. No unseemly jerking or twitching permitted. Then potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart. </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Good night, Jesus.</strong><strong> </strong>No suffering here.\r\n\r\nIt was almost the same protocol as when I had to put my wolf-dog Taz down last year. We had been together for nine years. She was abused as a young dog and we rescued her, giving her a loving pack and me a furry companion. She became my “best girlfriend”. We used to go to the woods a couple of times a week to run and play together. She was an amazing animal who loved me, my wife and kids, and our other four-legged family members.\r\n\r\nBut she was suffering. Old age had taken a great toll on Taz. She couldn’t run with the wolves any longer. Many days she could barely walk to the door to go out and do her business. The day came when she couldn’t do even that much.\r\n\r\nWe took Taz to our friend Bill’s veterinary clinic where I gently lifted her up onto an examination table. First Bill injected her with a tranquilizer to calm her, and make her drowsy. Joy and I were talking to her soothingly, and stroking her head. The paralytic and potassium bromide were administered, and Taz died in our arms. It was an end of suffering for her.<strong>            </strong>\r\n\r\nYes,<strong> </strong>it was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. I was hundreds of miles away, standing on a street corner in the middle of the night freezing my ass off and holding a sign. There were about ten of us. We were in front of a church that left one door unlocked so we could come in and get warm as needed.\r\n\r\nMy sign said something inane like “Why do we kill people who kill people to teach people not to kill people?” It was a small protest against Tennessee’s death penalty, staged at the same time Cecil Johnson, one of “<em>the least of these,</em>” was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville as I described.\r\n\r\nI still grieve for Taz. Her body is buried in our pet cemetery along with several others. Her last dog-tag hangs from the front axle of my Sportster, so every time I ride she gets to run with me again. But as I sat down to write this, I couldn’t even remember that Jesus’ name for me that night was Cecil Johnson. And so I wonder.\r\n\r\nI wonder if our protest was any more effective than spitting in the wind.\r\n\r\nI wonder if my standing in the cold made any difference whatsoever.\r\n\r\nI wonder if I was merely trying to mitigate my own guilt.\r\n\r\nI wonder why, if our execution protocol is so humane, I still heard Cecil/Jesus cry out in anguish that night “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”\r\n\r\nI claim to follow Jesus, but still, I killed Jesus that night.\r\n\r\nAnd if nothing changes, I will almost certainly kill Jesus again.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I Killed Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','4520-revision-2','','','2012-01-23 10:44:45','2012-01-23 18:44:45','',4520,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4520-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4527,1,'2012-01-24 09:27:06','2012-01-24 17:27:06','It was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. Unlike in the biblical story, I killed Jesus just after midnight when most people are sleeping. I killed him as privately as possible; few were there to actually witness his death. And I didn’t make it a big bloody display, beating him senseless, and nailing him to a cross. Oh no, Jesus was dispatched cleanly and humanely. He simply went to sleep.\n\nJesus was quietly taken into his execution chamber. It was medically sterile, as germ free as humanly possible. I know on that last walk he felt every lash he had received from the <em>criminal</em> “Justice” system. I imagine him recounting the loss of his acquaintances, then his friends. Family may even have abandoned him.\n\nHe was strapped to a gurney that night, and an IV line started. First we gave him a powerful barbiturate to calm him, and make him drowsy. Next we injected him with a drug that paralyzed his entire muscular system. No unseemly jerking or twitching permitted. Then potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart.\n\nGood night, Jesus. No suffering here.\n\nIt was almost the same protocol as when I had to put my wolf-dog Taz down last year. We had been together for nine years. She was abused as a young dog and we rescued her, giving her a loving pack and me a furry companion. She became my “best girlfriend”. We used to go to the woods a couple of times a week to run and play together. She was an amazing animal who loved me, my wife and kids, and our other four-legged family members.\n\nBut she was suffering. Old age had taken a great toll on Taz. She couldn’t run with the wolves any longer. Many days she could barely walk to the door to go out and do her business. The day came when she couldn’t do even that much.\n\nWe took Taz to our friend Bill’s veterinary clinic where I gently lifted her up onto an examination table. First Bill injected her with a tranquilizer to calm her, and make her drowsy. Joy and I were talking to her soothingly, and stroking her head. The paralytic and potassium bromide were administered, and Taz died in our arms. It was an end of suffering for her.<strong>            </strong>\n\nYes,<strong> </strong>it was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. I was hundreds of miles away, standing on a street corner in the middle of the night freezing my ass off and holding a sign. There were about ten of us. We were in front of a church that left one door unlocked so we could come in and get warm as needed.\n\nMy sign said something inane like “Why do we kill people who kill people to teach people not to kill people?” It was a small protest against Tennessee’s death penalty, staged at the same time Cecil Johnson, one of “<em>the least of these,</em>” was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville as I described.\n\nI still grieve for Taz. Her body is buried in our pet cemetery along with several others. Her last dog-tag hangs from the front axle of my Sportster, so every time I ride she gets to run with me again. But as I sat down to write this, I couldn’t even remember that Jesus’ name for me that night was Cecil Johnson. And so I wonder.\n\nI wonder if our protest was any more effective than spitting in the wind.\n\nI wonder if my standing in the cold made any difference whatsoever.\n\nI wonder if I was merely trying to mitigate my own guilt.\n\nI wonder why, if our execution protocol is so humane, I still heard Cecil/Jesus cry out in anguish that night “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”\n\nI claim to follow Jesus, but still, I killed Jesus that night.\n\nAnd if nothing changes, I will almost certainly kill Jesus again.\n\n&nbsp;','I Killed Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','4520-autosave','','','2012-01-24 09:27:06','2012-01-24 17:27:06','',4520,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4520-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4528,43,'2012-01-23 13:17:53','2012-01-23 21:17:53','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\n\nDarn.\n\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\n\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\n\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\n\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  Even when we do dance around the questions, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation.  We\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\n\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face in our relationships?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-2','','','2012-01-23 13:17:53','2012-01-23 21:17:53','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4529,43,'2012-01-23 13:23:10','2012-01-23 21:23:10','c Lauren Greenfield','Driscoll','','inherit','open','open','','infolaurengreenfield-com','','','2012-01-23 13:23:10','2012-01-23 21:23:10','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/11punk-60.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4530,43,'2012-01-23 13:19:38','2012-01-23 21:19:38','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\n\nDarn.\n\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\n\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\n\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\n\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  Even when we do dance around the questions, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation.  We\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\n\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face in our relationships?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-3','','','2012-01-23 13:19:38','2012-01-23 21:19:38','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4531,43,'2012-01-23 13:25:16','2012-01-23 21:25:16','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\r\n\r\nDarn.\r\n\r\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\r\n\r\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\r\n\r\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\r\n\r\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  Even when we do dance around the questions, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation.  We\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face in our relationships?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-4','','','2012-01-23 13:25:16','2012-01-23 21:25:16','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4532,43,'2012-01-23 13:25:25','2012-01-23 21:25:25','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\r\n\r\nDarn.\r\n\r\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\r\n\r\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\r\n\r\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\r\n\r\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  Even when we do dance around the questions, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation.  We\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face in our relationships?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-5','','','2012-01-23 13:25:25','2012-01-23 21:25:25','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4533,43,'2012-01-23 13:29:00','2012-01-23 21:29:00','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\r\n\r\nDarn.\r\n\r\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\r\n\r\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\r\n\r\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\r\n\r\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  When we ask why people (including men) don\'t come to church, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  When we talk about relationships, we\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation.    Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-6','','','2012-01-23 13:29:00','2012-01-23 21:29:00','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4534,43,'2012-01-23 13:32:58','2012-01-23 21:32:58','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\n\nDarn.\n\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\n\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\n\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\n\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  When we ask why people (including men) don\'t come to church, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  When we talk about relationships, we\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation, asking the deep <em>whys</em> and speaking plainly .    Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\n\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-7','','','2012-01-23 13:32:58','2012-01-23 21:32:58','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4535,43,'2012-01-23 13:33:45','2012-01-23 21:33:45','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\r\n\r\nDarn.\r\n\r\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\r\n\r\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\r\n\r\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\r\n\r\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  When we ask why people (including men) don\'t come to church, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  When we talk about relationships, we\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation, asking the deep <em>whys</em> and speaking plainly with each other.    Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-8','','','2012-01-23 13:33:45','2012-01-23 21:33:45','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4539,157,'2012-01-23 17:58:54','2012-01-24 01:58:54','','1617_cover','','inherit','open','open','','1617_cover','','','2012-01-23 17:58:54','2012-01-24 01:58:54','',4546,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1617_cover.bmp',0,'attachment','image/bmp',0),(4970,43,'2012-02-07 08:39:13','2012-02-07 16:39:13','I think this has already made the rounds; perhaps my friends are behind the curve.  It may just be the result of increased political tension in an election year.  Several of my friends have posted this picture:\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4689\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\naccompanied by the following text (it\'s long, but worth the read; all typos are original to the text):\n<blockquote>An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama\'s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.  The professor then said, \"OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama\'s plan\". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars—something closer to home and more readily understood by all).  After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.  The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that.  Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.\n\nThese are possibly the 5 best sentences you\'ll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:\n1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.\n2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.\n3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.\n4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!\n5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.</blockquote>\n<div>What surprises me most about the fable is seeing it posted by Christians.  I think sometimes people forward things without reading them carefully.  There is far to much wrong with this to address it all.  So I\'m going to zero in on \"best sentence\" number four, <strong>\"You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.\"</strong></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>I was unaware that our chief monetary goal was to <em>multiply</em> our wealth.  I always had the distinct impression, in fact, that we were to do just the opposite.  Time and again, Jesus tells us that part of being good stewards is to share our financial blessings: The rich man and Lazarus; the sheep and the goats; the rich young ruler.  Even the miracles of feeding the crowds invite us into the heart of giving.  Not once does Jesus instruct us to gain earthly wealth and possessions, nor enjoy our own prosperity.  Instead, we are urged to share with those in need.  <strong></strong></div>\n<div></div>\n<div>This misguided modern-day parable is math-backwards.  It ought to read, <strong>\"You cannot divide wealth by multiplying it.\"</strong>  Let\'s find out what we can do with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread.<strong>\n</strong></div>','An Economic Fairy Tale','','inherit','open','open','','4688-revision-3','','','2012-02-07 08:39:13','2012-02-07 16:39:13','',4688,'http://provoketive.com/2012/02/07/4688-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4691,43,'2012-01-26 10:17:00','2012-01-26 18:17:00','I think this has already made the rounds; perhaps my friends are behind the curve.  Several of my friends have posted this picture\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4689\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\naccompanied by the following text (it\'s long, but worth the read):\n<blockquote>An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama\'s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.  The professor then said, \"OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama\'s plan\". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars—something closer to home and more readily understood by all).  After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.  The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that.  Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.\n\nThese are possibly the 5 best sentences you\'ll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:\n1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.\n2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.\n3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.\n4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!\n5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.</blockquote>\n<div> I\'m not going to address the sneering attitude toward President Obama or the misassociation of our President with this oversimplified version of socialism.  Instead, I will focus on the \"5 best sentences.\"</div>\n<div></div>\n<div><strong>1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.</strong>  I\'m not sure which part of this materialistic sentiment bothers me most—the implication that \"the poor\" are poor by choice, or that prosperity is the highest goal.</div>\n<div>\n<strong> 2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.</strong>  So are all poor people lazy?\n<strong> 3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.</strong>  True.  Which means that if you didn\'t pay for the roads to be paved, you probably shouldn\'t be driving on them.  I guess that rules out travel to another state.</div>\n<div>\n<strong> 4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!</strong>  Who wants to multiply wealth?  I thought the issue was dividing it.</div>\n<div>\n<strong>5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.  </strong>When half the nation gets the idea that we can \"whip those poor people into shape,\" the other half calls it \"slavery.\"</div>\n<div></div>\n<div>When my friends are old, and they can\'t get Social Security, or when they are sick and can\'t work, or when they get laid off f<strong>\n</strong></div>\n&nbsp;\n<div><strong>\n</strong></div>','The Mythology of Economics','','inherit','open','open','','4688-revision','','','2012-01-26 10:17:00','2012-01-26 18:17:00','',4688,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/26/4688-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4686,157,'2012-01-26 09:39:21','2012-01-26 17:39:21','It was an interesting time for Pharaoh and the elites. They were vastly wealthy, controlling ninety-five percent of the wealth of the empire. They were supreme rulers of the land, but they had a problem: what to do with this troublesome people group.\r\n\r\nAccording to legend, they were invited to live here in the distant past. But they bred like rabbits, and now they were threatening the status quo. Yes they had a problem, so Pharaoh came up with a plan. It was a good plan.\r\n\r\nPharaoh enacted laws that enabled him to use the criminal justice system to enslave this entire people group to the state. Not only did this relieve the threat that they posed, but it allowed for massive construction projects to be undertaken with virtually no labor cost, the likes of which the world had never seen.\r\n\r\nYes, Pharaoh had a plan, but <strong>God had another plan.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>\"Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people out of Egypt.\"</em> (Exodus 3:9-10 NLT)\r\n\r\nIn ancient Egypt, God called one, then another, to stand up to Pharaoh with this simple message, \"Let My people go!\"\r\n\r\nBut I\'m not talking about ancient Egypt.\r\n\r\nIn her book, <em>The New Jim Crow</em>, Michelle Alexander lays out the chilling story of the use of the criminal justice system to enslave a people to the state. Once in the system, any conviction carries a life sentence of legal discrimination in housing, job opportunity, educational assistance, and participation in the political process. The list goes on.\r\n\r\nThe war on drugs was implemented in 1982 by then President Ronald Reagan. Funded over the intervening years with hundreds of billions of dollars, it has changed the face of criminal justice in America. It led to massive construction of new state and federal prisons at unprecedented rates.\r\n\r\nMs Alexander states that the prison population has soared from roughly three hundred thousand in 1980 to, in 2007, more than seven million. Today, one in every thirty one adults is in the criminal justice system either imprisoned, or on probation or parole. And don\'t believe these are drug lords, or even for the most part drug dealers. Over eighty per cent of these new drug arrests were for simple possession of marijuana (page 59).\r\n\r\nThe war on drugs has been, and is being waged almost exclusively in inner-city neighborhoods populated primarily by our black and brown people groups. And once in the system, they are condemned to what I call \"life on the installment plan\". With all the legal discrimination they face when released, the vast majority are re-incarcerated within the first couple of years. In many states, a third felony conviction rates an automatic life sentence.\r\n\r\nMs Alexander calls it \"The New Jim Crow\". I call it systemic racism. And I am implicated. We are all implicated. As citizens of this country, this war is being conducted in our name and, for the most part, with our blessing. It is destroying the lives of our children, and they are <strong>our</strong> children. It has decimated a generation of young black and brown men and women, and is working on the next.\r\n\r\nBut God hears the cry of the people, and <strong>God has another plan.</strong>\r\n\r\nGod is calling one, then another to stand up to today\'s Pharaohs with a simple message. It is the same message He gave to Moses and Aaron. \"Let My people go!\"\r\n\r\nSo the question for me is:\r\n\r\nDo I hear God’s call, and how will I respond to this group of the \"least of these?\"\r\n\r\nTo do nothing is to participate in Pharaoh\'s plan,\r\n\r\n<strong>But God, by God, has another plan.</strong>','Let My People Go!','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision-3','','','2012-01-26 09:39:21','2012-01-26 17:39:21','',4546,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/26/4546-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4841,67,'2012-02-02 11:09:28','2012-02-02 19:09:28','Submission for Provoketive in Music section  ','Leonard Cohen:  \"Old Ideas\", Acceptance and Redemption','A Review of Leonard Cohen\'s New Album:  Old Ideas','inherit','open','open','','old-ideas','','','2012-02-02 11:09:28','2012-02-02 19:09:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Old-Ideas.docx',0,'attachment','application/msword',0),(4688,43,'2012-02-15 08:00:47','2012-02-15 16:00:47','I think this has already made the rounds; perhaps my friends are behind the curve.  It may just be the result of increased political tension in an election year.  Several of my friends have posted this picture:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4689\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\naccompanied by the following text (it\'s long, but worth the read; all typos are original to the text):\r\n<blockquote>An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama\'s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.  The professor then said, \"OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama\'s plan\". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (substituting grades for dollars—something closer to home and more readily understood by all).  After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.  The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. It could not be any simpler than that.  Remember, there IS a test coming up. The 2012 elections.\r\n\r\nThese are possibly the 5 best sentences you\'ll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:\r\n1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.\r\n2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.\r\n3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.\r\n4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!\r\n5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.</blockquote>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>What surprises me most about the fable is seeing it posted by Christians.  I think sometimes people forward things without reading them carefully.  There is far to much wrong with this to address it all.  So I\'m going to zero in on \"best sentence\" number four, <strong>\"You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.\"</strong></div>\r\n<div></div>\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nI was unaware that our chief monetary goal was to <em>multiply</em> our wealth.  I always had the distinct impression, in fact, that we were to do just the opposite.  Time and again, Jesus tells us that part of being good stewards is to share our financial blessings: The rich man and Lazarus; the sheep and the goats; the rich young ruler.  Even the miracles of feeding the crowds invite us into the heart of giving.  Not once does Jesus instruct us to gain earthly wealth and possessions, nor enjoy our own prosperity.  Instead, we are urged to share with those in need.<strong></strong>\r\n\r\nThis misguided modern-day parable is math-backwards.  It ought to read, <strong>\"You cannot divide wealth by multiplying it.\"</strong>  Let\'s find out what <em>we</em> can do with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread.<strong>\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n</div>','An Economic Fairy Tale','','publish','open','open','','an-economic-fairy-tale','','','2012-02-13 20:50:30','2012-02-14 04:50:30','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4688',0,'post','',2),(4689,43,'2012-01-26 10:07:16','2012-01-26 18:07:16','','Ecomomics guy','','inherit','open','open','','ecomomics-guy','','','2012-01-26 10:07:16','2012-01-26 18:07:16','',4688,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ecomomics-guy.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4792,146,'2012-02-02 08:06:29','2012-02-02 16:06:29','Writing this blog post is the hardest writing assignment I\'ve ever given myself. Harder than writing a novel. Harder than writing about my battle with anorexia. Harder than writing my query letter or even my hated novel synopsis. It\'s hard because I\'m afraid of what the reaction will be.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here it is: I\'m bipolar.</strong>\r\n\r\nIn my off-line life, I\'ve shared this with friends. Most have been supportive, though sometimes baffled. (<em>You? Bipolar? I thought you were just depressed!</em>) A handful have dropped me. Some have dismissed it. A cherished few have bent over backwards to help me, pray for me, and encourage me on hard days.\r\n\r\nMy pregnancies were particularly hard. I was afraid of what might happen after I gave birth. (Postpartum depression? Psychosis? Would I end up like Vincent Van Gogh and Virginia Woolf?) Fear gave me insomnia, insomnia gave me time to think at 3 a.m., and 3 a.m. thoughts tend to be wild and creative. So I took the worst case scenario and placed it in the lives of fictional people. Hence the birth of my first (and still unpublished) novel, <em>The Cruelest Month</em>.\r\n\r\nI\'ve wanted to share this online. But I\'ve hesitated because I don\'t know the repercussions of this revelation for my publishing endeavors. Until now, I\'ve kept silent. Silence is safer. Familiar. Stifling.\r\n\r\n<strong>It shouldn\'t be a big deal to write this online. </strong>It should be acceptable for someone to say<em> I have a mental illness</em>. It should be acceptable to hear <em>I\'m going to counseling</em>. It shouldn\'t hurt my chances at getting a book contract any more than any other chronic illness would. In a perfect world, prejudice and stigmas against others wouldn\'t exist. Then again, in a perfect world, mental illness wouldn\'t exist, either.\r\n\r\nBut realistically, it does exist. Theoretically, it might make publication harder. That stinks.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here\'s the reason I wrote this novel and <em>I\'m not supposed to talk about it?</em></strong>\r\n\r\nI query someone. They google me and read <em>I\'m bipolar</em>. What\'s their reaction?\r\n\r\nAs soon as I say I\'m bipolar, many (not all) people have a stereotype pop into their minds. Their ideas may be formed from any number of sources: a celebrity who has landed in the psych ward; the accused killer who pleads not guilty by reason of insanity; an acquaintance they\'ve known and avoided because of their strange behavior. Maybe they\'ve been hurt by someone with a serious mental illness.\r\n\r\nWould you sign a business contract with a previously unknown person if you thought her behavior might be erratic? Would you be concerned that she might not be able to complete her work because her mood swings became uncontrollable? If you don\'t know me, then you have no idea how I will handle the stress of publication. No matter how caring and open-minded, any sensible person might hesitate. I understand this. But here\'s what <em>you</em> need to understand.\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'m more than my illness.</strong>\r\n\r\n296.89. That\'s the identification number for my illness. I write it on insurance forms and read it on the receipts from the psychiatrist\'s office. But I\'m not that number any more than Jean Valjean is only 24601 or a concentration camp survivor is the number branded on his arm or any U.S. citizen is her social security number.\r\n\r\nMy identity isn\'t only as a bipolar person. I\'m a Christian. Writer. Wife. Mama. Former ESL teacher. The woman who chose to write a master\'s thesis on <em>Moby-Dick</em> and has Van Gogh prints in virtually every room of her house. The woman who gets lost in her hometown, doesn\'t like coffee, and gets even more lost on Twitter.\r\n\r\n<strong>And I\'m more than the sum of these parts</strong>, just as our bodies are more than a bunch of organs and nerve endings and veins, and our lives are more than a series of events. Each of us has an area where our lives are broken: divorce, cancer, debt, loneliness. These things are a part of our lives, but they are not <em>us</em>.\r\n\r\nIf the statistics are right, then there are many people, possibly some reading this now, who have a mental illness. That\'s a lot of people who need to know they aren\'t alone. They need to know they are more than a number on a page. Many need hope.\r\n\r\n<strong>Hope is hard to find in our world.</strong> It\'s easy to succumb to despair. Many people have successfully fought despair and triumphed; others have been defeated.\r\n\r\nFor every man who comes through a bout of depression, there\'s a Van Gogh standing in the field, watching crows circle.\r\n\r\nFor every woman helped by her medications, there is a Virginia Woolf, loading her coat pockets with rocks, wading into a rushing river.\r\n\r\nAnd for every celebrity crashing in hospital, there are dozens, hundreds, who suffer silently as the rest of us walk around oblivious to their pain.\r\n\r\n<strong>It\'s for those hurting people—whatever the source of the hurt—that I write.</strong>\r\n\r\nIf my work is to bring hope to anyone, then I must first acknowledge my own struggle to find hope in the midst of mental anguish. Telling the truth about my problems is painful. But I can\'t stay silent any longer.\r\n\r\n_________\r\n\r\nSince I originally posted this on my personal blog in February 2011, I\'ve discovered that I was right: there are many people who are suffering from mental illnesses. I\'ve gotten to meet some of them through my blog and even more after I published an essay in Civitas Press\' <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Not-Alone-Stories-Living-Depression/dp/0615532675\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Not Alone: Stories of Living with Depression</em></a>. Thank you for sharing your stories. I am privileged to hear them.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomicjeep/2327546948/lightbox/\" target=\"_blank\">AtomicJeep</a></em>','Why I\'m Afraid to Admit I\'m Bipolar','','publish','open','open','','why-im-afraid-to-admit-im-bipolar','','','2012-01-31 08:16:08','2012-01-31 16:16:08','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4792',0,'post','',13),(4546,157,'2012-01-31 08:00:02','2012-01-31 16:00:02','It was an interesting time for Pharaoh and the elites. They were vastly wealthy, controlling ninety-five percent of the wealth of the empire. They were supreme rulers of the land, but they had a problem: what to do with this troublesome people group.\r\n\r\nAccording to legend, they were invited to live here in the distant past. But they bred like rabbits, and now they were threatening the status quo. Yes they had a problem, so Pharaoh came up with a plan. It was a good plan.\r\n\r\nPharaoh enacted laws that enabled him to use the criminal justice system to enslave this entire people group to the state. Not only did this relieve the threat that they posed, but it allowed for massive construction projects to be undertaken with virtually no labor cost, the likes of which the world had never seen.\r\n\r\nYes, Pharaoh had a plan, but <strong>God had another plan.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>\"Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people out of Egypt.\"</em> (Exodus 3:9-10 NLT)\r\n\r\nIn ancient Egypt, God called one, then another, to stand up to Pharaoh with this simple message, \"Let My people go!\"\r\n\r\nBut I\'m not talking about ancient Egypt.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1617_cover.bmp\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-4539\" title=\"1617_cover\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1617_cover.bmp\" alt=\"\" width=\"108\" height=\"160\" /></a>In her book, <em>The New Jim Crow</em>, Michelle Alexander lays out the chilling story of the use of the criminal justice system to enslave a people to the state. Once in the system, any conviction carries a life sentence of legal discrimination in housing, job opportunity, educational assistance, and participation in the political process. The list goes on.\r\n\r\nThe war on drugs was implemented in 1982 by then President Ronald Reagan. Funded over the intervening years with hundreds of billions of dollars, it has changed the face of criminal justice in America. It led to massive construction of new state and federal prisons at unprecedented rates.\r\n\r\nMs Alexander states that the prison population has soared from roughly three hundred thousand in 1980 to, in 2007, more than seven million. Today, one in every thirty one adults is in the criminal justice system either imprisoned, or on probation or parole. And don\'t believe these are drug lords, or even for the most part drug dealers. Over eighty per cent of these new drug arrests were for simple possession of marijuana (page 59).\r\n\r\nThe war on drugs has been, and is being waged almost exclusively in inner-city neighborhoods populated primarily by our black and brown people groups. And once in the system, they are condemned to what I call \"life on the installment plan\". With all the legal discrimination they face when released, the vast majority are re-incarcerated within the first couple of years. In many states, a third felony conviction rates an automatic life sentence.\r\n\r\nMs Alexander calls it \"The New Jim Crow\". I call it systemic racism. And I am implicated. We are all implicated. As citizens of this country, this war is being conducted in our name and, for the most part, with our blessing. It is destroying the lives of our children, and they are <strong>our</strong> children. It has decimated a generation of young black and brown men and women, and is working on the next.\r\n\r\nBut God hears the cry of the people, and <strong>God has another plan.</strong>\r\n\r\nGod is calling one, then another to stand up to today\'s Pharaohs with a simple message. It is the same message He gave to Moses and Aaron. \"Let My people go!\"\r\n\r\nSo the question for me is:\r\n\r\nDo I hear God’s call, and how will I respond to this group of the \"least of these?\"\r\n\r\nTo do nothing is to participate in Pharaoh\'s plan,\r\n\r\n<strong>But God, by God, has another plan.</strong>','Let My People Go!','','publish','open','open','','let-my-people-go','','','2012-01-28 10:16:34','2012-01-28 18:16:34','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=4546',0,'post','',0),(4547,157,'2012-01-23 18:23:13','2012-01-24 02:23:13','It was an interesting time for Pharaoh and the elites. They were vastly wealthy, controlling ninety-five percent of the wealth of the empire. They were supreme rulers of the land, but they had a problem: what to do with this troublesome people group.\n\nAccording to legend, they were invited to live here in the distant past. But they bred like rabbits, and now they were threatening the status quo. Yes they had a problem, so Pharaoh came up with a plan. It was a good plan.\n\nPharaoh enacted laws that enabled him to use the criminal justice system to enslave this entire people group to the state. Not only did this relieve the threat that they posed, but it allowed for massive construction projects to be undertaken with virtually no labor cost, the likes of which the world had never seen.\n\nYes, Pharaoh had a plan, but <strong>God had another plan.</strong>\n\n<em>\"Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people out of Egypt.\"</em> (Exodus 3:9-10 NLT)\n\nIn ancient Egypt, God called one, then another, to stand up to Pharaoh with this simple message, \"Let My people go!\"\n\nBut I\'m not talking about ancient Egypt.\n\nIn her book, <em>The New Jim Crow</em>, Michelle Alexander lays out the chilling story of the use of the criminal justice system to enslave a people to the state. Once in the system, any conviction carries a life sentence of legal discrimination in housing, job opportunity, educational assistance, and participation in the political process. The list goes on.\n\nThe war on drugs was implemented in 1982 by then President Ronald Reagan. Funded over the intervening years with hundreds of billions of dollars, it has changed the face of criminal justice in America. It led to massive construction of new state and federal prisons at unprecedented rates.\n\nMs Alexander states that the prison population has soared from roughly three hundred thousand in 1980 to, in 2007, more than seven million. Today, one in every thirty one adults is in the criminal justice system either imprisoned, or on probation or parole. And don\'t believe these are drug lords, or even for the most part drug dealers. Over eighty per cent of these new drug arrests were for simple possession of marijuana (page 59).\n\nThe war on drugs has been, and is being waged almost exclusively in inner-city neighborhoods populated primarily by our black and brown people groups. And once in the system, they are condemned to what I call \"life on the installment plan\". With all the legal discrimination they face when released, the vast majority are re-incarcerated within the first couple of years. In many states, a third felony conviction rates an automatic life sentence.\n\nMs Alexander calls it \"The New Jim Crow\". I call it systemic racism. And I am implicated. We are all implicated. As citizens of this country, this war is being conducted in our name and, for the most part, with our blessing. It is destroying the lives of our children, and they are <strong>our</strong> children. It has decimated a generation of young black and brown men and women, and is working on the next.\n\nBut God hears the cry of the people, and <strong>God has another plan.</strong>\n\nGod is calling one, then another to stand up to today\'s Pharaohs with a simple message. It is the same message He gave to Moses and Aaron. \"Let My people go!\"\n\nSo the question for me is:\n\nDo I hear God’s call, and how will I respond to this group of the \"least of these?\"\n\nTo do nothing is to participate in Pharaoh\'s plan,\n\n<strong>But God, by God, has another plan.</strong>','Let My People Go!','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision','','','2012-01-23 18:23:13','2012-01-24 02:23:13','',4546,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4546-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(4685,157,'2012-01-26 09:39:18','2012-01-26 17:39:18','It was an interesting time for Pharaoh and the elites. They were vastly wealthy, controlling ninety-five percent of the wealth of the empire. They were supreme rulers of the land, but they had a problem: what to do with this troublesome people group.\n\nAccording to legend, they were invited to live here in the distant past. But they bred like rabbits, and now they were threatening the status quo. Yes they had a problem, so Pharaoh came up with a plan. It was a good plan.\n\nPharaoh enacted laws that enabled him to use the criminal justice system to enslave this entire people group to the state. Not only did this relieve the threat that they posed, but it allowed for massive construction projects to be undertaken with virtually no labor cost, the likes of which the world had never seen.\n\nYes, Pharaoh had a plan, but <strong>God had another plan.</strong>\n\n<em>\"Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people out of Egypt.\"</em> (Exodus 3:9-10 NLT)\n\nIn ancient Egypt, God called one, then another, to stand up to Pharaoh with this simple message, \"Let My people go!\"\n\nBut I\'m not talking about ancient Egypt.\n\nIn her book, <em>The New Jim Crow</em>, Michelle Alexander lays out the chilling story of the use of the criminal justice system to enslave a people to the state. Once in the system, any conviction carries a life sentence of legal discrimination in housing, job opportunity, educational assistance, and participation in the political process. The list goes on.\n\nThe war on drugs was implemented in 1982 by then President Ronald Reagan. Funded over the intervening years with hundreds of billions of dollars, it has changed the face of criminal justice in America. It led to massive construction of new state and federal prisons at unprecedented rates.\n\nMs Alexander states that the prison population has soared from roughly three hundred thousand in 1980 to, in 2007, more than seven million. Today, one in every thirty one adults is in the criminal justice system either imprisoned, or on probation or parole. And don\'t believe these are drug lords, or even for the most part drug dealers. Over eighty per cent of these new drug arrests were for simple possession of marijuana (page 59).\n\nThe war on drugs has been, and is being waged almost exclusively in inner-city neighborhoods populated primarily by our black and brown people groups. And once in the system, they are condemned to what I call \"life on the installment plan\". With all the legal discrimination they face when released, the vast majority are re-incarcerated within the first couple of years. In many states, a third felony conviction rates an automatic life sentence.\n\nMs Alexander calls it \"The New Jim Crow\". I call it systemic racism. And I am implicated. We are all implicated. As citizens of this country, this war is being conducted in our name and, for the most part, with our blessing. It is destroying the lives of our children, and they are <strong>our</strong> children. It has decimated a generation of young black and brown men and women, and is working on the next.\n\nBut God hears the cry of the people, and <strong>God has another plan.</strong>\n\nGod is calling one, then another to stand up to today\'s Pharaohs with a simple message. It is the same message He gave to Moses and Aaron. \"Let My people go!\"\n\nSo the question for me is:\n\nDo I hear God’s call, and how will I respond to this group of the \"least of these?\"\n\nTo do nothing is to participate in Pharaoh\'s plan,\n\n<strong>But God, by God, has another plan.</strong>','Let My People Go!','','inherit','open','open','','4546-revision-2','','','2012-01-26 09:39:18','2012-01-26 17:39:18','',4546,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/26/4546-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4552,48,'2012-01-24 09:03:09','2012-01-24 17:03:09','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living!’”? This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected recently over a cup of coffee. We wanted to know how to think so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist.\n\nThinking outside of the box may be a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, act orderly, and creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought. We place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or come to a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, that we keep ourselves, who are created in God’s image, packaged up neatly in little boxes. We go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hired wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new that does not fit into a schema, common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”.\n\nThe question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in? Let’s go back to the aerial violinist. Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents in violin performance with aerial acrobats. While wearing skimpy outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me, I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing this were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having turned 30. We wanted something more interesting, even beyond just moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine that could come together for one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Or maybe it’s even beyond that—maybe I don’t have to find the “one thing” that I want to do for the rest of my life. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years. Variety and change doesn’t have to mean one doesn’t have the ability to commit or the will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next big thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-2','','','2012-01-24 09:03:09','2012-01-24 17:03:09','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(4553,48,'2012-01-24 09:10:49','2012-01-24 17:10:49','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living”? This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected recently over a cup of coffee. We wanted to know how to think so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist.\n\nThinking outside of the box may be a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, act orderly, and creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought. We place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or come to a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, that we keep ourselves, who are created in God’s image, packaged up neatly in little boxes. We go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hired wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new that does not fit into a schema, common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”.\n\nThe question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in? Let’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her website, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents in violin performance with aerial acrobats. While wearing skimpy outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me, I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing this were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having turned 30. We wanted something more interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine that could come together for one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nOr maybe it’s even beyond that—maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years. Variety and change doesn’t have to mean one doesn’t have the ability to commit or the will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next big thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-3','','','2012-01-24 09:10:49','2012-01-24 17:10:49','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(4555,1,'2012-01-24 09:25:06','2012-01-24 17:25:06','','woman stairs','','inherit','open','open','','woman-stairs','','','2012-01-24 09:25:06','2012-01-24 17:25:06','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/woman-stairs.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4554,48,'2012-01-24 09:11:09','2012-01-24 17:11:09','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living”? This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected recently over a cup of coffee. We wanted to know how to think so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist.\r\n\r\nThinking outside of the box may be a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, act orderly, and creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought. We place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or come to a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, that we keep ourselves, who are created in God’s image, packaged up neatly in little boxes. We go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\r\n\r\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hired wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new that does not fit into a schema, common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”.\r\n\r\nThe question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in? Let’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her website, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents in violin performance with aerial acrobats. While wearing skimpy outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me, I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\r\n\r\nMy friends and I who were discussing this were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having turned 30. We wanted something more interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine that could come together for one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\r\n\r\nOr maybe it’s even beyond that—maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years. Variety and change doesn’t have to mean one doesn’t have the ability to commit or the will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next big thing.\r\n\r\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-4','','','2012-01-24 09:11:09','2012-01-24 17:11:09','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4556,1,'2012-01-23 09:29:56','2012-01-23 17:29:56','<span style=\"font-family: Calibri;font-size: small\">I</span> know I was supposed to be paying attention to the sermon in church yesterday, but I wasn’t.  I was busy paying attention to the sermon inside me that said, “Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.”  Why not cry?  Because a loved one hadn’t died and I hadn’t broken my arm five minutes earlier and my family adores me.  And I was in public.\r\n\r\nOK, so I was having a bad day, right?  Or feel like my life sucks?  Or I’m just a naturally negative person.  No.  What about: I have clinical depression, and depression is my “normal”.  There’s a lot more to living with it than just taking my meds and seeing my doctor and/or therapist on a regular basis.  To keep the disease from taking over my life, I work hard at my job and relationships, and keep active social connections through church, choir, two weekly small groups, yoga class.\r\n\r\nBut none of those change the fact that I fight going under, cry frequently, feel overwhelmed and alone and afraid <em>almost every day</em>.  Depression is my constant companion, but NOT socially acceptable.  I absolutely hate the almost automatic greeting between two people in our culture:  “How are you?”  You know the response.  “Fine.”  If your brain is engaged at all, you might say, “Pretty good” or “Tired.”  If someone is more than just an acquaintance, you might answer, “Queasy.  I’m still getting over the flu,” because you believe they care enough about you to be interested in such a personal detail.\r\n\r\nBut “I’m depressed, and am having trouble coping this morning”?  I promise you, not even the people who truly love me want to hear that, even though they may be aware it’s true when they ask.  “Why can’t you just suck it up, quote positive affirmations, help someone else…for God’s sake DO something and make it go away, or at least don’t let it show.”  Even my closest friends try to “fix” me by offering encouragement or prayer, and believe me, those really help.\r\n\r\nBut nothing makes the depression go away, and nobody struggles to make that happen more than me.  Comparing myself with other people has been a debilitating nemesis lately.  Those who are able to keep their commitment to exercise on a regular basis (or at all).  Authors who vigorously market their book and themselves, and it pays off.  The women with full-time jobs who come home, cook dinner, help this child with homework and take that child to soccer, and still have the mental energy to write tomorrow’s blog before bed.\r\n\r\nGod says, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone, not even yourself.  Let me help you plan today’s agenda, and give yourself grace.  Do what you can, and if you cry, it’s the way it is.”\r\n\r\nI don’t always listen to God, but it’s more helpful than listening to myself.  And you?  If you ask how I am, I’ll guarantee I won’t say “Fine”, and chances are I won’t tell you the truth if I’m in a bad place.  But please don’t pretend I’m invisible if you see pain in my eyes.  I didn’t choose this disease.','\"How Are You?\"  \"Depressed. How Are You?\"','','inherit','open','open','','4513-revision-4','','','2012-01-23 09:29:56','2012-01-23 17:29:56','',4513,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4513-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4557,1,'2012-01-23 10:53:55','2012-01-23 18:53:55','It was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. Unlike in the biblical story, I killed Jesus just after midnight when most people are sleeping. I killed him as privately as possible; few were there to actually witness his death. And I didn’t make it a big bloody display, beating him senseless, and nailing him to a cross. Oh no, Jesus was dispatched cleanly and humanely. He simply went to sleep.\r\n\r\nJesus was quietly taken into his execution chamber. It was medically sterile, as germ free as humanly possible. I know on that last walk he felt every lash he had received from the <em>criminal</em> “Justice” system. I imagine him recounting the loss of his acquaintances, then his friends. Family may even have abandoned him.\r\n\r\nHe was strapped to a gurney that night, and an IV line started. First we gave him a powerful barbiturate to calm him, and make him drowsy. Next we injected him with a drug that paralyzed his entire muscular system. No unseemly jerking or twitching permitted. Then potassium chloride was administered to stop his heart.\r\n\r\nGood night, Jesus. No suffering here.\r\n\r\nIt was almost the same protocol as when I had to put my wolf-dog Taz down last year. We had been together for nine years. She was abused as a young dog and we rescued her, giving her a loving pack and me a furry companion. She became my “best girlfriend”. We used to go to the woods a couple of times a week to run and play together. She was an amazing animal who loved me, my wife and kids, and our other four-legged family members.\r\n\r\nBut she was suffering. Old age had taken a great toll on Taz. She couldn’t run with the wolves any longer. Many days she could barely walk to the door to go out and do her business. The day came when she couldn’t do even that much.\r\n\r\nWe took Taz to our friend Bill’s veterinary clinic where I gently lifted her up onto an examination table. First Bill injected her with a tranquilizer to calm her, and make her drowsy. Joy and I were talking to her soothingly, and stroking her head. The paralytic and potassium bromide were administered, and Taz died in our arms. It was an end of suffering for her.<strong>            </strong>\r\n\r\nYes,<strong> </strong>it was cold that night, the night I killed Jesus. I was hundreds of miles away, standing on a street corner in the middle of the night freezing my ass off and holding a sign. There were about ten of us. We were in front of a church that left one door unlocked so we could come in and get warm as needed.\r\n\r\nMy sign said something inane like “Why do we kill people who kill people to teach people not to kill people?” It was a small protest against Tennessee’s death penalty, staged at the same time Cecil Johnson, one of “<em>the least of these,</em>” was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville as I described.\r\n\r\nI still grieve for Taz. Her body is buried in our pet cemetery along with several others. Her last dog-tag hangs from the front axle of my Sportster, so every time I ride she gets to run with me again. But as I sat down to write this, I couldn’t even remember that Jesus’ name for me that night was Cecil Johnson. And so I wonder.\r\n\r\nI wonder if our protest was any more effective than spitting in the wind.\r\n\r\nI wonder if my standing in the cold made any difference whatsoever.\r\n\r\nI wonder if I was merely trying to mitigate my own guilt.\r\n\r\nI wonder why, if our execution protocol is so humane, I still heard Cecil/Jesus cry out in anguish that night “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”\r\n\r\nI claim to follow Jesus, but still, I killed Jesus that night.\r\n\r\nAnd if nothing changes, I will almost certainly kill Jesus again.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I Killed Jesus','','inherit','open','open','','4520-revision-4','','','2012-01-23 10:53:55','2012-01-23 18:53:55','',4520,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4520-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(4558,1,'2012-01-24 09:32:18','2012-01-24 17:32:18','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\n\nDarn.\n\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\n\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\n\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: <strong>I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.</strong>  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\n\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  When we ask why people (including men) don\'t come to church, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  When we talk about relationships, we\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation, asking the deep <em>whys</em> and speaking plainly with each other. Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\n\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-autosave','','','2012-01-24 09:32:18','2012-01-24 17:32:18','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4406-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(4559,1,'2012-01-23 13:34:16','2012-01-23 21:34:16','I wanted to avoid giving Mark Driscoll any further press.  I wanted to avoid reading, writing, or thinking any more about this man and what he has to say.  Most of all, I wanted to avoid using the words, \"Mark Driscoll\" and \"right\" in the same sentence.\r\n\r\nDarn.\r\n\r\nI have not read his latest book; I have no plans to do so in the near (or far) future.  I\'m not writing a review or a critique.  That\'s better left to people who are a) smarter than I am and b) nicer than I am.  There is no doubt in my mind that if I read the book, I would not be able to be reasonable.  That isn\'t fair to him or to anyone else.\r\n\r\nJust to make it clear, I don\'t care for a lot of what comes out of that man\'s mouth and keyboard.  He comes across as the sort of person who has all the answers and likes to share them, whether or not he\'s been asked.  I\'m not impressed with his position on women in marriage or in the church, nor by his brand of hyper-masculinized Christianity.  And although his church is doing well in terms of sheer volume, all that says about him is that he has great salesmanship.\r\n\r\nBy now everyone is probably wondering why on Earth I\'ve said that he\'s right about anything, given my dislike for his teaching.  Here it is: I believe he is right to open the conversation about marriage, family, relationships, sex, and men.  He\'s right that young men are leaving the church and not returning (so are young women).  He\'s right that churches are shying away from talking about intimacy.  He\'s right that we are failing to maintain our marriages.  He\'s right that we are in need of unconventional methods to address these issues.  He may be going about it in a somewhat strange and possibly uncouth way, but he\'s right to be heading down that path.  Driscoll is boldly opening Pandora\'s Box, and he\'s not afraid of what he will find inside.\r\n\r\nWhy aren\'t the rest of us taking the hint?  Why aren\'t we asking why we have such a mess?  When we ask why people (including men) don\'t come to church, we conclude that the best fix is to buy bigger buildings, equip ourselves with the latest technology, and ask more of our friends to show up.  When we talk about relationships, we\'ve stalled at talking about the \"Biblical view\" of love, sex, and marriage, with the emphasis on what we\'re not supposed to do.  The one thing we aren\'t doing is opening the conversation, asking the deep <em>whys</em> and speaking plainly with each other.    Driscoll may be going about it in an unpleasant manner, but at least he\'s speaking out.\r\n\r\nThere\'s nothing wrong with disagreeing with Mark Driscoll\'s attitude or methods.  But it\'s reached the point of becoming unproductive.  Are we as ready as he is to talk frankly about the very real issues we face?','Mark Driscoll Is Right','','inherit','open','open','','4406-revision-9','','','2012-01-23 13:34:16','2012-01-23 21:34:16','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/23/4406-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4560,1,'2012-01-24 09:34:05','2012-01-24 17:34:05','','Mark Driscoll','','inherit','open','open','','mark-driscoll','','','2012-01-24 09:34:05','2012-01-24 17:34:05','',4406,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mark-Driscoll.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(4563,48,'2012-01-24 10:46:31','2012-01-24 18:46:31','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hired wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new that does not fit into a schema, common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”.\n\nThe question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in? Let’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her website, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents in violin performance with aerial acrobats. While wearing skimpy outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me, I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing this were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having turned 30. We wanted something more interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine that could come together for one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nOr maybe it’s even beyond that—maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years. Variety and change doesn’t have to mean one doesn’t have the ability to commit or the will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next big thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-5','','','2012-01-24 10:46:31','2012-01-24 18:46:31','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(4579,48,'2012-01-24 15:11:30','2012-01-24 23:11:30','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. We were discussing life paths and career choices-- still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs,  families, and all recently having reached the milestone 30th birthday. It was in this context that one of my friends mentioned the aerial violinist, JaniceWe wondered: what is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nTo be sure, thinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought. Most follow the same pattern into our adult life: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\", also headlining in Branson, MO with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a>. Truly, just taking her accomplishments in piecemeal format, she is a formidable artist.\n\nMusically trained at The Juilliard and Indiana School of Music, she boasts such honors as solos with the Milwaukee Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Portland Symphony, European Union Chamber Orchestra and the New York Symphonic Ensemble, as well as a Carnegie Hall debut. The Stradivari Society even awarded her the honorary use of the 1708 Burstein/Bagshawe Stradivarius Violin in recognition of her accomplishments. Her career and accomplishments as a musician alone is truly impressive.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Thinking Like an Aerial Violinist','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-19','','','2012-01-24 15:11:30','2012-01-24 23:11:30','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(4564,48,'2012-01-24 10:58:33','2012-01-24 18:58:33','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her website, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents in violin performance with aerial acrobats. She truly has a unique act, and if you are ever in Branson, MO I suggest you catch her act at Branson Belle or view some of the videos on her website. Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean have the ability to commit or the will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next big thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-6','','','2012-01-24 10:58:33','2012-01-24 18:58:33','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(4565,48,'2012-01-24 11:08:09','2012-01-24 19:08:09','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\". She truly has a unique act, and if you are ever in Branson, MO, I suggest you catch her act with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a> or view some of the videos on her website. Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-7','','','2012-01-24 11:08:09','2012-01-24 19:08:09','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(4566,48,'2012-01-24 11:09:22','2012-01-24 19:09:22','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\". She truly has a unique act, and if you are ever in Branson, MO, I suggest you catch her act with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a> or view some of the videos on her website. Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-8','','','2012-01-24 11:09:22','2012-01-24 19:09:22','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(4567,48,'2012-01-24 11:16:33','2012-01-24 19:16:33','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\r\n\r\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\r\n\r\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\r\n\r\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\r\n\r\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\". She truly has a unique act, and if you are ever in Branson, MO, I suggest you catch her act with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a> or view some of the videos on her website. Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\r\n\r\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\r\n\r\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\r\n\r\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Breaking out of the Box','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-9','','','2012-01-24 11:16:33','2012-01-24 19:16:33','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(4569,48,'2012-01-24 11:18:50','2012-01-24 19:18:50','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\". She truly has a unique act, and if you are ever in Branson, MO, I suggest you catch her act with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a> or view some of the videos on her website. Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Thinking Like an Aerial Violinist','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-11','','','2012-01-24 11:18:50','2012-01-24 19:18:50','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(4568,48,'2012-01-24 11:17:01','2012-01-24 19:17:01','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\r\n\r\nThinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\r\n\r\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\r\n\r\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\r\n\r\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\". She truly has a unique act, and if you are ever in Branson, MO, I suggest you catch her act with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a> or view some of the videos on her website. Wearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\r\n\r\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\r\n\r\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\r\n\r\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Thinking Like an Aerial Violinist','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-10','','','2012-01-24 11:17:01','2012-01-24 19:17:01','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(4571,48,'2012-01-24 13:51:50','2012-01-24 21:51:50','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. What is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nTo be sure, thinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\", also headlining in Branson, MO with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a>. Truly, just taking her accomplishments in piecemeal format, she is a formidable artist.\n\nMusically trained at The Juilliard and Indiana School of Music, she boasts such honors as solos with the MMilwaukee Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Portland Symphony, European Union Chamber Orchestra and the New York Symphonic Ensemble, as well as a Carnegie Hall debut. The Stradivari Society even awarded her the honorary use of the 1708 Burstein/Bagshawe Stradivarius Violin in recognition of her accomplishments. Her career and accomplishments solely as a musician is impressive.\n\nWearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Thinking Like an Aerial Violinist','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-12','','','2012-01-24 13:51:50','2012-01-24 21:51:50','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(4572,48,'2012-01-24 13:53:38','2012-01-24 21:53:38','“At what point do you say, ‘Wow, I really want to dangle upside down from scarves and play the violin for a living\'?” This question was posed by myself and couple friends of mine as we reconnected over a cup of coffee. We were discussing life paths and career choices, when one of my friends tolWhat is the secret to thinking so decidedly out of the box as this aerial violinist does?\n\nTo be sure, thinking outside of the box is a rather cliché concept now, the subject of countless self-help books, business seminars, and the like. Regardless, it truly is something people seem to have a hard time executing. We learn early on as children to draw inside the lines, follow all the rules, and act orderly and contained. Creativity, while not completely disregarded, is often more of an afterthought.\n\nSimilarly, we place God into boxes, and we are inevitably confused, angry, or end up in a crisis of faith if He dares to operate in such a way that disregards our tidy little God construct. It is not surprising then, with our early childhood training and neat little God boxes, that most of us also keep ourselves and our lives packaged up tightly in boxes. We follow the same patter: go to school, build a career, get married, have kids, and those who dare to do those in a different order or on a different timeframe are often questioned or ridiculed.\n\nIt may be that our ability to categorize things and box things in serves an important purpose. In fact, our brains seem hard-wired to place everything into neat little boxes.  Psychological theory calls these boxes “schemas”:  mental structures to organize information. Every time your brain receives new information, it tries to fit it inside one of its already pre-conceived schemas. It is an efficient and quick way to store, retrieve, and process information, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to many situations. However, when we encounter new experiences or information that does not fit into a schema, a common reaction is to ignore or quickly forget the offending information. Occasionally, new information that differs so completely from a schema but cannot be ignored will cause an existing schema to be altered or to create a separate schema for “exceptions from the rule”. The question is, do these schemas we have created for ourselves and our roles needlessly box us in?\n\nLet’s go back to the aerial violinist. According to her <a href=\"http://www.janicemartin.com/\">website</a>, Janice Martin is a classically trained violinist, pianist and vocalist who works with the Cirque du Symphonie, combining her talents aerial acrobats to be the \"world\'s only aerial violinist\", also headlining in Branson, MO with the <a href=\"http://www.showboatbransonbelle.com/\">Showboat Branson Belle</a>. Truly, just taking her accomplishments in piecemeal format, she is a formidable artist.\n\nMusically trained at The Juilliard and Indiana School of Music, she boasts such honors as solos with the Milwaukee Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Portland Symphony, European Union Chamber Orchestra and the New York Symphonic Ensemble, as well as a Carnegie Hall debut. The Stradivari Society even awarded her the honorary use of the 1708 Burstein/Bagshawe Stradivarius Violin in recognition of her accomplishments. Her career and accomplishments solely as a musician is impressive.\n\nWearing skin-tight outfits and dangling upside down from scarves and rings from great heights while playing the electric violin is not exactly something that appeals to me for my own career, but I would like to have this woman’s ability to completely bust out of the box.\n\nMy friends and I who were discussing Janice Martin\'s act were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do “when we grew up”, despite having  graduated from college and started various jobs, careers, and families, and having reached the milestone 30th birthday. We also wanted careers or callings that were unique and interesting, even beyond moving away from the typical 9-5 office job.  Or more importantly, we wanted careers that were uniquely suited to ourselves. Are there gifts, talents and interests that I have that I previously thought I could not combine, that together would create one exceptionally unique career, much like the dangling aerial violinist? Maybe there is still hope that I can combine playing viola, writing, and drinking coffee into a fulfulling career.\n\nI think it is more than that, however.  Maybe we don’t have to find that “one thing” to do for the rest of our lives. Maybe, just maybe, it’s okay to do something completely different and change careers every 5 years, or 10 years, or X years. Variety and change in vocations and careers doesn’t necessarily mean there is an inability to commit or  a lack of will power to see things through. It might just mean the project is finished and it’s time for the next thing.\n\nGod created us in His image, so we too are creative beings. Isn’t it high time we moved in more freedom in creating…and not just in creating more boxes? Life is too short to do things just to fit inside someone else’s or our own self-built boxes.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Thinking Like an Aerial Violinist','','inherit','open','open','','4550-revision-13','','','2012-01-24 13:53:38','2012-01-24 21:53:38','',4550,'http://provoketive.com/2012/01/24/4550-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),