Lessons in the Gifts

Welcome to the 21st century! Yes, I know it started six years ago, but I just got my first iPod for Christmas. I wanted an .mp3 player just so I can listen to my favorite music in my car while working. After doing my research and seeing the depletion of .mp3 players from store shelves leading up to Christmas, I came to only one conclusion. iPod is the way to go. I discovered that the 30GB iPod video/photo model was only $50 more than the 4GB iPod Nano. It became a no brainer for me. I realize it's bigger and has a hard drive versus a compact flash player, but it's perfect for me and way more storage than I need (I'll regret that statement in 3 years). With my new iPod I've also discovered the world of podcasting. Now that is first class.

We also got a junior tent, sleeping bags, lanterns, and the like for our two boys, in addition to other things. I did my fatherly duty of laying in the tent Christmas afternoon with my boys playing on top of me, making my outdoor nap a pipe dream. While laying there enjoying the lazy sun and cool breeze, I remembered how fun it was to go camping as a kid and just be outdoors in general. For a split second I thought maybe I should buy a bigger tent and take my family camping. I'm still trying to psychoanalyze where that thought came from.

As I laid in the tent, I began to think about how opposite the two gifts were. The iPod represents the cutting edge of technology and the hottest trend, while the camping gear was definitely retro, even primitive, but I enjoyed them both. It reminded me of this conversation that we are having about emerging ecclesiology and the reality that in order to go forward sometimes you have to go backwards.

I have to come to believe that this new move of God among His people is paved with core truths of scripture tested in the authentic faith of the saints of the ages. I have long been fascinated by spiritual disciplines, early confessions of the Church, and simple practices of the first believers. It has been very reassuring to me to find so many of those engaged in this conversation on the same path back in time to find the roots of our Christian tradition. It reminds me of discussions we had in college (Louisiana College, Alumni 1999) trying to deliniate the traditions of the church and our own preconceived notions from what really happened in the Bible. Most of the people I have encountered in the emerging church are simply trying to know Christ more fully so that they might be more like Him in every area of their lives. I saw that they are encouraging friends of the emergent church to display the new emergent logos on their sites, books, conferences, etc., so here's my contribution for the time being:



While I had a precusory introduction to many of these ideas in college, I did not fully engage this dialogue until the fall of 2004. Since that time, I have begun reading the Bible differently. It is fresh again, and its boldness takes hold of me. I come to the words with an open mind reading with different lenses. I made the misunderstood comment several weeks ago in church that the longer I am a Christian the less answers I think I have. When I was younger and more indoctrinated, I had an answer for everything, and of course, there was only one right answer. Now, I am humbled in awe of the greatness of God, the love of Christ, and the nearness of the Spirit. It doesn't bother me to gladly tell someone, "I don't know." Over the years, I've learned to be content, even thrilled, with the mystery. I can be satisfied with not knowing because I know the One who knows, and He knows me.