the Brown House

How Did It Start?

2009-05-13T10:03:00.002-04:00

Jason and I were talking last night about Settlers, and we were wondering: How did the Settlers craze begin? We couldn't remember who to credit. Does anybody remember the beginning of the Settlers saga?

The Unpretty Cross

2009-04-24T17:14:00.002-04:00

Why does it feel like I never have time to actually write on here? I know, I know -- I could always "write later", but if I do that, I'm completely forget. So, that said, I think I really like this:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/04/oh-the-french-cathedral-displays-sculpture-of-jesus-christ-in-the-electric-chair.html

Wheaton, YouTube, and Neil Postman

2009-04-23T18:39:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL52fveMhb8&feature=channel_page

This seemed like a fitting subject for the Brown House blog. I like what he has to say, and I'm glad to see someone invoking Postman for a bunch of college students. But... (you had to know it was coming) ...I'm still unconvinced that the emphasis on "word" over "image" is the right angle to take when criticizing the visual and technological media. The theological emphasis on the "Word" has its roots in the Reformation, which, not unsurprisingly, developed its theological emphasis on Word alongside the printing press.

I'm wary of giving the written word theological precedence over symbol, image, audio, etc. because such an approach smacks of cultural fundamentalism. I don't deny the theological importance of the spoken word: In the Bible (lots of written words, of course), God is always speaking, and he's always asking his people to speak -- the prophets in the OT and the Apostles in the NT. Sometimes God tells them to write it down (for example, Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch). But other times he tells them to do stuff that can't be written down (like Isaiah running around naked). Or take the act of public proclamation. Isn't the act itself at least as important as the content of the message itself -- and I'm pretty confident Postman would agree with that statement. After all, "the medium is the message."

But while I, along with Postman, lament the loss of written public discourse, I'm not sure that we shouldn't also celebrate the gain of a symbolic, image-driven, public discourse (while at the same time noting its dangers). Just because actions (or pictures) speak louder than words doesn't mean we should try to avoid using them.

There are a host of issues here, and I've conflated some important distinctions -- for one, there is some distinction (practically if not ideally) between how we minister to a changing culture, on the one hand, and how we try to affect that culture, on the other hand. Culturally, I think we have a lot to lose if we stop valuing verbiage; theologically, I think we have a lot to gain by re-learning how to value other forms of communication, particularly as they reveal something about God (icons, anyone?). What do you all think? What do we do as congregations become less fluent in written discourse, and more fluent in symbol and image? How do I squeeze the 4 spiritual laws into a 160-character tweet? Or, even better, let's draw them on a napkin and record it for YouTube....

(And I'll be disappointed if we don't hear from a certain Reformed grad of Westminster Theological Seminary. You know who you are.)

Challenge

2009-04-19T00:14:00.001-04:00

This is a copy from my blog:

This evening I made a chart of what it would look like to follow Benedict's Rule in reading the Psalter in a week. The Desert Fathers, way back in the dizay out in Egypt, would read the Psalter, yes, all 150 Psalms, every day. Benedict hoped that monks would be able to, in their weakness, do that work in a week.

This is the challenge: starting a week from tomorrow, or Sunday, April 26th, follow Benedict's schedule with me and read the Psalter in a week. The way Benedict lays it out there are readings for Lauds (Sunrise), Prime (7am), Terace (9am), Sext (Noon), None (3pm), Vespers (Sunset), Compline (bedtime) and Vigils (Midnight or 2am). When I do it I will combine Lauds and Prime when I get up and Compline and Vigils before I go to bed.

So, let me know if you're with me and we'll see how it goes.

Peace,

Devin's First Post on BH

2009-04-18T00:59:00.001-04:00

I finally accepted the invitation by Robin to post on this site. Well, actually, I tried and it had expired, so I had to confess of my backsliding and ask for another invitation.

I've been back into blogging, reading and tweeting this last week. I think it is here to stay this time. I probably won't post everything here that I post on my blog, but probably just BH relevant kind of stuff.

Peace,

From Four Laws to Four Circles...

2009-04-16T11:03:00.002-04:00

This was featured in an Christianity Today article last year. What do you think of it? How can we follow this example and address the current longings in our culture, much like the "Four Spiritual Laws" addressed the longings of people 25 years ago? What is our culture longing for that the Gospel can address, and how can the Gospel address it?

Also, I hope you're all doing well. It's been a while since I've talked with most of you, but I do miss all of you tremendously - even Mike.

Jason

Too bad I wrote this a week ago, Arizona Republic.

2009-02-16T12:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/allstar/articles/2009/02/15/20090215spt-p2main.html

Celebrities in Our Midst...

2009-02-13T09:02:00.004-05:00

Ok, so, I've been really awful at posting on here (though I always read everything), but I figured I'd better be sure to share this.

I have recently become a semi-regular user of Twitter, and I am a Wheaton College "follower". Below is one of their tweets that I read yesterday:

Regional director Dave Lawrenz is Thunder's #1 fan: http://tinyurl.com/ajpyk9

So, I read that and thought, "Hmm..." Needless to say, we have celebrities (yes, the daughter-in-law counts, too) in our midst. And if any of you decide to get on twitter, do let me know.

Now, on to count down the minutes til the weekend....

The Value of the Institution

2009-02-05T16:34:00.001-05:00

Interesting op-ed. Can't help but think about how these insights relate to the church (particularly those who over-criticize the institution). I also think of the Brown House, that institution par excellence.

Brown House Reunion Weekend Location

2008-12-29T00:09:00.004-05:00

For our proposed reunion weekend I would like to suggest this as a location. The Holy Land Theme Park. It could be a fun and informative time. There are singers and dancers, as well as the resurrection. Also we can get a group discount.

Please discuss.

Seriously. All ridiculousness aside, what do you guys think about this place?

Christians and Pop Culture

2008-12-09T13:40:00.002-05:00

I'm beginning to think none of you actually read this blog. You all need to make use of Google Reader.

So, I haven't actually watched this yet (it's finals week, and no, I don't want to talk about it), but Fuller Prof Craig Detweiler was recently interviewed on Nightline about how Christians can engage in Pop Culture. I know some of you are very interested in this, so I thought it might be a fun topic for discussion. Here's the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=6394347&page=1

Peace.

Anti-Imperial Poetics

2008-11-26T12:25:00.002-05:00

I stumbled across a link to this article. What do y'all think?

Wars of Self-Destruction
11/26/2008 - Political - Article Ref: IV0811-3736
Number of comments:
Opinion Summary: Agree: Disagree: Neutral:
By: Chris Hedges
Iviews* -

War is a poison. It is a poison that nations and groups must at times ingest to ensure their survival. But, like any poison, it can kill you just as surely as the disease it is meant to eradicate. The poison of war courses unchecked through the body politic of the United States. We believe that because we have the capacity to wage war we have the right to wage war. We embrace the dangerous self-delusion that we are on a providential mission to save the rest of the world from itself, to implant our virtues-which we see as superior to all other virtues-on others, and that we have a right to do this by force. This belief has corrupted Republicans and Democrats alike. And if Barack Obama drinks, as it appears he will, the dark elixir of war and imperial power offered to him by the national security state, he will accelerate the downward spiral of the American empire.

Obama and those around him embrace the folly of the "war on terror." They may want to shift the emphasis of this war to Afghanistan rather than Iraq, but this is a difference in strategy, not policy. By clinging to Iraq and expanding the war in Afghanistan, the poison will continue in deadly doses. These wars of occupation are doomed to failure. We cannot afford them. The rash of home foreclosures, the mounting job losses, the collapse of banks and the financial services industry, the poverty that is ripping apart the working class, our crumbling infrastructure and the killing of hapless Afghans in wedding parties and Iraqis by our iron fragmentation bombs are neatly interwoven. These events form a perfect circle. The costly forms of death we dispense on one side of the globe are hollowing us out from the inside at home.

The "war on terror" is an absurd war against a tactic. It posits the idea of perpetual, or what is now called "generational," war. It has no discernable end. There is no way to define victory. It is, in metaphysical terms, a war against evil, and evil, as any good seminarian can tell you, will always be with us. The most destructive evils, however, are not those that are externalized. The most destructive are those that are internal. These hidden evils, often defined as virtues, are unleashed by our hubris, self-delusion and ignorance. Evil masquerading as good is evil in its deadliest form.

The problems with the American empire began long before the current economic meltdown or the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It began before the first Gulf War or Ronald Reagan. It began when we shifted, in the words of the historian Charles Maier, from an "empire of production" to an "empire of consumption." By the end of the Vietnam War, when the costs of the war ate away at Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and domestic oil production began its steady, inexorable decline, we saw our country transformed from one that primarily produced to one that primarily consumed. We started borrowing to maintain a lifestyle we could no longer afford. We began to use force, especially in the Middle East, to feed our insatiable demand for cheap oil. The years after World War II, when the United States accounted for one-third of world exports and half of the world's manufacturing, gave way to huge trade imbalances, outsourced jobs, rusting hulks of abandoned factories, stagnant wages and personal and public debts that most of us cannot repay.

The bill is now due. America's most dangerous enemies are not Islamic radicals, but those who promote the perverted ideology of national security that, as Andrew Bacevich writes, is "our surrogate religion." If we continue to believe that we can expand our wars and go deeper into debt to maintain an unsustainable level of consumption, we will dynamite the foundations of our society.

"The Big Lies are not the pledge of tax cuts, universal health care, family values restored, or a world rendered peaceful through forceful demonstrations of American leadership," Bacevich writes in "The Limits of Power." "The Big Lies are the truths that remain unspoken: that freedom has an underside; that nations, like households, must ultimately live within their means; that history's purpose, the subject of so many confident pronouncements, remains inscrutable. Above all, there is this: Power is finite. Politicians pass over matters such as these in silence. As a consequence, the absence of self-awareness that forms such an enduring element of the American character persists."

Those clustered around Barack Obama, from Madeline Albright to Hillary Clinton to Dennis Ross to Colin Powell, have no interest in dismantling the structure of the imperial presidency or the vast national security state. They will keep these institutions intact and seek to increase their power. We have a childish belief that Obama will magically save us from economic free fall, restore our profligate levels of consumption and resurrect our imperial power. This na•ve belief is part of our disconnection with reality. The problems we face are structural. The old America is not coming back.

The corporate forces that control the state will never permit real reform. This is the Faustian bargain made between these corporate forces and the Republican and Democratic parties. We will never, under the current system, achieve energy independence. Energy independence would devastate the profits of the oil and gas industry. It would wipe out tens of billions of dollars in weapons contracts, spoil the financial health of a host of private contractors from Halliburton to Blackwater and render obsolete the existence of U.S. Central Command.

There are groups and people who seek to do us harm. The attacks of Sept. 11 will not be the last acts of terrorism on American soil. But the only way to defeat terrorism is to isolate terrorists within their own societies, to mount cultural and propaganda wars, to discredit their ideas, to seek concurrence even with those defined as our enemies. Force, while a part of this battle, is rarely necessary. The 2001 attacks that roused our fury and unleashed the "war on terror" also unleashed a worldwide revulsion against al-Qaida and Islamic terrorism, including throughout the Muslim world, where I was working as a reporter at the time. If we had had the courage to be vulnerable, to build on this empathy rather than drop explosive ordinance all over the Middle East, we would be far safer and more secure today. If we had reached out for allies and partners instead of arrogantly assuming that American military power would restore our sense of invulnerability and mitigate our collective humiliation, we would have done much to defeat al-Qaida. But we did not. We demanded that all kneel before us. And in our ruthless and indiscriminate use of violence and illegal wars of occupation, we resurrected the very forces that we could, under astute leadership, have marginalized. We forgot that fighting terrorism is a war of shadows, an intelligence war, not a conventional war. We forgot that, as strong as we may be militarily, no nation, including us, can survive isolated and alone.

The American empire, along with our wanton self-indulgence and gluttonous consumption, has come to an end. We are undergoing a period of profound economic, political and military decline. We can continue to dance to the tunes of self-delusion, circling the fire as we chant ridiculous mantras about our greatness, virtue and power, or we can face the painful reality that has engulfed us. We cannot reverse this decline. It will happen no matter what we do. But we can, if we break free from our self-delusion, dismantle our crumbling empire and the national security state with a minimum of damage to ourselves and others. If we refuse to accept our limitations, if do not face the changes forced upon us by a bankrupt elite that has grossly mismanaged our economy, our military and our government, we will barrel forward toward internal and external collapse. Our self-delusion constitutes our greatest danger. We will either confront reality or plunge headlong into the minefields that lie before us.

Chris Hedges spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. His column appears Mondays on Truthdig.com

David Dark, the Kingdom, and Hospitality

2008-11-05T10:03:00.004-05:00

First of all, here is a link to a David Dark talking head which he posted on his blog yesterday. Secondly, let me say that David Dark is a person who makes me truly believe that the Kingdom has come and that living as if that were true is actually a real possibility.

Towards the end of this little video, he mentions "hospitality." Maybe God is just trying to teach me something, but I've seen "hospitality" popping up all over the place in the past couple of months. Theme of Orientation chapel at Gordon: hospitality. Theme of my church's women's retreat: hospitality. A main emphasis in my seminary wives class: hospitality. I'm reading a book about spiritual direction--first chapter: welcoming the stranger--hospitality! And now David Dark: hospitality, a vital part of living out Jesus' teachings.

I think I've always instinctively known the importance of hospitality. For those of you who know my mom at all, I'm sure you can find that very easily believe. My house was always the social gathering place. My mom always had chocolate chip cookies made when friends came over, even into my college years. She teaches her basket-weaving classes out of our home, and even though that's a business, she still makes sure that people are comfortable and free to share their lives, and in that, she models "welcoming the stranger." At different points while I was growing up, we had at least 7 different non-family members living at our house for long periods of time. We even had about a dozen or so people (many of you) staying at our house for 4 days before mine and Jason's wedding. (Turns out that that may have been a crazy idea, but it seemed like a very natural thing to do.)

As I'm learning more about hospitality, I'm starting to understand that it's not just about having people over and making sure the house is presentable and baking cookies, (although I put great stock in the spiritual significance of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies). Hospitality is about creating space in every encounter to see the image of God in people, to make them feel safe and valued, even in brief encounters. It's about really listening to them. It's about being vulnerable and inviting them to take part in your life, sharing from the abundance or the meagerness of whatever you have. David Dark would add that it's about finding people interesting. (One of his quotes from Rock n Roll camp that is forever burned into my memory is, "I think there's something a little demonic in finding people uninteresting.")

Now if all that is true--and i believe that it is--there is something that is required of me, and it's more than just making nice with people or having them over for dinner. It's a Kingdom calling. It's a lifestyle that--like Jason's junior year chapel message--calls us to abandon the arrogance of "bringing Jesus to people" and instead forces us to see Jesus in people. Yes, there is a danger of pantheism in seeing God in everyone, but I think the bigger danger comes when we make people invisible, when we fail to recognize the eternal significance of another person.

We all know the Matthew 25 passage where Jesus says, "If you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me." And what's He talking about here? Clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, tending the sick, visiting the imprisoned--hospitality!! And when we do those things--whether it is taking care of people's physical needs or clothing the emotionally naked, feeding the intellectually hungry, tending the spiritually sick, or visiting the psychologically imprisoned--we do those things to Jesus. And that takes the martyrdom out of service and replaces it with high privilege..and some holy trembling if you ask me.

I'm rambling a bit here. I guess what I mainly want to know is: Is hospitality popping up in your world, too? If so, what are you learning about it? What are you finding challenging about it? Where are you meeting God in it? How do we change its connotation from the work of quaint little pastors' wives to a subversive and Kingdom-coming activity? What do you think of when you hear "the hospitality of Jesus" or "the hospitality of the cross" or "the hospitality of God"? Or maybe you were struck by some completely different aspect of David Dark's video: creation care, Jesus as "the bloke who tried to help," or something else entirely. Any immediate reactions?? Any thoughts??

It's Really Gone...

2008-10-14T22:12:00.003-04:00

We were on campus today returning a HoneyRock vehicle and I had to go by and see for myself... You can see from the Beamer Center all the way to Jenks. Apparently they're using the space for some sort of construction worker parking lot. Stupid. Who needs science anyway?

The Bible says...

2008-10-10T16:08:00.004-04:00

Obama is the antichrist.

"... He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to CHANGE the set times and the laws." Daniel 7:25

The Bible says...

2008-10-09T19:56:00.002-04:00

...vote for Barack Obama.

"Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning." Ecclesiastes 4:13

let the voting begin

2008-10-03T09:49:00.002-04:00

alright, so we have 2 entries for our little photo contest. let's put is to a vote:
Essence of the Brown House or the Shame of Brotherhoodness?

Cast your vote today!

The Shame of Brotherhoodness

2008-09-26T15:02:00.003-04:00

"We may never know what inspired this reaction from Joel - but we're sure he owes us all money."

Essence of the Brown House

2008-09-26T13:04:00.011-04:00

es·sence [es-uhns]:the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features

If this doesn't capture the essence of the Brown House, I don't know what ever will.

photo contest

2008-09-26T12:14:00.003-04:00

i know a new empty blog can look really intimidating, so here's a little something to get us started:
introducing...the brown house blog photo contest!!!

official rules:
1) post a photo of a favorite brown house moment. let's start with moments that were actually in or around the brown house.
2) the photo must include a caption to be eligible.
3) please limit one photo per person.
4) you do not have to be the photographer of the picture in order to qualify. (you may want to raid hannah's facebook.)
5) when a fair number of pictures are submitted, we'll vote on a winner, and that person will receive...something..awesome.

readygo!!

welcome!

2008-09-25T14:54:00.000-04:00

welcome to the digital representation of the Brown House! even as i type, i am kind of disgusted by how a community that was once so rich and alive and real is now reduced--through the diaspora of post-college pursuits--to an electronic community of pseudo-connectedness. nevertheless, i miss you. and i was not okay with us having no central forum for getting together, so even if we have to do so in a completely lame and electronic way, i say so be it...until you all decide to move to new england. :o) hooray!!