Have you ever thought about how much money in spent in our society on footwear? For most of us, "just any 'ol footwear" won't cut it. As a former middleschool educator, I can attest to how INCREDIBLY important footwear is in today's pop youth culture. I know it's ONLY shoes and sandals we're talking about -- but since many people obsess over their shoes, maybe WE need an epiphany...and to hear the words, "take off your shoes, for the place in which you stand is holy."

In both Old and New Testaments, people were told to do just that -- to take off their shoes for spiritual reasons (e.g. Ex.3:5; Josh.5:15; Is.20:2; Acts7:33). In addition, there was the time when Jesus removed his disciples' sandals and washed their feet. In fact, a study of "feet" throughout the scriptures is a fascinating one. Even outside of the scriptures, we normally consider people's feet as important. We even speak of a person with "clay feet" as a person with faults or sin in their life -- something still being discussed in the public arena. Hmmm. I've heard it suggested before that our feet represent our lives, and that we should symbolically take off our shoes for the following reasons:

The year was 1623. And William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, issued the following proclamation:

To all ye Pilgrims: In as much as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegatable, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as...he has spared us from pestilence and disease, [and] has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience;

now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.

William Bradford, Ye Governor of Ye Colony.

I guess it's safe to say that Thanksgiving has changed a lot since it's early beginnings, don't you think? Seems to me that much more emphasis was placed on thanking God FOR the food (among other things) rather than EATING the food (certainly one of my favorite parts to Thanksgiving).

Proclamations like this one, which contain such overt and central references to God by those with governmental authority are nothing new. American history is full of powerful references to God, our reliance upon Him, and our gratefulness to Him. George Washington, and many presidents after him issued Thanksgiving proclamations very much in keeping with that of William Bradford.

And so on THIS Thanksgiving, I'm wondering...

I'm wondering if the strong Christian roots of Thanksgiving Day will ever see a widespread resurgence -- will the increasingly "spiritual" culture in America come to terms with it's Christian heritage and re-embrace it? Or will it be cleverly discredited and discarded, allowing for the further secularization of this national holiday while the masses pursue their spirituality in other arenas?

Well, as for me and my house...we will serve (and thank) the Lord.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In his current article for PC Magazine, John C. Dvorak has prophesied the doom of blogging as we know it. WHAT!?! That's right. In his article "Co-Opting the Future", Dvorak draws on research conducted by Perseus Development Corp, to support his view that blogging death is already beginning to show:

Over half of all bloggers no longer update their blogs.

More than 25% of new bloggers are nothing more than "one-day wonders" -- merely a flash-in-the-pan.

But most importantly, "Big Media" business interests are entering the blog market in such a widespread manner, that such "co-opting" spells a sure death for amateur blogging.

Okay, okay. I KNOW that we live in a culture of exponential change, but blogging? Already? What will it be next month? iPod's, Napster, and mp3's? Arrgh! And with predictions of blogging doom now on the horizon, I can't help but wonder about the emerging Church -- wondering what the test of time will reveal as "already antiquated."

If our culture is one of constant change, then in order for the Church to truly be "missional," we must adopt strategies that will accomodate this. Maybe we'll need to trust the Holy Spirit for discernment that will anticipate cultural changes ahead of time so that we can develop strategies that when launched, will still be culturally viable. Or...maybe we need to develop a new bread of missionary (we are all called to be missionaries) who can adapt and engage themselves in the culture so effectively that "change" won't really be seen as an obstacle.

Isn't it funny how a little article about blogging can get me thinking about the future of the Church? Fascinating!

Yeah! That's right! Paradox took to the streets tonight in our community's annual Mardi Gras parade. Our float featured a live DJ, lights, strobes, smoke, and our now-famous torches (check out the new website). Walking alongside the float were four of our own, including Benjy -- one of the paradox guys. They traded off carrying a huge wooden cross through the parade.

I guess a couple of hecklers accused us of being a cult (we've certainly heard THAT before), but then a girl ran up to Mike (with the Mohawk) on the parade route and said, "You look so cool! Can I give you a hug?"

I've created a new photo album with a few photos from tonight. The quality is all that good (captured off of video), but I thought it would be cool getting a few shots up right away (hopefully with some higher quality ones to follow). Keep us in prayer, as tonights' parade appearance is part of our larger effort to re-launch paradox in a matter of weeks. There's no doubt about it -- after tonight, people are going to be talking about paradox (and hopefully, visiting the website).

In my reading this morning, Hebrews 4:16 really grabbed my attention, and especially the phrase, throne of grace. The words themselves suggest a paradox of sorts, in that we often think of grace (charis) as God's unmerrited favor -- receiving that which we do not deserve and cannot earn; while the word throne speaks of God's rule and rulership, as well as his justice (e.g. getting what we do deserve).

And so I've been pondering how God's justice and grace come together, and how we might understand the concept of a throne of grace. So here's a thought: maybe it's important not only to want and appreciate the "benefits" of grace in our life, but to also embrace that which grace desires to work in (or into) us. When we speak of things which are a "means of grace" (such as the Eucharist), don't we recognize that there is something which God, through that grace, desires to work in us? I would say, yes. Furthermore, when God grants "pieces of grace" to us (i.e. charismata, cf. 1 Cor. 12), doesn't he do so with a purpose in mind (e.g. the edification of other believers)? I would also say, yes.

If this then is the nature of God's grace...

For nearly 15 years, it's been my practice to break away once every 3 months for a personal prayer retreat. These are either 24 or 48 hour retreats, taken away from church and family and the multitude of distractions that are part of both. They are not "vacations" in any sense of the word -- in fact, they are a lot of work! Over the years, I've discovered that it takes a great deal of effort to "still my life" before God and then "press in" in a way that's focused, open, and sustained. If you're interested in ltrying out your own personal prayer (or spiritual) retreat, and would like some materials to use in getting started, I'd recommend buying this book.

But I absolutely LOVE these times away with the Lord. Exclusive, one-on-one time. Of course, it's not that I don't enjoy one-on-one time with Him on a daily basis -- I do. But breaking away for a personal prayer retreat has always been incredibly rewarding. It's funny, but as soon as I return from these times, my wife inevitably chimes-in: "So...what did The Almighty have to say?" She's being playful when she says that, but you know -- the Almighty actually DOES speak in amazing ways each time I'm away for a prayer retreat.

For some time now, our culture has been infringing upon our "discretionary time" - convincing us that we're "too busy" to break away to spend time with Jesus. I know that I certainly feel that pressure every time I start thinking it's time to schedule myself away for another prayer retreat.

Well...enough musing for now. My little "break" is over and it's time to stop blogging.

Cyndi, age 30, is the latest friend who has joined the growing trend of hiring a personal trainer. You may be interested in knowing there are over 60,000 working personal trainers in the U.S. alone, not including group exercise instructors! What is a personal trainer? It's someone you pay to tell you how to get in shape and stay there. What a fascinating idea -- paying somebody who will tell you what to do!

But that's what coaches and trainers have been doing for years and years. In fact, it reminds me of one of my all-time favorite quotes from renowned coach, John Wooden. When asked what it was he did as a coach, Wooden replied:

"I make grown men do what they don't want to do, so that they can become all they want to be."

Anyway, this whole idea of coaches -- and personal trainers in particular -- has got me thinking about spiritual authority and the godly people we (should?) submit ourselves to. When Cyndi hired her personal trainer, she had already determined that she needed an expert -- someone more knowledgeable than her -- to guide her, encourage her, and frankly -- to tell her what to do.

Isn't this awefully close to what the pastors and/or other spiritual authorities in our life do (or should do)? And yet when it comes to "spiritual things", it seems to me that people generally don't like others meddling with that part of their life. Why is that? I'm not exactly sure, but I'm inclined to believe the following:

The use of ancient common prayer has revolutionized my prayer life over the past 3 years, and helped me to think about my life in new ways. Here's a favorite:

"Give perfection to beginners, O Father; give intelligence to the little ones; give aid to those who are running their course. Give sorrow to the negligent; give fervor of spirit to the lukewarm. Give to the perfect a good consummation; for the sake of Christ Jesus our Lord." --St. Irenaeus, 2nd century

A favorite source for ancient prayers like this one is Prayers Across the Centuries. I'm regularly on the lookout for other such sourcebooks, so if you know of one I'd love hearing about it.

Come to think about it, I'd also love hearing of how you use common prayer not only privately but in your communities of faith (including those who are not from an "orthodox" or "liturgical" background).

According to a recent Barna poll, 41% of church goers attend small congregations of under 100, compared with churches of over 1000 which draw only 12% of church goers. The study goes on to identify some interesting theolographic findings (i.e. related to their spiritual beliefs and practices):

the research showed that adults affiliated with small congregations are less likely to be born again, less likely to believe in salvation by grace alone (i.e., not by good deeds), and less likely to have an orthodox view of God (i.e., holy, creator, ruler of the universe, alive today). The report indicated that such views undermine a solid theological foundation for congregational growth and may suggest that other spiritual perspectives that conflict with the Bible are common in smaller churches.

Okay. Tell me what you REALLY think about this. During a conversation last week, someone suggested that some of today's "postmodern thought leaders" are nothing more than armchair reformers -- those who "talk" like experts but who don't have the guts to engage their own churches (or any institutionalized church for that matter) in constructive dialog that leads to change. This particular person, of course, was using a play-on-words to deliberately play-off of the idea of "armchair quarterbacks" (self-proclaimed experts on football who have never actually played the game). Although I disagreed on who this person was identifying as an "armchair reformer," the very idea of such a thing got me wondering...do such people even exist? Are people out there trying to "reform" The Church who have really never been part of the inner-workings of the Church per se?