Being "One"

An "earworm" I'm told, is a song that you can't get out of your head (Heaven help you if its a Joe Cocker or Kate Bush song). It may have been the first song on the way to work, or a song while attending to some other activity. Regardless, soon its lodged in your head all day.

Recently, I've pondered on whether this process occurs on other plains, in particular I'm thinking about our prayer lives and the way certain causes or concerns will frequently find themselves in our prayers. Are there moments when the Divine intersects with our spirits, injecting a concern or cause for prayer? Too, how is it so that a thing that doesn't appear to directly impact us, cause us to labor in prayer?

I am a man who prays and hopes someday to be remembered as a man of prayer. Too, I will be the last one to become a Scold, as I know I've squandered moments which could have been given to this privileged communication with the Heavenly. All this said, I've been given a burden or "prayer worm" if you'll have it.

In my prayers, I've been struck with the recurring intercession for unity in the body of the saints and the Church catholic. I'm not speaking of some gushy kumbayah ecumenism where we dumb it down to the lowest common denominator. I'm speaking of new, transformational unity; a unity of focus and purpose. This is a unity that recognizes our familial bond as brothers and sisters in Christ, and our covenantal relationship to the Almighty. This is a unity that recognizes that whether "Greek or Barbarian... Bond or Free", we are on in Christ, one in mission and one in purpose. I would contend gentle reader that without this radical unity, the resurgent Anglican churches will become yet another yapping, toothless old dog.

We first must be united in Christ. None (Save Christ himself) were natural-born heirs. We all were first children or wrath; withering sprigs without hope in this life or a home in the next one. Yet we've been grafted into the vine and now draw from the same source. United, our guilt was satisfied on Calvary. United, our old lives were buried at sea through our Baptisms. United, we will rule and reign with Him when he returns on that last day. Anglican or not, all true followers of the way are bound as one in God the Son to God the Father.

We must also be united in purpose. Unlike Admiral Stockdale's famous invective, there should be no doubts on who we are and why we're here. We're not here to speak the "truth to power", or make sure folk aren't brought to conviction over their own sins. We're here because the Almighty has foreordained us to be here, to be living witnesses of the Light in this coming darkness. Regardless of gift or vocation, we're united in the task of reflecting the light of Christ deep into the gathering night. We reflect the Almighty as the moon reflects the light of the sun. And, though the darkness may not comprehend the Light, there will be those who respond to the Light's overtures.

Finally, we must be united in focus. By focus, I'm speaking to that micro vision that our God gives to churches and fellowships. In other words, think of this as discerning just what direction would the Lord have a parish or mission proceed. This focus belongs to God and is entrusted to the local body. It's not the property of the Priest, Deacon, Warden or Vestryman, it's Christ's vision for his Bride, provided to be an object of local stewardship. Until we cause or agendas and plans to bow before the cross, we'll never truly obtain this third unity.

My prayer this afternoon is that all of the saints would come to apprehend what is truly is to be united in Christ, united in purpose and united in focus.

A Question of Poison?

Father Mark Harris, a priest in the Diocese of Deleware runs a well put together blog that goes under the handle of Preludium. I have to conclude, based on his posts that he falls somewhere in the spectrum between moderate to liberal. Though I find myself in disagreement more times than not with his posts and the bulk of his commentors, I have no reason to suspect that he is nothing less than a decent and earnest man who gives 100% to his vocation and his flock. His posts aren't made in a mean or mocking spirit, and his ideas have clearly been reasoned through. Mark+ has a recent post entiitled, "A Question of Poison". This post gave me pause for a moment as I considered what he was addressing.

To say that the election and seating of the current Presiding Bishop has been a source of angst and stomach acid for conservative Episcopalians and Anglicans would be the understatement of the year. She has made any number of statements that have set folks teeth on edge, especially in the realms of historic Christian orthodoxy, biblical understanding and human sexuality. The latter has generated enough voltage to power several major cities. This said, there have been some unbelieveable responses shot back across the bow from the armada of the reasserters. I've taken the time to read and ruminate over many of these and see them as ranging from the unhelpful and petulant to the ugly and Sub-christian. In the interest of honesty, I have in the past made a statement or two that brushed against being catty. I apologize to anyone I may have offended in those remarks.

Now having said this, I want to set down a nonegotiable principle; the truth in and of itself is not poison. If one makes a declarative statement of truth and if a hearer grimaces at the sound of that truth, its a response to conviction rather than a reaction to poison.

Here's a second nonegotiable; Truth must be declared in the light of Ephesians 4:15. Think about it; When Nathan looked David dead in the eye and said "Thou art the man", was he doing it to get under the kings skin or put a finger in his eye? Heck no, He did it because he loved the king enough to see him repent from his error and be restored to fellowship with the Almighty.

Whether he is wearing an AAC/ACN lapelpin or a Rainbow Stole, a bomb thrower is still a bomb thrower and in the end game does nothing to truly help their cause. Though they may bring brief attention, its usually dismissed. Reasserter, we make no hay in tossing out clever digs that make others snicker. The Presiding Bishop of TEC may well be dead wrong, but she's not the devil in a loud cope and mitre.

May all our words be spoken in love and seasoned with salt...

Knocking down the Cobwebs

Time flies and deadlines don't... I've been up to my neck in it here lately and now that my head is back above water, it is time to swish the cobwebs out of the catbird seat.

Much has transpired since the last post and we'll have plenty to blog on .

Tattoos and Piercings and Plugs, oh my.....

Sometimes, I fear that the curmudgeondom that stalks us all is gaining on me, or at least that's how I feel whenever I venture to the mall with my wife.


I always imagined that in the future, we would be driving jet cars, living in domed cities and wearing form-fitting unisex jumpsuits. I imagine that there were many other kids back in the 1970's who shared the same daydream. It's amazing what 38 years will do to a daydream. I drive a pick-up, live in suburbia, and would look downright scary in a unisex, form-fitting jumpsuit. Beyond this, one can't swing a dead cat in Northern Virginia without hitting someone who would seem to have stepped off the pages of a 1970's-era National Geographic magazine. This phenomenon has left me both simultaneously bemused and concerned.


There is what seems to be an obsession with body defacement (or "modification"). I have observed this across the age spectrum from young teens on up to AARP members. The "military tattoo" of the soldier or sailor, along with the demure ear piercing have become a quaint relic from another time. Earrings have given way to "plugs", which have given way to extreme plugs. To date, I've seen earlobe plugs that appear to be the size of half dollar coins. I've seen faces that contain enough piercings to construct a modest wind chime. I have to ask, "Why am I so disturbed by this?"

There are only two reasonable answers to preceding question; I'm becoming either a grizzled old curmudgeon, or I am troubled by something that may have deeper connotation than first realized.

I pride myself in being a Christian Libertarian, and one who strives to keep the main thing, the main thing. Within this, there is a scared responsibility not to use my liberty as a club. Yet even with this said, I will vigorously content that God's word speaks clearly to, and proscribes a large number of practices and lifestyles that are rife within our society. We as believers first, and humans second, ignore these proscriptions at our own peril.

I went on a dig throughout Scripture to see what it might say on the subject of body modification (tattoos, et al). It turns out that bodily defacement is clearly prohibited by the Levitical Code as delivered to Moses by the LORD. These were practiced by the pagan nations (and are still practiced by cultures today). It would be a reasonable conclusion then, to say that the practice of body modification is unscriptural.

Does this fly in the face of a libertarian viewpoint? I don't believe so. The proscription against bodily modification lies within the listing of moral prohibitions, rather than ceremonial requirements. Though we don't offer up a guilt offering under the New Covenantal economy, it is still an offense to knowingly defraud our neighbor. Christ fulfilled the ceremonial requisites of the Law, he didn't abolish its moral requisites.

Some might support the practice on the basis of silence, the fact that the New Testament doesn't speak to the practice. I believe that this too is a faulty position. Consider the fact that the New Testament is silent on the topic of inter-species copulation. Despite this fact, there's not one sane person who would make a case for such a practice, or contend that it is permissible under the New Covenant.

The explosion of body modification and other sub-christian practices should stand to remind (and warn) us that we live in a society that is Post-christian, and slipping away from anything remotely resembling what Francis Schaeffer referred to as the "Christian Consensus".

Saints, Evangelists, and Apologists; our work is cut out for us.

Why DO we need to study Hermenuetics?

There's a quote out there along the lines of, "A text out of context is merely a pretext". I've also known of one particular pentecostal preacher in describing his sermons as, "Being like baloney, you can cut 'em off anywhere".

In my brief 45 years on the planet, I've had the privlege of hearing men who were gifted expositors and/or powerful, passionate orators. Others, like Dr. J. Vernon McGee, were able to deliver timeless biblical truth with the ease of a grandfather speaking to his grandchildren. But then there were others, unforgettable ones, who's sermons have stuck in my mind like gum in the treads of my sneakers.

We who would presume to proclaim the word of God in homily or lesson form should never approach this in a careless or casual way. I say "we" because the the preceeding video made me pause for self-examination. James, Christ's younger stepbrother gives us a clear caution in his epistle when he reminded those who would take up the mantle of homilist or teacher of a "more stringent judgment".

Ash Wednesday 2008

Good day to you, sir or ma'am. Fasching, Carnival, Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday; they're all yesterday's news as our array changes from green to violet. It's a strange Ash Wednesday in NoVa-land, with temperatures hovering in the low 70's. The day feels much better suited for Queenscliff or Geelong, where balmy February days are generally the rule.

Sadly, Lent seems to be little more than a carnal cease-fire. A time for our bodies to issue a temporary restraining order against its induldgences. Some swear off swearing while others will step away from sodas. These are pale substitutions for Lent's original objective.

Lent is rooted in a time of preparation. Her two fortnights were a time when converts made their final preparations for their public confession of Jesus as their messiah. In an age where a public acknowlegement of Christ could result in a violent death, conversion wasn't a casual act undergone through repeating a "sinner's prayer". Martyrdom was beyound conceivable and the convert knew this. There was a true cost to be counted.

Though I wouldn't pretend to know your expectations for the next 40 days, I want something more out of Lent this year. I don't want these proceeding 40 days to pass without profound, permanent change in my life. I want this to be time spent in the Lord's Gym, a season growth and a time of maturation.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Collect for Ash Wednesday

Above the Clouds

Wow, Doug Hill nailed it. It has been raining buckets since early this morning. The steel-gray skies are a matter of perspective though. A few thousand vertical feet can mean a world of difference on a day like today. Jet 12,000 feet above stafford and you're enveloped in azure skies. The steel ceiling has been replaced by a carpet of pure lamb's wool.

A Man in the Rain

Outside my office window, it's a clear, crisp January afternoon. This will change tonight and February will be ushered in with cold, icy rain. Given my druthers on such a morning, I'd as soon stay in bed.

Campaign Update

Barney has abruptly withdrawn from his quest for the Whitehouse. Early sources tell this outlet that he'll ask his delegates and supporteers to throw their support behind Ron Paul.

More on this story as word becomes available...