Blog Posts

Reading the Bible with the Damned

I am in Burlington at Tierra Nueva. I took this class this semester to be reconnected with ministry to people at the margins. Maybe not exactly reconnect, as it is a class and not actual relationship. Still Bob Ekblad has people hanging around and it has been good for my soul.

Regent has been a great place to reflect and think theologically about some of my experience. But there is a disconnect. I feel it acutely. This past week RCSA sponsored a forum on whether or not the Academy should be involved in the life of the poor.  It is great that the discussion was being had, but the fact that it was had in the manner it was, was evidence that the poor are not with us. Infact, they were referred to only as “the poor.”I learned that this language distances me. I now speak of George, Linda, Trinity, T.. I name names. I see faces. But not lately.

For me hanging out in Burlington reminds me that my education is on to something. I want what Regent has to offer, but I do not want it at the expense of ordinary readers.

A new start

So I haven’t been to this blog in a while. I intend to blog. I used to blog. I liked it. People read my blog and posted about how insightful and clever I was. I no longer have the energy to try to be either but I think that blogging was a great way for me to be self reflective. Right now no one knows my blog, so I can play with it a bit. Maybe I’ll be insightful and clever, but right now I probably will just be real and real random. I don’t think I have much to say people will want to read right now. I am sort of just writing whatever.

Anyway. I am quitting my grocery store job in like 3 weeks and we will be moving on campus. I am excited about the change in our lives this will be. We will get to participate in the regent community more as I won’t have the same kind of job next year.

This RCSA VP thing is kind of cool too. Will see how things go.

How to Get through a semester in half the study time

The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning ProgramSo I picked up this speed reading book at a used book store in Bellingham with hopes of incresing my speed getting through seminary reading faster. So far I haven’t gotten much faster, though I do read faster than the 200-300 words/minute that they say is average. Hopefully I can speed it up some. The book seems to emphasize concentration, clear goals in reading and then technique. It does explain a little why I’ve always read faster in finals week. My concentration is better and I am more motivated. Clearer goals 🙂

Life rolls on

So my schedule is up to 40 hours a week about. And school starts again. I do not know how I will handle it but last time I came through alright. It is funny, other people think I am crazy but I am only taking two classes.

Sarah had an appointment this morning with one of the other midwives (not hers but someone who works at the sameplace). Everything is going well…the baby is healthy.

Africa

The Micah 6:8 community group just had a cool speaker come. Laurel Borsie was a missionary to Burkina Faso with MCC and she shared some of her experiences and challenges in providing relief there. What i thought was particularly interesting was her discussion of power sharing. MCC is committed to the ideal of power sharing, where they don’t just come into a place with their own agenda and thrust it on people, but let the people of that place take part in the process and decide how best to serve, allocate resources, etc.

This is all very good, but Borsie went on to suggest that MCC talks a better power sharing game then they implement. At many of their placements, MCC missionaries come in and lead the projects while qualified indigenous leaders are relegated to administrative assistant positions. In Burkina Faso she shared leadership with to African leaders, but this is still a rarity. I thought what she had to share was insightful, particularly because I think MCC does better work than just about anyone and it is nice to hear an honest, insightful, friendly critique that there are still areas they need to work on and improve. It was refreshing that a missionary from MCC coming to speak on MCC, didn’t just give the party line but actually gave somewhat balanced ideas.

I also meant John from MCC Abbotsford who Heidi and Glenn have been trying to hook me up with for a little while. Cool.

Previous to Laurel Borsie’s presentation, we had a chapel service where Don Lewis spoke about the connection all of us in the Body of Christ have together, all over the world. He talked extensively about a missionary biography (he didn’t name) he’s reading about medical missionaries to Angola. Sounds like a good read. But it sparked my thinking a bit. I have been thinking about how and what it means to live a life that is connected to other world Christians in a meaningful way that transcends national identities. Haven’t worked it out though. Still my thinking is being stimulated in some interesting directions.