Friday, October 12, 2007
Me Upcoming Weekend
Hey everyone. I just thought I would let you know that I am headed to the Isle of Skye in about an hour. I will be there until Sunday evening. Hopefully I will have some good stories and information to share when I get back. I am going with some good friends I have made from Hope College. Have fun as I know many of you are on break. Talk at you later.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Finally a Post
I was looking at my blog recently and realized that I had not written for a while. I also am yet to answer a few of the questions that people asked about the church in Scotland. As a result this post will be quite long. Instead of submitting multiple posts, I will simply attempt to split this one up with headlines.
Timeline Update
Well, not too much has happened since my last post. Saturday night I attended this acoustic café thing at the only Methodist church in all of Aberdeen. I had a wonderful time, although the music was more about saving the world through fair trade than the message of Christ. Two of my professors attend this church. I had an opportunity to talk to them a wee bit more and find out how they ended up in Aberdeen. Also they both recognized my school (Wabash) because one of the seniors from my house my freshman year had attended this church while he was in Aberdeen. It was quite a wonderful coincidence. The following morning I went to Joy of Life church. This was a different experience altogether. They meet in a movie theatre (brilliant idea) and are a Pentecostal church. Now this is nothing like those in the United States. They basically are a charismatic non-denominational church. They are also the self-proclaimed international church of Aberdeen. This is quite a fair assessment. I was one of about sixty people in attendance and to my knowledge over twelve countries was represented. It was definitely a joyous morning. My favorite part of it though was afterwards when I told the pastor/minister that I simply wanted to visit as many churches as I could while I was here to get a feel for the Church of Scotland. He did not seem disappointed I would not be coming back regularly nor did he end conversation; rather he proceeded to build up other area churches and tell me about what each was accomplishing for the kingdom and which churches I should go visit. I wish we as local churches did such a good job building each other up. There truly is a kingdom minded attitude here and it is very refreshing. Sunday night I had basketball practice and then attended Garrod Street Baptist church again. This will be a permanent place for me on Sunday evenings. I quite like the music and preaching. It is also within a reasonable walk. It takes me less than thirty minutes to get there. Monday, Tuesday, and today have been typical school days. Class is going well and I continue to adjust well to my new surroundings. I guess last night was a little atypical. The flat next to mine decided to host a cross-dressing party. There were definitely some interesting outfits. I chose to watch Beyond the Gates of Splendor. It is an amazingly well done documentary if you have not already seen it.
My Thoughts
I have found myself writing down little questions in my journal during the day. My goal was to elaborate on what I was thinking/pondering when I had more time. I thought I would share a few of those with you now. First I wrote down that I am beginning to have a distaste for academia. This is an interesting conclusion for me. I personally love to learn and read. I find information contagious. However, I am surrounded by master and doctoral students here (especially in the Theology/Divinity Department). I very much appreciate my professors and value their careers. If one plans on teaching I think academia can be a wonderful thing. However, I find that people are so concerned with the exact translation or the exact doctrinal truth that they miss the big picture. I am in a class that discusses Calvin and Luther. I love this class and love to have these conversations with other Christians. However, I often wonder what would happen if I spent another four years learning what others thought on the topic and the history of it all. I would be better informed, more knowledgeable, and have a wonderful time. However, assuming I went to class thirty weeks of the year for at least fifteen hours a week (counting homework), I would spend 1800 hours in four years. How many people could I have interacted with in that time period and shared with them the good news of Christ. Now understand, I am in no way saying going to school is a bad idea. I personally still plan on attending graduate school for something (I have no idea what), but just remember to keep the big picture in mind. School can never be for us, but only so that we are more equipped to impact the kingdom. The rest of my thoughts are in reaction to things said or learned in my rise of Christianity class. This class is not designed as a religious course, but rather a history class. I am very much appreciating this as well. We have already seen that the Bible and surrounding texts about Christ are the most well documented and verified text ever. However, our professor made the comment that she will do her best to separate the historical Jesus from the Christian Jesus. Yet, she conceded (she is a Christian) it is hard because all of the writers (biblical and unbiblical) seem to start writing from the pre-disposition that he is the messiah and not simply a man. I find this interesting. How many other historical texts have you read that cohesively start with a pre-disposition. I mean everything I have ever read on Arthur assumes it is accepted he is not Arthur but King Arthur. Maybe the fact that all the writers seem to write from the perspective that Jesus is the messiah is because he actually is. Wow, wouldn’t that be a shocker. My second thought from the class has to do with the phrase “Come follow me” (said by Jesus to disciples). If someone had said that to me I would have said they were nuts, unless it was a privilege to follow him. I have always learned that Christ profession was unknown. It was assumed he was a carpenter (following his father’s trade). However, what if he had passed all the test of the days and actually had followed a Rabbi, then in turn became his own independent Rabbi, it would make sense then that these fishermen, tax collectors, and doctors who hadn’t been good enough to study under a Rabbi would be thrilled to get to study under one. I understand Rabbi means teacher and so when the disciples say it they may merely be calling Christ a teacher, but what if he was more. What if he was simply a radical Rabbi? I don’t know I guess my mind is just wondering. Not that any of this impacts the big picture that he was the Son of God and died in obedience and glory to his Father to redeem all of mankind. Finally, the resurrection has me excited lately. We approach it in class as if it were an impossibility. In order to examine something historically there has to be a metaphor to compare it to or in other words another occurrence of such a thing. Therefore it is assumed it could not have happened. Yet, the professor always has to say these depressed, lonely disciples all of a sudden got so excited that they changed the entire world (with a lie). I mean either all of these guys were possessed and multiple writers and all of mankind have believed a lie or something really happened. I don’t know I just think it is exciting. No one has yet to come up for a real explanation for what changed everything after the crucifixion except a resurrection.
Your Questions
Many of you wanted to know a little bit more about how churches in Aberdeen actually functioned. I do not yet know if the ministers live off of giving/tithing from the church or have alternative jobs. I know many that I have met have jobs and most of their wives work. There is also an exuberant amount of associative ministers who work for free. Many of these are graduate students from the University. So far every church I have been to is running weekly Bible Studies in homes. There is one distinct difference. While some of these studies have some substance to them, most are introductions to the Christian faith. So many of the Christians here are so young in there faith. There are also tons of evangelical Bible studies going on. It makes it so non-confrontational for church members to invite friends into their homes just to discuss whether this God is real. The big program they use over here is Alpha. Attendance on a typical morning is full of people of all ages. I have been to a church that had a few more older people, but more or less there are infants, children, youth, college, and adults. I would say the smallest group is youth. There are a lot of college students as a result of the University, but very few junior high and high school age kids at the church. There are not really programs like youth group, single adult’s ministry, older adult’s ministry or anything like that. There is Sunday service, weekly bible study, and many of the churches have weekly corporate prayer. Almost every church does have a music program. As far as clothing goes, anything goes. There are people in suits and there are homeless people in rags. Everyone is welcome at every church I have been in so far. The larger churches, and from what I sense are growing churches, offer free bi-weekly meals. It is very typical for a church to eat lunch together or have coffee and sandwiches after service. This is a great way to get college students and the homeless to come. It is probably one of the best out reach tools the churches have at the moment. There are many denominations. I have been in Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, and Non-denominational. I still have an Assemblies of God and a Catholic church on my list. We will wait and see. I think that answers all of the questions up to this point.
My Closing Remarks
As always if there is anything particular you want me to address just let me know. Also I realized I have not posted any new pictures in a while. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to take pictures of. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. Finally, if you are going to leave a comment please don’t leave them anonymously. If you simply put your initials or something I would appreciate it. I enjoy knowing who is actually leaving the comment. It helps me to put into perspective what someone might be thinking as they are reading my rambles. Also I wrote this really quickly, so if there are grammatical errors I apologize.
Timeline Update
Well, not too much has happened since my last post. Saturday night I attended this acoustic café thing at the only Methodist church in all of Aberdeen. I had a wonderful time, although the music was more about saving the world through fair trade than the message of Christ. Two of my professors attend this church. I had an opportunity to talk to them a wee bit more and find out how they ended up in Aberdeen. Also they both recognized my school (Wabash) because one of the seniors from my house my freshman year had attended this church while he was in Aberdeen. It was quite a wonderful coincidence. The following morning I went to Joy of Life church. This was a different experience altogether. They meet in a movie theatre (brilliant idea) and are a Pentecostal church. Now this is nothing like those in the United States. They basically are a charismatic non-denominational church. They are also the self-proclaimed international church of Aberdeen. This is quite a fair assessment. I was one of about sixty people in attendance and to my knowledge over twelve countries was represented. It was definitely a joyous morning. My favorite part of it though was afterwards when I told the pastor/minister that I simply wanted to visit as many churches as I could while I was here to get a feel for the Church of Scotland. He did not seem disappointed I would not be coming back regularly nor did he end conversation; rather he proceeded to build up other area churches and tell me about what each was accomplishing for the kingdom and which churches I should go visit. I wish we as local churches did such a good job building each other up. There truly is a kingdom minded attitude here and it is very refreshing. Sunday night I had basketball practice and then attended Garrod Street Baptist church again. This will be a permanent place for me on Sunday evenings. I quite like the music and preaching. It is also within a reasonable walk. It takes me less than thirty minutes to get there. Monday, Tuesday, and today have been typical school days. Class is going well and I continue to adjust well to my new surroundings. I guess last night was a little atypical. The flat next to mine decided to host a cross-dressing party. There were definitely some interesting outfits. I chose to watch Beyond the Gates of Splendor. It is an amazingly well done documentary if you have not already seen it.
My Thoughts
I have found myself writing down little questions in my journal during the day. My goal was to elaborate on what I was thinking/pondering when I had more time. I thought I would share a few of those with you now. First I wrote down that I am beginning to have a distaste for academia. This is an interesting conclusion for me. I personally love to learn and read. I find information contagious. However, I am surrounded by master and doctoral students here (especially in the Theology/Divinity Department). I very much appreciate my professors and value their careers. If one plans on teaching I think academia can be a wonderful thing. However, I find that people are so concerned with the exact translation or the exact doctrinal truth that they miss the big picture. I am in a class that discusses Calvin and Luther. I love this class and love to have these conversations with other Christians. However, I often wonder what would happen if I spent another four years learning what others thought on the topic and the history of it all. I would be better informed, more knowledgeable, and have a wonderful time. However, assuming I went to class thirty weeks of the year for at least fifteen hours a week (counting homework), I would spend 1800 hours in four years. How many people could I have interacted with in that time period and shared with them the good news of Christ. Now understand, I am in no way saying going to school is a bad idea. I personally still plan on attending graduate school for something (I have no idea what), but just remember to keep the big picture in mind. School can never be for us, but only so that we are more equipped to impact the kingdom. The rest of my thoughts are in reaction to things said or learned in my rise of Christianity class. This class is not designed as a religious course, but rather a history class. I am very much appreciating this as well. We have already seen that the Bible and surrounding texts about Christ are the most well documented and verified text ever. However, our professor made the comment that she will do her best to separate the historical Jesus from the Christian Jesus. Yet, she conceded (she is a Christian) it is hard because all of the writers (biblical and unbiblical) seem to start writing from the pre-disposition that he is the messiah and not simply a man. I find this interesting. How many other historical texts have you read that cohesively start with a pre-disposition. I mean everything I have ever read on Arthur assumes it is accepted he is not Arthur but King Arthur. Maybe the fact that all the writers seem to write from the perspective that Jesus is the messiah is because he actually is. Wow, wouldn’t that be a shocker. My second thought from the class has to do with the phrase “Come follow me” (said by Jesus to disciples). If someone had said that to me I would have said they were nuts, unless it was a privilege to follow him. I have always learned that Christ profession was unknown. It was assumed he was a carpenter (following his father’s trade). However, what if he had passed all the test of the days and actually had followed a Rabbi, then in turn became his own independent Rabbi, it would make sense then that these fishermen, tax collectors, and doctors who hadn’t been good enough to study under a Rabbi would be thrilled to get to study under one. I understand Rabbi means teacher and so when the disciples say it they may merely be calling Christ a teacher, but what if he was more. What if he was simply a radical Rabbi? I don’t know I guess my mind is just wondering. Not that any of this impacts the big picture that he was the Son of God and died in obedience and glory to his Father to redeem all of mankind. Finally, the resurrection has me excited lately. We approach it in class as if it were an impossibility. In order to examine something historically there has to be a metaphor to compare it to or in other words another occurrence of such a thing. Therefore it is assumed it could not have happened. Yet, the professor always has to say these depressed, lonely disciples all of a sudden got so excited that they changed the entire world (with a lie). I mean either all of these guys were possessed and multiple writers and all of mankind have believed a lie or something really happened. I don’t know I just think it is exciting. No one has yet to come up for a real explanation for what changed everything after the crucifixion except a resurrection.
Your Questions
Many of you wanted to know a little bit more about how churches in Aberdeen actually functioned. I do not yet know if the ministers live off of giving/tithing from the church or have alternative jobs. I know many that I have met have jobs and most of their wives work. There is also an exuberant amount of associative ministers who work for free. Many of these are graduate students from the University. So far every church I have been to is running weekly Bible Studies in homes. There is one distinct difference. While some of these studies have some substance to them, most are introductions to the Christian faith. So many of the Christians here are so young in there faith. There are also tons of evangelical Bible studies going on. It makes it so non-confrontational for church members to invite friends into their homes just to discuss whether this God is real. The big program they use over here is Alpha. Attendance on a typical morning is full of people of all ages. I have been to a church that had a few more older people, but more or less there are infants, children, youth, college, and adults. I would say the smallest group is youth. There are a lot of college students as a result of the University, but very few junior high and high school age kids at the church. There are not really programs like youth group, single adult’s ministry, older adult’s ministry or anything like that. There is Sunday service, weekly bible study, and many of the churches have weekly corporate prayer. Almost every church does have a music program. As far as clothing goes, anything goes. There are people in suits and there are homeless people in rags. Everyone is welcome at every church I have been in so far. The larger churches, and from what I sense are growing churches, offer free bi-weekly meals. It is very typical for a church to eat lunch together or have coffee and sandwiches after service. This is a great way to get college students and the homeless to come. It is probably one of the best out reach tools the churches have at the moment. There are many denominations. I have been in Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, and Non-denominational. I still have an Assemblies of God and a Catholic church on my list. We will wait and see. I think that answers all of the questions up to this point.
My Closing Remarks
As always if there is anything particular you want me to address just let me know. Also I realized I have not posted any new pictures in a while. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to take pictures of. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. Finally, if you are going to leave a comment please don’t leave them anonymously. If you simply put your initials or something I would appreciate it. I enjoy knowing who is actually leaving the comment. It helps me to put into perspective what someone might be thinking as they are reading my rambles. Also I wrote this really quickly, so if there are grammatical errors I apologize.
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