Week 4

During orientation we have examined a different spiritual discipline
every Tuesday and Thursday. Thursday's topic was solitude. Needless to
say, after living in a house with 15 people for two and a half weeks, I
was ready to get back to the basics, which for me is being alone in a
large city.

A good friend of mine once said that there is
hardly anything more rewarding then being connected or "in touch" with
one's self. For 6 months earlier this year, I had the opportunity to
practice this discipline nearly every day. Living in a cabin on the
Puget Sound near Seattle, WA, I found a connection with myself and God
through nature. I tried to explain it to the Radical Journey group,
only to feel glum at my failure to express the experience in words.
That's probably the only negative part of the experience, the lonely
feeling that comes when you realize that solitude can't be shared, not
even through mutual understanding, because the experience is personal
to the point of being bittersweet.

But sweet it was. It didn't matter how much TV I watched, how much I read the Bible, how much I surfed the internet.
None of that had any affect on me simply being there, surrounded by
nature. Bald eagles and seals outside my window were reminders of this,
filling me with a new and euphoric freedom and zest for life.

Also, it was in the cabin that I decided to come here to Radical Journey. I
always have to thank my friend Katie for the phone conversation that
caused me to realize what I wanted and needed from the next step of
life. Challenge, travel, community, putting selfish ambition on hold.
It was in the harmonic silence of the cabin where I determined that
becoming a baseball announcer would have been empty. Certainly there
was something else, something very different, a key piece of my own
puzzle that couldn't be traded for all the money in the world.

I had been missing solitude. Between moving out of the cabin on July 31st
and
last Thursday, there were few moments of alone time outside of my cross
country road trip (in a car and in cheap motels, which isn't exactly
high end solitude). Having lost a bit of mycenteredness
through all the transitioning, I fondly relived what it was like to put
on my favorite jacket and jump on a train to explore a city. I took the
El to Division St and walked several blocks until I reached Lake
Michigan. Located there is Oak Street Beach Park, a boardwalk complete
with out-of-place palm trees and a fantastic view of the Hancock Tower.


I strolled along as the waves smacked against the man-made
wall. I reached the sandy beach. I stood and gazed at the dark evening
water and let the wind blow. In a sense I was back in Washington, just
me and the water. It was all I needed to get back what had been fading,
a strong and positive sense of myself. There was power in hearing the
waves come in, just as there had been as I drifted off to sleep in
Seattle.

There are so many people that would wonder why
spending all that time alone over the past two years was a good thing.
I'm fortunate that the only opinion that matters is my own.

Our guest speaker today and tomorrow is James Kraybill of Elkhart, IN. Kraybill
is a veteran missionary who owns a staunch Mennonite viewpoint. He
manages to hang on to traditional beliefs while always keeping an eye
on potential problems that the church may encounter in this unsettled
world. While I agree with him on many points, I am tempted to question
how vitally immovable his stances actually are.

For example, Kraybill cites 4 Biblical texts which he believes capture the 4 critical elements of the Christian faith. The first text, Colossians
1: 17-20, contains the cosmic notion that God created the world and
rules all things. Secondly, Romans 5:1 speaks on the notion of personal
faith being peace with God and ourselves. Ephesians 2:13-18 focuses on
the social aspect of community and peace with others. Finally, 2
Corinthians 5: 17-20 asserts the importance of the church as a model
and its members as messengers. Cosmic, personal, social, church.
According to Kraybill, "This is what God is doing."

I have a problem with the assertion that these 4 points sum up what God is
doing. At this point in my life, I am not seeing eye to eye with anyone
who attempts to sum up what God is doing in a balanced, easy to
understand diagram. I have a lot of respect for Dr.Kraybill , his
experiences and the well-constructed theology that it has obviously
taken him years to construct. But this assertion so fully contradicts
my current personal faith outlook.

I'm simply trying to separate what I believe from what I was taught.

God as a creator, a God to have a personal relationship with, to show us
the way of peace with others, to go to church and worship and to go out
into the world to preach about. This pretty much sums up everything
I've ever been taught about God. So the very personal issue for me has
little to do with how much of this theology is actually right; it has
more to do with the attitude that accompanies seeing God as a mystery
that we can never fully understand versus the attitude that accompanies
summarizing God's purpose in 4 points.

Beyond this basic question of theological boldness, Kraybill
also warrants some questioning on the fact that all 4 texts are taken
from Paul. If we interpret our understanding of what God is doing
exclusively from Paul, then in my mind Paul becomes almost equal to
Jesus in our faith because he provides the entire interpretation of
what God is doing through Jesus. It's on the interpretation of one man,
according to Kraybill , that our interpretation of God is built. Paul
was a brilliant man, there is no doubt about it. But he was only a man,
and he lived 2,000 years ago. Would it be rebellious to consider other
opinions? Are we afraid to lose sight of Paul?

On that vein, Kraybill argues that one of the biggest challenges for today's church is
countering the argument that the Bible is outdated and has beensuperceded. Kraybill talked about how "other stuff is circulating around" because of those
who believe that the Bible doesn't relate to our reality and is
unintelligible to 21st century people. I think an interesting question
to ask would be why Paul's interpretation is necessarily better than
any 21st century interpretation. Paul worked soon after Jesus' death
and was appointed by God, according to the Bible. I'd simply question
by what authority we rule out what anyone else has to say. Paul's?

Week 3

This past week has been about getting to know ourselves, our teams and the larger group through various activities. Personality and spirituality tests have proved to be interesting and thought-provoking. A personality test called the Myers-Briggs determined that I am a contemplative person that sometimes needs to be reminded to not stare into space. Another test evaluated how we each receive love. According to the test, the way that I most appreciate receiving love is through phyisal touch. I welcome words of affirmation and quality time with others nearly as much.

Spiritually speaking, I am a type 3. This means I view God as a mystery, not to try and wrap my mind around, but to develop a closeness with God based on an emotional connection or experience. There are a couple of theological ideas within this spirituality type that I particularly resonate with. One is the idea that prayer is eliminating any distractions and simply being. Another is the role of music, that it creates in me a tranquility and quiet passion that I relate to the presence of God. Themes that are important to this spirituality type are poverty, humility, wisdom, letting go, and transcendence.

Although I think my spirituality type rocks, an important part of this excercise was realizing that all 4 types are of central importance to the Christian body. I might be very effective in thoughtful writings and broadening the scope of theology, but I might not be as effective in being a leader in the church as a type 1. I also would be less likely to take an independent stance on an issue than a type 4.

Getting to know ourselves and each other a little better has been supplemented by actual experience. That's what the weekend should be for, after all. On Saturday, the entire group came up with a list of 4 or 5 different things to do around Chicago. A cheesecake festival, the Museum of Science and Industry and Navy Pier headlined the group. The challenge was agreeing on who would go with who to do what and when. My group was the last to leave the house. My new friends Scott, Sam and I were keen on picking up some free cheesecake, but we also wanted to hit the museum before meeting up with the others at Navy Pier. By the time we realized the Cheesecake Fest was too far to go, we were left to take the train to the Museum. We were not even halfway there when we realized it would close around the time we got there.

It was now late afternoon and nothing had been accomplished. We were vexed, annoyed. But we began to loosen up and realize the humor of the situation when we stopped for watered down ice coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Here we were, having spent 2 weeks learning how to get around the city, and we couldn't even get anywhere by 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

We met up with another group that actually made the Cheesecake festival. They said it really wasn't worth the hour bus ride except for the decent cheesecake and a seeing a man dressed in a cheesecake costume. At Navy Pier, I enjoyed a steak and egg sandwich at a joint that was known for not serving fries. After the rest of the group headed home, Scott and I enjoyed a twilight ride on the Ferris Wheel, with views of the Hancock tower on one side and the lake on the other. Our walk to the train station took us down the "Magnificent Mile" and I was reminded of all the outward beauty and consumerism and tourism that characterizes our culture.

These are just a few of the highlights from the past week. So far, the program is exactly what I bargained for. A fun challenge. Lm

Week 2

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

It's been an up and down week but overall I've really been enjoying myself. A lot happens in a week when you have a full schedule and live with 15 others. There are many fun times and moments when I wish to be alone. This is natural. I know that I'm not the only one that feels this way; you don't always get along with everyone, and you don't always feel like doing what everyone else is doing. I lived in relative seclusion from February until August, and my living situation now is the opposite. I was uncomfortable almost constantly for the first week, yet I had the most fun I've had in a long time.

On Wednesday morning we were divided into groups who were to trek around downtown Chicago, finding landmarks and using maps to plan the route. There was some disagreement in our group regarding how the routes were chosen and I was left feeling a bit miffed. Later I managed to patch things up with a group member the best I could. Alas, someone decided to play a joke on me at Millenium Park and I wasn't in the mood to be laughed at. To compound matters, we were given a task to buy dinner with only $1 per person. This was a team activity and I was with the England team, my new friends Rachel and Kristen. We decided to give our dollars away and eat something back at the house. It was a quiet trip home. I made myself a leftover taco salad, and after I finished I overheard others talking about refusing to eat because it would defeat the point of the exercise. I didn't see it that way, but I did feel sort of guilty for eating nonetheless.

I called my friend Benjamin that night and he helped me think through what had happened in a positive way. Number one, tomorrow is another day. I like this simple reminder. My main concern that night was the impression I made on the England team. I was concerned they'd be scared off by my mood. But I was reminded that this was only one day, and that there were many, many opportunities to relate to them in the next year. Also, I think I'm really good to be around most of the time. The math works in my favor. No pressure.

Friday was another memorable day, and fortunately it was much more enjoyable. The day was set aside for service in the community. My group spent the day at a preschool/day care for children ages 2-5. It was my first time working closely with children. I was assigned the role of teachers assistant in a room of 4-year-olds. When I entered, they were in the middle of play time. A girl immediately hugged my leg and pulled me to a fake phone booth while two little boys pulled me in opposite directions. Another boy hopped on my back and I carried him around. Later, they put a bucket over my head and pounded the bucket with various objects. Why was this enjoyable? It was my first time "letting loose" with children. No longer are children scary to me and I won't feel the need to stay away from them. I may even come a little closer. Children bring a lot of joy to the world. Staying away from them is the last thing we should do.

On Saturday, a group decided to check out the Celtic festival in the middle of Hurricane Ike. I learned how to share an umbrella with my friend Alyssa. We also tried a Celtic culinary tradition, the Sausage roll. It was surprisingly delectable. Despite getting soaked, we had a nice time admiring Irish accents, catching glimpses of jigs, and admitting that the price tags on items made us feel even poorer than before. On the way to an engagement that evening with Jeff, my friend from college, I became more attached to Chicago. I walked from Michigan Avenue to the "L" Train, got off at my supposed stop and asked a couple of Chicagoans how to get the Lincoln St. Even though I needed to get to Lake St, I had the chance to hear their thick, rich Chicago accents. I walked over a bridge and admired the skyline, then passed a middle-aged man wearing dark retro garb and a hobo hat. I wanted to think he nodded at me, but I looked down just before we made eye contact.

Another highlight of the first week was Chicago Deep Dish at Lou M's. These are just a few snapshots of the first week. I am already being stretched and challenged by the experience, but most of all I want to simply have fun with all of these great new people. Yesterday we shared or faith stories, and today listened to our leaders Krista and Darrell give their views on basic theological questions. Their answers were fascinating, and I hope to discuss these questions with my team over the course of the next months.

Lee M

Septermber 9, 2008

Greetings All,

I hope my first blog post finds you all well. I have embarked on this year long adventure called Radical Journey. Here in South Central Park Chicago I am adjusting to living in a house full of people and trying to become a morning person. I am very pleased to have met my new friends Kristin and Rachel, whom I'll be traveling to England with, and to have been reunited with Craig and Krista Shue-Mast, whom I attended high school with. As a large group we have explored the neighborhood, become familiar with the transportation system, visited the impressive downtown library and prepared meals for each other. I am looking forward to living in community for the next month, and especially traveling to England around October 6th. Thank you all for reading my new blog! Until next time,

LM