Pop Culture Dads
As a kid of the 80s and 90s, the dads on TV were Homer Simpson, Al Bundy and the one who saved the whole lot, Bill Cosby. Now that I’m a dad, I’m a little cynical when I hear about TV shows or movies that focus on dads. I’m usually frustrated because the dads are portrayed as bumbling idiots who don’t know a thing about raising kids. I gravitate toward shows that portray dads as human yet who take their parenting role seriously. It’s one reason I love NBC’s Parenthood. Parenthood even features one of the characters as a stay at home dad who is the main caregiver for the kids and excels at it.
More and more families are deciding that it is best for the dad to stay home with the kids and be the main caregiver. There is even a convention specifically geared for stay at home dads. At our church we have two dads who excel in their roles as stay at home dads. You can read the adventures of one of these dads, Will Culp, in his book “Better Off Dad.” Don’t say these guys have it easy and just get to sit around all day. And don’t call them a babysitter. They are dads who have fully embraced their role as a father. Read the rest of this entry
Leap of Faith to Denver
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! (Proverbs 3:5-7 Message)
Saturday, May 26 we are taking a leap of faith and packing all our belongings into a UHaul truck and driving to Denver, Colorado. We feel a strong sense that we are to move back to Denver but I don’t have a job yet. My job at First Presbyterian Church is done on May 25. Thus the leap of faith.
I’m in the interview process with two churches near downtown Denver and both look like good places for our family. We have loved living in downtown Champaign and raising our kids in a more urban setting. The neighborhoods surrounding Denver are interesting socioeconomically and culturally. We have lived in the suburbs of Littleton and now we feel led to the urban environment of Denver.
So our hope is that one of these church positions will work out. If they don’t work out I am hoping to jump back into Apple Retail. Then our family would immerse ourselves in a church in one of the Denver neighborhoods that is committed to missional communities and transforming neighborhoods.
Right now we are planning on moving our stuff into a storage unit until a job comes together. We feel strongly about living in the neighborhood where I work. So we are planning on spending some time in Roswell, New Mexico with Hillary’s family until something comes together.
We are leaping and thankfully God knows the future and will keep us on track!
MMA and Fight Church
From Fight Church
In college I served as a part time youth pastor at a local church in rural Indiana. Three of the students I brought each week were from some pretty tough home situations and worshiped the fighters of WWE. They would put wrestling moves on each other and sometimes me. They some pretty big kids so I didn’t stand a chance. I wondered what effect watching wrestling had on their development and especially on how they expressed their anger.
Recently, I have noticed pastors like Mark Driscoll talk about redeeming UFC and mixed martial arts. Now there is even a documentary talking about the interaction of the church and MMA called Fight Church. You can watch the trailer here.
Questions about how Christianity should interact with a violent culture are not new. The early Christians in the Roman Empire asked these same questions about gladiators. How do you follow a Jesus who said to turn the other cheek and beat the snot out of your competitor? Are there negative ramifications of pushing such a masculine Christianity?
As a father of daughters questions like this don’t come up much. But for those that are raising sons it can be more of an issue. How do you think Christians should interact with MMA? Would you let your child watch UFC?
Finding Rest on a City Bus
Today I found rest for my soul on a city bus. I had thirty minutes to just sit without checking my email, reading the news or listening to music. It was beautiful.
I struggle with a restless soul especially during this season of my life. I am quick to become anxious and worry. I quickly leap for my phone and the endless checking of email, news and social media. This restlessness affects my relationship with God and my family. Read the rest of this entry
Identity Costumes and Easter Dresses
I remember hating to dress up for church as a child. My dress clothes never fit well and those darn clip-on ties were so uncomfortable. I always wondered why we had to dress up for church.
Now fast forward 25 years and now I’m the father of two daughters attempting to help my daughters get dressed for Easter. My mother-in-law had bought some great Easter dresses and on Palm Sunday our girls both wore the dresses to church. But something switched on Sunday morning. Our oldest daughter Anna, who is beginning to search for her identity as a girl in a world of pink and princesses, did not want to wear her Easter dress. My wife Hillary tried to convince Anna to wear the dress but it wasn’t working. In our co-parenting, there are just some times when I can use my “sales and deal making” skills to talk Anna into something that she doesn’t want to do but needs to. Read the rest of this entry
Hugh Halter’s Sacrilege: Book Review
Living in Littleton, Colorado I had the privilege of watching and hearing about the ministry of Hugh Halter, Matt Smay and the Adullam Community. To some in the Denver area, Hugh and his band of renegades were labeled as heretics, but their community was reaching those outside the church like no other church. Having read Hugh and Matt’s earlier books, Tangible Kingdom and And, I was excited to pick up Hugh’s newest book, Sacrilege.
I read most of the book during my monastery experience which made me feel a little sacrilege. In Sacrilege, Hugh explores how Jesus challenged the religious assumptions that people held and how these same assumptions hinder the church’s influence today. Read the rest of this entry
Jesus is the Vine: Lent Family Devotions
Warmup
- Take your children outside or to a park and find a bush or a tree in your hard that is budding for spring
- What does this plant need to grow?
- Does this plant produce anything? (flowers, leaves, fruit, etc.)
- What happens if a branch breaks off? Does it still grow?
- Today we are going to look at a story in the Bible where Jesus compares us to branches Read the rest of this entry
Experiencing God Aesthetically: Loneliness, Monks and Gungor
Latte art at Intelligentsia Coffee
This week was an interesting week for me emotionally and spiritually. Hillary and the girls spent some time with her parents in Roswell, New Mexico while I took part of the week to experience life at a monastery. My motto for the week was, “Expect Nothing.” Everything I had heard about spending time at a monastery warned against expecting a major spiritual experience. As I now look back on this week, while drinking some amazing coffee at Intelligentsia Coffee, I can describe it in four chapters.
Loneliness
With two young girls who are very expressive, our home is never quiet. But Monday night it was quiet. I actually went to the public library because I didn’t like being in my quiet house. That night as I lay in bed it was almost impossible to go to sleep in the quiet house. Again Tuesday night, I had a hard time sleeping. I felt lonely. Ronald Rolheiser talks frequently about loneliness and the danger if it is not worked through correctly. Laying in my bed alone did not feel good. My emotional state was not in a healthy place. Read the rest of this entry
Byte Sized Newton Updates
I thought it might be time for a few byte sized updates on what is going on with our family.
- We are still hoping and praying for a ministry job in the Denver metro area. Denver is home for our family.
- Hillary and I fly out to Denver to interview for a youth ministry position the week after Easter.
- This week I get the chance to spend a few days at Saint Gregory’s Abbey in Michigan. I am looking forward to the silence so I can spend uninterrupted time with the Lord with all the big decisions we are making about the future.
- We are really excited that Peyton Manning is joining the Denver Broncos. It took Anna a few days to mourn the loss of “Tebow Time” but now she is coming around to the idea.
- Our girls are growing up right in front of our eyes. This fall Norah enters kindergarten so we will have two girls in school. Where does the time go?
- This summer is Hillary and I’s ten year wedding anniversary so we are spending almost a week without the kids in the Dominican Republic with two other couples from college. We are counting down the days!
- Last week was Newton Kidney Transfer Week as my brother Ben donated his kidney to my dad. They are both recovering well!
- I am continuing as the youth director at First Presbyterian to follow out our high school seniors. I am also helping our southwest campus work through the details of launching them as a new PCUSA church plant. I am building a new website, learning about church management systems, designing budgets and satisfying the systems side of my brain.
- Here’s a picture of Anna’s favorite activity to do with her daddy
- Thanks so much for your prayers through this transition. Hillary and I both have a deep sense of peace that God called us to transition from First Presbyterian and that he is preparing our next place of ministry.
