.

Poem

2010-02-26T01:19:00.001-06:00

How much I must criticize you, my church
and yet how much I love you!
You have made me suffer more than anyone
and yet I owe more to you than to anyone.
I should like to see you destroyed
and yet I need your presence.
You have given me much scandal
and yet you alone have made me understand holiness.

Never in this world have I seen anything more compromised, more false,
yet never have I touched anything more pure,
more generous or more beautiful.
Countless times
I have felt like slamming the door of my soul in your face
and yet every night,
I have prayed that I might die in your sure arms!

No, I cannot be free of you,
for I am one with you,
even if not completely you.
Then too-where would I go?
To build another church?
But I could not build one without the same defects.
And again, if I were to build another church
It would not be my church, not Christ’s church.
No. I am old enough. I know better!
-Carlo Carretto-

Skydive Video

2009-05-12T00:15:00.004-05:00

David Tatum Skydive Monterey from David Tatum on Vimeo.

Skydive!!!

2009-05-11T22:34:00.005-05:00

Going to Africa

2009-03-31T13:35:00.002-05:00

I am on my way to Africa tomorrow. Visit this blog for updates and info.

www.hoperisesafrica.blogspot.com

POWDER DAY!

2009-02-09T19:55:00.004-06:00

So I check the Sierra Summit phone line last night and it said that they had received 17 inches since Thursday. I woke up this morning to an updated phone message that boasted an additional 14-18 inches overnight!!! I was excited to say the least.

I piled in the car with some boys (Evan, Mitchell, Tim) this morning and headed up the hill . Above shaver we had a fun little experience as we saw a four-runner coming around a long arching turn. Our eyes locked on the vehicles back wheels as we all realized this four runner was coming at us at about 60 mph playing tokyo drift around the corner down hill on a street of snow. There was nothing left to do but react. We watched as the back tires caught, straightening out the truck and driving it straight into the snow bank on the other side of the road creating a huge fog of snow. The truck dug in and started to turn sideways, about to take up both lanes. Evan slammed on the gas and presto we were through the mess. (Kuddos to Evan for saving the day with some quick subaru ninja action!) We all looked in the rearview mirror after the nascar style action and thought...."should we stop?".... Naaaaaa the car didn't flip, they looked ok and we might be temped to punch them out for almost running into us, and after all .........it was panning out to be an epic powder day!

The day was marvelous! The conditions were great with clean powder almost all day long. We got some hiking in, a lot of action on "The Face", and tons of clean lines. It was a day to remember. Oh yeah and i almost forgot....this sweet shot of me dropping the cliffs off to the left of chair 5. First tracks baby!!!!!

Family

2009-01-05T11:16:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year again where we spend time over the holidays with friends and family. My mom has been rummaging through the old family photos and found this one of my brothers and I. Typical snapshot of the Tatum boys. It has been so good to be back in Fresno close to family. I am glad that we have been able to spend time together now that Jenn and I are closer. Especially now that we have Kaleb and Abby as a part of our family its great to have all the Aunts and Uncles and Grandma and Grandpas close.

When I look at this photo I feel so blessed that my brothers and I have the relationships that we do. I know so many people who's family's have broken relationships and people never speak to one another. I am so glad that as brothers we have the bond that we do and I pray that we never lose that! I hope we turn 40 and are still wrestling around on the floor when we see each other. (Sorry Megan its what we do) I hope we continue to find time to play together and snowboard and all the other expensive sports that our father raised us doing that we can no longer afford to do now that we have left the nest.

Matt and Megan.... See you soon, hopefully we can make it down to your pad soon.

Luke... Have fun in your last semester, but not to much you still have to graduate

Much Love

Kaleb and Abby Pics

2008-11-22T11:03:00.010-06:00

Here are some more recent pics of the kiddos

Kaleb still loves to stand on daddys hands

Abby enjoying bath time

Kaleb is being good big brother!

I love my sister

All smiles

Abby's silly face. She likes to stick her tongue out at daddy

Of course i am handsome I'm a Tatum!

To Vote or not to Vote?

2008-11-04T16:28:00.004-06:00

Its voting time and people are flocking to the booths to cast their ballots. I personally have chosen to abstain from voting once again. I have had several conversations with people some very fruitful others awkward and frustrating about voting. For most people they believe it is their duty to vote for a candidate. I choose instead to vote with my whole being, everyday for Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

Some random thought and topics i have been discussing today:

-My allegiance is to the kingdom of God

-National borders are fictional lines in the sand of Gods creation

-There is no biblical mandate to vote

-A two party system is inherently flawed

-We are called to be subversive to empires not serve them

-God defines marriage, not a nation state

Derek Webb has some very interesting things to say on the topic that i resonate with.

Teaching at FPU

2008-10-25T12:24:00.004-05:00

This weekend I am teaching at Fresno Pacific University as an adjunct professor. This is my first time teaching a college level course! It has been a lot of fun getting back into the academic environment. I am teaching a class called "Jesus and the Christian Community". We are walking through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus predominately through the lense of the Gospel of Matthew. This has been such a great opportunity and I am looking forward to doing it more often. I have always wanted to both pastor and teach and I am getting to do both.

FPU is in the South east part of Fresno near Sunnyside High School where I have recently been part of a church plant. The Well Community Church has launched a multi-site at the high school and I am working as a worship pastor there. It has been great to spend time here in and around the community that I am pastoring in, especially in a teaching role.

Update on Abby

2008-09-24T22:39:00.007-05:00

Sorry it took so long to update again. Abby and Jenn were released from the hospital on Sunday morning. They are both home and doing great! Abby saw the doctor yesterday and she has gained 2 ounces since Sunday, which is a good thing. Her color is looking great and she is adjusting well. Kaleb is doing good as well adjusting to being a big brother and a helper for mommy and daddy. Jenn is recovering well from surgery and is already walking up and down the stairs.

Here is the Family in the hospital

Kaleb couldn't wait for Abby to get out of her chair so he could take it for a test drive

Kaleb held his little sister for the first time and was gentle with her

Abby is such a great sleeper and she loves to just lounge, kick back and relax

Thanks again for your prayers!

David and Jenn

Abby Update September 20th

2008-09-20T13:57:00.005-05:00

Here is the update for today. Abby is doing well and getting better all the time. Her breathing and eating have improved and she is almost in our room for good. As you can see Jenn penciled in the plan for the day "Get Abby Out" of the nursery. I was able to stay the night with her last night and she did great through the night.

Here is our first picture with all three of us together.

If you would like to visit give my cell phone a call and we can talk about what might work. We should be leaving the hospital tomorrow morning if all goes according to plan.

Abby Update September 19th

2008-09-19T11:54:00.003-05:00

So we had a little scare last night. Abby was having a hard time keeping food down and she was spitting up a little bit. They ended up having to drain her stomach contents because she wasn't digesting her food. Our best guess from our local expert swallowing technician (my dad the speech pathologist) is that she had some amnionic fluid in her stomach. We know that she had some in her lungs at birth and thats why she needed extra oxygen and the time to dry her lungs out.

We think that she had some in her stomach as well which offset the PH in her stomach. The fluid probably made her stomach PH + and counteracted her stomach acid not allowing her to process her food. Now that her stomach has been emptied and she has had the time over night to recover she is doing better. Hopefully she had time over night to recover and build up some stomach acid. Jenn fed her again this morning and she expressed interest which was a great sign. Our goal today is to feed her when we can and ween her of the IV so we can have her in our room with us. We had a brief scare but we are hoping this morning with make a turn for the better.

Jenn is doing great and recovering well. Kaleb is having tons of fun at Grandma and Grampa Tatum's house letting them spoil him. (Matt, Meg and Luke, we can't wait to see you guys tonight!)

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for her! We appreciate it more than you know. More pictures and news to come later today.

David and Jenn

Abby with a pink bow

2008-09-18T17:08:00.003-05:00

Update on Abby

2008-09-18T12:17:00.004-05:00

Mommy's first time holding her baby girl! She got a chance to try and feed as well.

Watch out Kaleb you have a new baby sister.

Abby is doing better. She is completley off the oxygen now. She is still in the Nursery until her breathing slows down and she is able to feed a little more so she can get of the IV.

She opened her eyes for a little while, a gorgeous dark blue, its like looking into her soul.

Thanks for all the prayer and support Abby is doing well and progressing. We cant wait to have her in our room.

Abigail Elizabeth Marie Tatum

2008-09-18T09:19:00.003-05:00

So.... Baby Abigail decided to work on her own timeline and come earlier than scheduled!

(you know how women/girls are) What the heck i thought we were scheduling this one! Anyway, Abby was born last night at Saint Agnes Hospital at 4:58pm. She weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces and measured 19 inches long. Her initial apgar score was a 8/9. She is doing well but having a little trouble breathing since she came early and her lungs were not completely prepared to breathe yet.

Right now she is still in the nursery being watched her levels are starting to get better and we cant wait to hold her. Her heart rate is a little high and she is breathing a little rapidly but she is doing better than last night because she has progressed off of the oxygen. She is on an IV to stay hydrated right now since we cant take her out to feed yet. Jenn is doing well considering she just had surgery last night.

Jenn and Abby are both doing well, we would appreciate your prayers for both a fast recovery for Jenn and for Abbys lungs to get nice and strong so she can progress out of the nursery and into our arms. Thanks family and friends for all your support!

I will keep this updated as we know more. More pictures to come, especially when we get to hold her.

Kaleb's first stitches

2008-09-01T22:39:00.002-05:00

So Kaleb and i were skateboarding today like we normally do and he decided that he wanted to step off the board. He stuck his toe in front of the front wheels which sent us both flying over the front of the board. Unfortunately, Kaleb took all the damage. We went to the emergency room and waited forever. The end result was a Kaleb getting 5 brand new stitches to the chin! He is totally ok and took the whole process like a stud. We came home and he was back to all his daredevil antics like nothing ever happened. Needless to say i felt horrible, but what can you do, he is a boy and a tough stubborn one at that.

Here is Kaleb in the Emergency Room with his gown

Here is a chin shot this evening and a close up of the stitch work

Well i guess you live and learn. Im not looking forward to the bill!

P.S Baby Abby is doing great, shes still due October 2nd, which is coming fast!

The Tatum Boys, Man vs. Wild

2008-08-25T09:32:00.009-05:00

So this last week my brothers and I (Matt the middle brother, and Luke the youngest) decided that we would brave the great outdoors. We drove up to our trailhead and hiked about 11 miles the first day up to lake Woodchuck. The second day we explored some more hiking to 2 more lakes and putting in another 5 miles or so. The third day we hiked back out of the wild laying down another 10 miles or so. Needless to say it was a blast, and i have blisters to prove it! Here are some pics of the trip, there are even some i cant show

(its the Tatum boys what can i say).

Here we are before we started.

Here is what the hike looked like on the first day. Gorgeous!

Our hike the first day took us to Woodchuck Lake. I was fortunate enough to see my very first Woodchuck!

Here was the Sunset on the first day and the Lake the next morning.

On the second day we found some rocks to jump off into our second lake.

And here we are on the mountaintop.

Worship Pastor

2008-08-14T19:36:00.005-05:00

Yeah Yeah I know, I never post on this Blog anymore but I think I am going to try and turn a new leaf. So the news is official I accepted a Worship Admin/Southeast Worship Pastor position at The Well Community Church in Fresno (check out the website for more info). For those of you that don't know, Jenn and I are back in Fresno.

Here is a funny Video I thought might be appropriate for the occasion:

P.S Jenn, Kaleb and Abbey are doing great, she is due Oct 2nd.....more to come on all that.

Kaleb Dribbling the Soccer Ball

2007-08-24T18:31:00.000-05:00

Thats right hes only 10 months and hes already dribbling the soccer ball like a pro. Watch out Beckham here comes Tatum!

Kaleb Walking

2007-07-21T11:31:00.001-05:00

Kaleb is starting to take his first steps. He thinks it is so funny, especially when he falls.

Carson Connected

2007-06-30T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. I just thought i would post and let you know that our new site is up and running. There is still a lot of work to be done though. Carson Connected is the church in Carson City Nevada that Jenn and I took a job at recently. We are mostly moved in now and we are loving the church. Please keep us and the church in your prayers!

Go check it out and let me know what you think. Any advice critiques or comments are welcome.

Here is the site adress. www.carsonconnected.org

The New Ride

2007-05-19T01:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a look at the new ride! I traded in the truck for a bike and i am loving it. The bike i had before this was a YZF 600, and this new bike is a R1. Needless to say i am enjoying the extra 400cc's.

Ahh the joys of Fatherhood

2007-04-26T19:35:00.001-05:00

My stomach hurt after this little episode of Kaleb making farting noises on Jenns shoulder. It sounds like he is actually farting but he is doing it with his mouth.

Harry's Mug

2007-04-25T11:25:00.000-05:00

Hey if anyone is interested I am playing one last time in KC before I graduate and move out to Nevada.

Peace

A Savior on Capital Hill?

2007-04-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Derek Webb Does It Again!
Yet another prophetic album that continues to call the people of God back to covenant faithfulness. His album The Ringing Bell can be downloaded early before the actual release on May 1. Go to www.theringingbell.com and check it out.

Charlie thinks that this album is Derek's theology of the book of Revelation, i am keen to agree with him. Here is one of his songs from the album. This one is probably my favorite.

A Savior on Captial Hill

I’m so tired of these mortal men
with their hands on their wallets and their hearts full of sin
scared of their enemies, scared of their friends
and always running for re-election
so come to DC if it be thy will
because we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill

you can always trust the devil or a politician
to be the devil or a politician
but beyond that friends you’d best beware
‘cause at the Pentagon bar they’re an inseparable pair
and as long as the lobbyists are paying their bills
we’ll never have a savior on Capitol Hill

[Bridge]
all of our problems gonna disappear
when we can whisper right in that President’s ear
he could walk right across the reflection pool
in his combat boots and ten thousand dollar suit

you can render unto Caesar everything that’s his
you can trust in his power to come to your defense
it’s the way of the world, the way of the gun
it’s the trading of an evil for a lesser one
so don’t hold your breath or your vote until
you think you’ve finally found a savior up on Capitol Hill

Christian Counseling

2007-04-14T14:53:00.000-05:00

I should have been writing papers and studying for finals but instead I'm reading other books. I just finished "Christian Counseling." The book is written by two professors that teach at Fuller, one is a psychologist and the other a theologian. I just finished writing a paper for one of my classes on the topic of social justice and i have to say i wish i had read this book previous to writing the paper. This book had great things to say about forgiveness and reconciliation!!! The authors say:

'Forgiveness upholds the conviction that grace has, does, and will triumph over judgement since theologically it is God's will that redemptive justice (justice that transforms both the person and context in healing) will finally eclipse retributive justice (justice that repays with equal reward or logical consequence based on equivalency) --an eye for an eye."

These authors quote from and resource theologians like Paul Tillich, Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Hayes, Henry Nouwen, and more...

This is evident in their exploration of the topic of the interrelationship between Love, Power and Justice and when they make comments such as, "The practice of virtues within community provides the matrix for the development of character in community. The authors effectively lay down a theological foundation for Christian counseling and go on to explain how our counseling should be something that fosters forgiveness and builds an ethic of char actor that is focused on the normative life of Christ. They give several examples on how one might be intentional in recognizing the presence of Christ during the counseling session and how the counselor and counselee might talk about that. They then go on to give practical applications about counseling and how it might become incarnational and not just theory. The authors put flesh to their theoretical bones by then discussing topics of mediation, cross culture issues, sex issues and family system issues. Finally the close with the embrace of the emerging postmodern context and a word of encouragement.

Matt you need to read this book so we can talk about it!

Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments

2007-04-11T09:09:00.000-05:00

Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments
Kent Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Debt

2007-03-29T18:22:00.000-05:00

This video reminded me of a bumper sticker that says:
"A War economy leaves all children behind."

On the lighter side i heard Bush say on the news yesterday that
congress needs to stop making political statements.

He also quoted a Blogger in Iraq as his source to prove
that things are getting better overseas.

A Theology for the Social Gospel

2007-03-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

In his book Rauschenbusch talks about how the language of ‘the Kingdom of God’ was slowly displaced by the name and idea of ‘the church’. He claims this has had a major affect on our theology and the way we view Jesus and the gospels. He says that we must get back to the language of Kingdom rather than church and gives several suggestions. These suggestions speak to so much of what has happened in the Emerging/Postmodern church, which is amazing to think about when you realize the guy lived from 1861-1918.

1. Theology must focus on the synoptic gospels and Jesus
2. Jesus left us with distinctive ethical principles for the Kingdom
3. The church is primarily a fellowship for worship, the Kingdom is a fellowship of righteousness
4. The Kingdom does not seek to be the dominating reality and take the place of God
5. The Kingdom ideal must be the test and corrective of the church
6. The Kingdom ideal contains the revolutionary force of Christianity
7. The Kingdom is a socio-political reality that affects its surroundings
8. The Kingdom recognizes all creation as sacred and calls it to be sacred
9. The Kingdom understands salvation not just as an individual experience but as a saving of the social order
10. The Kingdom of God breeds prophets and looks of into the horizons, while the church has bred priests and theologians and looks at dogma and tradition

The Emergent Church

2007-02-27T13:52:00.000-06:00

I have had multiple conversations with people lately about the Emerging Church. What I have found in my experience (limited as it may be) is that the people who reject or criticize the movement do so

1. Without doing any reading about it
and or
2. Never visiting or spending time within a community that claims to be within the movement

To somewhat help with #1 I have decided to list some reading material. I came about some the whole emergent movement somewhat backward in that i had done a lot of reading about it before ever finding a community that actually lived it. Several people have asked lately for a informal book list on the topic so here it is: (I only posted books that i have actually read personally I would love to hear some comments and feedback about other books that people think i need to add to this list)

Foundational: (to my theology)
A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian McLaren
A is for Abductive, Brian McLaren
Post-Evangelical, Dave Tomlinson
Missional Church
Red Moon Rising, Peter Greig
The shape of things to come, Michael Frost
Exiles, Michael Frost
A Future for Truth, Henry Knight
The Giving Tree (Children’s book)
Mere Discipleship, Lee Camp
The Hidden Power of the electronic culture, Shane Hipps
Lord Teach Us, Stanley Hauerwas
Myths America Lives By, Richard Hughes
The Politics of Jesus, John Yoder

Musings:
Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller
The Irresistable Revolution, Shane Claiborne
Red and Blue God, Black and Blue church, Becky Garrison
Searching for God knows what, Donald Miller
Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell
The Parable of Peanuts, Robert Short
Liberation Theology after the end of history, Dan Bell

Narrative:
Community of Character, Stanley Hauerwas
Experiential Storytelling, Mark Miller
A New Kind of Christian, Brian McLaren
The Story We Find Ourselves In, Brian McLaren
The Last Word and the Word after that, Brian McLaren
The Promise of Narrative Theology, George Stroup

Emerging/Post:
Emerging Churches, Eddie Gibbs
Emerging Worship, Dan Kimball
The Emerging Church, Dan Kimball
After Christendom, Stanley Hauerwas
Postmodern pilgrims, Leonard Sweet
Postmodern Youth ministry, Tony Jones
The postmodern parish, Jim Kitchens

Spiritual Formation:
Tortured Wonders, Roddney Clapp
Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconeli
Re-Imaging spiritual formation, Doug Pagitt
Out of question…Into Mystery, Leonard Sweet
Sacred Way, Tony Jones

Church Planting:
Planting churches in a postmodern age, Ed Stetzer

Preaching;
Preaching Re-Imagined, Doug Pagitt

Other:
Adventures in Missing the Point, Brian McLaren
Revolution and Renewal, Tony Campolo
The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian McLaren
Ancient Future Evangelism, Robert Webber
Ancient Future Faith, Robert Webber
Ancient Future Time, Robert Webber
Houses that change the world, Wolfgang Simson
Presence centered youth ministry, Mike King
The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann
Rich Christians in a world of hunger, Ronald Sider
Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas
Where resident aliens live, Stanley Hauerwas

I hope this helps everyone. Let me know what you suggest for futher reading! (CUZ IM A BOOK ADDICT)

P.S. You can see the rest of my Library HERE

SHALOM

Belief

2007-02-24T14:55:00.000-06:00

I am back from my moratorium of blogging and thought i would start with this. I have been listening to John Mayer's new CD and have been thinking about this song. Here are the lyrics:

"Belief"
(John Mayer)

Is there anyone who
Ever remembers changing there mind from
The paint on a sign?
Is there anyone who really recalls
Ever breaking rank at all
For something someone yelled real loud one time

Everyone believes
In how they think it ought to be
Everyone believes
And they're not going easily

Belief is a beautiful armor
But makes for the heaviest sword
Like punching under water
You never can hit who you're trying for

Some need the exhibition
And some have to know they tried
It's the chemical weapon
For the war that's raging on inside

Everyone believes
From emptiness to everything
Everyone believes
And no ones going quietly

We're never gonna win the world
We're never gonna stop the war
We're never gonna beat this
If belief is what we're fighting for

What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand
Belief can
Belief can
What puts the folded flag inside his mother's hand
Belief can
Belief can

The first verse reminds me of a struggle that I've gone through learning how to balance what i have coined as 'offensively prophetic v.s. relationally prophetic'. The point is that most of the time people don't just change what they believe by being yelled at, protested against or getting someone elses version of truth shoved down their throats. All this is not to say there is not an appropriate place and time to be offensively prophetic but most of the time we should be relationally prophetic.

Mayer points out the obvious fact that we all have epistemology's whether we recognize them or not and they range from everything to nothing at all. He also says that we often use our beliefs not only as defensive armor but as an offensive sword as we defend ourselves and combat others. Mayer, whether he knows it or not in some ways correctly exegites the postmodern culture that has rejected the modern attempt of apologetics, reason, and science, to prove rationally what others should and should not believe in. Don't get me wrong in all this correct belief is important and orthodoxy is important, but if it is not matched with orthopraxy then we have failed as Christians. On that note Lesslie Newbigin is correct in speaking about the postmodern/emergent/missional character of the church by saying that "the only hermeneutic of the gospel is a congregation (group of people) of men and women who believe it and live by it."

A Lament I Am Resonating With At The Moment

2007-02-02T10:37:00.000-06:00

"Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night"
(Jer 9:1)

How much I must criticize you, my church
and yet how much I love you!
You have made me suffer more than anyone
and yet I owe more to you than to anyone.
I should like to see you destroyed
and yet I need your presence.
You have given me much scandal
and yet you alone have made me understand holiness.
Never in this world have I seen anything more compromised, more false,
yet never have I touched anything more pure, more generous or more beautiful.
Countless times I have felt like slamming the door of my soul in your face
and yet every night, I have prayed that I might die in your sure arms!
No, I cannot be free of you,
for I am one with you,
even if not completely you.
Then too-where would I go?
To build another church?
But I could not build one without the same defects.
And again, if I were to build another church
It would not be my church, not Christ’s church.
No. I am old enough. I know better!
-Carlo Carretto-

"They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble.
(Jer 31:9)

Shalom: The Theme of Peace in Jeremiah

2007-02-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

The Theme of Peace in Jeremiah

There is a continual discourse or discussion about the topic of peace and what it consists of through out the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah has set out from the beginning to fulfill God’s call on his life to build up as well as tear down. The Hebraic understanding of peace is not simply defined by the absence of war; it is much more than that. The Hebrew word Shalom means wholeness, a harmony of relationships and environment, a context that results in joy and praise. (33:9) Shalom also has a referential action or response to those who require service to acquire harmony. The word has an egalitarian type of feeling that connotes the state where all people’s needs are met and they can live in a healthy balance among one another. Shalom seeks righteousness and justice in all contexts, and especially for the alien, orphan, widow and those who are violently taken advantage of. (7:7, 33:9) The two most beautiful pictures of what God means by peace or shalom, can be found at the beginning and ending of the Bible. In the beginning we find God and his creation existing with one another in perfect harmony as they walk in the cool afternoon through the garden. As the Bible closes we also find this peaceful portrayal or painting of life existing in perfection as the tree of life provides for the sustenance and healing of the people.

Jeremiah continually addresses the issue of what a true prophet/priest of YHWH looks like and what a false prophet/priest looks like. This occurs in a general understanding through out the book as well as Jeremiah’s individual encounters with false prophets/priests. The overarching problem with the prophet and priest of Jeremiah’s day is that they are proclaiming a false peace and thus a false hope for the future. The leaders or shepherds of the people are proclaiming that there is a harmony among the people in an economical, political and relational sense. Jeremiah on the other hand points to the fact that these leaders are acting unjustly and without righteousness.

Healing, Hearts and Sword’s

The priests of the day do not treat the wounds and sickness of the people in the correct manner, in fact we find their actions are compared to a physician who treats a broken bone by applying bandage. It is a superficial fix! (6:14, 8:11) The imagery and metaphor her drips of irony and sarcasm as no physician would ever thing of such a response to a broken bone. In the same way the prophets promise the people a nationalistic peace (possibly simply to appease the king and remain in good standing) and do not correctly discern the word from God. The prophets have become so disillusioned with what YHWH’s peace truly means that they have started to proclaim visions of their own hearts instead of God’s heart. (9:8, 14:13, 23:17) These shepherds of God’s flock have been practicing deceit and have robbed the people both financially as well as spiritually as they have failed to teach covenant faithfulness.

Jeremiah proclaims that a true prophet of YHWH will be known for who they truly are only in time as their prophetic word from God either comes true or fails to be played out. (28:9) As a result of this incorrect teaching and proclamation by the prophet’s and priest’s the people await a time of peace, a time of restoration and harmony. But this type of peace will not come because it is not the peace of YHWH but the peace of the sword, a peace found only in the violence of the wars and the incorrect use of power. (8:15, 14:19) As a result of the people’s idolatry and their straying from the covenant faithfulness YHWH has removed His steadfast love and compassion from the people. (16:5)

Turn and Return

The people have not relied on the steadfast love and mercy of God. Instead they have turned their position from embrace to rejection of the covenant that was made with their forefathers. There is only one result that can occur now and that is the human struggle for peace by way of the sword as human kings and kingdoms fight for power. Peace by way of the sword will always end in death and will never truly be the type of peace that God offers. (4:10, 12:12) As the modern day prophet/singer/songwriter Derek Webb coined it “peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication, it’s like telling someone murder is wrong and then showing them by way of execution. When justice is bought and sold just like weapons of war the ones who always pay are the poorest of the poor.”

Five Streams of the Emerging Church

2007-01-31T19:02:00.000-06:00

Just read this article from Scot McKnight's

Five Streams of the Emerging Church.

It was a good article and fairly decent description of the postmodern, emergent, missional movement. If you have read very much in that area or have been involved in the conversation it is pretty much review. It was interesting to read the multi-colored reviews on the article. Seems like 30% of the people either admittedly did not understand it (some probably thought they did and got angry about what they thought it meant but really didn't understand), and the other 70% liked it or found it informative in some fashion. One criticism that i did think was somewhat appropriate though was the comment on the fact that he intentionally focuses on the American church. Check it out and let me know what you think.

2007-01-31T12:01:00.000-06:00

“To pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

Jeremiah 1:9-10
Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth,
and the LORD said to me,
"Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
"See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant."

The book of Jeremiah can be somewhat encapsulated or summed up by his initial call by YWHW. YWHW charges Jeremiah with the task of judgment and deliverance, a tearing down and building up, an uprooting and a planting. This theme spans the entire book and can be found in four strategically placed texts. Brueggmann in his book Like Fire in the Bones claims that these four texts are in fact “thematic for the entire book”. The theme that we find in Jeremiahs initial call remains vague and somewhat ambiguous but we find it is later articulated with more clarity. All we know from the beginning is that this judgment and deliverance will be addressed to the nations and kingdoms.

The Potter’s Vessel

In (18:7-10) we find YWHW using the analogy or metaphor of a potter’s vessel. YWHW states that at any moment he may choose to uproot or destroy a kingdom because of their evil ways. But this kingdom has a chance to “turn” (sub) and return to YWHW and if they do He promises to build and plant them. These four verses are contingent if then statements that revolve around the evil or good actions of the people who inhabit the kingdom. YWHW promises that they will always receive a fair warning and a chance to “turn” (sub) from their ways.

The Good and Evil Fig’s

In the next text (24:1-8) YWHW uses another metaphor, this time it is the metaphor of a basket of figs that are either good or bad. The good figs represent the exiles of Judah. They are promised three specific things; the protection of YWHW, a return to the land, and a building up and planting. Next, YWHW reestablishes the covenant with them by giving them a mind to know Him and a heart that seeks after Him. There is also an echo of the Shema in the text as YWHW says, “They shall be my people and I will be their God.” The bad figs according to Thompson are “comprised those who were left in the land or who had settled in Egypt”, and they will be uprooted and destroyed.

The Remnant of Judah

In our last text (42:7-22), we find again several contingent clauses that speak the choice of faithfulness or disobedience of the people. If the people choose to remain in the land and trust YWHW they will receive the promise of being build up and planted. Within this text we also find the deep emotional pain of YWHW as He is “grieved over the disaster, which I have brought upon you.” YWHW promise to both save and deliver the people from the power of the Babylonians. The text then ends with another contingent clause. YWHW says, “but if you say ‘we will not remain in the land.’ not obeying the word of YWHW your God” leaving the choice up to the people weather or not they will choose to remain faithful.
This theme is also revealed in several other places through out the book of Jeremiah. The theme of “plucking up and pulling down” can be found in; the prophetic lawsuit that punishes Judah, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the metaphor of wound and sickness, and the family relationships between husband and wife, parent and child
The theme of “building up and planting” can be seen in; God’s judgment which remains contingent upon Judah’s response of faithfulness to the covenant, Jeremiah’s addresses to the exiles with a word of hope for the future, and the fact that even after Jerusalem and Judah are destroyed there remains a promise of a remnant that will bring hope for the future.

Deuteronomy and Jesus

This theme also resonates with the general theme of the book of Deuteronomy, which has had a large influence in the writing of Jeremiah. The general theme of the book of Deuteronomy is the choice of life or death. Moses continually urges the people of Israel to chose covenant faithfulness, blessing and life, over idolatry, curse and death. This choice also continues through the rest of the biblical story. Breuggemann keenly reveals that there is a counterpoint in the Christian tradition to the theme we find in Jeremiah. The crucifixion of Jesus can be seen as the “plucking up and tearing down” and the resurrection can be understood as the “planting and building”. In Christ we see the life, death, resurrection and hope for the future as we choose covenant faithfulness and embrace the promise of God to be built up and planted in righteousness.

Prophet, Priest, King

2007-01-28T13:19:00.000-06:00

The Threefold Office of Prophet/Priest/King

In the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah continually addresses the three leadership positions of prophet, priest and king as he prophecies over against them in the name of YWHW. In contrast to these leaders Jeremiah is raised up as a prophet against the current prophet’s, priest’s and king. Jeremiah is commissioned in (1:1-10) as being a prophet who is sent, given the word of the Lord, he has been touched by God, and he has been set over and against the kingdoms and nations.
The current prophet’s, priests, and king have forsaken the Law and Covenant and turned to false idols. The prophet’s prophecy falsely and in the name of other God’s besides YWHW. The Priest’s are aimlessly wandering and asking, “where is the Lord” because they cannot find Him. The King and his rulers have broken the laws and regulations of the covenant and taken advantage of the people. (2:8) Idol worship has become a prominent disgrace among all of them. We find in (2:26) all three groups are shamed because they are worshiping creation and idols. All three groups seem surprised at Jeremiah’s prophetic words to them. The prophet’s are astounded, the priest’s are appalled, and the king’s hearts have failed them. (4:9)
All of these issues have occurred because the leaders have turned their back on YWHW, they have neglected His teaching and instruction (32:32) As a result of their turning from God, YWHW will judge them. Jeremiah is the prophet sent to declare both God’s judgment and the call to repentance and a turning back to covenant faithfulness. YWHW declares that the bones of the prophet, priest’s and king’s will be laid bare. They will be disgraced and mocked for their lack of faithfulness. (8:1) The leaders will be filled with drunkenness and they will continue to be confused and without God. (13:13)

The Prophet & Priest

Within this address to the threefold leadership there is an even more focused appeal to the prophet and the priest. This may be because the prophet and the priest have traditionally been the ordained mediators of God while the king was never meant to be. (See 1 Samuel 8) Jeremiah addresses two different issues when he addresses these two groups together. The first issue that he addresses is the one of authority, or source. Jeremiah says that the prophets are prophesying falsely and the priest’s are trying to rule on their own authority. (5:31) The prophet’s have lost the word of God, they have lost the divine word that was bestowed on Jeremiah himself at his commissioning. In the same way the priest’s have lost the law and the teaching of the covenant faithfulness. (18:18) These leaders who are supposed to be giving direction to others and providing direction are instead asking for direction from the Lord because they have lost all guidance. (23:23-24)
The second problem that Jeremiah addresses is the fact that both the prophet and priest have compromised their ministry of God for the greed of money. Both groups have been dealing falsely in their relationships and have practiced deceit because of this greed for financial security. (6:13, 8:10) Jeremiah claims that they have become polluted and have lost the real understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. (23:11)

The Prophet/Priest/King in Israelite History

The traditional role of the prophet in the history of Israel has been to proclaim the word of the Lord. They have been God’s conduits to call his people to accountability, repentance and return to the covenant treaty between God and His people. The prophet addresses the current social, economical and relational (between God and his people, and between interpersonal relationships) issues of the day and provides the hope of restoration, reconciliation and transformation into the image of God. The role of the Priest in the history of Israel has been the Levitical responsibility to usher the people into the worship of YWHW. The priest’s role is to help others recognize the presence of God all around them, to administer the sacraments of God, and to hold the people to the covenant that God has been set before them. We find in 1 Samuel that the role of the king in the history of Israel was not originally intended by God. The role of king was a compromise that God allowed in recognizing that His people had once again rejected him.

Jesus as the Ultimate Prophet/Priest/King

Jesus was the perfect consummation and incarnation of all three of these roles that have been passed down through Israel’s history. Jesus was the ultimate prophet, being himself the Word of God and proclaiming the ushering in of the eschatological kingdom. (33:2-11) He was the ultimate priest as he took the form of the final sacrifice, offering His body and blood for the salvation of creation. (13:14-26) Jesus was also the ultimate king, but in a most radically different understanding of the world’s view of the role. Jesus served as a king who led through servant leadership, washing his disciple’s feet and proclaiming and upside-down kingdom where the first will be last and the last will be first. (23:5)

Oaths???

2007-01-26T20:27:00.000-06:00

Ok here is a question that I would like to discuss with those who read my blog.
In my Pastoral Care and Counseling class we where discussing the topic of burial. The topic came up that Free-Mason's have certain rituals they perform in burial ceremonies that we cannot be apart of within the Church of the Nazarene because we do not support "oath bound societies" i.e secret societies that require oaths and certain rites of passage.
Next, the question was raised, "what is the difference between the Free-Mason's oath and the American who pledges an oath of allegiance to America?" Also, what is the difference between an oath that is taken to a secret society (Free-Mason's) and one that is publicly acknowledged (Patriotism/Nationalism)?

How should we understand Jesus' commands not to take oaths?
Mathew 5:33-37 (Sermon on the Mount)
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Is there a significant difference between Public v.s. Private oaths?
Should Christians take an oath of Patriotism/Nationalism?
How do oaths on the Bible fit in the courts of Law?
How should we understand oaths to CIA, FBI, Police?

A covenant which is simular to an oath is different in that the covenant is a two sided agreement upon which both parties agree upon certain conditions which shape their relationship. i.e: marriage

A Creed is also somewhat simular to a oath but a Creed is a belief statement starting with "I Believe", where an oath is a pledge, swearing by or giving allegiance to something.

May the discussion begin.........

Most Important Theological Books in the last 25 Years!

2007-01-25T20:26:00.000-06:00

Charlie Pardue tagged me to put up my list of best books of theology published in the past 25 years.

This is the criteria:
Name three (or more) theological works from the last 25 years (1981-2006) that you consider important and worthy to be included on a list of the most important works of theology of that last 25 years (in no particular order).

1. Liberation Theology After the End of History: The Refusal to Cease Suffering (Radical Orthodoxy) 2001

2. Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World 2003

3. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (The Gospel and Our Culture Series) 1998

And now i will tag....Mike King

The Yoke of YWHW in the book of Jeremiah

2007-01-25T09:19:00.000-06:00

Jeremiah 2:20 YWHW’s Yoke

"For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds;
But you said, 'I will not serve!'
For on every high hill and under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.

The text finds its context within a lament of Israel’s past. YWHW is recalling the past history of bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and lifting pharaohs yoke or burden. The Israelites yoke was one of marginalization, slave labor, oppression and suppression. YWHW lifted that yoke and gave the people liberation from their oppressor. Earlier in the text a form of the Shema is invoked, the call for the people to hear whom their new Lord has become. Israel was now a vassal of YWHW, they served Him now and were under a lighter burden, an easier yoke, summed up by the Decalogue.

Jeremiah 5:5 Judah & Jerusalem Break YWHW’s Yoke

"I will go to the great and will speak to them,
For they know the way of the LORD and the ordinance of their God "
But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke and burst the bonds.

The text leading up to our text speaks of several warnings. There is an active pursuit for YWHW and or Jeremiah to find one just person that seeks the truth. Here we are reminded of the Biblical theme of a leader bargaining with God to save the city for the sake of the righteous ones within it. We hear that the people have refused to receive correction and repent. The people have lost the way of the Lord and no longer follow YWHW’s yoke. The appeal in the scripture is to the great or wise people or leaders of the city, because surely they will know how to follow God’s yoke. But we are told that the yoke has been broken and the bonds have been set aside.

Jeremiah 27:2-28:14 (27:2,8,11,12, 28:2,4,10,11,12,13,14)
The Yoke of Babylon and the battle between prophets

God commands Jeremiah to create a physical yoke to wear. Judah and Jerusalem are told that they will not submit to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. They are then told if they do submit to Babylon’s yoke God will protect them and they will live. Next, we find that YWHW has broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Hananiah then takes the yoke that Jeremiah is wearing and breaks it. He declares in the same way YWHW will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Jeremiah returns with YWHW’s response that the yoke has now been turned from wood to iron, the yoke has been rebuilt and strengthened.

Jeremiah 30:8 The Liberation of Judah and Jerusalem from Babylon’s Yoke

'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts,
'that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds;
and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.

The text leading up to this point speaks of a new future and a hope of a time when God will again liberate the people and free them from their oppressor’s yoke. The story comes full circle, as the people have been set underneath God’s yoke once again. YWHW promises once again to save them from the other nations, and to then chasten and teach them once again.

There is a continual theme of grace offered in the understanding of God’s yoke and the yoke of the king of Babylon. The people are offered a way out by submission and repentance, and even when they rebel, grace is later offered to the people as they again become exiled. God later offers an easy yoke of repentance and return to the covenant. The Jewish understanding of yoke was the teaching of an individual like a rabbi who was followed by others as they were discipled in a way of life. Jesus in his ministry offers the people a yoke that is light and easy, one of rest and peace. It is no mistake that Jesus offers a yoke that is both gentle and humble. Jesus, in the establishment of a new covenant offers God’s yoke, His way of life, once again to a people who are always in need of grace.

NTS hosts discussion between Lindbeck, Burrell and Hauerwas

2007-01-21T17:50:00.000-06:00

This last Friday was amazing. I sat with a bunch of friends and had the opportunity to hear from three prominent theologians of our day. On top of that the discussion and interviews where guided by Point Loma's own John Wright. Here are some great quotes I wrote down during the discussions.

Lindbeck

"A persons strengths is also their greatest weakness"
"Hope meas that we must trust in our weakness and in God's strength"
"Two detrimental things that have hindered the church in our age have been televangelists (speaking about the asking of money and Luther's battle of indulgences with the Catholic church) and mindless patriotism"

Burrell

"There are two types of people, those who NEED certitude, and those who SEARCH for truth"
"The only way we can truly be Christian is in community"
"Religion is often dry and boring, God however is mysterious and awesome"
"You never ARE a Christian, you are always trying to BECOME one"
"When living in a age of pluralism we can respond in a posture of welcoming or fear"
"The God that we worship is beyond our conceptualization"
"Capitalism is much more dangerous to Christianity than Marxism"
"Reconciliation without Capitulation"

Hauerwas

"Theological claims are primarily forms of practical discourse"
"A modest proposal for peace, let the Christians of the world agree not to kill one another"
"Habit is everything"
'One of the crucial tasks of the church is reclaiming our deaths from modern medicine"
"Do not be afraid of speech"
"We must be willing to forgive the murderers of our children" (speaking about the Amish's recent response to the tragic deaths within their community"

An Inconvenient Truth

2007-01-19T08:35:00.000-06:00

Jenn and I watched this movie "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore recently and couldn't believe our eyes. It is amazing what we have done to the earth and how our modern day technologies are affecting our planet. As Christians we are called to be stewards over the earth. We have a huge responsibility to take care of what God has entrusted us with. Gore also makes the point that this is a moral and ethical issue for the entire human race. Go watch this movie! Click on this link to see some things you can do to start helping.

The Politics Test

2007-01-16T15:07:00.000-06:00

Ok, here are my results. Take the test and tell me where you are at.

You are a
Social Moderate
(56% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(10% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Socialist

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

New Video's

2007-01-15T18:11:00.000-06:00

Ok family I know its been a little while so i thought i would post this video that Jenn took today of Kaleb getting some exercise. I also caught a fun little moment on tape as Bailey our cat and Otis our dog played with the new jumper. I have to say Otis is whipped!

Kaleb in the Jumper

Bailey and Otis

New Pictures of Kaleb

2007-01-04T19:58:00.000-06:00

My Biblical Text For Advent

2006-12-21T17:29:00.000-06:00

I have been meditation and dwelling on this passage a lot latley so i have decided to chew and gestate on it for this Advent Season. I think its apropriate as we also wait for and anticipate the coming of our Lord and Savior.

Mathew 25:31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Mere Discipleship

2006-12-12T17:21:00.000-06:00

Wow this book was GREAT!!! Here is a quick synopsis and some comments.

“Jesus was, in his divinely mandated prophethood, priesthood, and kingship, the bearer of a new possibility of human, social, and therefore political relationships.”
-JOHN HOWARD YODER-

1. Reenvisioning Discipleship

“Radical Discipleship”

“Christianity without Discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer-

Camp says that claiming ‘Jesus as Lord’ is a radical claim that is ultimately rooted in the question of allegiance, of ultimate authority, of ultimate norm and standard for human life. Christianity has to often sought to ally itself comfortably with allegiance to other authorities, be they political, economic, cultural or ethnic. He then goes on to explain what he calls the Constantine Cataract, which has so drastically affected our Christianity. He explains that the word Radical simply means ‘to the root’ so radical discipleship is an attempt to put Christ first as our norm of imitation.

God’s way of working
The Constantine Cataract has used the philosophy of ‘the ends justify the means’ to the detriment of the Christian faith. This philosophy has led to the justification for much violence in the Christian tradition, wars, crusades and the like. One response is the question ‘What would happen if everybody did or did not do that?’ This question is itself flawed and the wrong one. Instead we should be asking “What would happen if Disciples acted like Jesus?”

Pledging Allegiance to the Kingdom of God
The Christendom Cataract has also led us to believe that it is the Christian task to be in control, to run the world and to make things turn out right. Along with this we are taught that the power brokers in the world are the only major players in human history. Camp tells a story about a man who was a chaplain for the military who was told by the Chief Chaplains office that, “compromise is essential for becoming a successful military chaplain.” Camps says that “Robinson concluded that chaplains are not on military bases to bear witness to theological convictions, but to serve the military establishment: what was desired was a ‘morale officer’, the chaplain only succeeds in encouraging soldiers to accept the preferences of the state without question.” The question is one of allegiance and identity. The question ‘Who do you say I am?’ rings loud and clear. “Thus to reenvision discipleship without the cataract of Christendom requires that we renew our pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of God, revealed most fully in the way of Jesus, the suffering servanthood.”

2. What Disciples Believe

The Gospel: Repent for the Kingdom is at Hand
“The Constantine cataract makes the ‘Christian religion’ something ultimately unrelated to this world, to time, or history, or human culture, and instead makes it about the ‘other world.’” Instead we are called to love, serve, die, and be raised as Christ did. We are called to the practicing of patient forgiveness, reconciliation, serving, loving our enemies making sure our doctrine and ethics are inseparably intertwined. We are called to an eschatology of the already and yet not yet.

The Savior: The Slaughtered Lamb

“The alternative to how the kings of the earth rule is not ‘spirituality but servanthood”
-JOHN HOWARD YODER-

“The gospel is not an offer of after death life insurance, nor is it merely an offer of personal peace and serenity in the here and now.” As we proclaim the resurrection of the slaughtered lamb, we strike at the heart of fear because fear is grounded in self-preservation. The very identity of Jesus as Lord and Messiah is authenticated by his suffering and service.

The Church: The Body of Christ

“Suffering then, is the badge of true discipleship. The disciples is not above his master.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer-

Camp reminds us that we cannot attempt to beat the powers of the world at their own game. Christ has promised us that if the authorities persecuted him they will surely persecute his followers. Camp says that church is not just the right doctrines, fire insurance, or simply inner peace, this is what Bonhoeffer has called cheap grace. Instead the church must first and foremost be a community of disciples of Christ who is living loving forgiving an detaching the ways of Jesus. As followers we are called to a way of weakness, suffering and marginalization, reinterpreting our identity and existence in light of the cross.

3. What Disciples Do

Worship: Why Disciples Love their Enemies
Camp calls us to remember that our means are just as important as our ends. Our worship and ethic should reflect and build upon one another. “ In worship we ascribe praise, adoration, glory and honor to a God who loves enemies, who loves the unlovable, who loves us.”

Baptism: Why Disciples don’t make good Americans or Germans, or Frenchmen
Baptism is clothing ourselves with Christ. This new identity transcends race, economic class, ethic grouping and national citizenship. In baptism we are grafted into a ministry of reconciliation. Two parodies of this are “Nationalism and patriotism” which are “self-centeredness writ large, community habits that prepare us to do ‘whatever is necessary’, as our politicians put it these days, to ‘preserve our cherished way of life.’” Camp says that the nation uses all means necessary to do this using “public education, national holidays, churches, culture, media and even his child’s preschool.” Baptism teaches us to sow the seeds of the kingdom, which are forgiveness, repentance, justice, mercy, prayer and celebration

Prayer: Why Disciples Trust God Rather Than Their Own Calculations
Living by faith means living dangerously. One of the biggest points Camp makes is that the prayer in the New Testament doesn’t assume that walking in the way of Christ is an unrealistic, unattainable utopian ideal. This is important because many people have argued that texts such as the Lords Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount are idealistic, utopian and should not be imposed upon Christians as an ethic for life.

Communion: Why Disciples Share Their Wealth
Our communion with one another is an act of the community. The Eucharist is simultaneously sacrament, sign and sustenance. It is a remembrance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The community shares its possessions realizing that all we have is a gift from God. We have been freely given grace and so we freely give.

Evangelism: How Disciples “Make a Difference”
Evangelism is the church being the church, our actions being the same as our words. “The gospel is not sectarian but a call to an indiscriminant, suffering love. “Evangelism is not about selling Jesus but showing Jesus, evangelism is not mere telling about Christ but about being Christ.”

A Missional Anthem for the Emerging Generation

2006-12-06T21:44:00.000-06:00

I have read over this many times and every time i get fired up, fall in love and cry all at the same time. Peter Greig who wrote "The Vision" comes out of the UK and was the leading influence in the 24-7 prayer movement. John Wesley once said "if you set yourself on fire, people will come from miles around to watch you burn" One of my prayers among many is that i might embody what "The Vison" describes as a passionate missional walk with Jesus.

THE VISION
[ Pete Greig, 24-7prayer.com]

So this guy comes up to me and says, "What's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this...

The vision?
The vision is JESUS - obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people. You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free, yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.

What is the vision?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.
Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose that they might one day win the great "Well done" of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing...

This is the sound of the underground
And the army is discipl(in)ed.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them?
And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter!

Waiting. Watching: 24 - 7 - 365.
Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mold them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside.
On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate, but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.
Don't you hear them coming?

Herald the weirdos! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.

How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great "Amen!" from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture

2006-11-29T17:51:00.000-06:00

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture:
How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel and Church

Shane Hipps who had previously worked as what he calls a “consumer anthropologist” came to the conclusion that “the most effective, award winning, and respected advertising is that which convinces consumers that a product or service will meet their spiritual and emotional needs. In this sense, the measure of my success in advertising was to promote a counterfeit gospel.” Out of that he decided to write this book.

Hipps contends that “the forms of media and technology—regardless of their content—cause profound changes in the church and culture.” Hipps argues against the commonly held cultural belief that the medium doesn’t matter.

“THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

CHRISYTIANITY –IN A CENTRALIZED, ADMINISTARTIVE, BEUROCRATIC FORM—IS CERTAINLY IRRELIVANT.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

The development of all media is the attempt to extend or exemplify the natural functions of our bodies. The natural tendency that Hipps warns against is our aptness to turn our gadgets into idols that create an upside-down relationship between the creator and the created. Hipps says, “ We are oblivious to the ways the medium, regardless of its content, reduces our capacity for abstract thought, makes us prefer intuition and experience over logic and reasoning, and revives tribal experiences in an individualistic culture.” The movies The Matrix is a great metaphor for this book.

The 4 questions we must ask of our media are;
1. What does the media extend?
-A previous body part, a previous medium, or even an emotion?
2. What does the medium make obsolete?
-What older medium has been replaced?
3. What does the medium reverse into?
-If pushed to the extreme what does the medium reverse into against its original intention?
4. What does the medium retrieve?
-What medium from the past is recovered?

“THE PRINTEDD BOOK ADDED MUCH TO THE NEW CULTURE OF INDIVIDUALISM. THE PRIVATE, FIXED POINT OF VIEW BECAME POSSIBLE AND LITERACY CONFERRED THE POWER OF DETACHMENT,
NONINVOLVMENT.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps shows how much of postmodernism and modernism can be seen in the language difference between eastern and western cultures and that it is no wonder postmodernism has leaned toward Eastern Orthodoxy. Hipps says, “while a phonetic alphabet (American English) is linear, sequential and abstract, ideographic writing (Chinese Characters) is nonlinear, holistic, and intuitive.” With the development of the Gutenberg printing press the culture and worldview of the west changed. “This newly entrenched worldview was characterized by a strong emphasis on individualism, objectivity. Abstraction and reason, in contrast to the medieval worldview characterized by and emphasis on tribal, mystical and sacramental experiences.”

The Effects of Printing on Christianity
1. Enhances
Printing amplifies the notion of a personal relationship with God built around critical reason and analysis.
2. Obsolescence
Print changes communal faith eroding intuition and our appreciation for mystery.
3. Reverses Into
Print turns the gospel into a gospel for the individual and a set of abstract propositions.
4. Retrieves
Print recovers the Pauline epistles with the highly rational prose of Paul.

“TODAY WE EXPERIENCE IN REVERSE WHAT PRELITERATE MAN FACED WITH THE ADVENT OF WRITING”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps comes back to the Modern/Postmodern analysis saying that the modern metaphor has been print, which builds its knowledge on scripture, theology and then experience. This foundationalism is a linear sequential line of thinking that was birthed in the Enlightenment. The postmodern metaphor is more of a web of communication claiming knowledge is conditioned both by our experiences and our truth claims. The legitimacy of the web is determined by its coherence. Hipps says the Printed word is propositional, sequential, rational, linear (left brain) and is abstract in dealing with experience. Image is presentational, holistic, intuitive, non-linear (right brain) and deals with experience concretely.

The effects of Electronic Culture
1. Enhances
-A right brain encounter corporate approach to faith.
2. Obsolescence
-Electronic culture obsolescence our belief in a meta-narrative
3. Reverses Into
-Reverse into relativism
4. Retrieves
-Eastern Orthodox and Medieval Catholic spirituality
“Media are make happen agents not make aware agents.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps says that the nature of God’s medium is the people of God who are a sign, an instrument and a foretatse of the kingdom who are called to be the body of Christ. He also talks about how the consumer driven church ahs lost God’s medium.

“THE NEW ELECTRONIC INTERDEPENDANCE RECREATES THE WORLD IN THE IMAGE OF A GLOBAL IMAGE.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps speaks about the topic of community in the electronic culture and how we have become a tribe of individuals. Media has meant that we no longer need to share geography with other to share community. Our electronic culture creates empathy at a distance and spoils our appetite for the kind of authentic community which scripture calls us to. Hipps says “authentic community involves high degrees of intimacy, permanence and proximity. Authentic community will undoubtedly be marked by conflict, risk, and rejection. At the same time it offers the deepest levels of acceptance, intimacy and support.”

“WE MUST GET RID OF THE HEIRARCHY IN THE CHURCH IF WE WANT PARTICIPATION BUT WE DON’T HAVE TO WISH FOR IT. IT’S HAPPENING.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps says, “Authority is often derived from information control. In other words, as access to information increases centralized authority decreases.” One of the things that the Christian community has done in the modern era has been the developing of a “Ready, Fire, Aim” mentality in that they are so quick to adopt the latest method and forget about asking how the method fits in the DNA of the culture and church. Hipps says “when we import prepackaged programs from ‘successful’ mega churches around the country, we assume they have already done the aiming for us.”

“THE NEW PREFFERENCE FOR DEPTH PARTICIPATIO HAS PROMTED IN THE YOUNG A STRONG DRIVE TOWARDS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH RICH LITURGICAL OVERTONES. THE LITURGICAL REVIVAL OF THE ELECTRONIC AGE AFFECTS EVEN THE MOST AUSTERE PROTESTANT SECTS.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Finally, Hipps touches on worship in electronic culture. Hipps creates an awesome illustration that I wont explain here, suffice it to say that he plays with the difference between Mac’s (Postmodern) versus Windows (Modern). Hipps says that the emerging video venues create an illusion of a celebrity spectacle. Hipps says that this new medium “conveys the unspoken belief that no one in the satellite congregation has the authority to speak to their context because preaching requires unique that only a few actually posses. We are called to a holistic understanding of worship that is relevant to the context and community it seeks to create. In closing Hipps calls for an ecology of worship that continues to ask the why questions about our media and how it shapes our faith, the gospel and the church.

The Power of Love

2006-11-22T10:44:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I am reading a book, which I will write on later but I had to stop and give these words of wisdom.

"To our most bitter opponents we say:
'Throw us in jail,
and we will still love you.
Bomb our houses and threaten our children,
and we will still love you.
Beat us and leave us half dead,
and we will still love you.
But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer.
One day we shall so appeal to your heart and conscience
that we shall win you in the process,
and our victory will be a double victory'"

(Martin Luther King Jr., "The American Dream")

"I always say that if we believe terrorists are beyond redemption,
we can rip out half of our New Testament,
since it is written by a converted terrorist
who became an extremist for grace."

(Shane Claiborne, "The Irresistible Revolution")

The Nativity Story

2006-11-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

Jenn and I got the chance to go and see "The Nativity Story" tonight thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Tatum. The movie was great! It was Biblically accurate and well done. There are alot of things you will think about when viewing it that we often just dismiss and don't think about when we briefly read the Biblical texts. Watch the Trailer Here. There are several great moments when the relationship between Mary and Joseph gives a foretaste of Jesus' coming ministry.

Joseph offers the gift of grace to Mary as Jesus offers it to us. Mary washes Joseph's feet as Jesus washes his disciples feet. Joseph comments on the desecration of the temple in Jerusalem forshadowing Jesus' experience in the temple. This is a great movie and I am glad we got to see it. Go see it and support the ministry. The guy who spoke before the showing mentioned that he really hoped with the combination of "The Passion", "Narnia", and now "The Nativity" that there will be a new opening for the this sort of Christian genre. I would have to say that watching this movie as a couple who had just experienced having a newborn baby the movie's meaning was amplified for Jenn and I. We enjoyed it and had a great discussion afterword. Peace of Christ.

Myths America Lives By; by Richard T. Hughes

2006-11-13T14:37:00.000-06:00

Myths America live by, visits 5 Key Myths that lie at the heart of the American experience.

1. The Myth of the Chosen Nation
-The Puritans understanding that they were God’s elect chosen above others.
2. The Myth of Nature's Nation
-The Enlightenment’s focus on Naturalism, Rationalism and Deism.
3. The Myth of the Christian Nation
-The Great Awakening’s push for a unification of American Christians.
4. The Myth of the Millennial Nation
-The anticipation of the return of Christ.
5. The Myth of the Innocent Nation
-The belief that whatever America does is righteous and just in its struggle against evil.

These 5 Myths that have been embraced by the American culture have led us to so many problems as Christians within the nation of America. The Myth of the chosen nation along with the Myth of the Christian nation have led to the continual validation of American Christendom and the justification for many acts of violence, acts of retributive justice, acts of oppressing the; alien, poor, orphan, widow and marginalized, and the confusing that the nation of America is actually about the business of the Kingdom of God, which it is not.
The Myth of the Nature’s Nation, which is fueled by the Enlightenment, leads to a false dualism of body/mind, public/private, religion/politics, and has led to many of our common debates between the Bible and science, the Bible and atheism, the Bible and deism, as well as the postmodern search for truth in something other than the meta-narrative of the Biblical narrative.
The Myth of the Millennial Nation has led to much of the ‘Left Behind’ apocalyptical theology, which attempts to take texts such as the book of Revelation as a literal description of the return of Christ. One may note that all predictions have come and gone and Christ himself said that nobody knows the time of Christ’s return. Christ speaks of His return as a thief coming in the night, a time that can be predicted or foretold by no one.
The Myth of the Innocent Nation has been used to justify many things that the U.S has done as it supposedly fights good and evil. (even though the nation is built upon a theology of deism) You may notice that much of what President Bush speaks about when he speaks on the topics of terrorism and foreign policy embrace this sort of ‘us’ V.S ‘them’, or ‘good’ V.S ‘evil’ theology. The assumption goes back to the Myth that America is in fact a Christian nation.
A recent research paper I wrote on the separation of church and state traces these myths, as they are involved in the forming of the separation between church and state. (email me if you want to read the paper and I will send it to you) I trace the Puritan Protestant colonies formation as they rebel from England and how they develop their own theology within Congregationalism /Denominationalism as they reject the Parish system of England that embraces the union of church and state. The religious toleration of the colonies as well as the felt need for the ‘liberty of conscience’ (William Penn) leads to the development of a deism that guides the civil government/religion. The Amendments to the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights, which are highly influenced by Madison and Jefferson, set up a governing system built around a naturalistic deism and not Christianity. (Contrary to popular belief) This book is a must read for any person who considers themselves to be a Christian living in America, an American Christian, a person pastoring in America, or anyone wanting to understand the development and establishment of the American government.

Other books i have read on the topic:
Religion in America; seventh edition
The First Freedoms; Church and State in America to the Passage of the First Amendment
Church and State in American History; Key Documents, Decisions, and Commentary From the Past three Centuries
Sworn on the Alter; A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson
The Democratization of American Christianity

Rockabye Lulabye

2006-11-05T19:14:00.000-06:00

As promised here is a video of Kaleb for the family. I set it to the song that I wrote for him and sang to him while his was still in Jenn's belly. He loves for me to sing it to him now also.

"Rockabye Lulabye"
David Tatum

Rock a by Lulla by, sleep my child
Rock a by Lulla by

You can rest knowing that I’m here for you
I’ll be with arms of love, you can hold on to
So close your eyes you can sleep, breathe in deep

Sleep in peace my child

Presence Centered Youth Ministry by Mike King

2006-11-03T22:10:00.000-06:00

Mike King begins his book by addressing the problem that many youth and young adults are leaving the church and never coming back. He visits his own past in the evangelical church as he experience the selling of the gospel of just another commodity to the consumeristic, individualistic culture, which sought to, “get people to heaven”. Mike says, “more than 80% of people who grow up in the church leave it when they hit their 20’s! As a person who is wanting to minister to the age group of young adults this is a tragic thing to think about. Unfortunately, this is something that I have experienced first hand. Some of the problems that he labels in youth ministry in the modern era include the lack of succession, the lack of tradition, the segregation by age, the decisionism in evangelism. One of the major problem of youth ministry is that it has been involved in the “beavior modification” techniques that have led to shallow decisions and in some cases what has been called the emotional rape of youth. Mike quotes a college student Justin as saying, “So many Christians have created a faith that fits into the American dream, a faith that is rarely challenged. I think many believe in Jesus because we the church, portray Christianity as easy. Postmodern youth don’t want a explanation of mystery and they realize and embrace the many paradoxes of our Christian faith. Mike says that the beginning and main goal of the youth pastor is to practice the presence of Christ, which first requires a intimate relationship with God. In fact “the primary goal of all Christians young and old is to commune with God, to place themselves in the presence of God.”(Brother Lawrence) Mike brings up the topic of being able to measure the love of ones neighbor by our love for God, which got me to thinking about how we can also tell ones love for God by their love for their neighbors. “The truest test of discipleship is the way we live with each other in the community of faith.”

Faith, which does not doubt is dead faith (Miguel de Unamuno, Philosopher and novelist)

Mike calls us to a ministry and personal walk with Christ that is holistic and embraces the body, mind, and soul. Mike addresses on of the problems we Protestants have had to deal with as a result of the Protestant Reformation, the problem of tradition. Pelikan says, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, whereas traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” Mike calls us to the tradition of our Christian brothers and sisters, reaching back to the early church and restoring the symbolism, metaphors, creeds, liturgy, sacraments and other aspects of our Christian heritage. He says we should be “moving from a life with a few sacraments to a life that is sacramental.” Youth ministry is a communal attempt to live life together with Christ as the center of our life guiding and shaping our rituals and practices a we allow God to restore the Imagio Dei within us. One of the ways we can do this is practice prayer with youth. Mike reminds us that if our relationship with God finds its communication in prayer we must allow for time of listening because any dialogue provides for a time for talking and listening. Mike introduces the practices of Imaginative Prayer, Examining ones Conscious, Respiratory Prayer, Prayer Rope, Prayer Postures, The Sign of the Cross, Praying with Icons, and Keeping the Hours. (www.sacredgateway.org) Mike then asks how we might us scripture in youth ministry, reading in a qualitative way embracing the sacredness of the text rather than just digesting it quantitatively in the speed reader fashion we approach most of the information that we encounter within our culture. We embrace the Bible by telling its story through sacred reading. Mike offers up the practice of Lectio Divina, as a great example of learning to read scripture in a slow contemplative and meditative fashion. I have personally found this practice very fulfilling myself both in personal use and communal use. It is amazing how individuals filled with the Holy Spirit can energize and encourage one another with their different perspectives and understandings on the same text. Mike introduces the practice of developing a Rule of Life, which orders ones life around daily, weekly, monthly and annual practices of life. It is a covenant with God to order ones life with Christ at the center of all that we do. Mike offers values that are useful in writing one Rule of Life, they are; stability, fidelity, community, proximity, and learning. The practices which shape our Rule of Life include but are not limited to; prayer, scripture, fasting, study, journaling, Sabbath Rest, Retreat, Pilgrimage, Body Care, Hospitality, examination of Conscious, Focal Points, Confession and Networking.

The key to much of this is found in the balance of both Orthodoxy, right thinking and Orthodoxy, right action. I think Mike hits it on the head when he quotes the Bible.

“Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and one Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:1-6

Mike says, “a rule of life celebrates our joyful commitment to Jesus Christ and our desire to be habituated in the way of Jesus. A rule of life helps us become full participants in God’s inbreaking kingdom.” Last but definitely not least, we are reminded of “the art of the long view”, the practicing of ministry, which I invested in the long hall. It has been said that the average stay of any given youth minister at a church is an average of 18 months. If youth ministry is going to be taken seriously and practiced by presence-centered ministry, there must be a communal attempt to break this tragic statistic. In the end, “we must sit at the feet of the master and learn the way of Jesus.”

Mike King, does an excellent job at portraying youth ministry as it has developed in the modern evangelical setting and how it is evolving and changing in the postmodern culture. He offers valid and Christ centered Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy for youth ministers that has been long awaited and much needed for the youth of our generation. As a seminarian, follower of Christ and someone who is preparing to enter into ministry with the postmodern generation I found this book compelling, encouraging, challenging, vision casting and just plain old hard to put down. I recommend this book as a must read for the shepards and ministers of youth. Thanks Mike.

Other recomendations:
The Rule of Saint Benedict
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Postmodern Youth Ministry
The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life
Emerging Church, The

More Pictures of Baby Kaleb

2006-10-30T14:12:00.000-06:00

Well we finally came home on Sunday afternoon from the hospital and have started to settle in. Momma Jenn and baby Kaleb are doing awesome, thanks so much to all our family and friends for your support and prayer!!! Here are a few more pictures of my baby boy. I am hoping to get a video up sometime soon as requested from Grandma Tatum.

Like Father, Like Son

2006-10-26T15:42:00.000-05:00

On the Top is a photo my mom sent me today of me (David)
And on the bottom is a photo of Kaleb my son who was born today

Kaleb Lee Tatum

2006-10-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, so here is the low down. We arrived at the hospital at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday the 25th. Finally, after alot of waiting, stress and patience Kaleb Lee Tatum decided to grace us with his presence at 6:39 a.m, Thursday October 26th. Kaleb was born weighing in at 8 pounds 7 ounces. His lenght was aprox 19 inches long. He has a light brown head of hair and midnight blue eyes that seem to pierce me to the core.

Jenn and I are doing great, we are in Shawnee Mission Medical Center an can be reached at 913-676-2650.

Thanks to everyone for their support and all the much needed and appreciated prayer. Bob and Vicki we will see you soon. Tatum family, Thanksgiving, our house, Oh Yeah.

9/11 and the Road to Heaven

2006-10-14T20:46:00.000-05:00

Ok so i have been listening to this radio station in the mornings were alot of people have been calling in and saying that the whole 911 event was a fraud and that it was a government sanctioned attack which would provide the motif for the U.S to go to war. I have also hear that there is a new book out on the topic The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11 (Paperback) .

I havent read the book yet book i plan on checking it out. I also watched a few videos on youtube that talk about the conspiracy theories. Basically from what i gather they conspiracies are that

1.) The twin towers could not have gone down on their own and there must have been demolition explosives set of in order for them to collapse the way they did. (Video)
2.) The plane that suposivley hit the Pentagon never did and there is no proof of a plane ever hitting the building. (Video)

Click on the links above to watch videos on the theories. Leave comments and let me know what you think.

I dont know all the evidence but im curious as to what people think. I do know one thing though, i have been to the site after 9/11 and i saw a poem written by a NYPD police officer. I believe his repsonse of forgiveness and love are the correct Christian response regardless of who did it. Christians do not believe in retrobutive justice, taking an eye for an eye, murder, or any other forms of taking life. Check out some of Derek Webb's music he speaks prophetically to the topic.

The Road to Heaven

While traveling along
It’s never to late.
Take the road that leads to love
Not the one to hate.
Hate is what took these buildings down,
With love is how we’ll remember those,
No longer around.
Take the right road and you will see,
How much sweeter life will be.
The road may be uphill and strewn with stones
So get rid of the weight
And lighten the load.
At the summit there is a beautiful view
All of God’s peace
Open to you.

A Police Officer
NYPD

And Now For Your Viewing Pleasure

2006-10-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

I laughed to hard when i saw this. Could you imagine trying to get all those shirts on? He probably could have a taken a bullet and not even gotten hurt. His friends should have just left him in the shirts and rolled him down a steep hill or something. Anyway laugh it up.

LOST???

2006-10-03T18:13:00.000-05:00

David

You scored as Kate.
Even with your spotty past of
bank robbery and trouble you are a known
as a nice girl who loves adventure. You are
one of the guys and will always volunteer to
go exploring.

I may be a girl but im a HOT one! Dude Charlie what is up homegirl!

Jenn

You scored as Boone.
You are Boone! Even though it's kinda weird
that young are in love with your step-sister,
you are still quite a beautiful man.
Despite your young age, you managed to become
quite rich and quickly found yourself wanting
to learn more from Locke.

Ok so Jenn scored as Boone, and I (David) scored as Kate, i guess thats better than two guys or two girls, but what the heck!

Sand Lot Baseball

2006-10-01T18:54:00.000-05:00

Ok so if you have ever watched the classic movie "Sand Lot" and wondered what that baseball looked like, wonder no more. Here is what my 140 pound saint bernard Otis did to a baseball on a walk the other night. We thought that he would deal better with a hard baseball since he pops all the tennis balls we give him. We were wrong.

Jenns Soccer Team

2006-10-01T18:50:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of Jenns boys soccer team at Turner High School. When she came on last year their previous record was 1-15. Last year they were 9-6-1. Currently they are 6-4-1 with 5 more games to go in the regular season.

Powerful Quote!

2006-09-30T21:22:00.000-05:00

Jenn and I watched "Akeelah and the Bee" tonight.

Who knew that spelling words could be so much fun. Check out this quote, it is so true! In a world that tells us to fear alomost everything, what we really fear is what we may become when we set our minds to it. As God's creation we truly shine when we embrace the image of our creator within us and follow God's will of divine love.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people will not feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others."
(Marianne Williamson)

Kaleb Lee Tatum

2006-09-29T19:28:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are pictures of Kaleb at 35 weeks. He is weighing in at 6.5 pounds and is in the 80-85% growth rate. If Jenn goes full term then he will be around 9lbs at birth. Jenn is doing well, still coaching and working at the school. The due date as of right now is set for Oct 28th. We can't wait for him to be here! We are also looking forward to seeing all the family for thanksgiving and Xmas!

Finally on the Web!

2006-09-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

OK, so i broke down and decided that i needed to start blogging now like everybody else in the universe. Charlie you will have to show me all the tricks of the trade, i will be your young and budding apprentice! Anyway, this will be great when Kaleb comes here pretty soon. Speaking of my baby boy, i will try to post again soon with some updated info and a new sonogram picture. Peace of Christ.