Updates

First, on the car: praise God! Usually I don't ascribe every little thing to God's hand (I wouldn't want a micromanaging diety), but I can only figure that something supernatural had to happen to cut through the red tape of California bureaucracy. Turns out, CA offers these nice people called smog check referees, and they have the power to override the little glitch in the system that is my nightmare. So thanks be to God, I have an appointment for tomorrow, and this will all be taken care of for only $30 more (bringing our total to about $100, but what are ya gonna do?).

Second, on the summer: I'm still considering what to do with myself. I need to get out and help someone somewhere. Not to supplant, but to supplement, my education. I don't need to leave Fuller and I know I'm being well-trained there. I wouldn't give up this wonderful season of seminary for anything - it's a glorious respite from the real world. In fact, like J, I may just retreat into academia forever.

But first, I need to get my ass out there and work a little bit among the people. So I continue to pray about where to go and what to do. I haven't applied for CPT yet - not because of the kidnappings, although that was disturbing (no update last I checked, although the deadline passed), but because the timing isn't all that perfect. It would be better for me to go when school's not in session, 2-3 weeks in either June or September. Plus, my original desire, you may recall, was for Africa. Well, I have a friend who's from South Africa and is well-connected there (she was actually ordained by Desmond Tutu, I think), so I've asked her if she knows anyone who could use my help. Perhaps J and I could even go as a team. And I've recently learned that my mother wants to tithe on her inheritance, and this may be a viable way for her to do so (at least I think so, I have to ask her), supporting me as a short-termer.

There are also always my friends in PNG, who it would be amazing to go work with (they work in ethnomusicology and worship studies), but they're coming home on furlough in a few months! Have to do that one later.

So we'll see. Please pray for me.

Final Update, on Christmas services (to be or not to be):

Well, a very interesting discussion is going on in the comments section - check it out. Here is my take on it, and you can all tear me a new one.

My dad was also a pastor, and when we'd get snowed in and couldn't have Christmas eve service, we all breathed a sigh of relief. We never had Christmas day service (but I don't remember what, if anything, we did on a Christmas Sunday). It seems pretty normal for churches to do it up on the Eve and leave the Day to the families.

But I think we might be wrong about this. I understand, believe me, the ministers who've written in saying they want that day off because they are pooped (my church does four Christmas eve services!). I understand the people who want to be with family because that's what the holiday is about for them. I understand the sentiment that one can worship and celebrate Jesus' birth anywhere, not only in church. But I disagree.

I actually think that if we are going to be the authentic church of Jesus Christ, we need to make his birth one of our hugest festivals of the year - only second to Easter (and who'd cancel services on Easter??). Because frankly, it's up there for the most important moment in history - the incarnation, many Christians believe, was the turning point, not the crucifixion/resurrection. But either way, we can all agree it was terribly important.

We need to let go of our biases about it being a day of family, a day of presents, a day of celebrating peace and goodwill. Guys, it's a festival celebrating the most holy of occasions: the incarnation of the living God. It's not about us at all, remotely. It's a day when we should be coming before the throne with fear and trembling, not able to fathom what great love caused this God to do this thing for us.

So I am sorry that it is inconvenient, tiring, and anti-family. But it's Christian. Jesus didn't want us to spend time with our families. Jesus did plenty of great work while he was exhausted. Jesus freaking incarnated. What are we doing with our little manger scenes and children in bathrobes and bad music?? Are we nuts? Do we even realize what we are playing at???

I think a step towards the solution is to cut out all this Christmas Eve worship. We have capitulated way too much to the idea that the festival is on the Eve. Now granted, the Easter Vigil is also a great Eve festival, and in my church at least, it totally kicks Easter Day's ass. But there's got to be balance. For all the anticipation of the Eve and the Vigil, we need the hugest celebration for the Day of our joy! Celebration and righteous awe. Not "Aw, aren't they cute?" But fall-on-your-face dumbstruckness before a God who would enter a womb and live as a human and let us kill him. How did God become a fetus? It's incredible.

Last night on the Simpson's, the first story was actually really funny and cute. It was the Christmas story (sort of). And one great line stuck out: Marge (as Mary) told Homer (Joseph) that the baby (Bart as Jesus) cried every time someone suffered in the world. So he was always crying!

Wow. What a great moment, in a cartoon of all places! We should get it so well.

And I get that historically it wasn't always a big deal. But come on - that's a lame excuse. We need to be always evolving as a church, not just saying something was invented late therefore we don't have to use it. Powerpoint was pretty recently invented, yet it's revolutionized preaching - for visual learners, it's been a huge improvement. The church starting up the Christmas service in the 4th century was a good thing. The early church didn't do everything right and perfect! What a static view of history that would be. We must believe that God's been working over these 2000 years, and where we've come to now is an okay place to be. Let's not always appeal to history as our guide. Let's appeal to right now and what God's doing with God's church for the future.

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but Christmas isn't about you, or your family, or your kids, or your rest, or your peace, or your goodwill. It is about what God did for us. So suck it up. Quit whining. Cancel a few Christmas Eve services and punch up Christmas Day. So nobody comes for a few years. Takes time to change a culture, especially a church subculture. We've got to change the meaning of Christmas entirely. That's going to take a lot of work and time and commitment from otherwise overrun and overworked clergy. But that is what we signed up for as Christians - to change the world. Let's start in our own congregations.

Let's get Christmas back - for what it truly is supposed to be. This may be an entirely new thing, an entirely new idea. But I believe God inspires such. What if we all believed?