Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Today we had "Bible with Eric and God" in the morning, and we started going through the Bible as one story. While it's not a new concept to me, it's definitely interesting. We looked at the first two chapters of Genesis, looking at creation and the responsibilities of man. We then had an hour of solitude to pray and read Scripture.

Wednesday evening was exciting because John Stonestreet arrived and began teaching his class on "Christianity and Culture." He used to teach a full semester senior level class on this at Bryan College, and I definitely wish I could take the full thing. His class has been my favorite, as well as most challenging (not work load wise, but just in thinking through things and wanting to respond and make a difference). I'm going to skip over most of his stuff, because I haven't worked through it enough to coherently summarize it. That, and I didn't type these blogs out ahead of time. Sorry Mom. Suffice it to say for now that I've loved this week of classes, and I'm excited about the ideas I'll get to wrestle through in the coming days and week about culture and Christianity and how I (and the Church) needs to be involved.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tuesdays are art class days with Charlie Pepitone. He's a cool guy, strong Christian though definitely liberal, but it's kind of cool to get different viewpoint on some things. On other things, it's more frustrating, and gives me a lot more respect for my mom's liberal seminary experience. It's a fascinating class, though - I'm really enjoying it. In terms of information, it's definitely the class I have the least experience in, and I'm finding my interest is growing. I've wanted to do "media" - combining words and graphics and layouts - but more and more I'm realizing I need to learn how to do "art." Not quite sure what this looks like yet, but Charlie's class is definitely the most intriguing and frustrating class right now, and it's encouraging me to look more into all of this once Semester's over.

After dinner, we also have small groups, and tonight we met up at Dr. Bauman's house, which is the second story of the Smiths' duplex. It was fun and a good time of discussion. Afterwards, Naomi, my mentor, and I, walked the mile and back down to Blue Creek Road in the moonlight, and that was amazing. We talked about a lot of stuff, from trusting God to experiences of the past couple years to art. It was great.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Today we went to Starbucks, Wal-mart, and Ouray, in order of significance. The former two are very exciting when you live over an hour from them. Ouray, though three times as far away, was not as exponentially excited. It was a fun, quaint little tourist trap, and the scenery is beautifully, but I'm not sure the town itself deserves the moniker "America's Switzerland." It is surrounded by mountains, which all made us a little claustrophobic, but I'm still holding out to see the real thing someday.

It was definitely a fun day, though. We had a great van to spend 6+ hours together, and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The trees were mostly yellows and golds, which made us appreciate our own reds and oranges around the lodge that much more. We ended the evening with a meal at Applebee's which was amazing because I got chips and queso and quesadillas. It was pretty amazing...

Friday, September 25, 2009

Day 22, Summit Semester

Today, Bauman decided to switch things around a little bit. Instead of having the podium at the front of the room, he moved it to the second story balcony surrounding the classroom. He made a comment about being closer to God and having more authority from the position.

After he left for the afternoon, we (at the suggestion of the staff) decided to turn the tables. We moved all the desks and chairs to the second floor balcony and brought his podium and stool back to the first floor. We put the podium in the center of the room, and wrote “the tables have been turned” on the whiteboard at the front.

For our evening class, we all got there 15 minutes early. We hurried upstairs, where our desks were overlooking the now empty classroom below. We turned out all the lights, except for one light that shined directly on the whiteboard.

We waited in the dark for about 15 minutes, though definitely not quietly as some wanted. When we saw his headlights pulling up, we all settled down to wait for his reaction. It was pretty awesome. He walked in and didn’t say anything for a minute, then walked to the front to turn on the lights. He finally said “Oh my gosh…. I approve.” It was pretty incredible, and definitely made for a memorable class.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Day 21, Summit Semester

We had study time in the morning, and class with Dr. Bauman in the afternoon, once he finally got here. We jumped right back into our discussion of abortion, followed by a lecture on civil rights. In Brit Lit, we’re in the middle of studying Chaucer, currently looking at the Canterbury Tales. After dinner we had a lecture on the Second Century Church Fathers Tertullian and Justin Martyr.

I’m loving Bauman’s classes. His sarcasm and wit keep things amusing, and he’s always challenging if we really know what we say we believe. We have to think hard about everything, and sometimes we leave class with more questions than answers, but it is amazing. Having a semester to wrestle through deep questions in community, focusing not only on academics but also on personal growth and discipleship, is absolutely amazing. I am so glad I am here.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Day 20, Summit Semester

Wednesday mornings we have our Bible survey course with Eric. We’re focusing on how we actually read Scripture. Too often as evangelicals, we don’t know how to read the Bible, why we read the Bible, or how to properly understand and apply it.

“We act as if there is no history or cultural context to Scripture – because it’s hard to understand, we open it up, read a verse, and wrestle it into some sort of inspirational thought for the day that might be entirely wrong and unbiblical.”

We’re discussing how the best way to understand Scripture is in the context of a story. John Stonestreet used the example of a six act drama:

The Six Act Drama – (from Bartholomew and Goheen) – focus on God

I: God Establishes His Kingdom (Creation)

II: Rebellion in the Kingdom (Fall)

III: The King Chooses Israel (Redemption Initiated)

Scene 1: A people for the King

Scene 2: A land for His People

IV: The Coming of the King (Redemption accomplished)

V: Spreading the news of the King (Church’s mission)

Scene 1: from Jerusalem to Rome

Scene 2: and into all the world

(evangelize but act as if the Kingdom belongs to the King)

VI: The Return of the King (Redemption Completed)

When looking at the Bible as a single story, it makes more sense. It’s harder to purposefully pull verses or chapters or books out of context when you’re trying to understand the larger picture of what God is doing.

Dr. Bauman’s flight was delayed in Denver, so we didn’t get to have him speak Wednesday night. We did a typical “team-building” exercise, where you have one paper plate per person, and everybody has to get across from one side of the room to the other. You can only step on a paper plate, not the floor, and if the staff catches you on the floor, you have to go back and you get a handicap – blindness, the loss of one or both legs, etc. We were easily successful, despite Eric changing the rules in the middle of the game.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Day 19, Summit Semester

Tuesday’s main activity is art class with Charlie Pepitone. We spent the first part of class presented the skits we had written and practiced over the past week. It was a fun activity, and some skits were very amusing. I took and edited video for a couple scenes in our skit, and I was definitely pleased with how that came together. I wasn’t excited about the problems we had with the projector and audio during the skit, but all things considered, it went well.

The next part of class has been the subject of dozens of discussions since class ended. Our textbook for the class is Arts, Theology, and the Church: New Intersections. It’s a really interesting collection of essays on the arts and the Church, but it definitely doesn’t come from an evangelical perspective. It’s been interesting as we (the students + some discussions with the staff) have wrestled through two chapters, figuring out what we think about these concepts coming from a very liberal, if not New Age-y perspective. The staff is definitely aware of this, and we all agree it’s a good challenge, to be given a different perspective from a liberal Christian like Charlie. It’s somewhat harder than I expected, wading through material, sifting out what I know to be true and what I know to be false, and applying this to concepts that may be very unfamiliar, due to the worldview of the author or simply the subject matter of the arts.

I really enjoyed Charlie’s lecture, and it definitely gives us something to think about. For me, it’s been really good to wrestle through some of these issues, deciding whether or not I agree with the doctrine, and if I don’t, identifying what is wrong and what I do actually believe. This class is definitely stretching me, from my lack of sketching skills to theoretical discussions about the definitions of art, beauty, glory, and suffering, but it’s definitely a good stretching.