Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Recovering our Sense of Parish, part 1

Some think of him as jazz, some as "bluesy" pop/rock.  Some think of him as a pianist, some as a composer.  Some think of him as a contemporary Christian artist, some as "mainstream."   One time I think of him is when I listen to "In the Light" while on hold for Steve Johnson.  [Steve's phone plays the DC Talk version, but this guy was the original composer].  As of  last week, I now think of Charlie Peacock in terms of storytelling, a genre which he currently promotes, teaches, and defends as worthy of a place in the fine arts.

Geography and history have a place in our Christian world, as was illustrated by elder Dave Bowen's sermon on November 21 from Acts 21.   As Dave said, history and geography anchor us in time and space, and remind us that God has been here and knows where we are.

In the current "tent dwelling" stage of our church, it is worthwhile to engage the question "Does God know where we are?"   To set the stage for some thoughts I would like to share in my next post about the notion of parish life, I encourage you to enjoy listening to Charlie Peacock's story of the town he grew up in.  Here's a hint:  it's not Nashville, where he currently resides.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Happy Advent Season!

What a comfort to see the Advent candles at church yesterday!  Though much around us is changing rapidly, the recurring seasons of the church calendar provide a familiar frame of reference that links us to thed eternal.

My long time friend Peggy Hester in North Carolina writes an e mail newsletter several times a week.  Her thoughts on Advent were inspiring to me today, and I share them with you here:




Each morning this Advent I am reading a Bible passage on rejoicing. Today I began with a passage in Leviticus 23 that describes the establishment of the Harvest Festival for the Jewish people of God. This festival, Sukkot, follows the time of atonement, Yom Kippur, solemn high holy days. Each of these holy times carries an admonition to rest and a time set aside for rest. First worship, then rest, confess and make amends, rest, harvest, rest, rejoice. Each of these holy days carries with it specific instructions for rest. Wisdom knew our passion for being and doing, Energizer Bunnies that we humans are. And in that Knowledge, provided a resting place for our souls if we would listen and follow.

So first, worship. I will read Advent devotionals, the Bible and sing first thing each morning offering a small worship as a beginning to my Advent days. And in that time I will take a break, a rest from the busyness of my days, the unending to do list. I will rest in the Lord while I wait for the crocuses to bloom in the desert.

Second I will remember the year past, the mistakes, the sins, the blessings and the good work I have done. I will take inventory and lift it up to God as my part in atonement. Where there is a need to own my brokeness with others, I will speak and seek healing. I will affirm the goodness, the image and actions of God in me this past year as I do the same for others.

Third, I will harvest the past year of life reaping the joys and sorrows, the gains and losses with thanksgiving for it all. Without darkness we could not see the light and without suffering, we could not know joy. Gratitude for all that has come my way in life and gratitude for all that is yet to come will be my Advent prayer song.

Then I will rejoice like Snoopy dancing on top of his dog house, balanced between this world and the next, purely delighted to be here. Life is gift. Life is good. Thanks be to God for rest and rejoicing!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Time to give thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

During these days when many are asking themselves if there is, in fact, any distinctive identity in being a Dove Mountaineer - worth the new sacrifices that many of us are having to make - I can tell you one example of why I am thankful to be a Dove Mountaineer.  A chance remark to a fellow Dove Mountaineer while standing in the serving line at the Love and Joy Cafe on Sunday about the fact that Linda is visiting our grandchildren in Colorado this week led to a phone call that afternoon from a different Dove Mountaineer inviting my son and me to their Thanksgiving table today.  I don't know that this sensitive generosity would happen just anywhere.  I am so thankful to be a Dove Mountaineer!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thankful for parents who choose well....

I haven't said anything in the blog here yet about the school where I am working part time this year, but Thanksgiving prompts me to list it high on the things in my life for which I am thankul.

In 1998 I wrote my dissertation on the clearly established benefits of school choice.   That was also the year that Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization (my other employer) began enabling parents to turn tax credit money into scholarships for their children to attend Christian schools.  Since then, ASCTO has awarded scholarships to over 18,000 students attending 150 Christian schools in the state of Arizona.   While that number is impressive, I am frankly surprised that it isn't even higher. 

In the intervening years, the reports about public schools have not improved significantly, but the quality of the once-struggling Christian schools clearly improves every year.  A small example from a school we all know about is Pusch Ridge, the school that graciously allows our church to use their facility.  When Catalina Foothills Church took over a struggling and academically undistinguished Christian school and renamed it Pusch Ridge, it took five years before a graduating class had just one National Merit scholar in its ranks (these students test in the top one per cent in the U.S).  Now there are routinely two or three in each graduating class, classes of only fifty to sixty per year.  Less than half the public schools in Tucson, schools five to ten times larger than Pusch Ridge, have even one National Merit scholar per year.

Pusch Ridge didn't achieve better academic status just by charging tuition and only enrolling students from economically advantaged homes (a popular myth), or by wishful thinking, either.   The school has worked hard to improve its academic effectiveness. So do Desert Christian and all the other Christian schools in our city.

This is just one evidence that when parents make intentional and informed choices about their child's education, good things can happen.   But I said that this blog would be about Veritas Academy of Tucson, Tucson's first university model school.   Here the parents not only have to choose to pay tuition for private education, many aided by those tax credit scholarships mentioned above, but they also have to share much of the teaching load as well.  Students attend classes at the school (which meets at Sabino Road Baptist Church) two days a week, much as they would when taking university classes.  Then, following the lesson plans on the school website, students study at home with their parents the other three days per week. 

I knew this model of schooling would be good, but one semester into it, I have to say that it is even better than I imagined.   Students do not get tired of being at school - or of being at home, either.  They enjoy the benefits of having companions to play with on the playground two days a week, and lots of quiet, self-paced study time at home.  Most are able to accomplish the requirements in this rigorous classical curriculum in just four days a week, leaving more discretionary time than they would normally have.  Through the school they enjoy field trips, academic competitions, and many other benefits which are often difficult for homeschoolers to manage on their own.

Best of all, parents and teachers are clearly working as partners.  There is no adversarial relationship ("Why aren't you making my child perfect with all the tuition I'm paying you?"), because we all know the child equally well, and understand his or her weaknesses and strengths.   Our meetings are not about blame, but about problem-solving. 

I still advocate the maximum amount of parental choice possible in a child's education, and for many families that will be homeschooling, or an established private school.   But the blend of responsible parenting and educational expertise available in this model is breath-takingly effective, and one of the things for which I am truly thankful this holiday season.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Catching up...

Today I found notes from the first time Steve Johnson preached, back in September I think.  The message was from  Luke 4:1-13, the temptation of Christ.

First he cited these two quotations from The Screwtape Letters.  Both are advice from Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood:

“He [God] cannot tempt with virtue as we can with vice.”


“Our work is impaired when, in the face of no evidence of God’s presence or intervention, they obey anyway.”



Then these three tips for overcoming temptation:

1. Be proactive:   Devotions, Bible reading = “spiritual sweat” - you have to work at it!
2. Be surrounded:   We are not required to do it alone.
3. Be aware:   On earth, we are never far from temptation. “The devil departed until an opportune time.”  (Luke 4:13)

Monday, November 22, 2010