The Press Pot

A Sad Day in Des Moines

2008-04-18T15:09:00.001-05:00

I went out to coffee today to get some work done. I decided to drive to Java G's. Even though there are a lot of coffee shops between my home and there, they are the one shop in Des Moines that has put it all together: great espresso drinks, nice ambiance, and free internet. A lot of shops have one or maybe two of these, but Java G's is the only shop with all three. I'm very sad to say that I just finished my last drink from them. Today is their last day of business. I remember when I first went to Java G's 5 years ago on a visit to Des Moines with Heather. We were excited that upscale coffee had finally made it to Iowa. The coffee scene here in Des Moines has grown by leaps and bounds since that day 5 years ago, but it is taking a turn for the worse with the loss of Java G's. They did everything right. I guess that is why they are going out of business. It seems most people would rather go to Starbucks and pay for internet, sit in an artificially transferrable environment, be covertly barraged with marketing schemes, and be charged too much for bad coffee. (Come to think of it, replace the word "coffee" with "theology" in the above sentence and that is what it seems a lot people in America want out of church.) I'm really disappointed. It is just a reminder that nice, well-run, local establishments like Java G's are an endangered species in America. More generally, it is a sad reminder that doing things right doesn't necessarily guarantee success.

In the Name of Jesus

2008-04-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

About three years ago I sat down to read a book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri Nouwen, for a class I was taking at Fuller called Henri Nouwen: A Spirituality of Imperfection. Taking the title of the class a little too seriously, I wallowed in my imperfection by procrastinating reading the book. With a review of the book due in two days I decided to try to read it in one night. After all, it was the shortest book I was ever required to read in seminary: 107 pages with large font and large margins. Armed with my usual highlighter and notepad I was ready to identify key phrases, analyze arguments, form opinions and efficiently bust out an "A" review like many I had written in the past. Little did I know how much that night would change me. I didn't get past the first few pages before I stopped reading the book and started listening to the writer. He said something startling, "I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant." I had to reread that sentence. Irrelevant?! Was that a typo? How could that be? For the past year everything I had been working on at church and thinking about at seminary had been focused on being relevant; making the gospel meaningful for the current generation; replacing old methods of doing church with new methods more important to the emerging postmodern generation. Heck, I even got a subscription to Relevant magazine. What was Nouwen thinking? I read on. Before long my eyes began to tear up as I began to realize the truth in what the author was saying and the error in my own ways of thinking and being.

Last night, having felt somewhat confused about ministry of late, I read the book again. As it did three years ago, Nouwen's insights and illustrative stories adjusted my priorities and focus in ministry. Here is just a little of what he talks about.

Nouwen uses Jesus' temptation in the wilderness as a model for the temptations that Christian leaders of the future will face: the temptation to be relevant, the temptation to be popular, and the temptation to be powerful. His identifying these as temptations rather than goals or blessings is completely opposite of what we are often are told - not just by the world, but by the church. Some of the influences in this direction are obvious like with Joel Olsteen's books Your Best Life Now and Become a Better You. But some are less obvious, like this article entitled "A New Approach to Success" in Relevant magazine. Both, however, operate under a similar assumption, that God's desire is for His followers, and particularly leaders, to be relevant, popular, and powerful (they use softer terms like meaningful, well-networked, and influential).

Nouwen challenges this way of thinking by offering three alternative ways of living. First, through an intimate prayer life we build a firsthand knowledge of God's unconditional love for us and others that acts as an anchor when we are constantly encouraged to prove our competence. Second, by confessing our faults and forgiving those who have wounded us we remove the safe distance between ourselves and those to whom we are called to minister and keep ourselves from projecting an ego-boosting image of spiritual superiority. Third, instead of moving along a path of upward mobility that involves manipulating and controlling others while we get to where we want to go, we choose to follow Christ down a path of downward mobility full of humility and powerlessness that ends where we don't want to go.

Adopting these principles as a foundation for ministry enables the Christian leader to think with the mind of Christ. This kind of thinking - thinking modeled by Jesus - is what is needed for Christian leaders to go beyond being one of the many voices in our world "trying to help their fellow human beings cope with the stresses and strains of everyday living." It postures one to understand and proclaim all the seemingly random events of our lives as opportunities to be led deeper into the heart of Christ, a journey that ultimately ends in spiritual healing and victory.

This is a message I need to hear over and over again. The question God is asking me and asking his church is not, "What have you done for me lately?" or,"What do others think of you?" but, "Do you love me?" That is the only question that matters, and my answer to that question has nothing to do with whether I'm relevant or irrelevant, whether I'm popular or unpopular, or whether I'm powerful or powerless.

This is why I believe theology is so important. Theology is just another word for studying or knowing God. Ahead of studying church-planting strategies, creative methods of ministry or diagnosing the culture, ministers must be theologians. They need to know God - who He is and how He works in the world. Theology must never be allowed to move to the sidelines of our lives, because when it does we can easily miss the lessons God wants to teach us.

The sin of the Pharisees wasn't legalism as much as it was missing what God was doing in their midst.

a sure-fire investment

2008-03-08T09:35:00.000-06:00

We recently moved to a new place (new to us anyway) in an older part of Des Moines. We like it so much better than our old place. All except for one thing: the shower. Before deciding to signing the new lease, Heather and I closely examined everything we thought was important. We opened cupboards, checked outlets, turned the oven on & off, examined closets, and tried out the faucets. The one thing we never thought to try was the shower. It looked to be a new shower head, and seemed like it would be fine. That was until I took a shower the evening of Moving Day. I stood in the shower dirty and sweaty from a long day of moving, longing for a refreshing stream of water to clean me off and renew my energy. Instead, to my horror, all I got was a trickle barely strong enough to clean the dirt off an insect. With every dribble of water that came out, I sunk deeper into the depths of despair. I began to think I never should have rented the place. I envisioned going through the next year of life always feeling a little dirty. My sanctuary that was my shower was gone, and I had voluntarily given it up.

After the shower, my dismay slowly turned to problem-solving. How could I make this shower work better? I first thought about replacing the showerhead, but figured that the previous occupants had surely come up against the same problem and picked an optimum showerhead for the situation. After all, it looked nice and new. I also assumed that, being an old house, there must be a water pressure issue that nothing could be done about short of replumbing the house. As a last resort, I tinkered with the shower knobs and improved the situation slightly. I found out that if I turned the hot water knob on as hard as it would go and then balanced it with the cold water I got a little more pressure than before, making a shower at least tolerable. That has been the state of things the past two weeks.

Thursday night, things changed. I was headed out to Costco to get gas for the car, and decided to thumb through the Costco coupon book we had recently received in the mail. I noticed a $10 off coupon for a Waterpik Linea 12-mode showerhead. I decided to at least take a look at it. It was $37.99, but the coupon made it $27.99. I was skeptical about it working on our shower, but decided to give it a try and return it if it didn't work. It was the best $27.99 I have ever spent in my life! The showehead had a removable flow regulator for houses with low water pressure; I rememoved that and then installed it. It only took about 5 minutes, then I gave it a try. The water blasted out so hard I thought it might bore a hole in the tub. I was so elated I took a 30 minute shower that night, and again yesterday morning, and again last night. As soon as I'm finished writing this blog, I am going to take another shower.

For the cost of a GAP swearshirt, or a dinner for two at Olive Garden, I got something that greatly improves my happiness, productivity, and overall outlook on life every day and night. Pastor Jim recently talked about how consumer products always over promise and under deliver. This is one exception to that rule. The package could have said, "Your're new Waterpik showerhead will fill your life with a renewed sense of joy, fulfillment, and happiness regardless of your life circumstances," and it still would not have over promised. I can't understand why anyone would pay money for a big screen TV, or finish their basement, or buy a new set of golf clubs, and still have a rinky-dink showerhead. If we ever run into a boat load of money and build our own custom house, this is the showerhead I think I'll get.

My First Caucus

2008-01-04T22:42:00.000-06:00

Even though we just got home from Oregon yesterday, Heather and I decided to embrace the frosty winter wonderland in our front wheel drive sleigh and caucus. Because of parking issues, we barely made it to our caucus site before the 7:00PM deadline. Once inside, the whole process was more chaotic and ad hoc than I thought it would be. We were directed to a room specifically allotted to our party that was way too small for the 260 people gathered there. The first thing that was done was to count every eligible voter in the room. This was done by the chair by simply counting everyone and then asking the entire group, "Is there anyone who I did not count?" We were then told to stand in certain areas of the room depending on who we were supporting. The room was so full of people that it was difficult to discern any kind of dividing line between the six groups that formed. We just stood in our area and eventually someone came around and counted everyone in our group. This was done by making eye contact with the counter, and then sitting down once you were counted. A couple people made this process more confusing because they were not physically able to sit down on the floor (there were not chairs) after they were counted. Finally, all the groups were counted and the candidates with a number of supporters that totaled less that 15% of the number of people gathered in the room were declared to be ineligible. Those who were supporting an ineligible candidate were given the option of realigning with an eligible candidate or sitting off to the side in support of nobody. People supporting any of the eligible candidates were given the option of talking to any of those who were supporting ineligible candidates to convince them to realign with their candidate. This process took quite a while. Finally, three groups were formed (three of the candidates were declared ineligible) and a total count was acquired from each group. At that point the total number of supporters for each candidate were divided by 15% of the total number of eligible voters in the room to determine how many representatives each candidate would receive from the precinct. The results were then announced to the entire group and representatives were chosen from each group.

In the past, voting had always been for me a private, orderly and official feeling event. This caucus was refreshing. It was public, loud, spontaneous, and disorganized. More like real life.

Roast ala Aaron

2007-12-11T20:15:00.000-06:00

Over the last few years I have been trying to make the perfect pot roast, one that tastes rich and flavorful and does not require expensive ingredients, a lot of time, or fancy kitchen equipment. Today I took some time to write down my recipe. I thought I would pass it on to you, my readers. Merry Christmas.

Ingredients

1 2.5lb. Boneless Chuck “Pot” Roast
4-5 Red Potatoes cut in quarters
8-12oz. Baby Carrots
2 Shallots diced (or 1 small yellow onion finely diced)
3 Cloves of Garlic (whole)
2 C. Red Wine (preferably Cabernet, Pinot Noir, or Rhone)
2 Tbs. Herbes de Provence (usually a mix of marjoram, savory, thyme, rosemary, basil, fennel, sage, and lavender): you can buy a 3oz. bag at World Market imported from France for $1.99.
½ tsp. Kosher Salt
½ tsp. Course Ground Black Pepper
1 10½ oz. Can Campbell’s Beef Consommé (Gelatin Added)
1/8 C. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp. Sugar
¼ C. Butter

Cooking Instructions

- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- On the stove top, heat a large skillet on high. When skillet is hot, place roast on skillet to sear (brown). Brown for about two minutes on each side (till some dark brown spots begin to appear) and place roast in a medium size roasting pan with lid.
- Deglaze pan with ½ cup red wine. Meaning: while pan is still very hot pour the wine and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula in the skillet. This pulls out the meat flavor left in the pan. Pour the “deglaze” on the roast in the roasting pan.
- Sprinkle roast with ½ tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp. course ground black pepper.
- Place cloves of garlic and shallots on and around roast.
- Scoop herbes de Provence on the roast.
- Lay the potatoes and carrots around roast and place the roasting pan in a hot oven with the lid on.

Once the roast has been in the oven for about an hour you can start on the sauce:

- In a sauce pan, heat the remaining 1½ cups of red wine to a boil to burn off the alcohol and reduce. Boil for about half its original volume (about 10 minutes). Take off heat.
- Pull out the roast and reduce the oven temperature to 275. Remove the meat and vegetables. Pour all the liquid and juice from the roasting pan (usually about 2 cups worth) into the reduced wine.
- Put the meat and vegetables back in the roasting pan and into the oven with the lid off until the sauce is finished.
- Place the sauce back on stove on high heat. Add the can of beef consommé, balsamic vinegar, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium-high and simmer the mixture until it has reduced to half its volume (about 15 minutes).
- Finish the sauce off by melting the butter in it. Once the butter is fully melted take the sauce off the heat.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serving: remove the roast from the pan and slice. Place slices of roast, potatoes, and carrots on plates and spoon sauce generously over it all. Serve with French bread or dinner rolls.

Missing Good Mexican Food

2007-10-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

I love Mexican food. At least that is what I said when I lived in California. In Iowa, I don't love Mexican food. I love the Mexican food I used to have on the west coast. As much as I hear that authentic Mexican food exists in the Midwest, I have yet to find a restaurant that even comes close to comparing to any of the places listed below. "Hot Sauce" in Iowa typically tastes about as spicy as pizza sauce, and barely seasoned ground beef is the meat of choice. Oh, how I long to walk up to a counter and say, "Two al pastor tacos, cilantro, onions, hot sauce, please."

My Top 10 Mexican Food Restaurants:
1. La Choza Santa Fe, New Mexico
2. El Taco De Mexico Morro Bay, California
3. Burrito Boy Eugene, Oregon
4. Taco Stand Bend, Oregon
5. Tonny's Restaurant Pasadena, California
6. Super Burrito Bend, Oregon
7. Taqueria El Bajio Santa Barbara, California
8. El Burrito Bend, Oregon
9. King Taco Southern California
10. El Mexicali Restaurant Indio, California

High Church

2007-10-04T19:12:00.000-05:00

When I was in Oxford a few weeks ago I decided to go to an evening prayer service at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, the church where C. S. Lewis gave his famous sermon, "The Weight of Glory". I enjoyed the service a lot and it made me think about how differently church is conceived depending on where you are. I entered the church and took a seat along the bench on the far right of the room pictured left. The church was totally silent besides a priest across from me thumbing through a few pages in a book. There was a nice wooden stool on hinges I could pull down in front of me to kneel on if I wanted. A few minutes passed and a few more people started to come in. All entered quietly, and acknowledged the painting of Christ that hung at the end of the room. About 6 o'clock a man came around cheerfully handing out all the materials for the service: an order of worship, a Book of Common Prayer, a hymnal, and a Bible. The service consisted of corporate scripture reading, silent meditation, corporate read prayers, hymn singing (without instruments), and a short (10 minute) sermon. I was struck by how simple and uncluttered the service was. I felt as though there were no layers that I had to peel back before I arrived at the purpose of gathering together at church. It was easy to see. There were no apologies for the smallish crowd of 30 or so. They didn't dress up the service with anything other than what was necessary for the purpose of the service: prayer. I enjoyed the read prayers. They were a refreshing break from the spontaneous prayers rarely thought out beforehand that I am used to at home. After the service everyone left quietly, replacing their books, and possibly offering a handshake or two. I left the service feeling like I had really been at church and met with God. It was the first time in a while. I didn't have to worry about lights, videos, knowing words to songs, overheads, the sermon joke, chair placement, greeting people, bulletin announcements, or anything else that often fills a typical to do list on Sunday mornings at home. It made me wonder how much we do in church just keeps the perpetual cycle of church stuff in motion instead of really accomplishing the purpose for which church exists. The crowd was small at the church, but maybe that's okay. Maybe when church is what it is supposed to be the average person doesn't like it.

The Radcliffe Camera

2007-10-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

Three weeks ago I was in England for a week doing research and meeting with my supervisors for my doctoral program. One of the great things I got to do was to read theology at Oxford's Bodleian Library. Specifically, I got to work in the Radcliffe Camera, one of the coolest buildings in Oxford. Built in the early 1700s, it houses Oxford's collections of English, History and Theology. One morning I got one of 8 window seats, and had a view of the University cathedral while I worked. For a nerd like me, it really doesn't get much better than that.

The Little Things

2007-09-01T01:43:00.000-05:00

I'm in a crunch right now trying to finish the second chapter of my dissertation by Monday so I can send it off to my committee members before I see them in person in a couple weeks. With a seemingly insurmountable amount of writing before me, I set out for a coffee shop this evening. I needed a place that would be open late and I didn't want to drive very far so I decided to go to a Starbucks nearby. I've almost totally avoided Starbucks for the past couple of years for many reasons, the most important being that their drip coffee is terrible. I gave it a try tonight because a friend of mine that works at Starbucks said they would serve whatever coffee you wanted in a press pot if you asked even though it is not on the menu. So I asked. To my surprise, they did give me an 8-cup press pot of my coffee of choice. Only $3.40. What a treat! And, on top of that I got free wireless from the Quiznos next door. Armed with this coffee, I got more writing done this evening than I ever thought I would when I set out. Its amazing how the little things can often make such a big difference in our lives. Unfortunately, this little thing is keeping me wide awake at midnight so that I'm blogging instead of going to bed.

PCSP

2007-08-31T02:07:00.000-05:00

PCSP is an acronym for "Peets Coffee Separation Phenomenon". It refers to a consistently well-defined separation that occurs when half & half is poured into a freshly brewed cup of Peet's coffee. A picture may help:

Like me, scientists have failed to satisfactorily explain what exactly is going on at the molecular level, and why it would occur so consistently in coffee roasted by Peet's and not others. This is not just a one-time occurrence. About 8/10 times this happens when I fix a cup of Peet's in the morning. Only very rarely have I seen this kind of separation occur with coffee from other roasters. I humbly enlist your comments and explanations concerning PCSP.

The 4 Hour Footnote

2007-08-31T00:06:00.000-05:00

Last week I had to go to Iowa State to return some books I got through their Inter-Library Loan program, and also photocopy a couple articles. I parked where I normally do at the lot where you can take a bus to campus. It was then that I realized it was the first day of the new semester at ISU. I couldn't take Thomas on a bus packed with students with no seat belts and all my books and his diaper bag. So, I walked from the bus lot up to the library with Thomas in the stroller. 30 minutes and a handful of funny looks later we finally got to the library. First, I tried to go the ILL office to return my books, except there were no ramps for the stroller. I tried several routes and finally just carried Thomas in his stroller down the stairs to the office. I returned the books and made my way back to the main floor so I could photocopy the articles. About this time, Thomas started to get fussy and hungry. So I made my way through a study area of the library to a bathroom. Of course, there were no changing tables there, and there wasn't much room for a stroller and all the other paraphernalia I had. Finally, I got Thomas calmed down enough to take him back out in the library. I made my way to the elevator to go down to floor 1B and get the book with the article I needed, but first I had to stop at a computer and get the call#. So, with one hand holding Thomas and one hand typing one key at a time I got the call# I needed. With no hands free to write it down, I just remembered it. I finally got downstairs and got the book, but there were no copiers on floor 1B. I went back up to the main floor where the copier was out of order. The sign said use the copier on the 3rd floor. So I went back to the elevator and up to the 3rd floor to copy the article. Unfortunately, when I got up there I realized I was in a "Quite Zone" of the library and the copier was right in the middle. Thomas wasn't fussy anymore, but he wanted to play and hear himself talk and yell. This presented a problem. I huddled close to the elevator and tried to set Thomas down in the stroller so I could flip to the article I needed in the book. He erupted into tears, so I picked him back up and tried to get to the article with one hand. I finally found it and tried to get Thomas quieted down enough to make my way to the copier without disrupting all the students in the "Quiet Zone". I had to leave the stroller over by the elevator, and when I got over to the copier I realized I left my change in the stroller. I went back and got the change, and Thomas started making noise again. After about 5 minutes he quieted down again and I made my way back to the copier. I got 2 pages copied and he started yelling, so I went back out of the Quiet Zone and tried to calm him again. Finally, I just decided it didn't matter and I copied the article even though he was making a lot of noise and tried not to make eye contact with any of the annoyed students. We finished, and made our way out of the library, and walked back to the car. I had left for ISU around 8 and it was well after noon by the time I got back. The sad part is that all I needed the article was for one little footnote in my dissertation.

This would have been a quick, insignificant little thing to accomplish if I had been an average ISU student who lives on campus and has no children. But I was not the typical student, and I was repeatedly reminded of that fact the entire time I spent at ISU. Things were designed for the average student, and I was an exception to the rule. This caused me to ask a question: How do the systems and programs we set-up in church for the average churchgoer feel to those who are exceptional? Jesus said,

"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED."Jesus came for the exceptions to the rule. Lord help the church to be a place where all can come and meet with you regardless of how they fit into the mold of our "target audience".

Culinary Adventures

2007-05-08T09:12:00.000-05:00

At the request of one of my readers, I am posting pictures of some of the meals I have had lately:

Linguine w/ red sauce, Italian sausage, and Romano cheese
Mixed greens, pepperoncini, red bell pepper, black olives, and balsamic dressing
Muddled lemon-limeade

Apple-Sage sausage
Egg
Toasted baguette w/ Bon Mamme' peach preserves
Press Pot coffee - Ethiopian Blend

Breakfast "Eggspress": Zanzibar's Coffee Adventure
Coffee
Fresh squeezed orange juice
Toasted "sunflower wheat" bread from Great Harvest
Eggs scrambled topped w/ white cheddar and scallions
Orange marmalade

Potstickers
Teriyaki chicken & vegetable rice
Soy dipping sauce
Chili sauce

If you like this post you may also like this book: Everything I Ate

April Showers Bring May Flowers Snow Plowers

2007-04-12T11:55:00.000-05:00

I woke up yesterday morning to 2 inches of snow. That's right. Snow on April 11th. I was starting to think about things like planting flowers, getting patio furniture, playing golf, and BBQ. Now I'm thinking about getting the salt off my car that all the snow plows dump on the roads whenever it snows. Quite a change from sunny SoCal. It turns out the spring is quite volatile in Iowa with well over 100 degrees difference between the record high and low (see chart). Apparently our neighbors were not aware of this. They bought flowers, shrubs, and plants two weeks ago and now they are all dead. Hopefully this is the last of this lengthy Midwest winter. I'm counting down the days (literally - see countdown on sidebar) till we can soak up the sun on the West Coast.

The OC

2007-04-10T12:41:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about that stupid show on FOX. Nor am I referring to the large, overpopulated county south of LA. I am talking about Trader Joe's Orange Chicken. I finally had it for the first time since moving to Iowa last night. That's 8 months without those decadent, crispy pieces of breaded dark-meat chicken smothered in a sweet & tangy sauce that is hard to describe as anything but "orange chicken sauce". I had been anticipating this moment for the past 7 weeks. We went up to Minneapolis in February and stopped by a Trader Joe's there and got 3 packages of The OC. Shortly after we got home, Heather and I decided to give up meat for Lent (I wasn't thinking about The OC at the time or I never would have gone through with it). This Easter we celebrated the resurrection of Christ by resurrecting The OC out of the freezer. I started thinking that I might have a glorified memory of the meal. That was until I took my first bite. It was better than I even remembered. Maybe this will become a new Easter tradition for our home.

To experience this exquisite culinary masterpiece, visit a Trader Joe's near you.

A Humbling Experience

2007-02-01T16:08:00.000-06:00

The saying, "The more you learn the more you realize you don't know," certainly applies to me. I don't know how you could ever emerge from the experience of writing a dissertation without being humbled by the sheer vastness of academia in the western world. I've just finished writing the first chapter of my dissertation. After 45 pages and 11,000 words I'm feeling as though it really is almost an impossible task to contribute something new and useful to the world of theological study. If you're saying it, chances are someone else said it before you, and in a better way.

Writing at a tiny desk on my laptop computer in the Fuller Seminary library, I once made the terrible mistake of looking up from my work and taking in my surroundings. Row upon row, shelf upon shelf, thousands of theological books were all I could see. Where did all this stuff come from? For the last 900 years or so people have been scrupulously studying the Christian faith from a mind boggling number of angles. The sad part is that I'm not sure that the average Christian is seeing things much clearer than the Christians living in 1100AD. Do I really want to contribute another book to the inritus irritus in the theological libraries of the world? Will call# BS1644.b8.P4.134 really produce much better results than BS1644.b8.P3.1699? I doubt it.

I appreciate very much the advice of Thomas A' Kempis who says, "Restrain an inordinate desire for knowledge, in which is found much anxiety and deception. Learned men always wish to appear so, and desire recognition of their wisdom. But there are many matters, knowledge of which brings little or no advantage to the soul. Indeed, a man is unwise if he occupies himself with any things save those that further his salvation. A spate of words does nothing to satisfy the soul, but a good life refreshes the mind, and clean conscience brings great confidence in God." - The Imitation of Christ, Counsels on the Spiritual Life, Chapter 2

photos

2006-12-19T16:26:00.000-06:00

See more photos of Thomas here

Meet Me in St. Louis

2006-12-19T15:00:00.000-06:00

The picture to the left is an areal photo of the St. Louis arch. The parking garage pictured just up from the arch is where Heather's water broke on November 25th, 2006. Heather and I were looking forward to seeing the arch up close with our friends Kevin and Shannon. Instead, six hours later we were meeting our son, Thomas Allan Friesen, for the first time. Determined not to be an Iowa native, Thomas was born 5 weeks early in St. Louis, Missouri where we were visiting our friends from Pasadena, California. He was a mere 5 lbs., 5oz. and 17.5 inches long. Though it certainly wasn't how we planned it, it was a wonderful experience and I think it prepared us a little more for the spontaneous and unexpected nature of parenting. Needless to say I will never forget Thanksgiving 2006. My friend Kevin gave Thomas the fitting nickname, "Archie", which I think will probably stick for quite some time. Hopefully I'll still have some time to blog as I head out in the uncharted waters of parenting.

Pasadena, CA to West Des Moines, IA

2006-09-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

I am now officially an Iowan. At least that's what my Driver's License and voter registration say. I don't feel much like an Iowan. Heather and I have been in Iowa now for 1 month, and it feels like I'll be arriving tomorrow. Central Iowa is different from Southern California in three ways. Their coffee and wine culture is hokey, their idea of cultural diversity is being at a bar where both cyclone and hawkeye fans are present, and they don't protest Wal-Mart. I might be able to handle just one of these, but all three together is making me feel like I'm in a foreign country. Below is a satellite video of how far we moved as depicted by Google Earth. It really doesn't look that far compared to other places we could have moved, but it sure feels far away from the comfort and familiarity of Pasadena.

I Miss Poirot

2006-07-21T00:24:00.000-05:00

I've been too sad to blog about a significant loss in my life on my 6 year wedding anniversary. It was about 7AM on 6/24. Heather and I were getting ready to leave for La Jolla, CA to get away for a night. As usual I let Poirot out of his cage for a few minutes in the morning so he can climb around and get some excercise. Well, Heather opened the door to set a bag of trash out and he took off and flew out the door. We couldn't see where he flew to so we waited around for over an hour. I whistled for him on our back patio and he finally showed up on our back patio awning. I saw him land and I put my finger up to the edge so he could get down and he got spooked and flew away. I never saw him again. I miss him a lot. For the past two years he has eaten breakfast with me almost every day, kept me company through countless books and papers for school, and sung me a song in the morning. I kept thinking he might show up, but I now am convinced I won't see him again. I know in Matthew 6:26 Jesus says our Heavenly Father feeds the birds, but I think God would have to drop buckets of birdseed on the ground in front of Poirot before he could make it out in the real world on his own. He really didn't exhibit any strong survival skills per se. Anyway, as dumb as he was, he was a great friend and I will miss him dearly.

Ahhh...This is the life...Steak, Wine & Friends

2006-06-23T00:30:00.000-05:00

I am currently digesting one of the best dinners I've had in the past year. My friend Kevin got a Big Green Egg BBQ for graduation and the thing is amazing! It is like having the Nebraska State Fair BBQ champ in your backyard at your beckon call. Kevin got the Egg up to 550F (child's play for this bbq) and he perfectly cooked 4 New York Steaks in about 6 minutes. We paried the steaks witha vegetable medley: roasted tomatoes, grilled red and yellow peppers, grilled zucchini and corn on the cob. I'm tellin' you right now, those steaks were already worth the price of the egg. To top it all off, we had a great Merlot to sip (thanks to the sale at World Market).

2002 Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot - Napa Valley, California

With 87% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Syrah, 1.4% Petit Verdot, and .6% Other, this wine was sweeter than I usually prefer, but it had some nice fruity flavors that paired well with the steak. Cherry, vanilla, oak, and licorice were the standouts. The tannins were too weak and the finish was too short to make this a good sipping wine. However, I enjoyed it with the steak and would buy it again at $11 ($22 regular price).

some pictures:

I'm a Neo-Orthodox Wesleyan

2006-06-22T23:34:00.000-05:00

According to this new foolproof method of diciphering one's theological worldview in less than 15 minutes, I am a Neo-Orthdox-Wesleyan-Evangelical. This is somewhat surprising since I usually call myself a Pentecostal. I grew up in a Pentecostal church, and have consistently worshipped in Pentecostal congregations as an adult. At the same time, it shouldn't be that surprising considering what I have been studying in my free time: Karl Barth's 11 volume Die Kirchliche Dogmatik, one of the greatest theological works of all time. My brother, Allan, generously bought this expensive set for me as a graduation present.

I can hear the conversation now:

Stranger: "So, what religion are you?"

Me: "Christian."

Stranger: "Oh, what kind?"

Me: "Neo-Orthodox-Wesleyan-Evangelical"

Stranger: "Oh, what is that?"

Me: "Um, I'm pretty sure neo means new, so I think it is some kind of new orthodoxy that follows John Wesley's ideas about evangelism"

Stranger: "Oh, but I thought orthdoxy meant keeping in line with past traditons of belief and thought. How can it be new?"

Me: "Uhhh...because QuizFarm said so."

Stranger: "Oh, I see."

Here is how I was scored:

Neo orthodox

75%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

75%

Emergent/Postmodern

64%

Roman Catholic

54%

Classic Liberal

42%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

36%

Reformed Evangelical

36%

Modern Liberal

21%

Fundamentalist

14%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

What Happened to April & May?!

2006-06-19T01:10:00.000-05:00

Its now been 11 weeks since I last blogged (the approximate length of the entire Spring quarter at Fuller). I was hoping to be more consistent, but I failed miserably. Luckily, I learned this morning at church that we have a God of "second chances". I am hoping I have an audience of second chances...

Rather than recount everything that happened in the last couple of months, I'll just highlight a few things:

1) The wine sale is still going on at World Market (hurry the good stuff is going fast)
2) Heather is 12 weeks pregnant!
3) We are moving to Des Moines, Iowa on August 5th
4) Heather and I both graduated with our Masters degrees
5) I am now blogging on a Mac (specifically a black MacBook)

Wine Sale!

2006-03-26T12:31:00.000-06:00

Okay,
All of you who faithfully read my blog (judging by the comments on my blog there are not many of you out there) are about to be rewarded. World Market (at least the ones in southern California) is discounting a bunch of wines in order to make room for new stuff. That means there are some crazy deals to be had. Many of the wines are already out of stock, but there are still quite a few wines that normally are a good deal at $17-20 on sale for $6-8 a bottle. I never see these kinds of prices on this high quality of wines. This would be a good time to beef up your cellar for the summer. Happy wine shopping.
Click on the following link to find the nearest store to you: World Market

Tommy Walker Rocks!

2006-03-22T22:38:00.000-06:00

My church, Christian Assembly Eagle Rock, just finished celebrating the release of Tommy Walker's newest CD, Break Through. In my opinion, this is the best worship CD that I've ever listened to. This is coming from someone who is often overly critical about worship songs. The majority of the songs are written by Tommy himself, so they won't be known by most people outside the Christian Assembly community. That said, Tommy has written some truely amazing songs that I hope will catch on in congregations around the country. This is a great CD for the car, home, or iPod. Enjoy.

Excited, Nervous, Scared, and Hopeful

2006-03-22T22:02:00.000-06:00

Yes!!!...???

I just received an official letter of acceptance from the University of Wales at Bangor for a PhD in the department of Theology and Religious Studies. I have 21 days to accept or decline the offer. I would begin doing my thesis in the area of Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies under the tutelage of Dr. William Kay and Dr. Glenn Balfour in September.

The program would be part-time for the next four years. I would not need to move to the UK; I would just visit once or twice per year for about 2 weeks at a time. In the UK system, PhD degrees do not involve any classes or exams. Your degree is decided solely on the basis of an oral and written presentation of the thesis. This means that the program is much cheaper than a comparable one in the US and requires less time.

This is the big news I've been waiting for, and now I'm nervous about it. More school!? I've already been in school for quite a long time. On the one hand, I know that God does not require any formal education for a person to be effective in ministry. On the other hand, I see the great benefit in thoroughly examining one's faith; a benefit that has not always been recognized by Pentecostals. I asked God to help this not to work out if I wasn't supposed to do it, and it has been anything but "not working out". I don't know what the Lord is preparing me for through all this education, but as Heather and I pray and seek His guidance we're sensing that I should pursue this program in Wales as far as it can go.

Please pray for us as we look to the Lord for wisdom and guidance.

NASCAR

2006-03-15T23:03:00.000-06:00

I am a NASCAR fan, but I'm not exactly sure why. If I'm honest, it doesn't really make much sense. I'm from Bend, Oregon (mecca for ski bumbs and retired california golfers). I went to school in Eugene, Oregon (mecca for hippies, hemp clothing, and organic groceries). I played on my high school golf team. I would consider myself an intellectual. I'm pretty good at math. I prefer imports and microbrews to domestic beer. I like foreign-made cars. I care about the environment. I'm skeptical when it comes to mass marketing and commercialism. I'm not all that happy about the war in Iraq. Finally, I like classical music.

I seem to forget all these things about me when it comes to NASCAR. At the race last week I enjoyed the smell of exhaust coming from the cars in front of me getting less than 4 MPG. I wore a red hat with a big #8 on it, bought a Chevy Racing shirt, and considered buying a $8 bottle of Budweiser just because it was Dale, Jr.'s sponsor. I got excited about the fighter jets overhead. I played country music when I tailgated.

There is one thing that makes me not care about this hypocritcal way of life: FAST CARS!

Just thinkin' 'bout bumbper-to-bumper 3-wide 'round turn 4 makes me move into my alter ego.

Watch these videos and maybe you'll get a taste of the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway three weeks ago; I went there with my brother, Allan.

Green Flag Drops at California Speedway

Comin' 'Round Turn 4

The Hospital

2006-03-08T23:03:00.000-06:00

Today was my last official day as a hospital chaplain intern at Huntington Memorial Hospital. I got a nifty little certificate and everything. I learned a lot while I was there. Spending time each week with people facing some of the toughest times in their lives gave me a different perspective on my own life. Those things that normally stress me out just don't seem like that big of a deal. I don't take things for granted as much as I used to. Seeing all the people facing sudden life-changing illnesses or death that they were not counting on has helped me remember that my ordered, controlled, pleasant life can easily collapse at any time. It is only by God's grace that it is the way it is.

I was surprised at how open the patients were to discussing spiritual matters. I saw people who were dying of cancer, crippled, depressed, paralyzed, diseased, mentally ill, and nauseated. They all were ready and willing to talk about God, and their relationship with Him. If anything, they were usually frustrated because their families and the rest of the hospital staff were uncomfortable talking about anything spiritual. The hospital has a way of opening up those doors that our culture likes to avoid and keep shut.

The reminder of our own mortality is a wonderful thing. It helps us keep our priorities straight. It reminds us of what is eternal, and what is not. It causes us to push aside all questions but one: why am I here? These past ten weeks I've seen God, by his Holy Spirit, pierce through the darkness and sadness that usually surrounds such a question, and bring light and hope through the power of His love.

I've now experienced the greatest theological tension of all. The sovereign God who holds all of life together is also present with us in our suffering and pain that works against life. I can't resolve the tension. All I can say is, "He is the way, the truth, and the life."

Starbucks vs. Peet's

2006-03-08T22:57:00.000-06:00

Welp, I did it again...

I ordered a tall latte' at Starbucks with only one extra shot. It has been probably two months since I last tried one, so I thought to myself, "Surely you're being picky about your expectations for coffee. It can't really be that bad." It was that bad. I don't think hot milk would have tasted any different at all, and that is with an extra shot! I don't even want to think about how a single shot latte' would taste. Is it really too much to ask that a $3.10 latte actually taste somewhat like coffee? It hasn't always been this bad. Their super, hi-tech, fully automated machines are mostly to blame. While these machines certainly make it easy for employees who know nothing about coffee - don't even like the taste of coffee - to make all kinds of customized drinks, they forgot one little piece of the puzzle: taste.

Of course, this is also part of their coffee culture marketing strategy. Now someone who doesn't like the taste of coffee at all can order a tall latte' with an extra shot and actually enjoy it. Nothing has changed in people's tastes in coffee over the past 20 years since the coffee craze began. Rather, companies - of which Starbucks is chief - have learned to market coffee sounding drinks to the masses that really don't like coffee; just the culture that goes along with it. If this Starbucks that I'm sitting in right now is representative of most, my case is easily made. Since I've been sitting here people have ordered a Java-Chip Frappuccino with whip, a Passion-Lemonade Iced Tea, a White Chocolate Mocha with whip, and an iced Caramel-Macchiato with extra caramel.

While both Peet's Coffee & Tea and Starbucks were started by the same two people. One went the way of quality; the other went the way of quantity. Peet's serves more or less the same drinks they did when Alfred Peet opened the store that started it all in 1966. On the other hand, Starbucks has been pruposeful about expansion, quickly changing and adapting its products to reach the maximum number of people possible.

The sad thing is, Starbucks is winning, at least in terms of profitability. Why? Because of convenience. There are about 100 Starbucks for every one Peet's, which means that more often then not, a Starbucks is closer than a Peet's. I'm confronted with this every week when I take my wife out to class at Cal State Northridge on Wednesday nights. I drop her off and then go somewhere to do work. I don't really want to work in the Northridge library because it is dark and closed in, so I go to one of the three Starbucks nearby where I can work as long as I want by a window with my laptop plugged in while sipping a hot beverage. In the case of Peet's, there is always a shortage of seats. I usually have to wait for a seat and then rotate into a seat that is actually close to the one electrical outlet in the entire coffee shop, and there is no Peet's within 30 minutes of Northridge.

The saddest part of the whole thing is that I actually spend more money at Starbucks. While I usually go to Peet's for 3-4 hours at least 2 days a week, I can get their drip coffee because it is actually good, and a small with one refill will be enough for the entire time. The cost is as follows.

1 small cup of coffee = $1.50
1 refill = $.80
2 times/week = $4.60

On the other hand, at Starbucks, there drip coffee is terrible, and I am forced to buy extra shots in espresso drinks to make them actually taste like coffee. I can't get refills on espresso drinks so I usually end up buying 2. The cost of one work session is as follows:

(1 tall latte' + 1 shot = $3.10) * 2 = $6.20

In the end, who is the dumb one really? Starbucks or me?!

My First Blog

2006-03-04T00:29:00.000-06:00

Welp, my first blog has been difficult to write. I've had the layout for the site more or less how I wanted it to look for a few weeks now, but I just haven't been able to start writing. I have to do a lot of writing for school, so I'm a little uneasy about committing myself to post a blog regularly. Yet, I think blogging may be a nice break from the heavy theological stuff I'm used to writing about. I'm going to write about me: my life, my thoughts, my problems and my pleasures. On the one hand, it is odd to me that others out there might be interested in the little things I'm doing or thinking in my own little world. On the other hand, I enjoy reading other people's blogs alot so I probably should expect that they will enjoy mine.

I'm a perfectionist when it comes to doing just about anything. I'm the kind of person who would write a rough draft of a blog. However, I'm going to do things a little differently with this blog; I'll try to be more raw and unguarded in my writing. Hopefully you will find something of interest here. If not, you have poor taste. See... I'm being "more raw and unguarded".

Enjoy, ATF