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| Kind of James Bondish. |
I teach high school English; I love books and students keep me young and cool (see picture to your right). I believe education, in its many dynamic forms, can change lives. I believe in the power of language---though language and words are arbitrary and assigned meaning as such....
(Hillary=a combination of sounds that my parents found meaningful. What about Hillary, even if the ancient Romans assigned those sounds the meaning cheerful, even if it is also my father's middle name, defines me?)
...we can't argue that most of the world is entrenched in the modern notion that language has power. I want my students to see beyond this but also be able to work within it.
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I follow Jesus.
I didn't say "Christian"... the modern world has assigned a meaning with that word with which I don't want to be associated.
I didn't say I believe in Jesus. He doesn't need my belief to exist, and belief does not also imply action or sacrifice or movement, so I went with "follow."
I am post-protestant. I see beauty in many faith traditions; I can see problems in the tradition in which I was raised. I believe the love of God transcends modern labels (conservative, liberal, Protestant, Catholic, ad nauseum...). I believe I worship most purely when I am talking deeply with another person about God or when I am sweating and covered in dirt after serving someone else.
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I want to serve others.
I believe the church spends too much time at church and too little time in the world. So many people think that "in not of" means huddling together in our own subculture trying not to not get our hands dirty or let any other people in. Our "evangelism" consists only of in-calls (metaphor of prostitution...) where a visitor can come in, listen to some songs, hear some wisdom, get an emotional high and feel no small measure of guilt guilt, offer money for services rendered, and go on their way. Only if they are willing to conform to our own notions of what is good and right, can they get in.
This is not how it should be. I believe the church should be first in line protesting injustice and serving the downtrodden because faith = love = action.
to be continued...
