I started thinking today about a new Christian I had heard about via email. I began to wonder what this woman has already learned about the Christian faith and what traditions and dogmas she has been taught. Now, don’t misunderstand. A tradition or a dogma is not necessarily a bad thing. A dogma is simply a belief that a religion holds to be true. And without tradition, we often feel ungrounded and blown about in the sea of life.
There is, however, a tendency for us to allow tradition and dogma to take on roles not suited. And we sometimes mix up dogma and tradition, making dogma tradition and making tradition dogma. We should have at least some idea of the difference in the two and know within ourselves which we hold to be truth and which we merely practice as tradition. In the world of faith, tradition should never be held to the same standard that dogma should be held. We err greatly, I think, when we allow that to happen.
The higher reaches of the particular “brand” of religion we practice should also hold those two separate and truthfully tell its adherents which it believes to be what, and why. All too often, I fear, we who teach others fail to grasp the significance of failure to do this, and the effect it has on those who are being taught. For if we teach tradition as dogma, we then are at some point compelled to explain why. That tends to force us to use the standard by which we measure dogma (for most of Christendom, that is the Bible) to measure tradition and make the standard “fit” our argument that our tradition is really dogma. This, of course, necessitates either changing the standard (New World Translation of the Watchtower Society, for example), or interpreting the existing standard in such a way as to make it work with our teaching. Either way causes the standard to cease to be the true standard and become merely our tool to persuade, control, and manage those we teach.
The Christian faith should be a faith of child-like wonder and a never-ending curiosity that is never quite fulfilled; never quite satisfied. It doesn’t matter if I am 16 or 96, my faith should continue to spark new questions, new thoughts and ideas, and new notions about the God who created us all. If I ever become comfortable in my faith to the point that I ask no questions, think no new thoughts, or never re-examine what I believe and why, then my faith has died within me. I’ve become quite inert and probably odious to my God as well.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Glitz and Glamour
We talked some in class this morning of God working in us through the routine and mundane of our lives. In other words, most of the time God works in us as we go about our normal, ordinary routines of life, work, and relaxation. I’ve taught this before, but it’s always kind of an eye-opener to understand yet again that God often doesn’t come to His people in flashes of brilliance and extraordinary accomplishment (although that certainly happens, I think), but rather in the ordinary things of raising a family, working, going to school, and even more specific things like driving kids to a ball game, fixing lunch, or talking on the phone (that betrays my age…no one actually TALKS anymore).
We many times think of our lives as a boring monotony, broken by the only occasional laughter, fear, or apprehension. I think God may see our lives as anything but boring monotony. And we would do well to understand that as God opens doors for us to walk through, we can always have in the back of our minds the sense of adventure and the promise that our faith, in taking that step through the open door will somehow result in glory coming to the God of all gods.
God gave the promised land to Israel, but He didn’t do it in just a few days or even a few months. The text says that Israel fought “a long time,” and God himself said that it wouldn’t be a quick thing, but it would be a sure thing. I’m sure Israel grew tired of the “routine” of battle and the fact that they couldn’t settle down in the promised land for many years following the beginning of the conquest. Eventually, however, Joshua dismissed the tribes to the land that he apportioned to them and as the text says, “The land had rest from war.”
We want things done now, right away. We want things done in a flashy, almost magical time frame and with all the glitz and glamour that even Vegas would be proud of. Yes, God can be glitzy. God can do glamorous things. Most of the time, though, He does things in His own time and in His own way, with people whose lives are spent in the routine and ordinary…yet doing extraordinary things by the power of God.
We many times think of our lives as a boring monotony, broken by the only occasional laughter, fear, or apprehension. I think God may see our lives as anything but boring monotony. And we would do well to understand that as God opens doors for us to walk through, we can always have in the back of our minds the sense of adventure and the promise that our faith, in taking that step through the open door will somehow result in glory coming to the God of all gods.
God gave the promised land to Israel, but He didn’t do it in just a few days or even a few months. The text says that Israel fought “a long time,” and God himself said that it wouldn’t be a quick thing, but it would be a sure thing. I’m sure Israel grew tired of the “routine” of battle and the fact that they couldn’t settle down in the promised land for many years following the beginning of the conquest. Eventually, however, Joshua dismissed the tribes to the land that he apportioned to them and as the text says, “The land had rest from war.”
We want things done now, right away. We want things done in a flashy, almost magical time frame and with all the glitz and glamour that even Vegas would be proud of. Yes, God can be glitzy. God can do glamorous things. Most of the time, though, He does things in His own time and in His own way, with people whose lives are spent in the routine and ordinary…yet doing extraordinary things by the power of God.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Some Visiting
Yesterday, we went to Pratt, then to Hesston to visit relatives. Our first stop was in Pratt at the local care home where our first cousin, once removed, was living. Now, you might ask why we went all that way to see a cousin that is “once removed”. We do things a little differently in our family. Folks who are related to us are important to us. They are our connection with our ancestors, our heritage, and our upbringing, all of which we value very highly. We also know that she has no other close relatives besides a son who has not visited her in many years. And we know she provides a valuable link to a part of our family that we know very little about.
We then went to Hesston and saw several relatives…an uncle by marriage, a blood uncle and his wife (our aunt as certainly as if she was a blood relative), and a first cousin. We also happened upon a woman in the hall of the assisted living complex who was our first cousin once removed from the other side of our family. She was someone we previously had not known, and know very little about her parents…her mom being our great aunt. She was very willing to visit and invited us back for another visit and look through some of her old photos, etc.
We seldom go as far as third cousins or some such, as that gets rather far afield, although we certainly recognize them and their lineage as it relates to our common ancestor(s). We have a genealogy person in our family who likes this kind of thing, and we sometimes are able to gather bits of data for her. All in all, it was a good day and very satisfying for us. I trust it was for the folks we visited as well.
Each time we visit, I am struck yet again by the stories we tell of those relatives now gone. They lived good lives, but life was in many cases hard and sometimes seemingly cruel. Survival during the Great Depression often meant gathering berries from the roadside in order to have something to eat, or frying a flour and oil concoction in a pan and calling it a meal. Medicine was primitive by today’s standards and quarantines were not unusual. Nor were illnesses like scarlet fever, mumps, measles, or tetanus. Running water and indoor plumbing were not always available and starting over in life was an all-too-routine thing to do. Medicare and Medicaid were but a dream in a progressive’s eye.
These people lived, in good part, with reliance on and faith in Someone greater than themselves. They knew they were at the mercy of the elements, the depression, and the illnesses that plagued them. Yet they persisted, they persevered, they finished the course in this race called life. And for that example, we “moderns” owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.
We then went to Hesston and saw several relatives…an uncle by marriage, a blood uncle and his wife (our aunt as certainly as if she was a blood relative), and a first cousin. We also happened upon a woman in the hall of the assisted living complex who was our first cousin once removed from the other side of our family. She was someone we previously had not known, and know very little about her parents…her mom being our great aunt. She was very willing to visit and invited us back for another visit and look through some of her old photos, etc.
We seldom go as far as third cousins or some such, as that gets rather far afield, although we certainly recognize them and their lineage as it relates to our common ancestor(s). We have a genealogy person in our family who likes this kind of thing, and we sometimes are able to gather bits of data for her. All in all, it was a good day and very satisfying for us. I trust it was for the folks we visited as well.
Each time we visit, I am struck yet again by the stories we tell of those relatives now gone. They lived good lives, but life was in many cases hard and sometimes seemingly cruel. Survival during the Great Depression often meant gathering berries from the roadside in order to have something to eat, or frying a flour and oil concoction in a pan and calling it a meal. Medicine was primitive by today’s standards and quarantines were not unusual. Nor were illnesses like scarlet fever, mumps, measles, or tetanus. Running water and indoor plumbing were not always available and starting over in life was an all-too-routine thing to do. Medicare and Medicaid were but a dream in a progressive’s eye.
These people lived, in good part, with reliance on and faith in Someone greater than themselves. They knew they were at the mercy of the elements, the depression, and the illnesses that plagued them. Yet they persisted, they persevered, they finished the course in this race called life. And for that example, we “moderns” owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Just A Short Time
Sometime soon, my sister and I will make a trip to Pratt to visit a cousin who is in the nursing home there. From there we’ll go to Hesston and visit a couple of uncles, an aunt, and cousin. I have somewhat mixed feelings about these visits and I’ll tell you why.
On the one hand, I am eager to see these folks. They have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. For them to honor me with their time is a blessing almost beyond words. But on the other hand, visits like this remind all of us of the inexorable march of time and the toll it takes on the creation and the created.
Our cousin in Pratt is from a branch of the family that we don’t have much contact with anymore, and I haven’t seen her for well over 10 years. Now, that’s my fault, not hers. She has always been in the Pratt area and I just haven’t taken the time to make the trip until now.
The family in Hesston we see more often. We last visited there just a few months ago, it seems, and we enjoy the time we have together, even if its just a short time with lunch thrown in.
Of course, on the way to and from, sis and I will talk of times gone by and reminisce about what we remember (or don’t remember) about these family members. I’m sure they do the same with us when we’re not there…conjuring up what now may be fuzzy images of times long ago gone.
Already, those younger ones in our family are starting to reminisce and remember things that happened with us…can it be that it will be just a short time until we too wait for the visits by the younger ones to brighten our days?
On the one hand, I am eager to see these folks. They have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. For them to honor me with their time is a blessing almost beyond words. But on the other hand, visits like this remind all of us of the inexorable march of time and the toll it takes on the creation and the created.
Our cousin in Pratt is from a branch of the family that we don’t have much contact with anymore, and I haven’t seen her for well over 10 years. Now, that’s my fault, not hers. She has always been in the Pratt area and I just haven’t taken the time to make the trip until now.
The family in Hesston we see more often. We last visited there just a few months ago, it seems, and we enjoy the time we have together, even if its just a short time with lunch thrown in.
Of course, on the way to and from, sis and I will talk of times gone by and reminisce about what we remember (or don’t remember) about these family members. I’m sure they do the same with us when we’re not there…conjuring up what now may be fuzzy images of times long ago gone.
Already, those younger ones in our family are starting to reminisce and remember things that happened with us…can it be that it will be just a short time until we too wait for the visits by the younger ones to brighten our days?
Monday, June 20, 2011
A Bad Day
I went in to my local doctor’s office today to pay a bill that has been outstanding for a month or so. When I went in, I went to the receptionist for my doctor. She was on the phone with someone, so I waited. She mouthed to me during the call that she would be “right with me”. The call took a couple of minutes, but it ended.
I said to her, “Ma’am, I’m John Plank (my legal name), and I’m wondering if I have a balance due on my account, and I know there is a balance on my wife’s account. I’d like to pay anything I owe.”
She starts digging in a drawer beside her that has file folders in it. I’m thinking the drawer contains account information, although I wonder about that since the office is modern and computerized. She can’t seem to find what she’s looking for, turns to me and says, “Do you have an appointment?”
Now I realize that the drawer had all of the day’s patient records in it and she was searching for mine. I said, “No, ma’am. I’m just here to pay my bill.” I’m just a little puzzled by now, thinking I may not be dealing with the brightest bulb on the shelf.
The phone rings again. She asks if the caller could hold. Evidently not, because she listened for a minute or so, then they talked some. During this call, the second line began ringing, but someone else answered it. She hung up her call, and started typing on her keyboard. The first line rang again and she again asked if the caller could hold. This time the caller held.
She punched the keyboard for a good period of time while trying to talk to another staffer about the prior call. She finally told me that I owed $20 on my account, and also told me that my wife owed $134.05. I reminded her of her caller on hold and told her she could go ahead and take the call since I wasn’t going anywhere. I figured that no faster than we were going anyway, it wouldn’t matter much. She looked at me quizzically, then at the phone, saw the blinking button, and answered the call.
Following the call, she went to the back and asked a woman how she should process the payment since I was paying on two bills at once. They wanted to know how I was paying. I held up my credit card and they talked some more. The woman told her to run the card for the total and note the separate numbers on the receipt that they would keep.
I gave her my card after she came back to the desk. She turned toward her calculator and started punching in numbers. I wondered what she was doing, since the two numbers were $134.05 and $20.00. That easily totals in one’s head to $154.05. I thought she might have found some other charges. No, she turns to me after at least 30 seconds at the calculator and says, “The total is $154.05.”
The rest of the interaction was relatively uneventful and I left, thanking God for the ability to add in my head and multi-task. I would never disparage or make fun of anyone who does not have those abilities (although I admit to having done so in the past), but I have to wonder why someone like that is working in a position that requires some proficiency in those areas. Hopefully, she was just having a bad day, and it got better…quickly.
I said to her, “Ma’am, I’m John Plank (my legal name), and I’m wondering if I have a balance due on my account, and I know there is a balance on my wife’s account. I’d like to pay anything I owe.”
She starts digging in a drawer beside her that has file folders in it. I’m thinking the drawer contains account information, although I wonder about that since the office is modern and computerized. She can’t seem to find what she’s looking for, turns to me and says, “Do you have an appointment?”
Now I realize that the drawer had all of the day’s patient records in it and she was searching for mine. I said, “No, ma’am. I’m just here to pay my bill.” I’m just a little puzzled by now, thinking I may not be dealing with the brightest bulb on the shelf.
The phone rings again. She asks if the caller could hold. Evidently not, because she listened for a minute or so, then they talked some. During this call, the second line began ringing, but someone else answered it. She hung up her call, and started typing on her keyboard. The first line rang again and she again asked if the caller could hold. This time the caller held.
She punched the keyboard for a good period of time while trying to talk to another staffer about the prior call. She finally told me that I owed $20 on my account, and also told me that my wife owed $134.05. I reminded her of her caller on hold and told her she could go ahead and take the call since I wasn’t going anywhere. I figured that no faster than we were going anyway, it wouldn’t matter much. She looked at me quizzically, then at the phone, saw the blinking button, and answered the call.
Following the call, she went to the back and asked a woman how she should process the payment since I was paying on two bills at once. They wanted to know how I was paying. I held up my credit card and they talked some more. The woman told her to run the card for the total and note the separate numbers on the receipt that they would keep.
I gave her my card after she came back to the desk. She turned toward her calculator and started punching in numbers. I wondered what she was doing, since the two numbers were $134.05 and $20.00. That easily totals in one’s head to $154.05. I thought she might have found some other charges. No, she turns to me after at least 30 seconds at the calculator and says, “The total is $154.05.”
The rest of the interaction was relatively uneventful and I left, thanking God for the ability to add in my head and multi-task. I would never disparage or make fun of anyone who does not have those abilities (although I admit to having done so in the past), but I have to wonder why someone like that is working in a position that requires some proficiency in those areas. Hopefully, she was just having a bad day, and it got better…quickly.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
We Go On
Wow! Has it really been since the fourth of June that I’ve written? Well, now that I’m retired and have nothing to do (cough cough), I should right every day, huh.
So much water under the bridge (so to speak) that I won’t bother to summarize, except to say that Minnesota was much, much cooler and more pleasant than the weather currently in effect in Southern Kansas. We even slept with the windows open, and were very comfortable there.
One would think that with retirement would come hours and days of nothing to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. Already my social and work calendar is being filled with this place to go, that thing to do, etc. The honey-do list has started (replacing the kitchen sink and faucet) and I am struggling to find time to do some of the things I wanted to get started on right away.
Of course, the heat outdoors is keeping some of the outdoor work and activity at bay. The mosquitoes are also bad now, with the big black ones attacking, not even circling, but zeroing in on exposed flesh like a dive bomber. Thankfully, they are large enough that I normally can feel them land and have a chance to swat at ‘em before they take a liquid meal. And they strike even in the heat of the day, to say nothing of early morning and evening.
So we go on. Mosquitoes and heat notwithstanding, we trundle on in life, only somewhat cognizant of what lies ahead, or what we’d like to lie ahead. We hurtle on into the great abyss of the future in faith that it will all work out OK; that things will make themselves known at the right time; that our faith will carry us through to the end.
To borrow a phrase from Linda Ellerbee, “And so it goes.”
So much water under the bridge (so to speak) that I won’t bother to summarize, except to say that Minnesota was much, much cooler and more pleasant than the weather currently in effect in Southern Kansas. We even slept with the windows open, and were very comfortable there.
One would think that with retirement would come hours and days of nothing to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. Already my social and work calendar is being filled with this place to go, that thing to do, etc. The honey-do list has started (replacing the kitchen sink and faucet) and I am struggling to find time to do some of the things I wanted to get started on right away.
Of course, the heat outdoors is keeping some of the outdoor work and activity at bay. The mosquitoes are also bad now, with the big black ones attacking, not even circling, but zeroing in on exposed flesh like a dive bomber. Thankfully, they are large enough that I normally can feel them land and have a chance to swat at ‘em before they take a liquid meal. And they strike even in the heat of the day, to say nothing of early morning and evening.
So we go on. Mosquitoes and heat notwithstanding, we trundle on in life, only somewhat cognizant of what lies ahead, or what we’d like to lie ahead. We hurtle on into the great abyss of the future in faith that it will all work out OK; that things will make themselves known at the right time; that our faith will carry us through to the end.
To borrow a phrase from Linda Ellerbee, “And so it goes.”
Saturday, June 04, 2011
I Know
I had opportunity today to think back over my work career. I don’t know if you’ve ever done something like that or not, but it might be worth the effort. I must say that my career has been varied, both in location and vocation, and I’ve had wonderful opportunities to do things and touch the lives of others in ways I would never have imagined at the start of my vocational endeavors.
I learned customer service early on through work with one of the corporate giants, the 3M Company. I learned that I had the capability to take on projects and be successful in what I did through my work at a radio and television station where I was responsible for the physical re-location of the studios of the radio station in an overnight move. I also had responsibility for all remote broadcasts (which were done frequently back then) and had that procedure down to a science.
Other jobs taught me that life wasn’t always fair; that superiors don’t always appreciate competence, and that people can be difficult to work with and are surely illogical and unpredictable. I also learned that I wasn’t perfect; that I didn’t have all the answers, and that I sometimes was just flat wrong in my assumptions about some thing or some one.
I learned the value of developing relationships with vendors, consultants, and people in other professions who could be helpful, and the knack of calling on those folks at the right time for the right reasons. And I learned that it can be a lonely experience at the top, and that “been there, done that” isn’t such a bad thing to say after all.
I know that I can do almost anything I set myself to do. I have the capability to learn on the fly, and can be quite successful when I decide to do so. I can also slough off and get by, and have managed to become quite good at that as well.
I am becoming aware that I have a life of experience and living that many people do not have, and am willing to share that wisdom with others who ask for it. I’ve learned that some people actually do ask that I share what I know, and seem to be grateful for the advice and counsel.
It’s been a great ride. Most of my experiences I wouldn’t trade for a hundred million dollars, but I have no desire to ever do them again. As I go into the next phase of life and living, I hold to the past in some ways, but look forward to what lies ahead in other ways. And whether that future is one day or one decade long, I know I have been blessed.
I learned customer service early on through work with one of the corporate giants, the 3M Company. I learned that I had the capability to take on projects and be successful in what I did through my work at a radio and television station where I was responsible for the physical re-location of the studios of the radio station in an overnight move. I also had responsibility for all remote broadcasts (which were done frequently back then) and had that procedure down to a science.
Other jobs taught me that life wasn’t always fair; that superiors don’t always appreciate competence, and that people can be difficult to work with and are surely illogical and unpredictable. I also learned that I wasn’t perfect; that I didn’t have all the answers, and that I sometimes was just flat wrong in my assumptions about some thing or some one.
I learned the value of developing relationships with vendors, consultants, and people in other professions who could be helpful, and the knack of calling on those folks at the right time for the right reasons. And I learned that it can be a lonely experience at the top, and that “been there, done that” isn’t such a bad thing to say after all.
I know that I can do almost anything I set myself to do. I have the capability to learn on the fly, and can be quite successful when I decide to do so. I can also slough off and get by, and have managed to become quite good at that as well.
I am becoming aware that I have a life of experience and living that many people do not have, and am willing to share that wisdom with others who ask for it. I’ve learned that some people actually do ask that I share what I know, and seem to be grateful for the advice and counsel.
It’s been a great ride. Most of my experiences I wouldn’t trade for a hundred million dollars, but I have no desire to ever do them again. As I go into the next phase of life and living, I hold to the past in some ways, but look forward to what lies ahead in other ways. And whether that future is one day or one decade long, I know I have been blessed.
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