Robb Ryerse's Blog, page 12

It’s the Most Optimistic Week of the Year

I love the week between Christmas and New Years. It is the most optimistic week of the year. Everyone is blissed out on Christmas joy, playing with their new toys, wearing their new clothes, spending their new gift cards. Many of us are off work completely while those who do have to go to work often have a much more relaxed atmosphere in the office. Everyone is just a little bit more chilled out this week.

It’s also a week to look to the future, to think about the new year. News organizations and websites publish their retrospectives of the past year, and we look back fondly, but mostly, we’re thinking ahead. We are considering New Year’s resolutions or ways things can be different. There is a lot of hope in the air, creative energy about what could be.

I know I’m painting a very general and very rosy picture here. But this is how I feel this year during the week between Christmas and New Years. Last year, this week sucked. A couple of days before Christmas last year, Vanessa and I became embroiled in a difficult, bitter situation that tainted just about everything between Christmas and New Years. We got away to Pennsylvania for the week and took a Facebook sabbath while we were there, but there was no escaping the anxiety and dread about the situation that was waiting for us back home. We dealt with it and got through it. It will make our own 2012 retrospective.

But this year, nothing like that is hanging over us. And so I’m embracing the joy and optimism of a relaxed week at home with my family in which I don’t have to work … or get dressed … or shower if I don’t want to. All I have to do this week is hang out and dream about what’s upcoming in 2013.

Here’s what I’ve got on my mind.

- Fundamorphosis Podcast: I’m going to be starting a podcast in which I talk to people about their theological transformations. I want to create a safe space in which a community can develop where theological exploration is encouraged rather than stifled.

- The Living Room Tour: I’ve been doing some research on successful DIY book tour ideas. We’ve been captivated by one idea – to do a book tour in the living rooms of your friends. They invite 10-20 of their friends over, and the author does a reading and has a time of questions and responses. We are excited about putting this together, both here in Northwest Arkansas and then taking it on the road for Spring Break.

- Preaching at Vintage: Over the last couple of years at Vintage, we have finished major sermon series through Genesis and Romans. Now, on the brink of a new year, we’ve got new biblical vistas before us. I’m planning on us doing a series in Exodus as a sequel to Genesis. I’m also thinking of doing a companion series in John to highlight the tabernacle imagery there. I love this kind of thing.

So, this week, this most optimistic of weeks, I’m going to be relaxing and thinking about these three things.

What’s on your mind this week? What are your dreaming about?

 

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Fundamorphosis Blog Tour – headed to my homeland

It looks like the Fundamorphosis Blog Tour is going to have one more stop – a place very close to home for me. This reflection on Fundamorphosis is written by Tiffany Darling on her great blog A Moment Cherished. Tiffany and I went to the same fundamental Baptist church, the same fundamental Baptist Christian school, the same fundamental Baptist camp, the same fundamental Baptist Bible college.

I often feel like many people who are a part of my life now have no idea whatsoever what I grew up in. But Tiffany knows … because she grew up in it too.

And, in a lot of ways, she’s still living it. But the very best kind of it. Tiffany and her husband Jim (I was his camp counselor back in the day) are the best examples of grace, compassion, and generosity. I simply adore them. And I am honored that Tiffany wrote this review of my book.

Here’s a snippet of what she had to say:

It was very encouraging and hope-filled to read how a church could really be a loving, non-judgmental, authentic community. It was refreshing to know that a church - that Jesus followers- can function from a heart of love not a spirit of fear.

Read the whole review here.

 

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Great Joy? I’m Calling Bullshit

Tragedies. We have all endured them. We have had family members whose stories have ended far too soon. We have had egregious sins and abuses committed against us and the ones that we love. We have stared horrific diagnoses in the face. And we have known the anxiety of being destitute and alone.

Tragedy is a part of human existence, the awful school shooting in Newtown CT being just the most recent reminder. There is no way to avoid tragedy. Try as we might, we can’t legislate it or pray it or hope it away. Murders. Floods. Wars. Abuse. From the very beginning, this has been the human story. This has been our story.

And it seems like we are always looking for a way to end it … or at least to avoid it. We vote for politicians who promise us peace and prosperity, who paint pictures of a rosy, tragedy-less future. We pin our hopes to a new job or a new house or a new relationship, thinking that it will make us happy. We lose ourselves in alcohol or marijuana or reality TV or Facebook or food or sports because we don’t know how to deal with the tragedies in our lives, in this world.

And the marketers know this. I am beginning to think that it is the advertisers who know us better than we know ourselves. They know that we ache because of the tragedies of this world. They know that we will let ourselves believe that a new car or a new phone or a new outfit will make our pain go away. They know that we are easily separated from our money by promises of love and laughter and happiness.

But when tragedy strikes, and we are brutally honest, we know that the marketers are lying. And we feel like they are bullshitting us.

And that’s kind of how I feel about the angel who visited the shepherds. I feel like the angel is a lot like one of the smooth-talking guys from Mad Men. I feel like the angel is bullshitting the shepherds. And the rest of us.

This Advent at my church, Vintage Fellowship, we have been anchoring our anticipation of the birth of Jesus in the statement that the angel made to the shepherds. “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

During the third week of Advent, the season of joy, I’m not sure I’m buying it. In fact, I’m calling bullshit.

–

“Great joy,” the angel promised. And that’s where, during a weekend of profound tragedy, the words are sticking in my throat. Advent is supposed to be the season of great joy. Joy to the world! Rejoice! Ring the bells! Great joy – happiness and fulfillment and delight and revelry. The angel said that this is what Jesus would bring. There is no joy like a child being born. And Advent invites us into that season of great joy.

The Greek word for “great” is megalos. It’s the word from which we get our word “mega.” Mega joy can be yours. Sounds like a marketer, doesn’t it? Sounds like something you would see on a commercial, doesn’t it? Mega joy sounds like something an advertiser would say.

And the shepherds believe it when the angel makes the promise, just like we all do when the advertisers promise us love, laughter, and happiness. Sometimes the bullshit is really appealing. They run off and see the baby. They find the scene just as the angel said. And they end up sharing the joy with anyone who will listen. And it’s happily ever after, right? Mega joy is theirs now and forever, right?

Well, as Matthew tells the story of Jesus’ birth, you remember that the Wise Men came and clued Herod in to what was happening. But then they didn’t go back to him and report exactly who Jesus was. They slinked out of town instead. And do you remember what Herod did? He was jealous at the idea that a king had been born and so he ordered that all of the boys under two years of age and under in and around Bethlehem be killed. It’s a horrible story. It’s a tragedy.

And is it unreasonable to think that one of those boys might have been the son of a shepherd, the grandson of a shepherd, the nephew of a shepherd, the neighbor of a shepherd?

If there is no joy like a child being born, there is no tragedy like a child dying. This we know.

We don’t know how the shepherds reacted to the slaughter of the innocents. Did some of them wonder about the angel’s promise of great joy? Did some of them now call bullshit on the angel? Had the memory of one of the greatest nights of their lives now been transformed into a tragedy? Is it unreasonable to wonder?

–

Great joy. This is the promise of Advent. The promise of Christmas. The promise of Jesus.

But there are days that I just don’t see how it’s possible. I guess those are the days when I simply live by faith. I can’t understand or comprehend or know … and so all I’m left with is faith. Faith that loss isn’t forever. Faith that pain and death and hell don’t get the last word. Faith that God can transform our tragedies into great joy. Faith that Jesus really does bring great joy.

This idea that tragedy can be transformed does not mean that tragedy isn’t actually real, that its pain isn’t felt, or that we should gloss over it. In fact, I think that the only way tragedy can be transformed is for us to be as honest as possible about how much it hurts, how wrong it is, how unjust it is, how it is so very much not the way things are supposed to be. I’m not suggesting a Facebook Christianity of happy quotes mindlessly pinned. I’m suggesting a faith that is desperately real about how much this world sucks sometimes, and yet doesn’t wallow into despair.

This faith that tragedy can be transformed, for me as a Christian, is rooted in the story of Jesus. It’s rooted in his death on the cross – a profound injustice that somehow God uses to plant the seeds of re-creation. And it’s rooted in his resurrection, a sign of hope to which I anchor my faith.

It interests me that Luke uses the phrase “great joy” one other time in his gospel. It happens at a moment that should be tragic. Jesus has died and been resurrected. His closest friends, much like the shepherds many years earlier, have experienced the full spectrum of human emotion. They had lost Jesus once; I can only imagine that the last thing in the world they would want would be to lose him again. But they did. As Luke tells the story, Jesus ascended into the sky as they looked on. But was this a tragic moment for them, a second time losing their teacher and friend? No. They returned to Jerusalem, in Luke’s words, with “great joy.” Somehow, what should have been a tragedy was transformed.

Because I believe in Jesus, I will live with the faith that tragedies can still be transformed. And while I keep praying, How long, oh Lord, how long? I’m going to be keep believing that the promise of great joy doesn’t turn out to be bullshit.

 

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Fundamorphosis Blog Tour – an invitation to move forward

The Fundamorphosis Blog Tour today goes to Hopeful Leigh, a delightful blog by Leigh Kramer. Leigh blogs about faith and life and church with clarity and honestly. I was really happy when she agreed to review Fundamorphosis.

Here’s a snapshot of her review:

Ryerse becomes the square peg to fundamentalism’s round hole and neither the twain shall meet. As Ryerse’s story unfolds, we see how this gap affected his spirit and why it ultimately led to him leaving fundamentalism. It did not come without cost. Fundamentalism goes beyond church attendance: it impacts work, friends, family, and every facet of life. While there was much to gain in leaving, he also had much to lose.

With each chapter, we see Ryerse’s pastoral side emerge. He’s not telling us his story to bash fundamentalism or challenge Christianity but to open room for dialogue, speak grace to hurting hearts, and invite us to partake in a living, breathing theology. That last bit is what I most appreciated about the book.

Read the whole review here.

 

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Fundamorphosis Blog Tour – what my wife thinks

Today is maybe my favorite day in the Fundamorphosis Blog Tour. And that is because we are heading over to Happiness Is a Butterfly, my wife Vanessa’s blog.

Vanessa started blogging when we left Michigan and moved to Arkansas. The start of her blog coincides with the biggest upheaval caused by our fundamorphosis. Over the years, Vanessa’s blog has been a place of authentic and raw conversation. Sometimes she says things that make me cringe. But mostly she gets to the heart of the matter with beauty and grace. But … she hasn’t blogged much lately. I’m not sure why. I don’t think she knows either.

And that’s why today is special – because Vanessa has come out of her blogging semi-retirement to share some thoughts about Fundamorphosis.

She has a perspective of my theological transformation like no one else. But she hasn’t just been a passive observer. She’s been my partner in crime. We decided to move together in this journey, and we have stayed together. I can imagine having no better partner than Vanessa to go through life with.

Here’s a snippet of what she wrote about Fundamorphosis:

I want you to know that Robb is not trying to change your mind. Fundamorphosis is not an appeal to be just like us. It is a story, an explanation, of what it is like to be here.

Read the rest of Vanessa’s review of Fundamorphosis here.

And, in case you missed it yesterday, Alise Wright included Fundamorphosis on her list of must-reads for your e-reader. Check out her blog post here.

 

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Fundamorphosis Blog Tour – right here, right now

The Fundamorphosis Blog Tour rolls on this week … except we’re not going anywhere right now. This installment of the blog tour happens right here with a guest post from my friend Van Latham. Van doesn’t have a blog of his own. And that is really unfortunate because Van is one of the most interesting and creative people I know. So, today, Van is borrowing my blog to post his review of Fundamorphosis.

Van and I got to be friends when Vanessa and I lived outside of Boston. Van and his wife Lynn were a part of our church. We loved getting to know their family, and even being adopted into it at times. Van and Lynn hosted us for Easter dinner one year and once took us to my daughter Mattie’s first Red Sox game. Van is a music freak who travels a lot and is wicked cool. And, he’s really smart. He’s got the PhD to prove it. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Much to my delight, Van went through Fundamorphosis with a fine tooth comb. When he finished, here’s what he had to say:

Books speak to people in different ways. Here are eleven word images I have after reading Fundamorphosis…

1. Personal: At its core, this book is Robb’s story. Fundamorphosis has motivated me to explore, understand, and articulate my own personal story at an even deeper level – introspecting, defining my beliefs, and ruminating on my value set. Fundamorphosis is about telling your story. Telling your story makes the Gospel uber personal.

2. Provocative: This book, in a good way, has brought me face-to-face with my heritage. It’s forced me to look at myself outside in. I can’t say I agree with everything in this book. For example, I don’t agree that fundamentalism is fully based on fear. I also believe that the Bible IS the sole source of theology. But, Fundamorphosis aggressively invites me to critically think about my theological stance and bring light to what’s core to my faith and what’s superficial. And that level of rigorous thought is good.

3. Creative: Fundamorphosis convinces me we need greater creativity and more lateral thinking in how we go about the work of the Gospel. Too many churches line up in the wishbone. They run on first down. They kick an extra point instead of going for two. I’m convinced churches that bring creativity to the gospel will grow. However, my sense is a lot of churches see creativity and departure from church tradition as a threat. It’s time for the church to flex its creative muscle. The church needs to run the pistol.

4. Optimistic: At its core, I read Fundamorphosis as a book of hope. That theology can be transformative. That theology isn’t an end state – it’s a beginning. That Christ’s melody is simply and utterly exuberant. Theology isn’t something to be learned, it’s something be lived.

5. Community: I love my church even more after reading this book. While God reveals himself in his Word, he also does through his Church. The Church is where it’s at. My church is far from perfect, but now when I see my fellow parishioners, I don’t just see the face of my neighbors, I see the face of Jesus.

6. Action-oriented: This book makes me want to DO. ‘Doxy’ is important, but ‘Praxy’ is where it’s at. It’s about getting after your faith. I really like the ‘doing’ disciplines Robb is putting at place at Vintage Fellowship – stuff like experimental collectives.

7. Fair: I was expecting this book to be a slam against Fundamentalists. It’s written with a spirit of restraint. It’s pointed, but not mean spirited or judgmentally over the top.

8. Poetic: Sections in the book are literary, something Robb obviously picked up after leaving Fundamentalism . The treatise on the Trinity as music is imaginative. It gave me a new paradigm for understanding the simplicity and complexity of the Trinity. The last chapter is nothing short of a love story to the church.

9. Frameworks: The social psychologist Kurt Lewin said ‘there’s nothing as practical as a good theory.’ This book is full of models and frameworks, and they’ll help you organize your belief system. Personally, I’ve found the section on core, confessional, and conviction beliefs to be a useful schema in organizing your beliefs.

10. Messy: I’ve learned, from this book that it’s OK to live in the gray and with some doubt or uncertainty. In fact, living in the gray invites contemplation, theorizing, and accepting that some things in the Bible may just be too magical to understand and it’s OK they remain a bit of mystery.

 

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Fundamorphosis Blog Tour – even Steelers fans are included God’s kingdom

The Fundamorphosis Blog Tour continues today with a stop by Brian Karcher’s blog Lambhearted Lion. Brian’s story interests me because, in many ways, it mirrors my own. I think we both feel a great sense of relief to know that we are not the only people in the world who have had these thoughts and feelings about the faith with which we grew up. In addition to Lambhearted Lion, Brian blogs at UBFriends and Just Being There. His stuff is worth reading. I just wish he weren’t a Steelers fan.

Here’s a sample from Brian’s review of Fundamorphosis:

The power of Fundamorphosis lies not in introducing some “new theology” or a “better system of answers”, but in capturing one man’s transformation out of a static, burned-out, joyless Phariseeism and into a vibrant, ever-changing Christ-followership.

Check out the complete review here.

 

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Fundamorphosis Blog Tour – first stop, Canada

This week, several bloggers across the interwebz are going to be posting reviews of Fundamorphosis on their blogs. It’s the Fundamorphosis Blog Tour!

The first stop in the tour takes us to Alberta Canada. Since spending a week in Ontario in August, I am now fully embracing my Canadian roots and am therefore thrilled that the first blogger to post a review of Fundamorphosis is Will Rochow. Will is a former Baptist pastor (another reason I like him) and has an epic beard (yet another reason to like him). Will blogs at Rethinking Faith and Church. And, he has his own humor site, The Other Side of Will.

Here’s an excerpt of what he had to say about Fundamorphosis.

I wasn’t far into the book when I asked myself, “Is this man writing my story or his?” The questions he asks and the doctrines he wrestled with were mine too. Furthermore, if they were also mine, then I wondered, to how many others did (or do) they also belong to? Maybe it follows, then, that Fundamorphosis is, in part, the story of all of us who have ever wrestled with fundamentalism.

Read Will’s complete review here.

Are you a blogger who’d like to get on board the Fundamorphosis Blog Tour? Send me an email at rryerse (at) gmail dot com.

 

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An Advent Reflection: Anticipation

Seth Godin said on his blog last week that anxiety is experiencing failure in advance. He suggested that anticipation is its antonym. Anticipation is experiencing success in advance.

These are fascinating thoughts in the season of Advent. Advent is the time of year when we enter again into the story of Mary, Joseph, the angels, the shepherds, and Jesus. It’s the time of year when we force ourselves not to jump ahead to the end of the story but to feel the anticipation (and anxiety?) build.

Expecting parents are filled with both anxiety and anticipation. My friend Derek shared on Sunday at Vintage about how the arrival of his daughters actually introduced fear into his life. Would everything go ok? Would mom and baby be safe and healthy? How would they grow up? What kind of world would they inherit? It is easy for us to think about worst case scenarios.

And yet pregnancy is also a time of anticipation. Doting over cute clothes and books and painting the nursery and picking a name. It’s a time for dreaming about playing catch in the yard. It’s a time for thinking about all that could be.

So, this Advent season, thanks to Seth Godin, I’ve got a fresh way to think about anticipation. Because of the arrival of Jesus into the world and into my life, I’ve got a sense that things are going to turn out ok, that love, peace, joy, and hope are real and will be fulfilled and culminated one day. But this Advent season, I am going to anticipate them. I am going to experience love, peace, joy, and hope in advance.

 

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A New Leaf

I started blogging in 2004. President Bush had just been re-elected and I had thoughts, thoughts I wanted to share with people. The Grenz became the place where I did that. Over the years, I have posted pictures, described what it was like to plant a church, made the case for every candidate running for President in 2008, reviewed books, had long hiatuses, and ticked people off with some of my political and theological stands.

It’s been a fun ride.

Today, however, marks a new era in the life of the Grenz. We have migrated my blog from Blogger to WordPress, including even most of the comments. We have also folded it into a new url, robbryerse.com. The goal of this new site is to help me to build a bigger platform. If the release of my book Fundamorphosis: How I Left Fundamentalism But Didn’t Lose My Faith has taught me anything, it’s that I need to be intentional about telling my story. For whatever reason, my story has been resonating with people, and I think that needs to continue and to grow for now. This new site will help that.

We’ve got some cool stuff in the works that this new platform will allow.

A podcast in which I talk to people about their theological transformations
An occasional newsletter – sign up today!
Updated information about Fundamorphosis on its own dedicated page
And … my ongoing commentary on whatever I feel like blogging about

A bunch of you have read the Grenz since the beginning, for that I am amazed and grateful. I hope you enjoy the new format. And I hope the coming years will be just as interesting. 

Here we go.

 

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