My Father's Daughter

It's not like I had thousands of readers...

But in case the 2 or 3 of you hadn't noticed, I've pretty much abandoned this blog for MSN Spaces. Joel set up our family site there, and I decided to move there too.

Continuity, you know.

So, from now on, please visit me at: http://ann-rannebarger.spaces.live.com/

See you soon!

I knew it!

So I asked Joel, 'Does this mean I get a corresponding benefits package with appropriate vacation time? How about sabbaticals?"

Sorry it's been a while...

I am frequently torn in how to perceive American Christianity. Watching my parents spend their lives on the mission field of Poland calls me to no longer consider myself an American Christian but just a Christian. And then this, from a critique of Douglas Sweeney's The American Evangelical Story:

"But when evangelicalism began reaching out from its American context, Sweeney argues that the movement lost some of its integrity in translation: "Many patriotic Christians who loved the American way of life-and who prided themselves on the blessings of their nation's 'righteous empire'-often neglected the crucial task of distinguishing biblical Christianity from the rest of American culture."

God, I believe You ordained that America would be my birthplace and earthly home. Yet I also see You calling me to be more than "just" an American Christian. You just want me to be a follower of Your Son. Please help me to follow Him alone and to make You my heart's real home. ~ Amen~

A fascinating article by USA Today columnist Michael Medved concludes the following about conservative American Christians today:

"This new confidence on the part of conservative Christians highlights the vast gulf between this nation's religious conservatives and the vulnerability and hysteria of Islamist militants in the rest of the world. Widespread rhetorical and real-world violence in response to rude caricatures in an obscure Danish newspaper doesn't express religious strength or zeal but reflects, rather, an underlying sense of powerlessness and desperation.

With the spread of democracy even in unlikely Middle Eastern locales, Muslim fanatics sense they are losing the struggle; on the other hand, religious conservatives in the USA who take a cleareyed look at their own position of influence see themselves as part of the nation's most dynamic social and cultural force.

The refusal to launch a battle royal against the pro-gay messages of Brokeback Mountain doesn't show the weakness or defeatism of religious conservatives. Instead, it displays their strength and optimism as a maturing mass movement currently more interested in creating than complaining."

The American, conservative, politically minded, zealous, X-er in me is thrilled at this new respect. And to be called a "mass movement" is thrilling after so many years of barely registering on the national-influence scale... On the other hand didn't the decline of the early church, and ultimately Roman/"modern" civilization start with Constantine officially embracing Christianity and then legislating it on an empire? I’m all for being a Christian nation, but I am wary of being too well received, too popular for our own good. I recently read about a Hollywood insider who called Christians the new Gays, saying portraying gays positively used to be the edgy hip thing in TV and movies; now it’s portraying Christians positively. Wow. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

Much of the culture perceives the church as a caricature. But the Church is not just people perception of it. It is a living Body, and when that Body is healthy there is no safer, sweeter, more simple place to belong. How do I help my local Church get past the world’s caricature of it to the place where it is all real, all the time? Or as Rick Warren defines it, an authentic, courteous, mutual, hospitable, unified place?

I just read a fascinating article from Christian History & Biography.

An excerpt here:

In Bonhoeffer's theology, there is an intimate relationship between Jesus Christ and the church. In his letters from prison Bonhoeffer spoke of Jesus as "the man for others." And in parallel fashion he wrote that the church is truly the church only when it exists for others. Just as Jesus lived his life completely for others (even unto death on the cross), so the church is to serve God by serving the world of need.

The church represents that gracious realm of God where sinners are welcomed, the wounded are healed, the oppressed are set free, and the poor receive the good news of the gospel. In The Communion of Saints, Bonhoeffer defined the church as "Christ existing as community." He believed that through the work of the Holy Spirit, Christ actually takes form in this community as it lives for others. Christ is revealed not just through the preached Word and the administered sacraments, but through the Christian community itself.

Is this true? How does this actually work itself out in the Church today? Are the Christians you know are revealing Christ to their world?

I'm going to shamelessly paste someone else's thoughts here. Not that I'm taking credit. This comes from my MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) e-newsletter. This week was excellent, excellent stuff.

HALT
Kathy Dye, Area Coordinator

A whiny day. You know the kind. When everything is met with a whine. "Why do I have to eat my carrots?" "When can we go to town?" "How come I have to pick up my toys?" "I don't wanna!" "I don't need a nap!" "It's miiiiiiiiiine!" I think I am going to lose my mind!

I just want to shout out, "What's the matter with you? Why are you so whiny?"

Then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, "why" this and "how come" that? What's the matter with ME? Oh no, now I'm whining!!

I read once that you should meet "whiners" head-on with the acronym HALT. H-A-L-T standing for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.

Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired? Four conditions that can lead to the whines. Four conditions that can hit the very young, the very old and the in-between. Four conditions that are often relatively easy to fix.

So the next time you come nose to nose (or knees to nose) with a whiner, think HALT and see if you can put a halt to the whining. My personal favorite for a cure? A nap, of course. If not for the whiner, then for me!

I thought I would be.

I really thought, "If I have an actual grown-up looking blog, I will feel inspired to write frequent entries and random people will naturally run into this site and praise my wonderful work."

Wrong.

Like all things in my life, I need a reason to be disciplined. I have a hard time producing it on my own.

And if you want people to read your stuff (the "reason" state above) you need to tell them you are here.

So, I am here.