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Here's a message from Sean Little about live music in the Tri-C next Friday, August 6, at 7:30 pm. Come early for free food!

  
Download now or listen on posterous

Wife&WagonTourAnnouncement_Louisville8_6_10.mp3 (682 KB)

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Jeremiah Song (Is it True?)

Here's a song I wrote from the Book of Jeremiah in lieu of an outline.

Isaiah Rap?

Here's a song I wrote for my Scripture class. As an alternative to an outline of the Book of Isaiah, I wrote a rap song. I hope you like it!

Need a Vacation

What is the best vacation spot you know of?

 

Kokomo by Beach Boys  
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kokomo.mp3 (3376 KB)

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A Test of My Will

This semester has been very difficult. Perfectionist that I am when it comes to school work, I have had to work extra hard to make the grades I want to have. Sometimes, I think I should maybe settle for less than perfect when it comes to this stuff, but that little voice in my head keeps telling me I can do better. Thanks, Mom and Dad! haha

I'm really loving seminary. It has its hard times, but I feel that I'm beginning to understand so much better and grow closer to God, while still feeling how distant God is at times. I know that sounds weird, but it's kinda like Moses when he was only allowed to see where God had been rather than look directly into God's face. Catching a glimpse of the very nature of existence would be far too much for me to handle. I realize how many things are simply out of my control, and that can lead to feelings of helplessness and depression. On the other hand, I can sense just how near God is that it's scary at times. When I think of Jesus, I think of how short I fall from where He would have me, and this can also lead to feelings of helplessness and depression.

But I am learning to cling to the promises that God loves me dearly, just as much as He loves everyone else. The closest I can speak of this love in human terms is the love I feel from/for Amber, my parents, and my siblings. Even so, this human love is nowhere near perfect, though I am still amazed by the grace I've been shown from these people. But the grace that comes from the heart of God is incomprehensible. I am a fearful human, and that keeps me from taking part and being an agent in this grace. I cling to my addictions like eating, TV, wasting time on the Internet, and I act like these things will really give me life. How much disappointment does it take to change course?

Thank God for the examples I have had in my life of those who have been faithful and given me license to pursue this calling on my life. I can't express the gratitude that is welling up inside me as I write. You are all loved dearly!

Semester of Craziness & Fellowship Nomination

Wow! This semester has started off with a bang! They didn't waste any time with anything! After the first two days, we had two snow days which the professors used as an opportunity to give us more work (haha). Can't say I blame them, but I quickly fell behind with virtually everything. Thankfully, that motivates me to work doubly hard, so I caught pretty quickly, but not without a lot of stress. This semester, I am taking the following:

• Scripture I (Part 2) with Johanna Bos - We completed the Torah (wait, didn't Jesus do that?!) and we are now on to Joshua and Judges. I like Johanna a lot. I think she knows her stuff!
• The Art of Teaching with Brag Wigger - Teaching is my first love (sorry Amber!), and I think I'm going to enjoy this class a great deal.
• Old Testament Exegesis with Patricia Tull - Now that I can somewhat read ancient Hebrew, I'm expected to begin translating the text. I'm unworthy! I'm unworthy!
• History of Christian Experience I with Amy Pauw and Alex Hwang - Fun class, as I love history. Just completed my first paper on the martyrs. Wahh wahhh wahhhhh. (Debbie Downer face)

I also was recently nominated for a Ministry Fellowship of the Fund for Theological Education. The application was a bear (two letters of reference, three-page paper, 15 page application), but I get a $10,000 grant if I am selected. I also get to develop a ministry project to be implemented.

I'm a little wired right now, but it could be all the caffeine. Love you all!

An article Adam and I wrote about the earthquake in Haiti

Texting Earthquake Relief

I got an email yesterday from Bill Clinton and George W. Bush saying I could send a text message which would donate $10 to the relief effort in Haiti after the catastrophic earthquake. A single text message and my conscience is clear, right? Not quite, and I certainly hope that’s not the case for those who decide to use this method of donating money. It’s not that I think everyone should drop everything and become full-time relief workers in Haiti or join Mercy Corps immediately. These types of problems are much more complicated than that. However, I hope we would feel a stronger sense of responsibility to the people of Haiti than simply sending $10 and being done with it. But how does a person begin to feel a sense of responsibility toward another? Simple answer: Get to know people.

As technologically connected as we are, it is a wonder that many of us remain isolated within our own subcultures. Old social constraints seem to prevail, even though we are moving into this brave new world of globalism and postmodernity. In an increasingly multicultural country like the United States, mobility allows us to move further and further into our own self-made ghettoes. Fear of the “other” elicits the fight-or-flight reaction in us all. But are we missing something? Is there something we may learn about ourselves by embracing the diversity that is coming whether we’ve asked for it or not. I think so! Theologian Jurgen Moltmann writes, “It is only in the foreign land that we experience what home is. It is only in the face of death that we experience the uniqueness of life. It is only in strife that we know how to appreciate peace. It is in our encounter with others that we experience our own selves.”1 (p. 144 of god for a secular society) In the case of the earthquake in Haiti, how much of ourselves will we be compelled to give if we do not know a single Haitian? The images and news reports will pull at our heartstrings, but what will urge us to draw from resources we might not have known we had? Simple answer: Friendship.

I pass by people asking me for money every day. One man may give me some elaborate reason as to why he needs an exact amount of change to get on a bus so he can go see his daughter who has a flat tire. Or it may be a nice looking girl at the stop light with a very neatly written message prompting me to give her some cash. Either way, people ask me for money and inevitably, I say no. Enter Calvin and his wife. They are very nice. I've known them about a year. Every week we gather with some other friends and neighbors from the community and have dinner together. Calvin is one of the funniest guys I've ever met, and his wife is always full of energy.

One night, Calvin showed up at my door. He told me times were hard and that he and his wife were so low on funds that they couldn't even buy necessities like food and toilet paper. I don't like to practice random charity: just giving people something and telling them to go away. That's why I didn't feel right giving Calvin a few dollars, but I didn't do much better. I told him I would not give him any money, but I would give him some toilet paper (luckily I had just stocked up) and a few canned goods. We chatted for a few minutes, and then he was on his way. Surely there must have been a better option. I like to think that the little exchange we had as we talked did the most good to comfort Calvin that night. It wasn't much, but it was more than just clearing my conscience. It was me battling with my conscience, battling with my relatively privileged background, and battling with my own selfishness. I knew Calvin and that personal connection meant that I had to do more than just appease my conscience. I had to concern myself with a friend.

Since the earthquake occurred in Haiti, I have been invited to at least five prayer services for the people of Haiti. When I received these invitations, my initial reaction was one of disgust. It would be disgusting to sit in a beautifully adorned cathedral while hundreds of thousands suffer without food, water, or shelter. It would be disgusting to pretend my meager words would help at all. Most of all, it would be disgusting to use words and thoughts instead of actions at a time like this. Yet, in the middle of my disgust, I am reminded of the words of King Solomon, who said "there is a time for mourning, and a time for dancing." (Ecclesiastes 3:4) If anything, this is a time for mourning. As I've begun to mourn this devastation, I feel a keen sense of God's mourning as well. In a special way, God is with those who suffer and is himself familiar with suffering. Henri Nouwen writes, "The violence, greed, lust, and so many other evils that have distorted the face of the earth and its people cause the beloved Son of God to mourn. We too must mourn if we hope to experience God's consolation."2 Perhaps our disgust in times of tragedy is simply a means of mourning and should be embraced. If this is the case, does our anger and disgust bring us closer to the heart of God and stir us to action? Will our times of mourning lead us into times of dancing, where we become passionately involved in God's redemptive activity in the world?

As nearby as Haiti may be, many of us simply cannot drop everything and jump on a plane. Many of us, faced with tough financial times, can only give a small amount to relief organizations. And many of us, with the stress and responsibility of our daily lives, are not paying as much attention as we would like to. These, too, are reasons for mourning and not for self-loathing. Unfortunately, we experience a broken world, and this leads to apathy, workaholism, and a myriad of other ailments. While personal responsibility should not be abdicated, there are also institutional and cultural powers which prevent us from embracing a self-giving life. We cannot resist these powers alone. We must summon a strength greater than our own, a strength which is only found in God and community. A community of friends dedicated to a vision of God's new world is the antidote to our individualistic culture. While we cannot, nor desire to, escape the culture, we rely on our friends to help us engage the world around us with this vision of God's kingdom.

In the midst of an ugly world with broken people who hurt others, there is opportunity for us to experience divine works of mercy and grace. A few years ago, I was basically kicked out of my house, and I was more than eager to accept the booting. See, a few weeks prior, a young lady in the neighborhood was assaulted in her should-have-already-been-condemned apartment building. A few neighbors of mine, who owned the house I was staying in, realized that they could not allow this young girl to go back to that horrid apartment. So, they decided to move the girl and her mom in and move me out! Piece of cake, right? No. The house had a lot of problems that needed to be fixed. Many volunteers poured out their love in labor getting that house together. Within a few short weeks, the young girl and her mom had a new home.

None of this would have happened if we had not begun to call this little family our friends. When we know people who are hurting on a personal level, it hurts us a little bit too. St. John of the Cross said, "Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent." I would go along with that and would also add that whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to your neighbor (or friend), remember Christ crucified and speak up. If I don't take the time to get to know the broken and downtrodden, then I won't know to act when a rape takes place, or when a child sees his dad shot and his mom pistol whipped in front of him and his little brother, or when a little boy's dad goes to jail, and so on and so on. I won't see and feel the hurt. And if I merely hear about it on TV or read about it in the newspaper, it will only move me to an act of random charity instead of an act of selfless love.

This may sound glamorous, but getting to know people is difficult. Inevitably, we will learn that other people are not like us. This realization can lead to anger and frustration and even retreat. Why should we spend our lives with folks who are different from us when there are plenty of places where we may find similar people? What if we find things about ourselves that we don't like as we interact with others? This is a danger that requires courage and a good deal of prayer. Though most of us will never know a person living in Haiti, there are people all around us waiting to be known, though years of rejection may have caused them to build up defenses. Patiently breaking through these defenses is not for the weak of heart. However, as we stretch ourselves toward others, mourning and dancing with them, we begin to catch small glimpses of that beloved community Martin Luther King, Jr. once spoke about. These small glimpses will transform and sustain us as participants in God's reconciling work in this world. So, please, send your donations and go to prayer services in beautiful cathedrals. These are great things. Remember, though, that lasting change is only found in solidarity with others.

1 p. 144 in God for a Secular Society by Jurgen Moltmann
2 May 25 entry in Bread for the Journey by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Polity Woes

This January Term on Presbyterian polity course has been rather difficult. We only have seven total sessions, but I feel like a semester's worth of work has been crammed into the class. I've been consistently disappointed with the grades I've gotten, and I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I usually do very well with writing assignments, but I don't feel like I've been able to write what the professor wants. This is frustrating, as I feel like every paper I've written for this class is good material that I've put a lot of work into. Ultimately, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what our polity looks like, but I don't feel like my grade will reflect that. Sorry for the complaints, but I just had to vent a little bit. Other than that, things have been going pretty well here at LPTS.

I taught my second class at 2nd Pres Louisville today. I'm teaching the 6th and 7th graders, and we had a lesson on baptism today. I really do like teaching middle schoolers, so it looks like I'll be doing that more often.

I also thought I'd throw in a plug for my friend Adam's newest CD 'Beautiful Break' which you can listen to here mctill.bandcamp.com and I'll post his song "Be the Church" below.

Thanks for all those out there supporting me. Pray for Haiti!

2009 Recap

Wow! What a year! I'm laying on a blow-up mattress at Adam's house in Cincinnati thinking about the year gone by. It has to be one of the most interesting, yet difficult, years thus far. Here's a quick recap.

Jan - started off on a winter youth retreat in Michigan, right after the honeymoon. Talk about a complete turnaround. Disney World with just me and Amber to Ski Slope with 30 adolescents!

Feb - begin freaking out about planning for Mexico trip. I still can't believe I was able to pull that one together. With lots of really great support at Tab, I learned a lot about taking leadership on a big project. Also bought a new car for Amber.

Mar - confirmation programming, another first. Really cool experience with a lot of great teachers and students involved. I think I'd like to do this again!

April - fundraising Easter breakfast, yet another first. Amazed by how generous people can be when given pancakes and eggs! Raised a significant amount of money for Mexico.

May - school year comes to a close. Have to say goodbye to the Oaks and Tab to make the decision to enter Seminary. Hard, hard task. My two bosses were super-supportive, thank you Jesus!

June - breathe! My wonderful wife begins adjusting to the fact that we have about two months left in Indianapolis. Reality hasn't set in for me yet.

July - Great Escape...an insane experience with 600 middle schoolers. A great way to end my time with the youth of Tab. Love you guys. Reality about moving still hasn't set in.

August - Moving time. Reality sets...no, still hasn't set in. Move into our new apartment. Sit down on the couch. Think to myself...what am I doing??? It's now set in. Classes start immediately.

September - First semester gets into full swing. Hundreds of confirmations that we've made the right decision. Still miss home.

October - Hillcrest Blvd. The most over-the-top display of Halloween cheer I've ever seen. Street preachers condemn the people, I just think they need a better hobby than decorating their yards with coffins.

November - Theology fatigue... Hermeneutics. Eschatology. Soteriology. Christology. Good stuff, but my brain can only stretch so far.

December - A semi-normal Christmastime spent with family and friends. So beautiful! Celebrated one amazing year with my beautiful wife. Life is precious!