A blogging wife

Mm hmm, Katie's loose in the blogo-sphere. There's no telling what she'll write about, but if the current entry is any indication, we all might learn a little about the fuzzy sides of life. I'm enjoying getting to teach her about new things, and she's excited about trying out this new toy. So stop on by and say hi at http://www.angolateam.org/reese/katie.

My Modern Medieval Monster

Here's a thought prompted by history class today. During medieval times, three orders of society crystallized. There were:

1. Those who fight (knights, nobles, lords)
2. Those who work (serfs, peasants)
3. Those who pray (monks, priests, clerics)

These orders of society were indications of professionalization. In other words, those who fought were the only ones who fought; they fought on behalf of the whole society. Similarly, the serfs did the manual labor for the whole community. More interestingly to me, the clerics did all the praying for the society. In general, others (whether lords or peasants) didn't do their own praying. When they felt the need for God's intervention, they asked the priest to pray for them.

That's all very interesting, but what does that have to do with us? We don't continue the same "professionalization of prayer." As good ol' Protestants, we each pray individually. But with a little further reflection, it seems like we continue the same tradition with a twist: we have a very definite "professionalization of theology." Our "clerics" do the thinking for the whole community. When others (whether lords or peasants) have questions about God, they don't often dig through those questions themselves. Rather, they ask the preacher (who in turn asks the commentaries).

Am I wrong? I'm sure most of us want to react against this criticism. And obviously I'm over-generalizing. There are many dedicated Christians who spend much time contemplating on the things of God. But I think what I'm saying is still an accurate broad picture of our church. And what are we going to do about it? I'm a poor one to bring up this subject - my training is making me a professional thinker! It's like trying to reverse the negative effects of monasticism by becoming a monk.

So I'll leave this to you who still have a chance...

Angola's new housing development

We spent a month this summer in Angola (which for those of you who are geographically semi-literate is a country in southwest Africa; for those of you who are geographically illiterate, it's not in America). It was incredible on numerous levels. I thought I might share a few pics that illustrate the state the country is in. We'll start with Angola's new housing development - which isn't quite what you'd expect:



The big concrete thing isn't a new development. It's been there a while, and like many other buildings in the city of Kuito it got bombed out during the 18 month siege of the city several years ago. The caving in roof doesn't seem to bother the market sellers out front - it hasn't yet fallen all the way down, so why should it today? What's more amazing is the housing inside the ruins. That's right. Look carefully and you'll see mud block walls inside the concrete building. Those are people's houses. They moved in, built houses, and stuck around. They live there. They sleep there. Every day. Like this family:



I took that picture inside the collapsing building. This is just one of perhaps 30 families that laugh in the face of impending burial under tons of concrete. There is even a store inside this little development. It's quite a burgeoning community. They were all quite surprised to see two white guys inside it, though. Who knows, we may have been some of the first white people to enter the premises since its half-destruction. If you live in a place like this, you don't have to worry too much about unwanted visitors.

Back in the saddle

I'm not sure which saddle we're talking about, but I'm back anyway. This summer has been an incredible whirlwind of Angola, wedding, and class mumbled together, and now the fall semester has caught me not quite prepared. So I'm working my tail off. Actually, I'm taking a break to post on a long-forgotten blog. If I can manage it, I'll post a few tidbits of our trip to Angola during the next several weeks.

I've also started editing Wikipedia in my not-so-free time. It's fun, even if certain critics think it's a waste of brain power, or perhaps lack thereof. You might enjoy it too.

Where is God in African politics?

The word that comes to mind when I think of African politics is "broken." It's like trying to run a high-end server on Windows 95. What is God doing in the middle of all this? How does He work in the midst of such chaos and corruption? Here's what one African head of state thinks:

President Olusegun Obasanjo said at the weekend he remains undecided if he should seek a third term as president and would let God decide for him...

Additional time in office, if approved by lawmakers and voters -and God, could allow reforms he has initiated in the past seven years to become "anchored", he said in an interview with an American newspaper on Sunday.

Obasanjo, a born-again Christian, also said: "I also believe that God is not a God of abandoned projects, If God has a project, He will not abandon it."

Many of his initiatives remain unfinished, he added. His second term is due to end next year.

In other words, the Nigerian constitution only allows him 2 terms, and he wants to stay in power longer than that. So God, combined with the democratic process, will see to it that the constitution is changed. After all, God wouldn't start something He didn't want to finish, right? Sounds like Obasanjo and Bossuet would get along just fine.

But I can't complain that a professing Christian President is talking about God. Good start, I guess.

A Minister's Prayer

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou has sought, so let me seek
Thine erring children, lost and lone.

O strengthen me, that while I stand
Firm on the Rock and strong in Thee,
I may stretch out a loving hand
To wrestlers with the troubled sea.

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.

O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o'erflow;
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

by Frances R. Havergal