McLaren or Driscoll?

The past couple of days I have been reading and listening a lot to Brian McLaren and a little to Mark Driscoll. I always like to keep an open mind and two hear different, sometimes opposing view points. I have to be honest and say that pretty much EVERYTHING about Mark Driscoll turns my stomach. He has been compared to a modern day Jonathan Edwards and I would whole heartedly agree with that comparison. In case you are unfamiliar with who Jonathan Edwards was, he was a staunch Calvinist preacher who penned the famous sermon; “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”. Edwards lived during that ‘enlightened’ period in our country’s history where we burned people at the stake for being witches. He and Mark Driscoll both share the belief that God basically hates humanity. I listened to several of Driscoll’s Youtube rants where he shares his thoughts on women, homosexuality, and his belief that the idea of Jesus as being a loving, forgiving God is incorrect and we need to return to view God as both vengeful and full of wrath. He goes further to call church leaders and the churches that preach this type of Jesus as being “chick-i-fied” and calls the pastors “limp-wristed” and “effeminate”. Those are his words not mine. If you don’t believe me do some research for yourself.

Juxtapose this with the work of Brian McLaren, also an Evangelical Christian, who talks predominately about Jesus’ love for humanity and God’s desire for us to have a personal interdependent relationship with Him. McLaren speaks and writes about our mission as Christians; to the poor; the environment; the disenfranchised; the broken; the hungry; and etc. You know, the same things that Jesus talked about.

Does that mean that Mark Driscoll does not care about the same things that Brian McLaren does? I do not have that answer. I can only go by what they each seem to spend their energies on and based on the fruits of those energies.

I think I will stick with what I know about Jesus and what He asked of us, which is among other things, to love your neighbor and your enemies, to forgive, to turn the other cheek, and to help the poor. In fact the times when we see Jesus getting angry and showing any violence at all is when He throws the money changers out of the temple - why - because they are cheating the poor.

So am I a follower of Driscoll or McLaren? Actually I am a follower of neither. I think I will follow Jesus because when I seek who God is, I see a Jesus who, although God, became human so that He could give His life as the ultimate sacrifice in order to restore and redeem humanity and to give us the ability to have a true dependent relationship on God. I see a God who cares about us all deeply and who through Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, ministered to anyone and everyone, and played with children.

How do I define myself?

I have recently been thinking a lot about who I am and how others see me. You know - definitions, labels, all that crap. I have always liked what Ani DiFranco says about being defined.

"It's not important to be defined. It's only important to use your time well."
Ani DiFranco

BUT people do like definitions...and I have been thinking a lot about them so - How do I define myself? I am going to limit myself to 10 things that I feel are the most defining about myself.

1. A woman...yes even though I often dress like a teenage boy, I am okay being a girl. However I do have some traits that would be considered masculine. There is a lot about being a guy that is appealing to me but I have never wanted to change my gender or felt like I was in the wrong body. Although, due to my short hair, I am often mistaken for being male.

2. Queer...we gays claimed this word as our own years ago and I proudly wear it. I have known I was gay since I was very young. Something more than just being merely a tomboy. There was a definite attraction to other girls and a definite non attraction to boys with the exception that I wanted to be a boy which is completely different from wanting to be of the male gender. I just gravitated towards "boy" things and away from "girl" things. Just ask my sisters about all of their dolls that met their demise by my hands. I still prefer more "guy" oriented activities rather than going shopping or such.

3. A seeker of God/Infinite Truth. I cannot come up with a better way to put this but to say that I have always sought something beyond myself, beyond that which I could see or touch. Probably explains why I gravitated towards transcendental authors in both high school and college. I crave transcendental experiences.

4. An Environmentalist. The natural world is so important to me. I feel most complete and at ease when there is dirt beneath my feet, the sounds of rushing water, and crisp clean air to breathe. It is here that I am most in touch with life and feel the presence of the Creator.

5. A Thinker. Some would say, actually most who know me would say that I spend too much time thinking and not enough feeling. This is probably true. I like to think about things. I like to take something and learn all I can about it and then spend a great deal of time thinking about it. It is a definite hindrance to me at times and I am doing my best to let life contain mystery and not feel that I have to figure it out. My daughter tends to be a thinker and I love this about her.

6. Family oriented. I love being a wife and mother. Nothing brings me greater pleasure or greater pride. It is my highest calling and the thing I hold the most dear. I would easily give my life for my family.

7. A loyal friend. I am not always a good friend but I do think I am a loyal friend. I will stick by my friends and defend them no matter what the cost. Like my family I would give my life for my close friends.

8. A reader. I can lose myself in the written word. It brings me great joy to pick up a new book and to lose myself in it. I cannot imagine a life without books.

9. Open. I am who I am - good or bad. I don't like to pretend to be something I am not and find it almost impossible to fake it. Many would say I lack tact and they are most likely correct. Oh well - take me or leave me.

10. Of Irish Descent. My ancestry has become increasingly important to me as I grow older. I like knowing where my people came from, their culture and their way of life. I am very proud to be Irish.

Lá ‘le Pádraigh

Lá ‘le Pádraigh is Gaelic for Happy St. Patrick's Day, the day when everyone is Irish.

My family and I attended the Irish Festival this weekend at the Seattle Center. I always love going to this event and I always feel something inherent in me that relates to the music and the culture of Ireland. I am a believer that we carry in our genetic code parts of our ancient ancestry. My ancestry is predominately Irish and before that Celtic, my great grandfather came to the US in 1810 from County Donegal. In fact All Magonegils, McGonigles, McGonagall or however you spell it originated in Donegal. So I am proud to be Irish and I feel a kinship to the Celts especially their relationship to the divine through nature. The Celts also believed in many gods and a lot of these were very warlike so there are also aspects that I don't relate to. But I do feel God most when I am immersed in nature...be it the woods, on the ocean or just watching birds and other animals. I often think I would of been more like Thoreau if I had been born in a different time. Solitude in nature appeals to me and is where my soul feels most at peace.

I have been listening to Brandi Carlile a lot lately and she has this one song that has really been speaking to me. It is Have You Ever and the lyrics go:

have you ever wandered lonely through the wood? and everything it feels just as it should you're part of the life there, part of something good if you've ever wandered lonely through the woods

have you ever stared into a starry sky? lyin' on your back you're askin' why? what's the purpose, I wonder who am I if you've ever stared into a starry sky

Then of course you have Saint Patrick...the patron Saint of Ireland. The thing I love the most about Saint Patrick is that before he came to Ireland to spread the word of God he had been enslaved there. So he comes back to the people whom had enslaved them to offer himself freely into service. Crazy...plus he got rid of all the snakes. What a guy.

So as you reflect upon this very Irish holiday and lament the fact that you are not as Irish as the Magonegil family, I hope you can at least appreciate the fact that we Irish let you non Irish be a part of it.