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A Father’s Tribute to His Son: In Memory of Tyler Micah Eckel

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“That’s great, Dad.” These words Tyler said to me every time I told him of an article being published, a student’s life impacted, a new approach to teaching used, a new video series launched, or an accomplishment of any kind achieved. “That’s great, Dad.”

Tyler and I had a wonderful relationship from his childhood through adulthood. I was a coach on his baseball team for three years. Later, for fun, we would spend Sunday afternoons in the summer going to a local park where I would pitch, and he would hit. We listened to his music, by so doing he augmented my cultural awareness. We watched movies and visited historic sites, sledded in the winter, and hunted in the fall. I took him on speaking trips. We discussed theology and philosophy, literature and poetry from his earliest years. I marveled at his brilliance, watching him teach a college class about Frankenstein when he was 17. We talked about him becoming a college professor like me.

He and I cherished our friendship, a son and father who loved and cared for each other. Tyler lived with Robin and I for ten years, then we purchased a small house for him here in Defiance where he was close to his sister and brother, Chelsea and Sam. Over two decades our conversations were consistent and long. We would talk for hours. We shared our writing with each other. We shared poetry, stories, experiences, and recipes. Our shared love of food – specifically ribs – made us both smile. He would say, “Who needs Applebee’s when I have Eckelbee’s.” He also taught me how to smoke a pipe. And I was always amazed that he could keep one bowl going for half an hour, mine petering out after 10 minutes.

But it was our shared reverence for words that united our spirits. We both believed that words were sacrosanct, that words had power and could bring life. We were encouragers, not only of each other but on behalf of others. We shared the value of loving people while we may have disagreed with their ideas. We made a point of separating the two. “Dad, you should read (fill in the blank) and we’ll discuss it” was a normal undertaking. He suggested, I read, we discussed. Agreement was not essential, respect was. Our respect for words was born of our respect of others. The premise for our others-centered approach was our oft repeated, “Show your love for God by loving your neighbor.” We believed our neighbor was anyone we met or anyone we read.

Tyler deeply appreciated that he had a father who would read Charles Bukowski. It is not necessary that you know who Bukowski is, it is important for you to know that Bukowski had something of his own annex in Tyler’s library. I would often receive the author’s books as gifts, always with a note about where I should start reading. Both Tyler and Chelsea introduced me to poetry, dragging me kicking and screaming into the pantheon of poets. I would buy the poetry, Tyler and Chelsea would tell me what to read. To this day, their shared love of poetry has become my own. Tyler even had two journal articles published with me, his name next to mine. But his verbal fingerprints were all over everything I wrote. And they will continue to be.

Even this tribute to my son is marked by his influence. Czeslaw Milosz became one of my favorite poets following in the footsteps of my children. There is a line from his 1980 acceptance speech of the Nobel Prize for literature that I have often quoted, “Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are gone.” And so, I will rededicate my days to fulfilling that promise on behalf of Tyler. The impact of his life – the hard and the easy, the ill and the good – will continue to mark my speaking, teaching, writing, and creating. With Tyler in the background of my thoughts I will continue to write, believing every word written is a strike against the devil. I will continue to teach, bringing light, battling the darkness of the principalities and powers in any venue. I will continue to speak, building justice upon the righteousness of Heaven, the only way to bring peace on earth. And I will continue to create, believing that all people are made in God’s image and therefore creativity is an expression of God’s work in the world.

And Tyler would smile and say, “That’s great, Dad.” And I smile now and say, “Look, son, how many people’s lives you have impacted for the good, people who have driven and flown from around the country to honor your life.” To which I say, “That’s great, Son.”

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[From my social media post after Tyler’s passing.] It is with the deepest, inexpressible pain that Robin and I mourn the death of our son Tyler who ended his life yesterday. For over two decades Tyler battled the voices of paranoid schizophrenia. His whole family participated fully in his life with every available resource for body, mind and soul. Tyler’s legacy is a love for family, farming, poetry, and letter writing. His gentle kindness was felt by any and all who had the benefit of his presence. His encouragement was a ballast, giving of himself to others. His dogs and cats experienced a love they could never have found elsewhere.
Tyler and I had constant conversations about all of life, he and I were resources for each other in our reading and writing. We spent hours and hours talking about great authors and the impact of their works on us. I was constantly learning from him. His editorial skills were second to none. He was an auditory editor, asking me to read aloud. And he would stop me when he heard a word out of place or he would offer a new approach to a sentence. He pushed me to be better in my teaching and writing in the best of ways. His poetry plumbed the depths of spirit I will never know. He saw and felt in ways that opened new vistas of expression for me.
I would always end my conversations with my son by saying, “You’re my hero.” He was a monument of perseverance and relentless courage in the face of a darkness I will never know. He fought and fought until he could fight no more.
We would often revel in our friendship. We both knew that being friends as son and father was a treasure to be cherished. And we enjoyed each other’s company with an ease and a presence I will miss terribly.
There is a need now to grieve, wail, moan, and cry; to silently scream and loudly lament. It is a time of woe. And there is no sense trying to say something that will mask the agony of losing a son. I will miss him the rest of my days and look forward with great anticipation to being reunited with him on the Other Side.
Hold each other close. Give as much as you can to others in need. Care for everyone in your spheres of influence. Be bold in your love.

 

 

 

The Bible on Leadership: 3 Principles about Time from Genesis 2

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A clock has been built in a West Texas mountain; its pendulum will swing for 10,000 years. Alexander Rose, the clock’s inventor, says the clock’s purpose is to “is to help humans think about time well beyond our own lives.” Elizabeth Dias of The New York Times reports the time keeping device is called “The Clock of the Long Now.” 

The New York Times article asks good questions and notes interesting comments from physicists. “How do we measure our lives?” is the opening query, one that should enliven any Christian leader’s contemplation. “Time is a mystery” is a declaration that deserves a Scriptural response. “All of life’s cycles, in and around us, together define time” causes the biblical thinker to counter, “How can time, define ‘time’?” Further, time is said to be “complicated” and “relative.” A leader reading God’s Word knows the created thing will simply do what it is made to do and is indeed “relative” in comparison to being created. The article ends by saying, “There’s no way to describe time before the origin of our world,” to which the Bible responds, “God is from everlasting to everlasting.”

How we think about time matters. If you’re a leader, another New Year’s celebration is a good occasion to ask yourself, “How do I view time as a leader?” “Should my calendar be reordered in some way to better think biblically about how I do my work?” The concept of time – something we totally take for granted – is an essential discussion point for leaders. Contrary to the idea in the article title above, we do not “make sense of time,” time is rather a gift given to us. Hebraic-Christian leaders do not view time as “mysterious.” Instead, believing leaders view our time as something to be carefully stewarded. Time is not “complicated” or “relative.” Rather, we should view our times as an opportunity to participate in God’s eternal purposes, since He is eternal. 

Perhaps the most valuable question to ask is, “Does the Bible give direction about a sense of time in leadership?” Scripture is full of principles for leaders to consider when it comes to time. Here are several from Genesis 2:1-3.

1. Christian Leaders Should View Time as Sacred. God made time “holy,” sanctifying time, filling it with meaning. Genesis 2:1-3 records the all-important passage about sabbath rest. The first instance of the word holy in Scripture stipulates that God wants His people to be different by making time holy. God pronounced a state of holiness within time that once begun would continue. Notice in creation God calls other things good while time is sanctified. The climax of creation is to construct one day out of seven as unique. Holiday—a day set apart—should mark our calendars rather than “vacation,” coming from the Latin meaning to evacuate or leave empty.  When time is sanctified, our days are given meaning.

Using phrases such as “I’m just killing time” or “I’m just passing the time” give an air of nonchalance to our hours in the day. The Hebrew language says that God pronounced a state of holiness, existing within time when time was created. 

In leadership our definition of “time” should be reordered to consider that everything I do is “time sensitive” because it is God-sensitive. Our every breath is an act of holiness, witness to Jesus’ prayer “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Every moment is Heaven-filled and Heaven-sent accomplishing God’s will in His world. 

Five applications of seeing time as sacred include:

  1. Prayer should hover over every thought. 
  2. Meditation should wrap every decision. 
  3. Wisdom should remind us to “be” and temper our compulsion to “do.” 
  4. Eternity should counter “right now” with “until then.” 
  5. Creation of sabbath should compel us to make personal retreat a priority.

2. Christian Leaders Must Resist the Temptation to Work All the Time Another prominent principle of Genesis 2:1-3 is that God established a timed pattern of work – rest. God’s accomplishment of creation is a statement about our creative work. The word “work” indicates skilled workmanship relating to one’s business, habits, or skills. The Bible uses the same idea when God gives direction for a sabbath day, a day away from our normal work (Ex 20:9-10). The work we have been given to do is from God, work that can be accomplished with God’s intention for us in mind (Ex 31:3; 39:43). In fact, special times of remembrance can be set aside to consider God’s work in our lives (Lev 16:29). 

Once God completed His task, there is a repetition-escalation in the text: it looks like this in Hebrew: 

“God finished

the work He had done

from all the work He had done

from all the creation work He had done” (Genesis 2:2-3)

These phrases, building on each other, explain what “God finished” means. First, there is no longer a physical creation going on. Second, rest is the end of creation, an anticipation of something yet to come.  Third, there is a marker of the world to come, namely, eternity is the goal; people are made for eternity.  Notice that the normal end phrase to the first six days is not repeated here; “the evening and morning” formula is absent. If eternity is the goal, evening and morning are unnecessary. Hebrews 4:9-10 summarizes: Rest is God’s original intention. Rest is the eternal anticipation of His people. 

Here are 5 questions for you to consider as you think about your rhythms of work and rest:

  1. How do we intentionally anticipate eternity in our temporal lives?
  2. What specific actions do we undertake to make intention, reality?
  3. Why is a focus on eternal completion something for leaders to ponder?
  4. Who is impacted by my discussion about future “rest”?
  5. How can I as a leader incorporate the concept of “rest” into my business plan?

3. Christian Leaders Must Find Rest in Something Other than Their Normal Work. Well-meaning Christian folk may suggest that doing yard work on Sunday goes against God’s design not to work on our day of rest. The idea comes from statements in Exodus 20 or Leviticus 23 that precludes agricultural work. But there are two important ideas to remember. One, the First Testament Israelites lived in an agricultural culture. For God’s people then, working in the fields was their normal work. Two, the word for “work” in Genesis 2:2-3 carries the concept of what a person usually does; we would call this kind of work our “vocation” or our “calling.” Whatever we do in our daily work should be stopped for a time. For the leader, if we are reading, thinking, studying, researching, visioning, writing, teaching, or leading, that activity should be set aside for the pattern, “God rested from all His work He had done in creation.” Some leaders may rest by doing yardwork, shooting skeet, painting, attending concerts, going to museums, and, yes, spending extra time with their children or grandchildren! 

Christian leaders sometimes think that they must fill every moment with activity. We should reconsider such an approach to our days, to our work. We must intentionally decide distinctive ways that we will honor God’s sanctification of time. We should be wary not to let others fill our time for us. Yes, Providential interruptions happen. But thinking that the response to those interruptions is immediately our responsibility should be carefully considered. Celebrations with family or community should be built into our calendar. Feasting, for instance, is part of God’s celebratory purposes. Special times of giving to others is a personal, practical way of exercising the holy-day God has given.

Here are five questions leaders could be asking themselves about resting from their normal work:

  1. What does my leadership position usually demand of my time?
  2. Do I deliberately stop myself from doing my usual leadership tasks on my day of rest?
  3. How do I actively plan my day of rest stepping away from my normal responsibilities?
  4. Have I intentionally developed my sabbath activities?
  5. Am I accountable to others for my time by demonstrating my application of rest?

In my next leadership article I will continue to develop biblical principles on time. But in the meantime, consider more insights from the Bible on leadership I have written. Keep reading with my articles from MarkEckel.com

The Bible on Leadership: 7 Verses about the Work and Requirements of Leadership

How I Order My Life as a Leader, Writing Out My 5 Gifts

Leadership as Shepherding

You can order my book I Just Need Time to Think and read the section entitled “Retreat” for an in-depth analysis of some of the ideas found here on work, rest, and sabbath.

Jesus is King, Even in Graphic Novels

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Why is this picture so important?

Watch our Truth in Two to find out (and don’t miss the afterword and full text below).

 

Subscribe to MarkEckel.com (here). Find the MarkEckel.com YouTube Channel (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaching at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).

Picture Credit: Luke Renoe https://readgraphicnovels.blogspot.com/2018/01/page-215-chapter-9-american-born-chinese-book-online.html

Read This, Then That: Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

FULL TEXT

American Born Chinese is the story of a boy, Gene Luen Yang, trying to make sense of his new American surroundings within the history of his Chinese heritage. Yang uses a bedtime story to overcome his fears about fitting in with another culture. American Born Chinese is a classic tale of adjusting to a new home.

Yang’s bedtime story is all about the Monkey King. In Yang’s community, the Monkey King was considered a deity. But the other gods from other communities did not accept the Monkey King. As the story goes, the monkey was not allowed in the banquet hall with the other gods. Yang’s point in the story is that just like the Monkey King, the Chinese author had a hard time fitting in to American culture.

What fascinated me the most about this story was Gene Luen Yang’s personal quest to fit in came about by what he called in an interview, “The Old, Old Story.” You see, on the last page of American Born Chinese the Monkey King – considered to be a god in Yang’s culture – offers a gift to the baby-who-would-be-king, Jesus. Yang’s assimilation into a different culture found completion in the history of the Christian message. By his own admission Yang said [Quote] “Christianity lies at the very center of my identity as an Asian-American. I would even go so far as to say that Christianity is a vital part of ‘The’ Asian-American experience. By adopting the ancient religion of Christianity, that is both a part of and at odds with contemporary Western culture, we attempt to make sense of ourselves.” [End Quote]

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel personally agreeing with American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang that we celebrate the baby who would be king, Jesus, the Messiah on Christmas day and every day.

AFTERWORD In 2016, I took a class in Children’s Literature at IUPUI. One project we were asked to complete was an analysis of a graphic novel; for all the folks my age or older, think “comic books.” I chose the graphic novel American Born Chinese.

Works Cited

Yang, Gene Luen. 2006. American Born Chinese. New York, NY: FirstSecond Books.

Yang, Gene Luen. 2006. “Origins of American Born Chinese – Part One,” https://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2006/08/gene_yang_origi.html

Yang, Gene Luen. “Telling the Old, Old Story.” 2011. Sojourners (Sept/Oct). https://sojo.net/magazine/septemberoctober-2011/telling-old-old-story#sthash.rgAZl2FL.dpuf

 

Distance Learning from the First to Twenty-First Century

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Paul’s letters to churches were “distance learning.”

Biblical Basis for Seminary

Traditionally, a seminary has been a place of study to train clergy, religious personnel, chaplains, or lay leaders. The word “seminary” comes from a Latin root meaning to plant a nursery, sow a seed bed, launch a breeding ground, or begin a process. The word was used early to identify both pastoral training for priests and girls’ schools. Religious training meant that people who wanted to give their lives to the spiritual service of others would prepare at a place with experienced professors who would teach subjects—preparing through practice—the responsibilities of priests, pastors, or church leaders.

Seminaries began because church leaders saw the need to train the next generation of clerics (2 Tim 1:12-14; 2:2) churches also were concerned that the seminaries so begun were becoming errant in doctrine, launching new institutions (2 Tim 1:15; 2:16-19). The concern for transferring sound doctrine (Titus 1:9-2:1; 3:9-11), has been the primary Christian impetus in both seminary commencement and expansion. Seminaries can be found wherever the Christian church can be found, providing nurseries for the Christian mind.

Historical Context

Brick and mortar edifices have been created to serve student learning for centuries. Anchored by majestic buildings, students were required to live in a certain place to be educated. Such seminaries hired professors to live in the same locale to teach and mentor future church leadership. Ancient schools, Tyrannus in Ephesus for example (Acts 19:8-10), were established places of learning where students would go to sit under the tutelage of a favorite teacher. Early church leaders like Paul utilized such facilities but were constantly on the move, taking themselves to the people to teach where they were invited or found a receptive audience (i.e., Acts 19:21-22). Both historic patterns existed—students following teachers and teachers going to students.

At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st  centuries sending professors to pupils has become a primary delivery system. To some, the internet has made physical moves to a place unnecessary for the training of religious leaders. Purely online degrees exist to serve those who could not connect with teachers face-to-face. Hybrid or blended approaches include pre-work prior to incarnational, on-site meetings, continuing online forums, and final papers sent electronically. Residential programs continue but often combine web-enabled options. Yet the church forms its practice based on its doctrine. Jesus’ incarnation—coming to earth in physical form—necessitates incarnational theology, a physical, local presence. Personal interaction cannot be replaced for the Christian educator. [See my essay on “text-people not textbooks” here.]

Missional Direction

Seminaries tend to focus on denominational roots, theological persuasions, programmatic foci, or personality appeals. Local church history may also direct students toward certain institutions. But most Christians come back to the same concept of missional direction: entrusting the next generation with The Word of God (2 Tim 1:14; 2:2; Titus 1:4). The Christian church should be an inclusive body, standing on the foundation of Scripture (Acts 2:5-11, 42-49; 15; Gal 3:29; James 2; Rev 5:9). 21st century educational focus is returning to the roots of theological thinking which began in Asia and Africa with scholars such as Augustine. His treatise “On Doctrine” provides guidance for educational direction, methods, qualifications, etc. A clear precedent of utilizing cultural tools [see my essay here] and situational options to communicate the gospel and grow maturing believers is evident in every generation.

Once focused solely on strict study of languages, theology, and liturgical practices seminaries have expanded their offerings. Fast cultural changes have forced seminary education to grow new curricula. Programs such as social justice, human trafficking, cultural interpretation, or filmmaking are examples of a new focus in education. In the past seminaries have taught based on established models. The move is now distinctively toward application/interaction of theological insights with current cultural needs.

Instead of relying on a standardized curriculum where application is left to the student upon graduation, practicum learning is an essential component of the teaching-learning process [see my essay here]. Projects, collaboration, and institutional professor/student interchange are now part and parcel of Christian higher education. Diversification of programs allocate a broad spectrum of seminary choices. Flexibility allows the Christian church to be nimble [see my essay] in approach and creative in its use of resources. Where ease of travel exists and electronic communication can be useful, seminaries can flourish, allowing students immediate access to information.

Cost may preclude future students from programmatic, system-based, organized, or accredited seminary experience. Though non-certified, some seminaries have existed offering less substantive training, local churches or denominations may unfold approaches to pastoral training which are smaller, more directed to a situation or locale. Technological interconnectivity may or may not play a major role in such circumstances. If resources such as books and tutors exist within a geographical sphere of influence, distance education could become unnecessary.

Local development of church leaders has been the focus since Acts, the epistles, and the early church. Paul (Titus 1), John (3 John), and Peter (1 Peter 5:1-4), for instance, assumed the role of traveling overseer, communicating preparation responsibility through letters to local assemblies. Persecution could also drain leaders from neighborhood churches. In such cases, education of church shepherds will necessitate close, interpersonal discipleship. Past foreseeing future problems and possibilities, seminaries will continue to water leadership seeds in the Christian church patterned after prophetical schools (i.e., 1 Sam. 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7, 12, 15) and traveling professors (2 Chron 17:7-9). [See my essay on The Church here.]

“Seminaries”  © is one of 22 articles included in  History of Christianity in the United States (Rowman & Littlefield) by Dr. Mark Eckel. Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (one minute video here). Picture credit: Snappygoat.com

 

References and Resources

Anthony, J. Michael and Warren S. Benson. Exploring the History and Philosophy of Christian     Education: Principles for the Twenty-First Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2003.

__________. Introducing Christian Education: Foundations for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.

Banks, Robert. Reenvisioning Theological Education: Exploring a Missional Alternative to Current Models. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999.

Billman, Kathleen D. and Bruce C. Birch, eds. C(H)AOS Theory: Reflections of Chief Academic Officers in Theological Education. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011.

Hill, Kenneth. Religious Education in the African American Tradition: A Comprehensive Introduction. Atlanta, GA: Chalice Press, 2007.

House, Paul R. Bonhoeffer’s Seminary Vision: A Case for Costly Discipleship and Life Together. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.

Mulphers, Aubrey. Ministry Nuts and Bolts: What They Don’t Teach Pastors in Seminary, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2009.

Parrett, Gary A. and S. Steve Kang. Teaching the Faith, Forming the Faithful: A Biblical Vision for Education in the Church. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009.

Tidball, Derek. Ministry by the Book: New Testament Patterns for Pastoral Leadership. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2009.

My 10 Personal Rules for Social Media Posting

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How do I interact on social media?

My 10 Personal Rules for Social Media Posting.

These are my rules for myself and are not intended for anyone else.
1. I always try to answer the question, “What do you want to be known for?” I am not a social-media warrior. I do not follow every thread of those with whom I may agree; nor do I comment on every position of disagreement.
2. I will speak to someone on social media in the way I would speak to them face-to-face. Social media tends to be parochial, insular, exclusionary, and frankly, inhospitable. I will speak with civility, straightforward conviction, and directness when folks may take issue with my online comments.
3. I am concerned with words which may be offensive or off-putting to others. I understand that people may misinterpret or misconstrue my words unintentionally or they may “read-into” my words what they want my words to mean. I have no control over the second sentence but I seek to be responsibly circumspect about the first sentence.
4. I am interested in universal wisdom, inviting others to think about a situation, setting, or circumstance from that perspective. I am the first to say that this approach does not always work. At times words cannot express a position someone takes.
5. I understand that social media is an AWFUL place for discussion or dialogue. I will put up with peoples’ opinions on my posts with some level of appreciation unless they use my page to “preach” or make assumptions about my thinking which are note true. But I LOVE it when people ask me honest, unobtrusive, serious, and probing questions.
6. If you “come after me” (as a white nationalist did here) or misrepresent my words (intentionally), or misinterpret my words (unintentionally) or disparage any person on my page I will respond (though I admit, I cannot track everything everyone says). It IS my page, after all (insert smiley face here). If anyone would like to carry on a dialogue on Facebook messenger I am glad to do so understanding I cannot fully or constantly respond to every query or concern. I have had wonderful engagements with folks both with whom I agree and disagree. I am glad for both. The experience can be more open there. I have had one person break the promise that what is said between us stays just between us. But I try to believe that if you are honestly asking I will be honestly open with you, believing you will keep the discussion between us.
7. If I post on another’s thread or page it is only ever to encourage and lift-up, with the end result of hopefully infusing joy into someone’s life. I “tag” people in posts if I think the post will somehow be beneficial to the person. I will not “tag” you in a post if you ask me not to (some do not like to be “tagged” and I get that). I will not “tag” you in a post as a back-handed critique thinking, “This person really needs to hear what I have to say about ___.” [If anyone thinks I’ve done that to them I will apologetically retract my post.] Personal relationship is MUCH more important to me than that we agree about the “third-rails” of human life: politics and religion.
8. I let people know what I have accomplished or written (while being sensitive about self-promotion) and will ALWAYS post pictures of our grandchildren (insert smiley face here).
9. I will always speak out and stand up for two beliefs: I am unapologetically pro-life and pro-freedom. The American Holocaust of abortion has killed 60 million babies, 60 million persons in the womb. And I have stood side-by-side with an atheist friend, defending him against attacks on his person and beliefs. Pro-life, pro-freedom, no matter what life, what freedom.
10. I am a perennial conservative Christian. #10 relates back to #1. I refuse to hide my beliefs at the same time I will not be strident about my beliefs.

I, in good faith, try to abide by the Levitical call to love my neighbor and love God in all venues including social media.

I, in good conscience, try to live the universal principles of preservation – supporting the great and good ideas and ideals of the past and present – which is what I believe people do, who want to conserve what is best for humanity in a fallen world.

I have STRONG political beliefs. If you would like to hear them, I will gladly talk with you face-to-face. But politics is not what I want to be known for. I try to apply #4 above to get people to think about what they are saying or believing without calling out individuals. I may not always be successful in the endeavor, but I try.

I have STRONG social beliefs and may focus on them from time to time; but again, I am striven by #1 above.

Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video).

Picture Credit: Snappy Goat

Movies: Thinking as a Christian #1

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It was 1986. The film was Short Circuit. 

Short Circuit

We sat with friends in the middle of a crowded theater,

about 300 people. 

The story is entertaining. A military robot is struck by lightening, suddenly becoming human. The robot quickly gains knowledge and learns by experience. The child-like nature of the machine is contrasted with silly human responses. Ally Sheedy befriends the unusual creature protecting it from those she deems a threat. Steve Guttenberg, creator of the robot, falls in love with the Ally, she in turn allows her suitor access to the robot-now-human.

In a face-to-face meeting, scientist and science experiment dialogue. Earnestly seeking answers to how metal becomes man, Guttenberg’s character is amazed at his original creation. The military, unable to control their latest weapon, seeks to destroy the machine. robot

“They are coming to kill you,” says the scientist.

“Killing is wrong,” retorts the Robot.

“Who told you killing is wrong?” questions the scientist.

“I told me killing is wrong,” is the ethically charged response.

Without thinking about the 300 other people in the theater, I stood up, pointed at the screen, and said in a voice all could hear, 

Thinking“That is not ethically possible!” 

Robin, my embarrassed wife, is trying desperately to get me back in my seat. All the while I am fishing for paper and pen to write my thoughts. Back in my chair, Robin whispers in my ear,

“Can’t you ever stop thinking?!” 

The answer is the same after 30 years. 

No.

Early in my teaching vocation, I began to train students how to watch movies, how to write movie reviews. Since the early 1990’s, classes were watching full length feature films; interactive responses followed. We engaged Harrison Ford’s scientist who thought he could control creation in Mosquito Coast. We saw through the wrong-headed, romanticized educational views of human nature from Robin Williams’ Dead Poet’s Society. We countered errant truth claims resident during Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.Mosquito Coast

If you ask my students now what they remember about my classes then, they will smile and say,

“He ruined watching movies for me forever.” 

Now adults, teaching their own children, students are now training their kids to think about what they are watching. 

You can read my philosophy about how Scripture teaches we should “test the spirits.” You can read my essay which explains my biblical view of engaging cinema.  You can read my educational approach here.  But if you really want to know the end result of interpreting movies from a Christian point of view, ask my students.

And I bet you could even find a few people who would tell you,

“Yeah, I remember when this crazed guy stood up in the middle of the auditorium and talked to the screen.” 

I still talk to screens today. 

 

 

Movies: Thinking as a Christian #2

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“Why?”  There is no “Why”!!   “What does Yoda’s statement to Skywalker mean?” I asked the class. We had just seen a video clip from the movie The Empire Strikes Back. “Skywalker wants to know a reason for what is happening,” one young voice proclaimed. “Yeah.  ‘Why?’ is a question of purpose,” another astutely observed. I...


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It’s Not About You: How to Form Personal Convictions (#2)

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“It’s Not About You”

conviction2-me

During a student teacher observation the student-teacher invited me to sit at her desk. My eyes looked back and forth from her delivery to my notes as I assessed her instruction. At some point my sight was arrested by a simple plaque on her desk. It was all of four words which faced her, not her students. It read simply

“It’s not about you.”conviction2-you

The student teacher had learned the biblical teaching well. Her students were her focus.

It’s not about you summarizes Paul’s teaching about personal convictions (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8). Forming convictions—decisions I make about issues which have no standard for “right” nor “wrong”—has more to do with others than with me. 

“Me! Me! Me!” is what we have become accustomed to in culture, however. “I do what’s good for me” has become our collective mantra. We not only think of ourselves before others, when we do think of others, we often think “I wonder what they can do for me?”

conviction2-13Our desire for self-satisfaction is captured in the opening scene of 13 Conversations About One Thing:

“What is it that you want?”

“What everyone wants. To experience life.”

And later in the movie we discover the answer to the answer;

“It’s like the old Gypsy curse, ‘May you get what you want.’”

The movie corrects what our culture desires, “I just want to be happy.” “Happiness,” as with all words, should be defined, then described, then distinguished. The chart below is an attempt to see the Christian difference. 

Cultural Happiness

  

Christian Happiness
Feels Good

Free Expression

What I want

 Definition Expresses Joy

Gives Peace

Outside Blessing
Pleasurable Gain

Emotional Good

Material “Get”

 Source God

Creation

Salvation
Approval

Acceptance

Award

 Goal God-centered

Self-less

Others-focused
Fulfillment

Satisfaction

Winning

 Result Contentment

Liberty

Gratitude

The Hebrew background to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew (22.37-40) begins in Leviticus (19.18) and Deuteronomy (6.5). Our love of God is shown by our love for others.

conviction2-face“Others” is the context to Paul’s famous teaching on personal convictions in Romans 14. (Part One). If we skim chapters 12 and 13 of Romans we find sections on submission, service, and sacrifice, words which inform Romans 14—“It’s not about you!” Indeed, Romans 15.1-8 bookends Romans 12-13 reemphasizing “the strong serve the weak.” 

True “happiness” is not the license to serve self or the legalism to control others’ convictions. Instead, true happiness is self-sacrifice found in Christ’s sacrifice (Gal 5.1). The key to the practice of personal conviction is not self but others. My happiness should be found in making others “happy” (joy filled, peace giving, blessing focused).

When I taught in high school I created a yearly button detailing our school theme. Each button contained one word. The very first display piece for outerwear and backpacks reflected the biblical teaching

Others conviction2-othes

Personal convictions says what my student teacher said, “It’s not about you.”

Reflect personally over questions of Individualism (“Me, Me, Me!”) and Hedonism (“Please Me! Please Me!”) as they relate to constructing personal convictions from Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8:

  1. How can temporal happiness with no real boundaries be better than the parameters established by The eternal God?
  2. Can anything lasting be built solely on happiness?  A college education?  Law?  Working at a job?  What do each of these demand?
  3. Is rejecting the Christian worldview because it is “hard” (both to fully understand and to live) for something “easy” (personal peace and affluence), a wise choice?  Why or why not?
  4. How will our choices for “happiness” affect others?
  5. How will the decisions for happiness of others affect us?  What would have happened to us had others chosen “happiness” over commitment?
  6. What if others’ happiness conflicts with our own?  Will we be able to say, “Don’t do that!  You’ll ruin my happiness!”?  Explain.
  7. How will we make future decisions based on happiness?
  8. Can nations, economies, cultures, or daily life be sustained by happiness as a goal?
  9. How are individual, experiential choices different from selfishness?
  10. Is “choice” a servant or a master?
  11. Why do young people agree with the advice of their peers (“Do what makes you happy”) over the 18 year wisdom of their parents (“Do what pleases God”)?
  12. If we are only to please ourselves, why should parents provide stability and security?
  13. Are things that are easily had easily lost?  Is anything in life “easy”?
  14. What isn’t hard or difficult that has worth?
  15. How have diligence and vigilance built your life to this point?
  16. How many hundreds of times do we make decisions that keep normalcy or consistency in life?  Is this better or worse than “happiness”?  Explain.
  17. Are we willing to give up “choice” for the sake of another?

Mark has just as much trouble thinking-living with the concept of OTHERS as anyone. He does not like his answers to these questions either.

Image credits, top to bottom: ranklocal.com; blog.schoollibrarymedia.com; imdb.com; pinbackattack.com; photobucket.com

Responding to Pain, Tragedy, Loss

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Sometimes, we live with puzzle pieces

and no box top to see the big picture.

Moore OK tornado

She stood by the side of the road crying.

A stranger stopped to offer comfort.

Her jaw radiated pain; her body shuddered. There was no relief.

It had been an awful wisdom tooth extraction. She now had a dry socket. A week later another oral surgeon had to “go in” again to cut her gum line, looking for bone fragments. During the surgery he “tapped on her jawbone” to assess whether or not it contained an infection. The pain Chelsea felt was left over from the doctor’s bone “tapping.” She took Vicodin: two at a time. The pain was unrelenting. The hygienist told my daughter that pain after surgery can flash back three, four, or five days after the event.

How about three, four, or five years? What of three, four, or five decades?

crying eyePeople suffer the memory of calamity in multiple ways, over multiple years: 

* The Moore, Oklahoma landscape was chiseled clean by an F5 twister.

* A Korean War veteran’s remains are laid to rest sixty years later.

* Roadside memorials of loved ones killed on the highway, maintained for all to see.

* Pictures on the mantle of parents, spouses, children, or siblings record loss.

* Economic downturns and duplicitous bosses make unemployment a disheartening reality.

* Some suffer the unremitting pain of depression, schizophrenia, head-trauma, or PTSD [1].

Raw, mangled, ravaged, empty, stripped bear, searing loss: pick a metaphor. Folks suffer when something or someone is taken away whether possessions, stability, sanity, or in some cases, lives.

Johnny Cash made famous this rendition of the song “Hurt.” In part, the lyrics readjohnny_cash_hurt2

Everyone I know,

Goes away in the end.

And you could have it all,

My empire of dirt . . .

No one of us can ever fully understand what another feels.

A quadriplegic, Joni Eareckson Tada, once revealed in her book A Step Further that everything from a hangnail to loss of mobility was “suffering” depending on the person. My sense of loss can never measure that of another. I could not, nor would I, think that I could understand my neighbor’s pain. So what is left for us to do?

Five things not to do in times of calamity:

1. Don’t compare: when someone tells you of their pain, do not bring up yours

2. Don’t complain: do not suggest to someone who has just lost everything that you lost anything

3. Don’t answer: folks want to vent and rage; your reply should be silence

4. Don’t leave: nothing replaces physical presence

5. Don’t critique: people cry, scream, swear, drink, smoke; be sensitive, ditch your sensitivities

Five proper responses in times of calamity:

1. Shut up: Keep your pious platitudes to yourself

2. Show up: Be with people who are hurting today, next week, next month, next year.

3. Pay up: Take out your wallet and pay the tab, don’t think about it, just do it

4. Stay up: Friend in pain can’t sleep, neither should you, darkness in the dark is double hard

5. Keep up: Lose your schedule, routine, and expectations; your friends in crisis just lost theirs

But what of the future? How do we make sense of pain?

Man and Society in CalamityPitirim Sorokin, founder of Harvard’s sociology department looked for an answer. He sought to explain how catastrophes of various kinds—wars, famines, pestilence—started other social forces. After exhaustive research, Sorokin’s conclusion was that religious revivals often begin in crisis. [2] His 1942 book Man and Society in Calamity made this claim:

The principal steps in the progress of mankind toward a spiritual religion and a noble code of ethics have been taken primarily under the impact of great catastrophes. [3]

Great catastrophes can bring great change. The past principle does not make us feel any better, nor should it be used to consul. But history may alter our view of the future. The history of Jesus’ suffering–the greatest “catastrophe” in human history–gives us the greatest change:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-18)

Jesus’ suffering shows God’s ultimate care for human hurt.  Chelsea, the citizens of Moore, OK, American veterans, the jobless, everyone who hurts, remembers the pain. We should remember that folks who have suffered calamity remember. We should remember so that we never forget.

Every day is Memorial Day. 

Mark Eckel personally seeks truth wherever it’s found.  

[1] PTSD stands for “post traumatic stress disorder.”

[2] Mary Eberstadt, “Faith and Family,” National Review, 20 May 2013, p. 35.

[3] p. 226.

 

 

Reflective Meditation on God & His Word is Biblical

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Biblical meditation links the temporal with the eternal.

meditation

[Picture credit: https://christianmeditationforpriests.blogspot.com/]

Meditation should concern itself with the content of thoughtful reflection as well as the methods of contemplation. Many faiths have meditative practices. Christians focus their deliberation on the text of Scripture focusing on Christ’s person and work.

Biblical Theology of Meditation

Reflection is a term that originates with Hebrew words for meditate.  One word gives the impression of a “groan” (Ps. 5:1) or a “moan” (Isa. 38:14; 59:11). Psalm 19:14 captures the most famous reflective statement containing thoughts expressed in words, “Let the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.” Silent rehearsal, turning something over in one’s mind, ends in an enthusiastic, emotion-filled confession. The believer then orchestrates God’s works to all those around (1 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 105:2). Once the silent reflection is told to others, the teaching continues to “talk” to the reflective heart: whether walking, lying down, or awake (Pro. 6:20-22).  Meditation is to continue all the time (“day and night,” Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2; 119:97, 99) and even during sleepless hours (Ps. 4:4; 63:6; 77:6). The focus of Hebraic-Christian meditation is on all God’s works and words (Ps. 77:12; 119:27; 145:5).

Meditation shows what is valuable to the believer.  Selah, the repetitious word found throughout the Psalms, communicates value by its definition: to hang, weigh, or measure.  The term was used in the Old Testament when people used scales to identify the cost or weight of an object (Job 28:15-16). Selah functions as an interlude to weigh a thought. One stops, pauses, ponders, considers, and thinks. The biblical implication is to take a break, take a minute, or take a breath (Ps. 3, 24, 46).  Practicing biblical meditation links the temporal with the eternal.

The righteous are to deliberate over proper answers (Pro. 15:28), meditating on the implications (Ps. 1:2). “I thought to myself” and “I thought in my heart” are both a frequent and summary statements in the book (1:16; 2:1, 15; etc.). Leaving no stone unturned, life was “tested by wisdom” (Ecc. 7:23). Solomon declares, “Look, this is what I have discovered, this is what I have found” (Ecc. 6:11-12; 7:27, 29; 12:9). Solomon’s recurring meditation is that a God-centered life leads to gladness, satisfaction, and contentment (Ecc. 2:24-25; 3:12-13; 5:18-20; 7:14; 8:15; 9:9).

Biblical Philosophy of Meditation

Meditation could comprise a number of threads. Simple observations could prompt new or recurring thoughts, ideas, perspectives, or questions. The reader could identify reasons to accept, corroborate, or pursue a biblical author’s thinking. Personal musing and rumination may possibly produce ideas for the practice of any concept. The Hebraic-Christian lifeview rests on essential ideas established in Scripture and reflected upon by the believer

Believers ponder the importance of many Scriptural ideas. There is a consequence of meaning, “Why?” being the chief question in life. Making sense of reality—all inclusive of what is seen and unseen—arising from a meditation of beginnings and ends. The eternal plan of God stimulates meditation: how God sustains His creation while preparing for its culmination. The Creator’s good gifts to humanity encourage meditation while Christians commit themselves to being caretakers of everything given. Meditation provokes the responsibility to teach the next generation to remember God’s work.

Meditation should provide biblical, relational, generational learning opportunities for the believing community. Practical learning opportunities should include

(1) The Revelational—Scripture will be the foundation of all study.

(2) The Relational—dialogue will be engaged within the Christian community.

(3) The Perennial—eternal, universal, great ideas will be understood as “true Truth” dependent upon God as the source of knowledge.

(4) The Historical—a Hebraic-Christian study of history begins in eternity acknowledging the purposeful work of God through persons and nations.

(5) The Experiential—wedding truth with life is encouraged through personal introspection, meditation, and reflection by reading The Text and all other texts, through communion with The Word, The Spirit, and The Body (both in the universal and historical Church).

(6) The Creational—the physical setting of creation allows believers the enjoyment of reflective study in God’s Word engaged with God’s world.

Christian Practice of Meditation

Meditation can prompt the Christian community to recognize and discuss biblical truths and their application to personal life.  Interpretation of cultural issues with The Spirit’s illumination of Scripture is an important Christian reflection. Critiquing categories of thought antithetic to Christian teaching is imperative. Proposing solutions to civic and cultural responsibilities within a biblical framework could arise out of meditation. Evaluation of personal commitments to change could keep one in step with The Spirit.

Pastoral renewal is an imperative for the practice of meditation. Workshops for Christian leaders could include teaching on and practice of meditation. Lecture-discussions for interested parties would profit meditation’s promotion. Film review should involve reflection. Reflective weekend summits, retreats, and educational dialogue may generate curriculum, position papers, articles, or reviews all because believers took time to stop, pause, consider, and think God’s thoughts after Him.

“Meditation” © is one of 17 articles included in The Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Rowman & Littlefield by Dr. Mark Eckel.