Lauren OLeary Pavelka
Some call her merely Lauren
Some call her lovelo
I call her my wife.
I don’t blog very often, but when I do I try to stay away from blogging on my personal life. I attempt to look outside of my life for inspiration and then maybe reflect on some greater truth (or movie) and sure, I will eventually tie it all back to my life. But really my life is boring so I am forced to entertain the newest most profound cliches that a 22 year old seminary student is all too familiar with because he can’t get past arguments over God’s sovereignty or social justice. But here is my personal blog interlude…
When looking for motivation, encouragement, and guidance I know the easy answer is to say “Jesus is all you will ever need.” And although in my soon to be published “Systematic Theology Volume 1: the center of all things worth knowing” Jesus is the launching point for my theological conjecture on all things from “A” to “Z, (not zed)” , I would be reluctant to offer “Jesus alone” as real advice, because (although theoretically true), Jesus himself didn’t tell people to live this way, he was all about community and the “assembly” and the body of, well himself. Scripture as a whole witnesses to the profound impact of other believers in the lives of those whom we tend to hold the highest: Moses had Aaron, David had Jonathan, Daniel had three friends whom he wrote a song about because he couldn’t ever remember their real names. My point is simple, Jesus is my center (or at least should be) for motivation, encouragement, and guidance. But in reality, Lauren, lovelo, whatever you may call her, is the one who God has put in my life to be a representative of Christ to me. To embody the love of Christ and the prayerful soul of Christ and direct all that goodness my way.
Embrace those you love the most and thank God for them.
I love you babe
Why do we not talk about sex?
One of God’s greatest gifts (ask some and they will say only second to grace).
Whether sex is taboo or not in your own personal culture we Christians need to do a better job embracing sex.
If at this point you are at all thinking I need to clarify what I mean by sex or that this blog is inappropriate please check your judgement at the door or go check facebook or something, anything else.
I have grown up both hating and idolizing sex because I was never taught, really taught about sex.
By hating sex I turned into the judge who condemns any who tried to partake of the joy God gave humanity before it was rightly theirs
By idolizing sex I was the condemning judge with his own private whore in his chambers.
I feel my story is representative of many today.
I (read “we Christians”) need to whole heartedly embrace sex in order to have proper lives and relationships.
Sex shouldn’t be taboo it should be worship…
An email recently sent to my parents about how our church (and churches in general) treat marriage ceremonies. I have briefly edited it (i.e. cut some names out), but I don’t want to actually grammatically edit it… So any misspellings or grammatical errors just make the email more like me…
“I am thinking of writing an email about the amount of money the church charges its members for putting on a wedding in the church facilities.
I won’t go into great detail here but I will bullet point my reasons:
- Why charge for a wedding when other church celebrations are free
- Why charge for a wedding, when people can have bible studies, prayer meetings, use the gym, have band practice, etc all for free
- Why charge people to perform what some consider to be a sacrament and even though we protestants don’t, we do uphold its sacred God appointed place in the Christian’s life
- Why charge if nothing is broken? Damage deposit makes some sense… I will agree to that
- The church isn’t a business, so why make a profit off of what should be fully supported by the church in the first place
- Even if an argument is made for profiting off of a freely given institute from God, how can an ugly church charge anything for the use of their less than adequate facilities? (not applicable for every church)
- I believe the reason Jesus over turned the tables in the Temple was because those selling and dealing with money in the temple took something god ordained and perverted it by profiting off of it and exploiting the people (the poor especially), therefore I find it strikingly similar to charge for use of the facilities to do something God has told us to do and on top of that charge for things such as church wedding planner… so that’s not good and it very well may make God a wee bit unhappy
Please give me a valid well thought out biblical reason to explain how the church can charge its members for use of their facilities for an action ordained by God. Tell me why the Church charges for a wedding planner, shouldn’t staff/members of the church be willing to help for free. Shouldn’t such a great institution such as marriage be eagerly supported by the church as a whole to supplant any costs as far as they can for the basic necessities (not counting all the flowers, food, etc which the couple then chooses for themselves above and beyond the basics).
Royce”
What do you think? Should the church step up and do more to support the cost of marriages? Should the church be free to sue and members offer their services free of charge?
Before getting into the substance of the movie it must first be stated for all my Minnesotans, this movie ranks up there with Mighty Ducks as one of the best movies filmed in Minnesota. Furthermore, the movie stays true to Minnesota, right on down to the beer; nothing but Grainbelt for our heroic priest. All my Minnesota sentiment now out of me on to the story.
Focusing on a troubled priest, Into Temptation portrays a man torn by the vows which he must adhere to and his inner desire to save a life. Having received the most “heart rending” confession of his life, he then begins to pursue the confessor, a prostitute whom is solely identifiable to him by the sound of her voice and her crucifix adorned chest. Traveling further and further into the depths of the Minneapolis sex, prostitution, and pornography scene he seeks anyone who may be able to help him find his mystery woman.
Before watching this movie I was wondering if Into Temptation would be able to resist turning itself into a movie about the sexual liberation of a Priest. Sure enough T&A make a few brief appearances, but in all honesty for a movie focusing on the colliding worlds of a priest and prostitute how honest could such a movie be without some sort of graphic content? The nudity though is very infrequent and does not detract from the storyline whatsoever and in fact adds to the humanity and struggle in which the priest finds himself. In fact for mainstream evangelical Christians perhaps the greatest “sin” of this movie is the priest’s acceptance and approval of a homosexual man. Although definitely controversial in theme, the priest’s scene with the homosexual boy does help to build the character of the priest and show the kind of man he is.
Enough with my brief qualms with Into Temptation, I found this movie too genuine to weigh it down with negative criticism. I would recommend this movie for anyone thinking of going into ministry, those involved in city life, parents, anyone claiming to be a Christian, and well to just about anyone I know who is ready to sit down and let such a story speak to them. So often Christian roles are given to characters who are either in need of spiritual liberation or to a character portraying the stereotypical religious bigot. However the priest in this film is a true hero. A man who does find his religion to be constraining at times and shows signs of doubt, but through all of this he persists. His actions are driven by a deep love for the other. Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox it does not matter. Our priest from Into Temptation is a hero of the faith; a man tormented by great love for a person he does not know. A man who does in many ways follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Watch this movie. Contemplate it. And live its main message of love.
I hope the artist is okay with my using of his most wonderful painting, but if not I am sorry. It is not like anyone is ever going to see it here anyways because no one reads me blog hehe.
But Kyle I wish I was as artsy as you. I so long for artistic ability. Art lets us speak of God in perhaps a language more closely related to God than words. I am not saying words aren’t artistic, they can be wielded to form some of the most artistic expressions humanity has. But there is something in visual art that imitates God’s act of creation. And it is in the act of visual creation that we let our imagination transcend language and hopefully speak truth about God which finds it peace in our quiet souls of contemplation. It is not that the art transcends our world, it is that art embodies our world and God’s creativity. A rather powerful compilation which is not adequately expressed by words.
Anyways…
I want to go back, to go back to the way it was (or the way I remember it being). Where I released some of my thoughts and opinions and every now and then received some feedback. I believe my problem with my initial blogging attempts was due to the fact I had too narrow of a view of what was Blog worthy. I am definitely not going to swing the other way and blog about the most trivial aspects of my day as if someone cares, but I want to try my hand at movie reviews, music reviews, theological discourse, poetry, short stories… really wherever the wind blows me.
So please come back and read… So we can use the virtual world as a means to bridge the gaps in our physical world.
P.S. I wrote as cheesy as I desired because I know no one will read it anyways besides Lauren, Billy, and maybe Nels…
Stats from a recent survey on U.S. megachurches (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090609/survey-examines-america-s-megachurchgoers/index.html):
- 32 percent saying they contribute nothing or give just a small amount when they can
- almost half (45 percent) of megachurch participants said they never volunteered and only 60 percent participate in small groups
- Examining what attracts people to megachurches, the survey found that the worship style, senior pastor, and reputation of the church, respectively, were the strongest factors in initial attraction.Those three items were also most influential in having people stay. The senior pastor, however, proved to be the strongest factor that kept people coming back.
The face of modern day U.S. evangelical Christianity is the megachurch. People outside of the evangelical world may not know much about the basics of Christianity, but there is a decent chance they have heard of Willow Creek, Saddleback or perhaps megachurch pastors Rick Warren (see previous church) or the likes of Rob Bell. I do not want to argue against the pastors of such churches right now, but their faces and their lives are intimately linked with a megachurch.
With this being the case, that the megachurch is the face of U.S. Christianity, the stats from this survey are all the more disturbing. I believe this survey said that only 2% of megachurch attendees are supposedly non-Christian… i.e. 98% claim to have a relationship with Christ, that means that as far as the face of Christianity is concerned, a picture of great uninvolvement is portrayed. A third of modern Christians essentially do not give to their church, almost half do not volunteer (serve), and only a little over half are a part of a small group… Add to this the fact that the main reason people attend their specific church is because of the pastor/allure of the church and the picture of modern Christianity is one of uninvolvement, lack of unity, and individuals out to find what they are comfortable with and what they find entertaining.
The modern day U.S. church is no longer a healthy, beautiful, serving body of Christ. Rather as these megachurches have proven, the modern U.S. church is a crippled body with a nervous system that is out of whack, allowing limbs to serve themselves first. Not only is it terrible that this is what the world sees, but churches now a days looking for a way to grow in membership look to these megachurches for the way to be “successful.” If churches believe that these megachurches have found the “successful” path to being a church, then the churches of the U.S. are damned.
1 “How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves behind your veil;
Your hair is like a flock of goats
That have descended from Mount Gilead.
2 “Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes
Which have come up from their washing,
All of which bear twins,
And not one among them has lost her young.
3 “Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate
Behind your veil.
4 “Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built with rows of stones
On which are hung a thousand shields,
All the round shields of the mighty men.
5 “Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle
Which feed among the lilies.
6 “Until the cool of the day
When the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7 “You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
And there is no blemish in you.”
Song 4:1-7
I was reading a commentary on this section and one writer was quoted as believing that the reason the man speaking doesn’t get lower than the breasts is because by this point he is sooo extremely sexually aroused and must act. I admittedly laughed to myself when I read this and sure maybe this commentator is on to something… or maybe he is just a man who is physically aroused by verse 6 and therefore projects his feelings onto the author, Who knows? I have never taken the time to study Song of Songs, only reading it to counter some of the extremely nonsexual words of Paul. However, this is about to change, I am planning on writing a paper on these verses and so far the initial research has been enjoyable (yes, I said enjoyable). I don’t plan on doing any ground breaking research, but I do plan on really trying to learn more about this book which is in my Bible.
Really, it is this desire to learn about the Bible and in turn hopefully God which I most desire. I have never had a so called “faith-crisis” and don’t believe I am experiencing one currently… a more appropriate term for where I am now would be “faith-funk”. I feel spiritually lazy and irresponsible, partially due to my own ineptitude and partially due to the fact that my attempts to continue in my spiritual walk have left me wanting and confused. I am a man lying tired and thirsty along the side of the road and have fallen asleep hoping that some day I wake up refreshed, wake to the feeling of rain on my forehead… Solving all of my problems. Life has taught me though, that when I wake up I will probably just be even more thirsty than before and dehydration doesn’t help a man low on energy. Jesus says he has the water of life, this is the water which I thirst for. My well has run dry. I have tried to live off of it for too long never thinking I would hear the bucket clank as it hit the dry well bed. My laziness and irresponsibility have taken a toll on my spiritual life.
I am praying for living water… Thank you homework, you have spurred me out of my spiritual laziness and reignited a desire to dissect God’s word and reunite with an old buddy.
P.S. I know this has been a bit disconnected and whatnot, I am tired and blog-rusty.
“We are irrelevant to virtually everybody in this country because we do not show a radical alternative where we live out Jesus’ unconditional love and we are Jesus and we are God’s hands on earth and God’s wallets on earth to every single person Jesus puts in our path. But we are no different; we handle money in the same way,”
“There is a world out there that wants love, forgiveness, grace, hope, joy. That’s what they need. They don’t need more things. And the church by and large is not offering this,”
-Keith Tondeur
How much do you tithe? Why do you tithe? For many of us, there are very systematic answers which we supply here. I give 10%, I don’t tithe monetarily but I give of my time, I tithe because the Bible says so, I give what I can afford to give… But are these answers adequate for a person who is striving after Gods’ heart.
We are part of the wealthiest civilization of all time… and many of us live in huge houses, drive escalades, migrate south for the winter, and vacation at our cabin. Then on Sunday we give 10% of our paycheck to the church. I am not aiming to criticize everyone else and put myself on a pedestal (I am terrible at giving, at putting money in a dish as it passes in front of me), rather to exhort us all to give more and realize that our wallets are not ours first and God’s second. Realize that we need to meet the needs of people around us, physical, emotional and spiritual. I am afraid that in this time of “economic despair” Christians will prove to have missed Jesus’ calling once again and close up their wallets to maintain their own security and stability.
We need to pay attention to what is the most important, to the things which relate to eternity. Yes, give what your heart willing wishes to give, but pray earnestly that God opens up your heart and your desire to be fully used (including monetarily). Pray that we find a way to move beyond our greedy natures and our need for comfort and certainty…
P.S. Interesting observation from my bible study today that goes along with this topic… “They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.” (Gal 2:10) After Paul and other apostles met to discuss the gospel which Paul was preaching, there is an emphasis placed on caring for the poor… And Paul was eager, Where is our… my eagerness?
“Blogging is here to stay,” said Mohler. “Let’s see it as a mission field.”
No Ted Bundy talk, no persecutions, no politics… Just blogging. Quick and simple. With people becoming lazier and people finding more entertainment on the internet we Christians need to first not be so lazy… and second continue to use technology and the internet as a means to show and talk about God. Whether it is an obvious theological post or thought from a recent Bible study or even just reflecting on your day with obvious attention to how God was at work or noticeable; blogging, facebook, you name it is essential to the modern western mission field.
Even if only 14 people view your blog on an average day 
use your words to reach out to those surfing the web. While you are working to conquer your laziness and addiction to the internet use some of that time and dedicate it to doing good, to the online mission field.
The 20th anniversary of Ted Bundy’s execution occurred recently. On one of the few websites I frequent I saw an article and video link to an interview Dr. Dobson had with Ted Bundy on the eve of his execution (http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?MediaId={710D67E8-7AFB-411F-8A37-503EA8B69B5B}&FAMILYTYPE=null). The focus of the interview was the effect pornography had on Ted Bundy’s life and his plunge into criminal acts. I do not often watch internet videos like this and when I do, I usually do not find much value in them. However, this interview touched me deeply. Not only because the topic being covered is very important to me, but because there was an extremely interesting story behind this brutal murder, this terrible villain who raped innocent girls, this disgusting monster who committed acts of necrophilia… this normal man who I believe found redemption.
Bundy’s message and plea to fight the societal norm and acceptance of pornography was powerful, not because he said anything drastically new, but because he himself was a living example of the evils that pornography can contribute to.
The evils of pornography are important to discuss and whatnot, and I think Ted Bundy’s words are more effective than anything I could write. More important though, was what he discussed at the tail end of his interview with Dobson… His supposed conversion.
I say supposed because I do not know his heart and it is hard to believe a serial killer could ever have a real conversion. But after watching Ted Bundy talk for 30 minutes my pessimism toward serial killer conversions was lifted. Some may say that he is just very manipulative and I am swayed too easily. However, who am I to doubt his sincerity and his heart’s conversion. And why shouldn’t I doubt him? Perverted serial killers like Ted Bundy fall outside of God’s grace and Jesus’ work of redemption… Wait that’s not right… in fact last time I checked in at church, my pastor said that Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross and in his resurrection was meant for everyone… even Ted Bundy. And what a story of redemption.
