GroshLink

Wow! HT to my friend who posted the link on their blog, inspiring me to pack-up and head back to the Urban slopes, i.e., in my imagination. I'm probably too old to give this a try, but the footage helps me envision how the snowstorm blessed places which I used to trek around near our house and the campus. 

In Emerging Scholars at Jubilee 2010 my colleague Mike shares about the connections he made in 'da Burgh last weekend. Pray as he explores next steps in partnership with a number of ministries. I'm expecting that we'll both be back in 'da Burgh for Jubilee 2011. In addition to a reception/meal and various conversations (even interviews), hoping we have a booth to meet/chat with lots of students about the vision of the Emerging Scholars Network.

Time to turn my focus to today's ESN blog post.  Which reminds me, make sure you swing by the read Addressing Our Errors where I share notes from a presentation by a professor/practitioner of family medicine and an encouragment to meditate upon living out the Greatest Commandment as we journey through Lent (and beyond!).

Ever have a course which keeps coming back, one which you wonder whether you should have taken? After 15 or so years of such a dilemma in which I've seen Perspectives in the World Christian Movement offered in a number of formats in a variety of venues, I'm hoping to take a 1 week intensive at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.  This version is sponsored by my friends at the World Mission Initiative program in connection with the Continuing Education Office at PTS and it's a perfect format for my schedule.  I'll be taking it for graduate credit, but other options include undegraduate credit and certificate.  Note:  it's also required as part of my developing relationship with Brethren in Christ World Missions

So, anyone from Central PA interested in a roadtrip? Any friends from 'da Burgh signing up? Hoping to see lots of friends when I'm in town.

Council puts tuition tax proposal on hold -- Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, December 17, 2009.

Comment:  We will be stretched to develop creative resolutions to trying circumstances during this economically challenging time.  Praying for wise decisions which seek to bless the larger community and not just specific institutional or governmental concerns.

Two recent related posts: Town vs. gown in 'da Burgh, Why I Am Hopeful It won't be easy for us -- and that's good

 

On Wednesday, the City Council is expected to give preliminary approval to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s proposal for a 1 percent tuition tax on students attending college in Pittsburgh, which he says will raise $16.2 million in annual revenue that is needed to pay pensions for retired city employees. Final Council action will be on Monday.

The tax would be the first of its kind in the nation, and other cities are watching closely as they try to find ways to close their own budget gaps. -- Pittsburgh Sets Vote on Adding Tax on Tuition (Ian Urbina, NY Times, December 15, 2009)

Praying for the town/gown relationship in 'da Burgh and for its impact upon many other institutions/localities.  I'm sure the legislature and/or the courts will have something to say before the end of this controversy.  Whatever the outcome, local government and institutions of higher education are facing complex budget concerns as they care for their populations and fiscal solvency.

Note:  Also read Ravenstahl pushes vote on tuition tax (Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, December 15, 2009)

For those in Pittsburgh, don't miss ...

Did the Puritans Create Modern Science?
University of Pittsburgh Veritas Conversations Forum

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 12:10pm - 1:30pm
Location: 837 William Pitt Union

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, recalling images of pilgrims in black clothes serving up a harvest meal. What does the Mayflower have to do with modern science? The answer lies in their English homeland during the most turbulent period of British history. This talk will present the many ways in which historians have suggested that Puritans played a essential role in the scientific revolution.

Dr. Jason M. Rampelt is a research fellow at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. Since relocating to Pittsburgh in 2008, he has been a visiting scholar in History and Philosophy of Science at Pitt. Dr. Rampelt's writing to date has focused primarily on the relationship between theology and science in the lives of past scientists from 1600 to the present.

HT to Robin for links to the story of Dwelling House Savings and Loan, http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=5500&pc=9, and the story of its demise, http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_638429.html.  Difficult to read of Dwelling House Savings and Loan's demise.  The topic appears to have come up in a campus conversation regarding Economic Justice and the Spirit of Innovation (Edmund Phelps, First Things, October 2009).  Below's a quote I found of interest in Economic Justice and the Spirit of Innovation. 

At Carnegie Mellon U., a Gleaming Computer-Science Complex Worthy of M.C. Escher (Lawrence Biemiller, Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/21/2009). A must visit the next time I'm in 'da Burgh.  Anyone with stories/pictures to share? BTW, Bill Gates, major donor, will be speaking tomorrow at the opening.

     

Do any of my Carnegie Mellon University friends have resource suggestions to add or comments to make regarding ESN's Week in Review: Numbers Edition ;-)

I've been going non-stop for almost an entire week.  Pray for a time to rest. 

1. God the Father renewed connections w/His Body in 'da Burgh.  As always, the Spirit opened some surprise connections ;-)
2. The Lord provided safe travel there/back. To God be the glory!
3. Pray for Lily's complete healing.  The fever has passed, but she still has a diaper rash along with Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease.
4. On Monday, Theresa had a great day out w/her sister and mom.  I had the blessing of 2 young women from our local congregation helping with care of the 4 girls.  If you want to know about Theresa's shopping run, drop her a note ;-)
5. On Tuesday, I had a several hour conversation w/a representative of the Christian Medical & Dental Association. Lord willing, this fall will include a deeper connection with their work at PSU-Hershey Medical Center.  Note: Pray for our whole family to be good hosts for Christian Medical Society's July BBQ/Social next Wednesday.
6. Office: over the past two days I've assembled the IKEA shelving, emptied some boxes, & hung some pics. Wow!  I'm starting to "feel" like I am "home," at least for a time. ... Come Lord Jesus, Come.
7. Year-end financial numbers should be completed by the end of the week.  God has provided!  He alone is our true refuge and strength.
8. If you're not subscribed, periodically check Emerging Scholars Network Blog for new posts/comments.
9. If you're in Central PA, don't forget that we're having a Prayer Gathering for the Fall Mission on Thursday, June 30, 7pm, Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ.  For more information, drop us an email.
10. Gotta get Lily.  She just woke up from her nap and Eden's being "a little mommy."  More later ...

Please pray for my weekend visit to Pittsburgh.  While in town, I'll reconnect with several local congregations, friends, and donors.  Please pray that these meetings will be fruitful. With regard to the local congregations, I am visiting Memorial Park Church's Saturday 6 pm worship and Allegheny Center C&MA's 11:10 am Sunday worship. If you're from one of these congregations (or just in the area) and would like to connect, drop me a note.  On Saturday, I'll hang out at Memorial Park's Clayton Center after the service.  On Sunday, I'll catch a 12:15 pm lunch at the Union Place Cafe' before heading to the 1 pm Missions Team Meeting.

Please also pray for Theresa and the girls during my absence. She'll pick up Ellen and Hayley from Kenbrook on Friday ... then take the 4 girls to visit her family's cabin.  At the cabin, she'll hang out with her parents, her sister, and her sister's 3 boys ;-)

Pray for our family's visit to Pittsburgh this weekend.  We leave on Friday and return Monday afternoon.  The schedule is full as we'll reconnect with friends, former neighbors, students, alumni, and donors. On Sunday we'll worship with a partner congregation where Tom will share a few words and our family with have lunch with interested members of the congregation. Monday morning Eden will visit a facial nerve therapist to assess progress and hopefully come home with some exercises to practice.  Note:  If you're in 'da Burgh and want to see us, drop us an email or call on Tom's cell.

 (More)

Lord willing ...

1. Our family will visit friends, a donor congregation, and a facial neuorological therapist (for Eden) over the course of June 5-8.  Pray for 'quantifiable' improvement and clarity in next steps with regard to Eden's care.
2. Tom will visit friends, support team members, and Allegheny Center C&MA Missions Committee on July 11-12.

If you're in 'da Burgh and desire to connect, let us know.

Updates coming shortly, a growing family is catching up w/me & guiding the present. ...

The search process is beginning for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's new Information Technology Services Director. This position will provide leadership and management to leverage the effective use of enterprise architecture and technology which supports and enhances achievement of the Fellowship's operational and strategic goals.

Preferred candidates will have an advanced degree in Information Technology and ten years of experience managing IT systems and personnel. Anyone have interest or know someone who would be a good candidate? Carnegie Mellon alum? On-line info/application here

Thought my friends computer science friends would find Where Computer Science and Cultural Studies Collide of interest. The article highlighted SoftWhere 2008, Grand Text Auto, MIT Press Platform Studies, Critical Code Studies, Codology, Game Studies. Below's a quote:

Most users have no more knowledge of what their computer or code is actually doing than most automobile owners have of their carburetor or catalytic converter. Nor is any such knowledge necessarily needed. But for academics, driven by an increasing emphasis on the materiality of new media — that is, the social, cultural, and economic factors driving technical innovation, essentially the inverse of an old-school technological determinism that posited technology as the governing force in human activity — no hardware component is too exotic, no acronym too esoteric to escape critical notice. Put another way, software studies and its kin are the collision of computer science and cultural studies. -- from Where Computer Science and Cultural Studies Collide by Matthew Kirschenbaum in The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2009.

 PS.  Another piece you might find of interest posted at the Emerging Scholars Blog, What is the ‘Rightful Place’ of Science?

What a joy to read my faculty friend Miller's description of N.T. Wright's plenary expositions at Following Christ 08. Note: He also had a good word share regarding his personal conversations in the Natural Science and Mathematics Track. To God be the glory as His Spirit alone prepares the hearts of His people to graciously receive and apply the Word God!  

NT Wright does read from his script...but the content is quite good, and people listen well...and he had a great audience there...they smiled, and laughed at every subtle nuance that i missed...who wouldn't love to teach to have students like that...just reading part of john 17 where Jesus says, "I want them to be with me" ...and i was thinking how much at home I felt with those at this conference...how much they reflect the glory of God by their humble attitude, alert minds, humor, and desire to honor Christ in their careers...and when Christ returns, they will be even more like Him...i began thinking, what will it be like to be with people like this for all eternity...i sensed their love for each other...no feeling of competition as the Holy Spirit seemed so present (there had been prayer for three years in preparation for this conference)...there was a light hearted joy pervading the place...

As many of you know, our Graduate and Faculty Ministry staff team in Pittsburgh has grown.  Praise God!  At Following Christ, I'm looking forward to developing deeper relationships with the new staff, hearing their 2009 ministry vision, and reconnecting with students/faculty coming from Western PA.  Pray for insights regarding how we might partner in the coming year, particularly how I can pass along contacts and ways in which we might be able to expand the Emerging Scholars Network in relationship to faculty ministry resources.

Please join me in prayer:

1. Pray for InterVarsity's undergrad ministry to continue to boldly proclaim Jesus the Christ as the Way, the Truth, and Light in the midst of the various opportunities provided by Carnegie Mellon's Spiritual Development Month, click here for details.

2. as campus ministries develop and invite students to an alternative activity to the December 5, TBA film (i.e., code for the 1x term pornographic film shown on campus). Note: a previous post on the TBA film can be found at CMU Pornography Conversation Continues.

A friend passed along the below announcement of a talk sponsored by Feminists for Life.  Wish I could attend.  If you do, please take some notes and let me know your reactions/reflections.

Serrin M. Foster presents "The Feminist Case Against Abortion"
Wednesday, November 19, 8:00pm
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
McConomy Auditorium, University Center

Here's a link to what I shared as part of an Election Day Panel at InterVarsity's Undergraduate Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University. Lots of material here, but I would love to receive your feedback particularly on my developing thoughts regarding whether government would be necessary if there was not a fall.

Would government exist even without the brokenness caused by Adam and Eve’s choice of willful disobedience? Now this is controversial, but my answer is Yes. Why? Government provides structure for the creative and healthy interaction of the various spheres of the Creation, e.g., creation care (remember naming of the animals in Genesis 2:19), marriage, family, school, business, guilds, arts parties (way to go Sheila!). But without the fall? As we live in the reality of the fall, it is difficult to envision how this would look except to say that God would rule over the structures as they serve Him to the blessing of all of creation. In addition, no use of force to suppress evil in the process of culture formation would not be necessary, except in restraining or resisting external evil influences/beings. So I’m asserting that government is not optional, even in the Garden of Eden at the beginning and the end of time. The various Utopian visions, both within and outside of the Church, fail to take into account the deep brokenness caused by the fall and the presence of evil across the layers of being, identity, and reality. My development of this perspective has been encouraged by The Basic Ideas of Calvinism (H. Henry Meeter, revised by Paul A. Marshall. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1990, pp. 77-90) and C.S. Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy, referred to some as The Space Trilogy. This requires more thought. ...

1.  As we mentioned in Ticket to Ride, the weekend was gorgeous, enabling us to play in Schenley Park in between open houses of hospitality.

2.  We reconnected with a brothers and sisters in Christ from Allegheny Center C&MA and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in significant ways, including lengthy times of reflection such as ...

3.  A small group discussion with Tom Sine, author of InterVarsity Press' new release The New Conspirators, notes coming in a future post.  Pray for the opportunity to extend our conversation through some form of campus outreach when Sine returns to 'da Burgh in the spring. 

4.  A safe trip home, missing an accident on the turnpike by a few minutes.  Although we sat in traffic for 45 minutes, the kids were satisfied by watching Felicity followed by Mr. Rogers. How? you might ask.  Via a car dvd player donated for our family ministry trips to 'da Burgh and beyond, i.e., Cedar Campus for the annual Faculty Camp.

What a day with friends in 'da Burgh!  The weather was beautiful as our family visited Parkview Avenue, Schenley Park, and friends from the InterVarsity crew. ... all building toward pizza, snacks, and Ticket to Ride.   Yeah!  Thank-you so much for your hospitality and reminder of how our friendships in Christ never end.  Ready for day 2 which includes an evening w/Tom Sine, author of the recently published IVP book The New Conspirators.

Pray for Theresa and myself as we work out the details for two trips to Pittsburgh which will occur over the course of the next several days.  Pray for safe and peaceful travel, good nighttime sleep for the whole family, and significant conversations as we reconnect with friends and partners in ministry.

The first visit will be with the whole family and involve reconnecting with a number of friends, including those at Allegheny Center C&MA (our home congregation when we were in 'da Burgh and a continuing partner in ministry).  Note:  if you're from the 'da Burgh and would like to see us at ACAC, look for us after the 2nd service at the Welcome Center and then later in the Heritage Room. 

I'll travel with the family back to Central PA and then return to 'da Burgh to be part of an Election Day panel discussion on Human Authority at the IVCF-CMU's large group.  Pray for preparations for this gathering and strength/focus for Theresa while I'm traveling. 

BTW, post here or drop me an email if you have helpful ideas/articles on Thinking about religious and secular authority at election times: Their place in modern democratic society. ... without turning a gathering into a political argument ;-)

Thank-you to Miller for passing along a link to Justyn Terry's lecture on Calvin’s Crucial Contribution to Anglicanism from Grove City's recent Evangelical Scholarship Conference (Note:  2008-2009 lecture schedule posted here). Justyn Terry is President of Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry, where he also serves as Professor of Systematic Theology. By-the-way, the page demonstrates how much our alma mater has stepped into the technological age as it includes notes in Word, Powerpoint (w/a great plug for of Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry at the end), and video.

With regard to the content, I really appreciated Terry's consideration of    

1. The three-legged stool with a priority to Scripture. 
2. The Church as ‘political society’ and ‘supernatural society’ – with divine purpose, i.e., the mystical church 
3. The things necessary/essential to salvation and accessories/indifferent
4. Stress on the faith of believer in the Lord's Supper and not how Christ is present/not present

May the Lord grant, that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of his heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to his glory and to our edification. Amen. -- John Calvin, used at the beginning of his lectures.