DanSheffield

Identity: self-constructed? socially-constructed?

With a surplus of identity options out there these days, there is a strong populist, cultural assumption that identity is self-constructed. That is, that our identity is self-chosen. We "find" ourselves and tell a story about how we discovered ourselves. We live out, or perform that identity. And performance requires affirmation or recognition, which then, of course, reinforces (or not...) our self-chosen identity. And recognition is essential to achieving the hypergood of happiness. Recognition is important in the moment, because happiness is happenstance. And so one follows the path of continued affirmation.

This is all fine, if our chosen identity is validated by the people around us. It helps with the closed loop. But when our chosen self is not validated, the seeds are sown for the birth of ressentiment, a narrative of injury. A new story we begin to tell about how our quest for finding our true self has been thwarted by someone, or something.

This assumption, however, is a cultural misconception of how identity is formed. Identity is not solely an internal decision born from a self-enclosed feel. But identity is never self-enclosed; it is always formed through some kind of conversation. Identity is more "socially constructed" than self-constructed. That social construction is significantly impacted through our family of origin (for good or ill), by the cultural context within which our family is situated in our formative years, and then progressively by teachers, friends, literature, media, habits, rituals. No identity is discovered in a vacuum. All identities come out of some kind of exchange, with various conversation partners, yes, including our own internal selves. (Joyce Bellous and I wrestle with this notion in our book, Conversations that Change Us, where we tie these ideas to the constrasting opinions of Piaget and Vygotsky.)

When we buffer ourselves from other conversation partners, communities of discourse, and rest on our own sense of self, creating a hidden closed spin, we also buffer ourselves from transcendence. We mock the necessity to move outside ourselves to know ourselves. ("Nobody else can tell me who I am") Until... we are not validated, or recognized, and ressentiment emerges. We find it "safer" to spin things closed, because this gives us control. We concede that the self cannot/should not ever lose itself in "something more." Charles Taylor calls this "the eclipse of grace." In this hidden closed spin, "transformation" via transcendence becomes something to fear, because transformation reorders the self, over against its own volition, but never without its own full participation.

All identities come out of some kind of exchange. The very necessity of this exchange opens up the possibility that discovering an identity can give us ourselves, by taking us outside of ourselves.

This is the profound claim of the gospel, and it's why the Christian faith claims such a deep identity in Christ -- 'I know longer live, but Christ lives in me.' There is such an exchange at the heart of the Christian life that our identity becomes Jesus. We may lose control of our own story, and that is troubling for the populist views of our times.

The above represents my reflections on and co-opting Andrew Root's language in his book The End of Youth Ministry? -- that is obviously so much more than a book about youth ministry. This is a little synopsis of my engagement with education philosophy, social construction theory, culture formation and discipleship through a Wesleyan lens, over the past 30 years, and how it relates to several highly relevant 'hot topics.' 

There are two narratives in Scripture that echo these thoughts. The story of the rich young ruler and his identity search that preferred the closed spin loop. The story of Saul/Paul and his closed spin loop that was blown apart by the emergence of the transcendent, with which he then fully participated for his ongoing transformation.

 

a halfway house

"the church could become a kind of halfway house between the comforts of private life and the challenges of diversity -- but only if it can stay open to strangeness and help us experience our differences within the context of a common faith."

Parker Palmer, The Company of Strangers

Reading from the other's perspective

This is the time of year when people compile lists of books read in the past year (I've done that) or their intended reading list (that's always a bit deceptive -- like other new year's resolutions -- good intentions, etc.). But for this year I thought I would highlight the books I've read from authors who were substantially formed by a worldview, culture, identity, experience, that is different from my own. There's one qualifier -- these books were read in English, which may not have been the first language of the author, or have been translated from the original language the author wrote in. So that's a thing. 

I've been reading books written by authors from outside my cultural framework for many years. When we lived in Egypt in the late 80s, I read a lot of Naguib Mahfouz' books; in South Africa in the 90s, Es'kia Mphahlele,  Rian Malan, and Mamphela Ramphele (among many others).

In 2020 about 1/3 of my reading was from "other" authors. 

• Maya Jasanoff (The Dawn Watch)
• Brenda Salter McNeil (A Credible Witness and Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0)
• Tomson Highway (Kiss of the Fur Queen)
• Orhan Pamuk (Snow)
• Soong-Chan Rah (Prophetic Lament)

 

 

John Wesley on embracing neighbours and strangers

John Wesley said this almost 300 years ago. Seems relevant for our current cultural moment...

 

A genuine Christian “is full of love to his neighbour.”

 

"This is: universal love, not confined to one sect or party, not restrained to those who agree with him in opinions, or in outward modes of worship, or to those who are allied to him by blood or recommended by nearness of place. Neither does he love those only that love him, or that are endeared to him by intimacy of acquaintance…

 

It soars above all these scanty bounds, embracing neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies; yea, not only the good and gentle but also the froward, the evil and unthankful. For he loves every soul that God has made, every child of man, of whatever place or nation."

 

(from his pamphlet/essay "A Plain Account of Genuine Christianity.")

 

my thoughts on how this essay engages with our life in a multicultural context can be found here.

Unique partnership for affordable housing

In 2017-2018 I found myself available to consider new ministry opportunities, and so when "a friend of a friend" invited me into a project in Kitchener, I joined in. St. Paul's Lutheran Church/Bridgeport was looking at alternatives to closing their doors. Together with the minister (at the time) and the church council we began imagining "outside the box" possibilities. The church wanted to find a way to maintain their almost 150 year presence in this community along the Grand River. Out of their core values of faith, service and fellowship we identified what that might look like in the present moment. Through some "dream sessions" and a call for partners, a partnership emerged with MennoHomes and Parents for Community Living.

St Paul's Lutheran/Bridgeport has merged their 2.5 acres of high-value/high visibility property into the project, with MennoHomes now taking the lead in developing the building and property. As you can imagine a partnership like this takes a substantial commitment of time, trust, relationship building, and mind-boggling budgeting exercises.  The St Paul's congregation just recently moved out of their building which will be demolished in March as construction gets underway. A recent article in The Record (K/W paper) tells some of the story.

The link here takes you to MennoHomes site with some background on the need for affordable housing in the region and more info about the financial model required to bring it to pass, including substantial grant funding (millions $) from levels of government.

 

A Decade of Reading - the 2010s

It seems that everybody is reflecting back on the past decade, over this past week or so. I thought I would throw in my own List of the 2010s from my reading lists (I've been keeping track of my annual readings since 2004). Most of these years I was reading around 30 books/year. A good number of these books have had their own blog post, because they were so outstanding. My criteria for getting on this list is -- do I still refer back to them, personally, (do they still influence my thought and practice?) and have I recommended these books to others?

2010

• The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why (Phyllis Tickle)
• When Helping Hurts (Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert)

2011

• Churches, Cultures and Leadership (Mark Lau Branson & Juan Martinez)
• The Abundant Community (John McKnight & Peter Block)

2012

• Jesus and Community (Gerhard Lohfink)
• Modern Social Imaginaries (Charles Taylor)
• Evangelism After Christendom: Theology and Practice of Christian Witness (Bryan Stone)
• Invitation to a Journey (Robert Mulholland Jr)
• Surprised by Hope (NT Wright)

2013

• Divergent (Veronica Roth)
• Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (James K A Smith)
• Mink River (Brian Doyle)

2014

• No Great Mischief (Alistair McLeod)
• Summoned From the Margins (Lamin Sanneh)
• The Permanent Revolution (Alan Hirsch & Tim Catchim)
• Quiet (Susan Cain)

2015

• Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius (Ray Monk)
• Pursuing God's Will Together (Ruth Haley Barton)
• Simply Good News (NT Wright)
• The Hare with the Amber Eyes (Edwin de Waal)
• Through Black Spruce (Joseph Boyden)

2016

• The Patient Ferment of the Early Church (Alan Kreider)
• The Meaning of Sunday: The Practice of Belief in a Secular Age (Joel Thiessen)
• Making Disciples: Faith Formation in the Wesleyan Tradition (Sondra Matthaei)

2017

• Patience with God: The Story of Zacchaeus Continuing in Us (Tomas Halik)
• Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission (David Fitch)
• A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century (Witold Rybczynski)

2018

• Stranger God: Welcoming Jesus in Disguise (Richard Beck)
• Bonhoeffer's Seminary Vision: A Case for Costly Discipleship and Life Together (Paul House)
• Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community (Simon Chan)

2019

• Worship and Mission After Christendom (Alan & Eleanor Kreider)
• The Day the Revolution Began (NT Wright)
• Evangelism After Pluralism: The Ethics of Christian Witness (Bryan Stone)

 

Top Ten Reads in 2019

This past year (2019) was literally the year I have read the least books in the last decade.  Only 19. On the other hand I have read more academic articles and listened to more podcasts. Even with podcasts, it's about having time to listen. My go-tos for podcasts are CBC Ideas, Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History, The New Leaf Podcast and Stuff You Missed in History Class.

All that being said, here are my Top 10 reads of 2019 (in no particular order):

Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem: How Religion Drove the Voyages that Led to America (Carol Delaney)

The Kitchen House (Kathleen Grissom)

Evangelism After Pluralism: The Ethics of Christian Witness (Bryan Stone)

The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus' Crucifixion (NT Wright)

Worship and Mission After Christendom (Alan & Eleanor Kreider)

It's a Long Story - My Life (Willie Nelson)

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (Arundhati Roy)

For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship (Daniel Block)

The Emotionally Healthy Church (Peter Scazzero)

The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into a Sacred Community (Ron Wolfson)

Advent reader posting

My friends at NewLeaf have an Advent Reader with reflective postings for each day of Advent. This was my contribution from a few days ago. https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/2019-first-wednesday-advent/

Treasonous to “the gods,” Faithful to our Maker/Husband

Isaiah 54:1-10, Psalm 124, Matthew 24:23-35

In the Christian tradition, Advent is a season of great hope and possibility. God has come to dwell among human beings, setting in motion something new and mysterious – the kingdom of heaven emerging in our earthly dimension.

Today’s lectionary readings don’t start with hopefulness, they start with disturbing images. A desolate, barren woman. Anger, floods, being swallowed alive. False messiahs and false prophets, deception, unsettling. 

These images remind us of the daily headlines we process. Except, and I am continually surprised, that a lot of people I engage with don’t seem to even pay attention to the times we are living in. Some for good reason, “it’s so disturbing, I’ve just stopped watching, I don’t need that!” And they literally have no clue what is going on beyond their own lived experience. Others are largely ignorant of the real issues but express themselves in extremely polarized utterances. 

Our recent election in Canada is a case in point. My connections included people who had no clue what was going and just functioned on auto-pilot; as well as people who had no understanding of the real issues but expressed extremely volatile opinions (on all sides), and thankfully, a few people with whom I could carry on a thoughtful conversation. I often found myself wondering, how does the notion that we “should have no other gods before Yahweh” factor into our daily lives and, let’s say, our political decisions?

The Isaiah passage starts off as a loving invitation to a barren, desolate woman, to have courage and widen her tent because blessing is coming. “Don’t be afraid, you won’t be put to shame.” Feelings of empathy emerge for this downtrodden, struggling, rejected, marginalized woman. We want to defend her, hold her up, to advocate her case, to seek justice. 

Until we read a bit further and come to realize that this “woman” is actually a personification of the nation of Israel. A woman, a people, who turned away from a loving, compassionate, slow-to-anger God/Husband, to seek after other, more tangible, more handsome, more convenient gods. We discover that the loving, compassionate Husband wants to restore the relationship despite the rejection, despite the sorry state this woman has fallen to, as the consequence of her choices. The Holy One of Israel, your Redeemer, the God of all the earth, Yahweh, says “my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace removed.”

Psalm 124 is a cry of thanksgiving following desperate circumstances. It could be the cry of the desperate, barren woman who now wants to return to her husband. Despite the consequences she has suffered for turning away, she realizes, “if not for him” I would not have escaped. Yahweh, the Maker of heaven and earth has broken the snare, for me.

Matthew 24 warns that false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive the faithful. And people will be deceived. Everything around the faithful will be shaken, but do not be disturbed. Look for signs of hope – like the fig tree. There is an inevitableness about these things. Many things we hold sacred will pass away. But Messiah’s time will come.

I think our recent election was a disturbing time for many people. My reminder, as we gathered to worship the Trinity on the day before the election, to the congregation I serve amongst, went something like this. 

“Which God are we worshipping today? Which God will you worship throughout the week? 

If we are worshipping the middle-class, growth-market god who deceives us with a few more dollars in our pockets and a secure job, then we may be turning away from the Loving Husband God. If we are crying in desperation to some human god to save us from the snares we have fallen into, then we may be turning away from Yahweh, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

But if today, we are reminding ourselves that the loving, compassionate God who sent himself amongst us to demonstrate that love, is the only one we can look too in our desperation, then there is a reason to be hopeful. Our actions today are treasonous, we are saying in the songs we sing, the Scriptures we read, and the prayers we pray, that Yahweh, Messiah, is Lord and not the leaders and pundits of this nation-state. When we bring our financial resources forward, giving them away as an act of worship, we are saying the market-force-gods do not control us.”

To me, those are “fig-tree” signs of the kingdom of God emerging on earth. Signs that Emmanuel has come.

a million boring little things

Last fall I read a book referred to me by my friend Evan Garst. Stranger God: Meeting Jesus in Disguise by Richard Beck. I read a lot of books related to Christian theology and the practice of ministry. This one will stick with me for a while. One of the lines from the book:

Being like Jesus is a million boring little things -- things like waiting patiently in line at the grocery store, being patient with your kids, listening to your spouse, being a dependable friend.

The premise of the book is rooted in Matthew 25 where the disciples are told they are actually meeting Jesus in the beggar looking for a cup of cold water. God is the Stranger; we meet him when we welcome, extend hospitality to, those who are outside our natural circles of relationship. 

Beck addresses the first thing that comes to many of our minds -- "I don't have time for more people." He says "People are exhausted. Our schedules are totally maxed out. We have no margin. So where are we going to find the time and energy for all this hospitality... our lives are dominated by those feelings of scarcity." Beck is a professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University; he says, "I think our busyness and our exhaustion are rooted in a spiritual sickness that runs throughout our society." But he quickly says that addressing that issue isn't the purpose of this book! He suggests that while we figure out how to address that bigger issue, we just work at our practice of hospitality. 

Hospitality is welcoming and being with the people already in our lives: the people we live with, the people we work with, the people in our neighbourhood. 

If we don't have time to be present and welcoming with the people already in our busy lives, we will never be able to greet the strangers around us. [His premise, though, is that when we learn to practice being welcoming and present with the people already in our lives we start to have margin for strangers.]

That's the first half of the book. Good stuff. Then Beck introduces us to Therese of Lisieux and her, "Little Way" and things get really interesting. I won't say much more about Therese (read the book). But Beck wants us to know that Therese's Little Way could be revolutionary (his says atomic) to our practice of the Christian faith. 

Noticing/Seeing Others - nothing can be accomplished by way of welcoming until we notice others. Paying attention, seeing others, is the practice of kindness. 

Slow down, stop, practice being interrupted. When Blind Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, Mark 10 says, "Jesus stopped." If you follow Jesus, he will make you late.

Approach, seek out, offer a smile, a kind word to someone who isn't being noticed, who you might tend to make a detour around. 

That's it?! Yes.

We will "widen the circle of our affections" (hospitality) by the intentional and disciplined practice of seeing, stopping for, and approaching people whom we otherwise would avoid or ignore.

... a million boring little things.

2018 Reading list

On my blog here, (left sidebar) I always post my accumulated reading throughout any given year. Then I archive the list and start new from Jan 1 of the new year. Been doing this for more than a decade. 25 books read this past year.

Here's my summary from 2018 (in order read from beginning of the year)  * highlighted books are highly recommended; books that will continue to challenge my thinking and practice.

*Simon Chan, Liturgical Theology

Ken Wytsma, The Myth of Equality

George Verwer, Drops from a Leaking Tap

Peter Brett, The Core

Mandy Smith, The Vulnerable Pastor

Linda Ronstadt, Simple Dreams

*Paul House, Bonhoeffer's Seminary Vision

J R Woodward, The Church as Movement

David Roberts, The Pueblo Revolt

Thom Rainer, Becoming a Welcoming Church

Sandra Maria Van Opstal, The Next Worship

Thomas Cobb, Shavetail

Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God is Within You

Scott Daniels, Embracing Exile

Lee Beach, The Church in Exile

David Liss, The Day of Atonement

Wessel Ebersohn, Those Who Love Night

Steven Saylor, Wrath of the Furies

David Csinos, Children's Ministry that Fits

Randy Woodley, Shalom and the Community of Creation

Joe Gannon, The Last Dawn

*Richard Beck, Stranger God

Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane

Gary McGugan, The Multima Scheme

Bernard Cornwell, Warriors of the Storm