meme | headsparks*

I’ve been tagged by David Park over at Next Gener.Asian Church for Presbymeme II.

Hmmm.

I’m feeling a bit like David did — I’m not exactly the world’s most diehard Presbyterian but I’ll give this a go. Apologies in advance for being just awful at this…

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In about 25 words each, answer the five questions below.
Tag five Presbyterian bloggers and send them a note to let them know they were tagged. Be sure to link to the this original post.

1) What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus?

Wow – almost impossible to narrow down. Some favorites (for various reasons) include: Be Thou My Vision, Fairest Lord Jesus, Thank You for Hearing Me and Holy, Holy, Holy (especially Sufjan Steven’s take on it)

2) What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?

I have the distinct privilege of co-pastoring our community with my wife and I am always inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved by her preaching. In fact, she just delivered a fantastic sermon this past Sunday during our outdoor Labor Day weekend gathering (even battling the surprisingly loud roar of RC racing boats nearby). Other recent notables include NT Wright, Scot McKnight and Rob Bell (The Gods Aren’t Angry DVD).

3) If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?

I would probably say, Two Kinds of Hatred, which deals with Asian American identity. I have met many well-intentioned Presbyterians who still say ignorant things like, “No, where are you really from?” or “Oh, I had a Korean friend once!”

4) What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?

Like David, I read Bruce’s blog regularly but I’m not particularly tied to any denominational blog reading schedule.

5) If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?

If I were a better Presbyterian or movie-watcher I think I would have a better answer… maybe something like The Royal Tenenbaums?

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David, I think I might give you a run at being the worst Presbymeme of all time.

I definitely don’t know five Presbyterians to tag, so I’m just going to tag my friend Richard Kong. I’m not sure about his presbyterian diehardedness either, but we went to the same presbyterian seminary together (even though he’s a guybrarian now).

I’ve been tagged by J. Evans for this 1-2-3 Meme. Here’s how it works: “The game is to grab the book nearest to you and turn to page 123. Find the 5th sentence and share the next 3 sentences with everyone. Then you tag five people.” So, from my desk to your screen…

Preaching Re-Imagined, by Doug Pagitt

“Is it possible that this kind of phrase (ball hog) could also apply to pastors who do all the studying, all the talking, and even have the gall to think they can apply the messages they create to the lives of other people? In this setting there is little for the hearers to do besides decide if they agree or not. Is it possible that we have, through the practice of speaching, created a culture in churches where agreeability is the necessary posture of our people?”

As a preacher-type, this hits really close to home. I’ve struggled for awhile with tying together the notion of the priesthood of all believers with the role of preaching. Certainly, a vocational pastor will have time to devote to exegesis, study and meditation on Scripture that others do not. Hopefully, prayerfully, this hard work will translate God’s voice to, in and for a particular community. However, I would love to see a more active, participatory engagement of Scripture from our entire community. I don’t know if we’d approach this in quite the way Solomon’s Porch does, but Doug’s thoughts here are a great jumping off point.

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I haven’t really participated in a meme before, but I am really interested in discovering what is on the bookshelf of Sam, Rich, David, Wayne and Dan.

…And That Concludes Today’s Meme Programming

1-2-3 Meme