I was watching BookTV on CSPAN2 today and got involved in an interesting conversation with Michael Lindsay author of "Faith in the Halls of Power" and Hanna Rosin author of the book "God's Harvard."   This was an diverse conversation, but I wanted to point out a few highlights that seemed to arise.  The context was the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the press audience was filled with writers who are religion journalist.   The questions, then, were fairly informed and it led to some substantive discussion on a variety of issues.  Not surprisingly there was no clip of BookTV on YouTube, but here is an article about the forum event.

First of all there was a discussion of how there is a shift in Evangelicals voting habits and political activity.  I would say that I completely agree with this statement from what I have seen among the Christian bloggers.  It is not that Evangelicals have moved left, although this is probably the case for some, but rather that the Evangelicals are now engaging a wider range of issues with more nuance and this creates an appearance of a shift to the left.  Back in March I blogged about this issue and was pleased to see the SBC addressing issues other than the big three of abortion, homosexuality and prayer in school.  Again, it is not that these are not important issues, but rather it is that a Biblical theology is able to engage the entire range of social issues that confront us.  This Pew Forum event also touched upon the rise of reformed theology among evangelicals and even mentioned Southern Seminary and Capitol Hill Baptist Church as examples of this shift. 

There was also a question about why Mike Huckabee is not gaining more support from Evangelicals.  The answer, which I believe is a good one, is that there is a division between Evangelicals at large and the Southern Baptist Convention.  Although the SBC is traditionally included in the evangelical movement, I have always perceived a separation along theological and cultural lines.  The divisions are somewhat discreet and they should not be overplayed, but they are certainly real.  The sheer number of SBC churches and the strength of our organizations have afforded us the luxury of staying a short arms distance from other Evangelicals. 

Are Evangelicals more liberal than they were 20 years ago?  Again, probably not, but if I am any indication of a larger shift among pastors and religious leaders of my generation, then there is a desire to reconcile legitimate scholarship with an Orthodox faith.   I do not see a harsh division between the two and I understand that the Word of God stands up to secular scrutiny and that the Word of God engages the whole gamut of human experience.  Evangelicals are more faceted and sophisticated than we are given credit for most of the time.  Our opponents can paint us as back-water snake handlers, but the fact is that our ranks are filled with some of the country's top minds and many of our institutions are producing men and women who are not only top scholars, but also faithful Christians. 

A few weeks ago I heard on the radio that Dylan was coming to town this week so I immediately got 2 tickets.   I have been a Bob Dylan fan since the summer of 1989 when I joined the Columbia Record Club 13 times under different names and had 100 CD's that I had to pick out.  As it turned out Bob Dylan has always been with Columbia Records so I had a huge selection of Dylan albums to choose from and despite my absolute ignorance, I just started to check the little boxes.  I think that first set of albums had John Wesley Harding, Highway 61, Nashville Skyline, Another Side of Bob Dylan, and the self titled first album.  These albums proved to be timely for a young man who was heading out into the world and learning to question everything around him.  From then on there seemed to be a Bob Dylan album to represent all the changes that I went through in those years.  Blood on the Tracks saw me through a tough break-up, and Slow Train Coming and Saved were albums that became relevant during the time of my conversion to Christ.  Even now, an album like Modern Times speaks to my more mature Christian nature.

When I went to get the tickets I discovered that another one of my all time favorites was opening for Dylan:  Elvis Costello!  Are you kidding me?  What a bill!  I joyfully paid the $50.00 ticket prices for this line up.  I got turned on to Elvis Costello in 1993 when songs like Good Year for the Roses, Almost Blue, and Allison got a lot of play along with Blood on the Tracks during that aforementioned break-up with a girl named Faith (if you only could understand the irony of that name).  My love of Elvis Costello music came after only many repeated listening sessions and I realized the depth of lyrics attached to the driving punk/new wave music.  Tracy, over years of re-education has come to enjoy the same music as me, so I was excited to be able to take my wife to this concert without it being too much of a hassle or it being something that she is doing "for me."  As the concert approached, the whole family was battling a stomach flu (do you see a theme in my family life lately?)  but we were determined to get to the concert one way or another.

We saw the concert at the Kentucky Freedom Center which, as it turns out, a good place to see a concert.  the parking was easy and the crowd was really slow to filter into the hall.  The first act was Amos Lee, which half of the crowd missed, and he proved to be a strong blues type singer.  Tracy and I agreed that we were going to buy his album very soon.  After Amos Lee, Elvis came onto stage in all black, glitter shoes and a whole rack of acoustic guitars to play.  Elvis launched into an aggressive acoustic version of The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes.  Although Elvis was solo and played only acoustics, it was certainly no MTV unplugged version of his songs.  Elvis was hard hitting, aggressive and showed that he was every bit the "angry young man" that he was in the early 80s!  Elvis Rocked hard and it was a great set.  Elvis also had good interaction with the crowd and he was well received.

After a short break and some set up Dylan came to the stage with his band.  They were all dressed in black with black hats and it was kind of hard to tell who Dylan was!  Dylan stayed back among the band for the entire show,  staying glued behind the keyboard for the entire show after the first two songs.  Now much has been said about Dylan's vocal quality and stage presentation and many people are disappointed when Dylan does not perform his songs as he does on his albums and there was a women that was really angry afterwards that she did not see the Bob Dylan of 1965.  Bob Dylan of 1965 is long gone and has been replaced by a constant series of re-inventions.  Dylan performed several of his "classics" (how in the world does he decide which ones to play?  He has had something like 35 albums!) but he reworked them in his latest  Americana roots rock style of Modern Times.  I really like the new versions since I have heard Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat, Masters of War, and Vision of Johanna a million times on the albums.  It did seem, however that Dylan was rushing through the older stuff to get to the songs from Modern Times.  Again, I cannot blame him.  Can you imagine how many times that he has sung those songs?  When he got to the Modern Times material he really shined and owned the songs. 

Dylan and His Band played all of the set at full tilt.  Dylan never spoke to the audience and you can tell that he wanted to be seen as just another member of the band.  Dylan's band was tight for the entire evening.  I had a great evening and fulfilled a long time desire to see Dylan and Elvis live.  On a final note, the crowd seemed to be pretty old despite a few young faces here and there.  Surprisingly, as soon as Dylan started to play his set, the joints and one-hitters started to light up as well.  The waft of weed hung over our section, but now I am sure that it was probably for the crowd's glaucoma! 

I woke up late on the morning of 17 September and my illness had started to peak.  I could not move my head and the fever was pegged at 104.  We were still in the midst of our heat wave and I threw myself onto my bicycle for my ride into the seminary.  I arrived dripping in sweat (more than usual for those who know me) and squeezed into one of the last remaining seats in the auditorium.  I could see the look of disgust and horror on the face of my classmates as I sat there shoulder to shoulder while I groaned, wheezed, sweat. I received the test, took pen in hand and remember little else about that 90 minutes.  I turned in the exam booklet (it was all essay) and crawled home.   It was the next day that I finally went to the doctor and took the rest of the week off to recover. 

I dropped by the Dean's office to pick up my test today and I was surprised to find that I received and "A"!  This was a much needed encouragement after being so disappointed with how things have been going for the last two months.  I think that this encouragement was just what I needed to fuel the final push to semester's end.  It also makes up for the B that I received on a book review that I wrote last month.  Now, I just need to make up an exam that I missed in history and turn in a missing assignment and I should be caught up.  Next semester, I am not going to work as many hours.  I did not come down here to sling meatballs and I need to keep reminding myself that.  It is easier to lose yourself in mindless work than it is to fully engage in classes.  

I am writing this post from Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois as I attend my first drill weekend in 13 years.  The uniforms have changed (more on this later),  the electric typewriters have been replaced by laptops, and there seems to be a level of professionalism and seriousness that I had not experienced in my first round of military of service.  The reasons for this greater intensity are obvious.  The Illinois National Guard are split into two different groups:  Those who have deployed and those who are going to deploy soon. 

I came to Camp Lincoln to interview with the Chief of Chaplains in the last leg of my commissioning process.  The conversation that we had answered many of the questions that I had about the military chaplain corps and let me get a glimpse of what the Colonel was all about.  I walked away from the interview with a renewed confidence that I made the correct choice in choosing Illinois over Kentucky.  I have not had any contact with the Kentucky Guard, but I cannot imagine that their chaplain corp is as focused and effective as the one here in Illinois.  The Colonel has done what few states have been able to accomplish: a fully staffed chaplain corp!  Not only are they fully staffed, but there seems to be a specific plan to fully cover the state's troops with ministry services.

Most importantly, I was impressed with the "earthiness" (the Colonel's word) that has been brought to the Illinois Chaplain Corp.  His pastoral approach seems similar to my own methodology (and, yes, despite the rumors to the contrary, I have a methodology).  To summarize, the chaplain, like a pastor, needs to be down in the trenches with the soldiers (both metaphorically and literally) and not aloof.  As a church pastor I always battled against the idea of a pastor who is entertained in the parlor, but never ventures any further into the lives of congregants. For those who have invited me into their lives, I have always strived to be part of woof and warp of their family fabric.  In the same way, the chaplain needs to be available to soldiers who are in need of an advocate, a counselor, a discipler, or even a voice of moral accountability.

One important point that came up in the conversation was the tension between accomplishing your mission as a staff officer and maintaining your spiritual integrity.  The chaplain ministers in a pluralistic environment and might be called upon to perform duties that may seem to conflict with your personal faith.  There is no easy answer to these issues and the Colonel was candid about the all the years that he has spent working through these issues.  Needless to say, there has to be a good deal of thought ,wisdom, and prayer needs to be applied to these situations.  I can foresee a good deal of fruitful conversations with my fellow chaplains about the situational ethics of serving as a military chaplain. 

In our discussion, we also established my duty station which just happens to be the same place I was first assigned to in 1988.  On the way to Springfield I picked up my uniforms at this duty station and took a trip down memory lane as I walked into the armory.  I spent a lot of weekends with men and women like Kirkwood, The Selsted brothers, Brachbill, Slater, David, Becker, Gray, Patrick, and Kroncke (yes, I spelled that correctly).  The supply Sgt. issued me my ACU's, boots and Beret and I scurried back to my parents house to try them on.  The new uniform is more comfortable, more practical and much easier to take care of than the old BDUs.  There is no more ironing, all the patches go on with Velcro and the vastly superior boots do not need to be shined.  I do, however, need to get used to putting my cover on when I go outside and take it off when I enter the building.   

My packet goes before the review board next month and I should receive my commission before Christmas time.  It has been odd walking around as the world's oldest living E-4 and I have been mistakenly saluted this weekend because it is so hard to identify a soldier's rank at a distance with these new  uniforms (there is just one rank insignia on the chest).  It is funny to see every conversation starts with a glance to a person's chest for rank (thus determining one's posture toward that person).  All in all it has been an easy transition back into military life.  Will God call me into full time service down the road?  Only God knows, but I am certainly prepared for that possibility. 

On a complete tangent, the hotel that the military bunked me in for the weekend is just a block down  from the Dana-Thomas home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1904.  I took a tour of the home after I was dismissed yesterday and I was absolutely amazed at this house that I had only seen in pictures.  The tour guide was more focused on the suffragette owner of the home and some what uninformed about the architectural significance of the house, but it was none the less enjoyable to see what can happen when a visionary architect is given a blank check and almost complete freedom to take a project from start to finish.  Interestingly, the home is actually a remodel of an Italianate Mansion, but only two walls, and a fireplace mantle remain from that original home.  In the middle of the home is an odd room with Victorian furniture and this original Victorian fireplace that dramatically demonstrates the radical departure that FLW made from the architecture of his times.    

The Thin Edge of the Wedge blog had an interesting post about the phenomenon of "inviting people to church" as a substitute for direct evangelism.  My wife and I had a discussion after Sunday's sermon about being "fishers of men" and talked about the difficulties that many people have when trying to proclaim the Gospel to people.  Most would say that there is a fear of driving a wedge into a relationship if Christ is presented to directly.  As an example of this, I had a conversation with a man engaged to be married who says that he is a Christian, but is unsure about his fiance's spiritual condition.  He stated to me that after such a long time together, it is difficult for him to broach the topic of Christ.  This young man was very forthright about his fear of damaging their relationship by talking about the Gospel.

It is for this reason that there is often an emphasis on "lifestyle evangelism" from the many quarters of evangelism training.  Lifestyle evangelism is the notion that we evangelize best when we merely display Christ in our lives.  The problem with this line of thinking is that there is so much time fostering a relationship that the Gospel is almost never broached in a direct manner.  This fear of driving a wedge is also the reason that people depend on bringing a friend to church.  The pastor becomes a hired gun to do your "dirty work" and say the things that you are fearful to say to your loved ones.  Instead of directly addressing a person's sin and need for salvation in Christ

What is the core of the issue?  After distilling the above blog, Sunday's sermon,  the conversation with my wife and the encounter with the engaged young man, I came to this conclusion: Christians, who are fearful of proclaiming the Gospel to their friends, are probably developing their relationships outside of their identity as a follower of Christ.  There is an urge upon the part of many Christians to be viewed as a "regular person" first and a Christian second.  To further justify this urge of the flesh for acceptance, we rationalize that this acceptance by the world is a foothold on the beachhead of the nonbeliever's heart.  Instead of being seen with Christ from the beginning of a relationship, we try to fold Him in later.

Believe me when I say that I have gone into many situations in which I wanted to be seen as J Kent Kroencke and not J Kent Kroencke, preacher of Christ's Gospel.  The most recent example is when I started my new part time job at the Olive Garden.  I said to myself that I would keep my head down, do my job and go home, but it was was not possible for me to identify myself outside of Christ. Making this identification with Christ automatically opens you to scorn from some and certainly raises the bar of your behavior in the eyes of most.  From this point on, you are identified with Christ (isn't that what we should really want?) and being identified with Christ, it should be no surprise to your friends and co-workers when you invoke Christ's name and word as you minister to them.  To act as a covert Christian for sometime before "coming out of the closet" has always seemed disingenuous to me and I can assure you that non-Christians see it this way as well.   

"For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Lk 9:26). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.