Cyclists and Civilization

One of the Economist blogs, "Certain Ideas About Europe," considers whether a cyclist city is a civilized city. London, it reports, will be the site of another rent-a-bike program, modeled after the "Velib" bike program in Paris. My current home-town, Washington, has a bike program of its own. One of my co-workers uses it to pedal to a further Metro-stop. 

I am a fan of less cars, more bikes and more public transportation. DC has the best public metro-system I have experience (and I have been all over Europe). With bikes, however, I wonder if the civilization should come before the cycles. The primary reason is safety. Bikes in DC bob in-and-out of traffic, and DC traffic includes crazy diplomats who have immunity should something happen, and overly-stressed politicos typing on their blackberries as they drive. Local bikers are fearless; many are reckless. Near my office, a young woman was recently killed when her bike was hit by a dump truck (I should say, I don't know if this tragedy was due to recklessness on anyones part, or if it was simply a horrible misfortune).

The most civilized cyclist cites I have experienced are in Germany. Yes, there are still reckless drivers and bikers, but there are also bike lanes on every major street and clear rules for cyclers and drivers to follow. Indeed, a German biker risks losing his drivers' license if he breaks the rules. I applaud London and DC for initiating biker programs, but I this sort civilization ought to follow. 

Why I am a fan of my church

At Justin’s invitation, I have become a “fan” of my church. This does not mean I have sat in a stadium with 89,000 other church fans and rooted for my church to defeat another church on some sort of ecumenical playing field. I have not screamed as my church’s electric guitar player strummed – slowly, as if savoring good-tasting and sexual at the same time – those all-too familiar chords of the song the most people agree are the strongest. My church has not authored one of my top-ten favorite books, nor has it starred, directed, produced or cinematographized (I know, I’m really reaching) a film that I have been trying to tell my friends about (though, I hasten to point out, a church member has). My church has not rallied me to believe that by electing it to a higher office, the American dream would be made more possible, not just to me, but to all of our citizens.

As you can guess, I struggled with this. Being a fan is a superficial activity. A church should not be superficial. It’s about Christ, his body, his sacraments. Being a fan comes across as tribal. Church is about overcoming tribalism and loving everyone, regardless. I am not always good at overcoming my tribalism and my superficiality, and sometimes churches are not either. By God’s grace, we move in this direction. So how can a be a fan?

My new status as church-fan is an electronic proclamation via Facebook, and therein lies my justification for church fandom. Yes, much of Facebook is about identifying yourself in groups, and much of this lies between superficiality, randomness and nerdiness. I reached the height of nerddom when I joined a group about dinosaurs. But one of the redeeming factors of the younger generation is how we can reveal a subtle realness behind things superficial, random and nerdy. I think we’ve learned to do this growing up under a barrage of electronic advertising. Between all the silliness, we can shout something real across the bluish landscapes of Facebooks. I belong to a community of people who are seeking Christ. We are led by people who have studied the scriptures, and from there, they give us direction, admonition and encouragement. We meet in the evenings, sing, confess, read, listen, pray, proclaim, eat bread and drink wine. We study, reach out, and seek to live like we believe the Spirit of God is within us (as our recent study in 1Corinthians has emphasized). We are not perfect, and we are aware of it. Everybody is invited.

And our new website is going to be pretty cool.   

Feel the Love

Now that Barack Obama has gained the presidency, the rest of the world (with the possible exception of Pakistan) likes us again. Even during our recent troubles, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung made a list of reasons why the rest of the world can’t get enough of us. Since some of those who read these words are unable to read German, I’ll provide a list right here, in English, with my own commentaries (after all, it is my blog).

1.     Fashion

Okay, I don’t know why this is first, since Britain and Italy are more renown in this area. And, as any woman in my life would affirm, it’s not my forte, either. I’m told Sex in the City influences fashion and causes women to buy things. Hopefully the current financial crisis will promote savings instead. In any case, the world must like the way we, (well… some of us) dress.

2.     TV Series

My wife and are just finished up the 4^th season of Lost, and we are eagerly awaiting season 5. As a rule, I remain addicted to only one show at a time. The article sites West Wing, Frasier and Malcom in the Middle as some of their favorites. I can only speak to the second, which I like. 24 has kept my attention in the past, and Homer Simpson remains one of our biggest ambassadors.

3.     Rock Music

Amen, amen, amen. True, Great Britain has contributed almost as much (and thus more per-capita) to rock and roll. But in every American town, you can find the love affair between boy and guitar, producing beautiful music, much of which you will never hear. Today’s indy-rock scene is no longer what dominates top-40 radio, but scratch below the surface, and some amazing stuff is growing. Fresh grown rock was noticeably missing from Germany. The FAZ writer mentions Vampire Weekend as one of American rock’s current torch bearers. I’m going to recommend a couple of friends. For some good tunes, check out the Tortoise and the Hair, the Northernness and Andy Matchett. For good measure, the Oaks, are friends of friends, and are quite good as well.

4.     Love for children

Evidently, we treat our kids good here. We do produce some pretty good toys, although Denmark is home to Lego.

5.     Literature

A Nobel Prize judge recently said that no good literature is produced in America. The FAZ debunks this, citing Philip Roth and John Updike. For those of you who have not read him yet, I’m going to recommend Wendell Berry (though I don’t think he would approve of blogs).

6.     Film

Plenty of great indy movies have come from America, but Hollywood is king – and a huge ambassador to the world. As much as the artistic type in us may want to bash it, I’m sure we can all think of a star-studded Hollywood flick we love. I was in Germany when The Last Samurai came out. German critics blasted Tom Cruise’s film as un-historical, saying that its homage to the Samurai ideal would be like writing a film on church history based on the ideals of Christian love. Ok, I have to agree, The Last Samurai was a horrible film, but it does illustrate that Hollywood is often more about the ideal than about reality. Just like America. That may bristle at times, but it is not always unappealing.

7.     The Debating Culture

Interesting that the Germans would say this – they love a good debate, though these are often longer, more abstract affairs. However, the article pointed more to the comedy that came out of the debates – Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Tina Fey. I have to say, our political satire is second-to-none.

8.     Universities

Okay, we do rock the top university lists. I did not go to an elite university, but they do look good on resumes. One thing that we have that many Europeans do not is the campus. Some of the best moments in college were sitting in the grass between brick buildings, playing guitar, reading and talking to those who disagreed with me.

9.     Friendliness

I’m from the south, and there is an appeal to the southern charm. However, I do find the unabashed honesty of the Germans (or even more so, the Chinese. They will honestly let you know if you’ve gained weight since they last saw you) is quite refreshing.

10. New York

Don’t get me wrong, New York is great. We hope to bus up there soon. But don’t let that be the only part of America you see. There’s so much more.

11. Basketball

I like basketball too, but I am homesick for the Michael Jordan era. Now, the most interesting part of the NBA for me is how international the sport is becoming. Indeed, probably the only reason it is mentioned in a German magazine is the rise of Dirk Nowinsky. If you want to try a truly American sport (ask any Canadian where basketball was invented), check out college football. I know the typical European complaints. They stop and every down, the action is not constant. True, but once the action gets started again, anything can happen: Hard hits, stunning displays of athleticism, and piles of bodies all over the field. Moreover, as one college football commentator said on a radio show, football is the only sport where every person is involved in every play. Blocks down the field effect how far a ball will travel. I was in Paris when France won the world cup. But I was also in Tallahassee in 2000 when the recount stopped for the Florida State-Florida game. FSU won, and the victory propelled us into the national title game. A college football rivalry in the south has an electricity not duplicated elsewhere.

12. Indian Summer

I think I lived in Florida too long for this one, and D.C. is not far enough north. Sounds nice though. 

I'm sure you were looking for some more post-election thoughts...

On Wednesday, we were out of the house at 9:00 AM. I was called for jury duty, which meant I could sleep in a little later. 9:00 AM, as was widely reported, was too late for history. I had naively hoped a Washington Post would be available to me, as had many other Washingtonians. The newspaper boxes were empty and ugly in appearance. Newspaper boxes without newspapers look particularly soulless.

Tuesday night, the cars honked; there were spontaneous eruptions of joy as Cable News anchors reported election results. It reminded me of Paris in 1998 when the French won the world cup. Fewer firecrackers, more shouts. My wife and I sat quietly in our apartment watching results pour in. I was quiet, because I was in awe of history.

I wish I had something new to add to all the commentaries regarding Barack Obama’s achievement. I didn’t cry, because I never felt I would be denied the presidency or any other office because of my appearance. Now, less people feel that way. After my work in New Orleans after Katrina, I appreciate this much more.

In the absence of a regular local tavern where those who know my name gather, Facebook provided a guide of reactions to my Diaspora of friends. A man in my father’s church wrote on his status line, “now, when my son says I want to be president, I can tell him he can and really mean it.” A girl my sister’s age wrote, “we have a black president!!! I love my Jesus!!!!” Some of my more conservative friends made expressions between reservation and despair about what they view as an onslaught of socialism in our country. But Joshua wrote a great post on Facebook, reprinted here in Angela’s blog, from the perspective of a Republican who truly appreciates the gravity of these moments.

McCain still did exceedingly well among Evangelical Christians, winning on a 4-1 margin with Obama making slight gains over Kerry in ’04 (according to Christianity Today) on both sides. Both sides have written with such moral certitude that I think it is healthy to read and understand the other side. Donald Miller’s political journey from Reagan to Obama is a worthwhile read. Here is a good article from Touchstone pleading the case for the unborn, probably the main reason more did not vote for the president-elect. If you are reading this, I hope you find these links useful in understanding both sides.

I am privileged to live in our nation’s Capital at this time in history. I am in awe – not of a man; America’s political system with checks and balances help us remember that even the greatest of our presidents are human. Obama is not Jesus, as my very sensible wife points out. Indeed, many may end up disappointed. But on my shoulders, there is enough of the weight of history upon me for feelings of awe. Awe belongs to a God who redeems humans, families and nations. The girl my sister’s age said it best. We have a black president. I love my Jesus.

Beer continues to get religion

I'm taking a church history graduate class right now, so I have been reading much more than writing. Of course, not all of my reading has been class related. Here's a great article on religiously themed microbrews that I found courtesy of the good folks at Get Religion. Enjoy. 

100 Years of Spiritual Guidance in Hotel Rooms

I believe it was somewhere around springtime, when the first warmth opened café doors and bathed the candy red cobblestone of downtown Freiburg with sunshine. The warmth blew secretly through the town like an angel of life, passing around smiles to all of her residents, weary of winter’s darkness. On such days, I wanted to be downtown, where Kaiser-Josefstrasse met Bertholdstrasse and old women bought bread and young women shopped for trendy clothes. One such day, I saw a group of old men engaging people with a special sort of consistency. They wore old suits that were comically colorful – not even the kind of old suit my grandfather would have worn, but rather, the kind of old suits unstylish old men in movies wore. As I approached them, one of them handed me a small book, bound in a cheap, green leather-imitating cover. No question what it was – a New Testament, a gift of love, from the Gideons.

According to one of the blogs on the Economist website, this year marks the 100 anniversary of the group. 100 years of distributing Bibles, without apology, without desperately grasping at cultural relevance, intellectualism or marketing strategies. 100 years of weary travelers knowing an unstylish, comforting spiritual guidance lay in the top drawer, right next to the bed.

In my experience, they use the old translations – King James for English and Martin Luther for German. It is a bit of a comfort-food evangelical outreach, successful through faithful persistence, trusting that if they make God’s word widely available to everyone without cost, the Holy Spirit will deeply bless someone.

It is casting a wide net. I wonder if the old men in Freiburg ever really saw the fruits of their labors. Perhaps they sometimes feel like Sisyphus, pushing the rock up the mountain with no end goal in sight. Probably, they feel more like the story of the boy on the beach, tossing starfish back into the ocean before the dry out.  When told by an adult that he would never be able to save all of the starfish, he smiled and said, “I just saved that one.” I know they did not see me, later on in an Irish Pub between glasses of Guinness and Paulaner (would they have approved of this?), I looked up 2 Corinthians 5 so I could explain to an unbelieving German the ministry of reconciliation in his own language, and how he too, could be reconciled to God.

I don’t if my German friend truly understood it. But what I do know, and what the old man in the unstylish suit knew, in our persistence, was that if you make God’s word available, good things can happen. Reconciliation can happen. Gospel can happen.

Happy birthday, Gideons. 

Peregrine 2

I was back at Peregrine Espresso today for my litmus test: the single cup of coffee. Black, of course – no sugar or cream to to hide the flavor. The music was on today – more Sufjan Stevens, less Rilo Kiley.

The drip coffee is manual. They do more than measure proportions of grounds and water and flip a switch. The filter is placed on the top of a cone/funnel, which itself rests in a hole in the middle of a small counter-shelf. The mug, with the up-side-down “e” logo, waits underneath for the magical brew. The girl at the coffee bar lovingly pours the steaming water, evenly taking advantage of every, fresh ground.

They put this much care into your normal, no frills, cup of coffee. It was excellent. She recommended the Thunguri Micro-Lot coffee out of Kenya, which has a naturally sweet flavor, rich, brewed with the right amount of strength.

Three cheers for Peregrine! If you live in the Hill, this is the place for a cup.