Heretics and Heroes

For years I have enjoyed reading Thomas Cahill's "Hinges of History" books.  I remember when I first read "How the Irish Saved Civilization" and "The Gifts of the Jews."  They were worldview-changing books for me.

And so this October I pre-ordered the first book I have ever pre-ordered in my life.  It was Cahill's sixth book in the series, titled "Heretics And Heroes: How Renaissance Artists And Reformation Priests Created Our World."

It's a brilliant book from cover to cover.

There are dozens and dozens of fascinating stories, insights and perspectives on how the Renaissance and Reformation have truly shaped us today.

I will summarize three:

   

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church might have re-unified the entire Christian church if not for the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, which began when a few men decided they'd had enough of French occupation. (When I read about this I was reminded of Rosa Parks. What if that one day hadn't happened in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955? What if she had stood up instead of staying seated? Just by sitting down she incited a revolution.) Seemingly small acts CHANGE the entire course of history.

The Reformation may have happened, but would have looked entirely different had Erasmus of Rotterdam's parents not died in The Plague (they did) and his legal guardians had wanted to raise him (they didn't)....... Tragedy, while awful and sad, has the power to shape and refine and change and focus and refocus an individual in ways nothing else can.

Michelangelo is a greater genius than we'll ever fully appreciate. As Cahill remarks, "If any Renaissance artist--or, for that matter, any artist in history--is worthy of being approached on one's knees, that artist is Michelangelo."  But what we do appreciate we owe, in part, and sadly, to the absolute corruption of the church.  Go figure.  Jesus would have had harsher words for the Renaissance and Reformation-era church than for the Pharisees of his day, I think.

One Question and the BETTER Answer

Sometimes people will ask me, “What denomination is your church?  What’s your affiliation?” 

And I usually say some version of this:

We are a non-denominational or an interdenominational church.  That means if every person at our church lined up against a wall and, then, one-by-one, stepped forward and said his/her faith tradition, some of us would say “Catholic”, some “Methodist”, some “Presbyterian”, some “Baptist”, some “Seventh-day Adventist”, some “No denomination,” and even some, “agnostic.”

But I got to thinking the other day…..That isn’t the most clear or accurate answer to the question of affiliation.  Our affiliation is not really a label (or at least it shouldn’t be). 

Our affiliation is more clearly articulated this way:

We are affiliated with the Roswell Firehouse every quarter when we serve them a massive and tasty lunch.  Our affiliation is with Esther Jackson Elementary School.  Over the years we have tutored hundreds of students and been able to help students and families with thousands of dollars of needed resources. Our affiliation is with the men, women and children in Ethiopia, whom we have had the privilege of helping fund 15 water projects!

Our affiliation is with the servers and staff at Starbucks and Taco Mac and McAlisters Deli.  Our affiliation is with the ushers at Turner Field each summer when we buy tickets for our entire congregation.  Our affiliation is with the owner and staff of Altobeli’s restaurant, where we enjoy our Christmas brunch each December. 

Our affiliation is with the Bible, and to following Jesus wherever he leads.  Our affiliation is with living out three realities: Everybody’s Welcome, Nobody’s Perfect, and Transformation’s Possible.

If you want to know what kind of church we are….look around, ask around, get to know the people here.  See how we care for the poor and the lonely and the hurting.  See how we grieve at funerals and celebrate at births and anniversaries. See how we throw a party (a Pumpkin Festival, a Trivia Night, a Kids Party). Hang out with us in small groups. See how we love and serve and accept and pray and give and forgive and lift up and build up and give up everything we can to the God who gave up everything for us!

That’s a better answer to the question!

Lists 2012

In 2008 I started what is a fun, annual post for me.

Here are my top five lists from 2012.

Top Five Movies I Saw:

1. Argo (Human courage and creativity at its best)

2. Life of Pi (Which story do you prefer?)

3. Lost (the entire TV series on Netflix…amazing character development)

4. Battlestar Galactica (the entire TV series on Netflix….William Adama is a hero!)

5. The Town (a few years old, but hadn’t seen it…very good)

Top Five Websites I Visited:
1. AJC.com / CNN.com / USATODAY.com
2. Pandora.com
3. CBSsports.com
4. ESPN.com

5. Ted.com

Top Seven Books I Read:

1. All Is Grace by Brennan Manning

2. The Triumph of Christianity by Rodney Stark

3. Choose Love Not Power by Tony Campolo

4. The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty by Dan Ariely

5. Humilitas by John Dickson

6. The Science of Fear by Daniel Gardner

7. The Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford

Top Six Restaurants I Ate At:
(in order of frequency)

1. Starbucks (four times/week on average)
2. Subway

3. Sid’s Pizza (for pick-up, not dine-in)

4. Taco Mac (still for the football and friendships, not the food)

5. McAlister’s Deli
6. Cheesecake Factory

Top Five Things I'm Really Glad I Spent My Time Doing:

1. Growing my relationship with my family.

2. Being with my church family on Sunday mornings.
3. Tutoring kids at Esther Jackson Elementary School, helping to fund the digging of freshwater wells in Africa, and officiating at weddings at Kimball Hall.
4. Spending time with new friends.

5. Reading.

Fourteen Great Memories

1. Going to movies and going on walks with my son.

2. Tucking my daughter in at night and driving her to school every morning, Mon-Fri, and helping her with her homework, and going into the church early with her each Sunday morning, and letting her vote with me in the Presidential election, and seeing her laugh and roller skate and play games.

3. Our annual summer vacation in Hilton Head.  Great again for the 30-something-eth year.

4. Old friendships going deeper – SteveW, George/Dianne, ChrisG, CharlieT, CarlosB, Susie/Eddie, EricI, AnnM, Kristal/Warren, Steve/Shelley, TimS, EricF, PatrickS.

5. New friendships – JC, Chuck/Angela, JeffK, JustinB, LaurenC, BenT, JoelF. 

6. Talking on the phone with my parents.

7. Sunday nights at Taco Mac with friends.

8. My high school friends at church – Jack, Naum, Thomas, Jake, Alex, John, Hanna, Evan, Brandon, Xander, Luke.

9. Weddings at Kimball Hall.   

10. Christmas brunch with my church family at Altobelli’s on the 9^th followed by the best Christmas church service in the history of Christmas church services on the 16^th. Thanks Phil, it was your idea!

11. The Cowboys-Falcons game at the Georgia Dome.
12. My dad, my nephew Isaac, and I saw it live and in person at Turner Field....Chipper's walk off homer on September 2 against the Phillies.

13. Christmas Morning with my family.  A horse and a car will make this an unforgettable Christmas.