Moved

Hey everyone,

It has been an awfully long time, and now I'm here to let everyone know that this blog has moved. I changed email addresses and wanted to move my blogs along with it. Here is the new link, http://peterpankindoflife.blogspot.com/ Stop by and check it out, you never know what you might find.

Recommended Reading

What to read

Welcome to my first recommended reading post. I have been reading many books lately that I think many should read, The Birth of Britain by Winston Churchill, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Early Celtic Christianity by Brendan Lehane, but the book I wish to write about today is one that I am still in the process of being blessed by. The book I mean is Devotional Classics edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith.

The Book

There are many things that could certainly be said about this book. The purpose of the book is to give Christians resources from our many forefathers in the faith on how to live a Holy Life.

The book is divided into seven sections: “Preparing for the Spiritual Life,” “The Prayer-Filled Life,” “The Virtuous Life,” “The Spirit-Empowered Life,” “The Compassionate Life,” “The Word-Centered Life,” and “The Sacramental Life”. Each of these sections is then filled with excerpts of writings from famous Christians past such as C.S. Lewis, John of the Cross, John Wesley, etc. Following the excerpt from the famous writer is a Scripture.

The Scripture is selected for its connection to the theme at hand. Such as in one section C.S. Lewis is the author speaking on giving our all to Jesus. The passage selected is Luke 14.24-33 which is the famous passage on taking up your cross and following Jesus. The passage from the famous author is further illuminated by Scripture.

To top things off the section by the particular author is followed by a list of discussion questions to get the reader thinking about their own possible shortcomings in this area. After the discussion questions, which make for great independent journal reflections, are the suggested exercises.

These are a list of practical things the reader can do to better help themselves in the area discussed. John of the Cross is in the “Preparing for Spiritual Life” section and he discusses the idea of the dark night of the soul. The idea being that sometimes God will remove the pleasure we receive from doing devotions so as to keep us from sin or to purge us of sin. Thus, one of the suggested exercises is to give up your devotions for a week and simply spend time enjoying God’s presence.

Final Thoughts

It is my suggestion that anyone who wishes to become more intimate with the spiritual greats of our past and in the process become more intimate with God, should read this book. So far it has challenged me to live a much holier life and to be much more humble about it.

Question

What books are you reading?

Holy Living: Future Decisions

What is Holy Living?

So, I tried to get some good answers on what Holy Living is via twitter. I received on answer from a good friend from High School, “love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.” Certainly an excellent answer, straight out of Scripture as well. Still, I cannot help but wonder if Moses’ hearers when he first spoke a version of this wondered what it meant. I wonder the same about Jesus’ hearers, did they know what Jesus meant when he said to love the Lord with their mind? Does it mean the same thing to college graduate in the 21st century as it did to an illiterate Jew in the 1st?

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to flesh out what it means to love God is this fourfold way. We will look at other passages and study and journey together as we try become men and women who live holy lives.

Question

What does Holy Living mean to you?

The Future of this Blog

The Problem

I have not always been the best at blogging. I became excited to do so when I first created this blog, but a lack of direction and discipline have caused me not to follow through my original designs for the blog. That being said, I now have some new ideas that should not only help me write blogs consistently, but also keep up with all of yours so much better.

The Plan

I will, with some exceptions, from this week on begin writing three blogs a week. I am not fully set on the days these blogs shall come out, but for now it stands thus:

Tuesdays are Holy Living. On these days I will discuss different aspects of theology and the Bible and Church history as are relevant to how we might live holy lives today, using examples from the past and the present, keeping always Jesus as the focus.

Wednesdays will be Recommended Reading. I do an awful lot of reading and I would like to share my thoughts with a somewhat willing audience. The books will be anything from classical fiction to Theological Treatises, you never know what you might get. I might even start taking recommendations on the next book to blog about.

Fridays will be Friday is For Friends and Family. On Fridays I will take the time to blog about my life and the goings on within it. Expect either a weekly update of my day to day, or reflections on past or present momentous events in my life.

The Proceeding

While I won’t give you a full blog on this Friday is For Friends and Family, I will tell you that I am in New England and enjoying my time very much here. I desperately wish I could spend more time up here with my in-laws and friends. More will come either later today or next week.

Question

What do you the readers think of this idea for the blog? Do you like the set up? Do you want to see more blogs from me? Also, what can I do to make this blog better?

Wanderlust as Spiritual Discipline: Following the Path of the Celtic PeregriniThis

Stone-Campbell 2009

This past April I had the opportunity to present a paper at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference. The Stone-Campbell Journal is a journal dedicated to Stone-Campbell ideals (a blog for another day) in the Christian movement known as the Restoration Movement. Each year the journal puts on a conference where leading theologians and Biblical Scholars meet, present papers and discuss different ideas on the year's topic. This year's topic was the Old Testament: Dirt, Sex and Scandal. I was finalist in the Student Paper Competition they hold each year, read my paper and did not win. The best paper did and in fairness to me, the Old Testament is not my forte. All of this I have posted before.

Stone-Campbell 2010

This next year, however, the theme is a bit more up my alley. While the exact title of the conference alludes me, the subject is spirituality and Church history. For those who follow my podcast (which will be receiving a new post hopefully next week) and keep up with this blog (which isn't too hard) you will know that I have a passion for the ancient and Medieval Celtic Church. Thus I plan to use this passion, and the books I have read this summer, with others that will not be read in full, to write my paper for the graduate contest this next year.

The Paper

I plan to write my paper on the Celtic peregrini. The peregrini were people (Celts among the majority) who traveled to different lands like wandering hermits or nomads, often to spread the Gospel. This wanderlust that seemed to dwell in the hearts of Irish, Scottish and Welsh Christians caused them to travel not only around their own countries, but to the European continent as well in order to spread the good news of Christ.

Specifically, my paper is going to focus on three famous Irish saints who were known for their travels: St. Brendan who may have discovered or at least visited America and was in search of a holy Island; St. Columba also known as St. Columcille who founded the monastic community in Iona, Scotland and was responsible for the conversion of much of northern Scotland; and St. Columbanus who traveled to the European continent rebuking nominal Christians and founding monasteries nearly everywhere he went.

Besides providing information on these three famous saints, I will be discussing how this idea, this mentality of wanderlust can be used as a spiritual discipline. Many are familiar with how this can be used in missions to foreign countries. To be certain, all three examples prove that. However, there is more that can be gained for the individual practicing this. Without giving away all of my paper, I want to look at the aspect of personal and corporate travel where the destination is less important than the journey. Like the pilgrimages that happened throughout the Middle Ages, the individual can grow closer to God by traveling to various religious locations. Not just in the Middle East, but in America, Europe, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, anywhere Christianity has had an impact.

I'm curious, have any of you been traveling and found it a deeply spiritual occasion? Are there places in your lives connected to Christianity that you have visited and long to visit again?

Graduation

It's been a while since I've blogged, but yesterday something happened worth blogging about. My wife, best friend and many others graduated from Lincoln Christian College and Lincoln Christian Seminary yesterday. Lauren and I make the first two Mosleys to graduate from college.

I could not help but be excited to see all of my friends again. People I had not seen in nearly year due to change of majors (mostly me changing majors) and internships. Still, yesterday we hugged, said congratulations and walked down the aisle together officially graduating from college. It was good and sad at the same time. Perhaps the saddest part of the whole ceremony was listening to our Dean read off the future plans of each graduate and hearing how many planned to continue working jobs that had nothing to do with their degrees.

That hit me hardest because, to some extent, it is where I find myself. I volunteer in positions similar to those I plan to work in vocationally. I will be attending grad school. I will be working as a Teaching Assistant for the head of my department in grad school. Yet, my job, the main place I go to get money to pay the bills, is Kroger, a grocery store. It can be frustrating, hearing about people doing the things I want to do. Going straight to the UK to study, as I hope to do after grad school or getting jobs in the ministries the studied to be a part of. It is, of course, not my fault that in order to be a college professor you have to have a doctorate. Nor is it my fault that to attain that degree I have to work toward a Master of Arts and Master of Divinity at the same time. What I do when I find myself getting down at these thoughts is remind myself that the reason I do all of these things is to worship my God and love my wife.

Perhaps the best part of the whole ceremony was watching a beloved professor who is over the age of 70 receive an honorary doctorate from the school. Now Dr. Ewald had received a BA, an M.Div and an MAC. He was, however, still working toward his D.Min or Doctorate of Ministry. Dr. Ewald gave the commencement speech today. He reminded us that there are different seasons in life and none of them will be a walk in the park. When he finished, the president of our school got up and said that for his life's work in leadership and work for the kingdom they were giving Tom Ewald an honorary doctorate. My eyes welled up as I watched a good teacher receive something he has been striving for a very long time.

My graduation served as a reminder that I am doing things no one in family has ever done. It also reminded me that I have not arrived and am not on the leg of the journey I often wish I was but that I must be content with the leg I am on. Finally, it reminded me that a life long pursuit of God does not go unpunished, yes, but it also does not go unrewarded.

What season of life are you in? What is it teaching you?

A podcast?

That's right. I've taken one of my larger themes from here, Celtic Christianity, and turned it into a podcast. So far, I have made one post, and it is a bit cheesy, but if you stick with me it will get better. Check it out, it should be searchable on iTunes in the next day or so, but until then you can find it here. Check it out and let me know what you think.