Last-second heroics

Still reading a lot. Finished John Damascene's "Three Treatises on the Divine Images" which is essentially an iconodule argument. Personally I'm not sure where to take that one still, even after reflection on it. Started a book called "Christian Theology" by Alister E. McGrath, one chapter in and I'm enjoying it.

A lot is going on. Whitney worked nearly 70 hours last week and I am still without a job and wondering about the wisdom behind getting one. There's a job opening on campus for a sound technician that's only 1- or so hours per week that I'm perfectly suited for, except for a 10 minute block at the beginning and end of the shift (classes). Anyway, Whitney is wonderful and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without her; wouldn't want to even if I could.

I'm learning a lot these day, more than I ever have before. I'm learning in school, learning to be a husband, learning to be responsible with money and health. Learning to balance a large number of responsibilities and just trying not to "drop the ball."

Not to be mean, I just don't want to end up like this kid, jump to 1:25 to see what I mean:



-Caleb Williams

1,500 and counting...

I'm worse at updating this than I thought I would be. Nevertheless, I will take a few minutes to write while I'm waiting for my mac-n-cheese to cook. I've been doing a lot of reading recently, in the last couple weeks, I've accumulated well over 1,500 pages of reading and I am still going. Here's a brief taste of my life these days:

• "Methodical Bible Study" by Robert A. Traina. A very-helpful Bible study guide that really shows how to break down the Scriptures. This book, along with Howard Hendricks' lectures have increased my confidence in my ability to read the Bible tenfold.

• "Spiritual Leadership" by J. Oswald Sanders. A nice little book about, well, spiritual leadership and growth.

• "Letters to a Diminished Church" by Dorothy Sanders. Sanders is a student of the Lewis-Tolkien school of thinking and writing. A contemporary of both, Sanders writes mostly to early-to-mid twentieth century England. A lot of what she has to say is relevant to us today, but her audience is Church of England. Therefore, some of the doctrinal statements don't flow with modern protestant Christianity.

• "The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll. Grace, plain and simple. All the joys and pitfalls of living a life filled with grace.

• "Love Your God With All Your Mind" by J.P. Moreleand. A condemning view of American Christianity's lack of knowledge of the faith. A good read, I would recommend it and agree with a majority of what Moreland has to say, but not quite all of it.

• "Inclusive Yet Discerning" by Frank Burch Brown. A thought-provoking analysis of varying views of appropriate worship styles to reach the people.

• "Basic Issues in Aesthetics" by Marcia Muelder Eaton. This book had and has me so twisted on the definition of "art." 150 pages later and I have more questions than I started with.

• "Inside Out" by Larry Crabb. Spirtual growth from the inside out, this takes a look at a look at some of the slightly uncomfortable aspects of spiritual growth.

• "Three Treatises on the Divine Images" by St. John of Damascus. John Damascene's three letters to the Byzantine emperor after his banning of the use of icons in worship. I'm not sure what to think of this one yet.

All this is justification of my inability to post. Luckily, I enrolled in a speed reading course that has so far increased my reading speed from around 137 wpm to (at last count) approximately 400 wpm. So, that has been a huge blessing for me. Anyway, write soon.

-Caleb Williams

The n00b kids on the block

The London Telegraphy published an article today about the effects social and new media are having on society. The article focuses on how social media Web sites such as Twitter are changing our language. The gist of the story is that the Collins English Dictionary has added over 250 words to the official lexicon, many of which have been established by the online culture.

Internet memes such as "meh" and "noob" (or is it n00b?) are now a part of the English vernacular (I use this word to point out the irony of words like "noob," but that's another post). It seems with every passing day we become more and more addicted to the virtual world that has exploded in the last 10 plus years. This reminds me of two things: The fact that we still need face-to-face interaction and the potential for ministry utilizing media.

This presents a sort of paradox though, how does one go about using multimedia to create a more personal environment and encouraging community? Media by nature is meant for the masses, to make mass communication easier. Media is corporate. Faith is not. Community is not. This is evidenced itself by Twitter and Facebook, both of which are largely leading to a society that is by and large narcissistic. Twitter points to this perfectly, it is a place where people have come to believe that trivial exploits such as picking up the dry cleaning are worthy of exclaiming to the world. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with social media, there's nothing wrong with Twitter. The problem is the attitudes and ideas of the people using it.

I've struggled with the close of this post, but it all boils down to one question: Where is the room for God and the Church in all this? I don't have an answer now, but I feel very sure there is one and I'm determined to find it.

-Caleb Williams

Front foot leads the back one...

What a week already. I had my first seminary class Tuesday and after only two days, Dallas Theological is already living up to its promise of first-week "syllabus shock."

This is somewhat of a weird feeling for me, I'm in school, I'm going to classes, I'm doing homework and reading more than I have since Damon Akins' History of the American Frontiers class at OU. Only now instead of having one class demanding 1,000 pages of reading (literally), I have six. It's weird though because it doesn't quite feel like work yet. I know there will soon come a time when my tune will change, but I know that I'm learning to love God more.

This semester I'm taking an Introduction to Theology course, the professor tells us that we will learn to love God with our minds--an idea which excites me to no end. I'm ready to leave behind the ignorance of my former faith and embrace Jesus with my mind as well as my heart. I'm reminded of an image from one of Donald Miller's books in which Miller recounts a dream of his. In this dream, he is walking along a road toward God. God used to be distant but had now drawn so close that Miller could see the lines on His face. What I'm doing now is walking down that road, waiting for the day that I see God that way.

This is going to be a challenging two years but I know, Lord willing, I'll make it through. I've got a wonderful support system to help me, a beautiful wife, good friends, an awesome family that I know will always be there for me. This is the beginning of my journey and as such, I've felt a need to re-imagine what I want to do with this space. This blog is going to be about my life in the tension of school, learning to love God, love my wife, love my family and learning to fulfill my purpose on this spinning chunk of rock that we call our home for now.

-Caleb Williams

A new beginning...

School starts--again--in a little under two weeks. I've been going to school my whole life it seems, first because they made me (how dare they), then because I knew I needed to. Then I went to get ahead in life through college (look where that's gotten me, I'm 22, a college grad and unemployed). Now, I'm going to school to serve God.

That to say it's funny how our motivations change over time. Continuing school was one of the last things on my mind two years ago, then I felt the calling again. I'm seeking an M.A. in media and communication from Dallas Theological Seminary, hoping to use my skills in various media to promote the Gospel and promote Church unity.

How? I'm not entirely sure yet.

-Caleb Williams