A minor

For Further Investigation

Having looked forward to the publication of Peter Leithart's doctoral thesis for some time, it was with great joy that I recently acquired a copy. I knew the overall thesis/case, which I thought was wonderful and very helpful. But I also thought it raised as many questions as it answered - at least it did in my mind - and I looked forward to reading Dr Leithart's answers. So, as I began acquainting myself with this "great cathedral of a book," I looked at the "For Further Investigation" section on the last two pages, where I read:

1. My study of baptismal priesthood needs to be supplemented by a theology of ordination and pastoral ministry. Paul himself drew analogies between New Covenant apostle and Old Testament priest (1 Cor. 9:13-14). How do these analogies fit into the typology I have defended? If, as I have argued, one cannot make a complete and direct transfer from the authority of the Aaronic priests to that of the Christian pastor, on what biblical/theological basis might this authority be founded? What is significance of the ordination rite of laying on of hands? What Old Testament rite does it "conjugate"? More specifically, what implications does the typology of baptismal priesthood hold for women's ordination? Does the typology undermine the basis for the clerical monopoly in the administration of the sacraments?

"He just asked all of my questions and then left them open-ended," I laughed to myself in disbelief. But at least he's honest.

It's a Boy!

We received good news today at the ultrasound appointment. The baby is healthy and doing well. He has fat cheeks and a full head of hair just like his big brother. Although today marks the beginning of my 34th week, the baby is the size of an average 36 weeker and weighs over 6 lbs. Looks like this might be a big one. The technician gave us a few pictures but unfortunately, I am not computer literate enough to post them here. He's cute...you'll just have to take my word for it.

The Blung

I think my computer got the Blung today. (For the etymology of "the Blung," you'll have to ask Matthew Greydanus.) Anyway, I received the following email, supposedly from Remy:

Subject: Hello

The message cannot be represented in 7-bit ASCII encoding and has been sent as a binary attachment.

The attachment was a text.zip file, which contained a text.scr (screen saver) file. Weird. I got two other emails like this today, but their attachments were doc.zip (with doc.txt inside, the properties of which said it was a shortcut to a MS-DOS program) and document.exe. I may be a sap, but I'm not that big of a sap. I did, however, open Remy's, thinking it not out of the realm of possibility that he would send me a text screen saver (saying something crass or poetic, one or the other).

So, my computer has been acting like it has a virus today - programs continually quit responding, such that 2 minute tasks are taking 20 minutes - but McAfee VirusScan Online isn't detecting anything. I've also Googled my heart out, and I think it's one of the SoBig worms, but I haven't found the patch I need. Any suggestions?

Late night update: Thanks to your comments, I found the removal tool I needed.

One Lord, One Faith

As you might have read on Troy's blog, I started our discussion last night at Theology and a Pint (or, as Dr Rob Maddox suggested, Theology By the Pint). I briefly introduced our small but good group - Pastor Rich Lusk, Mr Troy Lizenby, Troy Bart Lizenby, Chandler Oswalt, Remy Wilkins, Ed Lang - to a very helpful book on catholicity and ecclesiology, which Dr John Armstrong described at the 2004 Auburn Avenue Pastors Conference (on Reformed Catholicity this year) as "the best book on Reformed catholicity written in the last century - and the author isn't even Reformed!": One Lord, One Faith: A Theology for Cross-Denominational Renewal (Victor Books, 1993; Wipf & Stock, 2003) by Dr Rex Koivisto. If you're at all interested in catholicity and ecclesiology - and especially if you're interested in the city-church - you must read this book. I haven't quite finished it, but I've read the beginning, ending, and much in between, and trust me: Dr Armstrong was right. It's a goldmine.

Baby News

After 32 1/2 weeks of pregnancy, I finally had my first appointment with a doctor. The nurse took my blood which I fully expected. What I didn't expect was to have the life nearly sucked out of me. After she filled up the first few vials, I was kinda wondering what was up so I stole a quick glance down at the tray (I always look the opposite direction during any needle activity since they give me the willies). That's when I counted six, yes six, vials of blood. What in the world do they need all that for! I didn't even get a cookie or free t-shirt out of the deal. I did however learn that I have gained more weight so far in this pregnancy than I did total for Ethan. Yikes. And I still have two more months of eatin' to do!

Blog Roll Cuts

The blog roll clean-up was long overdue: I basically cut it in half. No offense if you got cut. It doesn't necessarily mean I don't read your blog or that I hate your guts; in many cases, it means I always access your blog from elsewhere (as with Laurel, Ann, and Sora, whose blogs I follow from Joel's, Jon's, and Matt's, or Josiah Q or Clifton Healy, whose blogs I always follow from chattablogs, etc). If you really want me to put you or someone else back, just let me know.

Meeting Dr. Ollie Jackson

One of the benefits of working at Kinko's is that I get to meet a lot of interesting people. And, in a place like Monroe where there are lots of Christians, that means a lot of interesting church people. This week, a very nice man came in to get a couple copies of a one-page photo/bio. The photo was of three black men in navy & red academic robes, and the bio described a man who taught Hebrew, had lived in Israel for years, and studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I asked the gentlemen is it was his bio - if he had studied at Hebrew University - and he said, "Yes, I lived and studied in Israel for many years. I first went there when I was 24." The man has a long gray beard now. "I've been back for 17 years now, but I still can't get Israel out of my system. There's something about it...."

He went on to tell me that he was from Chicago, but that his parents had been from Monroe; that he teaches at the local United Theological Seminary and Bible College (which, though it's small, unaccredited, and has no website, has been serving predominantly black Baptists for over 50 years); that he teaches both biblical and modern Hebrew in a variety of forums throughout the community, most recently a lecture at the parish public library. He seemed pleased to find someone who shared his interests, and we exchanged cards so we could get together sometime in the future. His card reads:

Holy Land Ministries
Dr. Ollie W. Jackson
Hebrew Language & Bible Instructor
25 Years Israel Living Experience
address, phone number, etc.

N.T. Wright, Reformed Theologian

"For myself, it may surprise you to learn that I still think of myself as a Reformed theologian, retaining what seems to me the substance of Reformed theology while moving some of the labels around in obedience to scripture – itself, as I have suggested, a good Reformed sort of thing to do." (page 16)

Lutheran Question

Is there a group that is to the ELCA as the Confessing Church Movement is to the PCUSA, or the AAC to the ECUSA (especially since the ELCA is in full communion with the ECUSA)?

Chock-Full

A three-week visit from my family, a two-night visit from Rick & Rachel, a four-night visit from the Sextons, a two-night visit from Jonathan Landrum, the Auburn Avenue Pastors Conference, checking on my grandmothers (both of whom are recovering from surgery; one has severe osteoporosis and the other just found out that she has lung cancer), extra hours on the job until we hire two or three new people, a sales meeting in Baton Rouge, a later work schedule for a few days while Troy/Bart's off with his new baby boy, Troy Lunden Gustavus Adolphus Lizenby - yeah, our days have been chock-full.