Jeff Luce

Lecture Notes

2012-01-21T11:15:00.002-05:00

Last night I attended a lecture. A friend of a friend talked for about an hour about the science/atheism vs. religion divide. One of the key points he hammered was that this debate/dialogue has devolved to a place of waste. The conversation is being defined on both sides by people who are ignorant to the questions that need to be (and have been) asked. He briefly cited Hitchens, Harris, and others in the new atheist movement and discussed the typical "arguments" that come from the religious side. A lot of his angst seemed to be rooted in the state of this dialogue.

The lecturer, Keith, was well versed in history, philosophy, and religion and was adamant that this debate/dialogue could happen in a real and productive way. He talked about people he knew and some who he didn't, on both sides of the argument, who could engage in a way in which we could all get more informed, intelligent, and grounded on the issue of religion and science.

While his point was correct, I think we're beyond that. Keith talked about Nobel prize winning people who could engage this topic productively and all I could think was how un-entertaining nobel prize winning people *probably* are (I've never met any, but I have a stereotype in my head). I don't think we want to get smarter and more informed. This is even more true when we look at the idea of religion. The thing we want more than anything is to be entertained. There is nothing entertaining about being educated slowly over the course of time. The argument, as it is currently defined, is entertaining. We are getting what we want in this debate.

The second big theme from Keith's lecture focused on doctrine, creeds, councils, etc. This was the part of the talk when people started shifting awkwardly in their seats. Keith talked about many of the spiritual traditions (Native American, Buddhist, Judeo-Christian, etc.) and how there are many fundamental similarities when you look at life and material reality. While we typically have crazily different "doctrinal positions," when we look at the lives we say we want to be living, things start to level out.

During the Q&A time at the end, this was the point that seemed to rub people the wrong way. Questions were asked and re-asked about this. Universal Truth, Foundational Morality, etc. were discussed. As I was sitting there the question that seemed to be floating around the room, underlying the questions that were being asked, was "How do I know if I am winning?"

This question can be viewed in two ways: zero-sum or non-zeor-sum. While it was being phrased in a non-zero-sum way (we can all win!), I think it was really being experienced in a zero-sum way.

How do we know if we are winning? Well, I guess if we can figure out who is losing...right?

Keith drove the idea that doctrine, in and of itself, is impotent. While I agree with him, I would submit that doctrine is the mechanism we use to define the winners and losers on a cosmic scale. It's the basic way we have decided who's in and who's out.

Finally, Keith had a great beard. I give his beard two, enthusiastic thumbs up.

Being Open Minded

2010-07-24T09:56:00.002-04:00

Been thinking about this for a while. I consider myself fairly open minded, progressive, whatever. However, I am finding that I am becoming more and more close-minded with close-minded people. Is there such as thing as open-mindedness?

5 Observations/Thoughts about Ironman 2

2010-05-26T09:03:00.002-04:00

It was really entertaining. Robert Downey, Jr. is a great, charismatic actor.
It's amazing to see how far the special effects technology has come in the past 10-15 years.
Movies disseminate the mythology of our culture and world.
Ironman 2 is mythology.
The myth of unlimited progress is the overarching theme of this movie. The movie would have us believe that science will always stay ahead of the curve. By the time the bad guys have scary technology, the good guys' technology will be superior and we (ahem...we are the good guys) will be able to kick the bad guys' butts. Science will be able to solve the problems that science created. Eat popcorn, drink Coca-Cola, fear not!

Mission Statements & Taglines

2010-05-25T21:46:00.003-04:00

I have always found these things to be frustrating and meaningless.They are all about style. They lack substance. They tell one side of the story. They may market your company/organization/church, but they do not tell the full and real story. Offering only the shiny part of who you are is where the seed of cynicism starts. So be honest....about all of it.

Surface Level: Some Oil was Spilled

2010-05-02T20:54:00.003-04:00

I love watching the Sunday morning political shows. Today's biggest (and scariest) topic was the oil "spill." Here are some random things that happened on the show...and went through my mind.

"We're dealing with this on the surface." --some BP exec. Truer words were never spoken.
How can this be called a "spill?" When you spill something, you say "oops" and clean it up. 200,000 gallons of oil per day (or more) is not quite an "oops."
This could truly decimate (environmentally and economically) a big chunk of the South.
Why are we relying on BP to solve the problem that they created?
In becoming all riled up about this, I am participating in deep irony. I whine and complain about this "spill" and our oil-based economy, but then I drive and drive and drive.
In our quest to "harvest" the oil (a non-renewable resource), we will likely destroy the seafood industry (a renewable resource) in much of the Gulf.
The long-term effects of this "spill" will long outlive those of Hurricane Katrina (except for those who lost people in the storm, of course).
The conservative view is that this "spill" is collateral damage to our economic system.
The liberal view is that oil is evil, so let's get into some other type of energy (while maintaining our level of consumption).
Are there any other options?
As I often do, I was thinking a lot of Wendell Berry. I was thinking of Jayber Crow watching his town and state move forward and "progress."
Is progress a myth?

I took a nap after lunch.

Two Problems from One Solution

2010-03-13T09:31:00.003-05:00

In one of Wendell Berry's agrarian essays, he discusses two of the biggest problems in modern, industrial agriculture: loss of soil fertility and producing too much animal waste. The scientific, industrial method depletes natural soil fertility (micro-organisms, micro-nutrients, etc.) thus creating more and more dependence on chemical inputs (which have unintended consequences-comprimised water supply, bees?, beneficial insects?...). Industrialized animal production produces a lot of *crap*. Food, Inc. describes one hog farm in Utah that averages over 1 million hogs on site at a time. Because of the food input and, ahem, *output*, this one hog farm produces more *waste* than the city of Los Angeles. Holy *crap*.

Wendell Berry describes a typical, small farm prior to the industrialization of farming. He tells of farmers who knew how many animals their land could support. He writes about how farmers used the *waste* from their animals to fertilize their fields. Free, nutrient rich poo with much more complexity and variance than the typical three-nutrient chemical fertilizer. Wendell Berry reflects on this and says that, in typical industrial/scientific style, we have created two problems from one solution.

Economic and Political Insanity

2010-03-01T19:16:00.003-05:00

Two connected items from a talk I did last weekend:

1. Anyone remember what George W called us all to after 9/11? Shopping. Go to the malls. Consume. Spend.

2. Anyone pay attention to the societal/political reaction when Obama suggested that we avoid blowing our kids' college education money in Vegas? You'd have thought he was recommending human sacrifices. How dare he!

Richard Foster (paraphrased) says that when we live in and allow ourselves to be consumed by a sick culture, we become sick. I am interested in becoming less sick.

Thanks BMW...and a Request

2010-02-28T14:48:00.004-05:00

In business school, I was taught that business, in its truest form, was about solving problems. In this vein, I would like to congratulate BMW. Their latest advertisements tell us, "We don't just make cars...we make...joy." We live in an increasingly joyless society. I, for one, am glad that someone, somewhere has developed a combustion-based transportation machine that can also make joy. The evolution is amazing! Now these machines are solving emotional, relational, and community problems. Unfortunately, I can't afford a BMW right now, but I would like to propose something. I would like two other people to split the cost of one, new BMW. The car would rotate between the three of us on a weekly basis. I would be joyful for one week and then I would have two weeks of joylessness before it was my turn again. Any takers?

I Hate Pete Rollins. Also...I Love Pete Rollins.

2010-02-03T10:19:00.003-05:00

I saw Pete Rollins at a churchy conference this summer. Never have I seen people so pissed off as when Pete spoke. Never have I seen others (myself included) so moved. Watch this video to get an taste of Pete's work. Churchy is a word I made up. You can use it if you like.

God Sez...

2009-10-27T09:37:00.002-04:00

When someone tells you that God told them something, one of two things is happening.

They have had a connection with something big, scary, and real. Somehow, someway God has spoken.
They are uninterested and/or afraid of any feedback or pushback. They are, in reality, saying, "Don't ask me any questions about this thing."

The World's Hardest Question (for dudes)

2009-10-20T19:20:00.003-04:00

Big Love, an HBO show, is great. It centers on a polygamist family living life in the modern suburbs of Utah. My wife and I have been watching on DVD for a month now and are hooked. It's a show that brings up great conversations about family, love, faith, and morality. However, it also brings up THE WORLD'S HARDEST QUESTION (for dudes). I will now recount a conversation I had with my wife a few nights ago...

Me: This is such a great show.

Wife: I also love the show.

Me: ...what?

Wife: What do you think about polygamy?

Me: What do you mean?

Wife: You know, what do you think?

It was at this moment I realized that this is THE WORLD'S HARDEST QUESTION (for dudes). Were I to say, "I kind of think it's cool," you can imagine the follow up. However, were I to answer, "I think one wife is enough," well, you can imagine the follow up to this. The question is unwinnable. Here is how the convo concluded...

Me: You know, I believe that we have just stumbled upon THE WORLD'S HARDEST QUESTION (for dudes). All I know is I love you.

Wife: You answer wisely...

Two of My Favorite Things

2009-08-27T08:20:00.002-04:00

My son and an heirloom tomato we grew together.

A Thought on Eternal Destiny

2009-08-09T20:23:00.003-04:00

From the Christian perspective, you've got three choices (simplified).

Exclusivism: You must say the name of Jesus in this specific way in order to be saved.
Inclusivism: God knows the hearts of everyone living and dead and will be the final judge.
Universalism: God will save everyone.

I realized today that both Exclusivism and Universalism are really two sides of the same coin. They both purport certainty about something that cannot be truly known. They're both ultimately judgemental. Inclusivism isn't really even in the middle of these two; it's a whole different game (yes, this is where I fall on this issue). Also, it's kind of funny to think of a fundamentalist right-winger and a loosy-goosy left-winger as one and the same.

Advice From Jayber Crow

2009-08-09T20:13:00.003-04:00

This is a reading from Jayber Crow, a novel by Wendell Berry. Anyone who interacts with kids about school and academic performance would do well to listen. The passage describes Jayber's adolescent experience in school.

Although I can't say that I liked school, when I wanted to be I was a good enough student.I liked learning, especially learning that could be got by reading. I made fair grades, but I and my teachers knew that I could have done better. I was, they said, like a good horse who would not work; I was a disappointment to them; I was wasting my God-given talents. And this gave me, I believe, the only self-determining power I had: I could withhold this single thing that was mine that I knew they wanted.

From Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

Kierkegaard Opens Up a Can

2009-07-15T22:44:00.002-04:00

...the parsons canonize bourgeois mediocrity. We Protestants have done away with the Catholic canonization of ascetics and martyrs, etc.--as a substitute those interested in the bourgeois corporation are canonized and of course they are canonized by the last clerical order to appear in Protestantism: the office seekers and place hunters.

From Christ the Offense

Zoinks!

Carry the Fire

2009-06-20T22:00:00.002-04:00

I read The Road a few years back and have begun rereading it for a book discussion I am hosting in a few weeks. The book is about a father and son on the road after the apocalypse. So basically, it has my two favorite things in it: significant and meaningful relationships and an exploration of "the end times." I grew up in a faith system that was moderately preoccupied with the "end times," prophecies found in the book of Revelation, and our faith group's important role in this. Relationships, particularly family relationships, have always fascinated me. The book focuses on the survival of this pair, physical, emotional, spiritual. Throughout the story, the father reminds his son that they are people who"carry the fire." They remain good in a bad world. They choose right when wrong is everywhere. They go hungry instead of eating people (yes, this is a dark, dark book). On the eve of father's day (and my youngest son's first birthday), I am faced with this question: If I carry the fire (and I hope I do), how do I help my kids learn to carry it? Thanks to my three littlins for reminding me there is a fire. Thanks mom and dad for teaching me to carry the fire. Thanks Cormac McCarthy for writing such an amazing and haunting book. Thank God for the fire.

A Walker Percy Formula

2009-05-09T22:26:00.001-04:00

A Lover of Man=Thoreau
A Technician of Man=Skinner
A Lover of Man + A Technician of Man=Hitler

John Steinbeck on the Progression of Mystery

2009-05-09T21:40:00.005-04:00

I guess we're all, or most of us, the wards of that nineteenth-century science which denied existence to anything it could not measure or explain. The things we couldn't explain went right on but surely not with our blessing. We did not see what we couldn't explain, and meanwhile a great part of the world was abandoned to children, insane people, fools, and mystics, who were more interested in what is than in why it is. So many old and lovely things are stored in the world's attic, because we don't want them around us and we don't dare throw them out.

John Steinbeck from The Winter of Our Discontent

I don't know why, but the religion/science question has heated up in my circle lately. Everything I've been reading has been coming back to the question. Even when I'm just trying to read a novel, there it is.

Today, I was thinking about what I was like when I was a teenager. Regrettably, I was one who knew it all. It wasn't until my early twenties that I was able to make decisions out of my vast knowledge and wisdom...and it wasn't until the last few years that some of these decisions have come home to roost. I wonder if science (I'm talking about the ideology/religion of science that pervades our culture) is in that early twenties phase. The knowledge has been met with resources and now it's on like Donkey Kong.

A list of scientific accomplishments whose conseqences are mostly unknown:

Genetically coded plants who only respond to proprietary fertilizer and herbicide.
Cell phones vs. brain health
The long-term effects of an industrialized diet
The internal combustion engine and its possible link to climate change

I'm not saying we throw out science, scientific progress, and cell phones, I'm just wondering what science's 30s will look like. Will we be too far gone?

Goodbye Tree

2009-05-07T08:27:00.000-04:00

I expanded my garden this year by cutting down a Leyland Cypress. Cutting down a thirty foot tree with a chainsaw is manly...in case you were wondering.

The Wire

2009-04-10T09:28:00.003-04:00

I love morally complicated stories. The Wire plays this line to perfection. All the characters, both the "good" and "bad" guys, are flawed. The story in the first season centers on a police unit trying to take down a drug dealing operation in Baltimore. The show digs in on both sides. You get to know the cops and the dealers. The more you know, the more ambiguous it gets. It's making me think about the nature of good and evil, the reality of moral ambiguity, and the sadness of drugs and addiction. If you like thinking about these types of things, watch it.

Walker Percy on Suicide

2009-03-31T09:23:00.003-04:00

The therapeutic rationale, which has never been questioned, is that depression is a symptom. A symptom implies an illness; there is something wrong with you. An illness should be treated...

Begin with the reverse hypothesis, like Copernicus and Einstein. You are depressed because you should be. You are entitled to your depression. In fact, you'd be deranged if you were not depressed. Consider the only adults who are never depressed: chuckleheads, California surfers, and fundamentalist Christians who believe they have had a personal encounter with Jesus and are saved for once and all. Would you trade your depression to be any one of these?...

Percy goes on to describe the true choice for the depressed when considering suicide. You can either become a non-suicide, avoiding the pain, treating symptoms, running, or you can become an ex-suicide, pushing into the pain, searching for your truth, stopping.

The non-suicide is a little traveling suck of care, sucking care with him from the past and being sucked toward care in the future. His breath is high in his chest.

The ex-suicide opens his front door, sits down on the steps, and laughs. Since he has the option of being dead, he has nothing to lose by being alive. It is good to be alive. He goes to work because he doesn't have to.

From Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy

I've been in deconstruction mode in a lot of areas of my life--religion and my work in specific. I was taught in school and in the profession at large to help people avoid suicide. I give people suicide contracts which state that they will not kill themselves until X-date. We keep the ball rolling (and protect ourselves legally). While there is merit in this (it is good that people do not kill themselves), I am realizing that it does not get the job done.

Percy confirmed this feeling with his essay on suicide and the way depression and suicidal ideation is treated by therapists. He makes the case that rather than helping people avoid suicide, stepping aside and then walking with them into the despair is the only chance at peace. Instead of asking, "What needs to happen for you to not kill yourself?" What if we asked, "What needs to die?"

Or to put it another way, to gain your life you must lose it.

The Church Business

2009-03-21T19:33:00.004-04:00

Something I've heard a lot:
We need to run this church more like a business.
Something I've never heard:
We need to run this business more like a church.

Nothing is Free

2009-03-20T12:57:00.004-04:00

You got a feeling nothing here is free
'Cause you grew up in a mall

From "Nothing at All" by The Shins

This is our zeitgeist. This is the story of my childhood. This is the sentiment I'm trying to pry myself from. This is what I fear my kids will someday believe.

My Beloved Corn

2009-03-17T22:06:00.003-04:00

It's almost time to start gardening. My little garden is really the only thing connecting me to the idea of seasons. I hadn't done anything in my garden until last week when my son and I emptied the wondrous compost out of our bin and spread it on our plot. I love my garden, spring, new growth. Here's a random gardening story:

Two years ago I thought it would be funny/interesting to plant corn in my front yard. I tilled a 20 foot path and planted two rows of corn. Yes, I was that crazy corn-in-front-yard guy. My wife was not overly thrilled, but was cool. My neighbors were not happy one bit. On at least three occasions, I saw them standing near my beloved corn, pointing and scowling. I wanted to go out and hug each one of those precious little corn plants and say, "It's OK, people don't know where food comes from, but I do...and I love you." The minor scandal my corn-in-front-yard caused is still a mystery to me.

Four corn-related facts:

Corn must be planted in at least three rows so that it can be properly pollinated.
Corn, a grass plant, requires full sun (it did not do well in my partially shaded front yard).
Corn is scandalous in suburban Atlanta.
King Corn is a great documentary about industrial corn farming, community, and "progress."

Inherent Unmarketability

2009-03-06T21:41:00.004-05:00

This is from the introduction to Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr. I'm rereading it for Lent. It's a wonderfully butt-kicking book. As some of you may know, I've got a lot of questions about the church. This little poem/list gets at a lot of the tension I feel for how we (at my home church and the church at large) do things.

How do you make attractive that which is not?
How do you sell emptiness, vulnerability, and nonsuccess?
How do you talk decent when everything is about ascent?
How can you possibly market letting go in a capitalist culture?
How do you present Jesus to a Promethean mind?
How do you talk about dying to a church trying to appear perfect?
This is not going to work.
(admitting this might be my first step)

Why We Fight--Film Review

2009-03-05T23:35:00.003-05:00

I'll sum this "documentary" up in one word: silly. Are you telling me that I am to believe our country would literally perpetuate war to keep the "military industrial complex" moving forward? And who came up with that silly phrase, military industrial complex anyway? Oh, Dwight D. Eisenhower...well what did he know? Wasn't he the same president who made those silly buttons that said "I like Ike?" You can't spell silly without Ike. His warning to future generations regarding the dangers of having a standing military and corporate interests tied so closely with the war machine were, well, silly. If you look at our wars since WWII, our causes were clear. We were fighting for...oh, never mind. The movie asserts that profit may be driving much of our war effort. They present silly "facts" about how our defense spending blows all other countries out of the water, by a long shot. Obviously, the makers of this movie have not studied up on just war philosophy developed by the unsilly St. Thomas Aquinas. Yeah, he's old school, but he clearly stated that profit motive is a perfectly good reason to go to war.

To summarize, if you like silly movies, this one's for you.

Seriously, this was the scariest movie I've seen in a long time. I'm talking pit in my stomach, loss of sleep scary.

Walker Percy Quote

2009-02-28T22:07:00.005-05:00

The word boredom did not enter the language until the 18th century. No one knows its etymology...Question: Why was there no such word before the 18th century?
a. Was it because people were not bored before the 18th century?
b. Was it because people were bored but did not have a word for it?
c. Was it because people were too busy staying alive to be bored?

Walker Percy from Lost in the Cosmos (The Last Self-Help Book)

Percy goes on to propose three additional answers, but they take up pages so I didn't include them. This question haunts me for three reasons.
1. I hear people complaining about boredom. I don't believe there is an answer to this. Most people say, "Well, let's go bowling, or to a movie, or to the mall, or to..." I have found myself saying things like, "You should ponder that" or "Think about what you just said." My responses are not popular. My response from now on: "You know, boredom did not enter the lexicon until the 18th century. HMMM." This type of response is very well received.
2. When I bring up the question to friends, there seems to be an underlying terror about the answer (or lack thereof).
3. I got my mouth washed out with soap by a babysitter when I was 11. My crime? Uttering these infamous words, "I'm bored." Oh, the humanity.

Levi Brings a Tear to My Eye

2009-02-27T09:36:00.004-05:00

I was working outside with my three year old son this morning. He was cleaning my truck. He looked at a paper towel he was using and asked me, with all kinds of seriousness , "Dad, is this garbage or recycle?" Levi, my boy, you've made me proud.

Quote from The Chosen by Chaim Potok

2009-02-22T09:53:00.005-05:00

One learns of the pain of others by suffering one's own pain...by turning inside oneself, by finding one's own soul. And it is important to know of pain, he said. It destroys our self-pride, our arrogance, our indifference toward others. It makes us aware of how frail and tiny we are and of how much we must depend on the Master of the Universe.

This is the second of Potok's books I've read. My Name is Asher Lev was wonderful as well. Both books have profound things to say about family, community, and independence. This was a wonderful book about the importance of friendship and how pain is passed on from generation to generation.

I found the above quote and the content of the book to be helpful in my work. I definitely recommend it.

Murder

2009-02-20T11:01:00.005-05:00

It's happened twice now; me sitting, eating, working. Him yelling, cussing, killing. The first time was last month. He was sitting with his wife and 8 year old daughter. The little girl kept saying, "Dad, guess what happened at school today..." His response became predictable. "Nobody cares what happened at school. Stop talking and eat your dinner." Heartbreaking. It happened at McDonald's this morning. Different dad, four year old girl. Girl says, "Dad, I forgot to get my caramel dipping stuff for my apples." Dad pontificates, "Jesus Christ, you F---ING forget everything!" I sat in my seat, stunned. What do I do? Punch this guy in the neck...no, he could probably take me. I realized in that moment that I had just witnessed death. Murder is alive and well in the world and in the play area at McDonald's. I looked at this little one, curly hair, curious eyes. I saw her death before my eyes, slow, dull, blunt. I looked at the dad and wondered who first killed him, who was his murderer? And when did he go from killed to killer? Then I felt really heavy, stuck.

For all who are being killed, slowly.

For all who murder from their own pain.

Jesus Christ have mercy.

Bonhoeffer Quote and Lent

2009-02-17T20:34:00.003-05:00

It is laid upon every Christian. The first suffering of Christ we must experience is the call sundering our ties to this world. This is the death of the old human being in the encounter with Jesus Christ. Whoever enters discipleship enters Jesus' death, and puts his or her own life into death; this has been so from the beginning. The cross is not the horrible end of a pious, happy life, but stands rather at the beginning of community with Jesus Christ. Every call of Christ leads to death. Whether with the first disciples we leave home and occupation in order to follow him, or whether with Luther we leave the monastery to enter a secular profession, in either case, the one death awaits us, namely, death in Jesus Christ, the dying away of our old form of being human in Jesus' call.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Discipleship

I'm teaching on the season of Lent this weekend. It's a challenging topic to face at my home church. We're a group from many different backgrounds. As I was talking with some friends recently, we realized that most of our people are either from extreme Protestantism (we approach Lent-ish practice with skepticism) or former Catholic (we have had enough Lent already, thanks!) backgrounds. No way to play this one down the middle.

I've found so much healing and peace in Lent. I've experienced a lot of faith growth in seasons past. That said, I never look forward to it. At least not in the way I look forward to summer or the latest Justin Timberlake album. It's hard. It's not fun. I'm going to be talking some about the absolute unsellability of Lent (and really Christianity). If we had to develop a true sub-slogan for Lent (and Christianity), it would be COME AND DIE. Obviously, this is not the kind of slogan that is likely to increase market share...and here I go, getting all mad about the state of suburban faith.

Back to the Bonhoeffer quote. Why is it that deepening of faith is so often tied to deep suffering? If we are inviting people to suffer as Christ suffered, I feel like we need to have lived the answer to this question in some way.

Always Keep Mystery & Other Musings by Coldplay

2009-02-12T12:04:00.004-05:00

Coldplay is the best band in the world. One of the things I love about them is that every time I read or see an interview with them, they're funny and down to earth. This is a piece from a recent 60 minutes episode. Chris Martin does the bulk of the interview. Here are some of my favorite quips:

On defending yourself: You can either say, "It's not true," and leave it at that, or you can go on a 7-hour rant about why it's not true.

On the purpose of their job: Our goal is to make the perfect song. It's an impossible thing to do.

On why he is not a rock star: I'm not even a soft-rock star. I don't wear the right pants.

On their greatest talent: We rely on enthusiasm over talent.

On being called the greatest rock band currently working: It's probably true, but U2 comes off holiday next month.

On the meaning of Yellow: What's it about? Who knows? I can't quite work it out myself.

On doing interviews: We don't do them. One of our band rules is always keep mystery.

Next Time You're Bored on a Sunday

2009-02-01T14:11:00.002-05:00

I recommend going to Chick-Fil-A. Park your car near the drive through. Someone will drive through and begin ordering. They will then become frustrated at the lack of response. If you're lucky they'll start yelling. Soon they will realize that the store is closed. You will sit in your car laughing at them. You may feel bad for laughing, but it will likely be worth it.

The Way I Joke

2009-01-30T22:35:00.003-05:00

While in grad school, I heard the following in a multicultural issues-related class:

There was a talking Barbie that was released to be enjoyed by girls round the world. One of the phrases she said was "Math is hard, let's go shopping." Wow. We were all appalled at the stereotyping and flat out invalidity of the assumption (btw the smartest math person I know is my genius-level wife).

BUT, the phrase, "Math is hard," spoken in a whiny, annoying voice is HILARIOUS! No joke. Do it right now. Comedy gold. So, here's how I "joke." I take a hilarious phrase like this and begin saying it at random times and in response to real inquiries. "Did you finish that paper?" I was asked. "Math is hard," was my response. You get the idea. I tend to completely ignore the line that separates funny from I want to kill you. So that's how I joke.

Lately: I've been responding to questions with a fine tuned techno beat that emanates from my soul. I've resurrected "exqueeze me, baking powder?" from the depths of Wayne's World and say it to people who have absolutely no idea what Wayne's World was/is.

FYI, I realize that "the way I joke" is annoying. That's part of my mystique. It's part of my magic. Or maybe I just think being annoying is the ultimate form of comedy.

UPDATE: I have spent approximately 12 minutes of my life trying to figure out how to spell the sound of a techno beat. No luck yet.

Book Recommendation: The Dip

2009-01-20T20:10:00.005-05:00

I read The Dip by Seth Godin three months ago and the lessons from this little book just won't stop infiltrating my life. The gist of the book is that sometimes quitters do win. It's all about quitting the right things and pushing through "the dip" on those things that deserve our energy. I've primarily applied the concept to my work world, but really, it applies everywhere.

The Top Five Books of 2008 (that I read)

2009-01-10T10:35:00.003-05:00

1. Tribes by Seth Godin
An awesome book about groups, passion, business, and leadership. A quick read that's well worth it.
2. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
A must read for creative types. Particularly creative types born into family and cultural settings that weren't down with creativity.
3. Silence by Shusako Endo
A book about Catholic missionaries in Japan who experience great persecution. The ending...wow!
4. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
She also wrote one of my all time favorites, The Last American Man. This is the story of the author finding herself after the world was pulled out from under her.
5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is pure magic, genius. This is a story of a father and son on the road after the apocalypse.

Honorable Mention: I read Walden by Thoreau. Now I can say I read it. It had a few good moments, but was underwhelming. I'm sure I've broken all kinds of unspoken rules about Thoreau reviews. Oh well.

A Church Dreams Manifesto

2009-01-02T22:34:00.002-05:00

I've written a document with the above title. Email me if you'd like a copy. lucejeffrey_at_gmail.com

Say Yes

2008-12-22T22:08:00.003-05:00

Say YES. It gets you unstuck. It opens the door to experiences you would not have had. It makes life interesting. Sometimes the best stuff to say yes to is the most random. I once asked my friend Justice to go with me to sing happy birthday to a friend of ours at 6am . We sprayed silly string all over him when he staggered to the door. Justice said yes. My son asked me to play playdough this morning. I said yes. We developed a story about bears that became strange and crazy by the end. Ask people to say yes. Say yes.

(I realize there is a new movie with Jim Carey, The Yes Man. A reference to it would feel corny. Woops, I just referenced it.)

TED

2008-12-19T13:18:00.002-05:00

I've been hooked on this website for a few weeks now. TED is an invitation only conference for only the smartest people in the world. My joke: "I'm the keynote speaker this year." Insert yours here...It's inspiring, thought-provoking, and just downright entertaining.

Here are my six favorites so far:

Let me know what you think.

Sufjan Stevens, Anne Rice, Christopher Moore, Etsy, and Foster Care

2008-12-09T20:56:00.004-05:00

I submit the following for your Christmas (if that's your holiday...this holiday season) enjoyment/consumption:
1. Sufjan Stevens, Songs for Christmas. This box set of random Christmas stuff will change your opinion of Christmas tunes. If you just want to buy a few songs from itunes. Buy these: The Friendly Beasts; Holy, Holy, Holy; Put the Lights on the Tree (or watch the video below); We're Going to the Country.
2. Read Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, by Anne Rice. A story about Jesus (age 8) coming to terms with who he was and the power that was within him.
3. Read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Jesus' Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore. If you're offended by this book, then I agree, it's horrible. If you laugh and then think, call me and we can talk about it.
4. Buy handmade stuff from this website. I've just started doing my shopping in this way. People like it (if they're a little weird).
5. Consider something like this. My kids are young, but they just packed up a bunch of toys they didn't use/like anymore and we took them here.

Any other recommendations? (Please don't say Jingle Cats)

Hypothesizin': Blockbuster?

2008-11-26T23:30:00.004-05:00

I went to Blockbuster for the first time in two years. Having little kids makes the convenience Netflix very appealing. But I had to get a movie for my job and so I stopped on my way to work. I found the movie I was after. When I went to check out, I told the cashier (a smart, young girl) that I didn't have my card anymore. She went to pull my account info up, but alas, I had never been to that store. "Aren't all the stores linked together?" I asked with a hint of technical flabergastedness. "Well, some are and some aren't." I followed up, "Are the stores franchises or are they corporate owned?" "We've got both," she said. She did some confusing stuff on her computer, wrote a bunch of stuff on a piece of paper, and a few minutes later I was checked out. I walked out scratching my head. A few observations:

1. Blockbuster is sad. They bet the farm on bricks and mortar. They were king, but they're not anymore...and it's just going to get worse. It's a doomed business.
2. Who's working at Blockbuster?
3. How could their story have been different? They jumped into the "by mail" game too late. Plus, their mailing option membership was too confusing (I actually tried it for a month or two and it hurt my head).
4. What will we do with all these empty Blockbuster locations in 3 years?
5. What businesses/religious institutions/empires feel like Blockbuster circa 1997? How long before they arrive at their proverbial 2008?

Hypothesizin': Political Discussionz

2008-11-25T10:21:00.002-05:00

I'm full of questions, so I'm starting a series of posts with the hip title Hypothesizin' (g's are for the tragically unhip).

The Question: Why is it nearly impossible to have a political discussion with someone you disagree with?

Answers?
1. Most people lack an identity deeper than their political identity/ideology.
2. People are scared that other people will find out that they don't know anything about politics.
3. Yelling is easy. Talking is hard.
4. All of our "pop-political voices" do nothing but yell (Hannity, Mahar, etc.) so we think that's what we're supposed to do.

My friend Charles was the inspiration for post. He's like the wind beneath my wings.

a miracle on ice, the creme de la creme, magical

2008-11-13T22:26:00.003-05:00

Real conversation from the voting line:

Oldish Guy: So, what do you do for a living?
Young, Slick Guy: Funny you should ask...I buy life insurance policies from people at the end of their lives. I purchase enough of them, like 100, and then sell them to a hedge fund. We call them "lots of lives" in the biz.
OG: Uh....
YSG: The price we pay people for their policies is dependent on their current health and/or their prospective health.
OG: Uh....
YSG: You know, so if someone's really close to dying, they may be able to get more money than if they think they're gonna live longer.
OG: Uh....
YSG: [pause, pause...wait for it] So how's your health?

It was at this point that I tuned out and began thinking. This guy is my hero. Anyone who can be that out of touch with the human condition is a miracle on ice, the creme de la creme, magical. The only thing I made up was "in the biz." I just think that's a funny thing to say.

If Everything is a Crisis, Nothing is a Crisis

2008-10-03T21:35:00.003-04:00

In Atlanta, we've just come out of our GAS CRISIS! Thousands are dead. Lives will never be the same. What we have just experienced will never be forgotten. Movies will be made about it. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet will likely star. We have all been traumatized. That's right, our coping resources were no match for running out of gas or having to wait in line for 35 minutes. Please pray for our recovery from this crisis as it will likely be decades before we come to terms with what has happened.

An Internet Miracle

2008-09-12T13:15:00.006-04:00

I'm three months into a pretty wild job and I'm struggling a lot with stress. You know, awake at 4am, not going back to sleep, regular migraines, etc. Music is one of the things that centers me, but I don't have any cash for new music right now and I'm too legalistic and paranoid to download illegally. Luckily, an internet miracle has happened. Pandora Radio is a free service that is pulling me out of my crazy stress. Basically you pick an artist you like and they craft an entire radio station around that sound and style. I've been listening to my Beck station for a couple days...it's awesome. Thanks internet.

Silence

2008-08-30T21:18:00.009-04:00

I suppose I should simply cast from my mind these meaningless words of the coward; yet why does his plaintive voice pierce my breast with all the pain of a needle? Why has Our Lord imposed this torture and this persecution on poor Japanese peasants? No, Kichijiro was trying to express something different, something even more sickening. The silence of God.

Silence is a novel that does something that most contemporary "Christian" books do not. It describes faith the way it really seems to be: beautiful, hard, complex, and void of formulas. Living in the affluent suburbs of Atlanta where the church scene is dominated by market driven, numbers oriented philosophies, a book like Silence cleansed my palette to put it mildly. I had a lot of thoughts and feelings about the book, but the one, lasting bit from the book is this: There was/is only one Christ. I've known Christians who have spent a lot of time and energy trying to be something (or someone) that they could never be. It's a book that speaks to Job's pain. It's a book that speaks to the pain of feeling the silence of God in times that we feel we need to hear something, anything. It does not wrap up nicely in the end...kind of like life.

Wyatt

2008-06-26T09:03:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone,
I'm writing to announce the birth of Wyatt Laurence Luce. He was born
Saturday, June 21, at 9:17am after a quick (and intense) 6-hour labor.
He weighed in at 7lb9oz. We're all quite taken by the little fellow.
Levi and Avery were in love at first sight. Levi said, "I love
Wyatt!...Hug Wyatt?...Hit Wyatt?" Just like that, in that order. We're
working on boundaries with big bro. Both Levi and Avery are really
sweet and gentle with him and want to be around him all the time.
We've caught the two of them reading books to him through the crib
while he's sleeping. This is our third time going through this, but
it's new every time. We're loving the whole experience and we're
trying to sleep when we can. Thanks for all your support.
Love,
Jeff, Denise, Levi, Avery, & Wyatt

Does Anyone Else Think It's Awesome...

2008-03-31T23:25:00.002-04:00

...that Mercedes has broken into the hearse market?

What's in a Name?

2008-02-22T12:40:00.005-05:00

Our third child will be arriving sometime in late June and we have stalled out on naming the new little one. We do know it's a boy. I've got some ideas, so does Denise...but we haven't come together on it yet. So last week I consulted an expert on living, a life-coach if you will: my (almost) three-year-old son Levi. I asked him what we should name the our baby boy. He looked at me, dead-serious, and said "Waffle." At first I thought that I misheard him, so I asked him again. He looked at me with a bit of an annoyed look and said, "Yeah Dad, Waffle."

So that's that.

Christmas Letter

2007-12-29T08:12:00.001-05:00

December 2007

We hope you’ve had a good year. It’s been a great one for us, although very busy. Levi and Avery are growing up faster than we can believe. Levi will be three in April. He loves our kitties, riding his trike, and pushing the limits with his little sister. He has brought so much joy to our family. Avery is one. She just started walking and has an infectious laugh. She can get all of us going. Denise and I are doing well. I finish school in May with my Masters in Professional Counseling; and Denise has been working double-time to get us there – taking care of the kids during the day and tutoring in the evenings. Our biggest news though is that we are expecting our third child in June! We are so excited! Levi said he is hoping for a baby brother and Avery will just be happy to be bigger than someone else. We hope this next year brings blessings to each of you.

Love,
Jeffrey, Denise, Levi, Avery, & (baby)

The Lord bless you and keep you

Santa

2007-12-07T13:59:00.001-05:00

I've never really liked santa. The kids in this slideshow don't either.

Going Back to Our Roots...Way Back

2007-11-20T15:13:00.001-05:00

Some guys from church recently asked the age-old question: if a bunch of dudes go to the woods, but there are no ladies there, do those guys make strange noises? (yes)

Dave makes pancakes.

We spent the morning almost making fire.

Yes, I was there...and Justy is strange.

The God's aren't Angry

2007-11-20T10:22:00.003-05:00

On Monday I was part of a group that went to see Rob Bell at the Tabernacle. Rob is a pastor from Michigan--I've been to two training conferences at the church he is part of. He is in the middle of a month-long speaking tour called "The God's aren't Angry-Why people invented religion to make themselves feel better." The general idea of the talk was how religion has developed and evolved over time and that God has always been calling people to a new level of understanding and enlightenment. He spoke about sacrifices (animal, crops, human) and how the sacrifice system always fails. We can't really know where we stand with the gods.

Then he talked about how Abraham entered this historical perspective and how God called him to something that no one had done before: leaving his father and his father's way of dealing with the gods.

The lecture was 1.5 hours so obviously I'm not going to go on and on, but here are a few things that are lingering in me a day after the talk:

I tend to look down my nose at historically "primitive" people for the way they worshiped their "gods," but I have at times been willing to sacrifice my health, family, spirituality, friendships, and on and on to the gods of ambition, greed, money, and success. I'm beginning to realize (and last night was an great reminder) that these gods will never be satisfied. Checking out of the system may be the best bet.

Another thing that's working me over is that there is only one sacrifice left worth giving. The writer of Hebrews calls it, ironically, the living sacrifice. With all I've been blessed with and given, what will my response be?

Finally, there's no way to really know the heart of someone without actually knowing them, but you get the sense that Rob is doing his best to live what he is teaching. He could make major bank off this tour, but he is donating the money to an African microfinance project. He and his family have made a commitment to living simply (he is married w/ 2 kids and lives in a 2 bedroom home in a rough area of Grand Rapids). He talked honestly about the real challenges in life like suicide, depression, financial hardship, and without attempting to turn frowns upside down, looked for the redemption in hard stories. How do we find the resurrected Christ in our stories...even our most painful stories?

For those who went, I wonder what your experience was. For those who didn't, but are interested by some of these topics and ideas, let's get together to continue the discussion.

Jesus Thinks N.T. Wright is Metal!

2007-10-11T16:47:00.002-04:00

Jesus Camp

2007-09-24T09:07:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to watch the documentary, Jesus Camp, for a while and Denise and I finally saw it last weekend. The movie is about a right-wing fundamentalist summer camp for kids. The kids worship, pray, ride go-carts, chant about supreme court justice nominees, and do other fun kids' stuff like that.

It was a riveting picture of a distinct subculture. Kids were speaking in tongues. They prayed in ways I don't. One kid had a sweet rat tail (I'm thinking of growing one now). I grew up in a Christian fundamentalist subculture, so it was really interesting to see another version of fundamentalism. By the way, I define fundamentalism as living in the absolute certainty that I am right and everyone else is wrong--and having a harsh attitude about that fact.

Part of the camp's time was spent teaching (or perhaps indoctrinating) the kids about right-wing American politics--abortion, supreme court justice nominations, etc. At one point in the film, some of the kids were at a large church in Colorado. The pastor of this church was Ted Haggard. You may remember him from such things as doing meth with a gay prostitute. The movie was filmed before he was found out. To me, his appearance in which he railed on homosexuals and was moderatley mean to a ten-year-old, was where I found God in this movie. That scene and the thoughts it brought up caused me to look long and hard at the way I judge other people. I believe judgement and conviction of sin are key parts of my faith, but this movie caused me to look at myself and the ways I go about judging and convicting.

If you haven't seen the movie, watch it and pay particular attention to the moments that are uncomfortable for you.

Kill Creativity

2007-08-04T09:20:00.002-04:00

I just finished Love's Executioner by Irvin Yalom. It is a therapy-related book that goes along with some of the stuff I've been studying. Actually, it came along at a perfect time--a time when I'm feeling really tired. I'm tired of forcing things, I'm tired of pulling things along (a little vague, i know), and I'm tired of school. I entered the counseling program because I want to help people live better. What I'm feeling right now is that the program of study I chose wants to turn me into a little scientist. After a year of classwork I was finally able to do a project that involved creativity-I wrote a song for my traumatology class. It was the first project I was really proud of and it was the first project I got great feedback for. I am not a research-type writer, I'm not a great memorizer of facts, so the projects I've done to this point have received average (and one time below average) marks.

Back to Loves Executioner. Yalom is one of the premier therapists of our day and a great writer. In the first chapter he talks about the orthodox schools of psychotherapy. He wishes he could find his place in those schools. He wishes he could, just once, "know exactly what I'm doing in my psychotherapeutic work." He goes on to say...

But, of course, it is an illusion. If they are helpful to patients at all, ideological schools with their complex metaphysical edifices succeed because the assuage the therapist's, not the patients' anxiety (and thus permit the therapist to face the anxiety of the therapeutic process). The more the therapist is able to tolerate the anxiety of not knowing, the less need is there for the therapist to embrace orthodoxy. The creative members of an orthodoxy, any orthodoxy, ultimately outgrow their disciplines.

Since reading this passage I've been thinking a lot about religion and the way that most versions of religious orthodoxy I have been part of seem to kill creativity. So I'm left wondering how I can hold onto a faith grounded in history and (for me) a fairly orthodox understanding of the Bible, and still embrace the creativity within myself and in the people around me. And more deeply, I'm also wondering why orthodoxy does tend to kill creativity.

Husband Hypothesis

2007-07-21T22:26:00.001-04:00

Cameraphone shot of my daughter at 5 days...wicked cry, stylish hair.

I've heard a few people say that the first year of the first baby is the hardest in a marriage. I would probably agree. I recently did a review on an article called Contribution of Infants' Sleep and Crying to Marital Relationship of First-Time Parent Couples in the 1st Year After Childbirth. They found two key things in the study. One, the worse the mother's insomnia, or insomnia-like sleep, the worse the marital satisfaction rating (which supports the theory: happy wife, happy life). They also found that the one thing that has a dramatic impact on marital satisfaction is the husband hypothesis, which states that the higher the self-efficacy and willingness to help in the child-care, the higher the marital satisfaction score...UH OH.

After reading the article a few times and writing my review, I felt both good and bad. Overall, I would say that I've done pretty well with fatherhood. I'm attentive, I have fun with my kids, and I think I carry my own weight, but there are mornings that sometimes arrive brutally early when I pretend to stay asleep a moment longer than I really am. I do it because I know what a great mom Denise is. She is so devoted to our kids.

So...I felt pretty challenged after reading the article and reflecting on the past few years. I need to step it up and let my wife get some sleep.

Meijer, A. M., & Wittenboer, L. H. (2007). Contribution of Infants' Sleep and Crying to Marital Relationship of First-Time Parent Couples in the 1st Year After Childbirth. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(1), 49-57.

Bottled Water is not a Sin, but it is a Choice

2007-07-11T15:46:00.001-04:00

This month's issue of fast company has a fascinating article on bottled water. I've been thinking a lot about mindfulness and being aware of the impact I have on the world and this article really brought it home.

Here are a few highlights from the article:

Fiji water produces 1million bottles of water per day...half of the people in fiji do not have access to adequate drinking water
"24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi."
"If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000."

I am prone to feel guilty about what I have the ability to consume. I live a very privileged life. I'm trying to figure out how to live mindfully without being wrapped up in guilt.

Once you understand the resources mustered to deliver the bottle of water, it's reasonable to ask as you reach for the next bottle, not just "Does the value to me equal the 99 cents I'm about to spend?" but "Does the value equal the impact I'm about to leave behind?"

Fatherhood v. Cool

2007-03-04T20:26:00.002-05:00

I recently read a book called Alternadad. A memoir of sorts by Neal Pollack. The primary question addressed by the book was how does a guy hold on to some semblance of individuality and personality when a kid enters the picture. A lot of the book was silly, but I found myself resonating with a lot of it and laughing quite a bit. The foreword is worth the read--he talks about his 18 month old son ripping off his diaper and throwing poo all over his crib--something that could only be funny to a parent.

So is this obsession with holding onto cool new? Somehow I can't see my dad sitting down at 30 thinking that he should start a band because he's only got a few more young years left. I can't see him thinking for even a second about fashion or any of the cultural stuff I spend time thinking about.

But I can't let it go. Something in me rebels against getting older. I want youth. I love it. But the simple truth is that there's tons that's just not cool about parenting. I ran around a slide today for about 20 minutes screaming like a crazy person with my son. There's no way it looked cool at all, but it was perfect. I often have the choice of doing cool things, or staying home with my kids reading books about caterpillars and playing peek-a-boo, and i have yet to choose cool.

I guess this is my way of saying that I'm making a decision: fatherhood will beat cool.