so I have been quite busy with life lately, for all sorts of good reasons, i guess - and most blogging has come in the form of comments on others blogs (even a few good rants over on Nathan Coulter's blog). it is worth checking out, only because it pertains to this post (in part). otherwise, it was my great plan to reflect and blog over the weekend, while "getting away" in southern Ohio. Well, I ended up with the virus that Canaan had, and Maggie before him. Spent most of the weekend with a fever, in bed. Still recovering with a nasty sore throat. blah and yuck.

anyways, before most of my memory alludes me, I had wanted to speak into a few recent happenings (while listening to jonny greenwood's score for "There Will Be Blood"). first, I began a conflict resolution/peacemaking class with the residents of a kind-of Christian half-way house. the residents are women, whom are ex-offenders, who have chosen to enter the program after their release from prison. the structure for the group is the universal 12 steps, converted by the University of Minnesota, and then a bit further converted by me, to include a more intentional account of the teachings and life of Jesus (which only occurs as understanding or perspective allows) and then I add on a necessary amount of psycho-education, as need be. that may seem like a lot, but I have it well spread out over the twelve steps. anyways, from there, I allow room for "process". which is as much symbolic, as anything. what I mean is, the first thing we usually omit when in conflict, is process. so allowing them to process through the issue of forgiveness, rather than me teaching them about it, and instead simply guiding the discussion, is radically appropriate. two weeks ago, before we began, I don't think I would have wrote "radically" in the previous sentence. but in hindsight, there has been nothing more beautiful than listening to the stories told by some of these very vulnerable women - and allowing them to see the Truth through their own experiences - thus teaching their own class on what it looks like to forgive, in a much more profound way, than my psycho-education could ever hope to achieve.

and this enlightens the point of "bottom-up theology". the Truth comes from the bottom, no matter how much we demand that it come from our greatest institutions of education and research - the Truth does not come with credentials - because credentials do not require pain and suffering (sallie mae does not count as such).

i was happy to have empathetically experienced that particular truth, as an adolescent, through the great process of watching "Dead Man Walking".

This is also the sole reason that Shane Claiborne's books have so much more weight than 95% of most theology texts and christian inspiration texts (otherwise known as christian self-help). he reconciles the Gospel scriptures with the experiences of those on the bottom, and even though simplistic, exposes most, if not all of the fallacies that we have be taught from the top (ie - most of our seminary trained priests and pastors).

and even now, it is our "goal" to end poverty, rather than experience, suffer with, listen to, and learn from those on the bottom. but that is another post.

be present

be consistent