Jeremy Parks

This is the first time I've written you anything.  I hope I get it right. Who I am is not relevant; identity is not quite as important as you folks think.  You label your eternal selves in temporal nomenclature, hoping your names will grant you a kind of forever that you already possess.  You've distinguished between This and That, twixt Them and Us, when in fact you're all a part of a grand collective. But I digress; my compatriots say it is one of my less endearing characteristics. We've watched you longer than nearly anyone could imagine.  Notes have been taken, observations … [Read more...] about From One Immortal to Another

 The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that as long as we do not check to see if a sub-atomic particle has decayed (producing radiation), then we must simultaneously assume that the atom both has decayed and has not decayed. In 1935, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger critiqued this notion by proposing the following: a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor detects radioactivity due to a decaying particle, the flask is shattered, releasing the poison that kills the cat.  If the monitor does not detect … [Read more...] about Schrödinger’s Sin

Sing with me! ....Red and Yellow, Black and Normal, They are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world! In 1954, psychologist Muzafer Sherif conducted what is now known as the Robber's Cave experiment.  The participants in the study were 24 boys, all roughly 12-years old, who were from basically identical backgrounds.  Essentially, the experiment demonstrated the speed with which people form cliques and engage in hostile behavior towards those who are not a part of us.  Apparently, everyone assumes, "I'm basically good and normal, and everyone who is not me is not … [Read more...] about Deviant!

For those who are familiar with my writing, this will come as no surprise: personal stories that examine the point of encounter between life and theology fascinate me.  However, I do not "out" people, spewing their private struggles across the internet for all to see.  Personal stories inspire my thoughts and drive my writing, yet I am not writing about any one person.  If you see yourself or someone you know in my  reflections, it is only because I'm referencing experiences that are far more common than any of us realize. Jeffrey is a Christian. He reads his Bible.  He lives as a … [Read more...] about Daily Wrongs and Consistent Forgiveness

Recently, Dan Barnes contributed an article regarding how Christians ought to address the matter of sex. Namely, he asked how Christians are protecting their families from a culture that is increasingly blasé about sexual matters. I looked forward to the discussion because sexuality and purity are quite important to Stacy and I. We came of age in a time when our parents were unaware of the degree to which adult magazines, bootleg porn films, and crude sexual jokes were making the rounds. The Talk was, if it happened those days at all, a short awkward discussion in which parents spent most … [Read more...] about How I Talk About Sex: A Response to Dan Barnes

The only active ministry role I've ever formally filled is one of missionary.  Readers should not infer that I'm necessarily any good at it, of course.  My vocational ministry limitations simply mean I see many things through a missional filter to the exclusion of all other possible perspectives. While the overwhelmingly vast majority of my work has been in international settings, I think some of the lessons I've learned and techniques I've picked up can apply to the larger Christian community.  I tried to categorize my tips and lessons for your benefit, but in the end, they all fit under a … [Read more...] about Missional Advice: Living Where You Live

Life in any culture different from our own is full of lessons and perspectives, if only we'll look around and see them.  Here are a few I've picked up on in our travels and conversations. Uriah was a bad husband whose behavior likely drove his wife into David's arms. As a group of Deaf Ecuadorians sat and watched the story of King David's adultery, they were fairly disapproving of Bathsheeba and the King.  Of course, they blamed David far more than they did Bathsheeba (more on this later).  However, their willingness to point fingers increased tenfold as we began to examine Uriah.  … [Read more...] about Creative Cultural Theology

For those who end up being replanted in North American soil... About 27 years ago, Cal and I left the US for the mission field.  We were young and strong.  We had a healthy sense of who we were, where we were from, and knew that God had spoken to us.  We left behind extended families, barbecue, football, tulips in spring and leaves in the fall.  We preserved the memory of places and people in our hearts. Over the years, we learned languages and foods.  We ministered and taught.  New workers were welcomed and later sent back to their original homes.  Nationals resisted, listened, … [Read more...] about Coming Home