heard person coming
bumped release in haste to leave
trap snagged back leg
——————
i carry trap
try not to hear squeaks
cannot look at eyes
——————
must have been skilled
trap licked clean
probably would have gotten away
——————
crime: finding a warm place
with food
for the winter
——————
punishement:
death by
impact of shovel
——————
hated doing it
heart now has two holes
size of mouse eyes
Categories: Poetry and Thoughts
Many Mennonites fall into one of two categories. Some are committed to singing a capella four part harmony. Many of these feel it is the best kind of music and that it should be the exclusive music style for Christians, or at least Mennonites. Many are proud of this heritage and defend it vigorously to the point of saying that all else is wrong.
Then there are those who, even though they happen to attend churches where a capella harmony is the only kind of music that sung, they do not like it or appreciate it. Many times outside of church they listen to something radically different. They often consider a capella harmony to be boring or distasteful. They sometimes suggest that if instruments were used they could worship better.
For the first group, I think that it is reductionistic, prideful, and ignorant to say that a capella harmony is the only godly style of music. It is also wrong to become prideful or self satisfied because we have it right and they don’t.
For the second group, I think that they are missing a very wonderful and important piece of their heritage. I have noticed that this attitude is often accompanied by broader dissatisfaction with Mennonitism as a whole. I say again, there are good things in the Mennonite heritage. Find them and appreciate them. Many times when this attitude is found, it is because both the singing and the Mennonite heritage have become a ritual and not a lively expression of a relationship with Christ. When there is a tradition with no current relevance or life, those in it will look elsewhere for life.
I am calling for an appreciation of the Mennonite music tradition, not prideful exclusivity or staunch clinging to a dead song.
The early Anabaptists by either conviction or necessity or both, did not have “fancy” music or instruments. Instead they met, many times in secret, and sang hymns together. The tradition of vocal music continued from then on down. The Amish clung to the earlier, melody only, responsive style while the Mennonites eventually took on four part harmony. This tradition is still held in practiced in many Mennonite churches today. The tradition of a capella voices singing in harmony. In the last century Mennonite choirs have become very popular. Youth groups, Bible schools, and various other collections of people have gotten together to sing harmony as a choir. Sometimes the music produced is mediocre and sometimes it is exceptional.
Yesterday I heard a group of twenty vocalists from all over the east singing together at a wedding. They were quite good. I was struck again by the fact that most Mennonites can sing harmony. Virtually no other group of people can do this, except the occasional high school or college choir. The percentage of Mennonites who can sing well is far above that of the rest of the population.
Not only can the average Mennonite sing better than most other people, many can do it very well. Among the Mennonites there are some incredibly talented vocalists who have had little or no training.
I say all this, not to down anyone else, but to highlight the value and importance of the Mennonite tradition of singing a capella harmony.
Categories: Mennonite
When hearing a story, we consider events which hinder or harm the bad guy as being good. If they happen to the good guy, they are bad. If they happen to the bad guy, we think it is the work of Providence. If they happen to the good guy, we attribute it to the chances of fate or the devil. Many times the goodness of the event itself ends up being a mute point. What really matters is who the event happened to. The author of a story can formulate the readers perception of an event by causing it to happen to a certain character and have it be done by a certain other character. He can encourage the approval of a certain event or action simply by justifying it by using it to beat up the bad guy.
Categories: Nonresistance/War · Poetry and Thoughts
Today for a short time I listened to Nancy Lee Demoss (sp?). She used a term which grabbed my attention. I am sure I have heard it before, but for some reason, today it really got my attention. She described God as the host of the universe. For some strange and illogical reason, probably societal conditioning, I tend to think of God as being out there in space some how. Yes, He is omnipresent and He is beside me, but I still tend to see Him as existing within my universe, my reality. But this is not true. God is not existent primarily in this universe. He is self-existent. He exists outside of our universe and reality and envelopes and permeates it. He is not just in it. He surrounds it. He holds it. He keeps it in existence. God is not just in our universe, He is the host of our universe.
Categories: Christianity · Poetry and Thoughts
Think all the way back to the Sunday morning sermon that you probably heard a few days ago. What is the first thing that popped into your head when you did this? There is a very good chance that the first thing you thought of was a story that the speaker told. Like Graham, I have recently been thinking about the power of story. Consider what happens in church when you are getting sleepy during the sermon. What happens when the preacher begins a story? Almost always, you suddenly become alert and begin to listen with renewed attention. What do you remember about your grandfather? There is a good chance your memory involves storytelling. What do children frequently ask parents? They ask for a story. How did Jesus teach? Many times He told stories. He spoke to them in parables. God Himself communicated on a regular basis through stories. Stories bring a human connection to facts and ideas. Stories allow us to connect others experiences with our own. Throughout history, even though most people did not know how to read or write, they knew their history and about their gods because of the stories passed down from one generation to the next. Storytelling has been one of the most defining ways of communication in human history.
I think that one of the best things about postmodernism is its emphasis on storytelling and listening to other’s stories. Christians have a powerful battery of stories to tell. We need to follow the example of the Master Teacher and communicate these Stories with passion and authority. We need to speak the story of the Gospel with the authority of Christ.
In the coming weeks when you prepare to teach or speak or converse at school, at church, or in the lunch room or carpool, consider what stories you have to tell. Carefully chosen stories can help to plant your message firmly in your listener’s memory and to make the ideas you want to communicate more understandable. Christ spoke to them in parables, stories that had meaning. This is a fine example to follow.
Categories: Evangelicalism · Poetry and Thoughts
