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Brian Bantum presented at the North Park Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture. He teaches at Seattle Pacific University. Bantum utilizes Leviticus 16 and the Scapegoat tradition to consider the ecclesia as a dynamic Christ-formed community – inaugurated by Jesus returning from the wilderness with “his new friends.” He has some textual issues at stake in his work that cause complications, and he will need to respond to the nuances of the texts he is using. Also, I may not be committed to the Scapegoat model of the atonement, exactly, yet I welcome the biblical play and contemporary practices the conversation invites. The following reflection continues his playfulness with the Scapegoat tradition. Bantum poetically moved through his paper, citing Karl Barth, race theory, and Anselm. He utlizies these voices as he works through the Scapegoat tradition (Leviticus 16). The tradition is the practice of sending a second lamb out to the wilderness to bear sin of the ...

 I am in Chicago this weekend for the Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture . The Symposium used to have the title, “for the church” at the end, but I am not sure this is still true. Anyway….. I had the privilege of spending an early morning hour prior to the conference with Noel and Kyle Becchetti of TruthSeekers – they happen to be in town for a variety of activities. TruthSeekers (TS) is a reconciliation ministry in India seeking to reconcile the oppressive caste system. It is led by Sunil Sardar and a team of Indian Christians. Kyle and Noel work alongside as North American partners. TS is also embarking in a Bile project as TruthSeekers throughout India are asking for a new translation that considers the complexity of India’s religious history, namely Hinduism and the caste system. I encourage you to look into the ministry and consider participation. Beyond the ministry, Kyle and Noel have become phantom mentors for Lindsay and me. They have worked to...

The pastoral practice of visitation is one of the great blessings but also a difficult practice. Visitation is often seen as the latter amidst the overly busy-ness orientation of the vocation. Almost everyday I could visit someone in the nursing home or visit the hospital. It rarely seems that the request for visitation comes at a time when pastors can actually accomplish the visit. There are multitudes of other tasks to accomplish - phone calls, Bible studies, staff conversations, ministry structures management, etc. Days already go to quickly, so mustering up the energy to drive 20-40 minutes to a hospital can seem to exhausting to accomplish. Most contemporary pastors have made the argument that visitation is NOT the job of a pastor, but a gift and calling for Christians of all sorts, especially those gifted with mercy, hospitality, and service. I make this argument all of the time to faithful Christians who question my time regarding visitation (I do it generously with my eyebrows...

As many know my son, Micah, has a practice of noticing children at the park, church, or beach from several hundred feet away. Before he can make out facial details, he has pronounced them his friends and quickly rushes to greet them. I love this about him. On Saturday night, I had the chance to notice someone I had never met. Before greeting him I had decided he was my friend. For the sake of clarity, we will name him Anastasio and Andy, for short. Andy is a few years older, has a rabbi’s beard, and Ray Bradbury’s Illustrated Man tattoos. He has little current connection to Christian faith, but has a history connected to Christian community. Today, he lives in a compound amidst a forest with his wife, staff members, and random squatters and travelers. On Sunday night, I was fortunate to meet Andy and his father for a beer at a local tavern (John Weborg talks about the location of God is the tabernacle and tavern). We sat down and his father invited a conversation between the two ...

 I have been teaching a class for three weeks now, and I am impressed that students are attentive to hearing rightly. At the same time that I celebrate their desire, I am also concerned that they miss the chance to bless one another, for their aural orthodoxy makes them quite hesitant to speak, sometimes. When they venture into speech, it is not only thoughtful but also expansive to the topic at hand. It is my hope that as the semester goes on their hesitancy will decrease, their freedom to make “speech mistakes” will increase, and all the while their aural orthodoxy will remain. In other venues, I have noticed a “talking through” one another. The situations are supposedly wiser, more diligent persons who ought to know how to hear and enter into conversation. There is an ecclesial emphasis on promoting “conversation” or “dialogue” for the process of greater collaboration and faithfulness. The latter word is probably the more appropriate term – dialogue. One literal meaning of d...

I think it is interesting that Duke's study on pastoral health has garnered attention on major news outlets. I think the study shows some disturbing trends in my tribe, but I also think it is a bit lopsided. Maybe some of the assumptions within our vocation skew the way we understand health. For example, we often romanticize the monastic tradition and believe, in part, that care of self should have a monastic quality. We also adopt from the 1960/70s therapeutic ministry movement and believe "I'm okay you're okay" as a pastoral truism. Finally, we face the tension of wanting to be authentic but at times also feeling the need "to be the Christian that everyone else wants to be," and so self-care becomes a ritual to "perfection." I am interested in how lawyers, teachers, medical professionals, stay-at-home parents, and administrative assistants hear the discussions about pastors and self-care. I remember going away for a church trip (pastors...