Rites of Passage

I have often imagined what it would be like to be a young boy in the Masai tribe in Africa. Their rite of passage from boyhood to manhood is to go into the bush and kill a lion with a spear. I'm not sure what the stats are on this, but I'd have to guess that sometimes the lion wins. I'd hate to be the young boy that goes into the wild on my quest for recognition as a man and failing because failing this test isn't like getting too low of a score on the ACT to get into nursing school. It's your life!!


From a parent's perspective, what must this experience be like? From childhood, moms and dads know that someday they are going to have to send their son out on this mission in order for him to be an adult member of society. I would think that the life-threatening nature of this trial would be a huge motivation for dad to start prepping his son at an early age. No doubt, he would recount his own experience many times to instill bravery and familiarity. He would be trained well from the youngest of ages how to make, hold, aim, and throw a spear well enough to ensure that he would come home from his foray into the lion's world.



Most cultures throughout antiquity have had rites of passage of some sort that give young men (and in some cases women) permission to call themselves men. It also served as a signal that they were free to make their own decisions, take a wife, and start a family.



What happened to these rites in our culture? I don't think that we should send our sons into the wild to survive attacks from wild beasts because it has no relevance to our culture. The young masai boy has to learn how to kill to protect and provide for his family. A young boy in the African bush can't survive and provide for his family without having this skill. But I do think that some type of rite is VERY important for several reasons.



While there aren't literal lions out there that will destroy our children (well maybe mountain lions JC), there are dangers-o-plenty and there are many skills that are essential for survival. In a life of ease, it's ironically much more difficult to define what these skills are.



Another reason that rites are very important is because in the absence of a defined rite, kids will create their own. In our culture, the rite that is embraced by most "kids" is sexual activity. Once a kid starts being sexually active a mental and physical switch takes place. Young men achieve their first sexual conquest and they give themselves a certificate of manhood. Of course, there are other things like getting high etc. that sometimes fit into this scheme as well. Also, a good vehicle is a means to these ends.



There is nothing much more useless than a boy that has prematurely labeled himself as a man. Hen stuff on a pump handle comes to mind. But, can we fault them for it in the absence of a clearly defined rite of passage for them to cling to? Most children will conform to the system that is laid out for them without much fuss at all if it is a holistic plan that starts at birth and is embraced by the community in which they live.



I believe (even though I'm still not sure what it should look like) that a rite of passage is desperately needed and I believe that the church needs to define what it is for a Christian young man/woman. What should it look like? Catechisms, baptism, confirmations, etc.. have been a part of the faith for some time, but they've lost their importance along the way, I think.



What should a rite of passage look like in the American Christian family of our age? What should a young boy know and be able to do before he earns the rite to call himself a man? Same for girls, I suppose. Even though rites of passage for girls isn't common that I know of, I think it's equally important that they have a defined criteria of what it means to be a woman and no longer a girl.



I'd love to know what others think about this issue...

First Degree Spanking

Well, Jay got his first note home from the teacher on Wednesday of this week. He was talking in class after multiple warnings and he wouldn't stay in his seat during lunch. I got a phone call from Sondra around 2pm delivering the bad news. Our immediate thought was that we were going to spank him for his bad behavior. So, for the first time in my parenting life, I was faced with the opportunity to think about having to give a spanking for several hours before the spanking was to actually occur. TORTURE!!! I was disappointed with Jay for his behavior, but not angry. Tons of questions... What actually happened? Did the teacher really do all she could to maintain an orderly classroom that aids students in behaving properly? (as a teacher, I know that 'some' responsibility falls into the teacher's hands for the proper behavior of students) Is this the first of many offenses, or just one isolated occurence?

Jay fessed up to his bad behavior (not that there was any chance I would take his word over Mrs Jones who is a friend of our family). I had him grab the spanking spoon from its place and we headed upstairs... Sondra and I had already decided after a brief face-to-face conference that spanking wasn't warranted in this case and I was certainly relieved, but the presence of the spoon seemed to be an effective attention getting device. Jay lost some priviledges that he loves dearly and was warned that he would lose more priviledges if he repeated these behaviors. So far, he has responded well and is really keen on regaining his losses.

I learned several things through this... First Degree (premeditated) spankings are much more difficult to dole out than the heat of the moment Second degree kind. Ironically, I think the premeditated method may be the best way. Another thing that I learned is that this parenting thing never seems to get any easier. Every turn in life opens up new opportunities for learning how to relate to our kids and discipline them properly. The third thing is that I really miss playing Wii with Jay. Next time, I'll ground him from something I don't enjoy as much as he does:)

General Update

Hello,

It's been a while since I posted just a wassup post on here. Here are some things that are going on in the Hinton world these days.

Sondra and I sold our house about 6 weeks ago and we are living with her parents right now in in Southaven about 5 miles from our old house. We are looking around for lots and hope to have a house started within a couple months, but we're still not completely sure where we are going to move. We will most likely stay pretty close to where we are and hopefully in the same county, but we may move to a neighboring county.

The big hold up is that we're still not sure where God is leading us to worship and we want that to be the biggest deciding factor in where we relocate. We have a few options on the table and one of them is a possible staff position at a church up in TN, so we're keeping our cards close to our chests and praying that God will speak soon.

In the meantime, we are enjoying the company of Sondra's parents. They have a great home and we have the upstairs (about 600 sq ft) to ourselves complete with sleeping areas for both kids, a bath room, and a small sitting area (not that we ever use it). The rent is cheap and the food is always great. The kids absolutely love being here. There's a nice lake in the back yard that occupies nearly all of Jay's time. If he's not fishing, he's talking about fishing, and he's becoming quite the angler (hey JC).

My business is doing pretty good right now in spite of a BAD market for housing. We just picked up another builder that we will be installing floors for, so things are looking good for the coming weeks and months. I am still looking forward to the next ministry assignment because I know that God has gifted me and given me a passion for it, but He is also granting me contentment in the place where I am.

Please pray for us to find the right church home, the right property, and that we would be diligent about serving God in this area.

Have a great day!!

Diversity

Every morning when I get Jay up for school, we go down to the lake and feed the fish. We really have a great time talking about the fish and all the blessings in nature that God has created for his glory and our enjoyment. It's a great setting to talk about this.

It's really neat to see all the different kinds of fish, all the different kinds of trees with different shapes and colors of leaves, etc... Our God is a diverse and complex God and this diversity is so evident in His creation.

This made me think... The "great philosopher" Bono says... "I believe in the kingdom come when all the colors will bleed into one, bleed into one." I'm not sure where he gets this idea from, and I'm not sure I think it would even be a good thing if it were true.

I personally love the diversity in all of God's creation, including the diversity that exists among human beings. I think that Heaven will have many of the same wonderful diversities that we enjoy here. I can only imagine what the sushi in heaven might taste like:)

It seems to me, and I could be wrong about this, that the push for unity among diversities that has been around for a while is slowly giving way to a push for an irradication of diversities. I'm not sure how to feel about this.

Is it wrong for me to love that I am a WASP from the country-fried south? Is it wrong for me to teach my children to love being a WASP from the country-fried south? I love other cultures, but not as well as I like mine. There is great value that exists in other cultures and I'm certainly not making an evaluation of cultures here, even though I think it is possible to do so. Just that I like mine the best for me and mine. It is, after all, the way God created me and where he created me.

I expect others to love and perpetuate their cultures as well and think that we should only change our cultures as they conflict with God's word. Otherwise, eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy the diversity.

Truth... RIP

I've been thinking a lot the past couple of weeks about the horrible state of affairs we live in as it relates to the truth. It's certainly no secret that post-modern relativistic thinking has completely infected our culture, and it's becoming less a secret that post-modern relativism has infected the church, so my question is... Where is the crusade for truth.



For the past three decades that I've been a believer and have been active in the church, I have watched crusades ebb and flow and come and go. Crusades for prayer in school and public events. Crusades against the rock music. Crusades against abortion. Crusades for abstinence before marriage. Crusades for adoption. Crusades, Crusades, and more Crusades.



While most of these crusades have some merit and many are battles well-worth fighting, if TRUTH is lost, it will be impossible to win any of these battles. On the other hand, when a crusade for TRUTH is victorious, things will fall into place and Justice will prevail.



The relativisation of truth within the church has made this cry for absolute truth a difficult crusade to champion. The current crusades within the church (even though they are good crusades) are so similar to the secular crusades that it's difficult to tell the difference between the benevolent efforts of the church and the activities of Brangelina and the rest of the politically correct crowd. It's a real eerie harmony for me, because the church has also adopted the "can't we all just get along" mentality of the PC movement along with its other causes. As a result, it's not nice to label lies as what they are and attack heresy and the purveyors of heresies. Those who do this are labeled as mean-spirited, but this must be done in order for Christianity to once again champion the cause of truth.



In the scriptures, as we see God dealing with His people (us) through our ebbs and flows toward him, he always starts by cleaning house and he always uses his people to do the house cleaning. Judgment begins with the house of God. While I sometimes cringe to hear the clarion call for truth and the warnings against heresy that exists in the church, I also rejoice because it gives me great hope and it reminds me that TRUTH WILL PREVAIL. Jesus Christ is the TRUTH. He reigns supreme and he will bring all things into submission. He will use his body, the church, to accomplish this.



If the church will champion the cause for truth first of all and foremost, all these other crusades will be cake-walks. If this generation loses it, then all other efforts are for nothing. It would be neat to look back on this life when it comes to a close and see a great victory for truth. While I will always have hope because of the impending victory, it would be sad to look back on a life lived if the truth appears to be lost.



May God ignite within us all a passion for truth so that we may turn the tides.

My baby boy...

Well, Jay starts Kindergarten tomorrow. I can't believe that it's here already. If I could turn back time right now, I certainly would.

It just seems like yesterday that I held him in my arms for the first time, fed him for the first time, bathed him for the first time, watched him laugh for the first time, take his first steps, say his first words, catch his first fish, etc.. Now, he's going to school...

I think my greatest fear is whether or not I have properly prepared him for what he is going to experience. Does he have a good foundation and a Christian Theistic World View in a culture that is HORRIBLY hostile toward the CTWV? I can only hope because ready or not, it's here.

God help us to prepare our children to be salt and light in a dark world where it is becoming increasingly more difficult to tell the difference.

Rejoice in the Lord!!

This is one command that God issues over and over in the Bible that I have great difficulty with. I don't have trouble abstaining from murder, adultery, fornication, idolatry, etc... But, I often find great difficulty rejoicing in the Lord. I worry, doubt, forget, and often find myself on the edge of depression when things don't go the way I see them going. WOW!!

How much freedom exists in rejoicing in Him? How much hope exists in rejoicing in Him?

Lord help me to focus on you and not me... and rejoice!

Psalm 97
1 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. 2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. 4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. 7 All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols—worship him, all you gods! 8 Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O LORD.
9 For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name.