Lifelong Learning and Marcel Marceau

Noting that Marcel Marceau died yesterday, I've been letting my imagination run with the intersection between his art and lifelong learning. The New York Times obituary noted that he never said a word on stage or screen except for the time that Mel Brooks put him in a spot in one of his pictures and had him actually say something. The effect was, of course, unexpected and funny. I don't always practice it, but I'm aware that saying too much is often saying too much.

My daughter interviewed Marcel four years ago during his last tour of the United States. I think her article is as good an obituary as the Times but I may be prejudiced in her favor. The link to her article in the Minneapolis weekly entertainment tabloid is:

http://www.citypages.com/databank/24/1164/article11147.asp

To whet your appetite, here's a quote from the article about what makes a person continue to be alive all one's life:

"Certainly, I wouldn't be the first woman to be charmed by the French or sweet-talked by a mime, but it's more likely I fell prey to the infectious vivacity, curiosity, creativity...and oh heck...let's just say it...joie de vivre, that has charmed 55 years' worth of audiences. It's no doubt the same remarkable well-being that recently prompted the United Nations Second World Assembly on Aging to appoint him "goodwill ambassador." Marceau is quite grateful for his health and chalks it up to "a gift I received from the godly," though he seriously adds, "also, I never quit working."

"The reason behind the longevity of Marceau's career may be that he offers audiences something they can't get anywhere else. He offers poetry--literal and figurative--on the stage, and masterfully refined physical-theater skills. Marceau recalls that in the days before his legendary status he found himself thinking, "What could I bring to the stage that America doesn't have?" "Ah," he remembers answering himself, "the art of silence. And, they can see that in silence I carry the invisible." As he shares this there is a pause in which he seems to be re-asking the question--and coming up with the same answer."

What is salvation, really?

Helping Doctor of Ministry students work through their research projects recently, I encountered a new surprise. Many of these folks wanted to tie their project into a good sound theological base, but they could not say exactly how what they were wanting to do in their projects in ministry related to the redemptive power of God in the lives of their congregations. I realized how hard it is to define salvation in any practical, concrete way.

That sent me back to my theology source, Henry Nelson Wieman, the process theologian/philosopher from the first part of the 20th Century. (I studied with him at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he taught after his retirement from the University of Chicago Divinity School in the 1960's.) He was a master at putting things in very concrete, pragmatic terms.

Wieman's burning question for his life work was:

• "What operates in human life with such character and power that it will transform us as we cannot transform ourselves, saving us from evil, and guiding us to the best that human life can reach, provided that we meet the required conditions?"

These three elements constitute the essence of salvation--transformation, deliverance from evil, and guidance toward the best. Faith is the "required condition," for this salvation.

So if you want to preach, teach, lead in ways that people can actually get what you're about, you need to be able to say clearly and concretely what the transformation is we're seeking, how it overcomes the inner and outer hold of destruction and evil, and how it helps us continue to lead our lives.

What's your definition of salvation?

Save the date for Crossan next year

An ecumenical group in Louisville has completed negotiations to bring Biblical Scholar and member of the Jesus Seminar John Dominic Crossan to Louisville for a lecture series. Louisville Seminary will be a co-sponsor of the event.

Dates are Friday evening and Saturday, November 7-8, 2008.

Titles of his lectures from his book God and Empire: The Normalcy of Violence and the Ambiguity of the Bible:

• Civilization and Empire
• Bible and Power
• Jesus and God
• Apocalypse and Violence

The place and times are yet to be decided. More information later.

Hope in Conflict Presentations and Seminars this month

I'll be making three appearances or presentations based on my book, Hope in Conflict this month (see my post in August about the book).

1. Tuesday, September 11, 11-12 a.m., EDT, I'll be heard on Louisville's NPR News Station, WFPL, on the "State of Affairs" show with Julie Kredens (shown at right), along with Rabbi Stanley Miles and Tom Robbins from the Louisville Archdiocese. The subject of the hour-long call-in program for that day is congregational conflict. You can access the show and listen online at www.wfpl.org/soa.htm. You can also see their blog http://www.soablog.org/.
2. I'm doing my first "online seminar" with the Wayne Oates Institute this month. Thirteen people are signed up for the seminar (and that's the maximum number) in the "Online Conference Center at http://www.oates.org/.
3. The student spouses/partners group on campus has asked me to do two sessions on "Church Conflict for Clergy Families" for them which will be Monday evenings, September 17 and 24th 7-8:30 p.m in Fellowship Hall in the lower level of the Seminary Chapel. For more information contact Christi Phelps, christi@felpsfamily.com.