July 04, 2005

A Blender of "And's"

Dr. Mouw, the president of Fuller Seminary, recently published an article which I really liked in the campus newspaper here at Fuller. The title, The Importance of “And”, sums up one of the directions I have been moving in. Below are some excerpts.

“In a recent casual conversation one of our veteran Fuller trustees was making a point about two things that he considered to be relevant to the subject at hand. He started his sentence by emphasizing one of the items he was concerned about, and then went on to make his next point by using the word “but.” He stopped, however, in mid-sentence. “I have to keep remembering something that David Hubband taught us.” He said. “When you are intending to emphasize two important things, try to connect them with ‘and’ rather than ‘but.’”

I was glad for the reminder, because I often find myself saying “but” when I should be saying “and.” David Allan Hubbard-my distinguished predecessor in the Fuller presidency and a mentor who taught me many good lessons-wanted Fuller Seminary to posit smooth connections between things that evangelicals often see as being in tension, or even in direct conflict.


I remember his key examples. At Fuller he would say, we are both evangelical and ecumenical, we encourage learning and spirituality, and we promote evangelicalism and social action. When we use “but” instead of “and” in talking about the relationships between such items we run the risk of fragmenting what in God’s mind is clearly integrated.”

This past year I have been playing with a jigsaw puzzle of theology, spirituality, philosophy, worship, and culture, trying to put as much of it together as possible. Mouw’s words help me sum up in part what I want to see happen. However, at times, even the word “and” dose not do justice to the junctions I would like to create. I wish there was a word that summed up the five things I listed above, because that’s how I see them. If you put theology, spirituality, philosophy, worship and culture in a blender, the thing poured out is what I really get excited about.

3 comments:

Sivin Kit said...

I like what you are saying here... I was thinking about how even if at times things don't "blend" .. we can still live with the tensions or paradoxes without the need to resolve them too quickly

Anonymous said...

Using "and" moves the sentence to a more positive feel. Using "but" gives it a negative connotation and emphasizes one subject over the other.

Another problem too many people have is using "no" as the first word in a sentence. This is especially discourage with customer service Using "no" makes the customer feel like there is no other answer.

-I learned this while working for an animal hospital back in Illinois.

K

Anonymous said...

From my early years in high school, then Christian college, then Christian schools, I have been working throughout my life with Christians from many different Christian denominations.

What I have always appreciated is not what church someone attends, but where they are with Christ, and where they are going with Christ. What a blessing to find brothers and sisters all over this globe who are experiencing a daily, warm relationship with their Lord. This is a great blessing!