{"id":32786,"date":"2023-08-30T19:32:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T02:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=32786"},"modified":"2023-08-30T19:32:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T02:32:42","slug":"may-i-sit-a-little-longer-and-have-another-london-fog-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/may-i-sit-a-little-longer-and-have-another-london-fog-please\/","title":{"rendered":"May I Sit a Little Longer and Have another London Fog Please"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through the Covid Pandemic also known as a black swan event, we can glean greatly from Nassim Nicholas book The Black Swan.[1]<\/em> I found myself in a place of needing to sit a little longer and try something new, which was drinking tea. In the lounge of the hotel I sat and enjoyed good company with Michael, Daron, and my cohort. I enjoyed intellectual conversations that went deeper as we shared, listened, thought, and prayed. As I enjoyed the architecture of Cape Town, as a builder specializing in concrete work, I honored the precision of craftsmanship and history that went into this city heavily influenced from the Dutch.<\/p>\n

Cape Town<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Cape Town, in our hotel, there was order, a consistent schedule, most of all a bed I could sleep without being disturbed. I found myself wanting to just sit and have another London Fog. To be present in the moment, to enjoy the moment. I found myself in a place of history, intellect, architecture, a very diverse and economic challenged city. A place I did not want to leave, as in this place I was safe from all the problems and challenges I face back home. I got a phone call from my wife with some good news and bad news. The good news was our daughter Addy was out of ICU and the bad news a person crashed through our fence and into the side of the church.<\/p>\n

Anti-Fragile<\/strong><\/p>\n

I realized in this moment I was very fragile. A feeling I was not used to and did not like, after all I am used to winning. I have the gift of faith, God is with me, no weapon formed against me shall prosper! So why do I feel this way? I know as a pastor I should not feel this way. I walked 12-15 miles a day but could not escape this feeling of being inadequate. I could not punch my way out of this situation or feeling, I could not work enough, or walk it off. Everything was going wrong in my life back home, I wanted to sit a little longer in Cape Town and have another London Fog. As Nassim points out in his conclusion of Antifragile: Things Gained From Disorder\u00a0<\/em>I realized I was not entirely in control and I was subject to greater powers than myself.[2]<\/p>\n

The Secret History of Oxford<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Paul Sullivans book The Secret of Oxford<\/em> I realized that I was not an “Oxford Man.[3]” My dad could be an Oxford Man, but not me. These are great literature giants of history and I struggle with writing and communication. Most of the time, I’m in stained cargo shorts from grease and food debris from feeding the poor. I have gained weight from not taking care of myself, I wonder would I still fit into my suit? How much weight can a person lose in 3 weeks? Would I be rejected from faculty and students from Oxford? Do we homeschool our daughter with special needs so she does not get sick before going to London? Do I shut down the church and all ministries so nothing goes wrong while I’m in London?<\/p>\n

In My Father’s House<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I realized through the summer, I have had a little anxiety about London. As London is one of my last thresholds of becoming a doctoral student, I will be stepping into that new place the Lord has invited me into. Most of all, I will be in my Fathers House at Christ Church.[5] In this place, my Father welcomes me and us into a new place and experience with Him. That in this program, God has given us a seat not only at His table, but at one of the most prestigious places in the world.<\/p>\n

In Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I prepare for Oxford and stepping out of System 1 thinking and into System 2 thinking.[4] I realize that I am not an Oxford Man or never will be. But the good news is that I’m God’s man, that is enough for me. I think I will sit a little longer in London and enjoy another London Fog with friends.<\/p>\n

[1] Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. The Black Swan. Penguin Books, 2008.<\/p>\n

[2] Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile. Penguin Books, 2013.<\/p>\n

[3] Paul Sullivan, The Secret History of Oxford (The History Press, 2013).<\/p>\n

[4]Kahneman, Daniel, 1934- author. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York :Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.<\/p>\n

[5] Luke 2:49 And He said to them, “why do you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Fathers business?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through the Covid Pandemic also known as a black swan event, we can glean greatly from Nassim Nicholas book The Black Swan.[1] I found myself in a place of needing to sit a little longer and try something new, which was drinking tea. In the lounge of the hotel I sat and enjoyed good company […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2799],"class_list":["post-32786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-oxford-sullivan","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32787,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32786\/revisions\/32787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}