{"id":468,"date":"2013-12-23T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-23T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.dminlgp.com\/?p=468"},"modified":"2014-08-13T20:41:59","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T20:41:59","slug":"visual-ethnography-learning-synthesis-pubs-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/visual-ethnography-learning-synthesis-pubs-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Ethnography Learning Synthesis: Pubs, People, and Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pubs, People, and Pastors<\/strong><\/p>\n

So where is the better place to go, a church or a pub?\u00a0 The answers to this question will vary, depending on whom you ask.\u00a0 One thing I can say with quite a bit of certainty; more people attend pubs than they do churches in Britain.\u00a0 And why not?\u00a0 Perhaps pubs accomplish more than churches do in relation to serving people at times.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

A Typical London Pub<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1981 after several years in ministry, I became so burned out that I quit my job as a youth pastor at a mega-church.\u00a0 I was so hurt and confused that I quit going to church altogether for several months.\u00a0 My wife began to go to a church with her mom where Chuck Swindoll was the pastor.\u00a0 One Sunday she came home excited and told me that Swindoll said in his sermon that sometimes a bar is a better place to be than a church if you just want someone to listen to you without judgment<\/em>.\u00a0 I will never forget that day.\u00a0 I think Swindoll was right.\u00a0 Churches are sometimes very unsafe places, particularly if one wants to be transparent.\u00a0 A few weeks later, I returned to that church with my wife and began a process of healing that has slowly continued to this day.\u00a0 That church became my pub.<\/p>\n

This week, I received an e-mail from one of my students.\u00a0 In the e-mail, he thanked me for being a safe person and a person who listens to others.\u00a0 He then told me that he had written a blog post that he wanted me to read.\u00a0 The title of his post is \u201cRebel without a Cause.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 He writes:<\/p>\n

Today I was leaving a store and was stopped by a man asking for a buck or two and we shared a cigarette and as many words as you could fit in 20 minutes. He told me about his alcoholic girlfriend of 4 years and his family and friends all of which seemed to be on crack or heroin at some point. He himself told me about his experience with crack as well as the physical ailments he is cursed with. I enjoyed every syllable that poured from this dude\u2019s lips. He kept repeating, \u201cGod don\u2019t like ugly and that\u2019s some ugly shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

I know that the teen years are supposed to be for finding yourself and all the wonderful identity crises that come along with it and the twenties are for thinking you know yourself and beyond that you should know who you are.<\/p>\n

Jack Kerouac condemns editing and proper grammar. He says it ruins the meaning of the writing.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have a clue how to define myself. I smoke. Occasionally I smoke pot and drink from time to time. It\u2019s kind of exciting not being able to define yourself but at the same time it\u2019s terribly confusing. I have a tattoo of a coffee bean now that I like.<\/p>\n

I go to a Christian college in Portland Oregon that would tell you they want you to be yourself. But being there, I would say that they want you to be yourself if you follow their close revisions. If you smoke pot, they don\u2019t want to know. If you smoke cigarettes, you\u2019d better do it off campus (and that route off and back on campus could be labeled \u201cthe walk of shame\u201d). I find that the times I felt I belonged the most on this campus were times that I didn\u2019t feel I belonged in my own skin. It\u2019s hard to find true sincerity there, the kind that really gets dirty. People are more preoccupied with being sexy Christians or sexy intellectuals.<\/p>\n

James Deans character in \u201cRebel without a cause\u201d says, \u201cBoy if I had one day where I didn\u2019t have to be all confused, I didn\u2019t have to feel that I was ashamed of everything, If I felt that I belonged some place\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m tired of stigmas. I wish I could fit in just as much if I was open as when I pretend wearing clean clothes and keeping from smelling like smoke.<\/p>\n

There are a few ways this comes out: People either hide all of their dirt and they feel ashamed and it eats at them or they try to beautify their dirt being a strange kind of transparent that really isn\u2019t transparent at all. I wish dirt could be dirt and it could be loved. I don\u2019t believe that God wants you to polish your dirt OR dust it under the rug. I believe that God likes ugly. I believe that God loves ugly\u2013 That he desires the ugly\u2013 that he waits for it.<\/p>\n

My e-mail response to my student was \u201cThis is brilliant, honest, and courageous.\u00a0 I would love to get together and talk about your blog.\u201d\u00a0 He made himself vulnerable to me by sharing some pretty deep issues.\u00a0 In my twenties, my response would have been judgmental and preachy.\u00a0 I now realize that my response today is more Christ-like.\u00a0 I have a relationship with this young man that will allow for many deep conversations in the coming years, perhaps some of those conversations will be in a pub over a pint.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mitre\u201d and \u201cThe Flowers in the Forest\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

The Mitre<\/em><\/p>\n

One of my fondest memories while on our London Advance was sitting in \u201cThe Mitre,\u201d the corner pub near our hotel, enjoying a pint with my cohort and professors.\u00a0 The depth of conversations was memorable.\u00a0 This was some of the best fellowship I have ever had; in fact, all our conversations around dining tables were rich with theological and anthropological exchanges. Commensality<\/em> is a term I learned this semester that has really stuck with me and that I have constantly applied in my life.\u00a0 The term has been defined as, \u201cThe exchange of sensory memories and emotions, and of substances and objects incarnating remembrance and feeling.\u201d [2]<\/a> \u00a0Commensality blossomed whenever we ate and drank together in London.\u00a0 It also continued whenever my cohort walked together[3]<\/a>; and in London we did a lot of walking!<\/p>\n

I arrived in London two days early, so I could scope out the lay of the land.\u00a0 Consequently, I did a lot of walking for two days, experiencing and observing the British culture.\u00a0 One of the first things I noticed was that women in London wear flat shoes.\u00a0 They need to; one does a lot of walking in this wonderful city.\u00a0 The second thing I noticed was the large number of pubs.\u00a0 And at certain times of the day \u2013 every day \u2013 the pubs were filled with people.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Was it for the beer and other drinks?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 But are there other reasons that people frequent British pubs?\u00a0 The following clips may help to answer this question.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Great British Pub Vodcast:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2Xzoi0GMEKk<\/a><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The British Pubs:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hr_ZVSys1t8<\/a><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. The English Pub, Two Thousand Years of History:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UR7wuxeI8oQ<\/a><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \"image\"<\/p>\n

        Flowers in the Forest<\/em><\/p>\n

        On the day before the Advance began, I was on my way to the British War Museum when I decided to step into a pub (my first one in England) for a bite and a brew.\u00a0 I was the only one in the place besides the bartender whose name was Barry; the pub was called \u201cFlowers in the Forest.\u201d\u00a0 I decided that I would interview Barry for this ethnography project.\u00a0 Frankly, I was quite nervous.\u00a0 Would he think I was some stupid American?\u00a0 Would he take me seriously?\u00a0 After my lunch, I finally screwed up my courage enough to begin the interview.\u00a0 I explained that I was in London for classes in a doctoral program.\u00a0 Then I asked if I could ask him some questions, so I could learn more about his culture.\u00a0 Following is a report of our interview.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

        \"image\"<\/p>\n

        Barry<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 How is life in London for you?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 So much is changing right now, especially government policies and the culture around us.\u00a0 But it is better now than it was 10 years ago.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 How do you feel about your government leaders?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 Not a good feeling.\u00a0 Schools are not good any more.\u00a0 It seems like the government doesn\u2019t care about the average person.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 How would you describe a good leader?\u00a0 Has England ever had a good leader or good leadership?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 A good leader looks after his own people.\u00a0 Good leaders care.\u00a0 England has not had a good leader for a long while.\u00a0 Politicians look after their own people.\u00a0 We have been involved in wars that do not belong to us.\u00a0 Immigration has had a very negative effect of the country, especially the Muslims.\u00a0 They have overloaded our already failing healthcare system.\u00a0 Obviously, our leaders are not doing a good job of taking care of their own people.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 Is it hard to make a living in London?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 The job situation is bad.\u00a0 It is hard to make a living but not impossible.\u00a0 The prices have all raised 15-20 percent, but the wages have not gone up.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 What do you think about America?\u00a0 American politics?\u00a0 American tourists?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 America is powerful.\u00a0 Americans boss others around. \u00a0Brits follow Americans in many ways, so there are similarities between our cultures.\u00a0 But the American culture is confusing to me.\u00a0 However, I like American tourists and have made good friends with many of them.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 What do you think that the average Brit thinks about church and religion?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 The largest church is the Church of England.\u00a0 Religion is shrinking in Britain.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have much to do with religion, but I am Catholic so I go to mass a couple times a year and was married in the church.\u00a0 There are large numbers of people in my church sometimes, but most of them are immigrants, non-Brits.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 What would you like me to know about your country?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 We are involved in too many wars.\u00a0 Too many people believe the media, but I wonder if the media actually reports the truth.\u00a0 When the Soviet Union collapsed, it created an interesting set of new problems for Europe.\u00a0 Our biggest problem in Britain is the influx of Muslim immigrants.\u00a0 I am worried about the immigration problem and of the Islamization of Britain and Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n

        Bill:\u00a0 What football team do you root for and support?<\/p>\n

        Barry:\u00a0 Arsenal for 30 years.\u00a0 They are the team I stick with through thick and thin.<\/em><\/p>\n

        \"image\"<\/p>\n

        Arsenal Football Club<\/em><\/p>\n

        Barry is a good, honest, White, English man.\u00a0 His perspective of Britain reflects who he is.\u00a0 London\u2019s diversity is not a positive change for him.\u00a0 He is not fond of churches, nor is he an avid churchgoer.\u00a0 Also, he is obviously not a fan of his government or of Britain\u2019s involvement in war.\u00a0 He likes his job as a barman.\u00a0 It gives him a chance to meet new people, to make new friends, and to listen to others.\u00a0 He is a humble man.\u00a0 I enjoyed being with him and learned a lot from him.\u00a0 My only regret is that I did not go back to see him again during the Advance.\u00a0 If I ever return to London, one of my goals is to visit him again.\u00a0 I know where he works and I sense that he will still be there the next time I am in London.<\/p>\n

        Cohort Theology<\/strong><\/p>\n

        My cohort and professors had many good chats while in London.\u00a0 In these ten days together, we really grew close (this is a brilliant part of the Leadership and Global Perspectives program.)\u00a0 One of the topics that we discussed together was theology, and we had some rousing conversations about this topic around the dining room tables and in \u201cThe Mitre\u201d pub.\u00a0 David Ford talks about several types of theology in his book, Theology: A Very Short Introduction<\/em>.\u00a0 In a section of his book, \u201cFive Types, Two Extremes\u201d he discusses five types of theology present today.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 His two extremes are those who have a worldview that does not include theological beliefs (Type 1) and those who want to live a Biblical lifestyle completely, fundamentalists (Type 5).\u00a0 In between are three views that are those found in the mainstream of academic theology.\u00a0 As I consider my cohort members\u2019 theological perspectives, I would guess that many of them are in the Type 4 range, perhaps some 4 \u00bd\u2019s.\u00a0 I would probably describe myself as a Type 3 \u00bd.\u00a0 I used to be a Type 5 but have moved away from an extreme view the older I have become.\u00a0 I am OK with this; however, sometimes the old Type 5 in me raises its ugly head, making me feel ashamed of whom I have become.<\/p>\n

        \"image\"<\/p>\n

        LGP4 Cohort<\/em><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Inspirational Pastor-Leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n

        In the introduction to the book Leading from Within<\/em>, Parker Palmer says: \u201cLeadership is everyone\u2019s vocation, and it is an evasion to claim that it is not.\u00a0 When we live in the close-knit ecosystem of community, everyone follows and everyone leads.\u00a0 Leadership, I now understand, simply comes from the territory called being human.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 I love this quote.\u00a0 Everyone is a leader if he or she is a human, particularly a humble human.\u00a0 Two truly humble leaders I had the privilege of meeting in London were Jeremy Crossley and Steve Chalke.\u00a0 I said of these men in my recent academic essay:[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

        Both of these men modeled the kind of leadership that I could follow.\u00a0 They were each relational, humble, flexible, inspirational, simple, and truly spiritual.\u00a0 Both of these men made a deep impression on me.\u00a0 I was most interested in their use of narrative (story).\u00a0 Chalke spoke for two hours, but it felt like two minutes.\u00a0 He was not afraid to embrace his own story, which was extremely refreshing.\u00a0 He also offered a lot of common sense.\u00a0 What he shared was not complicated, but it was real, believable, and relational.\u00a0 When he was finished, I wanted to talk with him for hours.\u00a0 I wish I would have.<\/p>\n

        Chalke and Crossley both talked about \u201cholistic good news\u201d and about doing ministry \u201cright here \u2013 right now.\u201d\u00a0 They also both talked about \u201cinclusivism\u201d over \u201cexclusivism.\u201d\u00a0 They were each doing<\/em> ministry, not just talking and theorizing about it, and they were both willing to get their hands dirty in the nitty-gritty parts of life.\u00a0 They both exuded obvious humility and confidence at the same time.\u00a0 Chalke and Crossley also agreed that ministry is truly about \u201cthrowing oneself into real people.\u201d\u00a0 Steve Chalke went so far as to say that this is what leadership is all about.\u00a0 I was mesmerized, moved, inspired, and challenged.\u00a0 I knew that I was standing in a holy place.<\/p>\n

        \"image\"<\/p>\n

        Steve Chalke \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

        \"image\"<\/em><\/p>\n

        Jeremy Crossley<\/em><\/p>\n

        Hearing these two men was a life changer for me.\u00a0 Having had so many poor pastoral role models over the past several years, it has been rare for me to meet a pastor I respect and appreciate.\u00a0 The insights Crossley and Chalke gave me in the short time I spent with them showed me a lot about British Christian culture.\u00a0 Jeremy Crossley is high church, yet he serves all people at all times \u2013 even if it is only for 15 minutes per meeting!\u00a0 He has adjusted his ministry to meet the pastoral needs of his congregation and of his community.\u00a0 To see a man so willing to serve and so passionate about Jesus impacted my heart.\u00a0 I do the same kind of thing with my students.\u00a0 Meeting Jeremy made me realize how important this kind of ministry really is.\u00a0 Steve Chalke is from a completely different church background; he is a minister in the Baptist church and founded a large ministry called Oasis.\u00a0 What I received from Steve was also his love for Jesus and his love for ALL people. He is not afraid to meet the needs of real people in the real world, including gay people.\u00a0 His work is holistic \u2013 not just pastoral and spiritual \u2013 and at the heart of his work are concepts of justice and inclusion.\u00a0 Chalke says, \u201cThe principles of justice, reconciliation and inclusion sit at the very heart of Jesus\u2019 message.\u201d[8]<\/a>\u00a0 This was a great encouragement to me.\u00a0 He, I believe, allows God be God and does not worry too much about what others think.\u00a0 This gave me so much hope.\u00a0 One does not have to only minister to spiritual needs to be doing the work of the Kingdom.\u00a0 I already knew this in my head, but after hearing these two men, I can honestly say that these truths are now beginning to live in my heart again.<\/p>\n

        Putting it Altogether<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Pubs, people, and pastors were my takeaways from our London Advance.\u00a0 My cohort members have become a new family to me.\u00a0 I cannot imagine how close we will be after three years of chats and blog posts, three intercultural Advances, and graduating together (if we all persevere).\u00a0 But I know that I am glad to know this great group of people, and I got to know them better while we sat with our pints listening, sharing, laughing, and making memories together.\u00a0 I am also thankful for the George Fox faculty and staff who planned and organized this event.\u00a0 They too are humans who love, care, and live exemplary lives.\u00a0 They have all touched me deeply and modeled customer-service and professionalism in ways I have never seen before.\u00a0 It was one of my most joyful memories to chat in The Mitre<\/em> with each of them over a brew.\u00a0 Finally, I am grateful for all the leaders and presenters we met while in London.\u00a0 They opened my heart to a new way of looking at my rebounding faith and gave me hope that there is good leadership out there; sometimes you just need to look in the right places.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \u00a0Dobrenen, Bill. \u201cWhere Have All the Leaders Gone?\u201d Academic Essay, George Fox University, December 14, 2013.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0Ford, David F. Theology: A Very Short Introduction<\/em>. Oxford University Press: London, 2000.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0Jones, Sam. \u201cStop Treating Gay People as Pariahs, Evangelical Minister Tells Church.\u201d The Guardian.com: London, Tuesday January 15, 2013. Accessed December 21, 2013.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0Intrator, Sam M. and Scribner, Megan. Leading from Within: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Lead.<\/em> San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007.<\/p>\n

        \u00a0Pink, Sarah.\u00a0 Doing Sensory Ethnography<\/em>. Sage Publications Ltd.: London, 2009.<\/p>\n

        \n

        \n
        \n
        \n

        [1]<\/a> E-mail message from Warner Pacific College student, December 20, 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [2]<\/a> Sarah Pink, Doing Sensory Ethnography<\/em>. (Sage Publications Ltd.: London, 2009) 73.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [3]<\/a> Ibid., 76.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [4]<\/a> Interview with barman \u201cBarry\u201d at Flowers in the Forest pub in London, September 24, 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [5]<\/a> David F. Ford, Theology: A Very Short Introduction<\/em> (Oxford University Press: London, 2000) 21-28.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [6]<\/a> Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner, Leading from Within: Poetry thet Sustains the Courage to Lead<\/em> (San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 2007) xxix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [7]<\/a> Bill Dobrenen, \u201cWhere Have All the Leaders Gone?\u201d (Academic Essay, George Fox University, Portland, OR, 2013), 7-8.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \n

        [8]<\/a> Sam Jones, \u201cStop Treating Gay People as Pariahs, Evangelical Minister Tells Church\u201d (The Guardian.com: London, Tuesday 15 January, 2013, accessed December 21, 2013, http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2013\/jan\/15\/gay-people-pariahs-minister-church\/print<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Pubs, People, and Pastors So where is the better place to go, a church or a pub?\u00a0 The answers to this question will vary, depending on whom you ask.\u00a0 One thing I can say with quite a bit of certainty; more people attend pubs than they do churches in Britain.\u00a0 And why not?\u00a0 Perhaps pubs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"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":[2,62],"class_list":["post-468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-ve","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468","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\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1801,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468\/revisions\/1801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}