October 31, 2012

Acting and Acting Like Tebow

Saturday (the 20^th) began with solitude time. At 9:00am, it was an hour and a half earlier than usual and there was no shortage of frosty ground and foliage in the shade.  Because of this I decided to hike a bit further than my usual spot, located over and down the west side of Cell Phone Hill. I was rewarded with a spot next to two tree stumps on a hillside in the warming sun. We then had an hour before lunch allotted for study time, and I laid on the deck trying to put a dent in this slow week’s heavy reading load. We did not have as much class as usual, but Dr. Bauman had assigned a book on “neutral” Switzerland’s storied military titled La Place de la Concorde Suisse.  We also had Covenant History (OT) reading to do, along with as much as possible of the two books we have by incoming Dr. Donald T. Williams of Toccoa Falls College in Georgia: Inklings of Reality, and Mere Humanity.

The rest of the day was relatively lazy with reading time and an optional seminar on wilderness survival by property maintenance tech Tony Orona. I had planned to attend, but fell asleep while reading, and did not wake up until it was time for supper. After some tasty calzones, a number of us gathered on the grass field located on the southern end of the property to play two-hand touch football for the second night in a row.  Though we have not been watching televised games this fall, we all did our best Tim Tebow impressions, some of which matched his less heroic moments while others prompted shouts of elation and unreservedly euphoric touchdown celebrations.  

At 8:00pm staffer Stephen Sutherland tried to show a British documentary pointing out the lack of objective value and meaning in modern art titled “Why Beauty Matters.”  However, our lethargic internet connection prevented showing it on the projector, so a persistent few watched it on a different laptop.  

Church on Sunday morning reaffirmed a commitment the congregation had made to becoming stronger prayer warriors, and the opportunity was given for members to offer public praise and petitions to God.  A clipboard was passed around so families could sign up for our second go around to be hosted next Sunday afternoon, and a table stacked high with empty Operation Christmas Child boxes was announced, emptied, and taken home by willing shoebox packers.  

The afternoon was par for the course.  We went to the park in Pagosa Springs, then to a coffee shop for internet access.  I took the chance to Skype with high school buddy Danny Garay, and discovered the 85 Facebook wall postings from my 22nd birthday on the 15^th.  

In the evening we were introduced to Dr. Williams and he announced auditions for “Revenge of the Dwems” (Dead White European Males), a play to be performed on Thursday.  We were required to perform a monologue roughly two minutes in length, and I hurriedly prepared and read Benvolio’s account of Mercutio and Tybalt’s deaths from Romeo and Juliet.  After many nerves and much laughter, Josh Pontier was selected for the role of Socrates, Daniel Cody as Erasmus, Lacey Zuehlsdorff as Post Modernica, Abby Morris as Nova Critica, and Kelly Hamilton as the “Disembodied Voice.”

The final event on Sunday was our weekly film showing. This time we watched Chronicle, a relatively recent release about a trio of teenage boys who acquire telekinetic superpowers. The conversation afterwards yielded thoughts on human nature, accountability for one’s own actions, relational responsibilities, and the ethic implied by a Darwinist worldview. Although the movie and discussion prevented an early bedtime, lights went out soon afterwards due to the upcoming week featuring thirty hours of class, academically our densest week of the semester.

Logan Williams, 22

Lincoln, NE

Logan became a Christian at a young age due to the commitment of his parents, and since then has been in a daily pursuit of holiness as a Son of God. Logan has been a leader in school and ministry, and is looking forward to growing as a leader in order to be more effective. He is interested in history and creative writing as a career, but is still seeking God’s direction. His hope is to become a professor, politician, or full-time ministry worker. Logan is passionate about discipleship and intellectual pursuits of God.

• Posted at 07:48 am by Dustin Jizmejian
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