Philip's Tunnel to Nowhere 3

What would be a career path for someone who wants to study youth culture (and especially subcultures) as an academic with the goal of informing the church to help it communicate the Gospel?

I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts. I don’t know that anyone has “the” answer specifically, but i’m sure many people have information that will help me find that answer.

As I spend time processing the profound disappointment that has been my life through Year 36, and hopefully getting better and wiser at doing so, i find that my prayers need to get simpler. It’s way too tempting to try thinking really hard about The Big Picture, which leads me to approach God with cynicism and bitterness, a feeling that i was given gifts for no purpose. It’s far better to cultivate a childlike faith, to just ask for stuff without stopping to make a jaded assessment of how likely such faith is to be rewarded.

O God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, God, pleasegivemesignificance, amen.

Last week I was driving in from East Memphis on Poplar and saw some kids walking by the side of the road. Because of some experiences with this community in Boston and (believe it or not) Huntsville, my brain parsed the scene and decided they were the sort of young people who hop trains in going from place to place. I kept driving for maybe half a mile debating whether to turn around and try to make contact with them, finally decided to do so, and did two U-turns so that I could stop on the westbound side and talk to them.

My intuition was correct. They told me that they were planning to catch trains to Louisville for some reason. I wasn’t terribly helpful in directing them to the appropriate railyard, but I had been driving home from the supermarket so I did give them a loaf of bread and a package of cheese. That seemed to be helpful.

It would be interesting to know how many of these folks pass through Memphis. Given the number of freight rail lines through here, I’d imagine it’s a bunch.

I feel remiss because I never bothered to mention hanging out in Iowa with some people from The Asylum over the weekend April 17-19. It was enjoyable to see some old friends and acquaintances and make some new ones.

I have no idea if I’ll make it to Cornerstone, which is the de facto annual minimal requirement for staying connected to this network of people. Part of me feels like it’s a waste if I don’t get my self-image on sound footing. I’ll certainly consider going.