Back home

... and blogging the five questions, courtesy of the Secret Knitter.

Beatles or Stones? Or are you the contrarian who picks The Who?

Beatles in a walk. I enjoy the Stones, I respect the Stones. But I became obsessed with the Beatles in middle school, and my mania is probably as much a cause as a symptom of my general pop orientation.

If you were one of the X-Men, what would your mutant power be?

During "get to know each other" ice-breaking time in the first period of each new class, I ask, among other questions, what superpower each student would like to have. When I answer for myself, I always say "Wonder Woman's lasso of truth." Because my main desire for students is that they find a way to be honest with themselves, I'd most like the power to show them the unvarnished truth, straight from their subconsciouses.

But if I could be an X-Man, I'd be Storm. Not that she's ever given much to do, but I love that elemental power stuff. On a related note, my favorite Avenger is the Scarlet Witch.

When did you discover your calling, and why do you think it is what it is? Or are you still looking?

Oh, it's to open the eyes of Christians to Christianity, in all its diversity, messiness, and glorious, aspirational humanity. I've known that since my mid-twenties, when I was a graduate student in the Religion department at the University of Georgia, and my own eyes were opened (allowing me to re-embrace Christianity after years of agnosticism).

Why do I think that's my calling? Because it's not only what I'm most passionate about, but it's also the activity that allowed me to rebuild my shattered history and feel a part of the traditions that formed me. How could I not feel called to what saved me? In fact, that sense of being called is so strong in my life that I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the subject of divine calling.

What are people surprised to learn about you?

That I spent several years touring sporadically around the Southeast with rock and roll bands, wearing rock and roll clothes and sleeping in rock and roll vans.

On what reality show would you like to be a contestant?

The Amazing Race, hands down. I'd probably be terrible at it, but I'd enjoy being hounded to fly around the world, and I can tell there'd be a lot of down time for reading and knitting, if you can carry any of that stuff with you. I'd never do it with Noel, though, because it would surely drive us to divorce.

And as promised a few days ago, here is an image of undiluted joy:


CG on the Nashville Zoo Carousel, 7/26/07