{"id":833,"date":"2009-07-27T04:01:54","date_gmt":"2009-07-27T04:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/lauren-and-calvin-at-laity-lodge.html"},"modified":"2009-07-27T04:01:54","modified_gmt":"2009-07-27T04:01:54","slug":"lauren-and-calvin-at-laity-lodge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/lauren-and-calvin-at-laity-lodge.html","title":{"rendered":"Lauren and Calvin at Laity Lodge"},"content":{"rendered":"

No, I’m not talking about designer labels. Not Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, but Lauren Winner and Calvin Miller. They were speaking at our most recent Laity Lodge retreat.
\nIf you know Lauren and Calvin, you might think they’re an odd match. There is about a forty-year gap in their ages. Lauren is an East Coast intellectual Christian who was raised as a Jew and now teaches at Duke Divinity School. Calvin is Midwestern\/Southern pastor and fiction writer who has spent his most recent years a Beeson Divinity School. At least they have div school teaching in common.
\nThey also have written several excellent books. Calvin Miller has over forty books to his credit, both fiction and non-fiction. He read a parable of “Sleeping Ugly” from his book, The Unfinished Soul: Happening Upon Jesus in the Happenstance of Life<\/em><\/a>. It was fantastic: clever, hilarious, tender, insightful, evangelical. Among Lauren’s books, perhaps the most influential has been Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to the Life of Spiritual Disciplines<\/a><\/em>. In this fine book, she reflects upon Christian disciplines from the perspective of one who grew up as a Jew.
\nLauren and Calvin turned out to be a fantastic match, complementing each other wonderfully. They both spoke about prayer, bringing their unique perspectives and personalities.
\nLauren Winner is fascinating: funny, bold, brilliant, edgy, and rock solid in her Christian faith. She is one of my favorite speakers at Laity Lodge because I always learn a lot from her, and enjoy the learning process. Lauren makes me think and helps me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. In one of her messages this past weekend, she talked about why we have a hard time praying. Among her reasons was: “We get bored.” She talked about her own struggle with boredom prayer. I think her point is absolutely right on. And I also think very few Christian leaders have the guts to admit that they struggle with boredom in prayer. (I know I do!) Lauren, having made her second visit to Laity Lodge, is becoming one of our favorite speakers.
\nI had never heard Calvin Miller before this weekend, though I remember reading his books. When I was in college, his fictional The Singer<\/em> trilogy was hot stuff in my Christian fellowship group. He has also written several non-fiction books as well. I was eager to hear Calvin Miller in person, because you’re never quite sure how an author sounds. Well, I’m here to tell you that Calvin was an absolute delight: hilarious, creative, humble, wise, compassionate, joyful. He quickly was added to my short list of best speakers I have heard at Laity Lodge. Calvin spoke on prayer from a Celtic perspective. You can find many of his insights in his book: The Path of Celtic Prayer: An Ancient Way to Everyday Joy<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 But no matter how good this book is, you won’t get to experience the “everyday joy” of simply being with Calvin Miller.
\nThis past retreat also featured one of my favorite artists, Jim Janknegt of Elgin, Texas. Check out some of paintings online<\/a>.\u00a0 Music for the retreat was provided by Charles Webb of Indiana University School of Music, and one of his students, the amazing baritone, Christopher Bolduc<\/a>.
\nThis past Laity Lodge retreat was one of those times when I rubbed my eyes, looked around, and still couldn’t quite believe that I get to part of such a fantastic ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No, I’m not talking about designer labels. Not Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, but Lauren Winner and Calvin Miller. They were speaking at our most recent Laity Lodge retreat. If you know Lauren and Calvin, you might think they’re an odd match. There is about a forty-year gap in their ages. Lauren is an East…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-laity-lodge"],"yoast_head":"\nLauren and Calvin at Laity Lodge - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/lauren-and-calvin-at-laity-lodge.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lauren and Calvin at Laity Lodge - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No, I’m not talking about designer labels. Not Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, but Lauren Winner and Calvin Miller. They were speaking at our most recent Laity Lodge retreat. If you know Lauren and Calvin, you might think they’re an odd match. There is about a forty-year gap in their ages. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}