I'm still doing some reading, but I've also begun some writing. The book I'm reading right now is The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon Wood, and while I can skim some parts, there are some parts of the book that are very interesting and powerful and helpful.

I don't know how much I will end up writing, but this will probably be the longest project I've ever done. In my senior year in seminary, I had a final project that I think was about 20 pages. That will easily be surpassed by what I am doing now. I'm probably looking at something more along the lines of at least 50 pages, and it could be much longer than that. It's hard for me to think in these terms, but it could even possibly turn into a book. I don't know if anyone would publish it, but I would hope some of you would be willing to read it.

As I reflect on what the goals were for the sabbatical, I realize that almost all of it has been dealing with history and the Founding Fathers and the colonial period. There were other themes that I had considered - the irrelevance of the church, grace, the purpose of the church - and I will not specifically be writing about those themes. I do think, however, that what I am working on will contain many of those issues.

Much of this will also speak to some very contemporary issues as well, though not in specific terms. We've heard a lot about religious freedom in the news recently, in regards to the possibility of building that mosque near Ground Zero (we did go to Ground Zero in New York City on July 28th, and it was powerful being there). We've heard references to the Founding Fathers also, as this was mentioned in the news reports about Glenn Beck's rally at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday (I do find his comment that "I really didn't think about the fact that it was the exact same day as when Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous 'I have a dream' speech" very hard to believe). There's a lot about the Founding Fathers that we must remember and to which we must pay attention; there's also a lot about the Founding Fathers that is myth and story but not necessarily fact. So as I am dwelling in the Revolutionary period, I am finding that it is speaking very loudly and clearly to the present situation.

I'm looking forward to what will be written in these next three weeks.

On another note - we've been attending different churches on Sundays, and it has been a good experience for us. Locally, we've been to 6 Presbyterian churches, and one Methodist church this summer. I've been pleased with what I have seen in those churches, and we local Presbyterians have some good things taking place. It's also been a good experience being the "visitor" also. I can say we do a lot of things right at Forest Hills. I would also say (and I know that summer is not the best time to judge this) that as far as music in the church goes, no one has yet come close to Forest Hills.