Weekly Blog #15, Improvements

This semester has gone surprisingly well for me. I normally do not do well in writing classes. In the past, I would always find a way to botch up the good work I have turned in, by doing a horrible job on another assignment. This semester I am on the edge of an A, and at the top of a B. It has been that way the whole semester, I still have not messed it up, and I have no intention of being this close to an A, and not getting it. One thing I have definitely improved on is completing my writing assignments while doing the best I could. Sure, some of the sleepless nights could have been avoided if I didn't wait until the last second, but I learned to get my thoughts on paper, and have them make sense. Clearly stating your ideas at three in the morning is rather difficult. Sticking to the path, and completing all of my assignments is a huge improvement for me.

Something else I improved on is accepting criticism on my writing from others. In other writing classes when I never really made many improvements to my rough drafts. I always became angry with the teacher when she told me what I was doing wrong. I was and still am a teenager. "I don't want to listen to anyone", was my trademark characteristic. I thought my opinion was the best. This semester I took the professor's criticisms, or suggestions, and used those to make my writing better, and so far it has tremendously helped my grade. 

One thing I liked about this class (English 104), was that it was a casual atmosphere where students felt free to express their opinions and beliefs. One thing that could be done differently to make the class more efficient is the professor could speak a little slower at times. His voice sometimes was a blur, and this made activities difficult because we didn't hear the directions. I especially enjoyed the conferences. It gave the student a chance to meet one-on-one with the professor, and receive advice on his or her writing. I would rather have more conferences than class meetings, but it is especially important. 

Weekly Blog #14, Reflection

In my research I made quite a few observations, collecting plenty of data. My favorite piece of data is my observation on Cru bible studies. I felt that I found the heart of how Cru members grow in their faith and closer to each other. Thought provoking questions were asked and answered, and sometimes questions would not be answered until someone was willing to be vulnerable about their experiences in life. This is what brought the members closer to each other. Men willing to be vulnerable to each other is quite rare in today's society, which is a shame. They could be having the best friendships they ever had if they weren't trying to be all macho. 

Of course, the Bible was studied, mainly just Ephesians from the New Testament, but every once in a while they would jump around. Ephesians outlined a way for Christians to live following Jesus Christ. The bible study is all about learning more about Christ and becoming more like him. 

Belated Weekly Blog #11, Changes in Writing Process

My writing process does not seem to follow a specific pattern. Usually I wait until the last moment before I begin a writing assignment. Even if I do start early on an assignment the process is almost the same. I never really brainstorm, at least that is not what I would call it. More like, simplifying my ideas, and figuring out how to put them down on paper without sounding like a complete idiot. My writing process has changed somewhat since the beginning of the semester. I have learned to become a bit more descriptive, and now I ask myself, "How can I be more detailed about this?" Whenever I received rough drafts back with comments on how to make the paper better, I usually became angry. I did not like receiving criticism, yet if I just took those comments and used them to make my writing better, my English grades in high school would have been much better. For awhile at college I behaved the same way, but now I have finally begun to seriously consider the comments in the margins and use them to make my writing better.

There were a few assignments that gave me trouble, for example, the annotated bibliography. It was much more time consuming than I had thought it would be. Needless to say my bad judgement kept me up all night. I also needed to be more detailed as well, which was demanded of me when I received back the rough draft. I figured the assignment would be easy because it just seemed like busy work. All we had to do was cite the sources, give brief summaries on them, and then explain why we were going to use them. In the past if a teacher handed back to me a rough draft with comments explaining that I needed to be more descriptive, I became angry. I always felt that I was detailed in my writing, but I usually assumed the teacher knew what I was talking about also. So I gave in, and used those comments to my advantage, thus I received quite a good grade on the annotated bibliography. None of the assignments seemed easy mainly because I always waited until the last minute and stressed out getting the writing done. 

I write to clear up my thoughts. Whether that is through an English assignment or through journaling. In class my thoughts on the subject matter within the assignment have to be clear or else it is a bad grade. With journaling, my grammar does not need to be perfect, nor do my ideas need to concise and detailed because I know what I am talking about, and no one else is going to be reading my journal until I am dead. Maybe at some points in my journaling I will be overly detailed that way if someone was reading they could better understand what I was going through. I hardly ever journal, but when I do it is usually to relieve some stress, and get all the craziness out of my head and onto paper. Sometimes I will use my journal to take notes on a sermon at church if it is particularly interesting. 

I see journaling as a form of writing that will always be with me in my life. I can see myself writing letters to my family when I am moved out and maybe far away from home, for holidays and birthdays as well. Career-wise, writing may not play a big role. My major is currently Secondary Math Education. If I do change it, it may be to religious studies, and then I will probably become a pastor. If that happens, writing is gong to be a huge role in my life. 

Weekly Blog #13, Sharing

I had to meet Tyler Yoder at the Atrium. We were going to go "sharing", in other words, giving the message of the Gospel to pretty much complete strangers. I arrived to a bustling lunch cafeteria. Chatter bounced off the walls, and the sunlight poured in through the many windows and skylights. I saw the potted trees, and wondered if the leaves ever fell of since they were there year round, or so I assumed. Tyler was late, and he needed to eat, so I sat with him while he ate his lunch and talked about papers we needed to write, projects we needed to start on, and eventually what we came together to do. Sharing. Both of us were nervous, Tyler may have been more experienced at this, but this was my first time. My heart was pumping much more rapidly than normal. Why should I be nervous? I was just going to be observing Tyler in action. I had no plans to speak, yet I was scared as a little ant scurrying to dodge the big foot from stepping on me. Before we set off on our mission, Tyler opened in a prayer, asking God to speak through us, and let His words come through us, not ours in our sharing. We got up, Tyler threw his trash away, and we were on our way. 

The Atrium has a bunch of tables and chairs, and most of these tables had more than one person sitting there. We were searching for an individual. Finally, we spotted one by the large, window wall. We introduced ourselves, and Tyler asked if he could ask him some questions concerning God and religion. I was nervous, afterwards Tyler said he was too, but he sure didn't show it. After a few of the questions we learned some things about our surveyor. He was Catholic, and believed in the Christian faith or so he said. Quickly Tyler and I realized his faith was not grounded in the main point of Christianity, the Gospel. He saw Jesus Christ as a moral teacher, not a Savior. So Tyler explained the Gospel to him, but time was running short, we had classes to be at in a couple of minutes. Tyler handed our surveyor a pamphlet explaining the Gospel, thanked him for his time, and left the student his email address. 

Six Word Stories

Hearing Impaired, Usher's Syndrome, This Sucks.

Bible Study, Spiritual Building, Real Friends.

Weekly Blog #12, Rhetoric

 My understanding of rhetoric is probably not 100% correct, but I would say I have a pretty good idea of what it is considering my English 103 class was all rhetoric. Rhetoric is a way of presenting oneself to maybe persuade a certain audience of your beliefs or simply let them know what you think. There's three parts to it: logos, pathos, and ethos. 

Logos are the information you're presenting, such as, facts, quotes, statistics, and specific details. It also involves the organization of your information. A bunch of facts thrown at someone is not going to go well for the audience because they won't know what you're trying to get across. 

With pathos, you are trying to capture your readers' emotions, pulling their heartstrings. You should write with your personality, varying your tone, telling stories, maybe put in a little humor (which is very difficult), and show that you know what you're talking about.  

Finally, you have ethos, at least you hope so, or not many people will take you seriously. This is your credibility as a speaker, and writer. Your research should come from a wide variety of sources, which shows that as a presenter you have done your homework. Since there is most likely at least some opposition to your opinions, you need to know what that is, and address that in your writing with RESPECT. If you're presenting something, the way you dress may have an impact on your credibility as well as your behavior.  People are quick to judge, and it is easier to judge someone on their clothing style and behavior instead of their thoughts and opinions.  

Those three things are what constitutes rhetoric. I normally hear the word rhetoric in the English class. During this years elections though, many political analysts commented on Obama's rhetoric as well as McCain too, but not as much. Rhetoric always seems to be in a negative context mainly because it is used in the English class, where most students do not want to learn,  and also in politics, which always seems to have bad blood all around it. Most political analysts seem to attack any politician's rhetoric, and when they find one piece of evidence that a politician's rhetoric is flawed, they really attack at it. 

My subculture, Cru, definitely has certain beliefs. The most important being the Gospel, Jesus Christ dying on the cross so that anyone who accepts him as Savior may have a relationship with God, and one day go to heaven. I plan on using rhetoric in my mini-ethnography and portfolio so that I can get out my opinions of Cru, and what they are, instead of them being judged on the spot for being Christians. 

Peculiar Family Member and Tradition

I grew up in the typical family of four. My father however, was far from typical, he was boisterous, outgoing, and at times obnoxious. He named me after his grade school, Logan Elementary. He has been self-employed for almost thirty years. As I grew up I learned the term "Disney Dad", and I realized that fits my father perfectly. Although he spoiled my brother and I with lots of toys and later on cars, he didn't overdo it. If my brother and I did something wrong we knew we were in for it. I can remember being a little kid covering my butt with my hands to lessen the pain that my father would inflict on me as my punishment for being bad. So can my brother. Even with his discipline my brother and I still loved him because, you see, we couldn't wait for him to get home from work to play with him. Even on the nights when something went wrong at work or he was exhausted he still found the time to play with us.  

When I was younger, every Thanksgiving the whole family would get together at the grandparents for dinner and to watch the football games afterwards. During the games, eventually every male adult would fall asleep in a recliner, especially my grandfather. Now I am nineteen years old, and I can already see that I will be participating in this tradition as well. 

Weekly Blog #10

The structure I plan on using is telling stories from my sources and then expressing my opinions of Campus Crusade. I plan on beginning my writing, by starting off with a story from one of my sources to catch the reader's interest. The story is about two students from Cru who pick up students from the bars, and drive them home, especially the ones who are drunk. This will help show the reader that one of the things Cru is about is helping out within the community and in the process express my opinion, thus stating my thesis. As I tell stories and give more information about Campus Crusade, I will open up more with my ideas about Cru. Most likely I will jump around a lot in the mini-ethnography. I plan to conclude the piece by, yes, stating a short brief summary about my beliefs of Cru. I know it is typical, but to be honest, I don't know any other way to conclude anything. I think the particular structure I have chosen, which is telling some stories of Cru, and then expressing my beliefs on that particular story will best because it will entertain the reader and keep him or her interested. Hopefully with all of the stories, I will be able to express all of my opinions about Cru. That is my goal.

American Tongues

1. As a researcher I don't think I would do anything different. In the film I would have put subtitles for all the people talking in their own accents just to show how different some accents are from each other. 

2. One flaw for sure is that all the accents are most likely not covered within the United States. The main ones are though, for example, they showed examples of accents from Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Manhattan, Boston. I feel that they left out Chicago, and Miami; two big cities that have their own accents. To make the study more appealing I would have figured out who my audience was, and compared their accent to the others in the U.S. I felt that the southern and western accents were over represented, but then I can barely understand those dialects, thus it might have seemed much longer in that portion of the study than NYC accent or the Boston one as well. 

3. The way we speak is the way we present our thoughts and ideas to the world. Most people will speak their own dialect around their friends and such because they know each other, and understand what they are saying to each other. When people are around others they don't know they will most likely speak more formally to avoid confusion. If you get two different people with their own different dialects in the same conversation, those two people talking might make unfair judgements about the person. I know that most people definitely think of hillbillies as the stupidest people around, but exactly how do we know that when we don't know what they say? They could be some of the smartest people in the world, and we wouldn't have a clue. We reveal our personality through our dialects. A person who speaks very quietly can be seen as shy. A person who speaks loudly can be seen as outgoing, and confident. 

Weekly Blog #9

I would say the most difficult aspect of my research thus far, has been setting up interviews. The only real problem about it is scheduling them. So far I have one person scheduled for an interview, and some other people have agreed to meeting with me, but we have been unable to schedule a certain time that works for both of us. The easiest thing I would say is coming up with an argument to use in my mini-ethnography through my research. Once I found out some information I didn't know beforehand I realized this is what I should write about, which is that not all evangelical Christians will force their beliefs down your throat. Cru suffers in its outreach because of that stereotype. 

I'm not sure if I would do anything different, but working on this project during the day would be so much better than the early morning hours of dawn, so I would definitely realize that work comes before play, and actually do my homework during the day instead of waiting until midnight to start. 

This blog has really helped me get my thoughts together on the direction I am taking this paper in. It helped me form my argument, see what aspects of my writing I need to work on, and also helped me in my research in the field sites. I believe this blog will help me form even more ideas, and also how to make the mini-ethnography somewhat entertaining with my writing skills, which is important because who wants to read something that is boring? I think it will also prepare me in getting my ideas sorted out and stating them in a logical format in the mini-ethnography. 

Weekly Blog #8

The main theme in my mini-ethnography that I see myself addressing will be the stereotypes that Cru receives because it is a Christian organization. For example, some people think that in order to hangout with people from Cru, they have to be a Christian, and if you are not a Christian you are looked down upon, which is totally wrong. As a Christian, I have plenty of friends who would say that they are atheist. I also don't have a very diverse group of friends. They are either Christian, Atheist, or Agnostic. No Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish friends to speak of. That is just one of several stereotypes that Cru gets. Another stereotype is that Christians will try to force their beliefs on you, which actually isn't far from the truth. There are definitely Christians who do that. Cru, on the other hand, does not do that, at least on this campus. If given the chance, they will tell you about Jesus Christ and the Gospel, and if someone isn't buying it, then that is fine. That theme is definitely a part of the field sites of Cru. 

The mission of Cru is to spread the news of the Gospel. They are about Jesus Christ. When members of Cru try to tell people about Jesus Christ, a majority of the time they get shut down due to the stereotypes Christians have received over the years. These stereotypes are in the way of their mission. I hope to address these stereotypes as well as possible and try to get people to understand to put their stereotypes aside, and listen to what a Cru member may have to say to them, and seriously consider the Gospel.  

I would say I am definitely a part of the sub-culture now. I have made quite a few friends, and I am a part of one of the many bible studies on campus, and I also attend their weekly worship session at Pruis. This is somewhat similar to my position in Cru eight weeks ago, but not exactly the same either. I had a couple of friends from Cru in the beginning, and now I have a bunch of them. I was a part of a bible study, and I attended the meetings. The only difference is that now I feel a part of the group. That is all that changed. 

What Can I Give?

In my visits to my field sites I have learned some valuable information about my sub-culture (Cru) that could give them a better reputation with non-believers or other religious groups. Christians as a whole have received a bad reputation due to their own lunatic evangelists and their, at times, highly conservative ways. The lunatic evangelists talk down to people about how they are going to go to hell unless they take up being a Christian. 

For Cru, that is a problem. They are at times unable to have effective outreach to the community because of this bad reputation that Christians as a whole have received. When Cru does outreach, or Evangelism, which is spreading the word of Jesus Christ, they don't talk down to people. They ask certain questions that bring up the issue of religion and have a discussion with people, and answer any questions that people may have about Christianity, namely Jesus Christ. They don't force their beliefs on anybody, they just tell others what their beliefs are. By getting this information out, I hope to better the reputation that Cru has because of the reputation Christians as a whole have received over the years.

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Groundwork Activity

Step 1:

I was impressed by their praise band, and the staff member that spoke that night about the Gospel. There was a ton of students there and they all seemed to know each other even some of the students who looked like they were new had some friends with them. I wondered how I could get closer to some of the members, and learn more in my pursuit of Christ. I remember thinking that the staff member looked kind of goofy and nerdy at the same time, and I asked myself, "this guy is gonna speak tonight?". 

Step 2:

I remember the first time I went to Campus Crusade for Christ for their weekly meeting. I had to admit I was slightly nervous. I only knew a few people who I went to high school with, but they were upperclassmen so they were off with their friends having a good time. I was pretty much alone there for the first meeting. As I attended more I started to get to know some members, and felt more comfortable in my surroundings.

Step 3:

I know I was an outsider when I first started attending. I didn't hangout with people before the meeting started and afterwards as well. Some members will go to each other's houses after the meeting and watch a taped recording of The Office since the meeting is at the same time as the show. After a whole semester of attending Cru I still haven't received an invitation to go. 

Founder and History

"William R. Bright, 81, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ." The New York Times. 22 July 2003. 19 Feb 2009. <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? res=9806E2DB163FF931A15754C0A9659C8B63>. 

This Article reveals the news that the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ died most likely the 21st of July 2003 or the 22nd of July 2003. The author gives good background information on how William R. Bright founded the organization and how it has grown over the years, and recognized the many achievements of Bright. 

Most likely I will use this source for some good background information and a little history of Campus Crusade for Christ. For example, how it was started, how it grew, who else besides William R. Bright was involved, and how many people it took to get Cru to where it is today, and of course where Cru is today in terms of growth and progress in their mission of spreading the Gospel.

"Campus Crusade History." 2008. 19 Feb 2009. <http://www.campuscrusadeforchrist.com/aboutus/>.

This is from Campus Crusade for Christ's webpage, and it is their history. It just explains the origin of Cru, what they have done as an organization, and how they did accomplished those achievements. I thought it important to find the organization's version of their history instead of the New York Times, although very credible, it is just so much better to get the history from the organization itself. 

I will use this source to explain Cru's history, when they were founded, how they grew, what their mission was and still is. Basically I will be using this source for the same reasons listed above. I also wanted to get the organization's version of their history one main reason. They know their history a little better than anyone else. 

Focal Point

Every week, Campus Crusade for Christ meets up in Pruis Hall for their weekly meeting where they do several activities. The members come together for fellowship, which is a time for them to share their spiritual "status". Basically where they are in their relationship with God. After this short period of fellowship, everybody will sit down, and then some staff members or prominent members of Cru will make some announcements about the going-ons in Cru. Then they will either introduce the Praise Band, and start worship, or they will introduce the speaker for the night, and then do worship. Sometimes the Praise Band goes first and sometimes the speaker gives his sermon first. Either way, they both happen. After both of these activities occur, the night is almost over, and another round of announcements are all that is left before the meeting ends ,and then members say goodbye to one another and go home. I know more about what goes on and why it goes on because of my perspective and prior knowledge and experience with Christian organizations.  For example, before I went to the weekly meeting at Pruis Hall, I was expecting at least a time of worship with a Praise Band and also a message from a speaker. 

Week 5 Post

My plan to finish this mini-ethnography on Cru is much easier said than done. I need to spend more time in my field sites, and make many more observations, and also line up a couple of interviews. I need more research on pretty much everything in my subculture since I haven't started my research yet, and to do that I will conduct interviews, participate in activities, and make observations at the weekly Cru meetings, along with bible studies as well.  

How much time will we be in the library researching information on our specific subcultures? 

Weekly Blog #4

I can make one general conclusion about my subculture, which is Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru). That is the members are mostly friendly, loving people. They actually care about you. When they ask you, "how are you?", they really want to know how you're doing. They want to hear more than just the usual response of, "Good, you?". I would say that most Campus Crusade for Christ organizations are like this, but of course there are probably a few exceptions. Not every Christian organization is loving and caring. Some will fall into the trap of legalism and forget about what is most important in Christianity, which is the Gospel, Jesus Christ, who made a relationship with God possible by taking away our sin. Without that commitment to Christ, Campus Crusade is absolutely worthless. It is called Campus Crusade for Christ for a reason.

Post #3

So far I have not done any research yet for my field study, which is Cru. I haven't even interviewed anyone, but If I were I would have some good questions for them. I plan on asking an insider what they like about Cru, what keeps them coming back, how do they think people (outsiders) view them, what would they think makes Cru a subculture, and follow up questions that may arise during the interview. For an interview of an outsider, I would ask them if they have heard of Cru and if so, what do they know about it, do they like it, do they dislike it, why they like or dislike Cru, and any follow up questions that would come up during the interview. I feel these questions are important because they give me an up-close and personal level of the organization. Also, because they provide lots of good information needed. I haven't been to my cultural site yet, but I will be at one of my cultural sites tomorrow, which is Pruis Hall, where Cru has their weekly worship. I'm not sure what new questions and expectations I will have when I begin to research my subculture, but I hope there are a lot of them. I have not attempted any academic research so far for this class. As for academic and non-academic there are a couple of differences. The academic one is going to the library and searching for sources and using those sources for research.  the non-academic one is more about what the researcher finds in interviews and surveys. He tends to put in more personal feeling towards his writing.

Possible Field Sites

I have chosen, at the moment, the subculture of Campus Crusade for Christ, or Cru. I am somewhat of an insider, but fairly new, so that bit of mystery is still there. There are quite a few possible field sites in my upcoming research. Those locations are Pruis Hall, the Atrium, members' houses, Mysch and Hurst Halls, and any place members may hang out. At Pruis Hall, Cru has their weekly worship. There is a large stage, with a much larger seating area. The back wall is usually covered by a projection screen, which is used for announcements, videos, and worship. It is a fun and loving atmosphere, which is characteristic of all Cru locations. The Atrium is a popular hangout mainly because it is located in the middle of campus, and a Cru member can get lunch or dinner there, and is able see his or her friends. Usually on the weekends, members hangout at someone's house, and have fun. Bible studies are held in most halls, if not all. Mysch and Hurst hall is just one of the many options for bible study. I'm not exactly sure of what I hope to learn about my subculture, except for, more about it. Their rituals, inside jokes, certain behaviors, events, stuff like that. 

Fixed and Subjective Positions

My fixed positions of being a new person involved in Cru will have some impact. I might not be able to find the best people to interview for my research. Other than that my fixed positions should not have too much impact on my research.  My Subjective positions will have a bit more of an impact on my writing than my fixed positions, but not much. From personal experience I have enjoyed going to Cru, so my writing might be praised-based, instead of a neutral observer. 

Subculture Preparation

1. My sources of data will include interviews of people involved within the organization of Campus Crusade for Christ with observations.

2. The most beneficial method would be interviews, especially since there is probably not much of documentation on the campus organization, along with observations.

3. I expect ethical behavior but also behavior of close friendship, fun and games, but also a level of seriousness due to the importance of what the organization brings to its members, which is a place where Christians can not only grow in their faith and learn, but also make new, amazing friendships that could last a lifetime.  

eivom

Every other weekend, my girlfriend and I will spend about an hour to two hours in a large room full of comfortable, squishy, purple chairs with armrests. Before I meet up with my girlfriend I always clean myself up. This involves getting under a hose that sprays water, and rubbing a small rectangle-shaped object over my body. Afterwards I would get dry, and put on some nice pieces of fabric, and add a pleasant, scented spray. Finally I would go and pick her up, which involves a ride in a big box on wheels that can go really fast, and then we would arrive to a large building with a huge cement block in front of it. We would then go inside and give somebody green pieces of paper so that we can get in. Next, we get in a long line of people, and wait to get food and drinks. Again, I have to give up some of my green paper. Then we finally go into the big room, and spend about two hours whispering to each other and cuddling, while watching something on the big wall in front of us. 

A Recent Work

Last semester, I wrote a sermon, which I presented to my church. I had about four weeks to work on it, and it was basically everything that I have figured out in my Christian faith, my incomplete journey towards God. 

All of my main ideas, which seemed to have no relation at all, were written in one night, about two weeks before the big day to present it. It was a huge brainstorm. I prayed, I listened to music, I worshipped, I listened. The difficult part was getting all of the ideas to seem relative to each other. I needed transitions badly. It was a matter of simply putting down a few sentences to make the ideas relate, but I struggled immensely with that. Without transitions my sermon would have been a complete mess that made no sense whatsoever. Eventually though, I came up with the needed transitions that made my sermon a hit, but it would not have been that way if I hadn't revised and edited it.

Revising and editing are very similar in the sense that they are both meant to make a paper better, but they are different also. Editing is mainly grammar stuff, while revision has to do with the content of the work. If I were to edit a paper, I would check for spelling and grammar mistakes. For revision, I would look at the content of the paper, and make sure the ideas are stated clearly, and sensibly.