i will not take these things for granted

TAKE ACTION: China & Myanmar

2008-05-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hello to anyone who still checks this blog. I just wanted to quickly provide a link to a page on CNN.com where you can choose from several relief organizations and make donations to help the much needed relief work in Myanmar, China and other places around the world...

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/china.myanmar.html

Thank you for being generous to those in need. Many blessings.

Fortune Cookies

2007-12-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here are the fortunes you'll find in my wallet. (Actually, you won't find them there, because you shouldn't be looking through my wallet!)

You are the greatest in the world. :)
Remember there are people who care deeply about you.
A friend will be important to you & your forthcoming success. (Definitely, but I would make friend plural: friendS.)
You constantly struggle for self improvement.
Your sense of humor reveals itself at just the right times. (I hope so.)
You are sympathetic to the problems of others.
Sometimes it would be wise to add a little chlorine to the gene pool. (I have no idea! But I think I agree.)

What are some of your favorite fortunes?

An Argument for Environmental Action

2007-08-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

As you already know if you've perused my blog, I'm in favor of doing what we can to take care of the environment (I've mentioned it here and here). Well, let me point your attention to an excellent, logical argument that explains why taking action is the best and only option. I think it's solid. Check it out and pass it on. And commit yourself to responsibly stewarding God's creation. Thank you.

Why should there be any starving artists?

2007-07-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Why, when it came time to choose a college and a major, did I, as a person with some artistic talent, feel that in order to put my talent to use and at the same time make a decent living I had to become an architect? Why, when I found that architecture wasn’t for me, did the architecture advisor warn me that in my decision to switch majors and study art I was taking the risk of becoming a starving artist? As an art major, why are media such as graphic design or photography seen as avenues to good jobs while painting, drawing, sculpture are not?

We reap the benefits of art everyday—from music on the radio, to TV shows and movies, to clothing fashion, to architectural design, to the books we read, to the posters and pictures and paintings we use to decorate our homes, and on and on it goes—yet art as a career is disparaged because it’s less lucrative than a degree in something like business or engineering.

But what would the world be without art?

Boring, lifeless. That's what.

I’ve been blessed this summer with a couple opportunities to travel—around the Czech Republic with my parents and around Italy (with a stop in Vienna, Austria, as well) with friends. And all of it centered on art. Whether enjoying the beauty of God’s artwork along the coasts of Italy or humanity’s artwork while craning my neck in the Sistine Chapel, or orbiting Bernini’s sculptures in the Borghese museum, or experiencing Hundert Wasser’s art and architecture in Vienna.

In the Hundertwasser museum, one of his quotes on the wall read something like: To paint is a spiritual experience.

It really is. Making art is very spiritual. As is experiencing the art others have made.

And God is the Great Artist. And we, created in his image, art artists as well.

We need to realize this again in our churches.

What happened to the days when churches supported artists—when they commissioned artists to create art to express the story of God in the Bible and church history and to help people to experience and connect with God? What if instead of just having paid ministers and missionaries, churches also had artists whose ministerial job was to create art and to teach others to create it as well—all with the purpose of helping God’s people to express themselves and their experiences with the Divine in their journey through life?

Could that not aid our worship?
Could it not help us to wrestle and mature spiritually?
Could it not be therapeutic and healthy?
Could it not provide avenues for sharing the good news with others?
Could it not serve as a vehicle for calling both the church and the world to more responsible and ethical living?

I think so. And I pray that our churches may experience renewal through the arts.

[And if a day comes when churches or individual Christians take artists under their wings, giving them the opportunity to create, I hope that those providing the money will not control those they've hired, but rather give them the freedom to create what they feel compelled to create, even if the end product turns out to be a criticism of the church or society.]

Letters, Lots of Letters

2007-03-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

Whew, it's been a while since I've posted anything, and don't hold your breath in anticipation of the next one, cause I'm making no promises. However, let me say that life is blessed here in Olomouc, Czech Republic. I've been sending out electronic newsletters every couple of months about my experiences here, and if you'd like to be included on my mailing list, let me know. Just get your email address to me somehow and I'll add you lickety split.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

2006-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Our mission team to Olomouc departs this Saturday, October 28th, for the Czech Republic. Can you believe it?! Please visit our team blog to get the details about our departure plans, and if you're in the Little Rock area on Saturday morning, come by and see us.

24/7 Prayer Vigil

2006-09-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! I've been very busy getting prepared to move. We leave for Olomouc, Czech Republic, from the airport here in Little Rock on October 28th! It's less than six weeks away!

I've just expanded the the prayer support section of our mission team's website and now you can sign up to be a part of our 24/7 prayer vigil. We hope to raise enough prayer support to have someone praying for the team and the Czech people sometime during every hour of everyday for the next ten years. By signing up you're committing to pray weekly sometime during the hour you select. But, of course, in addition to that hour you're welcome to pray for us anytime!

Our idea for the vigil was inspired by the Moravian Church (Moravia makes up the eastern half of the CR), which in the 1700s set up a prayer chain that lasted 100 years uninterrupted! Amazingly, during the first fifty years, they sent out 226 missionaries from their little community in Hernnhut! Please go here to read more about them and to sign up. Thanks!

Good Works is Good News

2006-08-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

I just came across this quote on John Mark Hicks' blog and thought it was an excellent explanation of the good news of the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God:

The good news of the kingdom is that the people of God, as the body of Christ, go about “doing good” as Jesus did. They are a people dedicated to good works. But the church tends to think that good works only serve the end of evangelism (narrowly conceived), but actually good works serve the kingdom of God. They are moments of redemptive in-breaking that bear witness to the kingdom. Good works are an end in themselves and not simply the means of evangelism.

Good works can stand on their own and the church should not delimit them because they cannot explicitly produce “baptisms” or assured evangelistic results. Jesus went about “doing good” but ended up with only a few disciples. Doing good is a kingdom end in itself because it glorifies the God who seeks to heal the brokenness in the world. It bears witness to God’s love and compassion. God heals brokenness toward the end of reconciliation such that “doing good” is a reconciling act in the world. “Do-gooders” are ministers of reconciliation.

A Public Service Announcement

2006-07-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hitting your elbow on metal things hurts. Trust me, it happened to me just the other day.

[ cue NBC's 'The More You Know' piano outro ]

How's that for a blog update, Jamie! In other news, my 3+ month residency with my supporting church, Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas, officially began on July 10. You can read about what my time with PV will entail at the PV Ministers Blog.

So Long, So Long

2006-07-09T23:51:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon I loaded up my vehicle with just about every material possession I own and headed east out of Abilene. I'm quite proud of my packing job. The rear axle groaned the whole way home, but she got the job done and has found sweet relief: my room here in Little Rock is cluttered to say the least.

Takin' my time, takin' this drive,
Wavin' this town goodbye.

The last three years in Abilene have been wonderful; I’ve learned and grown so much and made so many good friends. And for that I’m very grateful. Leaving Abilene was sad on Friday, not because of the city (though it does have some good things going for it) but because of the people. That’s what makes it such a special place.

And what made leaving especially hard was breaking the fellowship (temporarily at least) with three of my best friends. We’ve been thick as thieves these past two months and it’s been a blast. We’ve had adventures, we’ve created art, we’ve eaten together, we’ve helped each other prepare to move, we’ve quoted movies, and we’ve talked about the important things in life as well. We’ve taken care of each other and blessed each other; we’ve been family. It’s been kinda like Friends (you know, the TV show) but without the morally unsavory parts.

Friends are a gift from God (not the TV show, the people in your life). Proverbs says that and it’s right. Thanks for friends, God, and while I’m being thankful, I will not take these things for granted:

1. Laughter
2. When being with friends feels like home
3. When friends are bold enough to challenge you to grow
4. The sacrifices others make for me
5. The opportunity to sacrifice for others, and how often it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice at all
6. The sacrifice Christ made for us
7. The dynamic of one-on-one conversations
8. Fireworks
9. The reaction created by mixing Mentos and Diet Pepsi (you've got to try it)
10. Energy and athleticism
11. Happy hour Dr. Peppers at Chicken Express
12. My books, music, and clothes
13. My photos and my scanner to scan them with
14. My vehicle
15. My family at Minter Lane Church of Christ
16. My professors and the wonderful theological education I received at ACU
17. That two of my best friends in Abilene are also my teammates. My mission teammates are my best friends, how cool is that?!
18. That God has given me not a spirit of timidity but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Yes, the Abilene chapter has come to a close.

Now I’m beginning what will be a short chapter here in Little Rock; I’ll be here for four months, spending time with my supporting church and with my family and making final preparations for moving to the Czech Republic. It’s good to be here.

Thank you, Lord, for the last three years in Abilene. So long, Abilene, So long...

I was certain that the season could be held between my arms,
But just as summer’s hold is fleeting.
I was here but now,
I’m gone.

So long, so long.

[The lyrics are from Dashboard Confessional's new song 'So Long, So Long.']

Room to Grow

2006-07-05T01:21:00.000-07:00

I’m realizing these days how much more I have to learn about living. Having grown up in a legalistic religious tradition, life has been focused on what not to do and what not to be. Don’t drink, don’t cuss, don't lie, don’t have premarital sex, don’t be a mean person; and if you don’t do these things you’ll be a good person.

But maybe focusing on the don’ts leads to a passive lifestyle, which makes it hard to get much good done. Because, if you do something—if you actually assert yourself and take a risk—you might make a mistake, you might fall short, you might make a fool of yourself, and that would be the end of the world, right?

Yes, the don’ts are important; I’m not saying they’re not. But I don’t think that’s the full picture. I mean, Jesus wasn’t the Savior of the world—and he wasn’t the ultimate human—because of what he didn’t do, but because of what he did do.

He welcomed, he healed, he fed, he served, he showed compassion, he spoke the truth, he outwitted his opposition, he challenged injustice, he gave of himself—all with a gleam in his eye and ears attuned to his Father’s voice. God’s Kingdom came near in loving, bold, sacrificial living. Life to the full. Grace and truth embodied.

I’ve conquered a lot of the don’ts, but I still have a lot of the do’s to get down. I haven’t committed many of the big transgressions, but I have omitted a lot of virtuous actions. I want to be like you, Jesus. Make me bold.

Missions as Futbol

2006-06-11T23:45:00.000-07:00

My missions-minded friend Laura and her co-workers on a summer mission trip to Leipzig, Germany, have come up with a cool metaphor for European missions:

Last week as our group was all talking, feeling somewhat frustrated with the slowness we can experience in European missions, Corey made the statement that it seems like missions in Europe is much like a soccer game...

Check out Laura's blog to see how.

By the way, the Czech Republic plays the United States in their World Cup opener tomorrow at 11am (CST). I can't wait, but I have to admit I'm torn about what team to cheer for.

...No I'm not. Go Czechs!

Best Birthday Cake EVER!

2006-06-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

My birthday was about a month ago (May 13), but I'm going to tell you about it anyway. I've been meaning to post pictures of my cake for a while now (cause it was the coolest!), and finally I have a copy or two of the cake ready for display. Drum roll please...

My BFFs Christie and Ginny make shaped birthday cakes for their friends, based on the birthday person's interests or on inside jokes or whatever. Last year my cake was in the shape of the Apple Computer logo and I loved it, but this year the girls really outdid themselves!

The cake was in the shape of the Czech Republic, with the colors of the Czech flag overlaying it (red strawberries, blue blueberries, and white marshmallows). And on a platform above the Czech Republic rested, nay, soared an Arkansas Razorback...because I'm a Razorback on the road to the Czech Republic!

Go Hogs!

Appropriate Standards

2006-05-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

I just came across an interesting issue that all of us on our mission team will have to deal with on the field regarding our standard of living. This comes from an article written by Bob Waldron on Mission Resource Network's website:

Prior to deciding which house they will buy or rent, or what lifestyle they will choose, [missionaries] need to ask if this choice will build or undermine trust with the people they are hoping to bring to Christ (Marvin K. Mayers, Christianity Confronts Culture: A Strategy for Cross-Cultural Evangelism. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, pp. 32ff.).

A home that is too luxurious or too shabby may equally send the wrong message and undermine their efforts to build trust relationships. Some missionary families opt for more luxury than they need, simply because they can afford it financially, but in doing so they may alienate themselves from those they are trying to reach with the gospel. Other missionaries are careful stewards of trust, seeking input from national Christians who are respected for their integrity and wisdom to help them arrive at a trust-building decision.

I know it's going to be a delicate balance to live at a level that makes sense to the Czechs in light of the fact that they know I'm an American and also that I'm a Christian who teaches that we should not be attached to or dependent on our money and possessions. What's too much to have? And what's too little? I don't think it's anything to worry over, but it is definitely an issue I want to be sensitive to.

Let Nothing Be Wasted

2006-05-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write on our responsibility as Christians toward the environment for a while now, and I specifically intended to on Earth Day (April 22), but I was out of town. Ironically and without any intentional connection to this most revered of holidays, on Earth Day this year I visited the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. How appropriate.

So, where to begin with a theology of responsible stewardship with this planet's life and resources? I feel like we shouldn't have to defend the need to take care of the environment; shouldn't it be obvious that Christians should be good stewards of the world around them? But, it seems (1) a good theology of creation and (2) advocacy for environmental awareness are necessary. I'll get to some theology stuff in a sec.

Okay, I know what you're thinking, "Mitch, you're such a tree hugger." Well, if that's the case, I’ll take it as a compliment, because I care about God’s green earth — and the blue and brown parts, too. It’s God’s. It’s good. And it’s our responsibility to take care of it.

Environmental awareness has been important to me since Earth Day (ED) became popular in elementary school. There were ED show's on TV one year that showed just how much we (unintentionally) waste. They showed how many gallons of water go down the drain from taking long showers (but I think it's okay to splurge from time to time) and from leaving the water running while brushing your teeth or shaving. I don't remember how many gallons they reported, but to illustrate the point, they stacked up jug after jug of water in the shower to show how water adds up with every passing minute. It was very convicting to my young heart.

The show also stated that we waste gas when we sit idling in a driveway for a few minutes; if you know you're going to be sitting there a while waiting on the friend or whatever, it's more energy efficient and environmentally friendly to turn off the engine and restart it than it is to idle for more than a couple of minutes.

We also waste electricity by leaving lights and appliances on while we're in another room or not in our house at all (though I understand leaving a light on sometimes to keep robbers away and for a sense of safety when approaching your front door — them robbers is scared of the light). Oh, and don't forget aluminum cans, glass and plastics products, styrofoam, paper, etc — how much we use, how we can reduce their usage, and how important it is to recycle what we do use.

Anyway, they were formative shows for me and I try to be conscious about my own treatment of the environment. It's a spiritual discipline of sorts. I know I'm still very wasteful but I try not to be and want to improve. I think it's the kind of attitude God wants me to have, out of respect for his artwork and out of love for my neighbor.

Again I ask, where can we go to start thinking about environmental stewardship from a theological perspective? Well, the last time I read through the Gospel of John, one statement from our Savior's lips stuck out to me:

Let nothing be wasted.

Jesus feeds the five thousand, and then, "when they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disiples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten (6:12-13)"

How cool: a springboard for a theology of leftovers! :)

Food and all of the resources of this planet are a gift, for which we rightly give thanks in prayer (see verse 11) and which we should steward responsibly.

Okay, that's about enough for today. In the future I hope to write more about:

> A theology of creation and stewardship
> What other Christians are saying and doing about the environment
> What we can do to help

Until then, I welcome thoughts from you on these issues.

I'll end with a staggering statistic on food waste in the US from Soundvision.com's page on poverty in America:

Official surveys indicate that every year more than 350 billion pounds of edible food is available for human consumption in the United States. Of that total, nearly 100 billion pounds - including fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, and grain products - are lost to waste by retailers, restaurants, and consumers.

ID Journal :: 1 Jn 2.1-17

2006-05-18T01:11:00.000-07:00

So this identity journal is a developing thing. I began by just taking verses from 1 Peter and now 1 John and changing them only slightly so that they are more personal (i.e. changing pronouns from third to first person). For example, here's 1 John 2:1-2 through the lens of identity:

These things are written so that I may not sin. But if I do sin, I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for my sins, and not for mine only but also for the sins of the whole world.

I like this way because its retains more context and requires less license for interpretation. And specifically with this passage, it shows me that it's not all about me. Christ is the atoning sacrifice for my sins, yeah, but not for mine only. This logically leads to mission. I have both identity and purpose.

So, this is how I started putting (and still put) verses in my journal, but I also like distilling the verses further into more simple, pithy, straightforward statements. Thus 1 John 2:1-2 becomes:

> I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
> He is the atoning sacrifice for my sins.

As another example, here is 2:3, first with the simple change (which switches pronouns but generally retains word order), followed by a more distilled statement:

By this I can be sure that I know him, if I obey his commandments.
> I can be sure that I know him if I obey his commandments.

Okay, now that you know what I'm up to, here are the rest of the statements I jotted down for 2:1-17, some of which will include both versions of identity statements:

If I obey his word, truly in me the love of God has reached perfection (2:5).
> God is perfecting his love in me as I obey his word.
> OR, As I obey his word, God's love is reaching perfection in me.

By this I may be sure that I am in him: if I say, “I abide in him,” I ought to walk just as he walked (2:6).
> I am in him.
> I abide in him.
> I ought to walk just as he walked.

The new commandment is true in him and in me, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining (2:8).
> The new commandment of love and light is true in him and in me.
> The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining (in me).

If I love a brother or sister I live in the light, and in me there is no cause for stumbling (2:10).
> I love others.
> I live in the light.
> In me there is no cause for stumbling.

My sins are forgiven on account of his name (2:12).

I know him who is from the beginning (2:13).

I have conquered the evil one (2:13).

I know the Father (2:14).

I am strong and the word of God abides in me, and I have overcome the evil one (2:14).
> I am strong and the word of God abides in me.
> I have overcome the evil one.

I do not love the world or the things of the world (2:15).

As one who does the will of God, I live forever (2:17).

If you would like to read 2:1-17 from the NRSV, click here.

What do y'all think? Though this journal is primarily for my personal spiritual formation, as I share it with others, I want it to be helpful. So, which of the two ways of creating identity statements above resonates most with you? Or perhaps you like having both versions together?

The thing I like about this way of reading scripture is that it makes it more personal, more autobiographical. I'm not reading to glean information or propositions but to encounter God, to learn the truth about him and me (and others), and to be transformed.

Identity Journal :: 1 John 1

2006-05-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the idea to create an identity journal. I decided to type up statements about my identity according to scripture as I read through different books of the Bible. I started with 1 Peter and now I'm working my way through 1 John.

These statements describe who I am, who I can be, or who I should be. I realize this is not the best exegesis or anything. This is a simple exercise for meditative purposes. I am thankful for who God has made me and pray he continues to transform me into the kind of man he wants me to be. Here is what I typed up from the first chapter of 1 John:

I have fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ (1:3-4).

These things were written so that my joy may be complete (1:4).

I walk in the light as he himself is in the light (1:7).

I have fellowship with others (1:7).

The blood of Jesus cleanses me from all sin (1:7).

I confess that I have sin (1:8-9).

He forgives my sins and cleanses me from all unrighteousness (1:8-9).

The truth is in me (1:8-9).

His word is in me (1:10).

Here is 1 John 1 in its entirety for those interested in reading it in context:

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Why is my identity so important? Because what I do is not simply a matter of obeying commands, it comes out of who I am in Christ. I love others not simply because God told me to, but because he is love and he loved me (see chapters 3 and 4). He is love, and because I am in him, I am love too.

I am love.

That's who I am. That's who I'm meant to be. That's what I do.

Now You Can Donate Online

2006-04-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

The financial section of our mission team's website is finally set up so that friends, family, and other visitors can donate to our team online using PayPal (to learn more about PayPal, visit their website here). It is possible to make one-time donations (to help us to get TO the Czech Republic) and monthly donations (to help us to live and work IN the Czech Republic). Once set up, monthly donations are automatically charged to your credit or bank card each month, which saves a lot of hassle on both ends.

Please take a look at our financial support pages and consider helping us to share and live out the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Czech Republic. The sooner you can give/pledge, the better. We will be applying for assistance from the Bell Trust Fund (an endowment that helps missionaries to get their work off the ground) in mid-May, and we need to solidify our monthly numbers so that we will qualify for one-time (or monthly but diminishing) assistance from the Bell Trust.

Thanks so much for your interest in our team and the Czech people! Thank you for reading, for your prayers, and for your support!

The Fundraising Trail

2006-04-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Our mission team is (still) in the midst of fundraising, and things are getting more hectic as we’re getting down to the wire. Please keep us in your prayers. We trust that in seeking we will find and that God will provide what we need.

Currently we’re working to make it possible for visiters to our website to donate online via PayPal. When that is up and running it will be possible both to make one-time donations and to set up monthly payments. Very snazzy, I must say. I’ll let you know when that is available. Until then, please be considering whether you could give to this Kingdom work. Perhaps you could be a participant in God’s provide-ence for us.

This weekend some of us will be going to Little Rock, AR, where Pleasant Valley Church of Christ (my overseeing congregation) will be hosting a regional workshop for churches involved or interested in getting involved in supporting missionaries. It will be a time of encouragement, training, and worship facilitated by Missions Resource Network.

I’ll try to give you a team update again soon. Thanks you so much for your love, support, and prayers!

Learning is Fun!

2006-04-01T22:36:00.000-08:00

I just came across a pretty cool resource on CNN.com that I thought I'd share: their archive of learning activities for use by school teachers. The archive includes many topics which would beneficial for discussion not just in schools but also in our churches. Examples include Examining Consumerism and Analyzing and Forming Opinions About the War in Iraq (which also utilizes this transcript). These could easily be adapted to facilitate discussion in a church setting, for just about any age group.

Enjoy.

Remember Who He Is

2006-03-30T01:04:00.000-08:00

I mentioned a while back that lately I've been thinking about the importance of finding one’s identity in Christ. It’s important to remember who you are, because our beliefs about who we are affect our thoughts, our emotions, our actions.

In thinking about our identity and worth, we can base it on what the world says about us or what God says about us. But, for what God says about us to hold any weight, it helps to know and trust him and his character. With this in mind, I recently read through the Psalms and it was a blessed experience. I read one Psalm a day and reflected on what it said about who God is and who I am in relation to him. And I also tried to make the prayer of each psalm my own prayer (though of course not all of them resonated with me).

As I read through the Psalms, I noticed that the psalmist identifies God is many different ways. I’m sure I missed some of them, but whenever I read over a new name for God I jotted it down. I’d like to share them with you.

I am helped by my…

Rock
Refuge
Shepherd
Strength
Shield
Hope
Help
Shelter
Salvation
Fortress
Strong Tower
Deliverer
Maker
Keeper
Shade
King
God
Lord

Pretty cool, huh? Just reading over the list encourages me. I hope the same is true for you and that we all can look to God as our [insert name], putting our trust and hope in him. If you have some time, I recommend that you take a few minutes to meditate on the list above and on the following passage, Psalm 28:6-9.

Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.

It's interesting to notice that in verses 6-7 the focus is on the individual and that in 8-9 it is on God's people, God's community. We have both individual and communal identities.

Today, may you be carried by your Shepherd.

Dancing Cause I’m Loved Again

2006-03-26T00:37:00.000-08:00

Lately I’ve been so thankful for music. The sacrament of melody. The lullaby of lyrics. It connects me with God, it teaches me, it transforms me, it energizes me. You know what I’m talking about, I hope.

I’m especially digging Copeland’s album, In Motion, and particularly the last four songs on the CD, all of which are connected by the theme of songs and singing. As far as I know, they are a secular band, but nonetheless their music is spiritual and with the theological lenses I love to put on, I see the love of God. Consider the first lines of the song, Love is a Fast Song, and hear them sung by your Father in heaven:

You don't have to be ashamed
'Cause you're a miracle through and through
Oh, and you don't have to be ashamed
Of the miracle inside of you

How encouraging, eh? How loving. I leave it to you to reflect on how you are indeed a miracle through and through.

But do we live with the freedom these words should give? Are we not hampered—are we not held back—by shame, by fear, by brokenness? And so we ask…

What has love become?
What has love become?
It's not like we used to hear in those old songs
And it's not like Yours
And it’s not like Yours
What has love become?

And then the despairing question transforms into worship, as we lose ourselves in divine love:

Whoa-o-oh...your love is in motion
And it's spinning me around, yeah
Whoa-o-oh...my heart is in motion
For the movement that's in you

What has love become?, we just asked. Well, here’s the Singer’s assessment:

You should not be angry
If all she wants is your money
Oh, you should not be angry
'Cause all you want is her body

The degradation of desire and love into greed and lust is our own doing, and it’s passed on by empty reciprocity. Why are you mad at her for wanting your money? Look at yourself, man, all you want is her body! Neither of you sees true value or real beauty in the other. Neither of you sees the miracle!

What has love become?
What has love become?
It's not like we used to hear in those old songs
And it's not like yours
And it's not like yours
What has love become?

Whoa-o-oh...your love is a fast song
And I'm dancing 'cause I'm loved again
Whoa-o-oh...my heart is in motion
For the rhythm inside you
Whoa-o-oh...your love is a slow song
It's resounding through my world again
Whoa-o-oh...my heart is in motion
For the song inside of you

Whoa-o-oh...your love is in motion
And it's spinning me around, yeah
Whoa-o-oh...your love is a fast song
And I'm dancing 'cause I'm loved again
Whoa-o-oh...your love is a slow song
It's resounding through my world again
Whoa-o-oh...my heart is in motion
For the song inside of you

Whoa, it’s wonderful to know the love of God. His love is in motion. He moves and he acts and he seeks and he redeems. His love is a fast song; his love is a slow song.

His love is in motion.

My heart is in motion.

It sees miracles and music and beauty and love and rhythm resounding in this world again. And in me.

There’s a song inside of me, and it’s his song and yet it's my own, and slowly but surely, as he pumps up the volume, the decay of death in and around me is overcome by life.

My heart is in motion for the rhythm inside of Him.

And his heart is in motion for the rhythm inside of us.

His love is in motion. It's moving. It moves us. And so we go out. We move, we live, we love, we bless. Motion toward others.

Mission in motion.

Now, if you’ve hung out around me, you might not think of me as a man who likes to get down. You’d be wrong though, because alone with my music and my God, I cut a rug. I recommend it.

Worship in motion.

The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

His love is a fast song, and he's singing over you. Take a listen.

[Does any of this make sense? Does anyone else enjoy finding God in the ‘secular’?]

Bring It

2006-03-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

These days I'm working my way through the Gospel of Luke, and today I read chapter 8. Verse 1 begins:

Soon afterwards [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.

What struck me as I read that first verse is that Jesus didn't just proclaim the good news as he travelled about Palestine. No, he proclaimed and he brought it. Jesus didn't just proclaim that God's favor had come, he showed it. He healed the sick, freed the demon-possessed, warned the proud, stood up for the lowly, welcomed sinners, loved outcasts, served everyone.

The good news is more than a message, it's a reality. It's a kingdom come near. It's not just something we say, it's something we do. It not something that can be done from a distance, it requires going to people—being with them, speaking to them, serving them, touching them, loving them.

I pray for me and all of us that wherever we go we bring the healing, liberating, transforming good news.

Sacred Singleness

2006-03-22T00:48:00.000-08:00

Recently I posted some of my notes and thoughts from a lecture I attended on Sacred Marriage, and at the end of that post I made a quip, asking when Gary Thomas, the author of Sacred Marriage and Sacred Parenting, was going to write Sacred Singleness. Well, check out the following comment that Jen Abbas, one of Gary’s colleagues, posted:

Hello Mitch and fellow posters—This is Gary's marketing director at Zondervan. As a single myself, I've pitched "Sacred Singleness" to Gary a few times now! I'd like to keep this discussion going (if you don't mind the intrusion, Mitch). If Gary did write this book, what would you want to see addressed?

In response to Jen's question, I’m going to share some of my thoughts on what I’d like to see in such a book, and I invite you to comment with your own ideas.

A good place to start would be DEBUNKING THE MYTH THAT SINGLE PEOPLE ARE WEIRD or have something wrong with them because they are single. As Jamie commented on my post, there is a sense in which singleness is normal and marriage is actually a concession:

It can be easy to assume that marriage is the norm in the Christian tradition. But, from a certain point of view, it's really a concession, an exception to the norm of being single. There's obviously something holy and wonderful and sacramental to marriage—it's one of the seven sacraments! But so is singleness, the taking of a holy order. In our free church tradition, remaining single and vowing to serve God and the church faithfully is the same as taking holy orders in the Roman Catholic tradition, only without the funny clothes.

Perhaps Gary could draw on the example of Jesus and Paul and others key figures in the Bible who served God as singles. In addition, the passage in Matthew where Jesus speaks of choosing to be a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom and also Paul’s teachings in 1 Corinthians on the benefits of being single for serving Christ could be helpful. And I know Gary is good at drawing insights from throughout church history; those would be great to see as well.

My friend Jen (a different Jen) shared some thoughts on the stigma of singleness about this time last year. Of course, she did get married two weeks ago, but what she wrote still holds true. (Congrats Jen!)

As I believe Gary does in his Sacred Marriage book, it would be important to DEBUNK THE MYTH OF MARITAL BLISS. What Gary shared in his lecture about the recent historical development of the idea that to get married is to find pure joy is very important and is something singles need to hear. We tend to hold marriage up as an idol, forgetting that it is hard work and that only God can truly give one’s life lasting joy, whether one is single or married. As Gary said, though we tend to believe that marriage was created to make us happy, perhaps it has other purposes instead.

Gary talked a lot about how marriage is a crucible that helps shape a person into the likeness of Christ. In Sacred Singleness, then, it’d be nice to see how being single is also SPIRITUALLY SHAPING AND FAITH FORMING. Singles must depend solely on God rather than on a spouse. That surely requires and cultivates faith.

Singleness also provides unique OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINISTRY AND SERVICE to others. Singles are just as busy as married couples, perhaps even busier because they have to do the same tasks (work, bills, cooking, housework, etc.) that couples do, but instead of having two people to do that work, a single is only one person. Yet, singles’ schedules tend to be more flexible—they aren’t quite as tied down—which provides opportunities for ministry at different times of the day, to different types of people, and even in different parts of the world.

So, there are four things that it would be nice to see in Sacred Singleness, should it ever be written, but the main thing I would want to see addressed and the main thing I think most of us singles struggle with is CONTENTMENT WITH BEING SINGLE. It’s hard to be patient. You want a companion to share your journey with, you want (let’s just be honest here) to have sex, you want to have children. Some may feel called to be single, but I can’t say I feel that way, and it’s hard to wait until that special someone comes along.

And what’s the deal with everyone saying, “When I finally felt at peace about being single, that’s when my special someone finally came along.” Come on!

Oh, as Gary shared in his lecture, it’d probably be good to have a section on WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A MATE.

What does everyone think? Please take a second to comment on the ideas I’ve thrown out and also to add your own ideas. Just think, what you say could affect what is included in an actual book. That’s pretty cool.

Thanks for reading and thanks for commenting.

[Random note: It's a good thing microwaves won't let you start them without closing the door first; otherwise I would have just fried my brains out. Mmm, warm tortillas.]

[No so random note: Via Jen Abba's blog I just found the site Single Christian, where I found a good article, "Single Truths." Take a gander.]

Sing Like You Think No One’s Listening

2006-03-20T00:50:00.000-08:00

So, the other day I was out running with my iPod in hand, listening to some good tunes and enjoying being outside with God. Well, when I got home from the run and sat down on my front porch to take off my shoes, I belted out the tune playing in my ears. No one was around outside and I thought my two roommates were still at the gym working out. But, unbeknownst to me, those two rascals were sitting in the living room, enjoying (with much hilarity) my solo through the open front porch window.

If you’re curious, I was listening to a Toad the Wet Sprocket playlist while running, and the song on my lips was their 'Nightingale Song.' I don’t know what the song is about, but it’s catchy and fun to sing. Oh, and by the way, the name of my blogspot site came from one of my favorite Toad songs by the same name, 'I Will Not Take These Things for Granted.'

I love singing and I love singing loud, especially when I’m alone at home or in the car. Who doesn’t? What is it about singing that is so…so I don’t know what?

It’s fun. It provides release. It's cathartic.

Why can’t the church’s communal worship be like that? Why can’t we sing like we think no one’s listening? Or, rather, that God is the only one listening, and that he is the one we are singing to please? Our singing might not sound as good, but perhaps it'd be more meaningful for all involved.

I can’t wait for the day I’m before God’s throne and can sing with complete freedom, with no embarrassment, no anxiety. There have only been a couple of times when I have felt the freedom to worship like no one else was listening. One was on spring retreat with the Razorbacks for Christ during my freshman year in undergrad. We camped at Withrow Springs Park just outside of Huntsville, Arkansas, and on late Friday night of the retreat most of us drove to a nearby cave. Half of the cavers took a muddy journey through the belly of the mountain, but the rest of us stopped in a room filled with several large boulders. We each found a seat on the boulders and then turned off our flashlights and sang song after song. The acoustics were amazing and it was pitch black, you know, so black that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I enjoyed the freedom that the loudness and darkness afforded—I could sing out and not be embarrassed.

But, I don’t really even have to be singing loudly or singing at all to worship. A couple of weekends ago, I was at a rock concert, and though I don’t think very many folks in the crowd were there to connect with God, parts of the concert helped me to. The music in this song. The lyrics in that one. Several bands played at the concert, but the one we went to see was Copeland, and one of my favs from their set was 'You Love to Sing.' Here’s the chorus:

Sing with your head up
With your eyes closed
Not because you love the song
Because you love to sing
Because you love to sing, oh

Yep, I sang during this song.

While traveling to and from Colorado last week, however, I definitely didn’t sing, but I had plenty of time to listen to music, to sing in my heart, to think, to pray, to watch people waiting on their flights, to watch the clouds go by. One song in particular sparked this post. 'Existentialism on Prom Night,' by Straylight Run. You can listen to it here.

The chorus begins:

Sing like you think no one’s listening.

And the bridge goes like so:

So, sing me something soft
Sad and delicate
Or loud and out of key
Sing me anything

Maybe this is what God would like to say to us. Sing me anything. Tell me anything. Just as long as your heart’s in it.

Sing like you think no one’s listening.

Fresh Pow Pow

2006-03-18T23:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got back from a spring break jaunt to Snowmass, Colorado. My brother had an infectious diseases conference there, and he invited me to join him for four days of skiing, that's right FOUR!

It was awesome! I'd always hoped for a chance to ski with my big bro and finally I got it. Since it is so late in the skiing season, though, I expected less than ideal skiing conditions (i.e. icy or slushy), but we were pleasantly surprised with four inches of fresh powder on Monday morning and then a couple more inches on Wednesday morning. Ah, the pow pow was perfect. And so was the commensurability of our skiing skills. We are at about the same skill level, which meant we could keep up with each other; neither of us held the other back. No, Snowmass was no match for we Anderson brothers.

Brothers are such a blessing and God's creation is so amazing! I'm so thankful for such a great spring break!

The pictures you're viewing are (1) me catching some sweet air off of a jump, (2) Dev catching some sweet air off the same jump, and (3) my injured noggin. Yeah, don't go off of jumps when you don't know what's behind them. In my case, the fateful jump was followed by moguls (bumps in laymen's terms). I landed the jump, and I was doing a pretty good job of maneuvering the moguls, but finally I bit it. It was an all out yard sale: both skis and both poles came off. And at the end of it all, I bumped my head—I think on my pole but perhaps on the snow. I'm thankful this bruise was all I suffered. The sad thing is that no one was around to enjoy it. Dev had zoomed ahead because we were approaching a flat area and needed speed to traverse it without a lot of pesky poling. And there was no one behind us; it was not until I was up and had my gear back on that someone crested the hill behind me. So, my fall was between me and God, and I think he got a good chuckle out of it.

The Lowly Lifted Up

2006-03-06T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today a friend of mine informed me that he had received yet another rejection letter from one of the PhD schools he applied to, and he shared with me the frustration of waiting to find out from the others. What will his future be? He wants to know now. He wants to know where he’s going to be studying or working and that he will indeed be offered a place to study or work.

I appreciate it so much when friends (or even random people I hardly know) share their frustrations with me. I consider it a privilege and I take it as a compliment that they view me as someone who actually cares. [Whoa, change in direction for this post… I wonder if that insight into my own heart might in some way reflect God’s. He too appreciates it when we share our frustrations with him and when we trust that he cares for us. Hmm…]

I know being rejected is hard, especially from three different schools. But a comforting thing I just read as I was sitting on the front porch amid the warm ambient light of the setting sun is that Jesus too experienced rejection:

Jesus life was defined by rejection. His neighbors laughed at him, his family questioned his sanity, his closest friends betrayed him, and his countrymen traded his life for that of a terrorist. (Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, 158)

He was despised and rejected by others, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:3)

And the hard thing about rejection is not only that it hurts, but that that pain is coupled with a strong temptation to lose trust in God. Surely Jesus understands this temptation, a temptation which in my opinion is at the root of all temptations: do we trust God and his ways or ourselves and our own? But he did manage to trust in God. His life and death are in fact the paradigm of what it means to give oneself over to God in trust. “He entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23)." Even unto death he trusted that God would ultimately vindicate him. And three days later, God came through. Therefore:

…[W]e do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

But trusting is hard. Waiting is hard.

I attend Minter Lane Church of Christ, where our preacher, Danny Mercer, has just begun a series on the Exodus. Yesterday’s message was on this very topic: trusting and waiting. When Moses first approached Pharaoh, telling him to let God’s people go, Pharaoh said, “Hmm, let me think about that. Um, NO!” But this wasn’t the worst of it, the Israelite people weren’t very happy with Moses: you wouldn’t be either if some nobody from out in the desert came into town getting you all excited about being freed, and then instead of freedom you got a ridiculously heavy workload. No, things weren’t looking good for Moses, but the process of the Exodus had just begun, God had only begun to show his wonders. The exodus was a long way from over and the promised land a long way off, but, as we learned yesterday morning, the humble who wait on and trust in the Lord will be lifted up.

This message of hope is beautifully depicted in a clip Danny showed yesterday morning. If you haven’t seen it, you simply have to! Visit CBS News’ website to view a clip about an autistic teen’s hoops dreams that finally came true.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. (Psalm 130:5-7)

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10)

This struggle to trust God is at the center of the life of faith. I know it is at the center of mine!

God, trusting is hard, waiting is hard. Give us mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.

Work and Witness of U2

2006-03-05T22:59:00.000-08:00

Check out Beth Maynard's U2 Sermons blog to download her presentation on the evolution of U2's music and ministry, "Kneeling in a Place Called Vertigo: The Work and Witness of U2." It's about 36 minutes long.

One of the coolest things from the presentation is the glimpse it gives of U2's approach to their music. Isaiah 40 is key: prepare in the desert a highway for our God, clear a way for the Lord in the wilderness. Therefore, Beth Maynard explains that they see their job as preparing unreceptive and overgrown ground to be more open to the sowers that are going to come after them.

The Election Process

2006-03-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

Growing up in the Churches of Christ, I often heard that the main differences between us and 'the Baptists' was that they viewed baptism differently and that they used instruments, and the whole 'once saved, always saved' concept came up often as well. These assessments always came from folks in the Churches of Christ, only skirted along the surface of the issues, and lumped all Baptists into one group despite the fact that there are several stripes.

It is not until recently that I've heard it from someone from a different background. The differences between Churches of Christ and some stripes of Baptists/Evangelicals run more deeply than I knew, because I was unaware of the a vastly different theological underpinning that created the most serious differences. Here it is: Arminianism vs Calvinism. And the key focus of the difference is our understanding of election. Put in oversimplified terms, the distinction is as follows: whereas Churches of Christers (Arminians) believe that we freely choose to believe the gospel, Reformed Baptists/Evangelicals (Calvinists) believe that God elects those who will be saved.

Choice vs No Choice.

But, it is very important to realize that, in espousing each of these views, both sides seek to uphold important characteristics of God.

The motive in Arminians for believing in free will is to free God of the 'blame' for choosing who will or won't believe. In the mind of an Arminian, it doesn't make sense for a God who is love and wants all to be saved to still choose not to save everyone. So, in espousing free will, Arminians try to make God look good by putting the blame for unbelief on us. Arminians want to make sure God looks LOVING.

The Calvinist motive for believing in predestined election is to uphold the total SOVEREIGNTY of God. If humans have a part in deciding whether to believe or not, then they are tempted to boast, to take credit for believing and thus for earning their salvation. This boasting takes away from the sovereign work of God to save us by grace through Jesus Christ.

In sum, according to Arminians, we believe and thus demonstrate that God has elected us through Jesus, the Elect One. Whereas according to Calvinists, God elects us, and our faith in Jesus demonstrates that he has indeed elected us.

Both sides agree, however, that God is BOTH sovereign and loving and also agree that one way or the other, it is God who elects us. He calls us and saves us through grace and we do nothing to earn our salvation. And, works are important to both as well, not as a means of earning salvation but rather as evidence that one is indeed elected and saved. (There are nuances, however, in the way each side, and even subcategories within each side, view works. See the article below for more.)

I've based most of what I've said on an article I came across tonight while exploring John Mark Hicks' website. The article, "Mediating the War between Arminians and Calvinists on Election and Security: A Stone-Campbell Perspective," is very good and I recommend it if you want to understand this issue better.

In the first half of the article, Hicks gives some historical orientation that explains how the founders of the Stone-Campbell Movement actually came from a Calvinist background but eventually rejected it in favor of Arminianism. The first half is good, and it is important to know one's history, so I recommend you read it. But if you find the historical stuff tedious, you might skip on ahead to the second half where Hicks seeks to find common ground between the two camps and then goes on to show that the theological difference does not actually make much practical difference: either way we seek to live holy lives in the manner of Christ.

All of this reiterates to me how important it is to know our history. Until I came to ACU, I had no historical awareness of how our movement began and developed, and therefore no way of truly understanding where our differences with others stem from.

[In addition to theological differences, one sad reason Arminians and Calvinists have had a hard time getting along is that they often demean each other. Let's not continue that tradition.]

Sacred Marriage

2006-02-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

Earlier this evening I attended a presentation by Gary Thomas on Sacred Marriage and Sacred Parenting. He has authored books on the same topics, and if they're as good as his presentation tonight, they're probably worth reading. You can find out more at his website.

He actually didn't get to the parenting part of the presentation because he got a little long-winded on the marriage stuff and ran out of time. The main idea of the presentation was that our culture's expectations for marriage (i.e. perpetual bliss) are unrealistic and are perhaps not the purpose for which God created marriage. Instead, marriage is a means for both partners to become more and more like Christ. In the close, difficult relationship of marriage, each other's faults become evident, thus providing the opportunity for purifying and transformation to take place. Expecting sustained happiness is unrealistic when you realize that marriage is the union of two sinners, both of whom stumble in many ways. Therefore, according to Francis DeSales, marriage could be the most difficult ministry one could undertake. DeSales also said, if you want to become like Christ, get married.

I took a bunch of notes, and here are most of them:

Maybe God made marriage not just to make us happy but to make us holy.

The idea of finding joy in marriage to your ‘soulmate’ is a relatively recent idea in the grand scheme of human history. The idea of marrying for love and happiness did not develop until after the 11th century, developing in fullest form during the Romantic Era in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Often after the romance has faded, couples wonder whether they married the wrong person. But perhaps instead of questioning who they married, they should question their view of marriage.

Perhaps in asking for happiness/romance in marriage we are asking for something it was not designed for. We shouldn't value relationships based on the current level of romance, but whether they last. No marriage can live up to the unrealistic ideals and expectations we place on it.

According to Iris Krasnow, marriage is made up of tortuous work and predictable routine.

Via the character Wormtongue, C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, criticized we humans for valuing the storm of romantic emotion that comes at the beginning of a relationship more than the actual purposes of marriage relationships—mutual help, the preservation of chastity, and the transmission of life.

When people marry for trivial reasons, they get divorced for trivial reasons.

To try to preserve romantic love is to try to preserve the unpreservable. Marriage is not about being young together but about growing old together.

Ask yourself this, does your partner feel like they are married to Jesus Christ? (See Ephesians 5, about husbands loving their wives as Jesus loves the church.)

We need to change our perspective and view a spouse not primarily as a source of fulfillment but as a sister/brother in Christ.

Are we God-centered or spouse-centered? The way a spouse-centered husband treats his wife depends on how she has treated him lately, whereas a God-centered husband treats his wife based on the unconditional love Jesus has shown him.

She is not just your wife, she is God's daughter. Think of God as your father-in-law. Show your respect and love for him by nurturing and loving his precious daughter.

The daily question should not be, am I happier today in my marriage than I was yesterday. Instead, the daily prayer should be, 'Lord, help me to love your daughter today like she has never been loved before.'

Remember that God wants to love your spouse through you.

When you change your view of marriage, from perceiving it as a source of happiness to seeing it as a pathway to holiness, it is amazing that, in Gary Thomas’ experience, happiness in marriage increases. Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness…

Singles, keep in mind that you're not just marrying your spouse, you're marrying your childrens' mother/father. Keep in mind that character is the single most important trait to look for in a potential spouse. Look for someone who can work through conflict in healthy ways, who has a healthy prayer life and is open to the Spirit's work and transformation. Look for a humble person who is eager to grow and mature.

Marry someone who is increasingly like Jesus Christ; who could fall out of love with such a person?

Looks fade, but there is nothing like being married to a godly person. And there is nothing more miserable than the opposite.

Go to God, not culture, for a view of what marriage should be.

Regarding sacred parenting: don't spend so much time trying to purify your kids that you ignore purifying yourself, because your kids are studying you. We have never arrived; our spiritual growth should never stop.

I agree with Gary Thomas that we place unrealistic expectations on marriage. I know that I have typically viewed finding a wife as finding joy. And though I know that joy will be involved, so will much difficulty. I think it is very healthy to view marriage as a discipline of sorts in which two committed people seek to serve each other and to help each other to become more like Christ.

As difficult as it sounds like marriage is, I guess it's kinda nice to be single for the moment. And since marriage is not about being young together but about growing old and growing up together, I guess there is no rush. So, my question is, when is ol’ Gary going to write Sacred Singleness! :)

Remember Who You Are

2006-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

This semester I’m redesigning a website for Lauren Engineers & Constructors here in Abilene. The cool thing about this gig is that I can work from home and choose my own hours…and that, if I so choose, I can watch movies while I work. Oh yeah!

Recently while working on the website, I watched The Lion King. The climactic scene where Mufasa visits Simba in a vision has always been one of my favorites, and this time around it was even more special because I saw it in more theological/spiritual terms. I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of identity and how one’s identity affects one’s thoughts, emotions, and actions. This scene is therefore meaningful to me because it is one in which Simba is reminded of his royal identity as a son of the king. Putting this scene into my own life, I see Mufasa as God the Father and Simba as me (and in some ways as a Christ figure…though an unsatifyingly wimpy one!).

But before Simba’s vision occurs, he needs the prophet-like Rafiki’s guidance:

Simba: Creepy little monkey. Will you stop following me? Who are you?

Rafiki: {In front of Simba, then right in his face.} The question is: whooo... are you?

Simba: {Startled, then sighing} I thought I knew.... Now I'm not so sure.

Rafiki: Well, I know who you are. Shh. Come here. It's a secret.

{He pulls Simba's head over to whisper into his ear. He starts his chant into Simba's ear and laughs.}

Asante sana!
Squash banana!
We we nugu!
Mi mi apana!

Simba: Ernh! Enough already! ...What's that supposed to mean anyway?

Rafiki: It means you are a baboon—and I'm not. {laughs}

Simba: {Moving away} I think… you're a little confused.

Rafiki: {Magically in front of Simba again} Wrong! I'm not the one who's confused; you don't even know who you are!

Simba: {Irritated, sarcastic} Oh, and I suppose you know.

Rafiki: Sure do; You're Mufasa's boy!

{Simba is surprised by this revelation. Rafiki disappears off stage right.}

Bye!

Rafiki runs, Simba chases, and a chant plays in the background. The website (lionking.org) where I found the script to the movie (and the image embedded below) includes a translation of the chant. Interesting…

{Cue music}

We sangoma ngi velelwe [Oh, spiritual healer, I'm troubled]
We baba ngivelelwe [Oh, my father, I'm in pain]
We baba ngivelelwe [Oh, my father, I'm in pain]

Simba: Hey, wait!

{Simba chases after him. When the camera catches up, Rafiki is in a meditative lotus position on a rock.}

You knew my father?

Rafiki: {Monotone} Correction—I know your father.

Simba: I hate to tell you this, but… he died. A long time ago.

{Rafiki leaps off the rock over to a dense jungle-like area.}

Rafiki: Nope. Wrong again! Hah hah hah! He's alive—and I'll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki; he knows the way. Come on!

{Rafiki leads Simba through the brush. Simba has trouble keeping up due to his size. The music slips into African chant.}

Rafiki: Don't dawdle.... Hurry up!

Simba: Hey, whoa. Wait, wait.

Rafiki: Come on. Come on!

Simba: Would you slow down?

{Rafiki is seen flitting through the canopy ahead of Simba, laughing hollowly and whooping. Simba struggles to keep up. Suddenly, Rafiki appears with his hand held up right into Simba's face.}

Rafiki: STOP!

{Rafiki motions to Simba near some reeds.}

Shhh.

{He parts the reeds and points past them with his staff.}

Look down there.

{Simba quietly and carefully works his way out. He looks over the edge and sees his reflection in a pool of water. He first seems a bit startled, perhaps at his own mature appearance, but then realizes what he's looking at.}

Simba: {Disappointed} That's not my father. That's just my reflection.

Rafiki: Nooo. Look ... harder.

{Rafiki motions over the pool. Ripples form, distorting Simba’s reflection; they resolve into Mufasa’s face. There is a deep rumbling noise.}

You see ... he lives in you.

{Simba is awestruck. The wind picks up. In the air the huge image of Mufasa is forming from the clouds . He appears to be walking from the stars. The image is ghostly at first, but steadily gains color and coherence.}

Mufasa: {Quietly at first} Simba . . .

Simba: Father?

Mufasa: Simba, you have forgotten me.

Simba: No. How could I?

Mufasa: You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.

Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.

Mufasa: Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king.

{Close up of Simba’s face, bathed in the golden light, showing a mixture of awe, fear, and sadness. The image of Mufasa starts to fade.}

Remember who you are.

{Mufasa is disappearing into the clouds fast. Simba runs into the fields trying to keep up with the image.}

Simba: No! Please! Don't leave me.
Mufasa: Remember...
Simba: Father!
Mufasa: Remember...
Simba: Don't leave me.
Mufasa: Remember . . .

Remember who you are.

Who am I? I'm Yahweh's boy. A son of the king. A man of God. A man sent on a mission.

But so often I forget this. Because, while I know it intellectually, I don’t truly believe it in my heart, with my whole being. Instead I forget, and I see myself as a just some dude. A guy who has to prove himself. A guy trying to live up to the unhealthy perfectionist standards he places on myself. A guy who looks to others for approval rather than to his Father.

"You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life."

In forgetting my own identity, I also forget God—his presence, his love. As Rafiki said, “He lives in you.” God does live in me by his Spirit. I have died and been resurrected with Christ in baptism, and sealed with the Holy Spirit; I am a new man called to take my place in the Kingdom and to join God in his mission in the world. My past does not define me, nor does the world, but rather God.

He is my Rock, my Refuge, my Shepherd, my Strength, my Shield, my Hope, my Help, my Salvation, my Peace, my Lord, my King, my Father. And he has made me his heir and a co-heir with Christ. He has made me a co-worker with him in creating each day and in sharing his love. I am a peacemaker. I am a minister of reconciliation. I am the aroma of Christ, spreading every the fragrance of knowing him.

Just as Simba needed Mufasa to speak to him, so I need to hear God say:

"Peace, be still…be still, Mitch, and know that I am God. And know that you, Mitch, are my child, made in my image. Look to me for your identity and value and praise. You don’t have to please everyone and it doesn’t matter what they think, because I love you, I created you in my image, I died for you, and you are my coworker in sharing my love and peace with the world.”

May you hear this as well, and may you find your identity in him. I think it is sad that so many Christians (including myself) struggle with anxiety, anger, depression, addiction, etc. And I think that part of the reason is that we forget our identity—we let other things define us.

And so, I’ve been meditating on my identity in Christ lately, and this scene from The Lion King was encouraging for me. I hope it has encouraged you as well.

Remember who God is.
Remember who you are.
And confidently take your place in the Kingdom of Life.

Remember who you are.

[You can download a video clip of Mufasa's visit on lionking.org. But be warned, it takes an insanely long time...because they seem to have the slowest server in the world!]

Unity Through Simplicity

2006-02-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon the New Wineskins website the other day, and what should I find but an article (actually a sermon) on unity by Chuck Monan, the preacher at my home church, Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas. Go Chuck! The name of the sermon is 'Unity Through Simplicity: A Future of Peace,' and in fact the current issue in Wineskins is all about unity. The only other article I've had a chance to read is Gary Holloway's on Barton Stone's spiritual model of unity. You might want to check these and others out.

Chuck in his article mentions the life work of Brother Roger Schutz, who with a passion for unity began the Taize community in France. I found a link to the Taize community's website at the bottom of Chuck's article and looked it over last night. The Taize style of worship is very contemplative, including scripture readings, prayer, and extended periods of silence. You can read about the aspects of their worship, including the importance of silence, in the 'Prayer and Song' section of the site and you can find daily Bible readings and meditations in the 'To the Sources of Faith' section.

It is interesting that all of these sources emphasize the importance of the Holy Spirit and of cultivating a Christ-like attitude of love as the only means to unity. I'll wrap this up with an excerpt from the end of Chuck's sermon...

For 65 years, Brother Roger tried to love God; tried to love his fellow man; tried to sing; tried to pray. He didn’t waste a lot of time finding fault with people. He spent a lot of time trying to point people to Christ, and to God’s love. There’s just got to be a lesson in that for us.

Plug for Bloglines

2006-02-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

As I said in my last post, we're trying to do a better job of keeping our mission team's blog updated, and I'm trying to update my personal blog more often as well. But, invariable, dry spells will come. So, let me put in a plug for bloglines.com. It's a nifty website where you can create a list of your favorite blogs. When one of those blogs is updated, bloglines will inform you. That way, you don't have to visit 10 blogs a day just to find that only one has been updated. All you have to do is check out bloglines to see if any of your favorites have new posts. Cool, eh? You can also download a little program to your computer that gives you updates without requiring you to first surf to the bloglines page. Anyway, there's my plug for bloglines.

Team News

2006-02-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

Our mission team has been busy lately, and there’s more to do just around the corner!!! This past weekend we met in Fort Worth for the first half of Mission Resource Network’s Team Missions Workshop. It was truly a blessing, and I’m looking forward to completing the second half of the TMW here in Abilene on the weekend of March 3-5.

We are currently working on applications to the Bell Trust Fund, an organization that assists missionaries with one-time expenses involved in getting their work off of the ground. We are hoping that Bell Trust will help us out with a big chunk of our moving expenses and also with language school. Please pray for this application and for all of the fund raising we are currently doing. And praise God for the support, spiritual and monetary, we have received so far. God has truly been faithful!

If you haven’t been to our team’s website in a while, you should check it out. We’re trying to do a better job of keeping our team blog and also our team photo gallery updated. Earlier today, Christie posted some very encouraging thoughts on God’s faithfulness to our team, and I recommend that you give them a read. Yesterday, Sarah Keen uploaded pix from the workshop; also, I added more pictures to several existing albums. Enjoy!

True Dialogue

2006-02-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

So, I was having coffee with a friend of mine tonight, and he brought up some interesting thoughts on what is required for true dialogue to occur. When discussing differences, we usually seek to find similarities, because it’s more comfortable to hang out on that common ground. But, for two people with different views (in his example, Christian compared with Buddhist) to truly engage in meaningful dialogue, they must face their differences. The Christian must truly listen to what the Buddhist has to say, and must be open to the possibility that his/her Christian views are wrong and the Buddhist’s are right. And vice versa. Only in openness, humility, and vulnerability does a meaningful exchange actually occur. Otherwise, the conversation merely involves two people throwing ideas at each other; neither one is listening; neither one is willing to budge.

And this applies in more than just religious discussion. It applies to all of life and to everyday relationships.

And it just seems like the Christian posture to take: look to the interests of others, regard others as better than yourself, be willing to die to find life and to give life. Perhaps it can be summed up in one word...

Humility.

Everywhere You Go You Shout It

2006-02-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

On February 2, U2's Bono addressed President Bush and others at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. In his speech he called America and the world to aid Africa, to fight poverty. You can read his speech here. U2's music has always been spiritual, and these days more than ever they, Bono specifically, are using their clout to call the world to action. I think it's very cool.

I have always wondered just how Christian U2 is. It is evident that they are very much followers of Christ, with hearts reflecting his love for the poor.

In 1999, Bono wrote an introduction to a pocket version of the Psalms. You can read his introduction, which I highly recommend, here. If you'd like to take a look at the many scriptural references in U2s catalog, go here. And lastly, if you would like to read more about U2's spirituality, check out this blog.

"Everywhere you go you shout it. You don't have to be shy about it."

That's from the song Original of the Species off of U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album. For too long we've kept our love under control, but now we need to show our soul. Everywhere we go, we shout it, we shout Christ's love for the world, glorifying him by sharing the stamp of originality he has placed in each of our hearts.

Love, man, that's how you dismantle an atomic bomb.

One in Christ

2006-02-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

This morning I had the privilege of participating in a joint worship service between Minter Lane (predominantly white) and N 10th and Treadaway (predominantly black). Together we celebrated that we have been made one in Christ. And we hope that this first gathering will be the beginning of many more which might eventually result in full visible unity—because it is by our unity in love that we show the world that Jesus is God’s Son and the Creator of one new humanity. Our time together included a Bible class focused on the new covenant, which includes all peoples, a worship service, focused on the unity of the Spirit, and finally a fellowship meal. One theme passage for the morning was Ephesians 4:1-6:

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Christ in his death and resurrection destroyed the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles (that is to say, all races), creating one new humanity. We ARE one. The church IS one united body. We have the same calling, the same Savior, the same Spirit, the same hope, the same faith, the same identity. Yet we are human and so our communities face struggles and divisions; we fail to live up to our calling. And so in 4:1-6, Paul calls us to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit. This is not a passive calling, but an active one, asking us not only to prevent divisions but to seek reconciliation with other believers, to demonstrate the perfect unity Christ created on the cross. We have a lot of work to do, and it is only by the spirit (humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love) and power of the Spirit that we can be one. God help us.

Another key verse this morning was Galatians 3:26-29:

"You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, [AND WE CAN ADD: BLACK NOR WHITE] for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

The Stone-Campbell Movement began not merely as a restoration movement seeking to restore the early church, but as a unity movement hoping to gather all Christians in all denominations into one body. The founders of our movement wanted to restore the early church not for the sake of restoration only, but because they saw restoration as the foundation to unity, and unity as the key to demonstrating to the world the divinity of Christ. We strive to be unified—in our diversity—to see to it that God is glorified and others are saved, that they are drawn to Christ by his love manifested in the church.

Despite this unity-focused beginning, we have divided over and over—racially, doctrinally, etc. And, beyond the Stone-Campbell Movment, the church has divided throughout its history, from New Testament times until now. Perhaps we could all benefit by recalling Barton Stone’s emphasis on not only right doctrine but also the right spirit—that of love and mutual forbearance. Consider these words from the “Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery,” a document by which Stone and others marked the beginning of the Stone-Campbell Movement:

"Imprimis. We will, that this body die, be dissolved, and sink into union with the Body of Christ at large; for there is one body, and one Spirit, even as we are called in hope of our calling.
Item. We will that preachers and people cultivate a spirit of mutual forbearance; pray more and dispute less; and while they behold the signs of the times, look up, and confidently expect that redemption draweth nigh."

Elsewhere, Stone wrote:

"I blush for my fellows, who hold up the Bible as the bond of union yet make their opinions of it tests of fellowship; who plead for union of all Christians; yet refuse fellowship with such as dissent from their notions. Vain men! Their zeal is not according to knowledge, nor is their spirit that of Christ…Such anti-sectarian sectarians are doing more mischief to the cause, and advancement of truth, the unity of Christians, and the salvation of the world than all the skeptics in the world. In fact they make skeptics."

And second-generation leader David Lipscomb advised that we should be “slow to withdraw from one that sincerely desires to do the will of God.”

Before concluding this post, allow me to share some powerful words from John Stott’s commentary on Ephesians, a letter infused with the theme of unity:

"How dare we build walls of partition in the one and only human community in which [God] has destroyed them?…To perpetuate these barriers in the church, and even to tolerate them without taking any active steps to overcome them in order to demonstrate the trans-cultural unity of God’s new society, is to set ourselves against the reconciling work of Christ and even to try to undo it.” This “hinders the world from believing in Jesus. God intends his people to be a visual model of the gospel, to demonstrate before people’s eyes the good news of reconciliation. But what is the good of gospel campaigns if they do no produce gospel churches? It is simply impossible, with any shred of Christian integrity, to go on proclaiming that Jesus by his cross has abolished the old divisions and created a single new humanity of love, while at the same time we are contradicting our message by tolerating racial or social or other barriers within our church fellowship. I am not saying that a church must be perfect before it can preach the gospel, but I am saying that it cannot preach the gospel while acquiescing in its imperfections.
We need to get the failures of the church on our conscience, to feel the offence to Christ and the world which these failures are, to weep over the credibility gap between the church’s talk and the church’s walk, to repent of our readiness to excuse and even condone our failures, and to determine to do something about it. I wonder if anything is more urgent today, for the honor of Christ and for the spread of the gospel, than that the church should be, and should be seen to be what by God’s purpose and Christ’s achievement it already is—a single new humanity, a model of human community, a family of reconciled brothers and sisters who love their Father and love each other, the evident dwelling place of God by his Spirit. Only then will the world believe in Christ as peacemaker. Only then will God receive the glory due to his name (Stott 111-12)."

We must face this issue. We cannot settle for the way things are now. Christ did not settle for our separation, how can we? This is a mystery, this unity between God and us and each other, but this mystery is reality. Surely we should forget ourselves and strive to make this unity visible.

Perhaps this issue doesn’t speak to you right now, where you are in life, but it is big. It is all over the New Testament (and even the Old). You may also feel like you are in no position to help, but you are. Unity starts with each of us and our relationships with the people in our community. It should be shown on all different levels—from the universal church, to each local congregation, to every Christian home.

The Stone-Campbell Movement began with a very noble cause—a cause for which Christ himself fervently prayed (see John 17:20-23). So, as Stone called us, may unity be our polar star, to which our eyes are continually turned and our efforts directed, so that the world may believe and be saved. And as Paul prayed in Romans 15:5-6, so I pray:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give [us] a spirit of unity among [ourselves] as [we] follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth [we] may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Amen.

[The embedded image is one I created for this morning’s joint celebration.]

eRFC Update

2006-01-26T00:07:00.000-08:00

I finally uploaded some more of the mini devos I wrote in undergrad at the U of A while active in the Razorbacks for Christ (RFC) campus ministry. The spring of 2001 is now all online. Woohoo! Just two more semesters of emails to go! You can relive the memories and hopefully be encouraged and challenged again on my eRFC blog. Go Hogs!

Peace Project, Reflection #4

2006-01-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the fourth reflection paper for our Narrative Evangelism group project, this one on violence in our culture...

VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM
October 17, 2005

To quote a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “Now we see the violence inherent in the system! Now we see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”

There is indeed violence inherent in our cultural system—from street corners and dark alleys, to clogged highways, to the workplace, to the marketplace, to sports teams, and even to religious groups and the home. Violence, whether physical or verbal, affects us at every level of interaction. Whether we realize or not, even among close friends we attack each other often. My task for our group is to reflect on the violence in our culture as evidenced in personal interaction with others.

Perhaps it all begins in grade school and then escalates in junior high. Our playing centered on violence: fighting was fun. We (boys at least) played Cowboys and Indians, we pretended to be spies and soldiers, we collected action figures, we wanted to be heroes. I remember play fighting (boxing and wrestling) with my friends during recess—play fighting which sometimes escalated into actual fighting. Every day at recess in elementary school or in between classes in junior high at least one fight would have to be broken up. We made fun of each other, trying to come up with the funniest put downs and the most clever ‘Your momma’ jokes. Some of us competed to get the best grades, making those whose scores were lower than ours feel less valuable. Others made fun of those who took school seriously, calling them geeks and dorks. And you had to be cool: wear the right clothes, keep up with the right bands, shows, and movies, hang out with the right people. Yes, perhaps it begins in school.

Or perhaps it begins in the home: the sins of the parents are passed on to the children. The ways our parents interact with each other, with friends and relatives, and with us shapes our perceptions of normal behavior. In addition to their example, parents shape us by the attention they give (or don’t give) us. The amount and quality of attention they give affects our understanding of our inherent value (or lack thereof) as individuals. The phrase ‘sibling rivalry’ attests to the genesis of violence in the home.

Perhaps it is a combination of all of these factors: peers and parents, plus movies, televisions shows, music, the news, and more. Wherever it begins, it clearly continues throughout life. As adults, we continue to compete and to undervalue and devalue others (and ourselves). Even harmless jokes between friends build on the pain that already seeks to eat us from the inside. Beyond relationships with each other, we also learn from our culture to be violent toward the environment. Early in life we learn to be consumerists and to be wasteful with the products we consume.

Without intentional effort to end the cycle, we remain blinded to the violence, wastefulness, and incompleteness all around us. We become accustomed to the ways of this world and perceive no viable alternative. Some voices do speak out against this system, but like the prophets of old, they are usually ignored, shut up, or killed. Despite this resistance, however, it is our job, our responsibility, our privilege, our calling to speak peace into this world—to proclaim through words and actions the presence of a new system of shalom, the inbreaking kingdom of God.

...In my next post I'll include my reflections on U2's song Peace on Earth.

Peace Project, Reflection #3

2006-01-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here is my third reflection essay about peace...

A COMMUNITY OF PEACE
November 7, 2005

Practicing peace both requires and creates community. Both of these have been evident in this semester’s project. First, regarding the requirement of community, my roommate and fellow group member, Graham, and I realized that without each other to continually remind the other of the project, we would forget that we were supposed to be practicing peace in our lives. We need each other, both as reminders and examples. Often when interacting with each other or with others, if one of us notices the other not exemplifying peaceful speech or actions, we jokingly remind the other of the project by saying, “I’m not at peace with that.”

Peace Requires Community

Beyond this example from our project, a community is necessary for practicing peace because we need support and encouragement from each other to continue living Christ’s peaceful lifestyle in the face of a culture that often does not understand or appreciate our actions and that bombards us with messages espousing peace-less ways of living. To the world, our lifestyles seem weak, make no sense, and embody a critique of the prevailing culture. In community we remind each other of the importance of practicing peace despite persecution and our culture’s violent messages, showing each other that this way is better. We encourage each other by sharing God’s truth from scripture with each other and by living it out in words and actions. In community we treat each other with love, and thus experience the peaceful lifestyle as it is meant to be lived and so are reminded of the goodness of God’s ways. Based on this empowering experience, we are able to live peacefully in the world. Finally, we share with each other our struggles, praying for each other and learning from the examples of others, both by seeing them live and hearing stories of how they have stood up under the violence of the world.

Summary: message to counter messages of world, reminders, examples, sharing struggles, praying, and experiencing peaceful community

Peace Creates Community

In addition to requiring community, the peaceful way of life creates community. Having tasted and seen the goodness of peace and wholeness in God we desire to share it with others. We share the message of the possibility of peace and wholeness and of a new story—a new way to orient and live life—with those around us, hoping that they too will adopt God’s story for harmony in creation. We share this message in our interactions with others by encouraging and serving others, by announcing the message to friends, and by living out the reality of God’s peaceful Kingdom within the Christian community.

In addition to this more evangelistic aspect of creating community through peace, we create community because to be reconciled with God necessitates also being reconciled with others and because to experience God’s love necessitates and motivates sharing it with others. We seek out the brother or sister we have something against or who has something against us and humbly seek reconciliation, thus creating community where there was no community before. Community is further created because we need others to share ourselves with. Words of encouragement and acts of kindness draw people together into a community of love, faithfulness, and worship—because this is the kind of community one wants to be a part of.

Summary:Evangelism: share story, encourage, serve, exemplify in community

Summary:Church: reconciliation, humility, forgiveness, building others up (via loving words and service) builds community, attractiveness of community.

...In my next peace post I'll reflect on the violence inherent in our culture's system.

Peace Project, Reflection #2

2005-12-29T19:44:00.000-08:00

Our second paper for our peacefulness project called us to reflect on how peacefulness was demonstrated in (1) the ministry of Jesus and (2) the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here are my thoughts...

THE SHALOM OF THE SAVIOR
October 3, 2005

Jesus exemplified the way of peace in his life and in his submission to death. In the resurrection he defeated the power of sin, death, and Satan, thus enabling those who accept him through faith to follow him along the way of peace and wholeness. The world disapproved of Jesus’ way of life and killed him, but God wholeheartedly approved and to show it he vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead, thus giving credence to Christ’s authority to demonstrate what it is to live life in the Kingdom, in full submission to and trust in God. He, in intimate union with the Father, lived up to humanity’s potential and calls and empowers us to do the same.

Life & Ministry. The humble birth of the holy child that would bring peace to all creation was a paradigm for his life and ministry. In Jesus, divinity and humanity joined to bring wholeness to the world. Jesus lived in continuous contact with the Father, finding his identity, calling, and motivation in the Father’s testimony and will—rather than in attaining earthly comfort, wealth, or glory. His ministry was all about revealing the true glory of the Kingdom of God—a kingdom with a perfect ruler in search of servants to reflect his complete perfection. In contrast to worldly perceptions, the way of perfection and completeness is not worldly power, possessions, control, or coercion, but the power of love, trust, forgiveness, mercy, selflessness, and submission. Jesus did not force people to follow him, nor did he heal them against their will—his will and their faith cooperated. Jesus put the needs of others before his own—his compassion often overrode his need for solitude. Jesus broke societal barriers of acceptance, happily and hospitably communing with the marginalized of society. Jesus spoke out against the oppressive structures and people of society, showing that he desired leaders who would serve, take care of, empower, and ease the loads of others. Jesus was so committed to this way of life that he was willing to die in order to share it with others—to submit to the violence of the world in order to transform it. He lived life to the full, enabling us to do the same.

Death & Resurrection. Jesus death was a summation of his life of submission. His peaceful, loving, forgiving attitude throughout his trial and crucifixion demonstrated his ethical teachings regarding the way of the Kingdom. And the good news is God showed his approval of this way of life, of this type of commitment that so starkly contrasts with the ways of the world, by raising Christ from the dead. Thus, all people are authorized to adopt this way of life, knowing that they too will be accompanied by the suffering Savior throughout the journey and that they too will be vindicated on the last day. But this is not all of the good news.

It is also that the death and resurrection of Jesus have broken the entangling power of sin, death, and Satan. Accepting Jesus in faith, we are empowered to become like him and are freed by the love, grace, and mercy of God from our sinful past—from our lives lived contrary to God’s harmonious will for the world. Furthermore, in making reconciliation to God possible for all people, Christ created one new humanity, breaking down the barriers of hostility that dominate human relationships between differing peoples. In his death and resurrection Jesus created one, new, whole, peaceful humanity.

Key Death and Resurrection verses:

Romans 5:1-11; 6:5-11
Ephesians 2:14-18

...My next post will be about how practicing peacefulness requires and creates community.

Peace Project

2005-12-25T16:00:00.000-08:00

This semester in a class called Narrative Evangelism we participated in an excellent group project. Our task was to focus on an aspect or discipline of the gospel as a pathway to repentance. In other words, by focusing on our topic (ours being peacefulness) and what it means for our lives, we would see how unlike God our lives are and how much we need to grow. And in seeking growth, we would develop a witness, a testimony—we would have something to share with others about how God is making his good news of peace come alive in our lives. The project culminated at the end of the semester with a presentation (in a coffeehouse atmosphere) of the gospel from the perspective of peacefulness. Here is the project description we were given at the beginning of the semester:

Peacefulness—In a world that expresses power through control, what would it mean to live as God’s peaceful people in the world? The implications run from parenting to leadership to dispositions toward violence. It is not hard to make the case that we live in a violent world. Is there good news to be heard from God’s peaceful people? What would it mean to live considering others better than ourselves? To love our enemies?

Cool project, eh? Our initial assignment was for each group member to write a one-page reflection on how the peace project would take shape in their lives. Here is my initial commitment for the semester project. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll try to post some of my other reflections from the semester. Enjoy! And, oh yeah, merry Christmas! Peace on earth; good will toward all people...

PRACTICING PEACE
September 18, 2005

In our fast-paced, volatile culture, the reality of God’s peaceful reign is no doubt good news, making it imperative that God’s people embody his peace. Practicing peace this semester will impact my relationship with God, self, others, and creation.

Trusting God. Submitting to the shalom of God will mean aligning my will with his. It will mean praying in non-manipulative and non-demanding ways—seeking guidance and blessing with his glory rather than my desires in mind. It will not mean hiding my negative feelings from God, but rather being open and honest with them as a means to deeper intimacy. It will mean looking to God, rather than relationships with others or the things of this world, as the only lasting source of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Loving Self. Closely related to trusting God is loving self—because only when one knows, loves, and trusts God can one be fully at peace with oneself. My perfectionism and pressures from society to perform combine to make me an anxious person, especially in social situations. Via prayer, meditation on and repetition of scriptures related to my identity as a child of God, and intentionally monitoring thought-patterns, replacing bad ones with good ones, I hope to become a person more pervaded by God’s peace, to become more confident and worry-free.

I do not plan to fast from media with violent content, but I will be more cognizant and critical of the myth of redemptive violence—that violence is a valid path to peace—and the myth of the loner hero—that heroes and successful people go it alone—in the media I imbibe. The truth that transcends these myths is (1) Christ’s sacrificial and submissive way of peace and (2) the importance of mutual support in community.

One final issue that warrants my attention is internal anger toward others. Curbing negative thoughts toward others and replacing these with the truth that God loves them will help motivate me to be a blessing to others.

Blessing Others. Sharing the peace of God with others will mean seeking to help others to find healing, wholeness, and reconciliation in God—by helping them to know the truth of God’s love and his will for our lives. Specifically, I see potential for this in the weight room, reaching out in friendship to younger and/or less popular guys. In the weight room and in as many relationships as possible, I will characterize my interactions with peace by being generous with my time and attention, by recognizing and losing myself in the needs of others, by being submissive rather than dominating in relationships and conversations, and by employing encouraging language rather than language that tears down—limiting behaviors and jokes that hurt others and replacing them with compliments and words that empower.

Stewarding Creation. Knowing that God’s created world is a blessing to be enjoyed responsibly rather than abused or wasted, I will seek to recycle even when it is not convenient and will avoid wasting electricity, gas, water, and disposable goods (paper, plastic, glass, Styrofoam). In addition to prevention, a minor avenue of intervention will be picking up trash as I come across it.

RFC Reunion

2005-11-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, November 5-6, our mission team gathered in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a bunch of our buddies from the Razorbacks for Christ for the 2005 RFC Homecoming Reuion. It was wonderful to see so many friendly faces, and also the beautiful fall leaves in northwest Arkansas. Wow, after having lived in Abilene for a couple of years, you begin to realize what you had while living in gorgeous Fayetteville.

We also realize how God has shaped us via the RFC ministry. Over the weekend we had multiple opportunities to share our dreams for the Czech Republic with our RFC brothers and sisters, inviting them to partner with us in taking the gospel to the Czechs by providing prayers and finances. I think it is impressive, that, as Phil Jackson, European Coordinator for Missions Resource Network, has said, "The Razorbacks for Christ produce more missionaries to the Czech Republic than any other institution in our fellowship." That is something to take pride in. Praise God for his continuing work in the RFC ministry! May he continue to shape Razorbacks into committed servants to the world.

You can read more about the weekend on our mission team's blog and you can view pictures in our team's photo gallery. Enjoy!

World Mission Workshop, and upcoming RFC Reunion

2005-10-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 12, our mission team attended the World Mission Workshop at Harding University, where we had the opportunity to teach a class connecting campus ministries and missions. The class went very well and the whole day was a blessing. You can read all about it on our mission team's blog.

Next weekend (Nov 4-6) we'll be together in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the University's Homecoming and for the Razorbacks for Christ's 2005 Alumni Homecoming Reunion. It will be great to be together with all of our old friends for some Razorback football and for a little fellowship, RFC style.

C.S. Lewis Quote

2005-09-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

An email I recently received from a friend included this C.S. Lewis quote in the footer. Interesting...

Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is . . . That is why bad people know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it.

Team Olomouc Update

2005-09-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Check out our mission team's blog for an update on our most recent retreat as well as info on upcoming events. Our retreat included a Rangers baseball game on Friday night; you can see some pix from the game in our team's gallery. May the peace of Christ dwell in you richly.

The Flying Squirrel

2005-08-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Weekend before last, all seven members of our mission team went to a cabin on Greers Ferry Lake in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Christie's aunt and uncle own the cabin; her parents spent the weekend with us, providing great food, drivers for the boat, and good company. It was great to be together and to relax a bit before starting up the semester. We skied, played games, ate crab cakes, and, well, took turns sprinting down the dock and jumping onto a round inflatable island. What you see in the picture is what Graham coined 'The Flying Squirrel.' All four of the guys on the team got involved in the fray; you can see more pictures in our mission team's photo gallery.

It's Official!

2005-08-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

So I met with the elders at Pleasant Valley (my church in Little Rock) again on Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday night they announced that they are going to support my work in the Czech Republic!!! Wow, what a blessing and what a victory for our team! May God continue to provide the blessings we need to get to Olomouc to spread his amazing love.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

Add a Pinch of Suffering

2005-08-03T23:09:00.000-07:00

This summer during my internship with Christ Journey we visited several new churches in the Fort Worth area. They are wonderful churches and many of them are growing quickly. And we have learned a lot from their successes.

But it seems like the one thing that is absent from these and many other seeker-sensitive churches is a theology of suffering. In an effort to attract others, we water down what it means to be a disciple, leaving out the hard truth that it’s not always easy. The center of the gospel is not that in accepting Jesus we receive health and wealth, but that we receive the company of the one who suffered for us and who still suffers with us. Jesus warns us that the world will hate us and that we will face many trials. He doesn’t say, accept me as Lord and watch your portfolio grow.

In reaching out to spiritual seekers, we must never leave out Jesus’ recommendation to count the cost of following him before making the decision to do so. Jesus’ journey to heaven first required a visit to the cross, and so does ours (and it's worth it, in this life and the next). You know, the whole "take up your cross and follow me" thing.

Not only is it unwise theologically to leave out this truth, it is unwise practically. Okay, perhaps we will draw in more people at the beginning, but in doing so we are only setting them up for a fall—when things don’t turn out quite as they expected. It seems better to be honest up front, the result being that those who do decide to follow Christ will be more committed and more aware of what they might face.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s more attractive to talk about suffering than an easy life—because it just makes more sense. It is true to what we see happening around us and what we experience in our own lives. I would rather expect to suffer and know that Jesus would support me throughout it, than to expect to prosper and then become disillusioned with Jesus when things don’t go my way.

(To hear an excellent sermon on a theology of suffering based on Job, download Billy Gurley’s “Job Security.” Billy, who I met this summer during my internship, is the singles minister at the Richland Hills Church of Christ. He has dreams of doing inner city church planting in the near future. Keep him in your prayers.)

Am I making sense? I am not saying that God never blesses his children in the areas of finance and health. To say that he doesn't would be, based on my own experience, to snub God, who has blessed me immensely more than I deserve. Neither I am saying that all we should talk about is suffering. No, I'm just saying that we can't demand things from God and that if we talked about suffering a bit more than we currently do we'd be closer to the biblical portrayal of the normal life of a believer. Here it is in a nutshell: Job teaches us that whatever happens to us in this life, good or bad, God is almighty and is worthy of our praise, and Hebrews teaches us that he is with us in our suffering.

(And this is me in a nutshell: "Help, help, how did I get into this nutshell? What kind of a nut has a shell this big?")

It's for the Kids

2005-07-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Look at that faaace! How could you not want to minister to hur?

Earlier this summer the difficulty of ministering to both adults and children in small groups became apparent at Christ Journey, and ever since we have been brainstorming about how to best meet the needs to both age ranges. This morning I attended a couple of classes on this very topic at ACU's Summer Workshop for small churches.

One class told about a new thing called the Workshop Rotation Model (WoRM). It is something that (if slightly adapted) Christ Journey could do in one room of the house for the kids while the adults are engaged in discussion about the week's lesson in the other room. Here is a description of WoRM from a website that I recommend if you want to learn more and/or download curricula for free, rotation.org:

Teach major Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops: an Art workshop, Drama, Music, Games, A-V, Puppets, Storytelling, Computers, and any other educational media you can get your hands on. Teach the same Bible story in all of the workshops for four or five weeks rotating the kids to a different workshop each week. And here comes the extremely teacher friendly part: Keep the same teacher in each workshop for all five weeks -teaching the same lesson week after week (with some age appropriate adjustments) to each new class coming in. The results, says Linda Beckham, D.C.E. at Tampa's Palma Ceia Church are astounding. "The kids love it, the teachers love it, and we can't ever imagine going back to the old way."

And for another perspective, here's a description from another recommended site, PowerXpress.com:

In a rotational setting, the same Bible story or theme is taught for several weeks. Each week, learners rotate to a different station. The story remains the same, but children encounter it in different ways in each station. Repetition is an important part of the rotation approach. The more different ways children explore a story or concept, the more it is reinforced in their memories. The variety of experiences keeps interest high throughout the unit. Teachers teach the same lesson, with age-level adjustments, for the length of the rotation. Rotational learning is exciting for students and teachers alike, as teachers teach to their strengths and students experience Bible stories in ways they learn best. Rotational learning is grounded in the work of Howard Gardner in Multiple Intelligences Theory. Rotational learning is active learning, emphasizing each of the first seven intelligences that Gardner identified. Rotational learning is an extremely flexible model that adapts well to many settings.

I think it would be very easy for Christ Journey (as well as Team Olomouc) to adapt this for their small group ministry. When praise time is over and it is time for the lesson, an adult (a different one each week) could take the kids to another room and use her/his talents and interests to teach the children the lesson. Perhaps the same story could be taught four weeks in a row from four different angles (arts, crafts, science, cooking, movies, computers, games, music, drama, story-telling, puppets). By the way, apparently repitition is good for small children (pre-K to 3rd grade). So, though studying the same story four weeks in a row could be monotonous for us, it won't necessarily be for the kids. This model sounds cool to me, and, like I recently wrote about, it might be a way for me to use my interest in art to teach kids. Two other benefits are that more adults get to be involved in the lives of the small group's children and no one adult has to carry the whole load.

The other class I attended also dealt with the simultaneous problem and opportunity of ministering to children in small groups. Here are a couple of links from the speaker's church's website (Alameda Church of Christ). One is on the ins and outs of small groups and the other has discussion guides available to download. Each guide includes a 'kid friendly' lesson. There is also a document available which is full of lessons for preschoolers in small groups.

Download discussion guides here.
Find information on how to do small group ministry and other tools here.

Ain't the internet great!

The heartwarming pictures you've been enjoying are of my two neices, Reagan and Jayden. Aww.

Starving Artists

2005-07-27T01:55:00.000-07:00

Today I read a chapter in Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz about church and it got me really excited. At the end of the chapter, Donald explains that one of the four things that makes him love his church, Imago-Dei, is that it supports the arts...

Peter started an 'artistery' where artists live and create art, teach art, and encourage people to be creative. Peter recently held a gallery opening in a local coffeehouse, and all the art was created by people who attend Imago. Artists feel at home at Imago. I even led a short story group where we wrote short stories and then had a reading under Christmas lights and candles over at the artistery. I think there are artists at a lot of churches who don't have an outlet, and by creating an outlet, the church gives artists a chance to express themselves and in return the church gets free stuff to put on their walls. Creating an arts group at a church is a great idea.

I agree, and I am really excited about the possibilities of integrating art into our outreach in Olomouc, Czech Republic. We could invite teens (or people of any age really) to join our 'art club' (we need a better name though) to learn together about creating art—whether visual, written, or whatever. We could occasionally convert our offices into a gallery to share the artwork of our participants and invite people from the community to experience our work, much of which I am sure will have to do with Christian spirituality. Perhaps we could even submit some of our creations to the art galleries in the town center of Olomouc. One possible project is for everyone to depict their interpretation of a visually rich text of scripture. And, of course, each person will be free to do their own projects. Can y'all think of other ideas and possibilities?

While I'm talking about art, I might as well display some of my own. Embedded in this entry are pictures documenting an installation project, Breathing Room, from my final semester in undergrad. It included seven porcelain asthma inhalers and six self portraits involving my inhaler and breathing, displayed within an 8' x 8' x 24' room. Here is the artist's statement that accompanied the installation...

Breathing Room, by Mitch Anderson

Asthma inhalers are of great personal significance. I am dependent on inhalers in order to breathe properly: to catch my breath after exercise and merely to be able to go to sleep.

Of greater personal significance is God. In God, and in God only, we live and move and have our being; he gives us our breath, the breath of life. He restores our souls day by day. Just as I am dependent on my asthma inhaler for breath, so are all of us dependent on God for breath, and life, and everything else. And, just as my inhaler renews my ability to breathe, so God renews us daily; he provides the necessities of life. Beyond our basic needs he gives us our abilities that we may use them to help others and to glorify him. Due to the skills and intelligence God has given we are able to accomplish amazing things; we are able to advance in technology and medicine and produce wonderful blessings, such as inhalers for asthmatics like myself.

It is all about point of view. One can look at an inhaler and praise man for his superior intelligence or praise God for sharing his. The realization that God is the creator, giver, and worker comes at different times for different people, and never for some. Breathing Room is a metaphor for this journey, a baptism of sorts. The road is not necessarily comfortable or easy, but at the end peace comes and life goes on—but it is changed.

Sharing my faith through this project was an amazingly fulfilling experience. I also appreciated the communal aspect of getting the project done: many of my friends gave many hours to help with its completion. In postmodern society we are starving for meaning and expression and community. I hope we can find such starving artists in Olomouc.

Better Than Ezra?

2005-07-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

Another cool thing hit me the other day as I was reading through Ezra, specifically 7:7-10, which tells us that Ezra and a group of exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem safely and in good time, "for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Isreal." What a simple and profound summation of our responsibility as servants of God: we should set our hearts to studying the word, doing the word, and teaching the word. Study...do...teach. It's not easy to be better than Ezra. But I at least want to try to be like him.

Hit Me!

2005-07-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when something just hits you? No, not projectiles, but concepts or ideas. This evening when Chris and I were canvassing a neighborhood with flyers advertising Christ Journey's upcoming kids camp, Chris mentioned that it might be a good idea to canvas another neighborhood on Sunday morning. I've heard that idea somewhere before, but it really makes sense, doesn't it? If our goal is to reach out to the unchurched, what better time to hand out flyers and meet people in a neighborhood than Sunday morning when churched folks are, well, with their church? In other words, we're more likely to meet people who need to be met. And, since at Christ Journey we have our corporate gathering on Sunday evening, we don't have to feel guilty for 'missing' church. Anyway, Sunday morning evangelism, that's what hit me.

eRFC

2005-07-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

In undergrad at the University of Arkansas, I interned with the Razorbacks for Christ (RFC) campus ministry for two years. During that time, every Thursday I would send a weekly email to our listserv with reminders of upcoming events plus a 'mini devo,' and after the two years were up, I promised to put the emails into some kind of booklet. Well, that never happened, and so I've adapted those plans and have instead created a blog which will become an archive of those emails. I already have one semester's worth uploaded. Check it out when you get a chance, to learn a little about the coolest campus ministry in the world and hopefully to be encouraged: eRFC.

Undertaking Squirrels

2005-07-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

…I don’t recall that being in the Christ Journey summer internship job description! :)

So Chris and I are each working on our respective laptops at the kitchen table in his home, when we hear one of Chris’ three boxers let out a strange bark. We look outside to see what’s going on and find that Mikey managed to nab a squirrel. The squirrel is not quite dead, but it is obvious that Mikey is very proud of his catch. Chris is not so pleased. Scolding Mikey, he calls his three dogs inside the house to get them out of the way, and then turns to me—despite the fact that he is a man twice my size—and asks if I could throw the squirrel over the fence with their shovel. Apparently Chris doesn’t do dead (or dying) animals or any bugs, whether alive or dead. (It’s okay, we all have our fears. I don’t particularly like big dogs—especially the squirrel killin’ kind!) I accept the shovel, head outside, scoop up the squirrel, and do the dirty deed—tossing the poor thing, paralyzed but still panting, over the back fence. Perhaps euthanasia was in order, but even I don’t have the nerves to do that. You’re welcome, Chris. Call me again whenever you need the services of Mitch 'The Undertaker' Anderson.

Growing Pains

2005-07-08T01:15:00.000-07:00

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.” Malachi 3:10

Christ Journey’s initial cell group has grown more quickly than expected. What a wonderful problem to have! It began as a core team of about 10 and has grown to almost 30. According to small group guru, Ralph Neighbour, a group should multiply once it reaches 15, in order to retain intimacy and to allow room for more growth. However, Neighbour also recommends multiplying after 6-9 months, rather than just the three that Christ Journey has been gathering. It is time for this initial group to multiply into two if not more cells—both because of its size and because the DNA of multiplication needs to be in place before the Sunday worship launch occurs in September. The question is, how should this look? How should the logistics of multiplication pan out? It is a huge blessing to be here with Christ Journey as they figure this out, because these questions will come up soon after Team Olomouc begins its work in the Czech Republic. Christ Journey has several options:

Option 1: two groups of 15. The benefit, strength in numbers. The downside, multiplication would need to occur again very soon and intimacy would be difficult to achieve, or if achieved, to maintain for long.

Option 2: three groups of 10. This would leave more room for growth and allow for more intimacy. But, again, how would this look? How do we decide which people are in which group? By region? Put the families from Cleburne in one group and the Burleson families in two other groups?

Option 3: two or three groups, plus another one or two which start from scratch (i.e. with only one family which would invite unchurched neighbors and friends to join them). At least two families are able and probably willing to do this. Would this spread the church too thin? Should perhaps at least one other family partner with the ‘cell group planters’ to help and to learn?

Another question is where Chris and Heidi fit into these groups. Should they attend all of them for a short transition time? Or, will attending all of the cell groups create a dependency on the Chappotins?

Whatever the case, it seems that future cell leaders should begin taking turns leading the current group. This will help to make them more comfortable when the time for multiplication comes, and will also help to reduce the focus on Chris and Heidi.

When multiplication occurs, should the group continue to meet as a whole on Sunday? I think yes. This seems beneficial because it will ease the transition, and because a number of people have expressed a desire to continue to meet as one, as if to say, “We like seeing everyone each week and we don’t want to lose that.” If the Sunday meeting does continue, then each cell will need to find another night during the week to meet. (Though continuing the corporate gathering on Sunday has its benefits, perhaps adjourning the corporate gathering for a week or two would also be beneficial, so that each group has the opportunity to ‘settle into’ or ‘establish the identity of’ the new group. Of course, the identity of groups will continually change as they multiply; so maybe they shouldn't get too settled?)

Another important question: how does children’s ministry take place in cell groups—in such a way that learning occurs, rather than merely babysitting? Rachel, the children’s minister, takes the kids into another room in the house when praise time is over. Recently she explained that creating an environment of learning is difficult when ages range from 2 to 10. Therefore, the plan is to have two classes, one for ages 1-4, and another for ages 5 and up.

But, again, what happens when the group multiplies? Rachel will not be able to attend them all, and the groups will have various numbers of kids and combinations of ages. Also, how will the Sunday launch in September change the dynamics of children’s ministry? If quality worship and learning experiences are created on Sundays, does that reduce the pressure on cell groups to provide structure and well-prepared curricula, making ‘just babysitting’ okay?

Wow, that’s a lot of questions! I look forward to being a part of some of these decisions and seeing what happens. Though I have a lot of questions, I am becoming more and more convinced of two things for future church plants. First, the search for facilities should begin as soon as possible, in order to find the best possible option and also to reduce stress during the already stressful couple of months prior to a Sunday launch. Second, because spiritual friendships take time to develop and deepen, the earlier one can get involved in the community, the better. To put this in the Czech context, though public launch may not officially begin until after a year, a year and a half, or more of being in the Czech Republic, getting to know Czech people should begin immediately. By getting a membership to a local gym, setting up a routine for going to the park and joining in pickup games of soccer/volleyball/whatever, meeting people in one’s apartment complex, and having these new friends over for dinner (or out to dinner), to play games, etc.

May God continue to pour out the blessings of growth (and the inherent difficulties of finding room for everything and everyone). Thank you, God, for including us in your redeeming and transforming work. Please guide our upcoming decisions and glorify your name in all of our efforts.

One New Friend and Three New Births

2005-07-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

I prayed for God to surprise me and I’d say he came through—the very next day! Friday afternoon, as I was leaving the Burleson Athletic Club, I found myself walking beside a guy who had been on the treadmill the entire time I was working out. I introduced myself, commented that I noticed how long he’d been on the treadmill, and as we entered the parking lot, the conversation took off.

After explaining his workout schedule to me (weights in the morning, cardio in the afternoon) he asked me how long I’d been coming to the Athletic Club. I told him only a few weeks and that I was only in town for the summer for an internship. He asked me where I was staying while I’m in town and I answered that I’m staying with a different family each week—that I’m working with a new church in town and that members of it have been generous enough to house me this summer. He asked me to tell him about the church, and so I explained that we are meeting in a small group in a different family’s house each week, that the small group includes praise time, a conversational lesson, and a meal, and that in September we will begin renting a facility for Sunday worship. Here’s where the conversation got really cool.

He told me that he had ‘found God’ about four years ago, and that he was looking into being a part of a Baptist church. However, he said he is having a hard time being forgiving. I got the idea that he felt he should work through that before getting involved in a church. He then added that it is always encouraging when he meets someone willing to talk about God with him. He said that meeting me was like God saying ‘hi.’ (At the moment, all I could think was, “Wow, God, you’re amazing!”)

As the conversation began to wind down, I asked him if I could give him my card and he said sure. So we headed over to my vehicle to get one. As I handed him the card, he asked, “You said y’all meet in a different house each week, right? How do you find out where each week’s house is?” I pointed him to the web address on the card and said that he could find the address there and that he could feel free to call or email me for directions. With a genuine smile on his face, he thanked me and said he’d see me around.

My eyes were watery for the whole thirty-minute drive to the house in Cleburne where I stayed last week. I was so pumped, and so thankful that God set up a divine appointment for us that afternoon.

Thinking back through the conversation, I realize that there were places were I could have dug deeper and could have said more, but I am very happy with the way it went. That night I checked the Christ Journey website to make sure the address for this week’s house was available and found that only the name of the family was listed. D’oh! My friend didn’t call or email over the weekend, so I knew he wouldn’t show tonight, but I pray I see him this week in the gym and that God will bless our conversations.

Despite the fact that my new friend didn’t show, our cell group gathering tonight was awesome! The whole night was organized around the baptisms of Sue, Tiffany, and Michael. FORTY people gathered for the celebration.

After singing several songs, Chris gave all of us the opportunity to say an encouraging word to the baptizees. After a few people spoke, Chris asked me to talk a little bit about the meaning of baptism. I highlighted its connection with creation, cleansing, covenant, and Christ and afterward gave everyone a chance to comment on what they heard or to offer additional thoughts about baptism. Chris then asked Sue, Tiffany, and Michael to gather in the center of the room so that we could place our hands on them and pray. We ALL prayed, ALOUD, at the SAME TIME. It was very cool. The room was filled with the noise of prayers for our new sisters and brother.

After a short break to get changed and ready, we all made our way to the pool in the backyard. About half of us got in the water with Sue, Tiffany, Michael, and with Chris and Heidi who baptized them, and the rest of us circled around the pool to watch. Chris gave a short introduction of each person, and then he and Heidi together baptized Sue, then Tiffany, then Michael, saying in stereo, “We now baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Lots of hugging followed, then hot dogs and chips, and finally we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together.

While eating dinner, Mark commented on what a great evening it had been and that this is what it is all about. He said he is really excited to be part of a church like this.

This is indeed what it is all about: walking together through the journey of life in Christ and inviting others to join us. Thank you, God, for the wonderful things you are doing in and through Christ Journey, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of it.

You can view pictures of the baptisms here and read Chris' blog about the evening, as well as other recent Christ Journey events, here.

Surprise Me

2005-06-30T23:51:00.000-07:00

Repeatedly this summer, Chris has talked about God’s surprises during his and Heidi’s short journey of church planting. This is a characteristic of the missional paradigm: missions occurs by the Spirit, by waiting for God’s surprises; whereas in the church growth paradigm, missions occurs by strategic planning. The surprises in Christ Journey have been many. Only one of the couples Chris and Heidi pursued to be a part of the core team said yes. The rest of the core team has come together due to ‘random’ meetings. One couple called Chris out of the blue one day to ask him what Christ Journey was all about. They had heard that CJ meets at 4:00 which was more appealing to them than having to get up in time for 10:30 service at the church they were attending. They brought along with them their family—mother, brother, sister, and brother-in-law—each member of which has a powerful testimony concerning the grace and guidance of God to turn their lives around. Another couple called Chris because they had searched on the internet for local church plants. They were tired of the seeker-sensitive model at their church which lacked depth; they wanted to help in a church that both seeks the lost and matures the found. The husband is now the worship leader for the cell group. The church has both denominational (CofC, Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic) and geographical (Burleson, Cleburne, Fort Worth) diversity. At basketball in the park, the friend we have gotten to know most grabbed the only bottle that had a Christ Journey card taped to it. Etcetera.

We can do all the planning and preparing we want—and we should do these things—but in the end it is not our ingenuity but God’s providence that proves most ‘effective.’ What does it mean to trust in God? To wait on the Lord? To be led by the Spirit? Maybe it is like a couple of my friends have said: Perhaps it is not that God works a whole lot more when we pray, but that when we are active in prayer we become more aware of the work God is doing in our midst. We join him in the work he is already doing.

God, please surprise me. Open my eyes, and help me to know what to do once I finally see—at the coffee shop tomorrow, in the bookstore, at the gym, in the park, wherever you will. May your kingdom break in. May your will be done on earth as in heaven. For, yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Pickup Evangelism

2005-06-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday at the Park was awesome this week. Chris and I brought a cooler of bottled water to the Warren Park basketball courts and offered them to the people there playing pickup games. The water turned out to be a hit. We joined in for 3 or 4 games. It’s pathetic, I’m 5’6 and my strength is rebounding!

This was our second week in the park so relationships are slowly beginning to develop. Kevin, who last week told us about a cousin who was very sick, informed us today that he had just returned from her funeral. At one point during the night I let him know that I had been praying for his family the past week and he shook my hand appreciatively.

As we were packing up to leave, Chris told a couple of the guys about our cookout this Saturday night, and somehow the topic of our usual Sunday night gathering came up. It was amazing how interested a few of the guys were in learning about what we do, and when we meet and where. What was especially cool was that Kevin, who has apparently attended at least one Christ Journey event, told a couple of the other guys that it was cool and they should come. Reflecting on Kevin’s comments, Chris later pointed out that despite the perceptions we tend to have, transformed/impacted seekers are actually more effective evangelists than paid ministers or evangelists of a church. Very true, and a fact that we should use to encourage others to reach out through spiritual friendships. Evangelism isn’t for those with special training, but for anyone whose life has been impacted by God via relationship with him and his disciples. I wonder if perhaps another factor in the interest shown tonight was the fair play, clean and encouraging language, etc. that Chris and I showed. Perhaps no one really noticed these things while we were playing, but I wonder if afterward, when they found out we were Christians working with a new church, it clicked that we were different.

One guy, who was there with his wife and baby watching, said that they go to another church in town which is also meeting in houses. Two other guys attend the Lighthouse Church in town, and one of them is the worship leader. When we told him our church was called Christ Journey he asked what denomination we are affiliated with. Churches of Christ. So are you charismatic? Etc. It is interesting how denominational names and distinctives are so important to churched people, but to the unchurched those kinds of things really don’t matter. It was also apparent from some of the questions and comments tonight how engrained the importance of having a church building has become. It’s like we feel illegitimate without one.

I’m excited to see what happens this weekend, whether some of the folks we met tonight show up for Saturday cookout and/or Sunday gathering. I pray that they do. I’m also just excited about allowing God work through me as I develop spiritual friendships with others. I’m more reserved than Chris, so getting to know these guys will be a bit slower, but fast or slow, I think the work of the Spirit and the witness of a transformed person (still in the process of transformation, of course) who is concerned for the wellbeing of others could be a powerful combo.