Thank you Bruins

Thanks to the UCLA Bruins for knocking off the USC Trojans. This keeps the University of Michigan hopes for a rematch with Ohio State alive in the BCS championship game. We'll see what comes out of the BCS rankings tomorrow, but hope is still alive.

More on Slavery

If you have never read this book, I heartily endorse it. I read it during an ethics class at Asbury Theological Seminary and it really rang my bell. It reminded me of the line in the Rich Mullins song "Boy like me, Man like you" that says "Stories like that make a boy grow bold, stories like that make a man walk straight" because the stories of Charles Finney, Jonathan Blanchard, Theodore Weld and the Methodist reformers who were vehemently anti-slavery in the early 19th Century give me great pride in my religious heritage. Of special note is the group of abolitionists at Oberlin College who carried the fight against slavery to extremes at great peril to their own lives and freedom.

We now live in an era where slavery is not as prevalent, but it is still practiced in many parts of the world. Lord, give us the holy boldness that these men and women had to stop an injustice. Their stories inspire us.

What are Christian Issues?

Recently, the president-elect of the Christian Coalition parted ways with the organization over the direction and emphases he wanted to implement. You can read the story here.

What I find striking is that the issues that divided them are all "Christian" issues. It seems that Rev. Hunter wanted to go beyond abortion and homosexuality and deal with poverty and environmental issues. Eventually they came to the conclusion that he was not a good fit there. Hooray for both sides realizing their limits and not prolonging this into a disastrous marriage.

But it begs the question. What are the Christian issues of today? Certainly abortion and homosexual marriage have been in the forefront of legal, political and fundraising issues for some time now. And both sides of the political spectrum are engaged on them.

But there are other issues such as the ones Rev. Hunter wanted to discuss that are in need of a serious look by Christians. I know the Church of the Nazarene is making strides in Africa with HIV/AIDS and sustainable community development in their mission areas. But why is it that gay marriage and abortion are the things that attract the most attention and $$$$?

Is it because they happen in our country? Are we that narcissistic? It it because the issue is easier to get our heads and wallets around? After all, one more Supreme Court Justice and the Christian Coalition will be smiling. Or is it because the other issues seem insurmountable? I just don't know. I know the right wing of the American church is a latecomer to the HIV/AIDS issue. I just wish they had the same fervor for that that they do for politics and legal wrangling.

Elephants

I like elephants. Big, lumbering creatures, Indian or African. I love seeing them in the zoo, with all of the power and majesty that goes with an animal that large. It's really hard to hide an elephant in most situations. Maybe that is why I love the Non Sequitur comic pictured here so much.

I have been in so many situations where there is an elephant in the room that everyone moves around. Sometimes I see them, and others don't, which drives me crazy. Especially when the elephant materially affects me or the organization and inhibits our ability to accomplish our mission. Many elephants just sit there and impede progress, and people are just content to move around them because they believe the price is too high to deal with them.

What are your elephants? Share some good elephant stories in the comments. I would love to hear them.

Slavery

Slavery isn't dead. More than 140 years after a horrific war fought in this country to end slavery, there are an estimated 27 million people still in slavery around the globe. Next February a new movie about William Wilberforce, who led the charge to end slavery in the British Empire, will be in theaters. Go here to read up on the anti-slavery campaign that is being mounted to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce's triumph.

A few years ago the church flocked to theaters to see "The Passion of the Christ" which was the first rated R movie many had seen. I wonder if churches will put the same effort into getting people to see this movie and behind this issue. It is a consequential issue for millions of people, but not many in this country. I say that not to be judgmental, but to highlight that because it isn't happening here, we probably won't pay much attention. Which is sad. Slavery and genocide are still happening, but we don't talk about them much.

God hates slavery. It is an awful thing that needs to be ended once and for all. Sign the petition and look at the steps you can take to help end this detestable practice.

Rumors, speculation and innuendo

No I'm not talking politics or the lobby in church on Sunday morning (hateful boy, hateful boy).

I'm talking about the plethora of internet rumors about this company or that dissing Christmas, Christians, supporting homosexuals, disrespecting the war or veterans or whatever the latest and greatest rumor may be.

What really surprises me is the number of Christians who blindly send these along without ever verifying the authenticity of what it says. Almost all of these are injurious to the reputation of an individual or corporation.

Here is my simple suggestion. Before you pass along any email of this type, go here to verify the truth. This website does its best to determine the accuracy of internet rumors and dispel myths. Please avail yourself of it. I'm really tired of reading how some company is evil when it isn't true. There is enough evil in the world. We don't have to add more.

Saving the planet

Many people are concerned about the environmental impact that humans have on the planet, with good reason. We have not been good stewards in many ways, but I have good news. I have a very simple process that will make your life easier and lessen your eco-footprint.

Interested?

Here's the deal. (No I am not selling anything.)

Click on the image above. It will take you to the Direct Marketing Association website where you can pay a $1 fee and have your name removed from mailing lists. I have personally done this, and after 3-6 months, you will see a noticeable difference in the amount of junk mail you receive.

Every piece of mail you don't receive is one less that has to be produced, requiring recycled paper, trees, fuel and all of the resources required to get something you don't want delivered to your home. This isn't an original thought with me, I took it from a wonderful little book called "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth."

While I am not one of the environmental doomsayers, it does seem foolish and wasteful to send me things I do not want, and then ask me to recycle or dispose of them. This is your way of greatly diminishing the amount of unsolicited mail you receive. Consider it my gift to you

Roy

Free Music

Go to Derek Webb's site to LEGALLY download his new album Mockingbird. It's well worth the time. You can also visit his MySpace site here.

A just war

Over the weekend I Tivo'd some of the classic war movies that air every year on Veterans Day. I was watching Twelve O'Clock High with Gregory Peck and I began to think about what they were doing with daylight precision bombing and whether it was a just tactic in a just war.

The arguments against the bombing were 1) the horrendous civilian casualties; 2) the incredible loss of life among aircrews and 3) the ineffectiveness of the bombing at stopping the war. As I watched this movie, I wondered if I could have separated my patriotism from my faith enough to question and denounce this practice that killed millions of people without any military benefit. We were attacked and prosecuting a total war, but are there some things you just don't do in war? Firebombing civilians a la Hamburg seems to be one.

The guys flying the planes just wanted 25 missions and the chance to go home. But I suspect some of them questioned the tactics. But did the church? I can't find any evidence of any non-pacifist churches questioning this in a public way. And I wonder if that wasn't a mistake.

Now we are in a different war arguing over civilian losses and what constitutes torture. 60 years have gone by and here we are again.

Come Lord Jesus. Come

Superstar Pastors

Read this piece on Superstar Pastors. I saw in in my local paper, and it made me shake my head.

The following paragraph illustrates the problem as I see it.
So when Haggard fell spectacularly from grace in a scandal involving drugs and allegations of gay sex, many wondered if New Life, so tied to his public persona, would crash with him.

The answer has significance far beyond the Haggard tragedy. As evangelical megachurches have sprung up around the country, concerns have grown over whether superstar pastors help or hurt faith communities.

The article goes on to talk at length about megachurches with superstar pastors. But the question is probably rhetorical. Are we really that shallow? Do we really go to churches just because a particular person is in the pulpit? I realize that pastors make a huge difference, but are we really that shallow?

I really hope not. But I do have some appreciation for strong denominational oversight of pastors. I don't necessarily advocate moving pastors around against the congregational wishes, but I can see the perils of a cult of personality that forms in many of these churches.

Don't Shoot the Wounded

Excerpt from a post on The OOZE

With the advent of the latest news, the evangelical world has come to a choice point. They need to think carefully about how they will move forward. Opportunities to alter the course of a movement’s history do not come often. Now is the perfect time to let the world know we don’t serve a God who looks at our sin and is somehow in shock, disbelief, and denial. And God’s people shouldn’t be either. Now is the time to pray for Ted, his family and friends, and the Haggard’s spiritual fellowship. It is time to pray for the former escort, Mike Jones, who felt the need to air this allegation. We should lift up the divided communities in our nation—the gay and lesbian community, the evangelical community, and everyone in-between and intertwined. Now is the time to recover an ancient truth: Though David suffered extreme consequences for his sin, God never removed him for a single moment from serving as Israel’s king. Evidentially God knows how to differentiate between sin and sinner. If Ted comes clean and changes course through a process of healing and restoration, I pray the evangelical world will allow him to continue to serve as (to borrow Henri Nouwen’s phrase) a “wounded healer,” one who ministers the paradoxical power of Jesus from the pain and brokenness that is common to all of us. If the evangelical world doesn’t do this, it won’t be a judgment on Ted. It will be a judgment on the presumed inefficacy of the blood of Jesus.

This will be an interesting test for the church. What if Ted honestly repents? Will they ostracize him or restore him? Peter was restored after denying Christ. Will we follow the restoration guide in Galatians 6:1? Will we allow this scandal to distract us from the real issue of bringing Christ to a lost world? I hope not. Ted did serious damage to the cause, but we serve a mighty God who can rise above all of our failings.

Let's not get in His way.

Foolishness

It all ends on Tuesday. "The MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR HISTORY" since the last most important election in our history will be over. And there will be much rejoicing. One side will be the victors. Another will be the vanquished. And the rest of us will get a respite from the computer-dialed phone calls telling us when to vote, where to vote, and why one person is terrible and another is good.

Enough of these cursed robo-calls. My phone was ringing non-stop this morning with them. Enough of the slick little advertisments from eveyone but the candidates. I don't mind candidate pieces, but the parties, conservationists, pro dove hunting and anti dove hunting crowds, and everyone else telling me why this person is bad for America is too much.

I used to love politics, now I despise it. I don't watch the news anymore because it is just politics, polls, disasters and scandal. I have enough depressing stuff in my life. I don't need any more.

Not again

Here we go again. A prominent Evangelical leader, this time Ted Haggard, is caught up in a scandal that brings down his ministry. As soon as I heard the reports of this, I had another pit in my stomach. Not that I am a card-carrying member of the NAE, but because this will hurt the Church of Jesus Christ in the eyes of an increasingly skeptical world.

I don't know what Ted Haggard did or did not do with this man, and I really don't want to know. I think it will sicken me if I did. But I do know that an Christian leader who was leading a drive to stop gay marriage in Colorado has been found to have engaged in "sexually immoral behavior" according to the oversight board that dismissed him from the pastorate of his church in Colorado Springs. Our pastor talked about Schadenfreude today - taking pleasure in other's misfortune. I don't have any of that here, but I am sure there are many non-Christians who do. And Satan certainly does.

This is a chastening experience for an aspiring pastor. Not only am I reminded that what I do is not just between me and God, I am also reminded that what I do can affect so many people. My family, congregation, and all those who look to me for spiritual guidance. This is a sobering thought. And one that makes me fearful.

Pray for all those in positions of spiritual leadership. Pray that they would remain faithful to the One who has called them. Pray that they would live lives worthy of their calling. Pray that they would bring Glory to God and build the Kingdom of God. And pray that the enemy would be kept at bay. God help us all.

Why? redux

As I continue my journey into the imponderables of the Christian life, I ran into another thing that we as Christians do almost reflexively. Yet I have never understood why we do it. That thing is standing every time we sing. Why on earth do we do that?

Does the music sound better 6 feet off the floor than it does 3 feet off the floor? Do our voices sound better to us or God? Are we closer to God because we are standing? I just don't get it.

This past Sunday I chose not to stand for some of the songs. Partially because I have an aching right knee (prayers appreciated) and partially because I had some stuff on my mind that I was praying about. And I pray better sitting than standing.

A well-meaning young man in the congregation was prompting me to stand, and I had to politely tell him that I wasn't going to, which made me ask why do we do this anyway? In the current church era, the 20-minute song sets get a bit tiring on my aging legs. If I wanted to stand that long, I would go to a Pink Floyd concert and wave my lighter.

Seriously, does anyone know why we do this?

Grave Robbing

One of my favorite movie scenes is in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" The plague comes to town and a man goes through the village with a cart collecting the dead so they can take them out of town to prevent the spread of this dread disease. A bit of a discussion ensues between the dead collector, the person carrying the dead person (who isn't dead yet) and the nearly dead person. You really have to watch the movie to see that scene. But it illustrates a larger point about dead things. You can't let them hang around. And you can't bring them back.

Colossians 3;3 speaks to this "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." We are dead in Christ. But so many of us keep digging up our old life and dragging it around, long after it was buried.

How many of you know people who have been in Christ for years, but keep dragging around hurts and injustices from back in the day? They hold onto them like prized possessions and get them out whenever they need a crutch. And that is another separate topic.

When we were born again, our past was nailed to Christ's cross. So whatever was done to us is gone, because it was done to a dead person. That is part of the victory we have in Christ. But we diminish that victory if we keep digging up the stinking corpse and strapping it to our bodies as a shield. It's gross, it smells, and no one will recognize it for what it once was.

Let the dead rest. Including all of the sins we committed and the ones committed against us. Christ paid the price and buried them. Leave them there.

Update

Previously I mentioned that pretty teachers who have sex with students don't have to go to jail, a la Debra LaFave. She is the stunning blonde accused of having sex with a male student.

Well this story out of Indiana gives me hope. It appears that 1) there are jurors with brains in Indiana; or 2) she wasn't that pretty. She didn't even touch the kids and got 9 years. Debra LaFave has a book and movie deal I am sure.

God help this country. We are becoming Rome.

Jesus is All I Need

When Caedmon's Call released their "Share The Well" CD, it caught me as I was preparing for my first mission trip to Guatemala. This is one of the greatest CDs I have heard in my life. It is not the most radio-friendly CD, but the songs just rip at my heart. Take this one for example:

All I Need (I Did Not Catch Her Name)

I did not catch her name
I did not catch her tears
But they hit me like a train
When her story hit my ears
Mother of eight sons
Father off to war
Got no home address
Just bricks on a dirt floor
And she said, "Jesus is all I need"

Tiny plot of land
Corn stored up in piles
The years it doesn't rain
They just stay hungry for a while
With no fatted calf to kill
She made a feast of cuy and corn and said
Who else knew my name before
The day that I was born
Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need

And she bragged about her boys
And how they're growing into men
And how the learned to praise the Lord
Old style Ecuadorian
But to buy the new guitar
We had to sell the swine
See my boys go to school on a foreign angel's dime

This world calls me poor
I bore my babies on this floor
But He always provides
Sure as the sun will rise
So I sing Him songs of praise
'Cause I know He keeps me in His gaze

Rain fell from the sky
We raced back to the van
Tears in the eyes
Of this poor forgetful man
Mother of eight sons
She knows the peace of God
Lord, help me learn to lean on
Thy staff and Thy rod

Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need

How do you not see the simple faith that Jesus talked so much about. No complex theology, no seminars, no books on how to live your best, purpose-driven life. Just the simple faith of relying on a God who continually delivers what she needs.

Ecuador is no paradise, but God is alive and moving in the hearts of the people there. I yearn for a faith unencumbered by the stuff that invades my life here. God help us to lean on you, and you alone.

Why?

Why do we do what we do? Have we really sat and thought about the reasons why we do stuff? Especially church stuff?

A theology class I am taking recently forced me to think about what is embedded -taught by others and accepted by me -, and what is deliberative - what I have thought through and learned by asking questions. No shocker here, but I am more deliberative in my theology.

For example, why do we believe what we believe about creation? Some people are literal 7-day folks. Others see the Genesis account as more metaphorical than literal. Some see 2 creations in Genesis, with an intervening time between them. Others, like me, are say " I believe God created everything" and don't get into the discussion of 7 literal days. I've chosen that route because I just don't know the answer and I don't believe anyone on earth today has a definitive answer on the question of a 7 day creation. And I don't think it really matters. But I do wonder why we believe what we do.

That's really the question. Is it because of the church we attend? The way we were raised? Because we are trying to impress someone? Or have we truly searched the scriptures, sought God's face, and believe this is the answer He has given us?

Will our entire theology collapse if we do not believe in this issue. Or is this just something we have been taught and reflexively spout when asked.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

The apocalypse

In a previous post I mentioned that the Detroit Tigers were in first place, which was causing a cosmic disturbance of epic proportions. Folks, it is much worse than that. The Tigers are in the World Series. And they are the favorite by most accounts.

This is really big. This is a team that set the American League record for losses three years ago when they posted a splendid 43-119 record. That is a record only surpassed by the New York Mets when they were an expansion team.

Yet three years later, the Tigers have mown down the mighty Yankees and swept the A's. My head is spinning.

I'm piling up my mashed potatoes and heading for Devil's Tower. I'm sure that something is coming, alien or apocalypse. I just want to be prepared.

Humility

Do you ever have one of those "God Moments" that just humbles you to your core? One of those times when a truth is spectacularly revealed to you or the Spirit speaks so clearly that it is unmistakeable? They are not frequent for me, but I just had one.

The Lord spoke to me through a person who told me that I am where I am for a specific purpose, and then spoke about that purpose. Without giving away details, he told me how my knowledge, skills, and gifts etc. assisted him with an ongoing issue. I didn't think a great deal about it at the moment, because I changed the subject (which is how I deflect praise) but later that night the Spirit clearly spoke to me about it.

All of the grief, trouble and heartache that put us there now pale in comparison with the thought that I was sent by God for a specific purpose and task. What a humbling thought that is to me. We came to the thought that God may be using me as a transitional figure, which, looking at my past, is a possiblity. Like John the Baptist, I may be used to end one era and usher in a new one. In many ways I hope that is not the case, because that implies a great deal of change and bumping and rubbing. But, God is sovereign and I am not

Miracles and Wonders

In Paul Simon's masterful Graceland album, there is a song called "Boy in the Bubble" that describes the world 20 years later.

The Boy In The Bubble

It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio

These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Don’t cry

It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in the corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Don’t cry

It’s a turn-around jump shot
It’s everybody jump start
It’s every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
a loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby don’t cry
Don’t cry

© 1986 Paul Simon
Music by Paul Simon and Forere Motloheloa

We still have bombs in baby carriages, cars, buses and any other device that can transport a bomb. North Korea just detonated a nuclear device, much to the world's chagrin. We plan trips to Mars, watch space shuttles disintegrate before our very eyes, and are working on laser-based missile defense systems.

At the same time, we have breath-taking advances in medicine, robotics, nanotechnology and circuitry. These truly are the days of miracles and wonders.

I was painting my garage listening to that song and it just struck me. Not much has changed in 20 years. And it is still a bit scary.

Follow-up

Check out this article on Finding God's will from the most recent issue of Holiness Today, published by the Church of the Nazarene. It adds to my previous post.

Will

What is God's will for our lives? Is it something written before our birth that if we deviate from we will live a life of misery? It it set in stone, or is it a flexible, fluid concept that we strive to stay inside. I hear a lot of talk about God's will, and good Christians can even disagree about what God's will is in a particular situation. The better question is how do we go about discerning the will of God?

There are many ways to seek God's will. We could do the Elijah, and throw ourselves in the desert and beg for death. That works if you have a desert handy, and some birds, but not all of us have those readily available.

For me, the best is to search the scriptures and see if it is mentioned there. If the Bible teaches that something is permissible or forbidden, then the story ends there. If the question is not directly answered, the process becomes more problematic. Prayer is always the best option, even when searching the scriptures. Prayer allows the Holy Spirit to more easily guide our thoughts. It also opens our heart to other-centeredness, which is almost always a good thing. It quiets our soul, which allows us to hear His voice more readily. And God does speak through prayer.

The real sticking point is when scripture leaves the issue alone, and prayer doesn't produce a discernible answer. Such as in a new job offer. Assuming the job is not in an immoral business, how do we know whether to accept the new offer and leave our current job? That is an agonizingly tough call for many people. I guess this is where we look at a cost/benefit analysis of the new job, or whatever the situation is. Will the negatives outweigh the positives? What will it cost my family? Lost time with me? Additional communting costs? Stress?

Here is where good counsel from mature Christians can play a role. They can help you walk through the process without judgment and join you in prayer. If the person has your best interests and God's instruction at heart, their role can be a great asset. Just be cautious in whom you seek counsel. Job received some bad advice from good people. And that still happens today.

If you have additional thoughts on finding God's will, I'd love to hear them.

Evil

The Bible uses the word EVIL more than 400 times. But what is evil? From a narcissistic point of view it is bad things that happen to us. But that is an incomplete definition, because it excludes the thought that evil can originate in us. I prefer to think of evil as that which causes us to sin and violate God's righteousness.

This week America's thoughts have been on the horrific events of September 11, 2001. On that day, America realized that there are evil people who hate us and want to kill us. We all knew this in the back of our minds, but on that day it became a front-burner issue. And most of us viscerally felt the rage, disgust, horror, fear and helplessness of watching our fellow citizens die in an unimaginable horror.

What happened that day was evil. Al Qaeda and its associated groups launched an attack on innocent civilians to make a political point. That is the basis of terrorism. What they did was evil. More than 2800 people died that day, and thousands more in the wars that have followed as the United States and its allies pursue terror groups around the world.

I appreciate the President using the term "evil" to describe the people who did this and their actions. Moral clarity is helpful when dealing with evil. And this type of evil is pretty easy to recognize. But there are other types of evil that are less evident. But they are evil nonetheless. And allowing evil to fester in our midst is always a bad thing.

Why do we allow subcultures to abuse their members? There are immigrants to this country who work in virtual slavery to pay off the fee for their transport. Leviticus 19:34 instructs Israel to treat aliens as one of their own. Shouldn't we?

Why do we allow corporations in the U.S to sell goods made with slave labor, or near-slave labor, in Third-World countries? Better yet, why do we buy those goods?

Why do we look the other way and allow drug communities to exist in our cities as long as the violence that accompanies drug dealing stays in that neighborhood? What about the innocent people trapped by economic circumstance in those communities? Don't they deserve the same protection the suburbs receive?

Why do we allow inner-city school children to receive a sub-standard education? Many cities have made dramatic improvements, but there are still far too many children trapped in schools that cannot properly educate them. These kids will be hampered for the rest of their lives, but that doesn't bother many of us. Why is that?

Sept. 11 was a day of evil actions. But evil abounds in the world, and we can stamp out many types of evil in our local communities. We just have to see the evil around us.

This is wretched

Isaiah had it right in Chapter 5, verse 20: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

Read this story and just think about how wrong it is that we as a society celebrate people like this. She, and the whole Hollywood culture, are so narcissistic it makes me ill. Maybe that is why I don't watch network news shows anymore. Other than her fine acting in "The Simple Life" and a homemade porn video, why do we know who Paris Hilton is? It's not as if she is a consequential person who has done significant things. She is a party-girl heiress with a good publicist.

This is America?

Crikey

Sadly, we mark the death of one of my daughter's favorite TV personalities, Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter. While I was not a fan of his over-the-top reptilian hunting, my kids liked the show, and he did an excellent job of explaining habitat and how many violent animal-human interactions could be prevented if we were more sensitive to the animal. Basically, don't corner them, frighten them (especially their young) and watch where you are walking.

Americans tend to have a poor attitude toward wildlife that is not convenient for their viewing pleasure. I'll confess that I have killed my share of racoons and skunks for various garbage can infractions. But Irwin did show us how to respect God's creation and demonstrate the purposes that some of the creatures have.

He will be missed. He leaves behind a wife and two small children, who need our prayers.

Contentment

Phillippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

This is not my favorite part of the Bible, simply because contentment is an unfinished issue in my life. By nature I am a restless spirit and I simply have to work at contentment, and accepting what the Lord has for me at any given point in time. One of the things that drives me nuts is that the Lord gave me eyes that can see the possible and a spirit that wants to get there right now. Such is my ministry preparation. I'm pushing 40, enrolled in Asbury Seminary, and have all sorts of great ideas. But, as the chorus goes, "In His Time", is not matching up with my time.

Last week we bid farewell to our closest friends, the Risters, as they packed up and moved to Colorado Springs so John can begin classes at Nazarene Bible College. John and I share many things, including a call to professional ministry. His wife and my wife are the closest of friends, and our children cannot remember life without each other. It was truly a bittersweet moment as we said our goodbyes after helping them pack their U-Haul. And I was envious.

Envious that God had opened a door for John where Ford Motor Company offered him a buyout that includes paying for his education. Envious that they get to move to one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. And envious that their sense of direction seems stronger than mine.

But I know what God has asked me to do, and I continue to prepare for whatever he has in store for us. I rejoice in the Rister's sense of purpose. And for the way God has opened doors for them. Pray that I can be patient enough to wait on his time. I know He has doors to open for me.

A Big Day

Saturday, August 20, was a memorable one for our household. Bandit, our 7 month-old puppy, decided to make his bid for freedom around 1 p.m. He dug under the downspout extension, and crawled out a 6-inch gap and took off. Mind you, the night before he had broken the ring that held his tag and dog license. So he was completely footloose and fancy free.

My wife called me at the office to see if I had the dog and then discovered the escape. When I arrived at home my wife, daughter and daughter's friend were out riding their bikes and calling Bandit's name.

From about 2 p.m. until 7:30 we continued looking for him, broken only long enough to attend an open house for a couple that eloped in June. As the day wore on, my attitude toward this moronic mutt became progressively less charitable, especially as I tired of sitting on a bicycle seat.

Our break came around 7 when a lady said she had seen him downtown on Front Street. I rode down and went into a restaurant to see if they had seen him. It turns out that they had seen him running in and out of traffic and tried to tie him up. When that failed, they took him to a nearby park where the Monroe Fire Department was holding a children's event. A kind fireman took him to the Humane Society, where we picked him up the next day. Many thanks to Julie and her staff at the Monroe Street Grill and the Monroe Fire Department for taking care of our wayward canine.

But as my attitude darkened, the Lord reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:4: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? I have never lost a sheep, heck, I don't even like sheep. But I do know that in the bottom of my heart, I was sick with the thought that he might be hurt, dead or taken. And I'm really glad to have him back.

If I can be that happy about my wayward dog, how much more joy is there in heaven when a wayward soul returns home? And how do I put that joy in my heart for the souls that return? That is where I need God's grace to celebrate with others. I get so caught up in my own world that I don't appreciate what God is doing around me. Just what he has done for me lately.

Here we go again

What is it about blowing up airplanes that thrills Muslim terrorists so much? Five years after 9/11/2001, the shoe bomber and countless other plots, here we are again with British authorities stopping a terrorist plot to drop planes from the sky.

In my recent Christian Ethics class, we had to think through some tough just war theory applications. Terrorism is a tough one. The war is always asymmetrical, the opponents aren't easily identified, and often to remove them, you have to attack a failed state that is harboring them.

God help us as we go forward. This is going to go on for a long time.

Too much time on their hands

Isn't New Jersey the state the shut down it's government over a budget impasse? This may explain why. If the state legislature has nothing better to do than this, then it is no surprise that their state is a mess. What a waste of tax dollars.

It seems the link is password protected. Here is the article from the August 9 Wall Street Journal.

Naming a State Dirt
Just Doesn't Wash
With New Jerseyites

'Downer,' the Candidate Loam,
Can't Get Senate Notice;
Enemy of Lawn and Order

By BARRY NEWMAN
August 9, 2006; Page A1

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- As its license plates affirm, New Jersey is the Garden State. Where does its garden grow? It grows in dirt, which is why asking the state legislature to designate an official New Jersey state dirt sounded like a nice idea to David Friedman.

"It connects plants and animals and water and everything," said Mr. Friedman, a tall 55-year-old who runs the Ocean County soil-conservation district, here on the coastal plain between New York and Atlantic City. On a hot afternoon, he was driving his Subaru toward the broad, burnt lawn of the East Dover Baptist Church.

"What's beneath our feet," Mr. Friedman continued, "is a whole other world of earth and worms and...help me out, Chris."

"And roots and organisms," said Chris Miller, a specialist with the U.S. Agriculture Department who was on an inspection tour; he was riding in the back seat.

"They all serve," Mr. Friedman said. "If we manage what's below our feet, it's going to benefit mankind."

The sentiment appealed to Douglas Fisher, chairman of the state Assembly's Agriculture Committee. Encouraged by Mr. Friedman, he co-sponsored a bill naming a sandy loam called Downer soil as New Jersey's official dirt. Also known as "sugar sand," Downer blankets Ocean County; it's the commonest dirt in the state.

By unanimous vote, the Assembly passed the bill in May, prompting local resident Jay Lomberk to write to the Asbury Park Press: "State dirt? Are you kidding?" And another local, Jackie Daly, to write: "If it weren't so pathetic, it would be funny." There were lots of editorials, too.

Mr. Fisher is sure the mockery explains why no senator followed his dirt bill with one in the state's upper chamber. Earlier this year, Mr. Fisher nominated the tomato as New Jersey's official vegetable. The tomato is a fruit, but Mr. Fisher cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1893 to prove that tomatoes are vegetables in the eyes of the law.

"The tomato didn't go anywhere, either," he says. "Didn't even pass the Assembly. Legislators think these bills make them look stupid. You can reduce anything to folly if you keep working at it."

Hard at work across America, state legislatures have lately ordained official fossils, odes, dogs and doughnuts. Bob Akerle of Netstate.com, a Web site that tracks these bills, says his count of new proposals is nearing 60 for this year. Where official symbols once stopped at flags, flowers and anthems, they total in the hundreds now. A few months ago, South Carolina made boiled peanuts its official snack food. Hawaii just installed the humuhumunukunukuapua'a as its official fish.

United Square Dancers of America has lobbied Congress to make the square dance a national symbol, alongside the flag, the rose and the bald eagle. "What with the war, we were not able to pass it," says Alitia Becker, the group's Plains region vice president. But it has persuaded 31 state legislatures -- New Jersey's included -- that they need an official folk dance, and that the square dance is it.

Until July 1, only Vermont had an official pie (apple). Now Florida has passed a pie act (Key lime) and the American Pie Council has hopes for pecan (Georgia) and cherry (Michigan). "People like to invoke a feeling of America," says Linda Hoskins, the pie council's executive director. "Nothing invokes America like pie."

Sure enough, but even officialdom can get fed up. Florida's lawmakers saw no use for a state rock; Ocala limestone met defeat in April. Last month, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco vetoed the newly written "I Love My Louisiana" as state poem, citing its lack of literary merit. In March, the Utah Legislature killed the rattlesnake's bid for state reptile.

Unlike rocks, snakes and poetry, the official-dirt movement, a loose amalgam of soil scientists, had run into little resistance up to now. Florida named a dirt (Myakka) in 1989. West Virginia did it (Monongahela) in 1997, and Illinois (Drummer) in 2001. Georgia is getting set to name red clay. All told, 21 states have honored dirt.

"There's no financial motivation, like there is with pie," Mr. Friedman was saying as he drove up to the Baptist Church and parked at the curb. He opened his trunk, got out a rubber-handled steel spike and added: "I don't think this should be a controversial issue in New Jersey."

Except for one thing: Mr. Friedman's homage to Downer soil also happens to be a philosophical challenge to what federal researchers recently identified as America's biggest crop.

The lawn.

At the East Dover Baptist Church, the lawn, initially planted in Downer, was now parched and firm. Mr. Friedman started across, paused, and jammed the spike as deep as it would go into the surface crust. It stopped at two inches.

"This is what happens in suburbia," said his colleague, Mr. Miller. Like lawns everywhere, this one had been flattened and turned during construction before it was grassed over. When dirt gets crushed, grass can't sink roots deep enough to drink up water from below; it has to be watered by hoses and sprinklers more and more. Because the dirt can't absorb it all, the water runs off into drains. In Ocean County, lawn fertilizer is then sluiced into barrier-island bays, helping breed algae that can starve fish of oxygen.

By contrast, under a pine stand in a far corner of the church lawn, a patch of Downer had survived in its spongy, primordial state. Mr. Friedman walked over and easily drove his spike up to the handle. He cleared the leaf duff with his book and scooped up two handfuls of the fragrant, sandy loam. "Plenty of pore space," he said, and Mr. Miller added: "It's best as woodland, a natural woodland soil."

Once, Ocean County was almost all woodland, and its population included 2.6 million hens. It has 500,000 people now, most in houses with lawns, plus 93 gated subdivisions for retirees and more on the way.

"Lawns," said Mr. Miller from the back seat as Mr. Friedman drove west toward Lakehurst. "Personally, I don't know what the draw is." The Subaru passed a string of "active adult communities," their new houses standing on treeless greensward. "That's how they build," Mr. Friedman said. "They clear everything."

He stopped at the edge of a future old-age compound called "River Pointe." Banners with pictures of smiling couples hung from poles. Behind them lay 165 humpy, windblown acres. Root-rakers had pulled out the scrub oak and pitch pine. Graders had sheared off the topsoil and stockpiled it. A backhoe was digging a storm drain.

Two surveyors stood at the roadside. Mr. Friedman walked over to introduce himself and offer his views on lawn abuse. "That was Downer soil," he said, looking over his shoulder. "It no longer is."

"Unfortunately, I'm responsible for clearing this," said one of the surveyors, Doug Falkinburg. "That's progress."

Mr. Friedman brought up his legislative campaign, pointing out that New Jersey has a state bird (goldfinch), a state tree (red oak) and a state dinosaur (Hadrosaurus foulkii), but no state dirt, the thing that holds it all together. "People didn't see the value," he said, mentioning that Downer, which almost covers the southern half of the state, was the candidate.

As Mr. Friedman left, the surveyor watched silently, and then he gave the dirt a kick. "Hey, I'm a South Jersey guy, too," he called out. "You got my vote!"

Write to Barry Newman at barry.newman@wsj.com¹

URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115508792324430654.html

Broken things

I was driving down M-50 toward church on Sunday and saw a big maple tree that had lost one of it's main branches. The site where the branch ripped out left a big ugly scar and a gaping hole in the tree, which sits in someone's front yard. My first thought was "why don't they cut that down, it looks nasty" but then the Lord began to speak to me.

I began to realize that while the tree was not what it once was, it was still extremely useful. It still provided shade, the gaping hole had birds transiting in and out of it, and probably nesting there, and all sorts of bugs and beetles are probably making that their home. Sure the tree isn't as pretty as it once was, but it still does some things very well.

People are like that too. Some are physically broken, like the tree. They have injuries or a lifetime of trauma that has left their body bent and broken. But they still have value and can add to the church and community with their contributions.

Others are emotionally or spiritually broken, and their wounds are not always obvious. But they are real. And we have to take them into account when dealing with people. I have not always been good at this, but it is an area where the Lord is working in my life right now.

By nature I am a pusher. I keep moving and prod people to keep moving. But I sometimes push too hard for where people are at that moment. The Spirit has been good to me lately in letting me know when to ease up, and I've been trying hard to listen.

Let's celebrate the broken things. Let's fix what we can, use what we can, throw away what we must and celebrate what we have. God uses broken things, and broken people. So can his church.

The Banquet

I just finished watching Antwone Fisher, a touching story of a young man trying to find his family and his place in the world. Denzel Washington gives his usual superb performance, and Joy Bryant and Derek Luke are wonderful in their biggest roles to date.

There is a scene near the end where Antwone is welcomed into a family he has never known (you have to watch the movie) and he is overwhelmed by the love shown to him. Everyone comes up to him, hugs him, claps his back and welcomes him into the family.

This reminds me of what heaven will be like. When a new person whom we never knew is welcomed into the Kingdom of God, he or she is welcomed with open arms and a great banquet is thrown. Matthew 22 talks about who will come to the banquet that the Lord has thrown. Antwone Fisher is the kind of person who will be invited - orphaned, abused, and neglected. Maybe that is why I had tears in my eyes as I watched this. God has such a tender heart for those who have been mistreated. Just read Amos.

And watch the movie. There is a lot of bad language, but that scene is priceless.

Serving

One of the best lessons in service I learned was from a foreman in a foundry I worked in for a few summers. One year I was the fill-in janitor while the regular janitor dealt with a death in the family. The lunchroom in this place was a microbiological nightmare, to put it mildly. But what made it worse was that the employees would intentionally do thinks like fold candy wrappers into small squares and wedge them into the table just for fun. After a day or two of this, I let go about how it "wasn't my job" to clean up after people who intentionally make our jobs harder and live like pigs.

It was then that the foreman made a comment to the effect that we don't get to define our job. We get to define how we handle the job. And that stung. It still does.

Reading "Practice the presence of God" by Brother Lawrence is inspiring. But I suspect the other monks didn't intentionally make his job harder. But even if they did, he was working for God, not them. And that was the lesson I learned one hot summer in 1990.

Servanthood is an issue between us and God. The people around us are players but ultimately it is a spiritual issue.

I learned a lesson from an unlikely place. And 16 years later I still remember it.

The Revenge Business

"You know, it's very strange -- I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life." Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride"

"Revenge is a dish best served cold" Pierre Choderlos de LaClos in "Dangerous Liaisons"

Have you ever met someone who was consumed by a desire for revenge? How much fun were they to be around? Everyone that I knew who was dead set on paying someone back for a real or perceived slight was an unpleasant person to be around. Revenge tends to become an all-consuming passion that destroys everything and everyone in its path.

In the Princess Bride Inigo is out to kill the 6-fingered man who killed his father. He spends 20 years hunting the man and in the process he becomes a drunk and takes unsavory jobs because "there's no money in revenge."

The Bible has some stories of revenge that are enlightening. The sons of Israel at Shechem. Saul and David. Ahab and Elijah. Absalom and David. All were stories of people who believed that they or someone they loved had been wronged. And all of these instances led to disaster of some sort.

The sons of Israel lost their birthright to Judah. Saul lost his kingdom and life. Ditto for Ahab. And Absalom killed Amnon for raping his sister. Which led him into open warfare with his father, David.

Why do we so desire revenge? Pride I suppose. I know it has been part of our nature since Adam and Eve messed up the whole arrangement with God. But from the beginning God has been telling people that vengeance is his job, not theirs. Go through your bible or go to Crosswalk and do a search on vengeance. In nearly every instance it God reserves that for Himself, or those He instructs to take his vengeance. Other than the Avenger of Blood in the OT, I can't think of a divinely approved vengeance scenario that isn't directed by The Lord Almighty. If you know of one, let me know.

So what do we do with our desire for revenge? The easy answer is to "Give it to God" and let it go. That is much easier said than done. As with any other hurt requiring forgiveness, it becomes a day-by-day decision to forgive. I know that I have struggled with forgiveness and every time I remember the hurt and the anger wells up inside me, I have to choose again at that moment to forgive. The good news is that as I do that, it becomes harder for the anger to take hold and grow into bitterness. It's like beating back a pernicious weed. You may not be able to kill it at the beginning, but each time it gets whacked, it gets weaker. Eventually it will die. So will your anger, on a Cross with the only person who really had a great case for revenge. And he chose not to exercise his right. I'm glad it was Jesus and not me making that call.

Blue Like Jazz

I'm finally getting around to finishing Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz." It is a light-read that contains some very deep and challenging, nay convicting, thoughts. It is a series of essays on life that flow well together and give you a sense that you and Don are sitting in a coffee shop conversing.

Miller is an artist, and a bit of a recluse. Throughout the book you have a lens into his spiritual and personal live as he interacts with Andrew the Protester, Tony the Beat Poet and the other colorful characters he encounters, mostly in Portland, Oregon.

A couple quick observations where Miller and I intersect.

1. My pride gets in the way of accepting grace. He spends some time discussing how pride can stop people from receiving God's grace and living in the power of His love. We think we earn our lumps, and we do. But God will forgive them, regardless of how dirty we are. We just can't stay dirty forever.

2. I tend to see people only in how they fit into my world. God has been working on me rather intensively in this area, but it is one I lapse into easily. I'm a little task-oriented and tend to move through people like Sherman through Georgia, or so I've been told. God is helping me see people as valuable whatever their lot in life, whatever their mistakes, and whatever foolishness they are engaged in. They all matter to Him. I know that in my head, but He is teaching that to my heart as well.

Read the book. It is well worth your time.

Shalom,

Roy

Darkness

I just finished re-listening to a Leonard Sweet presentation delivered in 2003 at the M3 Conference sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene. Sweet struck a few chords with me in his presentation. I attended that conference, so I can provide a little background for you on the audience.

It was the "Missions in the Third Millenium" (M3) conference, and focused heavily on the USA and Canada as mission fields. The attendees were primarily older, pastors and spouses, which will help you understand some of the illustrations he uses.

The illustration that struck me the most was about Christians being called to be light in darkness. He made a few points about the darkness that are worth reviewing. First, there is always darkness. Second, we do not get to choose our time or our darkness. Third, we are called to go into the darkness, not let it come to us.

Ours is a dark time. There is great evil in the world. In this country, Christ is persona non grata to many people because of the way the Christian church has behaved in the past. Every religion imaginable is here. Pornography is delivered into homes with or without invitation. In many ways our society has become extremely licentous and highly sexualized. This is our darkness.

Previous generations faced the darkness of communism and facism. Others faced plagues and pestilence. But this is our time.

So, how do we show our light in the darkness? First, we need to get out of our church buildings and stop using them as refuges from the world. They need to be used as refuges for the world, not from the world. And that requires us to go into the world. For too long the church, especially the evangelical churches, have written off parts of society and made little effort to redeem God's creation.

Second, we need to understand our darkness. Ours is an age where religious pluralism and tolerance are the norm. Christianity is not the norm in many places, and we need to accept that and move on. We may wish we were fighting the darkness of the antebellum era, but we are not. And our message and methods need to reflect the battle we are in, not the battles of the past.

Third, Matthew 28:19 is pretty clear. As Sweet points out, the only verbs there are GO and MAKE disciples. Not sit and pray, not sit and wait for them to find us, not hope and wring our hands. We have to go into the darkness.

How many of you have ever been in absolute darkness? The introduction of light to eyes accustomed to deep darkness is blinding at first. But it is also attractional. Our eyes gravitate to the light. And it compels us to draw closer. We are that light. We know where the darkness is. Now let's go.

Signs of the Apocalypse

It's official. The end is near. Don't buy any green bananas. The world is about to end.

How do I know this, you ask?

It's simple if you read the signs.

First, read this story. It seems that if you are short and commit felonies against children in Nebraska, you get probation. The lack of height is sufficient reason to avoid a jail sentence in that great state. I thought it was crazy when Debra Lafave got 3 years of house arrest for molesting a young boy. But she is pretty, and pretty people can't be sent to jail. Now short people can't go either. I guess only regular schlubs go to jail for molesting kids.

Second, as of May 26, 2006 the Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball. I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous this sounds to a long-suffering fan. You had to be there for the last 13 years. You just had to be there.

Third, Pat Robertson has leg-pressed 2000 pounds, or so he says. You know my love for the goofy stuff that comes out of Pat's mouth. This one is a doozy. This ranks up with Chia-head Kim Jung-Il, who has made a series of similarly preposterous claims over the years. It seems that both of them have left reality and have entered another plane of existence. Let's pray that they stop making public pronouncements.

Otherwise, the world will come to an end. Very soon.

Ralphie

I was trolling through Glenn Beck's website and saw a picture of him on the "On Television" tab that looks like a 40-year old version of Ralphie, the kid from A Christmas Story. Can it be true that Glenn really is a grown up version of the kid who wanted a BB Gun?

Look at the photos and tell me if you agree.

Pearls

I love the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Aside from the obvious biblical references, it is a dark and funny strip with some great characters. Take a look at this recent strip:
As is the law of nature, the crocodiles are always trying to kill the zebra who lives next door. But what I find amusing is their penchant for false piety to try to trick the zebra. It always backfires on them, as this strip humorously depicts.

But there is a caution for us here too. Just because someone claims to be a believer doesn't mean their motives are pure. There are many snakes posing as Christians, and many good and Godly people have been hurt by them. We need to take Jesus' words in Luke 16:8 to heart.

8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

I almost lean to following Ronald Reagan's advice to "trust but verify" when dealing with people. Whether they claim to be a Christian or not. I've been burned by Christians who behave no differently than the culture at large. Maybe that is why I find the crocs so funny.

Border issues

Here we go again. The furor over illegal immigration has reached a point where the U.S. Senate may have to act, and tonight President Bush is preparing to announce that National Guard troops will be placed in support roles along the border with Mexico. Predictably there are many in favor of this and many opposed to the plan. President Fox is concerned about the militarization of the border. Of course, his country takes in billions each year from illegal immigrants sending money back to Mexico, so he has a vested interest in keeping the status quo in place.

One of the most intriguing comments comes from Senator Chuck Hagel (R- Nebraska) who said the proper way to do this is to double the Border Patrol during the next five years, but opposes using National Guard troops during the intervening 5 years. So, is it a free-for-all during that time? This makes no sense to me.

I have nothing against immigrants. But I am terrified of a porous border when we are at war with fanatics who recruit all over the world. Unfortunately the Mexican citizens trying to get into this country get caught in the blowback.

Stillness

Take, take till there's nothing, nothing to turn to.
Nothing when you get through.
Won't you break, scatter pieces of all I've been.
Bowing to all I've been running to.

Where are you?
Where are you?

Did you leave me unbreakable?
Leave me frozen?
I've never felt so cold.
I thought you were silent.
And I thought you left me for the wreckage and the waste.
On an empty beach of faith.
Was it true?

Cause I, I got a question, I got a question- Where are you?

Scream, deeper I wanna scream.
I want you to hear me, I want you to find me.
Cause I, I want to believe but all I pray is wrong and all
I claim is gone.

And I, I got a question, I got a question- Where are you?

lyrics from Silence by Jars of Clay

That's where I am today.  I'm reaching out for God to tell me
what he wants me to do with my life, my vocation, and the
seminary education I am acquiring.

But there seem to be more questions than answers.

Then along comes a chapel podcast on Be still and Know.
Whack! (sound of 2x4 hitting skull)

Read Psalm 46 with me

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (emphasis added)

Pray for me to be still. If you know me, you know how difficult that is. I want to know it all now, and it doesn't work that way. But I want to know because there is a restlessness in my soul that I cannot explain.

Time

I'm at the Sci-Fi thing again. This week's episode of Dr. Who was about Rose going back in time to see the scene when her father died. She was an infant when this happened. Unfortunately Rose ignores the Dr.'s instructions and intervenes and sets off a calamitous chain of events because of the breach in the time continuum. This got me to thinking about what would I like to go back in time to see. There is so much.

I would love to see the Exodus live. All 40+ years of it if I could. I envy Moses for the relationship he had with God. The signs and wonders he saw had to be mind-boggling. Yet he faithfully soldiered on.

I would also like to see Solomon's Temple when the Lord moved in. To see the presence of the Lord inhabit a place would be the most awe-inspiring thing I can imagine. To viscerally feel the presence of the Lord Almighty, to see, hear, smell and feel His presence would probably cause me to completely lose my composure. Yet I would love that opportunity.

Rome in it's heyday is something I want to see. It was a city of 1 million people, a feat that was not equalled in the West until the 19th Century. Rome had it going on, and seeing that would be an incredible scene

I want to hear Jesus teach. I'd love to be with him and the disciples as they walk from town to town. To hear the banter, admonition, jokes and teaching that went on between the Son of God and his followers would give me insight into a person who is hard to get my head around.

Where would you like to go? Anything you would like to see? Let me know if you have the time.

How has it come to this?

A few years ago I attended a conference on USA/Canada Missions in Nashville, TN. The conference, sponsored by the Church of the Nazarene, had nearly 5000 participants focused on how to evangelize the United States and Canada. The M3 refers to the 3^rd Millennium of Christianity, which we are now in.

Am I the only one to cringe at the concept of having to have a conference on how to evangelize our “Christian” nation? I used to make fun of the Jews because they “just didn’t get it” when they had the Messiah in their midst. In Acts 1:4,8 Jesus tells his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they have received the Holy Spirit and that “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” People, our Jerusalem is all around us.

Look at your community with God’s eyes. Who is hurting? Who needs a friend? Who needs food? Shelter. A lift out of addiction? Freedom from fear from an abusive spouse? Who are the widows, orphans and poor that God cares so deeply about? And how can we help them?

I am reminded of King Theoden, sovereign of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, whom, when surveying the evil that surrounds his nation, asks, “How has it come to this?” (In case you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Hobbit) How has it come to the Church of Jesus Christ having to make a concerted effort to see the needs of the hurting? When did our eyes stop seeing the hurt, the loneliness, and the needs in people? When did a church so rooted in serving the poor, turn its heart away from those that need Jesus? I can’t answer that, but it has been that way for a while.

I have good news. The Church of the Nazarene has reaffirmed its commitment to serving the needs of all God’s children, not just those who look like us. Speaker after speaker talked about how we need to reach out, and how we can reach out to the lost in our communities. Since 1998, more than 500 new churches have been started in the United States and Canada, and 1,000 more will be started by 2008. More than 300 of those new churches will be primarily Hispanic congregations. The church has identified leaders to reach nearly every ethnic group imaginable with these church plants. The commitment to those who are not “pale-skinned” resonated throughout all the speakers, culminating in the address of General Superintendent Dr. Middendorf, who told us this is our time, God has been ready, and now we are ready to go where he wants us to go.

Pray that we will be obedient to God’s leading in these issues. We need to be prepared to reach people who do not look like us, act like us, or are even the kinds of people we like to be around. We are all sinners, some of us are saved by Grace, and others are waiting for that opportunity. God loves these people, and we need to be obedient to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. That may mean a church plant, opening a Compassionate Ministry Center, or implementing outreach efforts to show Christ’s love to them. Or something that we haven’t even imagined. Mercifully, God is not limited by our imaginations.

Pray with me that God will lead us to follow His direction. We can’t be passive, but we need to be obedient. Pray with us, come with us, and work with us to reach the lost for Jesus.

Easter

Wow! What a weekend that was. It started out with a moving Stations of the Cross service on Good Friday followed by the Eucharist. Since we meet in a school, it was kind of a linear mode, but it was very well done and it spoke to many hearts.

Sunday was a great day as well. We had an all-church breakfast at 10, service at 11 and an egg hunt at 12:30. We had more than 100 people for the first time on Sunday and 45 children for the egg hunt.

Our message was about Thomas, and how he is stereotypically known as "Doubting Thomas." There is more to the man as Pastor Sam pointed out, but he also encouraged us to lay down our doubts. I know I have my share.

I doubt whether God still intervenes in the daily lives of people. Then I remember a kindly gentleman, and I use that term in its most positive manner, named Howard Carroll who was told to go home and prepare to die because his cancer was untreatable. More than 10 years later, he had become a hospital chaplain and he was there to explain to my 9 year old daughter how God does heal people. Her grandfather had recently had what we thought were strokes, and she was having a hard time praying with any belief. I told her about Howard and she started firing questions at him (if you know her you can imagine the scene) about his story. Afterward she was comforted and more confident in her God, because she heard first-hand how he intervenes in people's lives.

I repeat that story for myself for those times when my business is down, I am discouraged, or feel like roadkill. God still intervenes in our lives, and He cares about us. That is the message of Easter. God cared enough to rescue us from the pit of despair. And he still does that today. Celebrate it with me.

Cubans

More on the immigration debate.

Remember Elian Gonzalez? The little Cuban boy forcibly removed by federal agents and sent back to communist Cuba? If he had been Mexican, none of that would have happened. I'm not trying to stir hatred toward anyone (except maybe the potatoheads in DC) but there is an obvious double standard. Our Immigration service practices catch and release for illegals flooding the Southern Border. They don't automatically send them back.

But any Cuban who doesn't reach U.S. soil is summarily sent back to Cuba, without even a hearing. There is something inherently wrong here.

Protests

I really don't know what to make of the recent wave of protests about illegal immigration. As someone born and raised in this country, I have a hard time understanding what the illegal immigrants must go through. They live in fear of deportation, and are reluctant to turn to the authorities when they are mistreated for fear of being deported if their status is discovered. The Bible clearly calls on believers to take care of the less fortunate and defenseless in our land. And they qualify as defenseless in many ways.

The prophet Jeremiah summed it up pretty well how important the defenseless are to God in chapter 7 of his book: ' 5 "For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 {if} you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

All of the groups highlighted in v6 were defenseless in that era. There were not many methods of recourse for them if they were mistreated, and so God made a special point of instructing Israel to take care of them.

But what do we do with people who broke the law to get here? There are 12 million or so of them in this country right now, and our border is so porous that one could smuggle just about anything over it. Social services in border states are overwhelmed with the workload, and many Mexican women are coming to the U.S. to give birth so that their child will be a U.S. citizen. Hospitals in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas are closing because they are not reimbursed for the care given to illegals.

I see church leaders leading the protests, and I sympathize with them. I see the leaders of the House of Representatives taking an enforcement tack, and I empathize with them. I hear the calls for amnesty, and I fear that will just open the floodgates unless the border is secured. And who knows what Al Qaeda will bring across the border.

This is a vexing problem that defies easy answers. This may be one of the cases where the church and the government's interests diverge. God help us to make the right decision. Lives do depend on it.