Ordinary Radical

An Invitation to Justice

2012-01-24T02:43:00.000+04:30

Walter Brueggemann is my go to OT scholar. This is a great 2 minute clip. Justice Conference 2012.

"We have mistakenly separated love of God from love of neighbor and always they are to be held together."

An Invitation to Justice from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.

Creative Maladjustment: Practicing the Faith of Martin Luther King, Jr.

2012-01-17T23:46:00.000+04:30

A blog post from InterVarsity Press. I resonate with this so much...The good stuff, the hard stuff, and everything in between in this calling on my life and my ministry.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we thought we'd post an excerpt from Adam Taylor's Mobilizing Hope, a book that, inspired by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, aspires to unleash a generation of "transformed nonconformists." King coined that phrase in a sermon that cut right to the heart of it: "The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority." Adam picks up on that theme and chases it throughout his book; it seems appropriate, just days after our New Year's resolution to do things differently this year, to remember it on this and every Martin Luther King Day, and to follow Adam on the chase.

***

I used to bemoan the fact that I wasn't alive during the 1950s or '60s, when injustice seemed so much more overt and movements seemed so much more robust. At that time there was no way to ignore the suffocating discrimination of Jim Crow segregation in the South. The task of realizing justice in our contemporary context often seems more difficult because injustice and inequality have become mutated genes that seem more invisible. The Goliaths of economic injustice and inequality may be more covert and institutionalized but are still pernicious. Goliaths are still embedded in systems and structures that subjugate and oppress. . . .

Trying to tackle injustice based on our own limited abilities means playing small. Instead we must tap into the renewing power of faith to overcome the barriers that get in the way of transformed nonconformism.

The first and most common barrier is inertia. Particularly in this Internet age, we are barraged and inundated with constant information and marketing campaigns enticing us to do or buy something. This information makes it more difficult to grab people's attention and solicit their commitment. After a while, we either start shutting out this information overload or become increasingly jaded about solicitations for our time and attention. Inertia becomes our fallback and the keeper of the status quo.

. . . The second barrier is fear, which includes the fear of real or perceived risks associated with getting in the way of injustice. We may fear fallout from colleagues, family or even friends, particularly if the issues we are getting involved in are controversial. Living a countercultural life of activism can involve persecution, particularly in countries that don't enjoy the same degree of protections for free speech and assembly as the United States.

. . . A third barrier is apathy. We can easily become desensitized to the pain and suffering in the world. Apathy is often fed by cynicism, the belief that nothing will really change regardless of our actions.

. . . As people of faith, we are often uneasy about power and blind to the power we possess. While it is important to remember Lord Acton's dictum that "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," we are often overly timid and passive about using our God-given power because power takes on an overly negative connotation. But power can be used for life-affirming or life-denying purposes. Dr. King said it best: "power without love is reckless and abusive. Love without power is shallow and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice."

. . . The last barrier is a feeling of isolation, which makes people feel alone and alienated from people who share similar interests and values. In any campus, workplace, church, and so on, are countless people who are waiting for the right call to action to be drawn out of their isolation. Without an invitation we often fail to realize the degree to which other people share our values and desire to build a better community and world.

. . . Activism can be intimidating, particularly when you think about the complexity and seeming intractability of many of the injustices in the world. Where does one start? What are the best entry points? . . . Creative maladjustment involves a broad range of daily-life commitments. At its core, it requires making a daily commitment to what Gandhi described as "being the change you want to see in the world." Our actions must become a mirror image of our core values and convictions. . . . We are called to be good stewards not simply of our money but also of our time and our talents. Creative maladjustment . . . a more holistic and radical stewardship of our time and resources . . . is at the very heart of discipleship.

Parable of Hiding from Ourselves

2012-01-05T09:01:00.000+04:30

     There was once a young minister sitting in her house on a Sunday afternoon who was disturbed by a frantic banging on the front door. Upon opening the door, she was confronted by a distraught member of her church. It was obvious that he was exhausted from running to her house and that he was on the verge of tears.
   "What's wrong?" asked the minister.
     "Please can you help?" replied the man. "A kind and considerate family in the area is in great trouble. The husband recently lost his job, and the wife cannot work due to health problems. They have three young children to look after, and the man's mother lives with them as she is unwell and needs constant care. They are one day late with the rent, but despite the fact that they have lived there ten years with no problems and will likely have the money later in the week, the landlord is going to kick them all onto the street if they don't pay the full amount by the end of the day."
   "That's terrible," said the minister. "Of course we will help. I will go get some money from the Church fund to make up the shortfall. Anyway, how do you know them?"
   "Oh," replied the man. "I am the landlord."

-Insurrection, Peter Rollins (81-82)

2011 in Review: Bible Verses and Passages

2011-12-30T21:09:00.002+04:30

Nate Hughes did a little blog about the most meaningful Bible verses for him this past year. Reading his post gave me a better insight into him as a person as well as giving me some space to reflect on the exact same thing myself. So I decided to do it too, hoping you will see a little bit more about what makes me, me and to also give me a good reflection to end 2011.

“The Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” –John 1:14

To be fair, this verse came to the forefront for me at Urbana 2009. The entire conference revolved around the richness of this verse: the incarnation. Since then, this verse has been the foundation and sustaining passage behind our call to Asia and the thrust of our team. Being people living in the reality of the incarnation, or the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us, is of the utmost importance.

The Sermon on the Mount by Jesus, -Matthew 5-7.

This passage could easily show up each year, and probably will. There is a movement – a growing movement – of people who are rediscovering the radical message and life of Jesus and desiring to live into it (no matter how flawed the human endeavor ends up). Whenever I open the Bible my heart and eyes are naturally drawn to this part. This is so much the case that I literally read it about every two weeks. I learn something new each time I dig in, which means I need to keep reading on!

The True Fast, by God through the prophet Isaiah, -Isaiah 58.

A new movement was launched earlier this year called “58:” (learn more here). This past year I have been closely following this movement and participating in it. This movement is looking to end extreme poverty – noting that most of the world’s evil is linked directly to issues of poverty, but that equally we currently have all the resources we need to end poverty now. What do we lack? The will.

This movement is based on the Isaiah 58 passage. It is in this passage that we see clearly that God is not moved by our worship, our preaching, or our Christmas celebrations. In other words, He does not want empty ritual, words, and religion. Instead, He wants us to “chose the fast He chooses” and “let the oppressed go free”, “share your bread with the hungry”, "bring to your house the poor”, and “extend your soul to the hungry”. Needless to say, it’s a powerful passage that refocuses my energies and efforts every time I read it.

The Good News, -Isaiah 61 and Luke 4.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good news to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set the at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Just a mere three chapters after God tells us what type of life He wants – justice, mercy, helping those in need (Isaiah 58, the true fast) – He gives us the fulfillment of those passages – Jesus.

When Jesus enters into Nazareth, his hometown, He is given the entire scroll of Isaiah to read from. The people want Him to teach them, to do the Scriptures for them. He opens the scroll, and out of 1200+ verses, He picks out a verse and a half (above), reads it, sits down, and says, “Today, this has been fulfilled in your hearing.” It has been said that the entire book of Isaiah is like a miniature Bible, incorporating virtually every theme of the Word. In other words, as some would call it, a “systematic theology”. So it is indeed a watershed moment for his listeners then, and for us now, that from all of the book of Isaiah, Jesus chooses to read these passages and end his teaching right there.

This passage is another foundational passage and foundational theological emphasis behind our move to Asia to do the work He has called us to there.

As a side note, only a few verses later in Isaiah 61 we read, “For I, the Lord, love justice,”….further driving home the point.

“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand….” –John the Baptist in Matthew 3:2.

Repentance and the kingdom, both central themes and messages in the New Testament. Jesus primarily talks about the “kingdom of God” and similarly calls all to “repentance” within the context of the kingdom, which it turns out is equally a confessional movement as well as a turning away from sinful practices. In this particular passage, and its parallels in the gospels according to Mark and Luke, John the Baptist gives concrete examples of what “repentance” looks like, which includes things like – “if you have two of something, give one away”. That is what the kingdom looks like. It is tangible expressions of love, or as Cornel West has put it, “Justice is what love looks like in public.”

This past year or so most of my personal biblical studies have revolved around the “kingdom of God” and what it all entails. I have a looooong way to go. But as I have studied this, and try to practice living into a kingdom ethic and lifestyle, I have found life, truth, and meaning. I am truly thankful for those who have helped me in this endeavor.

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." -Jesus Prayer in Luke 11.

Jesus wants the kingdom of God to come on earth as it is already in heaven. This is revolutionary. This changes everything. We are to be kingdom people, living into a kingdom reality no matter how unrealistic, hard, or sacrificial.

All of these passages and verses, and many more, have been key for me this year. As I prepare to charter into the unknown, into suffering, chaos, and darkness - these passages will continue to provide the Light and foundation I need.

2011 in Review: Best of Blogs, Books, and Music

2011-12-29T21:59:00.028+04:30

Here are some "best of" or personal favorites of 2011.

Ordinary Radical Blog:

My blog on Osama and "justice" was by far the most read of the year. I got a lot of positive feedback from this post, but I know that those who disagreed just respectfully read and left it there. The death of this man brought all types of reactions. You can read my reaction again here.

**In full disclosure, most of the people who know me are aware that I lean heavily to the anabaptist/pacifism side of the spectrum. This post certainly reflects that conviction, though also transcends it to some degree.

Best Blog(s) I Read This Year:
I spend a lot of time at Alter Video Magazine and The Work of the People. I also enjoy reading Scot McKnight, Scott Bessenecker at "The Least of These" blog, and the many who write at Q Ideas.

Most Important Book I Read:
Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright

I know this book was published in 2008, but I have only this past year or so been turned on to Wright's work. He has quickly become my go-to biblical scholar. He is terrific and is able to articulate many feelings and thoughts I have had on faith and the Christian witness, but writes in a clear and thoughtful way. This book, subtitled, "Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church" says it all. This book has honed in my "kingdom of God" theological emphasis, to which I am grateful.

Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life.

Most Challenging Book I Read:

Insurrection, Peter Rollins

I had never read any of Rollins's work, but a lot of people are talking about him these days and it seems that the postmodern landscape is right in his sweet spot. You know when Rob Bell gives this little snippet on the cover, that you are in for an interesting ride: "In this book, Pete takes you to the edge of a cliff. And just when most writers would pull you back, he pushes you off. But after your initial panic, you realize that your fall is a form of flying. And it's thrilling."

I am going to write some type of review of this book soon (the only reason I got a copy), but suffice it to say, there is plenty I agree with him on and some things that make me pretty nervous.

Best (Christian) Song of the Year:

Favorite Song to Dance to with Judah:
Rihanna's: We Found Love
*I have thought better of posting the video.

2011 in Review: Personal Highlight and Lowlight of the Year

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000+04:30

Inspired by friend Nate Hughes, I spent some time reflecting on 2011 and major highlights, lowlights, headlines, and favorites. Here is my first entries.

Personal Highlight:

Being called and appointed to go the slums and margins of Asia to start and begin a new work focused on playing a (small) part of bringing the Kingdom of God to earth as it is in heaven.

“You are doing what?” A common refrain from neighbors and loved ones alike. Honestly, I think the same thing myself…

“I am doing what??”

“God, you want me to go…where??”

Over the past several years, God has been cultivating my “conversion within my conversion”, or as Mother Teresa called it, a “call within a call.” I found in my maturation and evolution as a Follower of Jesus, happen the same thing that happened to pastor and author Rick Warren. Warren shared a watershed moment in his life that mirrors mine. “Around this time”, he says he was driven to reexamine Scripture with ‘new eyes.’ What he found humbled him. “I found those 2,000 verses on the poor. How did I miss that? I went to Bible college, two seminaries, and I got a doctorate. How did I miss God’s compassion for the poor? I was not seeing all the purposes of God. The church is the body of Christ. The hands and feet have been amputated and we’re just a big mouth, known more for what we’re against.” Warren found himself praying, “God, would you use me to reattach the hands and the feet to the body of Christ, so that the whole church cares about the whole gospel in a whole new way-through the local church?” Like Rick Warren, these past several years for me and my wife have been an education and confrontation with God’s clear and overwhelming heart for the “poor, widow, orphan, and immigrant,” or in other words, the oppressed and marginalized of our world.

It is one thing to know that Jesus cares about the poor, and quite another thing to actively engage with that reality. The prophetic words of Shane Claiborne helped me process this distinction. “I asked participants who claimed to be "strong followers of Jesus" whether Jesus spent time with the poor. Nearly 80 percent said yes. Later in the survey, I sneaked in another question, I asked this same group of strong followers whether they spent time with the poor, and less than 2 percent said they did. I learned a powerful lesson: We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor.”

Right. Its not that rich Christians don’t are about the poor, it’s that they don’t know them. What I had then was nothing less than a moving of the Spirit to (actually, for once) live out my beliefs and passions instead of just intellectually assenting to them. This in turn translated into a calling to move into the slums of Asia and live in solidarity with the ones Jesus called “blessed”; the “poor.”

And so I go.

Personal Lowlight.

I am starting to unearth the depths of my self-centeredness and independence. For a lot of my life, I have forged my own way doing things according to my agenda and time frames. I paid my own way through college, worked up to 60 hours a week while going to seminary full-time, and went as a single to live as a civilian in a place armed soldiers don’t even want to go. I have never had to really consider anyone but myself in my life decisions. Well, marriage and fatherhood has brought this self-centeredness all to a head.

God has and will continue to refine me to rely on others, live in intentional community, and most importantly, focus on the essential bond of marriage and family with my wife and son. God has and will continue to show me ways in which I put myself before them. He will continue to show me how much hurt and suffering I bring on relationships because of this self-centeredness. This is by no means a 2011 issue only. I have history and past experiences I still need to work through and confront, but no doubt I will be able to look back to 2011 as a year that revealed to me just how messed up I am in this regard. So even though this is a “lowlight”, I am thankful because I belong to Jesus and He is in the business of redemption, restoration, and reconciliation, that it can turn this dire “lowlight” into a “highlight” one day….Thank you, Jesus!

More to come!

Last American Christmas: Reflections on Leaving Comfort to Enter into Suffering

2011-12-20T04:27:00.001+04:30

As Christmas 2011 closes in, it is (finally) hitting me that this will be my last Christmas in America for the foreseeable future. I am leaving family, friends, homes, lands for unknown family, friends, homes, and lands in Asia. This is part of the sacrifice and also part of the inheritance of the call on my life. It’s complicated though…I am filled with excitement, purpose, and clarity…but ironically, I am also filled with anxiety, a sense of being overwhelmed, and confusion. It’s a paradox to say the least. But I love living in the tension. And I know that the paradox is, ironically, completely “normal” within the call.

By this time next year, I will be surrounded by people who don’t know Jesus, that are struggling to survive in extreme poverty, and that are being sold into the sex trade to make a living. There will be no Christmas trees….no eggnog…no fancy Christmas musicals…no Christmas music blaring everywhere…no company parties…no Black Friday specials…no Santa…no Christmas sweets…no lines at Wal-Mart.

But even in the absence of all of this “stuff”, where I am headed, Jesus will be there. In fact, He already is.

I firmly believe that….He is with the urban poor, those who are suffering to survive on less than $1 day. He is with the girl whose parents sold her in the sex trade in order to feed the family. He is with the baby suffering from malnutrition because there is no food or drink. He is with the woman being raped over and over and over again by perverted men looking for a cheap thrill. He is in the suffering…and He asks us, He has asked me, to join Him there.

Dont get me wrong, my flesh wants the comfortable, familiar, safe Christmas I will have this year as I have had many other years of my life. But my Spirit…mmm…that amazing-radical-others-focused-God-presence-in-my-heart is ready for the uncomfortable, unknown, and dangerous Christmas.

People often ask me how I can do what I am doing? And to their amazement, I answer with ease. Most importantly I tell them, its not me, its Jesus in me…and…what else would I do? Meeting Jesus and following Him to the poor and suffering is what I was made for. This is my purpose. I am only following my heart. Because of this, it feels...quite...natural and right actually.

So…I am ready to enter in. I am ready to trade in my red sweater and Christmas Day basketball for a slum house and perpetual uncertainty.

I am ready to do what Jesus already did, perfectly.

Ready to incarnate the gospel where there are no Christmas trees.

Justice and Evangelism: York Moore at Urbana

2011-12-16T21:53:00.000+04:30

"Preaching Christ and doing justice go hand-in-hand. You cannot do one fully without doing the other."

Justice and Evangelism: York Moore from Urbana on Vimeo.

Revolutionaries, Jesus, and the Kingdom of God

2011-12-14T20:51:00.000+04:30

"Revolutionaries are always untimely - for the simple reason that they can never be deemed reasonable or right by the present system because it is the present system they critique. Consider a group of activists who protest against the building of a highway through a forest. It is perfectly possible to find many, if not most, of the protesters acknowledging both the futility of their mission and even questioning its justification. The protesters may know that, on purely rational grounds, the highway is needed. They may know that, were they to engage in public debate, their position would be exposed as lacking the rational framework that would justify their actions. Why? Because the presently accepted way of understanding the world dictates the scope and limitations of the rational framework itself.

So why do they act? Because they are affirming a reality that does not yet exist, a reality that would, if it was initiated, justify the actions that they are presently engaged in. They are fighting without justification for a world that would one day offer that justification."

Insurrection, Peter Rollins (175)

My Take:
Jesus is the revolutionary. The kingdom of God is the reality Jesus knew existed that we did not (and still don't to some degree) acknowledge or understand. It is only in the context of the kingdom of God, that we can understand the purpose and life of Jesus the messiah. Through the kingdom of God, Jesus affirmed (and affirms) a new reality.

Do You Know the Real St. Nick? (Shane Claiborne)

2011-12-10T19:40:00.000+04:30

The original “Old St. Nick” who inspired the tradition of Santa Claus... was a bishop of Myra in fourth-century Turkey (Christians around the world remember him on December 6). There's not a whole lot known about him, but we know that he entrusted himself to Jesus early in his life, and when his folks died, he gave away all the inheritance to the poor. Oh, and a neat little legend about the stockings we see everywhere. The origin of the big red stockings was from a story of St. Nicholas. Nicholas learned of three girls who were going to be sold into slavery by their father. He was so moved by their pain that he tossed three bags of gold through the window of the little girls' home, to ransom their lives. The legend is that the money fell into their socks, which were drying by the fireplace. So let us celebrate St. Nick today -- the real St. Nick -- as a lover of Jesus and of the poor. And as we see stockings hanging up this Christmas, let us remember those who still hang their clothes out to dry... and may we remember the 1.2 million children who are trafficked each year in the global sex trade. May their suffering move us to act.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: A Critical Look

2011-12-01T01:08:00.000+04:30

This blog post is intended for COMIC RELIEF ONLY. Everything I say below is only intended to make the reader LAUGH. I mean NONE of it seriously. In other words, please don't email me saying how bad of a person I am. HA~!

Last night, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) was on TV. As a child, I looked forward to this show every year. It was my favorite show. So last night I let Judah stay up and watch it with me. Maybe a 3-year old shouldn't watch such a show - especially the parts (which were a lot more than I remember) with the formidable Abominable Snowman wreaking havoc on everyone. Judah tried to be tough, but he was clearly nervous. He was thrilled that the mean snowman turned good at the end.

Inspired by a critique I read of Thomas and Friends (one of Judah's favorite shows), I noticed a bunch of odd themes and hidden messages (again, this is kidding and joking) in the show last night. Let me share.

The film first aired in 1964. This is hardly a surprise. There is absolutely no racial/ethnic diversity at all. Contrast this with a newer Christmas show, "Elf on a Shelf", where the diversity is very apparent. There are elves with all sorts of backgrounds and in prominent roles of the movie. Not so much in Rudolph.

Not only is there not racial diversity represented in the show, but not even minor differences in personality or appearance are appreciated. Rudolph's dad, Donner, upon finding out that his son has a bright nose unlike other reindeer decides he wants to "hide" the problem because Rudolph's nose is not "normal". How progressive of you, Donner. I have heard of kids trying to change their appearance to please their peers, but a parent...cmon! Even the show commentator, Sam Snowman, got in on the action saying the parents did a "good job" of "hiding the non-conformity", actually stumbling over the words "non-conformity" with the implicit message that he wanted to use a harsher word, but thought the better of it. How noble, Sam.

This theme is of course solidified in the treatment of Hermy the Misfit Elf (dentist). He is the only male elf that has long, flowing blond hair, cherry lips, and a soft, small mouth. He wears his elf hat pushed back to show off his hair. This is a far cry from the other male elves that all look the same, sound the same, and act the same. Hermy laments that he doesn't like his job of building toys and would rather be a dentist. His boss (never named throughout the show...just "the boss") ridicules him for his aspirations. In an emotional exchange between the two of them, Hermy says, "I am not happy in my work." The boss responds, "What???" and begins undressing him (so to speak) in front of the other elves which in turn leads to a gossip session and mocking. The boss concludes, "you are an elf, and an elf makes toys." So much for innovation and creativity in the North Pole. Hermy concludes, "I am such a misfit", which becomes the inevitable conclusion for Rudolph as well. In standard fashion, Sam Snowman is unsympathetic of Hermy's plight and dismisses him quickly saying, "Such is the life of an elf."

Nevertheless, Hermy continues his quest to be a dentist and misses elf singing practice in order to fix the teeth of a doll. When Santa is less than pleased with the singing performance of the elves, it takes The Boss very little time to shift the blame to Hermy who was missing from the practice. The Boss storms into the room and yells at Hermy, "Santa knows what is good, you should do as you should." In other words, fall in line. You begin to sense the frustration of The Boss (middle management) who is caught between a demanding CEO (Santa) and his less than stellar line crew. In fact, Mrs. Clause was ok with the singing performance. But more on this later.

Back to Rudolph. As I mentioned, he comes to the same conclusion as Hermy that he is a "misfit" (of course they sing about it). But how exactly did he get there? Well, all the young reindeer were playing "reindeer games" and learning to fly (so they could be useful of course. Their only aspiration in life was to pull the CEO's sleigh). Rudolph is flirting with Clarice the doe and finally being affirmed by someone. This leads him to fly higher and better than all the other reindeer, earning the praise of the coach and Santa himself. Of course this was short lived because his nose covering popped off. Back to reality for Rudolph. Santa rebuked Donner (the dad!!), "you should be ashamed of yourself!" No more reindeer games for Rudolph. Of course his lovely doe comes to his side and tries to console, but then chooses the odd song of "there is always tomorrow." Tomorrow? Good job, Clarice. The scene has the inevitable ending of Clarice's dad coming over and pulling Clarice away, saying, "No doe of mine is going to be seen with a red-nosed reindeer."

This is when Rudolph and Hermy meet up as the "misfits". In a laughable moment, Hermy declares that they are both "independent" and exclaims, "let's be independent together." Independent together? Score one for Hermy. Maybe his boss was right.

Which brings us to my favorite part, the introduction of Yukon Cornelius. He arrives on the scene in heroic fashion, whipping and yelling at his dogs to "mush faster". He declares himself the "greatest prospector" (did he mean, "speculator") and goes on to reveal to the misfits that "this is my land" and its "rich with gold and silver." Naturally, Cornelius has two deadly weapons attached to his waist and is wearing plaid. At this point, Cornelius shows his true colors and throws his ax into the snow and brings it up to taste..."nothing", he concludes. He was clearly disappointed. The natural takeaway is that he wanted to do the least amount of work for the most amount of profit. I was shocked by this. Once again Sam Snowman chimes in with his take and breaks out into song, "Everyone exists for silver and gold...how do you measure its worth...just by the pleasure it gives on earth." Great message for kids. The scene ends with Cornelius saying he needs to get more "gun powder, guitar strings" and other items. He yells "mush!" to his exasperated dogs who are fed up with getting beaten and yelled at. Because of this, they don't move an inch for him. Cornelius, the tough guy that he is, puts the dogs on his sleigh and pulls them all himself. He gives these two words of wisdom to the misfits as they move on, stay with me and you will "be rich." I wonder if Cornelius is red or blue??

They make it to the land of misfit toys where Cornelius affirms Rudolph and Hermy's worst fears, "even among misfits, you are misfits." Great friend, huh? As they spend the night on the island, Cornelius in a moment of epiphany decides they are all in this together and exclaims, "Its all for one...and ah, ah, ah...never mind." Brilliant, Cornelius! You have heard the saying, "guns don't kill people, people kill people." But this shows us that perhaps there are certain people shouldn't have guns after all.

Rudolph finally comes to grips with who he is and comes back to Santa's home as a secure individual. Of course, Santa the CEO, is only thinking about himself and is distraught because Donner has went to look for Rudolph and Christmas Eve is only days away and he needs Donner to be successful for his one day of work a year. How about being thankful that Rudolph is back, Santa? Well, we find out that the Abominable Snowman has captured Donner and others, which brings us to another evident theme in this show: women on the margins. If you go back to the reindeer game scene, you notice that no women reindeer are allowed to partake or join Santa's sleigh. Furthermore, they are relegated to the sidelines where they stand in awe of the males and cheer them on. North pole cheerleaders, basically. When Donner wants to go look for Rudolph, Mrs. Donner (never named, just, mrs. donner) demands to go with Donner. Donner snaps back in an angry tone, "this is a man's job." Point taken, writers.

Back to the scene...Cornelius has a great idea to free the captured reindeer. He contends that the Snowman will have more interest in "pork than reindeer" (who would have thought...Cornelius of course!) and comes up with a plan to take him out. Included in this plan is mobilizing Hermy to extract his teeth. In other words, capture the bad guy and torture him. Very commendable, Cornelius. Of course, misfit Hermy doesn't question Cornelius's authority.

The reindeer are all freed and come back to Santa! Yay! Upon arrival back, it is noted that "maybe misfits have a place after all." Then Santa confesses," 'maybe' he was wrong." The inflection on the word "maybe" in both sentences is clear. The "maybe" for misfits having a place is contrite and confessional. Santa's "maybe" was less than sincere. To further highlight this difference, at the very end of the show Santa is once again complaining about Rudolph's nose, as if he had forgotten that he was "maybe wrong" just a few minutes ago. That is, right up until he figures out that Rudolph will be useful to him after all because his obnoxious nose can help Santa work his one day a year. Even Donner, unrepentant it seems, chimes in out of nowhere, "I knew that nose would be worth something someday." Thanks, dad.

The final scene is filled with subliminal messages as Santa is up in the air delivering toys. He has a bunch of misfit toys from the island. But dont we know a Santa who delivers toys to each house, coming through a chimney, and filling stockings. Why, yes, we do. In a radical departure from contemporary knowledge of Santa, an elf is throwing out misfit toys from 35,000 feet in the air. Thankfully, they are at least given umbrellas for a soft landing.

Great movie.

Advent 2011: The Already Here and Coming Kingdom, Week 1

2011-11-29T06:36:00.000+04:30

Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a time of reflection and thankfulness for the king/messiah Jesus' arrival thousands of years ago and the anticipation of His return to fully realize and completely usher in His Kingdom.

No other topic has captivated my heart, my studies, my attention, and my desires over the past several years than Jesus and his primary message of the "kingdom of God". I am intrigued, challenged, motivated, and laser-focused on this Kingdom. It is the reason I go to Asia. It is the reason I pursue justice, righteousness, and shalom. It is the reason I pray, "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth AS IT IS in heaven." I would give anything for this kingdom. My life. My family. My possessions. My nation. My earthly inheritance. My comfort. My well-being. My all. I love Jesus. I love his Kingdom.

Jesus, hear my prayer:

But according to your promise, I am waiting for the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3). Until you come, enable me to be a small, feeble part of proclaiming in word and deed your kingdom now (John 20). Amen.

Advent Conspiracy: Buy Less, Give More

2011-11-24T01:54:00.002+04:30

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Thankful, Yet Not Really: Confessions of a Greedy Sinner

2011-11-23T00:58:00.003+04:30

"Gratitude... goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy." - Henri Nouwen

Thanksgiving holiday is once again upon us. And I, for one, have a lot to be thankful for. I have wonderful family, friends, and co-workers. I have been blessed by the calling God has on our lives and the people who have rallied around us. I am healthy, have plenty of resources, and I am not consumed by an anxious, nervous spirit. I have a wonderful wife and an energetic, healthy, and loving son.

However, my heart doesn’t naturally turn to thankfulness in the day-to-day. There are several reasons for this. Of course my sinful nature and forgetfulness that God is my only Sustainer is a huge reason. But I have also built up so much worldly infrastructure in my life and my circumstances, that it hardly seems I “need” God. For instance, when I read the passages on “daily bread” or “(daily) manna”, I have a hard time relating because I have about 4 weeks of food in my fridge and plenty of other resources to fall back on otherwise. Those passages, for all intents and purposes, mean nothing to me.

One of the reasons my wife and I are choosing to live in solidarity with the poor as part of the calling God has on our lives, is because as Shane Claiborne would say, “I want to be less of a hypocrite tomorrow than I am today.” I want to stop relying so heavily on myself and my resources, and start relying more heavily on my God to provide and care for me, my wife, and my son. As one outcome of this desire, we are stepping into extreme poverty, into a place with diseases like malaria, Dengue fever, and tuberculosis, and into a culture we have never lived in, all with the purpose to incarnate the good news to those around us. Like my time in Central Asia, it will be filled with many failures and setbacks, but likely will be the richest spiritual time in my life as I rely on Him alone to carry me through.

As I think about Thanksgiving, I believe our world is in desperate need of going back to biblical fundamentals. I wonder how other affluent global citizens (i.e. myself) approach/feel about the “manna” and “daily bread” verses. I don’t think I am alone in wondering what I am missing out on…I know I cant be alone….But as I have experienced in America, it is hard to take the steps to completely rely on God to be our primary Sustainer when everything in our culture tells us otherwise. We just have too much. In fact, if you combine the annual incomes of all Christians living in the USA, we would have a seat at the G8 summit. That is how wealthy we are. But yet we seem to do everything possible to deny our corporate responsibility, and cloth it with rhetoric called “individual choice”. Yet, I am reminded of the apostle John who says:

“But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

and I am also reminded that Scripture time and time again reminds us that its not about individual aspirations or choice, but about “one another”.

This Thanksgiving, a time of feasting and fun, I thought these headlines were prophetic:

“Obesity Costs Americans $146 Billion Annually”

“16,000 Children Die Every Day of Hunger”

Our world is in critical need of prophetic imagination. I need to “take the log out of my own eye” and remember that I need to be the change I want to see in this world. Will you do the same?

Here are some ways you can start (from World Vision):

1. Invite someone other than family to Thanksgiving with your family. Like a student or someone in your community who is away from family.

2. Get creative with your leftovers. Give them away to those in need.

3. Take the time to say thank you. Make a list of 5 people who have taught you something new to expand your worldview or challenged you to grow in your faith over the last year. Who has been influential in your life? Take a minute to write them notes of gratitude.

4. Give back. Spend some time over the long weekend serving others. Seek out a local organization or church that puts together and delivers Thanksgiving baskets to families who can’t afford a big meal.

A Witness to All the Nations (Ralph Winter)

2011-11-18T22:04:00.000+04:30

I talk about the "unreached" a lot. It is something I am very passionate about.

Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come” (Matthew 24:14). A close look at the end of this verse says a lot about what we should watch for and work toward in this age. Jesus says that before the end comes, there will be “a witness to all the nations.” The “nations” Jesus was referring to are not countries or nation-states. The wording He chose (the Greek word ethne) points to the ethnicities, the languages and the extended families which constitute the peoples of the earth. Who are these peoples? Jesus did not provide a list of the peoples. He did not define the idea of peoples with precise detail. What matters most is not that the peoples can be definitively identified and counted, but that God has given us a task that can be completed. By “witness” Jesus meant that the “gospel of Ethnolinguistic Peoples by Language of the Same Area the kingdom” will be proclaimed in open view throughout entire communities. The gospel of the kingdom is Christ prevailing over evil, liberating people so that they can live obediently and freely under His lordship and blessing. God wants a persuasive display of that kingdom victory exhibited in every people. What better exhibit of God’s kingdom than a community of people who are living under Christ’s authority? That’s why we should aim at obedient disciplemaking fellowships of believers within every people. While not the only way to glorify God, nothing puts Christ’s lordship on display like a community of people dedicated to following Him and effectively pushing back against the dominion of darkness.

Matthew 24:14 makes it clear that we must make it our first priority to see that every people has a living testimony of the gospel of the kingdom.

What is needed in every people group is for the gospel to begin moving throughout the group with such compelling, life-giving power that the resulting churches can themselves finish spreading the gospel to every person. Good but lesser goals may delay or distract us. Evangelism among street vendors or students might lead to discipleship groups for personal growth and even evangelism. But why stop short of anything less than a burgeoning movement of Christ-followers characterized by whole families? Why not expect that God is well able and willing to attract to His Son a substantial movement that will spread rapidly, spontaneously and thoroughly within whole peoples?

We have done our basic mission job when individuals within the society (even those outside of the church) acknowledge that the movement belongs to their society. Only when this level of cultural adaptation is achieved will the dynamic, life-changing love of Jesus become available to move freely throughout the people group. Donald McGavran referred to one form of missiological breakthrough as “people movements to Christ.” We can hold this goal as the minimal achievement within every people in order to give a realistic opportunity for everyone in that people group to say “yes” to Jesus Christ and His kingdom, without adding cultural barriers to the already steep spiritual demands of the gospel. Jesus commissioned us to accomplish nothing less. We should settle for nothing less.

Reminded: Woe is Me

2011-11-16T05:57:00.000+04:30

Woe is me….

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faith (in other words, Micah 6:8). These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.”

“Woe”…hmmm…where else have I seen that:

This “woe” oracle reminds me of a similar one in Luke’s account of the Beatitudes.

“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God….

But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation…”

Which then reminds me of these rich men:

The young rich ruler was told to sell everything and give it to the poor and come follow Jesus. He didn’t do it. Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

But apparently he didn’t think it was hard for the poor to inherent the Kingdom, for it is already theirs (i.e. blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God)…

Another rich man denies the crumbs from his table to the poor man Lazarus sitting outside of this gate. Lazarus dies and is then comforted in heaven, while the rich man (never named, just “rich”) is in Hades. Why is this? Abraham replied to the rich man “remember that in your lifetime you received your good things (i.e. riches) and likewise Lazarus evil things (i.e. he was a beggar/poor) but now he is comforted and you are tormented.”

Which of course reminds me of the Song of Mary:

“He has filled the hungry (in other words, people like Lazarus) with good things, and the rich he sends empty away.”

Which of course reminds me of Matthew 25, the “least of these” passage in which:

The sheep are separated from the goats, one group going to heaven the other to hell, based on how we treated the “least of these”…

What was this treatment?

Feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty drink, caring and visiting the sick and imprisoned, and opening your home to the immigrant.

Which makes me wonder:

Was Lazarus a sheep and the rich man a goat?

Which of course reminds me I need to repent, in which I recall the instruction of John the Baptist who says:

“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand”…

in which an onlooker responds, “what shall we then do?”

And the Baptizer responds to one of them,

“if you have two of something, give one of them away (or redistribute).”

Which he also called, “bearing fruit worthy of repentance.”

Which of course reminds me of two things:

Its more blessed to give then receive… and

The first century church community who, “had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need....nor was there anyone among them who lacked, for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and delivered the proceeds to those who had need.”

Which naturally reminds me of the “rich fool” (as called by Jesus) who decides to not sell his house, or give away his excess goods, but instead:

“pulls down his smaller barns in order to build bigger barns to store all of his goods and crops.” This rich fool says to himself, “Soul you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease…” God replied, “Fool! Tonight your soul will be required of you.” (those are big words….)

Which prompts my recollection of this command to:

“not store up treasures on earth”.

Which then makes me recall:

We are told to pray “give us this day our daily bread” (not excess crops like the rich fool, or for our context, money and goods)…. and

That Jesus promises to give us our basic needs of food, clothing, etc. because loves us more than the sparrows or lilies.

Which reminds me that :

Jesus sat opposite of the treasury and witnessed “many who were rich give much”

yet commended the poor widow who gave out of her poverty.

He commended her because she “gave everything she had” while the others “put in out of their abundance.”

Wow.

Investing in a New World (Shane Claiborne)

2011-11-10T02:57:00.000+04:30

Nearly a decade ago, we threw a party on Wall Street where we gave away $10,000 outside the Stock Exchange. The money had formerly been invested in stocks but was divested, broken into thousands of small bills and coins that were dumped at the NYSE entrance, where we invited homeless folks from around New York to join the party.

As the opening bell kicked off the day's trading, we blew a ram's horn and announced the Jubilee vision, and money fell from the sky. You can catch a few glimpses of it here:

The ancient Jubilee was God's alternative to the patterns of inequality. It was a systematic interruption of injustice -- where property was redistributed, debts were forgiven, and slaves were set free. It was God's way of making sure masses of people do not live in poverty while a handful of folks live however they wish.

No doubt Wall Street has some things to learn about Jubilee. Jubilee was God's alternative to the patterns of Wall Street.

As the Occupy Wall Street movement catches the world's attention, those of us who are critical of Wall Street have a responsibility. We can't just be defined by what we are against, but should be known by what we are for.

After all, the word "protest" originally meant "public declaration". It wasn't just about being against something, but it was about declaring something new and better. "Protest" shares the same root as "testify".

It's time to protest-ify.

Gandhi spoke about the need for a "constructive program" -- insisting that the best critique of what is wrong is the practice of something better. So his movement started making their own clothes and marching to the sea to get their own salt. They were building a new society in the shell of the old one.

I think the Occupy movement is off to a good start, and will continue to be a catalyst for change … as long as it stays nonviolent and humble.

The Occupy folks may not have all the answers but they are stirring up the right questions. Saying "no" to the way things are is the first step towards a better future.

Something is wrong with a world that continues to privatize wealth and subsidize debt.

There is an entire generation that is saying no to a world where the average worker makes $7 an hour while the average CEO makes over $1500 an hour.

The world is saying no to the patterns where 1% of the world is using up 36% of its wealth.

We can do better. And we must.

But saying no to Wall Street is only the beginning. We need to create alternatives to Wall Street.

I got excited this week when I heard about "Move Your Money Day," one of the concrete constructive-program suggestions coming out of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

On Nov. 5 folks all over the world will divest from Wall Street and its banks … in order to invest in a better world.

Ideologies alone are not enough. There came a point in the movement to abolish slavery where ideology required responsibility. As one abolitionist said, "The only way to be a good slave-owner is to refuse to be a slave-owner." To truly be against slavery also meant that you didn't drink sugar in your tea, because sugar was produced with slave labor.

So on November 5, my wife and I will be joining the "Move Your Money" celebration, moving our money from Bank of America to the non-profit credit union here in Philadelphia.

It is one small step away from the vicious cycle that continues to see money transfer from the increasingly poor to the increasingly rich.

It is trying to take to heart Jesus' command to "Get the log out" of my own eye.

It is a move towards Gandhi's call to "Be the change you want to see in the world."

It's one little step towards being less of a hypocrite tomorrow than I am today.

Although moving our $2,000 savings may not break the Bank, we realize that we are one little drop in what we hope is becoming a river of justice flowing through the streets of New York City and 1,000 cities around the world.

Enough small things can become a tipping point for massive change. When Rosa Parks decided not to move from her seat on that bus in Montgomery, she said one little, "No" that changed the world. So can we.

Can you imagine if the universities started relocating their endowments?

What if religious denominations moved their retirement funds?

It would be an honor to be a member of the post-Wall-Street Jubilee generation.

Charles Colson on the Good News

2011-10-30T17:45:00.000+04:30

Charles Colson on Ordinary Radical? You betcha! An excerpt from the Q Ideas blog (www.qideas.org) as Gabe Lyons, author of "The Next Christians" and "UnChristian", interviews Colson.

Gabe Lyons: Don't you think it really comes down to what a person's view of the gospel is or what the Good News really was about when Jesus came? I'd love for you to just share kind of how you would define what was the Good News—what is it that Jesus is announcing as He is on this earth about the Kingdom and what's to come.

Charles Colson: Well as an evangelical, the Good News is 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. The Good News is that Christ died on the cross for our sins and that we can be redeemed. That's the narrow definition that evangelicals embrace. I think we're wrong in that. I think we're too limited. What He did, particularly if you read His first words in Mark, the first 27 words He spoke in Mark were announcing the Kingdom. He said that the Kingdom of God has broken through history and that you will be seeing in My life, I believe Jesus was saying, a picture of the Kingdom yet to come.

And then in Acts 4, you see this incredible story of the community of believers coming together. No one was in need because they were sharing their wealth and they were praying and they were studying the Bible. They created a community that absolutely dazzled the world at the time of Jesus or after Jesus.

I'm one of those who believe that, while the Gospel most accurately defines the Good News as salvation, it actually goes beyond that. Catholics take it beyond it. Evangelicalism says that, "The defense of human life is a part of the gospel because man is created in the image of God." I think they got a pretty good point, to be honest with you.

I also think that when we think about Jesus ushering in a Kingdom as we pray—thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven—I think you see that the Gospel is a much broader context.

The Gospel cannot be a private transaction. It can’t just be Jesus and me. God didn't come, break through history, break through time and space, come in the person of a babe, the incarnation and then the whole salvation account. He didn't come just so you could come to Him and say, "Oh, I accept Jesus and now I can live happily ever after." That's not why He came. He came to turn the world upside down, which is why Jesus became such a radical.

I think we’ve missed that whole point, I believe. I think that's one of the reasons, Gabe, I lean on you to tell me what's going on with the younger evangelicals. I think that's one of the reasons that younger evangelicals think that the Gospel is just dried, dusty doctrine. If it is just salvation then I can go home and live happily ever after. Younger people are saying, "I want something more than that" right? Well if you see the Gospel in its fullness, it's a whole lot more. It's the most exciting radical revolutionary story ever told.

3 Hard-Earned Lessons and Why I Resigned (Shaun King)

2011-10-25T17:31:00.000+04:30

Such a powerful testimony and word that I had to repost. Thanks Shaun!

Some lessons you learn by reading books and blogs. Those feel great.

However, the most life-changing lessons are often learned through painful mistakes and brutal moments in valleys so low that you aren’t sure if you’ll ever climb out. Over the past year, I’ve been in that valley, and while I was down there, I learned some lessons that probably took a few years off my life expectancy in the process. I will be a better leader this day forward knowing these things. I want you to know them, but this is a blog and you’re so hardheaded that you’ll probably have to learn them the hard way, too. Here they are anyway…

(Remember – these lessons cost me a few fingers and toes so I hope you pay attention.)

...Start a thing as close to the way you dream it being down the road as you can.

For 10 whole years before I started Courageous Church, I dreamed of it being one thing, started it as another, then spent the next 3 years trying to get it back to the church of my dreams. I own this. The vision of my heart was for a committed community of people that first and foremost served God in radical ways in inner city Atlanta and in broken places all around the world. Sunday morning would simply be the time when those people came together to celebrate and honor God and invite others into our Monday-Saturday adventure.

Instead, I started a super cool Sunday worship service centered church with 700 people and spent the next 3 years begging thousands of people to help me be the hands and feet of God by fighting child trafficking and caring for widows and orphans. I was advised by the best church planting experts in the world to go this route, but in the end, it was my decision, and it was the wrong one. I sold my soul for church attendance in our first week and could never quite get it back. Whatever it is you are starting (a business, a new job, a church, etc.), you need to remain as true to your core vision from the start as humanly possible, or you may find yourself lost in an unfamiliar place so far from your dream that you don’t even recognize it. That’s me right now.

....People LOVE to hear about radical change.

Political campaigns based on radical change win. Books written about radical change sell. Sermons on radical change boost Sunday morning attendance. The idea and thought of change is exciting to people, but mistaking that excitement for an actual willingness on behalf of those people to change now or later could be a miscalculation. I found out the hard way.

In March of this year, I announced I was preaching my last sermon series of all-time. For the next 8 weeks, I preached the most radical, game-changing sermon series ever entitled “Disciple.” Our average attendance was its highest ever. Our average offering was the highest ever. Excitement was its highest ever. Man, I was pumped!!

Then, almost literally the day we jumped into change, all types of stuff started falling apart. People left in droves. Scores of people started falling through on leadership commitments they made. Systems starting failing. Attendance was down. Offering was down. Excitement was down.

I had no idea that zero correlation exists between how much people love hearing about change and their actual willingness to make it. I then made a series of gross errors that really cost me dearly based on what I incorrectly assumed was a desire for people to change when, for most people, what existed was just an interest in the topic on a theoretical level. Here are some of the errors:

I seriously overestimated how excited (or even willing) people were to actually do the things I was talking about.
When people left our church saying they did not support the changes, I did what I never do and helped talked them in to staying. I meant well, but this was so dumb of me. These folk stayed but never earnestly fought for the vision because, as they already stated, they don’t believe in it.
Change sounds pretty but actually looks ugly, feels like hard labor, takes time, and pushes every limit we have. I had said that the changes I was suggesting could take 3 years to really nail down. Few people objected when I said that because we hadn’t actually changed yet. When I took a private poll just 3 months after we made changes, over 85% of people stated that they wanted to go back to the way things used to be. Our board did as well. I overestimated how willing folks would be to deal with the ugliness of it all.
These miscalculations also took an enormous toll on my family and me, and it was at this point that I decided that I could not lead the church back to a place where I had no heart, vision, or stamina to go. The death of Pastor Zach Tims shook me up in such a way that I didn’t want to ignore my own warning signs before it was too late, and I ended up losing my family (or my life) in the process.

....Few disciples of Jesus Christ actually exist in the world.

I’m not even saying I am one and nobody else is. I have to fight the battle for my own discipleship daily. What I am saying is that church attendance, Sunday morning services, sermon-listening (or even sermon preaching), song-singing, hand-clapping, amen-saying, and all of the things that “Christ-ians” have lifted up so high look so little like Christ himself that I am utterly convinced that we are completely off base with what discipleship means.

Considering all of this, I think I have given up on church as I knew it. Big buildings. Huge crowds. Few disciples. I’m not with it. It’s inefficient and just doesn’t feel right with my soul. This is not a rejection of big buildings or huge crowds but an indictment on how few disciples are being made in the process of it all. A better way has to exist.

Love is a Thread

2011-10-13T16:26:00.000+04:30

Love Is A Thread from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.

Being Present: Reflections on Catalyst 2011

2011-10-12T05:04:00.000+04:30

Catalyst 2011, a conference geared towards emerging Leadership (primarily Christian), had the theme: BE PRESENT. My first thought when hearing the theme for this conference I would attend with some of my co-workers was: how cliché and trendy. Yes, in a world filled with 24-hour news, smart phones, and social media, to revolve a conference around “being present” was a pretty easy target. Yet no matter how easy the target, was still a message I needed to hear and I am guessing most people that attended needed to hear.

As primarily a visionary leader who lives a lot of life in the abstract and future, I really needed this conference to help recalibrate me. I needed to hear other accomplished visionaries and leaders say that “being present” was important. I was not disappointed. Like I mentioned, I live primarily in the future. I am always thinking about the next step. Planning. Coordinating. Detailing every singe move and possible outcome. This has actually hindered me at times in my ability to truly lead because I either become uber-focused on the task (at the cost of people) or when the path gets blown up I am left paralyzed in knowing how to move forward.

I have looked ahead for the next big opportunity, passing by the ones right in front of me.

I have looked ahead for the time Judah would take his first step when he was just starting to crawl.

I have looked ahead to the trip to the restaurant when I was eating at home.

I have looked ahead to retirement savings while passing by the guy who could have used a few bucks today.

I have looked ahead to Asia while still living in Philly.

I live a lot of my life in the future.

I realized at this conference just how big of an issue this has been in my life. My work. My family. My friends. My growth and development. My call. All of it. I am always looking to the future.

There were many brilliant aspects to Catalyst. I heard from seasoned leaders of the church, non-profits, and major businesses to grassroots innovators and a 21-year old single woman who has adopted 14 African children…and everyone in between on effective leadership. Maybe I will blog about all of that…but the earth moving point for me as it has to do with this particular idea of “being present”, the most impactful moment of the entire conference was this…

One of the speakers, shared about a young man who was electrocuted in a baptismal during a Sunday church service. This man’s future plans, whatever they might have been, were at that moment dashed. The speaker shared what was to be the sermon the man was going to give after the baptism. It was about “being present”. There were references to loving those in front of you now, doing the little things now, and various pleas like that…but the one line that stays with me was the line that had most to do with my situation. This line was this: “Wipe the nose of your 3-year old, because one day he will wipe it himself.” I just about cried….I think you get the point.

Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” He also says that we don’t know the future and to live for the day. There is a lot that could be said about passages along these lines of “living for the day”. I will save the exegesis and just note that Jesus says this (above) right after he talks about taking care of others first, not storing up treasures on earth (i.e. wealth), and not worrying about our lives in what we will eat, drink, or clothing we will wear (all basic necessities). Jesus says this to highlight that He will provide (for basic needs, not necessarily luxurious desires), and that truly only He can provide for us and the world. He says this to get us present in the day, because we are not promised tomorrow. So why live in the future. We may not have it. Jesus is beckoning us to be fully present in the day. It is there that we will find Him. It is there that transformation of ourselves and our world happens, when we are totally engaged in the here and now. Totally invested and vested in now.

I come home from Catalyst a changed man. I come home to wipe my 3-year old’s nose.

Global Economic Justice (Scott Bessenecker)

2011-10-01T01:21:00.000+04:30

Scott Bessenecker is the director of InterVarsity's Global Projects and Global Urban Treks. He has written numerous books that have impacted my life and calling, including, "The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor", "How to Inherit the Earth: Submitting Ourselves to a Servant Savior", and "Quest for Hope in the Slum Community: A Global Urban Reader" to name a few. He blogs at the Urbana site.

When God gave instructions in the Old Testament for the flourishing of his people, he laid out not only moral and ceremonial laws but civic laws as well, including specific economic principles that would characterize his people. The economic laws God established were designed to keep the gap between rich and poor very small. It included debt forgiveness on a seven year cycle and a radical redistribution of land every fifty years. He meant for the leaders of his people to insure that the poor were protected and cared for and not taken advantage of. There were strict penalties for exploitation of the poor and dire warnings of his judgment should these laws be ignored. In fact, it is as easy to trace God’s judgment of Israel to the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable as it is to the worship of foreign gods.

Isaiah 3:13-15

The LORD takes his place in court;
he rises to judge the people.
The LORD enters into judgment
against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean by crushing my people
and grinding the faces of the poor?”
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

Israel disregarded the economic laws of God, they enslaved others, paid unfair wages, allowed the rich to accumulate land and disregarded the cry of the poor, therefore God sent them into exile. In fact the number of years of exile correspond to the number of sabbatical years that Israel ignored.

THE JEW AND THE GENTILE

This expectation that Israel would operate an economy which was good for the poor did not only apply to the “insider,” the poor Jew. The foreign, non-Jew living in Israel is singled out by God in the Old Testament law to be especially careful not to exploit. That is to say God is not only concerned with the economic well-being of his people, but for those Gentiles among his people.

God, in fact, told Abraham that his intention was for Israel to be a blessing to all nations. God’s flourishing State would not only reveal his character and glory as his people lived out a standard of justice and economic health, but this flourishing would spill over to surrounding nations. Even in exile God commanded his people in Jeremiah 29 to seek the prosperity of their enemy, for in the prosperity of Babylon, they would find their own prosperity.

So the flourishing of the nations would be advanced by an obedient Israel and God’s judgment would be aroused by Israel’s disregard for economic justice.

It is not only God’s people who are judged for injustice, oppression and exploitation. Both Jonah and Nahum preach against the evil of Nineveh, capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire. It was a city of incredible wealth gained through violent warfare, slavery and oppressing a class of serfs who kept the elite in finery. God’s judgment (not just of his people but his judgment of the nations) is a picture of his white hot passion for those who are economically excluded and exploited.

Even in the New Testament, James writes to believers in his epistle that the rich should weep and wail because the wages withheld from the laborer had reached the ears of the Lord. The simple fact is that God will judge and oppose those who exploit the poor – whether they know him or not.

God’s “will on earth as it is in heaven” does not include hundreds of millions suffering malnutrition while hundreds of millions suffer obesity. It does not include nine year old girls who are forced by to lie down underneath ten men a day just so their families can eat. And it does not include men and women made in his image who labor 12 or more hours a day and are still unable to earn enough to live on. This is not a picture of “his kingdom and its righteousness.”

ECONOMICS UNTETHERED

In 1972 the University of Chicago dropped the requirement for a history of Economics course for its graduate students of Economics believing that Economics is a hard science and has little to do with the humanities. Many others followed suit. This shift marked the conclusion of hundreds of years of the field of Economics drifting away from its relationship to philosophy, sociology, or ethics and becoming what it is today – mathematical utilitarianism: the multiplication of wealth without regard to what is just and good and fair for all.

The results of this divorce of ethics from economics can be seen in the US debt crisis as well as the ballooning gap between rich and poor. We have taken Economics out of the school of the Humanities and in so doing we’ve made the field less humane. We have given our governments and banks and corporations freedom to multiply and spend wealth without any ethic.

For those who are in right relationship to the Creator of the universe, for those who have the mind of Christ, for those who are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is a responsibility to strive for the just rule of God on earth even before our own welfare. Economic justice is a sign of the kingdom of God, which is why news of this kingdom is so good to the poor.

HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE?

So where is the “plunder of the poor” today? Is it in our houses, the houses of both believers and unbelievers (after all, judgment must begin with the house of God – I Peter 4:17)? Is it in our wardrobes or our retirement accounts? What does it mean for us to adopt God’s heart for the poor and to strive for kingdom righteousness in our world? What does it mean for us to suffer as a result of pressing these kingdom issues in a twisted world?

For the IFES student movement in Sierra Leone, it has meant graduates giving one or two years of voluntary service in poor rural communities, taking jobs in education or health care that few others want. For some InterVarsity US students it has meant saying no to the American dream of a large home and multiple cars and moving into the high crime, high poverty neighborhoods of US cities or slum communities of the developing world. In making their homes among the marginalized, these young graduates have not only seen many come to know Jesus and helped to usher in kingdom change to their neighborhoods by adding their voices to the voices of their poor friends, but they have encountered deep transformation in their own walk with Christ. It has been an act of worship and an experience of sanctification.

For others it has meant moving into the halls of economic power to stand up for the excluded. Dr. Marek Panfil is a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics and came to Christ as a student. He was worried that to be a faithful Christian might not be compatible with his pursuit of economics, that he should pursue more noble, spiritual causes.

Then, in Romans 16 Marek came across Erastus, the Treasurer for the city of Corinth who sent his greetings to the brothers and sisters in Rome. Here in the Bible was a high ranking economic official. Perhaps his faith might apply to his field. Marek, has a very strategic role in the economics of copper and silver in the country of Poland. His Christian faith allows him to challenge a debt mentality among corporate and government leaders and to champion corporate social responsibility. He is striving to see kingdom righteousness brought to bear in the economics of metal.

Which of us are willing to strive for the kingdom as residents inside the neighborhoods of the poor, forsaking the good life as defined by your culture? Which of us are willing to strive for the kingdom inside the boardrooms and government offices of the powerful, forsaking bribes, corruption and the lure of wealth?

We as believers must bring the redeeming message of Christ’s salvation to rich and poor, turning men and women from evil and selfishness and calling wickedness to account. We must walk alongside those who are uneducated, marginalized and oppressed and those who are educated, powerful and oppressors (whether witting or unwitting). We must seek kingdom justice both at the level of the human heart and the level of the city treasury, presenting to the world an economic ethic that reflects a just God and his righteous kingdom.

Spotlight: Shane Claiborne on Christian Issues

2011-09-17T19:50:00.000+04:30

Shane Claiborne interview on Christian issues and topics.

My Ministry Call: Becoming a Voice

2011-09-16T01:13:00.001+04:30

Video by InterVarsity on the rich/poor gap. This is part of my call to ministry. This is my passion. And as you will see at the end of the video, it our Maker's as well. Becoming a Voice.

Global Economic Justice from InterVarsity twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

More (Helpful) Reflections on 9/11 (Dan Clendenin)

2011-09-14T04:25:00.000+04:30

Dan Clendenin writes at www.journeywithjesus.net.

A month ago my wife and I were in New York City and went to the World Trade Center site. Standing there and contemplating what happened made the hair on my neck and arms stand up. America will never forget the trauma of the 9/11 tragedy, nor should we. Ten years later people still remember where they were when they heard the news. I was badgering my son to turn off the television and get to school. He said that something really bad was happening on CNN.

On September 11, 2001, nineteen Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners in a coordinated suicide attack. One plane slammed into the North Tower of the WTC, another into the South Tower, a third one plowed into the Pentagon, and a fourth plane that had targeted the US Capitol or the White House crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers wrestled control from the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people from 90 countries died in the carnage, including 343 firefighters and 60 police officers. Although he first denied any responsibility, on October 30, 2004, Osama bin Laden said that he had directed the attacks.

National tragedy.

Why did Al-Qaeda attack America? How should Christians respond? Ten years is a long time, but it still might not be long enough to understand the tragedy. Preaching at the National Cathedral after the event, Billy Graham observed that no one really knows why such catastrophic evils happen. What follows, then, are a range of reflections more than an adequate explanation.

Throughout history, nations and non-state actors have justified their wars with all sorts of rationalizations — territorial expansion, retaliation, protection, self-defense, and to spread their economic and political ideology. America is no exception in this regard (see Stephen Kinzer's book Overthrow). The thirty-three page National Security Strategy of 2002, for example, praised American democratic capitalism as the "single sustainable model for national success," and "right and true for every person in every society." We would export our way of life "to every corner of the globe," said the NSS, and we'd act unilaterally and preemptively against any nation that tried to thwart us. Needless to say, some countries didn't like such hubris.

The attackers were partly motivated by their hatred of western values — secular democracy that separates church and state, religious pluralism, freedom of speech, freedom to vote, the privacy of the individual, and toleration of dissent. For Muslim extremists and conservative Americans this tends to be a black-and-white view of the world with little middle ground or ambiguity. Nations are "either for us or against us," Bush famously said. On one side there's an "axis of evil" that wills us harm, and on the other side enlightened people who champion the true, the good, and the just. I don't find this view helpful; the "Arab Spring" shows that many Muslims aspire to some western values.

Other people point to American foreign policy. A 1998 fatwa by Osama bin Laden and others objected not to our values but to three specific "crimes and sins" — our support for the United Nations sanctions against Iraq (1990–2003) that hastened the deaths of a million citizens (UNICEF says that 500,000 children died as a result of the sanctions), our biased support for Israel to the detriment of Palestinians, and the presence of our numerous military bases in their sacred Muslim lands. The fatwa also mentioned America's plundering of Arab resources, support for abusive regimes, and undermining self-determination by dictating policy.

In this view, the 9/11 attacks were a classic case of "blowback." Blowback, said Chalmers Johnson, is "another way of saying that a nation reaps what it sows." What many people "hate" about America, Johnson argued, is our global militarism and predatory economic policies which virtually assure retaliations against us for decades to come. Instead of acting prudently, we have acted with what has become predictable condescension towards other nations and with myopia about the consequences. Our overwhelming and global military-economic threat, exercised with little fear of retaliation, is "seeding resentments that are bound to breed attempts at retaliation."

These are reasonable explanations, but they're not a valid excuse. There's no excuse for Al-Qaeda's global terrorism.

Some Christians appealed to God's providential intervention. Jerry Falwell infamously construed the 9/11 attacks as divine punishment for the wickedness of pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU, and People for the American Way. “I point the finger in their face,” said Falwell, “and say, ‘you helped this happen.’” Pat Robertson, a guest on the show, nodded in agreement, saying, “well, I totally concur.” In their view, America's policies aren't wrong because they're politically imprudent as a matter of practice. Rather, they're morally wrong as a matter of principle because they violate God's standards.

The remarks of Falwell and Robertson are reckless and hateful. I'm uncomfortable with linking divine judgment and national disaster, whether for America or for any nation. It's one thing to affirm that God acts in the history of nations, but quite another to claim to know exactly how, when, where, or why. And yet, having said that, no less than Abraham Lincoln once described the Civil War as God's judgment on American slavery.

Eva Kor returns to Auschwitz.

Christians face particular difficulties in deconstructing the attacks. The kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world are different. Personal spiritual truths in the Bible do not translate into national public policies for a country. Dietrich Bonhoeffer described this dilemma during the Nazi horrors. In a letter to Reinhold Niebuhr he said that "German Christians faced a terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization." The good of the gospel and the glory of a nation often collide, for if Jesus is Lord, then all the pharaohs and caesars of the world are not lord.

Maybe America is somehow exceptional in the world? Yes and no.

In terms of economic, political, military, scientific and cultural influence, America is unrivaled. In that sense, it's accurate to say that America is "exceptional," although there's no reason to think this will last forever, or that all our influence is good. But since Christian identity is ultimately spiritual and not political or national (Philippians 3:20), from a Christian point of view America is no more or less "exceptional" in God's eyes than Iceland, India, or Iraq. The historian Rebecca Lyman observes that the early gospel developed in the context of Greek, Roman, and Jewish "exceptionalisms," and has ever since been tempted to mimic rather than subvert them.

It's natural to love and take pride in your own country. But when it comes to geography, culture, nation, and ethnicity, Christians are egalitarians rather than exceptionalists. We reject any and all forms of narcissistic nationalism. For us there's no geographic center of the world, but only a constellation of points equidistant from the heart of God. Proclaiming that God lavishly loves all the world, each person, and every place, the gospel does not privilege any country as exceptional. An Iranian Muslim is no further from God's love than an American Christian. A Honduran Pentecostal is no closer to God's love than an Oxford atheist. This Christian egalitarianism subverts all geo-political nationalisms.

Should Americans forgive the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks? I've been wondering about a possible parallel scenario.

Could you or should you forgive Dr. Mengele, the Nazi "angel of death?" That question haunted Eva Kor, who tells her remarkable story in the documentary film Forgiving Dr. Mengele(2007). Eva and her twin sister Miriam spent ten months in Auschwitz. Along with many other twins, they were separated from their families and subjected to Mengele's horrific "medical" experiments. After liberation by the Soviets when she was ten-years old, and then ten years in Israel, Eva relocated to Terre Haute, Indiana in 1960 and raised a family.

Eva returned to Auschwitz for the first time in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the camps, and on that occasion she did the unthinkable. She read aloud her personal "official declaration of amnesty" to Mengele and the Nazis. To be liberated from the Nazis was not enough, she said; she needed to be released from the pain of the past. To extend forgiveness without any prerequisites required of the perpetrators, said Eva, was an "act of self-healing." Through the act of "forgiving your worst enemy" Eva said that she experienced "the feeling of complete freedom from pain." Many Jews were outraged by her act.

In the lectionary readings this week, Jesus and Joseph commend the healing power of forgiveness.

Joseph believed that God had a larger providential purpose for Israel beyond the private wrongs he had suffered at the hands of his brothers: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good" (Genesis 50:20). At least four times he reassures his nervous brothers, "it was not you who sent me to Egypt, but God" (Genesis 45:5, 7, 8, 9). The story concludes: "Joseph reassured them and spoke kindly to them."

Computer rendering of the new Freedom Tower
at the WTC site.

And in the gospel for this week, Peter asked Jesus, "how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Forgiving someone seven times is generous in the extreme, but Jesus upped the ante and expanded the arithmetic of forgiveness.

Jesus told an outlandish parable about an "unmerciful servant" who received forgiveness for his own enormous debt, but then instead of extending forgiveness for a tiny debt that he was owed, he imprisoned his debtor. In the kingdom of God that Jesus announced, he instructed us to forgive not merely seven times, but seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven. The forgiveness that characterizes his kingdom is beyond calculation or comprehension.

Jesus also linked receiving forgiveness to offering forgiveness. He established a law of proportionality. We can expect divine forgiveness in the measure that we extend human forgiveness: "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from the heart." Similarly, in the Lord's Prayer we ask God to "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Our own sense of the need of forgiveness is the basis upon which we freely forgive others. We can only long for ourselves what we lavish upon others.

Forgiveness of this magnitude finds its basis not only in our own sense of need but, even more sure and certain, in the character of God himself as a fundamentally forgiving God. Paul writes, "be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). And in this week's epistle: "Accept one another, just as God has accepted you" (Romans 14:1, 15:7).

Frederic Luskin, co-founder of Stanford University's "Forgiveness Project," says that forgiveness "reduces anger, hurt, depression and stress and leads to greater feelings of optimism, hope, compassion and self confidence." Luskin has conducted numerous workshops and research projects on forgiveness. He's worked with a wide variety of people in corporate, medical, legal and religious settings. In his book Forgive for Good, Luskin elucidates what Eva Kor experienced and what Joseph and Jesus taught, that in forgiving we can become "heroes instead of victims in the stories we tell."

9/11 Ten Years Later: A War for Hope

2011-09-10T18:44:00.001+04:30

picture from: Greg Boyd

Last night, I watched part of NBC’s two hour special on 9/11. Filled with personal stories and moment-by-moment commentary, emotions inside me raged and my eyes welled with tears. But none of those emotions were of hate…none of national or personal righteousness.

All of us remember exactly where we were when we heard the news. Brushing my teeth getting ready to head into work at a resort in Scottsdale, my mom yelled up to me in my room “Come here!” I ran downstairs to images that will be sketched into my mind and heart forever. I stared in disbelief at my TV screen. Paralyzed. Unable to think, act, or speak. I still had to go into work, but I essentially drove as a zombie listening to news radio. When I arrived at the resort, I was unprepared for what was next. We were hosting a major conference that week for accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche. What I did not know is that they had many offices and staff in the Twin Towers. There was a heavy somberness in the air. Crying. Blank stares. Slow movement. Time seemed to stand still. It all seemed so unreal.

9/11 came at a critical juncture of my life. I was just being delivered from my old self and slowing letting Jesus take over my life.

Would this event shatter everything God had worked in my life?

Would I turn to hate?

Would I blame Muslims?

Would I turn to revenge?

Would I run to fear? Or fear mongering?

Would I make an enemy in my heart of someone(s) after Jesus showed love to me as His enemy?

I had a choice to make…turn to forgiveness, reconciliation, and the message of the cross…or to revenge, enmity, and the myth of redemptive violence.

In the hours, days, weeks, months, and even years following 9/11, I would learn a lot about myself and the faith God had given me in this new global reality. My friend and I discussed yesterday, as we were reflecting on 9/11, that on this day our aura of invincibility as Americans, living in seemingly isolated America, dissolved and that “our reality became the reality that most the world’s population lives in day after day.” There is terror seen…and unseen…ravaging our world right now as I type this and as you read this. There are genocides, famines, women and children sold into sex slavery, and unjust deaths of thousands of people ravaged by extreme poverty. That is our current global reality. That is terror, too. I ask myself the question as I ask you: are we as outraged by these terrors?

I would eventually be called into full-time ministry and would study major religions. When I share my testimony, I often cite that I learned more about Islam in my last few months of seminary than I did Christianity. I would have to do a lot of damage control among Christian friends and peers on Islam/Muslims. I would eventually leave the USA to go to a country deeply affected by this “war on terror” in order to bring a different message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and grace. I want to launch a “war for hope”. I am reminded by my friend, Shane Claiborne's, words...if we think any person (or terrorist) is beyond the grace of God, then we need to rip out half of our New Testament because it is written by a converted terrorist.

Christianity Today wrote a piece on 9/11 for this month’s cover story (“The Gospel at Ground Zero”) that is well worth checking out. In it, writer Russell D. Moore, dean of the school of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, reminds us, “The Scriptures command us to be gentle and kind to unbelievers, not because we are not at war, but because we're not at war with them (2 Tim. 2:26).” And that is what we need to always remember. And that is how I choose to live my life. I live this way because I have tasted grace so deeply…tasted forgiveness….tasted reconciliation from my God and my Savior that in turn it’s the only message I want to give back to the world and my enemies.

“Never Forget!” is the message invoked for good and ill. Its our cry for remembrance (good) but its also our cry for revenge (not so good). And I haven’t forgotten and will never forget. Around 3,000 people died unjustly that day ten years ago. But as Christians, we now have two different paths in front of us on how we deal with this internal struggle: one path says clearly: we are all enemies of God, all in need of grace, all desperate for forgiveness and reconciliation. The other path declares: eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, forgiveness and reconciliation isn’t an option, that they are the “axis of evil” which makes us by default..what..the axis of…good? And the irony isn’t lost on me: one of these paths appears to lead to life, but actually leads to death….and the other appears to lead to death, but instead leads to life. I choose life.

Suffering and Sacrifice Series: On Humility and Hope (Joanna Stewart)

2011-09-08T20:41:00.000+04:30

Joanna Stewart is a missionary with World Harvest Mission. She has served in many places (you will hear some of that story below), doing many things, and is now headed to the UK to work alongside some of the most marginalized fringe groups around. She blogs over at the Knitting Evangelist (http://www.theknittingevangelist.com/). She is married to Mark and has two children. I consider her and her husband dear friends and love them much!

It has taken nine years on the mission field and lots of loss, grief, conflict, and defeat to realize not so much of anything is up to me.

Even so, I still think very highly of myself.

Humility:

I went to Africa to save the world. It was always my intention. It is why I studied to be a teacher…to change the world “one child at a time.”

It sounds beautiful, idyllic, optimistic. I thought so.

My favorite song in my early years as a believer was the old worship song,

“O let all who thirst, let them come to the water.
Let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord.
Without money, without price, why should you pay the price?
Except for the Lord, for the Lord.”

I have deep concern for the poor, the outcast, the “heavy-laden.” On a good day we call that compassion. (On a regular, self-centric day we call that co-dependency.) I went to East Africa to bring water to the thirsty. To teach, to heal, to equip, to give. I offered my water of life every day. I taught the gospel [of Joanna] and I trained young people to be more like Christ [and more like me.]

One dry, dusty day about two years in to our term in Bundibugyo, Uganda, I came to the end of myself. (Of course I came to the end of myself many times while living in this rural highland tropical rainforest, but this time I really came to the end.) And I saw my favorite verses in Isaiah with new eyes. I have nothing to give. I am the one who is thirsty. I am the needy and the oppressed. What do I have to offer? Nothing but the one who has sent me. Come to the water…you who are thirsty…who? Me? Come you who have nothing...you who labor without rest…come and rest.

It was a small paradigm shift that had mammoth implications. I wasn’t brought to Africa to teach, to heal, to equip, to give. To Save. I was brought to Africa to receive. To BE taught, to BE healed, to BE equipped, to BE saved. If I would just eat this slice of humble pie, and be in a posture to receive, then the One who saves could overflow out of me. Though I came to save the world one child at a time, the saving wasn’t really up to me. In fact, there isn’t much of anything that is truly up to me.

Hope:

As my family transitioned from life in rural Uganda, to the post-modern, post-communist, post-christian ministry in Central Europe, we often said, “we don’t have much to offer, but we can offer Hope.” Hope. Scarce and under-valued in Europe. The pearl of great price.

But we didn’t really take in account what Hope would cost us.

Let’s recall the verse that defines the origins of hope:

“Because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Rom. 3:3-4)

Well, that’s fine. We’ve suffered plenty. Wasn’t three years in Bundibugyo suffering enough? We have certainly stored up lots of hope for years to come!

Unfortunately, our Savior, the Lover of my Soul, doesn’t work on borrowed Grace. If I am to have hope TODAY, it MUST come from suffering, perseverance, and character TODAY.

After three years of personal loss, grief, conflict, and defeat in Czech Republic, I still have to remember everyday the cost of Hope. We lost a baby, we lost a friend in a sudden tragedy, and eventually we lost our team, our home, our jobs. Maybe Hope doesn’t look the way I expected it to. Maybe it doesn’t come in trite comforts and warm welcomes. Maybe it is not a tidy and happy ending to a good movie. Maybe it comes in a much more sage, seasoned, weathered form. Maybe it requires a genuine-ness, an authenticity that only polishes through time and duress. I have had another paradigm-shift.

I think of the process of building Hope like a fever. Fever is not a disease. It is a sign that my body is fighting a very good fight, and will ultimately win over whatever pathogen it senses within. Suffering, too, is not a disease, or a symptom, (or a punishment) – it is a good sign that my spirit is duking it out against “principalities and powers” in that age-old battle to build hope into my soul. So the One who saves can overflow out of me.

As my family prepares to transition to another new city (London), I anticipate what form hope-building may take in the years to come. Today I welcome the suffering, perseverance, character, hope with open arms. I’m sure tomorrow I will need another lesson in humility, posture correcting, and hopefulness in order to welcome it again. But this God, who loves me so well, is faithful to pour out Grace, to pour out Hope, and to continue to remind me it’s not all about me, to turn my heart and mind outward to serve others, the way he does.

On Suffering and Sacrifice: Entitlement, the Great Adversary of Sacrifice (CW-My Lovely Wife)

2011-08-31T17:16:00.000+04:30

CW comes from a strong line of Christian heritage, including pastors and three generations of missionaries. She has lived all over the world and served as a teacher in Japan and Central Asia, where she also aided in community development. She is preparing to move to Asia to work on issues of justice and advocate for the marginalized. And she is my wife...and I love her.

This is basically my testimony and myself preaching to myself as I think about sacrifice and what God expects of me.

When I was 22, I moved to Japan, as a teacher. I spent three years there, and then another three years in Central Asia also teaching and doing community development. For the first four to five years of that time, I was young, free of debt, ambitious, had no desire to settle down, and just enjoyed the ride of serving God overseas. Then something started happening in my heart. I was 27, no prospects of marriage, burnt out from investing my life in others without seeing fruit, and really angry with God. Bitterness and entitlement began welling up in my heart before I could even name them. Here, I had “sacrificed” so much for His Name and Calling, and didn’t feel like He was giving me anything in return.

In the midst of my whining and complaining, God brought my husband to Central Asia, and we quickly fell in love and moved back here to the great USA to get married and start our family. Now, I didn’t go completely crazy, because we were pretty “poor” and my husband wouldn’t let me, but my heart coveted all that America had to offer – a nice house, a picket fence, Starbucks coffee every morning, trips to the mall, and fancy gadgets with unlimited access to the Internet. Yes, we were/are the typical middle-class American family.

Then my husband started talking crazy, talking about moving our little cozy family to the slums of Asia. WHAT!! You want me to sacrifice all this and live like a poor person? No way! I’m a middle-class American, and really happy right now! That’s when God began doing a second (or 102nd) conversion in my heart. As I really searched the Scriptures and read and re-read the life and example of Jesus, the Incarnate, (and Shane Claiborne and Scott Bessenecker), I realized that I had some serious issues going on in my heart – first and foremost: ENTITLEMENT.

Jesus is the ultimate example of what it looks like to sacrifice, after all He did make the ultimate sacrifice – His death on the cross. But, what I began to really understand was that from the moment of His birth, all the way through His three years of ministry, and then death – SACRIFICE characterized His every move and attitude.

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2).

Jesus was entitled to all the world has to offer – He made it after all (Col 1). Yet, He was born into poverty, never owned a home, made a simple living as a carpenter, gave up his beauty rest to spend time communing with His Father, gave His time and full attention to the needy, lost His reputation by hanging out with the prostitutes and destitutes, was constantly mocked and criticized, was disliked more than liked, and then died in the place of a murderer.

Then I look to the early church – those following Christ, who had actually seen Him in action. What was their attitude towards entitlement and sacrifice? They sold their possessions, lands, homes, so that anyone in need could be supplied for. They had no entitlement issues! Amazing!

I get so trapped into thinking that because I serve God, do good things, and am a pretty good person, I’m entitled to good things. The problem is, in reality there is no connection between doing and being good and good things. The teaching of Jesus is, that when we follow Him, we will be persecuted; we will be challenged to sell all we have and give to the poor; we will no longer serve money/things/possessions, and instead we will give to whoever has need. Last time I checked, 1 in 6 people live in extreme poverty. There is need out there, and I have entitlement issues!

I like to daydream about what it would look like if I got over my entitlement issues and really made some sacrifices. What would it look like to have no money in my savings account because I gave it all away to the poor? What would happen if I spent less time in bed and woke up and spent hours with Jesus each morning? What would happen if I gave up every Saturday morning to serve the homeless here in Philly?

I have a feeling these really small sacrifices would actually set me free.

Shane Claiborne on Suffering and Sacrifice

2011-08-25T15:31:00.001+04:30

Shane Claiborne is founding partner of The Simple Way, an intentional community in Kensington, PA. He is the best selling author of The Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President. He is one of the pioneers of the New Monastic movement and loves the circus.

There’s so much in our culture that teaches us to move away from suffering and to move away from people who don’t look like us and to move out of neighborhoods where there’s high crime and things like that. And yet the heart of the Gospel is that that God hears the suffering, enters into the suffering. Hebrew Scriptures are filled with this. One of the first stories we have is God hears the cry and the pain of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt and rescues them out of their slavery and over and over you hear this theme in Scripture that God is close to the poor and hears the cry of the oppressed.

We don’t need to be doing this out of guilt or duty but out of this is what we’re made for. Mother Teresa had a great line when this journalist said “I couldn’t do what you do for a million dollars. You’re such a saint.” And she said “I wouldn’t do it for a million dollars either.” What you begin to discover is that we’re made to live for something bigger than ourselves and I think that’s what we’re about and what we’re discovering. Isaiah says so brilliantly, when we spend our lives on behalf of the suffering, our healing comes and our light begins to shine as well. So it’s not only life-giving to others but it’s life-giving to us. I think in a lot of wealthy countries we pursue other dreams – the American dream or the Wall Street dream or the Canadian dream. We settle short of the kind of life that God wants for us. We see those patterns leave us incredibly empty. In some of the wealthiest countries in the world you have some of the highest rates of depression, loneliness and suicide. We’re really talking about Jesus saying I really came to give you life to the fullest and not settling for anything short of that.

Theology of Suffering and Sacrifice: On Taking up Your Cross, Part II (Bob Heppe)

2011-08-18T17:38:00.001+04:30

Bob Heppe is a Field Director for the UK and Asian teams with World Harvest Mission and has been with the organization for over 18 years. Bob is an astute thinker and visionary for integrating the whole gospel in everyday mission. Bob is married and has 4 children and currently resides in Harrow, England.

When Jesus says to Peter, and every disciple after him, that he must take up his cross and follow Him, he is saying all disciples must take up both Jesus’ mission and Jesus’ method of mission, namely the laying down of our lives for the expansion of His kingdom. There is simply no being a part of Jesus without being a part of his mission and his cruciform method.

To read it otherwise is to rip the call to discipleship from its context and thereby strip it of its missional purpose. Jesus’ call to carry the cross must be seen in terms of the larger context in which (1) Jesus’ Messianic Identity is revealed, (2) His Messianic Mission is announced (to build the church and reclaim the world), (3) His Messianic Method (of going to the cross is explained) is taught, and then, finally (4) His Messianic Mandate is placed on all who would follow Him.

Recall the context. It is the turning point in Jesus’ self-disclosure and relationship to the disciples. Jesus asks the disciples who people understand Him to be. The people are quite confused. As it turns out, Jesus’ closest disciples are not very far ahead. But Peter identifies Jesus with words whose significance in their context too easily eludes our grasp: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. In the history of theology, the attention has been placed on Jesus’ nature as the “Son of God”; that is, on his ontological status as the second person of the Trinity. A text such as Matt 16:16 is seen from the perspective of this interest as a clear statement of the divinity of Jesus.

But Peter is clearly identifying Jesus in terms of the Messiah (Christ) of Psalm 2. Indeed, very often in the minds of both his disciples and his opponent, “Christ” and “Son of God” primarily refer to Jesus’ Messianic identity. (This is not denying his divinity. I affirm that Jesus is fully God and fully human. I just do not think the “Christ/Son of God” language necessarily teaches this truth in this context).

Turning to Psalm 2, what do we discover? The Psalm teaches that Messiah, “God’s anointed”, is enthroned in the seat of power to subdue and rule a rebellious world on behalf of Yahweh. This same Messiah is called God’s son. “He said to Me, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” (Psalm 2:7) The Psalm further says that Messiah will break the rebellious nations with a rod of iron, shattering them as though they were clay pots (2:9).

It is this that Peter and the others have in mind when they think of Jesus as Messiah, Son of God. Whether Peter actually envisioned Jesus ruling all of the earth is questionable. I personally doubt it based upon the fact that it took the disciples some time, even after the resurrection and Pentecost, to really understand the global significance of Jesus’ mission. But in any case, they certainly did expect that Jesus was going to rid Israel of her foreign oppressors, and set up his kingdom with them as the governors.

At this pivotal moment Jesus then lets Peter in on the “Messianic secret”, namely that Jesus is indeed Messiah and, therefore, will rule the world; only not in the way Peter imagines. He will rule through suffering, weakness, humiliation and death. In short, he will triumph through his self-sacrificing life of love and atoning death on the cross. The world’s method of winning is killing; Jesus’ method is loving sacrifice.

Peter recoils at the thought. It is not only a horrifyingly shameful and humiliating thought; it is inconsistent with Peter’s dreams and aspirations and ideas of Jesus’ mission. How will Jesus rule as King of Israel if he is rejected? How will be defeat the Romans if he is put to death?

Peter neither understands the Messiah, nor the cross. His Messiah is limited to ethnocentric Israel, and it will take him some time to penetrate the divine necessity of Christ’s death. Briefly put, Jesus set his face on Jerusalem, there to be beaten, abused, tortured, humiliated and suffer not only physical death but the very wrath of God, because he knew that the enemies he fought, and the problems he came to address, were far more serious and all-pervasive than even a brutal Roman empire. Jesus knew that only through His atoning death and resurrection would the fundamental two-fold problem of the penalty and power of sin be addressed; at the cross he would make provision for the deepest and most pervasive of man’s and the creation’s need:

     • Propitiation (I John 4:10)
     • Forgiveness (Eph. 1:7; Acts 10:43)
     • Reconciliation (Rom. 5:11; II Cor. 5:18; Col. 1:19-22)
     • Redemption/freedom (Eph. 1:7)
     • Defeat of Satan (John 12:31; Col. 2:13-15)
     • Mission: the purchase of the Nations, his inheritance (Psalm 2; Rev.5:9-10, Matt. 28:18)

Peter of course had little understanding of these things and his response to Jesus is rightly characterized by horror and disbelief. In response to Peter’s recoiling at the thought, we might expect Jesus to moderate his language, but he does not retreat. Jesus knows that His whole purpose for being in the world – His mission of conquest of a runaway planet – cannot be accomplished by killing, but only by sacrifice. The Father gives the nations to Jesus as an inheritance (Psalm 2:8), but in the compact between the Father and Son, it is the Son who must also purchase them with His blood (Rev. 5:9-10)

Jesus knows too that the disciples will be useless to him if he backs off at this point, and so he pulls no punches as he tells Peter that the cross is not optional, but absolutely necessary: not only for Jesus, but for anyone who wants to be part of his Messianic agenda. Jesus makes it absolutely plain at this pivotal point that anyone who wants to be a part of Jesus and his purposes must realize that it requires a cross for them too.

Jesus is deadly serious about His death. And he is as deadly serious about the death of His followers. This is not merely mortification of sins and self-centredness, but the total renunciation of their lives for the sake of Jesus and His Messianic Mission. Jesus is saying in no uncertain terms that His mission of world reclamation not only requires His atoning death, but the sacrifice of all of his followers.

In light of the suicide bombings in New York and DC, we might say that Jesus calls every follower of his to a similar sort of dedication. Every disciple is called by Jesus to become a suicide bomber, not of death to destroy or conquer, but of love, demonstrating to the nations through our self-sacrificial service and even the laying down of our lives that there is a God in heaven who loves them more than they love themselves.

In this way, and only this way, says Jesus, does His Messianic mission move forward. Matthew 16:13-28 is not first and foremost an answer to rampant self-centeredness. To view it that way, as a corrective to the self-orientation of the Flesh, is actually to perpetuate the problem. Jesus is calling us to something far greater: that his people follow Him in self-sacrificial service of the world in the accomplishment of His mission of redemptive conquest.

In this passage Christ is in fact calling his whole church to be in His Mission using His Method: giving our lives for others in the way he gave His life for us. That we have failed to see this startling fact, that “the call to discipleship” is not merely a call to spiritual self-improvement through self-denial but a call to complete self-sacrifice in Jesus’ Mission, is indicative of the self-centeredness at the core of our Christianity.

Theology of Suffering and Sacrifice: On Taking up Your Cross, Part I (Bob Heppe)

2011-08-15T20:28:00.002+04:30

I have a lot to learn from this man. Bob Heppe has challenged and strecthed me in many ways concerning the gospel and mission. I am thankful to be under his leadership and guidance. Part 2 is coming soon. This is good stuff. Enjoy.

Treatments of carrying one’s cross are trivialized in many ways. It is not about putting up with problems in one’s life: the thorn in the flesh, the intolerable boss, the pesky neighbour, or even the pain of personal loss. These are indeed often occasions of deep suffering and sorrow; but they are not what Jesus is talking about here. This suffering is the effect of living in a fallen world; it comes to us. We are not commanded by Jesus to take up such suffering.

John Stott, in the Cross of Christ, improves greatly on the trivial view of the cross mentioned above. He points out that it is not merely a matter of putting up with a few problems in one’s life, or even the denial of a particular sin, but of the total repudiation and putting to death of one’s SELF.

“Self-denial is not denying to ourselves luxuries such as chocolates, cakes, cigarettes and cocktails (though it may include this); it is actually denying or disowning ourselves, renouncing our supposed right to go our own way.” Quoting Cranfield’s commentary on Mark,: ‘To deny oneself is … to turn away from the idolatry of self-centeredness” (Cranfield, Mark, p.281).’

Stott continues a bit later: “The traditional word for this is ‘mortification’; it is the sustained determination by the power of the Holy Spirit to ‘put to death the misdeeds of the body’, so that through this death we might live in fellowship with God.” (Cross of Christ, p. 279)

Similarly, Walter Chantry, forcefully states the necessity of the cross for growth in godliness. For example, “Nothing leads to self-repudiation so much as spiritual meditation on the corruption and wickedness of your heart. If your soul has grasped human depravity you have been forced to deny yourself.” (The Shadow of the Cross: Studies in Self Denial (Banner of Truth, 1981), p.9). The cross is necessary, says Chantry, because it represents death to the enemy of sanctification: “There before you is the grisly old enemy to spiritual progress standing astride the path of obedience to Christ – SELF! This monster cries out daily to be served…. But on every occasion when we are serious about advancing in righteousness, we must contend with self” (p.15-16).

I choose these two authors because neither would ever be accused of casting Christianity in the form of serving sinful self-interest, or of pandering to the unregenerate drive for self-advancement. And indeed these men are aware of and seek to articulate the radical self-denial to which Jesus calls us as His disciples. As such, this is a very definite improvement over the superficial readings of Jesus’ call to discipleship so prevalent through the ages.

But nevertheless, I believe their treatment of carrying the cross falls radically short of the true significance of the text which we label “the call to discipleship”. I would suggest that to treat the text in this way – in terms of mortification in the process of sanctification – is to misread it in a self-interested way which is the very opposite of Jesus’ intention. Despite the call to radical self-denial which Stott, and Chantry, as representatives of the best in the Evangelical and Reformed interpretation of the call to carry our cross, to read the text as essentially about our personal struggle against sin is ultimately a self-centred reading of Jesus’ intentions. It is indicative of a subtle anthropocentrism running deeply entrenched in the foundations of Reformed and Evangelical theology. A text which is clearly about self-denial ends up being about self!

Furthermore, and more importantly, it obscures the fact that there is a far more radical and comprehensive call to give oneself over totally to Christ and for His (missionary/kingdom) purposes....

Series on (Theology) of Suffering and Sacrifice, Part One: Introduction

2011-08-06T18:01:00.000+04:30

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

I have been wanting to write on suffering and sacrifice for a long time, but it seemed to daunting a task to undertake! I have yet to plumb the depths of this subject and am hardly a biblical expert on the subject or even know, in general, how the Bible speaks of the issue (because it is a central biblical message). So I decided for the first time ever in the history of my blog to invite guest bloggers to contribute. And I am excited to hear form them! These guest bloggers include people who have thought intently on the subject, those who have given their professional and personal lives overseas in works of mercy and have seen more suffering (and have lived more sacrificially) in one month than I have in my whole life, those who lead organizations that have sacrifice and suffering as a core distinctive, those who intentionally seek out others who are suffering in their own ministry of sacrifice, and those people in multiple layers of all the above.

I long to have a greater understanding of a theology of suffering and sacrifice. And I hope you would too. Whenever I am asked by people (especially in light of my time living in Third World conditions/countries) what I think the Western church is missing, I almost inevitably answer with: “we don’t know suffering”. And I am firmly convinced that suffering and sacrifice is a key ingredient to church growth and sanctification. Yet many churches and individuals following Jesus in the West are far from (biblical) suffering and sacrifice, even to the point of purposefully fleeing from it or doing everything possible to end it as soon as it comes upon them. We do not sacrifice well. We do not suffer well. Count me as one included in this tendency. The first example I thought of in regards to this dichotomy in our faith, we here in America have the privilege, time, and energy to debate and spend enormous amounts of resources and human capital in trying to get prayer back in public schools. Meanwhile, dozens of our brothers and sisters are being tortured or killed in the world for their faith…today. And we have the audacity to say that we are being “persecuted” because our kids cant pray in school, failing to recognize the obvious flippancy of that sentiment in the context of the Bible, or global understanding.

Please come along for the ride. You will hear a wonderful symphony of voices and perspectives, of hope and prophetic strain, of saints and sinners. My hope and prayer in doing a series on this is that we will become people who actually proactively put ourselves in places and situations in which we would suffer and sacrifice for Jesus, not just reactively (and there is a big difference). And that we would really understand what it would mean to be people who “partake in the sufferings of Jesus” as Paul and Peter would (often) say. And “partaking in the sufferings of Jesus” is nothing less than the Cross, and a life of “cruciform”…in all areas.

More to come!

Let Us Reason Together! The Biblical Plead for Justice

2011-07-23T01:46:00.001+04:30

I love my son, Judah. Every time I come home from work, chaos ensues. We run rampant around the house and chase each other around. It’s so much fun! We also have little sayings we say to each other. Since my wife calls me by my given Afghan name, “Tofa”, Judah also calls me this instead of daddy sometimes. He even says it in the same voice inflection as my wife…its priceless. There are two little phrases that I often say to him as well. Both come from the Bible and I am not exactly sure how they got lodged in my head, but nevertheless they flow freely in conversation with my son. One saying is, “You are my son in whom I am well pleased.” I say this often to him as I shower him with praise for doing something well, or just because I love him no matter what he does. Of course, in the Bible, God says this to Jesus in a remarkable expression of His love for His Son and His obedience.

The other night I asked Judah what he wanted to do. He replied, “let’s reason together!” HA! This saying of course comes from Isaiah 1 and is something I commonly said to him over his short life as a funny little remark. I would say, Now, Judah, “Lets reason together!” and he was just start giggling or run around the house screaming. He obviously has no idea what it means, however, I thought it really funny that he wanted to do this the other night without any prompting from me.

God, in Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together.” This passage has always been lodged in my head because it starts off one of the most powerful books in the canon with emotion, pleading, and confrontation. God is directly coming to Israel and their people and making a petition to “reason together” with Him. He goes on to say, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be white as snow…If you are willing and obedient…you will eat the good of the land…” God is basically saying here: let’s figure this out. If you would just come under my plan, my instruction, obey me, then you will be in my purposes and you will be redeemed. This is of course nothing less than the gospel message….repent, do my will, and I will make you clean.

It is dangerous to pluck these verses out of context, however. What exactly is God wanting to “reason” about? What is it that He wants us to be “willing” and “obedient” to that will then make us “white as snow”? The answer can be found in the verses preceding these. Starting in verses 14 and onward, God is describing that He is fed up with His people. They “are a trouble to Me” says God. Then in verse 16 of Isaiah 1 comes this proclamation from God:

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Rebuke the oppressor,
Defend the fatherless,

Plead for the widow.”

After this command of biblical justice, God then delivers His “let us reason together” followed by the aforementioned, “if you obey and do my will, you will be white as snow” remark. An easy interpretation of these verses is that it is God’s will for justice and that He desires for us to obey in that….

But I doubt many would disagree with this. How could they? It is right there in Scripture. However, I am always confused and confounded by the desperate nature of the passage and the outcomes of it. If we “seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, and plead for the widow” then we will become “white as snow…and eat the good of the land”. Strong words indeed. Now some could say my interpretation is off, but I would then quickly point to Matthew 25 and Jesus’s call to the “least of these” with similar statements and demands. In this passage, Jesus is saying some people will “inherit the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world” and others will “go away into everlasting punishment” or “depart from Him (Jesus), cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devils and his angels”, all depending on how we took care of others, particularly the “naked, immigrant, sick, lame…” Please interpret that someway else! I have yet to hear a pastor preach that without sugar coating it or glossing over the extreme nature of it. But more to come on this passage in a later blog post.

Let us reason together! Indeed! Let us! Let us be people who do the will of God, who obey His clear teachings of biblical justice for all, particularly the most oppressed and marginalized. Amen.

58: The Film. The Hope to End Extreme Poverty

2011-07-14T21:28:00.000+04:30

I love this excitement behind this vision (www.live58.org). Its easy to become pessimistic, hopeless, and numb when it comes to fighting the tough uphill battle of worldly injustice in the name of faith/Jesus. This is such a refreshing perspective: HOPE and SOCIAL JUSTICE. Ending extreme poverty as the church rises up to the call. Looking forward to this movie, but more importantly, this movement.

58: THE FILM Trailer July, 11 2011 from LIVE58NOW on Vimeo.

Solomon's Wisdom was Justice: Rethinking What it Means to be Wise

2011-07-10T23:41:00.000+04:30

In the greater Christian community, Solomon is generally known for two things: his praying for and receiving wisdom from God and his eventual downfall following foreign gods because of his insatiable desire for women. The first notable irony is that he was given wisdom by God, was known for that wisdom throughout the entire Ancient Near East, yet couldn’t figure out that having over 700 wives and 300 concubines wasn’t wise…but that’s neither here nor there for my purposes in writing here.

When you think of what it means to be wise, what comes to mind? I think of years of experience in a given field of study or the fruits of living long life. I think of grey hair and phd's. The Bible also speaks of this kind of wisdom. Wisdom can be discernment, judging correctly, and knowing the correct path to choose when given many options. We also know from Scripture that the “wisdom of the world is foolishness to Christ.” This thought from 1 Corinthians is highlighting the infinite wisdom of God over man, especially of those who think they are wise and use that worldly wisdom for selfish needs, what the Word calls “crafty”. I also like another theme woven throughout the New Testament, of God choosing the “foolish things” (i.e. unwise by our standards) of the world and the least likely of folk to proclaim His Kingdom...that He might get the glory. Jesus is constantly choosing the most unlikely of characters to be His disciples. In a world full of educated religious elite, Jesus chooses the likes of fishermen and “uneducated, untrained” men that at times could barely mumble out a cohesive, comprehensible sentence. Unfortunately, as products of the Western Enlightenment, we have gone a long way in the opposite direction, preferring those with seminary degrees, bible training, years of experience, and special skill sets to become valid declarers of the Message. We want educated and trained men and women…but that isn’t what Jesus wanted, or what He needed and this is primarily because the glory of God could be more readily seen through these undesired types.

Nevertheless, God granted Solomon wisdom. In 1 Kings, God said to Solomon, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Can you imagine if God asked you that today? What would you want? I am not sure what I would ask for, but I am fairly certain that “wisdom” wouldn’t have been high up on my list. Solomon replies, “give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong…” There is so much to unpack here, but lets start with God’s reaction. The Bible says God was “pleased” by Solomon’s response, since Solomon asked for this and not “long life, wealth, power, or deliverance from enemies..” Instead, God was outright pleased because, as God himself would say, Solomon asked for “discernment in administering justice (Hebrew: mishpat).”

Notice the subtle, yet interesting different words used to describe this blessing from God. Solomon asks to “distinguish between right and wrong” and God grants him discernment in “administering justice”. So, “justice” is being able to tell the difference between “right and wrong”. When we think about justice (particularly in the West), the first thing that comes to our minds is retributive justice, the idea of exacting punishment for a crime or wrongdoing. In other words, the Old Testament concept of an “eye for an eye”, which ironically Jesus later calls His followers to avoid and stop doing. However, the biblical concept of justice is much more robust and multi-faceted than this narrow understanding. It also includes restorative justice, social justice, and Kingdom justice. The Bible is equally, if not more, concerned with this type of justice, especially Old Testament prophets and Jesus. And as it turns out…the wisdom Solomon was granted to bring about justice, was not narrowly defined as punitive righteousness or God-sanctioned war on pagan enemy, but rather a wisdom in understanding how to order the Kingdom in a way which is “right” for every single inhabitant, but especially for the most poor, oppressed, and vulnerable of the Kingdom..in other words, what we understand as, social justice.

This is confirmed by Psalm 72, written by Solomon. He says, “Endow the king with your justice, O God…” Solomon is asking for wisdom, for this justice God is providing him in response to his request. Solomon then goes on to describe in vivid detail what the justice he is getting from God means, and who it is for. I encourage you to read the entire Psalm yourself, but here are some highlights:

He will judge your people in righteousness, your poor with justice” (verse 2).
He will defend the afflicted…save the children of the needy…and crush the oppressor (verse 4).
He will deliver the needy…the afflicted who have no one to help (verse 12).
He will take pity on the weak and the needy (verse 13).
He will rescue them (the needy) from oppression and violence (verse 14).

This Psalm of Solomon’s is clear and straightforward: Solomon’s justice, as granted by God would be a social justice for the poor, needy, oppressed, and vulnerable. What’s more, going back to the original request, Solomon will use this justice to “determine between right and wrong.” Therefore, justice for the poor and others described in Psalm 72, is in fact “right” behavior and life pursuit, while anything short of that is “wrong” behavior and pursuit.

While this should come as no surprise as literally the whole Bible talks of “justice”, I wonder how many of us (including me!) have ever truly contemplated that social justice is part of being wise (wisdom) and something that is “right”, and that a world and kingdom without it is, “wrong”. All I can say is: Amen to that!

Reflections on the Fourth: A Global Perspective

2011-07-01T22:54:00.002+04:30

4th of July was always one of my favorite holidays. I have always loved the summer feel with plenty of sunshine, family, friends, food, and beer. But I also loved it for so much more. I loved it because it was a day to celebrate the “best country in the world." Back in high school and my early college years, my friends and family can attest that I was one of the most patriotic people you could know. Mix that with the passionate edge I have towards almost anything I am fixated on, and what you have is one zealous person.

To illustrate an example of this, I owned a Dodge Durango at that time. You know, a perfect vehicle for a 19 year old living in the desert of Arizona. Of course, my license plate was personalized as well…reading: “onetyme”. But that’s a different story and I won’t go into that here …and every 4th of July in my patriotic fervor, I would buy American flags and hang them on the outside of my truck. I would ride through the city honking my horn chanting “USA, USA, USA” to anyone who would listen. I would bash liberals, homosexuals, hippies, foreigners, and whoever wasn’t like me basically. It was a perfect picture of who I was…

During this time, I also went on a missions trip to Argentina . It was an amazing experience…and to this day I can look back on the missions trips I did during that phase in my life and see that God was starting and cultivating what would later become my life’s calling. But I certainly didn’t know it then….but back to the story… I did really love Argentina, its people, and sharing the gospel. But when I landed back in America after a long month away from home, the first thing I did was kiss the ground. I was so happy to be back on American soil. I even wrote in my journal that I “missed the freedom of America”. Really? I missed…freedom? I wasn’t free in Argentina? Shows just how mixed up I was in my nationalistic tendencies.

Then Jesus stepped into my life…and He radically changed me…He changed my heart. He changed my worldview.

Part of this change was God’s huge sense of humor calling me to be a missionary. I mean, think about it… he called a patriotic, nationalistic zealot who kissed American soil when coming back from overseas to be a…missionary!?!? WHAT?!?! I am convinced to this day that He does things like this to show just how radically He can change ones heart and that the true power and change can only come from Him.

Anyway… He broke my nationalistic pride that was arrogant and self-righteous. He sent me to one of the toughest, most hated countries in the world and simultaneously cultivated a heart in me for “widows, orphans, and foreigners..” and the poor...in other words: the marginalized of the world. He did this by showing me that we too come from a spiritual family of foreigners and sojourners. He gave me His heart for every “tribe, tongue, and nation” and His worldview of love for “all that He has created.” He showed me that he favors no nation and is the Father of all people. Because God is the Creator and Father of all, in some sense the whole global community is one big family. But even more importantly in the context of this blog post and the 4th of July holiday, God showed me that the only TRUE freedom that we have is in Jesus..and that is available to all. Worldly freedoms are nice, but they don’t trump God’s. And He shows me the irony of the apostle Paul who was given freedom, yet still called himself a “slave to Christ.” Paul turned the freedom given to him in Jesus… to become a slave of Jesus. Amazing.

Now 7/4/2011 rolls in. But I don’t hang American flags outside my car windows anymore. I don’t run around chanting USA, USA, USA... I guess I have changed…I approach 7/4/11 with a global, macro worldview and not a national, micro worldview. I believe I have family in Central Asia, brothers and sisters in the slums of India, and see myself in the immigrants of the USA. I don’t believe God has a special place in His heart for America or any nation, and in my desire to be more like him: neither do I….. I no longer feel like I am an American. I feel like I am a World-ican. My heart knows no nationalistic pride and borders. My heart transcends nationalism and borders.

I would never say there is anything wrong with loving America (and Americans) In fact, I love America (and Americans). But my worldview formed by the God of the entire world won’t allow me to love this country or its people anymore than I love Saudi Arabians, or Afghans, or Indians, or Germans, or Chileans, or any other person or nation that I don’t come from/wasn’t born in…because, deep down in my heart…I truly believe… that we are all….one.

10 Summer Reads: From Crossan to Wright

2011-06-25T22:49:00.000+04:30

"What are you reading these days?"...is often a question I hear. And we all know summer is the perfect time to grab some books we have been putting off reading and hit the porch to read (or learn, as I like to think of it)...What are you reading this summer/year? Throw out some suggestions for us! On my plate for this year is:

Surprised by Hope : Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. By N.T. Wright

Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life.

Dorothy Day: Selected Writings. By Robert Ellsberg.

Dorothy Day (1897-1980)--is the co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, and one of the most inspiring figures of recent history. By her lifelong option for the poor and her devotion to active nonviolence, Day fashioned a new face for the gospel in our time.

On the Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church. By Alan Hirsch (reading for a book review)

Two prominent thought-leaders in church planting and mission express a comprehensive vision for a truly apostolic—that is, mission-sent—future of the church. In an idea laden book, they relate inspiring accounts of churches recapturing the apostolic ethos and vision, and explain how a missional approach can bring wholesale transformation to existing churches that want to be all that Jesus intended them to be.

Revise Us Again: Living from a (Renewed) Christian Script. By Frank Viola (reading for a book review)

In "Revise Us Again," Viola offers a deep and profound look at revising the Christian life in line with the script given by Jesus. Viola writes with captivating candor and infectious wit as he discusses the need for "rescripting" our spiritual lives. Serious Christians will find this compelling new book to be an eye-opener on many levels. It covers such things as the Christianeze of "Let me pray about it" and "The Lord told me," to the deeper meaning of suffering and the "dark night" in the Christian journey, to the different conversational styles that explain why Christians often disagree on theological issues. Viola delivers a powerful portrait of "the three gospels" comparing legalism, libertinism, with lordship and liberty and explores something he calls "being captured by the same spirit you oppose."

The Early Christians: In Their Own Words. By Eberhard Arnold

A source book of original writings including texts by Tertullian, Hermas, Ignatius, Justin, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Origen and Clement of Alexandria. The passages explore the fabric of 1st-century Christian life, society, worship, belief and practice. The selections range from apologies and confessions of faith to short sayings, parables and poetry. The extracts are supported by historical and contextual notes and statements from the first Christians' pagan contemporaries.

The Prophetic Imagination. By Walter Brueggemann

In this challenging and enlightening treatment, Brueggemann traces the lines from the radical vision of Moses to the solidification of royal power in Solomon to the prophetic critique of that power with a new vision of freedom in the prophets. Here he traces the broad sweep from Exodus to Kings to Jeremiah to Jesus. He highlights that the prophetic vision and not only embraces the pain of the people but creates an energy and amazement based on the new thing that God is doing.

The Prophets. By Abraham J. Heschel

According to the popular definition, a prophet is one who accurately predicts the future. But in the Jewish tradition, as Abraham Joshua Heschel explains in The Prophets, these figures earn their title by witnessing the world around them with outstanding passion. Prophets are those whose "life and soul are at stake" in what they say about "the mystery of [God's] relation to man." They are "some of the most disturbing people who have ever lived," and yet they are also "the men whose image is our refuge in distress, and whose voice and vision sustain our faith."

The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics. By Chad Myers

This book offers seven studies of the scriptural views of Jubilee Justice and God's dream of enough for everyone.

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. By John Dominic Crossan

Based on Crossan's acclaimed and controversial "The Historical Jesus", this elegant new reconstruction popularizes and occasionally elaborates on that earlier work. Gone is the massive documentation. What remains is an engrossing, often startling exploration of key themes, in which Crossan weighs scriptural texts against anthropological, historical, and literary standards, sifting through accrued layers for evidence of earlier (if noncanonical) sources.

God & Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now. By John Dominic Crossan

At the heart of the Bible is a moral and ethical call to fight unjust superpowers, whether they are Babylon, Rome, or even.... From the divine punishment and promise found in Genesis through the revolutionary messages of Jesus and Paul, John Dominic Crossan reveals what the Bible has to say about land and economy, violence and retribution, justice and peace, and, ultimately, redemption. In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, he examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches.

The Foundation of the Call, My Conversion (long after I became a Christian)

2011-06-09T01:47:00.001+04:30

“Wait, let me get this straight. You are leaving the USA, selling all you have except for a few suitcases worth of stuff, and moving into the slums of Asia?”

“Umm…yeah…I guess you can put it that way.”

“Moving where? The slums? Are you…sure about that?”
“Doing what? Is that safe? What about your family?"
“Have you really thought about what you are getting in to?”
“Wow, I could never do that.”
“Leaving America? Why would you do that?”

Why? Because Jesus is worth….everything. That is usually my internal answer to these questions. But, reasonably asked: how does one get to the point of making these types of life decisions? It’s complicated, and a journey, and full of success and failure, ups and downs, fears and confidence…but it all boils down to this: First, it is God…Second, it’s His Spirit prompting me…and third, it’s His Son I follow. So that initial question of, “how do you get to that point?” then gets turned around on its head and becomes: “how could I do any different?” And it feels a lot less like sacrifice, and a lot more like what He intended.

Part I: The Foundation of the Call, My Conversion (long after I became a Christian).

“But then you start to think there must be more to Christianity, more than just laying your life and sins at the foot of the cross. I came to realize that preachers were telling me to lay my life at the foot of the cross and weren't giving me anything to pick up.”

Shane Claiborne, in the opening chapter of his best-selling book, Irresistible Revolution, later goes on to describe his internal ache to figure out what it meant to live as a Christian after he became one. He was told over and over again what not to do, but found little direction on what to do. I couldn’t agree more.

Claiborne goes on to describe his conversion and early Christian life like this, which ironically is very close to my experience:

“The more I read the gospel, the more it messed me up, turning everything I believed in, valued, and hoped for upside-down. I am still recovering from my conversion. I know it's hard to imagine, but in high school….I was in the in-crowd, popular, ready to make lots of money and buy lots of stuff, on the upward track to success. I had been planning to go to med school. Like a lot of folks, I wanted to find a job where I could do as little work as possible for as much money as possible. I figured anesthesiology would work, just put folks to sleep with a little happy gas and let others do the dirty work. Then I could buy lots of stuff I didn't need. Mmm ... the American dream.

But as I pursued that dream of upward mobility preparing for college, things just didn't fit together. As I read Scriptures about how the last will be first, I started wondering why I was working so hard to be first. And I couldn't help but hope that there was something more to life than pop Christianity. I had no idea what I should do. I thought about leaving everything to follow Jesus, like the apostles, and hitting the road with nothing but my sandals and a staff, but I wasn't sure where to pick up a staff.

There were plenty of folks talking about the gospel and writing books about it, but as far as I could tell, living out the gospel had yet to be tried in recent days.”

As Mark Twain so eloquently stated, “"It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that scare me, but the parts I do understand." And I am beginning to understand what that means…and so does Shane and countless others around the world….that self-sacrifice, self-denial, love for other, suffering, grace, mercy, and compassion are the parts of the Bible I do understand that scare me. And because I do understand them, they are changing the trajectory of my entire existence because I refuse to be scared by them anymore.

As someone once said: “You have not lived until you’ve found something worth dying for.” Indeed, that is the foundation of my call.

(becoming) Hints of Incarnation

2011-05-27T06:20:00.002+04:30

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. We have refused to be instruments of love in the hands of God to give the poor a piece of bread, to offer them a dress with which to ward off the cold. It has happened because we did not recognize Christ when, once more, he appeared under the guise of pain, indentified with a man numb from the cold, dying of hunger, when he came in a lonely human being, in a lost child in search of a home."

The End Times

2011-05-20T20:41:00.001+04:30

There are many Christians and many Christian subcultures out there that are fanatical with eschatology and end times prophecy/theology. As many of you know, the “beginning of the end” of the world starts tomorrow according to one fanatic, Harold Camping, and his followers. There are parties planned…even parties going on as we speak. Billboards all over the place saying, “Repent, the time is here…May 21, 2011 is Judgment Day.”

Of course, it has been widely publicized that Camping has been wrong before…in 1994, I believe. But more than that, his miss of the clear mandate of Scripture and call of Jesus is disturbing.

The easy Scripture (for most Evangelicals, save full preterists) to point to in why we should not predict the end of the world, sign of the times, Second Coming, rapture, etc. is Matthew 24:36: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Evangelicals interpret this verse to mean: “Jesus doesn’t even know the time of His second coming, only God does, so therefore we cannot know.” I think that is a good interpretation, but it only leaves us with a minor rebuke about predicting and focusing on end times. It informs us to not try to figure out something, but the verse alone doesn’t give us what to focus our time and energy on instead….

Predicting is one thing…and many are fed up with the “Camping’s” of the world…but there are still many followers of Jesus, that though they are not predicting the end of the world by specific time/date, are still putting a lot of time, energy, and effort into figuring out “signs” and other “end times” issues.

Take some popular theories/suggestions of well-meaning, eschatological-hungry Christians:
• The “rise” of Radical Islam.
• Determining/figuring out who the anti-Christ(s) could be (i.e. is it Obama, the pope, or Hitler to name a few popular current and historic suggestions).
• The Euro as sure early sign of “one worldwide currency”.
• A perceived increase in natural disasters of the earth (save global warming).
• And of course predictions of false teachers like Rob Bell (but clearly not CS Lewis).
...to name a few hot button topics and issues of those trying to figure out the “signs of the times”.

Maybe it is fun and exhilarating to think about these things for some, but Jesus in Acts 1 tries to redirect our thinking about the end of the world and the ushering in of His Kingdom. His disciples ask Him quite urgently and plainly in verse 6: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” In other words: Is this it? The end of the world? The beginning of God’s reign? Jesus immediately rebukes them, saying: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus clearly says..forget about that stuff!...instead…go be my witnesses here and now! Jesus refocuses our natural inclination to know when He would realize His Kingdom to the real priority and emphasis of our lives and theology should be: the Mission mandate in taking the Good News to our neighbors, nation, and the world.

Even the passage of Matthew 24, in which Jesus himself is talking about signs, etc. are instructions on the here and now implications of the signs. Jesus says to: not be deceived, stand firm, you will be killed and persecuted, and to keep watch. This information is not meant to give us an “instruction guide” on determining or abstractly figuring out the Second Coming or to have us keep focused on this event, but to help us understand that we need to stay committed and strong at that time and in fact, all times. These things Jesus says in this passage are things that are said all throughout Scripture at various times. They are eternal truths for us that stand outside of circumstance….they are true whether or not the world is coming to end, or whether or not Jesus is coming back tomorrow.

I leave you with this applicable conversation I had at the gym yesterday:

John: Nice tattoo, what does that verse say? (referring to my Matthew 16:24 tattoo)
Grant: It is Jesus saying, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” It’s my life verse.
John: Oh sweet! And “agape” (referring to the rest of my tattoo) means “love”, right?
Grant: Yes it does! Are you a follower of Jesus?
John: Oh yes! Definitely!
Grant: Awesome, man!
John: Yeah, though, have you been hearing about this end of the world stuff?
Grant: Yeah, I have.
John: I did some research on it…it sounds pretty good and accurate to me…
Grant (probably a shocked look on my face): REALLY? You know this guy predicted the same thing several years ago and was wrong…and that Jesus says no one knows the time…and even in Acts 1, we are told to not focus on this stuff, but to….
John: yeah, to share the gospel with others. I know that.
Grant: Well, great. See, to me Jesus is pretty straightforward: we don’t know the time, and don’t worry too much about it because we have a job here right now.
John: Yeah, true…but I dunno…

The conversation eventually ended. So here we had a confessed follower of Jesus, who clearly knew Scripture, that was still sucked in…still trapped…perhaps missing the point…

Are you so preoccupied with eschatology that you are missing the clear mandate from Jesus?

Are you using the “end of the world” as a crutch to not do anything about, or care about, this world now?

May we be people who focus on the things Jesus wants us to focus on: the here and now.

May we long for His Kingdom to “come on earth as it is in heaven”.

And may we be the prophetic voice that lives out the clear mandate to take the Good News to the world, for indeed, no one knows the day or the hour.

"Stories that Feed Your Soul," by Tony Campolo

2011-05-13T23:25:00.001+04:30

My book review of "Stories that Feed Your Soul'" by Tony Campolo, as a contributor of such for, www.theooze.com.

Stories have always been a medium used to capture the hearts and imaginations of listeners. I was first taught the doctrine of “incarnation” in seminary. This doctrine teaches that God became flesh in Jesus Christ in order to save us. No matter how true this doctrine and simple statement of fact is, the implications of it made little difference in my life because it remained lodged in my head, a tick box to check off in matters of faith, and never went deep down into my soul.

Contrast this with the story (as opposed to the doctrine) of “incarnation” and you have a much different outcome. The dry, abstract, truth statement of something God has done now becomes a lively, fresh, demonstrative reality that changes our lives. Story and narrative truth have a way of delivering us from a mental, cognitive assent that doesn’t change our lives or behavior s all that much into a life-altering, game-changing reality.

In Tony Campolo’s new book, “Stories that Feed Your Soul”, what we find is a bunch of unique, short stories designed to show us what happens when the sometimes abstract nature of God’s incarnation becomes “flesh and moves into the neighborhood”, as Eugene Peterson would say. I have always been fond of Campolo’s writings. He is a major mentor and influencer in the life of Shane Claiborne, who has in turn been a major influencer for me. Therefore, by default, I feel like his theological grandkid. So when I was asked to do a review on his book, I immediately jumped at the opportunity.

In this book, Campolo uses an array of short stories that deliver some graphic implications of theological truths. Short stories on justice, love, mercy, and grace abound. He uses illustrations from old time saints of the faith from eras long ago, to contemporary illustrations including his own experiences. I believe he writes this book in such a way that you are supposed to read and digest a couple of these short stories in effort to hear what God is trying to speak to you through each one.

I highly recommend this book if you need a break from traditional, theological writings and need to hear fresh stories that put meat on theological convictions. It’s always good to know you are not alone…that your stories are similar stories of others being led by the same God….and that the reign of God’s Kingdom is indeed happening right here, right now through “small acts with great love”.

"Justice" and Osama bin Laden

2011-05-04T20:18:00.007+04:30

The death of Osama bin Laden has created quite a stir in the broader Evangelical community. While nationalistic reactions have been fairly consistent: joy, satisfaction, and patriotic sentiments; the reaction hasn’t been quite as consistent with American Christians. Reactions ranging from “rot in hell”, to “judgment day Osama!” to “justice was served”, to “love your enemies” all have been proclaimed. In the death of someone considered to be an evil person, it is amazing to see how those indwelled with the Holy Spirit have responded.

York Moore, at Urbana Missions Conference in 2009, shared his testimony with a stadium full of Christian college students. He described vividly his conversion, but even more vividly his “conversion within his conversion”. Meaning, he found Jesus initially…and later began to see injustices in this world and had a conversion experience within his conversion, as an already Christian, that changed the course of his life. When I share my testimony, I have a similar conversion story to tell. I was saved…and then as God began to change my heart, I learned things He was passionate about anew. I can remember it vividly, that is, my “conversion within my conversion”. I was in an empty restaurant at like 11pm reading the Sermon on the Mount. And the words of this most famous sermon Jesus gave jumped out at me like I was reading it for the first time. Things like, “You heard it said ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’… But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” I read, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” I read many other things…and at the end of this sermon Jesus says, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” My world changed then and there.

The Sermon on the Mount was pie in the sky. Nice statements with abstract truth, perhaps..but nothing to build your life around. Unrealistic. Too hard. Too bold. But Jesus changed my heart that night. Little by little, He began to show me that these things can be followed through His power and Spirit. He used that last verse: whoever hears these things I am saying (i.e. love your enemies, bless your enemies, etc.) and actually practices/does them, I will liken to a wise man as a catalyst for seeing that His teachings can be followed. He later says, whoever doesn’t do these things is a fool. That night my “conversion within my conversion” started. And still continues to this day.

How does this have anything to do with Osama’s death? To me, it has everything to do with it. The mandate in Scripture is clear.

If a choice between love or hate..its love.
A choice between mercy or judgment…its mercy.

A choice between loving our enemies or killing our enemies..its love.
A choice between unconditional forgiveness or ‘just’ retribution…its forgiveness.
A choice between an eye for an eye or grace…its grace.

Many said that they were initially “joyful” or “happy” or “satisfied” or felt a sense of “justice being executed” when they heard of Osama’s death. Honestly, I didn’t feel that at all. Of course I am eager to rid the world of evil, however, I am sober in how that is done, who does it, and why they do it the way they do it. And what it boils down to is this: I never want anyone to die apart from God...furthermore, I don’t want someone to die at the hands of other humans on their dictated timetable, and that goes for “good” or “bad” humans alike…I hurt when I hear a child is aborted. I hurt when I hear someone dies accidently prematurely in a car accident. I hurt when a soldier is killed defending a country, or when an Afghan civilian is killed by a bomb that missed its target. I hurt when someone on death row gets executed (and later is found to be innocent). I actually hurt when Osama died. Death hurts because there are no do over’s. No second chances. And if any of the situations I mention above happens…that person’s chance to repent and be saved has ended.

But regardless of my desire that “none should perish, but all repent and live”, I have serious questions about having any ounce of celebration, or a sense of justice, or a sense of joy/satisfaction from someone dying…even someone like Osama. And here is my biblical understanding of why I have a hard time with this.

1. The Gospel. The heart of the gospel is this: we are all enemies of God, separated from Him but through the blood of the only just person who has ever lived: Jesus. This is clear in Scripture. I am an enemy of God apart from Jesus. Osama is an enemy. It’s a level playing field. Furthermore, the Sermon on the Mount highlights just how depraved and sinful we are. Jesus says that if we have hate in our heart, we have murdered. If we have lust in our heart, we have committed adultery. Not one of us is exempt from this, not one of us have fulfilled this. Only Jesus has. And that’s the point. I am a murderer. I am a liar. I am an adulterer. And this is true whether or not I have actually committed the crime, so to speak. I am guilty because my heart has done it. I am no more innocent, or less guilty, than Osama. So when we say that Osama got “his justice”, “his just judgment”, we fail to see the evil and depravity in our own hearts. We are no different than Osama. This is radical, I know. But this is biblical.

2. God is the Just Judge, Not Man. The Bible is clear: its not our place to judge. Again in the Sermon of the Mount we hear Jesus say, “Do not judge, lest you be judged….how ever you judge will be given back to you…why do you focus on others..take the plank out of your own eye.” Romans 12 says, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but [rather] give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance [is] Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Here we see that vengeance (i.e. retributive justice) is for God to handle, not you or me. Instead, keeping consistent with the ethic Jesus lays out in the Sermon on the Mount of “loving our enemies”, God tells us to actually take care and provide for our enemies. This is radical. This is revolutionary. By doing this we take the higher road and leave it up to God to satisfy judgment. It further highlights that God alone is truly just to judge. Not me. Not you. James tells us in the second chapter of his epistle that: “mercy triumphs over judgment.” Even Jesus (who is the only earthly person who ever lived that is just enough to judge) says this: “I did not come to condemn (i.e. judge) the world, but to save it.” I really could go on and on, but this will suffice for now.

What’s my point? Death is the ultimate form of judgment, correct? If God alone is only able to execute “just judgment”, how can we be pleased, happy, or satisfied when anyone dies, or gets murdered, assassinated, or killed, by man. No matter how “just” it is perceived. God alone should be the author and finisher of life. Not man. God executes retributive justice (because he alone is just), we are called to mercy, love, and grace and to leave the rest to God. The choosing of taking life: whether through abortion, through capital punishment, war, or assassination is taking the job of God into our own hands. And the twisted part about this is that we feel ok about doing this because we feel justified in doing it. If a mass murderer is executed on death row, we think that is justice. An “eye for an eye.” But what about the guy on death row that gets executed that is later exonerated by new evidence. Is that just? We think it is justice when Osama, the brain behind the killing of thousands of people, is taken out. Its justice!, we proclaim! But when hundreds of Afghan civilians die in order to deliver on this end, is that justice for them? Is the killing of Afghan civilians, who had nothing to do with Osama, just? Do the ends always “justify” the means? Jesus ends the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” moral standard. He ends it because no one can satisfy or live up to it. As Gandhi once said, “eye for an eye, the whole world goes blind.”

Of course the argument can be made that the killing of Osama was God executing his judgment on him. Perhaps. But how do you know? What lens are you looking through to determine something only God knows? And what deaths are God’s judgment, and what others are “unfortunate” and not God’s judgment? Especially when Jesus lays out the playing field for us that all are enemies of God. If this is true, and the Bible says so, wouldn’t all death then be considered God’s judgment? If so, why are we quick to say that Osama’s death was God’s judgment, but the people who died in the Twin Towers aren’t God’s judgment? This argument drawn out to the only really logical conclusion (except if you take the “holier than everyone else” approach), is that God would have also been executing judgment on people in the Twin Towers too. Or in Darfur. Or anywhere else when death has happened.

3. Ability to Repent. People often ask me why I am against the death penalty. And besides the arguments I have already laid out above, its simple: anytime death is determined by man, it takes away time and the ability of someone to repent. God desires that “none should perish, but that all would repent.” That person on death row that gets executed today is unable to repent tomorrow. Osama is unable to repent today. My personal feeling is that every human, “good” or “bad”, should have the longest time possible to repent. So I feel terrible when someone gets murdered and wish that person had more time to live and repent if they hadn’t already. But continuing the cycle of violence and taking of life, to then execute the murderer (eye for an eye), we take away that same opportunity for that person. Death is the ultimate form of judgment.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against executing some form of justice for people who do things wrong, or commit atrocious acts of evil. I am all for punishing an evildoer through whatever government system is in place to do that (conditionally that is). However, I am only in favor of punishment up to, but not including, death. Once death is a part of punishment determined by the government or by man, we cross a line we are never meant to cross. Incarcerate someone for life? Fine. Execute them? Not fine.

Let us refrain from using the term “justice” for the death of anyone. Unless we use it for everyone.

My mentor, Shane Claiborne, once said something that has never left me. I know my argument above seems lengthy, but I know I could even say more…but I will leave you with Shane’s thoughts for now: If we think anyone, like a terrorist such as Osama (my add), is beyond the grace of God, we need to rip out half of our New Testament because it was written by a converted terrorist, Saul. Just think if Saul got his retributive, eye for an eye punishment due him before he had the chance to convert. Paul was a terrorist who killed Christians. Osama was a terrorist who killed Americans. I am a depraved sinner too. None of us are beyond God’s grace.

Between Friday and Sunday

2011-04-23T11:07:00.003+04:30

The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is often lost in the shuffle. As Followers of Jesus, we rightfully contemplate, repent, and think about the enormity of the Cross on Friday. We are struck by the magnitude of God’s grace and mercy upon us, and of the great sacrifice of Jesus. Then on Sunday we spend time in celebration, thankfulness, and joy because the “grave could not hold Jesus”. Without Sunday, Friday doesn’t matter. Without Sunday, we have no hope.

Given the huge role both the death and resurrection play in our faith, no wonder we get caught up in the Friday and Sunday events and what they mean. But the Saturday, the “in between” time is actually of extreme importance as well. Between the death and resurrection of our Savior is a time of deep waiting, yearning, darkness, and anguish.

I often try to put myself in the disciples shoes during this time between death and resurrection. Would I have lost hope? Would I have turned away and ran? Would I have cursed God? Would I have went on with my life as if nothing happened? I am not sure. But I do know one thing, I am thankful in many ways that I didn’t live during that period of time because, frankly, I am afraid that my seemingly little faith would have been my undoing.

But here we are 2000 years removed from this world changing event and we know the outcome of this “in between time.” But as I think about how this “in between time” can still have meaning to me as a Follower of Jesus here and now in the 21^st century, my thoughts quickly turn to those who don’t have the same hope we have, the same knowledge we have. The majority of the world still would have many of the doubts, questions, uncertainties, etc. that I posed above that many, if not all, people would have had in the 1^st century. Therefore, as Christians tasked to take the Good News to the world, the Saturday in between Good Friday and Easter is actually of the utmost importance to us.

The Word tells us that after Jesus died on the cross that He, “preached to the spirits imprisoned...” (1 Peter 3). While there is debate as to what this means, to me, what is clear is that Jesus was apart from God (utter darkness) during this time. Knowing this we can easily see that temporarily He was like the majority of the world today: apart from God. But He also “preached”….something meaningful for us to know about the “in between” time as well and impart in our lives.

The “in between” time is actually in many ways the time we are living in now. We are between the time of the incarnation, life, death, resurrection of Jesus and the full realization of the Kingdom of God (second coming). And we have but one task given during this “in between” time: make Him known to the world.

During this “in between” time, this particular Saturday:

Over 400 Followers of Jesus will be martyred for their faith

25,000 people will die from preventable causes (i.e. hunger, disease)

155,000 (roughly) will die today in the world, of which roughly 2/3 don’t know Jesus.

Many will be trafficked. Many will die from violence. Many will be abused. Many will be forgotten. Many will not have a chance to start life.

Our faith has everything to do about Saturday. Spend some time this Easter season thinking about that…and doing something about it…May we always spend time in reflection over the enormity of the Cross and Resurrection. May we thank God for His provision and love. But may we also be a people who actively and passionately have something to say to the world that suffers and dies apart from Jesus in the “in between” time.

Lent 2011: Week 5, Speechless

2011-04-13T04:58:00.002+04:30

In this week’s story, a Cambodian girl finds herself utterly “speechless”: no one listens to her pleas for mercy, no one ever responds to her cries for help, and absolutely no one cares about her rights to freedom and respect as a human being. Here's Ka's story.

REFLECTION: Ka faced some horrible experiences that oppressed her ability to determine the course of her own life. Do you know what it is like to be speechless? SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE: • Give up your personal decisions / opinions for a week—choose a friend to make all those decisions for you • Give up electronics that are not critical for school or work—isolate yourself from all forms of communication and means of contacting the outside world. • Do not speak about anything not critical to school or work. A variation of this can be to duct tape your mouth shut every day. Feel free to modify these suggestions as you feel fit, and if none of these suggested experiences work for you, we encourage you to come up with your own creative way of experiencing the lack of control over your own life. Remember, girls like Ka often go without being heard for years, if not their entire lives. This week, try to appreciate every time you are allowed to voice your opinions and be heard. Pray for girls like Ka to find freedom in Christ.

Lent 2011: Godless Conclusion

2011-04-10T15:55:00.002+04:30

We’re now at the end of Week 4 of Relentless Acts of Justice! This week came with a twist: we put aside our resources (such as Bibles) to identify with the godless. Instead of walking through Scripture, we reflected on the story of Shimelis and what is means to suffer and ultimately advance the Gospel through persecution. We thought about what it might look like to know God in different ways than solely through the Bible, and prayed for those who are being persecuted. Read the continuation of Shimelis' story.

OUR RESPONSE:
Take some time to reflect back through your week. What was it like to go through your week without your typical resources and routines? Was there any particular day or prayer topic that stood out to you? How did you feel God move or hear Him speak throughout the week?

Consider learning more or responding in one of these ways:

RESOURCES:
• Voice of the Martyrs and the VOM blog
• Watch this video on persecution by Open Doors
• Read Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand

ACTIONS:
• Look at the Restricted Nations map on the Voice of the Martyrs website and pick a nation to pray for regularly
• Visit the Voice of the Martyrs or Open Doors website and find out how you can help under the Get Involved or Ways to Give links.

Lent 2011: Godless, Life Without Spiritual Resources

2011-04-09T17:41:00.003+04:30

In previous weeks of Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice, we’ve connected with individual stories by exploring related Gospel passages. This week, as we experience what it’s like to do without the spiritual resources we normally depend on, we are simplifying our daily devotions. Try to spend some time reflecting on the following thoughts.

Reflect on how followers of Christ can rejoice and grow through the suffering of persecution as they receive comfort. Pray that those who are being persecuted would have joy as they grow into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus.
Write a journal entry about what you are experiencing so far as if you were at risk for persecution by refraining from using words like Christ, Church, God, etc.
Reflect on how persecution advances the Gospel in light of the way the persecuted suffer with Jesus, suffer together as a church, receive comfort from Christ, and rejoice and grow through their sufferings and lack of resources. Pray that the Gospel would advance not only in spite of a lack of resources for the persecuted church, but because of their deep love and boldness for Christ and His deep love and comfort for them.

Lent 2011: Day 27, Godless Suffering

2011-04-04T17:29:00.000+04:30

In previous weeks of Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice, we’ve connected with individual stories by exploring related Gospel passages. This week, as we experience what it’s like to do without the spiritual resources we normally depend on, we are simplifying our daily devotions. Try to spend some time reflecting on the following thoughts. Today, reflect on what suffering with Jesus looked like for Shimelis. Pray that those who are suffering with Jesus would feel His presence. Read the story here.

Lent 2011: Week 4, Godless

2011-04-03T17:11:00.002+04:30

World Vision: This week of Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice we will step into the lives of the godless, the persecuted church, through the story of Shimelis Hapte. He became a believer in Christ at about the same time that the socialist government in Ethiopia began persecuting Christians. All of their Bibles, musical instruments, and religious books were taken away as the government tried to “destroy” Christianity. Here's his story.

Read the "GODLESS" story here.

REFLECTION:
This week we will put away our resources and freedom to worship publicly as we experience what it’s like to be “godless” with the persecuted church.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:
• Hide or put away all signs and symbols of religion in your room, including your Bible
• Hand copy a page of the Bible and use only this page as your Scripture for the entire week
• Don’t attend any religious services or meetings for the week

As always, you can adjust these experiences or come up with your own. Commit to one, remembering that we are trying to step into what it would feel like to be unable to have access to spiritual resources (in Shimelis’ case, it was lack of the resource of freedom to be a Christian and worship).

Also, listen and ask God to speak to you in new ways this week as you leave behind some of the normal means through which you might hear Him. Consider how believers all over the world have a life-changing relationship with Christ even though they may not have Bibles, worship bands, and public meetings. Ask God to challenge and grow your knowledge of Him and faith in Him as He does theirs.

Lent 2011: Responsibility and Role

2011-04-02T17:18:00.002+04:30

What is our responsibility as Christians?

My commandment is this: Love each other as I have loved you. --John 15:12

What are some ways that God has shown His love for you? And how can we love one another in the same way?

Also, it is written in Mark 12:31 that one of the greatest commandments is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Unfortunately, Sokha didn’t experience that love from her neighbors. How are some ways that we love ourselves? How can we show this love to others?

What is our responsibility as followers of Christ when it comes to matters of social injustice? Why should we care about things that are happening halfway across the world? Journal about how God has called us to love one another as you love yourself.

What is our role on this Earth?

You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of this world…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven. --Matthew 5:13-16

What actions can we take to right the wrongs that we have learned about? Did our perspectives change enough for us to care? Are we compelled to spread the word about AIDS? Why is it important for us to not only do something, but make it known to everyone around us?

Lent 2011: CARELESS, Persecution and Suffering

2011-04-01T01:50:00.004+04:30

For the third week of Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice, we are experiencing the life of a young girl, Sokha, whose life has been dramatically affected by AIDS. Here's her story.

Reflection:
Life is very lonely for Sokha, who faces ridicule and isolation due to the stigma of AIDS. Sokha lost her father due to the disease and must care for her own mother in her illness; who is there to care for Sokha? Through no fault of her own, Sokha faces much of the hardships of her life alone. It might seem hard to imagine if you’ve grown up with one or two (or more) caring family members, but many children in today’s world lack that guidance and care. This week, we will be taking time to experience and understand that reality.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:
• Wear a piece of clothing every day that will make you stand out in a crowd - something unflattering that will definitely make people take notice.
• Go without any contact/communication with your closest loved one.
• Go without any contact/communication with your typical group of friends.

Please feel free to come up with your own experiences for the week. Commit to something that will allow you to experience the “careless” treatment of Sokha by her community by feeling ostracized.

PERSECUTION….
As a Christian, I often find that my views and opinions are unpopular among my peers at college. We can often feel persecuted for being a follower of Christ in such a secular world. But I know the ridicule that we sometimes experience, similar to what Sokha encounters, is not in vain.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven." --Matthew 5:11-12a

Spend the next five minutes asking God for the strength to stand strong when faced with persecution. Thank God for using these seemingly negative events to shape you into His creation.

SUFFERING….
Sokha felt like she couldn’t sink any lower. Have you ever felt like you’ve hit rock bottom? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that God has a reason for everything, including all the bad things that happen. As followers of Christ, we are set apart from the world. This applies to our reaction to suffering: we should rejoice!

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. --Romans 5:3-5

Spend the next five minutes offering up your trials and struggles to God, and thanking Him for His perfect plan and will for your life.

Lent 2011: Rescued, Redeemed, Now What?

2011-03-31T01:04:00.006+04:30

RESCUED....
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. – Hebrews 9:15

All hope is not lost. Although sin entered the world, and we face temptations, we are not doomed. Jesus Christ was born, lived, died, and was resurrected so that we may have hope – hope of once again living in God’s perfect world. We may not have it all figured out yet.

Rebecca still has to choose between feeding her family and treating Christine’s malaria. Christine’s future may seem bleak right now, but there is still hope. If God could pull the odds and send his only Son to give us hope of having a relationship with him, there is no telling what he’ll do to save little Christine. God cares about you and me and all of his creation. As we continue to feel vulnerable, I hope that we’d take comfort in that knowledge.

RESTORED....
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. – Matthew 6:10

Long ago Jesus taught his disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:5-13), and this prayer is one that most of us have memorized. It acknowledges God’s sovereignty, it reveres God, it lets us ask for our needs, for forgiveness, and for protection. But if you’re like me, you’ve prayed parts of this prayer without having a full understanding of what you were saying. What does it mean to you for God’s kingdom to come? Can we imagine that? Does it look like what we imagined his perfect world to be on Monday?

The second part asks that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Now when I think of God’s will being done in heaven, I can certainly see angels hard at work. But on earth? We are his creation, right? He made us in his image, saved us by his grace, for his good works (Eph. 2:10).

As hard as I’ve tried, I can’t find better candidates other than us to do God’s will here on earth. So what does it mean for you and I to do God’s will here? What actions do we take that restores God’s kingdom here on earth? Does it mean we provide better choice options for mothers like Rebecca? Does it mean we find a way to give Christine hope of a better future?

We may not have much to give. After all, not all of us are rich. But it does not take much to change the life’s trajectory of many children. More than 2000 children die every night because of a mosquito bite. A $6 bed net can change that, providing protection for up to four years! We may not be able to save all 2000 tonight, but we can certainly find a way to save at least 1.

Our acts say much about who we are, about what God’s kingdom on earth means to us, and about our hope for restoration.

CONCLUSION OF "HELPLESS"....
While many, if not all, of our experiences cannot be directly compared to Rebecca’s, the vulnerability we felt when we went without physical protection (or whatever else you went without) is similar to what Rebecca feels every time she has to choose food over medication. So what do we do next?

First, please spend the next 5 minutes praying for people facing “helpless” situations around us. Ask that God reveal to you what role you are to play in “making His kingdom come.” Next, find ways to “help.” Find organizations that alleviate poverty and make the “helpless” less so, and become involved with the work they are doing.

Lent 2011: God's Creation, Fall, Temptation

2011-03-30T03:27:00.004+04:30

GOD'S CREATION....
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. – Genesis 1:31

Picture this: miles and miles of green grass. Or maybe white sand and a peaceful ocean. Or maybe a snowy, winter wonderland. Whether or not we admit it, we often imagine a “perfect” world. And despite differences in the scenery, most of us will agree that this “perfect” world is one free of troubles, heartaches, sufferings, and pain.

The story of Rebecca Asiimwe reveals a world far less than paradise. Hers is a world where lack of choices often leaves her family helpless.

But God created this world, and He takes pride in every aspect of His creation. Today, spend some time reflecting on the world God had created. What elements of your life are “very good”? What hardships has He spared you? Take a moment to thank Him for the good parts of your life - even the small, simple ones.

FALL....
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. – Romans 5:12

We just imagined God’s perfect world, and now we focus on why that world no longer exists: sin entered the world. The imperfections we see today are mainly manifestations of men missing the mark, through sin. Greed and apathy are some of man’s most damaging vices, but there are many others that invite imperfection into God’s perfect world. In this week’s story, Rebecca’s world is hardly perfect; she faces the harsh realities of poverty and malaria every day. Though she too is not perfect, her world’s circumstances are not a result of personal sin, but are a result of humanity’s general sin.

What are some of our actions, or inactions that make God’s perfect world a bit less “perfect”? What are some ways in which we bring sin into this world? “Because all sinned…”

TEMPTED....

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men, but to God. – Acts 5:3-4

Ananias got caught. He, and his wife, were tempted, gave in to the temptation, and lost their lives because of it, end of story. Or is it? Those two were tempted by money because they allowed it to cloud their view of God. We’re told in James 2:13 that God cannot be tempted by evil, and he does not tempt anyone. But life tempts us whenever it clouds our views of God.

Most of us are tempted by everyday life’s circumstances. We’re tempted to give up on difficult circumstances. We’re tempted to seek other solutions to our problems. We’re tempted to count on ourselves, rather than on God.

As we’re going through this experience of feeling vulnerable, what are some of the temptations you’re dealing with? Do you want to try and save, by yourself, every mother from making the choice Rebecca makes? Or do you want to give up because the situation is hopeless? Let us remember that temptation can take on many forms, and we rely only on God for the strength to continue. To rely on our own understanding could become disastrous – learn from Ananias.

Lent 2011: Week 2 Catch Up, Helpless

2011-03-29T04:08:00.005+04:30

As a part of Lent 2011, I decided to fast and refrain from posting further reflections for Lent 2011 after day 8....well....not exactly! I have been traveling and was unable to keep up with daily posts because of my hectic schedule, but I wanted to start back up today because I think these reflections are helpful and good and worth continuing.

So it is actually day 20 now. The first 8 days revolved around the concept of "worth". World Vision took the second week of Lent to discuss the idea of being "helpless".

World Vision Act:s, Week 2.

We’re always told that life is full of choices, and often we have the option of making good choices over bad ones. But what if there was no option to make the “good” choice? In this week’s story, we will read about a mother whose choices in life are severely limited. It’s a different kind of trap.

Read "Helpless" story here.

Reflection: Rebecca‘s impossible choice between buying medication to treat her daughter’s malaria and using the money to provide food for the rest of her family is a choice no one should have to make, but many do. Her situation is essentially “helpless.” This week, we will carry out acts that simulate experiencing helplessness.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:

• Take away a tool that you depend on. Some options include: pens, pencils, paper, internet search engines, your cell phone or its apps, text messaging, your car, public transportation, your computer, etc.

• Go without a coat or something else that keeps you physically protected.

• Write some of your computer passwords on a sheet of paper and give copies to some trusted friends. Throughout the week, think about what would happen if they actually used your passwords and saw your entire life without filters.

• Each day, commit to telling a stranger (which also means you must meet a stranger) or a different friend a secret about your life.

You can come up with your own experience, but the common theme of all our acts is that they make us feel vulnerable – something Rebecca feels everyday. And as we go through our “helpless” experiences, let us remember that Jesus, Son of God, selflessly became man and experienced vulnerability in order to restore our relationship with God. Thanks for taking on this experience of helplessness in observance of Lent 2011.

Lent 2011: Day 8_What is Worth?

2011-03-16T16:13:00.002+04:30

World Vision ACT:S. What is worth? We have value in God's love.

Take a minute. Get a pen and journal. Define worth. Write down whatever comes to mind when you think of the word.

Here are some things I came up with: being of value, having a use or purpose, cared for, significance. Worth makes me think of value in both the physical terms of money and material items as well as in terms of our worth and purpose in who we are. While our society may claim our worth is in how much material items or wealth we have, God’s love for us sees us as worthy without such things.

Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. --Isaiah 49:1

This verse reminds me that we were created by God and He knew us before we were born. We are loved and valued by Him. Reflect for a few minutes on your view of worth. Write down what you think gives something or someone value. Spend a few minutes in prayer over this idea of worth and how God values us.

Lent 2011: Week1_"Worthless"

2011-03-14T20:09:00.006+04:30

World Vision ACT:S. This first week of Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice, we will be taking a deeper look at the issues of poverty and lack of economic opportunity by following the story of Sylvie Ngandwe and her three children. For the Ngandwe family, life is harsh. Their days drag on around menial tasks that they are forced to complete to survive until life almost seems “worthless.” Here is their story.

Read the “WORTHLESS” story here.

Reflection:
Sylvie and her two oldest children work all day sifting through rocks in a quarry. They barely earn enough money for one simple meal each day and to cover the monthly rent. Along with that, the two older children are unable to attend school and gain an education. Their lives are not worthless; but being trapped in such circumstances can make a person question the point of existence. To step into Sylvie’s life and experience a lack of “worth” this week, we will be going without something physical.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:
• Eat only $14 worth of food this week. Some simple meals would include rice, vegetables, and beans.
• Live simply. Don’t use things or luxuries that are unnecessary for your daily activities such as shampoo, pillows or socks. Don’t buy new things or spend money eating out this week.
• Pick a day to fast (or a specific meal each day). During your normal meal times, reflect upon this issue of poverty and hunger. Pray for families like Sylvie’s around the world.

These are merely suggestions. If you have ideas of what might work better for you or would like to approach the experience in a different way, go for it! Feel free to get creative. And join us this week as we seek God and give up some physical worth to better understand this story.

Lent 2011: Day 5_Dealing with the Tension

2011-03-13T17:14:00.002+04:30

World Vision ACT:S Reflections: So far this week, we’ve spent time in prayer, exploring our own stories, and setting some goals. Now it’s time for us to soberly think about the journey we will begin later today. More often than not, people don’t make it all the way through Lent; our challenge this year is to really explore how God can use each of us, calling us outside of our individual self-indulgent stories into the larger narrative of His kingdom on earth.

On Wednesday, we prayed for discomfort. Over the next six weeks, if we truly try to identify with each of the real-life stories, we will inevitably experience discomfort and tension. Hopefully, each week will draw us farther outside of our own story to experience the stories of others… and to ultimately enter into the story of what God is doing and wants to do through each of us. Along the way, we will likely be easily distracted by our own lives and busyness. We might get bored, feel guilty, give up after falling behind, or we might just think about our everyday lives and convince ourselves that nothing can ever change.

As you think about your own story and the goals that you have set for yourself, what are some of the obstacles you can expect to come in your way? How can you invite others into this journey with you? Think about how you and your friends can enrich each other’s experiences and hold each other accountable.

Take a moment to write down some of these obstacles and ideas you have for living within the tension and discomfort. Then reread the Franciscan blessing we shared on Wednesday, and remember that blessings often come in subtle forms.

Lent 2011: Day 4_Japan: fear, overwhelmed, prayer, or action?

2011-03-12T17:49:00.004+04:30

My Lent Reflections Day 4: Japan. Next Tuesday, I will spend some time leading the Mission through awareness and prayer of world issues. I made my preparations earlier this week for leading this. I was going to focus much of my time on Libya and other Mideast/North African revolutions. Everything was printed up and ready to go for Tuesday's meeting.....then disaster hit Japan. Over 1,000 are dead and that number climbs hourly. And damages are enormous. Just like that I have another topic.

I am convinced that when I was in high school in the mid-90's, events like this happened just as frequently as they do now. I am sure I vaguely heard of earthquakes, wars, tsunamis, and other world changing events. However, because I lacked access to in-depth knowledge of events they merely became headlines that came and went without much impact on my life. Surely my young, naive, immature, self-centered life and faith played a part in my apathy, but the other reality was that I didn't have CNN.com and YouTube clips at my disposal. In today's world, you can do a simple Google search or go to a news website like CNN and within 30 seconds you have up to the minute information about any newsworthy event going on in the world with video along with it. Yesterday, I was able to view the chaos and devastation that happened in Japan with my own eyes....from Philadelphia....thousands of miles away. 15 years ago this wasn't possible unless you lived there, or you saw it on the evening news or read it in the newspaper the next day. Because of this, our world has shrunk and we are now more informed than ever....Since I can see and hear from Japan, and Libya, and Egypt, and Haiti, my heart (filled with faith and God's love as a Follower of Jesus) is moved towards prayer, petition, compassion, and action.

I was all prepared to speak on Libya on Tuesday....now I am carving out time for Japan. That is our world today. Since our world is also fallen and depraved, we are hit with a never ending onslaught of issues we can be a part of as ambassadors of Christ. I often see 4 different responses from Christians in these times of crisis and hurt. The 4 typical responses I observe are either a: spirit of FEAR, a sense of being OVERWHELMED, a movement to PRAYER, or a drive to ACTION. To be honest, I tend to fall more in the "overwhelmed" camp. Its usually a mix of spirit and flesh battling in me. In the holy part, I want the world to be rid of violence, strife, hurt, and suffering (i.e. injustice). In my flesh, I long to be God and tackle issues apart from God's power. Its a tension I often live with and one God is actively addressing in my life. What He is constantly teaching me and bringing back to mind are the simple words of Mother Teresa, "We cannot do GREAT things, only SMALL things with great love."

Which of the 4 responses do you tend to have? Fear leading to isolation and self-centeredness/interest? Being overwhelmed leading to apathy or paralysis? Prayer resting in God's sovereignty and actively petitioning the Creator of the world for intervention? Or action to live for something beyond yourself? Maybe its a mixture of a few...or all four?

I personally long to be a man of God participating actively in the Kingdom of God, but only through the divine power of the Holy Spirit...

Lent 2011: Day 3_Set Your Goals

2011-03-11T21:24:00.003+04:30

World Vision ACT:S Reflections. Now that we have spent some time in prayer and contemplated our own stories, it’s time to set some goals.

First, find a journal that you will use throughout your Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice journey. This will be a great place to keep your thoughts together and also look back on in the future.

Next, consider what you want to learn from God in this season. In what ways do you want your heart to break for the things that break the heart of God? Spend 10 minutes thinking and praying through the possibilities and write down at least 2 main goals.

Examples include:
• I want God to teach me how to care for the poor, even if I don’t see poverty every day.
• I want God to teach me what it means to “act justly” on campus, at work, etc.
• I want God to teach me more about a justice issue (such as human trafficking, malaria, or domestic poverty) in the present-day world.
• I want God to show me where I am falling short of His plan for my life, in relation to social justice.
• I want to experience a glimpse of Jesus’ incarnation into a world full of the effects of sin.

Conclude your time in prayer to God, asking Him to nudge you toward your goals.

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – Matthew 7:8

Lent 2011: Day 2_List Your Luxuries

2011-03-10T17:55:00.002+04:30

World Vision ACT:S Reflections: If you’ve ever enjoyed a book, a TV show or a movie, you understand the power of stories. Stories have a way of connecting lives. Starting on Sunday, we will explore how to emulate Christ’s incarnation through six true stories that we will bring to life by giving up everyday luxuries. In order to enter into somebody else’s story, however, we should first understand our own.

As we continue to allow God to prepare our hearts, think through your own story. Where has God blessed you?

Choose one of the following topics and hand-write a list of how you are privileged in that area. Be as specific as possible and aim for at least 20-40 items. Keep this list in a place where you will see it at least once a day for the duration of Lent. Suggested locations include your desk, your daily planner or your bathroom mirror.

• Money
• Health
• Disease
• Faith
• Freedom
• Education

To contrast the list you have just created, where might God be calling you toward discomfort? On the same sheet of paper, write out a few ideas you have. If you have no ideas right now, that’s ok. More to come...

Lent 2011: Sacrifice and ReLENTless Acts of Justice

2011-03-09T21:20:00.005+04:30

This year, I am coordinating my season of Lent with World Vision’s program for Lent. World Vision's Act:s Group is calling their program, “Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice.” I will be sharing personal reflections as well as reflections from World Vision. I hope that as you reflect on this essential time in our faith you are impacted and moved into action for Jesus.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Traditionally, Ash Wednesday puts emphasis on repentance as we seek forgiveness for the evil in our hearts…we do indeed need God to renew us.

My Ash Wednesday Reflections: Sacrifice. The beginning of Lent is a time when many Christians decide to “give up” some things in their lives in order to free up time/resources for Jesus and His Kingdom. We give up everything from sweets, to excessive TV, to facebooking. I have even done things like this before. But I am quickly convicted that my “sacrifice” looks nothing like the sacrifice of our heroes or fellow followers of the faith we see in the Bible. Just last week I was reading the story of Hannah and Samuel again. Let me refresh you on it…

Hannah was barren, unable to have children (1 Sam. 1:6). To make things worse, her husband had another wife who was able to bear children and would “provoke” Hannah and demean her. Hannah bore this continual burden and pleaded to the Lord in direct, earnest, raw prayer for relief. She made a vow (1 Sam. 1:11) to Yahweh that if she would just be “remembered” by Him (interesting word to choose) and be allowed bear children, she would “give him (the child) to the Lord all the days of his life.” We see later on in this account that the Lord blessed Hannah with a son and she named him Samuel. But this is where the story takes an “oh my goodness, what a sacrifice” turn. As soon as Hannah WEANED (as in...a youth) little, precious Samuel, her only son, she brought him to the priest (Eli) of the Temple and left him there to serve the Lord. She…left…him…there…

Her only son.
Went back home.
Barren Hannah got her desire, her dream….and gave it up.
She gave up a son, her only son.
Talk about sacrifice.

Of course, this is one story in hundreds that could be told of biblical characters sacrificing.
Real sacrifice.
Like, earth shattering sacrifice.
A little different than me giving up….coffee for a month….

God, forgive me this Ash Wednesday for my little faith and for only allowing you to have a little lordship in my life.

World Vision Act:s Reflections. Today is Ash Wednesday – which marks the beginning of Lent. Starting Sunday, we will emulate Christ’s incarnation through six real-life stories. Before receiving the first story, we will prepare our hearts so that we will be receptive to God’s voice.

Ash Wednesday traditionally emphasizes repentance, so we will spend some time in prayer.

Take the next 10 minutes to reflect on your own shortcomings and where you need God’s strength. Over the next six weeks, we are bound to experience discomfort in the contrast between our day-to-day lives and those who do not live with our same luxuries. Join us in praying for God’s wisdom and guidance as we wrestle with this tension and seek to better emulate Christ’s incarnation. Praise God for his love and forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ.

As you begin, we offer this Franciscan blessing to you:

Which Side Are You On?

2011-02-28T21:28:00.001+04:30

The Voice of Justice from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.

My Own Little World_(theme song for my last blog)

2011-02-13T23:48:00.001+04:30

Self-Centered or Missional Living?

2011-02-10T22:04:00.003+04:30

There is (rightly) a lot of hoopla and conversation in Evangelical circles about being “missional”. At its essence and core, this word describes a Christian who adopts a missionary lifestyle - in posture, thinking, behaviors, and practices in order to engage others with the gospel message. Being missional is a pro-active endeavor with regards to evangelism and outreach. Not completely opposite, but far removed from missional, is the “attractional” designation. This way of living exposes the gospel to others through living your life in the way of Christ, doing good, and always being ready to share or invite others to church, but not pro-actively, intentionally engaging others with the Message…

Surely, there is a lot that could be written, and has been written, about missional/attractional paradigms. However, many Evangelicals, especially younger ones, aren’t arguing or debating those paradigms on a large scale anymore. They instead are ushering in an era where missional is the norm and attractional is periphery. And for this I am very excited. However, even within the Evangelical missional movement is still the inherent dilemma of self-centeredness. Of course, many would chalk that up to trite thoughts such as, “well, we are all sinners you know…” or “I need to be more grounded in the gospel before I can reach out..” etc. etc. While these sentiments are of course accurate and truthful, when taken to the extreme without perspective, they end up paralyzing us into action.

Self-centeredness (either consciously or sub-consciously) often wins the day in my life, and in many lives of Evangelicals…even with the commitment of being missional. I do a simple, quick inventory of how I go about my daily life and I am overwhelmed by the clutter of self-centeredness that defines me. Even my “spiritual” actives reek of blatant and habitual self-centeredness. The American consumer culture only perpetuates this as well. We are often busy with church activities for US, praying for things relating to US, Bible studies for US, reading for US, spiritual disciplines for US, etc. etc. While I don’t think these things are bad, if we are real, our lives are extremely unbalanced towards self-centered interest and activity instead of others focused, which is what we are called to. We look to grow so much personally, that we fail to address others in things of faith (studies show that a small fraction of Evangelicals actually invite non-Christians to church, and likewise the average church reports an average of one conversion a year). Again, it is good to grow personally, but not to the disproportional detriment of loving others. I am convicted by the fact that Jesus chose the “uneducated, untrained” men and women of the day to proclaim His message, and that what we are witnesses to are simply the death and resurrection of Christ through a simple, yet active, lifestyle of “loving God and loving neighbor”. I don’t need to read 20 social justice books, or 30 Bible commentaries, or even go to Bible college to figure out how to do that.

I look at my life and about 95% of my discretional, or even non-discretional, time on this Earth is spent consumed in self-centeredness. I am asking the Lord to break this addictive and plaguing lifestyle into one that truly desires to focus on loving others. Please pray for me.

Extremists of Love

2011-01-16T23:17:00.006+04:30

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?"

-Jesus, Sermon on the Mount

"...But as I continued to think about the matter (being labeled an extremist) I gradually gained a bit of satisfaction from being considered an extremist. Was not Jesus an extremist in love - "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that spitefully use you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice - "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ - "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist - "Here I stand; I can do no other so help me God." Was not John Bunyan an extremist - "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist - "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice - or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime - the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. So, after all, maybe the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."

-Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham City Jail

Aslan's Table

2011-01-01T00:12:00.002+04:30

This past week I went to see, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, the newest installment of the Narnia movies with my wife. The movie itself was kinda boring (IMO), but the last 30 minutes or so was worth the rest of it. As usual, the clips with Aslan were the best!

Numerous (spiritual/biblical) themes were woven into the movie, but two themes really stuck with me after the film. The first was the multiple references to non-violence and peace (Aslan’s kingdom and Way). Of course I can naturally pick up on those inferences, perhaps even reading into certain scenes too much! But in a movie that revolves around war(s), conflict of good/evil, and general combat, it was an interesting subtle theme. However, that is not what I wanted to reflect on here. I wanted to reflect on what was the most powerful line of the film for me.

It took place at Aslan’s Table towards the end of the movie. Ramandu’s daughter, later to become the princess of Naria, said to everyone present in the scene.…

“Anyone is free to eat at Aslan’s table.” (paraphrase…or word for word quote, I am not sure…)

Definitely a powerful one liner, in a movie filled with them.

Anyone is free and able to eat from God’s table. Anyone is free to be united in relationship and purpose with Christ. The poor are not rejected, the rich are not rejected. The forgotten and oppressed of this world aren’t turned away from eating, mighty rulers can even sit and feast. Aslan’s Table for is for ALL.

As 2011 draws near, a huge motivating factor in sharing Jesus with those around me in need of food, shelter, friendship, purpose, whatever it may be…is that Jesus, the hope of the world, is free for all who wish to know Him.

Happy 2011.

The Next Christians

2010-12-23T00:25:00.007+04:30

Gabe Lyons (bestselling author of UnChristian) new book, "The Next Christians" is a good read that captures the heart of a new generation of followers of Christ. I think some are in denial in the shift of Christianity for new generation Christians, some are excited to be a part of it, some think that there is no need for another "reformation" of faith, while still yet others wish we would just go away. Lyons proposes (and I agree) that the shift is irreversible.

The message at the heart of this book is that the next Christians are restorers. I couldn't agree more. Here are a few quotes from the book:

".....patterns of historic changes in the Christian faith taking place every 500 years. The first shift took place roughly 500 years after Christ's death when the Roman Empire fell and with it, Constantinian Christianity. 500 years later, the Great Schism of 1054 divided Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox Church. Finally, in 1517 the Reformation gave rise to Protestant Christianity. With history catching it's stride, the movement seems primed for the next iteration of Christian practice."

"Christians who engage the world - like the many stories I've (Lyons) shared and the many more I could have - are consumed by this "the way things ought to be" mind-set. They eat, drink, and breathe restoration. They see injustice and they fight it. When confronted with evil they turn it for good. They are motivated to bring the love of Christ into every broken system they encounter. Instead of being cynical and hopeless, they bring optimism and expectation. For them, the entire world has been flipped on its head. Their focus has moved from self to others; from problems to solutions; from failure to redemption; from brokenness to restoration. They recognize the broken, weak, fallen, and corrupt but can't leave them in that condition - they are moved to change things. The next Christians are offering a new way forward - a way to act, live, and bring others along with them into the new reality of how things ought to be."

Advent Poem, by Marcus Goodyear

2010-12-21T00:19:00.006+04:30

Every string of electric Christmas is a promise
begun across the ocean in a factory–run
by children maybe–that the light will shine.

You must be ready to make the unexpected
purchase in the midst of all the Jesus buys,
egg nog and rum, port, chocolates, toys and toys.

We conceive our lists by the spirit of something,

not just greed, not just the birth of God,

but mixed motives and sweet teeth
ready to sing and to feast.

The time is near.

Santa rides down Main Street on the back
of a fire truck.

We wave from the sidewalk,
wondering if our house lights will work
when Jesus rides up our street,

following Santa on a donkey.

At last, he is taking a stand,
running for office, stopping the stories,

starting the action.

There is a party at the red house
on top of the hill and Jesus waves to us,
hello, at least, a politician’s good cheer,
but maybe an invitation,

maybe approval of our colored lights,

each gripping the shingles with a plastic bite.

Or we hope too much

and the fourth strand pops the breaker,

burns the fuse in every plug,

leaving us in the dark
holding promises broken across the ocean.

Even so, the party still works like a party should,
drawing people, even people like us
whose houses are shadows between festivities.