Don’t go to Church this Sunday

My family and I have been having this discussion lately:

If the church is not a building, where do we go on Sunday mornings?

You see, the church is not a building and it is not a program. It is a group of people who have acknowledged Jesus as their Savior. In Acts 8, Saul the persecutor began rounding up the church and sending her to prison.

Did Saul put a building in prison?

Did Saul put Awana and women’s ministry in prison?

Nope and nope. He put believers (aka the church) in prison.

Why is this important? How we think impacts how we act.

If the church is a building, then the next logical step in the progression is that the building is sacred; it is a place to find God. Really? The only building that ever helped a person find the Lord was the Temple King Solomon erected, for God’s presence was there directly. God through the Holy Spirit is now embedded in believers. Not buildings. Plus if a building was sacred, then as soon as I get in my car to go home on Sunday, I leave the presence of God.

Other by-products of this thinking lead to competition betweem churches and the mentality that if I can only bring a person to a building I’ve done my job. Nope. Does God still work that way? Yep. But there is something that is activated in the church when she realizes her identity and potential. She is released to accomplish her mission thus fulfilling her purpose. It is like a cheetah that no longer feeds with the hyenas on carrion but eats still-warm dik-dik.

So please don’t go to church this Sunday. If you are a believer, you are the church. Go gather with the church and worship the Lord on Sunday in order to be propelled out into the world being fully activated as the church.

The Way to Pray

When we pray, Hallowed be Thy Name, this is what we mean.

The motive is this, "Oh! that God could be glorified, that Jesus might see the reward of his sufferings! Oh! that sinners might be saved, so that God might have new tongues to praise him, new hearts to love him! Oh! that sin were put an end to, that the holiness, righteousness, mercy, and power of God might be magnified!" This is the way to pray; when thy prayers seek God’s glory, it is God’s glory to answer thy prayers.

C.H. Spurgeon
When Spurgeon died, 60,000 people came to his viewing and even the pubs closed on the day of his funeral. Not bad for a cigar-smoking Baptist preacher.

Quote: CrossGlobal Link: "Mission Moment" 9/27/11
Stat: Mark Galli, 131 Christians Everyone Should Know

The End Product of True Evangelism

This little book is changing my life. The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me by Major Ian Thomas. Chapter 27 - all two pages of it - gets at the core of the purpose behind our evangelization.

The end product of evangelism is not just to get you out of hell and into heaven, but to get God out of heaven and into you, so that Christ living in your heart might bring God out again into the open where He can be seen. This is what brings glory to God.

This happens when we are prepared to identify ourselves with Christ in His death and to share His resurrection Life: You acknowledge as a redeemed sinner that Jesus, risen from the dead, has come to reinvade humanity so that you can place all that you are at His disposal. Others who look at you will see Him behaving, just as people looked at Jesus and saw the Father behaving.

This is the gospel.

What then is the ultimate end product of our obeying this gospel and entering into the good of that which has been provided for us in Christ to restore us to our true function as human beings?

God has predestined us "to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Therefore, when you are finally evangelized and people look at you, they should see the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what God has always had in mind of us, from the eternal ages of the past.

That is why Jesus is the end product of evangelism - His Life indwelling you is exactly what God had in mind when He sent His Son to redeem you and to reconcile you to a holy God. He sent us His Son not just to get you and me out of hell and into heaven, but to get the God of heaven into you and me, so that Christ living in our hearts might be our hope of bringing God again into the open where He can be seen, to His glory!

We identify ourselves with Him, saying as Paul did in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ," and we share His resurrection, just as Paul went on to explain in the same verse, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me"--not I but Christ. Paul is saying, "I am a redeemed sinner, and the risen Jesus has come to reinvade my humanity so that He can serve with my hands, walk with my feet, speak with my lips, see with my eyes, hear with my ears, think with my mind, and love with my heart, so that to me, to live now is Christ. It is my privilege as a forgiven sinner to place my humanity at His disposal so that others looking at me will see Him behaving, just as those who looked at Jesus saw His Father behaving."

This is the gospel as we need to understand it, because the Lord Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21)--sending us on the same terms and for the same purpose.

He is the Sender, as we are the sent ones, and for this reason the only authority you and I can legitimately exercise in any area of life is the authority that derives from our submission to His authority.

So, how are you today?

One of the benefits of having participated in the Renovation Center is that I have personally learned and been impacted by the other guys. One thing I have learned and use is called SASHET.

I for one, and maybe it's a guy thing, am not the most adroit when it comes to checking in with other about how I am really doing. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's just not sure how I am doing.

Here is what SASHET stands for:

·         Sad

·         Angry

·         Scared

·         Happy

·         Excited

·         Tender (feelings toward another, perhaps who is struggling)

Here how it works. Each person takes a moment to silently reflect on which of the six SASHET emotions they can identify with and why. Then in 90 seconds or less, each person checks in with the group by sharing the emotion they are feeling and why.

While my boys rolled their eyes the first couple of times we did this as a family, they now have gotten to the point where they actually ask to do it at the dinner table. I have learned things about them that I didn’t know before.

Try it! It will be a good dinner conversation, meeting starter and community builder. And most importantly, you give yourself a chance to authentically connect with others.

Existing for the City

It is cool to see what God is doing in other places. To see people who love God and love a city getting after it is inspiring. This is one way to exist for the city. May God give us all a vision for what it means to provide multiple opportunities for every man, woman and child to see and hear what Jesus is all about.

The Gospel: The Best 11 Minutes on the Web

This is an incredibly powerful video explaining what the Gospel is. It is also a great image of how the power of truth set to music and video can be multiplied. Hollywood knows what they are doing. My only reservation in the video relates to "Satan's legal right" over us. The implication could be taken that Jesus' death paid him off, though I doubt that is the intent. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him" (Romans 5:8-9).

We Are Not Competitors!

I am still living off the blessing of CareFest '11. Not only are there thank-you notes still on my desk, but my ears are still ringing from what John shared in his 5-minute talk. John pastors a different local church about 1.5 miles away and has been there 30 years. His honesty about his journey is inspiring and instructive. Although a bit long to read, I share his powerful thoughts with you. Some of the details have been left out to help preserve privacy.

In God’s Church, He has assigned me to a place called _____ Church. I am really happy to be with all of you today. Part of my happiness comes from a thing called the Renovation Center, which has been happening for about 18 months. And I was a little surprised on Monday in an Elders’ meeting at our church to learn that some of my Elders don’t know what the Renovation Center was. I felt a little embarrassed, so what’s gone wrong so that they don’t even know about this really neat thing that is happening.

So I want to make sure that all of you know so that you can tell your Elders what is happening. For the last 18 months, the pastors the churches listed on the program folder have been meeting about twice a month. We have been studying together and thinking about what the church is. And that has beautifully transformed my thinking about what the church is. I just want to take a few minutes to tell you about that before we leave this morning to out and serve.

I hesitate to ask, but would you stand? I want to read three verses, make a couple comments, and tell you the journey of the Renovation Center that has filled me with just a different sense of what the church is.

This is the first use or one of the first uses of the word church in the book of Acts.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word (Acts 8: 1-4).

I am happy that we are together because I think even our being together can help us do a course correction on what we think the church is. You and I together can so easily slide into thinking that the church is Sunday services. We say things like “I am going to church on Sunday.” Or we just slide into thinking that the church is a beautiful building and we say things like “I am going to go to a meeting at church on Monday night.”

Or we slide in to thinking that the church is my church. So our being together adjusts that, so also do the three verses I just read for you.

By the time this great persecution was happening, there were already several thousand believers, followers of Jesus, in the city of Jerusalem. And my imagining is that they were meeting in various homes throughout the city. That does a course correction on what I think about the church, because I have wrong thoughts about the church too.

One of wrong thoughts I’ve had about church is – and I would really rather not tell you, but here it is – I’d have to say in the 90s and maybe into the 2000s, I tended think of other local churches as competitors. So for example, a number of years ago when _______ Community Church did not have a building and they came and asked about using our building during the week. We said “no” to them in the end, partly because of schedule, but partly because I saw them as a competitor.

So when [other big churches] came into our area, I was afraid. I was afraid of losing people, more people to them. Competitors.

When I think about the church at Jerusalem scattered in various homes, I cannot imagine them competing against one another. Instead I just imagine them rejoicing in every home where there were 20 or 30 people who are declaring themselves to be followers of Jesus. I can imagine them supporting each other.

So we churches in this area, we are God’s church, all of us together. And you are acting that out by being here together today. We are not competitors.

And so they were scattered on this day. Obviously, we don’t scatter worship services and we don’t scatter buildings. So what was scattered that day was people. The church is God’s people. They were scattered. And the reality is that wherever we are scattered for whatever reason, we are still God’s church, we are still his people. So scattered for safety or jobs or school or for family reasons, wherever we are scattered, we are still God’s church; we are His people representing Him.

It says that Saul began to destroy the church going house to house dragging off men and women. Interesting. Even in our homes we are the church. Men and women. Even in our neighborhoods, we are God’s people.

So I know this is true. Some of you are neighbors right where you live, though you go to different local churches. Do you realize that with those other followers of Jesus in you are neighborhood, you are the church? You are God’s church in that neighborhood! I’m wondering what God might want you to do in that neighborhood as God’s church.

So our being together this morning and being together with other pastors in the Renovation Center has really shifted for me. We are not competitors! So my heart goes out to the other local churches….

We are not competitors! We are connected. We are all God’s people in this region. So wherever we go, wherever we live, in our workplaces, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, we are God’s church representing Him as we go telling our growing experiences with the living Jesus.

And so today, we are going to get scattered and go out serve in teams. As we go, we are God’s people. Going out into this community, serving very basic needs the way Jesus did. I think of some the needs that He met – there were huge things – but then sometimes He did simple things like feeding them lunch. That’s pretty basic. So we go and spread mulch. Pretty basic. But it’s a way to love in our community where schools and nursing homes and families are really strapped in this economy. So we take our Sunday time and go out there representing Jesus as the people of God, being His church. I am really happy to be with you. I am happy to be serving with you as God’s church today.

English Language Hardships

English can be a tricky language to master. Here are some examples of what I mean.

• Rumor has it that the only language that has a spelling bee is English. Since all other languages are dependibly phonetic, there really is no point to spelling words since they are as they sound.
• Why is it that second person singular and plural (you) are the same, except to those in the south (y'all)?
• Why is it that second person singular "you" takes a plural verb? So for example, it is "How are you?" instead of "How is you?". You would never say "I are going..." or "She are gone". Can you explain that?

We have friends that are recent arrivals from the Middle East. Great people who I really enjoy being around. They have a great sense of humor as they attempt to learn our confusing language.

Other day, the dad told me that his 13-year-old son was at the store "getting some enema". Oh really?, I asked. Then he said, "Yeah he wanted some candy."

Ohhhh you mean M&Ms! We had a good laugh together.

Later when his wife came home, he explained what he said and we all laughed again. Then the wife said she was struggling with the difference between "kitchen" and "chicken". chik-uhn vs. kich-uhn.

Yeah, it can be a confusing language.

The Bees: Her Highness Reigns

Continuing with the bee story that started here, the queen bee needed to be checked on. Upon arrival, she was relegated to a small marshmallow-plugged chamber with some of her attendants. This provided time for her to be adopted as hive royalty.

So five days after the swarm moved in, we opened up the hive to check on her well-being. The first thing we had to do is get a small smoke-producing fire going to help calm the swarm. 

After five days, it is clear that the bees have been busy. Comb is already visible. Many of the bees have yellow pollen-loaded feet, having returned from their search.

This whole bee thing seems complex and fascinating at the same time. The queen mates only once in her life, and that is at 200-300 feet up in the air. After mating, she is able to lay upwards of 60,000 eggs in a year for up to eight years!

Then there are the drones. The suckers exist just for the off chance that they get to mate with a queen. What are the odds of that? But if you are the lucky drone, you and your legacy are set by the approx 500,000 offspring you've sired. Come winter, most drones are kicked out of the hive elimante dead weight. The whole thing's nuts.

After pulling out several bee-covered racks, the hunt for the queen is underway. To me, the search for her is kinda absurd. This is needle-in-the-haystack stuff. Queen-in-the-colony stuff. But after a short search, here she is! The one with the longer abdomen.

Now I know what you're probably thinking: How many times did you get stung? Not once. I have been stung a fair bit in life and have a healthy respect for stingers. But these bees are different. They don't seem to have an attitude.

Poverty Redefined

There is a good-sized apartment complex about 100 yards from my house. I have some good friends who live there. These apartments consist of 33 multi-unit buildings on the town’s main drag. In addition to the US-born residents, many if not most residents are literally from around the world. Here is a brief list of countries the residents emigrated from:

Iran, Somalia, Bhutan, Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar,

Lebanon, Vietnam, Cuba, Eritrea, Mexico, Iraq

As churches partner together to live out the love of Christ there, we have grown in our understanding about how to see the goal realized. One of these areas relates to how poverty is defined. How would you define poverty? Perhaps you might say a lack of money, food, or inadequate housing.

While talking about the definition of poverty may seem academic, “the definition plays a significant role in determining the solutions used in attempting to alleviate poverty” (54).

It is helpful to think of poverty in terms of broken relationships. Relationships with God, self, others and creation have all been deeply marred because of the fall in the Garden of Eden.

Below are listed a number of prayer requests that seek God to bring about the restoration of relationships, particularly with our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for taking time today to pray for the residents and that God’s name would be honored here. Pray too that God’s will would be done at the Apartments as it is in heaven. 

Relationship with God

• Pray for the Holy Spirit’s gracious ministry of conviction to point out people’s sin, the righteousness of Christ, and the judgment of the ruler of the world (John 16).
• Pray that people would experience the presence of God as their heavenly Father and live in joyful, intimate relationship with Him as His children.
• Pray for the believers that do live here, that God would open a door for an opportunity to explain the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4).
• Pray against the worship of false gods and spirits.

Relationship with Self

• Pray against the profound sense of depression, personal worthlessness, humiliation, shame, powerlessness, social isolation and social despair that many may struggle with.
• Pray that people would receive the gift of worth from God as an Image bearer.
• Pray that people find peace as they reflect on traumatic situations experienced, especially as it relates to being a refugee.
• Pray for that people would experience dignity as they become more proficient in English and the American culture.
• Pray that people would experience a healthy self-sufficiency as they earn enough money to support themselves.
• Pray for the medical needs that many of the people struggle with.

Relationship with Others

• Pray for reconciliation and racial harmony between different ethnicities.
• Pray that the self-centeredness and exploitation/abuse of others would cease.
• Pray that the church at Wheaton would be mobilized into relationships with the residents.
• Pray for the development of community among the diversity.
• Pray for the sometimes tenuous landlord and tenant relationships.
• Pray for the relationship between the children and other students and teachers at their schools.
• Pray for the relationships with employers, especially for those who are unemployed.

Relationship with the Rest of Creation

• Pray that people would interact with creation in order to sustain themselves from the fruit of their stewardship.
• Pray that the extremes of laziness and being a workaholic would be avoided.
• Pray for that the idea of a community garden would come to fruition.
• Pray that any bug problems would come under control.

 

To learn more about the idea of how poverty results from broken relationships and ways to alleviate it, see Corbett’s and Fikkert’s book, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself, which is published by Moody Press.

CareFest 2011

Last Sunday, eight local congregations cancelled their normal services and met together for CareFest ’11. This is the second time we have done this. And it truly is an overwhelming day.

It starts with a worship service which launches us into serving the community at 16 different project sites. CareFest is one way love God by loving people.

Reflecting on the morning, I came away with some thoughts.

The power of the body of Christ. When churches combine their efforts to live on mission with God, greater power is on display than if each church went off on its own. Yes there is strength in numbers. But there is also a broader cross-section of gifts, ideas and wisdom that would not otherwise be available.

The power of single exposure. Having eight churches together in the same place at the same time listening to the same sermon and serving in similar ways is incredibly valuable. Even though these eight churches may not meet together for another year, each person was exposed to the same truth at the same time.

The power of the outside voice. Perhaps it’s like the kid who won’t respond to a parent’s instruction on playing the piano but will respond well to a teacher’s piano instruction. Hearing the truth from someone else’s lips outside our normal circles can bring authority to the concept.

The power of Christ's reputation. As stated by some of my colleagues, it is great to see the reputation of Christ connected with serving, with no strings attached. Often Christians are known more for what they are against instead of their love and compassion.

So in thinking about future CareFests and other opportunities to be on mission together, I wonder how the church at central DuPage County can work together to provide multiple opportunities for every man, woman and child to see and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church must exist for the world.

Not Your Typical American Fruit Stand

OK - this is why the world fascinates me. Unbelievable.

The Bees: The Swarm Arrives

My friend Tim, who I used to work for back in the day, just got into the honey-making business by starting a beehive. If you have ever studied bees, you know they are a fascinating creation. Anyways, he bought 10,000 bees and moved them into their new hive. 

The bees are calmed down by the sugar water that is squirted into the box. I wonder if my sons would calm down if I squirted them with sugar water...

Tim won't be able to take honey until next year. A hive needs approx 70 pounds of honey to live on through the winter. That's a lot of honey!

Nathan and the hive

So these bees will travel up to three miles away to get pollen to make honey. Crazy.

Inside the hive



The queen bee is inside the small box below. The wooden plug was replaced with a marshmallow which the queen and her attendants will eat through. This gives the hive about 3 days to get used to the queen and accept her as their devoted  emperor. She will live two years and then Tim will need to buy another.

The queen (she has a big rear) and her attendants

10,000 bees get moved into their new home. I know what you're thinking and it didn't happen: no one person got stung. Weird. Tim's dad said that if these were African honey bees, you'd want to be a mile away!

In this video, you'll see the small opening to the hive. It starts small so that it is easier for the colony to keep out invading bees until they are strong enough. Later this summer when it gets hot, bees will stand at the entrance to help move air in and out of the hive.

Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverb 24:13-14

The Curse

My 98 year-old grandmother is spending the month in an assisted living facility. She is in the section with other residents who have dementia.

It is hard and sad to see the decline she is experiencing. On a visit last week, my feelings were compounded as I witnessed the other residents in various stages of their struggle. It really felt tender towards Grandmother and the others as they wrestle with the Curse, the consequence of sin.

It seems to me that that the world system struggles with the elderly, especially those who are not well. You will never see a dementia patient used in advertising like a baby or young model. It is as if the world, in its rejection of God, really isn’t all that eager to embrace the effects of the rejection and the subsequent curse.

1993: Stephanie with Granddad and Grandmother

“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:19-23).

Leadership 101: Tell 'Why'...often

I so appreciate people who bring their experience and wisdom gained from the marketplace to help the church achieve mission and to empower me for effectiveness. On Sunday at the end of services, I was giving instructions about CareFest that is next Sunday. I was giving the 'what'.

Afterwards, Jim encouraged me share the 'why' of CareFest? Why are 8 different churches worshiping together and then serving in the community? People will engage better with the vision if they are told the ‘why’ up front. Perhaps they will do the ‘what’ a time or two. But for long-term commitment and impact, the ‘why’ has to be included. Good words.


Leadership 101: Tell 'Why'.....often



Mission on My Doorstep

It is truly amazing to see how the community is changing - even Chicago's 'burbs! I thank God for the churches and individuals who have a desire to take responsibility for all the people of their geography.

Here is a video that was shown at a conference to equip us to serve more effectively in cross-cultural contexts here in the US.


Mission On Your Doorstep 2011 Video from Mosaic DuPage on Vimeo.

Instrumentality of People

So Dwight Smith, missiologist, author of Invading Secular Space, and creator of the Renovation Center concepts was in town earlier this winter to share some ideas about church with a group of churches.

As a church wrestles with what it means to exist for its circle of accountability, tension will be felt by some. The tension being that the "contract" they signed when they started attending church is changing. Let's be honest and I have to be honest about myself too. We often come to church as consumers: what's in it for me? what's in it for my children? are the sermons and music what I like?

In light of this, Dwight shared three things that are hard to change when it comes to doing church:

     1. The change quotient of people in the church.
People cannot be controlled. It is hard enough to control my self. It goes back to what I learned in a counseling class: there is a circle on control – which is me. And there is a circle of influence – which is every one else. Know the difference.

     2. The level of nominalism in the American church.
Surveys are everywhere describing the people in the church as not being much different than those outside the church. While I’m not sure how much stock to put in these surveys, through experience I generally agree with this premise.

     3. The fact that we live in a post-Christian America.
As a result of this, responsiveness to the Gospel is way down. On a public level, there is scorn and ridicule of Christians. It may be the goof-ball churches who burn holy books or protest at funerals. However, there is still a significant level of responsiveness to the Gospel on a personal level. That is, when it comes to me connecting with my neighbors, their responsiveness to Christ is still there.

Thus, people are the instruments of God’s mission more than ever. This is theologically true. And this is strategically true. Like it always has been. May God help us to realize this and activate us to a deeper walk with Him for the sake of others.

Weather Today

You'd think it happen more often. But it doesn't.

Here's is a picture of some gadgets off my desktop. For once, the weather in each place is sunny and cloudless. That is saying something since some of these places only share a few hours of simulataneous sunlight.

Each place represents family or friends.

Surrender

V. Raymond Edman. What an interesting person! Missionary, pastor, college professor and president.

After serving in WW I, Edman served as a missionary in Ecuador. About a year after his arrival, his fiance' Edith arrived in Ecuador and they were married in 1924. Life together was not an easy life on the field, especially with sickness. In 1925, Edman encountered his first sickness. Everyone expected Edman to succumb to the sickness. After being transferred from the mountains to the port city of Guayaquil, the mission leaders purchased a coffin for Edman and sent for his family to catch the train to the coast.

Because Mrs. Edman did not have a black dress, she was instructed to place her wedding dress in black dye in preparation for the eventual death. Even the funeral was set for 3 P.M. on that dark Saturday, July 4. Amazingly, God spared him and he returned to the US for a time to fully recover.

His passion of devotion to Christ was evident in his own life too. He regularly started the day at 3:00 AM, but never after 5:00 AM. Prayer and reading the Scriptures were a given in his life.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect about his life was the manner in which he passed into the presence of the King. On Friday, September 22, 1967, Edman rose for prayer at 3 AM, a day which would be his last on earth. Edman's biographer, Earl Cairns, gives a detailed narrative of Dr. Edmans passing into glory:

Dr. Edman began to speak at 10:40 on the topic In the Presence of the King, using his audience with Emperor Haile Selassie in 1947 to illustrate his theme. He told of how he had been briefed on what to wear, when to bow, and what steps to take. He applied this preparation for the audience with the emperor to the need of those who come to chapel to prepare themselves to come into the presence of the Kings of kings. He spoke of the need for reverence, silence, prayer and worship when one came in and them the need for hearty participation in the service. He began to close his talk at about 10:53. Suddenly he stopped speaking and collapsed after a slow half turn (192).

After the student body had been dismissed, the doctor came into chapel and pronounced him dead. What an appropriate transition for a life so well lived for the King.

Here are some powerful words of his, as quoted by the CrossGlobal Link Missions Moment (4/12/11):

I had utterly abandoned myself to Him. Could any choice be as wonderful as His will? Could any place be safer than the center of His will? Did not he assure me by His very presence that His thoughts toward us are good, and not evil? Death to my own plans and desires was almost deliriously delightful. Everything was laid at His nail-scarred feet, life or death, health or illness, appreciation by others or misunderstanding, success or failure as measured by human standards. Only He himself mattered.

May God activate my senses and my heart so that I may know He is at hand (Philippians 4:5).

The Legs of Men

I am looking forward to skiing next week in Colorado with my brothers and cousins. In an attempt to get a bit more in shape, I've been trying to work out some, or something like that.

2009: Curt & I

I have been running the stairs over at a local football stadium and doing some squat-age; hoping to get to the point where my thighs don't burn like they did last year.

But as I am running, this verse keeps coming to mind: God's delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love (Ps 147:10-11 ESV).

I guess I find that encouraging. I won't ever be Superman, although exercise is beneficial - especially since I sit for a living. But it does give me pause about what God really thinks is important. 

It's also nice to know that if I ever live in a culture where the men where skirts, I don't have to be worried about my bird legs! :)

Anyways, there is too much stuff in life to not be hungry for God's pleasure and His steadfast love.  

Beards

Facial hair is cultural. Have you ever seen a modern-day US president with a beard? How often do you see a US executive with a beard? When I worked for a funeral home, I shaved off what little chin hair I had to be able to serve better. I guess we like clean shaven funeral directors.

My brother Brad with a new friend Ranjit

How do you like this beard!? I once worked with a guy at a rental shop, a white American, who had a beard like Ranjit's. I thought he was a ZZ Top groupie. I would be surprised if Ranjit has heard of ZZ Top.

When I lived in East Africa, I was a clean shaven guy. That is until Mushtaag the butcher asked my wife if she was married "to that boy" - referring to me! So I began to look around. Every guy had something growing on his face. And a lot of it didn't look very good. So from that day on, I grew a goatee and mustache. Later I learned that one of the measures of a man in our host culture is facial hair. Something equivalent in America is....is...not really sure....perhaps a cultural deficiency.

Anyways. There is a fascinating story in 2 Samuel 10 about the importance of beards related to one's honor. King David has just been installed as king over a unified Israel. Upon hearing about the death of the king of Ammon, David sends ambassadors to extend sympathies to the next of kin. Assuming they are spies, the new king shaves half the beards of the David's men off and cuts a hole in their clothes so that their butt is waggling in the air. The men are "greatly humiliated."

Knowing that the he had become a stench in David's nose, the new king of Ammon mobilizes his soldiers and hires Aram's soldiers to go to battle with Israel. The battle was short-lived as David was easily victorious.

Culture is interesting. The use of facial hair in culture is interesting too.

Jonah: Running from God

Pastor just started a series on the book of Jonah. His idea is that we are Jonah, our times are like Jonah's, and most importantly, our God is like Jonah's. This first Sunday, the point was that our disobedience is like Jonah's: we all have run from God.

So it got me thinking. Jonah's disobedience was an odd disobedience. He could have just refused to go to Nineveh. Instead he chose to actively fight against God: he not only rejected God's command but he also “twisted the knife” by running. Why? Was this his personality or an indication of his cultural perspective or…

Related to the above, why would a prophet of God leave Israel, the place where God’s name dwelled? Was it getting too “hot” for him, so he had to bolt in order to flee God’s “presence”? It is interesting that what Jonah prophesied about in 2 Kings 14 is of a nationalistic bent – the expansion of the Israeli border. It is reasonable to see Jonah’s recorded and fulfilled prophecy and Operation Nineveh not being compatible.

As pastor mentioned, I am like Jonah in my ability to rationalize. What guardrails do I have in my life to protect me from the ditch of rationalization? Who are those barriers? What are they saying?

Missions and Suffering

We must be careful when we say, "God has a wonderful plan for your life." God does have a wonderful plan, and you can be part of that plan, but it may not be wonderful for you.

-- Charles Price, Pastor
The Peoples Church, Toronto, Canada
CrossGlobal Link: Mission Moment 1-4-11