if a 6 year old can leave a legacy like this...
What are we capable of?
Friday, November 06, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Verse of the Day
1 John 4:16-21
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.
So much for letting Jesus sort out all this mess after we die. Let's start sorting now.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.
So much for letting Jesus sort out all this mess after we die. Let's start sorting now.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Poetry Hour: The Calf Path
The Calf-Path
by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)
One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.
The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bellwether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bellwethers always do.
And from that day, o’er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made,
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed — do not laugh —
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.
This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet.
The road became a village street,
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare,
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.
Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed that zigzag calf about,
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They follow still his crooked way,
And lose one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.
A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.
They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.
From: http://holyjoe.org/poetry/foss3.htm
by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)
One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.
The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bellwether sheep
Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too,
As good bellwethers always do.
And from that day, o’er hill and glade,
Through those old woods a path was made,
And many men wound in and out,
And dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because ’twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed — do not laugh —
The first migrations of that calf,
And through this winding wood-way stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.
This forest path became a lane,
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road,
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet.
The road became a village street,
And this, before men were aware,
A city’s crowded thoroughfare,
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf.
Each day a hundred thousand rout
Followed that zigzag calf about,
And o’er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led
By one calf near three centuries dead.
They follow still his crooked way,
And lose one hundred years a day,
For thus such reverence is lent
To well-established precedent.
A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out and in, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue,
To keep the path that others do.
They keep the path a sacred groove,
Along which all their lives they move;
But how the wise old wood-gods laugh,
Who saw the first primeval calf!
Ah, many things this tale might teach —
But I am not ordained to preach.
From: http://holyjoe.org/poetry/foss3.htm
Friday, October 16, 2009
Quote of the Day
The contemplative mind has the humility and patience to think “both/and” instead of “all or nothing.” We call this non-dual thinking. It easily leads to a “Third Way” mentality, neither fight nor flight, but standing in between where I can hold what I do know together with what I don’t know. And then I let that wonderful mix lead me to wisdom instead of easy, quick knowledge which largely just creates opinionated people instead of wise people.
-Richard Rohr
-Richard Rohr
Monday, October 12, 2009
Interesting
Very interesting interview on the difference between American Christians and Cultural Christians of Denmark, all from the standpoint of an atheist!
Friday, October 09, 2009
Busy Schedule
I have been a bit too busy to post much. Things going on:
1. Teaching on a weekly basis on the book of Ephesians
2. Playing guitar in worship band
3. Renovating our youth program
4. Preparing for Guatemala 2010
5. Writing sermon series for November
6. Hunting
7. Masters Degree in Spiritual Formation
8. Getting the home ready for winter
That is off the top of my head.
I am going to have to live what I teach here soon. I always ask, "Is this pace sustainable?" If the answer is no, then I have to ask a very important question, "How will it end?"
There are two options:
1. I choose to slow down to a pace I can sustain
2. Life slows my pace down for me i.e. sickness, burnout, etc...
I believe that there are seasons in which busyness will happen. But I also believe that busyness should not be the normal.
Just some thoughts before I go to bed.
1. Teaching on a weekly basis on the book of Ephesians
2. Playing guitar in worship band
3. Renovating our youth program
4. Preparing for Guatemala 2010
5. Writing sermon series for November
6. Hunting
7. Masters Degree in Spiritual Formation
8. Getting the home ready for winter
That is off the top of my head.
I am going to have to live what I teach here soon. I always ask, "Is this pace sustainable?" If the answer is no, then I have to ask a very important question, "How will it end?"
There are two options:
1. I choose to slow down to a pace I can sustain
2. Life slows my pace down for me i.e. sickness, burnout, etc...
I believe that there are seasons in which busyness will happen. But I also believe that busyness should not be the normal.
Just some thoughts before I go to bed.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Narcissism is alive and well
narcissism is alive and well in the church. Let me illustrate with a parable:
A dinner host invite someone over to their house for dinner, they talk and laugh and connect very well. Then the food is served. they have a salad appetizer, followed by a course of chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes, a roll, and 2% milk. they follow this up with cherry pie alamode for dessert. They laugh, talk, and connect some more.
The next time they are invited over, they refuse to come because the host served 2% milk, they instead like 1/2% milk.
They lose all of the fellowship and community that comes with the dinner experience because of a petty personal preference with milk.
The dinner host is God
The house is church
The dinner is the worship experience
appetizer = preparation for worship
dinner = worship experience: prayer, singing, message
dessert = fellowship after service is over
milk = worship music style
The purpose of the dinner experience is to get to know the host, the actual food is a vehicle for fellowship. When we make the dinner experience about the food, we lose sight of the purpose of the dinner experience and become irrelevant, unused, narcissistic Christians.
Paul wrote of this in Timothy, and includes an encouragement for the leaders who are over such people; and I like the message version best:
In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.
Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
A dinner host invite someone over to their house for dinner, they talk and laugh and connect very well. Then the food is served. they have a salad appetizer, followed by a course of chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes, a roll, and 2% milk. they follow this up with cherry pie alamode for dessert. They laugh, talk, and connect some more.
The next time they are invited over, they refuse to come because the host served 2% milk, they instead like 1/2% milk.
They lose all of the fellowship and community that comes with the dinner experience because of a petty personal preference with milk.
The dinner host is God
The house is church
The dinner is the worship experience
appetizer = preparation for worship
dinner = worship experience: prayer, singing, message
dessert = fellowship after service is over
milk = worship music style
The purpose of the dinner experience is to get to know the host, the actual food is a vehicle for fellowship. When we make the dinner experience about the food, we lose sight of the purpose of the dinner experience and become irrelevant, unused, narcissistic Christians.
Paul wrote of this in Timothy, and includes an encouragement for the leaders who are over such people; and I like the message version best:
In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.
Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Masters Degree
Today marks the day that I start my Masters Degree! I have been wanting to go back to school for some time now, and really since last years missions trip to Mississippi, it has been very strong.
I applied at Spring Arbor for the Masters in Spiritual Formation and Leadership and was accepted. Today marks the first day of school, which is all online! Here is a description of the program from their site:
"With interest in spiritual formation increasing over the last twenty years among Protestants, evangelical denominations have expanded the concept of discipleship to include an openness toward deeper transformation in the likeness of Christ.
Spring Arbor University’s Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Leadership (MSFL) program merges the longstanding principles of Christian spiritual formation and growth with an evangelical perspective on discipleship. The program provides instruction for pastors, lay persons and others intent on their own development and fostering the skills to lead others in formation.
The MSFL program follows a hybrid format (partially online, partially in person) and is based on Renovaré’s six streams of faith and practice. Your studies will include retreats, seminars and online coursework. Complete the first two years—31 credits—for the certificate in spiritual formation and leadership. Complete all three years—45 credits—for the master’s degree. The program is delivered through cohort groups of students who progress through the degree requirements sequentially.
It’s a program designed to fit into your life, but will require significant time in your weekly schedule. We say this unapologetically since anything worth doing usually requires prioritizing our time. Time with God is no exception. It is an online degree designed to ensure that you will get to know God, your classmates and have the support of your professors.
The learning outcomes of the program will provide a strong grounding in historical knowledge, in-depth instruction in the practice of spiritual formation, and preparation for leading others in these practices."
I applied at Spring Arbor for the Masters in Spiritual Formation and Leadership and was accepted. Today marks the first day of school, which is all online! Here is a description of the program from their site:
"With interest in spiritual formation increasing over the last twenty years among Protestants, evangelical denominations have expanded the concept of discipleship to include an openness toward deeper transformation in the likeness of Christ.
Spring Arbor University’s Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Leadership (MSFL) program merges the longstanding principles of Christian spiritual formation and growth with an evangelical perspective on discipleship. The program provides instruction for pastors, lay persons and others intent on their own development and fostering the skills to lead others in formation.
The MSFL program follows a hybrid format (partially online, partially in person) and is based on Renovaré’s six streams of faith and practice. Your studies will include retreats, seminars and online coursework. Complete the first two years—31 credits—for the certificate in spiritual formation and leadership. Complete all three years—45 credits—for the master’s degree. The program is delivered through cohort groups of students who progress through the degree requirements sequentially.
It’s a program designed to fit into your life, but will require significant time in your weekly schedule. We say this unapologetically since anything worth doing usually requires prioritizing our time. Time with God is no exception. It is an online degree designed to ensure that you will get to know God, your classmates and have the support of your professors.
The learning outcomes of the program will provide a strong grounding in historical knowledge, in-depth instruction in the practice of spiritual formation, and preparation for leading others in these practices."
Monday, August 03, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Conversion Thoughts
"Conversion is a process of disenchantment with our small, separate self, recognizing how truly afraid and insecure it is. The only way people can ever be freed from this fear and this insecurity is to be freed from themselves. There is almost a complete correlation between the amount of fear in one’s life and the amount of attachment we have to ourselves and our own agenda.
The person who is beyond fear has given up the need to control or possess or be right. Their being is grounded in the Being of God. As St. Francis of Assisi said, “I am who I am in God's eyes—nothing more, but nothing less.” A truly converted/transformed person does not need to impress anyone because they know that they are not who you think they are anyway—or even who they themselves think they are! Thinking one way or another doesn’t make it so.
That's what St. Paul meant when he so shockingly said: “You have died, you're dead” (Romans 6:3-5) when you are truly baptized into the death of the false self—the self that you don’t need anyway. Conversion happens when you finally face the real enemy, and guess what? It's you!"
-Richard Rohr: Radical Grace
The person who is beyond fear has given up the need to control or possess or be right. Their being is grounded in the Being of God. As St. Francis of Assisi said, “I am who I am in God's eyes—nothing more, but nothing less.” A truly converted/transformed person does not need to impress anyone because they know that they are not who you think they are anyway—or even who they themselves think they are! Thinking one way or another doesn’t make it so.
That's what St. Paul meant when he so shockingly said: “You have died, you're dead” (Romans 6:3-5) when you are truly baptized into the death of the false self—the self that you don’t need anyway. Conversion happens when you finally face the real enemy, and guess what? It's you!"
-Richard Rohr: Radical Grace
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Bon Fire
On the last night of our trip, we had our debriefing time around a bonfire. The Guatemalans do not build very good fires. You start with tinder on the bottom, then you build kindling on top leaving room for oxygen circulation, and then on top of that you put bigger stuff. That is the correct order. Small stuff on the bottom that will catch fire quickly and burn the medium stuff above it creating some embers to then handle the larger stuff above that.
The guy who built our fire just stacked a bunch of wood and threw gasoline on top and lit it. It went great for a few minutes, then it just smoldered. The guy came back out with some more gasoline and threw it on and it blazed for a minute, but then we had to still rearrange the wood and feed it slowly to get it to stay burning. I think there may be an allegory here!
Peter writes in his second letter:
"Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
A trip like Guatemala is gasoline to your faith. but if the wood pile is not properly arranged, it will burn bright and hot for a minute, but fizz out the next. We need to rearrange our lives so that when gasoline is dumped on our faith it is an accelerant that enhances and improves what is already built.
If you left this trip on fire, and crashed when you got home, that is a sign that you need to rearrange your life. Are your values and priorities arranged in proper order? If the large log of self is at the center of the pile, and the essential accelerants are on the outside, the fire can never burn well. Rearrange your values and priorities to put Christ at the center of the fire and stack everything around Him, and when an accelerant like Guatemala is poured onto your fire, it will enhance the existing bonfire.
Boat Ride
we went to Santiago accross the lake from Panajacheal. We learned to do some bartering for some tourist junk. It was a good time. the boat ride was about an hour long, but the view was awesome.
lunch in the park
On one of our work days we decided to have lunch in the park. we asked the park guard if it was okay to set up a taco buffet and eat, and he said yes. Then when we got the whole stinkin buffet set up, the guard came through and hurried us out of the park. We had to move fast, they had guns.
We re-set up our lunch on the curb outside, while these guys watched us eat. It was awkward.
Food
the most interesting this we ate was this alien looking fruit.
We ate some pretty good breakfasts as well. Re-fried beans, fried bananas, eggs, goat cheese and watermelon.
Steven fought the law...
Our second van was pulled over on the way to Panajacheal. Steven was doing the speed limit and driving very well. But the cops saw that there were 13 gringos in the van and decided that they needed a few extra bucks for lunch.
Steven was talking to the police in Spanish, but everyone could tell what was going on. The police were asking for a 200Q bribe to let them go. Steven kept saying that he had done nothing wrong and should be allowed to go without paying the bribe. Steven was then taken back to the police car, which made everyone in the van a bit nervous. Cherity said, "shhhhh! guys be quiet, if you're going to do anything, you should pray!"
Steven came back to the van. the police let them go without taking any money. God is awesome.
Cabalos Extremos
We were able to spend some time in Panajacheal and do the Zipline or Cabalos Extremos!
This was crucial to the thread that God was weaving through the trip of fear being an obstacle that we must overcome for a closer relationship with Him. Many people were a bit scared of ziplining through the mountains high above the canopy.
I loved Julie's comment aftereards, "This is the most victorious day of my life!"
time for something personal
I was able to spend 8 days with my wife on an adventure doing ministry in Guatemala. I had a blast and would do it all over again. It was kind of like a honeymoon but doing work, and looking after 21 other people.
It was tough being away from our boys and only being able to call home once, but we made it through great, and the boys did great as well.
Simply Missions
Our Guatemala trip was done through an organization out of Lansing named Simply Missions. Joe Neill is the head of this organization and was key to setting up our trip for us.
There are a few reasons why I chose to go through SM instead of trying to do everything myself.
1. I can't do everything myself very well. I wanted this trip to be the best experience that it could be, and that meant getting help from a very qualified individual.
2. I did not feel like a cog in a machine. Many missions organizations are very big, and impersonal. I knew that I could call or e-mail Joe and get responses fast to questions.
3. I did not have to squeeze my team into a "ministry model" and try to be something we were not. We were able to be ourselves and offer the gifts that God had uniquely assembled into our team to the missionaries.
4. I did not have to worry about setting up the details of travel, itinerary, lodging etc...
5. Joe provided our team with a devotional book to study through while we were down there on Ephesians 6.
There was a lot that I DID have to do for this trip, but Simply Missions freed me from the details so that I could focus on the big stuff that needed to get done.
If you are looking for a missions organization for Short Term Missions in your church. Check out Simply Missions. www.simplymissions.org
Global Soccer Ministries
No this is not an advertisement for GQ. This is John Banta of Global Soccer Ministries. John and his wife Amy have three kids, Hope, Luke, and Titus. They have been in Guatemala for about 18 months working with the Global Soccer ministries (GSM).
GSM provides poorer communities with quality soccer coaching, mentoring, and discipleship. They work in the existing community soccer fields, fix them up, clean them up, and then outreach to the community by providing the soccer programs.
The coaches of GSM provide positive adult relationships for children by pretty much being a dad to them. They also have Bible lessons during each practice to teach the children about Christ.
GSM also hosts tournaments between the different community soccer teams.
This is a great ministry in an area where it is much needed. To learn more about Global Soccer ministries [click here]
Monday, July 27, 2009
Guatemala: 2nd Feild Project
I cannot remember the name of this soccer field, so I have called it the 2nd field, because it is the second place we went to on our trip.
We cleaned up the field of trash and some other interesting items, and painted the benches.
used machetes to cut the grass (after which I vowed never to complain about my lawn mower again)
and participated in an informal soccer game against some Guatemalan children. We lost...badly. But had fun.
We cleaned up the field of trash and some other interesting items, and painted the benches.
used machetes to cut the grass (after which I vowed never to complain about my lawn mower again)
and participated in an informal soccer game against some Guatemalan children. We lost...badly. But had fun.
Guatemala: La Communidad Project
Another project we had was located in a lower class community called La Communidad. We prepared the soccer field, played with kids, and handed out snacks and refreshments to the kids. Their snack was a small roll with re-fried beans spread on it, watermelon, and a sandwich bag full of water.
Alex was asked to play in a soccer game. He was schooled. The Guatemalan people eat, sleep, and breathe soccer. So by the time they are 15 or 16 they could destroy any senior varsity team in the U.S., and possibly give a few college teams a run for their money. So Alex was more amusing to them than helpful. But they all had a blast connecting on the field.
Someone on our team had an idea to bring their old Beanie Baby collection down. So we tied Bible verses to them and handed all 120 of them out to the children of the community. The kids lit up with delight to receive a present. The missionaries 11 year old daughter, Hope, shared the gospel with a young girl her age, and the girl wanted to pray with Hope and Amy, so they did so. It was a very awesome day.
Alex was asked to play in a soccer game. He was schooled. The Guatemalan people eat, sleep, and breathe soccer. So by the time they are 15 or 16 they could destroy any senior varsity team in the U.S., and possibly give a few college teams a run for their money. So Alex was more amusing to them than helpful. But they all had a blast connecting on the field.
Someone on our team had an idea to bring their old Beanie Baby collection down. So we tied Bible verses to them and handed all 120 of them out to the children of the community. The kids lit up with delight to receive a present. The missionaries 11 year old daughter, Hope, shared the gospel with a young girl her age, and the girl wanted to pray with Hope and Amy, so they did so. It was a very awesome day.
Guatemala: Otten Prado Project
We went to a field in a lower middle class community named otten prado and prepared it for a soccer tournament. Soccer to the Guatemalan people is like pot luck to the American people. It is a community thing. Global Soccer Ministries uses the tool of soccer to reach communities with the Gospel. The goal is to establish soccer camps in communities and provide quality soccer coaching, mentoring, and discipleship to children who would otherwise have access to none of the above.
We used a machete on the grass, cleaned up the garbage on the field, painted lines fort the game, and then divided into two groups to cheer the children on. Between games we handed out water and watermelon for refreshments.
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