Important News

One year ago today I started out on a personal journey hoping to instill in myself some discipline in writing. What started as a 'self-help' project has turned into a vehicle through which to dialogue, be sharpened, and encourage.

I'm pleased to announce that we're taking the next step today. I've been hard at work redesigning a new page, and I'd be so pleased for you to make the jump to see what's over there. You'll find all the older posts archived there as well as some new things. I'd ask two favors of you...

1. Would you become a subscriber at the new site?
2. Would you leave a comment about the blog? It would be a great encouragement.

See you on the other side!!!

www.echoesofthemyth.com

Come awake

A great song with an accompanying video. Hope it prepares your heart and mind for Easter.

Good Friday Meditation

I'm not going to write a whole lot about Good Friday. My friend, Dane Ortlund sums it up best in his blog.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology: Good Friday: ". . . when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." John 13:1

TO THE END.

No benedictory comments today. Come to the cross.

On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ

A number of years ago, I stumbled upon an interesting article from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The article detailed the physiology of crucifixion - what it may have looked like, what it would have entailed, and how death would have occurred from an anatomical and physiological perspective. I believe that the article has been disputed and attacked since its publication, but I still found that the drawings and the explanations make Jesus' death the real, historical event that it was.

Here's an abstract of the article.

Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion, his wrists were nailed to the patibulum and, after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post (stipes), his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily from hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Jesus' death was ensured by the thrust of a soldier's spear into his side. Modern medical interpretation of the historical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead when taken down from the cross.

I've scanned a few of the illustrations from the article for your consideration (the copyrights for these belong to the JAMA).

Proposed illustration of what flogging would look like

Carrying the cross and the different types of crosses

How Jesus may have been nailed to the cross.

How Jesus may have hung and the physiological effects

How a spear may have pierced Jesus' side

I don't want to sensationalize the crucifixion of Jesus. Nor do I want to horrify or guilt you into remembering his death. My purpose is to remind you that his death was historical, and it was real. He died a real death in a most imaginable way. His pain was real. His body was literally pierced.

Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.  - Isaiah 53

Christians and Celebrity

A while back I did a post on pastors and celebrity. Carl Trueman offers an interesting assessment of how Christian conferences could express this infatuation of celebrity within Christian circles. The VIP thing particularly bothers me. What are your thoughts? Is Trueman being overly skeptical?

What hath Jerusalem to do with Hollywood? - Reformation21 Blog

Maundy Thursday Meditation

First off, let's answer the question that I know everyone has but is afraid to ask. What does 'maundy' mean? I remember the first time I heard the term, it took me a while to get images of moldy bread out of my mind. 'Maundy' refers to the Latin term, 'mandatum' meaning command - we get the word 'mandate' from this root. Before his betrayal, Jesus sat with his disciples and observed the Passover feast. It was during that meal that Jesus issued two commands - two observe the Lord's supper in remembrance of him; and to love one another as Jesus had loved them. Thus, the night is remembered as a night of commands - Maundy Thursday.

Now onto today's meditation - the glory of Christ in his union with the Church.

"Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:24-27

This passage is normally spoken of in terms of the marriage relationship between man and wife. We usually speak of its practice and what headship and submission should look like in the marriage relationship. Let's take a moment though to think about the model, the deeper relationship that such headship/submission is designed to represent - the relationship between Christ and the church.

One of the things that I have been reflecting on this Holy Week is what Christ died for. I tend to vacillate between two extremes - the vague/abstract body of sin and the detailed personal sins of my life. On one end, I think about Jesus hanging on the cross for the sins of the world. It's vague, but weighty, like a cloud or haze of evil that Jesus is taking upon his shoulders. On the other, I think about a detailed laundry list of rebellion, lust, lies, pride, and idolatry with my name at the top. I hadn't really thought that the two lists actually overlapped and that there was a corporate dimension to the laundry list. What I mean is that I'm realizing that there are patterns, systems even, that embody and characterize a world that is in rebellion to God. There are political, economic, social, and even religious systems that represent the 'old order' - the dehumanizing of individuals either through corruption and greed or oppression and poverty. Jesus took the whole of brokenness in our world - relationships, societies, individuals, morality, you name it - and he was crucified for them. This is both abstract and very specific.

Here's what it has to do with today's theme. Just as Christ took on the whole of sin, both abstract and tangible, Christ died to redeem a people for himself, the Church. He gave himself up for her with a specific goal in mind - to sanctify her. Here we see the glory of Christ in his union with the church. Jesus' death didn't just abolish the old systems and the vestiges of a broken world. It also established a new community with new rules of engagement, and even the power to live by them. Jesus' death made possible the beauty of a new order in which individuals can become genuinely human by bringing the pain and disappointment of their lives to the foot of the cross. It's a new way of life such that forgiveness and reconciliation are offered as real possibilities. It's a way of interaction, doing life together, that reflects the bright hope and power of what Christ has done, and the crazy thing is, it's exactly what Jesus intended. Jesus didn't die solely for my own personal conscience. He came to set the world right, and I am part of that world.

The glory of Christ is that he didn't just save us and leave us to figure it out on our own. He established a bride in waiting, the Church, and as committed as he was in giving himself up for her, he is committed to continuing to wash her in order to present her blameless on the day of his return. Now think about marriage in that light. My relationship with my spouse is supposed to mirror that. Do my kids, my neighbors, my friends, and my family see within the contours of my marriage this deeper relationship?

Perhaps today is the opportunity to think about how the cross of Christ not only applied to me, but to my marriage and to my church.

Melchize-what?

If you've ever wondered why Melchizedek is so important to the NT even though he only appears in the OT twice, then check out this talk by D.A. Carson. It's also a very good example of canonical biblical interpretation - how to understand the NT writers' use of the OT.

Wednesday of Holy Week 2011 Meditation

The Glory of Christ in His Obedience

"Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered." - Hebrews 5:8. This verse raises so many Christological questions. If Jesus was perfect, why would have have to learn obedience? How is that suffering teaches obedience? What does this mean for his moral perfection? Could he have gone to the cross without learning obedience? Looking at the following verse raises even more questions about his perfection as the God-man.

It's easy to get lost in a myriad of questions like these and miss the point of Christ's passion - his sufferings. John Owen unpacks a key idea of what it means for Christ to have learned obedience through suffering.

"It is however possible to say that the Lord Christ learned obedience when he experienced it in practice. In the sense that a person knows the taste of meat by eating it, it may be said of our Savior that he 'tasted death' when he experienced death. One special kind of obedience is intended here, namely, a submission to great, hard, and terrible things, accompanied by patience and quiet endurance, and faith for deliverance from them. This Christ could have not experience of, except by suffering the things he had to pass through, exercising God's grace in them all."

I'm indebted to this 17th C. Puritan for highlighting a most important truth - Christ's suffering provided the context for him to existentially learn obedience. I love this, and here's why. Jesus wasn't born into the world as a Savior-in-a-box. Yes, he was morally perfect. Yes, he remained sinless. But he had to learn to endure. He had to learn patience. He had to learn how to obey even as he was fully able to obey and ready to do so.

Golf is my sport of choice, and lately professional golf has had its share of young up-and-comers who are taking the game by storm. It's a landscaping altering youth movement. These 17-year old kids possess phenomenal ability both natural and groomed. They are flexible and coordinated. In some sense, they have been endowed in their essence with the ability to hit a ball. However, they still need to learn to hit the ball. Even if it could be imagined that a child had the ability to hit a golf ball and never mess up, that child would still have to learn how to hit a ball, how to execute a shot, and it would still be hard work.

Jesus learned obedience, and he learned it through what he suffered. The grace and humility of Christ cannot come to unique expression except through his sufferings. But that's not all. In yet another example of how unique our God is, Jesus experiences the sufferings and learns obedience in the real-life classroom of life. He learns how to endure, to suffer, and to die. You might object and say that he was going through formalities of it, but the truth still remains that he went through them, and actually chose to go through them, nonetheless. He may have been perfect, but he still learned obedience in much the same way you and I do.

How does this make him glorious? Jesus validates the human experience by learning obedience in the midst of it. He really is a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he came close to the edge, being tempted in every way, yet didn't go off the cliff like we often do. He endured temptation and suffering, and he learned obedience even when that obedience led him to death on an undeserved cross. In fact, the suffering that paved the way to the cross was the teacher.

Today, as you fight for obedience, remember Jesus. That he knows and understands. He learned obedience the way you and I will be called to today, and he came out victorious.

Galatians 2:20...literally

I found this slideshow quite disturbing. While I can appreciate the desire to share in the sufferings of Christ, the idea of being literally crucified if only for a moment has the danger of thinking that partaking in such a ceremony somehow offers penance, a penance that only the Son of God could pay. Christ's suffering was enough. It is finished. At the same time, it makes me think about the fact that literally I am crucified with Christ, not in place of Christ, mind you. I died with Jesus on that cross as he was being crucified, and by his blood I have his righteousness. I am a new creation. So save the nails, I think I'd rather choose the harder way - learning to die to myself in the mundane trivialities of the rest of the year, not just on Good Friday.

Video Recap of our DC Spring Break Trip

One of my college students put together this short video about the things we've learned from our time in DC. Another student, Sean, compiled the testimonies together. I think it's a poignant message that sometimes 'mission' trips aren't about all the things we can do for 'the poor', but rather what they can teach us about our lives back home.

Tuesday of Holy Week 2011 Meditation

Today's Theme: The Glory of Christ in His Love

"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever should believe in him may not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through him." John 3:16-17.

Love. Is it possible for a word so powerful to be any more overused? In one conversation we can talk about how much we loved that meal last night and conclude it by saying how much we love that person. We can love the weather (actually, more like hate out here in Chicagoland lately) and we can love our children. To be sure, context is the determiner, but I wonder if by overusing the word, we cheapen it? If love can be used for any object and any circumstance, what about God's love for us? Do we subtly misbelieve that God loves us the same way he would love a hot dog or a really good movie? Furthermore, as Brennan Manning asks, has the idea of God's love been so overplayed that while we know that God has to love us (theologically), we're not convinced that he even really likes us? When push comes to shove and it's just you and him, do you believe that he loves you with all the tenacity and fierceness of a lover who refuses to let anything get in between you?

This is how John seems to portray it. Even the most famous verse of the entire Bible is predicated on the idea that God loved. When we lose the power of the word love, the entire verse crumbles. God sends his Son because He loved, and this love set off an entire sequence of events that led to the salvation of the world. You lose love, and everything becomes transactional, functional - "I do for you, so you better do for me." In essence, you lose the love of God and you lose the Gospel.

So in the interest of remembering the Gospel today, let's remember a few things about love.

The love of God says more about the Lover than the object of love.
It's easy to become self-centered when we think about the love of God. We could imagine a God who's pining away in the heavens, wishing that his "too-cool" creation would pay attention to him. Like a love-sick puppy dog, God just wants us to give him the time of day. John doesn't seem to agree though. We see a God who loves rebellious, broken, stubborn people because that's who he is - a lover of souls. He loves us not because we're so love-able, but in spite of our unlove-able-ness. In fact, Jesus takes on that un-love-ability such that he becomes "like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Is. 53:3) The fact that God loves us in our ugliness makes it all the more remarkable.

The love of God is rooted in action more than just emotion.
Because of our ugliness and brokenness, it's easy to imagine that God's love would wane depending on our daily ugliness meter. If we're particularly ugly that day, we think that God loves us less than the day before. But God's love is more than emotion. He doesn't fall in love. He loves. In fact, he is love, and this love is not just a state of being, it is intensely active, fierce even. God loved the world, so he gave. He had to give. He had to act! His love compels him just as the love of Christ compels us (2 Cor 5:14). He doesn't love from a distance. His love isn't sanitized and kempt. God's love always translates into action - sometimes it's pursuit, discipline, patience, jealousy, or redemption itself.

The love of God is actively displayed in the cross of Jesus Christ.
Along the line of redemption, the consummative act of God's love is in the cross. The giving of his Son was to someone, for something. He gave his son over to death. His son was given over to hands of sinners who crucified him. Jesus was given over for our sin and rebellion. The giving of the Son of God purchased the lives and souls of the undesirables of the world (1 Cor 1). His love was demonstrated in that act on the cross, fracturing the very fabric of the Godhead so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

I don't want to explain God's love as just a transaction, nor do I want to sentimentalize his love as just the fluttering of butterflies in a divine stomach. I suppose that's the tension - that something profound and deep was wrought through the love of God in the world I live in and in my tiny corner of it. That only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is capable of sustaining such fierce love for such fierce enemies. I'm seeing today that that's what makes him glorious. Perhaps this is what Paul felt when he prayed for the Ephesians:

I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his inner being. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and deep, high and long is the love of Christ - to know this love that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

A Father's Heart

This brought me to tears. How I long that God would keep me faithful, obedient, and humble such that my sons would come to love Jesus and others!

Monday of Holy Week 2011 Meditation

It's holy week, and I must say that this year's Lenten season has been a rich one for me. As I've wrestled with the question of discipleship, I've found myself in and out of a deep meditation on Jesus' call for me. At times, I'm frustrated - distracted one second, reflecting the next. Sometimes I can be so totally engrossed by Jesus' lordship over all of life, and then I can be acting as the god of my own life. In hindsight, maybe that's the most realistic picture of discipleship? In any case, I've been anticipating our church's annual holy week early morning services. This year, the focus is around the Glory of Christ. Today's particular theme is the Glory of Christ in his humility.

I find that to be the most ironic and surprising of ideas - Christ's glory as displayed in his humility. No less surprising than the snow that fell last night in this the third week of April! Yet in Philippians 2:5-11, Christ's humility is on display both as exemplar for our humility and a glory to be praised. The Puritans called the humility of Christ his condescension. I find this to be a very powerful word picture - Jesus is condescending towards me. At first, my heart reacts negatively. After all, condescension is usually a negative thing, isn't it? Why would condescension be a cause for glory? "Don't take that condescending tone with me," or, "I can't stand to be around him/her because he's always so condescending." However, there are occasions where condescending could be positive. Imagine a super famous celebrity or a figure coming to your house, giving you time not because they wanted something from you, but simply because they are interested in you. There's an act of condescension to give you attention, to experience your life. It gives value to your life and makes that figure glorious, and the greater the distance between you and the figure, the more glorious the condescension. What could be greater than the gap between God and man?

And in this, Jesus doesn't just come as he is, he takes up human form in all its frailty and weakness, limitations and finitude, and he becomes like us. He had all the glory, but he chose to be counted among criminals. He gave up his rights as God and didn't use it for his advantage, but made himself nothing. Contrast this to the quarreling saints who were rivaling each other based on empty glory (I love the play on words between Phil 2:3 and 2:7 - don't [you saints] do anything from empty glory, but have the mindset of the one who emptied his glory). 

Paul goes on to describe how he humbled himself, that is, how he condescended. By becoming obedient to the point of death. He died like a common criminal, treated worse than an animal. Took on the limitations of human form. His humiliation came as he was obedient to death. He let them pierce him, mock him, and accuse him. He let them think that they had the last laugh. That's what I call condescension.

So the question remains, Why does this make him glorious? Because our God doesn't sit in the heavens

and expect us to come to him once we've got our lives together. Our God doesn't wait at a distance telling us that because we made the mess, we've got to get it right. No, our God humbles himself by coming to us, even by becoming one of us. Our God purchased sinners with his blood. Our God let the same sinner he came to save spill it. Our God stooped down low to bring us up. Our God put himself in the place of man on the cross because man tried to put himself in the place of God! Our God is humble, he condescends to meet us, and that's what make him glorious!!!!

Today, he is present in the details of your life, so don't despair. When you think that you're alone, that your burden is yours alone to carry, remember that a glorious God sent his glorious Son in glorious humility to make us sons of glory.

Golf and a Lesson on Never Giving up

Kevin Na infamously set the PGA record for strokes on one hole. I'll let you count 'em. A couple things I appreciate about this video.

1. He calls a penalty on himself when the ball hits him. No one else saw it, just him. Golf is one of the only sports where your integrity is on the line, and you are your own judge. Character matters for the integrity of the game.
2. He never gives up even though he's super frustrated. He finishes the hole out albeit limping across the line.
3. I've been in that no-win situation on the course. It feels hopeless. Glad that PGA guys can get there too.

Enjoy.

The True Stumbling Block of Soul Surfer

CNN reported on the tension between the real-life family of Bethany Hamilton and Hollywood in the making of a movie based on her life. Apparently, the film's producers and directors wanted to sanitize the film by removing the explicit references to the Bible and Jesus. One part of the article evidenced this particularly:

“A lot of the producers didn’t want to go too overboard because they thought Christianity doesn’t always sell well,” Tom Hamilton said. Kevin Sorbo, who plays Holt Blanchard, the father of Hamilton's best friend, said, "Sony (Pictures, the film's producer) was afraid to throw in the word Jesus. They said you can have God but not Jesus. They were worried about that. "The studios, you can't really fight them," he said. "Hollywood screams for freedom of speech but only if you agree with them. It's a very two-faced industry."

I find Hollywood's passive resistance to Jesus interesting in light of the fact that the movie was mainly marketed to a faith-based audience. The pitch for the movie was how important faith was for Bethany's success and overcoming tragedy, but they wanted to present that faith without its engine. Like a shiny shell of a vehicle, they wanted to show the importance of faith, but a sanitized faith that would sell better. I guess it is still true that Jesus is a stumbling block.

Battles over how to portray religious themes in movies are becoming more common, as Hollywood becomes more open to addressing faith and marketing movies to religious audiences but worries about alienating nonreligious audiences or viewers from other traditions.

I'm encouraged for the way that the family and friends of Bethany fought for an accurate portrayal of the difference that faith IN JESUS makes. I've met plenty of people who have faith that their tragic circumstances will not be the end of them, but very few who anchor that faith in the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, who himself faced tragic circumstances for us.

As spiritual as our culture may be, and as open and tolerant as it may claim, the making of this movie reminds us that Jesus will never be loved by the world because he is not of the world. Jesus may be my Lord, but the minute I start to proclaim that Jesus is Lord of all, now I've offended people. It's a tension that I seen increasing - we want the benefits of faith without the demands of faith. The blessings of discipleship without the cost.

I'm glad that they were able to work out a compromise, and I pray that this piece of culture will not just affect Christian audiences, but also seekers who are looking for hope and strength amidst their own tragedies.

Killing Jesus

"A cross and nails are not always necessary. There are a thousand ways to kill him, some of them as obvious as choosing where you will stand when the showdown between the weak and the strong comes along, others of them as subtle as keeping your mouth shut when someone asks you if you know him."
- Barbara Brown Taylor, Truth to Tell

What do you talk about?

My wife and I were having a conversation yesterday about the kinds of things that people talk about when they come together. Sports, food, clothes, other people (aka gossip), complaints, the latest Groupon deal, the funniest YouTube video, what happened on DWTS, etc. We both remarked that recently God has been putting on our hearts a desire to be much more intentional in our conversations with God's people. The conversation started as I shared about a sister in our college group who told me how much she appreciated my intentionality with people. It was one of the nicest compliments I'd received in a long time, but it got me thinking, Why aren't our conversations with each other more intentional? How should the way God's people talk to each other, and more relevant to this post, the things God's people talk about, be different from non-Christ followers? A couple things to consider:

• There's a place for small-talk. I'm not advocating going right to the heart or trying to get deep in every conversation. However, if all of our conversations only stay at the level of, "How are you?" "Fine, and you?" "Wow, how about them Bulls!?" then I think we need to reconsider.
• Ask meaningful questions. Make sure your questions are more than just pleasantries. Don't settle for the trite, "I'm fine" answers. Depending on the level of friendship you have with someone, you should be able to ask real questions about where someone is and how someone is doing. Don't just assume and hope for the best. For instance, one of the questions I like to ask my married friends is, "How is your marriage? What are you learning lately?" These kinds of questions might seem a little too forward, but I think over time, the habit of asking questions like this will make sharing much deeper.
• Remember details of previous conversations. If you've said that you would pray, you better have prayed. And if you have prayed, you should remember what you prayed for. I think that kind of remembrance with detail goes a long way, and it fosters deeper sharing and conversation.
• Every conversation is a chance to experience the Gospel together. The most important aspect of a conversation is one in which you give and receive hope to believe and remember the Lordship of Jesus. It takes savvy and sensitivity to do so in a non-trite manner - to really listen to one another, encourage one another, and engage one another such that when you part company, you have felt the presence of the living Jesus in your midst.
• Encourage. Encourage. Encourage. We live in a society that's constantly about performance, assessment, and critique. What if our conversations with other brothers and sisters were filled with observations of the beautiful, God-presence, things in each other's lives?

Our minds and hearts are bombarded from all sides by constant messages about identity, works-righteousness, and comparisons. I think it's urgent more than ever that Christians learn to speak to one another in ways that remind each other of the influence that Jesus has and ought to have in our lives. Let's begin that by learning to talk with each other in meaningful, significant ways so that we might truly give grace to all those who listen.

The Question of Unanswered Prayer

My wife and I have been grieving with our church family over a tragedy that's been developing for the last 31 days. We prayed and prayed for a healing, and a miracle, but it was just not to be. God prolonged life, but in the end chose to take it. In the eleventh hour, when the situation was at a critical stage, I found myself uttering over and over again, "Oh God, have mercy. Save this life." I wanted so badly for God to intervene, and for all intents and purposes, it made sense to me that he should. Alas, he didn't.

I've lately re-enrolled myself in the school of prayer, and God has been showing me new things about the way he wants me to come to him in prayer. To simply ask like a little child - repeatedly, unabashedly, boldly - and so I have been. It's been amazing to see the way God has answered my prayers for me and for others, but this time, I'm confused. Why didn't God answer? Why didn't he work? Didn't he say ask for anything in my name?

I'm left feeling disappointed and saddened, but not angry. I haven't given up on prayer. Last night, I was reading Alister McGrath's short book on the Apostle's Creed, and he said that God always will gives us what we ask or ought to ask for. He is a loving Father to us. I can't understand how taking this life is the more loving thing to do, but then I recognize my own limitations in being able to see every permutation and possibility. There are plenty of times where my son, Calvin, wants something that just isn't good for him at the time, and so I say no. I may even remove it from him. He doesn't understand. He gets downright upset, but in the end I know what is best for him (at least at this stage). He won't know the reasons, but he'll have to trust me.

In that sense, I've had to rework some of my own thoughts of God as a Father to me (and to my friends who are grieving). Perhaps it's best to say that God is fathering us in the present tense. His isn't just a fatherly role, it is an active presence, an intentional and deliberate course of conduct by which God is bringing what is best for us (namely Himself). God is fathering me in the midst of my own disappointment, calling me to trust him, to seek him, and to grieve over a world that is not as it should be. God is fathering my friends showing that no matter how deep the sorrow, his presence can bring steadfastness and peace. God is fathering my church showing us how to get along in real and tangible ways. He is teaching us what it means to be true siblings when the sun is shining or when the valley is too deep.

Perhaps this is the next class in the school of prayer, perhaps it's just part of the larger curriculum of life. Either way, I choose to grieve looking to my father who is present, and who always does what is best, not just when I want it.

The next wave of email

Mark this date, 4/1/11, as the next evolution of email hits the streets.

Praying for Japan

It seems like the media is a fickle master. Is it just me or does it seem like Japan's three-fold calamities (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear radiation) are not getting nearly the kind of response and exposure as Haiti's earthquake or Libya or Egypt? Additionally, it seems that out of the three, the nuclear 'meltdown' seems to be getting all the attention (perhaps because we somehow fear that the radiation could spread over here?) One website commented on the kind of hysteria that news media outlets seem to be generating:


To say - as some news outlets have - that the Fukushima accident was now worse than the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, just shows how bad the coverage can get, and why people get anxious. Chernobyl was a Russian design without a containment vessel and the reactor core was exposed, on fire, and large quantities of the fuel itself released into the air.

The Japanese reactors are designed to prevent this ever happening; fuel is inside a thick steel vessel, itself within a containment structure that is specifically designed to prevent release of core materials even during an accident such as this. Also, boiling water reactors like the ones in Fukushima are cooled by water which, unlike the graphite core at Chernobyl, cannot burn.

Even if the 50 brave nuclear engineers and reactor staff, mostly volunteers, do lose their long battle and a meltdown occurs, this is not necessarily catastrophic. The reactor’s containment structure is designed to prevent the spread of radioactivity and - even if these are breached - it is still likely that much of the radioactive material would be contained at the site.

THE LOSS OF TENS OF THOUSANDS of lives and the widespread destruction caused by the quake and tsunami will clearly dwarf any damage caused by the nuclear accident, even if a meltdown occurs. But that's not the impression you get from the lopsided, occasionally shrill coverage.

TENS. OF. THOUSANDS. Again the question remains, "why are we not hearing about relief efforts or pleas to give to relief work? Why are no celebrities responding and advocating?" Aside from a Japan tribute album on ITunes, I haven't seen much or heard much, but that could just be me. I overheard one person saying that it's because of the general notion that Japan is a wealthy nation and can take care of itself. Really? How wealthy of a nation do you have to be to be able to cover the relief, rehabilitation, and redevelopment of a 10.0 scale earthquake, 24 foot tsunami that ate up much of your coastline, and thousands upon thousands dead and/or missing?

My own reaction has been lacking concern, focus, and prayer. I realize that perhaps there is some deep-seated animosity towards Japan in my heart. I wouldn't wish what happened to that country on anyone, but my lack of compassion and urgency definitely betrays something in my heart.

A lot of this came to a head for me when I read a blog of a Japanese pastor from Fukushima. I was heartbroken over the real pastoral ministry that this brother is engaged in. How heart-wrenching must be his ministry to his church right now! Would you join me in praying for Japan? Here are some things we can pray for:

• Pray for pastors like Akira Sato. Pray for his strength and protection. Pray for Fukushima First Baptist Church - that God would preserve them, give them strength, and unleash them to be a sacrificial instrument of rehabilitation for the community. Perhaps many will come to know Jesus through their ministry of ministry even at cost to themselves.
• Pray for the generosity of the global church. Japan needs relief aid now. Pray that the church worldwide would be eager to participate in the relief of the saints.
• Pray for the proclamation of the Gospel. Pray that this suffering would open the eyes of those who were complacently trusting in their possessions, self-made security, and comfort. Pray that the God of comfort who comforts us in our afflictions would draw close and manifest his great power and love. "Many waters cannot quench your love."
• Pray for the return of Jesus. Pray that God would continue the work of new creation, reconciling all things to himself through Jesus. Thus, restoring the created order to its rightful state. 

Would you take the time to write a prayer comment below? A short one-two line prayer to encourage and lift up the people and Church of Japan.

The Churches of Asia Minor like you've never seen them

A friend of mine from church finished these renderings of the 7 Churches of Revelation for children. I think it's a great show of artistry as well as creativity. Check it out and leave a comment to encourage him!

Culture and the Transforming Power of the Gospel [Guestblog by Sean Rubin]

[The following is a guest post by one of my college guys, Sean Rubin. These are some of his reflections and memories of the DC Spring Break Trip.]

It should come as no surprise that the things that are most important to (“popular”) culture show up whenever people come together. What is astonishing, however, is the transformation that can occur based on whether the gospel is present.

Take food, for example. Historically speaking, food has always been a prism into the balance of power — a tipping point between those who have and those who have not. While many regard it as little more than legend in its accuracy, take the story of Marie Antoinette and her response to the plight of the poor in France as they’ve run out of bread. The infamous remark “Let them eat cake” scoffs at the hardships the impoverished had to face. It takes little more than a moment’s insight to see how I am just as guilty of indifference to the empty stomachs in the world. Some two thirds of the world lives on less than two dollars each day, and here am I, fattening up as I can spend a whole week’s worth of that wage on a single meal. I’m continually taught more and more about just how precious food is the more I see God’s love for those who are desperate.

This last week in D.C., I’ve eaten foods from some wildly varying global cultures and I was taken aback at the discovery that the food budget of the trip was a mere two dollars per head, per meal. After the trip concluded I was graced with the opportunity to sample Korean bar-b-que, and a Maryland shellfish dinner that would leave my brother bed ridden with gout (inside joke). The combined cost of these two meals alone could’ve easily covered my food allocation for the other five days. In the end, whether it was Salvadorian pupusas, Indian tandoori, Korean beef spare ribs, or a bowl of cold cereal, I cherish the experiences for the people who experienced it with me. Some day we will gather again, around a table (perhaps with wine [another inside joke]), and remember how God brought us together then and again and just how good He’s been to us… And one day further the table will be big enough for all the nations of the world, and it is available for those who seek only to take a seat and partake in the communion of the gospel.

Still another juxtaposition forms around the world of sports in America. Take just a quick glance at the work stoppage in the NFL and you’re faced with 32 billionaires at odds with 1700 millionaires over how to divide a 10 billion dollar industry. How magnificently futile it all is. Fandom spreads like a plague as egos are fed from the richest of owners all the way
down to the viewers at home. All along the way separations are made and classes are formed around the different levels of success that are achieved. We build mountains as smooth as glass and delight as we watch player after player, team after team, strive to reach the pinnacle only to forget about them as soon as they are overthrown. There’s always another height to scale and never a moment’s rest for those who dare to challenge the summit, especially now in the age of Twitter.

I wasn’t there to experience it directly, but my pastor played a game of stickball in a D.C. suburb that included the presence of the gospel. He already wrote a detailed blog about the experience, but just the nature of a gospel driven competition… Where players and spectators alike strive to be inclusive at every turn; where seeing a challenge overcome is met with cheers from the hometown favorites and visitors just the same… I encourage you to read his thoughts here: How a Game of Stickball Could Change the World.

The music industry is yet another that is stifled by the effects of greed and glamour. Popularity is based on the number of the records sold, and little attention is paid to the artistic value or message of the music itself. So many of us fail to recognize the difference between what is good and what is popular, and we are bewitched to believe that a work is good solely because it plays on the radio. The worst part is that we forget what music was intended for. As we lose our ability to discern the soulful from the superficial we also lose the purpose of music - to bring us together. The quality of the sound isn’t supposed to be as important as the people producing it, and if you’re with friends this should be all the more true.

What could possibly bring 15 young people who have never met before, together into a little bedroom and cause them to sing to their hearts' content without fear of what the others would think of them? A guitar and the gospel. Music alone might bring people together, but without the gospel, people will tend to shirk back at the notion of actually joining along. Several years ago a man leading a worship session for fifty high school kids said something I’d never forget: he said to “be selfish” in our worship. Up to that point I was always hesitant to sing as loud or as full as I could in worship for fear of distracting someone else… but what way is that to worship? To come to God and praise His glory with timidity and fear? That’s no way to recognize the transformation of the gospel, and we had that power with us in D.C.

On two separate occasions, the music began and we just sang and sang and prayed and sang. Some of the members of the other groups came and joined us and we were happy to invite them in. In the end we were selfish enough to praise God like we meant it, and yet selfless enough to look beyond the human imperfections that came up in each other’s technique. The gospel gave us the courage to sing like we meant it, and the love to allow others to do the same…

Why does pop culture seem to break people apart far more often than bring people together? Without the gospel pop culture becomes a display of power and control—of money and greed, but when the gospel is allowed to infiltrate people’s hearts it also influences their response to cultural rifts between us. Things like food, sport, and music were designed to bring people together, and yet we taint them with self-centeredness. Allow the gospel to transform your heart, however, and you’ll see culture for what it was made to be: an avenue to get to what’s really important. The community that God desires for us should be the end result, and we can get there only if the gospel is at the center of our lives, our culture, and our community.

Jude and the 'Keeping' of Spiritual Integrity

Jude isn't a book of the Bible that makes my teaching schedule very often. Maybe it's the esoteric references to the archangel Michael and his contention with the devil over Moses' body (although I think my junior highers would love a message on that), or it could be the fact that in 25 short verses, the writer makes about a dozen references to OT salvation history! For one reason or another, Jude is often neglected, and I must say it's to our loss.

One of the words that repeats throughout the book is the word 'keep'. Now you won't see it translated that way every time, but it's there in v. 1, 6, 13, 21, and a synonym in 24. The word is sometimes used in the sense of obeying something - like keeping a command. Other times it's used in the sense of protecting, guarding (like a prisoner), or safeguarding something. Interestingly, in Jude it's always used in the second sense. Here's why the word is important.

Jude begins his short letter by stating his original intention - to write about our common salvation - but he departs from this because of the things going on in his recipient's lives. Bad teaching was resulting in rationalized sin, ungodliness, and perverse living. Jude gives several examples from the OT of similar events. Then in v. 20, the flavor changes. It shifts from the opponents to the recipients. The main command comes in v. 21 - keep yourselves in the love of God. The response that Jude's audience was to take, their action, was to keep themselves in the love of God. And guess what kind of 'keeping'? Yep, safeguarding, protecting. How were they to keep themselves? By building themselves up, praying, and waiting for the mercy of the Lord.

At first, I found it puzzling that Jude devotes so much of his letter to describing the dangerous actions and consequences of these bad teachers, but so little verses on how we are to respond (v. 20-25). As I thought about the ideas in the letter, I began to see something so marvelous.

As I said before, the entire letter is held together by the idea of keeping. Verse 1 tells us that we are kept for Jesus Christ. In v. 6 and 13, the evil spirits are kept in prison. Then, v. 21 tells us to keep ourselves in the love of God, and the entire letter ends with one of the most famous benedictions in the Church, v. 24 - now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy... All through this keeping, God's power and his righteousness loom huge in the background. He's the one who kept us for Jesus. He's the one who keeps the evil spirits imprisoned. It's his love that we are to keep ourselves in (not his law and commands, mind you). His keeping is the cause of great praise and glory. Jude doesn't have to devote a lot of attention to our response because God keeps his own!

Here's the point. So often I think of spiritual integrity as the thing I must maintain, that I must watch out for. Verse 21 can be so burdensome in that view. How am I supposed to keep myself in the love of God when enemies of God and bad teachers abound? And the answer is in the keeping. I keep myself in the love of God as I am kept for Jesus (v.1) by the one who is able to keep me from  stumbling (v.24 - here Jude uses a stronger word to convey the image of God protecting us like a guard). Now there's the power in spiritual integrity. God's got to keep me. He's got to sustain. He's got to protect, and he's got to purify. Let's not forget who does the keeping, friends, and may it lead to a life of even more integrity. Jude, you may be in the white pages of the Bible, but we hear your message loud and clear, and we're grateful. 

The Ordinary Life of Adolph Hitler

These photos of Eva Braun from Life magazine (girlfriend and short-lived wife of Adolph Hitler) are eery to me. They present a semblance of normalcy behind the horrific aura that is Hitler and the Nazis. Note especially the photos of Hitler - reminds us that he was just a man, even if a messed-up one at that. Here's a few from the gallery.

A Taste of What We Saw in DC.

The Washington Post had this article about the rampant gentrification that has happened in the past ten years in Washington, D.C. If you're not sure what gentrification is, it is the displacement of native residents (usually lower income) by a majority outside population. This is done by raising property values, rent, and overall cost of living while denying jobs and means to live. It's flat out modern-day medieval eviction.

This article really sums up some of the dynamics that we experienced in five short days in DC. It's a really strange state of affairs as upper middle class condos and stores take over a random street while a few streets down, lower income folks struggle to make it. It's one of the most subversive and gradual systems of injustice that anyone can see. I'd like to see PG County's census data. Have they seen an upsurge?

Who changes whom?

Bob Lupton encapsulates much of what I experienced last week in DC. Oh how I wish that God would use the materially poor to change me!

The Hip-hop Gospel?

“If you are looking for theologically saturated Christian music that has the greatest potential for widespread appeal, your best option may be Christian hip-hop. Because of its form—a high volume of words with little repetition—hip-hop may provide one of the best modes of music to convey propositional truths and doctrinal content that at the same time connects to a younger generation." - Anthony Bradley.


Agree or disagree?

The Gospel and the clothes we wear

I read an insightful article questioning why parents are letting their daughters dress in increasingly sexually provocative ways. Although not from a faith perspective, the author makes a great point that the laxity of parents may arise from a sense of guilt in having experimented in much the same ways. As well, there could be a desire to be cool or even to revisit those days by having beautiful-looking girls and boys. In many ways, it's a subtle form of child sacrifice whereby the parent pursues his/her selfish desires at the expense of the child.

The truly sad thing is that the Gospel could really free a parent from having the guilt of past failures. The Gospel tells us that we are not perfect, not even morally guiltless. We don't have to be perfect parents to teach our children God's ways because the Gospel gives us hope in spite of our failures. If you're a parent remember that your job is to introduce your child to the grace that you yourself have received. Your job is to not make them more successful, or more popular, or more stress-free. Your job is to introduce them to their real and true Father.

Practically, I've heard lots of parents complain about how hard it is to find modest clothes for their daughters. No doubt this is true, but isn't the inconvenience and time spent worth it? Even if you have to pay a little more or spend more time shopping?

For those parents of daughters that need some advice or guidelines for this, check out http://www.teen-beauty-tips.com/return-to-modesty.html. It's a pretty good starting point for opening up the topic of modesty with your daughter.

So What's Next?

What an incredible last (full) day in SE DC. It began with a spontaneous worship set from 11:30 pm to 12:45 am, and closed out with several debriefing sessions. The day went pretty much as the previous one. My group woke up and went to the Mayfair Mansions Community Center for GED tutoring again. I met with Mijajuwon, and we got to work right away. Today's challenge was algebraic word problems, but Mijajuwon eventually got it. Again, it was amazing to see his confidence level and his enthusiasm skyrocket as he grasped the concepts. At one point, he just chuckled as he put his head on the table - he couldn't believe that he was getting it, and that it was that simple.

On our way back, we had some more amazing conversations with neighborhood residents on the bus, and we stopped by favorite Afghani-owned fried chicken joint for a 15-piece wings and mambo sauce! We returned home, and after a brief rest, I (and about 10 students) traveled to the coffee shop to visit Mack and have some coffee.

After dinner, a group from Yale came to lead us in some worship, and it was a sweet time of singing and being together. We were grateful that they would travel so far to come and serve us. One of the Plunge coordinators then shared a creative message from Luke 19. It was a great catalyst for our small group discussions for next steps. We are spending a lot of energy on next steps and what God desires of us individually and corporately. Our conversations were filled with pressing each other to truly apply what we have learned and seen. After all, what we did here in 5 days is not nearly as important as what we'll do back home, but in order to what we need to back in West Chicago, we need to be here to see and experience.

Ideas like learning Spanish, controlling spending, volunteering to tutor were put out there. Surprisingly, I realized that there was a subtle tendency to reduce our learning here to the simple idea of reaching out to people along our daily routine. Some of us shared that we just needed to be more missional along our daily schedules. However, to do this subtly shifts the equation. We didn't need to come to DC in order to learn to be more missional with the people who we meet daily. Rather, all of us in the team realize that the Bible puts a priority on ministry to two specific 'classes' of people: 1) the nations; 2) the vulnerable - the poor, fatherless, widows, sojourners.

The truth of the matter is that it is very possible to go about our daily lives and actually avoid these types of people. Life in the suburbs makes it possible to never cross paths unless we intentionally go out and pursue. We can't just say that we will be more loving to the people we meet, not with what we've seen and have been taught. We are accountable to God for the message we've been given, and it is a message to God's people concerning the least of these. To live out this message will require some foundational shifts in our daily lives, weekly schedules, and overall priorities.

We spent the rest of the night and morning talking about what our responsibility to the vulnerable and to the Church is. A ton of great ideas are brewing and some decisions are being made. We're still talking about our story and our next steps, but we're definitely excited.

If you've been following this series of blogs, I'd like to first thank you for your continued interest and prayers. Second, I'd like to ask you to stop for a moment and pray for the city. God is doing some amazing things in SE, and urban ministries are definitely feeling the pinch of a down economy. Third, would you consider talking to someone from our team? If you are a Christ follower, what is your responsibility to the poor and to the least of these? Do you take Matt 25 seriously, that whatever you did to the least of these, you did unto Jesus? I say this not to stir up guilt, but to invite you into what God is doing - that you might experience the kind of fullness, the kind of joy I have right now. I understand more than ever the kind of people who are on God's heart, and spending some time with them brought me closer to Him, and for that I am grateful.

Let my life light up

On our fourth full day here in SE DC, we had the opportunity to get out into various community ministries and serve. One of my students remarked how after spending three days learning about the various communities and neighborhoods (and the residents), it made serving that much more purposeful and empowering. I agreed thoroughly. When you come to love the communities you're trying to minister to, it makes the service that much more intentional, thoughtful, and sincere.

I had  the opportunity to lead a group of seven to the Mayfair Mansions Community Center to do some GED tutoring. I'll admit that I was very nervous because I wasn't sure how my math would stack up (I realized it's been some 16 years since I did any sort of significant math!) My student was Mijajuwon - named after his father MIchael and Hakeem olAJUWON. Our assignment was algebraic equations. To summarize a long story, some of the tips and tactics I used stuck with him, and by the end of the tutoring session, he went from solving simple equations to multi-step word problems. The most amazing thing was the gleam in his eyes and his wide-eyed smile as he mastered this skill. The sense of fulfillment as a tutor was unbelievable. He was empowered. His self-confidence high, and his smile huge. He kept saying thank you, but it was I who was thankful (not only because he reminded me how to divide decimals!) He showed me the power of knowledge, and how if it is given in a humble, caring, and empowering way, it can totally change someone's outlook and demeanor.

We arrived back a little early after the tutoring and had the opportunity to stop in at the home of Frederick Douglass to do a quick tour. What an incredible time of learning history, and being reminded that God does incredible things through ordinary people as they surrender to him. Since I'm preaching on Sunday, I walked to the local coffee shop to work on my sermon. An Ethiopian immigrant greeted me (his name is Mack), and I spent about 30 minutes working on my sermon until he stopped me to ask about my ethnicity and what I thought about the tsunami in Japan. We began talking about CNN's coverage and how his customers didn't want to see the images. He agreed with me that something was messed up about the world we were living in, and I made a casual remark about how God is going to make it all right. That's when he stopped me. He had a quizzical look on his face as if someone had said something shocking. Mack asked me if I really believed that and what I meant by it.

I went on to explain how Jesus would one day return and that he would make all things right (no more earthquakes, cancer, AIDs, tsunamis, etc.) Mack disputed that faith in God was only a spiritually abstract thing, "in one's head," he said. So I asked him, "if that is true, what's the point of living? Why not just believe and die, so God could whisk you to heaven?" As I began to explain the beauty and hope of resurrection and new creation, Mack just stared at me wide-eyed, a glimmer of a tear in his eyes. His countenance was the face of man who had just heard from a long-lost loved one, good news that one day they would be reunited. Right there, I shared the entire Gospel with Mack, declaring to him the resurrection of the dead, and the coming of the present and future kindgom.

We talked about a lot of other things that afternoon, and as I left, he invited me to come back tomorrow because he had some questions about the place of Ethiopia in the Bible. Over some intense time of prayer and worship last night, I realized that God was showing me a pattern. I won't forget the look of those two men as they came face to face with Truth - a light in their eyes! It reminds me of one of my favorite sermons by Jonathan Edwards, "A Divine and Supernatural Light Immediately Imparted to the Soul". After the introduction, the first line is:

"...there is such a thing as a spiritual and divine light immediately imparted to the soul by God, of a different nature from any that is obtained by natural means." Edwards goes on to explain that conversion happens by the power of God shining a light into our souls - in essence, lighting our life up. I saw it in practically in the faces of two men, and I longed for it to come supernaturally in their souls. Maybe it begins with an algebra equation and blossoms into a full-blown proclamation of Christ. "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice." (Phil 1:18).

I'll close with the lyrics to a song by Christy Nockels called, Let My Life Light Up, as my closing prayer.

Let my life light up like the city lights

Let it burn for you in the darkest night

Where does your light need to shine? Who are the people in your life who need light? What would it take to shine that light?

True Wealth: An Exciting Church Experience in DC (Guest blog by Ryan Schultz)

One of the more exciting opportunities so far in Washington, DC has been the pleasure to worship with an African American Catholic church. We spent about two hours in fellowship worshipping God, and there are several aspects about the service that I feel encouraged to share:
• Although the community surrounding the church was poor, the church itself appeared vibrant. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best and the art on the walls and windows of the church itself were beautiful. I felt privileged to be in the midst of such a vibrant church.

• The congregation was enthusiastic during the whole service. People were singing, clapping their hands, dancing, and jumping in joy.

• The church was responsive to the priest. Throughout the service, when the Word was quoted, I would hear a loud "AHMEN!" or Praise Jesus!

• The congregation did everything they could to make us, the strangers to the congregation, feel welcomed. The priest had us stand up amidst the whole church to be introduced, and told us that the congregation had "gifts" for all of us. We were then given the gift of hugs from all the members of the congregation near us.
I was humbled by the sense of unity and love the congregation had for each other. I was amazed that the congregation felt compelled to come up to greet and hug a stranger like myself. I recognize that materially I was one of the richest people at the church service. However, in terms of the currency of love, I felt poor compared to these people. I am not about to say that the people of this Church are more spiritual than myself or other Christians I know. However, I do feel like I can be more enthusiastic in my worship and more outgoing with strangers. One thing is for certain: The next time Pastor Mitchel Lee does a sermon and I am in the congregation, he's going to get a loud "AHMEN!"

How a Game of Stick Ball Could Change the World

Yesterday we ventured into Alexandria, VA, a neighboring community just beyond the Potomac River. One of the things that makes DC and its policies so unique is that three separate jurisdictions come together in localized area: Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

The purpose of our visit was to meet some more unique kingdom laborers. Incidentally, it seems like every day here has brought its share of incredibly gifted, passionate, and obedient kingdom servants who are just seeking to be obedient to God. This day we met a community living intentionally in a predominantly Hispanic/Latino community called Chirilagua (named after a state in El Salvador where many of the immigrants are from). We met at two of the homse of this community, and had several discussion and meetings about immigration from the perspectives of the Bible, politics, and our responsibility. For lunch, we enjoyed pupusas, a Salvadorian treat!

The three ladies we met have lived in the community for about 4 years with the purpose of living, listening, learning, and loving their neighbors. Interestingly enough, the ladies were grads of Wheaton College and Taylor! Out of this simple relocation came a vision for reaching the kids of the neighborhood. They started an after-school program called Kids Club that consists of mentorship, homework/tutoring, and a Bible study. Half of our group served there for the afternoon while four of us guys made rounds to the local community stores to pick up food donations for the kids' snacks.

After preparing the snack, the four of us went back to the house to tutor some of the 4-5th grade boys who were not enrolled in the program because of space. There were about 4 of them. After homework was all done, we ended up going to the local playground in the apartment complexes to play some pick-up baseball (or stickball, as I call it). Suddenly, what started as a four-on-four game turned into a four-on-twenty game! Kids started coming out from the woodwork, and it was a rousing time of teaching the rules of baseball, encouraging kids, challenging them to play as a team, and teaching them to deal with decisions or outcomes that they don't like (not to mention how to stop play for a car coming down the road, and what "Game on!" means).

I've had experiences in these spontaneous kinds of games before (even in my own neighborhood), and it never ceases to amaze me how a child's eyes glow when he gets his first hit, or she pitches a strike. The sense of accomplishment a kid feels when crossing homeplate and getting high-fives from his teammates. There's something beautiful, meaningful, and unifying about sports that I was reminded of, something that I lamented is often lost in the suburbs in the name of winning, scholarships, or competition. Have we lost sight of the purpose for our sports?

I wondered as the game finished, "How could a little league baseball league affect and influence these kids for the future? How could it bring an entire community and their parents together? What kind of character could it form as these boys become men?" Your guess is as good as mine. For now, I'll choose to be touched and impacted by the sights and sounds of little kids forgetting about their lives for an all-too-brief moment and enjoying a rousing game of stickball.

Some Remarkable Saints

Yesterday we had the opportuniy to worship at Peace Fellowship church. It's a church located in Ward 7 near Deanwood in NE DC. I was totally blown away by the feel of this church. Again, the hospitality was overwhelming, but this time the multi-ethnicity and diversity in socio-economic backgrounds impacted me. There were movers and shakers in the government (with degrees from Harvard Medical school) standing side by side with recovering addicts. People were sharing prayer requests and giving praises. The singing was joyous and loud. I was moved. Truly the Gospel is for the least to the greatest. A couple of other thoughts:

1. Rev. Dennis Edwards demonstrated that strong exegetical preaching in an urban setting can bear fruit. I was encouraged by the accuracy and simplicity of the message to follow Jesus. No prosperity Gospel here, just a call to deny oneself and take up one's cross, whatever that cross might be.

2. The Smush factor. I can't believe that going to a multi-ethnic church in the hood I'd run into a friend from 15 years ago. Steve Park runs a ministry called Little Lights and it was a joy to see him and his family enjoying much grace and favor from God.

3. The Twins. We had lunch at the home of two sisters in their 20s who were living in a rough neighborhood of Deanwood. These girls were from St. Louis, college grads, and were intentionally living in a community, and teaching in the public schools. I was humbled and challenged by their costly obedience forsaking even their parents' wishes to obey God.

4. Discussion of the day. We've been taking as a team about our responsibility to the vulnerable. We can't got back to our home on West Chicago and simply carry on with life as normal. We can't go back and just try to help people as they cross our paths because we realize that unless we intentionally change our routines, we won't come across the vulnerable. That was a challenging thing to think about - on light of responsibility to the vulnerable, what about my life (routine, schedule, priorities) needs to change?

I don't know if we have answers yet, but they are forming to be sure. What that means only God can show us. Keep praying because these pieces are coming together.

Greetings from Anacostia

Anacostia is a lower income predominantly African-American community in SE Washington, D.C. I and a team of seven college students from CF arrived here late Fiday night after a 12 hour drive. We landed at St. Teresa's of Avila church at the corner of 13th and U. Without going into all the minutiae of details, we slept at the parish life center, then met the other groups on Sat morning.

There were a few students from George Washington University, St. Mary's college in MD, a group of 5 from Stevens Inst. Of Technology in NJ, and a group from Arcadia in Philly (they are divided on who has the best cheesesteaks on Philly). The group is so diverse. We have several Asians, African-Americans, Africans, Caucasians, and Indians. What a sweet opportunity to engage other cultures within even our own team!

The formal part of the trip started with a scavenger hunt of sorts. We divided up in pairs, and each person was given a bus card, $7, and a slip of paper with the name of a neighborhood in DC. Without any directions, we were to find our way there, find out some facts about the neighborhood, and eat food at a local place. So we set out. I was a little nervous because they gave me a place I had never heard of. So Samantha (student from Stevens)and I set out. It was amazing the kind of hospitality we received. We stopped and asked people for directions and people were so helpful and friendly. They told which bus to get on, where to get off, what to see, and where to go. We ran into Jimmy outside a liquor store, who gave us a rundown of our neighborhood, Deanwood. Deanwood borders MD and is a place in transition. Aside from the gentrification going on there, there is a lot of criminal activity as DC and MD duke out their jurisdiction disputes. We noticed that in this entire neighborhood, there were no restaurants, only one fast food joint, one liquor store, and a "grocery market". It put that in quotes because it was more of a convenience store with a gallon of milk going for somewhere in the $8 range. Across a four lane highway were the projects. I learned so much about the systemic injustice of why supermarkets refuse to enter into a community like this. Residents have to travel ~2 miles to the nearest big chain grocery store! That's a long way by bus.

I don't have space to write about everything I've seen, so I'll reflect on some of my biggest learnings. I'll do it in the form of questions.

1. Who's the really poor one here? As I wandered about in SE/NE DC, in places that are self-described by residents as the hood, I was humbled by the welcome and hospitality that Sam and I received. Compare this with the cold shoulders and ignoring you that many of the groups got in NW DC (an affluent part of town), and I was angered and hurt. The wealthy were less likely to help you, less likely to engage in a conversation, less likely to even acknowledge your presence. And knowing the people whom they chose to ignore (my students), I know they missed out. Could it be that all of our stuff, our status, and our pride has actually isolated us and severed community? Isn't relationships where wealth is found?

2. Where in the world am I? For lunch, we ate near Minn Ave and Penn because there were no places to eat in Deanwood (can you imagine that?) we stopped at a fried chicken joint where I had a 3 piece chicken (with Mambo sauce!!!) It was owned by an Afghani immigrant who'd been here for 14 years. As I and Sam (who is 2nd Gen Indian American) ate, the owner introduced us to his Ethiopian friend who worked next door. So there we were (a Korean-American and Indian-American) eating fried chicken in a predominantly African-American hood owned by an Afghani next to his Ethiopian friend. That's all I have to say about that.

3. How do you define success? This was the topic of the night posed by the evening speaker. It sparked a great discussion amongst our team.

4. what will tomorrow bring? That's the subject of my next post. Ryan and Sean will be guest blogging as they share about filling the streets of SE with spontaneous worship, attending an African-American Catholic mass, and I'll post something about a multi-ethnic church with the most balanced exegetical preaching I've ever heard (oh, and running into a friend at that church whom I haven't seen in 15 years. Stay tuned a keep praying for us!