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!

An Explanation of Lent

I don't know if it's because Easter is so late this year (Apr 24), but Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season crept up on me suddenly. Going into Advent this year, I wanted to experience the fullness of the Church Calendar Year as a way to relive the story of the Gospel afresh. Like a drama with several acts, I committed myself to experiencing the drama of Advent, Epiphany, and now Lent. Before I lead my family through this, I thought that it would be worthwhile to experience it myself.

I never really grew up celebrating the Church calendar thinking that it was only for Catholics or overly traditional/liturgical 'high church'. None of my pastors growing up ever taught on Advent or Lent - it seemed that the only 'holidays' that mattered for my Christian pilgrimage were Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. It's only when I started serving with my senior pastor, David McDowell, that I sensed a richness to the Church calendar that I was largely ignorant of. So if you're like me, let me give you a brief introduction as to why Lent matters and what it stands for. I'm indebted to Bobby Gross' succinct explanation of Lent in his book, Living the Christian Year. It's a very helpful look at the entire Christian year, its significance, and practical ways to observe it. It also comes with devotions that follow the Christian Lectionary.

So here are some of my thoughts about Lent.

1. Lent is a time of introspection and preparation. One Orthodox theologian called it a time of 'bright sadness'. It's a time of penitence recognizing the sinfulness that has alienated us from God, requiring the greatest and most precious of all sacrifices, Jesus the Son of God. But it is also a time of hopeful preparation precisely because the sacrifice has been made, and Jesus has risen from the dead.

On Ash Wednesday, the officiant will usually say something like, "From dust you came and to dust you shall return." It reminds us of our own mortality as well as our own moral culpability.

2. Lent is a time of deeper reflection on the lasting impact of Jesus' life and death and life again on our own lives today. CNN's belief/religion blog put a poll out on what people were giving up for Lent. One of the recurring sentiments was how the period of giving up something was to better oneself or to detox. This approach to fasting or giving something up is missing the point of introspection and preparation. It's precisely because we could not better ourselves that Jesus came. The purpose of Lent is to spend a 40-day period intentionally examining the dark places of our soul and recognizing that Jesus' death covers that too. Lent leads me to repentance, to an awareness that I need a Savior today, and that my waywardness cost Jesus his very life. I can't improve myself. I'm dead without Jesus. I need saving not improving.This is related to my third thought about Lent.

3. Lent is a time to fast and break our physical/social/emotional enslavements to our bodies and/or the things of this world. I've realized in my own fasts how much my body/mind/soul are dependent on things other than God, how much those things control me. In essence, fasting recalibrates my need for the thing(s) given up. As it relates to Lent, I fast because I see that I am still in need of the grace of Jesus today to break me free from the things that enslave my heart. In giving up coffee, Internet, Facebook, or whatever else, I recognize that those things don't have the power to save me, but they do have the power to control me. It is sola Christus - Christ alone. If we relegate the practice of fasting to some religious activity that we use as leverage against God, "God, I'm fasting from this so that you need to do this," or even some humanistic agenda, "I'm fasting so that I, by my sheer willpower and self-discipline, can make myself as better person," then we've missed the point. Fasting shows us how weak and needy we continue to be, and is a means to remove whatever obstacles keep us from real life. It's a statement that declares how much we want to desire Christ more than those things even as those thing continue to battle against us.

4. Lent is a time to engage in humble service. As we look inward, we also look outward. Meditating on Jesus' resolution and determination to go to the cross for us causes us to break out of our own selfish patterns and habits. Fasting and giving up the distractions and obstacles causes us to see clearly what really matters in this world - the advancement of God's kingdom among all peoples. As I give up myself because Christ gave up himself, I realize that I have been given so much to give to others.

5. Lent is a time to return to God. By repentance, meditation, and fasting, it is a time to humble ourselves knowing that our merciful God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Lent affords us the opportunity to walk through the valley, and end up at the cross, and even better, the empty tomb!

I reflect. I repent. I recalibrate. I return. What an opportunity to experience the power of the Gospel in the drama of the doctrine. If you've shrugged off Lent, or written it off as an outdated stuffy church ritual, I hope that you'll not pass up on this opportunity to experience the Gospel afresh.

Thoughts on the End of the World

I was recently pointed to this CNN article about a band of Christians who claim that the end of the world is going to be on May 21. Leaving their lives behind, they have formed a caravan that is going around the country warning people of the coming judgment. This is not the first time a small sect of Christians with an over-realized eschatology have pronounced a 'turn or 'burn' message of impending doom (not even the first time from the leader of this group!) I have several criticisms about their message and something I'm challenged about at the same time. First, my criticisms.

1. The members of this group have no assurance that they are going to be among the elect. One person was quoted, "If I'm here on May 22, it means that I wasn't one of the elect." What a distortion of the doctrine of election! The way that the article makes it sound, election is just a fanciful whim of God not based at all on the saving work of Jesus and faith. I find it very troublesome that a person could have such conviction about the veracity of the end, but no confidence that he/she will be on the winning side.

You have no way of knowing that you are part of the elect until the event actually happens?! Though unconditional election may be founded in the heart and mind of God, the evidence of that election certainly is not. Holiness, the fruit of the Spirit, and good works - these are signs of regeneration which is a sign that you are the elect. On a practical note, if even leaving my entire life behind to join this crusade doesn't guarantee me rapture, then why bother?

2. Their mission is not to save anyone, but only to warn? What good is a warning if there is no offer of deliverance or salvation? Imagine that you're driving down a road, and your brakes are out. Is it enough of a duty to just tell you that the bridge ahead of you is out? Just a warning? That doesn't seem very compassionate at all.

3. There's no mention of Jesus, atonement, or resurrection. In everything that was reported about their message, there's no talk of the cross, the victory won there, or atonement. Only that Christ will return. No wonder that these folks have no assurance that they'll participate in the rapture. Theirs is wishful thinking, not at all based on the objective work of the cross.

4. Any claim to specialized knowledge (whether from study of the Scriptures or angelic announcements or visitations) needs to be scrutinized and subject to a larger body of witnesses especially if that knowledge is said to be for the world (or even a church). While I am open to the Lord giving visions to individuals concerning personal salvation, Harold Camping's claims smack of Gnosticism, a 2nd-3rd century heresy in which those who are saved boast of a secretly revealed knowledge. How is it that Camping had such clever insight when no one else does from the same Scriptures? Any sort of claim to privatized, subjective, specialized revelation needs to be cautiously examined.

On a related note, this story reminds me of the tension we see in Scripture concerning the end times. On one hand, the Scriptures say that no one knows the hour of the Lord's return likening it to a thief sneaking up on you in the night (1 Thess 5:2-4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3, 16:15 among others). On the other hand, the Scriptures also suggest that there will be signs to accompany the Lord's return (eg: Matt 24; Mark 13; 2 Thess 2). What to make of this dilemma?

Some scholars have suggested that Paul's own eschatology changed as his early expectation was the imminent return of Jesus. Upon delay, Paul revised his eschatology to look for signs. I don't have space on this post to exegetically treat these topics. I've written a paper to resolve Paul's apparently contradictory teaching in 1 & 2 Thess. Email me, and I'll send it to you. I would also point you to some good Gospel commentaries to think about how Jesus saw his own return. What we do need to recognize, however, is that there is a tension, and this tension should inform our ethics now. Which brings me to the lesson I was reminded of by these would-be prophets.

For all that I disagree and disapprove of, I love that their belief that the Lord's return is only about two months away has caused them to act. Think about it. If our world knew the end was coming on May 21 and really believed it, would they spend it trying to warn people and live holy lives or would they spend it on themselves, wantonly pursuing a lifestyle of hedonism and nihilism (eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die)? However mistaken these folks might be, this much is true - they are acting on it.

The end is informing their life NOW. And isn't that the way all Christians are to live? Isn't that Paul's argument in 1 Cor 15? That if there is no resurrection (a physical resurrection that all those who are in Christ will participate in as He is the firstfruits), then our lives should be pitied? Observe also how Paul concludes his grand and intricate discussion of the resurrection in 1 Cor 15. "Therefore, my brothers, stand firm, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

That's it! In light of the resurrection, don't just toss in the towel. Don't just put your head up in the clouds. Don't just pursue your own fancies here. Live for Jesus in the now knowing that his coming again is as certain as the fact that he's raised from the dead.

So in a strange way, I'm challenged by the over-realized, end times, doom-and-gloom prophets. I think they're dead wrong, but I'm challenged to live out my faith in obedience, mission, and deliberate intention as I wait for and usher in, the return of Jesus.

Are you typical?

A fun and interesting picture of the globe's ever changing population.

The Power of God's Word

Ever since college, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the translation of God's Word for the more than 340 million people in the world who don't have the Bible in their heart language. I remember when I was an intern in Papua New Guinea with Wycliffe Bible Translators. We went on a three-day canoe journey upriver to a logging camp to buy some lumber for our village. While there, we ran into some natives from a village further upriver (another two days travel). Mark, one of our village leader's sons, explained to the leader of the other village who we were (two white dudes and an Asian aren't all that common in the jungle of Papua New Guinea). He explained that we were there translating the powerful words of Almighty God for them. At this, the village leader was stunned. "Someone has come to give you the words of God?! How can we get someone to come?! We will pay pigs! We will build a house! Will someone come?! Will you come!?"

At this, I remember watching the missionary we were with lower his head in shame saying that no one could come because there weren't enough people. The village leader's countenance fell dead. He just turned and walked away with the other men who had come with him. I never saw him again.

Watching this video today reminded me of the power of God's Word and the importance of translating the Bible. It brought me to tears. I hope you will rejoice with me.

Why everyone should play more video games

Though I don't agree with Jane McGonigal's presentation on how gaming can affect the real world, I think her talk represents one of the growing trends among young adults and youth today - the need for myth. Every culture needs myth: simply put, we may say that myths are ways of explaining the world and interpreting it. The idea of a myth does not mean something necessarily false or true - it might be a metaphor or illustration, or it might be a straightforward definition. For most of human history, these myths were transmitted in the form of oral culture - stories, fables, or tales told to explain deep principles about the world we live in.

More recently, movies have been and continue to be a way to communicate myth. These days we are seeing the rise of video games as the next great medium for communicating and even experiencing myth. What I mean by experiencing myth is the idea that every good myth has some story element to it, some way of incorporating the listener as a participant or potential character in the story. Think about it. The last movie that really resonated with you or spoke to you did so because you identified with something about the story. It struck a chord with you.

Video games become popular as they allow you not to just play the game, but to participate in its world. It's no longer about just moving a character around, you identify with it, develop it, and hopefully succeed with it. Even sports-themed games have the opportunity to develop a team, a player, a franchise. First-person, shoot 'em up games are similar.

Jane talks about the contrast between a guy who is about to have an "epic win" and what we often feel about our own lives. She shows two pictures - one of elation and confidence, the other of a sign saying, "I'm not good at life." She makes the right observation that we are not motivated to do something that matters, that we are not confident, feel defeated, and cynical about life.

She notes that the sheer amount of time that gamers put into games (~10,000 hours) is making them good at something. That is, something is drawing them to the game world over the real world. Four values describe this 'something':

1. Urgent optimism - the passion and urgency to do it now. They believe they are capable of changing the fantasy world.
2. Tight social fabric - the shared experience one has with someone you game with whether physically or virtually.
3. Blissful productivity - we are happier working hard.
4. Epic meaning - gamers want to be attached to awe-inspiring mission, building an epic story.

The fantasy world that a video game provides ensures these four values to come together with guaranteed success because it is exactly that, a fantasy world. The real world is downright disappointing, scary, and too huge so gamers retreat to this world. Real life is just not satisfying.

Although her observations are very insightful, her proposed solution is not. She concludes that since we are more willing, more confident, and more 'productive' in our video games, that we must play more games, and that if the games simply had more realistic elements, the same video-gaming skills could be used to solve real problems.

I find this solution to be problematic for several reasons.

1. She overlooks the fact that our addiction to video games reveals the deeper need for myth, a myth that has largely been dismissed by our naturalistic, materialistic worldview. The popularity of video games (and its subsequent social withdrawal) seems to be the result of our own doing. In breaking down everything phenomenon into its component, mechanistic parts, we have lost the sense of myth.

2. Her solution that we take the genre of the video game and simply fill it with more realistic details rests heavily on the optimism that humans can make a better future if they treat it as a myth. She ignores the deep-seated factors that make the real world so disheartening that gamers would retreat to a video game in the first place.

3. No matter how detailed the game, is it possible to truly simulate the complexity, unpredictability, and sometimes senselessness of the world we live in?

4. Who is going to waken the gamers up to reality? Do we just continue to deceive them into participating in reality without them knowing?

What McGonigal is offering is really the call to an epic story. She is calling gamers to be part of a myth, and instead of making that myth rooted in fantastical, escapist realms, we must call them to live out a true myth that is rooted in the real world of sin, suffering, hope, peace, and love. The Gospel is such a myth (and a true one at that), and it is not based on the optimism that we can make the future, but that the future is precisely in the hands of the one who calls us to partake in it.

I am grateful for McGonigal's talk because it reminds me that we all have the desire for an epic adventure, hard work, development along the journey. This is nothing less than discipleship - taking up your cross, denying yourself, and following him. Let's pray that gamers recognize there's a real adventure waiting for us if we'd only break out of our fantasy world and see.

A Great Post on the Hollywood Myth of Female Sexuality

I'm grateful for Mary Kassian's short summary of the Black Swan's dangerous message. I grieve at how distorted and misogynistic our culture's conception of female sexuality is. It's unattainable and absolutely soul-destroying. The Bible doesn't offer the picture of a dormant church mouse as what femininity is. Instead, consider the beautiful strength of a woman whose character is fierce and whose life is full. Someone who is not phased by the ever-changing perceptions and opinions of the people around her, but lives to please her Father passionately, intentionally, and with life-giving focus.

Black Swan deserves an Oscar?