Lausanne Movement and Missions..

Ok raise your hands if you've heard of the Lausanne Movement?If you have, what's your christian background and where did you learn about it? My guess is the majority of people who've heard of it are either seminarians or from a more liberal/mainline denomination. I know for myself i didn't hear about this movement until i went to seminary. But by my second year of being a Christian i knew all about Urbana. Ironically it was the Lausanne movement that opened the door for mission organizations and conferences like the Urbana and now its barely a blip on the pew-sitters conferences to fund-raise for list.

While I could spend hours on why this conference has decreased in visible influence, i would instead like to interact with a critique C. Rene Padilla had of the conference in South Africa. It was helpfully translated at the Suburban Christian. Dr. Padilla's critiques as a whole are not new. In fact i've heard variations of this theme for some time. But it seems to be ignored by the West or simply not acted upon. Why? Don't get me started ;)

However he makes two critiques that are starting to become an issue. A. The West/North America are ignorant of unreached people groups in their midst. B. The wealth of the West and its dichotomy between evangelism and social justice.

Lets tackle A. This is a very salient critique. I was at Urbana last year and most all the booths concentrated either on missions overseas or on urban/poverty missions. Most everyone was portrayed as the other (read "not middle-class americans"). But here's what Padilla is picking up on, "Missions in American are not viewed as reaching out to unreached people groups, but instead are cast as social justice missions." The question for further pondering and research is "why".

I have a few good guesses. Guess #1 it is generally assumed that everyone who lives here has been exposed in some form or another to Christianity. Which of course raises the question of whether or not they have truly been 'reached'. Guess #2 'Urban Ministry' just sounds sexier than 'Mission to unreached people poor people in the urban ghetto'. Which brings me to Guess #3 White Guilt. Simply put, because white people feel guilty about their wealth and history they are working out that guilt by participating in Urban Ministry. Let me be clear i'm not knocking their work or ministry, because if God's in it, then its valuable. But I do think what Padilla's critique is pointing out, is that our lack of creativity and purposeful ignorance about the situation in our own backyard is hindering/impeding the spread of the gospel and partnership within the body of Christ.

Which brings me to B. Wealth and Dichotomy. Yes there's alot of wealth in the West, but that wealth is starting to fade or be transferred to places like China/India. The problem isn't the wealth but the dichotomy between evangelism and social justice. If we had a better theology of wealth and how to use it best serve God instead of how to preserve your piece of the pie then the current dichotomy would not exist. In order to understand where and why of the dichotomy between evangelism and social justice you have to have a working knowledge of the history of evangelicalism in America, about which most Christians today are completely ignorant. I dont have enough space or time for that, so i'll just recommend some George Marsden for those who really care ;)

However the upshot is that many Americans are unwilling to critically look at their culture and their evangelical theology and see how it continues to entrap people into cycles of poverty and alienate them from the church. In the 70's and 80's political conservatism and theological conservatism became deeply entwined, much to the deficit of both groups. This entanglement has further alienated unreached people groups and drove deeper the wedge between faith and justice.

A further issue is the change in the way missions were funded in the 20th century. With the rise of para-church institutions missionary work became an individual calling and endeavor. With the seal of Holy Spirit approval being ones ability to fundraise their own support. What this has done is left the work of evangelism to the well connected and wealthy. I come from a culture where fundraising is viewed as begging. If i were to visit churches and ask for money, my family would be deeply ashamed. So even though i have much to contribute, there is no opening for me to serve under this model of missions. Yet we cling to this paradigm, even in these hard times.

I didn't go to Lausanne, i'm only just beginning to sort through some of their documents. But until we have another movement that will change the paradigm for missions and theology like the ones the rocked the 20th century, conference like Lausanne will have little impact in the West and other parts of the world.

The essence of memory and heritage...

In the NYTimes today i stumbled across two articles that got me thinking about identity, memory and grace.

The first article i read was about the bulldozing of Beijing's hutongs. It seems that in the rush to modernization and make money, many Chinese cities are razing and replacing their old neighborhoods with sky rises. Which of course is concerning to the people who don't live there and somewhat concerned with those who do. Many of the debates revolve around the preservation of cultural memory and neighborly connections. After all how many of us really know the people who live around us. When was the last time you invited your neighbors over for a bbq. It seems to me that in the US we're good at forming friendships with people we share interests with or similar lifestyles or life-stages with. (parent's groups/facebook/bible-study) but we're not so good anymore at knocking on a neighbor's door and getting to know them. (there are notable exceptions, I'm sure!)

I grew up in a teeny tiny town, and all my neighbors knew me and my extended relatives. This sounds like that these neighbors are small towns within a larger one. These places have literally existed for thousands of years. You did everything with your neighbors, even bathe and shared toilets. But the houses were drafty and hard to keep clean. So yeah, a shiny new apartment is very attractive if you live in those areas! It seems that these residents are faced with a rock and a hard place in terms of choices. They can have a warm, clean place to live, but they lose contact with the way of life and people they have known all their lives. They trade community for modernity and perhaps opportunity.

As i was mulling this over i ran into another article in the Times about the internet its looong digital memory and general lack of privacy. It tells the story about a woman who was kicked out of her program and had to change careers because of a single photo on her myspace profile, from 4 years earlier. The thought occurred to me that we in the west are on the other side of obliterating our communities and physical connections and replacing them with our internet connections. But on the internet there is no context and it appears no willingness to forgive even minor, youthful indiscretions.

But in small towns, sometimes the sins of the fathers, visit the children, entrapping them into that role. I have seen this up close and personal. There were several families in the small town i lived in that were entrapped by encyclical poverty. It seemed as if these kids were branded with failure once they were born and the townspeople would shrug and look the other way. So leaving was a way that many escaped this curse, to create new opportunities. But the internet may ruin even the possibility for reinvention and perhaps continue the polarization of our society.

What does occur to me is that China is in many ways following in our footsteps. That is what is scaring many western tourists, because we are living with the repercussion of our own industrial revolution, with its many unintended consequences in terms of our lives and communities. Which left us, in many ways, ill-equipped to handle the information revolution.

This leads me to a whole series of theological questions that i think we in the current christian community are asking, but afraid to answer. Questions about grace. When do we allow someone to make a clean break? Can we forgive someone even if we are constantly reminded of their past? What role does the church and community play in the west, in our fractured identities and communities. What does this forced integration of identities and selves means for the gospel? I'll be pondering that for a while....

On fathering...

I am not a father, nor will i ever be one. But i have a father and have observed many throughout the years. So here we are at the tail end of father's day. A holiday that has been overshadowed for years by Mother's Day. (Perhaps to compensate for the injustices women have historically suffered?) I can't help but notice that we are living in interesting times for dads!

The New York Times recently ran an article on fatherhood in Sweden which did tempt many of my friends of both sexes to relocate there! Why? Well because in Europe, father's get equal treatment in terms of days off! But at the same time there has been push back from traditionalists who want to go back to the June Cleaver days of pressed undies.

I found myself wondering today about how one knows if they're a good father? What does it mean to be a good father these days? There seems to be a lot of messages and opinions out there on this topic. It seems like we are all wandering around and having to make our own paths. What are your thoughts?

Tarballs of the soul...

What can i say about what's unfolding in the Gulf right now. My heart breaks, my soul groans and reeks? Those seem like trite and overused metaphors for the sticky thick grief that has settled over me while watching this slow moving tragedy unfold.

The hidden currents of greed, corruption, amorality are now made visible with the introduction of the toxic sludge. We can fly over and see them swirling below, killing everything they come into contact with. Those who are untouched by the oil are touched by shame and frustration.

This oil is a visible reminder that humanity is a destructive creation. Our destructiveness is kept in check by boundaries given by God and ourselves.

And yet, out of destruction there is hope that great good can be done. With a little help, perhaps our oil-soaked robes will be made clean yet...

Let us all pray for those who are affected by the Gulf Tragedy and let us find work together to find solutions that will clean our waters and restore us to a more humane way of living on this earth and with each other...

arizona, tea partiers, primaries... what's a christian to think?

The news these days is hard to watch. There's alot of talking heads and interviews with angry peoples across the nation. Alot of signs, fear and frustration out there. I'm almost afraid to turn on my newsfeeds and NPR!

Unfortunately most christian's blog post or engagement with what's going on in the States goes like this:

*Insert Bible Verses to justify current political/cultural position here and argue passionately for your position*

I find myself wondering "when did American Christendom become so balkanized?" Oh wait, i know the answer... the 20th century. When the fundamentalists/modernist swore each other into eternal damnation. While i would love to get all academic-y here, i dont have the brain power or the footnote space. So a few summary sentences. In the late 19th and most of the 20th century there was an epic war among christians over just who Jesus was and who had the truth. Tree's, Ink and tons of Hot Air were spewed arguing over who was right and who had the corner on biblical hermeneutics. It was a very creative, but a very polarizing time to be a christian in the mainline. Many of our newer denominations were started during this time. Also a number of our Para-church organizations came out of this turbulence. Christianity Today has nicely compiled a reading list for those who want to delve deeper.

While i have a lot of frustration with the current climate of political debate and discussion in the States right now. I find myself seeing echoes of the debates and imbroglios that roiled evangelicalism in the century prior. While i kept hoping for people to burn themselves out, instead i think this is one of the few cases where the church was ahead of the curve. The purity tests, reluctance to dialogue and find a middle ground are all reminiscent of some of the battles that were fought among conservative believers. In fact for those who have studied american church history its not a surprise that its conservative christian politicians who are leading the resistance/naysayers to any policy change or law they do not agree with.

I find myself wondering if perhaps the fundamentalist/modernist wars were a battleground practice for the current flare up in American politics....

Something that's been bothering me...

While i've been out of commission in terms of blogging i've been reading alot. Its about all that i've had the energy for this past many months...

After two editorials in the NYtimes one by Roger Cohen and one by David Brooks crystallized what had been bothering about the whole debate and the general dialogue on health care and government. David Brooks says it best "Members of both movements believe in what you might call mass innocence. Both movements are built on the assumption that the people are pure and virtuous and that evil is introduced into society by corrupt elites and rotten authority structures. “Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains,” is how Rousseau put it."

Ding!

Atonement, that's whats been bothering me. There are several different understandings of atonement and what Jesus accomplished on the cross, but one thing that is the same throughout is that all agree that humans are essentially evil/sin-filled walking sacks who are born that way and destined to die that way. Yes i know i've drastically simplified the theology, but this is a blog post, not a paper or academic abstract.

Here's what's been bothering me is that given the human propensity towards evil, it is obvious that we need safeguards in place to protect the weak and the defenseless. In addition without a sense of the common good or community, humanity has a dreadful proclivity towards selfishness and Darwinian self reliance. While if you're not a christian, or claim to be a bible thumper, you can be as selfish as you want to be.

But its been the movement of Tea Party idealogy into conservative Christianity that has really got me bothered. Where is the biblical basis of small govt and taking care of yourself and only yourself? Where is the biblical basis of not sharing the burden of living with those in your community.

And finally for the last time, politics and theology are not separate spheres. They inform one another, you faith/theology/worldview inform your politics and if you claim to be a bible believing christian, then you have no business attending the Tea Party or similar movements that preach self-reliance and individual liberty. Sorry, there's no scriptural basis for those ideologies.

*whew*

Thankfulness...

*whoooo/pat/pat/blow* *cough/cough* Now that i've gotten the dust off this blog...

This has been quite a year for the fogster! Between the ADHD diagnosis and the car accident involving three members of my immediate family, plus having a relative move into my small studio, i haven't had time for much else!

But here we are just before the holiday season, perched and waiting for the tsunami that is thanksmas to hit and carry us off into the food and spending binges of the season, and i find myself wanting to step out and just be thankful.

Alot has happened this year, but we all survived and with the help of church, friends, family....my community i got through it. With the wisdom and love from not just jesus, but the holy spirit and the father, i not only got through it, but i'm on the other side and ready to start again, with a fresh, but changed slate.

Thanks,

Ok... so much for the comeback..

Well shortly after posting that i'm planning to start blogging again, things went bad... Between friends going crazy and a bad car accident involving three members of my immediate family, its been hard to blog. But i do have some things i've been kicking around. Once i know for sure everyone is going to be ok, in about a week, i hope to post some thing's i've been working on. So apologies for the drop out, but hopefully i can pick back up again by July! Hopefully!

The fogster is attempting a comeback..

Alot has been going on in the fogster world these past few weeks, ok months. I found out that i have ADHD and have started meds and added another part-time job to my schedule. But things are finally calming down and i hope to get back to semi-regular posting!

The fogster...

Lenten devotional

The Fogster has been swamped this month but does plan to post something soon. In the meantime, a friend shared this with me, so let me share this with you!

http://isaacblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/isaac-2009-lenten-devotional/

May it bless you during this Lenten season!

Fogster

Why are christians so squirrely about...

mental illness?

I have tried to understand this, but just dont get it. I guess for me, i view mental illness as something along the line of diabetes. Sometimes you're born with it and sometimes life and life choices curse you with it. Either way, its an illness and there's treatment. We dont look down or fear people with diabetes, we simply make sure we got sugar free snacks. Why cant we do the same for the mentally ill? Make sure they take their meds, keep them out of situations that upset them and practice grace for the days they freak out.

Sure there's the issue of possession and healing, and all that spiritual stuff. And can it happen...sure? But lets be honest, those cases, esp in the West are rare. Of course this could get into dicey theological conversations about theodicy and suffering, i'll save that for another time. But i guess i figure that the brain is flesh too and that means it's also susceptible to illness too. So why should we be surprised when peoples brains malfunction?

What are your thoughts?

Kids and Church...

The Fogster ran across this article about children and their impact on marriage the other day. Then there's the octuplet mess... don't even get me started on that! But all this talk of babies and family got me thinking about kids and church and the high dropout rate once they leave the nest.

Having knocked around a few churches and now watching friends kids going through sunday school programs, i find myself unsatisfied.

It seems that we are very good at teaching kids that Jesus loves them (this they know!) Most kids know the bible stories (edited for parental approval) But no sense of the saints that went before. If these kids go to non-denom churches, then they dont even know who Martin Luther was! So they get into college and start reading, and asking questions, and uh oh... Those silly sunday school songs just aren't enough to sustain a more mature faith.

I think we should start petitioning the suppliers of sunday school materials for more in depth content. I think we should start sending sunday school teachers to seminary... or at least a somewhat watered down version. Most cant even tell you the difference between Calvin and Luther and why dispensationalism is a 20th century heresy that needs to stop!After all why should the catholics and anglicans have all the cool church history sunday school classes!

The reality is that we cant have community if we dont have history.Your church and theology were not formed in a vacuum. Jesus saves but your community breathes! What got us here? Is a rosary a bad thing? Are all christians who lived before luther/calvin/wesley condemned to hell?Instead of preaching to our kids abstinence and purity and other worthless time wasters, why not teach them the history of the church and have them plow through Augustine? Lets talk about Hosea and Tamar and just what was Ruth doing in Boaz's threshing floor? Churches should take the lead and teach about how we got the bible and what does it mean that there were different canons until a few key councils hundreds of years later?! Also what should we do with the pseudopigraphia? (try saying that ten times with your tongue twisted!).

Finally, we can "teach the bible" all we want, but if its not lived in the circle of family and community, then sunday school is a waste. But it appears to me that adults and kids are currently living in spiritual/historical amnesia and have forgotten the martyrs who died to get us here. And that is a great shame...

Some conflicting thoughts on this historical day

Today is one for the history books, yes indeed. We finally elected a black man, and yet i find myself guarded.

For one the dialogue in america on race is almost exclusively about black and white relations. What about the other minorities and people of mixed heritage (like myself)? My family has suffered discrimination on two fronts; race and class. I put myself through college and gazillions of loans. I'll be paying them off for the rest of my life. There is no african american ancestry in my family, but our collective experience of poverty and racism was/is in many ways just as painful.

When i look at Barack's family i cant help but notice his asian sister and his niece. I wonder if he will be able to widen the dialogue, to include all people of color. We all have our painful histories in this country. That pain is deserving of dialogue, restitution and healing.

Poverty is another area that i hope he will address. I encounter a number of very harmful attitudes about poverty in America. We say that anyone can make it, but the reality is that few have the capability. Obama may have been black, but he had several advantages that many lack. The first being he had an educated mother who valued education. This automatically jumps him into the middle class. He had a relatively stable family. His grandmother helped raise him. He grew up in hawaii and asia, there are very different attitude towards poverty in those parts of the world. Finally Barack is hella smart. I have family members who are sweet but physically/mentally/emotionally incapable of working. They live on peanuts. There is no free ride in America. In America we have to be careful about what we say about people of other races, but if you're fat and poor, you might as well be walking with a target on your belly.

I pray that Barack might be able to educate and enlighten people about poverty in the US. Especially in this economy. We need to have an honest dialogue that is free of myths, like the majority of people on welfare are black/hispanic and/or lazy. And have a dialogue that includes the ignored rural poor. Many of whom live in conditions similar to people in developing countries. Our general attitude is that if they wanted to work, they could, but refuse. Reality is much more complicated. Poverty is more like a mixed up rubiks cube, some peoples cubes are missing the stickers. They deserve dignity in life too. Just as there are different algorithms to solving a rubiks cube, we are going to have to use different algorithms for different situations to solve poverty in America.

Finally health care including mental health care. This is a mess. I have no idea where to start. But i do know that it has become a moral issue. There is rampant corruption and greed. Much like in Wall Street. It certainly has been a contributing factor to the downturn. After all you get cancer, lose your job, you're done. Because you got sick, the health insurance companies will make sure you never dig yourself out of debt. This is a corruption we must kill. People don't choose to get sick/cancer/injured/maimed... why punish them for something they cant control? The mental health system is even sicker. People who could be working/contributing/functioning are instead begging on sidewalks or on general assistance because they cant afford the therapy and meds they need to function. Worse yet, some get a hold of weapons and listen to the voices in their heads.... We need to come to grips with the reality of mental illness and its price on our society.

So yeah, i'm hopeful, glad to have seen such a historical day. But im guarded in my hope. I've heard alot of promises and seen alot of passion in my day. I just hope that the energy will continue and that we as American's will answer the call for service and pass the hope that we've gotten from one man, to many out there who have no hope. After all he can make all sorts of promises, but if we just sit on the sidelines, nothing will get done. And he'll end up just being another politician, full of promises, but unable to deliver.

The Case for Faith...

So today, i subjected myself to Lee Strobel's DVD about theodicy (he uses the less technical term, "doubt".)

Some thoughts that went through my head:

Lee Strobel has a weird accent, is he Canadian?(quick google search...guess not)

Why are all the experts from Biola? What Fuller (my alma mater *wink*) too academic/not theologically sound enough? How bout an expert from Azusa or Westmont if we're gonna use SoCal christian universities. While I'm at it, why not pull in someone from the GTU or Union for a *ahem* different perspective?

Who the hell is Greg Koukl? Egads have i really drifted that far from the evangelical mainstream?

Why is NT Wright on this DVD. NT Wright rocks! NT Wright is my new evangelical christian academic hero!!! Why is NT Wright on the DVD?! NT Wright, please don't let them brainwash you! Why are all my fave evangelical academics from the British Isles? (cool accents, different baggage?)

What cheap emotional ploy to use Joni Eareckson Tada to prove some lame point about perseverance through doubt. I'm starting to feel manipulated... (insert visual of me with scribbles above head) Wha? her name is pronounced like johnny not joanie...weird...

oooo pretty pictures with scripture..... why?

What? That was it? What was the case for faith? How does scripture deal with theodicy? What about my epistemological concerns? Or at least a good summary of the various approaches to evil in the world? Why is NT Wright in this film? There wasn't enough of NT Wright!

So what kind of letter did Lee Strobel get back after he sent his manuscript off to Mr. Templeton? You never mentioned his reply? Was it unprintable?

There's Bonus Materials? Why am i scared....

(After looking on back, Rick Warren's involved! I should've known...)

Well at least i didn't spend money on this dvd, rented it from the library.

Unemployment Blues

Ahh nothing like the unemployment line to make you feel like a loser...

This has been one of the most frustrating seasons of the fogster's life! I have sent out more resumes and sent out more inquiries and have been rejected so many times... egads it wears out ones self worth!

Its hard to take take seriously the passages about not worrying and God will provide, when you dont know how you're going to pay rent next month. Or eat for that matter...

Ok, back to top ramen and sending out more resumes...

The fogster is tired... and needed to rant...

Augustine and Politics!

After having spent way too much time in seminary, anytime i see an early church father mentioned in a non-christian publication, it catches my attention. After all why else would someone quote Origen or in this case Augustine?! Of course given the american educational system, its amazing that any classical western philosophers or philosophers form anywhere int he world enter into the public debate. So when i came upon this essay by Stanley Fish i was amazed and then i sat down to digest...

Like many americans, i have been passively observing the soap opera that is Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his open senate seat. On the one hand, the governor with his wanna be "Donald Trump hair do" is quite amusing to watch. He's kind of the Al Davis of the political world. In complete and total denial and yet has way to much time and money to do anything constructive with it. His pick of Burris...genius. Talk about throwing a monkey wrench into the works and really pissing a bunch of people off. PBS news has been very entertaining of late!

Now here i have a confession to make, i don't remember anything of Augustine's theology. I vaguely remember studying the Donatist controversy. I know i read this stuff, wrote papers on it, but yup, dont remember it. Some of the problem is that i'm more interested in the historical stuff, not the actual details of the theology. Luckily Stanley Fish gives a nice refresher in his essay! Well that and i have books and google! (here's a nice review of Augustines life and times)

Upon my brief review of the controversy, it got me thinking about leadership in the church. (oh no!) It seems that recently, those of us in the non-liturgical, low church traditions with American culture have moved towards picking leaders based upon their personality, theology and also character(i hope!). Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, after all Paul must've been a pretty dynamic guy. And what church wouldn't want that for their leadership?! But, if that person fails us, then we tend to not only dismiss the person, but the whole institution. The underlying conceit is that if the institution can't choose the best person, then the institution is flawed. This means that we take a position contrary to Augustine. We basically dont respect the position, whether it be priest or pastor, as being a representatative of the church, who's head is Jesus Christ. We want our church leadership to be full of saints, not humans trying their best to serve and represent God on this frail planet. The pressure to be a saint is burning out our clergy...

The recent trend of denominations to send their leaders to psychological testing and reviews isn't necessarily a bad thing. But what if God is calling someone into a position of leadership who may have some psychological issues, like addiction, or a mental illness. Another troubling thought comes to mind, "Should we pick leaders who are a good match for the church?" Or "Should we pick leaders who would be good for the church?" and "How do we know who God has determined to be the leader of the church?"

So maybe we should look into new models of leadership? Or maybe revisit the old models and adapt them to our 21st century context. In looking at different churches, i've noticed that in low churches there is a tendency towards personality cults. While high churches can sometimes place people into churches where they are a poor fit. The question is how do we find the balance? Hmm something new to ponder in the coming year...

White people just dont get it...

The other day, the fogster was hanging out with a good friend of non-white extraction and difficult/underprivileged background. This friend had been through alot and had made alot of progress, but like those of us who struggles, has their moments... when the following conversational exchange occurred.

Why do white people always play down your pain?

Whaddya mean? (i asked)

I had two conversations when i was down, and frustrated about my life...

Go on (i prodded, interested) My friend laid it out like this:

Convo 1 with white friend

non-white friend: i've had to work harder than everyone else to get where i'm at, and sometimes i just get frustrated

white friend: surely you haven't had to work harder than everyone else...

non-white friend: oh come on you know what i mean, oh forget about, you just dont get it

white friend: you know maybe if you could learn to talk about things differently, that'd help...

non-white friend: nevermind, hows your food?

Convo 2 non-white friend a w/ non-white friend b

non-white frienda: i've had to work harder than everyone else to get where i'm at, and sometimes i just get frustrated

non-white friend b: i know what your talking about, and i bet your tired right now...

non-white friend a: yeah im tired, sometimes i just wanna quit...

non-white friend b: but look at where the Lord has brought you, its a miracle that you're here...

Then my friend asked me: Why do white people do shit like that? The fogster could only answer: I dunno, i'm not white either...

Should Auld Acquaintances Be Forgot...

I decided to look up the verses of Auld Lang Syne and found its wikipedia entry to be quite helpful and it made me all reflective and sniffly and well, it wasnt pretty.

As i look back on this year and all the goods and bads done by/to me. I have realized that sometimes i'm the auld acquaintance that needed to be forgot and sometimes i have auld acquaintances that i need to forget. Either way both are painful.

But without pain, there is no growth, and sometimes there is no healing.

I was reading through Job and then switched to selected parts in Revelation. And i realized that there are some parts of the Bible that aren't meant to be read in winter...cuz they depress me. Well except for Revelation 21. The whole new earth, new life stuff....yeah i like that!

Getting back to pain...

Job was rewarded for his faithfulness, but he had to suffer. But some people suffer and aren't rewarded until they get to sit at the feet of Jesus. And some friendships are broken and never healed. There is all sorts of talk about being reconciled to one another, but if that's not possible, when do we pick up the pieces and move on? Especially when some people use silence as a form of punishment?

Ack, New Years always gets me moody and thoughtful. So anyways, this year sucked, lets hope the next year is better!

Here's to new life and new beginnings!

This past Sunday i taught 2nd and 3rd graders the Christmas story. Using Luke 2:1-20, I tried to get them to see how difficult life was. I tried to show them how far Mary and Joseph had to travel to get to Bethlehem, I tried to get them to see how hard it would've been for pregnant Mary to travel. But with the lure of a Veggie Tales video and coloring books, i lost the battle, and as one kid pointed out "we're not parents!".

And yet....

Afterwards, some kids shared with me their own anxieties about the times. Some have lost allowances. Some have noticed fewer presents. Some have heard their parents fight for the first time. I realized i'd missed my opportunity to make the Christmas story relevant to the kids. While they dont have to make long physical journeys they are making difficult emotional journeys this year. Some of my kids will have to grow up quickly, some have lost their comforts and privileges, and some will be happy with whatever gifts they get under the tree.

And so as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus and the end of Advent. I hope that you have found comfort and friendship during your journeys especially on the difficult paths that some of you have traveled this year.I pray that you will be able to close some difficult chapters and find strength, energy and communities to help you with the new paths that await you in the coming year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Its always darkest before...

In reading through all the newspapers online today i found myself increasingly depressed. With obvious corruption and depression and bailouts... oh my!

And here in the middle of advent, when i'm forced to reflect on the Christmas story, i have found it to be more relevant than ever before. The Jews were living in tough times. They had been through several revolts. The Romans had invaded, desecrated the temple. Now they had a corrupt and possibly insane ruler over them. A ruler who was not chosen by the Jews, but by the Romans. So on a warm spring night, Joseph loaded up his very pregnant fiancee, onto a donkey and headed to Bethlehem. ( I always found it interesting that the literal translation of Bethlehem is house of bread, but i digress...) Worse, the child wasn't even his. Joseph was facing not only a disruption in his life, but a major life change. Yet still he honored his obligations and headed back to the city of his birth to take part in the census.

Many of us are facing a similar circumstances. Its hard to find hope in the night and in winter its dark around 5pm! Today's reading for my advent devotional is Isaiah 11:1-5 An apt reading for these difficult times. There is a part of me that wonders if what we're experiencing is the hangover after a long time of partying without restrictions. Like the ancient Jews who read this passage, we are looking for a "shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse" who will
" ... will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked."

For some that shoot is named "Barack". For those who dare call themselves Christians, we believe the shoot was named Jesus. (Christ is a title, not a name)

So where am i going with this... Well i do have hope that the new administration can change things around. But I also know that Barack is human and suffers from all too human limitations. He's just a hell of a lot smarter than me! But I also can settle into my long held belief and hope that God will interact with current events and show us not only the error of our ways, but his love and joy in his creation and moves us all safely into the house of bread.

In the meantime, i'll continue to pray for the idiots that got us here and hopefully the idiots who'll get us out!