Never Forget?

I'm thinking this morning about conversations I’ve had over the years with people who still feel the wound of wrongs done to their ancestors – especially those on American soil – Native American genocide, African American slavery, Asian American internment camps, and others I don’t have space to mention here.

 I’m also thinking about how defensive I get when having those conversations – “Hey, I didn’t do that to you! My ancestors weren’t even here when that happened! Don’t be mad at me, just because I’m a white guy!” I want these people to “get over it”, “let it go”, “move on”. I want them to forget.

I’m thinking about all this because today is a day that many Americans are posting images of the Twin Towers with “Never Forget” graphics. Some go further to point the finger at Islam, at all Muslims – saying “Never forget who the enemy is”, or “With God’s help, we will kill the enemy”. I’m thinking about how millions of Muslims are feeling exactly what I feel when I’m linked to atrocities in the past, just because I’m white, or American, or a Christian.

9/11 was a tragedy because some evil people destroyed thousands of lives. And we should remember. We should “Never Forget” how awful it is to be the victim of such evil. And we should “Never Forget” that we all – every one of us – have the capacity for hate and evil that is every bit as destructive. As Walt Kelly said in the 60s, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” ~ Jesus

Wendell Berry - 2 Quotes & A Poem

I listened to an interview with Wendell Berry last night on the way home. His gentle spirit and his view of humanity sorta captured me. I've never read anything by him... I think I may need to.

A Quote
"I consider myself a person who takes the gospels very seriously. And I read in them and am sometimes shamed by them and sometimes utterly baffled by them. But there is a good bit of the gospel that I do get, I think. I believe I understand it accurately. And I’m sticking to that. And I’m hanging on for the parts that I don’t understand. And, you know willing to endure the shame of falling short as a price of admission. All that places a very heavy and exacting obligation on me as a writer. A lot of my writing I think, when it hasn’t been in defense of precious things, has been a giving of thanks for precious things." 

A Poem - "The Peace of Wild Things"
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

A Quote - Explaining "The Grace of the World"
"People of faith know that the world is maintained every day by the same force that created it. It’s an article of my faith and belief, that all creatures live by breathing God’s breath and participating in his spirit. And this means that the whole thing is holy. The whole shooting match. There are no sacred and unsacred (or secular) places, there are only sacred and desecrated places. So finally I see those gouges in the surface mine country as desecrations, not just as land abuse. Not just as…as human oppression. But as desecration. As blasphemy."

Advent - Waiting for God

This is a great article by Henri Nouwen on how to "do" Advent. It'll take you a little while to wade through it, but it's good stuff.

Waiting For God

Henri Nouwen – from “Watch for the Light”

Waiting is not a very popular attitude. Waiting is not something that people think about with great sympathy. In fact, most people consider waiting a waste of time. Perhaps this is because the culture in which we live is basically saying, “Get going! Do something! Show you are able to make a difference! Don’t just sit there and wait!” For many people, waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go. And people do not like such a place. They want to get out of it by doing something.

In our particular historical situation, waiting is even more difficult because we are so fearful. One of the most pervasive emotions in the atmosphere around us is fear. People are afraid – afraid of inner feelings, afraid of other people, and also afraid of the future. Fearful people have a hard time waiting, because when we are afraid we want to get away from where we are. But if we cannot flee, we may fight instead. Many of our destructive acts come from the fear that something harmful will be done to us. And if we take a broader perspective – that not only individuals but whole communities and nations might be afraid of being harmed – we can understand how hard it is to wait and how tempting it is to act. Here are the roots of a “first strike” approach to others. People who live in a world of fear are more likely to make aggressive, hostile, destructive responses than people who are not so frightened. The more afraid we are, the harder waiting becomes. That is why waiting is such an unpopular attitude for many people.

It impresses me, therefore, that all the figures who appear in the first pages of Luke’s Gospel are waiting. Elizabeth and Zechariah are waiting. Mary is waiting. Simeon and Anna, who were there at the temple when Jesus was brought in, are waiting. The whole opening of the good news is filled with waiting people. And right at the beginning all those people in someway or another hear the words, “Do not be afraid. I have something good to say to you.” These words set the tone and the context. Now Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary, Simeon and Anna are waiting for something new and good to happen to them.

Who are these figures? They are representatives of the waiting Israel. The psalms are full of this attitude: “My soul is waiting for the Lord. I count on His word. My soul is longing for the Lord more than a watchman for daybreak. (Let the watchman count on daybreak and let Israel count on the Lord.) Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption” (Psalm 130:5-7). “My soul is waiting for the Lord” – that is the song that reverberates all through the Hebrew Scriptures.

But not all who dwell in Israel are waiting. In fact we might say that the prophets criticized the people (at least in part) for giving up their attentiveness to what was coming. Waiting finally became the attitude of the remnant of Israel, of that small group of Israelites that remained faithful. The prophet Zephaniah says, “In your midst I will leave a humble and lowly people, and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of Yahweh. They will do no wrong, will tell no lies: and the perjured tongue will no longer be found in their mouths” (Zephaniah 3:12-13). It is the purified remnant of faithful people who are waiting. Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary and Simeon and Anna are representatives of that remnant. They have been able to wait, to be attentive, to live expectantly.

But what is the nature of waiting? How are they waiting, and how are we called to wait with them?

Waiting, as we see it in the people on the first pages of the Gospel, is waiting with a sense of promise. “Zechariah,…your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son.” “Mary,…Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son” (Luke 1:13, 31). People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow. This is very important. We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more. Zechariah, Mary, and Elizabeth were living with a promise that nurtured them, that fed them, and that made them able to stay where they were. And in this way, the promise itself could grow in them and for them.

Second, waiting is active. Most of us think of waiting as something very passive, a hopeless state determined by events totally out of our hands. The bus is late? You cannot do anything about it, so you have to sit there and just wait. It is not difficult to understand the irritation people feel when somebody says, “Just wait.” Words lie that seem to push us into passivity.

But there is none of this passivity in scripture. Those who are waiting are waiting very actively. They know that what they are waiting for is growing from the ground on which they are standing. That’s the secret.  The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun. Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it. A waiting person is someone who is present to the moment, who believes that this moment is THE moment.

A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her. Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary were very present to the moment. That is why they could hear the angel. They were alert, attentive to the voice that spoke to them and said, “Don’t be afraid. Something is happening to you. Pay attention.”

But there is more. Waiting is open-ended. Open-ended waiting is hard for us because we tend to wait for something very concrete, for something that we wish to have. Much of our waiting is filled with wishes: “I wish that I would have a job. I wish that the weather would be better. I wish that the pain would go.” We are full of wishes, and our waiting easily gets entangled in those wishes. For this reason, a lot of our waiting is not open-ended. Instead, our waiting is a way of controlling the future. We want the future to go in a very specific direction, and if this does not happen we are disappointed and can even slip into despair. That is why we have such a hard time waiting: we want to do the things that will make the desired events take place. Here we can see how wishes tend to be connected with fears.

But Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary were not filled with wishes. They were filled with hope. Hope is something very different. Hope is trusting that something will be fulfilled, but fulfilled according to the promises and not just according to our wishes. Therefore, hope is always open-ended.

I have found it very important in my own life to let go of my wishes and start hoping. It was only when I was willing to let go of whishes that something really new, something beyond my own expectations could happen to me. Just imagine what Mary was actually saying in the words, “I am the handmaid of the Lord… let what you have said be done to me” (Luke 1:38. She was saying, “I don’t know what this all means, but I trust that good things will happen.” She trusted so deeply that her waiting was open to all possibilities And she did not want to control them. She believed that when she listened carefully, she could trust what was going to happen.

To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life. So is to trust that something will happen to us that is far beyond our own imaginings. So, too, is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life, trusting that God molds us according to God’s love and not according to our fear. The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control.

Now let me say something about the practice of waiting. How do we wait? One of the most beautiful passages of scripture is Luke 1:39-56, which suggests that we wait together, as did Mary and Elizabeth. What happened when Mary received the words of promise? She went to Elizabeth. Something was happening to Elizabeth as well as to Mary. But how could they live that out?

I find the meeting of these two women very moving, because Elizabeth and Mary came together and enabled each other to wait. Mary’s visit made Elizabeth aware of what she was waiting for. The child leapt for joy in her. Mary affirmed Elizabeth’s waiting. And then Elizabeth said to Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary responded, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” (Luke 1:45-46). She burst into joy herself. These two women created space for each other to wait. They affirmed for each other that something was happening that was worth waiting for.

I think that is the model of the Christian community. It is a community of support, celebration, and affirmation in which we can lift up what has already begun in us. The visit of Elizabeth and Mary is one of the Bible’s most beautiful expressions of what is means to form community, to be together, gathered around a promise, affirming that something is really happening.

This is what prayer is all about. It is coming together around the promise. This is what celebration is all about. It is lifting up what is already there. This is what Eucharist is about. It is saying “thank you” for the seed that has been planted. It is saying, “We are waiting for the Lord, who has already come.”

The whole meaning of the Christian community lies in offering a space in chich we wait for that which we have already seen. Christian community is the place where we keep the flame alive among us and take it seriously, so that it can grow and become stronger in us. In this way we can live with courage, trusting that there is a spiritual power in us that allows us to live in this wolrd without being deuced constantly by despair, lostness, and darkness. That is how we dare to say that God is a God of love even when we see hatred all around us. That is why we can claim that God is a God of life even when we see death and destruction and agony all around us. We say it together. We affirm it in one another. Waiting together, nurturing what has already begun, expecting its fulfillment – that is the meaning of marriage, friendship, community, and the Christian life.

Our waiting is always shaped by alertness to the word. It is waiting in the knowledge that someone wants to address us. The question is, are we home? Are we at our address, ready to respond to the doorbell? We need to wait together to keep each other at home spiritually, so that when the word comes it can become flesh in us. That is why the book of God is always in the midst of those who gather. We read the word so that the word can become flesh and have a whole new life in us.

Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit, and after the ascension of Jesus we wait for his coming again in glory. We are always waiting, but it is a waiting in the conviction that we have already seen God’s footsteps. Waiting for God is an active, alert - yes, joyful -waiting. As we wait we remember him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes.

God and Country

Rant alert!!!

At the beginning of our worship services this weekend, I asked "does anyone know what we celebrate this weekend?" There was a resounding "Memorial Day!" I screwed up my face a bit, and one young man with Down's Syndrome shouted "Pentecost!". Way to go, Paul! At least one guy gets the proper hierarchy of calendars!

Pause rant...

Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful to live in America. I'm grateful for the freedoms we enjoy, and I understand that battles fought for those freedoms cost many people their lives. I will commemorate and even mourn their loss.

Resume rant...

BUT, it seems we've lost our ability to rightly discern the proper order of things. Romans 13 tells us that it is God who ordains governments and authorities, and that ultimately, there is no authority but His. It seems then, that His rhythm, His calendar, should trump the civil one.

Somehow, even in worship, we've elevated the civil calendar to a place higher than the Christian calendar. On this important weekend – the birthday of the church, the empowering of the church to really BE the church – most of the believers in my church got it backwards. Many would have preferred me to lead patriotic songs affirming our allegiance to our country and our flag.

I'm not suggesting we ignore the civil calendar, just suggesting we keep things in proper order... God,  and THEN Country.

End rant...

There, I feel better.

A Passage to India

Becki & I are headed to India in October. Click the picture to the left to read about what we'll be doing while we're there.

An Adventure on the River

Flat tire? No big deal. Until you discover that the truck you bought with those shiny custom wheels doesn't have that special lug-nut key that you need to get the wheel off. Oh well, I'll just call my roadside assistance... wait, no cell coverage in the Deschutes canyon? Let the adventure begin!

I walked into a campground and explained my predicament. A very nice guy named Tom from Bend drove me to where we could get cell service so I could call for help. That help ended up being my roadside assistance who phoned for a tow-truck to come tow me back to where Becki and I were camping. Funniest part of the conversation with the dispatcher for the roadside assistance was her insistence that she needed a cross-street to tell the tow truck where to go. I explained that there were no cross-streets on the Deschutes River Access Road, but she insisted that she could not dispatch a truck without a cross-street. Aye-yi-yi!!! We finally settled on having the tow truck come to where Becki was, and she could ride with him to where I was.

I headed back with Tom to his campsite near my truck. As we drove, he learned that I was a pastor, and got real quiet. He was apologizing for his language and informed me that I'd probably hear more language slip out once we got back to the camp. I told him not to worry about it, and asked him not to spread the leprous news about my occupation to the rest of the group (nothing puts the kabosh on a party like finding out there's a pastor there!) We had a deal. I spent the next 3 hours around a camp-fire with a dozen very colorful people who were happy to offer me beer, margaritas, joints (been a long time since I've been offered one of those!), and some "magical cookies" (I don't even want to know!) while we waited for a tow truck to come from Alabama (actually not sure where the tow truck was coming from, it never got there).

Eventually, a "loosened up" cowboy named Paul from The Dalles walked into the camp to join the party. He heard about "New Guy" (no one could remember my name, but everyone needs a name, so I was "New Guy") and says "Aw *****, I can get that wheel off! I got this special tool! (Lord knows what that's used for!) Let's go git'r done!" Cowboy Paul did git'r done, and everyone cheered and offered up another round of drinks and magical cookies, which I politely declined, and I was on my way. I got back to Becki at about midnight.

After I got back, I learned that my cell phone (which I had left with Becki, because that was the number the tow-truck was going to use) had died, and the likelihood was that no truck was going to come that night. Thanks to a good internet connection and facebook, she had mustered a bunch of people to pray. I'm pretty convinced that my colorful friends from Bend and Cowboy Paul from The Dalles were direct answers to those prayers - proving again that the Lord, does indeed, work in mysterious ways!

Glorious Day

I much prefer this version to the viral Casting Crowns one... besides, Jeff's was first.

Lenten Fast - Week Five

Suggested Fast – Food
Food is one of the most basic needs of our lives. It sustains, energizes, and heals us. Not only that, but food brings comfort; it is the centerpiece for much of our fellowship. Jesus used food as the tangible representation of His own life in one of our most important sacraments.

Without food we soon lose strength, begin to wither, and will eventually die. Long before we experience any real physical effects of going without food, our stomachs and our minds will tell us to eat. They will nag at us, complaining louder and louder until we feed the desire – all the while, reminding us of our need, of our mortality.

While our abundance in America can make us prone to gluttony (a very real sin issue), the purpose of this week’s fast is to intentionally deny ourselves of the very thing that sustains us. As the hunger grows, we redirect our appetites to the Bread of Life – Jesus, who is our true sustainer, our source of abundant life – and allow Him to satisfy our deepest pangs of spirit-hunger. It’s a good idea to use this time to confess sins and read Scripture.

As with the other fasts, you need to determine the extent and length of the fast. You may wish to skip a certain meal each day this week, or fast for a whole day, or multiple days. It is very important to make sure that you are physically able to do the fast you are intending. If you choose to fast for several days, you should consult a physician about how to do that safely.

Prayer
Lord, You have built into us a need for food. You also have created it for our pleasure. Today though, I choose to lay aside this need, this desire, this comfort, in hopes of drawing close to You. As I do this, feed my spirit, nurture my soul, remind me of Your sustaining presence in my life. May each pang of hunger prompt me to pray, feasting on Your very self.

As you break the fast…

Lord, thank-you for the food You have provided to sustain my body. May I never take one bite for granted. May this food strengthen me to do Thy will this day. – Amen.

Suggested Scripture Readings
Nehemiah 9:1-3; Matthew 6:16-18

Lenten Fast - Week Four

Suggested Fast - Work

Most of us are familiar with something the Bible calls "Sabbath". Most of us probably know that it has something to do with worship on Sunday (actually, it doesn't... Jewish Sabbath time runs from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.) Most of us probably believe that it is something from Old Testament Law that we are free from. In the end, most of us are clueless when it comes to Sabbath.

In his book, The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan says this:

The root idea of Sabbath is really quite simple. It's that all living things thrive only by an ample measure of stillness. God stitched into the nature of things an inviolable need to be left alone now and then. The primary way we receive this aloneness and stillness is, of course through sleep. Sabbath, however, is a form of rest unlike sleep. Sleep is so needed that, defied too long, catches you and has its way with you. Sabbath won't do that. Resisted, it backs off. Spurned, it flees. It's easy to spend most your life breaking Sabbath and never figure out that this is part of the reason your work's unsatisfying, your friendships patchy, your leisure threadbare, and your vacations exhausting. We simply haven't taken time. We've not been still long enough, often enough, to know ourselves, our friends, our family... our God.

Most of us are busy people. And here in America, it's a badge we wear proudly. It gives us status. The busier we are, the more important we must be. Or maybe people will think we're really earning our keep. Or maybe they'll feel sorry for us... probably not. More likely, they'll feel guilty and create more busyness for themselves.

At the root of our Sabbath breaking lifestyle is the great sin of pride. Pride - because people might think I'm important. Pride - because I think that I'm really responsible for making my life successful. Pride - because I think I can do it just fine without God. All of this makes us fearful of Sabbath, and so we don't do it. We stay busy, ignoring the rhythms God has placed deep inside us. Perhaps ignoring God Himself. Practicing Sabbath let's us exercise trust in God. Jewish rabbis have a saying... "we don't keep the Sabbath, the Sabbath keeps us."

This week, we'd like to encourage you to enter into the "rest of God". This is more than just taking a day off. Rather, it is a way of orienting your life toward God - to die to self and your need to be busy, to feel important. It is a time to quiet your spirit and worship the Creator - to stop your busyness and rest in His care, His love, His provision. Perhaps you can go for a long walk, "peditating" on Scripture as you walk. Perhaps you can go to the mountains, or to the ocean, and read through Isaiah 40 - celebrating the greatness of God. Perhaps it is simply sitting in your back yard, intentionally centering your relaxing, or rest, on Him.

Prayer
O God, You are the Lord of the Sabbath. You planted in me a deep need for Sabbath rest and command me to pay attention to this need. Lord, I confess that I have ignored it, pushed it aside, closed my ears to its call - and have listened too much to the call of the world to be busy, to accomplish, to impress. The tragedy Lord, is that it is now hard for me to hear it at all. I repent Lord, of this sin against Your ways - of the pride that often drives it, and ask that You would help me to stop the busyness, my addiction to it, and to replace it with Your rest. Give me this week, times of refreshing with You. Open my ears to hear Your call to enter Your rest. -Amen

Scripture
Exodus 20:8-11; Psalm 62; Hebrews 4:1-11; Psalm 23

Lenten Fast - Week Three

Suggested Fast – Fossil Fuel
One of the foundations of our faith is that we worship the Creator-God. We also celebrate that we are created in His image. As image bearers of the Creator, our rule and dominion over the earth is that of a steward or a caretaker, not a reckless exploiter. God intended us to live in harmony with nature, and yet, we have more often than not been at odds with nature.

Throughout Scripture we see God’s high regard for His creation. One of the principles of His kingdom is that creation needs periods of rest. This week, remembering our role as stewards of creation – and honoring this principle of giving creation a rest, consider fasting from fossil fuels. You may want to walk or ride a bike to work. You may consider a day where you deny yourself the comfort of heating your home, or a meal where you don’t cook. As with the other fasts, you decide how extensive and how long your fast will be.

As you are “inconvenienced” by this fast, remember that part of our goal in the fast is to experience death – death to our wants, death to personal comfort at the expense of creation. Direct you worship to the Creator and look for ways to honor His creation. Consider other ways in which you can worship Him by being a good caretaker of our temporary home on this planet.

Prayer
(begin by reading Psalm 104 out loud, then continue with the prayer)

O God, Creator of all, I praise You for the beauty of Your creation. King of the universe, You have made all this for Your own glory. I am reminded that when I am careless with Your creation, I sin. I confess my complicity in failing to be a good steward of Your Creation. I have not been attentive to Your kingdom principles that require seasons of rest for all creation, and for this I ask Your forgiveness. As Your image bearer, I ask for Your help as I seek to walk gently on Your earth, looking for ways to replenish what I have taken away, and to heal what I have damaged. -Amen

Scripture
Gen 1:28-31; Leviticus 25:1-7; Ps 104; Romans 8:19-22

Lenten Fast - Week Two

Suggested Fast – Technology

We live in the “Silicon Forest”, surrounded by technology. We may believe that technology makes our lives easier, but in many ways it complicates life too. At times our use of technology can be a replacement for real conversation (blogs, myspace, etc.) or a pipeline to sin (internet porn, gambling, etc.) At the very least, our use of technology can divert our attention away from relational time with people (TV, computers, etc.)

Even worse, our 24/7 availability to everyone else has made us unavailable to God. Finding uninterrupted “alone time” with God is rare.

This week, consider fasting from the use of technology (your work may require this to be a one day fast, or a portion of each day.) Consider how you might simplify your life. Redirect your attention to having real, face to face time with others, and more importantly, with God. If the use of technology has been an area of sin for you, confess it and consider how you can become pure in this area of your life.

Prayer
Lord, forgive me. The technology that was designed to make my life easier has become my master. I confess to You that I have become too dependant on – even enslaved to – my computer, cell phone, iPod, or PDA. I pretend that these things help me to connect with people, when in reality they have become an escape from authentic relationships. It grieves me Lord, to think that these things have made me unavailable to You, who offer to me the most intimate and satisfying relationship of all.

Lord, help me this week to “unplug” from technology and instead “plug in” to authentic relationships. Relationships with others – and most importantly, with You. As I simplify my life this week, may I discover a new intimacy with You that leaves me longing for more. I welcome you to speak to me, uninterrupted, in Spirit language that my spirit understands. Out of those times with You, may I then look for opportunities to enjoy relationship with others you put in my path.

Help me in those times, full of Your Spirit, to be a minister of Your grace & peace. – Amen

Scripture
1 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 119:9-24; Acts 2:42-46

Lenten Fast - Week One

Over the next 6 weeks, I'll be posting a series of fasts that our church is going through together. If you find them helpful in your observance of Lent, feel free to join us.

The Lenten Journey
Lent is a season where we are reminded of our mortality and our sin. It is a 40 day journey to Good Friday (the Cross), and then to Easter (our Great Hope – The Resurrection.) It is an intentional journey that calls us to repent of sins that we have grown accustomed to and to turn our attentions and affections toward Christ, where they belong.

To aid in this journey, we will be sending out six emails, one each week, that are designed to help you focus on God. Each week we are suggesting a fast that we hope will deepen that experience. Don’t mistake this for some legalistic set of rules that you must keep to please God. It is simply a way for you to discipline your thoughts and prayers during this season as we journey together toward Easter.

Fasting – What & Why
Christian fasting is more than denying ourselves food or something else of the flesh - it's a sacrificial lifestyle before God. In Isaiah 58, we learn what a "true fast" is. It's not just a one-time act of humility and denial before God, it's a lifestyle of servant ministry to others. As Isaiah tells us, fasting encourages humility, loosens the chains of injustice, unties the cords of the yoke, frees the oppressed, feeds the hungry, provides for the poor, and clothes the naked. This concept of fasting underscores that fasting is not simply “going without” but should be accompanied by the twin practices of generosity and solidarity.

Each of the suggested fasts are just that—suggested. What degree you take the fast, and how long you decide to do it are entirely up to you. We hope that this will truly enhance your journey toward the celebration of Easter.

Week One
Suggested Fast – Consumerism
We live in a culture defined by what we can buy next. It feeds our selfishness and tells us we need more, more, more. In this first week of the Lenten journey, consider fasting from consumerism by refraining from buying goods of any kind. You may want to do this for one day, or the entire week.

As you deny yourself of those selfish desires; as you die to power of consumerism, redirect your efforts to selfless giving to others– just as Christ gave of himself.

Prayer
We live in Your world, O God, and for this, we praise and thank You. Among Your treasures we creatures have fashioned many things to make our lives easier, healthier, and freer. But we have also created more things than we need, more than we can ever use. When these things distract us from our purpose in this life, we are misusing the world You have created. When these things prevent others from having their basic needs met, Your creation is corrupted. Help us to keep our eyes open to this temptation of consumerism. Help us to be followers of Jesus who are focused on the important and simple things in life – Christians who care for others and are willing to share our riches with those who have unmet needs. Give us the courage to go against our culture when it confuses wants and needs. Remind us that when the journey of life in this world is complete, we take with us only our relationships – with You and with the people You have given to us to love.

We pray for these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Suggested Scripture Readings
Isaiah 58:6-12; Psalm 52; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 13

New 3D Technology

This is awesome! I think we're going to try to implement this at our church.

Hallelujah!

Can't say why for certain... but this made me cry. Good tears... worship tears. To the surprise of the regular holiday shoppers, 600 "disguised" choristers practiced this "Random Act of Culture" in a shopping mall in Philly. Wow.

Why Do We Yanks Call It "Soccer"?

An interesting article by Steve Amoia on the history of the game.

Contrary to what the media and others want you to believe, the word “soccer” is not an American creation. Or, “They (rest of the world) call it football, and we (North Americans) call it soccer.”

Derivation of the word

The word was derived from Association Football, which was the original term given to the game in the 1860s at the elite schools that spawned the sport in England. The abbreviation “Assoccer”, which became “soccer,” was used by the British upper classes of that period. When the sport was embraced by the less fortunate, the name of “soccer” was passed down. But most commoners used the word “football” to describe their new game. Nowadays, from the British Royal Family down to the passionate supporters in the terraces at Anfield (Liverpool FC), Old Trafford (Manchester United), or Stamford Bridge (Chelsea FC of London), the game is called football. Or “footy.”

Game and Name Exported by Sailors, Coaches, and Immigrants

When immigrants, coaches, and sailors exported the game overseas, the word “football” was loosely translated to fit the local languages. For example, Fútbol does not literally mean “football” in Spanish. Nor does Futebol translate into “football” in Brazilian Portuguese. The words “fut or fute” do not mean “foot” in either language. It was the English influence that still is found today.

Many professional soccer teams in Argentina have English names: Arsenal, Banfield, Newell’s Old Boys, and River Plate to name a few of the more famous ones. Real Madrid was originally called the “Sociedad Madrid Football Club” by its British founders in 1902. If you look closely, you can see the initials MFC in their famous logo. In Italy, one of the most famous clubs, AC Milan, was founded as the Milan Cricket and Athletic Club in 1899. In Italy, the coach is called “Mister.” As a tribute to the early English coaches who taught the game in that country. Italy has its own unique term for the game, where it is known as “calcio,” not football. The word translates to “kickball.”

Coming to America

When the sport arrived on our shores in the late 19th century (the US National Team played its first game against Canada in 1885), it was called Association Football. It was not called soccer. Only after the Second World War was the sport commonly referred to as “soccer.” Perhaps due to the growing impact of the NFL (American Football), and the belief that the game was foreign. Which is strange, because in the early 20th century, there were many industrial teams and leagues throughout the country.

While the sport was not as popular as baseball, it was on the sporting landscape. The USA competed at the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay. The American team finished third, which remains its best historical performance. Many well-known soccer nations such as England, Germany, and Italy did not compete at the first World Cup. In fact, up until the 1970s, the USSF (United States Soccer Federation) used the word “football” in its title.

Other Countries Call it Soccer

In some areas of the Caribbean, along with Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, you can say the word “soccer” and the locals will understand its meaning. Although the emphasis is to call the sport football, the English legacy remains. One region of the former British Empire that did not embrace the game was India, where cricket remains the most popular spectator and participant sport.

Day At The Zoo

We took our grandson Ari to the zoo the other day. His name means "Lion" in Hebrew. So here's a picture of me with Ari and... well, Ari.

10 Days on the Deschutes

Started my vacation with 10 days camped along side the Deschutes river. First of all, I'm reminded of what a great wife I have. While she doesn't fish, she - like me - loves the quiet of wide open spaces, the sound of the river going by, and the nightly drives up and down the river looking at wildlife (deer, pronhorn, river otter, and countless species of birds). She claims to even enjoy the cooped up time with me - sitting inside or outside the trailer reading or talking... just being (that's pretty amazing to me, but pretty cool nonetheless).

Secondly, I'm reminded of the importance of regular Sabbath built into my life. Been too long since I did this. Gotta do it more.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but snapped a few down at the river...

Nice 16 incher... that's my fishing buddy Reuben over on the bank.


This one measured in at 17"... it looks to me like he's smiling for the camera.


This is a mother Merganser with 16 little ones in tow.

Planning a Worship Service

I occasionally work with new worship leaders in helping them plan worship. This process can take years of mentoring from start to finish. However this video really boils it down to the necessary elements. I think I'll be using this from now on...

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

New Fishing Buddy

My sweet wife insisted that it was time. I wasn't sure, but already he's a good little friend.

Meet Reuben... he's half German Shorthair Pointer, half Weimaraner.

Why are his wrinkles so much cuter than mine?

Neither of these little boys are too sure about the other...

Tuckered out...

Advent Vigil - Week Four

Jesus Promised as our Prince of Peace

In the first week of Advent, we remembered that Jesus comes as our Wonderful Counselor – Pure Wisdom. In the second week of Advent we celebrated that He comes as Mighty God – the omnipotent creator of all. In the third week, we considered that He comes to us as Everlasting Father – the source of all life.

In this last week of Advent, we embrace Him as the Prince of Peace.

Living in a world that is so full of strife, who of us hasn’t longed for peace? The Hebrew word for peace, however, means much more than the absence of conflict or the end of turmoil. Shalom conveys a deep sense of tranquility, wholeness and completion. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. puts it this way…

“We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight…the webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.”

Bill Risinger says it this way… When the heavenly host said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests” (Luke 2:14), we should have heard in this the news of hope. When peace was announced at Christmas, it was the coming of the transformation of the world from the way it’s not supposed to be into “the way things ought to be.” God was bringing Shalom to the world!

Christmas brought the good news that the Prince of Shalom had come to conquer sin and death and to establish His Kingdom on earth. This gives us real hope in the here and now. We are not waiting for pie-in-the-sky future stuff. While we wait for the return of our King Jesus to bring the final restoration of ultimate Shalom, we must move obediently with His Spirit to bring His Shalom Kingdom into our broken and needy world.

Scripture Reading
As you meditate on these Scriptures this week, remember that these were written by people who were familiar with great hardship and persecution. Some were even murdered for proclaiming this kind of shalom.

Monday – Phil 4:5-7; Tuesday – Jn 14:27; Wednesday – James 3:16-18;
Thursday – Col 3:14-16; Christmas Day – Eph 2:14, 17-18

Prayer
As you pray this week, ask yourself “what are the broken areas in my world that need His Shalom?” Then invite him to speak His Shalom into those situations. Ask Him to use YOU as an instrument of His Peace.

Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, speak Your shalom into our chaos. May Your deep shalom rule in our hearts, bringing wholeness to our brokenness. Teach us to become peacemakers – loving justice, doing right, and leading others along the path of peace.

You may also want to use this prayer, by St. Francis of Assisi, as a part of your daily prayers this week.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.