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This is not the place to discuss this family's lives or question their decisions. This is a place to offer up our written prayers to the Lord on their behalf.
* * *
Lord, please bring the Gosselins back together as a loving family. Please provoke family and friends to come close to them and encourage them as husband and wife to practice humility, tenderness and respect toward each other. Please comfort their children as they suffer through this painful season. And may Your name be honored through the difficult decisions both Jon and Kate make during the coming weeks and months. In the name of Jesus, amen.
We recently received this request from a Boundless reader:
I have been following Boundless for quite some time now and greatly appreciate the wisdom you all have shared with the rest of us!
I have finally decided to share something I have been troubled with for some time. When I was younger I kept to myself. I have always been more of an introvert and never had a large number of friends. Since I joined the military, I have drifted away from almost all of them. Now I find myself relatively alone and am not sure what to do. I can’t seem to make new friendships, as my schedule in the military is constantly changing and I frequently work nights and weekends.
I can’t regularly attend a church for the same reasons. While I still consider myself an introvert, I really want to be able to have a strong group of friends and be part of a church. I don’t have any kind of mentor either. I am very close with my family, but since I live across the country from them, there is only so much they can do.
And when it comes to trying to find a wife, it seems impossible. The only people I am around are my coworkers, but I haven’t been stationed with any other believers. I know the military is the right place for me to be. I don’t have any doubts this is where God wants me, but I am so isolated. The closest I get to church is by podcasting the Boundless show and several churches that post their sermons online.
I know this isn’t exactly a question, but it is something I need help with. I would greatly appreciate your prayers, and any advice.
I’ll address some general issues and then answer a few of the questions specific to the reader's military situation, but I think this is also a case of throwing this open to the Boundless readership for their … well, boundless advice.
First, I'm an introvert and, like you, I like to be by myself. I understand. It's not that I don't have friends or don't get along with people; I just tend to keep my own company. But I've learned over the years that you get out of a relationship what you put into it. If you’re going to have friends, you have to be a friend. Often it’s up to you to make the first move.
Ditto for finding a mate. Boundless if full of advice on the man's need to be the initiator. I know it's easier said than done, but learn to step out in faith. Sometimes it’s as simple as striking up a conversation. (Just beware of using pick-up lines, whether intentional or not.) Nothing forced or corny. And don't just talk about yourself.
As for your military situation, you are not specific as to which branch of the military you're in, where you're stationed, what rank you are, or what your MOS is. (That's military occupational specialty to the uninitiated.) That makes it hard to give specific advice.
I do know that it's sometimes hard for Christians in the military to find a good church. Every base usually has a minimum of one chaplain. Some have many. The potential problem is that some chaplains are not believers. I'm not talking about Jewish or Muslim chaplains, either. Even some ordained by Christian denominations—ordination by a recognized religious body is a prerequisite for all chaplains—do not believe or preach the simple Gospel. But he (or sometimes she) is the only choice you have. For example, the military considers a Mormon chaplain as fulfilling a Christian billet.
If you're Stateside and you can’t find a chaplain who preaches the Word, try to find a good church off base. Many are happy to provide rides to military people, so it’s just a matter of looking in the phone book and making a few calls. If you're overseas, that might be more problematic. But groups such as The Navigators and other Christian outreaches often have people posted near military bases. And even though it may be hard to attend Sunday services every week, a good church should have small groups or regular Bible studies that you can participate in. It's important to worship God, but it's also important to have fellowship with and learn from your fellow believers.
As for finding a wife, I'll say beware, especially if you're overseas. (This from a guy who met and married his wife in Switzerland.) In a lot of places women see an American serviceman as a ticket to "the land of the big PX" and a quick Green Card. No, not every foreign-born woman is like this, but a certain number are. You need to show an extra measure of discernment on top of what you normally would in meeting women here in the States.
Even if you find an American who interests you, you face some restrictions that the average Boundless reader doesn’t—namely, that commissioned officers and enlisted personnel are not allowed to fraternize. Sometimes when you’re out in town in civvies, you can’t tell.
(True story: A Marine gunnery sergeant stationed in Japan had been teaching himself Japanese in order to improve his chances with the local women. He saw a beautiful woman at a restaurant off base and started to chat her up in his best Japanese. She just gave him a small smile and let him go on and on, finally interrupting him with perfect, Southern-accented English that sounded straight out of Gone With the Wind: "I can't understand a word ya’ll are sayin'." Turns out she was Japanese-American born and raised in Atlanta and didn’t speak a word of Japanese. Moreover, she was a Navy lieutenant, a commissioned officer, and he was an noncommissioned officer, meaning even if they’d hit it off, the relationship would have violated the rules.)
You're right, too, that crazy schedules in the military throw up another obstacle that most civilians don't face. Again, you’ll have to make the effort. Things won't simply fall into your lap. God doesn't usually work that way. But it is easier to steer a moving car than one that’s sitting still, so start moving, pray, and trust God for His best.
If I may be so bold, I also suggest reading a book addressed to specifically to people like you. Beyond that, I’ll throw it open to the Boundless crowd and see what advice they offer.
I confessed a couple of weeks ago that I was growing anxious about having volunteered to be a crew leader with my church's Vacation Bible School.
As I wrote in my blog post on Day 1, things didn't go all that badly. I felt like I was connecting with my eight elementary-aged kids, and I was enjoying their friendship. Then Day 2 came along; you may have sensed a bit of weariness in the blog post I wrote that day.
Well, partly because my plate was full here at work, and partly because I lacked the creative energy to do much writing, blog updates for Days 3 and 4 and 5 were left unwritten.
Until now.
So, yes, I spent the mornings last week caring for eight kids, aged 6 to 11. Lots of personality, lots of energy. Consequently, lots of personal engagement and energy was required of me. Which left me drained. And kind of on edge, to be honest.
I'm reminded of Carolyn McCulley's article, "You Made Me Sin," in which she speaks of our hearts as a kind of sponge. Circumstances squeeze it, and out comes ... something:
[W]hen we get squeezed by the circumstances of life (an inevitability), we ooze the overflow of our hearts. We usually don't like what we see, so we blame the squeeze. We blame the circumstances. "I wouldn't have reacted that way if I hadn't been tired." Or, "I only said that because I was hot, thirsty, and uncomfortable." That's our default setting: blame the circumstances.
But Jesus tells us the overflow is what's already in our hearts. Being tired, hot, thirsty, or uncomfortable are only "revealers"; they aren't the reason we react in anger. We're angry because anger has taken root in our hearts.
And that's what I saw this past week. Doing motions for the same songs day after day squeezed the sponge of my heart. Having kids jump on me and hang from my neck, even after I'd asked them not to, squeezed the sponge of my heart. Seeing other volunteers who seemed bored or agitated to be there squeezed the sponge of my heart. Feeling like I didn't have enough time to distribute things to the kids or talk with them about anything meaningful squeezed the sponge of my heart.
And out came sin. I began watching the clock, eager for the morning to end, eager to get away from the noise. I found myself disengaging a bit from the kids who enjoyed strangling me. My hand motions were half-hearted; the ones that included sign language I began to disregard as uncreative and uninspiring, and maybe even a politically correct "statement" from the choreographer.
Yuck. Sin is ugly, hm?
Will I volunteer again next year? Right now I'm thinking no. I think my energies are best spent in a more academic, less relationally demanding way. Was I wrong to volunteer this year? No, I think it was the Lord's will that I serve my church and these kids in the way that I did. A lot of kids were truly blessed.
To be honest, I was blessed as well by VBS. That week gave me, and my friends, an opportunity to see the gunk that coats my heart. Maybe with their help I can scrape some of that off and instead saturate it with something more pure.
I've spent a second morning as "adult crew leader" over eight great kids so far this week. And, as I was yesterday afternoon, I'm tired. And my legs and arms are sore from lugging affectionate and rambunctious 9-year-olds from activity to activity and during singing. At times, one in each arm. Or one in one arm as another seemingly trying to collapse my windpipe and he dangled on my back.
I'm not complaining. I'm just saying.
I am concerned about something. I'm concerned that I may be acting more like Jack Black in "School of Rock" than the more disciplined teacher I prepared to become during grad school. Ah, well, the kids' playfulness with me, and their friendly respect toward me, tells me that I'm doing all right.
I close my eyes and see these kids' faces, their mannerisms, the way they speak, the way they interact with me. I look forward, sincerely, to tomorrow morning, when I don't have to close my eyes to enjoy them.
I'm tired.
I was up till past 1 a.m. last night, working on a freelance project, updating my iPod, listening to RED at high volumes, and reporting problems with our homepage to our IT department. Five hours of fitful sleep later, I awoke to get ready for VBS.
I arrived at the church and started getting myself familiarized with the schedule. The kids started arriving: Sarah, Ryan, Mike. I introduced myself and helped them make name tags. Thad came next, along with Andrew and Julia. The "student crew leader," Michael, showed up. Shy Ellie and her friend Abby were the last to arrive.
Over the course of a few hours this morning, we sang a number of songs (with motions, of course), had a Bible lesson (with costumed actors, of course), made crafts, had snacks, played some games, and wrapped up with a few more songs.
I think I'm connecting with my eight kids, aged 6 through 11. I thought so when I sat with Ellie during game time; she just wasn't feeling up to it, and that was fine. I thought so when I raced Mike to an event; I grabbed him a few feet from the finish line and twirled him behind me. I thought so when they watched me during singing, admiring my fumbling attempts at doing the motions.
But I knew it when Sarah and Ryan climbed on me during the last few songs, bringing me close to total exhaustion. During closing prayer, Ryan leaned over, smelled me, and said (a bit too loudly), "You smell like poopy." Sarah giggled in agreement.
Ah the joy of youthful fellowship.
I'm still feeling unqualified, acutely aware that this is outside my comfort zone. Part of me wants to skip VBS and all its relational demands tomorrow and just come to the office where I can stare at this computer monitor.
But the deeper part of me is looking forward to encouraging Ellie, joking with Thad, listening to Abby, affirming Mike, asking Julia what she likes doing, asking why Andrew is so excited about making waffles ... and letting Ryan and Sarah climb on me again.
OK, I'm going to come right out and say it: I'd love it if you would become our Facebook friend and if you'd follow us on Twitter.
First, it's a great way for us to get to know more about you. I enjoy reading your profile updates, seeing what you're interested in and what you're doing. That helps me when it comes to determining what our authors write about, and what we blog about.
Second, it's a great way for you to keep up with what Boundless is doing. We'll let you know when the latest articles or blogs have been published, we'll give you a heads-up on contests and give-aways, we'll ask you for your input on something we're working on.
Third, when you submit a friend request, you are showing us that you appreciate our ministry. That encourages us, and shows our bosses that Boundless is worth having around. Just saying.
So, here's my shameless appeal: Befriend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Maybe "share" Boundless with your friends by clicking on the "Share on Facebook" link below, or on one of the social network links on the bottom of each Boundless article.
Your one little click could lead to, in the words of Rick from Casablanca, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Several years ago I discovered an uncomfortable pride within myself. This pride was associated with my church...my church. With its professional, yet casual, worship and relaxed, yet in-the-know of Greek and Hebrew, pastor, I felt my church reflected my great taste. With this discovery of pride came contemplation. I began to consider my generation's trend of choosing a church based on personal taste: The type of church I attend says something about me. If I go to a conservative church, I like structure and tradition. If I attend a charismatic church, I prefer experiential worship. If I attend a small church, I have a heart for being a part of something intimate with the promise of growth. But is choosing a church based on personal style and preference biblical? I'll admit it. My tendency is to look for a church that makes me feel good — a church that "fits me." It's the same way I choose other things in my life — my clothes, my apartment, my furniture. But should that be the way I choose my church?
I suppose the answer is yes and no. In "Designer Church," I consider how early Christians picked a church: geographic location. Let's face it; they didn't have much of a choice. However, these intimate yet diverse communities of Christians thrived based on a single commonality: shared faith in Jesus Christ. In addition, the early church promoted sound doctrine, prayed for persecuted Christians, grew as a result of evangelism, commissioned its members to go out and serve, utilized a variety of spiritual gifts and demonstrated submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When I wrote this article, I realized I cared more about how my church reflected my personality than how it embodied those biblical principles. And I had a hunch why: All of the characteristics of the early church required commitment — living and breathing God's Word in community. It takes time to establish a solid prayer ministry or build relationships with missionaries. As part of a generation that often abandons something the moment it goes out of style or ceases to interest us, we face the temptation to leave a church simply because it doesn't perfectly reflect us.
At that moment I made a commitment not to switch from church to church based on personal taste but to invest, as the early Christians did, and watch how God would use that investment. After all, the church is His, not mine. And four years later, I have not been disappointed. I have watched fourth graders enter middle school and helped new leaders transition into their new roles. I've eaten dinner with families in my church, gotten to know college students and helped form a young adult Bible study. These opportunities would not have been possible had I chased after the next "big thing." Perhaps not coincidentally, I also met my boyfriend when he was hired for a children's ministry position at my church last summer. "Bloom where you're planted" may not be a biblical adage, but it is certainly appropriate when it comes to the church. When you bloom, church life becomes more than a passing fad.
I found this top ten list (and I love top ten lists) while reading Tim Challies' blog. It's about "types" of church people. You know, like the guy who is always referencing some John Piper podcast.
10 People a Pastor Should Fear
1. The guy who "subtly" reminds you how much he gives to the church.
2. The young guy who likes it when you rant against stuff or preach angry.
3. The guy or gals who doesn't like it when you rant against stuff or preach angry.
4. The lady with the unbelieving or spiritually unsophisticated husband who emails you a lot.
5. The person who finds you right after the message to point out something you got wrong, quibble over a minor point, or mention some other criticism.
See if you can guess which one of the above best describes me?
Go to The Gospel-Driven Church blog for the rest. And while you're there, check out his 10 Church People You Shouldn't Trust. See anybody you know?
When I worked on Capitol Hill, it took me 45 minutes to drive seven miles to my office in D.C. The stop-and-go commute (with a manual transmission no less) contributed to my nervous breakdown, literally. Thankfully, I recovered, and no longer get panic attacks when crossing bridges.
Traffic doesn't affect everyone like that. But it takes a toll to some degree, whether on your nerves or your time or your car insurance. That's why it's listed as a variable on all those best places to live surveys. Here's one with the top ten midsize cities:
The study compared the 124 midsize metros in 20 statistical categories, using the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. The highest scores went to well-rounded places with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems.
These are the top 10 midsize metros in terms of quality of life:
1. Provo, Utah
2. Boulder, Colo.
3. Madison, Wis.
4. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.
5. Ann Arbor, Mich.
6. Ogden, Utah
7. Fort Collins, Colo.
8. Boise, Idaho
9. Colorado Springs, Colo.
10. Des Moines, Iowa
What's missing from the list of "well-rounded" variables is churches. It's something we often overlook when deciding where to live. But it's at the top of Kevin DeYoung's list from his book "Just Do Something."
You also want to consider the churches available where you are taking a job. Sadly, this is a part of obeying the Scriptures that most Christians rarely consider. Before taking a new job, we look at salary, benefits, school districts, commuting time, and cultural amenities; but if everything else falls into place and there's no good church in the area, it's hard to imagine how God's revealed will — your sanctification — will be well-served.
One of the things we were most excited about when I was offered a job with Focus was joining a church we had attended many times while visiting my wife's family in the Springs. We can attest to the benefits of making it a consideration when deciding where to live. (The traffic's not too bad either.)
"How're ya doin'?"
"Just fine."
"Yeah? No, really, how are you doing?"
"Um."
So, are they a bit out of line for pressuring me for vulnerability, or am I a bit out of line for giving a culturally-expected response to what I interpreted as a simple way to make a connection, a simple way to affirm each other's existence?
Discuss.
Proverbs 12:18
There is one whose comments on blogs are like sword thrusts, but the comments of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 14:7
Don't follow the Twitter feed of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
Some wise words, with slight updates in italics, from the Book. Such is Joshua Harris's blog post today about what Scripture has to say about our many, rapidly evolving forms of communicating. He writes, "We've all sent an e-mail and forgotten to include the attachment we
promise. But have you ever sent the wrong e-mail to the wrong person?" I'm sure I've done that a time or two. But worse, I think, is writing something in the heat of the moment, only to regret it later. That's especially true when, after the passage of time and the gleaning of more detail, you realize you were missing some important facts. Just last week Steve was reminding me of the Stephen Covey principle about how humans are the only creatures with the ability to pause between a stimulus acted upon them, and their response to it. Then yesterday, I had the opportunity to do just that. Now that I've had time to cool down, stop crying, pray and think deeply about the troubling circumstance, I'm going to respond. I can assure you my response today will look markedly different from the blathering mess it would have been yesterday!
James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to read, slow to reply all, slow to click send.
Writing on the World magazine blog, Tony Woodlief makes an unconventional suggestion:
It’s a foolish idea, but I’m wondering if we can work up the courage to give recklessly this year. Wouldn’t it be something if our response to hard economic times was not to give less but to give more? What would the world think of us if all of us turned off the financial advice shows, imperiled ourselves just a little, and gave so much that every crook and lowlife and spendthrift in town darkened our churches’ doors?
Woodlief knows this idea seems foolish because of what our natural tendencies are when it comes to giving. He writes:
It’s frightening, even in good economic times, to give in the face of seemingly endless need. Many of us have been in a position to write a check or hand over a bundle of cash or food to someone who we have no confidence will be anything other than needy next week, too. And now that we’ve given to them, won’t they be more likely to come back for more? How much will they end up taking from us?
This is what I so often thought as I watched my dad try to minister to needy people. He got burned again and again trying to give people cash. He seemed to be a little more effective when he set up a food bank in our church and looked for ways to minister to underlying substance abuse problems where those played a role. But he still got burned--people still took advantage of our church. And his efforts turned our place of worship into something of an emergency room church compared to the country club church I grew up in. All those former addicts, ex-cons and people with missing teeth often made me uncomfortable, but I guess God isn't always interested in our comfort.
I hope God can stir a more reckless approach to giving in me.
We received some comments recently that pointed out that Christian ministry Vision Forum offers books by author G.A. Henty. The following paragraph appears on one of them, and speaks of Africans:
They are just like children.... They are always either laughing or quarreling. They are good natured and passionate, indolent, but will work hard for a time; clever up to a certain point, densely stupid beyond. The intelligence of an average negro is about equal to that of a European child of ten years old. A few, a very few, go beyond this, but these are exceptions, just as Shakespeare was an exception to the ordinary intellect of an Englishman. They are fluent talkers, but their ideas are borrowed. They are absolutely without originality, absolutely without inventive power. Living among white men, their imitative faculties enable them to attain a considerable amount of civilization. Left alone to their own devices they retrograde into a state little above their native savagery.
Terrible, right? Yes, but....
I did some research, and found that these words are from a work of fiction titled By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. Amazon, Barnes & Noble and (gasp!) CBD also sell the book.
The words were said by a character named Mr. Goodenough (hence the ellipsis in the first line of the quote above), who is described earlier as a "traveler and naturalist." The occasion of Mr. Goodenough's insulting sentences is upon their arrival in Sierra Leone. It is clear throughout the novel that Mr. Goodenough thinks very poorly of those from Sierra Leone. I agree that this character's descriptions of those from this African country is inexcusably racist.
Did the author, G.A. Henty, share his character's racism? I don't know. Perhaps he was simply narrating what some in the 1800s thought. Or perhaps he was being ironic.
(I do find it interesting that Henty was a British journalist, serving as a war correspondent in, among many other places, the area in Africa where the Ashanti War was taking place. He probably knew men like Mr. Goodenough.)
And do the book distributors necessarily share this character's racism? Are they guilty of racism for having offered the book for sale? Are those associated with the bookstores also guilty of racism? If you are associated with a distributor of a book written by an author whose got a character who's said some racist things ... are you therefore suspect?
The book was published in 1884, less than a decade after Mark Twain published his book Tom Sawyer. You know where I'm going, don't you? One of the characters in Tom Sawyer said, "I never see a n----- that wouldn't lie." (Spelling out that fifth word, by the way, shocks our modern sensibilities; the thing is, you'll read it dozens and dozens and dozens of times in Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson and other works by Twain.)
So, did the author, Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain), share his character's racism? No, I think he was simply narrating what some in the 1800s thought. And he was being ironic.
I guess what I'm saying is that someone who suspects Twain of being a racist because one of his characters was a racist ... is just silly. And to conclude, without doing further research, that Henty was a racist because one of his characters was a racist ... is also just silly. To go further and say that the distributors of these books are therefore racist, and that people associated with these distributors are also therefore suspect ... is just beyond silly.
Any of the people or organizations mentioned above may be racist. I don't know. I do know that that conclusion can't be arrived at by cursorily looking at quotes from characters in works of fiction.
I'm pretty sure one of the ways God has chosen to refine me is to litter my life with tardy friends, roommates and most recently a tardy fiance. (That's right, it finally happened!) And I'm also fairly certain the most refining hour of my week is the Sunday morning worship hour.
Does anyone else hate being late to church? Does slipping into the pew during the third verse of the second song suck the joy right out of the sabbath for anyone else like it does for me? 'Cause let me tell you, if I'm late to church, I have to spend the rest of the service silently repenting of my sinful attitude.
I am rarely, if ever, late because I'm behind. It's them. They make me late. If it weren't for them making me late, I would be able to worship the Lord with gladness and enter His courts with praise. At least that's what I thought before I read this quote from Love and Respect:
First, you must get to the place where you can say, "My response to my spouse is my responsibility."In my own marriage, Sarah doesn't cause me to be the way I am; she reveals the way I am.
I'm not talking about marriage; I'm talking about getting to church on time, but I think the same way Eggerich's wife Sarah reveals the way he is, tardy loved ones reveal the way I am. So while I still deeply desire to assemble on time, I'm learning to use my attitude about being late as the litmus test for where my joy is really found, in the Lord or in my well-oiled routine. I hope it's the former.
HT: Molly Piper
I'm listening to Salvador's best album, "Que Tan Lejos Está el Cielo," resonating with songs "Alegría," "Con Poder," "La Palabra," "Estaré Con El" and even the traditional-sounding "Un Día a la Vez."
The salsa grooves drive me wild -- love the piano hooks, the alternately glistening and grinding B3, the choral breaks, the bumpy bass, the ripping brass, the plucky acoustic guitars, the syncopated percussion. Love it!
The thing is, I'm not just enjoying the music, but engaging with the lyrics as well, since I am fluent in Spanish. I studied the language in high school, practiced it some in Houston, was immersed in it during my nine-month stay in central Mexico, went on to earn an undergrad degree in Spanish, volunteered a couple of months in Colombia, and enjoyed friendships with Latinos during grad school.
I have great memories asking my employees in that Houston Burger King how to say the names of condiments in Spanish, being silly with Pablo in the little village outside Xicótepec de Juarez, talking about girls with Melqui in Bogotá, worshiping the Lord in a church in Mexico City (Centro de Fe, Alabanza y Esperanza) with a guy I met on a stroll, translating for a patient who only spoke Totonac (I was working with another translator who spoke both Spanish and Totonac), preaching to a gathered crowd in Papantla, dancing with gringo friends to mariachi accompaniment near the Zócalo, praying with Manuel in La Unión -- rich living made possible because I had learned a second language.
This morning during devotions, Tim asked Daniél if he would close us in prayer. In Spanish. A few of us in the room could pray along with Daniél, but most couldn't. I can't put my finger on it, but it seems that praying in a second language seems to cover ground that praying in English just can't.
If you speak another language, I'd love to hear how it's enriched your life. If you don't yet speak another language, please don't be discouraged. It may take a bit of work, but you can do it. And I'm confident it'll prove a blessing to you, as well as to that person whom you'll meet down the road who doesn't yet speak English.
I recently asked our pastor if he thinks it's ok to not sing certain songs during worship. He said that if you're not singing simply because you don't like the style, then you could be in sin. Because musical preferences shouldn't dictate your participation in corporate worship.
In other words, if it's not lyrically heretical, sing it. But what if it's lyrically individualistic? Like Tim Hughe's "Here I am to Worship"? You know the chorus:
Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me
And,
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
Even with everyone in the church singing, it's still a bunch of "I's" singing it, not "we's." But though it's not my style, I belted it out, convicted by what my pastor said. (Besides, it is somewhat reformed theologically with that line "Opened my eyes, let me see." Which is redeeming.)
I wonder what Tony Woodlief of WorldMag.com does. He wrote an article last Friday with similar frustrations about bringing contemporary praise music into worship.
Recently I told my wife we ought to call a lot of them "me's," not "hymns." I suppose I'm getting more curmudgeonly, such that I cringe upon hearing a congregation warble what sounds dandy when crooned by an individual over the airwaves, but seems corny and too "me-and-Jesus" for corporate worship. My Savior does indeed love, and live, and He is always there for me, but now that I am here with all my brothers and sisters, couldn't we see our way clear to sing a song that has a little more reverence or community or [...] theology? Perhaps what I'm really seeking is less individuality in an American Church that has been overrun with it.
Me? Unless the music is doctrinally off, I'll continue to submit to our worship leaders and give deference to my brothers and sisters in Christ by seeking to cultivate a spirit that places community over my own preferences. Even if the songs have a ton more "I's" and "me's" than "we's."
I like the title of a new post by The Art of Manliness yesterday--"Every Man Needs a Mentor." The word "every" reminds me that having a mentor isn't just a nice bonus--it's essential. "There are some lessons and bits of wisdom that only a man can impart to another man," the post explains, "Men and women are different. We view and interact with the world differently. So it makes sense for men to seek out other men for guidance on how to navigate life."
Paul Stanley, co-author of the mentoring book Connecting talks about how misleading many self-improvement books can be. "These books often imply that if you follow their insights you can achieve the success they experienced," he said. "But those books often fail to mention that the essential element in their success was the mentoring relationships that brought those insights to life. Their advice without mentoring relationships is incomplete."
If the idea of mentoring is still new to you or you're still unsure how to get started, check out the interview Boundless did with Paul Stanley earlier.
Everyone experiences suffering. As I type this, individuals in Colorado Springs and Toronto and London and Makati and Auckland are hurting.
And folks throughout Australia -- with its bushfires and flooding -- are suffering in heartbreaking ways.
This morning I received the following e-mail from Cate:
Hi there,
My family (Mum, Dad, myself and my three little sisters) lived in the small town in Victoria. There were warnings that bushfires were 5 kilometres away and we were getting ready to evacuate. We had grabbed the family photos, important documents, blankets for the night in the evacution centre and some extra clothes but just as we were about to leave the fire came surging over the hill north of our property. We all scrambled for the car and sped off along the south road from our property. My two youngest sisters were crying and screaming about the pets my dad forced them to leave behind. Mum and I were trying to calm them down and praying God would spare our house. But just as we turned around the next corner we saw fire coming up on the south of our property. We were being closed in on both sides. We all began to panic but Dad said nothing and turned the car around and started heading towards the dam, there wasn't enough time to take any other route out.
We got to the dam, by this time we were coughing really badly and sky was black with smoke. Dad made us all get in the water, he grabbed the blankets and wet them and we all started to swim out to the raft ancored in the middle of the dam. We could see the fire coming and started to feel the heat. My parents and I dragged my sisters through the water because they were too distraught to swim properly. Finally we climbed on the raft, we lay there with the wet blankets on top of us. The plan was that when the fire came we would all slide off the raft into the water with the blankets over our heads and tread water until it passed around the dam. My dad kept looking out the side of blanket to see how close it was. He could see headlights in the distance through the smoke and realised that our neighbours were also driving to our dam.
He said he had to go and help despite our pleas. He said he'd be back in a few minutes and jumped off the raft swam to the edge and got into the truck and started out towards the lights. That is the last we ever saw of him. We don't know what happened ... we know they didn't make it. Him and our neighbouring family of 5 were caught in the fire 1/2 a km from the dam.
The fire came and we slid off the raft into the water, the smoke and heat were incredible and but the wet blankets were amazing in keeping the air breathable and the heat manageable. While we tread water we all cried, we all knew Dad hadn't made it, there was no way. In all honesty I didn't feel like treading water, this was a nightmare and I could have easily just let myself slip away. I know that sounds selfish because I was there with my mum and sisters but that's the way it was.
The fire passed. We survived and climbed back onto the raft, we didn't know what to do next we couldn't go back to shore because the ground was too hot. So we just sat in silence, holding each other. After a while my youngest sister started to ask questions 'Do you think the dog is alright? Do you think our house is ok?' all my mum said was 'Sweethearts, it is well with our souls and that's all that matters' I'm sure she was saying that to herself as much as she was saying it to us. We were rescued half an hour later by the Fire Service and taken to a shelter. That night at the shelter is a story in itself. The death toll stands at 181 and still climbing.
We are now staying at my Aunt's house 3 hours away. The amount of support is incredible but nothing replaces the horrific memories and my sisters have nightmares every night. We are left wondering what is next. What is the point of rebuilding if my Dad is gone and can't farm and support us? Where do we go? Most of our friends are dead, half our church is dead, what life do we have left? Do we sell? and if so will we make enough money to pay out our mortgage, who wants to buy black burnt piece of land?
Everyday is a battle to see God's faithfulness and righteousness above the loss we have experienced. I'm not quite there yet, I'm angry, confused and bitter. We all miss Dad, he was quiet but strong man who loved the Lord. He put his family first and lead us with incredible wisdom, he saved or lives that night and died trying to save more. There should be some comfort in that but I haven't found it yet, I wish he was selfish and had of just stayed with us. If he were here to lead us now things would feel that much more secure but he's not and I feel abandonned, everything secure and familiar is gone. I am immensely thankful for my family but even that feel different right now.
I am reminded of the Gaither song Because He Lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives
- Cate
Cate's father was a very brave man, a man who brought honor to Christ by sacrificially serving his family and giving his life in an effort to save others. I've never met Cate's father, but am provoked by the way he modeled a godly life, a life putting others' well-being over his own. I've never met Cate or her family, and yet I'm moved to tears by the agony they are experiencing right now.
I've prayed for Cate and her family, for their comfort, for their provision. Please consider doing the same.
* * *
We do lift up your concerns to the Lord in prayer. If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact us right now. When you complete the form on that page, the information you provide is hand-delivered to my co-workers and me. When we receive your prayer request, we push away from our computers, close our eyes from things that distract us, and we talk with the Lord about what is on your heart.
Please also feel free to e-mail us at editor@boundless.org or leave a comment below. It's our privilege to share your burdens.
Ted's nice little graphic for Thursday's article caught my eye. So I clicked on it even before I opened my inbox that morning. What I found was more than the daily Boundless article; I found a yellow light, if you will, on the way back to destruction.
As I read about Jen sending an email to her pastors and mentors bringing her struggle of unhealthy dieting into the light, I was reminded of my own journey with food and exercise.
Unlike Jen, my confession didn't take place on a computer monitor. I was sitting in the grass with ten other college students beside a trail head in Acadia National Park. Our small group leader asked us what parts of our lives we were keeping from God's healing (or something along those lines). I actually don't remember the question, but I knew my answer before the last words of the question had left her mouth.
I had been with this group everyday for four weeks. And in that short time, I had shared more of myself with them than I had anyone else. In the silence, as our leader waited for us to answer, I told the Lord that my distorted relationship with food and exercise was the one thing I would not share with them.
One by one, as my friends answered and as I remembered the acceptance I had experienced from them in the weeks before, I gained the courage to make my own confession. It was painful. (I'm cringing in my cubical just thinking about it.) But I know the confession and consequent exposure was what set me on a path to freedom. In seasons when I'm tempted to live in isolation rather than bringing my struggles into community, I remember how freedom began for me in that grassy circle.
I'm thankful for Jen's story; It's a gentle reminder that God's plan for healing is most often accomplished through His Body and propels me to bring all of me, even the broken parts, into community.
I just joined the Boundless team on Monday, so my cubical is still a little sparse. I haven't put up pictures of my roommates or my boyfriend and there are pitiful little books for someone who works at a Webzine on my shelves. It's safe to say that my cube looks unoccupied.
So, I didn't blame the custodial crew on Tuesday when they left me without a trash bag for my trash can or again on Wednesday when they took my trash can altogether. I did, however, tape a note to my trash can (that I recovered from another set of empty cubicles) saying my cube was, in fact, occupied.
I expected my little note would end the trash can dilemma, but what I did not expect was that the custodian would write me back. I found this note on my desk this morning:
Thank you,
It is a pleasure to serve you! God bless!
Your custodian
God did bless me by this anonymous employee who did their work "as unto the Lord." I was moved almost to tears. He or she reminded me, on a Friday when I'm thinking about weekend plans and trading in heels for sneakers, that I'm to commit every task and every hour of work to the glory of the Father.
May you wait tables, cash checks, install satellite dishes, write blogs, sweep floors, or whatever it is you do with a deep gratitude for the work God has given you.
Blessings to you this weekend!
A year ago I mentioned a group of top-notch Christian CCM artists who were collaborating on an album whose profits would be given to various ministries around the world. Their album (which shares the name of their ministry), Compassionart, has just been released. Musicians included Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Martin Smith, Stu Garrard, Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech, Paul Baloche, Israel Houghton, Graham Kendrick and Andy Park.
Tonight I'll be playing organ and synth at a free "Worship and Compassion Concert" led by the last guy in that list, Andy Park. If you live near Colorado Springs, please feel invited. And if you do show up, please introduce yourself to me. I'll be behind the two keyboards, trying to look like Mac Powell.
Information can be found on Andy's Web site, or my church's Web site.
Yesterday I wrote a silly little blog post in which I admitted that I found it disturbing that President Obama carries in his pocket a monkey god good luck charm. Though I knew about this story for months, I waited until yesterday to publish it so I could use the clever headline I came up with, "Good Luck, Mr. President." There were also legal reasons why I couldn't publish it while he was a presidential candidate.
The reaction to my frivolous blog post, frankly, stuns me. The following words were used to describe either my blog or myself:
ranting, lacking journalistic integrity, sophomoric, grumpy, immature, fear mongering, pointing the finger in judgment of Obama, petty, annoying, questioning Obama's faith, retarded, embarrassing, smacking of bitterness and anger and fear, bordering on gossip, exposé based on conjecture, trivial, ridiculous, get over yourself, big fuss, offensive, ridicule, disrespect, condescension, insolent child, hate-filled and exclusionary, divisive, sour grapes, lack of graciousness that is befitting Christians, poor witness, extreme judgment, condescending attitude, shortsighted, lacking in a true demonstration of Christ-like character, bash, silly, attack on the man, slanderous, unfair....
All because I was disturbed by this man's lucky charms. And apparently because I wasn't supposed to say anything that did not sufficiently laud President Obama on His Holy Day. (That last phrase, to be clear, is chiding those whose defensive adoration of our President is over-the-top; it's not a demeaning of the President himself.)
The Line really should not facilitate such uncivil, reactionary communication as we witnessed in the comment thread following yesterday's blog post.
I witnessed, to a lesser degree, some of this "assuming-the-worst" attitude in the comments following something I wrote on Monday. My wistful desire to be able to access my money to educate my kids was misinterpreted as a denunciation of government-funded school systems, or of grumbling about having to pay taxes, or even disrespect for teachers. Folks shouldn't assume that I have such a negative outlook. As someone who's earned a master's degree in Education, and whose sister has been a public school teacher for a couple of decades, I've come to have great respect for those in the teaching profession.
I'd like The Line to be a safe and enjoyable place for Christians and for those inquisitive about Christ to explore ideas, to talk about current events and ancient truths. I want it to be a place where we assume the best about people, where we're slow to form negative judgments about them. I don't want it to be a place for folks to express angry judgmentalism; such a tone is really out of place here.
Thanks for understanding!
I love it when I see God's kingdom in everyday things — like high school football games. My friend Becky posted this story on her blog. "I think Kris Hogan makes God smile," she wrote. I agree. Consider this story on ESPN: They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through. Did you hear that? The other team's fans? They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions. It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.
This unusual behavior took place at the request of Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan. You see, Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility and every game they play is on the road. Hogan wanted to do something kind for the team. So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans — for one night only — cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."
The parents agreed. And though Faith beat Gainesville 33-14, the Gainesville players acted like they'd just won state, giving their coach a celebratory squirt-bottle shower. After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah [Gainesville's quarterback] surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us." And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.
Well done good and faithful servant.
Lord,
I thank you for your calling Motte and his wife to go out of their comfort zone and adopt four children from Ethiopia. Thank you for the good counsel he's received, the donations he's received to cover most of the costs, favor from bureaucrats and legal people both internationally and within the United States.
But most of all, thank you for your promise to support those, like the Browns, to whom you've given a great calling.
Please give him and his wife a strong sense of your favor and presence as they make the very long flight from Colorado to Ethiopia. Please keep them both from illness, and invigorate them for the adventure ahead of them. And calm the questions and fears that might arise as the time approaches that they meet their children for the first time.
Also, please nudge people who hear their story to donate money to cover costs, which are currently at over $40,000.
I also pray for their six children -- that their two biological children would quickly adapt to having four new siblings, that their four adopted children would quickly adapt to a new culture, new foods, a new language, a new family, a new brother and sister.
And Lord, please touch my heart to live as lovingly and as sacrificially as the Browns.
Amen.
I appreciate Heather's bringing up the potential value of short-term mission trips. I say "potential," because, as she implied, sometimes they're more about the photos and the tans and the trinkets purchased than about serving those you're visiting.
I noticed that Heather values her second mission trip because of how it affected her, more than how she was able to affect those to whom she traveled to minister.
That's a common reality. And I think that's fine.
In my late teens, I went on a short-term mission project with my church to a small mountain village a couple of hours northeast of Mexico City. Our week was spent at a Christian ministry for indigenous Mexicans, building beds, working the soil, and doing other manual labor things.
I think we did some real and tangible ministry during that week in rural Mexico. It also changed me. So much so that I sent a letter to the director, volunteering to serve for up to a year, in whatever capacity he needed.
I ended up teaching a class in music, building furniture out of wood, picking coffee beans during harvest season, traveling to remote villages for baptisms, giving a message at the village church, translating for visiting evangelists, chaufering people to and from Mexico City, painting classrooms, and spending lots of time with the students.
Again, I think I was able to do tangible work for those I went to serve. And I was changed.
A couple of years later, I ended up leading a short-term project to Mexico City. Fifteen of us undergrad students drove 55 hours to get there, spend long hot days clearing out a site for a church and purchasing and laying brick for its walls. That really encouraged and motivated the local congregation to finish what we'd started. And it affected those who went. At least one of the students went on to do international ministry full-time as a result of that trip.
A few years after that, I found myself in Bogotá, Colombia, working for a couple of months with Operación Bendición Internacional. I helped them streamline their newspaper publication process, build a new radio studio, organize files, move from one location to another, minister at a community outreach, conduct interviews with local pastors, and so on.
During my time there, a group from Florida came down to "minister." My Colombian friends thought it was a flop: The leaders didn't speak Spanish, their skit was misunderstood by the glue-sniffing gamines who had come to each lunch ... they seemed more giddy about being in a foreign location than in humbly serving.
Yes, my week in Mexico during my teen years changed my life. My priorities and educational interests changed, for example: One of my undergrad degrees ended up being in Spanish, and one of my master's degrees ended up being in international communication, with ESL certification.
And that week in Mexico has changed more than just me. My friend Pablo in Mexico has benefited from my friendship; my friend Melqui in Bogotá has benefited from my friendship; my friend Pam in Michigan has benefited from my friendship. As well as numerous others whose names now escape me.
Yes, if you can go on a short-term mission project, I'd encourage you to go. In my opinion, the more foreign the destination, the better. The money you spend on it is minor in the big scheme of things; you'll spend more on a TV in a few years than you would on travel and expenses.
My strong counsel: Sacrifice and just do it. It'll be life-changing: for others and for you.
I just have to include some photos from the time I was in the little village in Mexico; click on an image to see it larger. You're free to ridicule my late-80s attire.
I've taken exactly two short-term mission trips in my life. Both were in high school. One was, shall we say, unfruitful. That is, I came back with a nice Florida sunburn but not much in the way of spiritual maturity. The second was life-impacting.
That trip was to the Appalachian Mountains (the exact state is foggy, but the "mountain" part sticks because of the hike to my "home base" camp every morning). I served, along with other members of my high school youth group, as counselors for a Christian day camp for disadvantaged children. By day, we would take the boys and girls for crafts, do devotions sitting on our rocks, cook "hobo lunches" over a fire and just love on them. By night, we would head to where our youth group was camping. We'd cook, play, remove any ticks and reflect a little about the difference between our lives and the kids.
I grew up some on that trip. I started learning that the Christian walk wasn't just about fun youth group outings and trying to stay on the right side of God's rules. It was about serving. To this day, I still remember those lessons and I still sing a silly song I learned on that trip ("The Peanut Butter Song") with my own kiddos and my preschool choir.
According to some recent research by the Barna Group, I'm not alone. The study found that of those Americans who have participated in a short-term mission trip, three-quarters of them report that the experience changed them in some way. The most common areas of personal growth included: becoming more aware of other people's struggles (25%), learning more about poverty, justice or the world (16%), increasing compassion (11%), deepening or enriching their faith (9%) and boosting financial generosity (5%).
However, according to Barna, only 9% of Americans have ever been on such a trip (23% of "Evangelicals" have). Barna Researcher David Kinnaman stated: "this research does not measure the benefit to the people being helped, since we only interviewed Americans for this project. But short-term missions clearly benefit the people providing the assistance. Many pastors, parents and teachers are searching for ways to transform hearts and minds. One promising way to go about changing people’s perspectives is to go on a service adventure together."
One clear trend in this study was the enthusiasm that "Mosaics" (18- to 25-year-olds) have for participating in short-term mission trips. David Kinnaman points out that Mosaics are typically globally aware, cause-oriented, more sensitive to issues related to justice and poverty and also relish diverse experiences.
"Their craving to take journeys of service could fuel a resurgence of global engagement," Kinnaman stated.
But, he warns, both church leaders and Mosaics need to be intentional about channeling that enthusiasm into trips that will challenge young adults to serve authentically and grow spiritually: "... [T]he danger would be if leaders and organizations waste the Mosaic generation’s readiness by simply allowing young adults to be mere ‘consumers of cause’ - selling them a t-shirt or a wristband, instead of challenging them to life-shaping service projects."
I think that's a good warning. I know from experience. From Florida, I got a t-shirt. From Appalachia, I got some wisdom from God.
And since I've been convicted lately to associate with people outside my own circle and give generously, maybe I need to be looking at taking a trip soon too.
 So, while spending some time on Facebook yesterday, just before I sent out the weekly Boundless e-newsletter, I invited your shout-out requests.
Amy Flores, Justin Good, Daphne E. Landers, Diana Kyle, Jennie Cammarn, Karolyn Webb Bowman, Adam Dufty and Jamie Robertson quickly responded. And so I mentioned them in the e-newsletter.
Now Will Neil comes along, torqued that he missed the curtain call.
It's not out of concern for being labeled "USA-centric," or being thought of as having either "continental prejudice" or "hemispherical prejudice." And it's not out of pity for the more indolent/torpid among us. No, it's out of the simple benevolence of my heart that I do the following:
Will Neil, here is your shout-out.
It's humiliating enough to play a wrong note during a church service. But what about when the entire worship band messes up?
Should you go on and hope nobody notices, or do you humbly repent and start again? And does the Holy Spirit flee from such train-wrecks? Or does he allow us to redeem them for our humbling, for the sake of facilitating Christian community, and for His glory?
I have to admit that I'm a disciple of Bob Kauflin, Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries. And I admit that when he injects himself into a musical train-wreck, the result is ... well, just check it out yourself, either by visiting his blog or viewing the video below.
My wife and I found out early this morning that a judge in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia approved our adoption of a sibling set of four children ages 8, 6, and 9 months (twins). And I'm telling you this so that you can celebrate with us, but also to say that we probably would not have had the courage to do it without the faithful example of the Thompsons and the Schwabs.
Here's what you need to know about these two families:
The Schwabs and Thompsons are families in our church that have four biological children and four adopted children. There's really nothing extraordinary about their circumstances that uniquely qualifies them to adopt so many while already having so many. They're not rich and I don't believe they received a special call from the Lord. I suspect that, mainly, they were just willing.
And they make it look easy. Of course, I know it's not easy. It's hard work. But they prove to everyone around them, every day, that having many children is a blessing from the Lord; they prove that adoption is close to God's heart; and they prove that God is Provider.
So it's Christians like these that make it easier for Christians like me to believe that something as radical as adopting four kids at once is not only possible, but wonderful.
And that (along with many other reasons) is why we officially have four new Browns in our family today.
When it comes to what others choose to do, I often have no opinion. I may be concerned about their motivations, about the reasons behind a particular decision, but in the end their decision is exactly that: theirs. And I think no less of them for it.
Case in point: How many children they choose to have.
A couple of the pastors at my church have seven children. And a couple of pastors have only one child. Are some of the pastors less in touch with the biblical principle of "filling the earth" with children? Are they less aware of the biblical truth that children are a blessing? Are those pastors with but one child sinning by withholding blessing from the earth?
You know, I don't know. And it's not my place to say.
Maybe the women who only had one child had rough pregnancies, or had miscarriages, or suffered extreme postpartum depression and just could not take on another child. Or maybe the couple has infertility issues. Or maybe they're planning to adopt, and felt it would be best to stop having biological children at this point. Or perhaps circumstances called for a small family: Maybe they just sensed that the Lord was directing them to limit their family to three members, the three-family-member lifestyle freeing them up to better engage in a particular ministry.
There are so many variables that factor in to a family's decision in this regard. Since I don't have all those facts, it's best that I withhold opinion.
That said, I do think it's important that we all consider why we choose to have or choose not to have children.
Am I limiting the number of kids I have out of fear that I might not be able to handle another one? But such fear is not of God; He is able to encourage the fearful. Conversely, do I think that having a child will bring someone into the world who will finally and fully love me? The truth is that that child, in his sin, will at times reject me; the truth is that the Lord's love is sufficient.
Or am I limiting the number of kids I have because I'm concerned they'll be burdensome? Such an attitude may betray a belief that children are more of a curse than a blessing; God's Word clearly says that kids are a blessing. Conversely, am I wanting to have more kids to prove to the world that I, and not they, am more obedient to God's Word? The truth is that my worth is found in Christ, not in the number of offspring I produce.
Am I limiting the number of kids I have because they'll inhibit my liberated lifestyle? That may betray a selfish heart, a heart that wants to do things its way and in its time. Among other things, the arrival of children helps soften that heart, turning it outward so it can better serve others.
Real concerns. Tough questions.
So when the Duggar family has 18 kids, I think no less of them. When the parents of Boundless author Rachel Starr Thomson have 12 kids, I think no less of them. When the Patriarch Jacob had more than a dozen kids, I think no less of him.
And when friends stop at just one child, I think no less of them.
When we don't have the full story, when we aren't fully aware of someone's motivations, in the face of such everyday ambiguity sometimes it's a virtue to have the firm conviction of "no opinion."
I first read about Ray's "coming out" as a homosexual back in mid-September, and was stunned and heartbroken. After talking it over with folks on our Love Won Out team, I asked Boundless author Mike Ensley if he'd be able to write a kind of "open letter" to Ray.
 What began in my mind as a challenge to Ray has very appropriately become a challenge for me, and for the Church. Yes, homosexual behavior is shameful. But the relationship-squelching expectations we have for those in leadership, expectations that demand a slick facade of perfection, which in turn drives those who experience same-sex attraction to look for community elsewhere — that is no less shameful. Indeed, the Christian response to those who struggle with same-sex attraction (SSA) is heart-breaking.
Heart. Breaking.
I'm puzzled that the Lord has provoked me, an "ever-straight," to want to develop empathy for those with SSA. Sure, I had some close friends in undergrad who identified as gay; I went with them to the gay bars and crashed at their places on several occasions. Perhaps it's because I recognize a desire in me that others love me through my own struggles against sin that I want to grow in my love for those who feel the tormenting temptations of SSA.
I have a long way to go. We have a long way to go, Christian. It's my prayer that you join me in having some compassion for those who deal with SSA. You may come to see that their temptations to sin aren't all that different from yours. And perhaps together, in Christian community, we may accompany each other all the way to our Father's healing arms.
Whew. Yeah, this is a hot-button issue for me.
I'd love it if you spend some time with Mike's article, "Ray Boltz's Hunger for Community." It's the product of a lot of thinking, prayer, living and editing. It's not only Mike's heart for you, but mine as well.
Anthony Bradley of WorldMagBlog has a gift for discerning the root behind some of the more troubling characteristics exemplified by men today. I've referenced his writings only once but he's written several blogs in support of men who are castigated endlessly by our culture, even church culture.
This one is about the problems that can come from men who have no outlet for their hurt; no place to "be really honest about how angry they feel for reasons they cannot explain."
From Bradley's "Do Men Hurt": With some frustration, a recent Christian college graduate inquired as to why the church was not a safe place for men to be open about their pain. Women have "support groups" and men have "accountability groups," he pointed out. Women hurt, but men are nothing more than disgusting sinners who need behavior modification and group penance. I didn't know exactly how to respond but I have been curious about this fact for some time now.
Many churches do not provide safe space for men to confess being in need of healing (Luke 4, Isaiah 61) due to the hands many men have been dealt, sins committed against them in the past or present, their own addictions, confusions, passivity, anger, and so on. As a result, we have churches full of unhealed and wounded men who often medicate their pain in secret or take it out on their wives, children, friends, and co-workers. The dysfunctional cycle of self-medication creates even more generational sin and pain. Many wives foolishly think that they can heal their husbands instead of the Triune God.
I am so thankful for the brothers who invested in me when I became a Christian. I was a broken man; confused, passive, and angry as Bradley describes. But they loved me with a chastening love, unafraid to speak the truth about my sin; sin that I was blind to. And they taught me how to live a Christian life, in the same way Paul exhorted the Thessalonians "like a father with his children."
Scripture says that I am being sanctified right now. So my need for men speaking truth in my life won't end this side of heaven. But God used these early mentors to begin the healing process, which helped set the course of my life and, consequently, the lives of my wife and children.
What about you? Have you been "supported" in this way? Or are you still confused, passive or angry for reasons you can't explain? If you are, humble yourself and seek the kind of transparent counsel from Christian men in your life that'll help heal the hurt.
Because men hurt too.
The Salvation Army is doing their job to ensure that members of the church are equally yoked. If you decide to marry outside the ministry, you're gone.
Talk about limiting your dating pool.
There's a situation right now in Oshkosh, WI where a Salvation Army officer, who's worked for the organization 14 years, faces dismissal if he marries his fiancee who's outside the ministry.
From Fox News: "I prayed and told the Lord, I can't stand being single. Can you please give me a woman on the outside and inside," said Harsh. He said it was love at first sight. "One word describes her. Wow."
Harsh said the organization's rules regarding marriage are outdated, unfair and must be changed, but he doesn't want his personal situation to harm the Salvation Army. ...
"[The rules] are not scriptural. They are man-made," Harsh said. "God could care less about the uniform or a position. I am doing this so future officers don't have to go through what I went through."
What makes this situation particularly, well, harsh is that Harsh's first wife was a Salvation Army officer. But she died suddenly of a heart attack back in June. And since Harsh "can't stand being single," he went online and found Cia, his fiancee.
There is some merit to the Salvation Army's antiquated marriage policy. Founders William and Catherine Booth believed that two officers could serve better than one officer who's spouse wasn't committed to the ministry.
The situation is supposed to be resolved next week. And though it'll seem unjust if he's dismissed, it's obvious he was aware of the policy ... and, apparently, he was OK with it until it affected him personally.
Funny how that happens.
Over the past few months I've introduced some cool features to the Webzine side of Boundless.
One that I'm really excited about is the ability to pull up all (or most) of an author's articles by clicking on their name in an article's byline.
Here, check it out. Click over to today's article, and then hover over the author's name in the byline. Note how it turns from black to underlined red? When you click on it, you're taken to a page listing all of that author's articles.
Pretty sweet, hm? In the words of Peter Pan, "Oh, the cleverness of me."
Hm. Maybe I shouldn't be quoting Peter Pan. (Though doing so helps feed speculation that a former Boundless author has agreed to write for Boundless again....)
I got more out of It's a Wonderful Life during my annual viewing this year. The anxiety over the Bailey Building and Loan's recurring financial struggles seemed more relevant and less like the plot element of a bygone era. Writing in the Waco Tribune, Baylor University's Thomas Hibbs describes how the movie is getting another look from the general public: Because of our current financial crisis, the film seems freshly relevant. Business professors have been using clips to illustrate what a bank run looks like. And some media commentators, including one in the NY Times, have compared the Bailey S &L to Fannie May and Freddie Mac.
But Hibbs makes a key distinction about the Bailey approach to homeownership that is insightful as Americans seek to dig out of the financial hole we're in: Both sorts of institution sought to expand the number of homeowners, but the similarities end there. So far as I can discern, Fannie and Freddie are not real persons residing in the same neighborhoods as those to whom they gave loans; nor are they willing to make personal financial sacrifices to keep neighbors in their homes. George Bailey had no golden parachute, unless you want to count his leap into icy waters. In the film, accountability is made possible by local control and face-to-face interaction between the S&L and its clients.
Ultimately, Hibbs believes we need to return to our local institutions: Of course we need to have hope for our nation and its institutions, but one of the lessons of It’s a Wonderful Life is that our strongest grounds for hope reside in our local communities, in our families, churches, schools, and places of work, in the trust we place in the guidance, friendship, and support of those with whom we interact everyday.
This commentary helps me understand why It's a Wonderful Life always resonates with me. It's the strong ties of family, friends and face-to-face business that gets the Baileys through their crisis -- not big business (Mr. Potter) and bureaucrats (the Bank Examiner).
So why do people tend to put a disproportionate amount of faith in big business and the federal government?
Today, Justin Taylor exerpts a Piper sermon on "fear and trembling" in worship. It's an indictment on "the superficial condition of our times that one of the most common things said about good experience in ministry and worship is that 'we are having fun.'"
More Piper: The point is not that Christians can't be light-hearted. You are probably sick if you can't be light hearted. The point is, there is time and season for everything under the sun. And something should happen in corporate worship, before the face of the infinitely holy God, that calls forth a different vocabulary than what you experience at the amusement park.
And it's not that you can't be "cheerful." Piper quotes Charles Spurgeon to help us see the difference between the virtue of "holy cheerfulness" and the vice of "levity." "We must conquer -- some of us especially -- our tendency to levity. A great distinction exists between holy cheerfulness, which is a virtue, and that general levity, which is a vice. There is a levity which has not enough heart to laugh but trifles with everything; it is flippant, hollow, unreal. A hearty laugh is no more levity than a hearty cry."
I confess I struggle with a "tendency to levity" in inappropriate settings. But not so much in church. I think it stems from being under the influence of reformed teaching in which God's holiness and man's depravity are central. It's just hard to be too light-hearted knowing my own dark heart.
A few days ago Matt from DC suggested that "Someone should create a Boundless Commenters group on Facebook."
Hm. Now that's a great idea.
If you'd like to be part of our new Boundless Line Commenters Facebook group, we'd love to have you. And maybe do something about the sad fact that I'm the only one thus far to upload any photos.
I've been thinking a lot about reflections recently. The way marriage reflects Christ's relationship with the church. The way families reflect the trinity. The way the Body of Christ reflects the unity of God.
In the fourth part of his series on race relations, Thabiti Anyabwile argues that racial reconciliation in the church reflects the "one new man" in Ephesians 2. In fact, the church is a primary place where racial unity can, and should, take place: The local church penultimately displays the unity and solidarity we have in Christ, the "race"-abolishing oneness we share with Him and with each other.
The local church is not a perfect display. Some people fear that talk of ethnic unity in the church borrows too much from the perfection that lies ahead in heaven.
It seems to me that our problem leans in the other direction. We need to live more fully in the already. We live beneath our inheritance in Christ. If Esau sold his inheritance for a bowl of porridge, we've sold an even greater inheritance for his leftovers. If the prodigal squandered his inheritance, we're the older brother refusing to rejoice and receive our once-dead sibling.
This message comes at a great time. With the election to office of the first African-American president, we're all wondering if race relations will get better or worse. As Christians, our responsibility, regardless of the social climate, is to make them better by receiving the inheritance of oneness Christ offers us. Unfortunately, embracing this inheritance doesn't come easily. Our love seeks the limits of convenience and familiarity, to be bounded by the ease that "race" offers, when Christ calls us to a largeness and breadth of love that is like His own, that assembles and gathers and loves and gives to every nation, tribe and language. And that's to be displayed in our churches.
Is there any biblical justification for the socially and ethnically stratified existence of the American church? Even if the fulfillment awaits the final things, shouldn't we incline ourselves to living and experiencing more and more of that reality while we wait?
Think of what a testimony the church would be if it embraced the future reality of all men and women being united under Christ. And, I suppose, that's precisely why it's so difficult. That is the kind of imagery Satan tries to erase in this world. The church should be leading the way in race relations. After all, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us succeed. For a primer on how to lead, read Anyabwile's series:
Earlier this month we held a contest to give away 10 copies of the new ESV Study Bible. It was difficult to deny 99 percent of the 1,000+ entrants, but them's the rules. Congrats to the 10 winners, whose entries I've excerpted below. Thanks again to Crossway Books for their generosity in providing these study Bibles.
Raquel in New York City:
I am a youth leader for a group of around 20 mostly inner city youth in Brooklyn, NY. These kids are dealing with such things as gangs, drugs, various kinds of abuse, resistance from their parents to the things of God, you name it really. Among, obviously, the regular challenges teens face. It is overwhelming to work with. I also am involved with kids and girls clubs. The more I know, the more I have to bless them with and help them come to personal relationships with Christ. Any hope and all life for them exists in and through God as revealed in the Scriptures.
Ronald in Seattle:
I entered a one year treatment center at ---------. A faith based recovery center. I have had an addiction to Methamphetamine. My drug of choice for 18 years. During the time of my addiction, I prayed many prayers for Gods' help. I had always believed that god would save me from myself. I did not know when that journey would begin. It has begun. Through the years I have read scripture, but still not understanding what was being said to me. Even now that I study the word everyday, I still lack understanding. I am familiar with most of the stories and parables of the Bible. I don't think I receive everything being said. My knowledge is little but my faith is strong. I currently study out of a standard NIV. I feel my growth being hindered because of lack of understanding. It's not that I need this more than anyone.
Marc in Richvale, CA:
I am a missionary with ----- serving here in the USA among the Hispanic community.... I am planting a new church.... We served in Venezuela for 10 years and I have left most of my library in Venezuela with other missionaries and or nationals. This Study bible would be a great benefit for me in my study of the word and ministry in helping teach these new Christians.
Louie in the mountains of Kentucky:
I think I should get the ESV study bible so I can give it away. I work with very under privileged students in the mountains of Appalachia in Kentucky. There are no good churches for these students to go to (none that want them) and Myself, and those who help me with Appalachian Ministries are the only Jesus they see or hear, and there is only so much we can do with one hour a week. I would give the bible to a student who I think is called to the ministry, but has no bible of his own, no church to nurture and grow him, and once I graduate this year from the University of the Cumberland’s, no mentor to help him grow. I want to give him this bible.
Sarah:
Please forgive the fact that I leave my last name off of this email. I do so for security reasons, as I am in the final stages of leaving the country to serve God overseas for the next two years. The region where I will be serving is a current world "hot spot," a Muslim nation that has made international headlines almost everyday for the last few weeks. It is because of what I am about to do that I would love to have an ESV Study Bible. Although I will be working alongside other believers for the next two years, I will be far from my church home and in the heart of one of the most spiritually dark areas on the globe. As I am preparing to go, I am trying to put things in my suitcase that will help me to grow in my walk with the Lord and better equip me to fight off spiritual attacks. In this respect, the ESV Study Bible would certainly be very useful to me. Many Thanks for your consideration.
Cassie in Salem, Oregon:
One day a gal came to the young adults group I led and she was in a desperate place spiritually. Her ex-boyfriend had all of her stuff and wouldn't give it back, and her Bible was within that stuff. I ended up giving her my Bible, knowing I had an NIV Bible at home that I could use. I have since missed that Bible a lot. Last year I took a Bible survey class at my church and we talked about translations of the Bible. As one who has studied translation as a Spanish major, I suddenly saw the importance of having an accurate translation of the Bible. I have wanted to buy a new Bible that is a more accurate translation since I took that course, but haven't had the money. Now I am in graduate school and do not have the extra resources to spend the money that a good quality Bible requires.
Sandy in Houston:
I’m a single mom with three children.... We survived Tropical Storm Allison, while living with my parents here in Houston. We had over five feet of water in the house, and we lost all our possessions. But once again, God proved Himself faithful, because we learned that possessions weren’t the most important things in life. We were blessed that we had not lost each other (including the family dog!). Among our possessions lost, were our Bibles. I have since replaced my children’s Bibles, but my Bible is an inexpensive Bible that doesn’t include any sort of study helps. Just last week, I wandered down the isles of Half Price Books looking for something that I could afford, but nothing seemed to reach out to me, or if they did, they were too expensive. I’m on a very limited budget. I work several different jobs here at home so that I can be here with my kids, and homeschool them.... I feel more burdened that ever to be in constant prayer and to dig deep into God’s Word. When I read about this contest, I became so full of hope! I believe this Bible would be an amazing tool to help me study God’s Word, help me walk more closely with Him, and where I can find the wisdom and strength to press on!
Chris in Louisville, Kentucky:
I am about to complete my doctorate in expository preaching.... As great as the translation is, I believe the study Bible will be of even greater value, as I hear insights from some of the greatest Christian thinkers and how they apply a quality translation and insights to the world today. This will not only help me as a believer and leader, but will assist my congregation as I share these insights each week as I preach.... I have shared recently with our economy that maybe we can get one for a graduation gift. If I were to win one, I know it would not only be an early Christmas and graduation gift, but would be another example for the church in how God provides.
Amy in Concord, New Hampshire:
Me and my husband are on a very tight budget, and as of right now, I have been praying for an opportunity to get one of these bibles somehow and feel that this may be that opportunity. My husband (who is not saved) leaves for Iraq in just 4 short weeks, so I've been praying to get a new bible before he leaves so I can send the one that I have with him, in hopes that he may open it up when he feels lonely over there.... I'm not sure what I was to include in this email, but it was my understanding to let you know why I want this Bible in my life. I will continue to pray for you all as you choose the winners. Even if I'm not a winner, there are people that may need the new ESV more than me, and I pray that God will use this new tool in whomever's life to reap and sow many great things for our Father.
Michael in Iraq:
I am currently serving as a US Army Chaplain for a battalion of Soldiers.... We are approaching another deployment and are beginning preparations to serve our year in Iraq. Having already been deployed once, I understand the need for quality resources. Due to limited space, I cannot bring my pastoral library with me. I need a tool, in one volume, that I can use for personal study, lead Bible studies for Soldiers and prepare for preaching in Chapel. I believe that the ESV Study Bible fits these conditions. Not only will it be of great use to me in my own walk with Christ, but it will be invaluable in my calling to bring God to Soldiers and bring Soldiers to God. Thank you for considering my entry.
I've noticed an annoying trend in today's vernacular. It's the replacement of idioms "You're welcome!" and "My pleasure!" with "No problem."
Whether it's the check-out girl, waiter, or bank teller, saying thanks seems to always be met with a "No problem." I always think, Whew. I'm glad that wasn't a problem. Because if refilling my water glass were a problem, then we're all in serious trouble.
I think it stems from our egalitarian culture. Saying "you're welcome" and "my pleasure" distinguishes the server from the served by acknowledging, "It was my pleasure to serve to you." Or like the origins of "you're welcome," the served is "welcome" to the kind act that is given freely. But saying "no problem" has a superior feel to it, doesn't it? Sort of like announcing, "Hey, I'm doing you a favor. But don't worry, it's not a problem."
Or maybe this trend is really no problem at all. Just a reflection of my own peevish personality.
So for no particular reason the thought came to me to bring up the country of my birth, West Germany, as well as its neighbors.
A few years back, on a whim, I decided to make a whirlwind tour through parts of Europe. On Saturday I bought my airplane ticket from Virginia Beach to Rome, returning via Paris. Two days later, I set foot in Italy with my backpack and a book by Rick Steves. No hotel reservations, no train passes, no cars lined up, nobody to meet me at the airport.
Ah, the adventure that awaited! Somehow, in a week, I had to make my way from Italy to France, and hopeful enjoy the trip. Did I mention I brought an old camera with me?
I'd be interested in seeing how many of the locations you can identify in the following photos. I'd also be interested in hearing where you've adventured, and whether you see any value in international travel.
Yes, I remember it well.
I think back 10 years ago, to the early days of Boundless, when it was only an idea, a concept, a way to reach a somewhat neglected audience. Focus has long published magazines for teens, but back then there was nothing specifically designed to reach a college-age audience, an audience that faces frequent relocation, uncertainty about the future and an almost constant stream of challenges to their worldview and faith.
And what better way to reach this audience than an online magazine -- a Webzine, if you will?
But what to call it? Almost from the beginning, it seemed like the right name was vital. I remember listening to Steve and Candice Watters -- mostly Candice -- brainstorming ideas. I had known her less than a year at that point, and think we'd both agree that we didn't always agree. In fact, I think it's safe to say that we debated quite a bit. More like a lot. OK, almost all the time. But we've both mellowed a bit since then, and I think her early passion had a lot to do with Boundless' success.
Now back to the name. I remember Candice asking for suggestions, because she wanted just the right title. Since I had no particular stake in this new venture, I don't recall spending a whole lot of time thinking about it, but I do remember coming up with something. To be honest, I thought it was really pretty good. It was multi-faceted, not too cliché, but not too esoteric, either. I mentioned it to Candice, and I seem to remember that she liked it. Not as much as me, mind you, but she was considering it.
Of course, soon after that I heard the name Boundless. I wasn't ready to admit that it was better than my idea, at least not immediately, but I recognized right away that it was pretty good. A publication without binding, without boundaries ... yeah, that just might appeal to a college audience.
Since that time, I've watched Boundless shift and change and grow. I watched Candice shift and change and grow. (I also saw her fall asleep at her desk once, but she'll surely disagree and say she was just "resting her eyes.") I watched as Candice and Steve started a family and Matt took over as editor. I watched the succession of editors -- from Matt to Blake then back to Matt then back to Candice and finally to Ted. I also watched as the Boundless audience shifted and changed and grew. Older, mostly, as countless Boundless readers have graduated and married and started families of their own; but there are plenty of new, younger readers discovering the Webzine all the time.
Perhaps my favorite Boundless memory is the appearance of an ambitious piece of fiction called "I Will Be Free." I had worked with the author for months, acquiring and editing the short story for a different magazine, but in the end it really wasn't a great fit for that publication. That's when Candice stepped in. She offered to run the story in Boundless. It was the Webzine's first foray into fiction, and while it didn't exactly start a trend, I still smile whenever I read it. (Talk about how times have changed -- it's interesting to see how much the Boundless design has changed since the story appeared.)
Oh, and as for my original suggestion for naming this new Webzine? I can't even remember it now.
Boundless it is.
 Today Candice reflects on 10 years of Boundless. She writes:
It's impossible to know at the start of a venture — whether a new Web site, a new job, a new life post-graduation, a new relationship — what twists and turns a decade will bring. Even bad news can turn out to be good.
As Candice's article proves, Boundless has turned out to be good for many readers—including me. Yesterday, I wrote up my own reflections on my Boundless journey: I had been a Boundless reader for two years before I submitted my first article. I was a children's magazine editor, but I considered so many of those early writers brilliant—J.P. Moreland, Jenny Schroedel, J. Budziszewski (What's with the J names?)—and felt entirely out of my league. During that time, Matt Kaufman and Candice Watters served as editors.
The fall of 2004, I made a personally painful discovery: this would be the first Christmas since I moved away from home, that there would not be a "Lord of the Rings" movie coming out. I had come to depend on that wonderful tradition as something to look forward to each year. I wondered if other twenty-somethings were grieving as I was. So I wrote the article "Surviving Christmas Without the Lord of the Rings" and e-mailed it to Candice.
I didn't hear back and figured my piece hadn't made the cut. Then, two weeks before Christmas, I received an e-mail from Candice saying that my article had been lost in the shuffle, but that she wanted to publish it the next week! I was thrilled. Candice wrote: "I loved it! Your family reminds me a lot of mine."
After that I began submitting an occasional article as the inspiration came. Then, in late 2006, Ted Slater asked if I would write a monthly article for Boundless. From my very first introduction to Boundless to my present involvement with it, I have been utterly impressed with the quality, sincerity, and relevancy, with which it operates.
Boundless is a lifeline for many single young adults who are dealing with the challenges of their twenties and thirties—loneliness, career decisions, church involvement, relationships and marriage. I can say from personal experience that Boundless offers sound biblical guidance for a generation prone to drift. And I feel privileged to be a part of it.
Candice writes: What does God have in store for your next 10 years? As our past decade has reminded us, every year matters. How you live each moment matters. The more intentional you are with your money, relationships, community, time and talents, the more confident you can be that you're on a good path. And if you're living faithfully, you can trust God for the rest.
Boundless has been faithful. Let's celebrate what God has done!
Our new Focus on the Family Institute students arrived on Tuesday. It's a busy time -- our staff gets them oriented, prepares them for class, and helps them navigate the halls of Focus. It's also a time filled with lots of small talk: "Where are you from? What school do you attend? What's your major?" It can be a bit overwhelming with so many new people -- for both students and staff.
We're taking them on a retreat up in the mountains this weekend, though. We'll do some small-group activities and hear some of their personal stories. We'll play games and go on hikes and share meals. At the end of the weekend all of us will feel like we know one another a bit better.
And throughout the next three and a half months, these students will form some strong relationships. They'll be a part of a community experience that will be authentic and beautiful. They'll learn more about what they believe and why they believe it. They'll work at practicum sites that will prepare them for future careers. But most of all, they will learn more about God and His character. They will get to practice loving Him and loving their neighbor.
Deciding to come spend time at the Institute was one of the best things I've ever done. And it's a blessing to be a part of what these students experience each new semester. You should think about coming this spring; we accept students through age 26, so it's not too late for many of you!
Seriously, think it through. Spend time in beautiful Colorado with a community of believers who will challenge and strengthen your faith. You won't regret it.
We learned last year that seekers who attend mega-churches aren't really growing in their walk. And according to this report from USAToday.com, a lot of seekers are leaving altogether. After decades of soaring growth, the phenomenon of Protestant megachurches — behemoths of belief where 2,000 to 20,000 or more people attend weekend worship — may be stalled.
Here's one theory why, "The megachurch story is not really about growth, it's about shifting allegiances. People want to feel good about who they already are," says Philip Goff, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University in Indianapolis. "If church is too challenging or not entertaining, they'll move on."
It seems that what Goff is saying is that seeker-churches attract members of other churches seeking cheap grace. And once found, cheap grace will eventually lead these seekers to wonder why they started going to church in the first place. Follow?
At least mega-church pastor Bill Hybels gets it, sort of. In response, founder and senior pastor Bill Hybels has changed his sermons to more directly challenge worshipers at every level. Willow has launched a slate of dozens of Wednesday mini-classes focusing on spiritual growth, coached and mentored by the church.
Willow is still "seeker-obsessed," says Hybels. "But today's seekers are different" than years ago.
Today, he says, "I don't think anyone is wandering around looking for a mild dose of God.... They want to know: 'What would a life centered on Christ look like in my life? What would that feel like? How do I go about it?' "
I disagree with that last part. I think the very reason some mega-churches got so mega in the first place was because a lot of people are looking for a mild dose of God. It's just that the people who are seeking a mild dose of God usually end up withering away.
"Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away." -- Matthew 13:5-6
Racism is a real problem. The thing is, the mindset of even those most opposed to it may be interfering from their being able to bring about real solutions.
In today's featured article, "Race Relations: Rethinking Christian Identity," Boundless author Thabiti Anyabwile explains: Multiculturalism, diversity and tolerance are the reigning solutions to problems associated with race. That is, most everywhere people assume that racial identity rooted in biology is an objective reality and conclude that the way to manage tensions, difference and strife is to develop greater appreciation for those differences. Ironically, this strategy has produced debate and strife of its own as people argue and quibble about the ideas of diversity and tolerance themselves.
What if our premise -- that race is even relevant -- is the obstacle keeping us from true reconciliation, from making peace with those who look different from us?
In his article, Thabiti argues just this: that while ethnicity is a real thing, because we are all members of the race of Adam, there is truly no racial difference between any of us. Indeed, focusing on working through "race" issues may be keeping us from addressing the lingering problems that can be resolved.
"Race Relations: Rethinking Christian Identity" is the first of a multi-part series on race. It's helped reframe my understanding of this issue. Let me know if it helps you as well.
I was off to church the other night for a meeting when I said to my wife, "I'll probably go out with the guys afterward." She responded, "Great. Have fun." Though it meant her having to feed the kids and put them to bed by herself, she recognized that I needed some guy time.
So why do guys need guys? One reason is that men share things with other men that they just don't with women. It could be about work or sports or John Piper sermons or personal struggles ... especially personal struggles. I'm amazed at some of the things I've shared with my buddies. Sometimes I catch myself in the moment and think, Wait. Did I just say that?
It's true. Transparency happens when guys hang out with guys. I think it's partly because we internalize everything for fear of appearing vulnerable. And you tend to let your guard down when you're out with the guys. So the valve just sort of opens.
Interestingly, it's a release that can prove invaluable in marriage.
One night after I droned on and on to my wife about some disappointment in my life, she suggested that I call one of my buddies and go out for some wings. It surprised me a little. I mean, I thought part of a wife's job was to "be there" for her husband. It is. But I've learned that it's possible for a husband to overburden his wife with issues that could (and probably should) be discussed with another man.
It's now one of the ways I protect my wife. She carries enough burdens for the family. There are some that are better carried by myself, the Lord, and my buddies.
Imagine a church with no pastor. Well, at least you'll never bump into him in the hall. According to Andrew Park, writing for Slate, virtual pastors are the next big thing: Most Sunday mornings at Buckhead Church in downtown Atlanta, one person is conspicuously absent: the senior pastor, Andy Stanley. A nationally known evangelist, Stanley is usually 20 minutes away at North Point Community Church, the suburban megachurch he has led for 13 years. To the 6,000 or so faithful at Buckhead, he appears only on video, his digital image projected in front of the congregation in life-sized 3-D. The preacher is a hologram.
Some 2,000 to 2,500 U.S. congregations operate multiple campuses. The reasoning is simple. You're a talented pastor but a limited number of people can sit in your church. Broadcasting via video allows your ministry to reach thousands more people. Andy Stanley's North Point has 16 video venues, and he'd like to see 60 by 2010. Forget about megachurch; we're talking gigachurches here. Already, the most ambitious pastors are predicting that, thanks to video, they'll have branded outlets nationwide and more than 100,000 followers—twice as large as the country's biggest megachurch today. Gigachurches are the way that next-generation celebrity evangelists are building their empires.
Critics cite a couple of problems with the video explosion. In this system pastors become celebrities—eating up congregants like Pac-Man dots—and only the strong survive. Video congregations remove opportunities for young pastors and teachers to gain preaching experience and receive mentorship. And it's not just a problem for other pastors. In fact, says Shane Hipps, author of The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church, using video goes against a critical tenet of Protestant faith: the priesthood of all believers. Instead of a real experience, it offers a mediated one that inherently puts the pastor in a position of greater power over the masses. "It's actually undermining their theology," he told me recently.
I hadn't considered the danger of a few "celebrity" pastors shepherding a country. What do you think? Is this simply a way to reach more people with the Gospel? Or does it undermine the "priesthood of all believers?" In our franchise culture, this approach to ministry doesn't really surprise me. However, it's troubling that a talented few may dominate our nation's spiritual guidance. After all, God's way is to choose the foolish things to accomplish His work.
On the heels of concerns about the integrity of the opening ceremony and the age of female gymnasts, the Washington Post today reported on a less publicized concern that Olympic athletes are facing in Beijing: The Olympic Village's religious center has become the target of a quiet protest by athletes, coaches and other delegates who say its staffing and services fall woefully short of the promises made by Chinese organizers.
Previous Olympic hosts welcomed foreign chaplains, but China has banned them from living with the athletes. It has instead pledged that it will provide equivalent services from its pool of state-employed pastors, imams and other clerics.
The Post quoted athletes who explained that spiritual support was key to their performance. The lack of sufficient support grew into a greater problem, the paper points out, when a tragedy occurred: The quality of the religious services center came into sharper focus on Saturday after the fatal attack against Todd Bachman, the father-in-law of the coach of the U.S. men's volleyball team, at a popular tourist spot in Beijing. To help athletes with their grief, the U.S. team had to scramble for official permission to get a chaplain who spoke English fluently into the village.
This problem seems like another example of the compromises the International Olympic Committee has made in order to work with a country known for restricting rights. More from the Post: Phelim Kine, a researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group, said the ban on foreign chaplains runs counter to the Olympic charter's "dedication to fundamental ethical principals and freedom of expression." He also said the International Olympic Committee shares the blame.
"This is yet another example of IOC's failure to enforce and to stand up to China's efforts to roll back basic freedoms that have been taken granted at previous Olympics," Kine said.
I've tweaked my servers and e-mail clients through the years, so I only receive a few spams a day.
But one day last month the trickle turned into a torrent. My inbox showed 1,000 new e-mails. Then another 5,000. Then another 10,000. By the time I shut down my mail server, there were over 22,000 e-mails clogging my account. Here's a screenshot (click it to see it full-size), after I had removed some of the spam:
What happened was that a Chinese spammer, perhaps a member of a spam gang who put me on their naughty list, had used my domain name in his "from" field, making his spam look as though I had sent it. A percentage of those e-mails were undeliverable, and so they were bounced back to the "sender" -- me.
I suspect he sent millions of e-mails, and I was just beginning to see the barrage of those that had bounced back. Good thing I caught it when I did.
So do I win the record for most number of unwelcome e-mails in a 24-hour period?
Copyright 2009 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. The Line and Boundless Line are trademarks of Focus on the Family.
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