Thanksgiving in N.O.

From AP news report:

Nearly 15 months after the hurricane struck, the number of Katrina victims who will be spending Thanksgiving in FEMA trailers this year will paradoxically be far higher--roughly three times greater--than it was last year.

The reason: Many people who were living with family memebers or staying in hotels at government expense last year have since moved out or been evicted. But they have been unable to return to their homes because they are still waiting for their houses to be repaired, their insurance to come through, or the water and electicity to be turned back on.

More than 99,000 families in Louisiana and Mississippi are living in FEMA trailers, compared with about 34,000 last November, according to the federal Emergency Management Agency. [Stacey Plaisance in Wenatchee World 11-23-06]

Grace Like Rain

It's raining today. A dreary gray morning with a hint of sunshine showing in the cloud breaks. I don't usually like rain (except when its white and fluffy and falling on the ski slopes), but rain is pretty amazing. I tried to recall the water cycle from my science class (which, I guess, is more of an act of a historian at this stage) and this is what I can remember.

First off, rain helps to cleanse the sky, removing things such as pollutents, dust and allergins from the air we breath. In the spring leaving a nice fragance that Glade Air Fresheners can try to imitate but will never capture.

As the rain falls its cleansing continues as it washesthe leaves of plants, but it also hydrates all living things. The nectar of life may be sweetend by grapes, but it really isn't wine. It's water. Water does not feed plants but it does make it possible for plants (and animals) to be nurished. A gentle rain becomes the moisture needed for next summer's crops (in fact wheat will send its roots down a long ways to water. A farmer once told me that when they check moisture levels in a field they hope to find moisture six feet below the surface).

As the water makes its way down through the soil it eventually recharges the aquifer which means it becomes available to farm and city wells for drinking, bathing and watering lawns.

Then of course there's the runoff which goes into rivers or lakes and supports aquatic life. Including the mysterious "wakeboarder". Finally the rain returns to the ocean where it evaporates, becoming clouds and the process starts all over again.

Pretty amazing, really. Like grace.

We sing a song with the phrase "Grace like rain falling down upon me" which seems to me to be pretty descriptive. So often I take rain for granted. I probably would not do so if I lived somewhere with water restrictions due to drought. But I don't. At least not yet. So I note the rain long enough to decide if I need a rain jacket or umbrella and perhaps a change of plans. But that's about it.

God's grace is similar. It tends to fly under the radar unless I am paying close attention. Which I do when there's a major need in my life. But when life is going pretty smoothly and my mind is preoccupied I miss a lot of the little hints of grace that God drops into my life on a daily basis. Without which my life would not be so good. Thus grace, like rain, cleanses and nourishes me and gives me strength. It is good.

But there's another connection. There are times that I don't like the rain even though its a good
thing. And there are times I don't like grace. Flannery O'Connor catches what I mean when she says:

"All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful. Priests resist it as well as others." (Quouted by Phillip Yancy, The Jesus I Never Knew)

The first time I encountered this idea was at a retreat. The speaker's text was from Genesis 32 where Jacob wrestles with God. The text says that they wrestled all night and that finally God touched Jacob's hip, putting it out of joint. Apparently this resulted in Jacob clinging even more tightly to God and, in turn, God blessing him. It seems strange but apparently it was what Jacob needed. That night God changed his name to Israel, and in case Jacob forgot and wanted to return to his "old life", his hip would remind him of the night he wrestled with God. The speaker called this somethnig like "the brokenness of grace."

The idea being that God would allow something difficult or painful to enter my life in order to change me. To remove my self-sufficiency and help me cling more closely to God. The brokenness of grace.

There are days when I would much prefer sunshine than rain. I almost always prefer gentle grace. I have to agree with O'Connor that encountering real grace, real change, can be painful. To often I prefer to be comfortable rather than Christ-like. To be happy rather than holy. Sometimes when I'm experiencing the grace that breaks, I don't think I'll survive. But I always do. And though I may not want to go through it again, I am glad for the results.

If left to myself I would have lots of sunshine and plenty of gentle grace. I would be comfortably content right where I am. Fortunately God loves me too much to leave me where I am.

Play time

Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. Round and round the hilltop he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws and catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one has ever had, except in Narnia.

--C.S. Lewis in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

"Aquinas, in his Summa divided goodness into those things that are (1) virtuous, (2) useful, or (3) pleasant. The idea that there are only three kinds of good is a radical and practical simplification for us. It implies that there are really only three reasons why anyone would ever do anything-three questions to ask: (1) Is it virtuous, i.e. morally right? (2) Is it a practical necessity-like blowing the leaves out of our gutters this time of the year? (3) Is it fun? It's this latter category that goes begging under the pressure of time.

This is not a plea for indolence; it's rather a call to "take heed to ourselves," as Paul would say. It's the only way to save ourselves so we can save others.

No one in the world can be available at all times to all people. We can't take on every task and respond to every need. Need, as such, does not constitute a call, no matter what we've been told. Sometimes we can't be available.

We take ourselves much too seriously. No monk, chained to his desk or flagellating himself in his cell, is more driven. We drive ourselves because we feel we must always be on tap, always be on the job, otherwise we're not being faithful to our task. But that's a prescription for ruin.

I run into pastors all the time who believe they're in a crisis of faith because they seem to have no love for God and for his people and can't understand their feelings. I take one look in their eyes and see great weariness. I know they don't need exhortations to more devotion, more Bible study and prayer. They need to go fishing.

It's amazing how much Charles Haddon Spurgeon got done over the span of his life. He preached thousands of sermons at the Metropolitan Tabernacle and wrote hundreds of books. Yet Spurgeon took off every summer, went to the beach and lay in the sun. When he returned to his church in the fall he was full of energy and enthusiasm and his ministry continues to this day.

Somewhere I came across the following quotation. I don't recall the author...

It is as much a command of God that we rest and relax as that we do not commit adultery. Yet sincere and godly people who would not think of lying or stealing or dishonesty, let alone murder or immorality or blasphemy, habitually and regularly violate this divine provision. They are to be found grim-lipped and devout, continually pushing themselves beyond their human limits, meanwhile quoting to themselves and others various sacred imprecations like "I'm not going to rust out, I'm going to burn out for God."

I actually heard a pastor say that one day: "I don't take vacations; I'd rather burn out than rust out for God." I sat up and stared in amazement. Burn out or rust out? Are those the only options? Isn't there a way to pace ourselves so that we do neither?

Apparently Jesus thought so. When people got to be too many and the pressure got to be too much he headed for the hills. As for me, I pick up my fly rod and go fishing."

---David Roper

Flowers of Hope by Sara Miller

Here's another New Orleans story. Enjoy!

"I have worked in disaster relief for the past six months. During this time, I have seen and heard many touching stories. But one event will forever stick in my mind.

It was during my first weeks working in St. Bernard Perish which is about 20 minutes from central city. I was riding with a co-worker, my eyes glued to the devastation around me. As we turned a corner, I saw a woman planting flowers around her house. I was shocked! It was as though I had been seeing in black and white, these flowers being my first glimpse of color. It was intriguing. What caught my eye next made my heart break--the unmistakable orange sign on the house indicating that it was condemned and scheduled for demolition. I cried, and then I wept. To me the flowers represented hope and new life, and I questioned how she could be so bold after suffering through so much.

For weeks afterward, I couldn't get this out of my mind. So, I bought some flowers and planted them outside of m y FEMA trailer. And do you know what? I would come home after a hard day and those beautiful flowers brought a smile to my face. It made me realize that hope is a truth. It isn't just a feeling. It isn't always logical, but it exists whether we acknowledge it or not.

This reminds me of when Jesus was talking to His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden' nor does anyone light a lamp and put in under the basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

When we talk to a homeowner we hear of the hope they have now that they are one step closer to the final product. But we also hear their struggle with the question: Who would come hundreds or even thousands of miles to serve me and my community? Just like those beautiful flower s, Christians are a brilliant light in a dark world.

My prayer for New Orleans and neighborhoods all over the world is that our actions and words would surprise people. Intrigued, they will search for an answer. And do you know what they will find? That hope is a truth, that has existed throughout all time, and that they are ready to accept it."


(Taken from the Disaster Update by TouchGlobal--the compassion ministries arm of The Evangelical Free Church)

Christ Plays

In Eugene Peterson's book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places He takes the title of his book from a sonnet by Gerard Manley Hopkins that says at one point--

For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

Peterson comments, "The central verb, "play", catches the exuberance and freedom that mark life when it is lived beyond necessity, beyond mere survival. "Play" also suggests words and sounds and actions that are "played" for another, intentional and meaningful renderings of beauty or truth or goodness. Hopkins incorporates this sense of play with God as the ultimate "other" ("...to the Father")--which is to say that all life is, or can be, worship."

Something to chew on. Food for the soul.

Enjoy!

Miss Oly

We are planning on sending another team to New Orleans to help with the ongoing needs of the people there. I thought I would share this story with you to help you understand more clearly why we are going.
Enjoy!

Tuesday's at Trinity Church are special [the church we will be assisting]. It's the day Pastor Michael Sprague shares the church's post-Katrina story and team members tell stories of meeting homeowners they've been working for. The following story was told by team member Stephanie Olivero who was with a group from the First Presbyterian Church - San Diego volunteering the week of October 22. Her team had been sent to New Orleans to gut a house for "Miss Oly."

We arrived at the jobsite early Monday morning and began working after our group grasped hands on the sidewalk and prayed for the day. Soon we were introduced to a slightly built older woman, Miss Oly, who I noticed was surprisingly full of energy and very friendly. I was drawn to her immediately, and I listened intently as she began talking about the job and her story.

She began by telling us the house we were working on was her mother's. When asked where she was, Oly replied, "Oh Baby, she's passed." Oly said it in such a way it made me feel as if her mother's passing had been years earlier and she was at peace with it now. I was surprised to find out that it had not been too long ago. Group members began to gather as Oly told her story of survival during Katrina.

Oly and her mother (she called her "Miss Theresa") had been playing cards and watching TV together at Oly's house during the hurricane. The power went out and a short time later water started coming into the house. It was rising rapidly so Miss Oly took her aging mother up the attic stairs to higher ground. She returned to the ground floor to get blankets. After seeing how fast the water was rising, she decided to get as much upstairs as possible as fast as she could. After making several trips, she went downstairs one last time to get ice cubes but found the refrigerator floating in the kitchen. She swam back to the attic door opening and tried to get back up but couldn't find the strength. She called out to her mother and Miss Theresa said, "Oh Baby, don't you drown and leave me here to die alone." With that, Miss Theresa situated her walker in such a way that Oly could grab it, then her foot, and then pul l herself to safety.

Tragedy would not go away. That night while sleeping, Miss Theresa fell through the ceiling landing in the water below. Oly woke up to see her mother lying in the water and screamed, "Hold on Mama!" She lowered a bed sheet down to her and told her to hold on to it. Miss Theresa held on for a while but went into a nervous panic. Oly pleaded with her to calm down and hang on. Miss Theresa said, "I can't do it anymore, I'm too tired. Don't save me, save your energy for yourself." Miss Theresa then laid back, put her arms by her side, and rested in peace. She knew she didn't die alone; she had Oly by her side.

Miss Oly was rescued through her attic window sometime later but was not able to retrieve her mother's body until late November. She said the most emotionally painful experience she has ever encountered was knowing she had to leave her mother to save herself.

What I will always remember about Oly is how she was filled with joy and was at peace. I figured that could only come from knowing Christ Jesus.

This is from TouchGlobal's update (the disaster response ministry of the Evangelical Free Church of America).

The Rift

Paul shows that in Jesus Christ not only is the promise to Abraham fulfilled but the fundamental rift steming from Adam is dealt with. What Christ did has universal significance. (Romans 5:12-21)

The Rift

Pooper-Scooper-Christian

A friend just walked into the office today and it was a delight to see him! After finishing up a PhD he had left on a European vacation before he makes a career move. The trip had two purposes: an opportunity to get away and travel; but also to see family in Norway. Since my heritage is Swedish there has been good natured bantering back and forth over the years ("Do you know why Jesus could never have been born in Norway? Because God could not find any wise men to the East!" Or, "What do you call a good looking man in Norway? A tourist!").

When he came in he shared about his travels (even kindly referring to Sweden) and how the border-patrol recognized his last name when she read it. He felt like he had come home! How neat! The funny part came out when I began to kid him about being an American, who is Norwegian with an email address of black-irish! (Either a bit confused about his identity or just a good sense of humor) When I mentioned that to him it prompted another story. One day on the train he met a Norwegian man who was a pastor. They struck up a conversation and my friend mentioned that he grew up Lutheran but currently attends an Evangelical Free Church, to which the pastor responded, "Ah, yes, a good Swedish church!" Now we are talking serious identity crisis!

My friend the American-Norwegian who attends a Swedish church and "black-irish" is his email moniker. Naturally, he's caucasian. I'm sooo confused!

This is humorous, in a good-friend-kind-of-way. But for some followers of Jesus it hits close to the mark. The humor hides the fact that they actually are confused about who they are and it shows because of the hyphenated identifiers they give to themselves. "I'm an American-christian"; "I'm a baptist-christian" or "pentacostal-christian"; "I'm a christian-doctor"; "a republican-christian"; "a democrat-christian" or "christian-mechanic" ad nuaseum.

This came home to me many moons ago (that means I'm too old to remember when) from one of Charles Colson's books (don't ask which one, it was many moons ago, remember?). In it he tells the story of a Billy Graham Crusade in New York. A leading Mafia man attended and decided he would become a Christian. But not just a Christian, he would be a Christian-mobster! By golly he was going to do his job as unto the Lord. "Hey, Johnny, remember dat da boss says we gotta say grace before we bust this boobs knuckles!" (Ah, a new evangelism tool, perhaps?)

Colson's point, as I recall, was that there is a problem when a person adds Jesus to their life. When they become hyphenated-christians. We need to realize that Jesus is not an addition to life. Jesus IS life. He is the alpha and the omega. He is the way, the truth and the life. He doesn't add to life, he gives life. As the Apostle wrote

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of men." [John 1:4]

Because he is my life, I also find my identity in him. In him I am beloved. In him I am God's child. In him I am a saint. In him I have a future and a hope. In him I am a Christian.

Now I do have other things in my life. My career, my family, my hobbies. But being in him comes first and foremost. So, I'm a follower of Jesus, whose vocation is pastoring, a husband and father of two, a ski-patroler and in our dog's life, the pooper-scooper-upper. The great thing is that with Jesus as my life, I discover "life" breaking out in all these things, even pooper-scoopering.

On the outside it may look like I'm an Amercian-Swede-dad-pastor-ski patrol-pooper-scooper-christian. But the truth is, in Christ I am God's child who happens to get the other things tossed in. Even scooping poop.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" [1 John 3:1]

Enjoy!

The Devil's in the Details!

I want to know the mind of God. Everything else is detail.

Albert Einstein

Chuckles

Sue and I were headed out to do some grocery shopping when my cell phone rang. Since it was raining and dark, Sue took the call. It was our mechanic. Sue chuckled as he said, "well, first the good news." After saying they got the Volvo running he went on to say that it is on its last legs. Now this is very understandable. The car is 22 years old with over 315,000 miles on it. Of course it's got to break down. At some point you know that the next punch may keep it on the mat. Permanently. But hey, it's a Volvo! These things run forever, don't they?

Like a vet who tells you it is time to consider putting Spike to sleep, our mechanic said he would give us an extra of the part needed for it to limp through life. But for how long it would run he would not even venture a guess. We need to figure out if we can get by with our Volvo out to pasture.

What has me chuckling is that our freezer died at the end of last week. At only 15 years of age, it was in the prime of freezer-life when its compressor gave way (maybe we kept too many high fat foods in it?). Unlike Spike my fictional dog, whom I might bury in the back yard if he died, we really don't have space to bury the freezer. So it sits in our basement with the door slightly open, kind of like a CSI morgue scene. Fortunately no bugs have begun work decomposing the freezer. That would be creepy.

Now if that were all that is going on, I probably would not be writing this. But on top of a dead car and a dead freezer we have been hit by unforseen financial pressures and a family squabble on the eve of dealing with an aging parent. It's enough to make a grown man cry, or maybe chuckle. This is crazy! What the heck is going on?

As we returned from the store I had my first case of the "chuckles" I said to Sue, "We must be doing something right." You see, either it's a coincidental run of bad fortune or there's more-than-meets-the-eye involved here. I vote for the later. Personally I don't like hard times, but theologically I know God uses them to shape us into the image of Christ. Like a hammer and anvil in the hands of an iron-smith, God uses the "rock & a hard place" times to mold us.

That's why James wrote:

"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."

Maybe that's where the chuckles came from? Maybe the spirit was helping me to know that this is an opportunity for joy? Yes I know that sounds saddistic, but when you know there is a purpose in the struggle and that something good will ultimately come of it, there's hope. And where there's hope, laughter is not far behind, and at the strangest of times!

Rejoice!

Paul tells the Romans that because we now have peace with God we can rejoice! (Romans 5:1-11)
Enjoy!

Rejoice

Congo Vision Trip?

Over the past couple of years I've been wondering if God might want to use us in some fashion in Africa. The AIDs epidemic is leaving a staggering number of children orphaned. Natural calamities such as drought have devastated crops. People have warred against others, destroying villages and lives. It's heart-breaking! But just what could our little church do to make a difference?

I began praying and searching for what God might have for us and then last spring received an invitation for a vision trip to the Congo. The International Mission of the Evangelical Free Church of America (of which Cornerstone is a part) wanted people to see what God has done over the recent past there. Because of the political unrest in the 1990's the missionaries where forced to leave the Congo, but not God. In spite of the brutalities, including the killing of some 4 million people, the church has grown. There are now 867 Evangelical Free Churches of the Congo! Nearly as many as in the United States.

The Congo Free Churches are growing but they have asked for help. Of the 867 churches, only about 200 have pastors with any kind of training. They have three hospitals involved with medical care and they have developed an AIDs initiative to minister to those affected, especially the children. The needs are great. Do we have any resources that God might use to help them?

The origninal vision trip was canceled due to the political unrest surrounding the Congo's first democratic election in July. The run-off election occurred October 29 and it appears that maybe some stability has returned to the region. If so, the original trip will depart in January, Lord willing.

In the meantime I have been talking with Kevin Kompelein (the International Mission Director for Africa) and he's suggesting I go with him in July to see first hand how Cornerstone might be a help in the Congo. The purpose is not for us to "hand out" but to "work with". To listen and learn in order to know how we might then serve. The Lord obviously has matured the church there, but they are lacking in resources. While the church in the U.S. has lots of resources but could certainly learn a great deal about faith in the midst of persecution from the Congolese. So we want it to be a partnership.

I am sensing that God is in this, but is this his timing? Will you pray with me that God will make His will very clear regarding this vision trip? Becoming involved in the Congo would be amazing for us. But without God, it will be impossible. Fortunately, our God is the God of the impossible! Be praying and stay tuned!

P.S. Check out this link Congo Blog