Some Thoughtful Words on Civility

Okay, so it is a bit ironic to post this now that the election is over. But we're still going to have to live together. So maybe this will help. Some thoughts on civility in the church and culture, by Rich Nathan, pastor of the Columbus Vineyard.

not one but two

"Ask and you shall receive." That's what Jesus said. When I mentioned an interest in learning more about George Washington, I hadn't expected it to be an application of that. I got one recommendation from one friend, who lent me the book (Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington, by Richard Brookhiser). And then I found in my mailbox a day later a copy of Richard Alden's, George Washington. They both look good.

Jesus was right.

Founding Father?

George Washington is a bit of an enigma to me.  I mean, we all know he is considered great, and the father of our country.  But still, for all that, I realize I don't really know too much about him.  Not in an adult sense.  I love Lincoln.  Lincoln seems self-evidently a great president, a great man, yet Washington, while I'm sure worthy, is opaque to me.  

Any thoughts on the Lincoln-Washington comparison?

I'm realizing this when reading, Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis, a book I saw recommended at my local library.  It is rather good, almost sneakily so.  And it has made me realize I'd like to learn more about Washington in the same way that I have recently explored Lincoln.  

Any suggestions on a good Washington biography?

Michael Beschloss: Hippest Historian Alive?

Remember Palmer Joss, the super-cool scientist played by Matthew McConaughey in Contact? He's the Presidential Science Adviser who's so cool and hip you know he gets autographs outside the White House and at Harvard.

Well, Michael Beschloss, presidential historian, would be the real-world Palmer Joss of History. You may have seen Beschloss on PBS. I have. Best I can tell, he's provided commentary for the presidential debates in the last three elections - beginning as third chair historian for Bush v. Gore, then second chair for Bush v. Kerry, and now NPR's first chair presidential historian for the current contest. He's handsome, dresses cool, has an ususual voice, always smiles, and regularly hasn't something insightful to say that actually has to do with history. But not too "historical." Accessible history ... know what I mean?

Michael Beschloss, friends, quite possibly the hippest historian alive.

I'm probably busy when ...

instead of blogging, I just update my Facebook status. That's not good.

Crazy Dancing

Okay, so we were all a little loopy after the long Cause Conference weekend. But we were having fun at the baptismal pizza party after the gathering on Sunday. Watch Jeremy as he takes me down in head-to-head crazy Russian-style dancing competition.

Church in the news ...

our church got a nod (albeit anonymously) recently in an online paper for our outreach at the AIDS Walk Detroit. read all about it.

sink and soap for kids

so some of you may remember my comments (rant) about the sink and soap sized for kids. well, today, my family relaxed at ikea for a while. it was something to do during the rain - and with cheap, family-friend cafe to boot. well, anyway, back to my point ... it turns out that ikea has solved the problem. all my male readers will be familiar with the short-sized urinal - that one on the end that is just right for the little dudes in our midst. well, it turns out that ikea realized they should have a short-sink too. they've brought the little urinal concept to the world of sinks and had a regular style sink proportioned perfectly for kids. genius! well done, ikea!

my week

i love paul's second letter to the corinthians. i think chapters 3-6 are some of the best descriptions of what pastoral ministry is like. and i think it describes my last week or two. especially the first 10 verses of chapter six. and maybe a bit of chapter four, too.

The Good News

I've had opportunity recently to discover again afresh the goodness of Jesus and the life that he offers. Recently I had need to ask forgiveness from some people I love. I had come under conviction that something I had done was wrong. My heart was heavy with my sense of sin. So I confessed this and asked for forgiveness. I was forgiven. I know God forgives me. And I now I feel at peace, with a light heart. I no longer carry the burden.

This is good news. We don't have to beat ourselves up or second-guess or anything like that. "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and he will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is true. And it is just one more facet in the beautiful gem that is God's good news in Jesus.

Following in Eli's Footsteps

Looks like Eden will be following in her Rocker Brother's footsteps. We don't call her Feli for nothing.

haircuts

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Eli and Esther have a new haircut. This was Esther's first haircut. She did great at letting the woman cut her hair.

It might be hope

My father is coming to Ferndale this weekend. In fact, in like 7 hours. This is big. I haven't seen him in 10 years and Megan has only met him at the wedding weekend festivities. This'll be the first time he meets our kids. I'm excited with a sense of anticipation.

It all began with a song. Last month, there was like a two week stretch where every morning I would wake up with the Sara Groves song, "It might be hope" in my head. (This actually happens a lot - I wake up with a song in my head almost every day. That song will usually frame my worship that morning and is a way that God speaks to me.) Every time I listened to the song I was really moved. Like the 10th time this happened I stopped to ask myself - why? The song describes a scene in which you walk into a room, look out the window and see something out there that inspires something in you, and you realize that what was just birthed in you was hope. I realized that, in my mind's eye, I was seeing something out of my "window" that was birthing hope in me. I'm pretty thick, but not that thick, so I asked myself (God?) the question, "what am I seeing out of my window?" And I realized right away that what I was seeing was my father coming up my walkway to my house. Voila!

It might be hope.

Looking for a church

So a few weeks ago, Megan told me a funny story about Eli. They were talking and Eli proudly told Meg that he had become a follower of Jesus when he was one and a half. "Wow, that's great, Eli!" "Yeah," Eli responds. "Well, that's a big decision. What's next?" Eli, thinking only a moment, returns, "I'll have to find a church." Well, son, here's to hoping you find a good church!

Truth in Advertising

Okay, so the new title picture is not actually of a member of the Pool Party. It is my nephew, Lukas Polcaster, and he is fixin' to do one mean cannonball. I think it captures the spirit of the Pool Party well.

Tooth Out

In other exciting news from the home front, Eli's first baby tooth came out yesterday while brushing his teeth. Awesome! The envelope, with tooth, will be going under his pillow tonight!

Three lines on our ultrasound ...

mean that its a girl! That's right. The Pool Party has made a definitive move to the more tender gender. And, yes, our future wedding bills are on the rise.

At our ultrasound appointment we learned that this most recent addition to the Pool Party is a little girl. We were a little surprised, but not overmuch. A good friend had had a strong early impression, that they believed was from God, that it was a girl, and we had paid attention to that. So as much as daddy and son would have liked some more Y chromosome, we're delighted with the news.

In fact, our little girl is healthy and beautiful by all accounts. Normal size and shape and beatings and throbbings of the appropriate organs. Our baby is well.

The other news is that Megan is what they call placenta previa. That's just a fancy Latin way of saying is that the placenta is between the baby and the cervix, aka blocking the exit row. The midwife tells us this is somewhat common early in pregnancy. And she was at pains to tell us that in 80% of cases, it resolves itself. Of course, the fact is, Megan's variety is the "worst" - total blockage, right in the middle of the cervix. So ...

One implication placenta previa is that if it doesn't resolve itself, Megan will need to have a C-section. Which means no alternative birthing center. This would be a disappointment, and it would be a more painful recovery, but c-section patients are required to stay in the hospital longer, so that would be a nice break from the chaos for her!

A second implication is the "lifting ban." The midwife has told her she isn't allowed to carry more than 10 lbs. That means no lifting any of the kids. It means she almost can't carry her purse! This one is a bit more difficult. However, through the use of strategically placed step stools in the van and bedrooms, along with some ingenious rope and pulley systems (kidding), the girls are able to get into their cribs and car seats with minimal effort. If she's negligent in adhering to the ban, the pressure could produce internal bleeding, force bed rest (egads!), or induce early labor. None of those are good. So let's give Megan a hand with those heavy objects.

And then there are several limitations on Megan's other physical activity.

We're excited about our little girl! And we're hopeful to see God work. And even if he doesn't, God is good.

Jesus' Popularity

So Megan and I went to see The Dark Knight this past Saturday night. It was Megan's idea. I thought it was pretty good, though I was a little underwhelmed. I actually thought Batman Begins was darker. Anyway, as I left the movie I got to thinking about how we like our heroes to be complicated. Superman, Spiderman, Batman - all have come to have these complicated sides. A darker side. It makes them seem more human, perhaps, more accessible. We even like this in our Presidents and other leading figures. Not too much, of course, but enough to make them seem not fundamentally different from us.

It makes me wonder about Jesus. Maybe this is why Jesus is unpopular with some people. He isn't particularly complicated. He doesn't ever have a dark side. With Jesus, what you see is what you get. I happen to see this as refreshing. And I think it is what many people long for, even if they hope to bring down their (other) heroes with a more complicated character.

I thought they wanted to keep kids' hands clean?

While on my vacation out West, I had ample opportunity to observe loads of public restrooms. I've continued my observations since that time. Finally, after more than a month of taking notes, I'm ready to ask my question: "I thought they wanted us to keep our kids' hands clean?"

Let me back up. My son loves to wash his hands after he does his business. That's a good thing. The rumors are always that most guys don't, so I'm glad he does. He asks to wash his hands, without solicitation. And here's what I observed, after visiting what must literally be like one hundred public facilities, from here to Idaho. Probably 90% of the sinks in public restrooms were totally accessible by Eli, who is, admittedly, a little short for 5 and a 1/2. He could totally reach the sinks, and loved the automatic ones. But when it came to the soap, and I find this very interesting, I'd say that he could reach (without assistance) no more than 50% of the soap dispensers. Why is that? I find it very odd. He loved the soap. I would try to talk him into washing without soap sometimes, but he would have none of that shortcutting. It was all the way for him.

So, if you, dear reader, happen to work for any organization connected to the lay-out and construction of public restrooms, please consider lowering your hand soaps.

And, I should say, by way of aside, that by the end of our trip, Eli finally learned to put his head all the way under those automatic hand-driers so that his hair would blow everywhere. The discovery brought both of us great joy. We were often late meeting mom at the van because of it.

One of the Best Movie Trailers Ever

Have you seen this movie? The Apple. This is good. In the (paraphrased) words of the "Guilty Pleasures Movie" reviews on Moviefone - this is the best biblical sci-fi musical ever; of course, it is the only biblical sci-fi musical ever. So that makes it the best. And they're right, it is hard to get the songs out of your head.

What I have, I give ...

This morning as I was praying for the church, I felt like the Lord brought to my mind the verse in Acts 3 where Peter tells the crippled man at the Temple gate called Beautiful, "Silver and gold we do not have, but what we have, we give ... in the name of Jesus, get up and walk!" And the man is healed and not only walks, but does a jig of joy.

I got to thinking about that. What do we have to give? Obviously, and I don't say this casually, we've got Jesus. We know Jesus and we have a living relationship with Jesus. We have an expectation that Jesus is on the move and that he wants to act and that if we ask, we can join in with him in his acting. This is big. It is no small thing. We've also got love to give. I'm continually amazed by the love in our church community, even when sometimes other attitudes are also present. We like each other. We love each other. We love people. We've got love to give. Simply loving someone - extending your hand to help someone out, extending your heart to take someone's concerns into it, extending your ears to listen - is a powerful thing. We've got love to give. And there's a third thing. We've got authenticity to give. We're real people. No pretentions. No politics. We're honest-hearted followers of Jesus trying to figure out God, and life with him and how to help the world. That's a deep thing. That is a gift we can give. Trying to be true to ourselves, and true to God, and true to others, and true to what is right. As a church community we can give these things away.

What do you have to give? Have you ever thought about it? You may not have lots of money. Or you might. You may not have lots of experience praying for people, but you're really good at hugging people and helping them know they're loved. You may have no training in preaching, but you're great at telling a story. What do you have to give? I invite you to give away what you have in the name of Jesus and see what Jesus will do.

Redman, we love you, but eat your heart out!

Elijah Pool, on guitar. He's even learned to strike a pose like Redman. And I mean, for real, he looks a lot like Redman, if you've ever seen him up close.

Go West!

So after six days Up North with the whole Pool Party, a faction split off to head west. The splinter group consisted of Megan, Eli and Jim, while the two girls stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa, and a nearby Aunt Dawn. After nearly 5000 miles of road-rage free (okay, mostly free) driving, we're home to tell the tale. Enjoy!

Here we are at 11,000 feet, getting ready to cross over into Yellowstone National Park. I love being in shorts standing in snow. What a surreal joy. As we drove the winding road up to this pass, Eli kept saying, at every new height, "These are the highest mountains I've ever seen. This is the highest I've ever been, right, dad?" He loved it.



This is how we cooked. That really is my hand. It isn't photoshopped in. I really did successfully cook over an open flame for four nights in a row. Without killing us or setting anything on fire (other than the s'mores, which Eli kept wanting to set on fire). It was great. Our friends gave us some organic meat packed right at the ranch. You can gain a new delight in and appreciation for your food in a setting like this.


Eli climbing the big glacial deposit rocks that were scattered like giant play things all over the site where our mountain cabin was. Yes, that is a tree that Eli is holding on to there. I'm standing on a nearby rock. We're probably like 10 feet off the ground. Once I had scaled most of the rocks with Eli to ensure he knew what he was doing, we let him roam on his own. He did great and had what I'm thinking must have been a time of his life experience. He'd be outside for hours on end, climbing endlessly, interrupted only by his desire for me to come out and join him!

Along the back edge of the mountain's cabin property was a little beat-down barbed wire fence that had obviously been stopped on numerous times since last we were there. On the other side was National Forest land, open for exploring. Which is just what we did. Between two big rocks Eli laid out some big sticks to make a bridge, "across the crevasse." I then held his hand and helped him cross it. On the second time around I took his picture at the same time. The smile in this picture is one of the most authentic I've ever seen him smile. It nearly brings tears to my eyes to look at it again.



Megan, in what she affectionately called her "Idaho Heaven Nest." This is where Megan spent much of her time while the boys went out exploring. It is also where Megan and I slept - on this screened in front porch that looked out on the forest and valley below. Amazing. My head was on the pillow near Megan's armpit, with my feet off camera, making an L. The nights got a little nippy. The last night we awoke to the sounds of coyote and/or wolves. We all agree they were probably wolves, including Tri and Nancy. Apparently they bayed every hour, though I only heard them around 5am.

Our friends Tri and Nancy have named their cabin, "Menuchah." (Isaiah 32:18) It means "divine dwelling places" or "resting places," which is exactly what it is.

Our recent trip Up North

Recently the whole Pool party went Up North for the first six days. This is a photo documentary of some of our doings ... Enjoy!

Esther, in all her beauty. I believe this is her wondering what the big deal is about Tahquamenon Falls, and why we won't let her out of the stroller to run around. Esther has recently determined, at 2 and a half, that is finally time to become a two year old! Esther had a great time Up North. For the whole trip she only had one hearing aid (because of some technical difficulties with the other, and having too much wax in her ear to get a good fitting mold). But you wouldn't know it - her speech is coming along so well. What a gem Esther is!




Elijah at Tahquamenon Falls. If you know Eli, you know he loves falls. The water level was so much higher this year, because of all the rain we've had in Michigan. That made the Upper Falls that much more spectacular (no dry spots), but it was a big disappointment when it came to the Lower Falls. The increased water meant that the river at the Lower Falls was too high and the current too strong for us to wade in and enjoy the falls up close and personal. I'm half-way inclined to think my mom put in a personal prayer request with Odin, to send rain, because she was not a big fan of our escapades at the Lower Falls last year (though she herself has walked across the rim of the Upper Falls!).
This is Eden, sporting her new sunglasses. They sort of make her look bug-like. One of the great things about being Up North was that there was plenty of room for Eden to run wherever her heart desired. Except that she had no fear and would often seek to run right into the lake! Oh, and Up North, Eden renewed her claim to fame as The Bobcat. She hardly slept two hours at a time for two-thirds of the time and instead became Bobcat.


Eli at Lake Michigan, in the part we call Sturgeon Bay. I don't know if that's any kind of official name. But that's what I've grown up calling it my whole life. It is about 15 minutes from our cabin and it is a mandatory visit every Up North trip. This is like a little taste of heaven for Eli, because there is water and plenty of rocks for building little "waterfalls" and also sand dunes to climb.



Eden enjoying a break on the Daddy bench, along the shores of sunny Carp Lake - aka Paradise Lake. Lots of politics in that, I think. And as they say, all politics are local, so I'm not too tuned into the finer nuances, other than that perhaps Carp Lake (which sounds a little like something else) might not always make for the most attractive vacation spot. Paradise Lake, on the other hand ... you get the picture. There aren't even any carp in the lake. Anyway, that's me relaxing at my uncle's cabin. What a nice time.

Another Side of Jesus

So the other day, as part of my praying of the Divine Hours, I was reading Luke 8:22-25.

This is a pretty well-known story, where Jesus calms the storm. The story speaks of Jesus' power - his ability to speak to wind and waves and they obey. The story speaks of the breaking in of God's Kingdom and kingdom warfare. Jesus is on his way to the other side of the Sea of Galilee where he will encounter the man demonized by the demonic Legion. In a last ditch effort to prevent this encounter, the powers of darkness stir up a storm to stop Jesus, but Jesus is the Stronger Man and the Kingdom of God breaks through.

In between getting in the boat and telling the wind and waves to be still, Jesus is sleeping. Much is made of this. Most of the time we hear about Jesus' trust in God. That Jesus isn't afraid of the storms of life, unlike his seasoned fishing buddies, but is able to sleep right through them. Certainly this is true; Jesus perfectly trusts God. Yet Jesus falls asleep before the wind and waves come. I think the slumbering speaks to another side of Jesus ... his humanity. He gets in the boat and he's tired. The rhythmic motion of the wind and waves work to put him fast asleep.

I can understand this. Recently I was out late doing some ministry. As the longer-than-expected car ride dragged on, I got very tired. I really wanted to engage with my friends in the car, but I was sleepy. It was an effort to keep my eyes open. To not drift off. Oh ... drifting off would be so nice ... Anyway, I can understand Jesus. And it is encouraging to me that Jesus understands me. I have limitations. Jesus had them, so mine must be okay. And that's encouraging.

Motorcycle Diary

A couple of friends have been talking recently about how exciting it would be to have a Sidecar Motorcycle. Like Miguel driving and Guy in the sidecar. How cool would that be?!
But who sees sidecars anymore? Well, I did. On my trip out to Idaho and back I saw two different sidecar motorcycles. So here's hoping that there's a future for Miguel and Guy after all!

My Favorite Thing This Week

is from the side of the Millville(R) Fruity Rice cereal box from Aldi.

"Good Morning! Millville(R) Fruity Rice is loaded with the great tasting nutrition of rice ... one of the world's oldest known grains. ... Fruity Rice is the beginning of a nutritious & wholesome breakfast. When choices from the other basic food groups like milk, juice, toast and butter are added, your meal is complete and balanced."

I should add that, basically, Fruity Rice is the same thing as Fruity Pebbles.

I love this. First, it is refreshingly friendly. Plus, you've got the value of rice, one of the world's oldest grains. Then, so long as you add foods like butter, from other groups, you've got a complete breakfast. Good stuff!

Biggby Coffee

So every now and then I hang out at the Biggby Coffee in Royal Oak, on Woodward, to work. Especially when I need to catch up on a bunch of email, or sometimes on Monday to blog. Anyway, every time I've been here, and I mean every time, there has been this guy in the corner on the phone, laptop open, talking loud. He's running some business from his phone and computer and phone at Biggby's. I get it, but it still feels a little weird. What do you think?

Oh, and yes, I'm back from vacation, and have lots of stuff to comment on from there, once I'm more settled in with work and life.

Feeling Better?

I think maybe my warp drive might possibly be coming back on line. Some weekend tests will confirm whether or not this is so, but even though my stomach is still funny and satisfied with far less food than normal, I think my energy level might finally be picking back up.

How was your trip to Ethiopia?

Many of my friends are asking me this question. It is a natural question, a good question. I'd ask it. There are lots of ways to answer that question. In fact, I've put together a little story of my time a few posts previous. Here's the other way that I'd answer that question:

"Ethiopia was good. Looking at it from the 'work' side of seeing a network of self-sustaining, self-governing, self-reproducing Vineyard churches come into being that help bring transformation to the lives of people and the nation, this trip was sort of like a long training run (think 10-12 miles) when you're preparing for a marathon ... there isn't much to see for your efforts, and you're pretty sore and tired, but you know it was productive."

Impulse Power

Remember on Star Trek when the Chief Engineer, Scotty, would declare in that subtle Scottish brogue, "Cap'n, the warp drive is down. We've only got impulse power." Uh-oh. Kirk would have to navigate through some very difficult situations with only the power of the impulse engines.

That's how I feel. My warp drive is down. I'm working on impulse power. Please pray for me.

Surprise Birthday Party

So last Friday I had a surprise birthday party. It was very nice. Lots of friends, great food, cool beverages. Everyone had a nice time from what I could tell. What made it funny is that on like Wednesday morning, Eli and I were having breakfast and he looks at me and says, "Dad, we're having a surprise birthday party for you on Friday, but we're just not sure of the time." So the surprise part was sort of minimized. In fact, because Megan wasn't feeling very well that day, I ended up cooking the meal portion that we brought - though the Pulled Pork BBQ that was already there far surpassed it! When I told my friend, Ramon, that I cooked the dinner for my own surprise party, his response was, "Classic."

My recent trip to Africa

Well, I'm recently returned from my trip to Ethiopia. My stomach still isn't sure what to make of things, and I still can't stay awake past 7:30PM, but I'm beginning to adjust.

I went with Mark Fields, who coordinates the international mission effort for Vineyard USA. This trip had a few goals: 1) continue to build relationships with Woody and the Ethiopian pastors and leadership team; 2) get a feel for what was going on in terms of the church growth and health; 3) impart some Vineyard values and conduct training, especially in terms of relationships and leadership. I hoped for a fourth goal ... to learn from Mark Fields and test my intuitions against his experience.

Here's my day-by-day story of my trip ...

Monday, June 9th: I departed for Ethiopia. I was pretty sad leaving this time, being that it was second trip in four months. On the way over the Big Pond I read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Why We Can't Wait. It was great. I had never read "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and was powerfully moved by both the content and style of King's writing. It was just what I was looking for. Otherwise, the flight was uneventful.

Tuesday, June 10th: I laid over in Amsterdam's Schirpol airport. Nothing special, other than that they had a mini-exhibit from the art museum, which I thought was super cool. Very nice to be able to take a few minutes break and view some amazing paintings for free. DTW should do that with the DIA. I wish I had like two hours more, and then maybe I could have gone into Amsterdam. Oh well. On the flight down to Ethiopia I read The Shack. I know it is so cliche, but I literally couldn't put it down. If I had not been jammed up against the window in a crowded plane, I would have laughed out loud and openly wept. I was choking back tears. It was very good - blew away my expectations. It is a novel, a little like Pilgrim's Progress. If you're looking for a book to help you think more about finding God in the midst of suffering and such, then I think this is a good book for you. Anyway, there was a big sandstorm in the Khartoum area, so we almost didn't land there to refuel. In fact, it turns out (I found out later from Meg - who understandably freaked out when she heard the news) a plane had had a weather-related accident in Khartoum a few hours before we got there. But all was well. I landed in Addis uneventfully and, having met Mark and Woody at the airport, we went to our hotel.

Wednesday, June 11th: Despite a late night, we got started very early on our trip up to the northwest Addis churches. We picked up some bread and snacks for lunch at a local market and then headed out. A breakfast of coffee, tibbs (sheep meat in broth) and injara (bread) awaited us, along with some local pastor friends, at a restaurant in Holeta. They piled in our Land Cruiser and we were off. That day we visited the churches in Minke and Minaare, as well as saw the new property for the church in Mugar. Because it was the rainy season, most people were out in the fields farming, so the turnouts at our little gatherings were less than last time. That night we ate at the Chess Hotel (yes, complete with outdoor murals of people playing chess) in Mugar. We didn't play chess, but we did dash across the street to our hotel rooms because the rain was pouring down. I stopped eating injara by this point, as its slighly sour flavor was definitely not sitting well with my stomach.

Thursday, June 12th: While Mark (and our driver) stayed behind to work, Woody and I, along with a few local friends, rode horses to visit the new church across the valley from Mugar. This church was in a small village called Dhekuqersa, and they had never had the opportunity to hear the gospel until the church was planted there in October 2007. The 90 minute one way horse back ride was something else, and included fording a river with a major waterfall. This was definitely not the States, as you could walk right up to the unprotected edge of a falls easily as big as Niagara.




The people of Dhekuqersa were great. They loved getting their family portraits taken. What was also amazing was that we still had cell phone coverage here! We were able to share a word with them from the gospels and then pray for their church. We were also able to pray for healing (for a disabled foot) for a new disciple in their church who had recently been delivered from a number of demons. God did restore to her more feeling to her leg and foot. After riding back, we had a short gathering at the new Mugar location (which involved me do a little Children's ministry with all the kids that had gathered) and also visited the church at Ulagora, though, unfortunately, we were like 2 hours late so most everyone was gone. Then, after a brief visit the church in Holeta, we returned to Addis and our rooms at the Blue Light hotel.


Friday, June 13th: Today we spent the day in Addis conducting training for the pastors and leaders in the churches of Addis and the surrounding area. We were at the new Living Stream Vineyard. I spoke in the morning on Kingdom relationships in life and ministry and Mark spoke in the afternoon on Servant Leadership. It was very productive. That night the pastor invited us over to his home for a wonderful dinner and coffee, along with Woody, his wife and our friend Shimeles. He told us stories of how the churches under his supervision are seeing many Mslms come to Christ in a different part of Ethiopia. Dreams, visions, healings, you name it. God is at work.

Saturday, June 14th: We had coffee and breakfast at Kaldi's Coffee, the Ethiopian Starbucks knock-off. It was great. Their Americano was great, though still not as good as a regular cup of Ethiopian joe. Then we departed for Awassa. Along the way we visited a couple of churches where they are seeing some significant ministry - both among the disabled poor and to Mslms. We passed by one district where there are 8 churches working primarily among Mslms, all with evangelists who grew up in the community. Because of some cell-phone network outages on the road down, we weren't able to visit some of the churches in the Awassa area that we had planned on visiting.
So we spent a little relational time together - Mark, myself, Woody, Chemdessa and our driver, and we took the boat out to see the hippos on Awassa Lake. After a beautiful boat ride we passed a fisherman and then came to the hippos - about 10 or 12 in all, only maybe 100 feet from our boat.


Woody and I were up late that night talking over dessert and we were able to link up with some of the area pastors and chat with them.

Sunday, June 15th: We facilitated a half-day training in Awassa. For the first half we spent a few hours answering a number of questions that the local pastors had about the Vineyard, etc. Then we transitioned and I did my teaching on relationships. One funny bit was that I ended up giving my shoes away to someone there, as they had gotten pretty wet from the lake the night before, and I figured someone there would prefer to have them than me taking them home only to throw them away. After spending some time chatting with our friends, we headed back to Addis and Mark and I joined Woody, Shewaye and their eldest daughter (Eden) for dinner at the Zebra Grill - 9 stories up - where, among other things, they had chicken wings! But I didn't try them. That night we stayed in a guest house that had formerly been the Palestinian Embassy - is it possible Yassir Arafet had climbed those same steps?

Monday, June 16th: Mark and I have breakfast with Shimeles at Kaldi's. We had a nice chat and then Woody took us to the airport. All around it was a great visit. On the plan ride out I took several hours to catalog all my thoughts. Near our refueling stop in Rome I happened to see Mt. Vesuvius. Eli loves volcanoes and so I was excited to be able to take a picture of it. I was able to see an old friend of mine during my 13 hour overnight layover in London. We had a late dinner and coffee, then I found a little seat on which I "slept" for a few hours.



Tuesday, June 17th: I fly home to Detroit. On the way I read The Multiplying Church. I also watched 10,000 BC on my on-demand entertainment screen. I had to work at finishing both. Mostly, though, I just looked forward to finally being home and seeing my family again.

All in all it was a great trip. I learned a lot. And I think we accomplished all three of our goals, and I also accomplished my fourth.

Thanks to all of you who made the trip possible (through prayer and supporting Meg and my family). Peace.

I love this picture

this is what i want to be: a pilgrim that progresses.

courtesy of amy kimball

Good quote

"Anybody can be great, because anybody can serve." --- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Something to think about.

Some Perspective

The US gets its fair share of bad press these days. Much of it is, no doubt, deserved. But courtesy of some relation of mine whose connection I cannot fathom, by way of my father and his Tutor Tales, I offer the following narrative snippets to provide some perspective. I can't determine if they're true (via snopes, e.g.), but they are still something to think about, even if they are a little hard on the French.
------------
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building. He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." [full snopes story]
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There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the dumb stunt America has done? They've sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What do they intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly, "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to fee 5000 people three meals a day, they can produce several hundred thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships."
---------------
A US Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the US, England, Canada, Australia, and France. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that included personnel from those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French Admiral suddenly complained that, "whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English." He then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?" Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."
---------------
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. "You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready." The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have time to show it." "Impossible. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France!" Mr. Whiting gave the customs officer a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, "Well, when I cam ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a Frenchman to show it to."
--------------

Like I mentioned, a little hard on the French, yet worth mentioning, perhaps, for a little additional perspective.

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..All Done!

Esther counted this morning to 9!  Who knew!?  Neither Megan nor I knew she could count, and yet she counted all the way to 9.  Way to go Esther!

Life in the Burbs

It is possible to find life in the suburbs - a deeper, thick life of connectedness with God, others, and even ourselves.
Goetz says, "In the late nineties, I read an interview with pop artist Jewell in Rolling Stone magazine. ... She said, 'I'm just a person who is honestly trying to live my life and asking, "How do you be spiritual and live in the world without going to a monastery?''' I don't think you can be spiritual and live in the suburbs without the practices of the monastery. If I had to capture the deeper Christian life in two words, I'd choose silence and service within the context, of course, of Christian community. In silence, the flow is between God and me. In service, the flow is from me to the world. ... As I experience the depths of Christ's presence, as my conversation with God matures, silence and service become my life."

This is good. And for silence and service to be become our life, we have to begin somewhere - to take time for silence and start serving someone.

There but by the grace of God go I ...

The Pool Party watched the Ferndale Memorial Day parade this morning. It was a nice small suburban city affair, replete with elderly veterans in odd hats, hand-shaking politicians, and junior high marching bands. We had a couple of friends in the Ferndale Junior High marching band - they were great!

Memorial Day, of course, is the time we've set aside as a people to remember the service of soldiers (and civil servants) who've sacrificed to uphold our way of life. This year a group of paraders honored the men and women of Michigan who've died in Iraq. There was a section for each year, with paraders holding up signs with the names, pictures and hometowns of fallen soldiers. Many of the signs had two pictures, some three. They kept increasing from 2003 to 2004 to 2005 to 2006 to 2007. There were even three or four young men who've died in 2008. It was sobering.

I was in the Army. I resigned my commission in October 2002, after my 8 years of minimum service obligation were completed. Let's just say that Megan strongly encouraged me that it was the right time. Within two months of me getting my honorable discharge paperwork (which I was very surprised they gave me) my branch manager in the Army Reserves Personnel Command starting emailing and calling - at home and work - wondering what I needed to do to get ready for deployment. I kindly informed her I was done. She kindly said, "Prove it." I did. End of discussion.

Here's why I'm telling this story. Had I waited a month or two, I'd very likely be a Major in the Army, possibly on my third Iraq deployment. It might have been my picture on one of those signs. A sobering thought. There but by the grace of God go I.

Saturday Night Party

So I was at this party Saturday night. It was a joint birthday party for some friends
Here I am having a good time ...Then in walks this guy. He's wearing a mask. He gets a friend and they start following around my son ...But then we manage to calm him down. We invite him into our picture. He accepts, but he's shy ... nearby, but distant.
Then, unmasked, the mysterious man is revealed to be none other than Miguel. And we discover that he uses Revlon, as seen in that his hair is still light and bouncy, despite being confined to that mask for so long ...After our little Revlon commercial, we took a moment to get serious, remembering those who suffer without mustaches:Just another Saturday night.

Provision and Pursuing

As often as I've been able over the last month or so, I've woken up early, opened up the window in my den (or whatever other room I find myself in, if traveling), and listen to the birds. Their joyful songs remind me of Jesus' teachings in Matthew 6 - that the birds neither sow nor reap and yet they are provided for. God provides for them. God provides for us. It is good for me to reflect on this.

Megan and I just returned with our team from the 4Ward Conference - the regional leadership gathering of the Vineyard Great Lakes. It was good. I'm pretty stirred up - for God, for the people in our area, for our church. I love our church.

I really want our church to grow - to see more people discover eternal life and freedom in Jesus. I really want our church to know community - vibrant relationships where people are authentically sharing life. But we can't pursue growth. We can't pursue community. If we do, things get all messed up.

Jesus says we're to pursue first God's Kingdom and God's righteousness, and if we do that, then all these other things will be taken care - growth and community and personal satisfaction and a whole load of things besides. To pursue God's Kingdom is to experience reality as it is described in places like Luke 15 and to live out Jesus' agenda as described in places like Luke 4:18-19. As we do this we're pursuing the righteousness of God - all things he considers right and good and just.

So the birds have reminded me this morning that we're to pursue first God's Kingdom and God will provide for what is necessary.

I'm encouraged

Doesn't it feel like good manners are pretty much dead? Meg and I watched a Jane Austen classic last night, Persuasion, and for some reason it really stood out to me how different the cultural manners were. And how generally nice theirs were. Well, anyway, all is not lost. As I was driving through downtown Royal Oak tonight, I saw a young man and woman walking arm-in-arm, Jane Austen style. There was a light rain and everything, but they seemed oblivious. They seemed to be enjoying one another in their own world. Well done, mystery man! Gentleman-ness is alive and well.

Can I Run Faster Than ... ?

If you know Eli, you'll know that he's really into comparisons right now. Bigger, taller, older, stronger, faster ... you get the idea ...

So when Megan puts Eli to bed, she spends time praying with him. Recently she's been praying for him to be protected from the Enemy. "What's the Enemy's name again, mom?" Eli recently asked. "His name is Satan, honey," Megan replied. "Mom," Eli continues, "do you think I could run faster than Satan?"

What do you say to that?

Morning Reflections

I woke up again early this morning. Not quite as early as yesterday, but still pretty early and engaged with my day right from the start. I like to wake up early because it is a quiet space. I also like to spend time with Jesus. I've got a lot of ministry things I'm working on right now and I wanted to spend some good time in prayer, for them, and also to connect with God before engaging in a full day of working on them.

I was just sort of listening to this worship song, Beautiful, and it really dawned on me again how beautiful Jesus is. He's the reason I got up that morning. He's beautiful. And I wanted to gaze on and soak up his beauty. I just sorta sat there taking it all in, and it was good.

Then as I was on my way in to the office and leaving a message on a friend's voicemail, I had this strong impression reminding me that Jesus never fails. Jesus never fails. Jesus' love never fails. Isn't that good? This brings me hope. Man, I was almost moved to tears again, reflecting on how he never fails. He never fails us. He never fails to accomplish his purposes. Jesus, the Beautiful One, never fails.

Jim Pool & Friend or Rob Bell & Maverick?

Is the picture below Jim Pool and his cadet friend or Rob Bell and Maverick on vacation?

You be the judge.

Blast from the Past

Who is this man? And what is he saying?


Its an old picture of me from Army magazine, circa spring 1994. Here's the larger image, to give you a sense of the larger scene. Note the caption.About a dozen of us cadets were given the opportunity to take a (free) trip to the Normandy coast to discuss the D-Day invasion, around the time of the 50th anniversary of that amazing day.

Still preaching. Just a different gospel, I suppose.

Meet Me At The Sign of the Beefcarver

Among most of my friends, the Sign of the Beefcarver has something of a bad reputation. Okay, that's actually understating it. I've heard it openly mocked. But when Megan mentioned tonight that we might need to go out tomorrow to eat because we're a bit low on food, I'm proud to admit that the Sign of the Beefcarver is one place I'm happy to consider.

I like the Beefcarver. Good, solid, heartland food with plenty of older folks and youngish waitresses (and waiters) wishing they were working somewhere else. But they help you to your seat, even without a tip. And it reminds me of my grandma; we used to eat there a fair amount as a kid. Of course, I haven't been to the Beefcarver in years. I was so mocked the last time I went, which was years ago, when our friends Grant & Cheryl Lynn first visited Detroit, that no one has been willing to go back with me. Clarification: it wasn't so much Grant & Cheryl Lynn that mercilessly made fun of me, but it was sort of the prevailing mood.

Anyway, the grandma's of today are eating there still. At least those who haven't gone vegetarian and who practice bikram yoga.

So, friends, meet me at the Sign of the Beefcarver.

Busy Boys Make Better Boys

A Sabbath Story.

Monday afternoon, Megan came downstairs from an unusually long nap. [full disclosure dictates that I remind the reader that it is highly unusual behavior for Megan to take naps] So she wakes up from her nap and comes downstairs to find Eli and I having a pretty merry 'ol time. She looks out the kitchen window. "Jim," she asks, "did you clean the deck?" "Yeah, mom," Eli replies, "Dad cleaned the deck. I helped him." "Yeah," I said. Mumbling, I also mentioned how I did the dishes and picked up around the house. "Wow," says Megan, "you've been busy." To which I reply: "If you can't do what you want to do, at least do what you need to do."

Gym Pool! Gym Pool! Gym Pool!

so i got this email from a friend of mine earlier today. its funny. its also a little self-edifying, but hey, its my blog ...

jim,
kids got into their bathing suits this morning for some reason and got all amped up to go swimming (their own agenda).
of course, we told them it was too cold to go swimming, but they know there's a pool at the YMCA where [my wife] works out sometimes. They call it the gym pool.
so they're jumping up and down in the kitchen and chanting "gym pool! gym pool! gym pool!"
say it out loud a couple of times, for yourself.

I've tried and it works!

Chocolate vs. Vanilla Ice Cream

So Megan and I had the opportunity recently to fly to Houston. We went as part of my responsibilities on the Vineyard's Church Planting Task Force. I love to fly. Megan hates it. Megan's an introvert. So cramped airplanes are not her thing. But partly to ease her nerves, and partly because she's wanting to be more free in sharing about the life she's found in Jesus, Megan totally struck up a conversation with the woman who sat down next to her in the aisle seat. The woman was dressed conservatively, in business-type attire, carrying an umbrella and a straw hat - the kind you'd see in the movies that people would wear when harvesting in the rice patty. So Megan strikes up a conversation with this woman, telling her all about where we're going and why, etc. The other woman is very interested.

Meanwhile, I'm wrapping up the last pages of Anne Rice's second installment in her historical fiction of Christ's life: The Road to Cana. As I finished the last page, I began to cry. Here I am at cruising altitude, having a moment with Jesus. I'm looking out the window in awe of how awesome Jesus is and how he changes our lives. Of how he heals people and radically alters our destinies. Of how he rewrites stories. I mean, he's Jesus, and this is worship.

And from somewhere deep inside my moment with Jesus, I hear the woman next to Megan say, "You know, I, too, am part of a religious group. Perhaps you've heard of it, its called _____." It was, of course, a group that probably all of us have heard of, but out of respect, I'll leave it to your imagination. As soon as I heard that, I knew my moment was beginning to end. And as I sensed Megan looking for help with the many questions the woman was now starting to help, I said goodbye to my moment and slowly worked my way into the conversation. And wouldn't you know it? After about five (5) minutes, Megan nonchalantly pulls out a book and her journal and she proceeds to totally check out of the conversation, leaving the rest to me!

To be honest, I didn't really feel like this conversation. I wanted to be back looking out the window with Jesus. But because of my love for Jesus, I stayed talking to my new friend. And if you know me at all, you know how much I love to answer questions. And you know how hard it is for me to ignore comments like, "Well, we all know that one of the big things Martin Luther discovered, coming out of the Dark Ages, was that the Trinity was wrong, and that's one of the big reasons he nailed those Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg." At that point I actually gave her my business card, wrote my email on it and asked her to find documented evidence of that and email it to me.

I was enjoying myself after all, even if it wasn't exactly what I felt like doing. But there was a problem. You see, I never came equipped with an "inside voice." If you get me excited on a plane for three hours, this can be a problem ... you get the picture.

So it was right about this time that the guy across the aisle from my new friend turns to the guy he's been talking to and says, "Oh no! They're talking about religion. That's like saying, "I like chocolate ice cream. And you like vanilla ice cream. But you should like chocolate!! Its all a matter of preference. Let's stick to science and things we can prove and know are true." Then they laughed and carried on.

When I heard this, two things went through my mind. First, I thought, "Is my faith really the same as an ice cream preference? Is that what you think? Really? Really? I mean, come on, for many people, and not just fundamentalist Christians, their faith is the governing understanding of their life, guiding major decisions and their sense of identity and the world. Is that really the same as a dessert preference?" Second, I found myself getting very sad that I had offended him, and even more, that I had made Jesus seem small in his eyes. I excused myself from my conversation with the woman and visited the restroom. I apologized to Jesus and then committed to trying to connect with this guy and even maybe apologize to him for having an "insider" conversation in a way that diminished Jesus.

I did come back to my seat and finish the conversation with Megan's seat neighbor, sometime while zigzagging over Texas. We even got to pray with her. Turns out her mother was very ill, which is why she was flying to Houston, and she let us pray for her mother to be healed by Jesus.

I also got a chance to connect with the Ice Cream guy. While I was wrapping up the one conversation, I heard him talking about how he liked to play Dungeons & Dragons. Having played myself, once upon a time, I asked if it was true that the founder of D&D had died, as I had heard. It was true, he replied, maybe a little surprised. We then talked about our favorite fantasy novels until we landed. I never did apologize, but I do think he had a glimpse that maybe not all Christians are as weird as he thought.

And it turns out he wasn't the only one listening. The guy directly behind Megan had been partly sleeping for much of the plane ride, eyes closed, yet open just a slit. He was clearly listening in. I thought I caught a hint of it at a few points. We landed and docked and that's when everyone does that "hurry up and wait and stand up even though there's no where to go" thing. Well, when we did that, he immediately, but casually, started to ask me about a number of Christian authors and what I thought, etc. Turns out he led a men's group in his local church and was in the process of thinking through lots of new ideas and was curious to know more about the Vineyard.

All in all it was an active plane ride! I still haven't heard anything about the Ninety-Five Theses, but I'm hopeful that Jesus touched this nice young woman's mother.

Giving thanks

Oh, and can I say what a great time I had this past weekend! God did some cool stuff. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I saw lots of glimmers of God's Kingdom and got to taste again just how good our God is.

A close friend I hadn't spoken with in years called me out of the blue and we were able to talk. I saw evidence of God at work in bringing people to maturity. And there were loads of expressions of the Kingdom at our Sunday gathering. As one friend put it, he thought our church that morning was like "a light set on a hill." I think he might be right.

Thank you, Lord, for your marvelous gifts!

A Funny Story and a Plea for Help

So Megan and I went upstairs to get the girls this morning. The usual sounds of rowdiness descended from above - banging on the sides of the crib, babbling, calls for Momma and Dadda. But when we went into the girls' room, we found Esther pants off, diaper off, shirt mostly off (back behind her head), with a totally soaked sheet and mattress pad. Crazy. And funny. And that's what makes it great.

But seriously, here's the plea: best Meg and I can tell, Esther is pretty close/ready to be potty train. She shows high levels of interest, goes over to the bathroom and her potty when we think she's going potty, etc. Yet we're having trouble figuring how to actually potty train her in the midst of the Party, if you get my meaning. Any suggestions?

Eden's Favorite Place

Is her seat when she's eating! that girl loves to eat. and she is starting to love to jabber and talk. very cute.

The Keys to the Kingdom

I'm reading Dallas Willard's recent book, The Great Omission. It was recommended by a friend. In the section I read last night he talked about the "keys to the kingdom." This is a phrase from Matthew 16 in the Bible. There, Jesus gives Peter (and the other apostles, too) these "keys to the kingdom," after his declaration of Jesus' rightful identity. Dallas' point, and I think I agree, is that we tend to think of those keys in terms of control (especially in terms of others) - that I, or we, can control who can get in to the kingdom. I don't think this is all wrong - I need to think about it more. But he makes an interesting point ... that we should also understand the keys to be talking about our own access to the kingdom of God, and our ability to enjoy it. Think of it this way: if you're 16 and mom or dad gives you the "the keys to the car," the point isn't about you having the ability to control who gets in to the car, but about your ability to get into the car and drive it! It is the same with the keys of the kingdom that we followers of Jesus have been given.

So I'm starting (afresh?) to pray daily that I actually access this kingdom today. That I enter in. And maybe I can help others enter too. Which is why I'm also remembering daily that God is already at work as I step out into the world; and I'm asking God for help in recognizing where he's at work and the opportunity to join in. Meg and I have been trying this latter for the last couple of weeks with some interesting effect - lots of great conversations and the opportunity to pray for people on airplanes, in airports, at P.F. Chang's, etc. God is good.

Eckhart Tolle's New Earth

After several emails, forwards and conversations, and a fair amount of time thinking about it, I think I might be ready to make a comment or two on the global craze that is Eckhart Tolle and his latest book, A New Earth.

In case you haven't heard of him, Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher who has been made wildly famous by Oprah's unprecedented support of his latest book, A New Earth. She's initiating book club discussion groups on the work all around the world.

Full disclosure: despite some insistence that I try it out, I've not read the book, but merely scanned it while standing in the aisles at Barnes & Noble. I think, though, that I've got a working familiarity with the concepts.

Tolle is claiming that humanity has arrived at a moment of great and terrible crisis, one that is so pervasive that it threatens the whole planet. The situation is so severe that we're in need of "a new earth." We, all people, or at least a significant portion of the human population, must rally together and be changed, so that we can save our species and our home.

As a follower of Jesus and as one dedicated to leading a community of Jesus followers, I agree. Our world is in a state of crisis, and a severe one at that. And I think Jesus would agree; Jesus spoke and lived as if a crisis were at hand. In fact, Tolle evokes Jesus and biblical imagery at many points. He specifically mentions Jesus in at least one place that I read, as a great spiritual teacher who would support his understanding. As I've thought about it, I think that Tolle is probably right - I think it likely that Jesus would agree that we're in a great crisis and in need of "a new earth." In fact, that phrase, "A New Earth," is actually biblical language. The biblical vision for creation is that of "a new heavens and a new earth." So Tolle is casting a vision for hope rooted in the biblical language, and (rightly, I'm thinking) calling on Jesus as a supporter in his cause.

But that's about the limit to the extent in which Tolle's book could be considered biblical or in line with the biblical narrative. In terms of method - how do we actually achieve this vision for "a new earth" - Tolle's line of thinking is rooted deeply in Buddhist philosophy and practice, with some pop-psychology and evolutionary science mixed in. Let me make two cases in point, then sum up.

Tolle sees the coming into being of this "new earth" as the next (critically important) step in humanity's evolutionary progression. Without this step, he says (or at least implies), our species suffers extinction, and with us the whole planet. Now what I'm not wanting to do is critique the whole idea of evolution, but rather the idea that our hope for the future is part of an evolutionary progression. To say this locates our hope in the past, or, maybe, in the present; Tolle's story says our hope lies in our being able to use the past to arise out of the present. But the biblical narrative locates our hope for the future in the future. According to the biblical story, our future hope rushes to meet us. We don't rise up (by our own bootstraps) to meet God in the future, rather God comes down to us and invades our world and transforms it. The Incarnation of Jesus, of course, is a clear expression of this, but we see it other places, too - the way Jesus describes to Nicodemus (John 3) that we are "born from above;" the way the resurrected Jesus is described (in 1 Corinthians 15) as the firstfruits of the general resurrection of the dead that is yet to come; the way Jesus is described as descending to the earth (in Ephesians 4); and the poetic language of Revelation 21, which pictures our ultimate end (the new heavens and the new earth) as heaven coming down to earth (and not vice versa). Making our hope out to be about our rising up through evolutionary effort, as Tolle has it, is, of course, a fairly classic Buddhist way of thinking about the spiritual life. Jesus understood the world to have been created by a living and powerful God who loved that world and all its people so much that he would stop at nothing to see that world and his relationship with those people redeemed, restored and renewed. But Buddhism has no god. Instead, the Buddha taught that hrough the ages-long process of karma, we better ourselves and (hopefully) the world. There are some surface points of similarity between the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha, but it is important to see that they are radically different below the surface.

One of those points of surface similarity is another important part of the "argument" Tolle is advancing. If I understand him correctly, a necessary feature of making this evolutionary progression is by "embracing the Now." This is where this book, A New Earth, builds on his previous best-seller, The Power of Now. If my understanding is correct, and I'd welcome feedback if I'm wrong, this concept of "embracing the now" is a mixture of psychological advice about not fixating on what you can't control, Buddhist philosophy about detachment, and a dressed-up gnosticism that seeks to make the inner world of the spirit as more important than the physical world of our everday. (I think) it is designed to help us not dwell on the past nor to be anxious about the future. Let me say that I think there can be a lot of wisdom in these ideas. Too often we (especially in the American West) are burdened with obsessions about the past and anxieties for the future. In fact, Tolle's teachings bear a surface similarity to Jesus' teachings in Matthew 6, especially verses 25 and 34. They are both saying similar things - don't be anxious, etc. - but they are getting at this through two very different means. Best I can tell, Tolle is advocating that we arrive at this place of peace through a detached focus on the self (cf. the summary of The Power of Now at the link above). Jesus, however, is saying that we arrive at this anxiety-free living by focusing on God - trusting in provision and pursuing his purposes. Jesus says that it is only as we stop focusing on ourselves and instead trust God to provide for our needs as we pursue his purposes, that we'll know real and lasting peace and freedom from anxiety. Which is right? Try it and find out.

Jesus practiced what he preached. He trusted in God's provision, he pursued God's purposes first - and as a result he enjoyed a life of intimate connection with God, deep connection and compassion for others, and he knew abiding joy and peace in his personal life. He was given to neither fear nor anxiety. Jesus has spelled this out; he's shown us the way. And yet we've taken his stated goal and filled it with a different method and agenda. Why? The power of Jesus' life is such that, even today, after 2000 years, people like Eckhart Tolle are trying to leverage on his teachings. So why don't we just follow Jesus?

Here's what I think. I think that if Jesus and Eckhart Tolle were to meet, Jesus would say, "Eckhart, follow me." Jesus would continue, "You're right, Eckhart, there is a crisis and our hope, our need, is for a new earth. So follow me. Live out what I lived and taught. Know that your Father in the heavens knows that you need all these things. And join me in seeking first God's kingdom, and those things which make for his goodness and justice, and be assured that all these things will be added to you."

That's some, at least, of what I think about Eckhart Tolle's new book, A New Earth.

Jesus

So yesterday our church had a Next Step Lunch - a free lunch where folks newer to the church can meet one another and some leaders, and hear stories and ask questions about the church. It is usually very fun and this time was particularly cool. We had a great mix of people. Anyway, one of our leaders was sharing their perspective on the church; he was talking about how he loved how "Jesus-centered" our church was - that we worshiped Jesus, followed Jesus, that every sermon was focused on Jesus. And my heart started to melt: every time he said the word "Jesus" I got filled with this overwhelming emotion - part joy, part love, and more besides - for Jesus. I felt like crying.

A very similar thing happened during the worship time at our gathering that morning. I was just so overcome with love for Jesus, and the desire to give my life to him, to really follow him with everything I've got for all my days. Jesus is so wonderful. I love Jesus so much.

Ready for Spring

I didn't realize until this morning how ready I am for Spring.  I can tell I'm really ready for Spring because when I wake up in the morning for prayer, I've started opening up the window in my den (where I pray).  The chirping of the birds is nice and I really like the feel of the fresh air.  It makes me want to go for a walk (which I love to do when I pray).  Of course, being Michigan, Winter didn't yet get the memo that Spring is here, so I usually have to don a sweatshirt too.  That's okay.  I'm ready for Spring.