Preach it, Greg Boyd!

For a few months now I've been slowing working my way through God At War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict, by Greg Boyd. I've been picking up the pace this last week. If you follow such things, you may know that Boyd is a bit of a controversial figure in the world of Christian authors. Yet there should be no controversy in the following excerpt, a wonderful section where Dr. Boyd begins to get his preach on:

"... the Lord is using us earthly benefactors of his cosmic victory (the church) to display to the angelic society of the heavenly realms, including the now defeated powers, the greatness of the Creator's wisdom in defeating his foes. We who used to be captives of the Satanic kingdom now the very ones who proclaim its demise. ... we evidence God's brilliance and power in bringing about the destruction of his foes, and thus the liberation of his people.

On a strictly natural level this plan appears absurd. For it is painfully obvious that the church is, and has always been, full of a great deal that does not in any way glorify God. Let us be honest: the church has always been a very human and fallen institution, exhibiting all the carnality, pettiness, narrowness, self-centeredness and abusive power tendencies that characterize all other fallen institutions. On the surface we hardly look like trophies God would want to showcase.

What we must understand, however, is that far from disqualifying us from this divine service, this radical incongruity between what the church looks like and what God nevertheless uses it for is precisely the reason why God uses it. The church unambiguously proclaims the glory of God to the angelic society, and especially to the defeated principalities and powers, precisely by lacking any 'glory' of its own to proclaim. The church's very weakness and vulnerability is what displays the strength of God in freeing us and in using us to finish up his battles. ...

This is consistent with how God has operated throughout history. He has always chosen to use the foolish and weak things of the world to overthrow the "wise" and the "strong" in the world who resist him. ... so the Lord now chooses to carry out his coup de grace of the enemy by the foolishness of his church, these weak, struggling, imperfect people whose only qualification for warfare is that they have said yes to the Lord's gracious invitation to be set free.

... We the church, in all our foolishness, are called to manifest on earth and in heaven Christ's kingdom-building ministry, taking what is already true in principle because of what he has done and manifesting it as accomplished reality by what we do.

... Just as our redemption is a feature of Christ's broader cosmic accomplishments, so too the church's passion to save individuals should be a feature of our burden to manifest Christ's victory over his cosmic foes in all areas of life. ... Since part of God's goal all along has been to restore humans to their rightful place as caring (not tyrannizing) stewards of the earth, the church can hardly dismiss ecological concerns as being outside the parameters of its "spiritual" interests. ... So, too, since Christ has in principle defeated the fallen 'gods' who have for ages inspired injustice, cruelty and apathy toward the weak, the poor, the oppressed and the needy, the church can hardly carry out its role in manifesting, on earth and in heaven, Christ's victory over these gods without taking up as a central part of its mission just these causes. ... if Christ on the cross has in fact torn down the racial wall of separation that divided people-groups, and if his Spirit now seeks to manifest this by reversing the effects of the catastrophe at the tower of Babel, then the church has no choice but to seek to manifest this reality as intensely as we have sought to manifest the reality that the forgiveness for our individual sins was purchased at the cross.

... We proclaim Christ's truth by praying it, speaking it and (undoubtedly most importantly) by demonstrating it. ... following the example of our Lord and Savior, and going forth with the confidence that he has in principle already defeated his (and our) foes, we are to revolt against the evil aspects of our world as coming from the devil's hand. Our revolt is to be broad - as broad as the evil we seek to confront, and as broad as the work of the cross we proclaim. Wherever there is destruction, hatred, apathy, injustice, pain or hopelessness, whether it concerns God's creation, a structural feature of society, or the physical, psychological or spiritual aspects of an individual, we are in word and deed to proclaim to the evil powers that be, 'You are defeated.' As Jesus did, we proclaim this by demonstrating it." (excerpted pgs. 252-255)

Preach it! Glory!

Why do I take it with me?

I do this thing I don't really like. Sometimes I bring with me into today the burdens and disappointments of yesterday. It is a bad habit. It makes it that much harder to live in today.

Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own. He's right. So who needs to carry around the burdens and disappointments of yesterday, or anxieties about tomorrow?

Lord, help.

Integrity Reimagined

When we hear the word integrity, we tend to think of not cheating on taxes, or not lying to your spouse about why you were out late. That is, I suppose, a bear bones definition, but it seriously undermines the real power of the word.

Dr. Henry Cloud, on page 31 of his book Integrity, expands our thinking in this way: "The origins of the word we can see in the French and Latin meanings of intact, integrate, integral, and entirety. The concept means that the "whole thing is working well, undivided, integrated, intact, and uncorrupted." When we are talking about integrity, we are talking about being a whole person, an integrated person, with all of our different parts working well and delivering the functions that they were designed to deliver. It is about wholeness and effectiveness as people. It truly is "running on all cylinders."

Wouldn't it be great to be that kind of person? Or to be a person living that way? When I read Dr. Cloud's definition, I think of the freedom that Jesus wants to bring us. I think of the gospel of wholeness, and how this is a significant part of the good news that Jesus brings us - namely, that this kind of life is possible for us and he can empower us and show us how to live it.

"It is the people."

"Why don't you do what a lot of those rich guys do who are at your level of wealth?" I asked my friend. "They start buying sports teams, or airlines, and things like that."

"Because I don't know anything about those businesses," he said. "My own business is really all I know at very significant levels. So, I don't try to get into businesses that I don't understand."

"But that's not true," I said. "I know of other businesses that you invest in. You have told me about some."

"No, that is not right. I never invest in businesses other than my own."

"But what about ..." and I went on to list about five that I knew of that he had big investments in.

"I did not invest in those businesses. I invested in the people. I never invest in businesses I don't know anything about, but I will invest in a person. If I know their character, their history, how they operate, what kind of judgment they have, what kind of risks are acceptable to them, how they execute, and things like that, and I know them well, I will invest. But I don't go buy businesses I don't know anything about."

.... All I could do was reflect on what he had said. It was such a clear picture of what makes for success. It is not always the "market" or the "strategy" or the "resources." It is the people. ... They come up with a way to make it work. ... if you don't have the people he was talking about, then you can lose in a great market with a great strategy and a ton of resources.

excerpted from Integrity: Courage to meet the demands of reality, Dr. Henry Cloud, pgs. 29-30

This is a great story and insight into what's involved in developing leaders, particularly in the church. People are the key. This is especially true when it comes to church planting. As a sending pastor, assessor or coach, what we're looking for are people. We're looking for men and women of character who've proven themselves over time. Persons of integrated character can succeed even in the face of difficulty, while persons without this kind of integrated character can fail even in the best of circumstances.

Certainly we see Jesus engaging in this kind of behavior. On the surface, the Twelve probably did not have much going for them on paper, in terms of strategies and resources. But it seems clear that Peter and Matthew and John and James and Thomas more than made up for it in terms of integrated character able to overcome in the face of adverse challenges. May we be people who invest first and foremost in people.

Some facts and a thought about Ethiopia

1. 70 million people - 3rd largest country in Africa
2. 50% are under 17
3. roughly 25-40% of the population is Muslim, with a fairly strong cultural influence
4. It is the birthplace of civilization, or, really, humanity. Civilization began in Mesopotamia.
5. But they did invent coffee! Thank you, Kaldi!
6. But probably one of the things of greatest interest to me about Ethiopia is the fact that it is relatively hidden and obscure. It is a nation rich with history and legacy, and yet, for the most part, it is overlooked, passed by in the sweep of history and the great powers. This excites me. Not only does it mean that American culture is ubiquitous, it is also in these kinds of strategic and out of the way places that God loves to break in with His Kingdom, and that is just what He seems to be doing there right now.

Time for Potty Training

Esther has developed a new habit. She comes to Meg or I and says (and usually signs) "potty" and/or "poop." Then she'll walk over the bathroom, lift the seat, pull down her pants, and with her diaper still on, try to pee in the toilet standing up like a man. Then, after a few seconds, she'll close the seat cover and try to flush the toilet. Yep, its time for potty training. Except I think she needs a different model.

How do you feel today?

I've been reading in Psalm 16 all week. I love that psalm. In particular, verse 3 jumped out to me this morning. How do you feel this morning? So much of the time, I think, we feel lousy, or guilty, or arrogant, or whatever. Very rarely do we feel "majestic." Yet, for those of us who are Jesus-followers, "saints," that's just what we are. And we are called to delight in those majestic followers of Jesus. I want you to know, especially those of you followers of Jesus in my church and in my family, that you are majestic - in God's eyes and to me, too - and you are a delight to me.

Life in the D

Here's an article my friend, Jeff, sent me. Apparently Forbes dubbed Detroit, "America' Most Miserable City." Nearby Flint ranked 3rd. With the article link, Jeff said this, "You're just back from Africa, maybe you can share some encouraging news." Or something to that effect. You know your city is in rough shape when you're looking to war-torn, disease-ridden, corruption-plagued East Africa for hope.

But I still love Detroit! No where else I'd rather be. And I mean it.

One thing I didn't expect about Ethiopia

was the countryside. it is high plateau, with some hills and "mounts." not quite mountains, but more than hills. especially when you're already starting at several thousand feet. addis ababa, the capital, is the third highest capital in the world, at over 7000ft above sea level. most of what we saw in ethiopia was what you might call "high desert." it reminded me a lot of idaho. rolling hills, tough grass, rugged trees. all in natural colors. i know that probably sounds dumb to say - calling the outdoors natural colors - but i think you get what i mean. every thing was shades of brown, and ochre, and such. i didn't expect ethiopia to look like idaho. but i hadn't expected idaho to look like idaho, either. and i really liked them both. i felt right at home in that countryside. another thing they have in common is "teff." teff is the local grain the ethiopians use to make their very special bread - injera. they eat everything with injera, which is a kind of mildly fermented bread pancake. apparently, teff grows real well in idaho, too. i'm not surprised. anyway, that's my africa update for tonight.

Out of Africa

One of the things that has most stood out to me since coming home from Africa is how much we eat here in America. While in Ethiopia I usually ate only light meals, often skipping lunch altogether, and I didn't really seem hungry. Since coming home it has been a shock to my system to go back to 1/2 pound burgers and loads of fries and three full meals.

Another thought I've had is that even though I can come out of Africa, I'm not so sure I'll be able to get the Africa out of me. I showed a slideshow of pics from our trip at church this Sunday. Watching it made me want to go back. Africa gets inside you. I think that's what those who've been there knew, the ones who asked me, "So will this be your first time in Africa ...?" Those knowing dot, dot, dots say it all. They know, because the Africa is still in them too.

megan's first blog

isn't my wife so cute?  she's gonna make a champion blogger with these insightful reflections from the bible and life.  

The Shunammite

Wow saints...  I want to be like this Shunammite woman of 2 Kings chapter 4.  Her story correlates well with psalm 142.  The pairing is so right on from the common book of prayer.  Anyway, as it says in the psalm " before Him I tell my trouble".  How often do we tell ourselves our troubles all day; or others?  Yet this woman relentlessly pursued the man of God as her anchor and would only be satisfied with him.  When his servant Gehazi went out to meet her after her son passed she would not share with him her heart.  She reserved the pouring out of her anguish towards Elisha.  I love that.  How often do we reserve our words for the intimacy of the Lord?  The passage strikes me as being in similar times as the book of Ruth; dry, desolate, joyless.  In the midst of this I was struck by this woman's  simple faith and trust.  She would only allow Elisha to come and minister to her dead boy and not his staff.  She made room for the holy in her life by preparing a room for him and serving him a meal.  And, the Lord rewarded her by bringing into her life the one thing she desired so badly.  She could not even speak the words herself, "I want a son".  She was so afraid that the Lord would dash her hopes.  That is my one beef with this woman.  She was hesitant, even willful against declaring the desires of her heart.  And, I believe our God wants us to hope!  And, the Lord raised her hope from the dead as Elisha placed flesh upon flesh and covered him.  Doesn't Jesus do that for us?  He places flesh upon our flesh and breath upon our breath.  What a great passage.  Well, that is my ramblings for the day.  Babies are screaming... gotta go.

Impressions of Ethiopia

So I've just returned from 11 days in Africa. While there I tried to keep a record of my impressions ...

1. People walking. Everyone walks - and they walk all the time - in Ethiopia. It sorta seemed to me that the roads were more like sidewalks that they decided to let cars use too. It is no wonder they are such good marathoners. We had 10 year old kids running easily alongside our truck for long distances.
2. Animals. Animals were everywhere. Wandering freely. Roosters. Goats. Sheep. Cattle. Dogs. Cats. Donkeys. Horses. Monkeys in some of the cities.
3. All of this activity meant that there was lots of dust. It was the dry season, too, so there was lots of dust everywhere.
4. But for all this activity, the pace was slow. While we were there, we were always busy, but NEVER rushed. Ethiopians don't really get rushed.
5. One night we had been out late for a full day of visiting 5 churches and on the way home, in the dark, on a road in the wilderness, it started pouring down rain. (Actually, this was a blessing to the countryside, and most of the folks we visited would have seen the rain as evidence of our having been a blessing to them from God.) Anyway, so we come across a big spread of water covering the "road" and there's a car stuck in it, with water up to the bottom of the grill. Its battery died. Without even hesitating, our driver gets out and lends our van's battery to them, so they can drive out of the puddle, rev up their car and then switch the battery back to us. It took nearly an hour, while we were packed like sardines in this van, but the plan worked! Amazing.
6. Needless to say, the Ethiopians are also very hospitable. They are a warm-hearted people with quick, full smiles.
7. At the Red Cross guest house where we stayed, every morning by 6:30AM we were greeted with the sounds of three things, which lasted 60-90 minutes - roosters, men chanting their (Orthodox Christian) prayers over loud speakers, and the aerobics class on the first floor (with open windows) pumping out an exercise bass beat and the men chanting "Owu!" ("yes!")
8. Blue and white taxis - motorized tricycles, cars, vans.
9. "Afromatics." In the arithmetic of Afromatics, if you say you'll arrive somewhere between 3 and 4, that means that you're very likely to get there at 7. As a rule, Afromatics always involves adding 0.5 hours onto any time.
10. "Munee!" Anytime any young male saw us, pretty much the first or second thing they shouted was "Munee!" (money) This was usually closely followed by a plaintiff look, a hand to the mouth, and "Hungree!" If you gave them money, which we never did, but saw others doing, it was immediately handed over to an older guy hanging around on the margins, who was their boss.
11. Odd clothing matches. Men wearing suits and dress shoes in dirt floored, mud hut churches on a farm in the wilderness. Lots of western clothes being worn in very different settings.
12. Being there I felt much closer to biblical times and the logic of biblical narratives, especially the parables of Jesus. Sheep and goats and threshing floors are very real things there.

Overall, I felt totally at home. It never really felt foreign or strange. Only at one or two points did I feel like I was in the set of a movie. Which was cool. My heart broke for these people and their country. I absolutely enjoyed our two main hosts - Woudineh (Woody) and Shimeles. What awesome men of God! God is good. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have gone and I look forward to next time.

Those are my impressions and a few quick highlights. I'll share more in the days to come.

Dreamy Ambitions

You know, I had these ambitions of posting up a bunch of thoughts this evening, before heading off to Ethiopia tomorrow. I've got all these thoughts rumbling around in my head and on scattered little slips of paper. They want to come out. But I'm tired. And it is late. And I still do have to preach and all that before heading out tomorrow. So I should go to bed.

But I'll leave with a sneak preview. I've been chewing on some ideas related to picking candidates and how that relates to leadership development (and emotions, as my friend Josh Neds-Fox pointed out). And I've got a series of reflections from my reading in Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud. It is a good book that they've got us reading in our area pastors' group.

Well, I hope to be able to post up some stuff while I'm in Ethiopia, but we'll see. I'm sure I'll have lots to say when I get back.

Life With Esther

Isn't she so cute?

Peace Is ...

Have you ever heard of, or seen, The Peace Book? At first it seems like one of those cheesy kids books. But then, after reading it through like 4 times in a row to Eden & Esther, I was like, "Wait a second, this book is describing, in this unassuming, below-the-radar way, a full-scope picture of the God's Peace, true shalom, his rest which shall pervade all creation in the consummation of all things. And it articulates, in child-friendly ways, real world examples of actual activities we can do to partner with God in promoting this peace. Very interesting. "Out of the mouths of babes and infants, you have ordained praise ..."

A Call From Home

So I was at work, yesterday, I think. This last week or two has been something of a blur. Anyway, like I said, I was at work and my cell phone rings with a call from home. I answer. As expected, it is Megan. "Eli has something he's concerned about and wants to tell you." "Wait," I hear in the background (its Eli), "I have to wash my hands." A minute later, after the scamper of feet to and fro, Eli's on the line. "Dad, I'm concerned that a bad guy who doesn't listen to Jesus is gonna point a gun at you and shoot you." "What else?" Megan says in the background. "Dad," he continues, "I'm concerned a rock will fall from the sky and hit your plan and make it crash." "Eli, wow. You know that won't happen. Do you know who will protect me?" A quick "Jesus" is shouted before he runs off. Interesting. We're praying for Eli. He's been a little irritable all week and now we realize that he's probably just concerned and doesn't really know how to express it. We're trying to help him talk about it and I know Meg is praying with him too.