Best Ideas I Could Think Of

When I don't care

2011-04-05T20:06:00.000-04:00

Something insightful to my life hit me today, Tuesday April 5^th, also my mom’s birthday. Well let me preface this by saying I forgot to fill out a bracket in time to submit it to the plethora of CBS sports groups. My lack of a March Madness bracket had more to do with being busy and forgetting than a conscious choice.

So last night I was getting ready for bed early, because we had started a new work out plan that was going to be starting right before 6AM, ouch. I had looked at my espn sports app yesterday, so I knew that the college basketball championship was later Monday evening. I also love watching basketball and watch the championship every year, but I’ve been busy the past few weeks and continue to be busy here at the Academy as I work to finish some year long projects.

This morning I was working in the conference center on the property and one of the woman staff members was talking about who won the game last night, and I realized I hadn’t even checked who won! That was very surprising to me how I hadn’t cared at all who won, when, most times I’ll at least check to see who won in the morning after a big game.

As I thought about this, a pattern began to emerge from under the surface, much below, and it told the story of my sports affinities. I’ve found that when I don’t care as much about sports, it coincides rather directly a great condition of my spirit. And when I find myself highly anticipating, looking forward to and arranging my life around sporting events, then I tend to be off spiritually. I don’t think it is sports fault, but something in me that is looking for something at those times when I come to sports. It is quite bizarre and not that bizarre. Sports offer a type of entertainment that doesn't diminish depending on my condition. I could have the worst day of my life. I could be absolutely unmotivated and not inspired at all, but sports remain great. So if I’m struggling to find any contentment with my relationship with God, then sports offer a great alternative. Something to get excited about, something to cheer for, something to place my hopes in. I don’t want to discount sports, because I love watching them and going to events. I was at the Sunday game between the Phillies and Astros in Philly where Oswalt, a former Astro manhandled his former team… But it was still an incredible experience. I ran down Sepulvada Boulevard in Los Angeles with my shirt off yelling when Vince Young and the Longhorns won the National Title in 2005. But there is something off in the way I approach and look to sports at times where I’m struggling personally.

I was encouraged by my apathy towards the college basketball national championship. I don't know if others have found this pattern, but I’ve found it in myself and hope my appreciation for sports continues without any kind of reliance.

Is his love free?

2011-04-05T19:52:00.000-04:00

The other morning I was reading in the small, book-shelved building we call the Old Library. Those shelves are littered with books printed before WWII and tend to create a wonderful mood for silent morning devotions. That morning I was hit me during the silence was the phrase, ‘love is free but trust isn't’. As I heard it, I knew I had heard something profound, something meant to speak to my heart. To speak to my shortcomings in caring for the people who don't care for me.

What I've found is something that has helped clarify why and how I am supposed to offer love and care to others, but also a limit.

When first hearing that love is free, I was convicted that I have freely received love from God but then go and decide who I love. Like the man who had his enormous debt cancelled and went out and demanded payment for a pittance someone owed him. And what happened to him... But is love free? If I don't offer love freely to others, but love those who love me, then there might be a problem with my view of the love I've received. Am I trying to earn the love that is described in Romans as the free gift of God? The gift that is accepted through faith? Through believing that what God said is true and that Jesus is the way, truth and life?

So I understand I cannot earn salvation, but make others earn the right to be loved by me. If someone hurts me, I withdraw and decide not to offer them love. I give gifts to those who deserve it by the way they have cared for me.... When I read Luke 6 and it speaks of sinners who love those who love them back, I am confused, because I don't think I love those who don't love me.

This is what that still small voice was getting at. We were offered love free. We didn't earn it. We don't earn it. We have done everything possible to be not deserving of that love. Part of my problem is understanding the 'done everything possible' part in my own life. I'm sure the more I come to grips with my depravity the faster I will be to offer grace and love to others.

But this is still confusing, because what does love all others freely look like? This is where that saying defined something crucial for me. We are to give love freely as we receive it from our Heavenly Father, but trust is not given freely. Trust is built, trust is discerned, trust isn’t free, trust I don’t offer to everyone. I don’t have a choice whether or not to love you, but I am given and guided in the choice whether to trust you or not.

Quote

2011-02-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

This week we had a executive coach come and spend time with us. He challenged us in many ways and one thing he said stuck with me, "We must take as much responsibility as we can and no more." When thinking about our strengths, weaknesses, failures, successes, and sins, there are countless opportunities to blame others and there are great opportunities to consider our role in events, positive and negative, and learn from them.

He also said the breakfast of champions is feedback.

Inspiring Speech

2011-02-07T10:58:00.001-05:00

I went to the National Prayer Breakfast last week where the writer of the movie Braveheart gave a speech which instantly became one of my favorites. In a room full of thousands of world leaders, he presented the Gospel in an amazingly unique and powerful way. It truly blew me away. Here's the link, his speech starts at 33:39, it runs about 25 minutes.

http://c-span.org/Events/National-Prayer-Breakfast/10737419386-1/

Enjoy, if you have any reflections please pass them on to me, I'm still trying to remember things he said

Gender Issues

2011-01-13T22:12:00.000-05:00

So we've spent a few days talking about the different roles and characteristics of men and women. One great takeaway I can share without a string of ideas and paragraphs follows:

If you ask me if I have ever called another guy a 'girl' for not wanting to take a risk or for doing something I thought unbecoming of a guy, then you would soon find out I have done this many a time. In essence, what I am doing in this act is saying a guy not portraying characteristics of a Godly man is a woman. Or he was acting like one.

Well, I was hit with a great truth this weak. A man abdicating responsibility, living in fear, living without confidence in God does not make him a single bit more like a woman. What it makes him is simple less a man. Because every time I think of weakness in regards to a man as something feminine, I demean the image God made women for.

My view of a woman of God has been profoundly influenced by what I've seen in the world. Contrary to what I've seen and many times believe, we spoke of how a woman isn't the princess in the fire swamp, waiting for a man to save her. Rather, she is a courageous woman who fears God and in whom a man can actually trust. The woman described in Proverbs 31 doesn't sound like a woman who is unable.

Ideas for the New Year

2011-01-01T19:29:00.001-05:00

I had the idea to spend some time in the upcoming years getting familiar with the music of the late 60's and early 70's.

I've been hearing music from the era that I haven't heard before and I really like it.

So I thought why not follow it year by year and start in 2011 with 1971 and look at all the big songs and albums that come out and just focus on one year and then continue from there?

I'm deciding whether to start in the mid 60's instead of in 71, but I thought it would be great to have the same ending year thing going, but there's too much music in the 60's, so I think I'm going to start in 1965.

If anyone wants to join me I'm going to send out song lists each month to listen to and find some way to share stories and music happenings. If you want to join let me know, should be fun.

2011 - 1965

2012 - 1966, etc.

Whoa now

2010-12-13T14:09:00.000-05:00

Last week we had a pastor come and talk to us all week on spiritual theology. I'm still trying to define those two words together but I would try describing spiritual theology as an attempt to describe the inner workings of men.

One concept that stuck out that we talked about is Sloth. I've always thought of Sloth as laziness and I think that is a good idea but it is quite vague. What he described Sloth as was much more specific.

Sloth of the spirit being a sort of spiritual laziness that results from being overly concerned with external things. Ouch. You live where you are always concerned with the 1,000 pressing things of life and not looking into what is actually going on inside of you.

Some signs he described as people who live out of social conformity and duty. They know and believe the Gospel but don't live by it. You may get excited about a spiritual concept for awhile but soon after the fog rolls back in making hazy what was before so clear. I might come back and expand on these ideas here.

I think there is truth here and also need for a distinction. All of us by nature are struggling to live a certain way which is unnatural to us. What Paul speaks of in Romans 7. We struggle mightily to live by the teachings of Jesus, whether we admit it or not.

But as we fight to become what we are currently not, if we find ourselves overly concerned with the external things of life and not the deep causes of sin in our hearts, I think we become guilty of this Sloth. Another way to put it: If we're too concerned what others think of us, we're not going to have energy or time to deal with what is on the inside. I can think of many situations where I was fully consumed with hiding or playing down something sinful, instead of sitting down and trying to understand what lie, what presupposition I must believe to continue acting out in this way. I think this is a central part of community, bearing with another in these. But when we try to begin to perform, we overpower the chance to turn inward.

Bonhoeffer called this Acedia. Quite challenging and convicting teaching.

The Outdoors

2010-11-29T11:36:00.001-05:00

I was shopping online for the upcoming summer on GoLite's website and came across their statement of values and why they did what they did. As I was reading, I found they touched on something I hadn't been able to put words to. The last sentence brings it home....

"Therefore I GoLite. This is our motto. This is what drives us. Less is more. Less is liberation. Less is our passion. But we didn’t invent this philosophy. You did.

You want to get away from all the stuff—the blaring music, the gadgets, the never-ending load of work and the glut of more, more, more. So you go light. You head out on the trail, because you want to experience nature on its own terms.

You value adventure over advertising. Memories over souvenirs. You don’t want to clog the planet with more stuff. You just want to have pure, simple, heart-pounding fun."

Friends, Family and Aspirations

2010-11-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

I was watching a documentary on Bob Dylan the other night. When he was young he went off changed his name and really didn't go back home. He was Robert Zimmerman.

But this got me thinking, all of us have ideas and aspirations that at times we doubt because who we have been and where we have been. Close friends and family can be an incredible support and can help advise against poor decisions, but there is a thin line between poor and remarkable.

Warren Buffet said one time in an interview, show me a man's heroes and I'll tell you what he'll do. I've never thought of Jesus like this. That He was of humble circumstances, born in a barn, grew up as a carpenter, Son of God. Did not let those around Him tell Him who He was and what He could and couldn't do. There is a line between insane and true. Let's not back off pursuing that line.

Are we really held by our upbringings? Isn't the call of Christ leave everything? And I think He needs everything because it is going to take everything we have to become who He made us to be. It'll take every once of your being to fight the fight put in front of you.

Heroes

2010-10-28T11:03:00.000-04:00

I was watching an interview with Warren Buffet a few weeks ago. In the interview, the reporter asked him questions about how he got to where he was or something in the order.

Buffet went on to make this statement, "Tell me who your hero is and I'll tell you what you're going to do."

This statement immediately made me think of a few different things. First, is he right?? By those we look up to, can others lay down the path in life we are going to take? Also, I think what was more impactful was the asking myself, well who are my heroes? Who do I look up to and want to emulate? Who do I aspire to be like? Am I conscious of who my heroes are?

This question drew out in my the desire to continue and deepened the desire the search for heroes. Especially people who I share commonalities with, they seem especially insightful to me. One of the guys I really look up to but don't know much more than one quote is John Woolman, a British Parliament member and pastor. At his funeral it was said of him, "Many were impacted by the great speeches and sermons he gave, but those who were most impacted were those who had come into contact with the quality of his life among men."

Science

2010-10-22T17:16:00.001-04:00

Wow, today was an incredible day. We hosted a professor from Westminster's Seminary.

One really deep takeaway:

The entire world is under God's personal control. He created it and now upholds it. "In him all things hold together..." But! Because God is so consistent, it is logical that we would take science and let it become stand alone laws apart from it being currently upheld by God. So in fact, science is not a stand alone, impersonal laws of the universe but rather the personal consistency of God's power.

Radical Dependence

2010-10-20T11:36:00.000-04:00

There is a truth that I think is monumental I have been thinking about in my own life. Before I state it, there are a few presuppositions holding it up.

If the world was created by God and in it (Psalm19:1-2) he is revealed day after day, then the world is full of truth and beauty which reflects God.

Also, in him all things hold together. Or all things were created through him and in him.

Lastly, Christ came to redeem the world. To bring redemption not only to humans but to all of God's creation as well. I don't think it is a stretch to say that Jesus came to redeem all beauty and truth, which in it contains everything God made. So pursuits of music, business, art, government, etc. can all bring great praise to God as we participate in the redemption of truth and beauty in the world.

So this brings me to my claim. Why in the world does God give us all these passions and desires and then require us to walk this seeming impossible tightrope??

I think this might be the reason: God requires absolute submission and obedience to him because his plans for are so great, they require every single bit of who he created us to be. The redemptive work he desperately wants for us requires the especially the inner knittings of who he created us to be as an individual. This is where we begin to address the idea of calling, but I think it is such a beautiful idea primarily undergirding it. And in this we don't earn his love but simply participate in God's love pouring forth to creation.

What ideas I think are changing my life

2010-10-14T22:17:00.000-04:00

First off, this has really captured my attention. The purpose of God's Word, the Scriptures is not to be a moralizing agent. What they intended for is to bring us to a place of radical dependence on God and the grace and mercy brought by Jesus. Obedience does not lead the way in my life rather love for the Jesus, my Lord, the Father and the Spirit brings me into a culture and community of obedience. This may sound lofty and wordy but it's real and I feel it. There aren't supposed to be pull yourself up by the bootstraps Christians but men and women fervently in prayer and asking for strength in humility from the life giver and source. I have felt so much pride in my life and not known where it had come from. When we make the Bible a moralizing agent we enter into the dangerous place the Pharisees lived, stroking our egos for the moral and obedient manner of life we live. Instead of thanking God on our knees for the strength, wisdom, forgiveness, freedom and love He has placed in our heart as He transforms us.

Secondly, the idea that God is the creator and in Him all things hold together has struck me. So the things of earth are His. And we, as Christians, don't need to wait on the sidelines to pursue excellence in the areas where God has gifted us. There are only two distinctions between vocations. There are things which are morally wrong for Christians, easiest example is probably being an owner of a strip club. Not sure if that one would go over very well when you had to give an account for your time spent there. But other than some of the obvious morally defunct industries in the world, I believe we have much more freedom than we think to serve God in the world. I mean is there really a difference in God's eyes of being the pastor of a 10,000 person church and working in management for a huge oil company? If both people are being faithful, then can we really pass any type of judgment on either person? When confronted with a question like that my instinctual answer is easily no, but in reality and action I seem to favor the pastor job being more in God's will than the managerial job. We say it all the time that God needs people in the professional world but when it comes to thinking we might pursue one of those, we instinctively think we're in the wrong. This at least has been some of my experience. But there is incredible freedom in seeing the world as God's creation and the pursuit of excellence in these fields gives God glory and also places us somewhere where we begin to use all of the person God made. God calls us to surrender our entire being to Himself because He needs all of us to accomplish what He dreamed up for our lives before we took our first breath. He has a compelling vision for our life whether it be big or small that has to consume our efforts and energies, because then why else would He create them. Yes there is patience and we are not guaranteed to work somewhere that utilizes our gifts, but lets begin to flip the paradigm. No longer are we scared we are going to pursue the wrong thing. No. We're a redeemed people attempting to join Christ in the redemption of the world through God's kingdom coming into ours and our lives are a part of that. So we listen to God, we think about what passions and call God may have placed in our life and we move forward as He leads, not in fear but in hopeful anticipation and if in the process we need correction, then it's a good thing He pays attention and will correct and make our path straight.

Also, leading an examined life. I make so many assumptions and live mindlessly a ton. Not that everything needs to be a deep, well thought out choice, but I've seen so many more of my decisions need to be. For example, how do the movies and TV I watch affect my assumptions about life? How often have I sat in front of the TV and taken intentional notice of what assumptions and beliefs are being espoused by the popular TV shows or movies I watch. I know many people are ahead of me on he curve here, but this is just the tip of the iceburg. Do I eat fruits and vegetables in season or are they flown halfway across the world so i can eat like a king anytime I want to? These are kind of low hanging fruit examples but there are so many others when you begin to really question your world and everything around you. What are the presuppositions that people that people live with? When someone claims something, what are they basing that off of? When someone says something what are the actual consequences brought out by their logical conclusions tot he end of the argument? How does a secular society affect our worldview? What was our country actually founded upon and is there value in the democratic experiment the founders took on? Why are reality TV shows popular? More importantly, how do I communicate the truths of God to people who are tiered of hearing religious stuff but are starved for truth? Does watching violence affect me? Do I support artists and what does art do for humankind? How does imagination work? And how is the mind so much larger than the body? Why do we fall into comfort? Why do we lose our passion for life? Only a few are able to keep their hopes and passions burning as hot or hotter over the years. Instead, time and chance happen to all and hearts grow cold? Why is Mumford and Sons such an incredible band? Is it because of the content of their music or the form of their music?

Lastly, the idea of attempting to understand and interpret the Old Testament as Jesus and the Apostles did. After Christ, Paul preaching everyday in Rome at some point for years in a row... This sums up to thousands of hours of teaching, solely on the Old Testament because the New Testament wasn't together yet. So their understanding of Christ and who He was in context to the Old Testament, in addition to them being Jewish mostly, must have been quite profound and deep.

That's all for now, fun thoughts,hope they spark some interest

Effort

2010-10-12T11:20:00.000-04:00

I ran across this verse the other day:

Ecclesiastes 10:10

If the ax is dull

and its edge unsharpened

more strength is needed

but skill will bring success.

This verse hit me because I feel like my time here at TFA is what is being described here. And I've been trying to find Scripture and other inspirations to heopfully ensure that I k eep myself intellectually growing my entire life. Seeking out truth and not letting up. A sharp ax is a great illustration. A pure heart or wise mind are just as powerful. I hope my passion for learning remains even after I depart this place, and I hope to share life with others this way.

I'm still trying to understand this in practice but on a practical level I think it's a great simple illustration.

Learning the Languages of God

2010-10-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

So I've come across this idea in response to feelings of excitement over learning new things and trying to look back and understand the mindset I have lived under.

For most of college I have generally seen God in what I saw as explicitly Him, the Bible, prayer, worship music and more. I knew that these things did not hold the breadth of God and how he relates to us in anyway, but I wasn't sure how to get my mind around it. What was ok to commit passions to?

Until driving to town today, it popped into my head that I am simply learning the languages of God. There are certain ones I have learned and experienced God in, and there are many I haven't. Many of the ones I haven't are sometimes termed as secular, but how can something be secular when all things hold together in Christ and He made everything?

This may sound very simply and obvious, but the idea of learning the languages of God. Learning the ways God is revealing himself in a world full of knowledge deeper than we are able to understand. Full of art and beauty, full of unique people, all portraying the One who is behind it all.

I am excited to continue to learn and experience the different ways God reveals himself.

Secrets

2010-10-03T00:38:00.000-04:00

A man from England came and spoke to us this week. He has a new book and documentary of a sort coming out on a 50 year secret of what ties together the Chronicles of Narnia.

What struck me more than his claim, that each book symbolizes an ancient pre-Copernicus heaven, 7 in total, was the idea that CS Lewis would write these books and never tell anyone why he did what he did.

I'm not very secretive, but it was interesting to hear how Lewis kept even his marriage secret from most of his friends for the better part of a year.

In proverbs it talks harshly about whispering or gossip and how they are sweet morsels to the soul. But there is something strikingly different to deep meaning in literature or painting. Yes I'm guessing many have already come upon this idea.

The power of the parable. The power of what is not comprehensible in 5 seconds looking at 160 characters. Yes probably all our lives are too fast to dive into deep meanings hidden from our consciousness on first glance. I try to slow down to find my body stationery and my mind off 10 miles away thinking about a myriad of different things.

The mornings and later nights give some rest, but I really took to heart the idea of deeper meaning in secretive ways. In simple terms, wouldn't the depth of our lives reflect the depth of our thinking? If we aren't thinking deeply, then how could we consciously affect the deeper motives and ideas in life. Taking time in misunderstanding. Dwelling on things that don't give us an instant reward or answer.

I know this idea of the secretive is not foreign to a Jewish rabbi born around 5BC but I feel like I understand it a bit better now.

Adam... not God

2010-09-28T14:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had our day of Silence and Solitude where, surprisingly enough, we spent the day not talking and by turning off phones.

It was a great time and during this time that I realized something. All morning, I was feeling this tension to spend the day well since we only had one day a month like this. It was after lunch that I had this Spirit induced thought: God made woman because He said Adam needed a helper, but he did not make man because He needed a helper. This idea of using the day well for God was something I began to question. Is spending the day well really what was important? It is really interesting what questions come up when you dedicate an entire day to silence. Why then are we put on earth? My stock answer is for God to show His love, but my actions and concerns revealed my belief which I acted on was something different. I must make myself useful to God, which isn't why He put Adam in the garden. Not a Bible scholar but I'm pretty sure on this one.

Somehow I keep thinking I have to bring myself in some sort of condition to God. So I arrived at this simple statement: my existence is not to be useful to God but being loved by Him. And the call on my life and Great commission are means by which God gives great dignity to my life as I am cast to join His work. There isn't any of kind of effort or pure heart that I offer to Him. I just bring myself to be loved by Him. Offer brokenness, and gain eternal healing and love. Not really much I can offer that He hasn't given in the first place too.

Power

2010-09-25T13:06:00.000-04:00

Andy talked to us this week about the book he was writing on power. The main thing that struck me was how prevalent power is regardless of our desire for or against it. If I'm teaching a Young Life Bible study, I have power to speak uninterrupted or disputed. There are all these layers and levels of power that I've never thought of.

But his main premise is that to discern if power is used correctly is if the result of power is human begins flourishing. That at the end of a talk that people would be more alive inside or growing. That leaders would pray and lead so that others would flourish.

A few quick definition of flourish:

To be in a vigorous state; thrive

To be in its or in one's prime; to be at the height of fame, excellence, influence

To be successful; prosper

To try and combine, to flourish, to be at one's prime, the prime of how and who we were made to be

Ideas in discipleship

2010-09-24T19:01:00.000-04:00

This is a paper I wrote this week trying to reflect on the visits of Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making, and Kelly Monroe Kullberg, author of Finding God Beyond Harvard:

Uncounted go the many that at points in their life experience Christ and connect with Him on a real level, but fall away over time or over an experience. A distinction exists between a believer in Christ and a disciple. Called to make the latter, the former have not been convinced that what they know if enough to change their behavior. Kelly and David both had great insight to the discipline of discipleship.

Many people believe that Christianity is ‘watered down regular life.’ From their observation, they probably have witnessed many true examples of this. This week Andy provided an unbelievable backdrop and in some ways road map for one being wholly consumed by something, thus rejecting anynotion of watering down. Andy began by noting how the common Christian worldview of the beginning and end of times perplexingly seems to have some piece or pieces missing. One missing antidote or vision, he asserted was the eternal longevity of culture. His functional definition of culture is what humans make and what human make of the world. Citing Isaiah’s account of theend of times and the new citywhere human accomplishments, i.e. ships of Tarshish, are noted as present, he built a case for culture being eternal since it showed up beyond the grave. If culture is eternal, then our labors as humans are given a new context for meaning. For example, if the architectural style of a building is now part of eternity, our vocations are given great dignity. The premise is not our human wisdom elevated and now able to strike awe into those beyond death, rather our human efforts inspired by our divine nature and creation are literally bringing God into our world with what will continue to give God glory in the age to come. This perspective on culture awards an honor to something which was formally labeled as secular and perishing, and Kelly gave some great foundational thoughts for creating culture and helping humans flourish.

Also, a great discouragement to humankind is failure. Failure is useful in many cases, but should not be our goal in life. The same goes for the ill-equipped follower of Christ attempting to loyally pursue the call given to makes disciples of all men. This place in the universe I like to call ‘ good intentions gone awry,’ because it is here that a pattern of a well intentioned disciple trying to manifest Isaiah blank to a fallen world and miserably failing begins to emerge. How many times have we desired to connect with the coworker, friend or colleague and felt powerless? Kelly provided her insight of how to bridge the gap between our care for others and an actual engagement and connection or conversation with another about real, non-superficial issues. Our posture of listening drastically helps begin this the process of engaging with other people. Approaching others in humility, or what she called creative naivety, does not guarantee anything but greatly increases your chances for a moment of genuine conversation and questioning. This has been such an encouragement, because I have felt the greatest intentions accompanied by brilliant failure many times, and her relational insight brings along with it hope. Hope to fulfill the call of our hearts and the hope of bringing thelight of the Gospel into dark, hurting hearts.

I believe both these insights are lasting pillars for discipleship. Requiring us to help others understand how the call of Christ not only requires our entire submission but depends also on the entirety of our being for the role God has created for us. So not only do we find freedom in full submission, but we find great purpose in a wholly consuming vision of creating culture through our talents. Fully called, we are also given insight and tools to allow this fullness to interact with others as we learn to sincerely and keenly listen to them.

This is a high call for those who follow Christ but it is freedom and it embodies how the truth will set us free. There is a sense of awe associated with human beings flourishing. We notice when others are living at a level close to the maximum. We revere them; we aspire to be like them; we wonder and are perplexed at what is different about them; we want to know how to be in a place like them. Christ’s call is high and discipleship is connecting others to that call. Both Kelly and Andy called on the depths of knowledge to unveil foundations of Christ’s call.

Christianity Today

2010-09-16T14:29:00.000-04:00

I've had a couple of ideas that have struck me, and the ideas I said I'd touch on I'll get to at some later time.

I'm reading "Finding God Beyond Harvard," which is about the founding of Veritas, which is an organization devoted to seeking, finding and dialoguing about truth. I don't know if many other people are moved like I was, but this booked was an incredible inspiration for me.

One of her, Kelly Kullberg's, quotes from the book was "Perhaps we're not persecuted so much as we assume constraints."

Talking about Christians in America today and I couldn't have said it any better. I really think this is stirringly true. The response of people to a dialogue on truth and the ability to awaken the dead, the people who don't care of have given up on truth and life, is remarkable!

'Aren't persecuted as much as we assume constraints'.... not sure where you go from here but it's good to know where we start from and what is going on.

More later,

john

Globalization

2010-09-08T11:06:00.001-04:00

Last week, Os Guinness came an spoke to us. It was really challenging and intriguing, aka why it has taken awhile to write on it.

One of his main questions of the week was: 'how are we to engage and minister to people if you don't understand them?' His driving force for understanding the world and culture of today was through globalization.

The idea of the information age bringing everything in the world together into one huge culturally and informational melting pot and what affects this has. One thing he mentioned that I really took to was how we constantly feel the pressure to conform. He referenced a pre-Reformation reformer Peter Damian who was said to be un-manipulatable, un-bribable, and un-clubable. The idea being that we are called to be 'Impossible People' when it comes to our devotion to Christ.

I think the point I got out of this is not that we all need to become strictly orthodox people holding every law over our head, but more we need to be very aware and conscious of what is happening around us. Because to me, bribes and clubbings appear to be very possible in the realm of standing true for Christ, but being un-manipulatable is something different. You have to know the context in which things are happening in order to not allow people to manipulate you. A practical example would be my cell phone. When I wake up in the morning it is an important time because I am less burdened with all the things and people than I usually am when I go to bed at night. I have a clear head and can sit down and focus and pray. It's by far the best time for me to read and pray with God. But I've been noticing how as soon as I get up I check all the emails, calls and texts from the previous night connecting my mind and heart to everything instantly. When before I would have some time of clarity and peace, now I simply have a time where I am merely fighting just to focus. In all that, I think we are called to understand how the world changes happening around us in technology and culture is impacting us as we strive to speak the truth. And this knowledge will also allow us much better insight to understanding others and what is happening with them.

Tomorrow I'll write a few more quick ideas on globalization:

What are distortions globalization has inflicted on religion?

What are some oddities of communications arising in this era? I touched a bit on this with the cell phone story.

I welcome any comments on here or by email!

Prayer?

2010-08-26T21:39:00.000-04:00

If I'm honest, one discipline I have been lacking in years past has been consistency in prayer. Not that it hasn't been a desire, but for many reasons, it just hasn't happened.

This week I've come across some deep truths and questions to ask about prayer or more asking about the lack of prayer in my life.

To start, Bonhoffer in "Life Together" speaks of the Psalms as the prayer book of the Bible, and I think I may have stumbled across something very meaningful to me. Currently and for so much of my life, I have felt in some way captive to concerning myself primarily with myself. In my prayers and life, I have tried to give myself away, but the eventual current of my prayers seems to run continually back into my needs and concerns.

So, the idea of praying through the Psalms struck me. Especially when he began to describe the process of being faced with difficulties in genuine prayers in some of them. Whether, because it is something David said of his purity and single-minded love for God or speaking about enemies about to overtake him and even punishing his enemies. I think Jesus is inviting us in to join with His prayers in the Psalms and join with the entire Kingdom of Heaven. Praying about enemies, being conscious at the same time of believers all across the world fighting real battles like David speaks of. It may be a way for God to draw my attention away from myself. And in prayers of purity, simply joining Christ in praying them as He will continue to pray them over the world until its redemption.

So add to that the discipline of intercession for others, which I have really desired to be diligent in for so long, but haven't really been consistent in it. We asked the pastor who came what he thought about it in your devotional life, and he mentioned praying for others at night is a good practice because your heart is full of stories and people in the evening and it also is a good practice because in it you relieve yourself of the burdens meant not for you trusting those you love to the Lord. I think these ideas in prayer could help lead my heart to others.

One last thought on prayer, is if you get to praying Psalms, connecting the enemies spoken of to the existence of sins that war on and for our soul. That the warring and battle sounding Psalms can be describing our personal fights against sin.

Hope this was clear and brought up some good ideas or questions,

John

PS. Next week, Os Guinness is coming to talk about his book Entrepreneurs of Life and I love his definition of that: "The entrepreneur is the person who assumes the responsibility for a creative task, not as an assigned role, a routine function or an inherited duty, but as a venture of faith including risk and danger, in order to bring into the world something new and profitable to humankind. Called in this sense, and answering such a call by rising to it in faith, entrepreneurs of life use their talents and resources to be fruitful and bring added value into the world - quite literally making the invisible visible, the future present, the ideal real, the impossible an acheivement, he desired an experience, the status quo dynamic, and the dream a fulfillment."

psalms prayer book out of self

First Day

2010-08-23T22:48:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day here at the Academy, as we call it. I feel like we have been jump started into learning and already feel a sense for the deep and meaningful things we are going to learn all year here.

To give a short example, we talked of the centrality of the incarnation for community. That all community is based upon the assumption that Christ did everything that was claimed in the Gospels and today is working his redemption between us. But what I thought was very interesting in this was the way Diedrich Bonhoffer in "Life in Community," went on to say that to become and in becoming a community our central purpose is to confess Jesus' presence among us, or confessing His Presence continually. The thought of the incarnation being central was not a surprise but the way he put the idea of confessing that Christ is already doing and has done was new to me. I think he simplified something that I have definitely tried to think of but never gotten far enough down the road to see it as just telling of what Christ is already doing.

Such a great day.. Hope some of this makes sense!

p.s. tomorrow holds something about the workshop for prayer is in the Psalms, where we find our inadequacy in many senses to pray the prayers but simply join Christ as He prays and intercedes and thus reaching the Father with our prayers... more to come and understand!

Great Journey

2008-07-02T03:24:00.000-04:00

I finished climbing Kili yesterday and I made it up to Uhuru Peak! Contrary to the advice of Andrew Boone, we walked all the way down yesterday. Only have 1 day left here in Africa, so I thought I would take it.

Climbing Kili was unbelievble, so beautiful and so peaceful. You go through a rainforest, then a short forest of short trees, then desert, back into the trees and then back up. You do a lot of up, then down. It helps you get acclimated, but it sure is tiring.

I took some altitude medicine and I ended up having no altitude sickness at all, even at 19430ft! It was so fun, I loved it and it was like the finishing touches to a great trip here in Africa. 6 weeks almost over and I feel like I lived well while on this trip, blessing people where I went and spending a lot of good time with God. Also my stay here in Arusha has been fantastic, I'm going with Max to small group tonight.

I'll be home Friday on the 4th of July, which is great because I'll be so happy to be back in America and everyone else will be happy to be in America too. Looking forward to it.

Last thing, I waited 1 hour on top of Kili for the sunrise, because we made it up quick and saw one of the best sunrises I've ever seen, feeling like I was on top of the world.

John

Toilets + showers = kili

2008-06-25T12:57:00.000-04:00

Finished building 8 showers and 10 outhouses today. The outhouses are a what you'd think an outhouse would look like, but inside there is just a whole in the wood for use. It was fun, at the end I had 10 fundis, Tanzania workers, working for me. I know I could be a contracted in Texas now, because Spanish is a lot easier than Swahili.

I'm putting the finishing touches of stuff tomorrow and playing frisbee golf. Then on Friday I leave to climb Kili. So I really get to do it. It should be amazing.

John

Dedication

2008-06-18T11:34:00.000-04:00

So I was looking at a pair of my underwear that I found in our house and found a name on the tag I never would of imagined: David TenHave. So I decided to dedicate a blog post to everyone who's stuff I'm carrying through Africa.

Boxers - David TenHave
Backpack - Tyler Richards
Unused baseball socks - John Hipp
Girls Hiking sock - Katy Sims
Ipod - Mikey P
2,000,000 shillings - Western Union and my mom
OMGIC window cleaning long sleeve - Mark Adams and hard work
First Aid kit - James Slagle
YL frisbee - Melissa Seuss

On a side note I went on a 2 day safari and saw a lion in a tree. Only place in the world that they climb trees, it was amazing, and while we were sitting there in the car it walked around in the branches, awesome. Went to Ngorongoro Crater, saw more animals than I'll see for the rest of my life. Amazing place. There really are a lot of animals in Africa. I almost saw a lioness kill a zebra, but she wasn't patient enough.

And now I'll be building 10 outhouses at Peace House for the next week and a half. This weekend I'm going camping at a hunting lodge where you can run in the morning with zebras, giraffes, and wildebeasts right next to the path, should be a good time.

John

Let me tell a Story

2008-06-13T09:23:00.000-04:00

Hey so while I have easy access to internet I thought I'd elaborate. One funny thing is that since going to Mozambique, Malawi and here, I've just tried to communicate with other people in any English. So now trying to write in real grammatical English can actually be challenging.

In Nkhata Bay, James and I met a local guy who was working in the kitchen named Buba. We hung out with him all day and went swimming in Lake Malawi, which I think guaranteed a doctor visit when I get home. And so James asked him is there was a local club we could go to and he said yeah, club 672.

So at 10 we left Mayoka Village, our backpacker, and went down into the city to the club. It was an experience. A one room bar with a pool table. The music which had to be on at its max, would alternate between a Chechewa, Malawi's language, and something American like Acon. I don't know how to spell his name. I danced for most of the night and James did too. There were a few ladies there that would try and get real close to both of us and we would instinctively budge them away, but they were nice about it. We also met a guy selling Malawi Wowi, who was the wierdest dancer I've ever seen. The cool thing about the whole place was how welcoming eveveryone was to some Mzungus (white people). We had a great night and walking home with Buba, he told us that the girls from the bar were what he called "night hunters." This made James annd I laugh for awhile. He said he always stays away from the night hunters. We told Buba the kind of shirts we wanted him to make us, a black shirt with a huge Malawi flag on the front and Mzungu on the back. He added Osadondaula to the front, which is like Hakuna Matata, no worries. So I'm bringing home my already favorite shirt.

It's been a eye opening trip and I'm excited to talk to Max about what he thinks of everything going on in Africa starting on Sunday.

Thanks for tuning in,
John

One Part Finished!

2008-06-12T12:25:00.000-04:00

3 Countries later, James Slagle and I parted this morning. We got off an overnight ferry that was the worst idea we've had yet in Africa. The ferry made me motion sick because I slept on the ground and we must have went over 20 foot waves for 3 hours. So when I got on the bus this morning to Arusha I was doomed and puked out the window a good number of times. But I made it to Arusha where quickly an ATM ate my bankcard!

Quick recap:

Took a 24 hour train across all Tanzania, almost had to ride 3rd class which you sit on benches and some people stand. Luckily a spot on 2nd opened up.

From the train station in Dar Es Salaam, our taxi driver for the people to hold a 300 person ferry for us to get to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is crazy. A huge stone medieval looking town in the middle of Africa. Most of the people there are Muslim so it makes Zanzibar very safe, because some of the restrictions of Islam. But! All the power on the entire island of Zanzibar is out. So either you have a generator, which only expensive hotels have, or you have a lantern. We had a lantern in Stonetown and when you are walking at night, it is completely pitch black in some places.

After a day of exploring Stonetown, we made it to Kendwa. It cost $12/day to stay in the dorm, which is pricey, but it was the nicest place I've ever been in terms of a hotel on a beach. Whitest sand possible and crystal clear water. like the Caribbean.

Tonight I met Danielle Boudreax's best friend from Alaska, random.

Ahead of me:

Staying with Max Goodgame for 3 weeks and trying to go on a safari to the Ngorugoru crater or Serengheti and climb Kilimanjaro.

If you want to call me here's the number: +255 78 775 5643, and if that doesnt work add a zero in front of the 78.

Talk to you later,
John

Hey There!

2008-06-01T14:04:00.000-04:00

Quick update, I finally found some internet.

In short, James Slagles and I have been from Maputo to Tofo beach to Vilankulo to Chimoio to now Blanthyre, Malawi.

It's been a crazy adventure, riding with locals in packed to the brim buses for 8 hour trips, but this place is amazing.

Today a goat was strappd on top of our 20 passenger (really like 15 or less) and it kept yelling and when we hit a bump it would crap and the crap would fall through the little opening in the trunk onto our seat. They were those little pellets, but that summarizes this place some.

The people are very nice and help us out at every city we come to because we're always instantly lost.

We're on our way up Lake Malawi to catch a train to Tanzania. I got all the people at the hostile we just stayed at to play mafia, and an Italian guy who knew maybe 100 English words would just yell and point at people screaming, "Tu eres mafia".

Amazing trip. We've met a ton of people from everywhere and have tried to learn how not to get ripped off everywhere we go.

Highlight so far... Going to an island off the coast of Vilankulo where we snorkeled along this 2 mile long coral reef, and then walked around the island throwing the frisbee and picking up unbroken sand dollars almost the size of my hand.

Well I'm off, thanks for anyone praying for me, I appreciate it.

John

Just Getting Started

2008-05-20T14:26:00.001-04:00

I dont know who is going to read this or even how many times I'll actually be able to update it, but nonetheless I wanted a chance to share some of the details of my 6 week long Africa trip coming up, so stay tuned.