The One Percent

I watched the film The One Percent last night. I wish I hadn't, not because I disagree with it. Rather, because the film exposes the tremendous disparity between rich and poor in this country.
       I am still trying to grasp something such as this: The economic top 1% of the population now controls more than 70% of all financial assets in the United States.
       What I am puzzled by the most is that Christians often defend capitalism and the "free market" as if this economic model was God's plan from the God of Eden onward. We have figured out how to wed ourselves to the good and the bad of the creation of wealth, and we do an incredible job rationalizing it all.
       I found this documentary (The One Percent) disturbing; I find some attitudes of Jesus' followers even more troubling.

Visiting God's Creation

Last week we went to Moab, Arches National Park, and Dead Horse State Park in Utah. We took a few days away with my brother and sister-in-law, Randy and Pam. It was a marvelous time, I wish it could have been longer.
       Recently I re-read parts of C.S. Lewis' essays in God in the Dock and was struck by his statement about creation. It relates well to the experience we had in Utah.
       "Because God created the Natural - invented it out of His love and artistry - it demands our reverence."
Here is what Lewis is talking about:

Sunset in Arches National Park, June 14th.

Moon rise facing east at same time as sunset photo above.

Dead Horse State Park - that's the Colorado River snaking its
way through the canyon. Breath-taking views of creation!

What Would People Think of the Church if ...

I saw this bumper sticker the other day and just chuckled at we Christians. There is something about the "tithe" (giving 10% of your income) that is kind of a litmus test of whether Christians are obedient or not.
       Churches do it also. Pastors tell their congregations that 10% of all money that is given goes to missions. That does not seem to motivate people to give their tithe though. That always has felt like a small percent to me.
       I am grateful that churches which support my ministry tithe. My funding is part of that tithe, so I probably don't want to "look a gift horse in the mouth." Conventional wisdom says that I should be grateful for the 10% giving by churches, especially because some churches give away 2 or 3% only.
       And yet I would love to be part of a church that reverse tithes. That is, for every dollar you give to the church it turns around and gives away 90 cents. Can you imagine that? Wouldn't that be crazy?
       A church that I know used to have an annual budget of $3.4 million. They were running behind budget until December when $740,000 came in over the course of those 30 days. The church tithes, so $74,000 was given beyond itself. The other $666,000 was used for: the mortgage on the property (about 50%), salaries and year-end bonuses for pastors and staff (about 40%), and 10% was put into the bank 'for a rainy day."
      Let's just dream for a minute: What if the church kept $74,000 and gave away $666,000! Think of the many, many incredible causes and people who might have been blessed. 650K is a good chunk of change after all! It's a crazy dream, to be THAT generous as a church! I think it's a dream worth hanging on to.

Northern Ireland and Golf

Rory Mcilroy of Northern Ireland
with his father after winning the U.S. Open.

Northern Ireland is a relatively tiny place in the context of the globe. County Down within Northern Ireland is even more tiny! It has less than 500,000 inhabitants. Two of them have won the the U.S. Open golf tournament in the past two years! Incredible!!!

       I love that Rory Mcilroy won this year - a blue collar guy from a small town in northern Ireland. His parents scraped and clawed for years so that their son could compete in the U.S. and in Europe. So it was all the more poignant when Rory and his dad hugged at the end of the tournament. After all, it WAS Father's Day!

On This Father's Day ... Proud

Today is Father's Day. I'm the dad of two fabulous kids/young adults. Carly just turned 20 this month, Steven is 17. They are engaging, bright, fun and funny, insightful, challenging, they are their own people!
Offspring, you rock my world!
Here's two recent images:

Carly at her impromptu birthday
celebration at Dan and Lizzy's.

Steven and I at the beginning
of a game we umpired together.

Clarence Clemons: 1942-2011

Clarence Clemons, that iconic figure who played saxophone alongside Bruce Springsteen for so many years, died today at 69 years of age.
       I have two enduring memories of Clemons. The first is the sax solo he does about two minutes into "Born to Run." I remember listening to it in my dorm room at Cortland State and saying to my roommate, "Who is that sax player? He totally makes the song!" Little did I know.
       The second image is the cover of the Born to Run album, which shows Springsteen (The Boss) leaning on Clemons (the big man). In some ways that image is sort of prophetic in my mind's eye. Thanks to the big man for many years of great music making and showmanship. I will miss you.

Lament

I thought I would wake up this morning and "be over it." Be over what? Be over my sadness about saying good-bye to Nate yesterday. That's wildly naive of course, even though I think I am the type of person who is more activist and gets on with the next thing pretty quickly.
       But it is not that easy. I am especially perplexed with God this morning, and where He is in all of this. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis' comment in A Grief Observed as he reflected on the loss of his wife:
"When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of 'No answer.' It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, 'Peace, child; you don't understand.' "
       I get at least some comfort from Lewis' comment, but my heart remains heavy and my day appears to be painted with a hue of grey.

My Salute to the General - June 2011

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 16, 2011: Reposted on May 28, 2015.
Major General Nate Lindsay went home to be with the Lord on Memorial Day, 2015.
 
I drove our friends Nate and Shirley to the Denver Airport today. It is the last time I will see Nate in Colorado; he is moving into a care facility in California next week.
       I have had several good "closure" times with Nate over the past few days. He helped me clean up stuff around my house one day (he's great at that!); we did part of a puzzle together and drove around listening to country music; we walked that dogs a couple of times; Susy brought him to a baseball games I was umpiring; and I drove him to the airport today.
       That last thing I said to Nate at the curbside was, "I salute you General. I love you." And then gave him a hug and he and Shirley walked into the terminal. I determined not to break down crying right then, but I drove a few hundred yards from the terminal and pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road. And had a really good, hard cry. Boy, it actually felt refreshing to cry that hard.
       Then I called Susy and told her about saying goodbye to Nate and we had a good cry on the phone together. Phew, I'm tired!
       I plan to see Nate as often as I can when I am out in Los Angeles. But today is the end of a season for us. We won't be driving up the hill to bring Nate for a walk, he won't be coming to our house to play with the dogs, we won't do puzzles together, and I probably won't listen to country music again for a very long time!
       If this sounds depressing, it is not actually. It is good and right for Nate to be in a care facility and I understand it is a great place. I am confident, along with his family, that he can do well there. And yet I am left with a big hole in my life, and I feel sad. But it's a good sad.
       So ... I salute you General Lindsay ... You are indeed a very good man.

A Song Captures My Heart

The worship team closed the service at Crossroads last Sunday with this song from Jeremy Camp. It captured the morning of worship and has stuck with me. I love it!

Amsterdam Trip - Wrap Up

It's the end of our week in Amsterdam and we head home today. I am tired yet fulfilled in the work/ministry we did this week. Serve the City is a major undertaking and the coordinators do an incredible job juggling the many details of the projects.
       Here's a few personal reflections on the week:
1) Serving others is both incredibly simple and full of complexity at the same time. It does not take that much to push a wheelchair with an elderly person, but their needs and hurts are so far beyond that moment of bringing them to the park;
2) We could have done Serve the City projects in Amsterdam for weeks on end and there would still be many, many more needs. The goal is not to meet everyone's needs, but rather to show love through serving and thus point people to God in some way.
3) There are better mission project leaders than me! :o)  I have not led a mission team to Europe in many, many years. My team was flexible and gracious with me, which was a good thing because I needed grace!
4) Susy's and my worlds of Denver and Europe "met" for the first time this week, which was a lot of fun for us. It was like linking to important chapters of our lives together at last.
       I'm left with one more thing to ponder - I do not know what God will do with the work our team did this week. We were in many situations and interacted with a lot of people. We stay in the heart of Amsterdam and met servers in pubs to people on the street to someone asking for directions. We painted the apartment of a emotionally challenged guy and another apartment of a woman who is addicted to drugs. 
       Hopefully we left God's mark wherever we went, and I trust that He will use it for His purposes.

Amsterdam Trip - Day 5

It is early Sunday morning in Amsterdam. Most of Serve the City is behind us now; it has been a full and fulfilling three days. Today we attend worship services at Crossroads Church and then have a party for kids in one of the parks of Amsterdam.
       Yesterday we spent the day with elderly folks who are in assisted care facilities. Some of them have forms of dementia, many need to be pushed in wheelchairs. They rarely get out of their group home, so we packed them up and brought them to a nearby park and had a picnic lunch together. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It is. It was also profound for all of us. It's often the little things of life which are most most poignant. It was a beautiful scene seeing our team pushing wheelchairs with elderly people into the park. (photos forthcoming in tomorrow's blog)
       I am up early to look over my sermon notes; I am preaching at Crossroads today. Very much like coming home for me. Looking forward to seeing many dear people to my family.

Amsterdam Trip - Day 4

TEAM: You never know how a group of people will gel and live together for a week on a mission trip. We are half way through the trip and this has been a great mix of people, talents, personalities. Just a wonderful time!

     There are 11 of us, and it has been a meeting of our family's worlds of Europe and America (Amsterdam and Denver). We have been privileged to have three people on the team - Joe, Betsy, and Gail - who we journeyed with us when we lived in Amsterdam. Joe and Betsy live in the US now, Gail still lives here. It has just felt so natural to have them as part of the team.
       The rest of us (8 people) are from our church in Denver. Relative newcomers to the church - Chris and Kelda - as well as old-timers (who will remain nameless!). Extroverts and introverts, life-of-the-party and wall-flowers.
       We have walked the streets of Amsterdam together, served people together, laughed and cried and prayed and pondered together. There have been some easy times and some harder times. We have enjoyed great meals together, slept in cramped quarters together in a hostel, been a bit overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of Amsterdam culture. We have done it together, and it is a great privilege for me. Thanks, team!
  

Amsterdam Trip - Day 3

We have had a great first day of Serve the City. Our team divided into two groups and painted two people's apartments.

Amsterdam Trip - Day 2

Life is a blur at the moment, due in part to jetlag and feeling "foggy" in my head. We have had a great first day in Amsterdam. This afternoon we visited the Corrie ten Boom house in Haarlem and afterward met as a team to discuss shalom.
       It's a spectacular day here in Amsterdam - sun is shining, people are out in numbers at cafes. I am meeting a good friend for a coffee at Leidseplein in 20 minutes, then the team will be with Brigitte (Serve the City coordinator) for dinner. Projects begin tomorrow. We will be painting two people's homes/apartments all day.
       More later ... with photos, as soon as I can get them downloaded onto my computer.

Amsterdam Trip - Day 1

At the moment I am sitting in a United Airlines lounge at Denver Airport looking at a flight board, waiting for our flight to Philadelphia and onto Amsterdam.
       I go on auto-pilot (no pun intended) on travel days. I have done the travel thing long enough that it's kind of old. This trip is different because Susy and I are traveling with 4 others from Denver and meeting up with 5 more people when we arrive in Amsterdam.     Our 11-person team is an awesome mix of people! I am looking forward to being with them for the next week.
       We travel for the next 16 hours and arrive in Amsterdam at 9am local time. Then it's off to The Shelter hostel in downtown Amsterdam to settle in. I'll write again once we arrive in Amsterdam.
       Thanks to all of you who are part of the Serve the City project - people in the U.S. who are supporting the projects, people in Amsterdam who will be volunteering, people around various places who are praying! We are grateful for all of you.