The Walls We Build ... and the ones God takes down

One day at the Medair retreat we did a little exercise in which we built a dividing wall. See the photo for what the wall looked like.
       I had everyone do a powerful little exercise in which I had them divide based on a series of questions:
* Men on one side, women on the other
* Those who have voted in an election, those who have NOT;
* Those from cultures which were colonized, those from cultures who were imperial;
* Those from cultures who were victims of genocide, those from cultures who perpetrated them.
       And so it went, as we experienced first-hand the LACK of shalom we all experience because of the walls we build between peoples and cultures.
       Then we read these astonishing words from the apostle Paul regarding Jew and Gentile:

For [Christ] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:14-18)

Teachings on Shalom - Overview

This morning I finished the teachings/devotionals on "A Living Shalom" with Medair.
       Here are the titles of the four devotionals and the Scripture I spoke on:
#1: Jerusalem (the City of Peace) and Un-peace (Jeremiah 6:6-16)
#2: Peace and Jesus' Sword (Matthew 10:32-42)
#3: Peace and Breaking Down Our Walls (Ephesians 2:11-22)
#4: Peace at the End of a Gun (Matthew 5:9, James 3:18)

The Center of the Gospel

The German theologian Jurgen Moltmann has said, "All Christian statements about God, about creation, about sin and death have their focal point in the crucified Christ." (from The Crucified God). I wholeheartedly agree.

       This morning at the Medair gathering I lead the second of four teachings/devotionals. Today was titled, "Peace and Jesus' Sword" and was based on Matthew 10:32-42. Jesus says that he came not to bring peace but a sword. He also says that families will be split up over this.
       The other places in the Gospel accounts where we see a sword is when Peter cuts off the ear of a person and when Jesus is pierced with a sword while hanging on the cross.
       Could it be that Jesus' reference in Matthew 10 to bringing a sword is a statement about his upcoming crucifixion? Could it be that Jesus is saying that there is NO shalom without the sword which pierces him on the cross?
       All of Christian belief, faith, and practice begins and ends at the cross of Christ. Shalom is found at the most violent pinnacle of human history - the cross where Jesus is crucified.

Teachings on Shalom

This week I am teaching on the biblical notion of "shalom" to a group of Medair staff. They work in the following countries: Haiti, Congo, southern Sudan, Madagascar, and Uganda. Some of the most extreme cases of NON-shalom in the world! Quite the humbling process for me to be with them.
       I am encouraged by Dietrich Bonhoeffer's words in the following two quotes:

• There is no way to peace along the way to safety. For peace must be dared. It is the great venture. (Address at Fano)
• The followers of Christ have been called to peace. . . . And they must not only have peace but also make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. . . . His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they over-come evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. (The Cost of Discipleship)

The Changing Face of Europe

If a picture can paint a thousand words this one certainly does. Welcome to most Western European cities today - Islam meets western capitalism.

Phew - Beautiful... and WAY Expensive!

Lake Geneva and the Swiss countryside from the train.

Switzerland is arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is arguably one of the most expensive as well, when the exchange rate of the Swiss France is GOOD in relation to the Euro and Dollar. Well in the past 6 months the Franc has strengthened by more than 20% against the dollar.
       I am in Switzerland for the week at the moment, and trying to figure out how to be here while NOT having to take out a second mortgage on my house to buy a coffee! Today's small latte at a cafe cost SF 4.80 which is US$6.00 at today's rate. Quite mind-boggling really. Well I better enjoy the views and scenery, I'm paying for them!

Watching the World on Public Transport

The world passed by me the other day as I made my way from Brussels to Geneva via a Brussels train station, Brussels airport, Geneva airport, and train several train stations in Switzerland.

       I consciously listened to the languages people were speaking in these places, and tried to figure out their culture. There were some languages I did not know, but most of them I could identify. They were:

• French
• German
• Dutch (and Flemish)
• English
• Chinese (of some variety)
• Italian
• Russian
• Thai or Vietnamese (a tonal language which always sounds like the person is angry!)
• Spanish
• Swedish
• Norwegian or Danish (could not tell)
• Portugese
• Japanese
• An African language/dialect which I could not identify
• Polish

Not a bad start to the day! And it was not even mid-afternoon yet!

Considering a New Film

I was in Brussels the other day watching BBC news on TV. They had a feature on a new movie from America entitled, "Higher Ground." It's the story of an American woman's spiritual journey to find God and Jesus.
       The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and has received positive reviews. Films such as this have often been cheesy and a bit embarrassing for people of faith (such as myself). I hope this is a better depiction of a person's doubts and discoveries of a good and gracious God.
       If you have heard of the film or seen it please leave a comment here. I'd like to hear people's input about it.

Dave Ramsey and the Great Recovery

Europe, How I LOVE Thee!

I arrived in Brussels from the U.S. a few hours ago. Travel is always draining for me - 15 hours to get to Brussels, arriving at 7:30am local time.

       Whenever I first arrive back in Europe I try to be mindful of what I notice right away. I have never flown directly into Brussels from the U.S. before, so it's newer to me than flying into Amsterdam or Geneva.

       Some things that struck me anew today and that I love about Europe:

* Multi-cultural - I feel like I walked into the United Nations coming into Brussels Airport. And then is the country of Belgium itself - with both French and Flemish and not knowing which language someone will be speaking;

* History - In Europe the word "old" refers to something from 1,000 years ago, in America is refers to something 300 years ago;

* Coffee - had a fabulous cup of coffee at my friend Nada's just now. Coffee is so much better in Europe than in America (sorry Starbucks fans);

* Public transport - I stood in the Brussels train station for 5 minutes figuring out how to get to the metro. I felt like a foreigner, in a good sort of way.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I take off tomorrow for two weeks in Europe. I have been looking forward to this trip for some time. I will be in Brussels for 2 days, Switzerland for a week, and Amsterdam for a few days.
     The main reason I am going to be in Europe is to speak at a leadership gathering of Medair, a relief agency based in Switzerland. I will also be preaching one Sunday and will be visiting staff in Brussels and folks in Amsterdam.
     I do not know how many times I have flown between Europe and the U.S., but I know that the novelty of it wore off a long time ago. I wish I could be on Star Trek and get beamed directly to Brussels at the blink of an eye! Somehow the technology of the 21st century has not yet caught up with the 1968 Star Trek show.

A Classic from Johnny Cash

Toward the end of his life Johnny Cash recorded the Nine-Inch Nails song "Hurt" with his own rendition. It is a classic.

A Church Blesses the Disabled

Flatirons Church in Lafayette, CO hosts an evening each year for the mentally/physically disabled in their area. They call the evening "Shine," where they roll out the red carpet (literally) for these friends who are often overlooked in our society. This is the second year they have done it.
     It is at times like this that the CHURCH is truly the CHURCH! It is when the Church truly reflects being the "bride of Christ." Well done, Flatirons!


2011 Shine Recap from Flatirons Community Church on Vimeo.

21 Days, 14 States, 6,000 miles

I returned yesterday from a 21-day road trip which brought me to 14 states over 6,000 miles. Phew, what a trip!

Steven driving in the middle
of the night thru Missouri.

     I'm grateful that my family was with me for a week, and Steven drove about half the miles with me which was really fun.
     A few things struck me anew about America as I traveled from place-to-place. I marvel at what makes America the America it is. It has problems - BIG problems actually - but there is also a fabric which holds the country together.
     So here are some thoughts on my trip:
   1) America is more like an assortment of mini-cultures rather than a homogenous unit. The worldview in the Midwest (Missouri for example) is so radically different than the Northeast;
   2) High brow Northeast intellectualism is unlike anything else in the U.S. Steven and I visited three Ivy League schools and could have gotten bloody noses from breathing the rarified air of those contexts;
   3) The Civil War is ancient history to northerners (Yankees) like me; it is fresh news to many southerners. General Robert E. Lee is alive in the memories of those living in Dixie;
   4) Coming home to Denver I realize how much cultures change when you go from the Midwest of Kansas to the Mountain State of Colorado. Mountain states people are rugged individualists, Midwesterners and Southerners are more community oriented;
   5) I did not travel to the West Coast on this trip, but I have been in California, Oregon, and Washington many times. That's the subject for another blog post, since the left coast is literally and metaphorically as far as the east is from the west.

A Timely Response Regarding Islam in Europe

The following is a response I received from someone I know regarding The New York Times article about Muslims in Holland.
     At the request of this person they need to remain anonymous as well as the country where they live.
     I am deeply grateful for people such as this friend whose heart has been transformed toward people with very different beliefs and views than they have.

"Thanks for posting this Brian. Sounds similar to the situation in my country. Just makes me think how important it is for the church to become a place where true reconciliation happens, xenophobia is challenged and fear of the other is banished.       It is up to us to have the courage to reach out to those around us, to not fear those who are different from ourselves. As I have done this with people around me, befriending them, inviting them into my home, without exception I have encountered people who are lonely and isolated, lost in their host country, living in poverty and accustomed to being treated with disrespect and hatred on a daily basis (one friend was punched in the face 3 times by a man in the street because of her headscarf).     With all of these people, who have become friends, until we met, they had never had an opportunity to get to know Westerners, to form friendships with people who are different from themselves and to begin to learn something of the values and the culture they find themselves in. They had rarely experienced love, respect and acceptance in their host culture. Time and again we have seen these friends be touched and transformed as they encounter the fragrance of life. These friendships have proven to be transformational for all involved... and to fuel me with hope every day that Jesus teachings of reconciliation provide us with the way forward.     If we stay in a place of fear, with a desire to protect ourselves from the unknown and different, and never move towards others, then we continue to allow the gulf of separation between us to deepen. It is easy to hate people that you don't know, have never talked with, laughed or cried with. But once you begin sharing meals together, becoming community, love and concern for the other comes along and this hatred becomes impossible, even ridiculous... and this is when each time we come across something that separates us (beliefs/practices/politics/whatever) we instead seek for what unites us, and learn to peacefully and respectfully live alongside each other.....all the while both sides, 'them' and 'us' being mutually transformed.     When Jesus taught ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ he was speaking into a politically charged situation, where people felt deep anger & hatred towards their Roman oppressors. They were looking to Jesus for some kind of solution. These words went against everything their flesh and good sense told them, yet Jesus presented them with a way forward of love, peace, humility, forgiveness and sacrifice."