Incredibly "Perilous Times"

I was reminded by a close friend today that we live in incredibly "perilous times."

     My heart is heavy. I am praying for God's mercy especially upon the Islamic world.

* In Syria a massacre of civilians over last weekend left more than 100 people dead;

* In Egypt a run-off election will be held in 2 weeks between an extremist candidate and a moderate candidate. The moderate candidate, however, served as Prime Minister under the previous regime.

* In another country, several relief workers have been abducted recently.

     Over the past year or so I have been asked to visit a variety of contexts which could be seen as "perilous" - Muslims imams in North Africa, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to name a few. I have been humbled by how broken and out-of-control our world really is, and how much our world desperately needs RESCUING.

     Jesus and His Kingdom message resonates so deeply for me at the moment. "Come, Lord Jesus" with your mercy.

Tim Keller on Homosexuality

My friend Rob posted this on his blog and I think it is outstanding.
     I say relatively little about homosexuality for the reason mentioned by Keller - Jesus said far, far more about greed than he did about adultery. Does this mean that for Jesus matters related to consumption, materialism, and greed were more important than matters related to adultery or homosexuality? I suppose we all need to come to our own conclusions.
     For now I am thankful for Keller's comments here.

Of Pseudo-Community and Real Community

Very few people experience true community on a consistent basis, although deep in our hearts we yearn desperately for it.

     Those of us who are Christian have an expectation that "church" will be community. Many of us are terribly hurt when we find that what we experience in church is "pseudo-community." That is, there is comradely or commonality around a cause or a person (usually a great preacher), but when the proverbial poop hits the fan everyone scatters like scared cats.

     We want to be "real church in the unreal world," to quote the slogan of a church I know well. And yet we end up being the very opposite - Unreal church in the real world.

     Last Friday night at our sabbath gathering we spoke about the qualities of genuine community:

* It is rarely orchestrated or regimented

* It often flourishes through trial and suffering

* It demands a "giving of one self" and movement toward intimacy

* It looks out for the common good, the good of the "other" rather than myself

* It is celebratory in an unscripted manner

     This weekend I experienced community in some ways. When you experience it you know it - there is a freedom, a calm, an ease to it. As my friend Calvin said, it just happens rather than making it up.

     Here's some photos from one of the community contexts - Shalom Village last Friday evening.

Steven Graduates High School!

Steven graduated from high school yesterday! The ceremony was at the ever-beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater.
     Way to go, my boy (who is now a man for sure)!
     While Steven is modest about his accomplishments, I am not as far as he is concerned. So I am going to take a moment and share my pride about Steven:
  * He finished #4 in his class of 421 students;
  * His weighted grade point average for 4.2;
  * He successfully completed NINE advanced placement classes in high school, receiving 4 or 5s on all of them except one.
  * Steven started the philosophy club at Bear Creek High School, part of his legacy to his school.
     Steven has enrolled at the University of Denver for his undergraduate work (having received a chancellor's scholarship which made dad exceptionally happy!).
     Tomorrow night we will be having a graduation party for Steven, complete with live music from his band along with a bunch of other musician friends of ours. It should be quite the bash!
     Congratulations, Steven! Well done, we are very proud of you!

     

Step Up Enterprises: Grace first

The first value of Step Up Enterprises is, "Grace gives everyone a next step."
     Bono and U2 put it this way: "Grace finds beauty in everything."
     Philip Yancey says it this way: "Imperfection is the prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks."
     Step Up is all about discovering the beauty perhaps buried deep inside a person. We are all about helping light get into the cracks of lives and so dispelling the darkness in our souls.
     We chose the photo below as one to go on the Step Up website. I love the photo because the sun is blasting onto the people and they are full of joy and hope! The silhouette reminds me that these people represent any and all of us ... that grace is not limited to a "holy few," but is offered to the imperfect and incomplete.

     

Everyone Has a Next Step

A few years ago, my friend Lizzy and I started a little company we called Step Up Enterprises. The tagline we came up with is, "because everyone has a next step."
     In recent weeks we have been working on expanding Step Up Enterprises and so I have been giving a lot of thought to the notion that everyone has a next step.
     When we started Step Up we also came up with a handful of core values which have helped us flesh out how and why everyone has a next step. The values are:
  1. Grace offers everyone a next step;
  2. Transition is a normal and healthy part of life, and is crucial to our growth;
  3. All of us sometimes need help to work through life's challenges;
  4. Emotionally healthy people give to others and empower the the community;
  5. Everyone can grow and lead a more fulfilling life.

     I am excited about what Step Up offers people - professional counseling, personal coaching, and organizational consulting. We are bringing on another experienced counselor, we are getting trained in ways to help people step up, and we want to expand our clientele.

     Growing a business is a lot of work. I'm thankful that Step Up is a business that I believe in and thus have energy for. 

They Call Me "the Blue"

Two day ago I had a bizarre experience in which my two worlds collided.
       I spent a day in Indianapolis with the Crescent Project (which trains the Church to reach out to Muslims), flew back to Denver in the early evening and rushed to a baseball field to umpire a game.
       In the matter of about 4 hours I was sitting in a conference room strategizing about Islam and then calling a kid out at first base!
       One of the coaches walked up to me after the first inning and asked, "how does it feel to be called 'the blue?' when you guys where black most of the time?" I chuckled at the question, thinking to myself that nobody in Indianapolis thinks of me as "the blue!"
     I actually love the divergent parts of my life - I go from intense conversations about Islam, Judaism, and matters of faith to calling balls and strikes. I walk onto a baseball diamond, enjoy the game, and walk off and it's over. It clears my head from the complexities of Isaac and Ishmael!

Finally Home

I travel extensively and it takes me more than an hour to get home from the Denver airport once I land there.
     When I drive up to my house I breathe a sigh of relief and say to myself, "Finally home." It's a small pleasure of life for me.
     My friend Jodi is "finally home" today, in a radically FULL way. Jodi died earlier this week after battling cancer for 3 years. Today is a memorial service at the church in Amsterdam where I used to pastor.
     There is nothing more bittersweet than celebrating the home-coming of a follower of Jesus. I ache to be in Amsterdam with many dear friends as they worship God, celebrate Jodi's life (on earth and in eternity) and grieve their loss. I would like to give Stefan (Jodi's husband) a big hug, even though I am not a hugger.
     My heart and mind often dull the brilliance of "being with Christ, which is better by far" as the Apostle Paul said. I get caught up in living in the moment that I am lulled into thinking that this earth is as good as it gets. My friend Jodi knows better! I am comforted, confronted, and challenged by how Jodi lived and by the reality that she is now fully alive with Jesus.

Billy Graham ... Nearing Home

Billy Graham is 93 years old. He published a book last year entitled, "Nearing Home" which I have just begun.
     I love the way Graham begins the book:
"I never thought I would live to be this old.
     "All my life I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die. I wish they had because I am an old man now, and believe me, it's not easy.
     "Whoever first said it was right: old age is not for sissies. Get any group of older people together, and I can almost guarantee what their favorite topic of conversation will be: their latest aches and pains."

"Oh, you made us laugh at life!"

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. ~ Helen Keller

This post is primarily for our friends in Holland and at Crossroads Amsterdam. I want to tell you a funny little interaction I had with Jodi Holzhausen in 2003 or 2004.

       Call this, "Behind the scenes between a pastor and elders!"
       Every year I met with two elders to do a performance evaluation/development review on me, i.e. how I was doing as pastor, areas of strength, areas of weakness.
       One year I met with two of our elders who are more on the "business" side of things. That review went well but it was a bit hard on me personally because it felt kind of "black and white" about what I did well and where I needed to grow.
       The following year I asked if Jodi could be one of the elders doing the review, along with Nico or Yvonne or another elder. So we met in my office at the ministry centre. Jodi was 5 or 10 minutes early and came into my office. She was clearly nervous about the meeting, kind of pacing around my office.
       A few minutes before Nico (the other elder) came in Jodi says to me, "OK, I have to be serious now. We're doing a performance evaluation on you." And she tries as hard as she can to get the smile off her face! She puts her hand over her mouth to hide the smile. And then she starts giggling quietly, and then louder.
       I look at her and ask what she is giggling about. She yells out, "I just love you and Susy so much!" And I just smile and laugh with her! It was a classic "Jodi moment" as only Jodi could be.
       We eventually sat down and had the evaluation and it went really well. Jodi smiled throughout, gave some input, laughed a lot, and just made me feel at ease.
       I look back at that meeting and what lasts is two things - first, Jodi lived fully into life, she seized every moment. The second is how much Jodi loved God and was filled with Jesus. That's really what lasts.

The Thread of Passover - Easter

Passover Seder at the barn in Lakewood with 50 or so friends.
Every year we do a Passover seder with friends just before Easter. I was reminded this week from friends on Facebook that I have facilitated seders for a long time and in a lot of places - from Geneva to Budapest to Pasadena to Amsterdam and now Denver.

       For many of us who follow Jesus this is the most important, poignant week of the year. Over time my understanding and "worldview" about "holy week" has filled out and hopefully matured.

       Most important is that I see the thread from the exodus from Egypt to an empty tomb as one story, rather than fragments to piece together. Here's why I say that:

       The Israelites were enslaved, in bondage and they sought an exodus from it. I believe deep in every human soul we are all seeking an exodus from the things that enslave us. We may look to a support group or a spouse or a counselor, but we all are seeking an exodus from our sin and brokenness.

       For many years I have understood that the exodus from Egypt was a foreshadowing of Jesus coming as the Lamb of God whose blood is shed for His people. None of that has changed for me. What has grown is that a PEOPLE was delivered from slavery, not just individuals. And so Jesus died for His PEOPLE, and that is both Jew and Gentile and the "ta ethene" (all nations) that he references in Matthew 28.

       Last year I finished writing a Passover Haggadah and we used it again this year. At the very end of the seder I recount how the father or grandfather proclaims to his family, "Next year in Jerusalem!" And with that statement is this deep pathos - yearning, ache for peace and rest and to be in God's presence.

       I wrote in the Haggadah that I have come to realize that such a yearning is God-implanted in us. And then I quote the book of Revelation in the New Testament which I believe is the fulfillment of that cry of the grandfather at the seder. Here is what I wrote:

"The tradition is for the head of the family (usually the grandfather) to proclaim to those gathered, “Next Year in Jerusalem!” with a hopeful and expectant voice. I have come to realize this is a prophetic voice, one that yearns to return to God and to fully be His people.
   Thus, in the book of Revelation the final glorious scene is of the NEW Jerusalem coming down from heaven. “I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the thrown saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and will be their God!’” (Revelation 21:2-3)
   And so we declare: Next Year in the New Jerusalem!

   

38 Congressmen with Cojones

A bipartisan budget bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. It offered something no Democrat or Republican is willing to do - dramatically cut spending and also raise taxes. It projected $4.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.
       The bill was defeated 382 to 38. Yes, you read that correctly. Only 38 Congressmen had the cojones to seek a bipartisan solution to the absolute mess of this country's finances and debt.
       A total of 16 Republicans and 22 Democrats voted for the bill. Sources said that another 100 or so Congressmen wanted to vote for it but then they were met by fierce opposition from lobbyists from the political left and the political right.
       I would like to publicly acknowledge the 38 congressmen with the sense to do what is right, even if not popular. Here is a list of the 38 representatives voting in favor:

16 Republicans:

Charles Bass, N.H.

Ann Marie Buerkle, N.Y.

Charlie Dent, Pa.

Robert Dold, Ill.

Chris Gibson, N.Y.

Timothy Johnson, Ill.

Steve LaTourette, Ohio

Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.

Patrick Meehan, Pa.

Tom Petri, Wis.

Todd Platts, Pa.

Tom Reed, N.Y.

John Shimkus, Ill.

Mike Simpson, Idaho

Frank Wolf, Va.

Don Young, Alaska

22 Democrats:

Robert Andrews, N.J.

Dan Boren, Okla.

Leonard Boswell, Iowa

John Carney, Del.

James Clyburn, S.C.

Jim Cooper, Tenn.

Jim Costa, Calif.

Henry Cuellar, Texas

Chaka Fattah, Pa.

Jim Himes, Conn.

Ron Kind, Wis.

Rick Larsen, Wash.

Dan Lipinski, Ill.

Ed Perlmutter, Colo.

Collin Peterson, Minn.

Jared Polis, Colo.

Mike Quigley, Ill.

Kurt Schrader, Ore.

Allyson Schwartz, Pa.

Heath Shuler, N.C.

Pete Visclosky, Ind.

Mel Watt, N.C.

A Bailey Blog

I have another, temporary blog for the puppies we are raising. I'm doing a "Photo of the Day" each day that we have them. Go to www.baileypups.blogspot.com to check it out.
     Here is today's photo, called, "Puppies Lounging."

Bailey had Pups ...

I was awakened last night by Susy's voice downstairs: "Brian!" she called out. It was about 2:45am and I was in a sound sleep.
       I staggered down the stairs and there was Susy leaning over the whelping box as our three-year-old Lab Bailey was giving birth to the first of NINE puppies. In all it took 5 hours for bailey to give birth. Susy and I stayed up with her the whole time.
       At 8:30 am I went into the office because I had work to do. I kept thinking to myself, "I feel like I did 20 years ago when Carly was a baby and I did not have a full night's sleep." Then I realized that that's EXACTLY how I feel because it is reality! And then I thought to myself, "I'm too old for this stuff!"
       Welcome to the nuttiness of our lives for the next 8 weeks as we have 9 puppies and two adult Labs in the house! How fun!

"What do you DO?"

I have heard the question regularly in the past weeks and months. A friend who lives in Europe and serves an immigrant community is asked the question by people quite a bit. My friend and I joke with each other and ask the question to one another:
       So, what do I DO?
Here is my somewhat unconventional answer:

I help people confront their prejudices about people unlike themselves.

Huh? Ok, ok. So what do I really do?

       I really try to help people confront their prejudices about people unlike themselves.

       Most especially I desire to help Christians - those who follow Jesus - deal with their own "stuff" toward people they would otherwise dislike, or even despise.

       Some Christians have a "naive realism" towards certain cultures - for example, perhaps they believe that because the Jews are God's "chosen people" they are above correction. Or perhaps they believe that because someone is a Muslim he is "beyond hope."

       This is all about the walls we build between those who are very different than us. We can think that the walls protect us (high fences make good neighbors), but in the end they only isolate us.

       The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus is our peace, and that he is all about breaking down walls of hostility between Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2). But this can only happen because of Jesus - the prince of Peace - and not because of some well-meaning humanitarian efforts.  The walls are simply too strong for that.

       So as my friend in Europe and I ask each other, What do you do???