The Sacred Space of a Firepit

A few years ago my friend Jim and I had an idea to build a firepit in my backyard. I've been reflecting on it as sacred space in my life.
This is in honor of the boyz - Danno, Cid, Ray, Deano, Aaron, Rick, Jim, Brad, Roger, Steven, and others who have graced the pit.

Boyz @ the Pit from Brian Newman on Vimeo.

Hospital Gowns Level the Playing Field

I went for an annual physical exam at Kaiser yesterday. After the nurse checked me in she told me to strip to my birthday suit and put on the ever-fashionable HOSPITAL GOWN!
       While the guy to the left in the photo is NOT me, I wanted to remind us of a few important realities from the Hospital Gown experience.
       1. The phrase "nice ass" is a fallacy, as my friend Karl reminded me yesterday;
       2. More important, hospital gowns remind us that "from dust you came, to dust you will return." That is to say, hospital gowns sort of "level the playing field." It does not matter if you are rich or poor, black or white, male or female. EVERYONE feels vulnerable and wildly HUMAN and FRAGILE in a hospital gown (except for exhibitionists and a hospital gown is a dream come true).
       3. For many people, the last thing they wear in life is a hospital gown. Personally I think this is proof that God has a great sense of humor.
       4. Everyone I know laughs when you mention someone "hanging a moon" or "mooning someone." Hospital gowns validate this.
       The first time I wore a hospital gown was in Budapest, Hungary on March 15, 1994. It was 2 days after our son Steven was born and I was rushed to the hospital just as he and Susy came home from hospital.
       I had appendicitis and had surgery within 30 minutes of being at the hospital. Mind you that it was only a few years after major social changes in Hungary had begun, and hospital care was anything but modern or westernized! People had to bring in food, toiletries, clothes, etc. for my week-long stay. And Susy could not help out much because she was at home with a baby.
       The mark of a friend is someone who will almost carry you to the bathroom down a long hallway in your hospital gown so you can finally have a bowel movement. The mark of a real friend is someone who gives you a sponge bath with your gown on because there is no other way to do so. And I had such a friend - Bobby Booze needs to get a medal of honor 20 years after the fact!! You are a saint, Bobby!
       The next time you are asked to put on that hospital gown just smile and remember, IT COULD BE WORSE - YOU COULD BE IN BUDAPEST IN 1994!

Jesus @ a Checkpoint - Reflections from Bethlehem

Jesus @ a Checkpoint

Posting a Series on Medium.com

I am writing a series of reflections from Bethlehem this week at Medium.com. Here is the first reflection - a Preface before landing.

On the Congruent Life

 A while back I read a good book, The Congruent Life: Following the Inward Path to Fulfilling Work and Inspired Leadership by Michael Thompson.
       We don't use the word "congruent" too often in the English language. That's unfortunate.
       Congruent simply means:

con·gru·ent

kənˈgro͞oənt,ˈkäNGgro͞oənt/

adjective: congruent

1. in agreement or harmony.

   "institutional and departmental objectives are largely congruent"

Based on this definition I struggle to live a congruent life. I think many of us struggle with it, regardless of our faith tradition or lack thereof.
       Recently I was listening to/watching a person I know speak to an audience about 6 keys for the Church in this generation. At one point he made this wonderful statement: "Time spent listening to a person is never wasted time!"
       What an incredible insight! How true! And ... in my interactions with this person he has dominated the conversation each and every time. With me, with others. A tad incongruent I would say.
       I do not mean to pick on this person, because "he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones." I do not listen as well as I would like. I talk and then think often! I want my opinions to be heard and heeded with disregard for others.
       The congruent life is elusive, at least for me. I desire to live in agreement and harmony, and find that this is perhaps my life's greatest work.

"Sacrifice" and Faith

In the three monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, sacrifice is a key part of each. In the Jewish tradition it is most evident in two events in the Old Testament - the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) and the Passover celebration (Exodus 12). In Islam the idea of sacrifice is captured in the festival called "Adha."

        In Christianity, Jesus is the ultimate and final sacrifice. The book of Hebrews puts it this way, "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28).
        The greatest news in the universe is that Jesus is THE sacrifice to God for the sins of the world - for Jews, Gentiles, Muslims. On the cross Jesus made that sacrifice so that people would know forgiveness and a right relationship with God.
        This is the time of year we remember God's sacrifice for us. I want to encourage you with two resources that are developed around the theme of sacrifice.
        The first is "Adha in the Injeel" by Fouad Masri, which explains the concept of sacrifice in Islam and how Christians can build bridges to Muslims through this idea.
        The second is my Passover Haggadah (order). This resource is specifically related to Passover, which the Jewish (and Christian) faith celebrate the week before Easter.
       To order one or both of these resources go the Crescent Project's website HERE.

Ashes...

The first time I celebrated Ash Wednesday was in 2007 at Lookout Mountain Community Church, where I was serving on the pastoral staff. My colleague Aram, who comes from an Armenian Orthodox background, administered the ashes on my forehead when it was my turn as I came forward.
       "From ashes you have come, to ashes you will return," he said as he made the sign of the cross on my forehead.
       My knees buckled a bit, and I felt sick to my stomach at that moment. I tried to smile at Aram slightly but failed to do so.
      Ash Wednesday and Lent was always for "those crazy Catholics," as we called them on Long Island where I grew up. I found it slightly nuts that people would go to mass first thing in the morning and get a cross of ashes on their forehead and walk around with it on all day.
      My friend Adam Goldberg (Mo) and I used to joke that people who want tattoos should just get them rather than "fake it" for a day.
       I have been repenting of that attitude for many years now.
       The 40 days of Lent begins today, marked by Ash Wednesday. This afternoon I will make my way to the little chapel owned by my church. I will receive the ashes and consider the transformation that God wants to do in my life these 40 days. I will ponder finality - of life, of death. And most importantly, I will again consider this mysterious and magnificent Jesus who IS life.

      

On "Going Home"

Today Susy and I head to Long Island, where I spent the first 18 years of my life. Here is what I wrote in our newsletter this month about the trip.

Dear Friends,
I grew up in an ethnic sub-culture of mostly Jews and Italians in the suburbs of Long Island, about 30 miles east of New York City. The furthest thing from my mind was Christianity .. or Jesus ... or anything spiritual.

        Three decades ago I left that life and never went back (except to visit my family). Until now. At the end of this month I am the keynote speaker at the Missions Weekend of Grace Gospel Church of Patchogue, NY. It feels strange even writing that!
       It will be a busy weekend. On Saturday morning I teach a Bridges Seminar for 4 hours on reaching out to Muslims; that evening I will speak at a missions banquet, and the next day will preach on Matthew 22 (entitled "A Crazy Banquet and a BIG Kingdom").
        God has quite a sense of humor in having me "go home" to teach and preach. Long Island is my roots - I know it all too well: secular, humanist, fearful of change, skeptical of faith. It is quite the exciting challenge!

New Book by Michael Hidalgo

The pastor of my church, Michael Hidalgo, just published a new book. Here is the trailer for it. I'm reading the book right now.

The Boy Becomes a Man

Our son Steven came over for dinner the other night. He lives close to the University of Denver where he will be a senior next quarter. He also turns 20 years old next month.

       Somewhere along the way that boy became a man! Quite the mensch he is in many ways. (for all of you non-Yiddish speakers, mensch means something like "good person" or "person of integrity.")
        Susy snapped this picture of Steven after dinner. He was filling out paperwork for umpiring baseball again this Spring and Summer. I wanted the photo of the beard, because hes going to have to shave it for baseball season. I call that The Return of Baby Face Steven!

On Promotion... (and vanity... and hubris)

I struggle with self-promotion a lot. Go to my blog... read my book ... come to my event .... blah, blah, blah.
       There are books that instruct us on "how to get noticed," and "how to generate more traffic on our websites," and "key words to use in the beginning of my blog post."
       The message we can so easily buy into is, Look at how great and wonderful and special I am!! And while you are at it, please click LIKE on Facebook.
       Can you tell this drives me a bit crazy? I am being triggered by having to promote the Passover seder we are doing in April (I will not tell you the date nor how you can buy tickets here), although I did it yesterday on this blog.
        My struggle is compounded by the fact that I actually like to promote worthwhile causes, even my own. But we are all so overwhelmed by the many event requests, e-vites, doodles, etc. that I am reluctant to be part of the noise.
        Nonetheless, I have needed to suck it up and deal with life in the 21st century, and be part of the Promotion Noise. My consolation is that I really believe in the people and causes that I give "shout out" to, either on this blog or on Facebook.
        Here's a few of the causes I am passionate about or intrigued by at the moment:

• Beirut and Beyond -  run by a new friend, Suzann, here in Denver.
• Immanuel Church, Spokane - a new innovative church led by my friend Rob Fairbanks.
• Playfull - led by my wildly creative and fun friend Troy Cady.
• Leadership Connextions - led by Brian Rice. LCI has some of the most impactful materials for leaders on spiritual formation.
• SUNY Cortland - where I did my undergrad work in New York. A working-class public university that is educating young people well.
• Carl Medearis - who thinks so well about relationships between Muslims, Christians, and Jews... and challenges me every step of the way (even when we disagree sometimes).

I could go on and on promoting. I like doing it.
        Oh ya, my friends Aram and Ellen are having a Poetry Party with Art from Ashes in Denver this coming Thursday evening. I don't exactly know how to promote it here, but if you are in Denver and are interested then do what we all do in the 21st century: GOOGLE IT!

Passover Seders This Year

This year will be special for us at Passover (which officially begins on April 14th in the Jewish calendar).
       We will host a seder on Thursday, April 10th at our church, Denver Community Church. If you live in the Denver area you can get tickets here.
       The next day we get on a plane and fly to Amsterdam where we lived for 10 years. We will celebrate the Passion Week with dear friends there, including having a Passover Seder. It will be some time between April 13-17, location still to be determined. This will be hosted with Crossroads International Church. Stay tuned!
       A number of people have asked if you can buy copies of my Passover Haggadah (Hebrew for "Order") so that you can host your own seder. Yes, you can. You can order copies right now at:
* Crescent Project. Click here for the resource center;
Next week you will also be able to order at:
* Urban Skye in Denver. Click here.

A New Meaning for, "The First Shall Be Last"

Swiss cross-country skier Dario Cologna won a grueling 15-mile race at the Sochi Olympics. He crossed the finish line in 39 minutes just ahead of a Finnish skier.

       Cologna, despite being thoroughly exhausted, waited almost 30 minutes for the last skier to cross the finish line. When Roberto Carcalen of Peru finished 28 minutes later there was the Gold Medal winner to congratulate him.
       This seems to me a unique interpretation of "the first shall be last and the last first."
       I love the Olympics because it offers the possibility for people's character to shine as well as their competence and skill. For me character is what matters the most.
       Here's to Dario Cologna for raising the quality of these Winter Olympics in a unique and special way.

Sacred Land, Profane Actions

Two days ago the UNHCR found a 4-year-old Syrian boy wandering by himself across the barren land from Syria to Jordan.
       The boy had been separated from his family, who are among the millions of Syrians fleeing the unspeakable civil war in their country.
       For that 4-year-old boy the only thing to do was to keep going. The hope of being reunited with his family was to leave his home and to walk into the great unknown of the desert. Quite the metaphor for life if you ask me.
       Here is one of the great ironies of this tragic scene. The land on which this boy was wandering is the same ground on which Abram wandered from Ur of the Chaldees (present day Iraq) to "a land I will show you." This is sacred land, with a rich history of God providing for all nations (through Abram's seed).
       The land has been profaned in so many lands, most recently by a civil war which has cost more than 400,000 Syrian lives and displaced more than 4 million people to other countries. The sacred has become profane. This we must grieve deeply.
       And like that 4-year-old boy, we pray that the Syrian people and their neighbors continue to move forward out of the misery of this civil war and into God's peace for them.

That Bare-Chested Putin

The New Yorker magazine blog reported that visitors to Sochi are mystified after they found various  portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin in their hotel rooms.
       The pictures are of him without shirt on, looking quite manly.
       When Putin heard of the complaints he was reportedly dismissive of the complaints, saying the guests are "babies who cry."
      Believe it or not, I appreciate Putin's brazen machismo and arrogance. What? Am I crazy? Here is why I "appreciate" it.
       In my world of church pastors and other spiritual leaders it would be horribly incorrect for a lead person (especially a guy) to be as blatant as Putin.
       But it would be surprisingly honest and almost refreshing. Call it transparent (no pun intended).
       There are senior pastors whose attitude is largely "MY kingdom come" rather than "THY Kingdom come." It is not just the mega-church phenomenon (although such success contributes to this), but rather a persistent "conquering" mentality. Conquer the culture, conquer people, conquer other smaller churches.
       The image that comes to my mind is of the old Pacman video game in which the stronger and faster Pacman man eats the others. The motto is, "gobble up or be gobbled up." 
       If those senior church leaders acted like President Putin we would all see their true colors. Sure, it's politically incorrect for these pastors to tear off their shirts and show those pecs, but it might be more forthright and honest.