I Can't Wait to Read This Book!

Brennan Manning's memoir, "All is Grace" was published today. I cannot wait to read Manning's personal remembrances and reflections on his life.
Here is one of my favorite statements by Manning:
“The Christ within who is our hope of glory is not a matter of theological debate or philosophical speculation. He is not a hobby, a part-time project, a good theme for a book, or a last resort when all human effort fails. He is our life, the most real fact about us. He is the power and wisdom of God dwelling within us.” ~ The Ragamuffin Gospel     

Safety, Security, and what I take for granted

One of the most fundamental human needs is to be safe from harm (bodily, emotional, etc.). Many westerners (myself included) take this SO for granted. It's easy to do when you are safe just about all the time, or at least we FEEL safe.
       I spent a week among the Saharawi people of Western Sahara in refugee camps between the borders of Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania. If you have to go to Google Earth to figure out where I am talking about feel free to do so! it's not exactly on the way to anything.
       The place is desolate, a desert wasteland which now houses somewhere between 165,000 and 200,000 people from Western Sahara with no natural water source, no sanitation, and no natural vegetation.
       People live in mud huts and army tents. They also demarcate "their" property by building fences made of various things - tires, other car parts, cardboard. Somehow the human condition leads us to seek safety and security; we build fences even when they functionally do no good at keeping out intruders. But these make-shift fences give the refugees some sense of order and safety in the midst of one of the most unsafe places on earth.

A Couple of First Thoughts from North Africa

I was in North Africa for a week for a three-day dialog with imams from the country. The "American Delegation" as we were called was made up of 7 people, most of whom have been doing this for six years now.
       There were 16 imams in attendance - they are mostly from Algiers.
       The last evening of the dialog we had a feast together. That's the photo to the right. It was a wonderful evening. I sat next to a young imam, Youcef, and we shared deeply about our lives.
       A few initial reflections come specifically from this meal together:
* First, this gathering was probably the most important of all the meetings we had. It was also the least formal. When we were in the formal dialog and there were other people observing, it felt like a chess match. Over dinner it felt like friendships.
* Second, there are striking similarities and agreement between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. AND there are equally great, great differences which divide us. There is little middle ground here.
* Third, most of us in the West have images and impressions of Muslims and Islamic clerics which are only partially true. Or at the very least it is unfair to make sweeping generalizations about "all imams" or "all Muslims." I think we do that sometimes to justify our prejudice against a group of people.
       I have a lot more to process, and as I am able I will do so on this blog. I cannot process everything because some things are confidential. But many things in the dialogs were very public in Algeria and so can be public elsewhere.

Where I Was the past week

I spent the past week in part of the western Sahara, near Tindouf in Algeria. I did not even know it existed a month ago.
I was in a series of refugee camps...
with some others who were speaking with a group of Muslim clerics.
Really.
I'm not kidding.
And this picture is NOT photoshopped.

Love and Fear

"I would prefer a thousand mistakes

in extravagance of love

to any paralysis

in wariness of fear."

~ Gerald May

Inside the Box, Outside the Kingdom

It has struck me the past couple of days that the more I live "in the box" of my culture and particular worldview the more likely I am to be living outside the Kingdom of God.

       I spent several hours in a major airport yesterday in which I was one of only a few non-Muslims. I felt distinctly "other," as an outsider looking into a unique context and culture.
       My cultural "box" was being torn apart at the moment and I desperately wanted to be among people just like me. I wanted "sameness" and homogeneity, I wanted to be with people who believe like I do.
       Isn't this EXACTLY what we do every day? We cocoon, we create our own "ghettos" so that we can feel safe in a community. Religious people - Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus - all do this. Most religious people have justification for cocooning with people like themselves. Christian have no justification, because the Kingdom of God is for the "other." The Kingdom of God is ALL about diversity; people from all people groups coming to God through Jesus.
       More and more I am convinced that followers of Jesus are called to be minorities, to live in the midst of diversity rather than dispelling it. Growth comes in the stretching of our boxes, or perhaps asking God to redraw the box.

The Passport

This is my somewhat water-logged passport which showed up at my house 24 hours before I needed it to head out of the country. It had gotten lost in a Fedex facility in Maryland due to the recent hurricane there.
       I was told on Monday morning by a sweet Fedex rep that the package has "vanished" and that it would not be recovered. It just disappeared.
       For about 2 hours I did emotional gymnastics to come to term with not going on a trip which I felt was really important, and that God had led me to. I griped at God, denied, resisted, and then came to some level of acceptance.
       Then a guy at the Fedex warehouse in Maryland called me and said he had found an envelope with my passport in it. It had water damage but was useable. The guy was a janitor who had just started his shift.
       I asked him to bring the package to his supervisor which he was in the process of doing. 15 minutes later I got a call from Fedex customer support saying that the passport would be delivered to my house within 24 hours, which it was. It arrived at 10am yesterday - a full 26 hours before I had to get on a plane.
       So now I AM going on this much anticipated trip after all. Quite the rollercoaster trip it has been. Yes I am going, not I'm not. Yes, I am going. Whew, talk about an adrenaline rush!
       I am probably offline for the next week, so no blog entries. I'll give an update as I can when I am back.

A Great Spoof on We New Yorkers!

Should churches show video of the twin towers?

While in Indianapolis this week I had a conversation with a guy who said that last Sunday the pastor of his church showed a clip of the planes flying into the Twin Towers 10 years ago. It was an illustration about the depravity of man and how Jesus is the only hope for the world.
       This is not the first time I heard someone say that a video of the Sept. 11th tragedy was shown during a worship service this past weekend. At first I was just puzzled by this. But after hearing three different people voice strong emotions toward this I got thinking further, and wondered why this does not seem right.
       I am most distraught about this video being shown in churches because:
* The event was so traumatizing to so many people, and watching the video again and again only re-traumatizes;
* I suppose that a preacher can move from those scenes of destruction to the grace of God in a sermon, but it is a LONG way to travel;
* One person said they thought the preacher was trying to be "cutting edge" or "outside the box." Considering that a whole bunch of preachers did the same thing last Sunday I sort of doubt it was outside the box too far;
* I think you can verbalize about depravity and sin without showing the video and people will formulate images from their own memory. Basically the clips are not necessary.
       I am a preacher too. I have had good days and bad days preaching sermons. Sometimes I have thought sermons are way more important and spiritually forming than I believe they are (that's another blog post).
       I am sure of this: We can do better than showing planes flying into towers as illustrations of depravity. God is certainly better than that.

Some Thoughts on Community on Sept. 11th

Last night we had 30 or 35 people over to our house for a BBQ/potluck along with a brief "Shalom Remembrance" in light of 9/11. For me it was a relaxed, comfortable evening with friends. Mostly we just hung out and visited, and ate some great food that people brought along.
       We held a short liturgy shaped after part of a Sabbath service in a synagogue.
* Lighting the candles (Susy did that)
* Reciting the Shema
* Responsive reading (Lizzy did that)
* Blessing the children
* The Mourner's Kaddish/Prayer
* Singing (Dan led that)
* Aaronic Blessing
       Pretty straightforward really. It was good to "shabbat" together  to rest. And to seek Shalom in Jesus. The evening provided some solace for me, it helped me live in the midst of great sadness and great hope that God gives. I find it a lot easier to live in this space in community rather than trying to do it on my own.
-------------------------------------------------------
Postlude: A few of us "stragglers" had a bit of an after-party around the firepit. (see photo) The hardcore party-ers I call them!

Where Were You?

I grew up hearing grown ups asking each other, "Where were you when JFK was shot?" Everyone knew exactly where they were.
       Today we ask each other, "Where were you when the planes flew into the Twin Towers?"
       I was standing in front of the Free University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands, putting money in a parking meter. A Dutch guy came up to and said, "Did you hear about the attack in New York City? Two planes hit the World Trade Center towers." That's where I was - on an unusually sunny day in Amsterdam.

Leading from the Sandbox Website

Here is a great blog/website on leadership. It is written by Tim Addington. Click HERE. His book, "Leading from the Sandbox" is well worth the read.

Honoring Some True Servants

Last week I was with a wonderful group of true servants. They work in places such as southern Sudan, Haiti, Madagascar, and Afghanistan.
       They work with the poorest of the poor in our world.
       They are idealistic and visionary and struggling to hold onto both.
       These are the folks from Medair, a relief and rehabilitation agency based in Switzerland and working in the developing world.
       I count it a privilege to have met these people, and to have had our lives intersect in a quaint location in Switzerland last week. My thoughts and prayers go with them as they return to their corners of the earth.

A Great Vision for Muslims

Yesterday I was on a conference call with my friend Fouad Masri, CEO of The Crescent Project. We were reviewing the core statements and beliefs of the organization.
       Here is what Crescent sees as a future vision:
"We see a day when fear is replaced with love and millions of Christians are actively sharing the truth of Christ with millions of Muslims for the glory of God."
       Wow, I am captured by this vision - a day will come when people's FEAR of "the other" will be replaced by LOVE for the other, and this love compels Christians to share their faith in Christ with MILLIONS and MILLIONS of Muslims!
       What a God-sized Vision!

Home, Sweet Home ...then on the Road

I LOVED coming home last night after being away for two weeks! My dogs, Angel and Bailey, greeted me with the appropriate canine hyper-activity. Bailey wiggles her whole body so much when she is happy that you would think she might break in half! (By the way, nobody else in my family wiggles out of sheer delight of seeing me again! - HA)
       I am home for 6 days and then head to Indianapolis to be with the good folks at Crescent Project for three days. We will be remembering the Sept 11th attacks with a group of friends at our place - meal together and then a brief "shabbat-shalom" remembrance, taking the best from what I remember of my Jewish roots at a Friday evening sabbath service. There will be about 30 people here.
       It's 3:30am and I am jetlagging. I am tempted to go wake Susy and see if she wants to chat for a while, since we've been apart for 2 weeks. Probably not a good idea, but I might do it anyway!

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."

An Important Discussion in Europe

Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam - the meeting of cultures.

The New York Times published an article this week entitled, "Amid Rise of Multiculturalism, Dutch Confront Their Questions of Identity." Click HERE to read the article on the Times website.
       This is an extremely important conversation for the Church to be in, and one which demands prayer and our engagement. I feel a great sense of urgency about this and hope many others do as well.

New Family Photo

For all of you who have photos of us on your refrigerator from a bunch of years ago, here's the most recent shot of our family (taken today at my nephew Dan's wedding in Richmond, VA).

Famine and Downgrading Credit Scores

Somali child suffering from chronic malnutrition last week.

The year was 1986, the place was Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was the first time I encountered another human being starving to death.
      His name was Sukamar, a 3-year-old Bengali who I met in a children's hospital when I was visiting Bangladesh as a journalist for a relief agency.
       I got to know this little boy and his mother over a week's time. I thought he was slowly improving. He was gaining weight, his vacant eyes had begun to fill with hope. Then I walked into the hospital on a Saturday morning to visit him only to learn he had died over night.
       And my idealism about the world was shattered.
       Today I read again about famine in Somalia - the UN says that hundreds of thousands of children could die in the Horn of Africa. It reminded me of the tragedy of Sukamar from 25 years ago.
       I have also been reading and listening about the U.S.'s credit rating being downgraded from AAA to AA+. Quite the juxtaposition with the situation in Somalia! I find myself gasping at how ludicrous is the debate among politicians and policy makers about a credit rating while famine ravages a part of the world. I simply cannot fathom the painful irony of it all.

Bonhoeffer on "Worldliness"

"I discovered later, and I'm still discovering right up to this moment, that is it only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, is faith." 

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

My Dad's Old Stomping Grounds

I love this picture that I snapped of Steven and my dad on a street in Manhattan this weekend. We went into the city to have lunch with my extended family and my dad, Steven, my cousin Artie, and I went for a walk. We were standing in front of a French restaurant on 3rd Avenue and 80th Street.
       I cannot remember when I was in New York City with my dad. It must be 20 or more years. These are his old stomping grounds from the 1930s and 1940s! It was such a great experience to have my 17-year-old son strolling down 3rd Avenue with his 85-year-old grandfather.
       The car behind them in the picture had just been parallel parked by a Russian woman and she left the front wheels turned out. Dad reminded Steven and me that leaving the wheels turned after you park messes up the front end alignment! I love that my dad tells us those things. It's priceless.

An Acquaintance's Last Poem

Someone I know as an acquaintance died suddenly a few days ago. I was supposed to meet with him the day before he was heading on a fishing trip to Wyoming or Montana. But I had to postpone due to a scheduling conflict. We will meet again - but not on this side of eternity.
       A friend sent me the last poem that this person wrote before he suffered a brain aneurysm. Wonderful, compelling words from a life lived well:

wind sings through the pine as

bird song echoes across the field

together a halleluia chorus of

praise for the Father/Son of Creation

there is another song deep within

the heart of everyman, appearing

at first as a humming low

without definition almost silent

Yet it beckons with rhythm and

harmony that draws him to

the source of all song -- the

beat and rhythm of the soul

Much of life is accompanied by

this quiet time keeping us in

places and pace for living but

then comes a time

that this quiet song beats louder

bolder noisier unrelenting

demanding to be heard and embraced

let out, marched to and lived

It is the halleluia chorus of

living in freedom, beauty,

peace and harmony in praise

for the Father/Son Creator

Onto The Big Apple

I drove from York, Pennsylvania to New Jersey yesterday and picked up Steven at the airport last night. He and I are spending the weekend in New York City with a packed schedule:
   * College visits at New York University and Columbia today;
   * Seeing various family members over the weekend - parents, brother and sister-in-law, nephew;
   * Time with good friends Joe and Betsy we are staying with in NJ;
   * Visiting a church on Sunday and going to a concert at Brooklyn Tabernacle Sunday afternoon.
     So it will be a packed time. I am looking forward to being with Steven for these days and exploring options for him to be here for college. It would be a hoot for me if he landed here (although I do know that my child's choice of college is NOT about me!! :o)
     I absolutely love New York City - the immediacy of it, the intensity, the culture, and of course the knishes you buy from street vendors!
     I'll post some photos of our time in the Big Apple. Stay tuned.

Stott's "The Cross of Christ"

Some quotes from John Stott's book, The Cross of Christ.
"I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross.  The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as “God on the cross.”  In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?
       "I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world.  But each time after a while I have had to turn away.
       "And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness.  That is the God for me!  He laid aside his immunity to pain.  He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death.  He suffered for us.  Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his.  There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering.
       "The cross of Christ . . . is God’s only self-justification in such a world” as ours. . . . “The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak; they rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but thou alone.”

Here's to Gabrille Giffords

In an otherwise low point in American politics, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned to the floor of the House of Representatives to vote on the debt ceiling bill. While many of us have been thoroughly disgusted with the childishness of the Congress these past days, Rep. Giffords brought a dose of integrity and dignity to the political realm. For this I am grateful.

The Smallest County in the East

Piseco Lake Post office: Zip code 12139

       The least populated county in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River is Hamilton County in New York State. Population: less than 5,000 residents.

       One of the towns in Hamilton County is Piseco Lake, which has 210 residential addresses. Piseco has its own post office though (see photo for proof), Casey's Corner market which also has a gas pump. There used to be a restaurant where you could get breakfast but it closed down a few years ago.

       I spent much of last weekend in Piseco at a little hideaway camp owned by my friend Jim. It was a glorious time - a tad disorienting without Internet or phone access and because life is so incredible SLOW in those parts. But I have also not slept so soundly nor relaxed more fully than I did over the weekend. When the circumstances dictate that life slow to a crawl in a place like Piseco I take my cue!

First Day of Ramadan

The first prayer time of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is at 4:23am U.S. East Coast time today (I am currently in York, Pennsylvania on this time zone).
I set the alarm today for 4:15am to begin this month interceding for the 1.3 billion Muslims around the world. I hope you will join in this prayer movement.

The Turmoil Within Me

I am sitting out on a deck with a breath-taking view on Piseco Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. My computer is open and I am working on two writing projects at the moment.
       As idyllic as this place is, I find myself unsettled and in turmoil. Today as I drove through Speculator, NY I stopped in a mini-market and picked up The New York Times. The lead article on the front page is about tens of thousands of Islamists in Egypt rallying to form a radical government in that country.
       I have been thinking and praying about Islam a lot this week, in preparation for the beginning of Ramadan Sunday evening. This is the most holy month of the year for Muslims around the world. The situation in Egypt reminds me what a powder keg this issue of Islam is in the Middle East and in the West.
       But right now I am perched at the edge of this lake in the Adirondack Mountains about as far from the realities of Egypt can be. And yet my soul is in turmoil, I am burdened ... burdened that the Church would wake up and embrace its mission to the Muslim (and Jewish) world to point people to Jesus and HIS Kingdom.

Retreat @ Raquette Lake

I am spending the weekend at Huntington Cmap at Raquette Lake with the board of directors of the Cortland State Alumni Association.
       This is the view from the shore of the camp. One of the most peaceful, idyllic locations on earth that I know. I am not used to the world being this QUIET and MAJESTIC. Wish I could be up here for a month or so.

Enduring Words from John Stott

Here are ten statements made by John Stott during his life and ministry. These will stay with me. I am grateful for his depth of insight and wisdom.

• [Jesus'] authority on earth allows us to dare to go to all the nations. His authority in heaven gives us our only hope of success. And His presence with us leaves us with no other choice.
• The truth is that there are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever weep them.
• Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it.
• Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.
• We should not ask, ‘What is wrong with the world?’ for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather we should ask, "What has happened to salt and light?"
• Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion. It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbor.
• Sin and child of God are incompatible. They may occasionally meet; they cannot live together in harmony.
• Good conduct arises out of good doctrine.
• The very first thing which needs to be said about Christian ministers of all kinds is that they are "under" people as their servants rather than "over" them (as their leaders, let alone their lords). Jesus made this absolutely plain. The chief characteristic of Christian leaders, he insisted, is humility not authority, and gentleness not power.
• We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.

The Religious Landscape of the Midwest

I was amazed by the billboards and symbols of religion along the roadways of the Midwest. The other day while driving in Ohio we came across a massive cross on the side of the road. It was like two stories high! It just stood alone on the side of the road. (see photo I took while driving)
        Some of the billboards had Scripture verses, one had the entire list of the ten commandments (I though someone might crash their car if they read all of them while driving!), one said "America, bless God!" Another said, "Adoption, not Abortion."
       When I drive to the Northeast of the U.S. I don't see too many billboards and symbols to secular liberalism, even though it is widespread here. I wonder why Christians dot the landscape with religious symbols all over the midwest but liberals don't do the same in the northeast.
       Just pondering!

The ORIGINAL Buffalo Wings

We stopped in Orchard park, New York last night just outside Buffalo. The home of the real and original Buffalo Wings.

     The wings in combination of a Sam Adams lager which was kind of flat made Jim and me feel like we were home again in upstate New York. Now it's off to the Adirondack Mountains - not exactly the beaten path.