Focus in April

I find it helpful on the first Monday of each month to "take stock" of the next 30 days. Not that I can pre-determine what will happen, but rather to have an attitude of Moses' words in Psalm 90:
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (v. 12)
AND
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us -
yes, establish the work of our hands. (v. 17)

       So, here's some things I anticipate and am grateful to be involved with -
* Susy's and my 23rd anniversary is on April 23rd! (thinking of something fun to do together);
* Passion Week is April 18-24: BIG week with two Passover seders, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday;
* Celebration dinner of Bobby and Marilyn Clinton with their mentorees at Fuller Seminary on April 11th;
* Visit with Leadership ConneXtions friends in York, PA from April 12-14th;
* Visit with Crescent Project friends in Indianapolis on April 27-28th;
       Lots of preparation and writing this month:
* Writing, editing, and producing first draft of the Passover Seder Haggadah;
* Preparing for the Amsterdam Missions Trip at the end of May;
* By the end of April I hope to finalize summer ministry/travel for June through August;
       Along the way I will be umpiring a lot of baseball, most weekends with Steven as we work tournaments together.
P.S. to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): I would really appreciate if you put on your "to do" list for April to please send me my income tax refund! It would be quite helpful this month. Thank you.

The Best Leadership Book

Someone I am mentoring asked me the other day, "What is the best leadership book?" My first inclination was to recite an annotated bibliography of my "top ten." Of course I would do that after I said that the Bible is the best leadership book ever.

       But I refrained from both of these things. I had to consider his question for only a second or two and said, "Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus is the best leadership book I have read. If you have not read it you should. I re-read it every year and it hits me between the eyes every time about how much I need to grow (up) as a leader.
       By the way, I realize Nouwen's book is not a full treatise on the practice of leadership. In many ways it is an UN-leadership book, which 

Selecting Which Genocides are Most Important

This is a quote from the speech that President Obama gave to the American People last week:
       "Rather than stand down, [Qaddafi's] forces continued their advance, bearing down on the city of Benghazi, home to nearly 700,000 men, women and children who sought their freedom from fear.
       "At this point, the United States and the world faced a choice.  Qaddafi declared he would show 'no mercy' to his own people.  He compared them to rats, and threatened to go door to door to inflict punishment.  In the past, we have seen him hang civilians in the streets, and kill over a thousand people in a single day.  Now we saw regime forces on the outskirts of the city.  We knew that if we wanted -- if we waited one more day, Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.
It was not in our national interest to let that happen.  I refused to let that happen."
       I am left with a DAUNTING question. When IS it in our national interest to allow a leader to massacre his own people? And how do we define "national interest" so that we can know when to step in?
       Presumably President Franklin Roosevelt determined it was not in our national interest as Jozef Stalin massacred between 20 and 30 million of his people in Russia;
       Presumably President Harry Truman and then Dwight Eisenhower determined it was not in our national interest as Mao-tse-Dong slaughtered more than 50 million Chinese;
       And what about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia?
       And why haven't we Americans intervened in Zimbabwe, or the Congo in the past years as their governments have tortured and murdered people?
       Surely we would not argue that a Libyan's life is more valuable than a Zimbabweans! Or would we?
I think Jon Stewart got it right in this commentary:

The Daily Show - America at Not-War - Obama's Pragmatic Foreign Policy Decisions
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Well, This Has Been a Different Week!

The pace of my life changed quite a bit this week:
* I have spent 3-4 hours per day writing ... a Passover Hagaddah. So, working with my hands in one way (typing);
* I have spent 2-4 hours a few days doing manual labor - helping my friend Jim who is a contractor. I'm the "go-fer," i.e. the UNskilled labor/help;

View from the bedroom of RV.

* Oh yes, Susy is in California this week visiting Carly ... and Steven and I are staying in an RV at a park in Golden. We woke up to snow flurries the other morning! Not sure how well we are eating either? :o) Guys...
* In the midst of this I continue to work through the Ignatian exercise workbook which is being developed by my friend Brian Rice at LCI. It great stuff, just a little disjointed in the midst of my fairly eclectic life at the moment!
       And now I am looking forward to April and all that is ahead!

Ah ... a Most Cross-Cultural Experience...

Once in a while I go to a Vietnamese supermarket in Lakewood which I absolutely love. First off, none of the workers speak English, except a young Asian gal who is a cashier. It's funny having to point and "play charades" with someone to describe that you are looking for canned anchovies rather than dried ones. I finally was led to a jar of anchovies ... I think.

       And the smells in the market are phenomenal. Go from one aisle to the next and it smells like raw oysters to soy sauce to sambal (spicy) sauce to Asian sweets. Many of the items on the packed shelves are completely unfamiliar to me. Check out the picture from yesterday for one such item: Fried-Gluten Vegetable Minced Pork. Yummy! Let's buy a can.
       The other thing that cracks me up is watching Vietnamese, Thai, and other Asian women standing in front of the fresh fish case seemingly debating about which fish to buy. Several of these languages are tonal in pronunciation so their conversation sounds to me like aliens trying to figure out how to live on earth.

       The other day when I was in the store two older Vietnamese women were talking, presumably about the taste of the fish in front of them. Here's a picture of the fish which was "staring" at them as they had their lively conversation! One of them was seemingly insistent on buying this fish. Other other seems to have wanted to buy the Saba fish. I wish that fish in the case could speak; I'd love to know his perspective on it all!

Speaking of Passover

I will be leading a Passover Seder meal at our home church, Lookout Mountain Community Church in Genesee, on Thursday, April 21st.
If you are in the greater Denver area and would like to attend you are very welcome (you don't need to be part of Lookout). Click HERE to register and to purchase tickets. The meal is catered by Cynde Pribil (of Tempting Thyme) and is simply awesome! It will be the best $15 meal you have ever had!

Writing a Passover Haggadah

This week I am "holed up" in an RV borrowed from friends in an campground in Golden. I'm working on and will hopefully finish the first and second drafts of a Passover Haggadah I am writing.

       It will not be as elaborate and eye-catching as this one (The Sarajevo Haggadah), but I do hope it will have a niche for people who celebrate Passover in a messianic tradition.
       I realize there are already a number of good Haggadah's from the perspective of Jesus/Y'shua being the the ultimate and final "Lamb of God" and fulfilling the Exodus narrative. And yet I find myself adding or changing portions of the "telling" when I use each of these.
       In addition I almost always add "local color" from my background as a New York Jew, some of which I want to include as "sidebars" to the main story of Israel's rescue from Egypt.
       Now it is back to writing for this boy.

An Umpire's Journal: Games in March

You might know the expression, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." I don't think there is anyspiritual significance to this statement, but rather it is about cold weather at the beginning of the month and warm weather near the end.
       I have never been so mindful of March weather until I started umpiring baseball in Colorado. Last Friday I worked a game at 5pm in Golden. The temperature was 55 degrees when we started. Then it got cloudy ... and windy ... and darker. I think the temperature dropped to about 45 degrees and the wind picked up to 15-20 mph.
       Now try to call safe-out at a close place at first base as the wind is in your face, your hat is about to fly off, and just about everyone on the field is pretty grumpy due to the weather!

       The key to surviving March baseball games in Colorado is GOOD GLOVES! Forget the fact that it's difficult to hold a ball-strike indicator when you wear them. Gloves are a lot better than the indicator sticking to the palm of your hand because it froze to your skin!
       I don't have any games to work for the last week of March. Steven and I will work a tournament in South Metro April 2-3. Hopefully April will be a lot warmer than March.

A Very Good Read from Rob

Rob Fairbanks (president of Christian Associates) wrote a blog entry the other day that's very important, in a lot of ways. Check it out here. The quote from Francis Schaeffer is such a great reminder to me about what really matters in life and ministry. Even though Schaeffer penned these words a generation ago they are still prophetic today.
       I won't repeat Rob's commentary (read what he wrote!), but will add a personal comment:
       Over the past 25 or so years I have had the privilege of serving in several churches. Perhaps what I am most proud of is that I served in one of them as senior pastor and transitioned out after 5 years and the community did not fall apart. On the contrary, it continued on in its mission without very much disruption.
       Now I want to be honest and forthright about this: It was humbling and a "blow to my ego" that the church did NOT need me that much! I'm not proud of this, but I mention it because it relates to the "disease" of the Evangelical Church in the West  and the cult of personality. Many of us in leadership need to be needed - desperately.
       One of the largest churches in Denver says this on their website when you click on "About Us:"

WHAT WE ARE KNOWN FOR

Our Senior Pastor

Children

Adults

Music

Youth

Missions and Outreach 

       What is your church known for? I hope Jesus ranks in the top three and that mission might come before the senior pastor, children, adults, music, and youth.
       Here's my crass take on it - many of us want a superstar/rockstar as our leaders in church. We want to be "successful" and entertained and we make our leaders into uber-humans. And in doing so we get off mission, and make most especially make Jesus less than he is.

Serve the City Team Going to Amsterdam

Susy and I are leading a team of 11 people to Amsterdam in June to be part of "Serve the City." Check out this video created by our friend Rogier a couple of years ago. It's exciting to be part of what God is doing around the world!

WAY Proud of Our Kids

This is an "I'm a Proud Dad" blog entry. Here's what my kids were doing last week.
       Carly (age 19, to be 20 in June) spent the week with other Westmont College students in Mexico doing a Vacation Bible School for under-privileged kids. I have not spoken with Carly at length about it, but she said it was difficult, exciting, confusing, and fulfilling! I would say that was a GOOD week!
       A few days ago Steven (age 17) and I went out to dinner with our good friend Jim (in photo) to Buffalo Wild Wings. We spent a couple of hours talking philosophy - Plato, Socrates, the pros and cons of Capitalism, the reality of good and evil in the world. We had this indepth discussion about things that really matter in our lives! And Steven initiated it.
       I have found it pretty challenging and fulfilling to help my kids become young adults. It has perhaps been the most complex time of parenting for me over the past 20 years, but also a time of "iron-sharpening-iron" for us.
       So here's to Car-Car and Pishti! You two are awesome!

Why I Adopted a Terrorist for Prayer

I decided to adopt a terrorist for prayer (see my previous post regarding Philip Yancey's blog about this).
I went to the Adopt-a-Terrorist website and clicked on "adopt." Then I scrolled through scores of photos, names, and brief bios on a wide variety of suspected terrorists. After browsing the database for a while I decided on: Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri
So why did I decide to adopt a terrorist and pray for him? Well there are a few reasons:
       First, Zahahiri has been in the news a lot as Al-Quaeda's number 2 man so I have some vague familiarity with him. And I remember grumbling under my breath a few times, "I hope someone kills that guy."
       Second, it would be a really wild, crazy news conference if Zawahiri was to begin to follow Jesus and announced that! Man, that would be so cool!
       Third, Jesus taught us to "pray for your enemies." I think he was speaking specifically to his students/disciples rather than making grand pronouncements about how governments should respond to people like Zawahiri. Somehow I become a little bit more like Jesus when I pray for Zawahiri.
       Lastly, this requires surrender on my part, a sort of self-emptying of having to be right or in control or in power. It cuts me to the bone and exposes my frail humanity.
       If you want to know more about Zawahiri, go to the Adopt-a Terrorist for Prayer website by clicking HERE.

Learning by Listening

One of my mentors many years ago told me that great leaders learn much by listening well. That mentor, Homer Dowdy, was an intent listener himself. He was 40 years my senior and soaked in everything that I said in many conversations, even though I was a "green" and inexperienced 22-year-old journalist.

       I am trying to grow in my auditory learning abilities, by listening to books on CD. I started by listening to John Grisham novels as I drove places, although this could become dangerous as I got into an intense scene in the book and almost drove off the road a couple of times!
       Now I have "graduated" to listening to non-fiction. I have started with Philip Yancey's book, "What Good is God?" It is also read by Yancey, which I find much more compelling than if some actor or professional reader did the recording.
       Listening to a book has its benefits and its drawbacks. The major drawback is that it is difficult to take notes and "absorb" what is being communicated. A major benefit I have found is that I listen best when I am still and focused, two traits that are excellent when I am in a conversation and I want to listen well.

Hearts & Mind bookstore

In a small town in south-central Pennsylvania lies a bookstore which is a throw-back to decades ago. In today's "Amazon Era," most local bookstores have become dinosaurs, sad as that is. I don't know very many locally owned and operated private bookshops. One of them, Hearts and Minds in Dallastown, PA is worth a visit and much more!

Byron Borger

       Hearts and Minds is owned by Byron Borger, one of the brightest and well read people I have ever met (I've only met him a few times, via my friends at Living Word Community Church in York, PA).
       If you are anything like me, I read a lot based on people's recommendations and synopses of books. You can walk into Hearts and Minds and ask Byron about a book and it's likely that he has read it. If you really don't want to read the book but want a good summary, just ask Byron and he will give it concisely. This is not good for his business (as you would not buy the book), but it's great if you don't have time to read the book!
       Two other things that Hearts and Minds does that is tremendous, and a real "labor of love" for Byron and his team. They put out a "top books of the year" blog once per year that is amazing. It easily gives you the best reading list for the coming year. The other thing Byron does is write book reviews and comments periodically. If you check out the website these days you will find several very helpful entries about Rob Bell's new book. And often if you buy any of the books mentioned in the blog entry you get a 20% discount on them! What a deal!

An Umpire's Journal: Partners

Every Monday for a few months I am going to use this blog for "An Umpire's Journal," giving some personal reflections on umpiring. Every weekend from late March through mid-July Steven and I will be working various tournaments. We will ump 6 to 10 games on a weekend, and I'm sure I will have some fun and funny stories to recount.
       Steven and I work as partners umpiring a fair amount. In almost all of our games we work the two-man system, meaning there are only 2 umpires on the field to make all the calls.
       It is a huge advantage to work most games with the same partner. You know each other's rhythms and tendencies, you can cover for each other. And when a player or coach is griping about something you can stand together between innings and remind each other you are not crazy!
       To be honest, Steven probably is stronger behind the plate calling balls and strikes than I am. That's partly because he was a catcher for years and is used to batters swinging the bat in front of his face. I see the field and can interact with coaches more easily when I am working the bases, which Steven would prefer me to do. He's more "get to business" of umpiring a game, I will listen to the chirping of coaches and players more and banter with them.
       Two weeks ago Steven and I umped the championship game for a 12-year-old majors tournament (the photo here is from that), next weekend we will do a tourney for south Metro Denver.