wow, its been a few weeks since I blogged (which means I’ve been out of the pulpit for a few). well, its back in the saddle this week, and what a week to prepare for.

still thinking through what happened up at the men’s retreat last weekend. so much to process. we had a great group of guys this year, and the speakers were wonderful. this was the first year we offered an afternoon trek up mt. major, and as you can see from the pic, about 20 guys ripped up the hill and were back by 4pm for the afternoon session. great job everybody! but when it is all said and done, there is that “God moment” that just sticks with you.

for me, the God moment really did center on spiritual gifts (and since that is this week’s sermon, what excellent timing). i had the opportunity for the first time to actually work with the group of guys that put the retreat together. it was what you could call a “teachable moment”. we had guys that were great “idea” people, guys that were gifted “administrative” folks, guys that were dedicated “prayer warriors”, and guys that were gifted in “encouragement”. when it was all said and done, i look back and see how each of these guys was used very uniquely by God to make the retreat happen. so, can i take a second and say to all the guys who served on the committee, the guys who spoke, our worship leader, and all the guys who showed up sunday a.m. with the black eyes from football– well done good and faithful servants.

in 1 Corinthians 12, paul talks about how God gives gifts to the church so that all the aspects of ministry can move forward. the retreat just served to reinforce that great truth– different folks, different gifts, but one Lord, one Savior, one mission.

just wondering. anyone else had that kind of spiritual gifts “God moment”, when the Lord showed you how the right person with the right gift in the right place was used by Him in a great way?

doing a sermon on the crucifixion is really hard for me. i’m reminded of a writer who once described what happened to him in seminary. he said that when he entered seminary, he would read the gospel accounts of the passion and would cry– it moved his soul that much. by the time he left seminary, he could read the same accounts, ponder all the different theological theories of the atonement, think through the different writer’s perspectives– but there were no more tears. Jesus’ death was now an idea to be debated, not a event the moved the heart. sometimes i feel the same way.

what’s interesting is that a couple years ago when the “passion of the Christ” was produced, it kind of rekindled in me the remembrance of what an amazing thing the cross really is. maybe seeing it on the screen was what did it, or maybe visualizing the brutality of what happened to Jesus was what moved my soul. all i know is that i cried many tears during that film.

problem is– i’m not sure i cried for the right reason. for me it was seeing the physical brutality of the scourging and crucifixion that brought the tears. it all seemed so hideously unjust. strange how the gospel writers pretty much ignore the physical aspects of the cross (except maybe for Jesus’ words “I thirst”).  for them and the other writers of the NT, the real horror of the cross was that a holy God would have to encounter that which is unholy (sin). i just don’t think we will every really know what that was like for Jesus. as 2 corinthians says, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us”. to suffer the judgment for the sins of the world, to feel the abandonment of the Father, to “taste” hell for me. can’t say i’ll ever know what that really was like.

so sunday we were spent some time talking about disabilities, and how to make sure that folks who are challenged either physically or mentally never feel like second class members at DEC.

we did a baptism at the 9:45 service. susan speidel took the plunge. sandy was in with her to interpret all the sign language that was going on. let me say that if this gal’s testimony didn’t bring tears to you eyes, you need you tear ducts checked out. it was incredible. the joy in her and the boldness in praising Jesus was heavenly.

all i can say is “thanks susan” and to God be the glory.

OK, so He did do one better than pulling a bunny out of a hat. Jesus actually pulled a fish out of the basket, and a roll as well!!! not just one fish or one roll, but enough to feed around 15,000 people (so where did that number come from??? follow the math– the bible says 5000 MEN were served this celestial lunch; add in women and kids, and 15,000 is probably a very conservative number).

sometimes what we don’t appreciate as we read the stories of Jesus’ miracles is how intensely practical they were. let’s say it this way– Jesus did not do miracles to entertain, His miracles were done to meet needs. oh for sure there is a proclamation side of miracles– that’s why they were often called “signs and wonders”. these acts did something in the souls of those who witnessed them. either it confirmed in a person that this Jesus guy was somebody sent from God or it confirmed their hatred of Him (check out the reaction of the religious leaders to the rasing of lazarus from the dead in John 11)..

but if you view the miracles of Christ as an integral part of the message, you have to confront the fact that Jesus really did care about people’s very practical needs. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, fed the hungry, and raised the dead. He didn’t divide the world into “physical needs vs spiritual needs”– He saw the needs of the whole person, and met those needs. so if care for the hurting is such a part of His ministry, what does it say to those of us following in His footsteps? looking at our world, what are the very real needs that confront us daily that the church should be pouring its heart into? how about DEC specifically (for you DEC folks reading this)? and maybe this is the big challenge– how do we pursue meeting these needs and at the same time make sure the proclamation of the “good news for the soul” doesn’t get lost in the process?

often it seems like we end up in the unbalanced side of ministry. either we do a lot of good physically for folks, yet never share the good news of salvation with them; or we share the good news, but never touch their physical needs.Jesus did both very well, how about us?

in Jesus’ day, it was kinda easy to figure out who the folks were that you stayed away from (the untouchables). samaritans– absolutely (they were half breeds with the wrong theology). gentiles– you betcha (that gang had nothing to do with God’s covenant, and the covenant people had nothing to do with them). also, you had to stay away from the physically “unclean” (like those suffering skin diseases like leprosy).

then Jesus shows up, and starts knocking down some of these barriers. his story of the “good samaritan” is a classic (luke 10). his healing of non-jews was shocking (luke 7). and this week’s message about the healing of the lepers combines both racial and health barriers.  the “untouchables” didn’t seem to be that “untouchable” to our Lord.

which leads to the big question this week– who are the modern untouchables? we don’t have lepers hanging out by the city gates, and there aren’t any “samaritans” around. but let’s get honest for a moment: we don’t need to come out and say someone is “untouchable” to have folks feeling like they are “untouchables”.  all we need to do is operate in a way that makes them feel totally unwelcomed. what do i mean? how about a couple examples: when we assume that all God’s real children agree on political issues, and if you aren’t in the right party you probably aren’t right with God; or when our disdain for all things homosexual stands out it in sharp contrast to our muted voice when it comes to other sexual sins (like porn or sex outside of marriage). we don’t have a list that says these people are “untouchable”, but they often feel that way after interacting with us.

So who are the evangelical world’s “untouchables”? And what is our responsibility to reach out and touch these folks with the love of Christ?

weird isn’t it– i’m doing a “Christmas” sermon in september.  when it says in philippians about Jesus  “who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself and took on the form of a servant, being made in human likeness”, i can’t help pondering why the manger. for Jesus to give up the glory of heaven and come to this earth, taking on all kinds of human limitations surely would have been enough.

but it wasn’t enough. He came in the most humble of ways. it would have been absolutely fitting for Him to be born into a royal setting, but that isn’t what He chose. instead He identified with the lowliest of folks– a simple carpenter living in an out of the way little village. so i guess the question that i start the week pondering is this– God’s choice of how His Son would come to this world must be important (for He chose it), what exactly is the importance of the manger? There is definitely a message flowing out of that feeding trough. Do you have any thoughts on what it is?

Have you ever wondered why we make the decision in life that we do? what is it inside of us that inclines our will to move the way it does. let’s talk negative for a second. judas! Here is guy who was given the most amazing education in the world. for 3+ years he lived right next to jesus. he listened to Him teach, watched Him interact with people, saw Him do miracles. he even went out with the other disciples preaching the kingdom of God, and most likely did miracles himself. so after all this, what in the world was happening in his heart that when the right moment came, he sold Jesus down the river for a few pieces of silver. the issue for me isn’t so much what he did, but why he did it.

maybe the reason this means so much to me is I always wonder why some people live these really godly christian lives and others don’t– even though they may both say they believe. why the difference??? how come some days i find a lot of power in my life to walk with the Lord and other days not so much. this sunday we’re going to spend a little time looking at the issue of motivation (in Philippians 2:3-11). it will be a time to ponder not “what” we do, but “why” we do it.

so if you’ve had days where you felt particularly strong in the Lord, do you have any ideas as to where that strength came from? what was going on between you and God that allowed His Spirit’s power to truly flow through you??

just wonderin’

ts

Well, this picture kinda tells you what I’ve been up to for the last few weeks. It all started on August 8th down in Bramford, Ct. My oldest son Ben tied the knot with Jess (she’s the one in white that isn’t Danny).  I always wondered what it would be like to do the ceremony for my own kids since I’ve probably done well over a 100 for others.  Let me say it was one of the happiest days of my life. Looking at the joy on the faces of these two was incredible. Having both my daughters (Jackie and Bethany) and my son (Dan) in the wedding was a kick as well. God gave us a gorgeous day and I will say the food and the dancing at the reception were top notch. Of course any time I’m on the dance floor it is “top notch” lol. Someone asked, “will you do your daughter’s weddings??” Short answer– “not a chance”. Let’s be honest. Watching you son marry an amazing young woman is a real blessing. Watching any guy marry your daughter– no way he’s good enough for her :). I’ll walk ‘em down the aisle, but somebody else has to do the ceremony.

Well that was the “add 1″ part of the story. I’m now a father in law, and there’s a new gal in the family. That’s good news. Now for the “not always good news”. We rolled back in from the wedding, and immediately started getting ready for the Exdous. Not quite as big as the biblical one, but equally exhausting. Thursday evening (13th) Jackie and I headed south- me in a truck, her in a car. First stop Philadelphia. We rolled in Eastern University at about 2am, dropped the car and kept heading south. Destination - Anderson University, South Carolina. 4pm the next afternoon we were there. Gotta say, the drive through the Virginias is gorgeous. Met up in Anderson with mom and Bethany, who flew down.

Said goodbye to Beth on Sunday, put Jackie on a plane for Philly; then Kath and went to DC to cry for a couple days. One stop on the way home in Philly to spend a little time with Jackie and Danny; then it was on  the road to Durham– arrival time 3am Friday the 21st.

So here we are– added one daughter and said bye to 2 daughters and a son. We are officially empty nested. It really was strange walking into the house after the trip. Just seemed so empty. I guess ya say a “new day” begins. What will it be like? How will we adapt? Not sure. This parenting thing has dominated life for 25 years. And even though we are still very much parents, it is on to new things. So any of you “empty nesters” out there– got any words of wisdom for the nubies?

Ken and Emily (and their children) minister in central asia– in a land that is 99.8% muslim. They were home on furlough, so we took a little time to ask a few questions about life on the mission field.

Can you describe the spiritual condition of the place and the need you see today?

      Even though this country has Christian roots, it is 99 % Muslim. The missionary movement started 30 yrs. ago and is in the work of breaking ground and making Christ known in a place where there is a distorted view of Christian society. We see our job as making Christ known there. People are very hungry for God and we find people are very open to prayer. Their society has very strict formula for prayer and they are very interested in how we pray-from our hearts. While it is predominantly Muslim, individually we see a big hunger for God.

      There is an acceptance of your lot in life. It is how it is. They are aware of the fact that something is missing in their life. While they recognize the wholesomeness in the face that they present to the world, they know that they are still struggling w/ their own sinfulness.

With the people you’ve gotten to know, if you ask them what their view of an American Christian, what do they say?

      They have a general perspective of Americans being amoral. But as they get to know us, they are surprised by how we live our lives. They say that we are morally better than the nationals. One family we have gotten to know over the past two years, has said that they’ve found that we are “just like them.”  As we live out our life among them, they see that we are different (than their perception of Americans). 

We (Shanta Dawson and I) had a chance to sit down with a couple of our missionaries, Andy and Mary Ellen, the other day. So we did a little “round table” discussion concerning their Scripture translation work in Central Asia. Here is what we talked about. 

Give us a brief overview of your work.

We’ve been in Central Asia from 2007 to April of 2009. Our work has centered in translating the Scriptures into one of the local languages. The New Testament was published a while ago, but it is in need of revision. One of my (Andy’s) specific tasks was to go over all the spellings of names in the New Testament, checking them for consistency. More recently I helped a national colleague make a new translation of Galatians and Philippians. We hope to have the whole Bible done in 3-4 years. The greatest challenge then will be publishing and distributing the Scriptures. These are “closed” countries that don’t welcome the idea of their people freely possessing Bibles. The church here is small—only a few thousand in a land of millions. 

How many people groups in Central Asia have their own Scriptures?

Most of the major ones have at least some part of the Scriptures. The Soviets taught the people literacy, so most can read. But there are smaller ethnic groups living without access to any Scripture in their own languages. 

The issue sometimes comes up as to why spend all the energy to translate the Scriptures into each language. Wouldn’t it be easier in bilingual areas to just use a Bible that would be understood, even if it isn’t one’s primary language?

The problem is this—trying to read the Scriptures in a language that isn’t native keeps it at a distance. It is like many of us trying to read the King James version. You may get the “big picture”, but you miss out on so much. In Central Asia, most of the folks read Russian, but they associate Russia with oppression and domination. They aren’t real interested in the God of the oppressors. They could read a Russian Bible, but it wouldn’t be the best.