Observations from Shanghai

- This is a much more westernized city then I expected. (Though I increasingly think global is a better word than Western to describe what I mean.) There is a Starbucks on every corner here as well. The consumerism might actually be more rampant here than in the US. To illustrate how far from communism China has moved to capitalism: In the downtown part of Shanghai there is a historic marker for where the first 11 communists meet to begin the “revolution”. It was Mao’s house. Today the majority of the property is a mall.

- Shanghai is a huge freakin’ city with lots of people. I mean 20 million people (if you include the constant flow of expats, tourists, and general travelers). Which means it is very crowded and loud. I really appreciate my neighborhood back in St. Francis. 10 years ago all these people where on bikes, but now they are driving cars. If you ever wonder how Volkswagen survives as a company, it is because they scored a deal with the Taxi service in Shanghai, they are all VW’s. There are still plenty of bikes and mopeds. What drives me nuts is that most of the mopeds have squeaky brakes that make you want to scream.

- Very international town. I have found a European style coffee house nearby where I like to sit and read most of the afternoon. There must have been four or five languages being spoken today in this small little shop.

- The greatest experience about this international presence by far has been church. Michelle and I attended Shanghai International Fellowship on Sunday. The church is an old Lutheran German style cathedral and the place was packed. We worshiped with around 350 people from 60 different countries. The closest experience to heaven I have had.

- Also need to dispel the myth about Christians being persecuted here. Maybe it is different in some rural areas, but at church on Sunday the President of the Chinese Council of Churches gave a report about the church in China. She spoke very critically of the “cultural revolution” and also explained all that has occurred since churches were reopened in 1980. She said that there are over 55,000 churches in China today. That is Church buildings. This is still small considering there are 1.5 Billion people living here. The church is censored though, but not persecuted. You might ask what the difference is, and I what say that no one is going to jail for being a Christian, or even for proselytizing. However, like all institutions the Church is under the ever watchful eye of the “party.” All people need to be careful not to speak too critically of the “party.” But even this is ever changing. I would say the church here is in greater danger of the same danger zone of consumerism that Americans are.

- People here are really really rude. I do not how many times I have been cut off, skipped in line, and stared in just over a week. Cars have no regard for traffic laws, I seriously risk my life every time I get in a cab. As our friend Andy says, “In America cars look out for people, in China people look out for cars.” Do not be surprised if at some point my blog entry is a story about me being hit by a car. Just the other day I had to slam on the back of Mercedes that was backing up on the sidewalk and was about to hit me. To illustrate my point: We live right by Haushan Hospital so a lot of ambulances come through the area. In America cars get out of the way. I realize it is the law, but I think they would even if there wasn’t a law. Yesterday I watched an ambulance have to wait at a red light, when all a taxi had to do was move over a few feet and the Ambulance could have passed. When the light turned no cars got out of the way; taxis even cut off the ambulance.

- The food is amazing. Asia just does food well (at least from my experiences in Thailand and now China). Always fresh, always tasty. Ironically the best has been an Indian place called Kaveen’s Kitchen. If you come to Shanghai it is located at the intersection of Yayuan Lu and Hushahn Lu (across from the Hilton.). I recommend the Daal, Chicken Tikka Masala, and the garlic Nan.

- I found a liquor that rivals my love for scotch. Bi jo (sp?) It is even stronger than scotch and has a slightly sweeter taste. Though it will give you a quick buzz so be careful.

- Greatest Irony: In Shanghai the US consulate is right next door to the Iranian consulate.

- Interesting history – Do you know where the verb Shanghaied comes from? Shanghai has a long history as a port town. At the turn of the century it was called the “Paris of the East”. Anyway it also had a reputation as a party town, opium houses, gambling, liquor, and burlesque houses. Sailors would port in Shanghai and not want to leave. So captains began drugging them and dragging them back to the ship and would set sail before they woke. The sailors had to sail, and were thus shanghaied.

Lost In Translation

We had been in the hotel for about a day in Shanghai, and I made a comment to Michelle, “Have you noticed the toilet is running.”

She replied, “You should call them and let them know.”

I knew she was right, but I had my reluctance for some reason…



“Hewo Meester Phwillips, may weee helwp you?”

“Yeah, the toilet is running, could you send someone to fix it.”
Then I realized they did not know what “a running toilet” means. “The toilet is making noise, could you fix it?”

About five minutes there was a knock on the door, and sure enough a member of engineering showed up. He had a plunger in hand, and did not speak a word of English. I guess they figured I meant the toilet was clogged.

Except the strange thing is that he did not even use the plunger on the toilet, he used it on the sink. He started to plunge the sink. Then he began to take apart the drain pipes of the sink. Michelle and I tried to explain that it was the toilet and not the sink which was broken. As we were explaining we were pointing at the toilet, so he looked at us and then he put the toilet seat up and then goes back to working on the sink. Mind you the whole time anyone can hear the toilet is running, no matter what language you speak.

So, Michelle and I left to room to work out. When we came back the man was gone, but the toilet was still running.

The next morning as I am working at my computer in the room (its about 9AM) there is a knock at the door. The same man from the previous evening is at the door, with his plunger. He repeats the same steps from the previous evening. He comes out after about 10 minutes and tries to explain something to me in Chinese. I think he is saying the drain is clogged. Clearly it is working fine, the water goes down. He leaves.

Not more than a few minutes pass when the fellow returns with another man, who is carrying a bigger plunger. Repeat steps (plunge sink, pull apart pipes, wash, etc). At this point I call down to explain they are working on the wrong problem. Reception just wants to make sure they are in the room working, and offers me a new room. I try to explain I am not looking for a new room, but for the toilet to be fixed, and the not the sink which is working fine. They offer to change my room, and I again explain that engineering is working on the wrong problem. Reception transfers me to the assistant manger, repeat same conversation.

At this point, the two “plumbers” have dragged the fire house from the hallway and have it pointed down the drain pipe. I decide to leave.

On my way out of the lobby I stop by the assistant manager hoping they speak English well enough so I can explain what is going on. They seem to understand and escort me back to my room. At this point the manger says something in Chinese to the “plumbers”, and then asks me if I would like a new room. I explain that is not necessary, I just want them to fix the toilet and not the sink. At this point the manger kicks the two men out of the room, and asks me to contact them when it would be convenient to work on the bathroom.

After they leave I pop open the toilet and fix it in two minutes.

Next time I will tell them the sink is broken so that they fix the toliet.

China, Here We Come

So the day has finally arrived. Tomorrow morning at 9:15 Michelle and I are boarding a plane for Chicago. From Chicago we will fly direct to Shanghai. We will spend the rest of June in Shanghai, and then a week in Beijing, and the rest of the summer in Hong Kong. I will head home in August, and then begin my new position as Pastor of Family Ministries as Southbrook Church.

A lot of people I deeply respect have been asking me what I am going to do, and what I expect during the time in China. Truthfully I am not entirely sure what to expect. Michelle will be really busy. Asians work crazy hours. I have very little responsibility while in Asia. My days will be free to sightsee, read, reflect, and well rest. So as far as day to day activities go, I have no real expectations.

However, I do have an expectation for the summer. This is a tremendous opportunity for spiritual formation. I will be out of my comfort zone it just about every way. No home, different food. For the first time in my life I will be a minority. It will be quite an experience. So I have a backpacking guitar on load from Brandon, and a stack of books, which I fear will not be enough to get me through. I also hope to read some on Chinese history and also the all important Chinese cooking.

If you are coming to China or want to, drop us a line. I will have plenty of time to show you around.

The freedom of letting go.

Have you ever noticed yourself clinging so tightly to one the thing that you are most afraid of losing that you end up killing it. Maybe it’s your dignity, your job, a dream, a relationship, etc. Perhaps even a calling. It is so interesting that when we are so afraid to lose something we hold on so tight, we do lose it.

The cross inverts this fear. Jesus did not consider equality with God something to grasp, though in his very nature He is God (Phil 2). He was even willing to let go of his eternal position, and in the end it was still his. He experiences the freedom of trust in the father, and the resurrection, life itself, is now his. We are offered this same freedom.

Let go, experience the freedom, and fall into God’s arms. It's not easy, but it is freeing.

Grace, Generosity, and Fellowship - reflections from the Spiritual Formation Forum

Grace

The other side of brokenness and pain is Grace. The night always turns to morning. The darkness is never permanent, the light shines through. The crucifixion precedes the resurrection, and the message of Christ, is "arise".

My entries have been of a somber note from the weekend, but know that the brokenness and the pain is not all there is. However, it is only in the darkness of our soul that we can understand and know grace. To not enter the darkness is to cheapen grace and the work of the cross.

But grace oh sweet grace. To know that after we have embraced our sinfulness, we can hear the words “you’re forgiven.” To hear from the eternal father, “I love you”, to hear from the creator of our souls, “you are my child, arise and be alive, go and sin no longer.” This is not only a command to not sin, but to know that we are no longer regarded as sinners. We are to embrace this new standing of God, and live without sin. If we do not mourn our sin, we will never turn from it. Hence we cheapen grace. And why cheapen something so beautiful and so powerful.

The message of grace is not only, be saved from the pits of hell, but the message of life. We settle for so little, we reduce our faith to propositional statements and warm fuzzies, when what God is offering the world in the cross and the resurrection is life, and life to the fullest. This is not a fullness of health and wealth, of self-fulfillment, but the fullness of peace in our souls, in our world, and mostly peace with God.

Life is only found in God. Can you imagine what it is like to have faith in God so that we are free from our insecurities, from our pettiness, even from our sins? This is what we are offered. If we are willing to let go of holding onto ourselves, then we can embrace God, then Jesus becomes our life, and that is life to the fullest.

So, let me ask. Why are you running? Why are you clinging to your life? He offers us so much, and we settle for so little. Grace tells us that is will be ok. Grace gives meaning to our existence, to our joys, and even to our suffering. Pain is redemptive with grace.

Why are you running? Stop holding on, stop clinging, and surrender to God. Acknowledge your brokenness, and embrace the grace. Acknowledge the darkness, and trust that the light is coming.

Generosity

I have never experience so much generosity in my life. My friends provided a hotel room for me. My father provided a flight. The only time I paid for a meal this past week was when I was by myself (which was rare). I cannot believe all of your generosity and your kindness to me. Thank you for showing me the love of God.

Fellowship

Every group I spoke with this week opened there arms wide to me. This includes my peeps from Milwaukee, people from Trinity, and my new friends from Indiana. Thank you for your genuine concern for my well-being. Thank you for showing me love and grace. Thank you for your on-going prayers. The best part of these conferences tend to be the conversations you have in free time. Once I again I have found this to be true. Thank you to all for embracing me as a brother in the family of God.

brokenness - pain

Brokenness – This weekend has really challenged me in the areas of my life that I do not enjoy entering into, but that I need to enter into. It is really hard to quite our lives, it is hard for me to quite myself, to be attentive to God. When I approach God in prayer, by which I mean experience his holiness, it does produce a feeling of woe is me. I am aware of the sin in my life, that I have not right to approach God. To share in Paul’s words from Romans 7, I do what I do not want to do, and I don’t do what I do want to do. The nature of sin, it’s treacherous, it’s vile, and it’s destructive. So, most days I choose to ignore it. When I choose to ignore it, I miss the heart of God. We are all people desiring more, but why do we refuse to allow ourselves to be broken before God, so that he might give us life, and give it to the fullest.

Pain – If I had to sum up the forum in one word it would be pain. I am aware of the pain in my own life, my struggle with insecurity, a fear of abandonment, and also general self-assessment of inadequacy. Yet this leads to brokenness.

I feel the pain in my family, and I hope and I pray that they might experience the grace and the hope that comes from God the father.

The hardest thing for me when I move to practicing the presence of God in my life is the pain I sense all around me. I have come close to nervous breakdowns walking into crowds of people, because I sense their inner turmoil. As some have shared their stories with me this week, I found myself fighting tears. I can sense God’s love for the world, so much so that it pains him to see the mess that we are all in. Will we move into the hard path of brokenness, which yields repentance, which brings grace, which gives life.


C.S. Lewis, said that pain is God’s megaphone to the world. If you are experiencing pain, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual – turn to God. The cross is evidence that one He cares, and two that pain serves a purpose, a redemptive purpose in our lives. Pain can put us in touch with God. He mourns with you, he cares for you.

“The Christian life is not one of ascent in knowledge, but descent into death, but this death brings life” – Dave Johnson


“Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”. – Matt 10:38-39

Facing the Mess

Half a day at the spiritual formation forum and God has already begun to dig deep into the mess that is my soul. Sitting in the sessions today I began to get that old nagging feeling I often have in class, well that I have in almost every possible social setting. It is that desire to impress the others around me. It is that desire to contribute so profoundly to the dialogue that I present myself as somehow being acceptable among them, if not even slightly above them. So, I am left with dilemma that we are all faced with daily, minute by minute: do I face my inner struggle or do I ignore it?

Our main session dealt with the heart of this very issue. Our intentions, our motives are rarely if ever pure, and we should not be content with that. The heart of spiritual formation is engaging this battle, the battle within us between spirit and flesh. Christianity then is more than having orthodox beliefs, and more than Christ-like behavior. Christianity is about entering into the dynamic father-son-spirit relationship and being transformed into the wholeness of the image of Christ.

This is where we fail, where I fail. We refuse to enter into the mess of our own souls, the mess of being a family, of being a community, and we can never experience the brokenness before God. If we cannot be broken before God, then we cannot truly be repentant, and then we are never truly transformed into his image.

Engage the battle. Will you, will I engage the battle that rages within us at the deepest levels. Engage our fears, our insecurities, and our deepest darkest desires that threaten our very wholeness. In God, there is not to be any of these. God is wholly other-centered, but we are always self-centered (to some degree). These are the two realities: God’s other centeredness, our self-centeredness – that is the root of sin. The incarnation then is the in-breaking of God’s reality into our own, not to condemn our reality, but restore it, redeem it, and make it whole again. This is our job as a church: to proclaim these two realities, and tell over and over again the story of the in-breaking - to live embracing our brokenness and accepting God’s mercy.

Will you join me in this journey? Will you no longer avoid the mess in your life, and the mess in mine, and the mess in others, lest we reduce our spirituality to emotional feel good consumerism? Will you embrace the brokenness, and wait then on the Spirit of God to shape and model you into the image of Christ? Will you trust God in a radical way you have never before?


“That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Cor. 12:10

Imagination

What would we do without our imagination? As I was praying the other day, I was reflecting on God, and how I picture him, and it dawned on me that it would be impossible for me to even comprehend God without my imagination. I would be dependent upon only that which I could take in with my senses, I would only have ‘reason’ one might say.

I can hear the voice of the atheist already, see God is only a figment of our imaginations. To some degree God is a member of our imagination. It is in my imagination that I can picture, him, that I can even begin to comprehend him, but let us not mistake that for being only a product of our imagination. Rather it is our imagination that informs us.

What would we do without imagination? We would be trapped within our senses. Our reality could only be defined by that which we see and hear. There would be no hope without imagination. No one would even be able to dream of a better tomorrow. No one could hope for a better world, a better life. What would we do without imagination?

This is why I think it is vital we encourage imagination in ourselves, and even more in our children. Encourage them in their creative work, and in their “overworked” imagination. The imagination is such an important part of the image of God we have been endowed with. Look around creation and see the imprint of God’s creative work. We too have been charged with the enterprise of creativity, and developing God’s creation into what we call culture. And now the church too has been asked to declare to a dying world, a better world. Imagine the hope we have in the Kingdom of God. Imagine a world where justice is truly the rule of law, where peace rules within us and between us, where mercy abounds, and where love has now end. Imagine a world where people dwell in the face of God.

What would we do without imagination?

I’m off to the Spiritual Formation Forum. If you are in LA, shoot me an e-mail.

I am really excited to sit down and dialogue about how we as churches can better foster an environment for forming our spirits. Please pray for us this week. I hear there are over 900 participants this year.

Honestly, these conferences can drive me crazy with all the one-up-menship, but I have hope that his will be one about connecting, and building the body of Christ. I have some great roommates to hang out with this week. Please keep us all in your prayers. I am sure I will have some posts in reference to the conference.

ASIA...saying good-bye - but not for too long

Today finally arrived. At 9:30 this morning I placed my wife, Michelle, on a plane that would start a journey ending in Shanghai, China. She took a jumper flight from Milwaukee to O’Hare, and then at 16 hour flight from O’Hare to Shanghai. This is the start of a 6 -7 month assignment in the Asia/Pacific region with her company.

Michelle has been traveling a lot lately, so I have gotten quite used to dropping her off at the airport, but normally I pick her up again in a few days. It is never more than a week (and that is rare). But this will be 6 weeks until we see each other again. I cannot even begin to explain how strange this feels. I am alone in bed tonight, I will be eating more by myself, and the house is eerily quiet. Marriage brings two people so close, so intimate, and for that to just fly away is quite bizarre, surreal even.

The parting at the airport seemed like I was living a movie, even more like I was viewing a movie. It was emotional, but did not feel like it was really happening. Life’s most dramatic moves occur in the simplest and smallest of maneuvers. We hugged and kissed, embraced each other, and then again; the whole time fighting off the tears. I just wanted to walk away at that point, while Michelle walked through the security check, but I couldn’t leave. I watched her as long as I could until she walked beyond my eyesight. I finally made the hard turn to begin exiting the terminal, and then the tears came. I took a few deep breaths, and pressed on in life; reminding myself, “it is really more like five weeks”.

While the distance may be hard, I am really excited for her. Michelle dreams of traveling, and this will bring travel. While she will be living in Shanghai, she will be traveling all over the region: Tokyo, Seoul, New Delhi, Bangkok, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Auckland. What husband would not let his wife take such a trip? She is helping the Asia/Pacific market get up to speed on their marketing strategy and implementation. So, this is also a great career move. If you want to keep up with her adventure, she will be keeping a blog, I am sure she would love it if you dropped a comments from time to time.

Michelle will be back in the states at the end of May for a wedding, and then a conference in Chicago, and then back to China. I will be living in Shanghai with her from mid June to mid August, so we will not be separate the whole 6 months. Michelle will come home mid the end of October.

We are excited about the work God will do through this, both within us and our marriage, as well as the ministry we will have as individuals during this time. Please pray for us, this will obviously be stressful on our marriage, but also a great time for growth. We know there is a lot to be learned. We’ve been praying that distance truly makes the heart grow fonder, that we would find time for ministry we would not have being together; strengthening of our marriage, and a deeper appreciation for our yearning for Christ and being fully united to Him.

Thanks for the support from all of you, we would appreciate the prayers.

Spiritual Formation Forum May 17-20

I am really excited to announce I will be attending the Spiritual Formation Forum in CA this May.

The forum seeks to bring together a great collection of pastors, scholars, theologians, and most importantly, practitioners of Spiritual formation to gather and discuss the church’s role in spiritual formation. Some of the people who have ministered to me the most will be there. Even Dave Johnson and the Open Door worship team will be there this year; I used to attend Church of the Open Door when I lived in Minneapolis. This is an awesome oppourtuinty and I wanted to promote it on my blog. Check it out!

If you are a student like me, you can even get 3 hours of credit from Trinity.

I hope some of you can make it.

In response to Aaron's comment

Sorry to all, especially Aaron. Where am I you might ask?

Well Michelle leaves for Asia in two weeks (was supposed to leave today originally), it is a 6 month stint.

I am taking advanced Greek Exegesis. All I have done for the last two days, is attend a conference on pain management to the dying, and tranlate Greek, lots of Greek.

Sorry about the lack of posts. Just swamped trying to graduate, find a job, send my wife to Asia, and stay healthy.

More to come soon - I promise

Relevance…Compassion

This past week the Sunday school class I attend at church got slightly sidetracked discussing the issue of God’s judgment in natural disasters particularly the events of the past year regarding the Asian tsunami and the hurricanes the ravaged New Orleans. I was somewhat out of it I admit, but did follow the discussion. At one level the class discussed that all of nature’s chaos was evident of God’s judgment on creation because of our sin – true. At another level the discussion focused on, was it God’s direct judgment on the people of New Orleans. The class admitted that none of us were in a place to know…

As we drove home Michelle articulated what bothered her greatly about this discussion, and I think it is an all too important point – where is the compassion? The question is not about whether we know God’s judgment, but how will we the people of God respond?

As Christians we too quickly become anxious to see God’s judgment on wicked people, but do we ever take time to remember that we too are wicked people. Why do we quickly think because righteousness is given to us with the cross, that we suddenly have the ability, nay, the right to judge what is good and evil in this world. Is this not the beginning of the problem.

Let us just admit that the horrible tragedies of the world happen because we are sinful people. Let me reiterate, WE ARE sinful people, even his church, even the redeemed are that the race that fell, but then was redeemed. All of us are responsible. This is not merit for us to judge – that is the glory reserved for Christ. It is merit for us display the infinite riches of the shame, the suffering of the cross.

This is relevance my brothers and sister. If we want to contextualize the gospel, if we want it to be alive and relevant to a culture to the world, then we need to walk in suffering, and bear the sins of our culture. This means we do not point fingers, but we weep, we mourn, we suffer, and we labor for our neighbors. That is how we make the church relevant. The church is good at displaying God’s justice, but we need and we are called to give the mercy that was given to us.

Join me in praying for God’s mercy.

THE GROWING DIVIDE, WHERE SHOULD THE CHURCH STAND?

Many of you I am sure have kept up with the news this past week and the recent developments in the escalating clash of worldviews occurring between the West and Islam. I have had some helpful conversations on this issue and some very discouraging ones as well.

Essentially, this is a clash of two worldviews at the most fundamental levels of their value structures. In the west, liberty (freedom of speech) is the most valued possession, and something I beleive will still they would go to war over. In Islam it is honor, particularly the honor of Allah and the prophet - tihs is what they live and die for. Both sides are evaluating the issue from their own value structures. No one will win here. They both want their values to be adopted and accepted by the other side, but this is impossible. This is of course a complex situation rooted deep in history, but is either side ‘right’ here? This may seem like moral ambiguity, but I think there is an another way, a better way.

So what is the Christian do here, what is the church’s response? I have been bothered by the immediate weight American Christians simply put in the Western worldview. Is there a higher value here then liberty or honor that we need to adorn in this growing season of turbulence? As Christians our national allegiance is to the Kingdom of God (I am curious to know how Iranian Christians view this situation). In no way do I condone the rioting and the burning of embassies, but neither do I condone the blatant disrespect from the West.

I have some thoughts on how the church should respond here, but I am curious to know what others are thinking. Maybe I am wrong, maybe the church should choose a side, maybe someone is right. How ought we to live here, we must we say - because I know we should not remain silent?

remodeling, mothers, thoughts, and a fretless bass

It has been a long time since my last post, long long time. If any of you were wondering I am not dead, just been quite busy.

Since my last post, we basically finished up our house projects, a little paint and some hemmed drapes and I think we will be done for a little while, the place looks really nice though.

Michelle’s mother moved in with us in the process, and was a huge help to getting the house done for the holidays. Time has also caught up to me, and Michelle presented me with a certificate to have a fretless bass built according to my own specifications for my 25th b-day. Devon Smullen previously built me a bass, which many of you know is sacred in my life. Isabel’s (that’s my bass’s name) sister should be complete early fall. (The picutre to the right is just a picture I found of a koa bass, mine will be even cooler)

She will be quite beautiful: a swamp ash body for a nice warm and full sound, with a koa top for a truly beautiful look. A 5 piece neck through (koa and maple) with an ebony finger board. Twin batrolini music man pickups, ABM individual string bridges, and hipshot tuners.

You have no idea how touched I was, and Michelle has been working on this for years, and was in tears as she presented a piece of koa wood to me.

So that this big news on my part, anyone want to start a band?

I have been working through a lot of thoughts, particularly on inerrency and more thoughts on the nature of salvation. I will be posting soon.

What is the gospel?

So, I have not posted in awhile. (I have a term paper that is sucking the life out of me – hopefully I can post on it soon.) I had that one post about how churches drive me crazy, but I deleted for two reasons. First, my apologizes to the united way, the facts of my comments may have been erroneous. Second, my negative voice in the end I felt was unhelpful. My post was about the institutionalization of the gospel.

We touched on the topic today in my cultural hermeneutics (how to interpret culture) class. Apparently Robert Gundry said something similar a few years ago, and called evangelicals to rethink a fundamentalist stance (see Jesus the Word, and John the Sectarian). In essence to reclaim our place as a sect protesting a decaying world, not the empire than evangelicalism has become. He has a point, but not quite what I had in mind.

Is it possible to “protest” a culture but still love it? By protest I mean proclaim the message of hope, of repentance and forgiveness. I think what is comes down to, is that we need to proclaim the gospel, but none of us seem to be able to articulate the gospel. So let me put it out there, how do you define the gospel?

Badgers win, Gophers disappoint me once again

As a man true to my word, I have placed this "W" for the badgers upon my blog. After taunting my friend Steve, a current Michagan resident and Badger alum, about last week's Minnesota/Michagan game and the upcoming Badger/Gopher game, a little wager was made regarding the Minnesota(my alma mater)-Wisconsin game yesterday. Had Minnesota not gut wrenchingly blown their amazing lead yesterday, and had not God clearly wanted the Badgers to win (how else can you explain it), Steve would have a large Minnesota "M" on his blog. The Gophers rushed for 400 yards and still lost this game. I'll make excuses, becasue I can; we all know the Gophers would have won this game had they been able to play their starting QB, Bryan Cupito, instead of this redshirt freshman QB Tony Mortensen. Alas my Gophers have once again let me down. At least there is alawys hockey.

Here's to you Steve and your badgers.

Steve's blog can be found at http://alreadynotyet.blogspot.com/.

U2

I love U2. I am sitting here alone, it is late and I cannot really sleep. I listen to U2 and my soul is comforted. They always have that effect. You should listen to them. “Running to Stand Still” has a particularly strong effect on me; as does “Whose Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”.

I meet this band late in life. I think I bought my first CD at the age of 18. And it has been a slow process of failing more and more in love with them.

U2 presents a messy spirituality. Following Christ is not easy, and does not always make a lot of sense. These guys are really honest about that, and I find that comforting. Their lyrics have just a sense of truth accompany them.

Aside from that they are really trying to make a difference in the world. Championing the cause of the widows and orphans in the world, and that is pretty sweet. The songs reflect the values of God’s kingdom, peace, justice, faith, hope, love, and worship.

I could say a lot more, but I think they are sweet. They’ve got some awesome skills.

Pacifism

Pacifism, I have really been struggling with this one lately. When I read the teachings of Christ, this seems to be at the core of Jesus’ teachings. Turn the other cheek type of thing.

I have been reading a lot of church history these days, and it is interesting to see that the early church, first 3 centuries of Christians were all pacifists. The church did not allow Christians to partake in military service. Christians never fought back if they were attacked. As many know hundreds upon thousands of Christians were persecuted and literally slaughtered without even putting up a fight at this time in history.

This all dramatically changed with the conversion of Constantine and the emergence of a Christianized Roman Empire. If everyone was a Christian it made it hard to build an army to protect the empire if everyone was a pacifist. This eventually resulted in Augustine’s writing Just War. He details when war is appropriate and when it is not.

However, I am wondering if Christians have strayed from the teachings of Christ, which never condones violence. I am not asking about the legitimacy of military, or even a government. I think governments have a certain right from God to defend themselves and go to war. I am wondering, what is the role of the Church and pacifism? Is there ever a time to defend or attack as Christians? We as Christians are called to peace. Peter was chastised for picking up the sword in the garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus harsh words are those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Is not our fight against powers and principalities, entities of the spiritual world? We are people called to peace.

If my wife is being attacked do I step in and fight? Can a Christian in good conscience enlist in military service – kill in the name of a government? Is not my responsibility to the values of the Kingdom before the values of my government? If I am unwilling to serve my government with military service should I enjoy the rights extended to me by that government? Should Christians take up arms against violence, or respond with some sort of creative passive resistance? What are your thoughts?

The Automobile

I am convinced that the automobile is the bane of modern man's existence.