Toward Hope

Please be praying for Rick Meigs (Blind Beggar)

Rick, a blogger with influence and much respect, was in a critical motorcycle accident. this link will tell you more. please pray for him.

Beyond the Word...

Were you to merely scan these words below, you would know what it is like to skip over a blessing. But if you consider....just consider the depth of what is written here, you may encounter something beyond the words that you long for the most. Go and leave a comment at A Dirty Shame if you are moved to. You probably will be...

_______________________________

You have to understand the rain and the mesquite. The clouds come on slowly and torture the drooping leaves with the promise of rain and this goes on day after day, week after week, and sometimes, not often, but sometimes the rain never comes at all, the monsoon skips, and still the tree stands and believes and waits. But when the rain comes, and most years it does come, the feel in the desert is love. Not the word, the thing beyond the word, the rush of life pouring from the sky...
- Charles Bowden, Blues for Cannibals

God, a glance in the mirror reveals gray hair and age spots. Damn, I look like an old mesquite tree, standing, believing, waiting. I can soldier on quite convincingly, tortured with the promise. But there are days, not often, but sometimes, when I wish you'd pour from the sky into my dreams that we might grapple. I'm not angry, you know that. I'd just like to feel you, not the you of the the word, but the you beyond the word. You have blessed and I hope you will continue to bless. You have wounded and yes, I believe that too shall not cease. But that the leaves might feel the rush...

I felt the love that day in the canyon so grand, when the water was depleted and there was still some distance to the rim. In the cleft of the rock, literally, the water bottles rested along with the note - take it. And I did. What I drank was not water, but something beyond the word. It tasted like...love.

There is so much talk of you, so many words. In the way the letters C-O-W do not give milk, the letters G-O-D do not give love. We want to believe that writing the word and speaking the word and attempting to make the word famous will bring the rain. But I fear that may be the folly of youth; the lips are near but the leaves still droop. Or they will. The nations roar and you laugh. Your children roar and I fear you may gasp. There is so much talk of you.

I am not alone. There are others, standing, believing, waiting. We are learning of the rain and the mesquite and that beyond the words.

A Season for Change

Many who venture to this corner of the internet typically know me from the perspective of my theology writing on this blog. There is another side to me. It is the side of my career, which I have mentioned in passing, but not in great detail. But today I will.

I sell Business Intelligence software and for the last 5 years I have been employed by Crystal Decisions, who were bought by Business Objects, who bought a bunch of other companies, before we were bought by the third largest software company in the world, SAP. I have had some good success over the years and have learned to deal with fast paced change in a public company. It was here that I learned the craft of solution selling. I must admit, growth in a complex and technical industry has infused an anxious twitch in me at every quarter end that requires a couple of decompression days to recover.

On Monday, five years to the day I was hired, I gave my written resignation. I am moving on to an exciting opportunity with a small but growing software company (FAME Asset Management Solutions) that shares the same values I do, the same passion for technology, and a desire to impact the world in a positive way. I now work for my friend's dad's company...and I am excited about that! I have the opportunity before me to help organizations reduce their cost for facility operations and maintenance, prolong facilities life cycles, and help them to reduce greenhouse emissions toward the goal of sustainable environments.

Over my career in sales, ensuring that my faith intersects with the business I do, has been of greatest importance to me. I see the business world as God's mission field and my experience has given me ample opportunity to share Kingdom values and my story with others. I am in full time ministry here and look forward to the opportunities ahead to do good work for the kingdom through my new role. Just thought I'd let y'all know a little more about the guy behind Toward Hope.

Technorati Tags: Business, Business Intelligence, Business Objects

Buying Sex is Not A Sport

I'd like to draw your attention to something extremely important. An anti-trafficking campaign "Buying Sex is Not a Sport" launched on Friday, May 22nd in Vancouver, BC. An estimated 21 million women and children are trafficked annually, the majority for exploitation in the sex industry. This insidious market is driven by the demand for sexual access to the bodies of women and children. Large sporting events such as the Olympics bring an increase in demand - those who are the most marginalized and vulnerable to abuse pay the price with their dignity. Buying Sex Is Not a Sport is a grassroots campaign that stands with and for exploited women and firmly against the demand for their bodies. Join us in saying, “Buying Sex Is Not a Sport.”

Here are a couple of links with more information
www.buyingsexisnotasport.com
www.embracedignity.org

About Human Trafficking

Upcoming Forum: Langara Dialogues
Topic: Limit and Diminish Prostitution: Don't Legalize It.
When/Where: Wednesday, June 17th at 7:30pm/ Alice McKay Room, Vancouver Public Library, Downtown
For an overview: Click this link

Please consider how you can bring awareness to this important issue. The people behind this cause would be honored if you linked up to this to draw awareness.

Technorati Tags: Justice, Sex, Trafficking

What's there to look forward to?

This entry is a part of an on-going blog series called The Good News, which is taking place throughout the Easter Season, from Easter to Pentecost over at JR Woodward's blog. A full list of the contributors can be found here. My local newspaper is the Vancouver Sun. Here is my take on the Good News.

What's there to look forward to?

If you survey the world's political, social, and economic situations of our day, the outlook appears dismal. There is much to discourage the most optimistic face when we see the global ethos of power move in a direction as barbaric as the dark ages behind us. As a global story, one might say the world is increasingly competitive and violent. This spirit is lived out in a personal, national, and global level and although there is absence of war (in some places) that does not mean there is peace. There is a facade of peace girded by nuclear might and bound in an ever increasing cycle of self power preservation. What, in this story, is there to look forward to?

2000 years ago history changed course. The man Jesus arrived on the scene preaching a peace that runs deeper than the absence of war; a peace marked by total well being for mankind and friendship with God. There were eye witness accounts of how this peasant singlehandedly turned the Empire of his time, the Pax Romana, upside down. Not only did he preach peace, he spoke of a new type of government, greater than any earthly political system. He spoke of the Kingdom of God. He announced it with miraculous works and gathered a nucleus of people to carry on his actions. But he was killed...killed because his compassion and love criticized the religious and political empire. He embraced the crucifixion the world threw at him and did not resist so as to not compromise his message of love. They couldn't handle the peace he offered because it exposed the brutality of humanity gone awry. But that didn't hold him back. Something wonderful happened. Jesus rose from the dead....pass it on.

Jesus embodies the truth first whispered at the beginning of time. It's the truth about what it means to be human. It's different from the dehumanizing narrative of power and control dominating us and every empire past. It's the truth about how all creation is good. Mankind created to relate freely in order for love between God and humans to be true. True Love risked rejection and gave us our own wills in order for love to be reciprocated. But we turned away because we thought we knew best and exchanged life for an illusion that we could be like God. We turned and cursed ourselves and every subsequent generation to eventual death. We need to be saved.

The story goes that Jesus is God, a king, who invaded this world and died for his subjects to demonstrate immeasurable grace and institute his restorative Kingdom. He died and rose again so all of creation could be renovated and governed by his justice, reign, and peace, no longer subject to death, but with him in eternal right relationship. All this because he loves us beyond our comprehension. His love invites all to come and be part of his people that embody God's peace in order to share it with the world toward the healing of all things. God is shaking people free from sin and calling them to participate in His saving of the world. This adventure is something worth jumping into and the future result is something remarkable to look forward to! Are you in?

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Gospel, Kingdom of God

The Way We Love...

The old adage "Lord send revival, start with me." has some merit. Hearts open as Christ reveals himself to people and in turn people journey in Christ with open hearts in order for Christ to live through them. What is the economy of this reconciliatory pattern? Love! Love is the means by which God envelops the one with a rubbled heart and reshapes it into an open heart that serves as a conduit for God to reach others through the love of the believer.

The way we love, if we love well, will soften hearts. I have long been frustrated by a lack of openness to the gospel in my ten years as a Christian. I have had glimpses into people being caught up by God's love but it is as if I am surrounded by stone hearts (sometimes my own) hard and unbreakable without need for God. I have shared with deep conviction and it falls on deaf ears. Lord, is there but one in this town? I have often wondered. Then it hit me. How do I love?

In many ways loving in a non-possessive way, being respectful of the other no matter where they are on any spiritual spectrum, is the hardest thing to do. Being gentle and importantly humble in the way we love is hard because it opens us up and stretches our arms wide in a Christ-like fashion, leaving us exposed to ridicule, hurt, harm, and maybe even a spear to pierce our side. Tell me, who is willing to do this? Christ! It is Christ in me who calls me to carry and bear that cross; the cost of loving well. The magnitude of my love rests on the cusp of comfort when it should be ruggedly traversing the edge of hell. Lord have mercy.

The way we love, if we love well, will soften hearts. Perhaps in our world there are more rubbled hearts among us than people would believe. Perhaps it is when we love well that God draws broken hearts out from behind the stone; unmasking the false realities people are trying to hold together? What if it's not a hardness to the Good News that people have, but it is God's people who are not living in the zone of costly non-possessive love that hinders this?

The way we love , if we love well, will allow for people in our presence, in Christ's presence, to encounter the grace and love that leads to salvation. The risk is worth it and one I would like to take more.

Technorati Tags: Discipleship, Love

The Flight of Los Pobres...

This post is borrowed from a man too gentle to live among wolves. I thought posting this in its entirety would serve us all best. It catapulted me into prayer this morning.
____________

en busca de los pobres - it was the only phrase I could see from where I was sitting. I believe it means "for the poor..."

She'd been intently reading since before takeoff. But every time I tried to peek at the book, she'd turn it, almost as if she knew. Writers can't help it; we're curious or at least good writers are. In addition to holding the book, the last two fingers of her right hand, ring-man and pinkie, grasped a rosary. She'd read a little and then finger the beads, a few more pages, then a few more beads. This read-bead prayer lasted the flight's duration.

Was she afraid to fly? I don't know. I do know that at one point she dozed for just a second and startled awake by grabbing my arm, as if she might be falling or something. Cuanto lo siento. I believe that means "I'm so sorry." I waved away her embarassment and she returned to her prayer. As she readjusted in her seat, the book turned my way and I stole a glance: piensa en alguien que. I believe it means "think of someone who..."

Maybe, just maybe, the lady beside me in 17D was thinking of someone poor and then remembering him or her or them to the man melded to that cross dangling on the end of her rosary. And then she'd think a little more and remember another poor soul.

I'd like to believe that maybe, just maybe, that lady realized the poverty of her seatmate in 17C - me. I'd love to believe that maybe I was a bead in the hand, which in the economy of prayer is worth two in the bush, and that this abuela made mention of me to the Man of Sorrows. Maybe she also mentioned the young girl in 17B who told somebody "I sure do love you" just before takeoff and then slept bobbleheaded the rest of the flight. And maybe she also mentioned the man in 17A who huffed and puffed most of the flight due to bobblehead girl; maybe also the airline attendant who looked so lonely; maybe also the pilot who kept coming on the intercom saying "I'm sorry for the bumpy ride folks; keep your seatbelts fastened."

It really was a turbulent flight.

As we exited the plane, bags in hand, heads unbobbled, I passed the pilot and made mention of the ride. He looked at me intently and said "Man, you folks had no idea."

I'm sure the wonders of aircraft construction, wings and things, ensured our place in the clouds. But I wonder if a certain plane on Monday was truly kept aloft by the weathered fingers of a righteous Hispanic grandmother as she made her way around the beads. Maybe the dips we experienced were the spaces between the beads and as she grasped the next one, we'd level out. I don't know this for certain, but in the economy of prayer I'm convinced most times we have no idea.

I've lately become fairly pragmatic about prayer; if it works for you, do it. I may invest in a rosary and keep it close, especially on plane rides. If I sit beside you and you notice my fingers, you'll know what's going on. Regardless of our point of origin or final destination or connections in-between, we are all los pobres...

I wish I would've told that lady gracias. I'm certain it means "thank you."

Technorati Tags: Prayer

From Despair to Hope

Have you ever wondered why good things appear, In the midst of heartache and despair? Had you ever an inkling toward a thought, that a hand in the midst of trouble was helping out? Could you imagine being carried when all you feel is alone; like a branch in winter free from leaves, exposed and cold as stone? Is it too much to dream when every thought pierces your soul and could it be your troubles were each foretold? Not to punish, but to mold, a character more precious than purest gold. Only to be found as a grand prize in a great drama of restoration... and the healing of all things, even hearts, mending and wielding, love's truest expression of eternity spent in the arms of God?

The Good News

Over the Easter season until Pentecost, JR Woodward has instigated a fantastic idea for a new series of posts. JR has invited a number of bloggers to post each day to his site about The Good News as it would be written for their local paper. What a tremendous idea that is sure to draw out the creativity of this collective voice of bloggers that have the same aim of following Jesus for his Kingdom's sake. I will submit my piece on May 18th. In the mean time, please go and read and comment there about the good news as it is presented. There will be much to learn through this series as it brings the message of hope a vast group of people in different settings.

Here are the first two entries

Len Hjalmarson
JR Rozko

I will update and link to this each day...

Oh, and if you are not following JR Woodward's blog. Do so by clicking here. He is also on Twitter, you can follow his tweets here.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Christianity, JR Woodward, Kingdom of God

Good Friday - The Voice From the Cross Calling

"Yet once more that cross moves closer, and yet more intensely and eagerly He who hangs upon it seems to speak to us, and the burden of His words is: "I bring to you that which is highest and best for time and eternity; I bring to you the assurance that there is no grief and no sorrow that is not always in the Father's sight and may not be turned into blessing. I bring to you a power by which evil thoughts and tendencies may be destroyed. I bring to you whose memories are full of sad and bad recollections the assurance that no life can have been so wicked, no past so foul, no strength so far gone as to cut off from the love of God and His willingness to save." Are you willing to hear that voice and to respond to its invitation?" ~Amory Howe Bradford

Technorati Tags: Lament, Lent

More than Lipstick on a Pig

I scanned the room and saw the eyes of all the gathered on this Sunday of palms. Triumphant "Hosannas" filled our ears and imperfect voices echoed back. It was as if the music was trying to carry us beyond the line between us and God. It is a line that too many of us draw too often. For some it was a line that is too hard to cross.

Smiles, ear to ear painted over frowning lips, crowned the room with a picture of what it should be like. But in many ways it's not. Veneer traded for authenticity long ago. I saw the couple that doesn't talk. I saw the physically sick and the lonely singing along. I saw the downtrodden trying to feel put together; too afraid to admit they are not. I saw people looking for each other's approval in an effort to find meaning and worth in this life. And I saw the strong too afraid to be weak. Then I realized it. The very eyes that were scanning, my own two, reflected and perpetuated the very brokenness that we gather in the hope of crushing. Broken. All of us.

What gathered in that room was a crowd of brokenness trying to get along. The brokenness of the people always seems to overshadow the tightest service order. No matter what we tell ourselves or how happy the song, there is often a reality that besieges us that if rendered in the gathering, would leave the crowd knee deep in a flood of tears. Too much to bear, too much to see in one sitting. So we all volunteer to hold it in like we are doing the Kingdom a favor. Heros! But who measures success in tears, anyway?

What were we there to see? Why did we gather this Palm Sunday and every other Sunday?

What gathered us was a twinkle of hope that there is something better than the pain of our reality. Something hopeful like an empty tomb. It was the one who is spoken of the most on Sundays that gathered us. I was he, the broken one himself, donkey-riding humility without a bed to rest his head that turns temple tables and the heads of the broken everywhere. A breath of fresh air for the lowly. And we...we gather praising him and then cursing him. Conflicted in every regard, but haunted by the scent of what may be. Hoping in some small but significant way life will burst through the thick walls that surround our hearts; like shoots spring up through the rocky ground in the most unexpected and god forsaken places.

Lord, we have given ourselves to you
And we have taken ourselves back
Content and tortured in our misery
Until we crawl back to you.
Repenting and hoping all will be well.
Please keep your word to forgive us
even though we haven't kept our "Yes" to you.

Make us new!
take the doubt and that curs-ed dog fear
and do away with them for good.
We want so much more than the fumbling we do
We want our faith to be more than lipstick on a pig.
Lord have mercy.

Technorati Tags: Lent

Book Review - The Echo Within, by Robert Benson

There are people that we meet either in person, or by written word, that move us closer toward God in a significant way. Robert Benson is one such person and in his latest work, The Echo Within, he does so, but not like some might expect.

Rather than offer three points, or seven steps to success, Benson offers something much more; something poetic, and therefore something inviting. It is through his own winding adventure in faith and in life that he leads in a disarming and gentle way. There is no agenda for him other than to respond to the incarnate word who calls him into being who he is. The remarkable discovery one makes engaging Benson's words is that God is inviting and encouraging each one of us to discover the echo within through our desires, experiences, successes, and failures; a very textured way of discernment, marked not by some special or secret knowledge (we get too much of that these days), but by the unique ways that life unfolds for each of us. As it should be.

For Benson, remembering is of great value and reading about his stories makes one want to remember more of their own, and find God in them. The heart of this book is very Ignatian in that it begs us to stop and listen and wait and respond in love. It behooves us toward a life of discernment and an attitude captured by 1 Thes: 5:17; to pray without ceasing.

Reading Benson's stories makes this a very personal book. One might not suspect that it also serves as a necessary word to a culture that molds people into fast-paced, cluttered lives that drown out the voice of God; It does.

God whispers to us from within us and invites us to become more human and free. It is toward this end that Benson guides us:

"Our search for our calling leads us to listen deep within ourselves, hoping to ungarble and understand the incarnate word spoken into us, hoping to discover how to live into and out of the echo of that word as it resounds within. But we are not meant to stay within ourselves forever. We are meant to be given away, to sound out our word in the world, to give it to others." (p.89)

It was Fredrick Buechner who reminded us that our past (no matter how unholy) ought not to be forgotten. That our past is covered with God's fingerprints within us and all around us; that our past is redeemed and provides clues to the adventure ahead. In this same spirit, and in a delightful way, Benson offers us his life and his love for God as a witness to the work he is doing. In his stories we can find parts of our own and discover that voice which comes from within to lead us on the journey toward eternity as it was dreamt to be.

You can read his blog here: www.thelongpew.com
And get more information about Robert here: www.robertbensonwriter.com

Technorati Tags: Books, Echo Within, Robert Benson

Bishop Larry Newineskin on the Holy Spirit

When I last spoke with the Bishop about excavating the term Missional, he left the door open for further discussion about whatever I wanted to talk about theologically; as long as it in some way served as a promotion of his body of work. So, today, I present to you my latest interview with the great Bishop on the topic of the Holy Spirit. It just so happens that the Bishop is coming out with a new book, called: The Holy Spirit Has Left the Building: An Exploration of the Spirit's disgust with the Market-Driven Western Church. We pick up our discussion on my latest trip to the Bishop's Hermitage, a cave beneath the Bishop of Barf, in Barf, Englendon the Eastern half of Lord's Seat.

Toward Hope: Bishop, Thank you for the fried bread and tea. It was scrumptious. I would like to talk with you about the Holy Spirit. What can you tell me about role of the Spirit in the church today?

Bishop: Well, what else is the Spirit supposed to do other than fill, comfort, embody, lead, and invite the people of God into greater faithfulness and participation in God's restorative plan?

Toward Hope: I understand that, but what about some of the malfunctions of Spirit theology especially in the West?

Bishop: Right, There are many. Let me first say that the Spirit is not to be tossed about like a beach ball. The Spirit is not here to give us the spiritual equivalent of sexual satisfaction, or to rain glitter onto people while converting lead fillings into gold. If you roar like a lion or cluck like a chicken, you are making a mockery of the Spirit and plat-forming the work of Satan. The church is not a circus. When was the last time you saw pews at the circus?

Toward Hope: But what about large, thriving churches that attract thousands on Sunday’s. Is there an issue there with respects to misunderstanding the work of the Spirit?

Bishop: Yes there is. Even though they do not partake in the antics described, they do a good job of pushing the spirit to the backburner by manipulating and controlling ecclesial outcomes.

Toward Hope: What do you mean, Bish?

Bishop: You see, often in the mega church (excuse my language), there is the tendency to use strategy and measurable, tactics to achieve numerical results. There is no room for marketing tactics in the Spirit’s house (God’s people) because it always leads to the glory of someone other than God and the objectification of people as commodities. Just because you’re getting bigger, does not mean the spirit is working.

If you consider an alternative approach, you would see that the way forward is one that doesn’t include a community trivializing too far into the future, but concerns itself for today and faithful living in the here and now, with an important eye toward the ongoing formation of the community through the present life together. Tomorrow is God’s to lead; we must be in a posture of discernment, prayer, and action in love today. What more can we concern ourselves with? The problems of today in our communities are already enough. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Now, vocationally speaking, it is reasonable to suggest that the church has a calling and that God gives vision beyond today. But it is never static and should be incremental. That meaning, the church should identify a call fro today, or their current season, and seek to intertwine that local work of discipleship and mission into the bigger picture of God’s desire laid out in scripture. It is our task to first listen and then respond with openness that The Holy Spirit will lead us as he desires in a relational, non static way. Had it been Moses strategizing in the wilderness, they surely would have drawn a straight line. But no, God had something else in mind. They knew they were headed to the Promised Land but submitted (whether they wanted to or not) to God’s leading daily. And he kept them there for a long while. The zigzagging for 40 years was what God wanted for them to their eventual benefit and His. It is just as much about changing us on the journey as it is participating in saving the world. The Spirit helps navigate that two-fold journey for us.

Toward Hope: Whoa!

Bishop: You picking up what I’m lay’in down?

Toward Hope: Yes, I think so. So what you are saying is that we live as the church in community with open hands to the eventual and incremental leading of the Spirit. Is this what Jesus meant in John’s Gospel when he said “the Spirit will lead you into all truth?

Bishop: You bet kiddo. And….and, this posture gives voice to the broader community to participate in the discernment of vision, not just to one enlightened and ecclesiastically trained individual with a plan.

Toward Hope: Thanks Bishop. And all this stuff is laid out clearly in your latest book?

Bishop: Yes it is, now buy it this time, cheapskate! I’ve gotta run. The cows need milking.

My Favorite Links This week Are....

• Instilling Missional Habits
• Five Reasons Not To Give Up Something for Lent
• Do You Smoke What You Sell?
• Riveting piece - Silencing of the lambs
• Mark 11:15-17, sorta
• Yet Further Proof We Have Learned Nothing, by Mike
• William Stringfellow on the Circus. Who'd of thunk it?

All of these links are very worthy of praise.....please go and read and comment and link to them all as well....

Two Kingdoms Collide...Continued

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area,
"Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
" 'From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise?"

And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

It did not take long for the dust to settle once the clearing of the temple had happened. The ones that God's righteous anger did not chase away humbly began cleaning up the mess and the background noise had picked up again. For some, it was an interruption that they were glad was over; for others, a welcome adjustment to the powers that be. Those "others" were mostly comprised of the ones who were kept to the outer courts; the disfigured, blind, mentally sick, lame and cursed.

Most of the marginalized had heard the stories about this Jesus guy. Some of them had tried to follow His entourage as best they could, others were fortunate and in the right place at the right time. One thing was for certain; they were glad where Jesus and his disciples decided to stop and hang out. Maybe they could get in a little closer?

Most people just push by the outer courts once they hit the sacrifice drive through to get their game. They vie to get as close to the inner court of the Temple as they can because it means they're important, in with the crowd, and blessed. You wouldn't want to be caught hanging out with the cursed people on the outside, that could bring shame to your family name and have all sorts of implications on your business and social life. For them it was a rat race to get as close to the religious leaders and elite teachers to show their worth and appease their guilt. The teachers and scribes were glad the trouble making Jesus parked his butt on the steps of the outer court; perhaps things on the inside could go ahead as planned and their service order would see no more disruption. Not so.

It wasn't long before there was another disturbance; but unlike the first violent one. There was a flurry of healing and forgiving going on as Jesus laid hands on the sick, touched the eyes of the blind, and hugged the heads of the mentally sick to heal their minds. Broken people were being fixed and mended and they were no longer invisible on the other side of their miracle. How could they be?. The lame were drawing the most attention with their leaps into the air that in turn drew the children who began shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David." This remarkable demonstration of love in action was turning the temple upside down in yet another way; the best possible way. For once, the marginalized began to see this place how it was meant to be. The Kingdom of Heaven collided yet again with the temple.

The balance of attendance at the temple started shifting to the outer courts and naturally that attracted the venom of the Pharisees. Their disgust with Jesus was reaching a boiling point because his compassion toward to the invisible ones was a direct and sharp criticism of the way the Pharisees acted, or didn't. To top that, children proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah was causing them to be indignant. It was too much for the Pharisees to bear; Jesus being heralded as the Christ and caring for the ones right under their noses that were socially less human than they. Not on Caiaphas' watch!

The Pharisees, uprooted from their pattern and snarling, began waddling toward the centre of the commotion with the sound of oversized phylacteries clanging like wind chimes off their garments. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they brooded. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, From the lips of infants and children you have ordained praise?"

Disgruntled and furious, the Pharisees were bent on dealing with Jesus one way or another. Now was not the time for more hissing in front of the people. In their minds, more sinister measures were necessary. Their contempt for the disruption of the status quo blinded them to this marvelous demonstration at the intersection of heaven and earth.

Technorati Tags: Jesus, Temple

Two Kingdoms Collide

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers
and the benches of those selling doves.

"It is written," he said to them,
"My house will be called a house of prayer,
but you are making it a den of robbers."

It was the right time of day for Jesus and his rag-tag bunch of followers to make their way to the temple. They were still high from the previous day's events and lured by the hope that exuded from their leader they pressed on. A donkey... crowds of hopeful people shouting jubilant praises... palm branches waving, and the energy from all the hype was enough to leave the disciples scrambling to put the pieces together in their heads. They knew they were in this for keeps and this movement of compassion, miracles and good news for the poor was going mainstream in a big way. They could feel it.. I am not sure if they knew of the collision about to happen at the pinnacle of Jewish life, but marching into the Holy Land with the one who claimed to be the one was cause for some curiosity. Were they scared? Maybe. Nevertheless, they wandered on toward the temple. Things were coming to a head.

It seemed like every one of the scattered sheep of Israel was in Jerusalem that day. On the doorstep of Passover, the clamoring of the religious to get right with God was almost overwhelming. Naturally, this brought out the racketeers and beggars in droves. Not only did this time provide a great uptick in the offerings, it made for some good temple profit. Business was booming in the outer courts as the sellers were selling and the buyers were buying easy-out offerings in droves. Little did they know they were about to get what was long overdue.

As Jesus and his holy mob - kicking dust up with each step - approached the temple, the divine mix of perfect love and righteous anger came together like a perfect storm. The look in Jesus' eyes said it all. The master was coming home and he didn't like what he saw. Nobody saw it coming, it was a surprise attack.

In one burst, Jesus made a whip with the cords of his garment and began swinging and turning tables until everything was disheveled and upside down. Never has the world seen such a manifestation of divine out-lash in human form. His prophetic rage hit a high note. "It is written" he erupted, "My house is to be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers." The fierce side of the Trinity in all righteousness roared and the darkness scattered.

Startled by the violent lashing, vendors and crooks scattered like chickens wondering why and how their "normal" was disrupted. Rather than fight back, or protest, they were paralyzed by this new Kingdom that just collided with theirs. It must have been that Lion look; they somehow knew it was perfect anger staring them down, with a twinkle of mercy if they would receive. Jesus made sure of it. His eyes were enough to make them melt and in one sweeping glare he exposed the criminal shenanigans that had lined their pockets for far too long. Confronted by the truth, with tails between their legs and merchandise strewn across holy bricks meant for kneeling, the place went quiet and nothing but pigeons flying to freedom and a Holy wind, on a final cleansing of the temple court, could be heard.

No one expected the second wave of confrontation that followed shortly after...this was a day of reckoning in more ways than one.

Technorati Tags: Creative word, Jesus, Lent, Narrative, New Testament, Temple

Would Jesus and the Apostles be on Twitter & Other Social Media?

This twitter and social media thing is going crazy. It seems like most people are coming around to seeing its value. Whether it is personal updating for friends, or a public extension of your resume and business network, social media (and there are many like LinkedIn, FaceBook, Flickr, blogs, etc..) is on the uptick and redefining the way people relate to each other and present themselves. This leads me to wonder about the question that forms the title of this post. Would Jesus, Paul, and/or the other Apostles be on Twitter and blogs?

Before we dive into the question, it's important to note that there has been much criticism about the way social media networks redefine relationships in a negative way. I have posted about it here and other criticisms underscore this point well. We can call out the way it comodifies people as relational networs become visible, thus redefining friendship. Having followers or friends that all can see may leave many to be exploited. Some of Facebook's evil antics are a good example, as Bill points out.

But does the negative mean that Jesus, Paul & the other Apostles would overlook its value as a communication medium? I think not. Like we all know, Paul and others wrote letters & Jesus used public speaking as his means. One guy I know already explored the idea of Jesus having a blog in great length and it's quite good. In fact if we bring the urgency of the Kingdom that was at the centre of Jesus' agenda, I think he and his apostles would have welcomed the opportunity to connect and organize through social media. Just think of how much corrective theology could have come through blogs or twitter.

Since I've been on Twitter (I wont do Facebook because of its evil antics :) I have been encouraged and inspired by the thoughtful people that I choose to follow. Given that many are in theological circles, I get a glimpse into their latest thoughts about God, culture and even their personal lives as they try and eek out faithfulness in this new age. So now that we have some holy justification, why not give it a try and sign up for twitter, or start a blog. It'd be good to hear from you and I think you'll be surprised by the level of interaction and growth and networking that will result. Some even say that can improve your chances of finding the right job you've been dreaming about.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter

Flirting with Eternity

There are times when one ponders their unfolding life and asks; why? Why is it this way? Why am I doing the things I do and why am I not satisfied? Truth is, we grow awkwardly from tykes to teens to adults and from imagination to acne and then into the "real" world (so we are told it is the real world) doing what we need to survive, provide, and keep afloat. The suspiscious side of me thinks it's a mold that makes automons obliterated of all passion alive only to be pressed against the clock of old age as we wait to die. Freaky, I know.

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday over lunch about what makes us alive. For him it's acting and he told me of a picture he saw that reached out and grabbed his heart toward his dream in a time when he has been surviving life and not acting. For me it's writing that makes me feel alive, even though it may kill those who are reading.

Writing and acting do for my friend and I what nothing else but God can do. They thrust us into eternity's arms for a time. When I write I forget the limits and constraints that life foists onto me and I remember that there is a different world that is true. It is a world of adventure and peace and beauty that brings me face to face with the creator of it all.

I write this during a time when I am reading a good book about vocation and discovering what you were made to do by hearing the inner voice of God in your life. The bottom line for me (if you're still reading and this post hasn't killed you yet) is that there are things in life that we do not for money or gain, but because they make us feel fully alive and human. The things that make us forget about the clock and participate in the creative process that is seared into our image by the creator himself. These "things", whatever they are for you and for me invite us to enter life fully; to discover who we really are in the face of the one who made us all.

What is it for you?

Some worthwhile Links....

Here are a list of links that made me think this last week.

Brant points us to the value of Non-Compete Clauses for church staff
(In)Stability and Mission - Halden has some perspective on this
The best Ash Wednesday reflection I have ever read
Every teen needs a youth pastor that can kick some ass
What should we do first? Imitate Christ? How about repent
Prison Ministry has some ideas for Congress about saving Billions$$$

An Evening with Hugh Halter

Last night at our celebration gathering of all congregations, Hugh Halter came and shared his story. Hugh is the authour of The Tangible Kingdom, which I hear is an outstanding book and I look forward to reading.

Hugh's message was simple. He wasn't here to tell us that we could do more, to pull up our missional socks, to save the world, to add things or activities to our lives, or anything like that. He was here to tell us, on behalf of Jesus, that God loves us. He read for us the 23rd Psalm and then Matthew 11:28 to encourage us in the direction of resting in God, that this life in God should be natural and the yoke should be easy.

It is interesting when someone comes to us with story. Story is not pragmatic, nor is it prescriptive or instructional. It is invitational. Story begs us to find ourselves in it. I think that's why the scriptures were largely given to us as story.

Hugh's story is about the Kingdom. It is a story of how he let go of church in order to find the kingdom and then understand the true nature of the church. His encounters along the way with everyday poeple were really invitations for him to live and share the Kingdom life with those who the Lord was laready working in. A gal named Fiona was one such person in his life that was an invitation for him. He asked us to identify a person in our lives that was a hidden invitation for us to share and encounter the Kingdom.

Today Hugh is doing a day long conference with about 70 pastors from the Greater Vancouver area in partnership with Forge Canada. It is something I would love to be part of; talking about the Kingdom and God and networking with other like minded people. I will unfortunately not be able to make it as I have work and an importanct lunch with a friend who is curious about the Kingdom...