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Haiti

January 13, 2010 in Blog, Everything with 1 Comment

5- The hour an earthquake struck the nation of Haiti.
6- The number of hospitals in the city of Port-au-Prince prior to the quake. It is unknown how many of these remain operational.
7.0- The magnitude of the catastrophic quake.
200- How many years it has been since a quake of this magnitude has been recorded in Haiti.
30,000 to 500,000- The number feared dead due to this quake, according to Haitian officials.
2,000,000- The number of residents of Port-au-Prince, the capital city and the city most affected by the quake.
3,000,000- The estimated number of Haitians the Red Cross is currently estimating need aid. This number may be higher.

I don’t know about you, but those numbers overwhelm me. I cannot even begin to fathom the destruction of human life and property. This quake has been called by some the worst natural disaster in the Western Hemisphere in over 100 years. The images (warning: very graphic) emerging from the nation are astounding. The nation’s infrastructure was already weak before this catastrophe. Now it’s in a state of chaos. No hospitals, no phones, no electricity, no clean water, no food, no transportation. Their president doesn’t even have a place to sleep tonight.

They need us as Christians to step up and spread the love and compassion of Christ. Right now more than ever we have an unprecedented opportunity to say with our giving, “God loves you.” I have literally spent time weeping today over the loss of life. Thousands of people are dead. People who haven’t lived a life of privilege like we have here in America, but people who have spent their lives in poverty.

Scripture calls us to this work. We cannot ignore it. One of my favorite passages of Scripture reads:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him…

Isaiah 58:6-7

The following organizations, and many more, are accepting donations for Haiti relief. Please consider taking part in this effort. Literally every penny can change the life of a Haitian without a home.

Care
Compassion
Mercy Ships
Red Cross- Visit redcross.org or text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10
Samaritan’s Purse
UNICEF
World Vision
Yele Haiti- Visit yele.org or text YELE to 501501 to donate $5

Artificial

January 4, 2010 in Blog, Everything with 2 Comments

I’m spending this week at Children’s Pastor’s Conference with KidzMatter (the company I work for). It’s hosted in the Gaylord Opryland hotel in Nashville, TN. One of the major features of the Opryland is its sheer size; it’s the largest American hotel and convention center under one roof outside of Las Vegas. This place is a maze of hallways, staircases, doors, and dead ends. It almost needs its own version of Google Maps.

Another thing the Opryland is known for is its lush indoor gardens. The interior of the resort is full of tropical plants and rushing waters. Inside this tropical paradise, it’s always sunny with a high of 75º and about 80% humidity. All the time. It’s crazy. You begin to forget after a time that you’re even inside. It feels like you’re wandering through a tropical forest that just so happens to have paved walkways, giant Christmas trees, and $20+ buffets. They’ve created an entirely artificial environment. When you step outside the doors of the Opryland, you realize that you’ve been missing reality. Reality is that it’s 20º, cloudy, and buffets are just $5.99 across the street.

The sad reality is that many churches have created the same artificial environment. I read an article earlier today from Time Magazine about the segregation of the American church. They cite a survey which revealed that just 8% of American churches have a significant racial mix. If I based my view of American society solely on your church, would I know there were such people as African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans and even Native Americans; or would I think that we were a nation that was solely Caucasian? Would I know that sometimes people struggle in life, or would I think that everyone here has a perfect life? Would I know that you care about people, or would I think that Americans are cold and heartless? Would I think that America loves every era of its worship music or would I think that all of our songs were either written 150 years ago or 15 days ago? Would I see the diverse heart and soul of Jesus Christ reflected in your church or would I think that people had forgotten who He was and what He had done?

Reflect on your church. What artificial environments have you created? What falsehoods do you need to break down? What doors do you need to let a blast of cold air through? How are you going to break through the glass ceiling that supports the artificial environment? How does God want you to break through?

O Book Review: Churched

January 1, 2010 in Blog, Everything with 6 Comments

This is the first in a series of book reviews I’m going to start doing. Hopefully. I’m calling them O Book Reviews. Why? Because all of the points I analyze start with the letter O. I’m a dork, I know. Hope you enjoy.

Overview:
Churched is a semi-memoir/semi-humor/semi-theological book by Matthew Paul Turner. (That sentence had more semis than a truck stop…) Matthew tells the story of his experiences growing up in a fundamental Baptist church, from “Baptist haircuts” to Barbie burnings. Through all of this, Matthew still manages to grow up and become someone who’s madly in love with Jesus. (But not John Piper.)

Originality:
Matthew’s book is unlike any other I’ve ever read, but in a good way. He approaches his experiences with fundamentalism with a lighthearted yet serious attitude. The book isn’t designed to give Christendom “5 Steps to Overcoming Fundamentalism”, but to address the situation and let you chew on it. While he’s using personal stories, he makes you feel like you experienced the story right along with him. It’s got a memoir-ish feel, yet you know you’re learning from it. Another great original work from Matthew Paul Turner.

Overall Readablity:
Churched is extremely easy to read. I read all the way through in about 4 or 5 days. While it may be a quick read, it’s an enjoyable, profitable read too. Matthew adds lots of great detail without using obscure wordage. It’s a great break from the extreme depth of many books in the Christian publishing world.

Outstanding Quotation:

“People said odd things about God. They said he was in control, but then when a teenager was killed in a car accident or a young mother died of cancer, they said that he allowed those deaths to occur so other people would come to know Jesus. That only made me fear God more, not have faith in him.” -p. 151, emphasis added

Observations:
I’ve grown up in what I would call a semi-fundamentalist background. Yes, my pastor graduated from “Fyles Sanderson”, as Matthew calls it in the book. Yes, I’ve read the Sword of the Lord newspaper. Yes, my pastor’s sermons are rated in decibels. Yes, we have a bus ministry. But we’ve managed to keep a bit more sane than the church Matthew describes in his book. We’re free to dress as we please, cut our hair as we please, and play with Barbie dolls. And yes, we can even listen to “satanic” Christian rock music. So I’m able to relate to many of the stories Matthew shares in his book, and laugh and be pained right along with him. Anyone who’s spent any time with Baptists will relate to Matthew’s stories.

However, I’m not entirely as ready as Matthew to discard fundamentalism entirely. In the form he describes, yes, for the most part I am. Yet I also see the value that it does have in some respects. I disagree with his assertion that “fundamentalism has little to do with Jesus.” (p. 213) Do I think it needs to change? Absolutely. It can’t continue like this. It doesn’t reflect Christ’s character. But I also know some “fundamentalists” who are the most loving, compassionate people I know.

Overall, I loved Matthew’s book. It was great, and he makes great points about Christianity in the end portion of his book. There’s something here for everyone to learn from.

Own it?:
Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Everyone should have this book on their shelf. When we begin to get too caught up in the “rules” of Christianity, Churched serves as a reality check reminding us to come back to what Jesus is all about: love.

O Book Reviews Rating:
4.5/5 Os

Buy your copy from Amazon (affiliate link):

Arrival

December 25, 2009 in Blog, Everything with 0 Comments

“Angels! Were those angels? Why us, the shepherds? Why did we hear about his birth? I don’t know. But I know this is big. This is momentous. The One we’ve been waiting for is here. Let’s go and see.”

“Look, a new star. Is it the predicted one? Something is new. Something we’ve awaited has arrived. Let’s go and see.”

“I wish I had somewhere else to put Him. Something warmer to dress Him in. But I’m so glad He’s here. I may not be his “father”, but I feel a connection with Him like no child before. The one I’ve awaited has come. Can I see Him, Mary?”

“I can’t believe it. A teenager from Nazareth. That’s all I am. Why was I chosen? I’m so glad He’s here. (And I’m so glad He’s out!) The long awaited, momentous One has arrived. Let me see Him.”

Whether the world knew it or not, it was transformed on this day. He came to change things. The awaited One arrived. Not in the way anyone expected, however. All throughout the Christmas story, we see the unusual being chosen to do the extraordinary. They all ask “Why me?” They can’t believe that a glorious God would choose them. But He did. He chose to use them to bring peace to the world. Today, He’s chosen us to bring peace to the world. We’re called to be His Marys. And Josephs. And shepherds. And wise men. And temple workers. And stable-owners. We all have a part. And we can all rejoice in His arrival. Thankfully, we know that not only did He arrive once, but He’s arriving again. His Kingdom has been established for us to work in and love in and grow in and change in. One day not too far away, He’s coming to rule His Kingdom. What kind of kingdom are we preparing for Him? Are we anticipating His momentous arrival?

Live life all year in Advent mode. Anticipating. Have an incredible Christmas in remembrance of what He has done, is doing, and will do. He changes everything.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!

Luke 2:14

Awaiting

December 24, 2009 in Blog, Everything with 0 Comments

I love the definition that Princeton University gives for the word advent: “arrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous).” My church has never really taken part in Advent and the rituals surrounding it. This year, however, I’ve really begun to be exposed to it at college and begin to understand it and what it means. It’s the awaited arrival of the most momentous thing in history–Jesus Christ.

Just think back to this night some 2000 or so years ago. Mary and Joseph just finished up a long few days of travel from home to visit a little town called Bethlehem to be counted in a census. They searched the village for any place to stay: a home, an inn, a tent, anything. Yet all they found was a little stable.

I can only imagine the thoughts flying through Mary and Joseph’s minds. Did they know the time was coming? I mean, Mary was probably 9 months pregnant and looked like she was about to pop. (I wonder what the pregnant food was in Israel. I suspect they didn’t have nachos and milkshakes in the stable.) They had to suspect it was coming soon. But would it be tonight? They were anxiously awaiting the arrival of something incredibly momentous.

Today, the Christ child has come, lived, died, and risen again for us. Today we live anxiously awaiting the arrival of a Savior again. Before His last coming, He sent a messenger named John. Before this coming, He sent a messenger named you. He wants you to share the anxious awaiting with others. Something momentous is coming.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:68-79

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