Once, I had a friend. Let's call him Frank T. What a great guy. Smart. Insightful. Hard-working. Godly. A goofball. Wonderfully irreverent sense of humor that sometimes treads right up to the line but doesn't cross it. We were pals, Frank and I. Our friendship taught me some of his favorite movies (Mel Brooks figures heavily). It communicated to me his favorite sports to watch. I know what sport he plays best recreationally because friendship led us to play together. Ol' Frank collects some sports memorabilia; I know very little about the collecting, but our friendship made it … [Read more...] about Requiem for a Christian Friendship
Just Barely Hanging On
Part One of this can be read here. Donald sits at the kitchen table in silence, blankly gazing at the back yard. The wisteria are getting a little ragged, and need to be trimmed. The open window to his left allows in a few bugs. Hummingbirds rob the feeders and robins snatch up the seed Donald scattered on the flat river rocks at 4;30 that morning. Iris had a rough night, so he gave up on sleep after 4:00. Silence. Sip of coffee. A glance at the worn study Bible in front of him. He wasn’t always a believer. The late 60’s were filled with skepticism, and it wasn’t until a late … [Read more...] about Just Barely Hanging On
Missionary Axioms
Mrs. Samita was one my least favorite teachers of all-time. She taught algebra, geometry and necromancy. I suspected her of having bizarre hobbies, like beating puppies with kittens and quietly following along behind paranoid schizophrenics in her car with the headlights off. All that aside, she taught me the meaning of the concept of axiom. An axiom is something that is so true it does not require proof. Gravity, for example, would be axiomatic. Arrogance in the NY Yankees would qualify as well. So with that definition in mind, I invite you to peruse this list of missionary axioms, aspects … [Read more...] about Missionary Axioms
International Prayer Emphasis Week
We're in the midst of Internation Week of Prayer as promoted by the IMB and sister organizations. Prayer, of course, is something we pursue year-round, yet it isn't a bad idea to set aside some time for a special emphasis on prayer for missions. The IMB compiled an 8-day prayer calendar, focusing on a specific people group or population type each day. If you would like to see the week's calendar, check out this link. At the bottom of the page you'll see the listing along with past days' topics. Each item in the list links to a more in-depth look at the needs of each group. Today's … [Read more...] about International Prayer Emphasis Week
Practical Missions: When What You Are Clashes with Where You Are
An enormous part of cross cultural missions is the examination our worldview and our behaviors. In order to separate our own cultural understanding from the Bible's message, we're duty-bound to carefully study both the Bible and our own cultural perspectives. Additionally, we must find ways that our non-biblical cultural views (time, money, family, nature) differ from local views. We change how we act in the non-essentials of life while holding firmly to what we believe to be true about the Bible. Simple to say, yet not easy to accomplish. However, since we are changing our thinking and … [Read more...] about Practical Missions: When What You Are Clashes with Where You Are
Faith and Theodicy
"Theodicy, the attempt to reconcile ones belief in a loving and powerful God with the suffering present in our world, is a key element in providing care to those in need. Our disappointment with God in the face of suffering, tragedy, or injustice typically stems from our assumptions about how God is supposed to work in our world. When God does not meet our expectations, we are disappointed, disillusioned, and confused. The sweeping message of the Bible is not a promise that those who believe and do good will not suffer. Instead the Bible is largely a book about people who refused to let go … [Read more...] about Faith and Theodicy
Not My President
On November 7th and 8th, a number of my Christian Facebook friends posted some variation of the following: "I voted for the right candidate, Mitt Romney, and he lost. We are stuck with four more years of that guy and it just makes me sick. He has not, does not, and will not speak for me. He does not represent me as president because he isn't my president. He's never been mine and never will be. I look forward to the day when I have a president in the Oval Office." You know what you call a country in which leaders and citizens disown one another? Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez … [Read more...] about Not My President
Never Projects
I’ve got a confession to make: I don’t like church camps. There are all sorts of reasons. By the time I was of age to attend church camp, my hearing was bad enough that chaotic teenage communication stressed my abilities. I didn’t care for large groups. As well, I tired of my peers filling the platform on Sunday evening back at the home church and tearfully recounting commitments that would never last. On top of all that, my first camp experience required us to occupy stuffy rooms and engage in complex Bible studies lasting 3-4 hours at a time; meanwhile, other church groups ran by the … [Read more...] about Never Projects
In the Interest of Full Disclosure…
Next month I will be leading a marriage workshop here in Ecuador. I haven't been the perfect husband, though, and I am concerned about running afoul of the whole speck/log notion. Therefore, I am freely confessing to having made a few mistakes during my nearly 21 years of marriage. Arranged thematically yet randomly, here are my most egregious errors. Anniversary Gaffe For our 10th anniversary, I bought Stacy a great camera. I arranged for a surprise wedding vow renewal complete with a collage of photos and a cake decorated with an icing duplicate of one of our wedding photos. Tons of … [Read more...] about In the Interest of Full Disclosure…
“He Said” vs “We Said That He Said”
How well do most Christians know the difference between what the Bible says and our commentary on what the Bible says? When we teach and preach, are we clearly drawing distinctions between the text itself and our expansion on the text? _____________ Every Tuesday evening around 7:00, four Deaf men and one Deaf woman come by our home for a Bible study. These five people have been Christians for varying lengths of time ranging from months to years. Like most local Deaf residents, they are functionally illiterate, using print only when necessary; even then, reading is an awkward, … [Read more...] about “He Said” vs “We Said That He Said”