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 A Heart for Mission

1/13/2015

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The past few weeks, I've been sharing via Facebook and Twitter my upcoming mission trip to Ecuador. As I have shared the what, I have also asked for prayer and financial support. Can I just tell you that is not an easy ask? 

For me, the most difficult part of this mission has been getting over the fear of asking for support. I've worked with kids for a long time, and some have been bold enough to step out into the mission field, trusting they will be provided for (way to be Chad, Juanita, Adam and Nathan).  But when I ask people why they don't "go" the money part is the number one thing that stands in the way. I totally, fully 100% understand this!!! To actually ask for support feels like begging and, for us independent, stoic, Norwegian-German types up here on the tundra - well, we just don't do that. We take care of ourselves! We are self-sufficient! We don't take handouts! We don't need help. Thank you very much. 

The second most difficult part of the mission process is helping people understand why international and short term mission is necessary. If I had $1 for everytime I've heard "there's plenty to do here" I'd be able to fund this mission and probably 10 more. I understand that. I do. Before I was unceremoniously inducted into the world of mission in 2008, I felt the same. Thank you, Dale Wolf.  Honestly. If it hadn't been for your gutsy bet on a totally inexperienced person taking a role in Youth Ministry, my heart would not have been set on fire for mission. 

So, let's address this logic. Yes. There is plenty to do here. There are countless needs in our own communities. There are children hungry, women battered and abused, homeless veterans. There is inequality. There is injustice. There is trafficking, human slavery, people struggling with addiction. I agree - wholeheartedly - that there is plenty to do here. 

But here's something to consider. How often do you actually do anything about the "plenty to do here." Before my first mission to Mexico, I turned away from the needs of the community in which I live. I could easily walk past the people in need on the street. I could see a Red Kettle and shrug it off. I could hear stories on the news about the needs of the Women's Shelter, or the homeless. Want to know what my natural, American Christian reaction was: "they got themselves into that situation. They did it to themselves."  I'm so ashamed. But here's my reality, and I ask you to consider if it has ever been yours. 

So how did mission change that? Well, we live in a nation where the general belief is if you work hard enough, you can succeed, overcome, change your story. If you work hard enough, commit yourself to education, staying out of trouble your story can change. I think our "American Dream" fuels our natural tendency to shrug and dismiss the desperation of people and unmet needs in our own communities.

But, when you go to a foreign country, that entire school of thought gets turned on its head. When you step foot into a different country, you see that wow  - these people work hard, they commit themselves to bettering themselves, they commit to staying out of trouble.   And nothing changes. 

Imagine this. You work hard for 16 - 20 hours a day. And this is not enough to feed your child 1/2 cup of rice for supper. You work to provide and your hard work doesn't get you anywhere, because your labor is either forced or you get paid about $1.00 a day. The clothes you make, the coffee you process, the cocoa beans you pick - all for a buck or two a day - are consumed in a country far away by people who think nothing of dropping $5.00 on a 12 oz cup of coffee. For people who rarely stop to think about the lives of those who provide their "necessities."  

Think about that, all you Starbucks nuts (self included) The people who make our coffee? It would take them 2 to 3 DAYS to afford 1  cup of what they produce. 

This is why children in these countries are abandoned. Orphaned, alone, scared. This is why the special needs children of countries such as Ecuador are "forgotten." They are lost, faceless, nameless, with no resources, no one to care for them, look out for them. They are desperate not for the American Dream, but for love. The most basic need. Before you judge their parents, think about how difficult it is to send your infant to childcare the first day. Now imagine you can't afford to feed or clothe your child and your only option is abandonment? Or, worse. Selling them into trafficking. These are not bad parents. These are parents with no choices and no options. 

Friends - when we go to these countries, we have the opportunity to demonstrate that we are not a self-serving nation of consumers, but instead that we see. And we care. And we desire to give back. When we go, especially as followers of Christ, we demonstrate that the God we serve is one who commands us to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly. 


The benefit for the "plenty to do here?" When we come back - our hearts are shattered for the injustice here. Since returning from my first mission in 2008, I have become passionate about the needs right here. I (and my family) serve our community in countless  ways, because we have seen. And once you see, you can no longer refuse to do. Friends and family. I saw, and so I do. I saw and so I go. My heart refuses to beat in any other way. 


So I ask you all to consider. Would you give to support this mission? Would you consider passing on your daily tall, skim, mocha with extra whip cream this week and giving that amount towards this mission? 


Friends and family, I'm not necessarily suggesting you join me in person (though I firmly believe ALL people should experience one mission) but I am asking you to join me in connecting and giving back to a world in need of hope. I'm asking you to consider seeing the why behind the what, looking at this request as an opportunity. The world is in desperate need of hope. I invite you to help extend it. 


Please - check out Casa de Fe. And if you will, give. 

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The Slippery Slope

8/8/2014

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Today I am grieved. 

Today, the "church" is once again looking like a mess to the world outside, once again creating countless reasons for those on the outside - those who doubt God, who argue religion is toxic, who say it's a created institution that should die - to smugly suggest that maybe they are right. 

My heart is grieved. 

We have pastors building million dollar mansions. 

Pastors preaching that God wants to bless us with money and riches. 

Pastors protesting funerals of soldiers, abortion clinics and churches. 

Pastors who are vulgar, sexist, cheating control freaks. 

Pastors looking to make themselves a name politically, socially or culturally. 

Pastors falling to temptation of drug use, alcohol abuse, adultery and more.

Pastors known as "celebrity-pastors." (Cue Brad Paisley "when you're a celebrity it's adios reality...")

Then there are the pastors publicizing letters and blogs to said pastors for their lack of ethics and care.


As I read the articles and blogs, comments and attacks going back and forth, my heart broke. I wept for the bride of Christ. And for all of us within it, as leaders and members. And for followers of Jesus who have been hurt by the actions of church leaders. And for the many leaders caught in sin, who at one point in time looked at the mess and wept too.  And especially for those who just want to love others and share the good news of the Savior who reached into their sloppy mess of a life and pulled them to freedom. 

And I wept for myself. 

Let me explain why. 

I am seeking my M. Div., learning what it takes to be a leader in the church, pursuing what God has pulled me to - despite my kicking and screaming. I read these stories of pastors falling hard, and I can't help but be fearful of the slippery slope of pride and how it leads to lust for power, prestige, influence and a false sense of invincibility. 

You see, pride is part of each of us. It's lurks in the background, somewhere near good intentions, ready to take over.  In my years of youth ministry I have daily - daily - had to check my motives, check my heart. I've daily asked myself if the ministry I am serving is still about God or if I am making it about me.  There have been times when the edge of pride has been well escaped. There have been other times where its been tested and rebuked by people I love and trust. And then...there are the times it's been slippery, catching me in the muck and sliding me right into the canyon of disaster. Those have not been good times. Thank you, Lord for your grace and the grace of those I serve.  

Those times and all of the news in the world about pastors leaves me terrified. 

I'm terrified because I don't know what it is that makes a well intentioned, Christ-centered, kingdom oriented leader stop checking their pride and loosing their grip on reality to full surrender to Christ.  I know all about accountability partners, staying in the bible, having quiet time with God, daily worshipping, and taking time off for self care. But so did all the others. What changed?

Sin, at the very root, is our doubting the goodness of God. Because we doubt the goodness of God, we move into that place of pride, where we think we can do it better, know it better, preach it better. How in the world do I avoid that? How do I avoid that now? How do I avoid that in the future? 

I don't know the answers. Tonight I'm wrestling with these questions, sliding down a different slippery slope of fear and confusion of how and where I fit in the church. 

And yet, I'm comforted by the one thing that remains: the slippery slope of grace. 

Jesus Christ is madly in love with his bride, his body, the church. And he's madly in love with the broken people who make up that body. He lived and bled and died and rose again so we can throw off all that binds us, all the brokenness and be found in that grace. Despite the wreckage that seems to abound - that seems to overtake the beauty of it all -we must not forget that HIS grace is enough and will remain enough as we continue to seek him, follow him and serve him. As we move ahead and meander through this valley of "bad press" my prayer is that we grant grace to one another, grant grace to the body, grant grace even as we rebuke and correct, and work to unity under the only name that saves.

The reality is the world needs the body of Christ - no matter how broken she appears - to show them there is hope at the foot of the cross. The world is in desperate need of knowledge that there is grace and mercy and a perfect love that binds the wounds of the broken-hearted, that promises no more sorrow and tears. We have work to do, Bride. We have a people in need of care and compassion and a message of hope to share. Let's get on with the mission and serve the one who selflessly did the same for us. 











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I Believe

11/15/2013

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A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to teach the 8th graders about the Apostles Creed. These eighth graders! They are full of spirit, full of spark and on that strange road of lurching along in faith or falling head over in heels in love with Jesus. They are no different than any class of 8th graders who came before or any that will come after. It is a fun age to work with. 

We talked about where the creed came from, why we have it and examples of creeds in the bible. There are many places in the bible where the writers of the Old Testament and New Testament knew the importance and value of writing down what they believe, and we looked up those passages. We also talked why each part made its way into the Creed and how each article reveals what we believe about the God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit - that devine mystery called the trinity. 

As I was preparing, I started thinking of the creed. Here it is if you want to read through: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, 

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen


If you are like me, you read and recite this so quickly that you forget just how important the words are, how much is said in such a short passage. 

I imagine most of us don't often reflect and meditate on what each article means. We don't fully comprehend the depth of each phrase. Furthermore, we don't consider how what we believe should affect how we live. 

We know what we believe, but we have no idea what we believe. 

For instance, we say that God is the creator of heaven and earth (and therefore, all things on heaven and earth). Do we treat people as a beautiful creation of the Father Almighty? Or do we judge by appearance? Do we value life - all life, born and unborn - as a blessed creation of the Father? Do we care for the earth, this place we inhabit, as a fantastic creation of the One who called it good? Or are we reckless in our use of resources, goods ... and people. 

Do we trust the power of God, the same power that conceived Jesus and rose him from the grave? Do we understand that confessing that power also confesses that we have that same power in us? That same power of the Holy Spirit dwells in us and gives us the courage, strength and boldness to proclaim who we are and what we believe, without fear! This power gives us life, gives us freedom to unabashedly follow the Lord without fear and chains? This power begs us to ask "whom shall I fear" and know the answer is NO ONE! 

Do we really believe in the holy Christian (catholic - which means universal - is said in some churches) church? Or, do we get hung up on shrapnel, those little shards of difference that prevent sharing the Gospel and replace it with petty arguments that cause division. I would argue that often, our actions as churches and denominations deny that we actually believe in the holy universal church...and we shift the focus of church from Jesus to things of man. 

And finally. Do we really believe in the forgiveness of sins? Do we really know that we are forgiven if we confess and repent? Do we trust that the slate is clean and we are washed and purified? Moreover, does our "belief" in our own forgiveness echo into our lives and how we forgive others? Or, do we deny what we state in the creed by hanging on to anger and hurt, creating grudges and walls between believers and non-believers alike?

As I reflect on the creed, this I know: I BELIEVE. 

My life just has a bit of catching up to do. 

Lord, 
I trust in you, I trust in the work of the cross. I trust that you are pouring out your Holy Spirit as I seek you and follow your will for my life. Continue to purify and refine me, Lord. That is my prayer. 
Amen

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October 24th, 2012

10/24/2012

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This week I've had the pleasure of attending my first ever Fall Intensives. Four years ago, I felt the Lord calling me to seminary. Because of life, kids, work, job I listened and told the Lord "I will go...soon."

"Soon" has arrived.

My first two courses (ever) in "sem" are Perspectives of Evil and Suffering and Hermeneutics. Needless to say, I've been stretched, challenged, affirmed, convicted, confused and renewed in my faith in Jesus.  My commitment to follow Jesus has not being changed, but instead purified, as a gem is scrubbed, cleaned, cut, carved and polished until it shines for what it is - an individual, perfectly beautiful, perfectly refined piece of God's creation, created to do good works for Him.

I've learned (or been reminded of) a few things this week:

1) There are people from ALL different walks of life that have been called to serve the Lord.

2) An evangelical seminary does not mean that the views are generally similar. I've been surprised by the vast differences in basic theology. It's kind of cool.

3) I'm thanking God for all the great conversations with Brandon, Josh and Steven over the years, which have forced me to think about what I believe, wearing a variety of lenses. Some here don't have that background. It doesn't make me better, worse, or prideful. It just means I've not been blindsided by some concepts this week. A few times people have asked "Wow. Those are some tough first courses. Are you doing ok?" The answer is yes. I'm doing great. This is amazing! I'm having so much FUN! But I get where the question is coming from.

4) "Why are you here?" is not a directed comment from a professor, but instead a question we need to ask ourselves regularily.  I've asked myself this question a few times in reflection, and God keeps saying "because I told you to go..." The truth is: we can't be here to reinforce our own ideas, or stick to what we know, what we've always done. We have to be here so we learn, develop, grow and gain wisdom in this world of theology and pastoral care. It's fine if our ideas are reinforced in the end, but we need to stretch and be open to what God wants to do with us.

But why are you here is not just a question for the student sitting in seminary. It's also a question we need to ask ourselves everyday in our relationship with Jesus. He's asking you, me, all of us 'Why are you here?" Why are you here in this relationship with me? Is it to have a back up plan, or to be transformed? Is it because it's the right thing to do, or because you hear God's voice in your life.

In much the same reason for being at Seminary, I'm in this relationship with Jesus to be purified. I want to be scrubbed, cleaned, cut, carved and polished until I shine as an individual, perfectly refined piece of God's creation. It's going to be challenging, it's going to stretch me...but I'm doing great. Its amazing! I'm having fun.

So, why are YOU here?
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    And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
    - Micah 6:8 (NIV)

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