Preparing for Haiti

A couple of weeks ago I heard about a group from our region going to Haiti. I asked if there was room for one more on the trip and was invited to attend. I like to do at least one mission trip a year and until this opportunity came along I thought this would be the year without a trip. While the trip is a little over a month away there are some things I am aware for my journey.
This will most likely be the most difficult mission trip I have ever taken. Between the sheer poverty of the country and the devastation of the recent earthquake much of the infrastructure of the country is broken. Until yesterday we did not know where we would be sleeping. Food is scarce and very expensive so we will be taking some of our own meals. We have yet to hear about the availability of clean drinking water or the type of work we will be taking on but we are going with the attitude of doing what ever needs to be done under the leadership of our hosts in the country.Each person on the trip will be taking two suitcases one with personal belongings and one filled with things for the people of the Haitian Churches. I plan to leave many of my clothes in the country and come back with a fairly empty suitcase.
Because so many questions about the trip are unanswered the need for me to be flexible is the key to my ministry for the 10 days in the country. I believe while being the most difficult of trips I also believe it will be the most rewarding of the trips I have taken. I feel I will learn a great deal from the people of the country. They have been through a great deal and I can learn from their experience as well as minister to their needs.
As I prepare for my trip I need to prepare mentally by being determined to do the things I am asked to do in the midst of the existing devastation. I need to prepare spiritually by listening to the Spirit of God as I interact and share my gifts with the people of Haiti. I need to prepare physically to leave behind many of the comforts I take for granted and be willing to go with out things i would normally have for the sake of the mission. I need to prepare emotionally for the trip to hear the stories of pain the people will share with me and offer the compassion of the Christ in a way that is more than empty phrases but will help them and me gain strength and hope for the days ahead.
I covet your prayers as I prepare and as I go. I thank God for this opportunity to serve.

What to Make of all This

Over the past few weeks I have been following the developing story in our government over the issue of health care. With the passing of the bill on Sunday and the signing of the bill on Tuesday of this week there has been all sorts of stories hitting the airwaves concerning the meaning behind the passing of this legislation.
Prior to the passage of the bill lines have been drawn in the sand with all sorts of threats being made on both sides of the issue concerning what the passage or the failure of passing such a bill would mean for the people of our country.
I must admit I have been for a long time tired of all the threats, accusations, name calling and warnings being given from both sides. The result has been we are living in a divided society each accusing the other of being the cause of the problem.
I have learned a couple of things from what I have been seeing going on. First, if I don't get what I want then I can resort to any tactic in order to get my point across. It does not matter if it is in good taste or not or even if the statement is true. I will do whatever I need to do to turn people to my side because I am right. In the most recent presidential election I was sent information from one side I would label as being racist and I received info from the other side calling into question the history of the other candidate. It is all right to say anything true or not as long as you convince people of your point and belittle the other side. Over the past year I have been called not a true Christian, a socialist and bleeding heart liberal for some stands I have taken. It seems when ever we begin to lose an argument that is when it is all right to resort to name calling.
The second thing I have learned from this is we have lost sight of what is good for the people and replaced it with what is good for me.
I believe it is time for the church to take a stand and become the prophetic voice in the country it has been called to be. In order to do that we need to first of all be willing to listen to the people. This means all the people not just the ones on the side I am on. This week we began a book study at my church based upon the book Rediscovering Values by Jim Wallis. Now Wallis presents a particular view and comes from a certain mindset. There are people in the study who do not follow Wallis' view and they are free to present their viewpoint in the study without retribution. It is a way in which we can begin to dialogue about the differences which exist and wrestle with the issues.
It is not my goal in the study to convince everyone to my point of view but to engage in a conversation in which people can hear where others are coming from and in the end I believe we will discover we share some common concerns. The church needs to lead the way in being an example for others to follow by no stooping to the tactics which belittle or berate others. A person told me a long time ago, it is hard to hate someone you are praying for. We need to pray for one another and not that they will see things our way.
If we continue on this road I believe the results will be disastrous for eveyone.

Practice, Practice, Practice

I have been playing guitar since I was 19. While I enjoy playing I find it difficult to make time to practice. So I keep a chord book close when playing with the band at church to get familiar with chords I am not accustom to playing. I also keep a capo close by when a song is in a key that is hard for me to play I can move it to another key that is much easier. Several years ago when I first purchased my Ovation I took some lessons and I saw a big improvement in my playing. But since that time while my playing is better I lost some of the items I learned in those lessons. Today I still play chords with some proficiency but I can not TABs as well as I did while taking lessons and while still being able to remember some riffs in my mind, my fingers will not move fast enough to play them. In order to play guitar well I need to practice at playing and not just pick it up and expect to play well. Once a week just does not do it for me. While I can fake my way through most songs I have the potential to be better with some practice.
The same holds true when it comes to living out the faith. A good number of people believe showing up to church once a week is enough to live the Christian life but I do not think it is enough. There are some basic practices which will enhance our faith. For example to practice faith we need to put it into action in some way when we are away from church. It could be in a study in which we talk about faith issues. It could be in serving as a result of our faith. Praying for someone. Helping the stranger. Engaging in a random act of kindness. When these acts are motivated by our faith they are ways in which we practice serving God.

A Puzzling Observation

There is a scene in the Simpson movie I just love (because it contains a lot of truth): it is the scene where the crisis in the town of Springfield has reached epic proportions ans all the people in the church run to the bar and all the people in the bar run to the church.
People often seek God or the church in a crisis. It is most likely the one thing that brings people to church or back to church. But also a crisis may be the thing that takes people away from church. I am really puzzled by the later. The time people should be seeking God the most is the time they turn away. Any crisis can cause it, a death, an accident, loss of a job or just a disagreement with another member have all caused people to leave church from my observation.
One reason for such action is the person going through the crisis may fear judgment. I have heard it said by "well meaning" church folk that the crisis would not have occurred if they would have been closer to God. I have to admit when going through my recent health issue I asked myself the question why did this happen to me? I have been eating right, exercising and taking care of myself what did I do wrong to deserve this? The answer I came up with was nothing. If I had not been taking care of myself the cancer would not have been found so quickly. It happened to be because it happened and I don't know why but since it did I needed to deal with it. We need to remember that the rain fall on the just and the unjust and as a result we need to not make spiritual judgment which may not be the case and be supportive to people in their situation.
A second reason is embarrassment. For some time the church has tried to shed its image that Christians are perfect people but somehow we as the church are not always the most patient with people who are going through difficult times, especially our own people. We may not want to tell anyone what has happened because we do not want people to see our life as imperfect. Let me share with you a little truth. My life is not perfect and neither is yours. We live in a culture in which we feel we need to put forth the image we are perfect. If we can not hold up that image of perfection we draw back from life until we can bring that image back. We just don't want people to see us when we are down. In the church we need to be the place people can come when there is a crisis for support, for help and for nurture. It is difficult to go through a crisis but it is more difficult to go through it alone. We are reminded we are to bear one another burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Another reason that goes along with the embarrassment is people because of the crisis are not able to give like they were accustom to giving before the crisis. Being a part of a church means to be a part in good times and bad. We have been taught it is better to give than to receive so if we are not able to give we feel guilty. But there are times when I need to remind myself that when the need arises I also need to be a person who is not afraid to ask for help when I need it. For a long time I had the idea that asking for help was a sign of weakness. Strong people can handle things by themselves without help from anyone. I have since learned that is not true. Strong people are aware of situations when they need help and are not afraid to seek it. That has been one of the greatest lessons I have learned in life.
The church if it is to be the Body of Christ is a place where we help and support each other, we rejoice when others rejoice and hurt when they hurt. We help when they need help and we receive help when we need help. We are here for each other.

Time to Stop

Several years ago I was having a conversation with one of the adjudicatory leaders in my denomination and he made the comment: "I have never seen so many people with an it is all right to get in your face attitude." The conversation took place around 1995 or 1996 and since that time the issue has escalated to be 100 times worse than it was at that time.
What has happened is the screaming has escalated to the point where we fail to listen to anyone any more who have a different take on what we believe. As case in point for several months I received an e-mail from a member of the church I pastor which touted a particular political mindset of which I did not follow. After receiving a series of these items I decided it was time to send him a message which better represented my point of view. Very shortly I received a scathing e-mail from the person as to how I was not a Christian if I subscribed to such beliefs. I then felt the need to pay a visit to that person.
Today it seems both sides are doing a lot of name calling, hate mongering and mud slinging to the point it is all right because the other side did it first. I just scratch my head wondering when did the words of Jesus change from: "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" to do unto others only if they believe like you.
The conversation between differing groups has become a shouting match won by who can shout the loudest. I am reminded of a Peanuts cartoon from years ago where Charlie Brown is being chased by Violet and all of a sudden he stops and tries to reason with her. She listens for a while and then decks him with a right cross. Then she says, "I had to hit him quick he was beginning to make sense.
It seems as if we are afraid to enter into a conversation because the other side may have some good points. It is easier to put them down, name call and make the other side the enemy of all we feel is good.
Maybe it is time the people of God stopped being a part of the problem and started looking for a solution. Now I realize there may be some who will never enter into a conversation about the differences that exist but even though that may be true I must still make the effort to engage in the conversation. if I do not then I become one of the screamers and only serve to make the problem worse. Over then next few blogs I plan to give some suggestions about how this can be achieved.