Talking To Youth About Being A Disciple Of Christ.

Last weekend I was honored to be asked to speak to the youth group of The LaSalle Street Church about what it is like to be a disciple of Jesus Christ over a life time. As speakers go I was in pretty rarified air as Tony Campolo and Mary Darling, who co-authored a book entitled "The God of Intimacy and Action- Reconnecting Anciet Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice", were the main speakers for the weekend. Back in the days of Vaudeville it was said that the worst thing that could happen to someone who had an act was to follow either an animal act or one that featured a young child. Following a speaker as dynamic as Mr. Campolo can make ones confidence wither rather quickly. Thankfully we were not speaking to the same audience nor were we in the same building at the camp. That is the only thing that saved me. Had I followed him literally, or been scheduled before him... I would have crumbled. The Lord was merciful with me.

I have asked the leadership of Timber Bay to consider me as a candidate for ministry in their organization. My desire is to be what they call an area director. My duties would be to develop a Timber Bay ministry to "at risk youth" somewhere near where I live. I am hoping that I could build a ministry, with their help, in the Maple Grove/Osseo region. That ministry would bring the message of God's love and saving grace through Jesus Christ to young people who face very difficult challenges in their lives. Those challenges may be due to family circumstances, poverty, violence, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and more. Timber Bay has a wonderful camp that they use to bring at risk youth to, so they can "unplug" from their difficult circumstances for a time, calm their souls, and perhaps more clearly hear the call of The Holy Spirit. The cabin pictured above is one of the most beautiful ones on the campus. It was built by some of the youth who are brought to the camp. How cool is that?!

One of my Facebook Friends commented about how much despair they felt about life in general. They actually used the term pain. I suggested to this person that perhaps they should try to focus on the "pain of others." Doing so could be part of following Jesus's commandment to love others more than yourself. In serving those "others" who were in pain, perhaps the personal pain they were feeling, would to a great degree, subside. I wasn't suggesting that this person get in over their head. I suggested that perhaps they could find someone to simply pray for. How powerful that is! The question came back, "I don't know anyone in pain." I then gave some suggestions as to where to look for those suffering, either physical or emotional, and I am quite sure that if this person looks in those places they will find what they are looking for. Pain is all around us. Those who suffer, they are more common than we allow ourselves to believe. Physical pain can be terrible. C.S. Lewis said that "God shouts to us in our pain." Emotional pain can be some of the most intense there is in life. And spiritual pain can be beyond description.

I have always had a heart for those in pain, for the weak, for those who suffer from disadvantages that are not of their making.

I was asked by the president of Timber Bay why I want to serve with them in the capacity I mentioned. I think I gave a pretty clear response to that question in my interview. However, I was not satisfied with what I said. Not totally in disagreement with it, just not satisfied. In Mr. Campolo and Mary Darling's book I came across an account that Ms. Darling told. It was a story about one of John Wesley's personal heroes. Mr. Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement in England and is credited with bringing about many great movements for social justice within the British Empire saving it from the revolution and destruction that fell upon France during and after its revolution. One person John Wesley admired was Monsieusr de Renty who was spiritually awakened when he read Thomas a Kempis's "Imitation of Christ". He "resolved seriously to pursue the one thing needful, the working out of his salvation," in the words of John Wesley. The following paragraph, also quoted from Mary Darlings contribution, is the clearest explanation I have found as to "Why I want to work with Timber Bay."

As told by Mary Darling; page 88 "The God of Intimacy and Action."

"Another story involves a young woman who had been abused by her uncle. Because she had been so badly treated by her uncle, the woman believed that Jesus had abandoned her. Her sense of abandonment made her feel not only unworthy of God, but also angry with God. She even took communion several times a day to spite God, in the hope that she would provoke God to kill her. When de Renty was told about this woman, he rushed out to find her. Wesley records that when de Renty finally found the woman, eight days later, he "took so great care both of her soul and body that she returned to herself and gave ample testimonies of her repentance."

That is my heart for at risk kids. I want to take such good care of them physically and spiritually that they will come to a healing and life giving relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. That is why.

The photo of a gentleman signing a check is that of my good, and life long friend, Jeffrey Brown. He is a social worker who specializes in child and family counseling. He is a follower of Christ and he lives out his faith each day working to bring healing to broken and difficult lives. The check he is signing is a faith gift to me for my future ministry. It is the first "funds raised" for my work with Timber Bay should I be approved. Interestingly, at the signing of the check nothing was official. As of today I have not heard directly that I have been excepted, but I have been told it is just a formality. Background checks and the like have to be done. There should be no problem. Still, what a blessing to have a friend say "yes" to my hearts desire. What a wonderful affirmation.

The photo of the youth group below Jeffrey is that of The LaSalle Street Church. Their youth pastor, the red headed guy with the big smile, is my son-in-law Devin. Yep, I had connections in high places. He has a wonderful group of young people and he is doing a great job of "leading them in the paths of righteousness."

The top photo is of the latest Timber Bay group camp done this fall. You can also click on the title of this post and it will take you to the Timber Bay website if you would like to get more information.

Photos Of My Trip To Egypt and Middle East

If you click on the title of this post you will be taken to my Picasa photo sight and will be able to view the pictures I took while on my trip to the Middle East. I started in Cairo, Egypt meeting my two nephews and their dad at the international airport. Andrew is the taller young man and the student of Arabic. He has a one year fellowship with American University of Cairo to take his studies to the next level. Last year he graduated from Georgetown University with his Masters in Arabic Studies. I am sure a Phd is on the horizon for him, but for now he is just interested in going deep, immersing himself in the Egyptian culture and the rich nuances of the Arabic language.

His brother, Eric, has just completed a bit more than two years with the Peace Corps in Bulgaria. He is now fluent in that language but I am not sure it is his plan to take it to the same level as Andrew is taking Arabic. Eric is now enrolled at the University of Denver and is working on his masters in an international studies program focusing on justice issues. Both of these young men are outstanding students and are committing their lives to doing something good for others. Both are followers of Christ. It is fair to say that they have perhaps some different views on what being a follower means. I am sure that some conservative types would try to label them as liberals. I, on the other hand, consider them to be highly thoughtful, philosophically sound, and capable of lovingly discussing all sorts of issues in a highly informed manner. So, if one were to judge them then one would be in violation of Christ's commandment to not do that. Be careful, for when you engage them in discussion you will have to be on your toes as they are equipped to challenge the status quo. You may feel a bit uncomfortable. I would argue that being comfortable is not a goal Christ would have us strive for.

Their father is my wife's one and only sibling. I have known Tom since I was ten or eleven. That means we have known each other for about forty-five to forty-six years. We have been in the same family for thirty-three years. He is a lawyer. He is smarter than me. He is a jerk. LOL I love him anyway. He was the one who invited me to go along with him to meet his boys and for that I am eternally grateful.

Cairo is beyond description. We didn't see all that much of it, but it is fair to say that it is poorer than a city such as Chicago, yet it has much more going for it than perhaps other giant cities that suffer from acute poverty in sub Saharan Africa or South America. My daughter, who has been to South America and seen a number of large cities, has described poverty there and that type of poverty was not what I saw in Cairo. That being said, I do know that in this mega city there are some pretty bad slums. I did not have the opportunity to see them. The city was strikingly dusty and no wonder, it resides in an area surrounded by desert. The Nile River creates an oasis there and when flying in one can see why the ancients placed Cairo where it is today. I am sure that the ancient city was much more beautiful. When it was smaller it did not extend into the desert as much as it does now. Also, the demand for fresh water would have been much less. Now that millions and millions of people live there it is my guess that the demand for fresh water comes dangerously close to the limit of what the Nile can provide. The Nile River has also been dammed by the Aswan Dam hundreds of miles to the south. That has changed the entire ecological equation for the river as it no longer floods as it did for thousands of years. That flooding brought nutrients to the soil of the delta. Being now interrupted by the dam there is great concern and controversy over the long term implications to the Egyptian environment. I did notice that no one seemed to drink tap water. Everyone, locals included, seemed to only drink bottled water and Nestles Company seemed to have cornered the market. Empty bottles were strewn all over the desert in some places. When the wind blew as many plastic bottles flew by as did sand particles... it seemed. Another discussion completely.

We went to the Great Pyramids of Giza. The pictures do not do them justice. They are immense. That they are so ancient and yet man made brings a wonder of its own if you have any interest in history. After seeing pictures of them my entire life, to stand before them and realize that they are "real" was a delight. It was nearly, or perhaps above 105 degrees when we were at the pyramids. That heat, the scorching sun, and the hiking and climbing nearly did me in. I had ridden my bicycle at home forty miles one afternoon and came home feeling great. No small feat for a fifty-seven year old man. However, in the heat I experience in Giza in short order I was reduced to a limp rag. I could feel in my soul how deadly the desert could be. If I had been left out there with no additional water and shelter I would have died before sundown. This heat has a power that is somehow majestic in itself. It made me consider how great are the forces in the universe that could destroy, how delicate we are, and how grace filled is the Lord to have provided us with a place to stand, to live, to thrive, in His great cosmos. We need to be careful where we throw our empty water bottles... I think.

We traveled through the Sinai Desert to go to Jerusalem and the West Bank. The bus ride was other worldly. I must confess to being confused as to how the Israelites could have survived in such a place for one day much less forty years. I know the answer is there, that I don't understand their path, their techniques, and perhaps the climate has significantly changed in the intervening 2500 years or so. I just want to communicate that the Sinai Desert is HOSTILE. No other word fits. We entered Israel through the town of Elat and then proceeded through the Negev Desert to Jerusalem entering it from the east.

The old city is amazing. It is full of shops where you can purchase anything a tourist's heart desires. Some folks live within the city and the word "stone" can not be over used. Everything is made of stone. Everything. We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, The Wailing Wall, and saw many of the stations of the Via de la Rosa. Though I was not there on a spiritual pilgrimage I could not help but be deeply moved by all of these sights including The Dome of the Rock. We stayed in a hostel near the Damascus Gate and that alone was moving. If the Apostle Paul left Jerusalem to head toward Damascus he would have walked through that gate. There is so much to consider... I knew and know so little. My heart was delighted though.

We also went to Bethlehem through an Israeli checkpoint. Andrew set us up with locals to spend the night rather than spending it in hotels. Tom and I spent the night sleeping on The Shepherds Field. That is the place mentioned in Luke Chapter 2:8-20 where the angles of the Lord announce the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds as they "watched their flocks by night." You will see photos of an elderly man and his family under some beautiful grapevines. He has a home and restaurant on the very spot. Over the wall from his property is a Franciscan park which is dedicated to preserving part of the hillside for posterity and for meditation. Our hosts, Greek Orthodox Christians know where they live every day of their lives. They also worship weekly at The Church of the Nativity. How cool is that?! I wept there a number of times for joy.

The people are wonderful. The places are amazing. I can't do it justice with words. Look at the pictures and they will help you some. Go there if you can.

Heading To The Middle East

In my entire life I have been out of the United States on two occasions. Once was back in 1980 when, with no need for a passport, my wife and some friends traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia and Vancouver Island in Canada. The other time was about six weeks ago when I again entered Canada, this time with a passport, and went fishing in The Lake of the Woods. What a time that was! I have traveled many places in my mind through the use of television and many books, but actual international travel has not readily been available to me. This will all change in August.

I will be traveling alone by air to Cairo where I will meet up with my brother-in-law and his twin sons. One of them just received his Masters in Arabic Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. That son will be spending the next year in a language immersion program in Cairo, Egypt. He will be our tour guide and translator. We plan on not spending much money staying most nights with local citizens of Egypt. We will attempt to visit the major landmarks, see the Red Sea and then climb Mount Sinai to the place where tradition said Moses encountered God in the burning bush. We then will travel through Jordan and into the West Bank territories and stay with some locals to get a sense of their perspective on political issues which have shaped our world for over sixty years. From there we intend to enter Israel and tour extensively in Jerusalem. Back to Cairo from there and I head back to the United States some ten days after arriving. To say the least I am excited about the prospects of this trip. I hope to learn much and have many new insights that I can share on this blog.

As I move forward on this journey of discovery I hope and pray that I will be able to view what I see with an open mind and eye for what God has to share with me. I have no expectation of changing the world, but I do hope to learn more about God's heart for all human kind. I desire to leave all of my prejudices far behind and listen, love, and act the way Christ desires.

I'll keep this post going once I get back.

The Bible...It Is ALIVE!

Oh, what a wonderful junior high school class we had yesterday. The week before we did not meet as it was Easter Sunday. The week before we took our lesson from the Gospel accounts of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We explored the traditions of the Church since and how for nearly, or perhaps more than two thousand years, each Palm Sunday was celebrated with some symbolic gesture making visible the cloak and palm fron parade with Jesus as its special focal point. We didn't stay there long though. We quickly got into the passion of the week. The betrayals, the trials, the beatings, the mocking, the murder, the burial, and the resurrection. When the young men went to worship service afterwards, sure enough, they were holding palm branches and waving them as I had predicted. I knew that they felt a special connection. It was good.

Yesterday we took our text from Genesis Chapter 22, The trial of Abraham. We read the complete text of God telling Abraham to take his one and only son and sacrificing that son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. We traced the steps Abraham took; from not hesitating, bringing two servants, bringing his son, traveling to where God prescribed, leaving the servants behind, walking with Isaac up the mountain, Isaac carrying the sacrificial wood, Isaac asking his daddy where the lamb was, Abraham telling Isaac that the Lord would provide, the building of the altar, the binding of Isaac, the knife, the willingness to follow through, the angel, the ram stuck in the bushes, the release of Isaac, to the ultimate covenant with Abraham. We covered it all. We covered Isaac as laughter, as only son, as promise, as sacrifice, as foreshadowing the Messiah. We connected the dots and we made it personal. What would it have been like to have been taken out by our dad to a lake, weighed down with an anchor and having him tell us that God told him to drown us as a sacrifice? Sounds pretty odd, but it must have been shocking to Isaac as he was old enough to understand the process and meaning behind the sacrifice of animals.

We connected the dots to Jesus and his passion. The calling of God the Father. The faith filled following. The "onliness" of Jesus as a son, the innocence, the wood and the burden of the cross, the sacrifice and finally the, "Not my will but Yours." And the differences were there; no stuck ram, no stayed hand.

We came full circle with Easter yesterday. I hope the men were blessed. I know I was.

Susan Boyle Sings Truth Into Our Lives!

To all. Please check out the performance of Ms. Susan Boyle as she sings a signature song from the musical Les Miserable. There are multiple video clips. Try to find the one, I think this link will take you there, where they interview her before and afterwards. Look at facial expressions, look at emotions, look for change. What a blessing. Simply click on my title "Susan Boyle Sings Truth Into Our Lives."

Humanity Has So Far To Go:

This photo moves me. It was taken March 10, 2009 in Sri Lanka. A religious celebration is taking place. In the foreground you can see a man with a tambourine like drum about to strike his instrument one last time. An older, gray haired man is walking in the middle of the procession and flames are licking at his ankles though his face has not had time to react to what is happening behind him. Others faces are still unaffected by the impending doom which has occurred a nano second before. Fourteen people died in the blast perpetrated by a suicide bomber/murderer who felt his beliefs and feelings trumped other people's right to live, let alone live in peace. There is a shirt in the air in the upper left hand corner. I wonder if it is the shirt blown off of the killer.

We need to pray daily for people who live with such fear, whose family members die in such ways, who have to suffer as survivors for the rest of their lives. The survivors suffer, many times, from physical injuries that are permanent. Certainly they all suffer extreme trauma emotionally for the rest of their lives. They are not Americans, they may not be highly educated, they are not rich, and maybe their life's expectancy is shorter in Sri Lanka and dreams less grandiose. Yet, they are all our Lord's children made in His image. And, yes, they suffer just as we would and perhaps even more. Do we allow ourselves to notice? I hope we pay attention.

I've Really Got The Bug!

I am really going over the edge with this dream of fishing in Lake of the Woods. That is in June. Now I am doing nothing but dream about it. I am dreaming of walleye, northern pike, muskies, bass, sunnies, crappies, and now rainbow trout. I spent a couple of hours looking through the Cabela's fishing section. I was looking for a fly rod to add to my collection of fishing poles that is currently 300 times bigger than it has been for my entire life. By adding a fly rod, which to date I have not, I would increase that 300 times by 33%, if that makes any sense. I did purchase a two hour video on the subject from the Cabela's sales representative whose name is Greg, a grey haired fellow, about my age, who has nearly forty years of fly fishing under his belt, or better, in his waders. I watched the DVD straight through stopping frequently it to get a handle on knots, weights relative to poles and lines, leaders, reels, and casting techniques and more. It was a Cabela's produced piece and I have to say that it was not all that well done. It was dated 2002 and that was interesting, but still it was good enough to get my attention. The trout being caught in Wyoming rivers was particularly interesting. Oh, baby! I could see my self doing that with some friends of mine... perhaps even my wife...nahhhh.

I wonder...does anyone actually eat the fish they catch anymore? I remember a time when you fished so you could eat fish. Odd the old days. On all these videos all the fisherman are working hard, spending hundreds of dollars, and hour after hour to catch a certain fish. Then, when they have landed it, they practically fondle the thing to death. Finally, with great affection (and sometimes even with a kiss on the nose of the fish) they magnanimously release this poor beast back into the water so that it can again be tortured and released. Seems to me that sometimes this catch and release program, or ethos, is more "torture and release for further torture" than anything else. (I am sure better men and women than me have thought this thing through.) After all the fish is fighting for its life! If fish can be scared I am sure they are scared when they are hooked and dragged or pulled out of the water. What's a camera, dude?

Anyway, I am dreaming of catching, filleting, and eating. After some twenty plus years in seafood sales, distribution, and marketing, I know a thing or two about cooking a trout or a salmon; any fish for that matter. That is the deal for me. I like the thought of the art of fishing. I love the idea of cooking and swallowing.

My Three Poles

At the time of my last birthday I had yet to own my first fishing pole. I have accidentally caught three fish in my life and intentionally caught one, all on borrowed equipment. The first was a small rainbow trout at a quarry that was being filled in when I was about nine years old living in Denver, Colorado. My neighbor's father chummed the water with bread crumbs and I put a naked hook in the water and pulled the beautiful little thing out. Those fish must have been really hungry. The delicate trout struck me in the face as I effortlessly lifted it out of its home, then flopped helplessly on the rocky ground. "Ya can't let it suffer!" my friend's father yelled. I didn't know what was going on, no words came to me, so I didn't move. I remember this large man coming over with a small bat and striking the fish on the head/body until it stopped moving as much. Blood appeared around the gills. It stopped moving only after a while despite the repeated blows. I didn't make the mistake of putting my hook in the water again that day. My buddy's dad came home with seemingly hundreds of fish on a stringer, I with only one. When asked why I only had one I said, "Dad, I didn't like fishing." Dad replied, "That is all right son. Not everyone does." Fifty years later it now is interesting to me that my friend's father didn't offer to share any of his abundance with our family. I guess just because your friend is your friend doesn't mean that his father is your dad's friend.

My second fish was at Kentucky Lake near Paducha, Kentucky. It was a large mouth bass and again I was just messing around with a pole and a hook, this time the hook had a worm. The bass had apparently been lurking around this pier for a time, had been spotted by some die hard fisherman, and they lusted after it. This kid (me), probably eleven by now, just stuck his line in the water and bang!, had the coveted fish on his line. A small tug and it was landed on the wooden slats. To me, what was the big deal about fishing? I remember the adults cussing, someone made a comment about "checking the kid's license", but I took the fish back to the pop up camper we had rented, it was put in a cooler, and later filleted and eaten back home in Chicago at my grandparent's home. I was never arrested. I am sure I had no license, though I think a kid that age might not have needed one.

My third fish was called a needle fish. I was reluctantly fishing with relatives near Jensen Beach, Florida on a fishing pier under a concrete bridge which spanned the inter coastal waterway. They gave me a pole and tried to teach me how to bait a hook with a live shrimp so as to not kill the shrimp, at least not right away. Perhaps, having a live shrimp, one would have an opportunity to catch some big ocean species, the greatest of which would be the coveted snook. After killing about six shrimp attempting to put them on the hook,I finally got one right and was ready to cast into the waterway. I cast the bait only to have it smack into the concrete bridge above me and die. Another shrimp or two later I finally got one in the water alive. Sure enough I caught this needle fish. It was flopping on the concrete walkway when a familiar thought came to me but this time a sentence came out of my mouth, "What should I do with this fish?" My relatives laughed at me, unhooked the needle fish, made a comment that it was a worthless creation, and immediately threw it back in the water. The thought crossed my mind that it was better to be worthless than valued. If you have value, I guess, at least as a fish, you die, beaten to death on rocky ground or placed in a cooler to be cut to pieces and consumed.

The last fish I caught was intentional. I won a trip to Tampa, Florida to go deep sea fishing. It would not have been a good career move for this up and coming executive to refuse this prize. We went out on a commercial fishing trawler about three and a half hours. We anchored above an area that was known to have grouper, amberjack, red snapper, and cobia living near by. My hook was baited by a professional with a bait fish which was bigger than the bass I have mentioned before. This caught my attention as I began to wonder what the object fish would be like. As my line swam along the surface I could sense the pull of the bait and also its excitement as its targeted predator approached. Not much fun being bait. Well, some living monster hit that hook, a hook big enough it seemed to support the weight of a baby grand piano, and the battle was joined. That fish, due to the heavy weight tackle, was coming aboard whether I, or it for that matter, wanted it to or not. After about 30 minutes I brought over the stern of the trawler an amberjack (member of the tuna family) that weighed in excess of sixty pounds. I took a short look at it as it came on board then proceeded to vomit over the railing of the boat for the next four hours in a never ending cold sweat, never again to set a hook. I wanted to die desperately seeking a straight line I could look at to gain my equilibrium. Alas, there was no such line and suicide crossed my mind as other members of our fishing party laughed and me and slammed down sub sandwiches provided for us by the fishing sponsor. This, I assumed, was the punishment dealt me for bringing a child of Poseidon out of its natural habitat. Never again! Never again will I go to sea. Well, if it was for war or to save my family or all of human kind, perhaps I would. But, I think I'd come up with some conditions of my own. That, my friends, was my last fish and that amberjack has been dead for over thirty years.

So, why "My Three Poles." I've been invited by close friends from Indiana to go fishing with them at Lake of the Woods in June. Since I love these guys, being asked was such an honor. Fellowship with them would be so sweet. I could not turn down the invitation. Truth be told they are so valuable to me I actually asked if I could come along. When they said that they would be excited to have me my heart leaped for joy. Yet, the joy was not in the upcoming fishing. The joy was in the thought of "being with them." Brothers in Christ fellowshipping together, experiencing community. There was this requirement though. I had to have at least two fishing poles. What to do? Why, call my out of doors guru here in Minnesota and have him take me shopping at Cabela's!

We met there at five in the afternoon on a Wednesday. We spent the first ninety minutes fondling and caressing every item in the store other than fishing poles and reels. We talked about what we liked, wanted, lusted after, told tales of wilderness experiences, stood on pontoon boats, leaned over bass fishing boats, checked out the 225 horsepower outboard motors that would get us to the fishing grounds in a hurry, and much more. After exhausting the store's other non-fishing inventory items we finally went over to the hundreds of rods and reels they had on display. We touched and talked about each and everyone, their benefits, their potential limitations, their appropriate applications. Finally we settled on a Shimano reel and a Cabela's super duper carbon fibre rod, matched up some mono filament to it, some sinkers, clips, and bait. We swapped stories with the sales representative. After a full hour of rod and reel research we finally left the store to have dinner at Red Lobster in celebration of our purchase. Later I went to Gander Mountain and purchased two other cheaper rod and reel sets, one to fill my two pole minimum and the other "just because." Two spinning reels and one bait caster reel. A Papa pole, a Mama pole, and a Baby pole...everything I will need to "hopefully not catch a thing!"

What To Do With Our Education:

Life is all about school, at least that is the way it seems when you are young. By young I mean that you are still in school. Those of us who are out of school, well we are old I guess. I love this picture of the teacher done by Norman Rockwell. My wife I had a copy of it hanging in our bedroom for years and years. My wife was and is an excellent teacher. I always projected her into the picture and myself into the desks as I starred at it. Education is such a huge part of our lives. It is perhaps the greatest cultivating tool we have in developing youth into healthy, functioning adults. In the early stages we humans are relatively passive to the experience dealing with what we have been dealt. As we grow older there is more and more interaction with the process until finally, as prospective college students, we have ultimate say as to what direction we want our education to take us. And that was the question at the core of our discussion last night. What college should I go to? Are there differences in colleges? If there are differences what differences should we look at? Where would I go if I could afford any school? What will be the limiting factors in our lives that will mold our percieved outcomes to education? Should I go to a local school or out of state? Should I go to a Christian school or should I go secular? What does a major mean? What is a minor? What type of work can I get with the degree that I obtain? Should I pursue liberal arts education or should I be more directed and specific in what I choose to learn? What can I afford? What can my parents afford? Where will I be in five years? Interesting talk. The steaks are pretty high no doubt.

What Does It Mean To Have A Barn On Your Back?

Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois caught fire today in the early morning hours. I have placed a photo of its sanctuary above, which is now the current main photo of our blog. You can see the extreme beauty of its interior architecture. Though beautiful on the inside it is fairly plain from the outside. When you are in front of the building certainly you are impressed by a sense of grandeur. By all standards the building is large. It appears the fire damage done was to the roof. As is the case with all fires that are put out by fire departments, there is substantial water damage. Water damage can be as costly to repair as fire damage. We mourn for the building's damage, but mainly for the people who make up the Body of Christ who have chosen Holy Name Cathedral as their place of worship. We stand with them through the displacement they are experiencing now and for the foreseeable future. There must be much grief.

I went to the Internet to view the Holy Name web site. Like most churches now days they have made a nice effort on the Web to communicate to their neighbors, and members, what is happening at their church. There are youth group, adult, women, men, homeless and more ministries that are on going. There is an historical section telling about the building. In 1871 it was lost to the Great Chicago Fire. Four years later it was rebuilt. By 1875 services were again being held in the New Holy Name Cathedral, which is the current sanctuary shown above. Authorities do not yet know the cause of the fire. The building was being remodeled and upgraded in accordance to new building codes. It was construction workers who found the fire. This suggests that it could have caught fire due to some remodeling efforts. This possibly a sad irony. Such events are not unheard of in the construction industry. New electrical work, paints and thinners, welders and the like are often the cause of such accidents.

The Church Body has been engaged in a fund raiser. Its goal has been to raise $8,000,000 for building repair. That is eight million dollars to structurally upgrade and remodel a building which is 134 years old. Now there will be increased costs, much covered by insurance, though the Roman Catholic Church may be self insured. I do not know. If they are then the costs of remodeling (8 Million), or church out of pocket expense, will be increased by whatever the fire restoration costs may be. It is not unimaginable to think $16 million is a potential outcome. To date the fundraising effort had reach approximately four million dollars. There is a long way to go.

This brings me to "the barn on the back" and America's famous transcendental author, Henry David Thoreau. He wrote a famous book, Walden, in which he describes seeing a farmer with a barn on his back. Walden was a journal and philosophical work Thoreau wrote while attempting to live as modestly as he possibly could. It was part of an experimental effort to see how free from earthly bonds he could become. Mr. Thoreau lived there for a year. The metaphoric image of a farmer carrying a barn on his back (in some editions of the book there are drawings of this mental picture)was Mr. Thoreau pointing out that our material possessions can seem like blessing, but in reality they become more burden. The farmer's life is defined by his servicing his barn and the animals and yearly cycles that the barn represents. The barn does not serve the man. If the farmer wanted to take a vacation, change occupations, or move to another place he would either not be able to do so, he would have take with him the barn, or at least consider the barn before he made any changes in his life. This encumbrance to Thoreau was something to be feared.

How encumbered is "The Body of Christ" with its structures? How much weight did past generations place upon us? What burdens are we placing on generations yet to come? What did Christ teach on this matter? Is this issue of encumbrance and freedom something that not only affects institutions, but also our individual lives? In what ways might we properly shed encumbrances? Is spiritual freedom and physical freedom interrelated?

I used to work at State and Ohio Streets in downtown Chicago. I worked there for almost eleven years. I would frequently take walks during my lunch breaks and I would walk north a few blocks on State Street and pass Holy Name Cathedral, which is located at State and Superior Streets. It was almost always open to visitors and Mass was served there frequently. I am sure many folks, myself included, felt blessed by its presents and its beauty. There was a sense of awe when one entered. Is this for me? Am I worthy? How could people build such beauty? God must be so much more beautiful? These and other thoughts crossed my mind. Near the steps of that Cathedral drunken people were often seen laying literally in the gutter or on the sidewalk. Often I would have to step over someone. This was in the mid 1970's. Now the neighborhood has been cleaned up. To Jesus what is more precious? What is more majestic? What is made to be eternal? What is more beautiful? The building or the bum? Which could cost less to maintain?

This is a great challenge to all of us who are Followers of the Way. I am not picking on the Roman Catholic Church. All believers in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work must consider these questions and are recipients of legacies. We also build them. This issue may be a test. My prayer is that I and the rest of our small group will understand the challenge and pass this test with godly colors. What legacy will we leave?

Elders Hard At Work

There is no better place to have an elder retreat than the frozen cornfields of Iowa in January. Twenty current and former elders working on the vision of their church body looking five to ten years into the future, praying for that body of believers, for each other, sharing their joys and their sufferings. Doesn't get any better than that. More than a few tears of pain and joy were shed. If you are one of those who must check out every detail, you will find only nineteen men pictured in the portrait. One of our men had to leave on Saturday and the photo was taken on Sunday. We should have thought ahead a bit more, I guess. We were so focused on five years out that we forgot about today. It can happen to the best of us.

What does vision mean? What are the values that our church embraces? Is there a connection between vision and values? Is a vision statement like and advertising campaign? Or is a vision statement something much more? What will it help us do and why is it important?

I must admit to this weekend being about the best weekend I could imagine having. Some of our men went out pheasant hunting at -10 degrees F at a wild game farm. I passed on that. Didn't want to shoot anyone or "pull a Cheney." I am totally inexperienced at hunting. Never done it. But, more importantly, I love fire places so, so much when it is cold outside and we had a good one the Inn which we stayed at. Hot coffee, toasty slippers, warm fire, soft reclining chair...hunt at -10 degrees F. No way! Be assured, this blogger is "Smarter than the average bear!"

Israel Attacks Gaza Strip: What Do You Think?

I downloaded, from The Boston Globe web sight, these three photos that I thought said something. The mainstream media is effectively being censored by Israel regarding coverage from Gaza and Israel during the current war. Two of these photos were in fact taken from Israel, but the photo of the legs and feet of the dead child was downloaded from Al-Jazeera, which pretty much has exclusive coverage at due to the fact that they have at least eight reporters stationed in the Gaza strip. These reporters were in Gaza before hostilities broke out. Other media sources are not being allowed in by Israel.

On the bottom we see an American made Apache Longbow (latest, greatest version of our front line attack helicopter) flying towards the fight (quite an impressive photo artistically, I might add). In the middle is a photo of what appears to be an American made bunker buster type bomb exploding after having been dropped by an American designed and built F-16 Fighting Falcon (this information was taken from the byline of the Boston Globe). Finally we see the legs and feet, in death, of a Palestinian child brought about by this conflict. As of the typing of this post the body count is 4 to 5 Israeli civilians randomly killed by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip along with approximately 10 Israeli soldiers killed in action. The death toll in the Gaza Strip among the various Palestinian groups now exceeds 900. That is approximately a 57 to 1 death ratio. Certainly this is not what one would call a fair fight. At the same time fair fights can kill millions as the world experienced and found out in World War I and II.

There is an interesting equation beyond death ratios that is visible in these photos. Here it is; American fighter jets, attack helicopters, rockets, bombs, and bullets kill Palestinians. America equals dead Palestinians. Do you see that? Is that fair to state? Are we responsible at some level? Are we war enablers? Is the United States, we, right or wrong? Are we being controlled by what President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about in his last State of the Union Address (1960), the Military Industrial Complex? Is the Jewish lobby disproportionately influencial in our government? I would appreciate your input on these matters. What do you think? What should our next administration push for? What should "Followers of Christ" do and say about this conflict in the Middle East?