Picture This

About a month ago we were told that the moon was a close to the earth as it would be in some time.  We were out at some friend’s when I took a few shots of the moon.  Here’s one:

Books, Books, Books

You know…I had a really long post written out about the relationship of emergent and postmodernism and after I went back and scanned it I realized that even I didn’t want to read all of that. I don’t figure you would either. So here’s one that’s shorter and hopefully sweeter.

If you have any interests in what postmodernism is saying and if it has anything of value for the contemporary church (and I would resoundingly say that it does), then go read James K A Smith’s book Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism. It’s 160 short pages. He attempts to write in a way that is understandable to the average person. At times he succeeds fantastically. I enjoy how he introduces each chapter with a contemporary movie theme to illustrate what he’s going to say. There are several spots where I was left thinking that the “average person” I know would probably find some of the content difficult. I’m pretty average and I found it difficult. Nevertheless, it is more than worth the effort especially if you are engaged in ministry or for that matter if you are a follower of Jesus who is interested in engaging the broader culture around you.

There you have it. I guess that was just one book, wasn’t it?

Monday Is For Late Friday Fotos

Here are a couple of soccer pics of the kids.  Wesley wrapped up his eight and under league as one of the youngest teams (all on his team are six).  Jessica finished Saturday and had a good time as well.

Last Minute Opportunity

Today at 3 PM Central, 4 PM Eastern, go log into Shapevine (www.shapevine.com) and listen to Reggie McNeal for free. Earlier in the week they had Andrew Jones. Others in their lineup include Ed Stetzer, Alan Hirsch, Len Sweet, Sally Morganthaler and others. How cool is that?

An Interesting Experiment

What happens when you remove the American flag from a church’s place of worship?

You make some people really uneasy.  So uneasy that they’ll find which closet you hid it in and put it back "where it belongs."

I’m not an unpatriotic guy.  I appreciate the freedoms afforded us in America.  I’m thankful for those who have served our country in various capacities.

But I also have a firm conviction that I am not a true citizen of America.  Now I can hear the voices already: "If you don’t like it here in America go live somewhere else."  Well, I would move to my preferred country of residence except that I’m waiting for God’s timing to transport me there.  You see, of all the countries in this world I like America the best.  I’m just aware of another city that’s even better.  It is one who’s architect and builder is God.  There is a place where the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.  Its flag is not red, white and blue.  Or red and white.  Or black white and green.  Or red and yellow.  Catch my drift?

The kingdom of God subverts every other kingdom.  Including America.  And that’s not a popular thing to say.  After saying such a thing in a sermon I was approached afterwards by one who seemed almost ready to argue over the virtues of living in America.  I would have likely agreed with most everything that person would have said.  In fact, I did agree with everything that person did say that day.  But I was left with the distinct impression that if we had to choose between America and the church some would choose America.  The fact that we can choose both, but subordinate the church to our country says something profound about our country and where some in the church in our country are in terms of the meaning of faith.

The message of the gospel is a radical message.  The most basic confession of that faith is "Jesus is Lord."  What we need to realize is that such a statement necessarily means that Uncle Sam is not.  But do we understand that?  Are we ready and willing to make such a radical claim?

When I removed the American flag I left the Christian flag displayed.  I suspect that were I to have put the Christian flag in a closet somewhere it might still be there.

A Hummer That Gets 100MPG?

And it runs on used cooking grease.  This is pretty cool. 

Friday Is For Football & Fotos

Well, football will be played again this week as the Sooners return to action.  But before we get to the impending Aggie spanking let me mention some other games of interest.

Wisconsin will have been vanquished by Ohio State by sometime around 2:00 PM.  Although this has been a freakish football year, so I’m not completely counting the Badgers out.

Then there’s Nebraska.  Ohhh Nebraska.  I’ve never been a Bill Callahan fan and I suspect that I’m now joined by a hoard of people in the Cornhusker nation.  Nebraska found a way to look decent for three quarters last week - until they gave up about 300 yards of rushing in the fourth quarter!  I would recommend that Bill update his resume, but he may just want to leave the past few years as a blank and try to convince any future football employer that he was really out selling insurance or something.  Kansas will thump the men of corn.

It also does my heart good to watch the continuing demise of the golden domers.  Every OU fan dispises Notre Dame for what they did in ending our 47 game win streak.  That they are now setting their own records of futility brings joy to my heart.  May it continue yet another week.

One of the more interesting games for the Big XII is Oklahoma State hosting Texas.  I’m still not sure we know how good either of these teams are.  OSU still has a horrible defense and they have virtually no pass rush.  But Texas has the great equalizing factor: Greg Davis.  No, Davis is not a player.  He is the offensive coordinator, and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t had much of a clue for years.  It has been reported that he "stumbled" back on the famous "zone read" play in the fourth quarter last week.  They’ve also been accused of being a little soft (not that that is a new accusation, or anything).  OSU has only beaten Texas twice.  Yes, that’s right.  Twice.  Ever.  But I’ll go against the odds and take OSU at home.

LSU plays Alabama.  I always root against Les Miles.  Always.  Roll Tide, if but for one week.  Oregon will beat Arizona State and Missouri will beat Colorado.

In the headliner, the Oklahoma Sooners will wreck the wreckless crew from Texas A&M and Dennis Franchione will join Bill Callahan at the front of the unemployment line.

Now for a couple of pics:


 

Slavery? In Our World?

According to Free The Slaves there are 27 million slaves in the world today, though there is nowhere in the world today in which slavery is legal. Instead slavery is referred to in a variety of ways: debt bondage, bonded labor, attached labor, restavec, forced labor, indentured servitude, and human trafficking. The US State Department recognizes the reality of worldwide human trafficking and says that there are between 15-20,000 non-US citizens who are being trafficked in the US. Most slaves worldwide are women and children.

But what can an American do about it? Most instances of human trafficking occur in India, east Asia or Africa. How can an average person in the US make a difference? Let me make some suggestions.

First, become aware. A good one-stop resource site can be found at the Not For Sale Campaign. Learn, and then speak out. Express your concerns to your governmental representatives. But in the end, the State Department is already aware of the problem and political forces are already at work to bring pressure on those who deal in human trafficking.

Our other options will challenge our economic interests. One of the reasons there is such a thing as forced labor is because Americans demand everything to be as inexpensive as possible. The Levi’s you wear are likely made in another country by a woman who works 14-16 hour days for wages that even she and her family cannot live on. You see, the US has labor laws that protect people from this sort of thing. A great many other countries around the world do not, and we don’t complain because it benefits our pocketbooks.

But Christians must serve a higher cause than economic prosperity. Some things are more important than saving a few dollars here and there. So pay attention to the things you buy. Is it made in Sri Lanka? Bangladesh? India? China? If it is there is a good chance slave labor (or slave-like labor) helped produce it. Can we knowingly participate in that? Some will object that we really have no choice. But do we understand that that sort of language is the language of slavery? Do we really have no choice? Even in our city of 20,000 there is at least one second-hand store.

Lastly, we must break our own slavery to things. Yes, clothes are a necessity, but clothes are still made by tailors and can still be found from sources other than usual ones. As a parent with small children I’ve become more aware of how much of the stuff that is advertised to them on TV is a) worthless junk, and b) made in some impoverished country so that Americans can happily buy them for next-to-nothing. Perhaps we need to turn our televisions off so that we are not inundated with the constant barrage of advertising that feeds into the problem.

Christmas is coming. What sort of choices will we make in our purchases? My wife and I have committed that we will no longer buy the cheap junk for our kids just because it makes their eyes light up for 30 seconds - only for the thing to be thrown in a corner shortly thereafter. It isn’t worth it either economically for us as a family or conscientiously when we consider who likely made it and at what personal cost. Our Sunday School class at church usually has a dirty Santa gift exchange with a limit of $5 or $10. This year we’ve committed to pool our collective $5-$10 and use it to help either a local ministry, person in need, or some other missions or benevolence cause around the globe.

These things may provide some examples of where we can start. Where will you start?