"Love Wins" - Questions

Jesus loved to ask questions. It is one of the things that I love so much about Him. Rob Bell recently released a very controversial book called "Love Wins; Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Has Ever Lived." In the introduction and first chapter of the book, he shares loads of stunning questions....questions that he has and that many of us have. I wanted to share some of the questions he posed.

Note: I will not be sharing answers. I do not know how to answer many of them....and evidently Rob Bell doesn't either, at least not in this book.

Warning: If you cannot handle hard questions about God and Faith, do NOT read this. Please read that last sentence again.

So, here we go:

Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, only a select number will make it to "a better place" and every single other person will suffer in torment and punishment forever? Is this acceptable to God? Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who will spend eternity in anguish? Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God? If there are only a select few who go to heaven, which is more terrifying to fathom: the billions who burn forever or the few who escape this fate? How does a person end up being one of the few? Chance? Luck? Random Selection? Being born in the "right" place, family or country? Having a Youth Pastor who "relates better to kids"? What kind of faith is that? More importantly, what kind of God is that?

Many people believe that there is an age at which people are smart enough and old enough to "believe" the "right" things about God. People often refer to this as the "age of accountability". Most think this is around 12 years old. This brings up several questions, one being the risk that every new life then faces. If every new baby born could grow up to NOT believe the right things and go to hell forever, then prematurely terminating a child's life anytime from conception to 12 years old would actually be the loving thing to do, guaranteeing that the child ends up in heaven, and not hell, forever. Why run the risk?

So, when a 15 year old atheist dies in a car accident, and missed his chance by 3 years, what happens? Was God limited to that 3 year window and if the message did not get to that young man in time, well, that is just unfortunate? And what exactly would have had to happen in that three-year window to change his future? Would he have had to perform a specific rite or ritual? Or take a class? Or be baptized? Or join a church? Or have something happen somewhere in his heart?

Some believe he would have had to say a specific prayer. Christians don't agree on exactly what this prayer is, but for many the essential idea is that the only way to get into heaven is to pray at some point in your life, asking God to forgive you and telling God that you accept Jesus, you believe Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, and you want to go to heaven when you die. Some call this "accepting Christ," others call it the "sinner's prayer," and still others call it "getting saved," being "born again," or being "converted."

That, of course, raises more questions. What about people who have said some form of "the prayer" at some 
point in their life, but it means nothing to them today? What about those who said it in a highly emotionally 
charged environment like a youth camp or church service because it was the thing to do, but were unaware of the significance of what they were doing? What about people who have never said the prayer and don't claim to be Christians, but live a more Christlike life than some Christians?

This raises even more disconcerting questions about what the message even is. Some Christians believe and
 often repeat that all that matters is whether or not a person is going to heaven. Is that the message? Is that what life is about? Going somewhere else? If that's the gospel, the good news-if what Jesus does is get people
 somewhere else-then the central message of the Christian faith has very little to do with this life other than
 getting you what you need for the next one.

Which of course raises the question: Is that the best God can do?

Which leads to a far more disturbing question. So is it true that the kind of person you are doesn't ultimately 
matter, as long as you've said or prayed or believed the right things? If you truly believed that, and you 
were surrounded by Christians who believed that, then you wouldn't have much motivation to do anything
 about the present suffering of the world, because you would believe you were going to leave someday and go
 somewhere else to be with Jesus. If this understanding of the good news of Jesus prevailed among Christians, the belief that Jesus's message is about how to get somewhere else, you could possibly end up with a world in which millions of people were starving, thirsty, and poor; the earth was being exploited and polluted; disease and despair were everywhere; and Christians weren't known for doing much about it. If it got bad enough, you might even have people rejecting Jesus because of how his followers lived. That would be tragic....

....There are lots of different forms of "Jesus" that people portray. Many would respond to the question, "Which Jesus?" by saying that we have to trust that God will bring those who authentically represent the real Jesus into people's lives to show them the transforming truths of Jesus's life and message. A passage from Romans 10 is often quoted to explain this trust: "How can they hear without someone preaching to them?" And I wholeheartedly agree, but that raises another question. If our salvation, our future, our destiny is dependent on others bringing the message to us, teaching us, showing us-what happens if they don't do their part?

What if the missionary gets a flat tire?

This raises another, far more disturbing question: Is your future in someone else's hands?

Which raises another question: Is someone else's eternity resting in your hands?

So is it not only that a person has to respond, pray, accept, believe, trust, confess, and do-but also that 
someone else has to act, teach, travel, organize, fundraise, and build so that the person can know what to 
respond, pray, accept, believe, trust, confess, and do?

At this point some would step in and remind us in the midst of all of these questions that it's not that
 complicated, and we have to remember that God has lots of ways of communicating apart from people speaking to each other face-to-face; the real issue, the one that can't be avoided, is whether a person has a "personal relationship" with God through Jesus. However that happens, whoever told whomever, however it was done, that's the bottom line: a personal relationship. If you don't have that, you will die apart from God and spend eternity in torment in hell.

The problem, however, is that the phrase "personal relationship" is found nowhere in the Bible. nowhere in the Hebrew scriptures, nowhere in the New Testament. Jesus never used the phrase. Paul didn't use
it. Nor did John, Peter, James, or the woman who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. So if that's it, if that's the point of it all, if that's the ticket, the center, the one unavoidable reality, the heart of the Christian faith, why is it that no one used the phrase until the last hundred years or so?

And that question raises another question. If the message of Jesus is that God is offering the free gift of 
eternal life through him-a gift we cannot earn by our own efforts, works, or good deeds-and all we have to do is accept and confess and believe, aren't those verbs? And aren't verbs actions? Accepting, confessing, believing-those are things we do. Does that mean, then, that going to heaven is dependent on something I do? How is any of that grace?
 How is that a gift?
 How is that good news? Isn't that what Christians have always claimed set their religion apart-that it wasn't, in the end, a religion at
all-that you don't have to do anything, because God has already done it through Jesus?

________________

(After this, Bell goes on to point about 18 different passage in the NT that offer about 18 different ways to "be saved" or "be in the kingdom" according to stories Jesus told and encounters Jesus had. Leaving the reader seeing the breadth of Jesus's heart for the salvation of people. By the way, not one of the 18 examples required a sinners prayer.)

_______________

Note: I DO NOT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THIS BOOK! Soon, I will post a review with some things that I like and some things that I don't. But for now, I wanted to share some of these deep questions because I think they put a finger on several of our unchallenged theological understandings that are rooted more in our church culture than in the Bible. At least not the one that I own.

"Love Wins" - Questions

Jesus loved to ask questions.  It is one of the things that I love so much about Him.  Rob Bell recently released a very controversial book called "Love Wins; Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Has Ever Lived."  In the introduction and first chapter of the book, he shares loads of stunning questions....questions that he has and that many of us have. I wanted to share some of the questions he posed.  Note: I will not be sharing answers.  I do not know how to answer many of them....and evidently Rob Bell doesn't either, at least not in this book. 

Warning: If you cannot handle hard questions about God and Faith, do NOT read this. Please read that last sentence again. 

So, here we go:

Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, only a select number will make it to "a better place" and every single other person will suffer in torment and punishment forever?  Is this acceptable to God? Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who will spend eternity in anguish? Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God?

If there are only a select few who go to heaven, which is more terrifying to fathom: the billions who burn forever or the few who escape this fate?  How does a person end up being one of the few? Chance? Luck? Random Selection? Being born in the "right" place, family or country? Having a Youth Pastor who "relates better to kids"?  What kind of faith is that?  More importantly, what kind of God is that?

Many people believe that there is an age at which people are smart enough and old enough to "believe" the "right" things about God.  People often refer to this as the "age of accountability".   Most think this is around 12 years old.  This brings up several questions, one being the risk that every new life then faces.  If every new baby born could grow up to NOT believe the right things and go to hell forever, then prematurely terminating a child's life anytime from conception to 12 years old would actually be the loving thing to do, guaranteeing that the child ends up in heaven, and not hell, forever. Why run the risk?

So, when a 15 year old atheist dies in a car accident, and missed his chance by 3 years, what happens? Was God limited to that 3 year window and if the message did not get to that young man in time, well, that is just unfortunate? And what exactly would have had to happen in that three-year window to change his future? Would he have had to perform a specific rite or ritual? Or take a class? Or be baptized? Or join a church? Or have something happen somewhere in his heart?

Some believe he would have had to say a specific prayer. Christians don't agree on exactly what this prayer is, but for many the essential idea is that the only way to get into heaven is to pray at some point in your life, asking God to forgive you and telling God that you accept Jesus, you believe Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, and you want to go to heaven when you die. Some call this "accepting Christ," others call it the "sinner's prayer," and still others call it "getting saved," being "born again," or being "converted."

That, of course, raises more questions. What about people who have said some form of "the prayer" at some point in their life, but it means nothing to them today? What about those who said it in a highly emotionally charged environment like a youth camp or church service because it was the thing to do, but were unaware of the significance of what they were doing? What about people who have never said the prayer and don't claim to be Christians, but live a more Christlike life than some Christians?

This raises even more disconcerting questions about what the message even is. Some Christians believe and often repeat that all that matters is whether or not a person is going to heaven. Is that the message? Is that what life is about? Going somewhere else? If that's the gospel, the good news-if what Jesus does is get people somewhere else-then the central message of the Christian faith has very little to do with this life other than getting you what you need for the next one. Which of course raises the question: Is that the best God can do?

Which leads to a far more disturbing question. So is it true that the kind of person you are doesn't ultimately matter, as long as you've said or prayed or believed the right things? If you truly believed that, and you were surrounded by Christians who believed that, then you wouldn't have much motivation to do anything about the present suffering of the world, because you would believe you were going to leave someday and go somewhere else to be with Jesus. If this understanding of the good news of Jesus prevailed among Christians, the belief that Jesus's message is about how to get somewhere else, you could possibly end up with a world in which millions of people were starving, thirsty, and poor; the earth was being exploited and polluted; disease and despair were everywhere; and Christians weren't known for doing much about it. If it got bad enough, you might even have people rejecting Jesus because of how his followers lived. That would be tragic....

....There are lots of different forms of "Jesus" that people portray.  Many would respond to the question, "Which Jesus?" by saying that we have to trust that God will bring those who authentically represent the real Jesus into people's lives to show them the transforming truths of Jesus's life and message. A passage from Romans 10 is often quoted to explain this trust: "How can they hear without someone preaching to them?" And I wholeheartedly agree, but that raises another question. If our salvation, our future, our destiny is dependent on others bringing the message to us, teaching us, showing us-what happens if they don't do their part?

What if the missionary gets a flat tire?

This raises another, far more disturbing question: Is your future in someone else's hands?

Which raises another question: Is someone else's eternity resting in your hands?

So is it not only that a person has to respond, pray, accept, believe, trust, confess, and do-but also that someone else has to act, teach, travel, organize, fundraise, and build so that the person can know what to respond, pray, accept, believe, trust, confess, and do?

At this point some would step in and remind us in the midst of all of these questions that it's not that complicated, and we have to remember that God has lots of ways of communicating apart from people speaking to each other face-to-face; the real issue, the one that can't be avoided, is whether a person has a "personal relationship" with God through Jesus. However that happens, whoever told whomever, however it was done, that's the bottom line: a personal relationship. If you don't have that, you will die apart from God and spend eternity in torment in hell.

The problem, however, is that the phrase "personal relationship" is found nowhere in the Bible. nowhere in the Hebrew scriptures, nowhere in the New Testament. Jesus never used the phrase. Paul didn't use it. Nor did John, Peter, James, or the woman who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews.

So if that's it, if that's the point of it all, if that's the ticket, the center, the one unavoidable reality, the heart of the Christian faith, why is it that no one used the phrase until the last hundred years or so?

And that question raises another question. If the message of Jesus is that God is offering the free gift of eternal life through him-a gift we cannot earn by our own efforts, works, or good deeds-and all we have to do is accept and confess and believe, aren't those verbs?

And aren't verbs actions? Accepting, confessing, believing-those are things we do.

Does that mean, then, that going to heaven is dependent on something I do?

How is any of that grace? How is that a gift? How is that good news?

Isn't that what Christians have always claimed set their religion apart-that it wasn't, in the end, a religion at all-that you don't have to do anything, because God has already done it through Jesus? 

 ___________________

(After this, Bell goes on to point about 18 different passage in the NT that offer about 18 different ways to "be saved" or "be in the kingdom" according to stories Jesus told and encounters Jesus had.  Leaving the reader seeing the breadth of Jesus's heart for the salvation of people.  By the way, not one of the 18 examples required a sinners prayer.)

___________________

Note: I DO NOT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THIS BOOK!  Soon, I will post a review with some things that I like and some things that I don't.  But for now, I wanted to share some of these deep questions because I think they put a finger on several of our unchallenged theological understandings that are rooted more in our church culture than in the Bible.  At least not the one that I own.  

Happy Birthday, Tricia!

I just hijacked Tricia's blog for her birthday and shared one of her birthday presents with all of you.  Check it out HERE!

Risk by Richard Showalter

I read this yesterday and LOVED it. It is written by Richard Showalter, the President of Easter Mennonite Missions. He is a wonderful man and this in an awesome article about risk.
Risk
Written by Richard Showalter
"There are many ways to fail. The most successful way to fail is to take no chances!”

So spoke Gary Blosser, EMM board member, in a devotional meditation at the November 2010 meeting of EMM’s Representative Council. It was a remarkably inspiring devotional, and that word about failure wouldn’t go away.

Someone recently did a poll of people in their nineties with the well-worn question, “If you had your life to live over again, what would you do differently?”

The question was predictable, but not the answers. The most frequent response of the nonagenarians: “I’d take more risks.”

That’s not the answer I would have expected. Maybe from a group of twenty-somethings, but not from these. I somehow thought that one might engage in risk until about age sixty-five, then ratchet back, keep everything more secure.

But my heart leaped. Yes! Here is a key to the liberation of the human spirit.

The very skylines of our great cities are testimony to our general lack of willingness to risk. Many of the highest buildings are built with insurance capital, a hedge against risk. If there is one word that characterizes our culture, it is “security.” It is a mark of wisdom, we think, to make sure our lives, our properties, and our loved ones are secure.

Of course, there’s something to be said for security. Yet – our hearts cry out even more deeply for the risk which accompanies commitment to a cause worth dying for. We honor with passion the Martin Luther King who proclaimed with the greatest rhetoric of twentieth century America, “I have a dream.” It was a dream worth dying for. And he did.

The church is like that, the real church of Jesus Christ. At its core is surrender to the greatest cause in the universe, the kingdom of God. With that surrender dies the fear of death itself. With it comes the joyful willingness to risk boldly for the sake of the One who risked it all for us, simultaneously granting the greatest security ever known, eternal life.

That’s why we go in mission. This risk is sometimes mocked as triumphalism, imperialism, or pure foolishness. But pay no attention to the detractors. Will we fail? Yes, we will fail.

But will we succeed? A thousand times, yes. We will succeed because the greatest cause is worth the greatest risk – again and again and again.

Gary Blosser has it right. So do the ninety-year-olds.

Actual post is here: http://emm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=722%3Arisk&catid=...

Blackberry for Missions

For some odd reason, South Africa shows serious favoritism to Blackberry owners.  For the equivalent of $8.50 US a month, you get unlimited Blackberry data, emailing and texting. This is significantly less than other phones.  So, many of the missionaries here would LOVE to have a blackberry to stay in touch, however....to purchase one here is like $300-$900 US dollars.  Outrageous prices for the actual device.  

So, here is the question for you...do you or anyone you know have any old Blackberries laying around that you are no longer using and are willing to donate?  I know it is a stretch, but if this request yields even one, it is worth it.  

If you can locate one and get it to my sister Selah by April 2, she can bring it when she comes April 4.  She can be reached at selah.hunt@yahoo.com.  

Thank you so much!  If nothing else, can you spread the word?

Making Disciples of Oral Learners

According to this work from the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, 2/3 of the world's population can't, won't, or don't read or write. The majority of the world are oral learners, not literate learners. Hence, our entire approach to sharing the gospel needs to be revisited with this reality in mind. Instead of handing out Bibles, or even just reading them aloud, we have to rely on storying, songs, proverbs, chants, and many other mediums by which people are formed and transformed. We still tell God's story and use scripture, but we have to do it in a way that people can actually get it!
This short book (like 65 pages) is really insightful and free. Here is the link to the PDF: http://www.lausanne.org/documents/2004forum/LOP54_IG25.pdf

If you have a heart for missions and seeing the lost people of the world find Jesus, I highly recommend you check this resource out. As I read it, I was shocked that I had never heard some of this before.

Argus Bike Race- CRAZY!

Today, Cape Town hosted the world's largest bike race in the world! 108KM, 35,000 cyclists! I knew two people racing in it. So, there was a 2 in 35,000 chance that I would see someone I knew today riding in the Race. And there was a 1 in 960 chance that I would have been videoing at the time they passed. I am no math genius, but this is CRAZY that I caught Casey Prince passing us after ministry in Masi this morning. Casey is an American friend that we have met and began a relationship with here. Check out this video!

Sub-Merge

Last week I read this book. I mentioned it in a few blog posts and tweets, but I wanted to officially endorse and recommend this book to anyone with a heart for living among the poor. This book really defines the major differences between living AMONG the poor and being "ministry tourists" who pop into communities and out again at the end of the day....back to living quarters nice enough for you...because you are better than them. Frankly, it calls some of our approaches into question. It is very insightful and written from the perspective of someone who has lived incarnationally and has the stories to prove it. Great book!

SPECK

Yesterday I posted a blog about the Discovery Bible Studies that we are using as we work with people in the local communities. In it, I mentioned the "SPECK" model when working through a passage. Here is what it is:

If you are in the a DBS or looking at any passage in a group, this is a great approach to the passage:

S- Is there a SIN in this passage to avoid?
P- Are there any PROMISES or PRAYERS in this passage?
E- Is there any EXAMPLE we could follow?
C- Is there a COMMAND to obey?
K- Is there a KNOWLEDGE to retain?

One rule: If it ain't there, it ain't there! Do not force something to be there that is not there.
Try this sometime. It is really neat what you'll end up seeing.

DBS

Wanted to take a moment to teach you something that we are learning. I think that many of you back in the states may find this as something you could use when you meet in groups.
Our goal and vision with All Nations is to make disciple who make disciples and to start churches that start churches (ultimately desire to see church planting movements ignite all over the world). However, before groups become churches, they need to discover Jesus. In order to discover Jesus, we use the Bible. Radical, huh? What we aim to do is pray, enter, build relationships and start Discover Bible Studies (DBS). These are time in groups around scripture that are designed to be led by locals and lead people toward discovering Jesus on their own. DBS model was started by David Watson. All Nations is not committed to a model, just the values the model holds.

We are finding DBS's to be a brilliant tool and have already started numerous in Masi. I wanted to share it with you.
Leadership: Everyone. One person facilitates the steps, but as you will see, it is shared leadership. So, here we go...

1. What is one thing that you are really thankful for today? (everyone shares in this time of expressing praise, worship and gratitude to God in our sharing)

2. What is the greatest need that you have in your life today? (everyone shares as openly as they can)

3. Is there anyone that can meet any of these needs we just heard? (In keeping with Acts 2, perhaps they can meet the need right now, after the meeting or sometime in the days or week to come)

4. Pray....thanking God for what we have heard and placing our needs in His capable care.

5. (having pre-selected a passage 2-10 verses long...) Open the word to the passage for the day and have 2 or 3 people read all the verses.

6. Close the Bible and have 2-3 people put it in their own words. What was the passage saying? Then, others fill it in more.

7. Taking 1-2 verses at a time, ask these two question of each verse: 1) What does this say about God? and 2) What does this say about man? (or use the SPECK model which I will blog later)

8. What WILL I obey as a result of this passage? Be specific. (All Share)

9. When will we meet next and who will lead us?

There are loads of intentional values built into this approach to gathering. Here are just a few:
-Anyone can lead.
-All people participate every time.
-The passage and group self corrects the conversation.
-Pre-Christians can do this.
-It includes worship to God and relationship with others. -It creates a Bible-centered gathering.
-It shows people that they can study and learn the Bible themselves.
-It teaches people that they do not need a qualified Pastor or Teacher to learn the Bible.
-It allows space for Jesus and the Holy Spirit to lead a gathering.

The goal is that DBS's become churches when the DBS begins welcoming Jesus into their lives and baptizing one another.

Is Going Better Than Giving?

Not a day goes by that Tricia and I do not feel thankful for the many people and churches making it possible for us to be here. Seriously, we are eternally thankful for you who financially support us! As most of you know, much of our work is with people that are quite poor. And you know, It is amazing how many different weird attitudes develop among an issue as precious and important as serving the poor.

I have heard attitudes and comments surface around the issue of financial giving that are just not biblical. Multiple times I have heard people say something like this: "I want to do more than just write a check." The implication here is that direct ministry to the poor is more valuable than indirect ministry. Where does the Bible established this kind of system? Certainly Jesus warns that when we give to the poor, we should not attract attention to ourselves (Matthew 6: 23-24). But Jesus does not diminish giving as a form of help for the needy. It is discouraging when people create these informal hierarchies that are extra-biblical. They only help to discourage those who want to help in this way.

Let me go on record saying that I believe that giving financially to people in need (and to support those on mission to poor) is every bit as Biblical as going. If there are not senders, there will not be go-ers! If you are called to go, GO! If you are called to give, GIVE!

Meeting Needs or Meeting People?

Today, I finished a book called "Sub-Merge" that addressed living incarnationally among the poor. In it, the author said something that I have often felt inside, but did not have the language to verbalize. In a part of the book focussed on meeting the felt needs of people. He said this:

Missionaries can spring into action in response to a need, assuming they have an empowering attitude; but in their haste to meet needs, they communicate that getting to the problem is more critical than getting to know people for themselves and working together toward solving the problems. When missionaries start with the need, hoping they will one day get to know the poor people personally, they are likely to be found 10 years later still addressing the same need. They are welcomed, even necessary outsiders, but outsiders nonetheless. On the other hand when mission workers start with poor people in empowering relationships, they are likely to get to the problems, together with the poor. The work typically starts slower and looks less impressive when relationship is prioritized before attention to the need, but it is more likely to be owned and reproduced by the poor themselves and, as a result have a much longer lifespan.

If we believe this, it really changes how we approach our work in poor communities and in many of our relationships. What are your thoughts?

Disciple to Convert

Over time, Tricia and I want to be sharing with you some of what we are learning here in South Africa. Our primary vision and calling while we are here is to rethink and re-imagine church…to sort through our many questions hoping to give our lives to seeing church be all that Jesus dreams of. Over time, there will be key blogs and sharing that capture the heart of our learnings. This is one.

Disciple to Convert:

For much of our lives, it was glaringly clear that the first goal in ministering to a lost person was to get them saved. Evangelism. Once a person “accepts” Jesus (as if all Jesus wants is to be accepted), then, and only then do we begin actively discipling them. Church that we are envisioning looks more like what Jesus modeled with his disciples. Disciple first, convert later. We start discipling people the moment that we meet them with the understanding that the Lord has already been at work in their lives before they were even born (Jer. 1:5).

So, in summary, we are learning that we disciple to convert. We do not convert to disciple. And we leave the timing of their growth and commitment journey up to God. It’s just a paradigm shift. But it is one that changes how we minister.

Forgiving the Lord

Yesterday I was in a conversation with a new friend of mine and we stumbled upon a pretty powerful, but strange realization. You know, we often hear that people are having a hard time receiving forgiveness from the Lord. But I think the opposite is also quite common.

Some of us need to forgive God!
Hold on, Noah. God is perfect. He never did anything wrong that needs forgiven. True. But whether he did anything wrong or not, I think that some people need to forgive him in their hearts, stop blaming him for their problems and love him the way he wants to and deserves to be loved.
Interesting to me that the Lord seems to be the first one that people point the finger at when tragedy strikes or life seems to be falling apart. Folks submit the common complaints like: "If God loved me, why does he let all this happen?"

Let me submit this challenge to those of you that do not really love Jesus yet, but like to blame him: If he is real enough to blame, than he is real enough to love!

So, I encourage you....maybe you need to forgive God and then receive the forgiveness that He has already offered you.

Third World Authors

While reading a recent book, I came across this statement of challenge from the author: "We need to broaden our reading from the western theologians who dominate the academic landscape to the third world theologians are trying to work out what it means to follow God without our first world assumptions."

When I read this I was intrigued and curious. True. I read almost all American and European authors. And I would like that to change.
So....who can you recommend? Name some authors and some books. Thanks!

A Big Day for Davis!

Today was a big day for Davis! Tuesday his balance bike broke in half. Yesterday, we went out and got him a new bike with the birthday money he had saved. Today, only 24 hours after purchasing the bike, here he is....riding away! I confess...I cried a little. I was just overwhelmed at the whole thing. This cannot be possible. He was just born.

The Incarcerated Ibuprofen

We often run into some funny cultural stuff-- too many to share. But here's one I've gotta share.

I walked into the drug store to get Advil. They don't have it. They have something equivalent. Evidently. But it's behind the pharmacist counter in a section called "self-medication". However, you may not help yourself so I learned. The Pharmacist must give you your ibuprofen. But before giving it to you, he first must obey South African law by bagging it, tagging it, placing it in a carrying cage and zip tying the cage shut-- just in case you feel really tempted to open up your Ibuprofen and take a few on your way to the till (cash register).

I was worried you would think I made this up, so I took a picture.

Evidently God Has Wings

Recently, Psalm 91 has been really ministering to me.  Understanding context adds texture to a psalm....I want you to see David nestled in his canvas tent, one inch away from the ark of the covenant, right next to God Himself, seated under the shadow of the wings of the cherubim.  Watch him pull out his pen and write these words:  "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Ps. 91:1).

Here is what jazzes me about this Psalm: You've got to be close to something in order to be under its shadow!  Did you hear that?  David was very close to God.  Consider some of the other words he wrote: 

"I will dwell in your tabernacle all the days of my life, and I will trust in the covering of Your wings." Ps. 61:4


"In the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge." Ps. 57:1   


"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Ps.17:8


"Because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings will I rejoice."  Ps. 63:7

I just LOVE THIS stuff.  I'm not sure I really get this but I know I want some of it.  I want to crawl right up under the wings of God and find rest my rest there. 

The other day, in CPx session, they asked us to get away and pick any Psalm and rewrite it in your own words.  I chose Psalm 91.  Here it is.  The NIV (Noah Inspired Version)

If we come under God's lead and covering, he will take magnificent care of us.  We will say to God; You are my everything, I can trust no one and nothing like I trust you.  Then, God will protect us in a complete way....we will avoid traps, sickness, fear, destruction, evil, enemies and even things that are just annoying- like a fly.  Just let him lift up his arms and you step right in and be held by him...it feels so perfect. When he is holding you no one and no thing can get to you.  Oh, by the way, under God's power you will even be able to step on lions and snakes like they are nothing.  The reward for coming under and into God also includes this: He will get you out of trouble, he will Honor you, you will live a long time and you will be SAVED- from what-- from hell on earth & eternally!!!

One year ago today...

One year ago today...we were intensely desperate to hear God's voice for our future as a family. I felt like a terrible Husband with no idea how I would lead my family. All I knew is, like Abraham, we had to go!
One year ago today...I met with my mentor, Glenn Kauffman at 8am for what would be a God-ordained and prophetic conversation. In it, he (as my friend, Bishop and the GM Director of EMM) asked if it may be the Lord's will that we join into a church planting movement called All Nations.

One year ago today....we heard the Lord (through Glenn) speak the words "South Africa" into our future.
One year ago today...I picked up Tricia, took her to Olive Garden for lunch and said..."how about we follow God to Africa?" I thought she would throw a breadstick at me.

One year ago today...she said yes! And we have not looked back yet.

One year ago today, we went to bed knowing that we would be in South Africa tonight! And we are. And it is right where God wants us to be.

PLEASE Pray for Kremer Family!!

I am asking every Christian that reads this to join in prayer now for this situation...

Ebel and Lora Kremer are Dutch Missionaries in Kenya and also very dear friends of Aram and Debbie DiGennaro (our friends and fellow EMM Missionaries to Kenya). Ebel was just shot and killed in front of his wife and 2 kids and Lora was assaulted. I believe that they are now with the DiGennaros in Nairobi (or were). 

Here is the full article: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/30303-ywam-missionary-murdered-in-kenya. And here is another one: http://www.bosnewslife.com/15587-news-alert-kenya-attackers-kill-dutch-missionary-wife-raped. 

Our hearts are so broken this morning for the Kremer Family. Pray also for the DiGennaros during this intense moment of ministry to a devastated family. 

Trusting Jesus...