Lunchtime In Iraq

During lunch today I stumbled across an amazing blog entry - Michael Yon is an independant reporter who is embedded with American troops in Iraq. So what's it like to come under fire? Take a few moments to read a recent entry called Gates of Fire where he chronicles - both in writing and in photos - a close encounter from just last Thursday.

Couple of thoughts and questions which struck me as I read:

1. Yon's writing is riveting, and it's nice to see a journalist who actually respects the soldiers he is covering. If nothing else, his writings convey the sense that there is another side to what you hear in the mainstream media.
   
   
2. I am extremely impressed by the service, sacrifice, and restraint - in other words, the professionalism and humanity - of our American soldiers. Read the article to see what I mean; then go read Josephus' Jewish Wars as he describes the methods of the ancient Romans. Now, you tell me: how is it possible to fight a cleaner war?
   
   
3. What kind of religious teaching allows/condones/produces the brutality seen in the Iraqi insurgency? What kind of religious teaching demands the kind of conduct exemplified by the Americans in this article? I would assert that for all it's modernity, the ethics behind the Geneva Convention are directly dependent on the morality of a distinctly Christian worldview.
   
   
4. And speaking of ethics, how about this quote from the end of Yon's post:
   
   Over lunch with Chaplain Wilson and our two battalion surgeons, Major Brown and Captain Warr, there was much discussion about the "ethics" of war, and contention about why we afford top-notch medical treatment to terrorists. The treatment terrorists get here is better and more expensive than what many Americans or Europeans can get.
   
   "That's the difference between the terrorists and us," Chaplain Wilson kept saying. "Don't you understand? That's the difference."

So what do you think? Read Yon's article for yourself and then feel free to respond...

Why Coffee Is A Good Thing

This has nothing to do with Wheaton College (although it was there that I actually started drinking coffee); it has everything to do with what's inside the cup. From the "See, I told you so" department: it turns out coffee is the number one source of antioxidants.

"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close," says study leader Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at the university. Although fruits and vegetables are generally promoted as good sources of antioxidants, the new finding is surprising because it represents the first time that coffee has been shown to be the primary source from which most Americans get their antioxidants, Vinson says. Both caffeinated and decaf versions appear to provide similar antioxidant levels, he adds.

So there! Not only are we saving beacoup bucks by roasting our own beans, we're also taking better care of our bodies than all you haughty-taughty water weenies. Ha! (sorry, I just couldn't resist).

Benchmarking Success In Boulder

You may remember an earlier post called Keeping It Weird in Boulder, where a church planting friend of ours named Kirk talked about their experiences in Boulder, CO. It's high time for an update, so I thought I'd share his reflections on how one measures success in church planting (pay particular attention to what unbelievers' say they find most compelling about the Christian faith)...

Hello friends!

Can you believe Deb and I have been in Boulder for eight and a half months? We have loved almost every minute of it.

As we work to plant this church we are finding that church planting can be a humbling experience, particularly as you look for “things” to substantiate your work, things you can see and count in order to measure your "success”.

It is hard to measure success especially if you are unsure what to count. How do church planters measure success? Well, I can only speak for myself, but it depends on the day. I am finding that the results I keep track of are the things that seem to be going well at the particular time I am counting.

As we scramble around trying to build a church we are doing many things, but the most significant thing, it seems, has been us hosting a community group in our group for skeptics, doubters, and people with questions.

It is in this group, during the time that we take issues head on, that I am certain our most significant work is being done. After all, I have a chance to share the faith and deconstruct false ideas about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Surely it should be during this time where I am able to use my strengths, draw upon my seminary training and expect God to “join me” in my work

Guess what? That doesn’t seem to be the time where God is doing his most significant work.

This past week a dear friend, who happens to be a skeptic (in fact our most vocal skeptic) shared with me what he believed to be the most convincing argument for the truth of Christianity - he said it was the caring community he has witnessed and enjoyed with us. It was people being willing to help him when it was inconvenient for them to do so. It was people sharing their lives with him, warts and all.

He said what he has witnessed amongst these people is what he would call “a modern day miracle” – people loving and sharing with him just because he is a person, just like them, not because he shares their faith. He said what he has experienced is something for which he has no category.

WHAT? It isn’t my teaching?

I guess for me this is close to what Paul meant in 2 Cor 12:10, where he was reminded by God that it is not in his strength where God’s power is made perfect, but in his weakness.

Why is God so prone to use our weaknesses rather than our strengths to do his work? It is to remind us it is his work not ours. If my strengths are what build this church then I will likely steal God’s glory. By using my weaknesses God gets the glory. My friend is a perfect example of this, he hasn’t trusted Jesus as his savior and is not even sure what he thinks about God, but he is giving God the glory as he sees that there is no human explanation for the unnatural love he is experiencing.

I am so thankful for moments like this. The things God is using most in my friend’s life are hard to measure. But I am so thankful God has given me this friend to remind me, one who loves to be able to count and measure, that the work of God is often mysterious and unexpected. It is a reminder that God must be the one who builds this church, his church.

Psalm 127:1 tells us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

This is God’s work. He cares more about this church plant, this city, these people than we ever will. Please pray that we would join the Lord in his work, rather than expecting him to join us in ours. Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in ways that make a skeptic think what is happening in our midst is a “modern day miracle”. Please pray that God will receive the glory for what is happening in here Boulder in and through this church plant!

Deb and I want to thank you for your interest in this church planting project. May the Lord receive the glory for all the work he does in you and us!

Peace,
Kirk

Missoula Party of the Decade

Wow. Evidently Chris Nowak of Missoula reallys know how to party. Several random thoughts in response:

• a) I find his neighbors' transformation from skeptics to enthusiasts pretty fascinating,
• b) I find the law enforcement "mum's the word" response very puzzling,
  
• c) I wonder how he funds something like this,
  
• d) I wish I could have been there.
  

I would love to meet this guy and learn more about what makes him tick. Maybe next summer...

Beggars.

I've now had an adorable labrador retriever puppy for a week and a half. He's done a good job of adjusting to life with me and integrating himself into the rest of my parents' "pack." He's also figured out very quickly that any food I have in my hand -- whether it be people food or doggy treats -- is infinitely better than what I put in his bowl. In other words, he's growing into a very proficient beggar.

So when we were singing in church on Sunday a song that alludes to Matthew 15:27, "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table," I couldn't help but think of the four furry beggars who live with us.

My dogs don't beg complacently - they are eager, attentive, hungry. When I think about God's grace falling upon me (though lavishly, and not as though it were table scraps), I don't want to be complacent either. I want to be as eager as my dogs to eat up every crumb.

Let the crumbs of mercy fall,
From your table to me Lord.
Weary sinner that I am
I now give myself to you.

Glacier National Park

Hey folks, the Glacier National Park photos from a couple of weeks ago (Aug 4, 2005) are finally up for your view pleasure. Click here to visit the photoblog and share in our wild Montana adventures (this may help explain why we see life differently)...

Been Busy Lately

Apologies for the recent posting slowdown - things have been extremely busy: we had a week of vacation in Missoula, MT and Glacier National Park; then this past weekend we did a whirlwhind tour out to the Seattle area for my sister Jessica's wedding. All that to say, there's been more happening on the Granitepeaks blog recently than there has been here. Hopefully that will change soon...

In the meantime, I did want to pass along an interesting link I stumbled across the other night - here's an interesting story of a young mother come to faith just some four days ago. I enjoyed it, and I thought you might also - it's always fascinating to see how people move from unbelief to belief. At any rate, that's it for now; more soon...

Bono on Grace and Karma

Could someone like Bono really be a Christian? Here's his confession of faith:

It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

...At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics - in physical laws - every action is met by an equal or an opposite one... And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that... Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

...I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge... It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.

...The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death... It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven.

...The secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: 'I'm the Messiah.' I'm saying: 'I am God incarnate.'... So what you're left with is either Christ was who He said He was - the Messiah - or a complete nutcase... The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that's farfetched.

And here's the full World Magazine article by Gene Edward Veith if you want to check the context. What I like about this is that Bono seems to have a keen understanding of what grace is really all about, and he is banking on it - that's what he's putting his faith in - Christ's righteousness, not his own. At the end of the day, that seems pretty orthodox to me.

I also found Veith's summary paragraph telling:

What is most interesting in this exchange is the reaction of the interviewer, to whom Bono is, in effect, witnessing. This hip rock journalist starts by scorning what he thinks is Christianity. But it is as if he had never heard of grace, the atonement, the deity of Christ, the gospel. And he probably hadn't. But when he hears what Christianity is actually all about, he is amazed.

Veith nails it here: most people who think they are rejecting Christianity are actually rejecting somthing far different - they are rejecting the religious ethics, the do's and don'ts of people who call themselves Christians on the basis of their moral behavior - they are rejecting religion which distinguishes between the good and the bad on the basis of one's actions, they are rejecting religiousity as something which commends us to God.

If non-Christians have never heard this from believers, one has to wonder how many "Christians" have really heard the message either.

Hat tip: Orangejack

Joshua Ryan Sutherland

For those of you who have been following Ryan and Rachel's story with their little Joshua, I'd invite you to check out their blog, where Rachel has posted some thoughts on what they've been going through this past week or two. Please do take a moment to read, and please continue to keep the Sutherland's in your prayers as they deal with the loss of their son.

Marilyn's Sourdough Flapjack

Wow. It looks like Christian's dog Jack has had some quality bonding time with Master Aegidius. Interesting how the perspective seems to vary - through Jack's eyes, and then through Uncle Jake's.