Being Church: Missionally Shaped

I figured I would take a few moments to highlight my time at Camp-of-the-Woods (now that I am home). One of the things I enjoyed was the nonexistence of a TV. I know that might sound strange but I have come to realize we spend so much time wasted by watching a show or a movie. If I were to have spent all the time at camp watching TV, I do not think I would have seen God’s creation, as I was able to. Coming home will be difficult because the remote control is not far from an arm’s length grip.

Another thing I was glad to be free of is a busy schedule. Do not get me wrong: I love hanging out with people and going here or going there. This past week though, I stayed at one place and spent time doing a lot of stuff without the need to drive 30-45 minutes one way.

In respects to my accommodations, I really enjoyed where I stayed. There was not much to my room. I had a bed, some places to put clothes and a small bathroom with a toilet and a sink. It was big enough for me though. I was really ‘roughing’ it.

Camp-of-the-Woods is a beautiful place where people can go to meet with God. I was able to spend some private time with the Lord and allow Him to work on my heart a little. There was plenty of time to read the Word and other meaningful resources I had either bought there or brought with me from home. I was also able to balance that time with family and friends either on the beach, at a camp activity or canoeing on the lake. There is plenty to do (even when you would rather just do nothing).

The conference speaker was also good. I thought (as I had already mentioned in a previous post) I would not enjoy the speaker because he was very ‘old school’ in his theology and his teaching. I was mistaken though. I really did enjoy his teaching and his humor (which I was surprised he had).

Of coarse, I would be amiss if I did not mention the food. The food was very good. Everything was buffet. There was a nice variety of food each day. The only downfall to eating each day was the incline from the hill we had to walk up three times a day to eat our meals. I guess we ended up working for what we ate. We always had enough to eat though. And the service from our servers was amazing.

Finally, the music of Camp-of-the-Woods is top notch. Those who played in the orchestra were almost all Master degreed students in the instrument they played on stage. The singers ushered us into the throne room of God and allowed us to meet with God in a powerful way. In all serious, the music was amazing. In some respects, I would go back just to hear them play.

Camp-of-the-Woods is a great place for singles, dating couples; young married couples and collective families. I would recommend Camp-of-the-Woods to my friends. If you would like to know more about the 2008 conference season at Camp-of-the-Woods, check out their website and ask for some information. I am sure that Camp-of-the-Woods will show up on future posts on this site.

Well this is my final full day at Camp-of-the-Woods.  Erwin Lutzer has really been an enjoyment to listen to despite the fact that he is one of the more old school teachers of the Bible I have ever heard.  I guess I have come to understand that old school teachers are not all so bad.  Some of them are worth listening to and learning from.

Erwin’s last message for this week is, “Steps to Reconciliation.”  This is an important message for sure.  Oftentimes, the church does not know how to engage in taking care of ‘issues.’  I decided to listen hard for this message in hopes of finding some new thoughts or understanding from the Word regarding conflicts and resolutions.  I was not mistaken.

He decided to go to the most familiar chapter in the Bible concerning conflict resolution (Matthew 18).  He provided seven steps to reconciliation in which we are called to follow.  The first step is to prepare your own heart.  We are to go to this individual realizing that we are no better than this individual.  We have the ability to wrong someone as we have been wronged.  This is a true act of humility.  The second step in reconciliation is to go.  We are called to take an initiative to go in private and discuss the matter in which we believe we have been wronged.  There are a few cases when going alone is not the best option though (i.e. A young child who has been molested by an uncle or someone that is known by the family, a woman who has been wronged by her husband in a physical way).  I will also add that if someone has been abused in any fashion, the authorities must be contacted.  Praise God we have laws that provide that kind of service.  The third step is to evaluate the response of the individual.  We need wisdom to know if someone has really repented or if they are not being honest.  If they are repentant though, we must find a way to restore them.  I am not suggesting that it is easy to do so but we are called to do it.  If the individual is unrepentant though, we must continue to the next step of reconciliation.  This step is the fourth step in the process.  It is simply to enlist other people to come and encourage this individual to repent of their sin.  This is crucial because it will provide other witnesses of this individual’s sin.  Oftentimes, the steps of reconciliation end here.  The purpose of the individuals is to clarify the issue of wrongdoing or sin, to confirm that an individual is unrepentant of their sin and to acknowledge the events that had previously taken place.  It is only after this has been done (and I would suggest more then three – perhaps to the point of 8-10 people), we then move to the next step of reconciliation.  The fifth step is to involve the church.  When we have reached this point, it becomes very serious.  The church is called on to intercede for this individual in hopes that they will repent of their sin.  If the individual still is unrepentant of their sin, the sixth step must occur – they are to be excluded from the fellowship.  It does not mean the person is unsaved (only God knows a person’s heart).  It only means that as a body, we will not include them into the local body for fellowship.  It might seem harsh but it is what we are called to do.  The seventh and final step is probably the most important step.  We continually hope and pray for reconciliation for that individual.  We are still our brother’s keeper despite their unrepentant choice.  Simply put, the steps of reconciliation look like this:

1.    Prepare your own heart
2.    Go to the individual in private
3.    Evaluate the response
4.    Enlist others
5.    Involve the Church
6.    Exclude them from the fellowship of the local body of Christ
7.    Hope and pray for reconciliation

Following these steps ensures that we are living biblically and actively in the way that Jesus calls us to live.

Dr. Lutzer finished his sermon by stating three responses to reconciliation that we should be able to observe within the context of the local church.  The first is full reconciliation.  This is what we truly hope for when we confront an individual who has wronged us in some manner.  This is true restoration.  The second is partial reconciliation.  They say that want forgiveness but they have made no life-change to show that they really mean what they say they want.  There is also the response of no reconciliation.  These people include though who refuse reconciliation.  They actually feel as though they have been wronged in the process.  Sometimes, these people desire to control you and not really work out their issues.  It is truly a sad event when this occurs.
The statement Dr. Lutzer said today that truly affected my thought process was, “We need to take our bitterness and look at it like a pitcher of water and pour it out at the foot of the cross.”  That is really powerful to me.  I can honestly say in my own life, I have some water I need to pour out.  I am sure I am not the only one either.

All in all, I was quite happy with the week conference and vacation.  I was able to hang out with some family and friends while having the ability for some quite time and personal reflection.  The teaching was also very good as well.  The only downside to Camp-of-the-Woods is the price for me right now.  My accommodations were not that expensive but because of my job being a server, I lost out on a lot of money.  My bank account is getting low, low, low.  I am not upset about it though.  God has been truly faithful throughout this week.  I know he will continue to bless me as I continue to serve Him.

In other news… There is a field mouse which I have named ‘Mickey’ that is running around the ‘social hall’ here at Camp-of-the-Woods.  If my mother were here, she would be standing up on a chair freaking out.  She is not though and Mickey is having a grand ole’ time I have to be honest and ask, “Where the heck is a mouse trap when you need one?”  Mickey will be busy doing something else while I try and run out the door.  For that, I can only pray for a miracle.  Tomorrow I will be leaving Camp-of-the-Woods around 11:00 AM.  It should take me about five or so hours to return home.  Please pray for my journey home and my safety.  I have to remember to tip out the maid service and the kitchen staff for all their help and service this week and I still have yet to pack what little stuff I have brought for the week.  And yes… Breakfast is once again at 7:30 AM.  Till next summer Camp-of-the-Woods, God bless

Well I did not make it to breakfast today.  I was so tired from all the activities.  I am glad I did get some sleep though.  I was wide-awake for the speaker today.  His topic today was, “When Personalities Conflict.”  I know people who have personality conflicts.  They never seem to have common ground with one another.  In all honesty, it is quite depressing.  Being an extrovert myself, I do not enjoy when I end up butting heads with someone because our personalities conflict.  So it goes.

The reasons why our personalities conflict oftentimes are due to either circumstances out of our control or people in general whom we cannot get along with.  I often see the issues of conflict lie more with situations and circumstances that result in conflicts among people.  For whatever reason though, sometimes people create an environment where conflicts find a place of residence among us.

Dr. Lutzer said that there are three ‘powers’ in which we live in and adapt within our own lives.  The first is the power of blessing others.  When we bless others, even our enemies, we set them apart and make them special.  I am not very good at blessing people who have wronged me.  I honestly do not do well with being wronged by people.  To bless someone who has wronged me would mean making some serious changes in my life.  I guess I have a long way to go.  The second power is the power of humility.  The goal of this power is to live without being conceited in my own achievements.  When we remain humble though, it allows us to connect with others.  Regarding Romans 12, it is a lot easier to morn with those that mourn than it is to rejoice with those who rejoice.  It really does take a person who has a humble spirit to rejoice with those who have been blessed by God in a powerful way.  The final power that we have is the power of faith.  Sometimes, we need to just believe that God will meet our needs.

Thinking a lot about these things has led me to consider the necessity of fathers in our families.  I met a girl not long a go who was in the ‘entertainment’ business.  She would dance for men and take off her clothes for them.  I asked her if she had a father figure in her life that showed her love.  She laughed and said no.  She said in fact, most girls that she knew in the business did not have a father figure in their lives.  I asked her why she chose this line of business (outside of the money – which was substantial).  She thought a moment and then directly looked me in the eye.  She said that when she danced for men, guys looked at her and liked what they saw.  They made her feel something she had never felt before in her own life.  It was not love but approval.  They liked what they saw and came back to see her each week.  I asked her if her father showed that he cared about her instead of abandoning her when she needed him most, if she would have chosen this kind of work.  She laughed once more and said no.  After drinking our coffee, she said she needed to go.  Her name is Amy.  Please keep her in prayer.

So it is with the power of blessing, we have the power to bless others.  Fathers, bless your children.  Show them that you love them and that you are proud of them.  Encourage them and direct them in the wisdom of the Lord.  I hope they will never be like Amy who looks for love and acceptance in all the wrong places.  I hope I meet her again.  She is priceless in the eyes of God.  She is worth more money than the men who goggle all over her at the bar give her each night.  God died for Amy.  He made a way for her to be loved in a powerful way.  Perhaps we can love others (the stranger and even our family) as we are called to love God.  Perhaps we might be more like Jesus in our actions.  Interesting.

Dr. Lutzer finished his speech by giving three points to consider when personalities conflict.  The first point is that God has a reason for the conflict we go through.  That is good to know.  I thought perhaps I was just struggling to get along with certain people because they were difficult to get along with.  With the treatment God treats us with, we are called to treat others.  Again, this is ridiculously difficult without Jesus.  Finally, our true resolution from the conflict comes from God through obedience and prayer.  Trying to figure it out on our own or allowing ourselves to conclude our own answers is not only a wrong option but in some cases can be very dangerous.  We are so far from where God has called us to be.  God give us grace to grow in the knowledge and love of You.

In other news… I bought a book by Erwin Lutzer concerning the issues of same-sex marriages.  I will probably blog on it when it is done.  There are apparently six issues he deals with in which Scripture speaks of.  I am interested to write about it and hear what you all think about his assertions.  I also played a mean game of volleyball with some family members and some friends.  I thought we were going to win but apparently we had some ball-hogs on my team.  Anyway, we lost both games.  That was very depressing.  After our fierce game of volleyball, I ran to the main building to listen to some kids who work at the camp play some amazing music.  Each is very gifted.  I really enjoyed their music.  To end the night, we played, ‘Campo.’  This is Camp-of-the-Woods’ version of BINGO.  I did not win but it was a great time.  That is all I really have to share.  I hope these assessments of this week have been beneficial to you all.  God bless.

As I have already mentioned in the previous post, there were two secessions today.

I have already written about the AM secession and now I will discuss the PM secession.  I have to admit that after lunch, I felt kind of sick.  We had Mexican for lunch and I guess that it did not agree with my stomach as I thought it would.  So it goes.  Before I went back to my cabin to get some rest, I played a mean game of Scrabble with my great Aunt Nance.  She is 93 and as sharp as a whip (I still do not understand that cliché).  Usually she beats me by a solid 100 points.  Today however, I beat her by 55 points.  She is a great teacher.

After a good nap, I went to the PM secession.  Dr. Lutzer spoke on, “When Religions Collide.”  Interesting topic.  I have some knowledge in this area so I thought that I would be able to chug along with Dr. Lutzer and his conversation.  I was not disappointed.

From the stories of the 400 prophets of Baal to Luther’s stand against the trials he faced as reformer to the calling of the Puritans to come to America, alternative religious beliefs have been a continual issue.  People would actually kill others because they did not follow the same religious beliefs.  To me, that is crazy.  Yet again, I do live in a country where my freedom to live as a Christian has not been challenged.  I am truly blessed.

Do we thank God for the freedom we have?  I do not as often as I probably should.  I do not have people in military armor busting down my door with guns because I am a Christian.  I have not and will not be thrown into prison because I own a Bible.  We are so selfish.

Our response to a pluralistic society could be four-fold:  We could either water down our Gospel and not be active in our pursuit, we could not witness and keep our faith to ourselves (for the sake of our ‘personal’ faith), we could fight for our faith and destroy other faiths in the process, or we could be salt and light while remaining distinct and unique in a pluralistic society.  I like the last one the best myself.

We are called to live a distinct Christian lifestyle.  We are called to live with a Kingdom mindset and perspective.  We are called to live out our Christian testimony.  We are not called to separate ourselves from the world though.

With that in mind, Dr. Lutzer gave some words of encouragement:  We need to respect the freedom of Conscience.  Not everyone we meet will believe what we believe.  Even though we do not agree, we need to remember that in most cases, people grew up in that faith community.  Instead of tearing them down, we need to engage and dialogue with them.  There is nothing wrong with being friends with those who are of different faith beliefs.  We must be willing to draw our lines in the sand though in where we stand.  We should not compromise who we are in order to befriend someone of a different faith belief.  Finally, we should work to bring up the younger generations to be willing to die for their faith.  That is key because other faith communities raise their children in this way.

As I sit and reflect about his discussion this evening, I thought about the emerging movement and the missional stance I have come to abide in these past couple of years.  I have found agreement in this stance of colliding religions and how we are to live as believers in Christ.

In other news… I asked the camp director (this dude who stands up front and spends twenty-five minutes or so giving announcements and talking up the camp) if we could spend just a few moments in prayer for those who are captured in Afghanistan.  I was told that the camp schedule was too busy and they needed to give the speaker ‘ample time’ to give his talk.  If we wanted to spend some time in prayer on our own about it that would be fine.  As I looked at this gentleman, I struggled to submit to his choice, I looked at him and said, “Sir.  There are people who are dying for their faith.  These people went to serve God and others – the very thing we are called to do as believers in Christ.  People have died and more will continue to die if something is not done.  Do you not think that a whole ten minutes would be worth it?”  He stuck to his guns though.  So it goes.  It is my hope and prayer that these people are not forgotten like those from Columbine or 9/11.  It is as though we have chosen to forget the past.  I hope and pray we will not forget those who have died for their faith.  These are true martyrs.  Please, please, please.  Keep them in prayer.  Thank you

Well today is Wednesday.  I cannot believe my vacation is almost done.  I am hopeful though that my time here will refresh me for a season.  In some ways, I am ready to go back to the hectic life I left one week ago.  Until then though, I will remain in my copasetic state of relaxation and enjoyment.

Today, Dr. Lutzer would talk not once but twice-in one day.  Being a man of his age, I hope he can handle the additional forty-five minutes of teaching this evening.  I have no doubt that he will.  This morning though, his topic was, “Family Feud.”  What an interesting topic.  I thought the ‘Family Feud’ board would magically appear from the ceiling and we would split up into ‘family teams.’  I was ready to shout my answers.  I was wrong though.  This is not the family feud we were going to discuss.

We looked at the story of Joseph.  Interesting story.  The story is simple.  Joseph was one of the younger children.  He had dreams though that his family (mom and dad, brothers and all) would bow down to him.  Even though I am not the oldest child in my family, I would wonder who Joseph thinks he is.  He did have these dreams though and was not coy about sharing them with his family.  His brothers got real mad because of his brother that they took him and threw him in a ditch.  He was later picked up by some travelers and made to be a slave.  So it goes.

Later on, Joseph works for this dude.  He is left alone with this dude’s wife.  She wants to have relations with him and does not.  She grabs his coat and tells the town that he tried to rape her.  Being falsely accused, Joseph is but into jail.  He meets some friends in jail and helps him out.  This guy he met said he would help Joseph get out of jail but he ends up forgetting about Joseph.  After about two years in jail, Joseph is called upon to interpret a dream and is considered a great man.  As a famine sets, Joseph’s brothers and, later on, his father comes and bows before him – thus confirming the dream he had years ago.  Joseph forgives his brothers and helps them in their time of need.  That is the basic story as it is told in the Bible.

So.  What can we get from this?  One of the first things we can learn from this story is that we need to choose to live in the future, not the past.  If Joseph wanted, he could have made his brothers pay for all the wrongdoing they did to him several years before.  He did not though.  He chose to live in the future and love his brothers.  We also need to chose to set people free from the past.  We need to allow God be present in all of our situations.  If we look hard enough, He is visible (even when we cannot see clearly).  Joseph could have cursed his brothers but he chose to bless them.  I do not know if I could bless those that curse me but then again, the Bible says I need to do so.  So it goes.

As I read through it on my own, I can say that I have learned more about this story outside of Dr. Lutzer’s teaching (which I guess is the point of personal study and devotions).  My mind goes back to when Joseph worked for a man whose wife tried to have relations with him.  Joseph had the right view of God and the right view of sin.  So often, we either have the right view of God and the wrong view of sin or vise versa.  Joseph understood the importance of both.  With that, the first secession was over.

In other news… I decided that I would put my skills to use in playing ping-pong.  I won the first game and lost the second game (a very close game at that).  The gentleman that I played was very upset throughout our game.  Later this evening (around 8:30 or so) I saw the guy I had played who had beaten me and he had his arm in a sling and it was wrapped.  Confused and concerned, I talked with him and found out that he had lost his match.  He was so mad; he punched the wall and broke his hand…  Now, usually I would take a moment and laugh out loud.  However, I feel as though I need to pray for him.  For someone to get that upset over a game of ping-pong is really sad.  His name is Adam.  Please keep him in prayer.

Today again the day started at 7:30 AM.  Breakfast was good (I found the boxed cereal and enjoyed it).  After breakfast, I took some time to relax and enjoy the day.  As I sat and watched other people eat, I saw so many people leave behind large quantities of food on their plates.  I never usually complain about things (mostly because people would never take the time to listen to me), but I have to mention that I was really depressed.  So many people do not have a lot of food to eat.  We are so wasteful here in the U.S.  I am only saying this because it says in the packet of information we were given at the beginning of the week, to not waste food.  I guess they missed that page in their packet.

The speaker began his talk today after a few ‘old school’ praise songs.  As he stood up, I wondered if he would make it to the pulpit.  He did make it.  His topic was, “Spear Throwers.”  I thought his topic was a bit odd as I sat there in my green stadium seat.  Cause we all throw spears.  In any case, he opened up to the book of Samuel, the eighteenth chapter.

Saul and David:  Friends of Foes?  That is what I would have called this topic.  I am not the speaker though and had to submit to his arranged topic.  In any case, he began to share a little bit about Saul.  We learn that Saul in fact was anointed by God to be the King.  He was also given a prophetic gift by God and was impressive in appearance.  As I heard the characteristics about Saul, my mind wondered, as it usually does, to try and find a ‘real-life example.’  I thought perhaps we could liken Saul to Benny Hinn (maybe a little younger though).  After considering it for a moment, I realized my error and continued to listen.

One thing that considered important about this whole ordeal was found in a small statement Dr. Lutzer said.  “Saul saw the kingdom as his and not God’s.”  He had a problem letting go.  I know many pastors who are in this position.  It is unfortunate when this occurs.  Many people end up hurt and lost, sometimes even leaving the church because of a pastor or leader who takes it upon him to stay in a ministry when in fact, he should leave.  Saul, concerning the Kingdom, was no different.  The ministry one works in is God’s and not men.  I think we all need to understand that no matter what our current ministry is or position within the church.

People who look at their position as their own and not God’s end up being obsessed with them.  Again, I understand this quite well.  I know a pastor who will not allow anyone to have any form of leadership within his group because it is “his ministry that the pastor of the church passed to him.”  Well… I would say more but I think I would end up being in trouble if I did.  So it goes.

These types of people end up using their kindness to kill others (mentally, emotionally, and yes, sometimes even physically).  People truly do not matter though because they write and live by their own rules rather than the rules, which have been written and stamped by God, Himself.  This is a sad, sad story.  But, once again, this is something that happens more often than we probably would like to admit within the body of Christ.

As I sit and reflect on David, dealing with all of this (almost being killed by Saul two times by a spear – hence the title of Dr. Lutzer’s talk), I found myself looking at how David responded to his opposition.  It astounded me that David never tried to take the Kingdom by force.  He remained patient and willing to wait on God for the Kingdom.  That to me is quite impressive.  David spent ten years serving Saul before he became king.  That boggles my mind.  Dr. Lutzer said, “The ten years David spent serving Saul ended up being a blessing.  Through those long ten years, God used Saul to make David a greater king.”  I like that.  It is as though if David did not spend those ten years serving Saul, perhaps David would have ended up being like him.  That must have been a very difficult time for David though.  I am not sure if I could handle that myself.

And so, Dr. Lutzer brought the application to the message, which I think is worthwhile in sharing.  The first thing he said was, “Try to doge the spear.”  We need to remain alert in our circumstances.  If we are not awake, we might end up with a spear in our side.  We need to not always take things personally and oftentimes put physical distance between others and ourselves in order to dodge the spears that are thrown our way.  Secondly, Dr. Lutzer said, “Do not become a spear thrower.”  The old “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” comes to mind as I think about that.  It would be so easy, after dodging a spear, to try and throw it back at the one who threw it at us.  We should take a different approach.  Though it might be difficult, we must trust in God that He will continue to keep us out of harm’s way.  Even when it seems as though the spears never stop.  Finally, Dr. Lutzer said, “Learn the lessons God wants to teach us through others.”  Through our brokenness and our growth in Him, God wants to teach us more about ourselves.  This is very important.

In this, we must remember that the work God does in us while we wait is more important then the thing we are waiting to do.  As I think about the calling God has on my life, I come back to this point over and over.  I ponder it and wonder if I am trying to rush God in my desire and yearning to serve Him in the capacity He has called me to serve.  I am learning though.  He is teaching me.  I am truly blessed in all of this.

I have to be honest and say that after Sunday, I though perhaps this week would be pointless for me.  I thought perhaps I had made a mistake in choosing to come to this particular week of camp here in NY.  I am beginning to realize though that God, in His great knowledge, picked this week for me to be here.  I need to continually ask God, “What are You doing through me here?”  And, “What should I take away from this place?”  I honestly believe that is something we need to ask of God more often than we usually do.  I know He will answer my questions.  Somehow He always seems to answer them when I really need to know the answers.  So, for today at least, I have something to sleep on.

After a great lunch, my dad, sister, and myself went canoeing on the lake.  We spent two long hours paddling through God’s creation and enjoying the animals and scenery as we ventured to new and unknown territory for us.  It was beautiful.  You know, I do not say this a lot but I think I will start saying it more often:  For those who do not believe in Jesus or believe that there is a Creator of all that is in the earth and the heavens:  You would have believed if you went on this canoe trip with us today.  God’s creation was very real and personal.  And, though I was tired when I was done, I was glad I went.  Unfortunately I did not take my camera to capture this site so I guess you will just have to take my word for it.

As I look at the computer, I am realizing it is 12:46 AM and breakfast is once again at 7:30.  For, for tonight, I will say goodnight.  God bless my friends.

Well 7:30 AM comes real early in the morning.  That is what time breakfast starts here at Camp-of-the-Woods.  There are times I see waking up that early being more a rude awakening rather than a necessity but I have made it.  The weather was cloudy today and the rain fell through the night.  As I walked up the hill to the dinning hall, I wondered what the day would bring.

Erwin Lutzer spoke again today.  I have to admit that I was not 100 percent excited to listen to him today.  Partly because yesterday (Sunday), I felt as though I would not be able to relate to anything he was going to speak about.  Being 26 and he being 65, I prayed that God would make his speech relatable to my missional context.  I am glad it did.

His topic was a little more on the level where I see honest issues in the church.  The topic was, “The Blinding Power of the Offense.”  The word offense can refer to several meanings in the Hebrews.  It can refer to a trap or a stumbling block to name a few.  He discussed personal offensives and how they can hinder our ability to be the body of Christ.  I understand that.  Oftentimes, that has been my personal reason for almost leaving the church.  Too many people end up gossiping or creating an environment that is not all loving like it should be.  I have been in such churches.  I can definitely say I understand.

Our Scripture for today was the story of Cain and Abel.  I guess a lot of us know the story quite well.  I think sometimes that is the problem.  Oftentimes, we know the stories far too well; we miss new things God desires to show us in His Word.  I am glad I listened cause I can honestly say I really learned a lot from the text.

The story goes that both Cain and Abel were born to Adam and Eve.  I am sure they were a joy in many respects.  As they grew up, each chose a line of work that suited their abilities.  Abel worked with sheep, Can worked with farming.  Both wanted to bring an offering to the Lord.  And so, Abel brought a fat portioning to the Lord, Cain brought choice grain.  For whatever reasons God decided, God accepted the offering of Abel and not of Cain.  My only true guess is:  Cain’s offering was from the ground – which was cursed by God because of his father and mother’s sin.  Abel’s offering was accepted because he needed to kill the sheep and bring the fat portions to God.  Blood was spilt.  That is only my personal thoughts.  Too many people try and suggest their thoughts.  That is pointless.  The story says that God accepted one and did not accept the other.  So it goes.

Cain was jealous.  And honestly, who wouldn’t be jealous?  For whatever reason, Cain was so mad; he killed his brother Abel and left him there to rot in the field.  All I can say to that is – craziness.  God meets up with Cain and begins to question him.  “Where is your brother, Abel?”  Cain lies to God and is found out.  Cain is like a boy who lies to his father about drinking an orange soda.  His lips are painted orange by the color of the soda, yet he lies that he did not drink it.  God curses Cain for his actions.  Cain complains that the punishment is more than he either deserves or he can bear.

And so, Dr. Lutzer stopped reading the text.  Some of the points he brought out from the text was thought provoking.  Cain refused the counsel of God.  God told Cain to master his anger or that his anger would master him.  I wonder sometimes if we do not listen to the counsel of God.  Sometimes, God gives us His word so that we cannot make certain mistakes in our lives.  Oftentimes, we do not take the counsel of God though and would rather take the counsel of others.  Can also refused responsibility for his actions.  He tried to lie to God about his brother.  He had not care in the world about him or what he had done.  I understand this as well.  There are many times in my own life I try to pass my responsibility off on others instead of taking responsibility for my actions.  We not only have responsibility to others but also have responsibility to take care of those within our community.  We are family – we are the body of Christ.  Cain finally chose to be more self-absorbed with his punishment rather than acknowledging that he actually deserved death for killing his own brother.  Once again, I understand this.

Erwin Lutzer said, “Oftentimes, we are blinded to our own faults.  The ability to see yourself as others see you is a divine gift from the Lord.”  I agree.  There are many times in which I am ready to judge someone or speak negatively towards another person.  I rarely look at myself as the problem.  I have so much to learn – but I am learning nonetheless.  I guess we need to continually ask God to search our hearts and provide us an accurate picture of what we really look like.

After I went to the conference, I went hiking to Oger’s Fall (about a three-minute drive from the camp and a 30 minute trail walk.  It was beautiful.  I took several pictures I will put online when I get home.  This evening, I went and spent some time alone with the Lord.  I do not do this enough.

So I left Lockport, NY (which is in the middle of no where’s town above Buffalo).  Enjoying a great two days there was a great joy.  I can honestly say that I was sad to leave great friends.  I had to leave though.  I 5-hour drive was ahead of me and I needed to get on the road.

So 4 AM comes real early these days.  After driving exactly 5 hours, I finally arrived at Camp-of-the-Woods.  I was dead tired and was in no meaning for getting lost on my way to a cabin where I was staying.  I feel asleep at 5:00 AM – Breakfast is at 7:30, our first meaning (church) starts at 9:45 AM.  So it goes.

I am surprised to see that Camp-of-the-Woods has free Internet connection.  Then again, it is a Christian conference Centre so I guess the need to connect to the Internet is of somewhat importance.  Anyway, I am in a room with about 10 different people from different countries.  They are all speaking different languages right now, which make me feel like I am at the Tower of Babel.  It is cool though.

It is now 11:30 PM.  I slept a good 5 hours.  This week’s conference speaker is Erwin Lutzer.  For those who do not know who he is, he is a pastor of a church in Chicago and has written something like 20 books.  Not too shabby for a 65 year old guy.  He spoke today on, “Living Life in the Penalty Box.”  He looked at the life of Moses and how Moses made a lot of complaints.  It is interesting that he would talk about Exodus 2 because we are going through this book in our church at this time.  He did mention three things that surprised me about the passage.

Three lessons Moses learned in the desert that he apparently did not learn in the Egyptian palace are:  Servant-hood, Trust in God, and Obedience.  These three things were greatly shaped in Moses when he was a shepherd for his father-in-law.  There is not much to do in the desert, as most would expect.  As I reflect on the story of Moses in Exodus 2, I have to say that I am learning a lot.

I will do my best to update each day.  God bless.

I have yet to do a book review so I figured I would start. The Gutter, by Craig Gross, is a challenging book to read. Not challenging in its reading. Rather it challenges the way we are called to live as believers in Christ. The book flows out of an event in Craig’s life when he went to Love Park in Philadelphia, PA to witness and provide free lunches for the homeless. Having only two lunches left, he attempted to provide a lunch for three people. Craig did not realize one woman did not have a pair of shoes. One of the teens that went along with Craig took off his own shoes and placed them on this woman’s feet. Craig learned an important lesson we all need to learn. Sometimes the homeless does not need food. Sometimes we need to give in other ways that helps those in need. Craig would not have learned this lesson had he not gone into the gutter.

Within these 156 pages, Craig shares how we can interact with the gutter. His three sections break down the importance of the gutter and why we should go there. With humor and challenging statements, Craig explores the gutter Jesus entered and the gutter we should are meant to enter. What is the gutter? The gutter is a place where those who are oppressed and unloved live. Those who are never invited to the fancy parties or own the big mansions live in the gutter. It is depressing, lonely, and oftentimes frightening. Jesus entered this gutter with compassion and love. He loved those who no one else would love and gave these people who were hopeless, true hope and a future.

As believers, we are called to be imitators of Christ. We are called to live in the manner He lives. Craig opens up a new reality of what it means to be a believer in Christ throughout the entirety of this book. Craig’s gutter is the porn industry. He goes to porn shows and shares the love of Jesus with porn stars, porn producers and photographers.

One thing I learned from Craig’s book is something I believe the church needs to learn. Working in the gutter means the need to get dirty. It is not a pretty place to work. It is a place where many people live and are never noticed. We need to notice them. We need to be willing to get dirty and enter. I do not know what your gutter is or where you are called to enter the gutter. All I know is that the church has not been holding up to its end of its calling. We, as the church, have failed to love our neighbor as ourselves. I know I have said this before but the word ‘neighbor’ actually can be translated as ‘stranger.’ I wonder how many strangers I have steeped over while walking in the city. I wonder how many times I have purposely blinded my eyes to those in need because it is not convenient.

There are times when those who are in the church will not understand why we are willing to enter the gutter. They will tell us that we do not belong there. While many churches continue to grow larger, and their bank accounts continue to inflate, there continues to be a real need to share the Gospel with those who do not know the truth.

One of the stories from the Bible that Craig looks to is the story of Hosea. Gomer, his wife, whores herself around town. Hosea enters her gutter and brings her out. He loves her even when she does not love her husband. I do not understand how Hosea does it. I have so much to learn. I do not know what gutter God has called me to at this moment. But I know there is a gutter for each of us to enter. I am read to get dirty.

My encouragement is to read this book. Be open to reading the words of Craig Gross. He lives in the gutter on a regular basis. I also encourage you to ask God where your gutter is and how you can enter it to make a real difference for the Gospel of Jesus. Through our obedience and love for others, we can bring people out of the gutter and into the light. Let us get to work.

I think sometimes our lives revolve around the events that happen right outside our front door.  The more I read the Word of God; I am confronted with a truth we seldom desire to believe.  I guess for us to be the people God has called us to be, we need to make our world a little bigger. That brings me to the purpose of this post.

Eleven days ago, the Taliban militia group in Afghanistan captured 23 Koreans.  Why would 23 Koreans go to Afghanistan you might ask?  Well they went to go and serve people.  They went to make their world a little bigger.  They went to serve God through their abilities of helping people.  That’s a pretty noble task.  Is that where the story ends?  Not quite.  Since their capture by the Taliban, two Korean people have died and one more is supposed to die today.

How did I hear about this national event?  Surely I must have heard about it through the newspaper or the news right?  Wrong.  If I had not read an article by Eugene Cho several weeks ago, I would not have heard about the capture of these amazing people.  I hope you will do some research and find out what’s going on.  Let us also remember these amazing kids and hope that God will hear our cry for the release of these young people.

Perhaps gossiping about Michael Vick and others might seem more exciting.  This is life though.  This is reality.  Please keep them in prayer.  Please spread the word.  Please call your newspapers and tell them to make this front cover news.  Let us go beyond the front door and make our world a little bigger.