continuing to pour

I blogged last week about the California Youth Authority prison weekend. I just heard from one of the chaplains and the weekend “continues” and is pouring out over the camp. Record attendance at the Sunday services. More wards desiring to be baptized. Seeking forgiveness. Taking responsibility. The Holy Spirit continues. Razor wire and fences are no match.

When you have nothing to hold on to and you humbly open yourself up to the Lord, watch what happens. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to go to prison to realize this?

How much do I have that is getting in the way of God getting his way with me?

a litany

…clump of cells

At the same time, the pro-abortion-rights interest groups are just beginning to grapple with an uncomfortable truth: that many of the million-odd women who have abortions every year are deeply troubled, if not guilt-ridden. "Our patients are not coming to, quote, 'exercise their constitutional rights'," says Claire Keyes, who runs a Pittsburgh abortion clinic. "They want to talk about prayer and forgiveness."

…like trimming your finger nails or cutting your hair

The pro-life movement has done an effective job of showing that a fetus is not just a "blob of tissue," says Peg Johnston, who runs an abortion clinic in New York state. Her patients now talk about " 'babies' " and " 'killing'," she says. "At first I thought they were picking up the language from [anti-abortion protesters] outside. But then I started really tuning in to my patients, and I realized, 'She really feels that way'."

…right to choose

A growing number of clinics are coming up with coping strategies. At her Pittsburgh clinic, Claire Keyes encourages patients to write their feelings on a paper heart that she later tacks to the waiting-room wall. "I love you even though I know in my heart I can't keep you," reads one of about a thousand hearts, which have now overflowed into binders. Keyes gives each patient a polished semiprecious stone to imbue with whatever meaning she wants. The two clinics that permit late-term abortions let their patients hold the fetus in a blanket.



(excerpts from Newsweek article, ‘Reality Check for Roe’)

is anyone listening?

You are almost never going to move someone quickly, if at all, from their worldview to yours (I said “almost never,” for there are exceptions), however influence is possible. The best way to get someone to see where you are coming from is to be as clear and non-threatening as possible. Anything that challenges people’s worldviews will evoke an emotional response. I heard a radio host talk of a study of this in brain research (though I cannot find it anywhere on the net).

People were chosen who strongly supported Senator Kerry or President Bush from the last election. Their brains were wired for response from the emotional response center, the pleasure center, and the judgment center. The subjects were then given factual accounts that called their candidate into question about certain issues. Instantly the emotional center was firing, but nothing in judgment. Only later did another area fire, and that was the pleasure center. The subject was rewarded for being passionate about an issue but not really thinking about it!!

You can see how difficult it is to get someone else to authentically listen to your point of view if it disagrees with theirs. This is why invitation and listening are more important than commanding a response and debating. A popular phrase for this is “bringing light rather than heat.”

The challenge is with so much narcissism out there (and in ourselves, perhaps?), few people are self-differentiated enough to actually listen to what someone else has to say. Usually we are thinking in our own minds why what the other person is saying is wrong and how we are going to refute them. Or we don’t listen at all.

a point of reference

Everybody has a viewpoint. Everybody has a reference from which they look at the world. This “worldview” is absolutely necessary to live in society. If you arbitrarily used different filters for your thinking each time you were trying to make a decision it would be mental chaos. Seeking the truth, it is never a matter of values neutral thinking. It is always a matter of whose thinking best reflects reality.

Attempts to say there is no reality or there is no truth are only statements coming from a specific viewpoint. Perhaps nihilism (nothing really matters), perhaps relativism (reality is what you make it). Neither, however, neutral worldviews.

I am not as interested in what people say their worldview is as much as I am to see how they act. It is a valuable lesson to see what kind of behavior results from adherence to a viewpoint. This isn’t always an indication of the strengths and weaknesses of the worldview compared to reality, however it is an interesting point of reference.

because of him

Well if you guessed “Jesus” in response to yesterday’s question, you are correct. There is hope in Jesus when all else seems hopeless. You take a group of men from some unbelievable situations who make unbelievably bad choices that cause an unbelievable amount of harm and then you let them know you believe in them under the power of Jesus who believes in them, watch what happens.

Transformation right in front of your eyes. The guards say they are very pleased when an Epiphany team comes into the prison. It changes the whole atmosphere. Well, that’s Jesus. They let Christians in to spread his love.

Now they don’t send teams of strict Darwinian biologists into prison to tell the wards that they have been genetically and biologically pre-wired to commit awful crimes and then dialogue about that for awhile. This is just who you are and we lock you up to protect society from you and protect you from yourself.

I am not aware of any atheist teams that come in and say just stop the cycle of violence, robbery, burglary, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, because it is not good for you. Make better choices, why don’t you?

When people authentically work for Jesus, Jesus works. Always has; always will. When you honestly examine where Jesus has worked through his followers, you see new life. I have much hope for my friends from CYA. Not because of whom they are, though they are pretty remarkable young men, but because of whom He is.

hope

I knew this would happen. I worked an Epiphany weekend this past three days. It is a spiritual retreat in prison. California Youth Authority, or incarcerated young men, ages 18-25. I knew after the weekend I would come out with some insight as to what makes for hope for these guys. If you have worked with young people in gangs you already know what I am talking about. That is if you don’t have a political agenda.

All the talk is just talk. Educators, politicians, college professors, community activists have no idea. All you hear is empty politicized sound bites. Ex-gang members know. Or ask the CO’s. The guards. The only thing that seems to work to bring these young men from despair to hope is something that would drive separation of church/state organizations crazy. Where is there hope?

Gee, guess where?

what shocks you?

What is there that shocks you? The whole world seems to be upside down. I saw a statistic that brings this to focus.

Bono was speaking at a national prayer breakfast, and he talked of 150,000 lives being lost due to the 2004 Tsunami. There is a tremendous amount of support for recovery from this disaster. Then he said there are 150,000 who die every month in Africa in a “completely avoidable catastrophe.” Bono is referring to AIDS, poor water conditions, limited medical care, hunger, etc.

So what to do? It is not overwhelming. It is a matter of determination and a sense of love of “neighbor.” It is overcoming systems of government corruption that would make anything we do here look like child’s play. Some of us may decide to go to Africa to serve first hand. All of us can do something else.

1. Pray
2. Be informed
3. Support African causes through your local church or denomination
4. Support government efforts to make a difference

Difficult and challenging, but not overwhelming.

graffiti

We talked on “evil” last night at our local church junior high ministry. I used the example of “evil” being “live” spelled backward. Something that is evil is something that sucks the life and joy right out of you. Then I mentioned something too familiar with us in LA. Graffiti and tagging.

I asked kids what they thought of when they see graffiti.

“Sad”
“Depressed”
“Ugly”

I am not talking about a public mural. I am talking about the scribbles and chicken scratching that proclaim why you are the best or why someone else isn’t. Graffiti is ugly and it sucks out life a tiny bit at a time of those who view it.

Is graffiti evil? I don’t think it is meant to be by those who graffiti. I don’t think they do it to cause you to lose a little bit of your joy. I don’t think they care about you at all. So, in a way, it might not be intended as evil, but it may end up being murder.

If you graffiti in an urban area and thousands of people drive by it every day and it acts as a vampire, sucking out even a bit of a person’s soul where art and love and joy find a hold, well then, you have just killed a little bit of soul of everyone who has seen it. Add it up and you could be charged with multiple soul murder.

Knowing God is a God of beauty I would be absolutely terrified to be an unrepentant serial tagger.

real forgiveness

I wrote yesterday about seeking forgiveness for something someone else did. Empathy, sympathy, and compassion are all possible responses when someone is wronged by someone else, just not forgiveness.

The same goes for an apology. I cannot apologize for what people did in the name of Jesus back in the Crusades or whatever. I can dialogue about the situation, delve into the evidence of what happened, say how unfortunate it is when people misuse God’s name for injustice when injustice occurs, but I can’t apologize.

A similar situation is hurting someone’s feelings. If I have purposely offended someone then I need to seek their forgiveness. If someone took offense at something I said or did that brought about hurt that I did not bring about but was a result of their perception, I can say, “I am sorry that they felt that way.”

Feelings are a strange phenomena. It is logically impossible to hurt someone’s feelings if they don’t allow their feelings to be hurt. You can become the kind of person that doesn’t take offense, even if the offense is purposeful. In the meantime, a disciple graciously and freely seeks to reconcile with someone whom they have wronged unintentionally. It is no big deal to say “I am sorry this happened in our relationship.”

Seeking forgiveness for something that was not sinful is a contradiction in category. One seeks to be as clear as possible in interactions with others. It cheapens forgiveness to ask for it from someone who has not been sinned against. At the same time, it is important to search deep into your own will to see if there is any intention to wrong lurking in some dark corner there.

what I can do

A young friend of mine saw a video in school concerning the horrible treatment of African Americans in the South, in particular prior to the Civil Rights Movement. I don’t know what documentary or which events she viewed but her spontaneous comment was interesting.

“I can’t believe what we did to people.”

I asked her if she meant “What humans could do to each other.” No, she was referring more to what Anglos did to African Americans. It doesn’t work that way. We had a good talk on taking responsibility.

I can serve God by being an influence for the good of others. I can express regret that someone else is treated unjustly, I can work for justice in the present and the future, but I cannot make amends for someone else’s past. I have no personal connection to the event or events of racism my friend was viewing. Even if my family were from the South at that time and were involved in racist behavior, which they are not and were not, I can’t seek forgiveness for someone else, personally. I can seek forgiveness along with you for the mistreatment of people of all times and in all places, as a human being. I can seek forgiveness for what I have not done to bring blessing to others and for what I have done that was sinful toward others.

flags

American flags are being burned. Whoopee… I am offended but complacent.

Danish flags are being burned. Being a Dane by ancestry, I am batting 2 for 2. The same Denmark that provides so much money for humanitarian support in Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Palestinian Authority, Somolia, Sudan…

O well, I am offended (the protestors are burning crosses, by the way, nice religious sensitivity, since it is prominent on the Danish flag, not “Old Glory,” but Dannebrog, the oldest national flag in existence) but complacent.

If I see one protestor burning another flag, though, all bets are off!

cartoons again

Again I have to comment on the furor over the political cartoons of Muhammad. There is so much misinformation that must be clarified before one can make an informed statement in dialogue.

Who? The people rioting are using something that occurred in the fall of 2005 as a pretense to riot. There was no mass reaction to the cartoons until now, I would argue because political organizations that were looking to cause a reaction added two forged cartoons that were much more insulting, and then paid demonstrators to react. There is an ongoing investigation to see if there is any connection to the Syrian and/or Iranian government providing some support for the violent protests.

What? Again, this is not primarily a reaction that is supported in Islam. There is no absolute prohibition to depict the prophet Muhammad in the Q’uran. This is a later interpretation by some denominations of Islam to not allow the depiction of any prophet artistically. I witnessed first-hand that there is no absolute prohibition as I spent a month touring museums of Istanbul and saw Muhammad portrayed in paintings, tapestry, and illuminated manuscripts.

The reason why you know very quickly there is something else going on here than anything having to do with Islam is that the denominations that interpret no portrayals of prophets certainly haven’t been in an uproar over Islam’s second most important prophet, Jesus. For example, there were no riots or violent responses I am aware of by people of the Muslim faith back in 1987 when Andres Serrano published photos portraying Jesus on the cross submerged in a glass of Serrano’s urine. I also mentioned before the depictions of Jesus in TV shows such as The Simpson’s, Family Guy, and South Park, while sarcastic and offensive to many Christians, must be so to Muslims, as well, and yet where are the protests?

This is not about Islam, it is about using some interpretations of the teachings of some branches of Islam, distorting them, and waiting for the resulting political consequences. Even to say it is a Muslim extremist reaction isn’t helpful. There is nothing specific in the Q’uran that warrants violently reacting to an issue of this nature.

Valentine thought

Valentines Day is coming up and the world will talk about “love.” What is the best way to love? I think the biblical view of a certain type of love is the most honest and most desirable. It is agape.

Agape love is desiring that someone is blessed by God and acting upon that. Working toward the good of another. Notice there is no Valentine’s Day sentimentality to this kind of love. I want what God wants for you and I will try to do what I can to be an influence for that.

This doesn’t forbid me for being attracted and emotionally involved in that kind of love for Nancy (my sweetheart and wife), but agape goes way beyond emotion and attraction. I can give agape to a complete stranger. When Jesus says, “Love your enemies,” I can desire my enemies, whoever that may be, to be blessed by God in a way that more and more influences them to be who God wants them to be.

When someone says, “It’s hard to love that person,” I think what is really being said is, “It’s hard to feel good about that person.” That’s not agape. You don’t have to feel anything at all or you may have a burden against certain people, but as you work to treat him/her as precious in God’s sight, it’s interesting how God can work on your own heart. You work to bless someone in spite of who they are, not because of who they are.

Share agape with someone today!

cartoons part 3

There was an excellent article on the Wall Street Journal website. In it a Muslim scholar explains what is going on with the cartoons. He made an analogy that was helpful to me and I pass it on to you. Here is an excerpt.

"The Muslim Fury," one newspaper headline screamed. "The Rage of Islam Sweeps Europe," said another. "The clash of civilizations is coming," warned one commentator. All this refers to the row provoked by the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper four months ago. Since then a number of demonstrations have been held, mostly--though not exclusively--in the West, and Scandinavian embassies and consulates have been besieged.
But how representative of Islam are all those demonstrators? The "rage machine" was set in motion when the Muslim Brotherhood--a political, not a religious, organization--called on sympathizers in the Middle East and Europe to take the field. A fatwa was issued by Yussuf al-Qaradawi, a Brotherhood sheikh with his own program on al-Jazeera. Not to be left behind, the Brotherhood's rivals, Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) and the Movement of the Exiles (Ghuraba), joined the fray. Believing that there might be something in it for themselves, the Syrian Baathist leaders abandoned their party's 60-year-old secular pretensions and organized attacks on the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus and Beirut.

The analogy that is helpful is to remember that these extremist groups are at their core political not faith-based communities. What I mean by this is they are trying to gain power through use of violence and fear, not trying to practice a religion. So, often we hear the question asked, “Why don’t we hear Muslim leaders cry out against these types of violent events done in the “name of Allah?” I can think of two logical reasons.

One, if a leader lives in a country that is sympathetic toward these extremist political organizations then there is one’s own safety to consider. Two, the Arabic-speaking media is in the sensationalist business like most other media outlets throughout the world and, of course, will report on the most provocative and sensational news possible. Islamic leaders who are not extreme are not often heard, no matter what they say.

cartoon part 2

In this whole uproar concerning cartoons of Muhammad, some of you may be wondering why there is no Christian uproar about the tons more satire and offensive behavior against Jesus and the Christian faith. Every day some political figure or group in Washington D.C. is complaining about Christians. Christian this. Christian right that. Hollywood has a field day with stereotyping Christians in an offensive way. For instance, in Family Guy (I only watch it on occasion for cultural anthropological purposes), Jesus and God are regularly satirized. An example would be when Jesus phones God and catches him in bed with a young woman and God tells Jesus to call back later, he’s busy. Here is another. Also, we all have seen it is open season on the Catholic Church throughout the world.

So where is the protest? First of all, it could never be violent. The model of Jesus and the overall message of the Bible forbids violent protest of any kind. Why not even impassioned protest? O, there are some Christian organizations who may complain, but we also have the model of Jesus and scripture that says this:

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

When you ridicule Jesus, I will have a firm word for you about tolerance (respect and courtesy over someone you disagree with), but as a Christian, I am always required to behave as the most mature person in the room. There is a sense of competition in the Christian faith. I can try to outdo you in honoring you, but there is no trash talk. I can’t try to tear you down if you insult Jesus. I may gently but graciously correct you, or I may just walk away. Either way builds up true character.

cartoons of Muhammad

It is a bad thing to purposely try to offend other people. The newspapers of Europe should not have published the cartoons of Muhammad. Again we see a small group of people who react violently in the name of Islam when there are other ways to express “outrage” which are available in the Islamic worldview.

That said, you can see how absolutely wrong the protesters are in the means of their expression of outrage. They are directly saying, “Whatever we say is right. You have to think like we do, or we will strike out at you violently.” You have arbitrarily set yourself up for an inability to live with other people if you violently respond to someone who disagrees with you. It doesn’t matter what the issue, you cannot function in human culture if you take this route. You cannot live in a society where you are not allowed to disagree peacefully. You cannot live in a society where you are not allowed to be offensive because offense is always in the mind of another. Ultimately, when someone takes offense it is beyond your control.

Calls for the Danish, Norwegian, German, etc. governments to apologize is a logical absurdity, A government cannot apologize for something a private newspaper publishes. An apology would be a valid issue when it is an official government publication like the extreme anti-Jewish literature and cartoons of governments like the Palestinian Authority, Iran, and Egypt, however.

I don’t know what the answer is other than to continue to be clear on how inappropriate violence is as a means of expression of viewpoint.

P.S. Good football game yesterday. I was hoping Pittsburgh would have kicked a field goal on that last drive and then Seattle have a quick strike touchdown which would have made the score, 24-17 as I predicted, except that they would have gone for two and so it would have been 24-18, or 24-16, so I’ll just quit talking sports now. At least until NCAA final four basketball.

Super Bowl prediction

Pittsburgh’s defense is just too tough. Seattle lost to Green Bay their last regular season game and they played their starters for much of it. Holmgren is a better coach, but with the hitting that is going on, I wonder if quarterback Matt Hasselback is going to have time to actually follow his game plan. We have already seen Tampa Bay and Baltimore in recent Super Bowl wins, when you have a defense that is this physical, you don’t need a super offense. Yet, Pittsburgh’s offense is better than Baltimore or Tampa Bay in their day, so it’s Pittsburgh, 24-17.

Disclaimer: I could be totally wrong. I really have no idea what I am talking about in this venue.

Enjoy your weekend and I will blog you Monday. About the Bible, in fact.

Jerome Bettis

There doesn’t seem to be much hype about the Super Bowl this year. The main story appears to be the swan song of Jerome Bettis. If any of you are not football savy, he is the running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers who will retire after the game. He has been waiting forever to win a Super Bowl (lost in one and didn’t reach a bunch because good Steelers’ teams didn’t make it out of the playoffs). Bettis is from Detroit and so there is the “homecoming” angle as he is returning there for the game.

What’s cool about Bettis is the leadership he gives to the team and the respect he has from the players. On the trip from Pittsburgh to Detroit, the whole team wore Bettis’ jersey from when he played at Notre Dame. It is just refreshing to see an athlete admired by his teammates because of the quality of his character rather than his skills.

If you are part of the Lutheran tribe of Christian, Bettis attended Lutheran elementary and middle school. Maybe that is why he is so grounded. I like Mike Holmgren and so I am torn on who to root for. Probably neutral until I see who I start yelling for during the game. I will also make my prediction tomorrow.

intensity

Tiger Woods took off for several weeks from competitive golf, and then he promptly won the first tournament he entered, the Buick Invitational, this last Sunday. Tiger is so focused on winning that no one is shocked by his domination of the golf world.

Roger Federer continues to dominate the tennis world. After winning the Australian Open last week, he has a shot at winning more Grand Slam tournaments than Pete Sampras, whose many records were thought untouchable. Federer is already (7 wins) halfway there to Sampras (14), and he is only 24 years old.

While these two guys are playing two different sports they have two things in common. Intense focus and intense workouts. Woods and Federer have a mental intensity not shared by their peers and they work as hard as anyone on their games. What about us?

Winning golf or tennis tournaments is one thing. What about doing God’s work in expanding his Kingdom and giving yourself to be a blessing and influence on others? What about becoming a world class self-giving disciple? Who is going to have more eternal impact, Tiger, Roger, or you?

Learn from them. Intense focus is giving your life to learn more and more from Jesus in any way you can and applying it now. It takes the hard work of study, prayer, being accountable to other Christians, giving generously of your time and possessions to do the mission you are called to do.

When you give your life to Jesus do you give your life to Jesus?

What would the influence of God’s people for the good of the world look like if we served with the intensity and work ethic of Woods and Federer?

Do you have any interest in finding out?