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Hic Sunt Dragones

In the Medieval ages cartographers were the penultimate scientist, explorers and engineers. Cartography was so important because as the world, and the awareness of it grew, so did the need for accurate navigation and understanding. However, even in the medieval ages our understanding of the world around us was capped at some point. There would be places that no one had gone on the map, or if they had they never returned. When a cartographer did not know what was there they would write Hic Sunt Dragones which means “Here be dragons.”

The statement, while emphatic and factual sounding, is really inaccurate. A Dragon represented the unknown or the fact that something of power was there but they did not know what. I am sure that looking at the map would deter anyone but the bravest of souls to wade into the unknown territory. I am pretty sure anyone who did told Momma they were just going to be gone a few weeks because she would definitely have something to say about it if she knew the truth.

As Christians today we do the same thing. So often we take a stance towards culture and people of Hic Sunt Dragones and we culturally disengage from the map. Instead of engaging with the culture around us, we disengage and create a culture of our own. We speak “Christianese” and listen to the same Rock music the “World” listens to, only once in awhile they use the name Jesus. It is no more edifying than just about anything else.

The verse that is so often quoted about why we should create or own culture is Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV) However, we often do not look hard at the next verse; “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3 (NIV) I am afraid we have become arrogant as a church and we have so disengaged from culture that we have honored the first verse while ditching the second one all together.

I have lived a lot of life over the last 10 years. Married life, Fatherhood, Missionary, Pastor, Chronically ill, employed, unemployed, underemployed…the list goes on and on. At each point in my journey though I can honestly say I have felt loved by my Christian friends, but even more so blessed by those who are at different points on the map. I love these people dearly. I appreciate each person for the gift that they are.

God calls us to engage in culture, not rewrite it. We have stories to tell, funds to be offered, grace to be administered and joy unspeakable to witness to the world about. We need to engage in the culture with a prophetic voice, not a political one. We need to exercise our talents not just in the church, but in the culture at large. We need to show the world Jesus in the eyes of the artist, the musician, the school teacher, the doctor and so forth. We are prophetic culture makers, not pathetic culture copiers.

As I engage in different activities and have conversations with other people of different persuasions I do not lose my faith, it is enlivened. If you honestly open your mind to look at the world and see the beauty in it you will not lose your faith, you will find it! As Christians we know that the world may be flawed, it may fall short and be sinful, but we also bear witness to the fact that the universe is fundamentally powered by the love of God for his creation.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 (NIV)

The above verse is a tall order to fill without a doubt. But I believe it is attainable. As we work within the culture and create culture we bear witness to the power of mercy, we show that in all the failings of the world that justice is still a powerful thing and that even the most hardened person can experience justice and mercy. The last one, to walk humbly, is the greatest challenge any one of us will ever face. However, the Proverbs are full of statements about walking humbly being the beginning place for knowledge and wisdom from the Holy. I want that, and so should all believers.

~Selah

Losing Center

Several years ago, while in the throes of illness and the constant discord of conflicting streams of information I started to begin to lose track of time. What the date was, what was expected of me on that date, where I was supposed to go and so on. For a person such as myself, who usually prides himself on keeping it together in the toughest of circumstances it was very disconcerting. As a trained Paramedic I regularly was put in situations where I was the one cool and rational mind. When all is chaos, I would be expected to be the calm and collected one. To add to my frustrations, my wife was epileptic and on a “zombie drug” to keep her seizures at bay and we were quite a pair.

During this time my son was in first and second grade. He was just learning to tell time and develop his sense of place in it and he was being called upon to help his poor mom and dad keep it together. He is a marvelous boy for many reasons, but that was a blessing.

When we lose our sense of place in time and/or space it is disconcerting because the rationalistic side of who we are is left in the dark. The “I” and “me” meld into the “who” and “where” questions of life. In this way it is humbling, (and humiliating) to admit that you do not have the faculties to take care of yourself in the manner which you need to.

Now, three years later, I find myself in a similar space. I am not near as sick as I was, and Amy is doing remarkable in every sense of the word. Metaphorically speaking however we are in this space again. We have made a difficult decision to leave our former church home, many of our closest friends have moved, divorced, or are so busy with life that we do not have the friendship that we once had. It is easy to once again say I want… or I need… or I could… but I hope to not be so focused on the me, and more focused on the we.

Looking back on my illness has caused me to be grateful for many things. But I am learning to be even more grateful for “loosing center” for a time because I again must begin to rely upon others. Things such as; wisdom from friends, prayer, and a lot of silence and cultivated listening. I learned before to stop and give thanks for the small things, and then even the smaller things. Once I did the big things just fell into place.

Today, as I lose center for a time I give thanks. I give thanks for home hearth and health. But I also give thanks for the wind and the trees, the snow that I love to hate and the bugs that surely annoy. Without these things much of life would be different. I remember that those things which I do not understand are perfectly timed and understood in the hands of my Mighty Father who is faithful and just and who knows just what I need, just when I need it.

~Selah

The Tragedy of Arthur by William Shakespeare: The First Modern Edition of His Lost Play, with an Introduction and Notes by Arthur Phillips by Arthur Phillips

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is not for those who like the story to be tidy and everyone walks off into the sunset happy. This is a great story about a man trying to live out of the shadow of his father.



I enjoy Shakespeare and that is what got my attention in part. The rest of the story is what kept me reading. I read it slowly because the story hurts. It is reality, in all the hormone driven, fear driven glory.



I will not give away the ending. However, in an end befitting Shakespeare himself you find yourself hoping for closure and that the story does turn out all right.



I like redemptive story. I hope Arthur finds his redemption and that one day they will truly live a fairytale ending.





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“A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.” 
Truman Capote

The last few weeks have been filled with pyrrhic victories for me. I have had some nice recognition at work, and for a few other things going on and I must say they have been nice. However, if I am shamefully honest with myself about them I probably sought after the recognition just a little bit too much. This is a painful admission, but one I must come to terms with if I am to grow past it and through it. When I set my mind to mastering something at work, in school, or just about any other endeavor I want to master it to the full potential. When I feel that I am not getting noticed, or that people are apathetic about it I begin to languish. My Father knows my work, and it is in him I must find the rest and recognition.

In order to help set my mind back into a passive state I have been doing my best to have good conversations with people, but let them lead the conversation as much as possible. It is almost a form of spiritual direction, but more for the director than the directed. This is hard for me because often as I listen I have an opinion or idea formulating and I want to let it loose and see what people think. However, I quickly have learned that by setting myself, my ego if you wish to call it that, to the side that I have had some wonderful conversations. Some have been brief coffee talk conversations, and others have been four hour marathons with my wife. All have been enlightening.

One of the things I lack, and I believe society as a whole is very deficient in is the art of conversation. I know this might seem a little bit like a curmudgeon talking, but the more and more I am aware of what is being said, the more and more I believe we talk to engage in a transaction and not a mutual strengthening. I come to our conversation wanting something, you want something and we all negotiate for what we want. Our interests are first, and if we want to be Christ like we need to be last. Conversations should be a time when we are not doing a cost benefit analysis of our time and our efforts. Conversations should be to the mutual edification of those involved.

I work in a call center environment. Almost all of my conversations with those I serve are quick and concise and a financial transaction takes place and the job is done. While this may be the paragon of efficiency, it is not edifying, at least not much. However, in order to serve our growing needs as a ministry this is something that must be continually cultivated. The trick is to get out of that mindset when at home, at church, preaching, etcetera.

A book I recently read called The Lost Art of Reading by David Ulin has a wonderful statement in it. He says “We live in an era where everyone wants to tell his or her story, but there is no real sense of what story is anymore.” This quote resonates with me because it certainly applies to me. As long as I can not engage in conversation and communication with humility of mind, peace in my heart and without the intention of “winning the argument” I am at a loss, and we are at a loss as a society if we do not cultivate good conversation. I believe we are afraid that if we engage in conversation without a pre set criterion that we might not get our point across. This should not always be the point of conversation.

As I have put myself aside in these conversations I have found myself having interesting, and even fulfilling, conversations about all sorts of things. Lindsay, G.I. Joe and The Filioque. I have learned a little bit about each of them, and “knowing is half the battle”.

~Selah

?”It is in silence that we habitually release our own agendas and our own need to control and become more willing and able to give ourselves to God’s loving initiative. In silence we create space for God’s activity instead of filling every moment with our own.” ~Ruth Haley Barton

Lack of Silence is an endemic problem in our culture. As I sit here at Starbucks I hear music playing over the sound system, people all around me are talking, the barista’s are calling out coffee orders and a whole litany of other things is taking place. No one is intentionally sitting as Starbucks trying to cultivate silence. This is a macrocosm of our problems in general as a society. We do not cultivate a quiet heart, a peaceful mind, and a slower pace of life. We are afraid if we do that we would be seen as lazy, as introverted, or as someone who is not productive.

The Belief that we must be productive at all times is a lie that comes straight

From the Devil himself.

1 Kings 19: 1-19 (msg)

^1-2 “Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: “The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets.” ^3-5 When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day’s journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: “Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, “Get up and eat!”⁶ He looked around and, to his surprise, right by his head were a loaf of bread baked on some coals and a jug of water. He ate the meal and went back to sleep.⁷ The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, “Get up and eat some more—you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”^8-9 He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep.

    Then the word of God came to him: “So Elijah, what are you doing here?”

¹⁰ ”I’ve been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,” said Elijah. “The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.” ^11-12 Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.”A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.^13-14 When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?” Elijah said it again, “I’ve been working my heart out for God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.”

 ^15-18 God said, “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael; make him king over Aram. Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi; make him king over Israel. Finally, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Anyone who escapes death by Hazael will be killed by Jehu; and anyone who escapes death by Jehu will be killed by Elisha. Meanwhile, I’m preserving for myself seven thousand souls: the knees that haven’t bowed to the god Baal, the mouths that haven’t kissed his image.”¹⁹ Elijah went straight out and found Elisha son of Shaphat in a field where there were twelve pairs of yoked oxen at work plowing; Elisha was in charge of the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak over him.”

Why Did God have Elijah go so far, and for so long, before He spoke clearly with him? Elijah had been faithful to what God told him to do. His altar to God, drenched in water, was just consumed by God. It was an incredible show of God’s power, and it made the idol worshipping culture he was in mad. They were searching him out actively so that he could be killed just like the other prophets had been.

1. Elijah’s heart was troubled and burdened. So often we must be quiet before the Lord in order to hear from him. (Psalm 46:10) Be Still, or another translation says “cease striving”…and know that I am God! We must be able to be still in order to hear God at the depths he wants to speak. Sure, he speaks through other circumstances, and in times and places that are active and loud. But, in order to understand deeply the things God wants to show you, stopping and listening, and not doing anything under your own power is very important.
   
2. Elijah did not feel he was in a safe space. We must feel that we are safe and loved and cared for if we are going to truly go deep with God. He needed to get far from the troubles that were pressing in on him so his mind would not get in the way of communion with God.
   

Why did God have the rushing wind of the Hurricane and earthquake and the fire go before he spoke to Elijah? I believe God wanted to show Elijah that all the evil in the world, all the things that we happening around him were not what God wanted him to listen too. As humans, it is so very easy to get focused on the short term circumstances around us and think that God has lost control of the circumstances of our life. We are the first rats to abandon ship when we think that the ship is sinking. Our immediate circumstances often determine our long term outlook on life. We must stop doing that.

What does silence accomplish for our spiritual lives?

1. When we are silent for a time with God we cease our striving for the voice of God, and allow God to speak on his terms, in his ways, and to the very depths of our soul and our mind.
2. When we get quiet our minds will bring forward a lot of things that we sometimes do not realize we are dwelling on every day. Our mind might bring forward finances, friends, grades, anything that is nettlesome to our hearts and minds. This is part of the reason we do not like silence, because we must battle with the issues that our egos suppress during the day. It took Elijah, a prophet of God, 40 days to hear that voice. To be a prophet by definition means you hear the voice of God and you then obey what you hear. He should be a professional at hearing the voice of God, but instead it took 40 days to hear him fully.
3. Silence will eventually accomplish humility in our hearts and minds. With humility will come wisdom, and with wisdom favor, and with favor the blessings of God, and with God’s blessings the world gets a whole lot easier. Proverbs 15:33 NASB “The fear of the LORD is instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility”
4. Silence signals that we want God, more than anything else, to be in control of the life that we lead. Taking time to cultivate silence, to allow God to use that silence to commune with us, signals the spiritual world that there is one person in control, and that person is God.

Silence is not easy. Some of the things that work against us choosing silence and solitude are:

1. Technology. Our computers, smart phones, Kindles and I-pods enable us to multi task like never before. We can be very productive when we use these things, but it works against being quiet and not “accomplishing” anything by the world’s standards.
2. Societal expectations. We are expected from a young age to be studious students, do all our chores, memorize scripture and be appropriating all our time in a “constructive” manner. God does not expect that of us, He expects us to commune with him. We were built in the Garden of Eden to be in communion with him and to have fellowship.
3. Flawed understanding of what progress is. We believe progress is a collective issue. “Societal progress,” “economic progress,” and so on all indicates our progress as a whole unit. We need to progress as individuals first before we can progress as a unit is a truly successful manner. If we cannot be whole, healthy and well adjusted as individuals, as a whole we will have deeper problems that are more endemic than we realize.
   

Please take this sheet of paper. Over the next week I challenge you to spending 30 minutes in silence, and solitude. Do not take your cell phone; you’re I-pod, or anything that will distract you. As you get quiet, pay attention to your thoughts; write down as many of them as you can on the provided sheet of paper. When you are done, fold it up and put it in the attached envelope that is titled “My concerns”. Finally, stick them away in your bible or someplace safe.

As you cultivate quiet times with God more and more often you will find those concerns mean less and less and they will stop polluting your heart and mind so much. I will not say they all go away entirely, but I will say God will give you the resources and heart knowledge to deal with them effectively.

At some point into the future, open that envelope. Ask yourself, do these things still matter? What has God given me to deal with these issues? I bet he shows you some great things.

~Selah~

My thoughts and concerns

May 2011

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So I could make excuses, lame ones at best, as to the reasons this blog has been at rest.

Hollow they would sound, and pointles they would be, but here and now I assure thee… I love my readers… all three!

Patience is a virtue, this I am told. Virtous behavior, is not a strong point in me. But Thee my dear three, be patient with me. Show mercy, compassion, and know I love thee!

More to come, and more there shall be. I shall discipline my mind, and put my heart on full roar.

Until then, bless thee dear reader may ye find much rest!