Archive for March, 2009

Out of the Box!

March 30th, 2009

I am totally encouraged by this story and how perfectly it illustrates what I have been pondering. How do you affect cultural change?

I have been thinking about this in relation to my previous post about naming our children in utero. What would it take to get the culture engaged in changing our view of abortion? In the case of the above mentioned article she did it. She had an idea, she explained it to the city and she implemented it. Result being less litter. I believe she is illustrating a very crucial idea. The idea of buy in.

American culture loves it’s mavericks. We love to hear stories about the men and women who went out and changed the world. Who stood up and started a revolution. I am no exception. I am enamored with stories about civil rights activists, pastors, teachers.. you name it; all who stepped out on principle and with an idea. What I do not often stop to think though is that even those who stepped out had to get the culture behind them. They had to transmit their intentions. By pulpit, by book, by political stumping, they all had to transmit their ideas to the culture and get the buy in.

I am only engaging in a thought experiment here, but using my previous post as an example, what would it take to change the culture? I think any person who steps out and tries to affect the culture around them has to ask themselves 5 very key questions. This works on the macro level, which is the example I am giving, but also on the micro level in such places as in the home, in our classrooms, in our churches. These 5 questions are:

What does my naming a child in utero assume about the world?

What does my naming a child in utero assume about the way the world should be?

What would naming a child in utero make possible?

What would naming a child in utero make more difficult?

What new culture would be created in response to naming our children in utero?

I am leaning heavily into the excellent book by Andy Crouch called Culture Making for those 5 questions. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, but especially anyone wanting to engage and change the culture today.

I want to add one more question we should ask ourselves, and it is the big one and it is implied in the previous 5 questions. But the question is:

What is my motivation?

Every good author, painter, poet teacher and so forth has to ask themselves that question regularly. So what is your source of motivation today? What affect can you or are you having on the culture around you?

I am learning to ask myself these very basic questions because at the heart of things I am a mixed motives guy. I think we all are. I want to please Jesus, I want to be the stud my wife thinks I am, I want to impress my son, the boss, the Pastor. I want to be the cool guy who has all the answers. I believe that by asking ourselves what our motives are, and the framing those motives in the framework of the first five questions will root out a lot of the background noise. If an idea passes through these filters and the motives genuine, the change needed, and the person with the idea can gain buy in then the world is but an open book.

Do you agree, disagree, think I am so far off base I am playing on a baseball field in North Dakota? Please share.

h/t to culture-making.com for the original story.

G.K. Chesterton

March 26th, 2009

“Complaint always comes back in an echo from the ends of the world; but silence strengthens us.”

- The Father Brown Omnibus

Wordless Wednesday #2

March 25th, 2009


h/t Mike Todd at Waving or Drowning

What’s in a name?

March 23rd, 2009

When a prisoner is taken in an act of war one of the first things they do is take away the dignity of having a name. POW Holmes becomes P-122 or some other bland and dignity robbing name. Inherent in the dignity of a person is their name. A name gives integrity, it gives identity, and it communicates who we are and what we are about. When you hear the name Carl it brings up a thought of some kind. You might know me by sight, or for something I have said, but having a name, and being named, is a fundamental right as human.

In Biblical times a name represented a person and their characteristics ( 1 Sam 25:25, Gen 27:36, Mat 1:21). A name is a gift from parent to child. A name is a Gift communicated by God to his children.

Bear with me as I put this thought together. I simply must put it into words because God has been continually putting it in my mind. I want to put it out here and see what is said and then you can interact with it. But what if Christians started naming their babies at conception? What if a couple that is planning out a family comes up with names before they started the work of having a child? Do you think that if we started doing that consistently and over the long term we might start to affect cultural change? Would doing this over the long term change anything?

I make such a postulate because I am tired of Christianity trying to win the battle for life in the courts and in the Senate. It is not working, we are not winning, and part of the reason is because Christianity on the whole has abdicated their responsibility to be the model of the dignity of life. We have put our faith in political parties, not in living out our Christianity. The only way to affect a culture is through the culture, and that takes time.

In my Bible study today I came across Exodus 1. I have overlooked this gem before and I am glad God brought it to mind today. Here is part of it.

A new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. He spoke to his people in alarm, “There are way too many of these Israelites for us to handle. We’ve got to do something: Let’s devise a plan to contain them, lest if there’s a war they should join our enemies, or just walk off and leave us.”… The king of Egypt had a talk with the two Hebrew midwives; one was named Shiphrah and the other Puah. He said, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the sex of the baby. If it’s a boy, kill him; if it’s a girl, let her live.”But the midwives had far too much respect for God and didn’t do what the king of Egypt ordered; they let the boy babies live. The king of Egypt called in the midwives. “Why didn’t you obey my orders? You’ve let those babies live!” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; they’re vigorous. Before the midwife can get there, they’ve already had the baby.” God was pleased with the midwives. The people continued to increase in number—a very strong people. And because the midwives honored God, God gave them families of their own. So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: “Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live.” (Ex 1:8 to 22 Mssg)

Something I noticed in this scripture is that God did not dignify Pharaoh with a name. He did not say Ramses, He did not give him the respect of identifying him. However, he dignified Shiphrah and Puah with a name. God was well pleased with their actions in the face of Pharaoh. They could have died, and why Pharaoh did not kill them is a testimony of God and His covering over them. Had they listened to Pharaoh and done as he commanded then Moses and Aaron would have been dead before they had a chance to lead Israel. God truly is soverign.

Christianity today is loosing the battle for the greater culture. We are “slouching toward Gomorrah” and the tides need to be turned. I am not a cultural alarmist and I do not believe that indicting the culture will change it. But what will change it is you and I stepping forward and not only giving lip service to the dignity of a human life, but treating human life with dignity. In ancient times the Jews blessed their children in utero. They called out blessings audibly in prayer and called forth blessings. We can do the same. We can bless them with a name in utero, we can treat our elderly with greater respect, we can model to our culture that life matters, life is dignifying, life is valuable. When we as Christians start to model it we eventually will make the impacts on the culture for the better.

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Wordless Wednesday #1

March 18th, 2009

A new feature I want to start adding to this blog is going to be called Wordless Wednesday. I will post something inspiring, cool, artistic or just plain fun. Here goes # 1.

Meister Ekhart

March 17th, 2009

God is never weary of loving and working…. God loves for the sake of love, works for the sake of work, and therefore loves and works uninterruptedly. God’s work is God’s nature, God’s being, God’s life, God’s happiness.

Source: Meister Eckhart: Selected Treatises and Sermons, James Clarke and John V. Skinner

Holi is coming home!

March 16th, 2009

Holi is coming home. She has free medical care at Stanford University Medical Center and she is flying with her family on a commercial flight… This is one incredible development, and one that does my heart so much good.

I was asked the other day when talking about this why I felt moved by this situation. After all there are thousands of Holi’s out there and there are constant needs within the body for money, for prayer, and for support. All I can say is that Holi is my starfish. Of the thousands of needs out there I felt called and compelled to spread her story. I feel called to help throw here back into the water to survive.

Please still consider supporting the family for some time. While the initial goal of 150,000 for a medical evacuation is not going to be needed, they still need to get from Tennessee to California regularly and take care of other expenses incurred in India I am sure.

When working in a global missions environment like I do I become guilty of thinking of missions in the macro. By that I mean looking at the big picture, big environment. That is what I am paid to do, I do it well, but then I forget about the needs at home and I forget that our biggest mission field, the “Calcutta in the backyard” is girls like Holi, friends like T.J. at the coffee shop and my friends and neighbors.

~Selah~

Jesus in the Wilderness

March 10th, 2009

No words, just reverence.

Cicero

March 8th, 2009

“The budget should be balanced. Public debt should be reduced. The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered. And assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest our empire go bankrupt.”

-Cicero

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Help Holly Get Home

March 3rd, 2009

At the right of this post you will see a new banner. It is to bring Holli Home. I was very touched by this story this morning. Please read her story and give a donation. Any amount will help.

I do not know why this one rose above the rest except to say that I know where the accident happened. When I was in India in 05 we were in Chennai, and then we spent a few days decompressing in Pondicherry at a nice resort before coming home. The hospital she is now in was also the hospital a team member of mine spent a few days in after becoming very ill.

Please give what you can. Pass the word, share it on your blog. Before you know it we have a groundswell of support and next thing you know she is home getting the care she needs. India has great healthcare, but only if you are in the right places. She needs to come home though to be with family and friends and support.

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