the mystery of prayer in times of war...

yesterday sometime we passed the sobering mark of 2,000 dead American soldiers. This from a NY Times article today:

But as the nation pays grim tribute today to the 2,000 service members killed in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, their collective stories describe the painful stresses and recurring strains that an extended conflict, with all its demands for multiple tours, is placing on families, towns and the military itself as they struggle to console the living while burying the dead...The milestone of 2,000 dead was marked yesterday by a moment of silence in the Senate, and President Bush said that "the best way to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops is to complete the mission."

the war continues in Iraq and i'm really not sure what to believe about how things are over there. sometimes i imagine that the only thing i can do is pray...but then i read this piece from Mark Twain and i wonder if i'm being careful enough about how i petition the Almighty when it comes to armed conflict...

It was a time of great and exalting excitement.
The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety’s sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way...

read the rest of the war prayer by Mark Twain.

courage 2

a day to remember this heroic person. to give thanks for her unbelievable courage and grace...a true agent of the Kingdom coming. here's a small excerpt from the NY Times obit.

Rosa Parks, a black seamstress whose refusal to relinquish her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Ala., almost 50 years ago grew into a mythic event that helped touch off the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's, died yesterday at her home in Detroit. She was 92 years old.

For her act of defiance, Mrs. Parks was arrested, convicted of violating the segregation laws and fined $10, plus $4 in court fees. In response, blacks in Montgomery boycotted the buses for nearly 13 months while mounting a successful Supreme Court challenge to the Jim Crow law that enforced their second-class status on the public bus system.

The events that began on that bus in the winter of 1955 captivated the nation and transformed a 26-year-old preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. into a major civil rights leader. It was Dr. King, the new pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, who was drafted to head the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization formed to direct the nascent civil rights struggle.

full obit from the NY Times here

Grace on the road.....

Nature seems to have a way of reserving certain special events or prerogatives for herself. There are certain unmistakable things that seem to tether us firmly to the inherent goodness of creation and remind us of just wonderful life is even in the face of the brokenness and evil that we see. One of the most notable examples of this mysterious phenomenon of grace, is the birth of a child and the totally unmerited privilege of being able to co-create with God and bring a new life into the world. There is something about an infant that can incline even the hardest of heart toward at least considering the idea of the divine. And the most atrocious and unfathomable of crimes are almost always those that involve the destruction of innocent young life. Indeed, it is Elie Wiesel commenting in his heartwrenching classic "Night" about the Nazi's dumping truckloads of children into fiery pits (pits that I have walked beside at Birkenau), who says that the sight of such an abomination "put to death" his faith in God. I cannot fathom Wiesel's pain, nor can I presume to "answer" the very real questions that the vicarious experience of his sufferings have raised for me. All that I can say is that becoming a parent has opened a whole new world for me, and has led me into a deeper experience of grace than I ever could have imagined. One particular event in the recent past gave me renewed hope that the very thing that makes the Nazi crimes so atrocious, also makes the light of God's love shine all the brighter in a different set of circumstances.

A couple of weeks ago I was out walking with my daughter Miranda, and we were walking with our backs to the sun. Hearing an odd noise I had turned to look up a sidestreet, and as I returned my gaze to the sidewalk in front of me, I noticed Miranda's sleepy little eyes wincing in the blinding sunlight. When I had turned to look away the sunlight hit her squarely in the face, but when I returned my gaze to our forward path she was suddenly covered in my shadow and able to relax. Almost instantly, I thought about that remarkably hopeful and enigmatic verse in Psalm 91 that says "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the almighty." What a remarkable visual image of that vital promise from the Psalmist, I thought to myself. This helpless little infant being shielded from the scorching rays of the sun by her father is actually me. Likewise, this whole drama of becoming a parent and purposefully taking my daughter out into a very dangerous world, is a large part of what it means to truly rest in the shadow of the almighty. It is an act of trust, I guess, an evidence of faith in the relationship. The rest of the Psalm makes a lot more promises that seem to have returned null and void for a lot people who have not been saved from the "fowler's snare." Or have they been saved in a different way? Was Jesus saved from the "fowler's snare?" These are tough questions for me, and they leave me clinging to those moments in the course of daily life where God seems to be so forcefully present in the midst of the mundane; those moments where there seems to be no separation between the "natural" & the "supernatural," bewteen the "physical" & the "spiritual." It would seem like there is a quality of relationship and a kind of walk with God that can only be found in the shadows of life, in the forgotten and cold places. This is something that the mystics down through the centuries have tried to tell us. But how can you articulate such a thing to another person? Perhaps it is a path that is only discernible when we consciously choose to take it, when the desire to be known overcomes the desire to know? Or maybe it has more to do with truly believing that we can/will step out of the shadows and into the glorious presence of God's light through Christ? Perhaps the psalmist wishes to direct us toward remaining faithful in the shadow of goodness and grace because he knows that only something which is real and solid can cast a shadow in the first place? Even the shadowy places are vital evidences insofar as they point to something that merely blocks the sun for a season? Whatever the case may be, I am thankful to God for speaking to me through nature and the elements.

missing mountains....the book

Missing Mountains: We went to the mountaintop but it wasn't there
Foreword by Silas House
Afterword by Wendell Berry
edited by Kristin Johannsen, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Mary Ann Taylor-Hall

last friday nights several of us went to witness the launch of this book at Joseph-Beth booksellers. Here is a selection from Mr Berry's afterword:

Eastern Kentucky, in its natural endowments of timber and minerals, is the wealthiest region of our state, and it has now experienced more than a century of intense corporate 'free enterprise,' with the result that it is more impoverished and has suffered more ecological damage than any other region. The worst inflicter of poverty and ecological damage has been the coal industry, which has taken from the region a wealth probably incalculable, and has imposed the highest and most burdening 'costs of production' upon the land and the people. Many of these costs are, in the nature of things, not repayable. Some were paid by people now dead and beyond the reach of compensation. Some are scars on the land that will not be healed in any length of time imaginable by humans.

more about the book here. Please buy a copy. All the proceeds go to Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

human trafficking

for a while sherry and i went to the Amnesty International student group at the University of Kentucky. we still get their emails and i followed a recent action alert to the amnesty (usa) site.
AI are using a new miniseries (2 nights) on the Lifetime channel to bring awareness to the terrible and very present practice of human trafficking. it will be showing this monday and tuesday nights (24th and 25th, 9pm ET).
you can get more details (fact sheets, promo materials, how to host a viewing party, etc) here. we don't get cable so we might have to wait till it is out on DVD. If anyone would like to host a viewing party please let us know and we can get the details out.

i accept ugly

thanks (again) to jonny for putting us on to Howies - one of the new breed of businesses willing to do their retailing in fresh/ethical ways. their website has some wonderful stuff....i'm a big fan of the food reflections, particularly the "i accept ugly" piece.

I Accept Ugly.
I accept that fruit and vegetables come in all shapes and sizes.
Like life, it takes all sorts.
I accept apples that don't have perfect skin.
(Remember being a teenager?)
I also accept scary looking carrots, over-sized swedes and onions so ugly they make your eyes water.
I accept blemishes on cauliflower leaves especially as we don't eat that bit anyway.
I accept rhubarbs that are taller than corporate policy.
I accept potatoes come from the ground. I have also come to terms with the fact they may well have dirt on as a result.
And as for turnips, well, they were never meant to be one of nature's good-lookers.
You see, nature grew them all. Nature gave them the OK. And, this is the important bit, nature gave these ugly critters as much goodness as the pretty ones.
These are shallow times, I know.
Even so, to throw away 20-30% of the food we grow on the grounds that it's not pretty enough, seems like we have lost the garden plot.
You say your customers demand it this way, well, just so you know, this one doesn't.

By A Customer that accepts ugly

thinking and acting

found this quote from Georges Bernanos . i read something Robert Coles said about him and knew nothing of Bernanos so i 'googled' him. Coles seemed to be intrigued by the irony and ambiguity of his life. i'm not sure about all that but i loved this quote:

"A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all."

some others i liked...

"The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means."

"The modern state no longer has anything but rights; it does not recognize duties any more."

"The wish to pray is a prayer in itself. God can ask no more than that of us."

"Truth is meant to save you first, and the comfort comes afterward."

missing mountains

Kentucky Authors MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL Tour
Friday, October 21st at 7pm
at Joseph Beth Booksellers (Lexington Green).

DETAILS:
Wendell Berry, Silas House, Ed McClanahan, Bob Sloan, Kristin Johannsen, Mary Ann Taylor-Hall, Jordan Fisher Smith, Rebecca Bailey, Chris Holbrook, George Brosi, James Baker Hall and Loyal Jones.

A growing number of authors are speaking and writing against the highly destructive practice of mountaintop removal mining that takes place upstream from Central Kentucky in the Appalachian coalfields. Authors from two coalfield tours coordinated by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth will share their views and discuss their forthcoming book "Missing Mountains".
Come out to listen to a phenomenal array of Kentucky Authors and to show your support for KFTC's work against Mountaintop Removal.

there is no 'away'

in a recent paper written for this week's Kingdom Conference, Howard Snyder writes this:

Recycle things rather than throwing them "away" realizing that waste products never really go "away."

There is no "away". It's all here...even if we do put it in a truck and drive down the road with it. After Dr Snyder delivered the opening chapel address yesterday morning i had a great chat to Clinton about the underlying problems with the lack of environmental concern among evangelicals. Clinton rightly pointed out that all the recycling in the world won't necessarily help people sense the urgent need for serious creation care. i suggested that perhaps there can be significant change if disciplines like recycling are 'means of grace'..that is to say, if they really become as formative in our lives as older Christian traditions such as prayer and gathering together each week. At the heart of this transformation will be a de-comodification of the earth....we will learn (again) that WE ARE PART OF THE CREATED WORLD. it reminded me of this great rant from Wendell Berry (source):

We need to quit referring to the world as “the environment.” That phrase proposes that the world merely surrounds us, is external to us, is “out there.” If that were so, our problems would be fewer and simpler. But in fact the world is not something “out there” that we have or own. The so-called “environment” doesn’t stay put. We are in it and it is in us. We breathe it in and out. We drink it, eat it, and excrete it. When it is degraded, we are degraded; when it is poisoned, we are poisoned. Calling the world “the environment” suggests to too many people that they can abuse it free of charge. By calling the world by its right name, we would make it far easier to say to the polluters, spoilers, and wasters (including, of course, ourselves): “This is our world. We (and you too) are the world’s people. What we do to it we do to ourselves and to one another and to our children. What we do to others, even or enemies, we do to ourselves.

two links

1. we need new ways to 'make energy'....not sure about this one. Montana Coal Rush







2. If you live in Lexington and are interested in participating in the redevelopment of an important historical landmark.....go here. this old theatre is just a block away from where we live and i hope its future is as uplifting and impressive as its past.

YOU brought me to his banqueting table......

One of the things that I really love about our community is that it truly takes a colloborative effort by all to make it happen right. Though it sometimes seems to me like it would be a lot easier to go another route, I deeply appreciate the way that we struggle together to try and live out the priesthood of all believers principle, and avoid defaulting to a dependence upon one persons gift or charisma to lift the lot. I'm not saying that we always do this well, or that we all share a clear and collective sense of what it is that we're trying to do in the first place. We need to keep working on building a more mutually shared identity, and we need to continue being honest, humble, and sober in our communal and self-evaluations. However, in the midst of the imperfections that continue to persist, I see brilliant rays of light bursting through that give me a great deal of hope in what God is doing and a lot of excitment about the future. Though they may currently (or by their very nature) be more rare than we would like, those moments in which we're able to come together and truly be the organic "body" of Christ, are truly special times that make the Kingdom seem like it is indeed coming; and they are moments that are very real, tested, durable achievements shared by everyone. Sunday's evening fellowship meeting at the High Street House was one of those moments for me.

This past Sunday was our bi-weekly time to assemble as a "family" and share a meal together. Our evening began with John & Katheryn gathering us in the front room for the welcome and the reading of the relevant lectionary passages. The gospel reading was from Matthew 22, the parable of the wedding banquet. John and Katheryn shared with us the wonderful news that they are currently looking for a house and planning to remain in Lexington for several more years. Naturally, the news was in itself a wonderful and joyous revelation. But it wasn't just the news that made it so special. It was the manner in which they shared it. They related their decision to remain in Lexington to Jesus' teaching in the parable about not just showing up to the banquet, but coming to it in a state of preparedness and being ready to honor the host with the proper attitude and reverence. It was a very powerful and deeply convicting message that came straight from the heart. After sharing, they opened the door to the middle room where they had the communion elements in the front of the dining tables waiting to serve us. Katheryn led us in serving one another the eucharist, and then we sat down to a wonderful Chipotle dinner with a tantalizing homemade dessert provided by Robert and Will T.(Will works at Chipotle). Almost everyone was present on this particular night, so their was a lot of good dinner time conversation and the energy that is always palpable when we're really enjoying our time together and simply being grateful for it. It was just one of those nights where we seemed to have a real sense of purpose in gathering, and where everyone seemed content to share what they had to offer. It was truly a special evening for me; a glimpse of the Kingdom that really left me feeling like I had been hosted at the banqueting table of a very different kind of King.

Again, I know that we don't always get it right, and we don't always feel the same way about a given event or set of circumstances. However, there are so many amazing ways in which God is breaking through with us, and the most amazing thing about it is that it really requires all of us to make it work right. We are slowly learning how to host and worthily dignify one another-probably the toughest task that we could ever undertake. And that opportunity is something for which we can truly be thankful..........let's ring the dinner bell and keep inviting more folks to join us at the baqueting table.....and most of all, thanks for bringing me to it!

creation trashed

thanks to jonny for the tip about this artist.
i thought this was a brilliant re-imagining of monet for our creation and theology conversations this week at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Kingdom Conference '05

We are taking ourselves out to Asbury Theological Seminary this week for their annual conference about holistic mission..."exploring issues of mission, mercy, and justice."

This year the theme is "Creation Healed." We have a table each year (along with other mission agencies) to let students know about our missional community, hear about what people are learning, and share our stories of applied missiology. this year we are especially excited about raising awareness for the anti Mountain Top Removal cause. if you have read this blog before you know what a critical issue this is for us locally, but also regionally and nationally.

if you are interested, see here and here for more background. also the official site here.


As a way of setting the tone for the conference ATS professor and well known author, Howard Snyder has written a brilliant paper adressing issues of Environmentalism and Christianity. entitled Salvation Means Creation Healed: Creation, Cross, Kingdom, and Mission. the paper directly addresses the question, "Why don’t Evangelicals, in particular, take stewardship and creation care more seriously?". Dr. Snyder does a masterful job of making sense of this "hole in the Evangelical worldview." If you would like a copy of the paper let me know and i will very happy to send it to you.

...for another excellent essay on creation and theology see this one by Wendell Berry.

Justice In Other Words

I recently shared with my men's group that I am at least a bit afraid of justice. I am not talking about getting pulled over, but more about how, according to scripture, we are supposed to live justly, and what it means if we fail to do so. Our conversaion, and my apprehension, do not completely leave the stage when I need to read for class. (I am studying to be a counselor.) Three things have surfaced recently in my reading/thinking/talking.
The first comes from a book by Michael White called Reauthoring Our Lives: Interviews and Essays. White is a family therapist in Adelaide, South Australia, who has serious concerns about how therapy can perpetuate cultural norms and stereotypes in destructive ways. Here is the exchange that struck me:

[Interviewer]: Can you say a little about the work in the Aboriginal Counselling Project?
[White]: I don't wish to say much about the specific developments in the project. To say something significant about this would require me to talk at some length about what I have learned about Aboriginal knowledges, and I have not been authorised to do so. As well, so many white people have been given privileged access to information and to life in the Aboriginal community, and have gone on to make success out of this--acknowledgement, honour, degrees, careers, and so on--and have returned nothing. This is a further injustice. Even without participating in this, as a member of the white culture, I know that I have a lot to return, and this weighs on me heavily, as it should. Perhaps the best way that I could respond to your question is to take it back to the Project, and you might get a response.

This is significant because so much of what I read for this degree depicts professionals attempting to sell an approach to counseling that is novel and brilliant, but still grounded in research. Whole books may be an account of why the author should be trusted, and how well this approach works, especially with difficult populations. White seems to deflate that model. He gives an answer that is congruent with his respect for the indigenous culture and his anger that others have sold this culture out. He seems to even take responsibility for others of our race in his answer. It is a wonderful example to me of a therapist backing away from the temptation to be both pertinent as well as omnicient.
A second example is less quoteworthy, but meaningful to me. In a book called The Lasting Promise, the authors (Stanley et al) discuss the issue of justice in a marriage context where trust has been broken. When one spouse has an affair, for example, the scales are put out of balance. One way to balance the scales may be to return the hurt. Another is to dissolve the relationship, to break the contract. Both of these option have obvious problems. For this reason, forgiveness becomes a better means for restoring a relationship. The injuring party works to earn trust back. The injured party works to be able to trust. In a situation that could be destroyed if justice were to be served, forgiveness allows grace to work, and for something creative to occur.
Finally, just to clear everything up, Psalm 85:10 says, "Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness (The Living Bible translates this as "grim justice"!) and peace kiss each other." Let me be content to see these two kissing, to not know where one ends and the other begins.

Retreat!!

Our headless friends on the retreat!

tp