the prophetic voice is quiet

we see in recent events surrounding Pat Robertson's comments, one of the clear values of american culture .... to be warriors. Get em', bring em' down, wanted dead or alive are all sayings that reflect american culture.

i think one of the reasons there isn't much of a response from the right wing U.S. church is that they don't believe it was that bad of a comment.

sadly enough, abolishing the teachings of Jesus and a call to break the 6th commandment from a public voice like Robertson isn't enough for the prophetic voice of the american church to speak out the truth that love wins.

don on love

it seems everyone is reading donald miller these days. he has hit a cord with his writing. in his book, blue like jazz, he has this really cool chapter on the campus confession booth. it is one of the more heart provoking chapters in the book. recently leadership journal interview him in an excerpt called, "post-confessional chat with donald miller."

here is a quote that i have been thinking about for sometime now:

You've said that the church "uses love as a commodity." What do you mean?
We sometimes take a Darwinian approach with love—if we are against somebody's ideas, we starve them out. If we disagree with somebody's political ideas, or sexual identity, we just don't "pay" them. We refuse to "condone the behavior" by offering any love.

This approach has created a Christian culture that is completely unaware what the greater culture thinks of us. We don't interact with people who don't validate our ideas. There is nothing revolutionary here. This mindset is hardly a breath of fresh air to a world that uses the exact same kinds of techniques.

What's the alternative?
The opposite is biblical love, which loves even enemies, loves unconditionally, and loves liberally. Loving selectively is worldly; giving it freely is miraculous.

If love isn't a commodity, what is it?
I think of love like a magnet. When people see it given in the name of God, they're drawn to it. If I withhold love, then people believe I have met a God that makes me a hateful and vicious person. And they're repelled.

I have two responsibilities to this world, the first is to love, the second is to speak the truth. I can tell somebody such and such a behavior is sin, and still love them. Why not? Why not bring them food, why not hug them, why not have them over to the house? Won't this only help them understand the truth?

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bruce is blogging now

Good to see my friend Bruce is now blogging.

He has a great post entitled Difference Between U.S. and Canadian Seekers.

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interview with rob bell

Here is a piece from an interview with Rob Bell:

What is at the heart of what you do?

Hope.

There is the perspective of the person who pretends that everything is fine—the shiny, happy people perspective, "this is the day God has made," but doesn’t seem to acknowledge how bloody and difficult the world is.

Then there is the deconstructionist voice of despair that says, I see how rough it is and how horrible and hard life is—all they have is commiserating with you.

Then there is this third category of voices of people who acknowledge how things really are and still have hope. And those are always the people who inspire me so much.

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new old palm

I just got a new palm tungsten c pda. I'm doing this blog entry with it connected wireless to my airport express base station. This palm came out a few years ago, but I just picked it up from ebay. Nice tool to help me manage life.

camping

The annual Heartland camping weekend was great. The weather was perfect and it was a relaxing, enjoyable time together.

People had fun, spent relaxed time together. Congrats to Barb and Kevin for winning the Horseshoe tournament. And to James and Ryan for a total of 5 stitches to help heal the road rash.

Perry is already planning next year's camping trip which is rumoured to be at the Vedder River campground.

Thanks to all who planned the weekend!

switch back to pc

It's been too easy. Not enough adventure. I'm switching back to the PC. Here's why.

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how well do you know the news?

Here's a little quiz by CNN to check how well you follow recent news.

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family camping

We are off camping with the rest of the Heartland family. Packing and planning meals and getting all the kids to make sure they have enough clothes is a bit of a push, but it is always worth it. Since coming to Heartland last fall, I have heard alot of the yearly camping tradition. People here love it. I love camping too. Great fit.

We are going to have our service at the camp ground and I'm looking forward to it.

I'll post pics and reflections when we are done.

best (worst) foods

here is a link to a description and nice pictures of the best (worst) foods for you
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ghost towns

Have you ever gone camping, did some exploring and visited a ghost town? An abandoned town where people once lived and thrived on some local industry like gold mining or the railroad. Buildings, leftover machinery and maybe a gift shop are the only things left that retell stories of discovery, boom times, heros, mystery, and hardship. The stories are worth retelling because in them are nuggets that we may find parallel our own experiences.

Some of these places have old fashioned names like Barkerville or Fort Steele.

In the time of Jesus there were thriving cities that today are just Ghost towns with a gift shop. They have ancient Greek names like Didyma, Miletus, Aphrodisia and Hierapolis. Each place have sacred stories that may affect our stories. In all honesty, we are not much different than the people who lived then. Their desires and pursuits were profoundly affected by the gospel, the way of Jesus.

passive aggressive rant

Scott rants about passive-aggressive ...

one of my best friends in the world is a weirdo named eldon. eldon is not subtle. i never have to ask where i am at in his world. he is brutally honest with me. i get eldon. he is an amazing guy who loves with his whole heart. when you are around him you smile alot. people love to be around this guy because he is truly alive, very vibrant, and emotionally available. this rant is not for him.

passive-aggressive people frustrate me. they make me feel dumb. they leave me wondering how dense i have become.

i have people in my life, and i am sure you do as well, who simply cannot come out and tell me how they really feel. they 'beat around the bush' as they say, drop hints, take cheap shots, and generally leave me in a state of confusion. they have no idea how difficult it can be to understand what they are truly trying to express. and god help you if you miss it...

continue reading here

baja: surf session

All the way down the Baja coast, I was watching the surfing coming in. I hadn't been in the water since Santa Cruz and was itching to get in. The waves looked beautiful. That's why during the layover in LA I jumped at the chance to go to Bolsa with my friend Jeff.



The waves at Bolsa were different than the Baja. I don't know why. Jeff said something about Catalina and the California coast different than the Baja. The waves were smaller but had good form. Excellent for long boarding.

It was a fun session. Warm water. No wet suit.

It was a ten and a ray day. Caught ten waves by 10:00am and stepped on a sting ray without getting stung. Nice.

baja: hoodie

We were getting ready to park. They kids were swarming the vans as we were driving into a work camp. On the bumper, running along side, dangerously close. They were beautiful children all under the age of an estimated 11 years old.

I was sitting in the back of the van, so it took me awhile to get out. Most of the kids already had someone to hang on, ask for piggy back rides or to swirl in circles. When I got out, I started a game I learned at the other camp, I touched a boy on the shoulder and ran away looking over my shoulder to let him know I was gaming. He ran after me and a massive game of tag began.

Tag died out, then started piggy back rides, and my back got tired so we shifted to walking with them on my feet. The music was set up by now and so dancing and twirling were next. The crowd of kids was much more energetic than I. We were to play with the kids until dark, then they would play a veggie tale movie projected on the side of a van and begin the adult evangelism afterward.

I needed a break so I slowly shifted to the side to have a seat. My 40 year old body couldn't handle all the rough housing, I needed a break. Sitting on the edge I notice a little boy with a hoodie playing by himself on the fringes. I walked over to him and tried to engage him in a game of tag. He wasn't interested. Then I tried a piggy back ride, he wouldn't get close enough. Then my full attention was trying to include him and draw him in with the other kids. The other kids were very rough with him, choker holds, dragging him down, poking at him like kids do to each other, but this was especially over done. The boy with the hoodie was the kid who was easy to pick on. He had a great smile and loved to play, but don't get too close. He won't let you. He had bare calloused feet, and a couple of holes in his pants.

The other kids would grab my attention and soon I was doing tricks with rocks and taking my eyes out to clean them and other games to entertain the kids, but my attention was on the boy with the hoodie. I wondered what his story was. Who his parents were. Why was he so shy and untrusting?

The evangelist from FFFM handed out cookies to all the kids. The boy with the hoodie was having trouble with his bag so I slowly made my way to him and he let me help him with the bag. Then he ran off again. It was getting dark and I found him later trying to put all the cookies back into his ripped bag, so again I slowly made my way to him and he let me do some bag repairs. Right then the movie started and I ofered my hand to walk with him to the seating area. He took my finger and we walked together to watch Spanish version of veggie tales. He sat with me and I relished every moment. He finished all the cookies. One by one.

The movie was almost done and he suddenly stood up. Without looking back, he began walking towards the row houses. I thought he'd come back. But he kept walking away, alone, towards presumably his house. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore, he was gone, sadly into the darkness.

After about a minute, I got up and started looking for him. But he was gone. I'd never see him again.

The movie finished and the evangelist started inviting adults to come and the program continued. But I couldn't help wondering how the boy with the hoodie was. Questions stared swirling in my mind. What will his life be like? How many years until the farmer makes him work in the field? Will I see him or others like him again? And will anyone ever show him the way out of the darkness?