Holy Ground

Today didn’t go as planned. I went to the church office dressed like a bum. I was only going to be there for a few minutes.

What did it matter that I was in my sweat pants and sweat shirt with a baseball hat covering my non-shampooed-cleansed hair? I was going to work out at the fitness center, go home, shower, prepare for two Bible studies, an Ash Wednesday breakfast speaking engagement, Ash Wednesday worship, and the upcoming Sunday sermon.

Don’t tell anyone. I hadn’t even shaved. After all, following a great sweat, I was going to be at home for the rest of the day. No one was going to see me. I was just going to be there for a few minutes.

You know how it goes. My wife, Ann, and I arrived a little after 9:00am.

Then one conversation led to another to another and another.

Amazing conversations

Ultimate stuff

Life and death

Calling. What should we do with our lives?

Heaven and hell

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

If we love the people in our lives who are hurting, think how much Jesus must love them!

That’s how it went all morning. And I was just going to make a “guest appearance” and then disappear.

So it hit me. I realized that I am surrounded by some pretty amazing people. There are people at my church who are touching lives, quietly, powerfully, making a difference, and sometimes, I’m the only one who knows about it. And since it’s personal, I can’t blab the details to the world. But I got to hear about it. I should have taken off my shoes. The stories that I was hearing made me realize that I was standing on holy ground.

Around 1:20pm I made it to the fitness center. I finally got my workout and my shower at home. I wolfed down some lunch. Hey- I was hungry. Oh, and there was some progress on my Bible studies. Yet I was in a daze. Holy ground. At 3241 Church Road. On Monday, February 27, 2006! Not what I had planned.

There you have it.

Duh-sciple again,

Tim

The Power of One

Here's what I'm posting for our March, 2006 newsletter:

In my teens and into my early twenties I wanted to change the world. But I quickly discovered that was too tough, too big a challenge.

When I graduated from college and later from seminary, by this time I was 28, I thought I might make a difference in the church. I soon found out that churches resist change, and even though I was now a pastor, I didn’t have all the answers.

Then someone told me a joke, “How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb? Change?! Change! But we’ve always done it this way!” I realized I couldn’t change the church. Apparently, I needed to downsize my dreams.

So I turned to my family. If I could only help them to get their acts together, then I would have accomplished something. Guess what? No luck. [Thank goodness for their sake.] I discovered that changing them was also outside of my control.

Now I’m in my forties. According to the DNA of Relationships, with God’s help, I have the power of one. I stretch out my arms, making a circle by grasping my hands. That is my circle of control. The world, the church, and my family are not in my circle of control. I’m the only one in that circle. I don’t have the power to change you, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, I can change.

It took me almost 47 years to figure this out. I’m the only one in my circle of control. Yet even changing me is impossible without the power of God. As we begin the Lenten journey with its disciplines of fasting, prayer, and giving to the poor, I will remember who is in my circle of control. May the Almighty help me to become the person He created me to be.

Thank ya, love ya, see ya, Pastor Tim [the Duh-sciple]

Making memories

No heat at church today. Room temperature hovered around 56 degrees in the sanctuary. Burrrrrr! We gutted it out at the 8:00 a.m. service. I told folks, “There’s bad news and good news. Bad news is it’s not very warm here this morning. The good news is we’re saving on fuel, plus my hot air should warm the place shortly.”

Our poor sexton tried to call the heat system company. No one was around. But it was the weekend, a President’s Day weekend no less.

So the second service came around and the temperature was still dropping. We moved the service down to the Fellowship Room where it was much warmer. Some of the older folks, because of the cold, had already left due to the chill.

Somehow we pulled together, setting up everything we needed- the communion elements, a reading stand, an electronic piano. God bless our music minister, Patti. It’s tough to adjust the musical environment like that, going from organ to electronic piano. But she didn’t skip a beat.

Meanwhile, I had to give my good news, bad news speech for the second time. Then I added, “We’re making memories. This isn’t an ordinary service. The chill forced us downstairs. That’s okay because we won’t forget this worship.” And it was wonderful. Our guest soloist did an awesome job.

Then I shared my sermon based on Mark 2. It featured the four friends who dropped their Paralyzed Pal through the roof to meet the Healer, Jesus, focusing on how insane they were to bust a hole through the ceiling. I reminded everyone of my New Year's resolution not to try to be normal anymore. I said that what the four friends did was not normal, but it demonstrated awesome faith. Jesus responded to their faith by forgiving their Paralyzed Pal and eventually curing him. I concluded, "Don't be normal, instead be crazy for Jesus."

Next we moved to the highlight- we received Christ- his body and blood, given in, with and under the bread and wine. As folks left the communion line, I had arranged four friends, just like four friends in the Gospel story, to be my healing ministry team. They anointed folks with oil, laid hands on their heads, and prayed for healing in the name of Jesus, the Great Physician. We were making memories!

Afterwards, we had a luncheon in that very same Fellowship Room. The food was delicious! You can tell our kitchen crew I was bragging on them.

I really appreciated folks “going with the flow.” In the end, it was beautiful, gathering in Jesus’ name, receiving God’s forgiveness, feeling the Spirit’s healing touch, and being sent on our way to spread the good news of the Almighty’s love for everyone.

There you have it. More stumbling and bumbling in the duh-sciple lifestyle, yet Jesus blessed us. We were making memories.

Thank ya, see ya, love ya, Tim

A few favorite quotes

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.

Jesus calls us to have soft hearts and hard feet, not hard hearts and soft feet.

Loved people, love people.

Forgiven people, forgive other people.

Graced people, grace other people.

Don't sweat the small stuff, it's all small stuff.

When people attack you, insult you, talk about you- love them anyway.

All who discern that this is God's will for us, say, "Aye!" All those who do not see this as God's will for us, say, "Nay."

The race does not belong to the swift but to those who endure.

They'll never care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Now the hard part for me- putting these quotes into my living. Lord Jesus, help me to follow you. Amen.

Your friendly neighborhood Duh-sciple, Tim

Body Prayer

Hey, how's it going? It's snowing outside. Expecting 6-10 inches. Thought I'd share where I've been growing spiritually...

In 2006 I've been teaching folks to pray "body prayers." Inspired by Doug Pagitt's book of the same title, this prayer approach is about giving our whole selves to God- body, mind, spirit, soul, strength, might.

Here are some "body prayers" I've been teaching.

Lifting/blessing
With palms facing upward, raise the person or situation you are praying for up to God. Imagine that you are bringing your concern to the very throne of the Lord.

Then, with palms facing downward, bless the person(s) for whom you are praying.

Of course, you can add words to this body prayer- or not. The essence of this intercession is that you are lifting someone (or situation) up to the Rock of our Salvation, then you invite the blessing of the Crucified and Risen One who is present among us through the power of the Spirit.

Hi-ya
One parent told me, "Thanks a lot!" when I modeled this one during a children's message. The kids really got into it.

Make a karate chop with your arm and say, "Hi-ya!" Then make a karate kick and scream, "Hi-ya!" As you do this, imagine the Lord busting down barriers because there are barriers everywhere...

Between God and people
Between races
Between spouses
Among nations
Within families
Between neighbors

You get the idea.

I came up with this one from my reading of Mark's Gospel.

When Jesus is baptized, the heavens burst open violently (hi-ya!), and the Spirit comes to rest upon Jesus like a dove. God busts through the barrier dividing heaven and earth.

Then, at the end of the Gospel, the curtain of the Temple is ripped (shredded, torn) in two as Jesus dies on the cross (hi-ya!). Soon after that, the Risen Lord is on the loose, no longer "confined" within the Temple or even within the Holy Land. Jesus is still on the prowl, busting down walls. Invite the power of Jesus to break down the barriers that you see around you.

Out of here!
We all encounter evil in the world. On TV. In our relationships. Within ourselves.

I see the demonic at work, dividing people and bringing them down. Can you believe that this former biology major, a scientist no less, sees personal evil (= wicked forces acting with intention) roaming around like a hungry lion, seeking souls to devour? Well, it's true. Observation. I can't believe the scientists don't observe it. At any rate...

In this body prayer, you make the "you're out of here!" sign like an umpire, signaling strike three. When I see "put downs" or terrorist attacks or whatever, I invite the Spirit's power against the evil by saying, "You're out of here!"

Body Prayer book
The above body prayers are my own creation. I highly recommend you check out BodyPrayer : The Posture of Intimacy with God (Hardcover)by Doug Pagitt, Kathryn Prill, Colleen Shealer Olson (Illustrator) for a wonderful treatment of this spiritual discipline.

Cool runnings and level vibes,

Tim
The Duh-sciple

P.S. I now lift you up to God, inviting His blessing upon you. Amen!

Searching for God Knows What

Back again. Just finished Donald Miller's awesome book, Searching for God Knows What.

What moved me the most was being transported back to elementary school. Miller reminds me of those values clarification exercises. He describes them as "learning how to become a snob." In one classic "clarification" the class is asked to imagine a lifeboat. Look inside the boat. There's a male lawyer, a female doctor, a crippled child, a trash collector and a stay-at-home mom. Unfortunately, the lifeboat cannot hold all of them. One person must be tossed overboard for the others to survive. Teacher, "Class, you must decided who gets thrown overboard."

Miller says he can't remember who the class decided to toss out of the lifeboat. He thinks the lawyer. [Don't tell my 8th grade daughter who just scored a 99% on the aptitude test for lawyer.] Anyway, Miller says that no one thought to challenge the question. No one thought to create another solution. No one said, "Everyone is equal; everyone has value."

Later, he talks about standing in line at the coffee shop. Someone cuts in line ahead of another customer. The "victim" of the line cut sticks his hands in his pockets and glares in fury at the line cutter. Miller says, "It cost him two minutes." But from his point of view the "victim" felt like he'd been tossed out of the lifeboat- devalued, trashed, disrespected.

The lifeboat image got me to thinking about the Gospel reading for this coming Sunday from Mark 1. A leper approaches Jesus, "If you want to, you can make me clean." Look up 1:41 in your Bible. Most translations will say, "Jesus was filled with compassion- or pity- or felt sorry for the leper. Then he touched him. And the leprosy disappeared." But sometimes there will be a note. You go down to the bottom of the page. And it says, "some ancient manuscripts suggest that Jesus was angry with the leper."

I held a vote tonight. How many think Jesus had compassion on the leper? How many think Jesus was angry with the leper? 100% votes for compassion!

But think about it. Lepers were supposed to keep their distance from the "clean." If someone came too close they were supposed to shout, "Unclean! Unclean!" Because the "clean" could become contaminated by the "unclean." And here this leper not only refuses to shout "unclean!". He runs right up to Jesus and kneels before him. 99.99% of the rabbis of that time would be ticked off. This dirty leper was threatening their "cleanness".

So I'm thinking about this lifeboat. The leper is trash. He gets tossed out of the boat. Stunningly, Jesus touches the man, saying, "I choose to heal you. Be made clean." By touching him, Jesus is in solidarity with human "trash." And he heals the man.

In the Gospels Jesus challenges the system where people are trashed or tossed out of the lifeboat. The Pharisees and chief priests and lawyers and Sadducees all buy into the system where some people are trash and other people are precious. They disagree on the details, but they agree with the principle. Not surprisingly, there is conflict between Jesus and these religious leaders. Eventually, they will trash Jesus, butchering our Lord on the cross. They believe that the "values clarification system" survives with Jesus' death. But on the third day Christ rose from the dead by the power of the Spirit.

Through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension Jesus defeated the system that trashes people. Let's invite the church to repent from how we have recreated the very same system Jesus came to abolish.

Do I hear an "Amen!"?

The Lord be with you, Duh-sciple Tim

The "Duh-sciple" story

Okay, here's how I came up with the term"duh-sciple." Say "duh-sciple" out loud and it's pretty close to "disciple".

A disciple is an apprentice or follower or student of Jesus. By just walking around with Jesus in the Gospels, the disciples experience intensive, ongoing training. You would think that by walking with Jesus, talking with Jesus, sitting down & eating a meal with Jesus, arguing with Jesus, hanging around with Jesus, observing his clashes with his opponents, spying his grace towards the outcast, and soaking up his glory day after day that they would mature into spiritual giants. BAMP! That's not what happened.

According to the Gospel of Mark, the disciples just didn't get it.

Mark 8:22-26= Blind Man Healed #1= Jesus heals a blind man. However, it takes Jesus two tries before the man can see clearly- first the man sees "trees walking," then his vision is normal after a second attempt. What follows will be three predictions by Jesus, three examples of the "duh-sciples" blindness, and three attempts by Jesus to help them see better.

Mark 8:31= Prediction #1= Jesus predicts his arrest, suffering, his death on the cross, followed by his Resurrection on the third day

What happens after Prediction #1?

Peter tells Jesus to stop talking about this crucifixion business. Jesus reacts with blunt words, "Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking as human beings think, not as God thinks." Wow, imagine Jesus calling you "Satan." Next, Jesus goes on to clarify that to be a disciple means to take up one's cross. See it? Peter is a "duh-sciple." He doesn't get it, at least not completely. He's still somewhat blind- doesn't really see what Jesus is all about or what he should be about.

Mark 9:30-32= Prediction #2= Jesus predicts his betrayal, his death, and his Resurrection on the third day

What happens after Prediction #2?

The "duh-sciples" get into a huge argument with each other about which one of them was the greatest. Give me a break! Jesus has just finished baring his soul about the suffering he faces, and these knuckleheads argue about who's Number One. Jesus has to clarify, "If you want to be Number One, then you must be last of all and servant of all."

Mark 10:35-37= Prediction #3= Jesus predicts his betrayal, death sentence, torture, death on the cross, followed by his Resurrection on the third day

What happens after Prediction #3?

The ten overhear or eavesdrop on a coversation where James and John were asking Jesus for positions at our Lord's right and left when he enters his kingdom. The ten go nuts. [Notice that James and John didn't know what they were asking. Think it through. Jesus' right and left in his kingdom? Right and left on his throne? That's the cross... and that would put them both on crosses to Jesus' right and left!] Anyway, there's a big stink. Duh! They don't get it.

Once again, Jesus must clarify, "The Gentiles use force to dominate and control others. I don't want you guys to be like that. Instead the greatest must become a servant. If you want to be Number One, then you must be slave to all. For I didn't come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many." Where does that leave us?

Mark 10:46-52= Blind Man Healed #2= Jesus heals the blind man named Bartimeaus. And Bartimaeus, after receiving new vision, follows Jesus "on the way".

What happens after "blind man healed, part two"?

Bartimeaus follows Jesus "on the way" to the cross. See it? On the way. What this suggests to me is that only after the cross do we receive the vision of who Jesus really is and what Jesus is really about. After the cross, then we move from being "duh-sciples" [who don't get it] to "disciples" [who follow Jesus "on the way"].

Well, if I haven't lost you by now, this is what I see. In Mark the disciples are "duh-sciples". Time after time they are so clueless it's almost funny. And you know what? Time after time I'm clueless. But Jesus doesn't give up on me. He's doing "laser surgery" to improve my vision.

For now my spirutality is messy, my steps are bumbling, my words are fumbling- I don't have my act together. More often than not I see things from a "human point of view" instead of "God's point of view." But it's not over. The Lord is still working on me- and perhaps you, too. I struggle to follow Jesus as a disciples. Usually I'm a duh-sciple!

Let us pray. Loving Jesus, when they crucified you on the cross, Satan got nailed. You drove out the "serve us" spirit of the "duh-sciples." You replaced our demons with the "service" Spirit so that we might follow you "on the way". Help us to become Number One- by serving others, by giving our lives away, by impacting the lives of those who have not yet tasted your love. Amen.

I look forward to your comments. Does this make sense? Or does it all sound crazy?

Mungu awabariki [= "the Lord bless you all' in Kiswahili],

Duh-sciple Tim

My Siafu Story

Ants and Christmas

Okay, here's my premeire blog post.

From June, 1999 to June, 2000 my family (me, my wife, 3 kids) served as ELCA Global Mission volunteers in the Konde Dioese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania at the Manow Lutheran Junior Seminary (how's that for a mouthful!) Anyway, here is an experience we had that year that I think relates to Christmas- with connections to Matthew 1 (the name Jesus, Emmanuel). This is what I wrote back then for the folks at home...

Tanzania has some incredible wildlife, including huge spiders and biting ants called siafu (Swahili, pronounced "see-AHH-foo"). These biting ants have a one track mind. They march in a straight line from their home to their food and back. If you get in their path, if you get in their way, ifyou step on them, they WILL bite you. And it hurts!

Well, one night they must have found some food in CJ's (our oldest son's) bedroom. Unfortunately, CJ's head was in the path of those biting ants. So they started munching on him. He woke up, stumbled into our bedroom, whimpering. Ann picked the ants out of his hair, destroying them. Next we discovered big trouble. The ants weren't just in CJ's bedroom. They started marching from the kitchen to the living room, to CJ's room, to our bedroom, to our bathroom. We had been occupied by a "siafu army"!

I launched a counter attack. I tried to kill them, but I didn't get very far. There were too many. I'd kill 10, fifty replacements would arrive. I'd kill 50, one hundred substitutes would join the line. I'd kill 100, one-thousand recruits would enter the fray. So at 3am Ann went to wake up our "friend at midnight" (a la Luke 11), Martin Mwakaje. He brought a supply of kerosene, soaked the line of ants on our concrete floor, and lit some newspaper to burn them out. The invading ant army was repelled after one hour. Didn't get much sleep. The next morning it was Ann's turn to preach at morning devotions.

Ann was planning to teach the students about sharing "highs and lows", the best and worst of the day, and then to pray for these "highs and lows". The dark night gave some excellent illustrative material. He low was the siafu invasion. Her high was Martin's willingness to rescue us.

What does all this have to do with Christmas?! Well, Martin had to arrive in person to rescue us from these ants. He couldn't help us by staying at his home. He had to personally come to our house to liberate us from our predicament. The next day we had Martin over for dinner, repeating thanking him for his delivering us from our plight. We couldn't have eliminated the siafu without him.

In a similar way, 2,000 years ago there was a "sin problem" where sin was biting us, marching over the entire human race. No matter what we humans tried, we couldn't get rid of those biting ants. God needed to come down in the person of Jesus. God couldn't stay in heaven to defeat sin; he had to come in person. Here in Tanzania we are learning that we cannot do it by ourselves. At home in the USA we live with the illusion that we can do everything ourselves. Here in Tanzania we are re-learning to trust God, and to give thanks to God, that He once came down to this earth to get rid of those "biting sins".

My you be flooded with blessings! Tim, the Duh-sciple