¡Troubadour! - Live on Jan. 2

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I'm an Uncle!

Ruth, Kyle, and baby Parker:


My nephew, Parker, was born on Wednesday, November 26, 2008, at 6:50am. He was due on January 23, 2009, but he is doing very well. He is very healthy and my sister, Ruth, is doing great.

Achievement Gap

I recently saw an interview with an economist named Roland Fryer. He pointed out some statistics concerning low achievement in schools by American children. He noted that minority students are showing especially low performance and have the highest drop out rates. I could elaborate on these statistics, but many of these issues are well known and the information is widely available for your own research. The interesting thing about this interview was his solution to the problem.

In New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago, schools are beginning to offer money to students for good performance in school. Fryer stated that a student can earn $50 every five weeks for an "A" grade in each class. That is a possible $250-300 every five weeks! This innovative strategy is in the beginning stages and no one knows if it will work. However, I believe there is a fundamental flaw in this strategy: a need for basic parenting.

In the last few years, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of mentorship, investment in others, and serving people. It is pretty clear from the Scripture that we are called to serve and sacrifice for others. We are to live in community and learn and grow together. This includes some valuable lessons about parenting. I am not a parent, but I do have a couple people that I am mentoring. Investment in others is a key to healthy development as a human being. I know my parents taught me so many important lessons and this is the key to healthy child development.

The social crisis America is experiencing in education, finances, and morality must be addressed from a healthy perspective that looks at core problems. Healthy mentoring, an attitude of service, and a worldview of sustainability must be present for a cultural shift. I may be simplifying complex issues, but I know that in this specific example of paying children to succeed, the core problem of terrible parenting must be addressed to really solve this problem.

Breaking Point

We are at a breaking point in the Church. There must be a revolution in how we deal with the complex issues of our day. There are a few points I want to make on this subject:

1. The moral movement of our society is a symptom of a sickness in the Church and is a signal at our ineffective methods by which we deal with issues in this world.

The fact that our society is struggling with issues that challenge Godly values is an indicator that Christians are failing to influence our neighbors with the love of Christ. With divorce rates, abuse, and other issues plaguing Christians as much as non-Christians, it is obvious that we are not upholding a Godly example for the rest of our society. We have traded deeply devoted, loving relationships for shallow imitations of God's intent for us. Our church communities have created a group of converts who hold a faith that has little bearing on their daily lives. They see the American dream and God's dream for humanity as synonyms. We have lost our creativity in dealing with people's life change through the power of God.

Additionally, we have failed to realize that the means by which we influence society have been corrupted. We have been convinced that we can control the morality of our society by wielding political power. This is the same dangerous trap that Jesus was tempted with, Constantine fell to, and American Christianity has been co-opted by. We must learn to resist the temptation to achieve immediate results through political power when Jesus taught us to take the long, slow, difficult road of serving and suffering for those in need. By getting deeply involved in people's lives, we can experience real life change by the power of the Holy Spirit.


2. The Church must find common ground to unite to be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." (Phil 2:2).

This point is so important in light of how divisive social issues have become in recent years. There are simple Biblical truths that we must use as our foundation, but the way we express those truths in our relationships with others can differ. Since a grounded Christian worldview is becoming the minority in America, we must rethink what it means to be effective in living a life of love, and showing others the Kingdom of God here on earth. I have some interesting ideas on this issue, but I don't have the time to write them all down now. However, these are questions we need to be asking in the Church. This is a new time, a new generation, and a new opportunity to help God in His work of redeeming His creation.

Touching Story

A professor of mine helped publish this video about his mother and aunt who are 95 years old. This is a great story about two people who are deeply moved by the election of Barack Obama. Check it out here.

A Night in Chicago...

I'm in Chicago right now visiting a graduate school. We flew into the city on Saturday afternoon and spent the afternoon at the Chicago Art Institute and at Pizzeria Due in downtown Chicago. The pizza was amazing! We also went to Millennium Park and Grant Park to walk around and see these historic sites. I will post some pictures soon,

Early Christians

I just ordered a book on-line that I have wanted to read for months:

The Early Christians: In Their Own Words published by the Society of Brethren. I have heard so much about this particular book. I'm so excited to read the writings of these early Christians.

Also, in my excitement I checked out two books from the MLK Library at SJSU: Documents in Early Christianity and Justin Martyr. These are great so far.

Happy / Sad

Things are crazy!

I am getting the last few details worked out for Hillside's Men's Retreat coming up this weekend. I am co-leading the planning committee and we have been working on this project since March. We have 140 people signed up to attend. The weekend event is being held at Mt. Hermon Conference Center in the Santa Cruz mountains. We have a speaker flying in from Kansas and numerous activities, seminars, and testimonies planned. I'm just trying to nail down the last few things this week. This event is something I look forward to every year, but this week has been stained by some unfortunate news.

My project for new coffee at Hillside has been shut down. This may not sound like a big deal, but this has been a passion of mine for a year now. The coffee organization we have been working with is called Dominion Trading Co. This company is redefining how consumer dollars are spent. They donate 60% of their profits back to the Rift Valley in Ethiopia (were their coffee is grown) in the form of profit sharing, infrastructure investment, and church planting.

After some struggle for funding, much miscommunication, and some other unfortunate decisions, the support for this organization has been cut off. I am very disappointed.

I won't go into detail about the decision and the process. But I will say that this is another notch on my bed post of disappointment and frustration. I feel defeated. Part of what makes me most frustrated is that I know it doesn't have to be this way. The decision process did not have to occur like it did. I know I'm being vague, but talk to me in person for a further explanation.

Two Things...

1. I'm quitting my job at TruGreen LandCare. Sarah and I have decided that it is time for me to focus more on school and getting ready for graduate school next fall. Since we have a living situation now that allows us to have a little less income, I am re-prioritizing my schedule to focus on the things that are important: Sarah, other people, and my own sanity.

2. I am taking Greek this semester at San Jose State. This is a pre-requisite for graduate seminary and I am excited to begin my graduate studies with this amazing course. It has already been challenging, but I am working hard to do well in this class because it is a foundation for the rest of my seminary studies.

Hallelujah

This is one of my all time favorite songs.

Here's the original version by the writer Leonard Cohen:





And a cover by Jeff Buckley:




There is a better recording of the Jeff Buckley version, but I couldn't embed it because it was posted by Sony BMG on youtube. Click here to view it.

And here are the lyrics:

"Hallelujah"

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Stories

I just listened to a podcast by Brian McLaren when we taught at Mars Hill Bible Church in G-Rap, Michigan. There are a few points I want to make echoing his lesson. He spoke of stories that people adhere themselves to. These stories have been portrayed throughout history and we experience them now. Stories such as the domination story, the victimization story, the consumption story, or the isolation story are ways in which we try to either maintain power, retaliate at an oppressor, legitimize our selfish lifestyle, or retreat from the chaos of this world.

In history, people have chosen one of these stories to live by. Here are some examples:
-Power/Domination Story: "If we control everyone else, then we will be safe"
-Victimization Story: "If people would only realize the suffering we have gone through."
-Consumption Story: "If I just had that house, that car, or that tech gadget, I would be happy."
-Isolation Story: "If we stay away from all the bad stuff in the world, then we will be ok"

These are only a few of the "stories" McLaren spoke of. Essentially, he attempted to boil down different worldviews. Here is the important part: American Christians have co-opted Jesus to support their "story". Jesus with a machine gun, televangelism, Christian radio, Christian products, liberation theology, and many other examples.Instead of Christians embodying a new life in Jesus, we use Jesus to legitimize our selfish and misguided agenda. Jesus taught a different message.

The American Church is entrenched in an invasive culture that is constantly influencing us toward different stories. Advertisements, political platforms, friends and family, school, and many other influences draw us away from a new perspective and new life in Jesus. We mix messages and "stories" together causing explosive reactions. Jesus becomes militant, discipleship becomes book-smarts, and evangelism becomes judgement.

If you want to listen to this podcast, click here.

More thoughts on American Culture and Christianity

As I have been thinking more about The Church, I realize that my perspective often is very narrow. I focus on the Church in the US, while there are more true followers of Jesus elsewhere in the world. However, my passion is for the American Church and its struggle to justify wealth, power, and success while preaching a gospel of humility, meakness, and peace.

This morning, I was reminded and challenged further in my understanding of cultural Christianity in the US. The guest speaker at our church stated that recently he was surprised to learn of a movement in Islam where people were coming to Jesus, transforming their lives, and yet still maintaining their cultural Islamic practices. They pray 5 times a day, maintain their dietary restrictions, and yet they have chosen to follow the one true God and be redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

If you're like me, you may not be able to envision this. It's not that I don't think its possible, it's that I'm fairly ignorant about Islam and what following Jesus would look like in that culture. The reason he mentioned this stemmed from the book of Galatians. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter in part to tell the people to not let things such as cultural difference, views on the Law, or other barriers keep people from truly and honestly choosing to follow Jesus.

One example was the argument that Gentiles should become Law-abiding Jews before they can choose to follow Jesus. To cut to the chase, Paul basically said this: there is no correct way to follow Jesus in terms of cultural practices, regional proximity, or any other restriction. It is by faith in Jesus Christ that we are redeemed. It is by loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves that matters. How someone models God's love, grace, peace, and forgiveness is different in different culture and circumstances.

Here's the challenging part of this for the American Church: we have packaged Christianity in such a way that many people want nothing to do with Jesus because of our actions. We export not only our faith in Jesus, but our cultural understandings, doctrine, and worship practices to the rest of the world. On a more dangerous level, we have mixed our culture with our faith. The American Dream becomes God's Dream. I have personally talked to people who look at American Christianity and see militarism, war mongers, greedy, wealthy, selfish, arrogant, and clueless people.

Americans try to justify our culture with our faith. We build our priorities, purpose statements, and church budgets around the subversive priorities of our culture. Its time for an awakening.

One last thing, I heard a pastor from Kenya speak at the Urbana Missions Conference in Dec. 06. He said this concerning The Church in Africa, "To drink from the cup of Western Christianity is to drink from a poison chalice."

Burdens

I've been struggling today with some thoughts about The Church (capital C). In so many ways I have been feeling burdened to challenge The Church in its understanding of what it means to be a Christian. This connects to my feelings on my trip to Africa.

Here's my main beef: the line between the pursuit of the American Dream and following Jesus has become so blurry. Instead of challenging the culture we live in, the Church reinforces the values and way of life of popular culture. Mostly, this is not overt. We subversively applaud home ownership, career success, wealth, selfishness, greed, individualism, and consumption. The identity of a Christian in the United States closely resembles that of any other citizen pursuing the American Dream.

There are a few reasons (among many others) that I want to highlight which cause this problem. First, our Church leaders and pastors have an inadequate or incomplete understanding of theology and philosophy. This is a bold statement for me, an undergraduate student, to make. However, I feel that many pastors and leaders in the Church lead with minimal training in philosophy, theology, and sociology. They make assumptions based on ancient philosophical and/or theological debates without really examining these ideas. The congregations learn about the Christian faith without truly understanding how their doctrines and theology was formed. My comments are a stab at the schools these leaders attend also, but not intentionally. I feel that many pastors and teachers stop learning and seeking understanding after they graduate. These leaders have a narrow and unchallenging understanding of philosophy, theology, and pop culture.

Second, I believe that there has been a co-opting of political hot topics by Christians. We have chosen the wrong channels by which we engage our culture. Instead of the work of the Spirit, we rely on our votes to enforce our moral agenda on the rest of society. We do not express love. Instead, we express judgement on others. We are commanded by God to love others and live according to a different constitution. We are citizens of heaven and God is our King. Its time we started acting like it.

Third, I believe we have a blindness to the rest of humanity due to our wealth, success, and power in the United States. With our busy schedules, lattes, and our "drive-thru" lifestyle, we have blinded ourselves from not only the suffering in our own backyard, but the suffering of humanity across the globe. Sure we read about Darfur, Tibet, and New Orleans, but we fail to take any action or even ask tough questions about how those events occur. American Christians live in a dream world and must come to understand how our success and power has placed us in a dangerous situation. God has always worked through the weak, the poor, and the incompetent. He has always warned against power, earthly kingdoms, and religious systems of authority. We must change our perspective as Christians in a society that has everything. We are not fulfilling the mission of Christ in our culture. We are conforming.

Africa Journal: Part 3

7.15.08:

I am now on a flight from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Dubai, UAE. This is the first leg of our three-part journey back home. I didn’t get to journal as much as I had hoped. I have been extremely busy on this trip, and sitting down to type out my thoughts was kinda low on the priority list.

Here’s what has happened in the last week:
-We had a very successful VBS at HOPAC
-Robbie broke his arm at VBS while playing tag with a couple kids.
-I got to spend time with kids from all over the globe again.
-Our team met with many of the missionaries who serve in Dar es Salaam in order to hear about their work. We spent an afternoon with Steve and Carole Lyons and dinner with Merle Weins.
-We went on a two-day safari at Mikumi National Park. Almost everyone on our team got sick from some bad curry we ate at a hole in the wall restaurant in rural Tanzania.
-We had a debrief meeting with Gil and Amy Medina.

Now that I’ve caught up with the details of the last week, I want to comment on our opportunity to meet with each missionary. In particular, meeting with the Lyons was eye opening. We met at their house for a few hours. Their house is in the middle of a very poor neighborhood in Dar. I can’t remember the name of this community, but many of them are poor H and M’s and live on less than two dollars a day. Imagine the most pitiful World Vision video you’ve ever seen; that is this neighborhood. As with any traveling within Dar, our group of white Americans stuck our like a sore white thumb in the middle of urban Africa. After weaving in between rows of concrete form houses in this dense neighborhood, we arrived at a gate. When the security guard let us through, we found a regular Tanzanian house in the middle of this intensely impoverished community. It was like an island in a sea of poverty. Just outside of the Lyons’ living room window was a loudspeaker that blasted the call to prayer four or five times a day. We talked with the Lyons for a couple hours about their ministry. Here’s the highlights:

-They are trying to reach this community through English teaching, Bible studies, and narrative worldview classes.
-They are developing a program to train Christian nationals to teach in local villages. This is a way for someone to enter a specific community and begin helping the local people and introduce the people to Jesus.
-They are developing a missionary training program. The structure is to take a group of people that will stick together for two years. In this time, they will take language classes, meet once a week of prayer, worship, and team building, they will write papers, they will read books, and they will also interact with the community they want to reach.

Our team also had an opportunity to meet with K and her interns for an evening. They are working as teachers, youth camp leaders, and neighbors of H’s and M’s in Dar. This group was great. We already had an opportunity to spend time with them at Bamba, so this was simply a continuation of our orientation.

Lastly, we met with Merle Weins who is the Area Director for ReachGlobal Africa. He is the one in charge on the ground in Africa under my dad. He is such a great guy. Whenever I see him, I just want to spend more time learning about what he does and who he is. Merle is truly a marvelous and personable guy.

Before I sign off for now, I want to make a short list of the unique things I will miss about Dar es Salaam:

-Soda in a glass bottle for 300 Tanzanian Shillings (25 cents)
-The delicious curry (even though is gave me a stomach ache most of the time)
-Traveling by taxi. Imagine New York taxi drivers to the max.
-The intense amount of pedestrians on the road at all times of the day.
-Driving on the left
-The warm Indian Ocean
-Going with the flow
-Swahili

Actually, I have one more thing to write about. After doing the camp at Bamba, the VBS at HOPAC, learning about all the different ministries in Dar, and experiencing the culture of Tanzania, I was initially not feeling the urge to want to dive deeper into a ministry like this. Not that I didn’t have a great time serving and living in Dar for three weeks, I just simply didn’t feel called to pursue this ministry as a long term thing. But now that I’ve left, I miss it. I miss the kids from HOPAC. I miss Gil, Amy, and Grace. I miss the different culture and great people. I’m not sure what this means because I still think God is calling me into pastoral ministry in the United States. But I miss Dar already. Maybe it is just a temporary feeling, but it something. I will have to pray about it more. I know that God will make it clear to Sarah and me how we are best suited to serve God and pursue the Kingdom. I will write more later.

7.16.08

I am now on the second leg of my flight. It feels like the same day, but technically it is now Wednesday, July 16, 2008 where we are in the air. However, it is still Tuesday in San Jose. I thought of something to write now after I watched the movie Juno.

I have recently been having problems dealing with committees, vision statements, and theological learning. So much of my time has been spent trying to figure out what ministry I should be involved in or what theological issues I can pick out of a Sunday’s sermon. In this movie, a 16 year old girl gets pregnant and decides not to have an abortion. She finds a family that wants to adopt her baby. The story depicts her struggles dealing with the father of her baby, her parents, the other kids at school, and the adoption parents.

After watching the struggle and bravery in this situation, I felt empowered to help people like her. It’s time we stop pointing the finger at teenage moms and instead lend a hand. Instead of Christians legislating a pro-life agenda, we need to embrace the mother and child with loving arms because that’s what they need.

I’m learning that life isn’t so easy. No one has made all the right decisions. Jesus died so that we could live; not so that we can pretend like we have it all together while pointing that finger at those sinners. We can’t keep neglecting people who are hurting and need love.

7.16.08 (Part 2)

I’m now on the last leg of the trip home. We had a very long layover in New York. Our plane from Dubai to NY arrived at 8:00am and our flight to the Bay Area left at 6:00pm. We are flying jetBlue for the this last part of the journey and they have sweet TV screens on the back of the seats, much like Emirates Airlines. According to the live map, we are somewhere over central Utah, cruising at 509 mph at 38,158 ft.

I have spent most of this flight trying to stay awake by drinking authentic NY Dunkin Donuts’ coffee, reading, listening to music, and watching Family Guy on the built-in TV. Sarah has literally been asleep from the moment we left the ground. I’m glad she is getting some rest and it helps her deal with her usual battle with airsickness.

Now that this trip is officially coming to an end, this will be the last bit of writing I will do before I write some reflections in a few days or weeks.

As I have pondered the events of this trip more thoroughly and prayed about where God is calling me to serve at this time, I have a few comments to make. As I wrote before, I think I’m still leaning toward seminary and pastoral ministry in the United States. I still feel a burden for the American church. I long for an opportunity to teach others about God, shepherd a community of believers, and reach out the my home culture. I’m not ruling out overseas missions, or other options within the United States either. I guess I just feel “it”. You know, that feeling of longing, burden, and calling. I feel God calling me to be a local church pastor.

Additionally, I have recently desired to spend more time with my family. My grandparents aren’t getting any younger, I don’t want to compromise my relationship with my parents, now is the best time to hang out with my brothers before they settle down, and my sister is due to birth my nephew or niece in January (saying that way sound pretty selfish, but its kinda fun to say it that way). I just want to take advantage of all the opportunities I can to savor the relationships I have with family and friends.

I guess that’s all for now.

Africa Journal: Part 2

7.06.08:

We just got back from the 3rd annual International Youth Camp at Bamba Beach on Friday. It is now Sunday and I have had a couple days to recover. I enjoyed getting to know kids from all over the world. Here’s the names of a few of the kids I got to know:

Valient – An Irish-American living in Dar es Salaam with two younger siblings: Janae and Benji
Alli – A Asian-Indian living in Dar es Salaam
Lucy – A British girl living in Dar es Salaam
Savanna – A British girl living in Dar
Josh – An Irish boy living with his missionary parents in Dar
Heung Muk – A Korean boy living with his parents in Dar.
Josiah – An Australian boy living in Dar
Robert – A half Massai warrior, half Austrian boy living in Dar es Salaam.
Merlin – A half Tanzanian, half American boy who happens to be Jane Goodall’s grandson.

These are just a few of the kids I got to know. It was an amazing experience to learn some Swahili, learn about African and European culture, and learn how to be patient. That is one thing that all of our team has learned. When the schedule was messed up or something didn’t happen on time, these kids were just fine with standing around doing nothing. They were comfortable talking with each other for hours without any structure. Our team knew that we must be flexible, but these kids changed our perspective. We were stressing out, but these kids were so understanding and helpful. Overall it was a successful week. By success, I mean that no one was severely injured and the permanent missionaries here furthered their reputation in the community. Beyond that, we also had great teaching, games, individual discussions, and great singing.

The facilities were interesting. I slowly learned to embrace our trickling shower and steady diet of rice, curry beef, and spinach; realizing that many people don’t have those things. By the end of the week, I didn’t want to leave. I found it difficult to part ways with these amazing kids. They opened my eyes to a larger world beyond with United States. I felt welcomed and comfortable with this diverse community.

PS - I will add pictures of our trip later. The internet connection is too slow.

Africa Journal: Part 1

6.26.08: My first day in Africa:

On Tuesday, June 24, we spent a day touring New York City. This was my first time in New York and it took my breath away. The cityscape is incredible; the high rise buildings seemed to have sprouted up from the ground like wildflowers enveloping the island. We went atop Rockefeller Center and gazed at the monstrous Empire State Building and the beautiful Central Park. This city is truly a unique and special place; a city built on the ingenuity and greed of the most powerful nation on earth. The history and culture are interesting and I enjoyed spending time in Central Park, Times Square, and walking the streets.

In JFK airport, I met a man from Kenya. We were in the bathroom and it was under construction. I was waiting in line to use the only toilet and this man asked me if this was the only toilet. When I responded, he said, “How can this be? When I’m in Kenya, they always talk about The Great New York. How can there only be one toilet in The Great New York?” He was very funny and I enjoyed talking to him.

Then we left to go to Africa. Our flight from New York to Dubai was great. The airline had amazing food and great service. We were basically treated like kings and queens. Here’s how a typical flight goes:

-The moment the plane gets in the air, they hand out a warm moist towel to freshen up.
-Then they served beverages. You can order anything you want (including adult beverages) for free.
-Then they served a three course meal.
-Then another round of beverages.
-Also, the entire flight there are unlimited movies, TV shows, and music.

As soon as we got to Dar es Salaam, it was apparent that we basically went from one side of the world to the other in more ways than one. Not only did we jump 10 time zones, but we also went from one of the wealthiest cities on earth to one of the poorest. The difference was incredible. Dar es Salaam has 5 million people spread out over a city with a 30 mile diameter. The unemployment rate is about 40%. New York is quite the opposite.

We took a taxi from the airport to Gil and Amy Medina’s house. Our driver was named John Francis and he was so funny. Not only was he a great driver, weaving in and out of traffic and speeding, but he was also a creative mechanic. Still 30 minutes from Gil and Amy’s house, the shifter detached from the transmission. Ian and I found a piece of wire on the ground on the side of the road and John crawled under the car and successfully attached his shifter back onto the transmission with a 5 inch piece of wire. Quite possibly the best part about this whole situation was John’s cell phone. About every 10 minutes, John would get a phone call. His ring tone was “We wish you a merry Christmas”. That song will forever be stuck in my head.

Basically, Dar es Salaam is a unique place, but a shock is relation to experiencing New York for a day. To go from one extreme to another in 24 hrs is really a unique experience.


6.28.08:

Today we went to see the camp in order to be prepared for the next week. This was quite an experience. Buses and taxis are always interesting. Not only do the drivers rarely obey traffic laws, speed and proximity to other motorists and pedestrians is relative. Potential accidents were measured in inches, not feet. Although, I had a great time; I hung my head out the window and took in the sights with great joy.

We made a stop by K’s apartment in Dar. It was a suite in a brand new building in downtown. The view from her sixth floor balcony was incredible. Downtown Dar is a unique sight. The hustle and bustle of thousands of pedestrians, honking motorists, and run down buildings is like nothing I could imagine in San Jose.

The camp exceeded all of our expectations. I imagined concrete forms buildings with no running water and thin mats on the ground for a bed. Instead, there were concrete form buildings with running water and beds. The water pressure was enough to flush the toilets, but not enough to run a shower. Finally, after 3 days of showers and pampering at the Medina’s we will get to experience buckets baths and dirty clothes for a week. Now we’re on a missions trip.

On the way home, our bus had some problems. The rear dualy wheels on the driver’s side came detached from the axle and began sliding off the bus. With 17 people on board, this was a potentially a dangerous situation. The driver brought the bus to a halt and the on-board mechanic went to work. The wheel was inches from coming completely detached from the bus. If this were to happen, the bus would have tipped over with everyone inside. After some interesting techniques to jack the bus up, the mechanic attached the wheels back onto the bus and away we went. Praise God for keeping us safe.

6.29.08:

The last three days at the Medina’s have been great. They have a shower, hot water, comfortable beds, a ping-pong table, and power. Their house is beautiful; a well kept yard, washing machine, full kitchen, two bathrooms, and matching décor make us feel guilty. I thought we were going to rough it in Africa. We have been treated like kings and queens. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful. Today, we start camp. More to come about our experiences after camp.

Troubadour

I think I forgot to post something about my band, even though we have been writing songs and practicing for months now. To make a long story short, I was asked to play bass for a band with some friends: Robbie, Andrew, and Jeremiah. We've been working on writing songs for a little while and we hope to play some shows here in San Jose.

The band is called "Troubadour", which means wandering musician (if you didn't already know). We have a website you can check out if you'd like: Troubadour Sound. We don't have any recordings up on the site yet, mostly because he haven't recorded anything yet.

I am so excited to play music with these guys. It's hard to describe the style. I call it "awesome rock", but for those not in tune with my imagination, it sounds like mewithoutYou/Jimmy Eat World/Radiohead/At The Drive-In. Since Robbie and I are going to Africa for 3 weeks this summer, we will probably record after we get back. And we are planning on booking our first show for August. T-shirts, CD's, and fun will be available in August (hopefully).

I'm going to Africa!

Sarah and I are leaving for Africa in less than two weeks!

Our team that is putting on a camp for some high school kids in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is leaving on June 23 and we'll be in Africa for 3 weeks. I am so excited!!! Honestly, I'm looking forward to the flight over there because I've heard that international flights are infinitely better than domestic flights.

More importantly, I'm excited to be able to hang out with some high school students, make friends, and help Gil and Amy Medina (our host missionaries) while we are there. I'll try to post some updates. We'll also have a regular email update for our whole team. If you would like to be on that list, let me know.

The Ghetto, or not

I have something on my mind I just need to say something about it. As many of you know, Sarah and I recently moved to a house here in San Jose. This great retired couple let us "housesit" for them while they are in Turkey for a year serving as missionaries. In a conversation I had with a friend a month ago, I was disturbed by a comment with guy said.

He wanted to know where I was moving to, so I told him the approximate location of the house. He said, "Oh, that's almost in the ghetto man." This comment really made me mad. Here's why:

-The term "ghetto" comes from the era of the Jewish Holocaust (I think). This is where the Jews were required to live while they were being persecuted. Using this term to describe a neighborhood today is an insult.

-Secondly, I resent the fact that someone felt like they had to warn me that I might be moving into a bad neighborhood. It was like this person was saying that this "ghetto" neighborhood was not an acceptable place to live. Well, there are plenty of good people who live in this neighborhood and many of these people cannot help their economic or social condition.

-I felt like this person had a certain standard for a "good" home. It really bothered me that someone could make a comment like that. Why do I deserve a "better" neighborhood? Maybe I'm part of the reason why there are these "bad" neighborhoods. Maybe instead of retreating to the "good" neighborhoods, I could be an influence for God's love in this "ghetto".

(By the way, the neighborhood I live in is great! I don't know what this guy was referring to because I love this place!)

Colson, Boyd, Claiborne

An election year special, here is a fabulous discussion between Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne concerning the role Christians should play in politics and government.

Chuck Colson was a part of the Nixon Administration and was imprisoned for his involvement in Watergate. After turning to Christ, he founded Prison Fellowship which ministers to prisoners. He has also authored many books on Christianity and politics.

Greg Boyd is the founding pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN (yeah baby!). He is the author of the book Myth of a Christian Nation.

Shane Claiborne is a founding partner of a community called The Simple Way in Philadelphia, PA. He has recently come out with a book called Jesus for President.

Please check out THIS link to see a video of the discussion.

Chuck Colson


Greg Boyd


Shane Claiborne

Death Cab

I know this video has already gotten around, and Jon Havens has posted it on his blog. But I can't help but post it here.


Death Cab for Cutie - I will Possess Your Heart

Moving, puppy, and reCRE8

I'm ashamed to say that I haven't posted on this blog for over a month! There has been so much going on, I hope to put some more stuff on here soon. Here's what's happening:

-Sarah and I moved out of our apartment and into a house. We spent most of my spring break packing and moving into this house which we are staying at for the next year while the owners are on a missions trip to Turkey. They have graciously asked Sarah and I to stay at their place while they are gone and we are so grateful for this blessing. It's not that we are living in a house. I'm actually not that excited about living in a house because of the yardwork, upkeep, and the fact that it is too big for just 2 people. But, our living expenses are significantly less and we are thankful for that. Plus, now we have a party pad!

-Since we moved into a new house, we decided to get a dog! We adopted a lab/border collie mix from the Humaine Society of Silicon Valley and she is amazing. Her name is Rory and she is 9 months old.



-Another amazing thing that is happening: reCRE8. Our college group at Hillside is no longer doing a regular "church service" style group. We are not doing a set of music, 30 min lesson, and then go home. We are spending time in prayer, then getting together in action groups that are focused on specific topics such as environment/sustainability, community connectedness, arts/culture, and social justice. The idea is that the college students will go to the main service to get their teaching/music, then we put our faith to action in small groups every Sunday morning. This is a little revolution of sorts in terms of "Sunday School". We want to inspire action and put our faith into practice.

Headache - Hope

I'm getting a headache (figuratively) from some of the things going on in my church community. Some of the issues I've been advocating for, such as turning our focus outward and setting a missional priority, have been deflated. Recently, I have become frustrated by so many missed opportunities to reach people, while we make things more comfortable for the people who are already Christians. So often, we've been taught to place harmony and comfort as a priority over transformation, healing, and dealing with the tough questions.

I'm kinda fed up with the notion of "if we build it, they will come" mentality. It may work in other regions, but the Bay Area does not have a community that is used to church culture. They are not inclined to show up early on Sunday morning and stay for 3 hours. We need to ask some different questions.

Basically, I'm getting a headache from beating my head against the wall with some of this stuff. I want to see transformation, life change, redemption, and humility. I do think there is hope though. Our college group is trying some new things. We are doing something called "Recre8" this year. Basically, on Sunday mornings our college students will be involved in sub-groups that have specific action plans. Each group will spend the morning working out details of their projects. These action-oriented groups will be putting into practice our faith by focusing our strengths, talents, and skills toward a specific purpose based on a way we want to reach people with the love of Jesus. We are living out the gospel.

Free Day!

Today is February 29! That means today is a free day. This day doesn't exist other years, so there is no reason why today should be just like the others.

As I was thinking about what to do today, knowing that today doesn't really exist, I figures it wouldn't matter whether I went to work or not (I still went to work because I'm responsible). I could just sleep all day, or watch TV, or read a good book. It really doesn't matter what I do because today doesn't exist. It's a free day!

So, what did you do today?

Computer Buyer's Nightmare

I just bought a new Macbook less than two weeks ago and guess what...Apple just upgraded their computers.

Yup, the same price I paid for my computer will now get you twice the RAM, more hard drive space, and a faster processor. Bummer! So, after a little research I found out that there is a buyer protection policy at Apple. If a new and improved product comes out within two weeks after you buy the same product, you can return it for the new one or be gives a credit for the price difference.

So, I called and explained the situation. They were very nice, but I got put on hold for more than 20 minutes! Because of the delay, they offered to let me return my computer (free shipping and no re-stocking fee) and they are shipping me the new configuration at no extra cost. Amazing!

"Do [correction: To] whatever makes me love You more"

First of all, I just tested the battery life of my new Macbook today: 6 hours! That's just word processing and web surfing, but still, 6 hours is a long time.

In other news, I have a line from a mewithoutYou song that I have been thinking about for a while now. It comes from the song "C-Minor" on the album Brother, Sister. The line is "do whatever makes me love You more"

Correction: per Robbie's comment, I have misquoted. The line is actually "to whatever makes me love you more." That's what I get for trying to quote someone without reading the liner notes.

In the context of this song, the writer is asking God to do whatever makes him love God more. I feel that this is one of the best descriptions of "God's will" I have heard. The writer is basically saying that no matter what happens in his life, he simply wants it to make him love God more. This is really what God's will is; a course of life that makes us love God more.

For more, see the comments...

Recently, I have also read another description of God's will in the book The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. He writes, "The Greek word that lies beneath our English word will can also be translated wish. But to say, 'May your wish come true' sounds rather fairy-tale-ish and creates other problems. But I have found the idea of, 'the dream of God for creation' does the job quite nicely. 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven' could thus be rendered 'May all your dreams for creation come true.'"

So, to put these two ideas together I feel that a major aspect of the "dream of God" is for us to love him more; no matter the circumstance. Good times, bad times, things we don't understand, things we cannot change; we should desire to love God more no matter what. We must say, "do whatever makes me love you more" even if it means being challenged, transformed, or broken.

My first 24 hrs as a Mac-head

Ironically, my new Macbook arrived while I was at a friend's house showing him how to create a Powerpoint presentations on his new Macbook. Sarah called me and told me that a package had arrived for me and it was shaped like a computer.

I tried as hard as I could not to speed as I drove home to open my new computer. Let me take a moment to describe the packaging, because it is important:

Inside the plain brown box was a simple, sleek, and (dare I say) sexy white box with the words Macbook printed in simple letters on the front. Appropriately, this box was the home for my white Macbook as it traveled over the Pacific to my front door here in Silicon Valley. There was even a handle on top. After cracking the seal, I lifted the flaps on the box to see an elegantly designed styrofoam bed that only added to the sleek look of my computer. I then pulled out my computer which, according to my wife Sarah, looked like a toy computer. It was simple, white, and had the Apple symbol on top.

After admiring the design of this wonderful machine, I opened it up and decided to let the leopard loose (the operating system is called OS X Leopard). Naturally, it took about 3 minutes to complete the initial setup and less than an hour to make a complete transition of all my files, music, and photos. It was so easy. Also, this computer is obviously faster than my other computer. It has twice the memory and a much faster processor. I had already learned the ins and outs of the new operating system by watching the video tutorials on Apple's website. Some of the features are incredible, such as screen sharing, Time Machine, and Spaces.

Later in the evening, I had a meeting with some guys from Hillside. Daniel Garcia was there and he has a Mac with Leopard also. So, we set up a video chat with each other and shared files and pictures with each other. We also shared our screens so I could type notes while Daniel watched. It was amazing.

Later, Sarah and I had a great time messing around with the built in camera and Photobooth. If you have seen the kind of pictures you can take with this camera, you'll be familiar with this. But if you haven't, here's a taste of how much fun Photobooth is:

Back to my roots

I have just bought a new Apple computer. Yes, that's right...a mac.

I am a part of the first generation of human beings to grow up with personal computers. My dad bought his first laptop when I was entering grade school (its funny to think about that computer now). We had a couple of mac computers when I was growing up. I loved them, but when I entered high school, my parents bought a PC. Consequently, I learned how to use a PC also and therefore became very comfortable with either system. When I bought my first laptop as I entered college, I got a PC because of its price and familiarity. But things have changed.

My HP computer has been great. I have had it for almost 3 years and I have typed hundreds of pages of essays on it for school. Unfortunately, it is dying. It crashes (more often than before) and it is getting very slow. I know there are ways to salvage a PC by reformatting the operating system and such, but it's time for a new computer.

I just ordered a new Macbook.


Since I have not used a mac for over 6 years on a regular basis, I am going to document my experiences here. I am interested to see the performance differences and the new OSX Leopard. This should be fun.

Erwin! (updated 1/31)

Today I got the chance to sit in on a taping of a series of seminars by Erwin McManus. He was asked by a christian television station to record a bunch of seminars that will be aired on TV in the spring and summer.

The studio was small; there were only about 25 people in the audience. About 12 people from my church overwhelmed the other attendees. Some of the other people who went were our Worship Pastor, Senior Associate Pastor, Men's Ministry team leaders, Junior High Director, Director of Women's Ministries, and our Leadership Development Team Leader. I sat about 10 ft. from Erwin as he spoke about his books Unstoppable Force and Uprising. It was amazing.

I have been getting very discouraged with the ministries I am involved in at my church. I feel like I am being chewed up and spit out by the system. Yesterday I had a bit of a breakdown as I struggled to understand why I felt my passions being sucked out of me.

Erwin inspired me so much today. He reminded me that people are really what matter. He reminded me to go after my passions. I understand more fully how the church should be and I know things can get better. I'm still struggling with all the pain of trying to create change and inspire extraordinary things in the church. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I whine, sometimes I scream, and sometimes I leap for joy (although more rarely). Things are hard, but God is Good.

Update: 1/31/08
Here is a comment I left on a special blog set up for the participants of this seminar series from my church:

- I am becoming more and more aware that Hillside's Ethos does not match up to the values written down on paper. Our mission statement is "Introducing people to Jesus, and inspiring everyone to follow him fully." However, the areas of ministry that accomplish these values often slip under the radar and have the fewest volunteers. Even the 4 principles we subscribe to (Caring, Reaching, Growing, Developing) become lost in the culture of Hillside. I personally know people who have left Hillside because their leadership abilities have been stifled, or their spiritual/emotional needs have been neglected. These young leaders that left Hillside went on to other churches to become lay-leaders, paid staff, and pastors.

Honestly, I believe that Hillside has many values that are not stated in the mission statement. These unsaid values shape the culture of our church. For example: loyalty, longevity, family, and harmony. I have come to understand that Hillside is a place where (if you fit the right criteria) you can fit in like a family. The problem is that I believe we miss much of the challenge to "follow Jesus fully" when we get blinded by our desire to avoid conflict, keep the status quo, and put a smile on because we're with our family.

Trip to Delaware

I just got back from Dover, Delaware. I spent 5 days with my Grandma, Mom and Dad, and my brothers and sister. We flew out to attend my grandfather's memorial service on Sunday. It was a great trip; I enjoyed spending time with family and celebrating the life of my grandfather. Here are a few pictures from Sunday:
(Click on the pictures to see a larger view)

This chapel was built in 1780.





The next day, we drove to Philadelphia which was only 1.5 hours away. We did some touring and here are some of the pictures:

That's us in front of the Liberty Bell


That's Independence Hall
(Where they wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution)


That's me ordering a Philly Cheesesteak off the street
(The best sandwich I've ever had)


Here we are at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the Rocky Statue


Here we are running up the steps of the Museum of Art
(Just like Rocky)


Here we are doing our best Rocky impression. I know, crazy tourists.


We had a great time.