Creative God, creative man

I was driving to Western Hills on Wednesday night and, on a whim, popped in a CD into the player in my van.  It was one of my favorites, a CD called "Summon the Heroes," and it features music used in the ceremonies and TV broadcasts of the Olympics.  We have an Olympic Games coming up this summer in London, and I find myself getting excited about watching them - though not as excited as I get for the Winter Olympics, which are a lot more fun in my view!  In any case, I was caught up in the beauty of the music, the stirring rhythms that made me want to stop the van, get out, and run somewhere, "Rocky"-style.  Music has such a power!

It brought to mind some of the amazing athletic feats I've seen in Olympics past.  I remember the amazing performance of swimmer Michael Phelps, and his record number of gold medals; Apolo Anton Ohno and the epic speed skating battles with the South Koreans; Jamaican Usain Bolt's almost unbelievable speed; and a host of others.  Isn't it amazing to watch what these incredible athletes can do?

Human beings have an incredible drive to create, to explore, to innovate, to compete, to do new things.  We are this way because we were wonderfully created – and because our "template," our pattern, is divine.  "Let us make human beings in our image," declares Gen. 1:26.  We create because God creates.  "What god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? (Deut. 3:24)"  We seek to do great things as a reflection of the mighty God in whose image we are made.  In Isaiah 43:19, God declares, "See, I am doing a new thing!"  Just as God creates and initiates new action, so has he instilled in us a creative spark.

Isn't our God an amazing God!  Can you find a creative, mighty, or new way to praise and show your love for him?

Update - Wednesday, Feb. 22

Greetings all!

It's been several days since I added anything to this blog.  I didn't write the bulletin article for Western Hills this week, so there wasn't anything there to post.  Still, this doesn't mean there haven't been developments!

We are quickly approaching our Trivia Night on Saturday, March 10.  It is my hope that we can raise $1,000 toward the expenses of my trip to Ukraine in April.  It's played in teams of six, so nobody is put on the spot.  $12 per person includes dinner, prizes, and babysitting if you need it!  If anybody has questions about Trivia Night, please let me know.

We talked this week with Vania and Hristo in Sofia by Skype, as usual.  We're excited that there's a good possibility that Vania will be able to come to Nashville for most of the month of August!  This would be a great help to our Bulgarian language learning, and it would be a lot of fun to boot.  Hristo also let me know that I will be preaching for the congregation on May 6.  That's a little intimidating, as I haven't had a lot of practice preaching in English, let alone Bulgarian!  Still, I have ample time to prepare, and the opportunity is an exciting blessing.

I have started to call around to congregations that might support us, but so far the news is not good.  Most congregations are being hit hard by this poor economy, and are having to cut back on their existing programs.  I pray, and I ask you to please pray, that this economy improves and that Christians will be as generous and even more generous than before in supporting missions around the world.  We want very much to make our move in September, but if we don't have the support we need, we will simply have to delay.  I have faith that God will move to smooth our path if he wills it!  No economic force in the world can match the power of almighty God!

Blessings to you all.

Cilantro - Western Hills bulletin article 12Feb12

   One of the happiest moments of each new year is when I see the first seeds for sale at Lowe's.  I couldn't help myself this week; I had to pick up several packets, even though it's far too early to plant anything, even indoors.  I'm quite proud of my front herb garden; last year we had an amazing display of Genovese basil, Thai basil, oregano, dill, thyme, tarragon, and rosemary.

   I had given up on cilantro, however.  It's one of my favorite herbs (I'm a big fan of Mexican food!), but every time I'd tried to grow it in the past, it bolted – grew up extremely fast and withered within just a couple of weeks.  I'd tried everything I could think of to pamper it, but nothing worked, so I gave up on it.  One day late last spring, I noticed that Lisa had planted something in an empty spot in the herb bed.  When I asked her what she'd planted, and she told me it was cilantro, I shook my head.  "It won't work; it'll just bolt like it always does."

   To my surprise, not only did the cilantro not bolt, it thrived – and is still alive now, despite the frost we've gotten.  How could this be?  I've done everything in my power to make that stuff grow, and Lisa gets it to work on her first try.

   I think I understand a little better now Paul's words in 1Cor3:6: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow."  Ultimately, there's nothing I can do to make a seed grow.  Sure, I can make the conditions right for growth to happen, but only God has the power to make things thrive.  And there's a hidden blessing there as well.  I don't have to be responsible for results; rather, God only asks us to plant and water.  The results are up to him.  Praise God for his wisdom and power!

Bulletin Article for February 5

               I might lose my 'man card' over this, but I have to confess, when Lisa watches shows like "Project Runway," I get drawn in.  Though a lot of the clothing designers who are on that show and others like it are a little wacky, it's clear that there is a great deal of creativity in the process of designing clothes.  Different colors, fabrics, accessories, and shapes all contribute to unique styles.

               Did you know there's fashion in the bible?  At least, there is quite a lot of description of certain clothing ensembles.  If you've read through the latter part of Exodus, there's quite a lengthy description of the clothing required for Aaron, the high priest of God.  It's very particular, just as particular as the design of the tabernacle.  It must have been quite a stunning ensemble!

               On the other hand, we have the description of John the Baptist's clothes in Matthew 3:4 – "John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist."  I don't know about the leather belt, but a tunic of camel hair couldn't have been comfortable! 

               We have another picture of clothing in John 13:4-5.  There, Jesus removes his outer clothing and wraps a simple towel around his waist.  He uses this to dry the apostles' feet after he has washed them. 

               Scripture doesn't give us specific direction on what clothes to wear, except for us to dress modestly.  What does the clothing of Aaron, John the Baptist, and Jesus tell us about them?  What does your clothing say about you?

Western Hills bulletin article 29Jan12

I write bulletin articles for the Western Hills Church of Christ, so I thought I'd go ahead and add here what I write each week.

Have you ever read the book of Deuteronomy?  I'll admit, it can be a fairly daunting task.  Deuteronomy has long sections of laws, and some of them don't even seem to make sense (Don't boil a baby goat in its mother's milk?  Never even thought of that one).  But I think you'll find that, if you read through Deuteronomy, there are several important lessons to be learned.

One of them relates to a phrase that God says over and over.  In various forms, the admonition to "be careful to follow every command" is given to Israel, such as in Deuteronomy 8:1.  That seems like a terribly difficult task for Israel, though in general it's much simpler than it appears on first glance.  The Torah, which is usually translated as "Law" but is more properly understood as "Instruction," sets forth for Israel a way of living that will set her apart from other people.

But why?  Why does Israel need to be separate?  There are a couple of reasons.  First of all, Israel is to keep herself from impurity.  Rather than take her cues from the people around her, Israel is to take her cues from the mouth of God.  YHWH recognizes that, if his people do not take care, then they will naturally begin to think and act in the same ways as those around them, with disastrous consequences.  Do we as Christians take our cues from the word of God, or do we live by the pattern of our culture?  Do we even recognize a difference?

The second reason for this separation is so that Israel can be a witness to something better.  The people who live all around Israel can look to her and see a model society, a blessed society.  In looking to Israel, the world should have seen a people living in harmony, materially blessed because of their faith, trusting fully in the Lord.  Instead, because Israel often failed to "take care (Deut. 7:11)," not only did Israel fail to be a witness to the world, she was swallowed up and carried off into captivity.  Let us always "take care" to look at our own society and culture the way God looks at it, and be the witness to the world we are called to be.

The plan...

OK, here's the plan for this year in regard to our mission.  We recognize that, even though we have experience with education, with health care, and with church life, we have never been on the mission field (except for Lisa, who has been on a short-term trip with TORCH missions to Honduras).  There's a lot we don't know.  Thus, we need some practical experience.  In order to gain that...

Jeff will be flying to Ukraine for the last two weeks of April to spend time with Andrew and Jenny Kelly in the Kiev area.  Andrew and Jenny run Jeremiah's Hope, which works with children in difficult situations.  They have also started a post-institutional home for orphans who age out and have nowhere to go, to give them support and teach basic independence skills.  Additionally, the timing of this trip is to coincide with a conference on sex trafficking in Eastern Europe, something that is a huge problem in Bulgaria.  At the conclusion of the conference, Jeff will fly to Sofia for a week, spending time with Hristo and Vania Arnaudov (the minister and his wife with whom we will be working) and gathering information on specific ways in which we can minister when we're there.

In the last two weeks of June, both of us will be flying to Sofia again as part of an annual mission group from the West Ark Church of Christ in Fort Smith, AR.  This is primarily a group of teenagers intent on spreading the gospel to other young people in Sofia.  Since West Ark will also be sending their pulpit minister, we are looking into putting on a mini-lectureship.

Lord willing, we will have gathered enough support to make the complete move to Sofia by mid-September.  We are eager to get on the ground, but we also know that God's time is not our time; his blessings will ultimately determine when we are able to go.  We ask for your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial support so that we can get to work!

Special thanks!

I would be remiss if I didn't profusely thank Dr. David Stark for his assistance in creating this website!  Praise God for brothers of many gifts, who are ready and willing to help!