Archive August 2009
Afterglow – 8/30/2009
What a day! I have really grown to love the fifth Sundays when we gather together as the church to dedicate babies, share our hearts and lives and celebrate baptisms and the Lord’s Supper. From the feedback I’m getting, many of you agree. I thought it good to set aside a moment to review and give thanks for the blessings of the day.
In the early service several couples dedicated children to the Lord. As I met with them before the service, I was once again struck by the ethnic mix of our church. Did you notice that in the babies dedicated today? I love being able to tell them that dedicating a child to God is a covenant between parents and church to do all we can to ensure that these children are brought up in the nurture and instruction of God. With a beautiful new facility going up in front that is primarily dedicated to children, it is easy to speak with confidence that we really mean what we say.
Baptisms were beautiful! I never get tired of seeing people publicly share their faith in Christ. Usually we have 30-40 people baptized and today was no exception. In the second service I was watching some of the baptisms when I felt a tug at my sleeve. Turning around I saw a cute little girl who said, “Are you Pastor Adams?”
“Yes I am.”
“I want to get baptized.”
Talking with her, I found out that she is a fifth grader and we agreed that she will speak with her teacher next week so that she will be in the next group to be baptized. How cool is that? That’s the way it is supposed to work – people following the Savior in baptism as an encouragement and witness to others.
How about those testimonies? Holly shared how flying into a hail storm in a small plane in Mongolia changed her life and revitalized her concept of prayer. Ryan, just back from last week’s Focus retreat, told how God confirmed some great lessons through Pastor Jim’s message. I asked him about the trip he and others will be making with me to Argentina in January to CIMA 2010, and following the service someone gave him a generous gift that was an answer to his prayer to make that trip possible. Finally, Judah told the amazing story of how God used the tragic suicide of his best friend to turn his own life inside out, and how that resulted in another friend coming to faith in Christ during the Focus retreat.
Ever wonder what happens in the International Visitors Suite following services? Today I met a lady from Ethiopia who was visiting for the first time. I love Ethiopians and there is just something about them that causes them to stand out in a special way. I haven’t figured out what that is, but I can usually spot an Ethiopian. I did that in an airport recently. I spotted a family and knew that they were Ethiopians. Later I confirmed that they were indeed.
I ministered to a lady fighting a battle with cancer and another who just lost a loved one. I met the parents of a young man who was baptized today and several others who were visiting for the first time. I rejoiced with others that we were able to help reconstruct a church in Cameroon that had collapsed, the former church of a lady who now attends KCBT.
Yes, it was a very good day.
What is the heart of worship?
Flying home this afternoon I was reading a book called GloboChrist by Carl Raschke. The book is written to an academic crowd, and I would not particularly recommend it to just anyone. Raschke is one of the premier voices of the relationship between postmodernism and the church. I don’t agree with a good deal of what he says, but he also says some things that challenge my thinking, stretch me and provide valuable insight.
Here’s one paragraph that I found compelling.
The Western evangelical church, in contrast to its counterpart in the global South, has had a fatal attraction to contemporary consumer culture and made a fateful alliance with it. The attraction is not unlike the one the people and kings of ancient Israel had with the Asherahs … and the Baals … . Like ancient Israel’s subtle entanglement with the local pagan cults, many evangelical Christians, including many postmodern adherents, have seen the power of the gospel dwindle in their lives and their churches because they have gone whoring after the false gods of spiritual and material consumption. Just as the ancient worshipers at jewish shrines could not differentiate between worship of the one God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and local fertility rites, contemporary Christians frequently fail to distinguish between worship as self-surrender and as self-gratification.
That last phrase arrested me – that we frequently fail to distinguish between worship as self-surrender and as self-gratification. We understand that true, biblical worship is much more than what happens during a “worship service” at church. But so much has been written and said about our “worship wars” today that pit different styles of music, worship and praise against each other, that I have to wonder how much of the problem is due to what Raschke points out.
Is my worship self-surrender or self-gratification? Hmmmm. That is a sobering question indeed.
The Holy Grail of Travelers: Packing Light
This blog is about anything that happens to come to my mind. Sorry, but if that’s a problem for you, get your own blog. Tonight, I have packing on my mind. That’s because I just finished throwing my stuff in the suitcase to begin the trip home in the morning. I’m breaking in a new suitcase and also some new techniques for packing light. I’ll share my latest secrets a bit later. Keep reading.
As you probably know, I spend a fair amount of time in the air and traveling light is part of survival. Packing for a few days is no big deal, but twice this year I have been challenged to put all my tips and technique into practice. In January I spent two weeks in Turkey, Iraq and Switzerland and needed to take everything in a 22″ rollaboard.
It can be done. This month I just finished a two week stint in South America, moving through 8 or 9 cities in 5 countries and rarely spending more than a night in the same place. To complicate things, I was traveling from summer in Kansas City to winter in South America and needed to be prepared for several climates and several circumstances ranging from coat and tie, outer coat in freezing temps, to casual. I made it, but came back convinced I could do better.
People who travel with me sometimes ask how I manage to be gone for a couple of weeks with only a rollaboard and briefcase. Before I share some tips, here are some reasons to travel light:
- Many airlines now charge a fee to check your bags that increases with each bag. When you have multiple legs on your itinerary, that adds up quickly. There are some ways around sometimes, but it’s still nice to not have to check your bag if you don’t want to.
- When you are on a tight schedule, if there is a problem with your flight, if you are delayed or have to switch flights, it is a tremendous advantage to not have to worry about your bag.
- If you have a tight schedule when you land, as I often do, it’s great to not have to wait around until the checked luggage comes up. You can beat the crowd and move straight through immigration/customs or to the rental car counter, etc.
- Keeping your bag with you definitely cuts down on the wear and tear on your bag and eliminates the fear of losing your luggage.
- If you are traveling with others, if you use public transportation, or someone is picking you up in a small vehicle and you are not the only passenger, it is wonderful to have a single small bag.
- If you travel internationally and fly on another carrier, chances are the weight limit is going to much less than the 50 lbs you get in the States.
I’m sure there are other reasons, but I love the freedom of a single small bag and briefcase. Here are some tips, but first let me acknowledge that men have an advantage over ladies. OK? I understand that. I get it. But, I still think there are ways to greatly reduce what you lug around, male or female.
- I take a single pair of shoes and matching belt that can be worn with anything I wear. (I often throw in a light pair of martial arts tennis shoes for exercise or as an emergency spare). All clothes are chosen to match the shoes and belt.
- If you change underwear and socks everyday, you can get by with just a few tops and a couple of pairs of pants. I often take some dress slacks and jeans. Make sure everything is color-coordinated.
- I toss in some extreme light weight nylon exercise pants and a quick-dry top that I can use to exercise and/or lounge around in a home or hotel.
- I take a no-wrinkle sports jacket that can be worn with either jeans or dress slacks. If it’s winter, I wear a leather jacket onto the plane, pack the sports jacket and I’m good to go. You can make many a combination with two pairs of pants, a jacket, three or four tops and a thin sweater. I make sure all tops are wrinkle-free.
- Those plastic packing bags that you can squeeze the air out of are great! Don’t leave home without them.
- The requirement to put all liquids and gels in a single, clear quart Ziploc bag is great in that it forces you to studiously consider what you do and do not need. Every trip I am asking myself what I can leave out.
- I use small toiletry bags like they often give away when you buy a cologne gift set, or that you can pick up at a discount store for next to nothing, to organize. For example, in one I put vitamins, medicines, or other toiletries that are not liquid or gel. In another I neatly pack my assortment of cords, plugs and chargers, taking only what I need on this specific trip.
- I try to combine everything I can. My Blackberry enables me to combine phone, email, PDA, mp3 player, camera, video camera, and GPS into a single deck of cards size device. Love it!
- New secret #1 – Brooks Brothers no-wrinkle shirts. They are wonderful! Men’s Wearhouse makes a similar, almost equal quality shirt. Follow the instructions and they really work. On my South American trip, I got up to three days out of the same shirt and it looked as fresh and crisp on the third day as it did on the first. Just changed the undershirt each day. The shirts are not the cheapest, but worth every penny. There is an outlet store at The Legends and you can keep your eye open for sales. I got mine for no more than I would have paid for a regular, so-s0 shirt at a discount store. Really.
- New secret #2 – ExOficio underwear – (blush). Google it or check out Magellan’s travel site. This stuff is amazing! It is also expensive, but again it is worth it. And, you can travel around the world with just a couple of pairs because you can wash them in the sink and they dry in just 3 or 4 hours max. I tried a pair and I am hooked, even for everyday use. Accept no substitute. There’s no turning back. I even found some travel soap that comes in dissoluble strips like the ones that freshen your breath.
Well, this is packing light 101. There’s more to it than that, but this might get you started if you are looking for ideas. There are many websites that offer advice and hints. Learning to travel light is a continual struggle as airlines and governments constantly change the rules and the traveler must adjust strategies accordingly.
Got any hints to share? Please do!
Always at Home
During our prayer and devotional time at the Christar board meeting this morning, our international director Steve Coffey shared some thoughts from Psalm 90 that blessed all of us. Steve had many insightful comments, and it’s funny how every person listening has something different that reaches out and grabs them. Let me share just one brief idea that got my attention.
Psalm 90 is the one psalm we know that Moses wrote. This helps us to put things in context. During most of his adult life, Moses lived as a nomad. He was around 40 when he fled Egypt after he knew there were witnesses to his slaying of an Egyptian who was mistreating his people. For the next 40 years he watched over the flocks of his father-in-law. The final 40 years of his life were given to the years of wandering in the wilderness with the nation of Israel.
Moses opens this great psalm with these words: Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Those powerful words come from a man who was “homeless.” For the last 80 years of his life, Moses had no permanent residency. He could never order something from Amazon.com because there was no address for UPS to do a drop off.
Moses may not have had a residency, but he had a home. He found his home, his dwelling place, in God.
We often emphasize the negative, as in the case of Jonah, by saying that it is impossible to run from God. That’s true. But the positive aspect is also true. No matter where you go in this world, God is your home. You are always at home. Even if you are what the government would classify as homeless, you are always at home if God is your dwelling place.
What do you listen to in the car?
I live close to the office and that makes listening to the radio rather pointless most of the time. When I am out and running around I am often on the phone or hunting for traffic reports.
Today, I flew into Baltimore and drove the couple of hours to Reading, PA for a Christ@r meeting. I had a whole two hours to turn the radio up as loud as I wanted and just have fun!
I listened to a Mozart clarinet concerto as I was weaving through the Interstate network out of Baltimore. Then I started hitting the seek button and found some really great jazz on National Public Radio (I LOVE NPR!). NPR has music that you often cannot find anywhere else and it’s fresh and wonderful. I get tired of the latest “hit” on local stations that they play dozens of times until they convince you that you like it.
Sliding across the dial I heard a new (for me) song on a Christian station that caught my attention for a bit. I must confess that when the music stopped and they started making church announcements I hit the seek button faster than you could swat a fly.
I ran into a convenience store to grab a veggie wrap and some spicy hot V8 juice, and when I came out I stumbled onto the magnificent Beethoven violin concerto. Crank it up!
Do you ever listen to NPR when they have on original American folk music? The other day I was listening to an entire program dedicated to American river music. It was fascinating! There was also an entire program on Les Paul right after he died with cuts from interviews and some of the most amazing guitar playing in the history of the world. PLEASE don’t ask me who he was!
If you want to see the power of music, check out this link someone sent me today.