Mother's Day and Making a Difference

Dave Richards' post today on his blog gives a great idea for Mother's Day gifts to empower women. Check it out here.

I received an email on this same campaign from Jessica this morning. I think this would be a great way to celebrate Mother's day this year. What a very simple, "doable" way to empower a woman to make a difference for herself and her family and her community.

Will you post this, email your friends, get the word out?

Revelation - Decoding Its Vision with Sanity!

What the Left Behind Series Never Told You!

Interested? I am. My doctoral advisor, Winn Griffin is beginning a weekly Bible study on the book of Revelation. You can sign up here.

Honestly, a good study on this is so necessary. I was surfing one sleepless in Seattle night and was watching one of the Chrisitan stations. I was fascinated with the amount of fear and manipulation that comes out of certain theologies. Winn says, "bad theology is an evil task master".

This would be a great study to do with friends. Hmm, I wonder if I might join a Revelation group...

Virginia Tech

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.

Bless those who mourn, eternal God,with the comfort of your love that they may face each new day with hope and the certainty that nothing can destroy the good that has been given. May their memories become joyful, their days enriched with friendship, and their lives encircled by your love. Amen

Adapted from "Prayers of Our Hearts" © 1991 Vienna Cobb Anderson.

Power

Something I am working on in my doctoral program is the issue of "power". I have been reflecting on power as it relates to leadership in the faith comunity. Henry Nouwen is again helpful here:
“It is not enough for the priests and ministers of the future to be moral people, well trained, eager to help their fellow humans, and able to respond creatively to the burning issues of their time. All of that is very valuable and important, but it is not the heart of Christian leadership. The central question is, are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God's presence, to listen to God's voice, to look at God's beauty, to touch God's incarnate Word, and to taste fully God's infinite goodness?”
I have been keeping my eyes open to "notice" people who hold power in the Christian community. I am making note on the way power is used whether very intentionally as well as blindly. You have heard it said (I don't remember by whom) "when you don't have power you talk about it a lot" (if you know who said this let me know).
But look at different groups who do not hold power in our society and then begin to listen to what they say without first jumping to all kinds of judgments and assumptions...maybe we won't like what we hear but maybe a second listen, trying to "hear" empathetically what is being said.
I am rambling a bit here.
As I have been noticing how people use their power I am struck, struck by the many people who hold power and are not aware of it. When you are not aware of your power then I believe it is difficult to "see" those that don't hold the power position in any given situation.
One thing I do know, that in Christian leadership, there is a point where stopping to reflect on one's own power and how it is used is very, very important in these days where voices from the margins are becoming louder and louder.
The leaders that I watch move aside to share power with those that need to have room made for them is the ideal of servant-leadership that I see Jesus modeling over and over again in the gospels.

On Relationship

“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.” - Henri Nouwen

Resurrection thoughts from Dr. Winn

My doctoral advisor posted an interesting way of reading the Gospel of John in light of resurrection...have a look

http://drwinn.com/2007/04/06/resurrection-ala-john/

Holy Week

Last night we finished our Wednesday evening Lenten Group. When this group began I was in India but followed along in the book "Show Me the Way" by Henri Nouwen. It was a seven week group that met for soup and discussion around the daily mediations from the book. It was a meaningful way to travel through lent. Tomorrow a group of us are going to attend the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Catholic Church down the street from us. Besides Easter Sunday, the Good Friday Stations of the Cross is the most meaninful part of this season.

Hope you all have a meaningful Holy Week...

Life is Full

Anne Lamott was hysterically funny and profoundly inspirational. She signed my right “auntie” with her name, a heart and a rose.

Life is very full. I know that the spiritual life in order to thrive needs silence, solitude, a break from all the busyness…however, I am embracing that this is a season in my life that is very, very full and it is okay. I am married, parenting a nine year old, co-pastoring a faith community, launching a new non-profit and trying to keep up with a doctoral program…

Throwing a doctoral program into the mix of an already very full life seemed insane…but to me it is a gift! So, I receive and embrace this gift and the reality that for the next three years I have a lot to juggle. I will plan short getaways, moments of silence and solitude wherever I can. The fact that I have a very supportive husband and a laid back nine year old helps…

Anne Lamott

I'm sitting at Third Place Books. I am preparing for my Palm Sunday talk. I am here to have dinner with Sharon and then a book signing with Anne Lamott. Her new book, 'Grace (Eventually)' is out and she will be here for a reading and then a book signing. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Cincinnati, Tracy Rains showed me a picture of her autograph from Anne. Tracy asked Anne to sign her "auntie" with a Sharpie. I loved that so much - Anne's reference to her "aunties" in Traveling Mercies...I brought my Sharpie I did! I turned fifty last October...the "aunties" are out of control right now...I can think of no better treat than to have Anne sign one of them.

Thanks Tracy!

Inside the Missional Matrix

What an absolute blast! This was such an engaging, dynamic time. I have been in and (mostly) out over the past month. I have so missed home and being with VCC. This past weekend was so much fun. You can hear the podcasts here Here are my highlights:

• Kelly Carpenter and the musicians leading with "I Need to Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge. What a powerful song...it resonated with how many of us feel today. Kelly and his wife Merrilyn have a gift to hear sounds and messages from the culture that aligns with the Holy Spirit's call to us today. He and Merrilyn are some of the most generous people I know.
• Todd Hunter - I love this guy. He is so refreshing, so smart and has so much to say that we need to hear. What a humble leader. He is like a young Ray Bakke, he is so inspiring and gifted to help us make sense of the times.
• Scot Mcknight - I met Scot through his jesuscreed.org blog. I could listen to him teach for hours. He captured our imagination as he taught with passion, honesty and excitement. It was infectious. He is brilliant.
• Kris Mcknight - Influential in her own right. She is like gold. What an honor to be with them. What a fun couple!
• Amy Powell - a young church planter from Wisconsin that found me through this blog. When she arrived on Thursday we were instant friends. She is a dynamic leader with a heart for her generation. I can't wait to watch the story of her community unfold.
• Rachelle Mee-Chapman - What can I say -- I love Rachelle
• Jessica Ketola, Joanna Brantley - when these two sing you hear from the thinspace.
• My husband - he is the best!
• Jim Henderson - such a good friend, creative is an understatement - on Saturday, Jim put up some butcher paper and had people that wanted to lead a 30 minute workshop sign up and then had them give a 30 second commercial of what their topic would be...we all sat there wondering if it would work -- it did! So thankful for Off the Map's innovation and creativity.
• Eliza - an atheist you can read about here She was so courageous to come and be with us. There were moments during her interview that were profound...you could hear a silence of pensive thought drop in the room
• Jim Fox and all the folks from VCC who did the setting up-serving-cleaning-serving. I love this faith community. I know I am biased but we are rich in people that are earnestly trying to learn what it means to live out loving God and loving neighbor.
• Thanks to everyone that came to Missional Matrix and participated by interacting with the topics, asking hard questions, being okay with some things that couldn't be answered and for sharing a part of your story.

St Elizabeth's Rated

Matt Casper the atheist who co-authored this book was in Cincinnati for the weekend. He rated St E's here. You will love the book. It's an honest look at what the church does through the eyes of an unchurced sceptic.

Home Again

I am so glad to be home again. The weekend was great. I met so many great people. Too many to name them all but a few that went out of their way to welcome me; Julie, Sandy, Owen, Lilly, Rob, Elaine, Eric, Tracy, Kevin, Dave, Jody, Jeremy and others…
I was able to spend some time with Bob Ekblad. He and his wife Grace are only an hour away, I hope we will get to carve out some time to be with the Ekblad’s, I think we have some things we can learn from them around social justice. I had dinner with Bob and Kelly Bowen last night. What quality people. They remind me of JR and Nancy. Faithful, passionate people that want their lives to count. They are the real deal, servants with no ego.
It was good to get some time with Jason, Brooke, Kevin and Tracy yesterday. I think Vineyard Central has a unique place. Strong community with people very committed to love their wider community.
Looking forward to this weekend Inside the Missional Matrix

Cincinnati

I arrived last night. I am staying in a renovated convent that belongs to Vineyard Central. Vineyard Central and Church of the Savior were featured at the same time in the Cutting Edge magazine about four or five years ago. I remember when I read that issue because something in me so resonated with both places. Vineyard Central had purchased an old Roman Catholic church, St. E’s with the property came the rectory, now the brown house and a convent, where I am staying. The brown house is home to the Rains’ family and others that live in intentional community. The convent is home to the Nixon’s and I believe they are now using the rooms here for a retreat house. If it wasn’t so expensive to fly here right now from the northwest, this would be an awesome place to come on retreat.

Today, I went across the street for a cup of coffee. As I was crossing back in front of St. E’s looking at her beautiful structure, I remembered how the story of VC and Church of the Savior gave me language for things that had been percolating in my heart for so long. When you bump into someone or something that puts language to what you intuit is such an awakening. That was the beginning of Rich and I getting clarity around what was in our hearts to do. In the last month I have had so many moments of flashback to powerful moments, places, circumstances and people that were road signs and directional for where we are right now.

I am here to participate in the Feast of St Patrick. The hospitality here is off the charts. The people are so easy to be with. Tomorrow will be a full day. I am anticipating that it will continue to be very rich and memorable.

Part of my childhood memories of being catholic, attending parochial schools come back and I feel very much at home here. I think it is beautiful that a young, vibrant faith community is bringing and finding life in an ancient setting.

Home

We left Hyderabad on Friday, March 2nd at 2:30 a.m. When we arrived at the Hyderabad airport I asked the woman at check in for our flight if I could upgrade (complementary) to business class. She wrote down my name and told me they would let me know at the gate if seats were available. Sure enough, right before boarding they called my name and bumped me up to business class. It was pure luxury. I had been up since about 6:00 a.m. My seat laid all the way down into a bed. I slept for seven hours! I woke up and watched Casino Royale – we landed probably ten minutes before the movie finished. I will have to rent it to see how it ends.

The first leg of my journey from Hyderabad to Frankfurt was about ten and one half hours. We had a two hour layover in Frankfurt then began the nine and one half hours home to Portland. I didn’t get the gift of business class on this leg of the journey. The hours went by very slow. I could hardly wait to see Rich and Alex in Portland. We landed in Portland at about 12:30 p.m. by the time I got through customs it was 1:35…Rich and Alex were there…so great to see them.

Rich drove me straight to the Vancouver Vineyard where a Women’s conference was in full swing. I was scheduled to speak at the 2:00 session which I made right on time. I felt a bit scattered. I did the session, then went to dinner with Carol, Abbie, Debbie, Laurie and Deborah. Went back for the evening session to hear Eleanor Mumford then went and met Rich and Alex at the hotel. It was a nice way to do re-entry!

Pretty much today is the first day I feel acclimated back to life here. I need to make the time to reflect on the trip. We need to ask the questions as to what I experienced might mean for me and for VCC. I don’t think it was an accident that my Overture II was in India.

One reflection, when you go to places in the world that don’t have the luxury of reason about everything, people that absolutely live in the present moment because they have nothing, it challenges my faith at a level where maybe everything doesn’t have to be analyzed and figured out. I met courageous followers of Christ who are devoting everything to making India a better place for all people. These folks are heroes. I need to at least ask the questions of how this experience might shape me for the things the Lord has for me and the community I serve.

Wednesday Feb 27th Hyderabad

I only have a few minutes to quickly post. Today's lectures were awesome. We began with Sunil Sardar. He spoke about Phule and Ambedkar and the caste system. He was very good. Some of the students challenged his theology of salvation...he is using the cultural story of ancient India before Brahminism to call people back to God. I will blog more on that later.

The next speaker was a professor of political science at the University here in Hyderabad. I am in an internet cafe so I am giving you a bare bones summary. I don't have my notes with me. This professor does not claim to follow Christ. His studies of history and politics have led him to believe that India will become a post-hindu nation in the very near future. He believes when that happens there will be such a vacuum of faith that 400 million people will be left to convert to either Islam, Buddhism or Christianity. He chastised us as westerners for not bringing the message of Christ to India. He laid out a powerful argument to show how we abdicated to Islam. If what he believes is coming his question to us is what will we do about it...

I am not doing his lecture justice. We were stunned to say the least. 40% of the planet's population is now located in China and India. If India becomes a post-hindu nation the implications for how that will change the world is monumental. The IT industry and other business that is booming here has set the stage for India to become very, very important.

His lecture reminded me of Revelation 3 -- I had a sense the Holy Spirit was saying through him, Western church this you have done well, but here is what I have against you...

Very, very powerful message. I had bought his book for this course and had not read it yet. Now I can hardly wait to read it.

We went out and saw another micro-credit org today. I can't even remember the name of it.

I will have to finish updating when I get home. Tomorrow we have class until evening then Deborah and I go to the airport to start our 24 hour journey home. I will see some of you on Sunday. Thanks to all who have been praying. I have had a wonderful trip. So much to think about and process.

Tuesday - February 27th

I am in Hyderabad. I am in an internet cafe that has a very slow server. I have been journaling - the overnight train trip and the first day here but can't upload from my laptop here. I will try to do it before I leave but don't know if I will find a place to do it. In the meantime I had some more thoughts on our time in Chennai. We do so much without time to reflect or think it is hard to capture or process much. I imagine I will have a lot to think through as I return.

Thoughts on our time in Chennai
I realized I left some things out of my daily notes. There just was not enough time for it all. One of the more 'dreamy' (Deborah's description) moments was on Thursday evening. Tim and Carol arranged a dinner for us at a 5 star hotel. We were outside under palm trees and amidst beautiful flowering plants. It was beautiful. The moon was crescent shaped and I felt like I was in an Aladdin story. The food was delicious. We had an outside buffet of every kind of Indian food. I heard the wine was delightful but I didn't try it. I did not want even the chance of getting a migraine.

Another thought I had in reflecting on our time in Chennai was about the visit we made to the House of the Destitute. The women were so beautiful. I wish I could describe in words what I felt there. Fifteen elderly women sharing one room with cement a cement floor and walls. One bathroom that was a hole in the ground and a shower hose. I saw Jesus in the midst of their beauty. I heard the Lord say, "The Kingdom of Heaven is such as this."

And then the micro-credit visit. Christine, a woman in my group had a great idea. I would like to begin a monthly group of men and women. We would meet monthly and bring $25 each to contribute. We could send the money to the micro-credit group in Chennai (or other places) and ask for the profiles of the women we were sponsoring. The average loan they were making is about $75 so for every three people in our group we would be sponsoring one woman. we could keep a board or some way to display the women. We could pray for them and their families. We might even want to follow the news of what is happening in Chennai or in India...

I need to sign off now but wanted to update...

Hyderabad is a bit different then Chennai. Some of us are getting a bit cranky because there is not much down time but it is good.

Thanks for commenting ...it is nice to get news and comments from home.

Chennai – Day 7 (Sunday)

We left at 8:00 a.m. this morning in three vans to see how the church in Chennai worships. We spent about 10-15 minutes in each church:
A very large Pentecostal church (over 5000) that has grown through their deliverance ministry
A Syrian Orthodox Church – it was like a high mass in a RC church
A Presbyterian Church – The COO we met at ‘Sify” attends (large church very intellectual)
Powerhouse – a very young contemporary church – when we entered they were being led in worship by one of the best known bands in the city – they were singing David Ruis’ song Whom Have I But You…
Assembly of God - (38,000) there were three services going on simultaneously – they have many services a day – first we went into the indigenous gathering – it was very large, the music was loud and good, then we went up to another part of the building that was jammed full of young people, very Western feeling, they were sing I Will Sing of Your Love Forever, then we peeked into a third very large gathering that was like the first one in Indian.

We came back to the hotel. It is about 2:00 p.m. We had lunch and will now get ready to go to Hyderabad on the train. There are 2500 Christian churches in Chennai. We had only a birds eye view but what we saw was a very thriving, energetic church. Joyful and worshipful is how they all felt. Ray would convey to us the history of the church in Madras/Chennai after each visit. He is a church historian, it never ceases to amaze me when he can call up facts of history and then will bring a theological reflection. Chennai has been very interesting. Tim and his wife, Carol have been here since 1974. They think their time is coming to an end. They will be returning to the U.S. in the next six months. Carol’s attitude is that they will come back and have to relearn the church and the culture, much like Newbigin after he spent 30 years in India. Returning to see how much the culture has changed and then asking the questions on what that means to be a follower of Christ. I am going to pray for them. It will be a huge transition. They have been gracious hosts to us. Tim is one of the most dynamic leaders I have ever met. Very humble yet very strong. He has loved this city and Chennai loves him. This was apparent especially the few days we were exposed to city officials. Tim and Carol are coming back to the States to relearn the culture but I think they will have much to teach us in how to contextualize the gospel in our culture.

Chennai – Day 6 (Saturday)

Description

At 7:00 a.m. this morning I met with Ray to discuss what my area of specialization might be. Right now I am leaning toward Church and Ministry Multiplication. Ray agreed that choosing a specialization that fits with the ministry I am involved in makes the most sense. He wants to introduce me to a woman that created and developed much of the work at Lawndale. I may try to do an Independent Study with her. I also got the go ahead from Ray to do an Independent Study around the work I have done and continue to do with John Savage, Strategic Leadership Institute. Ray agreed with me that Winn would make a great dissertation advisor.

Now we are getting ready to observe a City Seminar. The title of the seminar is Mobilizing the Local Church to Serve the Community. There will be representatives from the various city government and pastors and teachers from all over the city in discussion. Our job is to listen and observe.

Chennai – Day 5 (Friday)

Description

We once again began the day with Ray giving us a bit of perspective. How fast is development happening and should we be critical of it? When we (the U.S.) were as old as these countries black people and women could not vote. He often wondered how Hindu India has bookend countries that are Muslim. Pakistan and Bangladesh were once part of India. These countries were Hindu long before Islam. Pakistan was created at midnight 1947, I’m not sure about Bangladesh. The river people (Pakistan and Bangladesh) were discriminated against and when Islam came they were prime for conversion. He then put our own history in perspective. He told us not to be judgmental about where India is as a country. Thought India is an ancient civilization it is a very new country. India was occupied by the British for 200 years and only gained independence in 1947. Two thirds of the nations were created after WWII. The U.S. is just a little more than 200 years old depending on where you put the beginning, 1776 or 1789. 57 years later, which is the same age as India we were in a civil war. Women could not vote until 1920 and Black people 1965. India is doing well compared to us at their age.

Our first presenter was Prateep Philip, Inspector General Police, Social Justice. Founder of Friends of Police.

When Raji Ghandi was assinated in 1991 Prateep was the assistant superintendent of police and was 3 ft away from the bomb blast and the only one that survived.

In India there is one policeman to every 1000 people. He has developed a program much like our neighborhood watch. It is called Friends of Police (FOP) which is a training program for individuals to help the police prevent crime.

Next we had presentations from three women. Joshy Tewes of Intermission was the first to present. Joshy is married to a German man and their organization has given birth to the micro-finance organization we visited earlier and the Community College we observed yesterday. Joshy’s guiding Scriptures has been the story of the Samaritan woman at the well and the story of Moses’ mother. She was dynamic.

Next we heard from a young woman, Kavita, who co-pastors the Powerhouse church we heard about on Tuesday evening. She is one of the very, very few women in ministry that anyone here even knows about. She spoke on the plight of women in India. Even though they have had a woman Prime Minister, the Indians are very conservative and women do not have many rights. She spoke about violence against women, dowry harassment and numerous social issues facing women in India today.

The final presentation was by Sarah Chanda on women’s rights in India. She went right to the bottom line to say the problem is that India like many other societies is based on patriarchy. She is an activist for women’s rights.

We had lunch together at the hotel and then we went out for the afternoon. Our first stop, the community college that Joshy and her husband started They have 7 colleges for girls that are dropouts either due to poverty or orphaned. The girls are between 15-and 45 (women) – they are enrolled in a one year course…they offer six courses, tailoring, computer lab, primary school education training etc The site we visited currently has 162 students. You can find them at www.iida-india.org

We then broke into different groups. One group went to a leprosy colony, one group went to observe a street ministry and I went with 4 men to a ministry called The House of Destitution. 2 young Catholic women stared this org in 1992 feeding some hungry elderly homeless…now they run a residential house for elderly women who have been abandoned by their families or widowed and have no one to take care of them. They also run an after school program for children in the slum and feed them dinner. We prayed for some of the women. They were beautiful and so happy to see us. In the van on the way back to the hotel I began to emotionally process all I have seeing, hearing, smelling, touching. India is a very sensory place and coming from the U.S. it feels like an assault on all my senses. We were back for about one hour and then a group of us went back to Sparky’s for dinner.

Chennai – Day 4

Warning: I am too tired to edit this so am posting without proofing...

It is Friday evening and we just got back from dinner. A few of us went back to Sparky’s. We rode back in an auto-rickshaw which is an adventure all in itself. I am trying to stay on top of my journal but we don’t have much time. Everything is beginning to run together for me. I can barely think of what we did when. I will catch up on day 3 and day 5 tomorrow.

Description
Thursday morning we debriefed the previous two days with Ray. We had seen Opportunity International (micro-finance), Compassion Intl. (children), Sparky’s. Ray asked, “what similarities did we see, what text does each model operate under, what would I have to learn to do what they do, what is the tool kit in this ministry?”

He talked about one of the organization's very narrow focus. The text to describe them would be Micah 6:8 and Ezek 16:21. When there is systemic evil you can’t just repent of it. You have to change the unjust laws. He compared this to the book of Ester. Ester replaced a pagan queen and accessed the power to change the plan of evil against the Israelites. And here is what I love about Ray, from there he talked about Purim. That many of us need to recover a ‘party theology’ especially when working with the poor and marginalized. Passover is when you celebrate deliverance from slavery or oppression. Purim (party) is when you celebrate in the midst of exile or when you can’t change the outside situation. Don’t you love that?
He spoke on Compassion Intl as a ‘cup of cold water’ ministry. He rehearsed the beginnings of World Vision. There is no one way to love a city.

Our first lecture of the morning was from Vasantha Raju Albert, Church Growth Association. He spoke on the creation of self help groups which are like cell churches all over the city. India has the second largest population in the world. 650 million people. 40% of the planet lives in two countries, India and China. Urban India is the equivalent of the entire US population. Albert believes the Church in India is stuck in tradition and will have to contextualize in order to get a hearing.
Ray followed up his talk with a story about meeting with a group of pastors in Cairo. Ray asked them to invent models and strategies that might work…they had many…then he had them identify what were the barriers that would keep them from innovating…ten barriers were identified…they were all from within the church.

The next lecture was Bishop Ezra of ECI (Evangelical Church of India). Bishop Ezra worked with Donald McGavaran and oversees a church planting organization. He presented their church planting and training model. The goal for ECI is to plant ten thousand churches by 2020 and one hundred thousand house churches in the next fifteen years to accommodate the expected house church explosion.

Our last lecture of the morning was from Ananda Ranjan Doss
Former Chief City Planner for Chennai. His lecture was titled, Chennai City Profile
And the politics of Planning. Profile – 62 million people
State – Tamil Nadu – An overview
Most organized state in India
256 engineering colleges in this state
1427 IT firms….08 million jobs projected

2nd most important city in IT
40% of the 8 million people in Chennai live in slums.
While this man was passionate and ‘charming’ to use the words of a friend in class, I could not understand him. He spoke very fast (he was passionate).
After lunch we visited Sify a leading Internet Provider in India and then on to the Art Lab.

Analysis
I found the contrast between the first presenter that was convinced the Church in India is too traditional and will need to go the way of cell church/house churches in contrast with the second presenter who was very much into mega church (and house churches). Again we heard there is not one way to be the church.

Application
Once again I am encouraged that we can agree there is not one way to do ministry. The church comes in many forms and manifestations and that is good. Even though I did not understand all of what Doss, the former City Planner said I understand the importance of being involved in the city. If we are going to exist to serve our community we have to know what is happening. I am fully convinced that as long as we have a facility in a community then we need to be the presence of Christ in that community.