Erasing Hell - The Book

Rob Bell has given me months of material to chew on in his book 'Love Wins'. Yesterday Francis Chan's book, 'erasing hell', arrived at our house. My wife ordered it to read one of the many rebuttal's to Bell's book. I'm only a few pages in and already I'm taking issue with his direction. He insists that our understanding of hell and its existence is a life and death issue. He trembles at the thought of tackling this issue because if he gets it wrong that's terrible and if he gets it right it's terrible. The study of hell is not to be taken lightly.

Why?

Maybe I'm a simpleton, but the older I get the more convinced I am that nothing about our eternity is dependent on our understanding, intelligence or proper grasp of scripture. Our eternal disposition is wholly and completely in the hands of God. Our salvation has been accomplished by Jesus Christ through his death on the cross. And even though I've taught through the Bible many times over, read it cover to cover and continue to marvel at the things within its pages I have yet to discover, I still don't fully grasp what Jesus did. But I believe he did it. I believe I'm a broken, sinful, fallen human being incapable of achieving perfection by my own effort. I can't by my own will or strength overcome the sin in my life. And if that sin; separates me from God, destroys my ability to be in human relationships, bankrupts me emotionally, ravages me physically and devastates me spiritually then why wouldn't I want to be saved from that? Especially when that salvation comes as a gift freely given by God through the sacrifice of someone other than me...namely, his son...and not through any effort or contribution of my own.

So I don't really need to believe there's a literal hell to know I need to be saved. I don't need images of flames and pitchforks and demons to flee a life of misery and live in the joy God intends for me. Do you? If Francis Chan can prove to you convincingly that there really is a hell where you will spend eternity if you don't accept Jesus will that motivate you to rush into his arms (Jesus, not Francis Chan)? I say 'no'. Based on what I've seen of human behavior, the threat of pain or even actual suffering, isn't enough to turn people from bad habits. Witness the lifelong smoker laying in a hospital bed having just lost a lung to cancer and jonesing for his next cigarette.

Future peril, eternal or otherwise, will never trump current pain as a motivator to find freedom from the effects of sin. Being told there's a hell isn't nearly as powerful as empathizing with someone who's suffering the consequences of a life soaked in sinful behavior and knows they can't bear that pain any longer. Jesus didn't come to save us from hell. He came to save us from sin, death and the power of the devil. All those are current concerns not future threats. Sin and its effects on my life is a current threat to my marriage, my job, my health and my physical well being. Death as final separation from God was the curse visited on me at the time of Adam and Eve's fall and a condition in which all humanity lived until Christ defeated it on the cross. The power the devil has is limited to this world - he is prince of this world, after all - but it is fearsome and he is driven to destroy me. He does it with pleasure, selfishness, isolation and all the temptations of the flesh.

So, again I ask, why is it so important that we understand hell? In my opinion it's much, much, much more important to know, fully and intimately, what God says about loving others, serving those in need, caring for widows and orphans, sharing the resources he's blessed us with to see that pain and suffering on this earth is dealt with. I think it's far more important that we strain ourselves to end hunger, eradicate poverty, provide clean water and secure shelter, and end disease. It's time to stop building multi-million dollar complexes and calling them worship centers. It's time to stop investing countless hours and endless dollars producing thousands of glitzy stage productions every Sunday. It's time to stop threatening people with eternity and start challenging them to live in the present as a light to the world.

And do all of this in the name of Jesus Christ who we represent and who, by his Holy Spirit, moves within all who believe.

If there is any teaching to be done it should be to help people realize that Jesus did not die on the cross to save them from a bad hair day. We are saved from sin, death and the devil so that we might shine the light of Christ's love to those who are still in the grip of sin, death and the devil. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. Care for widows and orphans. These are Biblical injunctions worth our time and attention along with Jesus' greatest command, 'Follow me.' Do this and hell becomes irrelevant no matter what people think.

What if it's Not About Salvation?

Something has occurred to me recently. It has to do with the Christian church's obsession with salvation. It comes out in all sorts of ways like altar calls and church services. There are sermons on salvation and records of how many people were 'saved' this week, month, year. But I think we're missing the point.

I hope I can clearly communicate what I've been thinking.

Jesus' death on the cross achieved salvation for all of humanity. Right? So, if that's true then everyone is saved. Salvation of the human race is settled or, as Jesus famously said, it is finished. We didn't achieve our own salvation. It was done for us. All of us. Isn't that what the Christian Church believes and teaches. We cannot by our own power or understanding save ourselves hence the need for a Savior, Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our sin. All of sin for everyone.

So about now you may be thinking that I'm jumping on the 'everyone goes to heaven' bandwagon. I'm not. In fact I'm bold enough to say that salvation and who goes to heaven are two completely different issues. The former is settled and we can be confident of that because there is overwhelming evidence and writings announcing that. The latter, if scripture is accurate, isn't known to us. Frankly, there's scriptural evidence that it's none of our business who goes to heaven and who doesn't. That's totally and completely up to God. So, to sum up, everyone is saved and we have no idea who goes to heaven and who doesn't.

The work of the church then is twofold. First, tell everyone they are saved and not through any work of their own. Keep telling everyone who hasn't heard it that they are saved by the work of Jesus Christ. Some will believe that and some won't. Whether they do or not is none of our business either way. We're not in the convincing business we're in the telling business. The second job of the church is to equip those who believe Jesus saved them to go about serving everyone...e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e.

When speaking to believers there's no need to talk about salvation. They, by definition, believe that Jesus has saved them. It's done, settled. If we keep talking about it we risk communicating to believers that maybe it's not completely done. Maybe, just maybe, there's something more that needs to be done to seal the salvation deal. Maybe I need to attend more bible studies, or take communion, or pray harder, or... then my salvation will be really, really secure. So I'm saying we should stop talking about salvation with believers. Let's proceed as if it's a done deal...because it is. Jesus saved all of humanity from sin death and the power of the devil by his death on the cross. If you believe that I don't need to keep harping on it.

Now we can get busy equipping believers to be about those things we find throughout scripture that are God's expectations for those who believe. Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, housing the homeless. We can spend our time making a difference in the lives of people in this world. We can witness the love of Jesus to people in need because we get it that all of us are lost and all of us are saved. So there are no classes. No one is greater and no one is lesser than anyone else. We can stop sitting around congratulating each other that we're saved because EVERYONE IS SAVED so none of us is special in that regard.

When we talk to those who don't believe we can talk about salvation. We can explain how it was accomplished. We can help them understand those feelings of loss, separation and hopelessness and point them to the fulfillment that comes from knowing that you're saved. Just like everyone else. And some will get it. Hooray! Some won't and we can be sad about that. But we can't tell them they're not going to heaven. Because we don't know that. And that's not our call. We don't get to say who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. We. just. simply. don't. God does.

Let's stop sitting around with other believers talking about how saved we are and start challenging each other to get busy responding to the call of the one who saved us...and everyone else.

Let's tell everyone they're saved and let God sort out who really believes that and who doesn't and what happens to everyone one way or the other. What might church look like if we did this? I wonder...

Live From Kenya - Another Great Adventure

Our mission team has finished it's first full work day in Kenya! What a day it was. We worked in the Jehovah Jireh orphanage doing medical check-ups and pouring a new concrete floor in the big boys dorm. Seventy-two orphans live at Jehovah Jireh ranging in age from 7 to 20 and cared for by five very dedicated people. We had a blast today interacting, talking about Jesus, sharing about America and listening to the stories of the children. They are so inquisitive and humbled the whole team with their joy in difficult circumstances. I wish everyone could come to Kenya and meet these kids. We have one more day with them before going on to Kitui where we'll work with blind children at St. Luke's.

The team is awesome, as well. Sixteen of us from six different states all with a love for the Lord and a heart for these children. Our youngest is just 13 years old and traveling with her grandmother. This is what living the Christian faith looks like in my book. Helping those in need as a community of believers in concert with our brothers and sisters who are different but the same!

And Now the Very LAST Minute

Any adventurers out there willing to join a mission to Africa on two week's notice here's your chance! We've just had two cancellations for our trip to Kenya. That makes us a team of 16...still larger than any previous team I've led, but we have rooms set aside for 18. If you can join us and want to know more (including special last minute pricing) please contact me right away at 847-287-6678 or by email at timkurth@lutheranchurchcharities.org. The 14 day window for airfare is closing tomorrow.

Preparing for Kenya

Later this month I'll be leading another team to Nairobi, Kenya. There's nothing quite like taking Christians on an overseas mission trip. Any mission trip is a blast because you get to put your faith into action. Out of the seats and into the streets as they say. But when you leave this country the experience is exponentially more powerful. The culture shock, the sights, sounds and smells of another country along with the stark reality of how most the world really lives changes people forever.

There's only so much you can do to prepare for a foreign mission trip. Obvious things like vaccinations and visas but there are also not so obvious things like the mental preparation. Facing many hours of travel, being deprived of comforts you've come to expect, spending a lot of time with a relatively small group of people you can't really get away from and seeing some of the neediest people in the world face to face all combine to make this much more difficult than you might imagine.

There is nothing like this whether you do it once or many times. My prayer for all Christians is that they would get the chance, if even for a week, to experience another place, another people and another level of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Update from Joplin

Few things excite me more than connecting with church leaders who really get what ministry is all about. When God presents an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a community in need and the church responds enthusiastically and immediately it's a beautiful thing to watch. Immanuel Lutheran Church and Martin Luther School in Joplin continue to amaze me. They are now asking how do we become partners in the rebuilding of Joplin for years to come. What ministry opportunities might grow out of our engagement with this community? Let's make sure we don't miss this chance to boldly proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of service, compassion and loving kindness.

It's a distinct privilege to sit in on meetings where big dreams grow bigger as the scope of God's providence becomes more and more evident. A relief center in the school gym becomes three semi-truck containers in the schoolyard, four semi-trailers on the front parking lot, a shower trailer right in front of the school. Now it's time to consider a more permanent location where relief, counseling, building development and full community engagement might be possible. And what about money...the perennial concern of some. One of the miracles that follows a horrendous disaster such as happened on May 22, 2011 is the outpouring of financial support to people in need. People may be reluctant to give so you can pay the church's electric bill but they are always generous when people are hurting and the need is painfully obvious.

So the church rises up. God's resources flow like a river swollen with the spring rains. Volunteers put in long, hard hours and God's glory shines in the darkness. This is the church. Gathered to be strengthened by God's Word and Sacraments then sent to be his presence among the people. We mustn't only gather and never go and we dare not only go and never gather. Tomorrow I leave Joplin but my heart remains with the people of this church and school who have found the full measure of God's grace in the wake of devastation.

Last Minute Openings for Kenya Trip

Good news for those wishing they'd signed-up for our medical/construction mission to Kenya. Two members of the team had to bow out this week so we have two openings available right now. Rooms are already reserved and the orphans and blind children are expecting us. If you are in a position to make a quick decision and can afford the cost ($2295 not including airfare), please consider joining our team. I can promise you won't regret taking this once in a lifetime trip to Africa! Call Lifetree Adventures at (800) 747-2157 and register today. If you'd like more information drop me an email at timkurth@lutheranchurchcharities.org. I hope to see you in Nairobi in August!!

The Church At It's Very Best

For the last two weeks I've had the privilege of being with some of the greatest people in the world. The staff at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Martin Luther School in Joplin, Missouri are true heroes. Located within the tornado zone where over 150 lives were lost and thousands of homes and many churches were completely destroyed, Immanuel and Martin Luther stands as a testament to what the Church is meant to be. A beacon of hope in the midst of crushing darkness. Pastor Gregory Mech, DCE Jason Glaskey and his wife Lyla, Principal Jeremy Schamber and his wife Kelli and other staff have worked tirelessly since shortly after the storm subsided to rally the people of their congregation and assemble the most awesome relief center I've ever seen. They are providing hot meals, a medical clinic, water & Gatorade, clothing, bedding, diapers, food, cleaning supplies and more to anyone who comes by their door. They are dispensing gift cards and cash to those in need. They are not taking names or making people fill out paperwork. They are being blessed by churches and denominational agencies from all over the country and they're passing those blessings along to those in need. They realize that they are in the perfect location to be the hands, feet and mercy of Jesus for just such a time as this.

It was a humbling experience to be in their presence. To see the smiles on their faces and the determination in their hearts to see that no one was turned away. They've turned their entire facility into one huge center of help and hope. And people come...every day, they come. Some just for a hot lunch and conversation, others for a mattress or clothes or a tetanus shot. Many come to volunteer and the team at Immanuel and Martin Luther find work for them to do and keep spreading the word to the city that if you need help they will provide it. This is the Church at it's very best.

The Church has a choice with each new day. And I'm not just talking about Immanuel and Martin Luther. I'm talking about the Body of Christ. We can see the need (which is usually less obvious than one quarter of your city being blown away...literally) and strive with all our energy to meet it in the name of our loving Lord Jesus OR we can close our doors, tell people to look elsewhere and see that we simply take care of those who happened to be around when the doors were shut. That's a choice many churches make every day. They insulate, isolate and vegetate hoping that they can hold on to the few, stalwart, aging members they have until they can no longer continue to function. Serving those around is just too scary and unpredictable. Kind of like a tornado. But I wish every church in America would look at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Martin Luther School to see what's possible when you ask this simple question, "How can we help?" and listen for God's answer. The resources come, the people come and His light shines in the darkness. I pray every church follows the example of Immanuel Lutheran Church and Martin Luther School without waiting for an EF5 tornado to move you.

An Amazing Day

It's taken me a couple of days to recover, but not in a bad way. Have you ever done something that required a ton of effort, involved lots of people and pushed you to your limits? Doesn't it feel great? As the inimitable George Peppard used to say on the A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

And come together is exactly what happened last Saturday when the 1 By Youth day of service came to the Austin and West Garfield neighborhoods of Chicago. The efforts of dozens of people culminated in a day where over 600 volunteers worked on nearly 100 sites where they painted, landscaped, cleaned, repaired and built. Christian teens and their adult leaders made a remarkable difference in a single day and showed a distressed neighborhood what the love of Jesus looks like. Click here and see for yourself what it looks like when Jesus shows up.

It was a blessing beyond words to be a part of something so meaningful. This is what church is all about. Out of the seats and into the streets, as they say. And we went into the streets. Streets that just the day before...and I'm guessing the day after...were populated by drug dealers and gangstas. But on Saturday, May 7, 2011 it was the scene of harmony and unity. Youth groups of all types, black, white, Hispanic and Asian filled the streets with the love of Jesus and in that light darkness could not stand. There was even one man who had been cursing us from a distance earlier in the day then joined us for the block party and shared in our meal. The power of Christ's love is overwhelming that way!

There is power in the love of Jesus Christ. Power to change lives for eternity. We dare not lock that power in a building or limit it to the occasional service event. As I write this Christians are pouring into the Southern states to clean up after the tornadoes there. Christians are poised and waiting to help those affected by the Mississippi River flooding. Christians are joining me on a mission to Africa in August to help orphans and blind children. The Church is the Body of Christ and you are part of that body. Come join us and see amazing things for yourself. God never intended for his body to be a pew potato!

Big Day Coming

A little less than two years ago I was part of launching a dream. The dream was to see one million Christian teens involved in a single day of service in cities across the U.S. Eventually this dream came to be known as 1 By Youth. The very first event happened in Manassas, VA in April of 2010. Since then other cities have joined the movement of youth service. But one big part of the dream was to see 1 By Youth come to one of the largest cities in the country.

On Saturday, May 7 that dream will become a reality when 1 By Youth comes to the west side of Chicago. The inaugural Chicago event will bless the people of the Austin and West Garfield neighborhoods. I'm particularly excited about this because God's blessed me with a unique opportunity. In January I left Group Cares and the team that created 1 By Youth to join the team at Lutheran Church Charities. On the day of my departure pieces fell into place for me to take on the role of Community Director for Chicago 1 By Youth on behalf of Lutheran Church Charities. So now I've gotten to see this awesome event from both the national and local sides.

Here's what I can tell you...1 By Youth IS AWESOME! It's an awesome concept, an awesome mission and an awesome opportunity to change all sorts of lives with the love of Jesus. It's the simplest way to engage young people in service within the context of a big event with lots of Christian youth. It deserves to become the next big movement of youth service...and I'm not just saying that because I had a hand in creating it! This event is local, powerful, simple and effective.

I encourage you to become a fan of 1 By Youth and work to bring it to your town if it isn't there already. The goal of one million youth is very real but will take the energy and excitement of many to make it happen. Join us and change lives everywhere.

Never Too Late

The deadline for the early price for our mission trip to Kenya has passed. That doesn't mean you can't go with us. It just means that, in order to keep costs in line we need to charge $100 more per person for future registrations. I'm hoping this doesn't deter those of you who just needed a little more time to consider joining the team. There are still spaces available and there is still great need among the orphans and blind children of Kenya. If we reach 20 registered folks there could be a rebate available for those registering late. I can't promise that, but it's not my intention to take advantage of anyone. We just need to be able to cover our costs and have sufficient funds for the work we'll be doing in Kenya.

I hope you'll still consider joining this team. It's never too late...

What's It Worth to You

Let me start by saying, again, that I know $3500 is a lot of money. But only when you look at it separate from any frame of reference. For example, if I offered you a 2011 Mercedes Benz SL550 hard top convertible for $3500 you might just do anything possible to come up with that money. Or maybe I'm the only one who dreams of that car. How 'bout if I offered you a seaside vacation home in Costa Rica for $3500. Don't you think you could find the money somewhere to take that deal?

So, what if I told you that for $3500 you could forever change the course of a child's life? What sort of effort would you make to get that money if you knew it would provide an opportunity for you to change the lives of nearly 200 children? Would you ask friends and family to contribute? Would you invite your church to sponsor your efforts? We go to extraordinary lengths all the time to see that we can get the best possible bargain. Just think of all the times you found something you wanted and did whatever it took to acquire that thing.

I'm inviting you to be a part of something that you won't be able to drive or live in or put on a shelf or plug-in and watch. I'm asking you to consider joining me on a mission of mercy and compassion to children in Kenya who desperately need to be cared for. I'm asking you to sacrifice a little more than a week of your time and find about $3500. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I guess the only question left is...what's it worth to you?

At Our Very Best

Spent a great day today amongst mission minded pastors and their spouses. Met and heard the President of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Matthew Harrison, speak today. He stressed that mission is an expression of our faith. As one who spends much of his life planning, organizing and leading mission - whether a single day of service in the city of Chicago for 1000 or more volunteers or a medical mission trip to Kenya with a team of 20 - it's so refreshing to spend time with folks who get it. We are created by God to be relational, to care for others and to express the love of Christ in real, tangible and meaningful ways. Sitting in our churches waiting for people to come to us is unacceptable! Writing checks and expecting others to do the dirty work is not much better. We Christians are at our very best when we are serving people in need driven by the love of Christ. It's my dream that the day will come when the church is always...always at her very best.

Deadline for Kenya Extended!!

I'm so excited to announce that our partners in Kenya have extended the first deposit deadline so we have a 10 DAY EXTENSION for you to register and join us in Kenya August 27 - September 5. You now have until April 10 to get your $200 deposit in and hold your place on the team.

Join us as we make a difference in the lives of orphaned and blind children in Kenya. We'll provide basic medical checks and do some simple construction projects. The trip concludes with an awesome two day fly-in safari to the stunning Masai Mara National Park. These dates coincide with the end of the Wildebeest run, one of the last great migratory events on the planet. Click here to get all the details on the trip. Invite friends and get a discount on your trip cost (see my most recent post for details).

I hope you'll join the team before April 10. After that date you're still welcome to join but the price will go up by $150 to $2445 (not including airfare). My co-leader Deb and I hope you'll be part of this life changing experience! If you've been feeling God tugging at your heart to go take this deadline extension as your sign that it's time to respond.

Go to Africa - Save Lives, Bring Friends - Save Money

The early price deadline to register for our trip to Kenya August 27 to September 5 is fast approaching. We want you to join us as we provide medical check-ups for orphans and blind children and take on some construction projects. We'd like you to invite friends and family. We're serious...so serious that if you bring friends we'll give you a break on your trip cost! Here's how it works:

You come with us: $2295 (not including airfare)
You bring 3 friends: $2095 (friends pay full price)
You bring 5 friends: $1795 (friends pay full price)

Add to our team and we'll make it worth your effort. For details on the trip check previous blog posts here or call Lifetree Adventures at 1 (800) 747-2157. That's the number to call to register, too. Secure your spot on the trip for a down payment of just $200. Register yourself and three other people at the same time and we'll waive your registration fee (fees for the other three are due when you register). Register yourself and five other friends and we'll waive your registration fee and give you an additional $300 off your remaining balance. If you've already registered and invite friends this offer applies to you, too. Just make sure your friends tell us "I'm going on the trip with..." and we'll give you credit.

That's how it works. We need 20 people registered by Friday, April 1 to hold the current trip price. Call your friends today and invite them to join you on the adventure of a lifetime! Change lives - maybe even yours.

A Time to Consider and a Time to Act

Well, we're now less than a month away from the registration deadline for the medical/construction mission trip to Kenya from August 27 to September 5. Funny thing about deadlines is that if we meet our goal of 20 registered participants by April 1 we can continue to take registrations until we reach our limit of 30. However, if we miss the mark of 20...due to cost concerns...this trip opportunity may be lost altogether.

I hesitate to share that, because it might cause some to think, 'well they won't get enough people so I guess I won't register'. So sharing a deadline actually has the opposite effect from what I desire. On the other hand, some might think, 'Wow! I don't want to miss a life changing opportunity to make a difference for orphaned and blind children in Africa so I better register now!' So sharing the deadline is crucial to communicating the urgency of need and the hope we'll have a team.

I'm not naive enough to think that a trip to Kenya is something people undertake lightly. I know there is much to consider. From cost to personal safety to ability to make a contribution and more. I want you to consider...prayerfully consider...whether or not God is calling you to go to Africa. And if he is calling you, is this the trip that answers his call. Consider, pray, seek the counsel of others.

Then act.

There is a time for everything. There comes a time for action. Recently my wife and I made a life changing decision. A decision we deliberated over for eight weeks. We prayed, journaled, sought wise counsel separately and together. Finally we had to make a decision. Our decision came down to drawing one of two options out of a hat! You might call it a modern day version of casting lots. In part we did this because neither of us could come to a clear conviction that either choice was the one we should make...but we knew it was time to act. And we did.

If you've been wrestling with the decision to join this trip and you've worked it through prayer, conversation, and deliberation maybe it's time to put 'go' and 'don't go' into a hat and bring closure to the process. Of course I'm hoping you'll go. I'd love it if you would join me and my co-leader Deb on a mission of mercy and compassion that will change children's lives. Trip details can be found in other posts on this blog. So, take the time consider joining this mission team.

Then act.

Africa - You CAN Go There

I grew up mostly in rural Wisconsin with brief forays into Iowa and Indiana. When I went to college I selected a school in the Chicago area. It was quite an adjustment for a small town/country boy. Two things from my small town experience have stuck with me all these years. The first was meeting Cecil Buckby. Cecil was a neighbor whose farm was across the street from one of the homes where we lived outside Marion, WI. Cecil was about 80 years old when I met him in the mid-1970's and he had never traveled out of the county. That's not a typo. I didn't miss an 'r' in the word. Cecil had never been out of the county limits in his life. He lived in the farmhouse he'd been born in and was perfectly content to end his days right there.

The second experience happened a few years later after I'd moved to Chicago for school. I took a semester off and found a job at a factory in Richland Center, WI where my family had relocated. Every other weekend or so I would jump in the car and drive the three hours back to Chicago to hang out with friends and stay in touch with college life. One Friday after work a few of my factory buddies...all local boys...were kicking around what to do for the weekend. I suggested we all drive to Chicago. Right then. They were shocked at the suggestion. Why, Chicago was so far away, so foreign, how could anyone just jump in a car and drive to Chicago? Ultimately I convinced them that a three hour drive wasn't so daunting and three of them agreed. Thirty plus years later some of them may still be talking about 'that time we drove to Chicago!'

All these years later this small town country boy who went off to the big city for school has now visited 17 countries and nearly every state in the union. My son studied in Germany, my daughter in Austria and she now lives and works in Cairo, Egypt. Last fall when I stopped by Cairo on my way home from Kenya my daughter and I mused about how small the world really is and how our perspectives have changed as we've become international citizens.

Much like my shock at my Wisconsin friends who thought Chicago was an unthinkable trip and Cecil Buckby's 80 years inside a single county, I'm amazed at folks who consider a trip to another country an impossible dream. When I invite people to join me on a mission trip to Kenya in August some of them look at me like I've just grown a second head. Africa!! It's so very far away and such an effort to get there. Let me assure you, just as I did my friends all those years ago, that it's not as big a deal as you might think. Get a passport, come up with some money (your own or raise some support), get on a plane and in less than 24 hours you'll be in Kenya with me changing the lives of orphaned and blind children. Once you've done it you'll see it's not that daunting and certainly not impossible. A lady on our trip last year goes a couple times a year. You may not ever get to the point where you fly to Africa for a quick two day visit like I once did, but I guarantee that just one 10 day trip and you're perspective on the world and your place in it will be radically altered.

You CAN go to Africa. Go here and register today. The first step will only cost you $200. I'll see you in Nairobi on August 27th. Check my earlier blog posts for all the trip details and the scoop on where we'll be serving. Go ahead and commit today before you talk yourself out of it!

Don't Live a Useless Life

Our people must learn to spend their lives doing good,in order to provide for real needs; they should not live useless lives. - Titus 3:14

As many times as I've read the Bible I never really caught this verse in Titus. Not sure why as it resonates with my core passion of doing good in order to provide for real needs. I find it interesting that St. Paul in this letter to Titus defines a useless life (in some translations an unfruitful life) as the result of not doing good. Doing good is defined as those things that provide for real needs. So, let's deconstruct this verse to discover one Biblical definition of what we, as Christians, are to be doing with our lives.

Paul urges us to do good. Good is done in order to provide for real needs. If we want to figure out what real needs are we need look no further than Matthew chapter 25:35-36...

'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

Continuing to unpack the Titus verse, then, providing for real needs means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, visiting (caring for) the sick and imprisoned. We can safely assume that similar activities would fit here like bringing clean water to people who are dying from water borne disease, repairing the homes of elderly, needy and disadvantaged folks, going to poor neighborhoods and taking care of the people there. Is it too strong a statement to say that if you're not involved in doing these things your life is useless?

I'm going to say it's not a stretch to say that. Unfortunately we live in a culture that tells us your life is useful if you earn big money, drive a nice car, live in a fine home with a vacation home on the side, and collect savings, retirement accounts and investment portfolios. But look again at Paul's words to Titus...

"Our people must learn to spend their lives doing good..." (emphasis mine) Based on Paul's other writings and the placement of Titus in the canon of Scripture I can only assume that when he says 'our people' he's talking about those who follow Jesus Christ. Christians, according to Paul, must spend their lives doing good. If you're not engaged in providing for real needs in some way on a regular basis then your life is useless. I've never met anyone who consciously wants to live a useless life. So, how about you? Is your life useful? Would you like it to be? Go here to find all sorts of opportunities to live a useful life. There is something for everyone from one day simple service events to overseas mission. Some cost money and many do not. If you're looking to live a useful life it's not hard to do. There is need everywhere and God has ordained you to meet it in His name.

Consider This

It is my personal mission to get everyone in the United States out of the United States...even if for just one week. Now, I know that's a big, hairy, audacious goal that I may never accomplish. But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying.

I know there are good reasons folks can't leave the country...even for just one week. Perhaps you have a medical condition that prevents you from traveling. Maybe you're afraid of flying. It could be that you've reached an age where overseas travel just isn't an option for you (though I have dear friends in their late 70's who make a regular habit of going on overseas mission trips). One reason often cited for not being able to go on a mission trip is cost. This is the one that doesn't stand up. There are more than enough resources available to all of us in the U.S. that money is never a reason not to go on a mission trip.

Consider this...you might be one of those people with a truly legitimate reason why you can't go overseas. Sitting right next you in church might be someone who would love to go overseas on a short term mission trip but they aren't financially able to afford it themselves. What if folks who weren't able to go on their own provided a little help for those able to go but financially strapped? I'm not suggesting one person pay the entire cost of another person (unless you're able to do that), no, I'm suggesting that if you have some bit of money to spare for missions that you consider inviting others to pool resources and send someone from your church on a mission trip.

I first heard about this while on a recent visit to New Orleans to prepare a trip for this summer. There was a missions team working in the Lower Ninth Ward and someone on the team told me that there are qualified trades people in their church who are out of work right now. Skilled individuals suffering during this recession. Their skills are greatly needed in New Orleans so members of the church paid the expense to send these skilled workers on a mission trip that changed their lives.

From August 27 to September 5 of this year I'm leading a trip to Kenya where we'll help orphaned and blind children. This is a medical/construction mission so we're looking for doctors, nurses and folks with construction skills. If you can join us, please do. You can register through this website. Take a look at some of my earlier posts here for more trip details. If you can't make the trip, consider someone you know who could and think about making a contribution for them to go and invite others to do the same. Together we can change the world whether you do it in person or give someone else the chance.

Joining Forces

Today I started my new job and a new adventure with Lutheran Church Charities. It was very difficult to leave my old job with Group Cares (formerly Group Workcamps Foundation) but it isn't so much a leaving as it is a joining together. Though I now work for LCC (we Lutherans must condense everything to an acronym) there are two exciting projects that we'll be doing together with Group Cares. One is a 1 By Youth single day of service in the Chicago area coming up May 7. I'm looking for folks to help me put this exciting day together as we anticipate over 1000 volunteers to flood a single neighborhood for a single day.

The other big joint venture is a medical/construction mission trip to Kenya with Lifetree Adventures set for August 27-September 5. In Kenya we'll be working with orphans and blind children as we improve their living conditions. In other blog posts there are details about the two agencies we'll work with along with other details. The trip costs $2295 not including airfare to Kenya. It does include a two day fly-in safari and the chance to change lives for the better. We need a team of at least 20 volunteers to commit to this trip by April 1. If you can't join us, consider sponsoring someone who can. Perhaps there's a doctor or nurse in your congregation who could help us if you'd invite them. The registration fee to secure your spot on the trip is only $200.

Kenya is a stable anchor in East Africa but there is tremendous poverty. The AIDS epidemic that continues to plague all of Africa has certainly left its mark on Kenya. Both Lutheran Church Charities and Group Cares are committed to bringing the love of Jesus to people in need through real, meaningful and relational service. I encourage you to put your faith into action and find out what a difference you can make.

St. Luke's Home for Blind Children

Everyone I know is invited to join me on a mission trip to Kenya from August 28 to September 5 of this year. We plan to provide medical clinics and construction work to improve the lives of orphaned and blind children. I've written previously about our work for Jehovah Jireh orphanage in Nairobi. Now here's a bit about the home for blind children.

St. Luke's is located in the small town of Kitui about a two hour drive outside Nairobi. There are currently more than 120 children living at St. Luke's, a residential facility that cares for blind and partially sighted children ranging in age from five to eighteen years old. More than 20 of the children are albinos as one of the symptoms of albinism is vision impairment. During our visit last year we discovered that, due to a lack of adequate funding, the children often do not receive sufficient medical attention. Many...if not all...currently suffer or have in the past suffered from malaria. Some have contracted cerebral malaria. All of them have worms. One little boy had suffered a severe burn on his leg that had been treated initially but had not been properly tended to. We were able to care for his wound and improve his condition.

Reliant on charitable dollars and fees from what few parents are able to pay, the home is terribly underfunded. The charitable dollars have been dwindling in the current global economic downturn. The manager of the home and his staff have gone as long as five months at a stretch without pay. They struggle to keep food in the pantry on a consistent basis.

The reason the school exists is to provide a place where blind children can stay as they're mainstreamed into the school system. Kitui has the only schools in the region with teachers equipped to work with children with disabilities. Without the opportunity for an education there is no hope for blind children in Kenya. More children arrive at St. Luke's all the time in order to seek a better life. The dedicated teaching staff there do all they can to prepare the younger ones to enter the regular school system. There are adults supervising dormitory buildings for girls and boys. They provide three meals a day...though often it's just a simple fare of beans and rice.

For the albino children St. Luke's also offers security. In the East African culture albinos are prized for their body parts. Those who practice native religions and mysticism believe the body parts of albinos have magic powers so they are routinely kidnapped, killed, dismembered and sold off in pieces. It's a horrible thing to share with you, but this is the reality of life for the children at St. Luke's in Kitui.

Join us in August and change the lives of these children. We need doctors and nurses who can provide basic medical checkups. We need donations of medicines that can be left with the local doctor who does his best to attend to at least the most urgent cases. We need workers to help set-up a sustainable, income producing business venture for the home so they don't need to rely solely on donor dollars. We need you. If you can't join the team yourself consider sponsoring someone from your church. Invite your doctor to join the team. Spread the word among medical professionals in your town. Please do what you can to see that we have a team of at least 20 people who can make a difference for the children of Kenya. Read my previous posts for all the trip details.

Jehovah Jireh Orphanage

There's a great opportunity for twenty or more folks to join me on a mission trip to Kenya in August. One of our project sites is located in Nairobi. Jehovah Jireh orphanage is home to over 60 children, most of whom have lost their parents to AIDS and some of whom are HIV positive themselves. For two days we'll offer basic medical check-ups for these children while some on the team will work to improve their living conditions.

Jehovah Jireh started as a vision of the Anglican Archbishop of Nairobi. Unfortunately he died soon after taking the first steps to open the orphanage. Since that time a dedicated handful of people have struggled to keep Jehovah Jireh open. The orphanage was a personal project of the Archbishop and, as such, has never been supported as a ministry of the Anglican Church itself. Recently a nearby Anglican congregation, St. Catherine Tumiani, has agreed to support the orphanage but they have very limited resources, as well.

As of today Jehovah Jireh is managed by Florence as the only real full time staff person. That's right, an orphanage of over 60 children with only a single full time staff person. The facilities are actually an abandoned rock quarry headquarters and definitely not designed as living quarters. The children sleep in bunk rooms that are no more than brick and concrete storage rooms where bunk beds have been set up in rows. In an adjacent room each child has a small trunk to hold all their earthly possessions.

On my most recent trip to Kenya this past September the wonderful and generous people on the team offered financial aid for Jehovah Jireh. Some of this is providing a couple of tutors for the children (they attend the public school in the area) and money for food and mosquito nets. There is so much more need here and our trip in August will be another step in helping this orphanage become a better place for these children with nowhere else to go.

If you're a medical professional please consider taking a week of your time to change the lives of children in desperate need. If you're not a medical professional you can make a difference in other ways as we work to improve the bunk rooms this year.

I hope you'll join us on this mission trip from August 28 to September 5. A deposit of $200 by April 1 is required to secure your spot on the team with the remaining balance to be paid in two installments. Read my previous posts to see more details about costs and what's covered. I really hope you'll join us in Kenya this year.

Kenya Trip Details

Okay, so here are some details on the Kenya Trip I'll be leading with my friend Deb Bornholdt this year.

Dates: August 27 - September 5 (over Labor Day weekend to save vacation days!)

Cost: $2295 double occupancy with fly-in safari included. $1695 without safari. This is when the wildebeest are running!

The Mission: Run medical clinics for orphans in Nairobi and blind children in Kitui. Also some construction projects for our non-medical participants. I'll post more detail on Jehovah Jireh orphanage and St. Luke's Home for Blind Children in future posts.

Includes: Lodging, ground transportation, certain meals, in-country airfare for safari, some tools and materials.

Doesn't Include: Airfare to Kenya, certain meals, drinks, tips, souvenirs.

We need at least 20 people registered by April 1 to hold this price. This is a mission trip so I would encourage you to consider soliciting donations from your church and others to support this effort. This is a life-changing opportunity.

Calling all Doctors and Nurses! The children we'll serve are all in desperate need. Your medical attention will make a world of difference in their lives. We're particularly interested in eye doctors as there are 125 blind children living at St. Luke's who get very minimal medical attention.

Lifetree Adventures is managing this trip. All payments will be made through them. Call 800-747-2157 today and register. All it takes is a $200 registration fee to join the team. Payments after that are in two installments. Join me.

Go With Me to Kenya

Consider this your invitation to go with me on a mission trip to Africa. From August 28 to September 5 of this year I'll be leading a trip, along with my friend Deb Bornholdt, to Kenya. There we'll be serving orphans and blind children through medical clinics and construction projects. We're looking for doctors and nurses to join the team along with those with experience or interest in learning basic construction skills. I'll be sharing much more about the trip here soon. For now I can tell you that the price is very reasonable, the work is hard, the experience is life changing and the people of Kenya would love to meet you. We need commitments from at least 20 people by March 1 so start praying about it now. I really hope you'll join us.

Is This the Bride of Christ?

Last weekend I had the regularly scheduled pleasure of talking with my son and his family over Skype. Among other things we had the chance to talk about workplaces that take advantage of employees to such an extent that they exhibit the same symptoms as an abused spouse. The conversation got me reminiscing about my years in church work and how, in every case, my experience was consistent, in some ways, with abused spouse syndrome.

What does that mean. Well, it revolves mostly around the discrepancy between what church leaders say to their workers and what they do when it comes to compensation. A common behavior among abusive spouses is to profess great love for the one they're abusing while regularly destroying their spouse's self-confidence, individuality and humanity. It is widely known...and often joked about...that church work is a low paying profession. This is often justified because the 'reward' for a church worker is in heaven. No one seems to remember that the reward of heaven is for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Accepting low wages on the supposition that your good work will be rewarded after you die isn't just insulting, it's incredibly bad theology. The fact is the Bible specifically instructs that workers in the church should be well compensated for their labor.

Okay, before you click away because you think this is a rant about paying church workers better, let me explain how the abused spouse syndrome plays into all this. From both personal experience and many conversations with professional church workers, I'm here to tell you that the issue is rarely only the level of compensation. Instead it's about the attitude and behavior of lay leaders in the church. It's the praise heaped on you when you're doing what they want and the attacks that happen when you're not. It's the promise that they will take care of you because you're highly valued then refusing to pay a living wage as they cite any one of a number of reasons...none of which have to do with your actual performance of your assigned duties. This behavior wears away at the humanity of people. Ultimately you begin to accept that you're not that valuable, that your skills aren't necessarily exceptional, that you're just lucky to have a job so why would you jeopardize that by expressing concern about working conditions, unrealistic expectations or compensation. The best is when people question your faithfulness and trust in God because you're not willing to be on call 24/7 for what often amounts to minimum wage.

A friend of mine once confronted this head-on at a church voter's meeting as they considered the need to hire a new janitor. My friend was a teacher in the church's school with several years experience and a masters degree. To his amazement the pay package they were considering for a janitor exceeded his own. When asked how they determined the salary package the response was that they couldn't get a good janitor for less than that amount. My friend promptly rose to offer to take the position as it would mean a salary increase for him. Of course the leadership laughed at his suggestion as they were certain, with his level of education, shoveling snow off school walks and unplugging toilets was beneath him. He then pointed out that, in the absence of a janitor, he was already doing those things in addition to his teaching duties. I think they still missed the point but he got a clear lesson on what the church considered his value to be.

Last week in New Orleans I met a man who began his career as a Christian school teacher working for a church. He told me that he quit and went to the public school system because he couldn't afford to live on the salary he was paid. One of the benefits of moving to the public schools was that he was free, as just a regular church member, to advocate for better teacher pay at the church school. He observed that when you're on staff and bring up fair compensation people think you're just trying to line your pockets. But when you're just a member of the church people will listen.

So how about you? Are you a member of a church? Does your church treat its staff well? Do you advocate for the staff to be fairly compensated, given ample time off, have their professionalism and passion for ministry honored? Do you genuinely respect the staff of your church and communicate it consistently with what you say and what you do? A dysfunctional church system strips the humanity from its workers. It wears them down and crushes their spirits. I encourage you to take a hard look at the systems in your church and how they impact those who serve you week in and week out. If you see evidence that your church is acting like an abusive spouse take a stand to change it. Do it now.

The Other End of the Spectrum

I just returned from a scouting trip to New Orleans. By scouting I mean looking at a site for future youth mission trips. That's what I've been doing for the last five years. Arranging trips and locations for home repair and community service mission trips for Christian teens. If you've been following my blog you know next month I'm transitioning to a new ministry but still involved in missions.

In New Orleans I crossed paths with a team of adults from Illinois and New York there to repair homes and convert a church into a community ministry center. I haven't done much with adult teams so it was fun to see the other end of the spectrum. Quite a few of these folks were retired. We met Walt who has dedicated his life full time to managing work projects for teams that come to New Orleans. He spent his career as a teacher then retired and started traveling the country with his wife to build churches. In '06 he suffered a massive heart attack that nearly killed him and left him unable to do the physical labor needed for construction. So he moved to New Orleans to teach others and set up work for teams coming to town. I can't tell what an inspiration Walt is.

Among the short term (one week) volunteers were several Lutheran pastors. Most of them are retired or semi-retired. Again, my heart was lifted seeing these men who have dedicated their lives to leading churches swinging hammers, building brick walls and reaching out to the community. The best part is that I only knew they were pastors because I happened to know several of them personally. Anyone from the community only saw men dedicated to restoring the Lower Ninth Ward and bringing them hope. That they were also pastors was coincidental.

Seeing people of any age serve is exciting for me. Seeing them serve regardless of vocation reminds me that regardless of calling there are wonderful, Christ filled servants willing to sacrifice for those in need. I need to remember these great experiences when I get exasperated with the knuckleheads out there that put on the collar...and there are quite a few. But today I'm encouraged by those who aren't.

Let's Read 'Radical' by David Platt Together

Just started reading "Radical:Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream" by David Platt. It came highly recommended from a friend of mine. It's starting off well. I'm sure there'll be posts here about this book. If it's as challenging as I expect, it could impact my ministry dramatically.

If you'd like to read this book with me, pick-up a copy at Amazon or your local bookstore. As I comment, I'd love to hear your comments. It's no Oprah's Book Club, but it'll be fun to read this together.

Back Into the Fire

This week I resigned my position at Group Publishing, home of Group Cares, the non-profit I've served for the last five years organizing mission trips in the U.S. and abroad. It is a bittersweet parting as I love Group and the work I've been doing there. However, the Lord has called me back into a ministry position in the Lutheran Church. Not at a church but with a missions agency that is a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

Called Lutheran Church Charities, this mission of mercy and compassion is rapidly expanding its scope of ministry. Started in the 1940's as purely a fundraising organization, LCC has been transformed over the past 10 years into an incredible missions organization. Now nearly all funds raised go to help people in need. From disaster response teams to comfort dogs to clothing, furniture and car distribution, LCC is impacting lives in Northern Illinois and far beyond. Their international work includes building homes and delivering clean water in Haiti, drilling wells in Ghana and much more that I have yet to learn about.

What's most exciting for me is the opportunity to grow this mission in current and new directions. We are just now looking at ways to implement water filtration sources in developing countries. We hope to seed microbusiness/microfinance ventures that will lift whole villages out of poverty. There are opportunities to bring encouragement and support to Lutheran Pastors and congregations.

This is a move back into full time ministry for me. My work at Group has been ministry, but more often it was a step removed from day to day ministry. Group is a Christian business that supports ministry and does an excellent job of it. I always thought I'd retire from Group after waiting 13 years to join the staff here. God, as he often does, had other ideas. So it's time to leave the beautiful mountains of Northern Colorado and return to the flatlands of Northern Illinois. It's back into the fire of ministry within a denomination and all the joy and struggle that comes with it. It's good to be in the Lord's hands and each day I seek to be in the center of His will. With Him it's always an adventure.

And so it continues...

What Recession?

It has always been my considered opinion that when a church has a compelling vision people will rally around it and make it happen. A compelling vision is one that is clear, bold, rooted in scripture and clearly communicated. Churches that have such a vision and the leadership to clearly communicate it are growing and, unfortunately, rare.

I have a friend in Illinois who pastors a church that...in the midst of this recession...has launched a second site that includes an upscale coffee house, an awesome kids space, a cool worship space and came at a cost of over one million dollars. Opened just a couple of months ago this bold, visionary move has seen church attendance grow by more than 400 people a weekend. The energy and excitement at this church is palpable. The vision for ministry is compelling with plans to see five new sites like this one launched by 2020. Weekly attendance at this church is now in the 1600 range give or take. Large, but not a mega church.

At my own church here in Colorado the leadership has cast a compelling vision to help the orphaned, lost, exploited and hurting of the world. Both at home and abroad. Sound familiar? If you've read the book of James chapter 1 verse 27 it should. "True religion is this, that you care for widows and orphans." Our leadership is taking that seriously and challenging all of us to do so, as well.

In less than two months time, presented with a clear, compelling vision to provide housing for orphans in Ukraine and Colorado and to support members of the church struggling in this difficult season our church collected and distributed over $111,000. That's over and above regular giving to support the operations of the church...which also ticked up in the same time period, by the way. Let me say that again...in less than two months time the members of our church contributed over $111,000 to provide housing for orphans, fix homes, replace cars, pay rent, and meet many other needs in addition to regular giving. If I had to guess, the total weekly worship attendance is about 1000 people give or take. It's not a 10,000 member mega church.

One church is located in suburban Chicago and the other in mostly rural/small town Colorado. Two distinctly different regions and two distinctly different types of churches. What they have in common is visionary leadership not afraid to challenge their people with bold, outrageous ideas. They are not intimidated by the current recession because they listen to the voice of Him who holds the universe in his hands and is the maker and owner of all the earth. There is never a recession in God's economy.

Is your church seized with a compelling vision? Are you leading a church that's lost its way, floundering, shrinking, and timid? Are you wallowing in a spiritual recession? Or are you seeking God's will for your ministry and boldly proclaiming it? Are you challenging your people with a scary, ridiculous image of a preferable future? Are you wholly dependent on God to supply everything you need to accomplish everything he's calling you to? Why not?

Welcome - Other Churches Suck

Last Sunday I dropped in on a church I like to visit occasionally. It's been nearly a year since visiting and a new pastor has come on board. So I filled out a visitor card. In part I wanted to let them know I visited and in part I was curious to see what their follow-up process was. Thankfully, they did follow-up with a letter that came today. But there's something strange about the letter and thought it was worth sharing here. It's another one of those things that highlights how weird church can be.

After a brief opening paragraph thanking me for visiting and making the church part of my weekend plans the very next paragraph was this...

"In an age and culture when many church services seem to lose their focus on Jesus Christ, we are grateful for the opportunity to gather each week and receive the gifts our Lord has for us all in His Word and Sacraments. At [church name] we are proud of our heritage and unashamed of our confession, and so we make use of a historical form of worship that invites meaningful participation from the congregation and unites Christians of all generations and cultures. Most importantly, the service focuses all that we do and say on Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins."

Okay, let that soak in for a minute. Remember, this is a letter sent as first contact from a church to a visitor...very possibly a first time visitor. Here's my question, and it's one of several. If you had a chance, maybe just one chance, to introduce your church in a winsome and invitational way to a visitor would you, after dispensing with pleasantries, slam other churches right out of the gate? Forget churches. If you had a new customer visit your store would you start by telling them how other stores suck? If you had someone visit your home would you tell them how the other neighbors don't get how to be truly neighborly? It makes no sense to me. It puts me in a position to want to defend other churches.

Let's take the opening salvo. 'In an age and culture when many church services seem to lose their focus on Jesus Christ...' The letter is from the pastor. If you're the pastor of a church aren't you pretty much committed every Sunday morning? And if you're busy leading worship at your church every Sunday how do you know that many church services seem to lose their focus on Jesus Christ? Are you watching those churches online? Maybe. If you're committed to your worship style and presentation of the Gospel why would you bother watching other churches online? Unless you're looking to pick a fight. Why would you look to pick a fight with other Christian churches? See what I mean? That first sentence sends me off on a rabbit trail and now I really couldn't care less about the church I visited and I'm becoming convinced this church is unsure of itself. Why else would you present a defense of yourself in a welcome letter?

The next line that really catches me is, '...we are proud of our heritage and unashamed of our confession, so we make use of a historical form of worship...' I guess I assume that when a church and a pastor puts all their time and effort into presenting a worship service each week they are content with what they present. By making a point of saying you're proud of your heritage and unashamed of your confession makes me think, 'thou dost protest too much'. What do you really have to be ashamed of? What about your heritage do you find embarrassing enough to cause you to announce how proud you are?

This is truly the most inept, clumsy and ridiculous way to welcome a visitor. Let me rewrite the paragraph the way it really reads...

"Other Christian churches suck and really don't have anything to do with Jesus. We're really grateful we got it right and don't suck. We know people don't like old liturgical worship formats because churches using these are mostly shrinking, aging and dying but we're going to stick it out because someday people will come back around to our way of doing things...we hope. What we do is really, really meaningful, we promise. Even if it doesn't seem meaningful to you. Finally, since we say it's all about Jesus it's okay to be old, boring and irrelevant and hope you're convinced."

Now, even if you believe all that, would it be the first foot you put forward to a newcomer? I guess if you wanted to thin out the numbers that might return for a second visit, this would be the way to go. Let's put it right out front that we're an old church that clings to old liturgical formats, will never use contemporary resources, and will stay culturally irrelevant. If that appeals to you, please come learn more and join us.

I'm not saying this church should change it's worship style or anything else. I'm saying let your pride shine in what you do and let your words be welcoming. Be winsome and gracious. Talk about all you do that's driven by your passion for Jesus and commitment to whatever you're committed to. That is if you're really looking to reach the unreached. But I'm not sure this church is interested in that. The reason I say that will be more fully explained in another post.

Does God Exist?

There's no season like Christmas to stir the public debate about all things related to God. The role of religion in the public square. Whether or not the founding fathers were Christian and intended this country to be based on a Christian foundation. If God even exists. This season atheists in America have stepped up their efforts to speak their views to the broader public.

Sunday I heard a message that referenced this billboard in the New York City area. The pastor talked about the tag line, "This season celebrate reason." In my humble opinion he didn't do a very good job at all of presenting why belief in God becoming man and dwelling among us is actually reasonable. He also did something I absolutely hate. He spoke as if everyone in the room was a committed Christian who found that billboard just as ridiculous as he did. What a blown opportunity to intellectually challenge the people. The truth is compelling arguments can be made on both sides of this.

God doesn't exist. Look no further than the 24 hour news cycle that feeds on the depravity of mankind. War, poverty, starvation, bad water killing children, serial killers, despotic tyrants, a church fractured into a million shards that fights amongst itself, multiple religious beliefs all claiming to have a handle on the 'truth' of who God is. Anyone with a brain and five minutes to reflect on the human condition can clearly see that God doesn't exist. If there was truly an almighty, powerful, all knowing, loving, compassionate and kind God there's no way all the aforementioned things would be allowed for a day, much less for all of human history.

God does exist. Man is so obviously stained by sin. He separated himself from the nurturing, life giving relationship with God falling to the temptation that he could be equal with God. Since the severing of that relationship humanity has sunk further and further into depravity, selfishness and self-destruction. Left to our own devices it's so obvious we need salvation. Throughout human history man has demonstrated an inborn urge to seek a higher power and the basics of right and wrong cross all cultures. Those urges are an obvious sign we've been created by something bigger and higher than ourselves. Not to mention the order and beauty of creation, the delicate balance of where the planet floats in space, the exquisite engineering of our bodies that are perfectly built to survive here. Of course God exists. Apart from that truth there would be no hope for humanity since it's God's call to care for widows, orphans, poor, imprisoned, lost and hurting. Without God and his call to look outside ourselves there's no telling how much worse this life would be.

So it looks like I can be a reasonable person and stand firmly convicted there is no God. And I can be a reasonable person and stand firmly convicted there is a God. Evidence abounds on both sides of the argument if I want to look at it. So it comes down to how I interpret the evidence I choose to look at. What I tell myself, where I was born and raised, my life experience and one last and ultimate thing. Faith. And either conviction finally depends on that. Faith.

Why Men Don't Go To Church

Here's a very provocative post that I mostly agree with. There are some nuances I could argue about, but overall I have to agree that the church has been feminized. Much like our society, by the way. The parts of being masculine that we applaud in movies like Braveheart are increasingly frowned upon in current culture.

The Road Back to Remarkable

There are discussions all the time about how the church needs to return to its roots. Some declare they are striving to be an 'Acts church'. Which simply means they're striving to replicate the energy, excitement and behavior of the earliest churches as described in the Biblical book of Acts.

The truth is, to be an Acts church a couple of things would have to happen. First, you'd have to return to communal living. Read the book. Everyone sold what they had, pooled all their resources and worked diligently to see that all members of the church were taken care of. While there were some communes in the 1960's and '70's that pulled this off for a time, I'm not aware of any churches that are accomplishing that today. The only exception is the ministry of Jesus People USA based in Chicago. They truly live as a community and if you want to know what that looks like, check it out.

The other thing the church in Acts had going for it was that it was remarkable. By that I mean it was operating so out of the mainstream of the culture that it caused people to remark about it. Not only to remark, but to attack it, persecute it and fear the changes it brought to the human experience. Over time it seemed that the culture adapted to having Christians around. But I'm wondering if it's more true that the church adapted itself to the culture. In truth it was probably a little bit of both.

For whatever reason, eventually the church became unremarkable. Governments co-opted religion to accomplish their purposes. Churches went along to get along. Christianity became one of the respected world religions. Along the way the church was the flash point for amazing art, architecture, music, drama and other cultural expressions. Nevertheless, it still became unremarkable.

The question that occurred to me this morning is, how do we get back on the road to remarkable as a church? What will it take for the Christian church to shake the foundations of the culture as it once did? It is happening in other countries, but what about here in the United States. One answer that came to me is that we truly return to living as Jesus did. We uncompromisingly serve. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, speak truth to power, address injustice, care for widows and orphans. What if the church reclaimed hospitals (a hospital named after Christ wasn't originally a for profit enterprise!) as places of mercy and compassion for the sick and dying. What if churches opened exemplary schools that returned education to a foundation of Biblically based values.

Those are some initial thoughts. I'd love to hear how you would put the church back on the road to remarkable. Share examples of remarkable ministries if you have them. Always love to see examples of radically effective ministries.

The Decline of Marriage in America

This morning I came across this article that documents the shocking decline of marriage in middle class America. We ignore this news at our own peril. And, for me, it leads to some sobering questions for the church.

What role has the church played in this decline...if any? Is it possible that by not holding young people accountable for their relational choices, whether it's premarital sex, living together or other choices that disregard the importance of marriage, have we communicated that marriage isn't necessary? If there is any role the church has played by keeping silent while the culture merrily trotted people down a path of reckless and selfish relational behavior then is there a role for the church in bringing us back from the precipice?

As the article points out, the collapse of marriage has far reaching implications for culture and society. In my opinion Satan would like nothing more than the total collapse of the family. So let's stop pretending like relationships outside of a God ordained marriage are not aberrant behavior that leads to bad things. More to the point...sex outside of marriage (regardless of your age) is wrong. Living together without benefit of marriage is wrong. People of the same gender being sexually active with each other and pretending it's a marriage is wrong. The church either actively or passively giving license to any of these aberrant behaviors is wrong.

And there is a price to be paid for engaging in, accepting and/or ignoring wrong.

Merry Christmas?

It seems every year the 'joy' of Christmas in the United States revolves around giving and...more importantly...getting gifts. Church leaders are a voice in the consumerism wilderness calling for people to spend less and consider how to better use the resources God has blessed them with. But this effort has very little real impact on the culture.

My church, Grace Place, is participating in the Advent Conspiracy this year. It's a wonderful idea that started small and seems to be growing. I hope that it continues to grow. If you're interested, go to the Grace Place website and catch-up on Pastor Clay's messages. But there's another truth about the holidays that doesn't get much airtime. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year is an intense time of depression, pain and loneliness for an awful lot of people.

Collectively the holidays are a time where family is trumpeted, traditions are honored and joy is expected. For those who've suffered the death of a loved one, the dissolution of a marriage through divorce, the loss of family or, more likely, a family that is painfully dysfunctional, this time of year is something you grit your teeth and suffer through. A friend of mine actually escapes to a seaside resort in Mexico over Christmas in part to avoid the pain he experiences at this time of the year.

While I loved Christmas when our kids were little because of the wonder and joy they experienced, I'm finding as I get older it just doesn't mean as much to me. Part of that is knowing that it's one of the few times a year people pay any attention to Jesus. And at Christmas we reflect on the baby Jesus so there's not much chance you're going to be open to the challenging words the adult Jesus had to say to his followers. At Easter we focus on the dying Jesus. So for those who only turn their attention to Jesus at Christmas and Easter it's the equivalent of visiting a person at their birth and never seeing them again until you visit their deathbed. How strong might you consider that relationship?

I'd much prefer we do away with the high holidays when we pause just long enough for a fleeting glimpse of Jesus and instead start living in a genuine relationship with him every single day. A relationship that includes talking to him, listening to him and really following him. What would the world think of a church full of people who did that I wonder?

Faithful Followers Forever

What I like to call the big 'C' church, that is the body of believers in Jesus Christ across all denominations around the globe, will never go away and will always be growing. As in the earliest days we can truthfully say still today, "they added to their numbers daily."

Every day new believers come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. At the exact same time many mainline denominations (perhaps all) are experiencing decline. Their numbers are shrinking, giving is going down, denominational offices are cutting staff and scaling back ministry. Some would have you believe that since, "the road is narrow and the way difficult" that it's natural to experience shrinkage when you hew to the true doctrine of the church. The truth is hard and people will leave.

Poppycock!!

Every single day the Holy Spirit is bringing people into life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Every day people are coming out of the darkness and into His marvelous light. Every day the number of the faithful is growing. I know this because the population of the earth is growing, the Word of God is being taught, broadcast, discussed and God promises his word does not return empty. Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets even when they'd had no success all night and they obeyed. Their nets were full to the point of tearing and sinking the boat! Our nets cast in the name of Jesus will not come back with nothing but seaweed and an old shoe.

The small 'c' church may be declining and dying but the Body of Christ is vibrant, growing and eternal. If your church is in decline stop justifying and pontificating and start seeking God's vision, intention and will for your ministry. Admit that you are failing. Look to where God is working and join him there. The fields are ripe unto harvest...Jesus once said...so if your barn is empty it's time to start asking why.

The Collapse of Denominations

Fast Company is one of my favorite magazines. In the latest issue there's a great article entitled "Mayhem on Madison Avenue" about the future of advertising. Now, you might wonder what that has to do with the church, but there's a quote in the article that struck me. It's related to tectonic shifts happening in the advertising world but has echoes for the church. Here's a snippet:

"Earlier this year, technology observer Clay Shirky argued that 'complex societies collapse because, when some stress comes those societies have become too inflexible to respond.' Societies like the Romans and the lowland Mayans fell because further reductions became too uncomfortable for those in power. 'Collapse is simply the last remaining method of simplification,' writes Shirky. After disintegration, he explains further, the members of a society disperse, experimenting with new ways of doing things. 'When the ecosystem stops rewarding complexity,' he writes, 'it is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future'."

So that got me to thinking about the current state of denominations in the Western Christian Church. Has the church ecosystem stopped rewarding complexity? Is the church tottering toward collapse (or already there) under the weight of centuries of theological thought, doctrinal treatises, hundreds of thousands of books, sermons, commentaries and more that have rendered simple scriptural truth nearly indecipherable? I'd suggest that pastors, seminarians, theologians and others who've made study of Christian doctrine and dogma their life's work are people who have mastered the complexities of the past. And are, by and large, happy to live there and wish others would come back and join them.

They are the ones in 'power' who are finding any further reduction of the complexity of religion too uncomfortable to bear. They insist on maintaining the complexity in an ecosystem that no longer rewards it. People are leaving the church in droves while still claiming faith in Jesus. According to Shirky, "collapse is simply the last remaining method of simplification."

Here's what I think, the Church (all believers regardless of denomination) is an ecosystem (organism not an organization) that has stopped rewarding complexity. And I believe Shirky is right when he says, "the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future." Further, I think in some ways we are experiencing the earliest post-disintegration days of the church as members of the society disperse, experimenting with new ways of doing things. Those folks experimenting with new ways of doing things are meeting withering hostility and criticism from those who have mastered the complexities of the past and feel power slipping away from them. That won't stop what's happening. But it certainly makes for an interesting era we live in. As Aaron Reitkopf, North American CEO of ad agency Profero, is quoted in the Fast Company article as saying, "ohhh, the carnage is going to be awesome."

The Great Divide

During the Civil War one of the great tragedies was that families were split between North and South. The spectacle of brother fighting against brother was heart breaking. As I reflect on the current state of the church and, actually, it can probably be said it's been this way for hundreds of years, the fracturing into denominations has some very personal impact.

It's an ugly thing when followers of Christ attack other followers of Christ. It makes no sense and must absolutely delight Satan to see the body of Christ at odds with itself. Both across denominations and within denominations the rancor and bitterness repulses people who are literally going to hell apart from Jesus Christ. But worse than that is when the divisions split families.

My dear departed mother-in-law and father-in-law attended separate churches for many years. For all the years I knew them the exercise of their faith took them away from each other rather than toward each other. Thankfully they didn't fight over this...as far as I know...but they certainly weren't united. Worse than that are families where everyone is Christian but attending different churches and that causes conflict and anger. I've experienced that kind of pain up close and personal and can tell you it tears families up.

On the other hand, I've worked for the past five years with an organization that brings churches of all denominations together for a week at a time to provide help and hope to people in need. For those single weeks I've seen Christians lay aside the need to champion their particular doctrinal view, come alongside other believers and change lives. It's a beautiful thing. When we can work from the base truth that we are followers of Christ who believe he is our Lord and Savior so much positive stuff happens. In Biblical terms, we bear good fruit.

If you've read my blog you know that I can sometimes be a Pollyanna about the whole body of Christ getting along. So, I want to acknowledge here that I don't expect for every Christian to link arms and sing kum-ba-yah. There are important issues that divide us and must be discussed in the appropriate places. There are certain things we shouldn't be doing together because we can't agree. Things like communion and baptism are best done with others who are in full agreement with each other about what those things mean. It is important that we debate vigorously the proper interpretation of scripture, how to interact with culture, proper expressions of doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with our God as we're called to do by the Prophet Micah. But differences of opinion should not keep us from loving each other and finding ways to work together for the sake of all those who don't know Christ. The divide between those who claim Christ and will all be in heaven by faith is not so great as the divide between them and those who face eternity separated from God in hell. Let's get our priorities straight.

Can't God Take Care of Himself

Every once in a while I get distracted reading stuff from ultra orthodox pinheads who think it's their calling to defend God. Of course always according to who they think God is. They rant about worship styles or proper doctrine or whether or not small groups are 'Biblical'. They seem to be operating from a base of fear. Fear that some poor soul might get to thinking they need to be good to get to heaven (works righteousness) or that a room full of suckers might accidentally stumble into bad theology (like pietism).

So these people take up the crusade to make sure everyone within earshot gets lambasted with what's 'right' and 'true'. They throw around words like heretic and apostasy. Often they trample all over any Biblical directive to put the best construction on everything, don't gossip, love your enemy, etc., etc. Of course they do this in the name of protecting God's truth. What unabashed arrogance.

Now I'm all about truth and seek to learn and know it more and more every day. I never think that I have fully attained a full understanding of what is true. Further, I would never take it upon myself to harangue others to accept what I believe to be true or be labeled a heretic. If asked I will speak what I understand to be truth and exercise what I believe to be the true forms of worship, service and a life of faith. I hope that all those who feel a need to attack others live out their understanding of truth, too. I just wish they'd do it without hurling soul destroying accusations and vicious attacks at those devoted Christians who are different from them.

Even St. Paul recognized that there are those who didn't preach Jesus from the same motivation he had. He disagreed with their methods and motivation but conceded that as long as Christ was preached good was being done. Until all Christians...especially those in leadership roles (Pastors are you listening?) can live from their faith and best understanding of truth and do away with all the rancor the hope for winning souls to Christ will never be fully realized.

God is bigger than our understanding of him or what's true and right. The Holy Spirit draws us into a relationship with Christ 'while we are still sinners.' In my humble opinion he can correct our misunderstandings and reveal truth to our hearts. Sometimes he does this through scripture as we're diligent to study. Sometimes he does this in relationships with other Christians seeking truth. There are even times when he does it through our pastors. But it is always the work of the Holy Spirit that informs, strengthens and grows our faith. He doesn't need knuckle headed, pious windbags enforcing their opinions about him and the 'right' way to relate to him (in worship, or anywhere else) on the rest of us. God is big enough to take care of himself. How about the rest of us go on about being the hands, feet and love of Jesus to a world that desperately needs a Savior. How awesome would that be?

In Time for Christmas

This video post is not only timely, it's dead-on and should be shared with every Christian in America! Watch and pass it on.

Evidence in Support

My very good friend, Doc, recently posted this article on his Facebook page about the same time I was writing my observations about the detrimental effect on the church when it aligns itself with politics. This reinforces my concern that the church needs to disentangle itself from politics if there's any hope to reconnect with the younger generations. Perhaps this is one more manifestation of what I've been calling the "New Reformation" for the last ten years. Still not sure what shape it's taking but I can tell you it's happening. The Body of Christ is eternal...the current manifestation of the western church is not. It's high time to move on.

Fruit That's Unstoppable

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:21-23

In a follow-up to my post yesterday despairing the fate of the church if it aligns itself with any particular political party, I want to reflect on fruit. Through the years I've been fond of saying that an apple tree never wakes up in the morning and decides to bear oranges. It bears apples because of what it is. It doesn't define the fruit, the fruit defines it. To the untrained eye an apple tree without apples is unrecognizable. Someone who claims to have sold you an apple tree is proven a liar if peaches appear on the branches.

In Galatians Paul gives a succinct and elegant description of the fruit that the Holy Spirit bears in the life of someone filled with said Spirit. To the untrained eye there is no other way to identify those possessed by the Holy Spirit but to see the fruit. Anyone who 'sells' themselves to be a Spirit filled follower of Christ whose branches subsequently sprout anger, hatred, division, selfishness, fear, and judgment is proven a liar. And I don't care if that person is a pastor, deacon, elder or bishop. If you are surrendered fully and possessed by the Holy Spirit you will bear the fruit of that Spirit. You can't not.

Notice, '...against such things (these fruits) there is no law.' Governments can outlaw worship, church services, Bibles, prayer in school and all the cherished symbols and external trappings of the church. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control function apart from law, politics, governments and the pettiness we humans so often allow to consume our lives.

Let the Spirit have his way with you...and bear fruit. That's unstoppable!

A Sad Consequence

Last week I was all around Kentucky and Indiana meeting with folks about bringing Workcamps and 1 By Youth to their towns. It's always exciting to share the possibility of partnering to bring 400 or more teens and adults to repair 60 to 70 homes in a week with Workcamps. Or the chance to see over 1000 volunteers transform a single neighborhood in a single day through 1 By Youth. I get the privilege of talking with many interesting people. One conversation I had last week, though, made me sad.

One lady in Louisville shared with me that the people she works with are reluctant...even hostile...about inviting Christians from outside the neighborhood (read the suburbs) to come in for the day and help. Their resistance, in her opinion, is political. Many of the neediest neighborhoods are populated most heavily by those who identify themselves as Democrats. They see many Christians, especially suburban Christians, as Republicans. In our current political climate they see Republicans as angry, hostile enemies working hard to take away all that the current Democratic leadership has finally given them. It is a sad consequence of a deeply polarized nation.

What makes me truly sad is that over the last 30 years or more the Evangelical Christian Church has been so co-opted by Republican politicians...and willingly so with the work of the Moral Majority, Focus on the Family and other entities...that we may have done irreparable damage to our ability to effectively be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need. Here is yet another reason why the church must operate completely above the political fray.

While Christians should, and must, participate in the political process by voting, advocating and holding elected office, the church must remain neutral. Christians gathered as bodies of believers align politically on one side or the other at their own peril. Whether it's Jim Wallis and Christians like him that run to the political left or James Dobson and the late Jerry Falwell who run to the political right all are doing a grave disservice to the name of Christ by lowering His Body into the mud of political gamesmanship.

When people in need refuse the help of loving Christians citing politics as the reason for their refusal that should be a major wake up call. We need to exercise our love, our values, our compassion and our concern through acts of service that have no root or reference to a political bent. We have not accomplished this and it seems it is bearing rotten fruit. My fear is it may be too late for us to reclaim higher ground.

Is It Possible?

Here I am in Nairobi, Kenya getting ready to welcome a mission team that will be working in the Kibera slum, visiting orphans, spending time with blind children and enjoying a safari on the Masai Mara. I love Kenya and the Kenyan people. I love bringing Americans here to open their eyes to the larger world.

One special side benefit to this trip is that I had the chance to meet with the General Secretary of Church Army Africa (an Anglican mission agency) for the whole continent of Africa. Richard Mayabi and I got talking about how to move people out of poverty and into self-sufficiency through a whole new way of doing church. It's a dream come true to meet someone at Richard's level of leadership who is committed to engaging the church to lift people out of poverty with micro-business, micro-finance and other strategies that bring accountability and ownership.

Richard has connected me with Mark Royster from Kentucky to join the conversation about the possibilities for Kenya and beyond. It's almost more than I can hope for to think we might actually find a way to bring the church back into the center of people's lives. This conversation coupled with my reading of The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of the Acumen Fund, while flying here has my head swimming with possibilities. Can't wait to see what God's up to.

Back to Kenya

Next week I'll be in Nairobi, Kenya. This is my fourth visit and first time since 2002 that I'll be going with a missions team. I love Kenya. The people of Kenya are so wonderful. That's a broad generalization and the truth is there are Kenyans who aren't wonderful. But the ones I've had the privilege to work with are amazing.

Maybe that has more to do with faith than nationality. The Kenyans I know live out their Christian faith every day. It drives who they are and what they do. In Kenya you'll hear Christian music on the radio mixed right in with secular music. They don't separate faith from life. It's all rolled in to one big ball. The true, relational nature of faith is tangible.

A week from Sunday I'll have the honor of preaching at a church in Nairobi. I don't feel adequate to the task. There is so much I need to learn about genuine, intimate relationships with people and with God. And I feel like my friends in Kenya are way ahead of me on that. Maybe I'll tell them that...how much I admire the way they live out their faith. We in the west could learn a lot.

It's Not the Mosque I Worry About

There is such an uproar now about the building of an Islamic Mosque at Ground Zero in New York. While I certainly understand the passionate opposition by people who were deeply wounded by the attacks of 9/11/01, my concerns go far beyond the building or its location. I'm concerned with the eventual Muslim takeover of the United States.

Before you write me off as a complete nut case, allow me to explain. In a culture like ours where people get impatient if it takes more than 2 seconds to download a feature length movie, we don't fully grasp the idea of a 10 year plan and can't even fathom a 100 year plan. The long slow process of transforming a culture escapes our notice entirely. Just because we don't understand it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

In 1999 I made my first trip to Kenya in East Africa. Our team served a missionary training college that included students from eight different African nations. One day we had the chance to go with some of these students on an evangelistic foray into a local neighborhood. As we walked the several blocks a student from Sudan struck up a conversation with me. He shared his fear that Kenya was at risk of being taken over by Muslims and converted into a Muslim nation. Curious, I asked why he feared this. Here's what he shared with me...

Many years ago Sudan was a predominately Christian nation. Over time...decades...Muslim people began moving into Sudan. At first they were ridiculed, persecuted and oppressed. Slowly they began to fit in. Marrying Sudanese women, opening small businesses, running for local political positions. Eventually these Muslims were accepted into the Sudanese culture. They continued to seek positions within the government and many rose to greater and greater levels of power. The day finally came when they held a majority control of the Sudanese government. They began passing draconian laws outlawing Christianity. They fully implemented Sharia Law. They ruthlessly stamped out Christianity and began wholesale persecution of Christians. Perhaps you've heard of Darfur.

Make no mistake about the intentions of the Muslim faith. It has at its core an unwavering dedication to see that all people everywhere submit to Muslim law. They tolerate no other faiths in those countries where they dominate the government. Whether 'moderate' or 'extremist' the Muslim religion is dedicated to the eradication of all other faiths and toppling skyscrapers in New York City isn't the only way they pursue this agenda. The more effective way is to invest decades becoming acceptable members of our society. They will cry out for tolerance and understanding. They will weep at being discriminated against and plead for us to accept them as peace loving people of faith. They will make a compelling case for us to allow them to practice their religion in peace because, after all, who are they hurting.

Then, ten or twenty or thirty years from now, while we're all watching reruns of Glee over a microwaved dinner government officials will show up at our door to enforce the removal of all Bibles and Christian symbols from our homes. Christian owned businesses will be shut down and churches will be boarded up. And somewhere inhospitable (Amarillo or Phoenix) a Christian refugee camp will be established for all those who resist the Muslim controlled government of the United States of America.

The longer we wait to realize that we're involved in a faith based holy war the more likely the scenario I paint is to happen. We Americans can pretend that religion doesn't affect our day to day lives but there are people who actually allow their faith to dictate their every move, to inform their lives and to set the course of history. We ignore this truth at our own peril and we invite the growth of the Muslim faith in this country at the risk of losing our religious liberty.

Don't dismiss me as a crackpot.