Suffering Succotash

What role does suffering play in the life of the Christian? That is a reality that some face daily and others run from like the plague. Our Tuesday bible study has brought us to Colossians 1:24, which shares how Paul (writing from prison) viewed his own suffering. Maybe it will help us.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,Colossians 1:24 (ESV)

So how did Paul view is suffering? No doubt Paul suffered, he mentions it 3 times (1:24, 29; 2:1) Paul sees a direct correlation between his suffering and the sufferings of Christ. The most literal translation of Colossians 1:24 says, “I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s suffering for the sake of his body, that is the church.” This raises some questions: What is lacking in the sufferings in Christ? How can Paul suggest that he is suffering on behalf of others like Christ did?

Consider 1 Peter 4:13. In this section Peter is encouraging Christians who are suffering specifically for being Christians. In this section Peter suggests that Christians “should not be surprised with suffering (12)” …that those who suffer “are blessed (14)”…to “not be ashamed, but to praise God (16)” for such suffering…and that such suffering is “according to God’s will (19)”. But in the midst of this section which encourages Christians to endure suffering Peter also clearly says “rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ”. This passage shares two similarities with Colossians, first it is clearly speaking about the physical suffering or affliction of Jesus and secondly there is a sense in which Christians are participating in that suffering. In 1 Peter the correlation is broadened a bit to include all Christians who suffer. But the questions raised above have not yet been answered: What is lacking in the sufferings of Christ? And how can Paul or Peter suggest that they can suffer as Christ did?

1 Corinthians 16:17 is helpful to our understanding of these verses because they include similar phraseology to what is in Col 1:24. Paul is writing to the Corinthians of his joy for the arrival of three close friends and explains that “they have made up for your absence (ESV).” As you look at the word use behind this translation you will see a more literal translation reads, “They have supplied/filled-up what was lacking on your part.” You will now see the similarity to Col 1:24, where Paul stated “I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings.”

A closer look at the context of 1 Corinthians suggests that Paul is not bemoaning the Corinthians or putting down their generosity or love for him. But there were things that the three friends, who were actually there, could do that the distant Corinthians could not do, because of their presence. Verse 18 suggests that these men because of their presence were able to refresh Paul’s spirit. The thing that was lacking was the physical, real presence of the Corinthians. The force of this idea is communicated well in the NLT which reads, “They have providing the help you weren’t here to give me.”

Now let’s reconsider Col 1:24. Some might say that Paul is suggesting that there is something qualitatively lacking in Christ’s suffering. So that the suffering he is doing actually completes the salvific sufferings of Christ. But even looking a few verses earlier (1:20, 22), Paul makes it pretty clear that Christ alone had settled the issue of justification by his sacrifice on the cross

Rather, consider that Paul’s suffering is not an addition to the sufferings of Christ but an extension of the sufferings of Christ (Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone, 159). What is lacking is only that Christ is not present to suffer personally as the gospel is fully proclaimed and the church faces persecution. In this way Paul “participates in the sufferings of Christ” because he is suffering on his behalf.

In addition, Paul is developing the idea that what is true of Christ is true of them and what is true of them is true of Christ. Later in 2:12-13 the Colossians have been buried with him, raised with him and made alive with him. They are so identified with their Christ, as the body is to the head, that what is true of him is true of them. So here in 1:24 as Paul is suffering he identifies his suffering with the sufferings of Christ, because what is true of him is true of HIM.

Tom Wright suggests some helpful illustrations which in part give a picture of this type of identification. It is like an ambassador when they go overseas they are speaking on behalf of the leader and the people of the country, although he is the only one present he is representing others in his service. Or in certain cultures when someone from a family is embarrassed or attacked it is as if the whole family is attacked. There is a sense of identification between the individual and the corporate body.

At the Passion '06 Conference this year, John Piper spoke on this very verse and he made the statement that the glory of the grace of God was maximally displayed in the suffering of Christ. He then asked the stadium of hip dressing, iPOD carrying, David Crowder loving college students if they would join in maximally displaying the glory of the grace of God by being willing to joyfully suffer for Him. Talk about putting our lives into perspective. So how about it?

Sin is so Fun!

Don't tell me that you haven't thought that, felt that or even (gulp) said that. That's because the road from "hating sin" to "loving it" is really not that far. It happens when our thinking becomes muddy. There are certainly times when every cell in our body is pulsing with longing for the buzz of a few extra Margaritas or the high of passing along the latest news about someone's personal life. How about getting away with going 65 in a 35 zone or getting too much change back at the quickie mart. We fool our boss about the number of hours we actually put in at work or how we actually spent those dollars on our expense report. The real joy is that no one will ever be able to find out about our thoughts, how ever self-agrandizing or perverse they may be. And in quite a short time we are having fun at sin.

That is where I find myself from time to time... So I was stopped short by a comment offered by Tom Wright in his commentary on a Colossians 1:21-23 where he says,

"Don't be fobbed off with the idea that 'sin' or 'wickedness' means 'having a good time when God wants you to have a rotten time.' That's a typical example of the muddled thinking that people get into when they ignore or forget the true God."

How forgetful we are sometimes! The truth about sin is that it alienates us and expresses hostility towards God. Sin leaves us dead in our transgressions . God's desire to deliver us from the penalty of sin, through Christ, and the power of sin, through the holy spirit is to free us up for a more wonderfully enriching life. Sin might be pleasing for a period of time, but it does not bring satisfaction to the soul. The fun-ness of sin wears off and leaves us with guilt, emptiness and purposelessness. Real life is an existence rooted in Christ.

Judas on Trial

I’ve read it. I finally sat down and read through the ”Gospel of Judas” (GoJ). And I can say that I am a lot less worried about it after reading it than before. I did wonder what I would encounter in its pages. Would I find something that would so cross the other gospel accounts so as to shed some question upon their version of the story?

What I found was so new and foreign that it barely resembled anything within the other four gospels. Now I know why Simon Gathercole, a New Testament professor at Aberdeen University, defended the text as authentic, but relatively unimportant. He went on to say "It is certainly an ancient text, but not ancient enough to tell us anything new... It contains themes which are alien to the first-century world of Jesus and Judas, but which became popular later."

The GoJ has a completely different emphasis that the Biblical Gospels:
1.It emphasizes angels, aeons, luminaries and stars as a hierarchy of spiritual beings.
2.It introduces other angelic names like El, Nebro, Yaldabaoth and Saklas.
3.It offers an alternative creation story, where God is not directly involved in Creation, but one of his angels (Saklas) is. (Compare Genesis 1-2).
4.It suggests that the material world is evil & inferior and the spiritual world is good and superior.
5. It suggests that Judas, the traitor, is actually the hero of the story. In the GoJ, Jesus says to Judas, “…you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”

For a good response, read “From Traitor to Hero?” by Albert Mohler, the President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. For those new to the discussion, these ideas are not new nor are they from the first century. They are 2nd-3rd century ideas common in other writings know as “Gnostic” writings. The term Gnostic is taken from the greek work for knowledge “gnosis”. And the Gnostic literature often speaks in mysterious language about achieving godhood through acquiring secret knowledge and speaks of salvation as release from this evil world.

But I don’t want to leave all the response to the professionals so I thought I would outline a four of my own observations from my reading of GoJ and how it differs drastically from the story recorded in the Biblical gospels.

1. There is a lack of story. While the gospels tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus the GoJ speaks of private conversations between Jesus and Judas. The GoJ only has one geographical name, Judea, very early in the document. No other disciples or contemporaries of Jesus are named other than Judas. It is quite odd and very un-gospel-like in its writing style.

A cursory glance at the Biblical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) reveals they are stories full of characters, locations, movement and plot. They are the stories of the words and works of Jesus. Luke goes so far as to start his gospel account with an introductory comment of validation…

“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

2. Jesus is a spiritual snob. While the gospels never mention Jesus laughing (one silent issue of the Bible which has saddened me) the GoJ has Jesus laughing four times. It is not the laughter that makes this presentation of Jesus different, but at who and why he is laughing. In each situation he is laughing at the misunderstanding of his followers. He laughs at their prayers and at their spiritual spiritual questions.

In the Bible Jesus does gets angry at the self-righteous, those who think they are better than they truly are. But at those who are seeking to know him he treats with love, compassions, kindness and patience.

3. Jesus is in conflict with his disciples. While in the canonical gospels the disciples were often faithless and misunderstood what Jesus was saying it was the spiritual world and the established religious authorities with whom he is in conflict. But in the GoJ Jesus has no conflict with religious authorities or the spiritual, in fact they are not mentioned, but instead he is in conflict with all the disciples except Judas.

For example in the GoJ, the disciples are praying before having communion, and Jesus laughs at them. After exchanging a few words the GoJ records this conversation.

“They said, ‘Master, you are […] the son of our God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘How do you know me? Truly [I] say to you, no generation of the people that are among you will know me.” When the disciples heard this, they started getting angry and infuriated and began blaspheming against him in their hearts.”

In the Bible, it is the religious leaders who have such anger and conflict with Jesus. (Matt 9:34, 12:14, 24; Mark 3:6; Luke 11:53-54; John 7:32) The disciples’ biggest problem with Jesus is not anger but misunderstanding. They have left everything to follow Jesus and spend 3 years trying to understand the true meaning of who he is and what he is teaching. (Mark 4:13, 8:17; Luke 9:45, 18:34; John 8:27, 12:16)

4. Jesus is not truly known by the disciples except Judas. In the above account from the GoJ Jesus states to the disciples, “How do you know me? Truly [I] say to you, no generation of the people that are among you will know me.” But in the Biblical gospels is the faith and affirmation from the disciples that provides the foundation upon which Jesus will build the church.

Consider Matthew 16: 13-18, “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

DaVinci upstaged by Judas

I had to chuckle when I heard the news of "recent" discovery of an ancient biblical document which could prove more dangerous to the Church than the Da Vinci Codes...the Gospel of Judas. Just some basic facts about the history of this document seems to make the timing of this world-wide release more akin to release of Titanic than the Dead Sea Scrolls. With the renewed interest in church history, created by the nearing release of the movie "The Da Vinci Code" and in the spirit of "Seeking the Truth" it appears that Judas might be upstaging DaVinci in the public box office.

But what should you make of the Gospel of Judas? Here are a few resources that will fill you in on some details.

Read the Gospel of Judas yourself
"Will the Real Judas Please Stand Up?"by Darrell Bock
Scott McKnight's Blog: Judas 1, Judas 2
Mark Goodacre's Blog

The document begins, "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot…” We all like a good secret don't we? But Bill Brown, President of Cedarville University, has done a nice job addressing some of the popular hype about this "Lost Gospel" in his recent blog posting. Here is what Dr. Brown said....

"A lot of people have asked about the "new discovery" of the Gospel of Judas. I am disappointed at how naive the press, the average person and even the average Christian are about these so-called "gospels." The manuscript was actually found almost thirty years ago and is written in Coptic, the language of first century Egypt. It dates from sometime in the fourth century, about 300 years after Christ (and Judas). It may be a translation of an earlier third century manuscript. Of course, it has nothing historical to say about Judas or Jesus but reinterprets the story to fit a theological belief at odds with Christianity. It parallels the teachings of another popular book, The Da Vinci Code. How surprising that the Gospel of Judas is being released now!

The Gospel of Judas is not really a gospel at all but part of the Gnostic literature that arose in the second - third century after Christ. They were all composed so long after the apostles and the early church and were never considered inspired and a part of God's revelation of the New Testament, which was completed before the end of the first century. The Gnostics held unusual beliefs about Jesus Christ and the world, beliefs that are today held by many of the Transcendental/New Age groups. They taught that salvation was obtained by "secret knowledge" rather than Christ's death for sins on the cross. The highly spiritual approach by gnosticism made many of them teach that a person could live any way they wanted. The material world, especially the human body, was evil and prone to immoral acts that had no effect on a person's spiritual state. You can see the very early stages of this belief in Colossians 2:8; Jude 3-4; and 2 John 7-9. Notice how many high profile celebrities flock to modern versions of gnosticism, like Scientology and the Kabbalah. Some of the benefits of spirituality with none of the responsibility. The "natural bent of the human mind," says C. S. Lewis."

What strikes me is that this is nothing new. There have been many non-canonical writings (i.e Gospel of Thomas) which have been circulating for years which have never been accepted by the Church, because they have never been affirmed to be inspired. This "lost gospel" of Judas has been around for years and NOW is garnishing paparazzi status solely because of the public hype of the DaVinci Code.

Feedback

The camp has long since ended and life in the real world has already begun. But for many pictures like these will conjure up fond memories of fun. The real world doesn't always offer us feedback on our performance, but if you haven't figured it out by now "English Camp" is not the real world. One proof is that English Camp ends with feedback. As our team took a 2 hour train-ride to Tallin I eagerly poured through the 80-100 feedback forms.

I wanted to know what the students thought about the camp, about Christianity and of course the speaker. There is nothing like some good honest feedback to keep you humble. So I thought I would share just a few comments that I came across from the students who were at the same English Camp.

On the speaker one student wrote..."Clay's voice was calming and ade me sleepy sometimes, but otherwise he was great." I yawned just reading that.

Another offered, "Clay's talks seemed compulsory and no fun at all." Ouch!

A few pages later a student wrote, "Clay's talks...lots of fun there." Were they at the same camp?

"In the second day my abs were hurting because of smiling".

One student answered that their favorite thing in camp was "Twister."

Some comments were brutally honest like:
"It was interesting for e because I am anot a Christian but I had a chance to ask many questions, so I think I have a lot to think about."

and "I learnend that I'll never believe in God and that talking about Christianity doesn't bother me anymore."

I appreciate the honest feedback from the students. Sometimes a bit of honesty is quite refreshing.

Postmodern Pastor

Meet Meego, the pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Tartu, Estonia. I just met him today at a group lunch. He is the pastor of the home church staff of the Going UP ministry. He teaches also teaches ethics at the local university and has completed doctoral work at Wheaton College. He is quite an influential pastor in Estonia and has a firm grasp of the context in which he ministers. I shared just 20 minutes with him today and was able to learn a lot from him about his work and his philosophy of ministry. I was smart enough to ask him a few questions and listen to his answers. Here are a few I asked (his answers are based on my foggy memory):

How do you share the gospel here in Estonia?
Clay the people here live in a postmodern world where previous categories of absolute truth no longer exist within their minds. You cannot simply speak of ideas like sin, God, heaven and hell and expect to communicate a clear message to all people. Instead people are swayed by the power of narrative. So I share the story of God through Scripture and how the story of Christ fits into the larger story of God. I share my story of Christ coming into my life and how our stories have overlapped because of our interaction. I try to awaken their minds to the idea that they are choosing to align themselves with a story that greater than their own individual story. Biblical concepts of sin and Jesus are communicated most powerfully through story.

What is the biggest hurdle that Estonians must overcome in becoming a Christian?
They have no concept of Jesus, the Bible, Christianity or Christians. 95% of Estonians are not Christian and most do not have any friends who are. They think that Christians are weird and have no concept that people actually believe in God, the Bible or Jesus Christ. That is why English Camp is so powerful. It gives them exposure to real live Christians so that they can form a category in their thinking of what a Christian looks like.

What is the biggest mistake that Americans make when they come to Estonia to minister?
They assume that Estonians have categories of understanding of the Bible, God and Jesus. They must not forget that most people here believe that no normal person believes in God or is a Christians. It is not outright pride, but an honest assessment based upon experience and formation by life mentors. Meego shared that they recently had a showing of the play "Jesus Christ Superstar". Some university students he was teaching thought that the play was a about a modern man who was a Superstar because his name was Jesus Christ. They are largely ignorant to idea that Christians really exist and therefore dismiss Christianity as a small, minority, and folk religion.

Meego lives, eats & breathes the gospel in a culture, which has rejected absolute truth, has embraced Darwinian Evolution and is largely void of an authentic evangelical presence. His commitment to the gospel, love for his people and belief in Christ empower him to partner with groups like us to bringing a living witness of Jesus to Estonia. I have learned much from just a few minutes with this postmodern pastor.

Day in Tartu provides ministry opportunities

Our time is Estonia was split into 3 parts: (1) the pre-camp time in Tartu (Friday-Sunday), (2) camp (Sunday-Thursday), (3) the post-camp time in Tartu (Thursday-Friday) & Tallinn (Saturday). God really opened up opportunities for me to spend time with 3 out of the 5 students in my small group today. I realized that a large part of our work here was developing relationships with students so that they could have a better idea of what a Christian looked like and sounded like. That is why I prayed for an opportunity to spend time with some of the students after they had arrived back home in Tartu and God answered.

I spent about 3 hours this afternoon with Eric Taum, pictured in a previous entry. Eric and I were quickly able to pick-up where we had left off at camp and delve back into the struggles of life and his struggle to understand God and Christianity. He walked me through a good understanding of the gospel and how a true Christian should live his life. Then he ended with a statement like, "Clay I really want to believe in God but I am just not sure about it." So I encouraged him more, listened more, shared scripture more and prayed with him. Continue to lift up Eric in your prayers. Pray that he would be able to have good conversations with other Christians in his life like Max, Daniel and Craig.

Erin and I were also able to meet up with 2 other girls from our small group, Kristel (on the left) and Triin (on the right). Neither are Christians, but both jumped at the chance to meet up with us as a local restaurant before we headed back to the states. Pray for Triin as she continues to attend Craig's home group and that she would invite friends to Going UP events. Also pray for Kristel as she begins to read her Bible. We were able to meet Kristel's boyfriend Erwin. Although our conversation grounded to a halt a number of times through the night the girls both gave us big hugs when we parted ways. Public affection like hugging friends appears to not be an Estonian way of expression, but at English Camp and at Home Groups kids feel free to step out of this Estonian box. It was great to give them hugs and let them know that we will be praying for them as they consider God and the Bible.

Don't judge a book by it's cover...

Below are pictures of three guys that I spent a good deal of time with during English camp. I spoke the first night of English Camp about the labels that people put on one another, emphasizing the fact that we often judge people based upon their appearance without ever knowing anything about them as people. But thankfully God does not judge by external appearance but is able to see through to our hearts. I had to put that in practice during English camp. I had to check myself to not categorize the Estonian students before spending time with them and getting to know them. God brought 3 guys into my life this week that I was able to spend considerable time with during the week, let me share with you:

Eric: Eric is the stereotypical Scandinavian looking lad. 6 foot 3 inches tall, lanky arms and legs and long blond hair. He is a terror on the basketball court and is an able soccer player. He has traveled widely throughout Europe and his English is very good. He is quite outgoing and is a great conversationalist. For some reason he seemed drawn to me and we spent considerable time together throughout the week. My read on him throughout the week was one of confidence and independence. And while those things are true...it was Eric who shocked me by sharing on Wednesday night of some of the hurt in his life that held inside and that he actually kept people at arms length so that they would not hurt him. I was shocked and humbled that he would share so honestly with me. He is not a Christian but is very interested in reading the Bible and really wants to continue attending Craig Hamer's home group. He is surrounded by Christians and enjoys their friendship. Pray that Eric would continue to open his heart to God and would see God at work in his life.

Jimmy: In the bottom picture on the right in the hat is "Jimmy" Hendrik. When I first met him I thought we was a tough kid who would never be interested in spiritual matters. Boy was I wrong. As I spent time with him I got to know the real Jimmy. He was very attentive to my speeches and early in the week shared that he was a Christian and that he was involved in a large church in Tallinn. He is a great guitar player. But the night of the gospel presentation he shared with me that he had religion but not a personal relationship with God through Jesus. I had shared about Nicodemus and he identified with the story and wanted to be born again. We talked about how to start a relationship with Christ and I sent him away to think about it and pray if wanted to. The next morning he told me that he had shared a very deep conversation with another Christian student and that he had heard about how his friend was filled up with Christ and then they prayed together. Pray that Jimmy will read his Bible and get more involved in his home church in Tallinn.

Tavi: Tavi was a quiet kid yet was very deep. During my opening talk I shared a thought from Dallas Willard, which I pulled from "Renovation of the Heart". I asked, "What is the purpose of life?" and then suggested that one author wrote, "The purpose of life is the authentic transformation of the whole person into goodness." He came up to me and said I have recently been thinking about the meaning of life. Throughout the week he was very attentive during my speeches and we shared many conversation about theology, philosophy and the Bible. Pray that Tavi would grow as a Christian and would come to greater clarity on a Biblical Worldview.

Meet Small Group #7

Part of the camp schedule included small group meetings. There were 6 Large Group meetings where we all gathered for skits, games, fun and my talks. Directly after that the large group broke downg into small groups of about 5-6 students with two leaders. All groups had one American leader and one Estonian Christian leader...except for mine. In my group it was just Erin Megerle and I...no Estonian Christians. Erin did and amazing job connecting with the girls, but there were times when the conversation fell into Estonain and we were both in the dark, feeling a bit left out.

In our group of 5 Estonian students none were Christians. I would like to introduce you to our group, Lucky 7.

Martin is not pictured. He is 21 years old and is a high functioning mentally handicapped student. He came to all of our groups but did not participate. He was not a distraction, but did provide a laughs to break the tension of the group.

Eric: The only other guy in the group. He is a tall, blond, athletic and intelligent kid. He and I became pretty close. In fact Eric and I ate most meals together and shared free time doing things like soccer, basketball and sauna. He has traveled to many European countries and had the best English of the group. He was definitely the most talkative. He is a part of the Going UP drama group and currently is attending Craig Hamer's Home Group. And while he does know Christians and about Christianity, he is a self-proclaimed non-Christian. He is not antagonistic to Christianity, but to say one is a Christian is a big thing and he has not decided that Christianity is for him. Eric shared openly that English Camp was one of the best weeks of his life.

Triin: She is the dark haired girl sitting next to Eric. A sweet but shy girl who struggled the most to communicate in English. She is involved in Craig's Home Group, but is not a Christian. She wants to believe in God, but is struggling with what she says are scientific proofs that God does not exist.

Kristel: She is sitting between Erin and I. She was talkative at points and quiet at others. All-in-all she was seriously thinking about the topics we discussed. She is not a Christian and also shared that while she wants to believe in God she thinks that science is against God. She shared that sometimes she has these spiritual yearnings deep within her that make her think that God is real. She bought a bible a week ago and wants to read it.

Riin: She is sitting in front of me. She had a great head on her shoulders and shared regularly about discussion topics. She was a real joy to have in our group and shared well thought out answers to all questions posed. She was a very sweet girl and shared that she does not believe in God but believes in Darwinian Evolution.

I told these students that I would pray for them. Would you join me in praying for these students...that God would reveal himself to them. Would you pray that their hearts would be open to the evidence of God's presence in their lives and that they would honestly consider the possibility of God being at work.

Cory is GOING UP

Guest blogger and my roommate at Chris Brock's house, Cory Di Carro, shares some of his experience:

WOW!! What an amazing trip it has been. This is my third English Camp and I must say it has been the best. God has provided exceedingly and abundantly more in every fashion imaginable...
- Energy each day when we should have none
- Knowledge and wisdom when talking to students
- Comfort in missing loved ones (I miss my wife who's 4 months pregnant terrible but we become closer each day through notes, prayer, email and phone calls)
- Community and love with/for people who have only known us for 4 days

It’s almost impossible to put the events of this trip into words. God presence has been with us every step of the way. Students were receptive to talking about Christianity, Christ and taking steps towards God. As I sit here and struggle with what to say and how to say it I'm reminded of a verse that my wife included in one of her notes to me.

"But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it"

I can tell all you this, the message was boldly and accurately proclaimed during this trip. Each member of this team was specifically brought here by God and after watching how the team interacted with the students it is evident that our group and no other was a perfect fit for serving the needs of the students, our Estonian team and each other!

In Christ
-Cory

The seeds have been planted

As an English Camp rookie, I thought that blogging daily during camp would be an easy task, but it was not. What I failed to realize was that the camp only had dial-in acess, yep that's about 30kbps which is slow as molassess and I did not realize that English camp is a 7am-2am non-stop race. There was literally no down-time. Not that we were running ragged, but the days were just a blur of meetings, fun, laughing, hanging, building relationships with students, having serious talks. Add all that together and I did not blog at all during camp. The camp has ended and we are back in Tartu for a couple of days of debriefing, so I thought I'd fill you in on a bit of what happened and to thank you for praying and help to direct your future prayers.

If I could some the week up in one word it would be RELATIONSHIPS. Part of the reason camp was busy is that we were always starting, building and growing relationships with the Estonian students. We did this through our small group discussions which last about 1 hour and were held after every large group meeting. We also did this by doing FREE TIME events together during the day like soccer, American Football, snow tubing, guitar lessons, self defense classes, whiffle ball, bead making sessions and more. Then during the evenings other events allowed us to further relationships like movies, Cafe, Sauna and game playing. I'll fill you in on the Sauna experience in another blog. I found myself during the week, rarely spending time with Americans but often found myself immersed in a crowd of Estonian students. Often conversation would fall back into the native tongue and every so often someone would say, "we need to translate for Clay" or "let's speak English."

The team has definitely felt your prayers and God has certainly been moving in students hearts as well as leaders hearts. The presence of God was felt so much today that after the students had left the entire leadership team was crying tears of joy as we committed the camp and each student to the Lord. It was quite an emotional good-bye for all, because we all were able to see students either commit their lives to Christ or move closer to considering Christ. You are a part of these stories. It is by means of your prayers that God has chosen to soften students hearts and sustain our tired bodies as we all joined together to incarnate the goodnews of Jesus Christ. You will hear more of these stories that you were a part of...and in fact the stories continue. We will be meeting with students on Friday in Tartu and on Saturday we will meet students in Tallin.

Here are a few snapshots of the camp:
(1) Here are some of the students registering for camp. This year there were 70 students, many were first-timers and at least 70% were not Christians. We had 30 leaders this year that is 16 Americans and 14 Estonians. (2) On Wednesday morning I caught a rare sight, 2 leaders and 3 Christian students in prayer. On Wednesday we had talks #4 and #5 during which I shared the gospel. Knowing the importance of this time, these girls gathered to pray that the Spirit would be moving in lives, drawing hearts towards Him. (3) Here is Chris Kelley standing on a table during lunch crowing like a rooster. This is something that Chris did a lot during meals this week at camp. Craig Hamer (camp director) awarded students for accomplishing the "Top 10 Things to do at English Camp." On the list was, stand on a table and crow like a rooster with Chris Kelley...poor Chris. (4) One of the Estonian leaders is an art student and took the images I used during my first 4 talks (leading up to the gospel in #5) and put them on a poster which was displayed in our meeting room. Images in order which I delivered the messages are labels, mirror, mask and road sign. Nice work Tarmo!! (5) Here is a fun snapshot of the American and Estonian leaders at camp. We teamed up as a real one-two punch during the camp to make events run smooth, make the meeting times fun and build deep relationships quickly with ALL students at the camp. It was a real experience in body life!

Pray for:
(1) Students who left the camp desiring to know more about Christianity, that they would be followed up on and would consider attending a Home Group Bible Study.
(2) Students who left the camp with a new relationship with Christ, that they would quickly connect with a Home Group and begin to grow in Christ through mentorship and reading the Bible.
(3) For all 30 leaders, Christian and American, that we would not crash and burn after such an amazing experience of seeing God work in and through us. We actually covenanted with one another to pray for each other every day for the next month, knowing that storms often follow on the heals of great spiritual victories.

Two very different Church Services

Today our group did church twice, both were very unifying and worshipful, but they were two very different experiences.

We started the morning off largely leading the service at Salem Baptist Church, which is the home church for the Going Up staff. Chris K. and Todd G. shared their testimonyies. A makeshift choir sang a couple of songs, with Andy playing the guitar. Lisa Hamer sang a solo with Andy playing the piano (didń't know he could play piano). Then Matt preached through Peep Saar. It was an enjoyable service.

Afterward we headed to a local Italian restaurant for calzones and coke. Then we packed up and headed to Kääriku, the site of the camp. The trip was short and the camp is located in the beautiful, hilly and forrested part of the country. The camp is located next to a lake and the snow began to fall as we arrived. There must be nearly a foot of snow on the ground out here. We set up for the camp and then had a planning, prayer and worship meeting. The leadership, both Estonian and American, shared a hunger for God to reveal himself and for the Holy Spirit to come in such a way that dead hearts would be awakened to the life giving power of the gospel. It was indeed a church service.

So tomorrow the campers will arrive. Most all of the kids coming will not be Christian at all. Pray that kids would not back out or find an excuse to come to camp tomorrow. Pray that we leaders would quickly bond with students and that our Small Group discussion times would be full of discussion and that the kids would open up to us quickly.

Picture Summary:
(1) The Northwest choir is singing at Salem Baptist. (2) Matt preaching on "Remembering" from 2 Peter 1. (3)Tiffany, Rachel, Todd and Amalee Vinalaas eating lunch after church. (4) The team gathers for a pre-camp meeting in Kääriku.

Dinner at Craig & Reena's

On Saturday evening we gathered at the Estonian Hamers for a traditional Estonian meal. There was meat and potatoes and some other dishes that were great. It was a cozy time of sharing and laughing and Craig & Reena have restored her Nana's house quite nicely. The evening ended with some worship songs. It was encouraging and and intimate.

Earlier in the day Craig had "read us our rights". Actually he was encouraging us to give up our rights this week at English camp so that the students might see the love of Christ in our lives. He read Matthew 5:38-42 and then challenged us to give up...
...our rights to our dignity,
...our rights to our privacy,
and our rights to our possessions.

Picture summary: (1 & 2)These capture us at the Hamer's, eating then singing. (3) Andy is jamming away on the floor.

Touring Tartu

Today was our first morning to wake up in Tartu. It was great to have a solid nights sleep. Cory DiCarro and I are staying at Chris Brock's place right in downtown Tartu. He treated us to a great breakfast: french-press coffee, juice, fresh bread, yogurt, and a donut-type pastry. We met in Salem Baptist Church at 10am for a training session for English Camp. The team had their first chance to meet our Estonian small group leaders. It was a great time of meeting and laughing, then we prayed with our small group leaders for the camp and for each student by name. Afterwards we ate at Tsink Plink Pang, which means something like "Tin Bucket", and is a Chinese style restaurant. We stuffed ourselves, then walked around Tartu catching the sites and getting to know some of the Christian students better. The team is doing quite well with very few setbacks. Dave J. Did fall down some stairs at the Vinalaas' but went to a massage therapist this morning and seems to be doing quite fine. Also Ryan Cross seems to have lost his passport. You can pray for Dave's back and Ryan's passport, that he either finds it or is able to get the necessary papers to get back out of the country. No one seems to be too worried about the passport situation, but keep it in your prayers. The team is rested, well fed and enjoying Tartu, it is a great start to our week.

Pictures Summary: (1) The team gathers at Salem Baptist Church for English Camp Meeting. (2) Erin and I will be teaming up with Max to lead a small group during English camp. (3) Todd prays with Eva and Peter for their small group. (4) Peter, Clay, Cory, Bob and Max enjoying Chinese cuisine for lunch. (5) Peter, Andy and Cory are "enjoying" the local scenery. (6) Timo, Peter, Clay, Ryan and Amalee Vinalaas posing on top of the Angel Bridge with downtown Tartu in the background.

The Eagle has Landed

Since we sat in Chicago for 3 hours, we missed our connecting flight to Tallin. So we hopped a flight to Copenhagen, Sweden where we hurried to the gate, then back to the ticketing counter, then back to the gate to get to the plane just before they closed the gate. Then besided not getting about half of our bags, everyone arrived in very good spirits...just happy to have landed in Estonia. We then drove 2 hours south to Tartu where we piled into the Vinalaas house for a yummy meal of lasagna, bread, salad, pie & ice cream. After a few quick calls home we are ready for some sleep to get adjusted to the 7 hour time difference.

Pic 1: Here is our merry 16 happily enduring our 16 plus hours in travel to Estonia.

Pic 2: Matt Hamer is haggling with the ticketing counter to get us all boarding passes from Copenhagen to Tartu.

Pic 3: The team stops to pray for Matt as he haggles with the ticketing counter to get us onto the flight from Copenhagen to Tartu.

Pic 4: Christy and Tiffany share a light moment while enduring the long hours in the airport.

Pic 5: Rachel Witt and Jill Cross are happy to be on the ground in slightly snow covered Estonia.

Pic 6: Sharing a meal with Craig, Chris, Peep, Anna and the Vinalaas'es.

Stockholm we've arrived....

We are enroute to Estonia and almost there. The trip has been largely uneventful so far. Yesterday we had a short but bumpy flight to Chicago. Then we sat on our plane on the tarmac for 3 hours...yep 3 hours before we took off. The snow had come in and the plane had to de-ice. That takes 3 hours right? The overnight flight to Stockholm was bumpy as well, even at 6 miles up. But we had fun passing the time playing video games and watching movies.

I chose to watch North Country, a sad movie about the mistreatment of women in the coal mines of Northern Minnesota. Rumor has it that the rest of the guys watched Pride & Prejudice...but that is just a rumor. Since we missed our earlier direct flight to Tallin, we have a few hours to kill at Stockholm then we fly to Copenhagen before heading to Tallin. We should get in at 4pm-ish. I talked to some nice ladies at the information counter, who are Stockholm natives and both had been to Chicago, but not Columbus?? Fun Stockholm fact... population is about 1 mil.


Excitement is mounting within the team to arrive in Estonia and begin English Camp. Right now we are just happy to have a few hours of sleep and be a few miles closer to Estonia.

Estonia Here we come...

This is the first of what I hope is a bunch of blogs on the 2006 Estonia Team. Here is the team from left to right...














(front row) Lisa Hamer, Jill Cross, Tiffany Stewart, Christy Murray, Rachel Witt, Erin Megerle, (2nd row) Bob Patterson, Cory Kelley, Todd Goodman, ME, Cory Kelley, Bob Hart, Matt Hamer (back row) Dave Jadischke, Ryan Cross, Andy Caraway. Keep the group in your prayers.

We are headed to Estonia, which was a part of the former USSR. We will spend a little bit of time in Tartu before we head off to a nice campground near Tartu for our 3-day English camp with 85 highschool students.



















For those who were at the Bible Study on Tuesday and saw the LOST video that the team put together you know that English is not all work, we will mix it up and try to have some fun as well. Until next time...

standFIRM gets published

Well not exactly, but if you at all enjoyed the sounds which helped to create the environment on that cold February night, then you might be interested in checking out the standFIRM iMix I just published. Damien Rice, ColdPlay, Charlie Hall, David Crowder and more....check it out here. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=740542

Remember Peep & Anna?

They are a new missionary couple from Estonia that we met in November and I blogged about here. I received a prayer request e-mail today about a big week of ministry on the local college campus. I thought I would share it with you and ask you to join them in prayer. They even mention the team from Northwest that will be going over there in 10 days to help them run their English camp. Pray for them, then I'll share the results.

Dear friends,
We are enjoying really beautiful winter here in Estonia - lots of snow, reasonably cold and even some sunshine! You should come and check it out ;)

I wanted to send you a quick email update about this upcoming week and ask your prayers for everything thats going on, because there is a lot of it.

This weekend we had a team from North Point church working with the Kidstuf volunteers. It was a great time of practical workshops and also bringing excitement about starting the program in the spring.

This week is a week we specially want to focus on university outreach through relational evagelism. We have a team from North Point church helping us to do that. As a new thing throughout the week we try to get into the classes in the university to give lectures and have small groups there. since it is something we have not tried before then we are quite nerveous and dont know how it will be received by students. Please pray for the team from North Point who is giving the lectures and our core students who will be working together with them on that. In addition to that we have training for small group leaders, line dancing course and lecture series on leadership.

On Wednesday and Thursday nights we will have an evening program for the students. Hopefully many students will come to that.

On friday night we will have the worship service Risttee where we will start new series on prayer called "Get connected". You can pray for me as im preparing the sermon for it through the hectic week.

On saturday night we will have the Going UP event. You can pray for all the preparations for that as our student voluteers are all very busy at school right now.

These are all the things going on this week. Our desire and prayer is that God could be at work here in Tartu this week in a very special way.

On 17th of March a group from Northwest Bible church will get for the annual spring break English Camp. It will be a really exciting week and we are already looking forward to that.

Thank you so much for standing next to us in your prayers! I will send you the next update real soon.

Blessings,
Peep

A Friend Like Dan

It was my freshman year in college. I had gone to a few of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meetings on my campus. But frankly I thought the group was filled with people who were below my own social status. I was too cool to jump into the group and call it “my group.” I toyed around with one of the guys Bible studies led by a guy named Dan. Dan was a nice guy but in my mind he typified the social status of the group. He was the type of guy you’d turn to for chemistry help, not the guy you’d hangout with on Friday Night.

But Dan did not seem to be intimidated by my “coolness” and he treated me with genuine kindness. Every so often he would stop by freshman dorm room to see how I was doing or to bring by some cookies. One time I returned to my freshman hall and all the guys were laughing at me because of Dan. I thought to myself, “Oh great, what did he do this time.”

They drug me to the answering machine and played a message which Dan had left. The message said something to the effect of “Hey Clay, wanted to see if you were interested in hanging out on Friday, we could play some games or bake a cake or something….” BAKE A CAKE, I thought….who says stuff like that. But that was just Dan. I didn’t consider Dan a close friend, until one day later in the semester.

It was during freshman rush. I was making what I believed to be one of the biggest decisions in my life…which fraternity should I join. I was really conflicted by the event and felt great pressure from a couple of fraternities to join their brotherhood. In the heat of the moment I joined one of the fraternities, and I immediately felt like I had made the wrong decision. I lost sleep…I couldn’t eat…I was extremely anxious. Part of my concern was based upon what little Christian values I actually had at the time.

I needed someone to talk to, but I didn’t know where to turn. The guys on my hall were part of the pressure to join the fraternal system and I didn’t know what to do. So in my desperation for release from the pressure that was building within me… I turned to Dan. I stopped by his dorm room and asked if I could talk. He dropped everything and just listened to me. I poured out my anxiety and some tears as I explained the weight of the pressure which I had been feeling. He did a little talking, but mostly listened and supported. I left his room with a strategy to correct the situation and a peace about the process and what I had to do to correct my situation.

I learned something about friendship that day. And I learned something about myself that day as well. I knew that I needed some people who shared my worldview who could speak wisdom into my life when I needed it. I also had my conception of “social status” crushed that day. I realized that what I shared with Dan, as a fellow servant of Christ, was much stronger than any external pretension of coolness or social status.

Proverbs says, “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense (Prov. 27:9).” Dan proved to be a true friend to me. His comfort and counsel were gifts that I came to cherish as I continued my journey in life. Not because my social status improved when I was around him, but because I needed a friend who could offer wise counsel. Everyone needs a friend like Dan.

Have Church Your Way

Do you have what it takes to be the pastor of the next Mega Church? Find out at the comfort of your own PC thanks to "Mega Church" the game. Check this out.

Pieces of a Puzzle

Last night I passed out some simple puzzles that I gathered from the 2-3 year old nursery. Everyone had a piece of the puzzle and when I said go, we raced to see which group could put their puzzle together the fastest.

It was a simple exercise with a profound message. A puzzle is made of different pieces. If even one piece is missing, the picture is not complete. If the pieces are not in the right place...if they're not playing the role they were made to the play...then the picture doesn't work. The puzzle was made to display a pretty picture or a beautiful landscape, but it only works if every piece is in the right place.

That may help us to think about the local church. God, the master designer, is painting a beautiful picture, but the picture is only complete when every person is involved and is functioning in the way that He has designed them. The church is not just a social club "formed solely by human intentions and efforts, individual or collective, but instead by God's empowering presence (Darrell Guder)."

The church is the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit which brings about regeneration in the work of salvation, when one is born again (John 3:5-8) is the agent which knits together the church by baptizing each born again person into the body of Christ which is the Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). The Church is not an option for Christians; it is the result of their salvation. God does not redeem individuals and then leave them hanging isolated and alone, He has a beautiful picture to which they are an indispensable piece.

But why then does church seem so unfulfilling and so optional for many Christians. It is easy to show up once in a while on Sundays to fill a pew and then to go back to regular life. It can be difficult to find people that we click with, can't it? It can be scary to consider making a "bigger" commitment to church, right? I agree and have personally thought all these thoughts and more.

So whose fault is this situation? I think some of the blame lies with church leadership. Pastors can be so busy running their own agendas that they miss the important task of identifying, training, connecting and launching people to their God designed role in fulfilling the church's mission. Isn't that the main role of pastors & teachers anyway? Consider Ephesians 4 :12-13,

"It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. "

At the same time part of the blame lies with the individual. Many choose the path of least resistance and so they never give their time to serving in the local church or they choose to never attend a bible study so they never get to know anyone. They cling to Christ for their salvation, but they seem to have missed the idea that they are an essential part of the body of Christ. That in fact if they are not connected and functioning as they have been designed that the church is deficient in some capacity.

My 2 1/2 year old son loves doing puzzles. He often will grab a piece and after a few attempts at placing it, comes to me and says "Where does this go daddy?" He can't always figure out where all the pieces go, but he does one thing really well. He can quickly figure out if any piece is missing...and it drives him crazy. He is okay if the pieces are upside down or if they are spread across the table as long, as they are all there.

God is painting a glorious picture by bringing together many pieces. Each local church is a small part of the painting and each is made up of many parts. Not only do you need the church, but the church needs you. So...which piece are you? What role do you play in the picture of your local church?

Loneliness 6: Building a House of Understanding

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4

Some might say by this point in the week, "Ok I get it, I see that other fears in my life have kept me from developing true companionship, what do I do now?" That is a good place to be. Some might say, hey I'm single and that is why I feel lonely. I agree that a marital relationship offers the possibility of deeply intimate companionship, but I would encourage singles to practice their companionship making skills on the other relationships in their lives. If companionship is a house, then mutual understanding is the foundation. So here's a process for developing true companionship through mutual understanding:

1. Confess your real self to the Lord. Put your fears and personal struggles into words, audibly and speak them before the Lord. God already KNOWS you, but by being audibly honest with God it helps us to be honest with ourselves and others.

2. Have confidence that God knows you and accepts you. The old hymn, "Just as I am" comes to mind. God knows our selfishness, our loneliness, our fears, our lust, our hatred...and he still loves us completely. To those who trust in Him, He completely accepts and forgives us.

3. Proceed with caution. We must not go around dumping the truckload of our inner struggles on everyone we meet. And even our families or spouses do not need to know every detail of our issues. So pick your people and your issues wisely. If you are unsure seek the guidance of a spiritual mentor.

4. Commit to communicate. Two-way active communication is the foundation upon which true companionship is built. Listen well so as to understand the other person and share honestly so as to be clearly understood. Without communication there is no understanding and without understanding there is no companionship.

Is God stirring within your heart discomfort about some of your relationships? Slowly and cautiously be obedient to the Holy Spirit by beginning the companionship-making process.

Loneliness 5: Connecting

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:16

Noted Christian Psychologist and author Larry Crabb dropped a bomb on the Christian Counseling profession with the release of his book Connecting. In it he explains that the underlying reason that more Americans are going to professionals to fix damaged psyches is what he refers to as disconnected souls. That sounds a lot like the concept of loneliness. The shocking thing is that Crabb suggests that professional soulcare is NOT the answer, but he prescribes a soul “nourishment” that “only a community of connected people can offer.” I’ll let Dr. Crabb explain…

“I have strong reason to suspect that Christians sitting dutifully in church congregations, for whom “going to church” means doing a variety of spiritual activities, have been given resources that if released could powerfully heal broken hearts, overcome the damage done by abusive backgrounds, encourage the depressed to courageously move forwards, stimulate the lonely to reach out, revitalize discouraged teens and children with new and holy energy, and introduce hope into the lives of the countless people who feel rejected, alone, and useless. Maybe “going to church,” more than anything else, means relating to several people in your life differently. Maybe the center of Christian community is connecting with a few.” (Crabb, Larry. Connecting. 1997. The W Publishing Group, Nashville, xiii.)

It is most likely that every Sunday you are surrounded by lonely people, or as Crabb says disconnected souls. They come to church to find healing, or acceptance, or forgiveness or true companionship. The apostle Paul says the church should function so in sync with the needs of its members that is functions like a human body. A healthy body works together in everything that it does... there should be no disconnection.

Is your soul being nourished by a few others that you really connect with? Pray that God would guide you to enter into a connected community. Or if you are in such a connected community now, consider inviting other disconnected souls into yours.

Loneliness 4: What are we so afraid of?

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15

If we believe that we were designed in the image of God and therefore made for relationships, does that mean that having relationships is the end of all loneliness? If it were only that easy. I remember the appearance of a nagging feeling of loneliness at times, even after I was married. You see I did not understand that a relationship or even a marriage relationship does not necessarily equate with true companionship.

True companionship is more than just the existence of a relationship, but is something much deeper. It is an environment where someone seeks to know you, all of you and you feel safe sharing that sensitive soft-core that is deep within you. It is quite possible to have a pleasant, stable relationship yet to never develop the deeper knowledge of one another that can be described as companionship. This is where fear comes in. We maintain our relationships at a pleasant level because we fear other things will happen if we expose our real selves to these people. The most common fear that leads to loneliness is fear of rejection. We fear that we won’t be accepted if we unveil our true selves. So for fears-sake we conceal this soft-sensitive part of our being out of self-protection and as a result no one truly knows us.

When we make these decisions we are actually driving a wedge of separation between us and others andtrue companionshipp is never possible. We are so afraid to admit that we have low self-esteem...or don’t feel loved... or struggle with pornography... or don’t feel attractive... or embarrass easily... or that we struggle with communicating our feelings that we don’t let others truly know us. So marriages exist without true self-disclosure. Parent-child relationships exist without mutual understanding. Friendships exist without deep levels of communication. Don’t let fear keep you from enjoying true companionship.

Take stock of the relationships in your life as to the degree to which you know one another. Your spouse. Your parents/children. Your friends. Ask God for the courage to share your heart with those that you can trust.

from Linda

Linda lost her mom to cancer about a week ago. She has been on our hearts and in our prayers. A number of people have spent time with Linda and her family offering support. The family was showered with flowers, so after the funeral service Linda brough over flowers and this kind note.

Loneliness 3: I don’t deserve this

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Loneliness is common, let's get that straight. It is not a special problem for the pitiful few, it shows no partiality or favors when it considers whom to haunt. But does anyone really deserve to be lonely? Dan Haseltine the lead singer for Jars of Clay offered an interesting view in a recent article on relationships. He wrote:

What we deserve is to be lonely, what we deserve is to be isolated from the one who loves us better thatn anyone else. What we deserve is to never be pushed forward, to never deepen in our wisdom and experience of love and community. What we deserve is to die a dark and disconnected fate. And if we are going to apply the rules of culture today, the only one to blame for not getting what we deserve is Jesus. (Relevant Magazine, July_August 2005, Longevity, Dan Haseltine, p. 50.)

Did you get that? If not read it again. Let's be honest, we are naturally like Adam. And for that rebellion we deserve loneliness, relating to God and others. And God's judgment was separation from Him, at Eden, and from one another, at Babel. Yet despite our deserved separation, God through Christ has extended his hand towards us. By sacrificing his Son, He has paved the way across the chasm of separation. God's act of redemption, restores us from our lonely state caused by our sinfulness, so that we can live in true companionship with our creator and with others. That is reconciliation. God through Jesus, reconciling us to himself and then empowering us to reconcile with each other. Loneliness at its root is a spiritual problem brought on by our sin.

Do you feel entitled to certain things (friends, a spouse, respect from others) because you think you are good? Reconsider what you truly deserve and how Jesus has given you the opposite.

Loneliness 2: Is it just me?

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin. Hebrew 4:14

When I was a kid I got hit in the face with a baseball bat and lost my top left tooth and chipped a few others. I happened to be in the wrong place when a little league teammate of mine was in the "on deck" circle getting ready for his at bat. It was obviously an impressionable experience for me. When I returned from thhospitalol my dad gave me something to tell me how proud he was of me. It was a button with a picture of "hero" sandwich on it and the letters HERO across the top. I felt special and unique in a really good way, thanks to my dad's encouragement. But sometimes I feel that same sort of special and unique in bad ways. I feel like I uniquely deal with certain moral, spiritual or relational struggles in ways that others wouldn't or couldn't identify.

It can be that way with loneliness can't it? We feel all alone in our loneliness. Some wives say, no one could ever understand how emotionally separated my husband and I are. Others say I'm so socially awkward that I will never have a true friendship. Some kids say, my relationship with my parents is so distant that no one wounderstandndertsand. And these pent-up feelings lead to emotional turmoil in the simplest form and depression or suicide in more extreme cases. Some feel that no one could be as isolated or separated or alone as they are. They feel alone in their loneliness.

But thanks to Christ, I know that such thoughts are not true. Christ himself in his humanity experienced loneliness, forsakenness, betrayal and worse. And Scripture tells us that, “no temptation has seized [us] except what is common to man (1 Cor 10:13)." So others feel the same way. Loneliness, separation, and isolation bring deep feelings of pain, but we aren't alone in dealing with these feelings.

Do you struggle with loneliness? Find comfort in sharing your feelings with Christ, who understands. Pray that God would allow you to connect with othempathize empathisize with you.

Loneliness 1: The Soul of the Matter

We recently did a freedom from Fear Series at our Church. I wrote these devotionals for the Fear of Loneliness. They seem to fit with our current study of Community, so I will republish all six.
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So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

I'm not sure that we fear loneliness, as in being afraid of this beast calls loneliness but I think we feel lonely. The difference may be small but I think there is a difference. I guess I don't think loneliness strikes fear in people, especially in America where we value our independence. But I do think that everyone feels the nagging pain of loneliness.... some more than others.

Before dealing with the concept of loneliness we must define what we are talking about. Ed Young, Jr. in his book "Know Fear" suggests it is "being without true companionship." It is not a feeling based upon what we have but its focus is upon what we do not have. The struggle with loneliness is a feeling of isolation or separation. It is the sense that something is absent. It is like the hole in the centerfavorite favority donut, you can stick your finger through it because it is not there. It is the feeling that comes when one pines for a spouse or is grieving their loss. Or it is the feeling when one longs for a true friend or moves 1000 miles away from their best one.

Just this week, I spoke with two girls who sense this loss. One moved into town 5 months ago, and is still struggling to find a church. She shared that one of the biggest things missing in her life is friends. Another girl lost her mother to cancer just this past week. She was very close to her mom and the pain of losing her hurts.

Why does this lack of "true companionship" in our lives bother us so much? Because at the core of our being we were designed for intimate companionship. We were designed in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). God himself is one being in three persons. So God in his oneness is also threeness, we call this the doctrine of the trinity. The Godhead is self-sufficient apart from relationship with mankind because he exists in an intra-trinitarian loving relationship. So as image-bearers of God all mankind is designed for relationship or should we say "true companionship." So when we lack that, the ache is in the depth of our being. We know that something is not well with our soul.

This week we will consider what part loneliness plays in your life and relationships. Ask God to open your eyes to the ways in which feelings of loneliness are present in your life.

Koinonia

Last night we started a 4-week Bible Study on Growing in Community. I suggested that one of the key components of the early church was the concept of koinonia. Acts 2:42 describes how the earliest Christians spent their time. "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

Darrell Guder suggests in the book Missional Church says this about koinonia.

"It is the communal reality of holy living, mutual support, and sacrificial service. Challenging the old competitive order of independence, self-interest, and private privilege. Christian community indicates a new collaborative order of interdependence, shared responsibility, mutual instruction and commonality (koinos)."

We as the church should be a new community of people not formed solely by human intentions or efforts but knit together by the Holy Spirit. If we are truly to embody koinonia we must not "conform any long to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (our) mind(s)" (Rom 12:2). We must remember that "the old has passed away, the new has come" (1 Cor 5:17).

Such a community of people will not be the result of purely natural effort, because we will get sick of one another. It is only possible through the supernatural work of God in Christ through His Spirit.

Are you sitting or standing?

The 17th has come and gone, but I hope that the ripples of standFIRM are stirring into waves. How encouraging was it see nearly 70 young adults gather for a time of teaching, praise and discussion. The room seemed to grow in its level of intimacy as the night wore on.

Dr. David Hoffeditz, Bible & Greek Teacher at Cedarville University and author of "They were Single Too", delivered a stirring challenge to those in attendance. He was pretty honest when he identified that we all face obstacles to standing firm in the Lord. And this led to his concern that the challenges of life lead can lead us to bitterness or blurred vision about life.

So he suggested three simple ways to overcoming the obstacles which can keep us from standing firm in the Lord: (1) Rest in the Lord - Find comfort and peace in Him in the midst of life's trails. (2) Seek to Serve - When we serve Him by serving others we don't have as much time to worry about our own circumstances. (3) Praise the Lord - Even when everything in life says we shouldn't.

Thanks David, those are good words. Keep an eye on the site, the pictures are coming soon.

Are you PASSION-ate?

The last month has been a bit of a whirl of experiences: the holidays, family, ministry, travel. So I'm finally getting back to the blog after a hiatus. One of the most stirring experiences was traveling with my wife and merry bunch of college students (Gabe, Matt, Tim, Ray plus Allie) to the Passion Conference in Nashville, TN. Here they are











































We joined 18,000 college students and ministry leaders from around the country for 3 days of teaching, worship, praying and discussion. The music was loud, inspiring and just plain fun. We were led in worship by David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall and Matt Redman. I'm not much of a concert guy, so I really enjoyed the engaging production. Could this be church? I'm not sure I'm ready for light shows and smoke machines, but a stadium full of people singing at the top of their lunch, hands raised singing songs of devotion to Christ. The word that I have found myself using to describe the worship is FREE. It may sound a bit charismatic, but the environment invited response and with the use of silence I sensed that I had time to allow the Spirit to work through the areas of my life that needed repentance or confession. I was not just singing songs or showing off, I had been invited to respond to God, whether singing or silent. And in the end I felt a spiritual rejuvenation. Like a small dry sponge that just been washed over by a bucket of fresh water and now was drippingly saturated.














There was a lot of excitement and knee-slapping, but to balance that out the conference hosted a top-notch line of speakers. Louie Giglio, Beth Moore and John Piper. The teaching has had my mind spinning. I've regained an appetite for the Scriptures, for memorization and to wrestle with the goodness of the Gospel.

The sessions from John Piper have gripped my attention.

In his first session his theme was: the glory of the Grace of God was maximally displayed in the suffering of the Son. Before the foundations of the world, God determined that his Son would be humiliated and slaughtered so that those who far-off could be brought near and become His children. That is Grace. According to Piper this Grace, the giving of what was not deserved (righteousness) to those who do not deserve it (wicked man), is most abundant in the undeserved yet willing suffering of the Son (the innocent one). Wow!

Then in session two Piper turned the conference on its head by inviting us into join in making God great. He said: Since the glory of the Grace of God is maximally displayed by the suffering of the Son, will you join the Son in maximally glorifying the Grace of God by willingly suffering on behalf of this gospel of grace. The invitation was to walk away from valuing prestige, position, comfort even coolness to be poured out even to the point of suffering for the glorification of the grace of God through Christ.

"but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation." 1 Peter 4:13

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." Colossians 1:24

After three busy days, all we had the energy for was....














It was a blast and one h%$? of a way to start off the new year. For more pictures go to the Passion'06 on the PICS tab at www.seven27.org. And consider joining us for Passion'07 in Atlanta, Jan 1-4.