Holiday Blues

As most of you know, I grew up in a different culture than where I currently reside. One unintended side effect of such an upbringing is that I often found myself observing holidays or celebrating holidays that were not mutual. 

People there have several holidays that we don't and we have a few they don't. We don't have a while month full of different independance days and flag day, while they don't have Thanksgiving.

We celebrate birthdays differently, we celebrate Christmas differently.  And I can remember the first year we had a Halloween contingent, when a crowd of kids showed up at our door one night chanting "triky, triky, Haloeen" we didn't plant for it but we learned to have popcorn on hand October 31st, so we could make a quick treat if people came by to celebrate one of "our" holidays.

Now I live in rural Ohio, in a majority Catholic community. Here Christmas is literally sacred for many, and Haloween is questionable, but the biggest festival of the year, the unquestioned event on every calendar is The Great Darke County Fair. Businesses close their doors, and school is delayed till after the fair.  We start school here almost three weeks later than the rest of the state, because of the fair.

Holidays are now a war zone in our culture.  Should I say "Merry Christmas" I would be in trouble at school for trying to force my religion down someone's throat.  Question the premise of Haloween, and you are liable to hear people call you a kill joy. 

I find myself asking questions of our understanding and practice of holidays in general. I grew up that way. Why do we do this? What does it mean? Is it contrary to the Gospel? Can it be used as a bridge to the Gospel? Where does it come from.

We just got through Haloween, or in modern English The day before All Saints Day. The holiday is in my opinion a classic syncretism of pagan, ancestor and spirit worship with Catholic tradition. All saints day is when they remember all the saints who have died. There is a special mass and lots of visiting of graves. And interestingly it is in the same season as many pagan religions celebrations of the spirits and the dead. That is true all around the world, the dates vary, but the day of the dead, or the day when spirits wander loose looking for the living, is a fairly common theme. In the fall of the year. Whether it is candles, candy sculls, disguises, or carved turnips or pumpkins the spirits are loose, and people must take precautions.

And such practices do not point to the gospel. I would say it might present an opportunity to present the gospel, but I am not sure most people have any idea what it means.  Candy? Greed and gluttony?

This is followed by the very American celebration of Thanksgiving, which while it sounds like a Biblical concept, has degenerated into Glutony, violent games in the coliseum, and a day of intemperate expenditures.  Whatever we may be thankfull for, and to whom is secondary what actually happens is overheating football, and Black Friday.

We might be able to bring this one back to the Gospel, but we would have to awaken from our turkey coma, and step away from the screen. And I'm not sure how likely that is.

And then there is Christmass, the mythical most wonderful day of the year. Named for the Catholic mass that is celebrated that day, it also coincides with several ancient "birth of the gods" celebrations. And ironically most serious Bible scholars would scoff as anyone who actually beloved it is even remotely related to the day Christ was born. And while the giving if gifts is supposed to emulate God's gift of his son, right now public displays of mangers and babies are virtually illegal in some places and the main face on the holiday is the patron saint of hypocracy, Nicolas of the North Pole who comforts thousands of children and adults in the lie that they were actually good enough this year, because no one ever deserves an empty tree at Christmas.

Ironically many Protestants are trying to keep the Christ in Christmas having never been to a mass in their lives, and having no clue that it has no historic or biblical connection to the birth if Christ.

I'll skip over to the one that strikes me as the most odd, Easter.  Named for the pagan goddess of fertility Ishtar, or more familiar to our ears Ashtoreth. It's main sybolism is eggs and Bunny rabbits, even though it is supposedly based in the celebration of Christ's resurrection, which  although it happened on a Sunday was conected to a set of Jewish holidays, which we conviniently ignore, instead fixing the date arbitrarily, also according to Catholic tradition.

Easter may seem like the quintessential Christian holiday, but even it's name is pagan, one we are not supposed it even mention: 

"Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips. - Exodus 23:13

Where do these questions lead to? I am not sure. I think we need to learn to question everything and retain the good. We need to be on a constant lookout for ways to share the gospel, and we need to be very carefull to distinguish between tradition, and biblical truth.

How much of our theology, is based in passed traditions, inherited through syncretism of pagan and Catholic traditions, which may or may not have a useful way to get to the Gospel? 

And how much time do we spend defending traditions and holidays that are not in the Bible, and are shaped more by various cultural histories than sound theology?

My grass and my devotions have the same basic problems

I had not mowed my grass in about a month. There had been minimal rain so it wasn't quite a jungle, but it was tall and gone to seed. 

Part of the reason is that the past month was crammed full of events, extra days with chaplaincy, extra events with church, an advisory meeting at Cedarville, and the regular litany of Sunday events, church books and bible studies. Plus a couple of sick days. 

I haven't had a good focused Biblestudy in about a month. My life hasn't fallen apart in a jungle of temptation, but things are starting to get a little unkempt, and the clarity of focus I starting to get a lot of competing ideas.

The reasons are about the same.

Today it took about three passes to get the grass under control, and obviously that took an extra long time. Even once done it looked a bit rough, the reason for that has to do with one blade on the mower being dull.

Coming back to scripture and focused prayer after a hiatus the results are a bit rough around the edges. The reason being that the mind stays sharp and the spirit keen, through regular use.

All that said, I mowed the grass today with the single biggest reason that both the grass, and my personal studies are a bit rough. My boys took turns riding on the mower with me today, all day long. That means extra stops and instructions on safety. And once or twice a stick got in the way of the steeringwheel making a sharp turn. But you know, it will do.

I read the Bible every night with my boys. It certainly isn't quite as "deep" when Silas is rolling on the floor, and you can't make it very far when they are tired, sleepy and wanting a drink. But it will do.

One day the boys will mow the lawn on their own, and if I do it right now, they will know a thing or two about gasoline, oil, batteries and safety, and then maybe I will have an extra two hours to study deeply, maybe. 

 One day I also hope that my boys will be studying the Bible on their own, and if I do my job right now, they will have the basic framework of the gospel, and the history of the Bible. While I check on how sharp the mower blade is, maybe.

It is realy tempting to wish for advantages  that belong to another stage in life. Covetousness spring eternal. 

But for now, my boys and I have matching sunburns, and They know Psalm 19:1 from memory. Who cares if the grass looks great, or what the Greek participle looks like?

Plethoricational

People ask me some times if I am bi-vocational and I have to laugh. There are oportunities all around, let me tell you about a few of them in my world

School started again, and they are badly short of good substitutes- lots if opportunity. 

We have started a parent training program. There are hundreds if parents at a loss for how to help their kids survive, -potentially life changing opportunity.

My parents have discovered several untapped resources in Honduras and are helping the people there to develop and export those resources- multi level impact in several countries. 

There is an openness to talk about the ultimate things in life during a crisis -I am surrounded by people in crisis.

The thing about opportunity is that they take effort and attention to respond to, and that can be difficult. The parenting program has caused us to totally rework the schedule for our Sunday evenings.

Subbing requires a lot if time and the flexibility to always be picking up the pieces of someone else's plan.

Responding to life crisis requires a kind if availability that interrupts family activities and sleep habits.

And the natural resources from Honduras? They have me planing on investing some of our savings and spending time in an attorney's office. Setting up a corporation so I can sell soapberries.  (Checkout soapberryharvest.com for more on that)

All of it is change, requires sacrifice and effort.  At the same time I still preach Sundays, commute to chaplaincy work several days a month, hold regular discipleship meetings and have regular devotions with my kids at home.

I remember when I was in college a friend of mine remarked that I had more things going in at once than anyone else they had ever met. I guess not much has changed. 

The thing I need you prayers on is that at some point you reach the limit of effectiveness. I am flirting with that edge. I need wisdom to know how many subing jobs to take, and how to structure a buisness plan, complete the continuing education requirements for the chaplaincy, build a strong discipleship emphasis in a small local church, develop a relationship with my kids and find time to talk with my wife.

So in this time I appreciate very much your prayers. For wisdom endurance and focus. It is more than I can do, but it is not merely my ability that counts. 

"Put it out there"

"Put it out there." 

That was Tabitha's advice last night. 

So I am going to ask for your prayers, and input on an oportunity.  As many of you know my parents have worked for years in developing a healthy work ethic, and a vision for the opportunities around  people in Honduras.

As a part of that effort they have for the past few years been working with soapberries. For those who do not know they are basically a natural soap that grows on trees. Soap berries have four known major applications: they are used for personal hygiene and cosmetics, household cleaning, commercially they are used as natural surfactants and they have several uses as insect inhibitors. For more information head over to www.soapberryharvest.com.

Or Wikipedia for a brief overview  ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus )

My parents are now in a position to export a large quantity and need somone to be a U.S. distributor. 

We are seriously considering the possibility. We would need to find money for startup costs, and get a small buisness organized, licensed and operating. There are a number of good things that could come of this, but at the same time there are a large number of hurdles. 

I'm curious as to what input you would have? Or investment capital? Or experience in sales? Or wisdom about how to go about this?

I would especially appreciate your prayers as we work through some of these details, and figure out what our options are.

Please remember that the reply function in the email is not working properly so if you have a comment please send it directly to: disciplemaker.28.1920@gmail.com

Big day

Monday the 17th will be a big day as we attempt to bring together a large number of people from all across the county, for a special training event. We have representatives of a number of diferent institutions, some of whom are often at odds with one another, all gathered together for a common purpose. 

I would greatly appreciate your prayers for us as we host this event which will be a first first for us, and an opportunity to build bridges and develop relationships which may develop into opportunities for many many good things in the future.

-just a quick note, I have a link that is broken, so if you reply to this with the regular links it will not get to me. Please reply to: disciplemaker.28.1920@gmail.com

Rest.

I have been thinking about rest. Rest is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do in our modern, connected, wireless, cell phone, portable, computer, tablet, tv, 24 hr news, and entertainment world.

And yet rest -that is what Sabbath means- is a biblical imperative. It is part of the Ten Commandments. It is practiced by Jesus. "Entering God's rest" is referred to as the fulfillment of God's promises, and a fundamental expression of faith. And it is for our benefit.

Leave aside the argument about the day of the week for a moment, and just think about how hard it is to rest. Rest you mind, rest your burdens, rest your body,cease from working, stop trying, quit thinking about it, and trust God. That is what rest implies. 

Think about food on a day of real rest.

In the ancient world without microwaves and without refrigerators, the people of Israel were commanded to enter into a rest so complete that they only ate cold leftovers on Saturday.  For all if you who have looked at old food through a microscope that would indeed be an act of faith. 

But that way Mom didn't have to cook, she got to rest.

Imagine for a moment a farmer with all the modern conveniences: air conditioned, gps guided, computer grid-mapped tractor, that can plow and plant more in one day than an ancient farmer could do in a year. Quiting at 5 on Friday, and not going back to harvest or plant, till Sunday morning. I know it does happen, but it is an act if faith. Planting and harvesting don't wait, just for a down day. But that is how you actually rest.

If you practice the principle of rest on Sunday - no more Sunday dinners, no more eating out, rest was required of the foreigners, servants and slaves too, just cold leftovers.  No more checking your email on the weekend, no more mowing the lawn on Sunday, no more trips to the fair, theater, air show, concert or sporting event or hunting on the day of rest because the pattern was to stay home,  and rest. No getting caught up on laundry, just resting one day a week.

Rest would require planning ahead. ("Let's see, what tastes good cold, that I can get ready for my day of rest?") Rest would require self-control, not checking your phone, not answering that email. And rest would require being mindfull of your thoughts, to focus on trusting God for the projects at work.

God rested, Jesus rested, the apostles rested. Even in his travels, Paul only went to find the synagogue or prayer meeting on the Sabbath.

For the past two years, I have tried to not do any work related to the church on a day of rest. This is not a hard rule, just a pattern, if there is an emergency, or an exceptional event ok, the rest is for my benefit any way.

As a pastor, I am tempted, to go talk to someone, make a phone call, study for a sermon, or prepare for an event. It is really hard to rest! But a failure to have a pattern of rest says more about my faith in God, than my need for rest.

To not rest- is to admit that God may not get the job done without my help. To not rest, is to put my comfort or pleasure, or manicured lawn above God's instructions. To not rest- is to say that Gods commandments are optional for me, making me the judge.

I am not very successful in my work of striving to rest. Sometimes because I don't plan for it, sometimes because I don't want it. Sometimes because I simply choose to ignore it.

Again, I am not bent out of shape by the details. I am simply interested in the basic pattern of rest. Suprises, emergencies, extra ordinary opportunities, or extended orders, are fine- once in a while. The day is for my benefit after all, not my detailed critical hairsplitting. 

But even that is hard. Even with that generously flexible understanding, my heart is hard, and full of doubt rather than faith in the God of the universe.

Most Christians are tired, most pastors missionaries and church planters are struggling, life is hard, ministry is draining. Most Americans play as hard or harder than they work. And we wonder that depression Stress and fatigue are common. 

God gave us a pattern. Even an imperfect following of that pattern would rest our weary souls, not to mention our weary bodies. After all, it is for our benefit.

Roots must be watered

This week I had an opportunity to visit with family. That is a rare occurrence in my world. We got to talking about the subject of being TCK  (third culture kids). Apparently the fact that I grew up in a tossed salad of cultures, languages and geographies gives me a particular set of likely issues. 

One common area is that of dealing early and often with saying goodbye.  We all do that in our own unique ways, and for me the easiest way to deal with it has been to make the effort to not live in the past, or another location or relationship, but to attempt to be fully present in the moment  and with the people where I am.

This has been a gift, but as I reflected on it, I also realized that it has had the unintended effect of cutting me off unnecessarily from the people in my past. Most people loose track of classmates, neighbors and coworkers after a few years and a few moves. But in today's world that doesn't need to be the case.

Ironically, people in prior generations were often better connected that I seem to be. We have the records of letters sent by mule team, covered wagon, and ships, often taking months to reach their destination. And in them people took the time to share the deep things, along with the mundane. I live in a world where I can write this blog post on my phone and it will automatically be another random update cluttering the inboxes of a few dozen people I have not physically seen, some of them in years.  All of you people who have influence, and have shaped

my life in one way or another.

We have a whole set of letters in the New Testament. Some of them replies to letters from others. Peter, John, James and  Paul took the time to connect deeply with people not just in the abstract of prayer, but in letters and thought, even though they were not physically  present.  They valued the people from the past as well as the present, those distant as well as those present.

Part if the reason I don't write often is that I'm an very present in my location. Be that the church the community or the chaplaincy.  That is good.  But it is no excuse for not keeping you close as well. Don't expect a pony express delivery, but I do appreciate your role in my life, and am going to try to be more consistent in communicating.