You Will Suffer

My best friend on the planet was telling me about this video of John Piper speaking to college leaders at a conference. From the sound of it, it probably took place around Easter.

A few years back, I was able to represent the state of WV as well as Great Commission Ministries at a nationwide Passion Conference in Sherman, TX. During the conference, not only did I hear John Piper speak, but I was able to acquire a free copy of his book, Don't Waste Your Life. I highly recommend reading it if you get an opportunity.

I listened to this video early this morning, and found it to be a good aid to focusing on what it means to be a Christian, to be one who has been transformed by the power of the cross and of the resurrection. It doesn't mean that things will be easy for us. As my friend Jerry Haynes put it, it means that "God is with us, that He hides Himself, and that He is faithful." Even in suffering, God has a plan. He had a plan for Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery. He had a plan for Daniel when he was placed in a den of lions. He had a plan for Paul when he was beaten severely multiple times and placed in prison.

And you know what else? He's got a plan for you. It may not make sense. It very likely will involve some difficult times. But sense will be made one day. And as God walks through the difficulty with you, there is an eternal weight of glory that we can not even begin to comprehend in this life.

I hope this message on suffering can encourage you in perseverance of faith. And whatever you are going through, remember that God is with you (even when the way seems dark and desolate!)

Be Hope To Her

This spring, Nuru International is launching a nationwide awareness campaign focused on college campuses. The event is an attempt to experientially raise awareness about the issue of clean drinking water that over one billion people are challenged with each day. In the states we get our water from a tap, flush it down our toilets, and buy it by the bottle.

In other parts of the world, people hike 30 minutes or more (one way) to get five gallons of water for their family. This trip has to be made multiple times per day. In order to get that water, people have to give up a lot of time to dedicate to water access. Even when the water is acquired though, oftentimes it is filled with bacteria, and is not safe to drink. So the water needs to be boiled. If the water isn't boiled, then people get diarrhea, or have other health problems. This means that their daily routine is slowed down severely at best. In some cases, because of lack of convenient access to medical facilities, this can result in death (an 2.2million million children will die from diarrhea this year). When you have to spend hours each day getting water, and boiling water, there isn't much time for schoolwork, so many young girls don't get to complete school because they are taking care of getting water for their families.

Next Thursday, eleven major college campuses across the United States are participating in an event called Be Hope To Her. Women will gather at a central place on campus, and carry yellow five gallon buckets to a water source where they will fill and carry in solidarity with the women and girls in other parts of the world for whom this is a daily part of life. As the women walk, men will hold posters along the route that explain the fact that this walk is THE NORM for many, many people. Every day. Because water is a necessity.

I've heard people say that it would take $13 billion dollars to provide every person in the world access to safe clean drinking water. That's a lot of money. It's also the same amount that americans spend on cologne and perfume each year.

As I think about the event, and the inner strength of these women and girls who make this journey every day for themselves and their families, I'm excited. I'm excited because I believe this event will help inspire a generation to work creatively and collaboratively to confront the crisis. Not just the crisis of clean drinking water, but the larger crisis of extreme poverty.

If you wouldn't mind, if you have a blog, or you twitter, or you use facebook, will you help us to make the event even BIGGER by telling your friends, and posting a link to http://bhope2her.org and http://www.nuruinternational.org to be part of lasting change?

Be the change you want to see.

Be hope. Be light.

Be Nuru.

Fee and Hillsong London

Tonight at Crc I attended a concert with Jerry Haynes and Jamie
Reaser. Concerts at Crc are pretty busy days for the staff but often
it ends up being a mini reunion as well. I've run into old roommates,
friends from my undergrad days at WVU, and people from the community
whom I haven't seen for a long time.
There's something cool about music that brings people together.
There's something cool about reuniting with old friends who share a
common tie. What's cooler than that is to share big dreams together.
Are you dreaming big with friends and with your Creator?
Dream big. Change the world. Love others. Love God.

Water Girls

Water Girls, originally uploaded by Nuru International.

Over the lenten season, I attempted cut down my purchases of beverages and keep an accurate budget of what I spent during the course of the lenten season on beverages. It was kind of shocking to see how the total came out. I tried to keep track of times that people offered me other drinks (whether it was me or them, somebody had to make the purchase).

As a result, I realized that on average, I probably would have spent about $3/day on beverages. A cup of coffee here, and a soda there, and some juice at this spot all kind of add up. Of course there were days when I probably wouldn't have bought anything, but I think I realized over the course of time that I take for granted that I have all of these choices.

In the end, the amount I donated was a combination of what I would have spent combined with the amount I actually did spend on occasion (there were a few times I downed a coke, a coffee, or a vitamin water), and a little bit on top just to round everything out.

It's been an eye opening time with regard to the access to a variety of beverages and even more so to the availability of clean drinking water at my disposal.

If you get a chance, check out this website, and perhaps take stock of the simple pleasures like water that we all take for granted.

And, if you are so inclined, I encourage you to give to Nuru as well. It's a great organization, and they are planning to drill four deep water wells during the month of May for the 5000 people of Kuria, Kenya.

Will you join me in helping to bring lasting change to the people of Kuria?

The End of Christian America?

That image is of the oldest church in the city of Amsterdam. It's called Oude Kerk. Outside the church is a monument to a prostitute. There are still services at the church on sunday I believe, but not many attend. Actually the main function of the church is as a museum. For six dollars, you can walk through this large and beautiful old building and see some amazing architecture, stained glass windows, and murals on the ceiling.

The oldest church in Amsterdam is functionally a museum. To me it is hard to believe that the huge structure that was built in 1280 AD serves better as a link to history than as a gathering place for those who have been radically changed by faith in Jesus.

All around the church, there are sex shops, hash-marijuana bars, and most shockingly, windows.

These windows aren't just any kind of window. The windows are outlined in red lights. Behind the windows, prostitutes stand. Many of these prostitutes are trafficked to be in those windows, so instead of prostitutes a better understanding is that they are slaves. Just outside the doors of a church there is slavery and prostitution. There are drug addicts and dealers. In some ways it seems like a perfect location for a church. But in other ways, it seems very indicting that the church has very little influence in the community directly around it.

This week, Newsweek had an article called The End of Christian America. If you read the article, you'll find no mention of prostitution or slavery, you'll just see that the church in America has a steadily declining influence, as well as a steadily declining percentage of the population who claim any affiliation.

The reasons for the decline are many and the article doesn't really generate many in it's four pages but instead points to this being a good thing. Because I believe that Jesus, and His church are the hope of the entire world, I have to say that I disagree. The author points out that people aren't becoming less religious, because religious devotion of some type has always been a part of society--even if it is a religious devotion to atheism, or agnosicism, or our own personal Gods. And if the truth be told, there has never truly been a "Christian America" although some would like to think so. Regardless, the level of influence that the Christian faith is demonstrating in America is in a marked decline.

People aren't becoming less religious, but they are becoming more individualistic. I believe that part of the reason for the departure is that Christians seem to know a lot about God and love, but often times we fail to be tangible demonstrations of that love. This is what I believe to be the foremost indictment against many who call upon the name of Jesus in America.

We have an unprecedented opportunity to stem the tide, but it might require a change of lifestyle and habit for many. By stemming the tide, I don't mean the creation of a "Christian America" as much as I mean an America where Christians, wherever they are exert a transforming influence on their communities for the better. The transforming influence of Christianity always starts, ends, and is sustained by love. Yesterday, we celebrated Easter, and we saw that love can get you into a lot of trouble with the powers that be, but love is always the best way, and in the end it is victorious.

May you examine your own heart and life, and begin to ask for strength to make the changes in your life that need to happen so the Church can be a better sign of the Beautiful Kingdom of Jesus.

Easter He Is Risen

I took the above photo in Sint Nicolaskerk in Amsterdam a few weeks ago while in the city on a service trip for another local church.

Yesterday, Christians all over the world celebrated the resurrection of the Messiah Jesus. At the very least, there were more people in churches yesterday than virtually any other day of the year. And yet, much like the prior two days it just doesn't seem that there was a whole lot of significance being placed on the event being celebrated. For many, Easter can feel like just another day for family dinners and an opportunity to wear some new clothes to church. In some churches, the big question is how good will the Easter performance be.

Don't get me wrong, Easter is a great time for family. I enjoyed being able to connect with quite a few families yesterday, and there's something special and sweet about seeing the generations come together--it just doesn't happen much any more in the States.

Also, I think that Easter worship gatherings should be extra special too, they should stand apart from any other gathering. If people aren't able to be in a church very often through the year, the celebration at Easter should be huge and beyond anything they could imagine.

When I think about the significance of the day, it kind of makes me wonder why we don't have the day end with fireworks or something like that. What if Easter was just this huge blowout party, and it just continued all day long? What if somehow we could in the middle of a day long celebration manage to keep Christ central to our conversations? What would that be like?

Easter feels like there should be a space for reflection as well. Somehow, in the middle of the celebration, there should be moments of quiet (maybe that's what Friday and Saturday are for?) for folks to consider the significance of the events of these three historic days.

Sometimes I kind of feel guilty because my mind can seem to wander from the significance of the day so quickly. I wonder if I'm alone in this feeling?

I don't know what it will look like, but I'm hoping next year's Easter weekend will be different for me. I have a distinct feeling that I will be compelled to say no to a lot in order to say yes to this kind of celebration and reflection.

Regardless of my scattered feelings, this day represents the single most important event in human history. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and buried, and He rose again to declare his defeat of evil, sin, and death. His resurrection gives proof and validity to the words and actions that led to his crucifixion. He is the God-man, and His victory over sin enables us to have restored fellowship with God. As the Gospel of John states, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Everlasting life--now that's something to REALLY CELEBRATE!!!

Longest Day

The above photo was taken of a church near Red House, MD about two years ago.

As I've had opportunity, I've been trying to do a little reflecting on the triduum, the three days at the end of the lenten season. It all starts with Maundy Thursday, then Good Friday, then ends with Holy Saturday.

But let's just set aside the tradition for just a minute and reflect and remember the original period. What would it have been like? What would it have been like to be spending an evening with your Friend who was just asking you to stay awake and pray for just a little while, but you kept falling asleep. WHat would it have been like to be awoken by the roman guard coming in to take away your Friend, the One you believed was the Messiah? If you were daring enough to follow his captivity and trial from a distance, you would witness him taking a beating unlike any you had ever seen after a middle of the night trial.

I can barely picture what this would have been like to the early disciple and witness all of that. But it didn't stop there. I mean, they probably saw Jesus crucified. Now when we watch passion plays or even the movie, we don't get the full effect. He was beaten beyond recognition. He was naked. He was probably gurgling and gasping for air in pained moves. The flesh was torn from much of His body, and He had lost massive amounts of blood. Even before the trial and beating, He had sweat blood from His pores.

So you look upon your Messiah, realizing you are unable to do anything to stop this injustice. Nobody deserves to die like this. You might even wonder if there was something you might have done that could have prevented it. It's the way we always wonder about loss of a loved one when we realize our time is short with them. You look up at the cross and see your Rabbi Jesus breathe his last. (That's if you can stand the sight of this kind of suffering). As He breathes His last, your sadness grows greater. The Sabbath is fast approaching.

Of course no one can walk a long distance on the sabbath. So begins the longest day. Jesus has been crucified under Pontius Pilate, and you can not go to visit the tomb until Sunday morning. So you go to the temple just like any other devout Jewish person. You weep. You morn for the loss of your dear Friend. But the day seems sooooo long. You gather with friends, and maybe share some stories of favorite moments with Jesus.

It just doesn't seem real. Just a few days ago, you were celebrating as He rode into town--on a donkey. Everyone thought He was the One. The crowds cheered as He rode in on that Donkey.

Maybe one day, in the resurrection, you might see Him again, but your Friend is in a tomb.

For now, it is the Sabbath. It's time to sit and wait. Maybe tomorrow will offer you an opportunity to pay last respects. Maybe then you can go and visit the tomb. It's too far to travel on a sabbath. The sun may be shining today, but it's clouds, tears, and dismal darkness in your mind.

It's hard to imagine the loss those first disciples felt. They didn't know what was coming on Sunday.

And sometimes, I have to wonder if we can really grasp what was coming on Sunday either.

Good Friday

While trying to write this entry, my phone has rung a few times, I've received a half-dozen emails, and I've been involved in three conversations. SO if it feels a little disjointed, there may be a reason for it.

Yesterday was Good Friday. Among other things, I spent yesterday responding to phone calls and emails, driving across the state, running errands, and even spent a little time connecting with friends.

Seems kind of weird really. Maybe I'm the only person on the planet that feels this way, but it just seems like life is incredibly fast -paced and busy. Too busy.

When I was a little kid, I used to love looking forward to Easter weekend because it meant a day off, lots of candy and goodies, and fun time with friends. And to be honest, much of my life as an adult has been spent this way as well.

Usually Good Friday is spent running around and catching up on shopping, taking care of little purchases that there is rarely time for during the week, and things like that.

Yesterday, as my best friend Willie and I drove around Parkersburg, WV in the afternoon, we were amazed at the massive numbers of people driving around Parkersburg, WV in the afternoon. It seems kind of strange that on the day that Christians have historically taken time for extreme fasting, prayer, and reflection upon the brutal substitutionary atonement death of Jesus of Nazareth that people would be out and about so much.

Seems like something is missing and feels a little hollow with such a hustle and bustle going on. And as I am writing, I feel like I am confronting my own disjointedness and lack of rhythm when it comes to the sacredness of a day like Good Friday.

I started off the day well. Read a devotional with Jamie as we drove to drop her off at her parents house. Spent the next hour in the car reflecting on the fact that Christ died, and then I connected with Dad, Becky, Ray, Willie, and Emmalee.

I have a friend named Mona whose family spends the time from Sundown on Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday), to Easter morning fasting and in extended times of prayer. Life get's much simpler for them and they end their fast with a HUGE feast to celebrate our resurrected Lord.

I don't know about you, but I feel a bit disconnected from that kind of seasonal rhythm and reminder both of the Messiah's great suffering, and His Great victory.

It's not too late though. May you find some time to worship and reflect on the great sadness and the great joy that have historically been part of the Easter season. Let's not forget that our sins cost deeply, and that our Savior rose victorious.

Be Hope To Her

Be Hope to Her from Nuru International on Vimeo.

Go ahead and hit that play button above, after you read this blog entry.

In just two weeks, Nuru is launching it's largest grassroots event to date. It's called Be Hope To her, or BH2O+ for short. The event will feature women from 10 college campuses in different parts of the country walking in solidarity with women and young girls in the developing world. Campuses like Boston College, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Ball State University, and good ol' WVU are part of this historic event.

Essentially, here is the issue at hand. There are over one billion people who don't have access to clean drinking water. What this means is that women and girls spend much of their days walking long distances and often standing in line to gain access to a water source. Keep in mind that water is necessary for life (just in case you didn't realize this). Because they spend their days walking to get water for their families, often young women never get an education in these areas. Nuru wants to change that.

Nuru wants to give these women hope and opportunity. And women on college campuses are going to be part of that hope. Nearly 300 people have signed up for the event already, and we still have two weeks before the event takes place. Imagine what a stir will take place as women walk from their dorms and apartments with buckets on their heads, meet in the center of campus, make their way to a water source and walk through the campus in solidarity with each other, and with women and girls around the world.

At the same time as the event, Nuru is raising funds for our deep water wells to be drilled next to schools in Kuria, Kenya. Drilling wells next to the school gives extra incentive for students to go to school and then they can take water home with them at the end of the school day. These wells are not cheap. Another organization, Dry Tears has agreed to raise funds for one of these wells. They are raising $20,000 to bring clean drinking water to the people of Kuria, Kenya. BTW did I mention that Dry Tears was started by HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS?


I'm blogging about this today because I'm totally stoked about this event! I'm blogging because there is still time for you to register for the event, or even make a contribution to Nuru. I'm blogging about this event because YOU AND I have an opportunity to save hundreds of lives and create opportunities for others by getting involved.

Will you visit the Nuru site, or the facebook cause page, and make a donation? Or, better yet, will you register, and join in solidarity with women and girls around the world who do this not just once, but EVERY day.

May you take a moment to make a small contribution to change while you have the opportunity.

an experiment

So I wanted to try this out. It's a little experiment. The garden is
an experiment too but I'm talking about this post. I'm trying my hand
at mobile blogging. This could mean more stuff being written and more
photos being taken.
You see, my best friend in the whole world gave me his iPhone. What a
gift right? Wrong. What a friend! Willie is way cooler than an iPhone.
Back to the experiment. I just took a photo of my garden and now I'm
emailing that photo and these words to my blog. Hopefully you are
reading this with no problem.
But hey, it's an experiment. I hope it works. Might just increase my
blogging frequency again.
Experiments are really a step of faith though. Most of us aren't real
comfortable with that. Comfort is, well, comfortable. But when we
experiment sometimes we end up reaping a major blessing. When we step
away from comfort sometimes we even begin to know God better. Isn't it
part of the gospel story that Jesus stepped out of the the comfort of
heaven to walk this earth and suffer? Pretty cool to think about.
And you. Is there an area in which you may need to experiment and step
out of comfort? May it go well with you and transform your life and
the lives of others for the better.

I Washed My Bible

That image above is my Bible. The one I made lots of notes in. The one that I carry with me virtually everywhere. I guess I should be using the past tense in those last sentences, because I ran my Bible through the washer this morning.

It sounds kind of spiritual, right? Make sure you wash your Bible every day and pray. haha. I can't believe I did this. My bible is now a jumbled mess. It's a little pocket Bible, but it weighs as much as one of the big boys now.

I was multi-tasking a bit this morning (a skill I learned as an analytical chemist at Mylan) when it happened. I was going back and forth between responding to emails, household chores, and planning for a couple of speaking engagements I have in the next couple of weeks. I had my Bible on my bed/futon, and I decided that today I was going to wash all of my blankets. I grabbed up the blankets, sheets, pillowcases (and Bible), and proceeded to shove them all into the washer. An hour later, I open the washer and remove all of the blankets, sheets, etc. and find my bible lying at the back of the washer.

I was more than a little bit bummed. I mean, I've been through so much with this particular Bible so there was a sentimental value attached. But the flip-side is that I've stored these words in my heart. And more important than the Bible is my relationship with the living God. So I hopped in my car and drove to Laura Christie's bookstore, Good News Bookstore. I was long overdue for catching up with Laura, and I like to support local businesses.

While I will miss my old Bible, and it's notes, I guess it is a good reminder to be more aware, and to maybe make my notes in more than one place.

I was able to find a similar pocket ESV Bible--the cover is different, but the words are the same. ;)

As much as I had hoped to be really productive today, the day definitely hasn't gone as initially planned.

Anybody else ever done anything this ridiculous?

Twitter

twitter icon (for Fluid), originally uploaded by seyDoggy.

So last week, I started diving into twitter. Twitter is like a micro-blog. I can write about things that take 140 characters or less, share links, and share a little bit of my life in the process. Who would do this? Businesses, celebrities, individuals, friends, the sky is the limit. Our current President twitters as do many celebrities, pastors, and bloggers (like some of the ones linked to this blog). I'm finding out that quite a few of my friends twitter as well.

Lately I haven't been able to share as many full length blogs, but I'm readjusting some things to make that more viable (plus there have been some really cool stories that I want to share, but haven't been able to yet!)

Anyhway, I thought I would take a moment to introduce you to twitter. I'm amazed at the number of people I'm finding on twitter. Some people treat it like a facebook status update or wall post (read more about facebook and twitter in the articles linked in this sentence.)

So I'm telling you about twitter because I have linked my "tweets" (twitterese for updates or blog posts) to this blog in the left hand column. While this will never replace full length blogs, it does allow for me to share a bit of my life while on the go. You can twitter from a phone (but standard texting rates apply), so I choose to use the web and twitterfon to make my posts.

Now some people twitter about anything and everything--for instance, some twitter that they woke up and went to bed. I don't plan on doing any such thing. But I do plan on experimenting with it a bit. So if you are into the whole twitter thing, check my little mini-blog out it goes by the same name as this one.

And if you feel like it, you can let me and the world know your thoughts on the whole thing by leaving a comment on this blog.

Have a wonderful day!

Canal View

During our last full day in Amsterdam, our team took a canal boat tour of the city. I took a ton of photos, and I felt like this one was particularly blogworthy. (It continues some of my thoughts on time).

This week, I had every intention of catching up my blog, but I found myself constantly distracted. There just seems to be SO MUCH going on at any moment in my life. I know I'm not alone in that feeling--we all live pretty busy lives it seems . . .

Monday I celebrated my birthday, but unfortunately I haven't really had time to reflect on it. I'd like to take some time over the next few days to think about my life, my goals, and my plans for the year, but we'll see if time is on my side.

I guess it's all a matter of priority though isn't it? Today, I made a commitment to myself to sleep in, to spend more time in prayer, and to move slowly and deliberately through the day instead of in a flurry.

How does that relate to the photo above? In the canal boat, we were a captive audience. We had purposed to go on the ride, and we had no choice but to sit patiently until the ride was over. I couldn't speed the driver up, and really I wouldn't have wanted to. How on earth could I enjoy anything if I went through it too fast.

Even during this time of so much going on, I'm tempted to rush through it and be done with it, but I feel like by doing so, I would be cheating myself of many lessons that could be learned. I think that's the case with any trial. We want to push through it quickly because it is exhausting and painful and time consuming, but when we push through too quickly we fail to learn and grow and benefit fully from the trial--and so it comes again.

The year on the canal struck me--a bridge was built over this canal in 1728. That was a long time ago. It probably wasn't built too fast. Maybe it was just completed in 1728, but took several years prior to establish a solid foundation. And because of it's solid foundation, I could travel under it nearly 300 years later. That's building for endurance.

Often times, I think we are tempted to not build for endurance. I think we are tempted toward quick fixes, sugar highs, and band-aids over lasting solutions that stand the test of time.

Deep down, we all want the lasting solution, but the effort is not easy. It's challenging to build something that will last 300 years, or even 3 years.

Here's a little tid bit about the canal boat tour too. The captain told us that the water in the canals was pretty nasty. There were house boats all along the canals in which people lived. Their sewage went into the canals. So you want a sturdy vessel to navigate the waters, and if you are going to build a bridge, you want to make sure it will endure. There is a lot of refuse that we have to navigate through in this life. Make sure you have a sturdy vessel and build lasting structures to keep you from swimming in the mess.

Have a great weekend, and I look forward to writing more soon.

Endurance

At different points during my time in Amsterdam, I was struck by the fact that this city was older than America. (It helps when they put the year a building was made along its front).

Americans live in a really young nation, and the only things here that seem to have any age are the lands themselves. I've been thinking about my ancestors and how they would build a home to last for a few seasons before moving on, and how much of Europe seems to have been building for permanence. Part of the argument I suppose for the lasting nature of these buildings is the fact that resources were available to build for permanence.

And yet, in Modern America, we have similar resources, but I just don't feel like there is much that is being built to endure through the centuries. In my lifetime, I've watched whole communities and whole forests bull-dozed and destroyed.

I've watched people uproot themselves on a regular basis by living in a college town.

It just doesn't seem like we think much about endurance. We don't build things to last it seems. Very few of us consider leaving a legacy.

And yet, there's something in us that loves the idea of something very old being left intact. We love the idea of something that is built to last. And we love the idea of a legacy, but very few of us give any consideration to actually leaving one.

My old chief was different in that regard. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Although it feels like my tribal community is fractured and splintered and largely disconnected, he instilled in us a legacy. Many of us still follow our old traditions, and we pour those traditions into others. Many of us tell stories of our chief, his faith, and his love for people. Many of us strive to follow in his footsteps. And when others see us doing that, they are seeing his legacy.

Our buildings, our homes, and many of our family heirlooms may not endure. But there are things that can and will endure, and they are the things that truly have lasting value, yet many will not recognize them at first sight.

As you walk through your day today, think about what areas of your life you want to endure. What is it that you want seven generations into the future to remember and reflect upon? What is it you want them to see and imitate? What will be your contribution that endures after you leave this life?

Just a little something I've been thinking about from my time across the water.

Me and William Easterly

During the course of my short life, I've had the unique privilege of meeting some very interesting and innovative people, and one of these people is Dr. William Easterly here's a quick bio on him that WVU did as a press release. On Tuesday March 24th, he came to West Virginia University as part of the University's Festival of Ideas. From what I hear, his lecture was the most well received of the festival, and it was filled with people who were thinkers.

Among them was my buddy Jake Harriman. Jake and another friend, John Hancox, started a non-profit called Nuru International. If you haven't heard of it, you probably haven't talked to me much in the last couple of years. I'm a big fan!

Anyway, as part of Dr. Easterly's visit, folks from Nuru's campus chapter, some of the folks from our grassroots movement staff (and Jake and myself) were able to grab lunch with Dr. Easterly too.

It was incredible. Jake and I actually picked him up at the hotel to take him to lunch. One of the foremost economists in the world traveled in the passenger seat of my civic hybrid. (I guess I'm a bit of an amateur economist myself.) So as we drove to the Mountainlair for lunch, we talked about Dr. Easterly's Morgantown roots, his need for a WV hat (he was wearing a yankees hat when we met him), and how much his writings and thinking had influenced Nuru as we entered the fight to help rural communities generate bottom-up sustainable solutions to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

During the lunch, I sat in awe as Jake and Dr. Easterly exchanged ideas and talked about real solutions for real people in this world. I was humbled to sit in the presence of these two great thinkers who originated from our great state. I'm even more humbled that I could potentially call these guys my friends.

Jake lived in my dorm my freshman year of college, but our friendship has really started to blossom as we have begun working together to end extreme poverty, together, one community at a time. And I didn't know Dr. Easterly until Tuesday, but we have a common interest in the history of this land. My family is Shawnee, but his family traces back to Michael Cresap, an early frontiersman. Back then, our families were on opposite sides of the fight, but now, we have joined forces to inspire the citizens of the developed world to confront the crisis of extreme poverty and to begin to encourage the ending of extreme poverty from the bottom-up."

I know this blog is long, but there is so much I want to say. So many aspects of Tuesday March 24th that I want to remember. I want to remember watching Dr. Easterly sign my book, and I want to remember being identified by name from a crowd of three hundred.

I want to remember hearing him say that what the poor do not need are empty promises, paternalism, top-down solutions from planners, and the like. I want to remember him saying that what all people need is to be treated as equals, to be given opportunities, and to be empowered to make changes for themselves.

I want to remember how Nuru is doing that very thing. I want to remember how good ideas can catch on, and how people whose ancestors may have been enemies can unite to fight a common enemy.

I want to remember the day that I saw Nuru's founder meet one of the most influential thinkers in the world on the subject of extreme poverty.

I want to remember eating lunch and listening to ideas being shared from the second floor of the Mountainlair at West Virginia University.

I want to remember, because I believe I just participated in a historic moment. I was there for all of this.

I was also there for the first time William Easterly wore the gold and blue during this auspicious rendez-vous in the mountains. (and we captured that moment with a camera too!)

I'm humbled by the great minds I've met during this short life, and I'm grateful for days like Tuesday.

It's good to take time and reflect. There are beautiful moments every day, and often we are so busy, we miss em.

The Journey

Well, it's been nearly a week, and this evening is about the first time I've had any length of time to blog. It's about 11.15PM here, and our time has been really jam-packed. We've been at for about 14 hours/day since we got here. But tonight offered a little bit of down time for us after about 10.30PM. The days have been long, but they have been good. I'm looking forward to sharing some specific stories in some future posts (maybe more tomorrow?), but for now here are a few images of take-off for us.

The photo above was taken as we were leaving Pittsburgh International Airport. It's the first time I've ever looked out at the terminal as we were taking off (probably because I'm usually in an aisle seat).



This picture represents one part of our team. Our entire team was seated in the same row, but half of us were separated by an aisle. This was Kathryn's second trip to the Netherlands and Jamie's first trip out of the country. It's cool to see how they are both stepping out of their comfort zones, and serving people. Kathryn was so moved by the people of Amsterdam when she first traveled on a mission team in 2003, she wanted to return again. Jamie has been hoping to go on a STM to amsterdam since 2006, and that hope finally became realized this Spring.



Above are the two guys who were across the aisle--Curtis and Ricky. This was a series of firsts for Curtis. It was his first flight, his first time out of the country, and his first mission trip. Ricky, similarly to Jamie, has been hoping to make a mission trip to Amsterdam since 2006. Although he has traveled over much of the world, this marks the first time he has taken a trip dedicated to missions.

I'm really excited for this team, and the work God has been doing in their lives so far. They have also had a huge impact on many people here in the Netherlands. It's so cool to see what happens when people step out of their comfort zones for Christ.

So what about you? How are you going to step out of your comfort zone for Christ? Of course you may not need to come to Amsterdam to do that (although there are some HUGE needs here, but maybe God needs you to do SOMETHING to shake up the routine of your life, and open an opportunity for you to be a blessing to others. I pray you will take some time to talk with God about it, and to listen to what He has to say.

Amsterdam Bound

This is gonna be a quick one. Today, five people from my church are leaving the country to serve a sister church in Amsterdam. While Amsterdam is a beautiful city, filled with a rich history and culture, there is a deep spiritual need.

I hope to blog regularly about our mission. In the meantime, it's time to get going. Flight leaves pretty soon.

Blessings to all.

Broken Escalator

Last week I attended the Ecclesia Network National Gathering in Washington DC. The conference was both a reunion with some old friends who have been working in ministry for many years, and an opportunity to learn from some truly brilliant theologians and practitioners from different parts of the world.

During one of the large group lectures, one of the teachers showed the video above. He was using it to illustrate the simple truth that sometimes when we are stuck and frustrated and feeling helpless, the answer is right before us. The video is a commercial for a company called Becel, and personally I think it's hilarious.

I mean, doesn't everybody know that an escalator just becomes stairs when it breaks? Often times, we can be immobilized when things don't work the way we expect during our daily routine, but maybe when things stop working, or aren't producing the desired goal, we should learn to adapt.

During the conference, the example was given of the church and it's goal of helping people grow to be like Christ, but I believe the truth applies to any context. If you have a goal for your life or for your business or your career, and you aren't producing the desired results there are a couple of questions to ask when you hit a roadblock. One is simple--is the goal I'm aiming toward the right goal? (a set-back could be a good way of making sure we are still aiming for the real winning goal.)

The second question is this--How can I adapt my methods to continue working toward the same goal? If the escalator breaks, how do I reach my destination?

Hope you enjoy the laughs, and at the same time, take some time to ask yourself today--when the escalator breaks down are you stuck or are you adapting and using stairs?

Whatever You've Done to the Least of These . . .

After Ash Wednesday, I picked up a free devotional book called "The Little Black Book." I want to share with you the scripture and meditation that were in that book. First, the scripture.

Jesus Said, "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me." ( for the full quote, Matthew 25.31-46).

And then the devotional shared the following.

This passage isn't a parable. At the beginning of the passage, Jesus uses the image of a shepherd, but the rest is a straightforward statement telling us how we will be judged.

The most astounding truth here is that, whatever we do toward the poor, it's not as if we were doing it to the Lord. We are doing it to Him. Jesus is present in the down-and-out, and what we do to them, we are doing to Him.

Through his Incarnation, Jesus has identified Himself with all human beings. But He has a special concern for the poor, the weak, the lowly, those who get left out . . .

. . .So what do I do--put more money in the poor box? Well there's something that has to come first--something more basic. It's not simply a question of being nice to people who get left out. Rather, it's seeing the Lord in them.

How do I do that? Talk to the Lord about it.

I've been wanting to post that (and a number of other things) for the past few days, but hadn't been able to until this morning.

Sometimes I think we can get so caught up in ourselves, that we end up interacting with others in a way that robs their humanity. It's not just the outcasts, it's everyone. Today, I pray you can begin a habit. I pray that as you run into others today at the store, at work, at school, on the street, and wherever you may be, may you see the people with whom you come into contact as people made in the image of God and people Jesus loves deeply.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians

Well, Rob Bell has a new book in print. It’s called Jesus Wants to Save Christians and in what has become a standard for Rob Bell, this book is another compelling argument for thinking deeply about the life of faith.

The book does a great job of tying together themes of exodus, justice, liberation, salvation, and mission in a continuous thread from the old testament to the new testament to today.

Bell challenges western Christians with an interesting comparison between the call of Israel in the old testament, and the call of Christians in the new. So often we are encouraged to invest in our own security rather than investing in changing the lives of others.

I know that many times in my life I can easily find myself concerned about my own personal future and I can get consumed by anxiety and worry. Bell warns that we do not live for ourselves—we live for others, and the moment we stop worrying and begin to trust in the abundant provision of God is the moment when we become most free to be used by Him

I had intended to read the book twice because there were so many quotable nuggets on the pages and I wanted to share them with you. But, time has not been my friend in performing a second read. So you will just have to take my word that it’s a very thought provoking book, and one that will probably unsettle and disturb you. By the way there is also awebsite with a more supplements to the book—pretty wild!

May we all find ourselves challenged and stretched to live more aware of the reality of the Kingdom of God and the call of our great King, Jesus.

Here’s to good books and good conversations, and all things that spur us on to love and good deeds.