Lenten Journey 2009

Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of the lenten season. For the past few years, I've made it a point to attend an Ash Wednesday service (one year I also led one!) and take time to reflect and recieve ashes. It's pretty wild the reaction many people have to a person having ashes on their head.

So why do I do it? Well, it has to do with the roots of the tradition. The idea of Ash Wednesday is to be intentional for at least one season of the year about taking careful examination of your life. It's kind of like this. If you are a Christian, in theory you spend time daily examining your life for blind spots and seeking to draw closer to Christ. In reality, we get distracted, and although many people have a daily devotional life, we rarely take time to examine our lives closely to see where we might be able to follow Christ more closely, and stop following the world.

So I like lent for that reason. Lent gives me a 50 day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter to examine my life and to focus on denying areas of sin, to be intentional about changing heart and mind, and to identify with the suffering and denial of Jesus while He was in the wilderness.

Some people give up habits and others add devotional habits, but always, the purpose and goal of these fasts and habits is to draw us closer to Jesus. If sweets or TV draw you away from Jesus, maybe taking a break from these habits for 50 days would be a good idea.

It usually takes about a month to build or break a habit, so the lenten season can be about breaking bad habits or building good habits.

By the way, the word lent or lenten refers to the lengthening of days that happens in the Spring. So the lenten season is the season of lengthening days.

So you are probably wondering what I'm giving up. Right now, I think I'm going to stop buying beverages. I may drink a variety of beverages during lent, but I think I'm going to stop buying. Then I think I'm going to take the money I save by not buying drinks and I'm going to donate it to Nuru International for some of their water projects. Did you know that 1 out of 6 people in the world don't have access to clean drinking water.

Also, my roommates and I have talked about trying to eat more meals at home and together. We have a cupboard full of canned food and lots of meat frozen, and enough rice and corn meal to sustain us for months. Maybe we will take some of the money we save and donate it as well.

Lastly, I have a couple of devotionals I picked up and haven't quite made it through yet. So my lenten commitment has to do with both denying myself some good things to draw closer to Christ, and adding some habits that will allow me to intentionally spend more time in His presence.

So what about you? Have you made a lenten commitment yet? I'd love to hear more about it. Will you leave it as a comment on here. (Then the other readers of this blog can be praying for you--and I can too!)

Looking Back On The Week

Well, can I just take a moment to express my gratitude. Over the course of the last weeks, we coordinated and hosted six events at night and four outreach/promotional events during the day. That's a lot of time, effort, and energy from many people.

I have to say that the events were successful. This week, we get the privilege of following up on all of the contacts that were made during the week, and helping folks make next steps.

We started our week of events with a rally to get folks excited about what was coming up. We ended Saturday night with a celebration of all God had done during the week and prayers for more to happen as a result of the events and opportunities the campus was exposed to.

I'm so proud of the leaders that stepped up from multiple organizations. I'm thankful for the speakers who traveled long distances to share messages about the brokenness of our world, and what normal people like you and I can do to bring healing to that brokenness, and hope where there is despair. I'm thankful for the businesses, organizations, and individuals who stepped up to support what we were trying to do on campus. Most of all, I'm thankful to the Grand-choreographer, the Creator of the Universe who held everything together and accomplished His greater purposes through our meager offering of loaves and fishes.

Another World Is Possible catalyzed many to action, and awoke others from the lethargy of apathy to a desire to bring healing. It's my hope that this shaking off of apathy would be contagious. Perhaps you, as you are sitting and reading this blog, will consider some way you can serve or volunteer or make some small contribution to being a sign of God's Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Have a great day!

Sex And Chocolate

If you choose to watch the video above, I have to warn you that it's content is EXTREMELY disturbing. And sadly, the story depicted in this video is not uncommon in the world today. I don't want to discourage you from watching the video, but I do want to warn you that it is not pleasant. I've never left this disclaimer on my blog before, but if you are under eighteen, you may want to ask your parent or guardian to watch the video first and then get their permission. At I'm trusting on your honor to do so. The content isn't crass or distasteful, but it is highly disturbing. The video is about 20 minutes long, and was nominated for an academy award. It was produced by Florida State University.

Friday night, this video was shown at sozo café in Morgantown as part of our series of events Another World Is Possible. It left people speechless, and caught up in trying to process what they had just seen. The speaker who showed the video told the group that he wished he could say that the story being told was uncommon to re-assure folks that this was not the norm, but unfortunately this story is all too common. The event was called "Sex and Chocolate" because both of these industries have strong ties to human trafficking and slavery.

Friday night was one of our most packed nights for an event. We had a speaker by the name of Charles Lee come and share with folks about the issues of slavery and human trafficking. The numbers are staggering. Over 27 million PEOPLE are ENSLAVED in the world today. This is more than at any other point in human history. 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. Most of these are women and children who are forced into the sex industry. The numbers are staggering. And there is a very real possibility that there are slaves being held against their will EVEN IN YOUR TOWN! Charles Lee Created a website called One Voice To End Slavery. You should check it out and learn how you can spot potentially trafficked or enslaved individuals in the businesses around your town.

Of course the root cause of this issue is the darkness of the human heart. And the root solution is for individuals to be reconciled to God. But there are also some ways of making strides to reduce the frequency of slavery and trafficking. It starts by being aware of the issue. Once your eyes have been opened, there's really no turning back. Then you have to take action. You have to do something.

Here are some ways to fight it.

Learn how to protect yourself and others by educating yourself and others on the issue.
Contribute to organizations that are fighting slavery, trafficking, and extreme poverty.
Did you know that many children are sold by their parents because they don't have enough money to feed the rest of their family?
Research the products you buy. Charles shared that many well-knownchocolate companies are buying cocoa that was harvested by slaves. Maybe you could write letters to those companies to change their practices. Buy fairly traded products when you can.
Jump into the foray, and use your talents to enter the frontlines with a qualified non-profit who is doing excellent work.

Here are a few groups that might be of interest to you--I've blogged about them before, and I'll probably blog about them again.

International Justice Mission--they work to bring perpetrators to justice
One Voice To End Slavery--awareness group training folks to take action.
Nuru International--wholistic sustainable solutions to extreme poverty

Whatever you do, don't merely do nothing. Take action. Take a stand. Change the world.

Technology, Creativity, and Information

Friday afternoon, I attended a talk by a guy named Charles Lee at sozo. Charles comes from the South Bay area of Los Angeles (Torrance) where he not only pastors a church, but he is heavily involved in social justice and in teaching creativity.

He and many others (including our friends at Google) realize that we are in a rapidly changing world. Information is traveling faster than it ever has in history. People in our world today have more information at their fingertips than at any point in history. As you can see from the video above, our world is moving very quickly.

It's kind of funny. You can feel the movement at times. Like I notice that there never seems to be enough time to do all that you want to do anymore--there's so much going on with every decision we make. As I reflect a bit more on my time in the desert this was one of the aspects of that time that is coming into focus for me.

Literally the morning I left, my email inbox was bombarded with requests and information. I had someone call me 10 minutes before I departed into the desert who needed information shared with him immediately. There was really no 'down-time' in the days leading up to the desert. And when I came back, everything felt like a whirlwind rush. I jumped in a car, drove for an hour and fifteen minutes, ate dinner, packed my bags, checked-in for my flight, and went to bed. The next morning, I got up, went to the airport with my dad, hopped on a plane, rushed to make a connecting flight, and arrived in Pittsburgh. From pittsburgh, me, dad, and Jamie ate dinner and drove to morgantown. Upon arrival, I talked for a bit with folks, caught up, went to sleep, and then spent the entirety of the next day answering emails, voicemails, and txts that came to me during the desert time, and then began preparing for a week of another world is possible. Our world is definitely fast paced. And when you come back from the desert, you also realize how heavily distracted our world can be from the things that are most important.

In the middle of that difficulty, we have a huge challenge. As Charles Lee shared on Friday, and as the Senior Vice President of Google shared in this blog which you should take the time to read, we are in a place where great good can come from attempting to stay ahead of the technology curve. We need to plan for a future in which we don't know what the technologies will be. As Charles pointed out, we need to creatively come up with ways for people to connect, share, and improve ideas. We have tons of information at our fingertips, but many of us have lost our knack at creativity.

You might remember my posts about the environment last Spring and the ideas I shared from Matthew Sleeth's book and lecture in Morgantown, but one thing I may not have shared was his insight that a lack of creativity is connected to our connectedness to the created world. It might be worth while to slow down a bit and create some space to let ideas run wild in our minds.

We have tons of information and amazing technology at our fingertips. We have amazing potential (unlike any other point in history) to make sweeping changes that will either be hugely detrimental or hugely helpful for future generations of people made in the image of God.

In my mind, in light of all of this the question before us is challenging yet simple. What will we do with all that we have been given to bless others and care for those in the world around us? To whom much is given, much is expected. Take some time today to think about long term solutions and real change that YOU might be part of bringing about.

The Big Necessity

Among the books I’ve read recently is this little gem that was recommended by my old friend from parkersburg, Jaime Sayre. Jaime is an Environmental Engineering doctoral candidate and a brilliant friend.

The book, is a book by Rose George called The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters. The book takes the reader around the world to look at water and sanitation issues and the great needs in this realm of human health.

I found myself completely shocked by what I read. She said that the issue of clean drinking water is largely a sanitation issue. Not only is it a sanitation issue, but it’s more specifically an issue of feces. It’s an issue that folks don’t like to talk about but after reading this book, I realize how very important and how little discussed the subject is.

In America, we flush and everything goes away. But where? Have you ever really thought about it? What would life be like without indoor plumbing? What would life be like with out the water and sanitation luxuries we enjoy. (By the way, the sewer systems even in our part of the world are fairly outdated in many areas.)

What about the 2.6 billion people in our world who don’t have access to “adequate” sanitation and clean drinking water? How could this need be solved?

The author recommends micro scale changes and improvements that can expand to macro scale long term change.

When I think about the need, and the solution many are suggesting, I get even more excited about the work Nuru is doing.

If you get a chance, check out the book. It’s not a book about faith, it’s a book about a subject that we spend very little time talking about. It’s a book that exposes in a very unabashed way the very dire situation in much of our world with regard to sanitation, and even demonstrates how little we know about our own sewage problems. After reading this book, I am much more conscientious about what goes down any drain. It doesn’t just disappear, and somebody has to deal with it.

In the meantime, maybe we can all just start to live a little differently, and a little more aware that we may just be part of the solution and we may have something to offer others in aid in some way.

Another World Is Possible

Last year, we started a series of events through the college ministry of my church and in conjunction with many other campus ministries at WVU that we called "Another World Is Possible." The idea behind the weeklong event was this. There are many problems that face our world, and it's just not right that these problems exist. We believe that people are called to do something about the hurt, the evil, and the injustice in the world, but part of the problem is that folks just don't know about the issue, or they just don't know where to start doing something.

Everybody knows that our world is broken. Everybody knows that things need to change. We often find ourselves asking what we can do to help it or if it even matters. But not many people get to the root question of why it is broken.

Our world is broken because of sin. Our world is broken because of the evil that runs through the hearts of humanity. At the thought of that some might scoff at the incredulity of it. Others might be encouraged to despair because of the way sin pervades our world. But Christ came that we might have life. Christ came that we might be signs of a different world.

Sometimes when I see the state of the world, I'm tempted to despair when I see the immensity of the problems. But other times I get hopeful. I get hopeful because I think that if the church of the West could be woken from it's slumber, many of these problems would find some answer.

You see, sin is the root issue. Sometimes sin is a sin of commission, and other times it is a matter of O-mission. I think we have the resources to solve many problems caused by sin. We have the Spirit of the living God inside us. And yet, we walk around defeated and despairing.

Tonight will be our first speaker for the week of events. Bryan Monzon of the group eleho will be speaking to folks tonight at sozo about the genocide that is happening in Burma right now. The government of burma is killing its own people. It is an ugly time and some of the stories that I have heard already would make you shudder when you hear them.

The human heart has such potential for both evil and for good. And while our world is broken . . . Another World Is Possible. Maybe I'll see you out for an event. And if I don't, maybe you will look to live beyond yourself to make a difference in this world of His wherever you are.

Some Thoughts From Joshua Tree

Well, as you could tell from the fact I blogged on Friday, I emerged from the desert. I'm back in West Virginia after experiencing five days of solitude to focus on prayer, fasting, and listening for God in the middle of the Mojave Desert in Joshua Tree National Park.

There are quite a few stories I feel like I could tell about my experience but the one that lies in the forefront has a beginning before I entered solitude. My buddy John Hancox recommended a sermon by a guy named Paris Reidhead. It's an interesting name for a person, and a very compelling sermon called "Ten Shekels and a Shirt". You can download, listen to, or read the sermon from this site.

During the sermon a story was told about two Moravian missionaries who sold themselves into slavery to be able to share the gospel with slaves on a remote island in the caribbean. After they had sold themselves to the athiest slave-owner, they were shipped to the island. As they left family and friends, they yelled from the deck of the ship, "May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering!" Or as I had paraphrased it during my time in the desert, "May the Lamb who was slain receive the glory He is due!"

While I wandered in solitude, I prayed two prayers to help me stay centered on Christ. That statement was one of them. The other one was simply this. "Lord Jesus Christ be merciful to me, a sinner." Now some would say that neither of these are necessary prayers because God by nature is merciful, and He will receive glory. But sometimes prayer is less necessary for God and more necessary for us to be changed. God moves through prayer, and He changes our circumstances at times. At other times, He changes us.

Over my days He changed me. You see, I got sick early in the afternoon on February 6th, and didn't stop vomiting until around 1PM on February 11. Before you start feeling bad for me, understand that God used that illness to teach me great things about Him and His mercy, and about me and my own darkness.

You see, there was a point at which I was a little frustrated by my sickness. I was frustrated because I didn't go to the desert to be sick--I went to the desert to connect with God. I went to the desert to grow spiritually, and to be better equipped to help others grow closer to Jesus. I had a certain idea of what that would look like. I think God had a different idea.

During my time of sickness, I realized how merciful God was toward me. He knows how dark my heart is (He also knows about your's too!), and in spite of that, because I am His creation, He was willing to do whatever it took for me to be reconciled to Him. I deserve so much worse than a few days of sickness. We all do, when we consider ourselves in contrast to the Holiness of God Almighty.

So as I lay there receiving mercy, I found myself crying out silently from my mind, "May the Lamb who was slain receive the glory He is due!"

I know we all have difficulties come our way, that leave us wondering "where is God in the middle of this?" But I am also confident of this as well, these present difficulties pale in comparison to the surpassing mercy that God shows us moment by moment.

May you experience freshly the mercy of the Lamb who was slain, and enjoy God for the immensity of His worth!

Mixed Tears

This morning I awoke with an email from Doug Scott, the Communications Director of Nuru. He's been living in Kuria, Kenya for the last five months, and is responsible for all of the wonderful videos Nuru has produced in the last few months.

Doug had let me know that Episode 4 "Portraits of Kuria" just launched. I was moved to tears while watching the video, and have had a hard time stopping.

They are mixed tears. They are tears that start in deep tragedy. Tears that start in a world that doesn't have to be this way. Tears that flood when you realize how much difference there is in the way we live here, and the way others live in our world.

Like I said though, they are mixed tears. At the same time I was saddened and shocked by the reality I saw, I also had tears of joy. Tears that swelled into puddles as I realized this is NOT the way it has to be. Tears that covered my face and blurred my vision as I saw people empowered and given opportunity. Tears that flood when you realize that there is so much we have in common as humanity.

We want to feed our families. We want to make a difference with our lives. We want those we love to be cared for and healthy. We want to ensure that future generations have opportunities that we do not have, without the hardships that we do have.

Nuru is making a difference.visit the website It's not just in some high quality programs and innovative training.

LIVES are being changed.

I encourage you to today visit the website, and see more of the change that is being brought about.

Maybe your eyes will stream with mixed tears.

And maybe as you see more clearly, YOU can open the eyes of others to both the need, and the opportunity we've been given to make a LASTING difference in this world.

Life is short. For many, it is also harder than we can imagine--it doesn't have to be this way though.

PS My friend Kendall Combes from the Charlie Hall Band produced the soundtrack for this episode.

Reflecting

Reflecting, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

That’s my friend Brent Jackson in the photo above. In church this past Sunday, he just sang an original song he wrote. The name of the song is “Reflecting” and it is simply beautiful.

The song is about how we get the privilege of reflecting God’s glory back to Him. In the middle of being selfish and sinful, in our brokenness, we still become mirrors that reflect the glory of God simply because we are made in His image.

But then, there’s another way we reflect his glory. We reflect His glory when we serve others. We reflect His glory when we look for opportunities to do good and right things. It’s not that we are incredibly good people, or great servants, but because we are made in the image of God, and we are attracted to when we see God at work in other people, God get’s glory by what we do.

Think about it. We all know that God is the hope of the world. And He has chosen his church to be ambassadors of that hope. When we stop our busy schedules and spend time caring for others, we reflect a little bit of the great grace and beauty of Jesus Christ.

Over the next few days I am not going to be blogging. In fact, I’m not going to be near a computer.

Last year, I traveled into the desert to pray, to fast, to spend time in silence and solitude, and to spend time reflecting in a different way. My prayer is that this time in the desert would be a life transforming and clarifying time. I am longing for clarity and focus so that I might better glorify God and reflect His glory as I strive to live this life in service to Him.

If you want to pray for me I would appreciate it. Chances are, I’ll probably be praying for you while I’m in the desert. In the meantime, may you and I both spend more time reflecting His glory to a world that needs the light of Christ.

Superbowl XLIII

Superbowl XLIII, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Well, another Superbowl has passed, and now the Pittsburgh Steelers have one a record six superbowls. And what a game it was! It was exciting right to the end, and had a few things gone differently it could have been a different outcome.

But isn't that the way with everything. You never know how things "play out" until they "play out". We would love to know the future with certainty, but it's never ours to know. And as much as we would 'love to know' it, there's a certain measure of faith that grows as we make decisions and as our life unfolds.

I remember 8 years ago when I was working as an analytical chemist with a promising future at Mylan, I had no idea what I could expect from a career in ministry. I had no idea if I could afford the career change. There are always risks to life, ya know?

Even if I hadn't changed careers, there is no way I could predict what my life would have been at Mylan either. And yet, at times we find ourselves wondering.

What if Harrison hadn't intercepted a pass and run it for a touchdown? What if the penalties hadn't flown so high late in the game? What if Santonio didn't make his stellar last second catch?

We never get to find out the alternate endings in any story. We just keep walking by faith and we see things unfold in the present.

Maybe that's why God's name is "I AM". Maybe He knows about our tendency to worry about the past or the future,and He wants to keep us rooted in the present. Maybe He knows that tomorrow has enough worries of it's own.

Whatever you are doing today, may you walk in faith that the God of all creation is walking with you. In the present. Moment. by moment.

New Blog From Old Friends

In the photo above are two of my great friends, Steve and Liz Powell. I just found out from Steve that he and his wife started ablog, and I thought I would invite you to join in reading about their life and the life of their young son William. I really like the name of that boy!

Here's a little background about Steve and Liz. They have been my friends for a long time, and they both have served as President of our campus student organization here at WVU, h2o/wvu bible studies. They are also retired gunslingers. That's right, Steve and Liz were both all-american rifle competitors while students at WVU.

Steve and Liz, as you can tell from the photo above, are a fun loving couple. I have been encouraged by their friendship over the years, and I am thankful for the way they have cared for me. I had the privilege of being part of their wedding just a few years ago.

I hope you enjoy this brief introduction to these stellar folks.

Aside from being my friends, and their many accolades (they've both represented the United States in international rifle competitions), they are simply wonderful people. They are humble, and passionate about living for Jesus.

In fact, they probably don't see their accolades as any big deal. It's because they know that the biggest deal of any of our lives is our growing relationship of trust with the Lord of all creation.

No matter what our walk of life or our career exploits, we all are brought to a common place before the cross of the Savior. No matter where you are right now, it is my prayer that you might spend some time contemplating that cross. In light of that cross, pursue excellence in all you do, and strive to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

Faith and Vocation

Me and Coach Stu, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Yesterday after watching a tough loss to Pitt at the coliseum, Jamie and I had a pretty cool experience. She spotted WVU football coach Bill Stewart in the middle of the student section, and we decided to make our way over just to congratulate him on a great season and to thank him for the example of faith that he has set for his players, and for many in the state.

First, I'd like to take a moment and just give you an opportunity to think about this. He's the head coach of the football team. As a result of his position, he would never need to stand in the student section at a WVU game. He could probably sit in a private box or court side, but he chose to be with students.

Coach Stewart has the best record for a first year coach in the history of WVU. He has a 2-0 bowl record, and although some might disagree, he is leading WVU's football team quite well.

You see, from what I can tell, and what I've heard, he really cares about the players. They aren't there just to play football, although he drives them pretty hard in practice. They are at WVU to learn how to be men. He has been a great example in disciplining his players and helping them to grow during their time in Morgantown.

He is an example of what many people of faith forget. We don't leave our faith when we enter our job. We don't leave our faith when we participate in sports. We don't leave our faith when we spend time with friends or family. Our faith is meant to saturate every aspect of our lives. This is why we call it the "life" of faith, and not the "one hour on sunday morning" of faith.

Think about it today. Regardless of your vocation, you are called to represent Jesus Christ to the world if you are a Christian. It's no wonder people have a distorted image of the Christian faith because so few take this call seriously.

What would your place of employment look like if you took it as an opportunity to reflect Christ in that place? What would your job look like? What would your attitude be like as people approached you for help, or yelled at you because their life wasn't going well.

Take a few moments right now if you have put your faith in Christ, and ask this question, "In what way may God want me to change the way I go about life/work so I can better represent Jesus to the people around me?"

If you get an answer, try to make the change. Invite Christ into your work, and the rest of your life. Your life, your work, and your relationships will take on radical new meaning in light of this sacred privilege.

PS When I thanked coached stewart for the testimony to Christ that his life was for many, he told me he didn't plan to change that. I think it would be cool to take time periodically and pray for public figures like coach stew and send them some encouragement.

PPS Coach stew has a sweet first name!

A few thoughts relating to the Inauguration

So I received a link to this video yesterday--it's currently appearing on Black Entertainment Television in limited viewing areas. In my thoughts, regardless where you might stand on abortion, there's a lot to think about here. Of course, I'd like to think that there is typically a lot to think about on this blog.

Yesterday, most of America watched history in the making as we elected the first African-American President. His inauguration was probably the most attended event in the history with estimates at over 2 million people in attendance. I couldn't help but watch it myself yesterday. One of my friends actually received an invitation to the inauguration. As we watched on television one of my friends commented that it was pretty wild watching someone take an oath and become the most powerful person in the world.
But with great power comes great responsibility.

For me I was impressed with Dr. Rick Warren's prayer for our new president. I have included the video with the transcription below.

Almighty God, our Father:

Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.

It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.

History is your story.

The Scripture tells us, "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one." And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama,

the wisdom to lead us with humility,
the courage to lead us with integrity,

the compassion to lead us with generosity.

Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.
Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans--united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you--forgive us.

When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone--forgive us.

When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve--forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.

And may we never forget that one day, all nations--and all people--will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, 'Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus—who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,

for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

May these few words videos and prayers spur your thoughts toward living as better citizens of the Kingdom of God and in so doing, spur you on toward being a better citizen in the place where you live.

I Couldn't Resist

My friend Alise posted this link in a comment on my blog, but I was afraid many people would miss this video. I couldn't resist sharing this brief clip with you because it very eloquently articulates a challenge from Dr. King that echoes as true today as it did when he first spoke these words.

I don't know if i you knew this or not, but the original intent for the MLK holiday wasn't a holiday in the classic sense. Monday was meant to be a day of service, of helping out your fellow human beings. Jesus told us that the greatest among us would be the servant of all, and Dr. King's words continue to put forth that truth.

I know that in the future, I am going to look for opportunities to serve where many times in the past I looked for some extra time to relax. I mean, could you imagine it if we were to dedicate one day of our lives to service? What would this world look like.

Better yet, what if we didn't wait for a special day to be set aside to serve? What if we looked for opportunities to serve every day?

I know a lot of people who have aspirations of being great, but I know of very few who want to serve. I know of many who want to change the world, but they can't seem to overcome their own selfishness. I know of multitudes who give lip service to change, but then continue in their same self-absorbed lifestyles.

I hope as you read this you will consider not only a day of service, but a life of service as well. What would it look like for you to take your eyes off yourself and look to the needs of others? What would it look like if you weren't so caught up in your own desires that you could give of your time, your talents, and your resources to serve the needs of others?

I would like to think that your life would look significantly different. As much as I think my own life is one of service, I can't help but be challenged by Dr. King's words myself. I can't help but be challenged by the words of Jesus. I can't help but be challenged and shamed by the thought of how different my life might look if it were more truly a life of service.

May each of us take an introspective look at our lives, and then take action that we might all be GREAT!

MLK 2009

Well today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Did you know that MLK didn't even see his 40th birthday? Every year on this day, I've attempted to blog about this great leader. Some may differ, but I believe he was one of the greatest orators of the 20th century. He had a way of telling simple truths.

This little clip is one of those simple truths. As you read this blog on your computer, or your pda, or your smart phone, or whatever piece of technology you are using, ask yourself a question. In what areas can you grow so that you can walk as brothers and sisters with your fellow human beings?

There is a great wealth we can learn from MLK and his message, but he's only sharing an even older message, the message of the gospel. When we embrace the gospel, we walk as those who are forgiven. When we walk as those who are forgiven, it is much easier for us to love others and forgive others. We love because He first loved us.

When we embraced forgiveness, we were also called to a different life. We stand helpless before a mighty God, a God who gives us hope for a better tomorrow, and empowerment to make that hope a reality through His Spirit.

As you read this blog on MLK day 2009, consider saying a prayer. Pray that God will not only make you an instrument of His love to your fellow human beings, but also pray that He will empower you to stand up for justice when those around you speak or act in a spirit of injustice. May you be empowered to be brave for the sake of the Gospel.

And remember these other words of MLK, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." May we be transformed to be like Jesus whose justice is perfect and beyond measure.

Where's the Image?

Right now, I am charging a battery so I can pull photos off my camera. I have much to blog about, but I like to have an image with my blogs. I like taking photos, or posting cool videos for you to watch and hopefully be encouraged or inspired to run more passionately after our good King Jesus.

As I started writing this post, I wanted to encourage you to help out my friend's organization, Nuru International, by following this link and watching the video on the site. After you watch the video, there is a space below the video where you can leave a comment. Over 500,000 people have watched this video on the site, but very few have left comments. Nuru wants to encourage some highly visited websites to post the video, and to generate even more awareness about the issue of extreme poverty and what Nuru is doing to fight it. The more comments that appear, the more interest that will be drawn from some of these other websites. So you can help spread the word about nuru just by leaving a comment--will you do it?

Right after I started writing this post, I realized, I couldn't just stop with that request to help Nuru. There's something more about the title that stirs me, and I hope it will stir you too. "where's the image?" Did you know that we are made in the image of God? The one billion people who are living on less than $1/day are made in the image of God too. The person who cut you off in traffic the other day is also made in the image of God. Remember the person who really annoyed you you or gave you poor service at the restaurant? They are also made in the image of God. Oh yeah, and all of those people caught up on both sides of the conflict over gaza, those old men and women, and all of those little kids--did you know that they were made in the image of God?

I think we have to wonder about more than this blog post when we ask "where's the image?" it seems like far too many of us have forgotten that all of the people around us are made in the image of God, and so we treat others as less than humans. We refer to human problems as "not my problem" and we end up tarnishing that very image of God in which we ourselves have been made.

I remember reading a quote from Rob Bell that really syncs this all together.

When i respect the image of God in others, I protect the image of God in myself."

So as you go about your day today, I ask you to pause for a moment when you feel like ignoring the needs of others. When you feel like you've got too many problems of your own, take a moment and pause. Ask yourself, where's the image? Look for it. Remember that you and that everyone you meet share in bearing the image of the God of the universe.

Lombard Street

After a whirlwind of travel, I finally have a moment to write a little note. There's soooo much I would love to write about, but I'm going to write something a little shorter. Ironically this post is at the end of the week, and many people stay away from their computers during the weekend (this weekend I'm hoping to do something similar).

First off, I'm in Palo Alto, California right now and I am writing this blog from the Design School at Stanford University (which might be the subject of a future blog because it's a pretty amazing story in itself). In the last ten days I've been in quite a few places and I'll be in California for the next few.

On my way out here, I was invited to come meet up with a group of alumni and staff from the public policy programs of Carnegie Mellon University and Berkeley. Again, this is another crazy story and one that could be a blog entry of it's own . . . time will tell.

So me and some friends (by friends I mean folks who are heading to kenya to change the world) drove to san francisco in a PT Cruiser. And while we were there, we drove up and then down lombard street. I drove, so I couldn't really take pictures. It was also night, and we were the only car making its way down the curvy road.

And isn't that a lot like life. Sometimes it feels like you are alone going down a curvy road, or climbing up a long steep hill. Sometimes, it seems like you are all over the place and in disarray. Sometimes it feels like you are going somewhere, but there are so many curves you can almost lose sight of the final destination.

But, keep in mind, there is a destination. And the journey is part of the fun of getting there. We've just gotta not get lost in the curves but be mindful.

No matter where you are in life, on the hill top, in the curves, or on a steep journey upward. Remember you are not alone on the journey, and stop once in a while and savor the moments.

Just Courage

Over Thanksgiving break, I read a few books. One of them was Just Courage by Gary Haugen. Gary Haugen is a former Trial Attorney for the United States Department of Justice, and the founder of a nonprofit called International Justice Mission. If you haven’t heard much about the organization, I suggest you check them out. They are dedicated to things like ending slavery and human trafficking. Noble causes for sure and causes we should care about.

But enough about IJM for now. I recommend you check out the book. The big theme is the idea of living courageously. The big theme is that God has a great purpose for Christians. God is what this world needs, and He has called us to be His hands and feet. God’s big plan is to use us for the redemption of the world. We live in a world of safety and control, and perhaps God is calling us to take risks.

Here’s a thought/excerpt from the book based on a statement Mother Theresa once made. She said that she couldn’t go 30 minutes in her work without prayer. Check this thought out.

Do you and I have a work that we can imagine doing for thirty minutes without prayer?
If not, perhaps we need a new life’s work. Or perhaps we need to do an old life’s work in a new way.
I won’t need to be in prayer every thirty minutes in my work if I don’t really need God’s power to get it done, or if it’s work that God doesn’t really need done because it has nothing to do with his kingdom.

As I think about that quote, I realize there is a lot we do with very little prayer. One of my hopes for this year is that you and I would live so courageously that we would find ourselves in regular prayer that our Father would help us to walk in paths that are blessed, and that He would come through in ways that defy explanation in our lives.

May 2009 be a year of living courageously for you and I.

Crazy Times

The above photo was taken by Patrick Baz, and was featured in this New York Times article.

I saw someone's status on facebook and it said, "oh wow. israel is sending in ground troops." That little blurb caused me to do a google search on israel, and this article was the most recent piece of news that showed up.

Thousands of years have passed, and peace seems as far away as it probably seemed to Ishmael and Isaac or Jacob and Esau. It's easy to lose touch with the reality of what is happening in our world.

As I think about 2009, and blog for my first time this year, I am hopeful that this year will find us all a little more aware of the events transpiring around the world. In a time when it feels like we are becoming increasingly self absorbed I hope that we will do more than be onlookers in this world that desperately needs to see signs of the Messiah.

I don't know what to make of disputes like the one over Gaza between Israelis and Hamas. I know there are many who are suffering as a result of this age old dispute.

There are many suffering in our world today. One of my new year's resolutions is to do something about the suffering in the world. I know that my Messiah cares about this suffering, and He longs for His people to tkae action in a tangible way.

While I may not be able to solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict, I will be able to make a tangible difference in this world if I am mindful of this simple truth.

God has given me the ability to make a difference in this world. He has done the same for you.

Let's make 2009 the year of making our lives count for the sake of others and for the glory of the King.

Meineke Car Care Bowl Bound

White Out, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Three days ago, I began a whirlwind of travel. It started in Morgantown, and the first stop was Parkersburg, WV for Christmas.

Today begins the next leg of the trip. Today, I leave for the Meineke Car Care Bowl. I think it's gonna be a great time with some great people. We will leave around noon for Huntersville, NC where we will stay at the world famous Nic and Tara Culp house.

And then tomorrow morning we will rise early (before noon) to drive from Huntersville to the center of Charlotte, NC. After the bowl, we will be traveling west towards Ashville, NC where we will be attending the 2008 Faithwalkers conference. Pretty exciting stuff! (Hopefully we will be able to find a station that covers the WVU/OSU basketball game too.

Of course after all of that comes a return trip to Parkersburg, then to morgantown, then to Pittsburgh, and then to San Francisco.

Soooooo. . . it may be a few days before I'm able to blog again, might even be 2009. I've got some books I wanna review, and I'm hopeful God gives me some cool adventures to share with you in the interim.

In the meantime, let's go mountaineers!