Missionary?

"So what will you be doing in Dallas?  Do you have a job yet?"

I find myself awkwardly fumbling for a response, not really sure how to explain myself.

Can I say that I'm a missionary?  Is that appropriate to what I'll be doing?

I hesitate to claim the title 'missionary' as images from End of the Spear come to mind and I think of people in primitive or rustic places, literally sacrificing their lives to make God known.  Dallas isn't exactly primitive with its skyscrapers and multilayered highway system, nor is my three-bedroom apartment with dishwasher and walk-in closets rustic, so I would hate to presume the label when I know others have given so much more than anything I am doing.

"I'm hoping to get involved in ministry."

She stares back confused, clearly questioning my plan and wondering if "hopes" will pay rent.
"Oh, okay."  She's not sure what to say, so I try to save the faltering conversation.

"I will be working for my friend's dad to pay the bills, but that's not really the focus of what I'll be doing in Dallas."

"Oh, okay," she responds, this time with understanding.  "So what is the job?"

She does not understand.  I explain the job, and hope that by the next time the question is asked, I will have a concrete ministry to talk about.

---------------

Thomas Hale defines being a missionary as "one who is to witness across cultures."  Given this understanding, I think I can say I am a missionary.  Dallas, and in particular Oak Cliff (my neighborhood, AKA Little Mexico), is most definitely a different culture from the small-town Midwest I've grown up in.  Or perhaps the move is more comparable to going from Wheaton to the south side of Chicago, for those of you familiar with that geography.  Witnessing is also a large part of what I'm doing.  We just met our upstairs neighbors, and may now be nannying their children four days out of the week.  I've been attending Mercy Street, an after-school program for kids in the area.  And through church and other organizations, I am working to make known the glory of God.

I currently find myself working under the 'tentmaking' philosophy of missions, and thus think of myself less as a computer draftsman and more as a missionary.  If anybody reading this is a missionary and finds offense at this or thinks me bold to suggest my lifestyle in Dallas as missional, then I apologize.  This is me just trying to find the short-version response to "What do you do?"

And for anyone still curious about what I'm actually doing, but now too afraid to ask, please don't hesitate to call or email me.  Perhaps the post below will also help clarify things.

The Dallas Project

A seven month lease guarantees (caveat: James 4:13-15) that amount of time in Dallas, and thus I begin what I affectionately call, The Dallas Project.

What does it entail?
- Read the Bible in its entirety
- Pray for every country in the world
- Be involved in the local church
- Spend time outside of my typical context

- Make sacrifices to be able to give more generously*

- Live in a community of believers who are also participating in some or all parts of the Dallas Project

How does this happen?
- I am getting involved in LifePoint church.  I love their mission statement and hope to adopt it as my own: "Love God. Love people. Serve the city."
- I am getting involved in local ministries.
     - Mercy Street: an after school program once a week where we hang out (read: go completely crazy) for awhile, then we sing some songs, and then break into age groups for a lesson and craft.  So far I've gone with the youngest ones (1st-3rd grade) and they are hilarious.  My favorite quote from last week: "The opposite of kindness is a girl."  Sorry fellas ;)
     - Buckner International: I haven't actually done anything here because their volunteer coordinator is out of town this week, but it looks like an awesome organization.  They are a global ministry that strives to make life better for orphans and vulnerable children.  They combine my love of youth ministry and missions (and even have a camp!) so I am eager to find a way to get involved.
- I am working to get to know other people and families in the area and apartment complex.
- I am supporting myself as a computer draftsman for Spitze Graphics.  Spitze Graphics helps people apply for patents.  Working in AutoCAD, I will be cleaning up technical drawings and making them fit for the patent office.
- I'm living with four other wonderful girls who have warmly welcomed me into their apartment.

I say all of these things as though I am somehow responsible for them happening, but really this has been quite the journey of God opening up doors for me to come to Dallas and get connected.  He has put several books in my hands (Life Together by Bonhoeffer, Radical by Platt, Don't Waste Your Life by Piper) that have filled my head and heart with these ideas about how to live.  And most of all God has allowed me to grow up in a context where it is easy to know Him and feel His love.  It doesn't seem possible that I can take responsibility for too much of what has happened this first week in Dallas, nor the rest of my life prior.

Praise God for how well this transition has gone thus far and please pray that I can continue to find where God wants me to get involved here in Dallas.

*the first five pieces of the Dallas project are more or less David Platt's "Radical Challenge" from his book Radical.

Forgiven

"Repentence is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven.  It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness."

- Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

The Final Stretch

I have just concluded my last "off" weekend this summer.  Our final two week team arrived yesterday and when they leave we will have a brief six hour break before the final group arrives for just one week.  It is absurd to believe that eight and a half weeks have already passed and in another three and a half I'll be home (what?!).

This last outreach went well.  God took some time to teach me about patience.  One day the kids were just really misbehaving and not putting forth the effort I know they are capable of.  As I was getting frustrated, I realized God must feel this way all the time as He watches us fail to do what we know is right or as He has to teach us the same lessons again and again.  And despite all of my frustrations I truly love these kids and want the best for them - so how much more must God love us!  I am special to God in the same way these kids are special to me, and I mean that in both senses of the word "special."

"The challenge to grow and the grace to fail" is a quote I read this week by Judson Morgan describing the theater I was a part of at school.  I think it pleases God to put us in circumstances where we feel "the challenge to grow and the grace to fail."  God has done that for me here in the DR as I am pushed to learn more, yet surrounded by a wonderful, supportive community.

I also got to practice patience as Taúmi did not want to follow instructions one day; she was more interested in playing in the swing.  I held her as she continued to scream, cry, and squirm in attempts to get to the swing.  She made herself so upset that she even threw up a little.  However, God is good and rewards us as we stick it out through some of these difficult situations.  Taúmi is learning to follow directions and that she can't just do everything her own way.  Her tantrums are getting shorter each time and she is becoming a more willing participant.  Praise God for the work He is doing in these kids lives.

On a lighter note, one of the kids, Daniel, was playing dead on the porch where we were all eating lunch.  So Angelica, another little girl, ran over to give him "CPR" and was pressing on his stomach.  On one of the repetitions, she managed to squeeze a fart out of him!  Sorry for the crude humor, but it was one of the most hilarious things that has happened at school!  All of us teachers were practically rolling on the ground we were laughing so hard.

"But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him." - 2 Samuel 14:14

Faith Journey

My roommate from last fall just sent me this quote.  As I ponder "what's next" (and I know I'm not alone in this inquiry), I thought it seemed particularly applicable:

"Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led.  But it does mean loving and knowing the one who is leading.  It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason - a life of knowing Him who calls us to go.  Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a person and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world."

- Oswald Chambers

Answered Prayer

Sometimes when we pray God says, "yes"
Sometimes when we pray God says, "wait"
And sometimes God says, "no," but it's only because He loves us
But God always answers our prayers
- A song we sing in the preschool classroom :)

Looking back over my various prayer requests, I am blown away to see they way God has really answered them.

Before the last outreach, I asked for your prayers that I would not fall into the rut of routine and that I could continue to find newness in everyday.  It was a wonderful outreach and this truly seemed to happen.  The things that were old had new life to them and somehow I ended up on a number of new adventures.  For example, we were in town buying some groceries when suddenly our car was needed to pick up a group of students.  Since there would not be enough room in the car for all of us, I hung out at the ice cream shop in hopes that they would someday return.  I really enjoyed having my own little solo adventure and having the chance to slow down and people-watch for a little bit.  Another day, a teacher at SI's preschool in Los Higos was sick, so based on my experience there last fall, I was elected to go fill in for the day.  It was a ton of fun to get back to Los Higos and see a bunch of people, have lunch with my Mamá again, and to try something different.  It seemed like these sorts of things were happening all outreach.

I also asked for you all to pray for Génesis, a new student in my classroom who was having a difficult time adjusting.  She is doing so well now!  She no longer cries throughout the day and is participating more and more in class.  What a darling Génesis is and it is cool to see her gain increasing mobility with a walker.  As she gets older and gains a little more balance and coordination, she will likely be able to walk without assistance.

In case I hadn't mentioned it, Angie, the lead teacher in my classroom, did in fact get her visa and is in Utah now for an English immersion program.  Lordis and I have taken charge of the class and have learned well how to work together and keep track of all our little munchkins.  In addition to Angie making it to the States, all of our teams have made it back and forth from the DR with no major issues.

Praise God for all of the amazing things He has done and for answering so many prayers.  God has been so good throughout the first three outreaches and I know He will continue to be faithful through the last three.  Please continue praying with me as I am considering coming on full-time staff with Students International and waiting for God's response.

"Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart" - Psalm 86:11

Leadership

As we come to the close of our third outreach this summer, it has become apparent to me that leadership greatly impacts a team.  As I reflect on the various teams that have come through here, I can see that the aims of the leaders are reflected in the aims of the students.  Servant-hearted leaders have servant-hearted students, etc.  This makes me grateful for the fact that we have such an amazing Leader, Jesus Christ, to set the example for us and teach us the right way to live.  If we can follow Him, hopefully we can reflect His heart to those around us as well.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
- Philippians 2:1-2 

Clueless

On one occasion, while [Jesus] was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1:4-8

We really just have no clue, do we?  Here we see Jesus, after He has already risen from the dead, telling the disciples to hang around Jerusalem in order to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The disciples are thinking that this is when the kingdom of God will become a reality over all the earth, yet here we are, 2000 years later, and that still has not happened.  They were way off in their guess.  Additionally, I can assume pretty assuredly that they had a wrong picture of what that might look like (as we likely do now too).  And this idea of "baptized with the Holy Spirit" must not have made any sense to them.  They were completely clueless and I'm not sure that we're much different 2000 years later.

I think this teaches us two main things.  First off, we need to trust God to provide all of the answers and that He has a plan for this broken world, since we have trouble grasping many of these concepts.  Secondly, we are called to be witnesses, as it says at the end.  Let's think about this idea of witness in the domain of a court room.  A witness is called upon solely to present what they have seen and know to be true based on their experiences.  They are not called to judge right or wrong, there is a jury for that.  They are not called to say what the future will hold, there is a judge for that.  They are not called to convince anyone of what the truth is, there is a lawyer for that.  Witnesses just say what they have seen.

In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul says, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:1-2)  Paul was intentionally clueless to everything but what he had witnessed in Christ Jesus, because nothing else really mattered.

So may our cluelessness lead us not into despair, but rather to trust more fully in God and to be obedient in what we do know.  May we be witnesses of what we have seen.

Another Perspective: From/For

From my experiences and observations, a frequent question of college students or others in life transitions is, "What do you want from me, God?"

The other day, someone was telling a story and when he asked this question he instead asked, "What do you want for me?"  At first it caught me off guard as a strange way to phrase the question, but I think it is much more accurate to what is actually going on.

God doesn't need anything from us.  He's not sitting around waiting for someone to step up because otherwise there is no way He can get the job done.  Rather He wants us to step up because He sees the benefits for us if we do.  God wants for us to get involved knowing that we will be changed and benefit from a closer relationship with Him.  His desire is for us, not to gain something from us. Sometimes our gain requires giving, but God is still asking out of motivation for us.  Throughout the Bible when we see God asking people for things, ultimately it's because He wants for them to be in right relationship with Him.  God could have freed the Israelites without Moses' help, yet He knew what an amazing opportunity for Moses it was, etc.

Another thing I love about this phrasing is that it shifts the focus off of what I'm doing and more appropriately to what God is doing.

What does God want for you?

"Sin"

The question isn't,

     "Is this right or is it wrong?"

but rather,
     "Does this draw me closer to Christ or does it rob me of my affections for Him?"

Forgiveness

On Maundy Thursday, I had the privilege of partaking in a foot-washing.  The day began with me deciding to participate in another event that involved me walking around barefoot all day.  In the course of walking to classes, my feet had gotten pretty dirty by the time I arrived at the foot-washing service.  Whenever I have had my feet washed before, they have always been relatively clean.  However this time, I had the humbling task of presenting my dirty, disgusting, embarrassing feet to be handled by the unsuspecting man who led me to the wash basin.  Without a hint of remorse at having chosen me and my dirty feet to wash, he carefully and meticulously cared for my feet and made me clean again.  Afterwards, I was delighting in how clean and soft my feet were, how they still smelled like the soap, and how they seemed to be in perfect condition.  Excitedly I wondered if I could stay this way forever.    But suddenly it struck me that my shoes were out in my car and I would have to cross the parking lot with my newly cleaned feet.  I began trying to think up any and every way, whatever the cost, to get to my car without dirtying my feet again.  I was considering asking somebody to carry me out to the car; trying to figure out a way to wear my coat on my feet while maintaining the ability to walk, or even wondering if I had the necessary skills to walk across the parking lot on my hands.  I was willing to look foolish if I could just stay in that clean condition.

I wonder, if we truly understood the weight and depth of forgiveness, if we would be so quick to fall back into our old habits.  If I truly understood the extent to which God has forgiven me, would I be so quick to continue in my patterns of life that are harmful or destructive and build no one up?

I believe there are two primary problems.  First, we don't recognize how bad we truly are, how dirty our feet are.  I like to think of myself as a good person, but the more I realize how great God is and how little I give Him my full praise, thanks, and the glory that is due to Him, I begin to see more clearly the mud between my toes.  The second issue at stake is that we don't realize how clean we have been made in Christ.  When my feet were made perfect, I had this desire to keep them in that condition for as long as possible.  If we were aware that in forgiveness God removes our sins from us "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12), we might work harder to not wander back to that place of sin.

In forgiveness, I ought to be so impressed with how new God has made me, that I begin to examine every aspect of my life, on guard against the things that will make me dirty again so that I might avoid them.

As Pastor David Choi once said, "Cheer up, you're not as bad as you think you are, you're worse."  Now rejoice and delight in how God in Christ through the Spirit has made you a new creation, separate from your sins - and with His help, you could stay this clean forever.

..."Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.  "Go now and leave your life of sin." - John 8:11

"Not Our Voices But Our Lives Will Sing"

The other day I was talking with one of my friends, Leo, from the DR.  He was sharing how they are building a new church and that he is helping with the construction.  I asked if he was enjoying that and he responded with "I like doing anything I do for God."  I thought this was a pretty good answer and it got me thinking about the things we do for God.
     First off, are we really doing things for God, or just for ourselves?  What I mean is, when they pass the plate at church for a special offering or when there are signups for some sort of work day, are we actually participating for God, or for our own sake?  So that we can "check off" giving or serving on some sort of invisible checklist of spirituality.  Am I doing it just so that I'll feel better about myself?  Not to suggest that there is anything wrong with special offerings or work days, in fact they are good things, but what is our real motivation for participating?  Is it enough?
     And should I be able to compartmentalize my life into "things I do for God" over here, "things I do for myself" over here, and "things I just do" over there?  Shouldn't I do everything to the glory and honor of God?
     Okay, so if I'm working to do everything for God, how do I know whether I'm doing something for Him or for myself?  In the book Culture Making, by Andy Crouch, Crouch talks about discerning our calling by seeing where our work is being multiplied beyond our efforts, because then we know the Lord is in it.  God fills us with joy when we are following Him - it should not be burdensome.  In Matthew 11:30 Jesus says, "...my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Not to suggest that we will never run into frustrations as followers of Christ, in fact Jesus even promises difficulties (Jn. 16:33), but the overwhelming message we see is average people like you and me gladly giving up everything to follow Jesus (Mt. 4:20, 22, Mk. 1:17-18, 2:14, Lk. 5:11, 28, Jn. 1:35-51) and celebrating in their times of difficulty (Acts 5:40-41, 1 Cor. 12:9-10, Jas. 1:2, Phil. 1:21).  We know God is using us and we are in the center of His will when our joy and efforts are multiplied beyond anything we could manage on our own.
     Mark Lewis, one of the directors of Arena Theater at Wheaton College, puts it another way.  He asks, "Does it sound like fun?  Does it seem like an adventure?"  This is an excellent way to look at it.  A couple of months ago Mark was collecting money to buy infant formula for an orphanage he was going to visit in Ethiopia.  When asking for the funds, he encouraged people to only donate if this seemed like an exciting opportunity, like something they wanted to be a part of.  He wasn't after people's money, but rather was inviting them to join in something greater than themselves.
     This is how we should look at "doing things for God."  Not as an obligation to be filled, but rather an opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves.  In Isaiah 29:13 "The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.'"
     May we enjoy serving the Lord with our hearts, and may it never be a burdensome obligation.

Vamos!

An article I wrote for the Anthropology Department Newsletter, Culture and Society.

I spent this past semester in the Dominican Republic learning Spanish and working at a Women's Center.  Especially at the beginning of the semester, I would frequently find myself lost in conversations - not the kind of lost where time and place seem to fade away because I'm so intrigued with what the other person has to say, but the kind of lost where people are talking at me and I haven't a clue of what they are saying.  One of the most common and comical ways this would play out would be when my host mom would approach me and rattle off something in Spanish.  After a moment of staring blankly as my response, she would gesture and say "Vamos!" ("Let's go!") and I would know to get in the car.  I would then scamper into the backseat like a little kid without a clue as to where we were going or how long we might be gone.  I just knew an adventure was beginning and my mom would take care of me.  I think this is a lot like our walk with Christ.  We don't always understand what God is doing or where He is taking us, but we must trust the voice that calls to us, "Vamos!"  and rest in the knowledge that an adventure is beginning and He will take care of us.

Unfinished Business

Last night I was driving to a friend’s house who lives about 30 minutes away.  It was raining pretty hard, was dark, and almost impossible to see any lines on the road because the water and lights had turned it into a mirror.  Whenever cars approached from side streets, with their headlights shining into my car, I had this image of them not being able to stop and crashing into me.  I thought about how I could die or be horribly injured so easily and so quickly, when suddenly this great peace came over me that that would be okay.  It made me wonder if God was preparing me for something and I began to doubt that I would actually make it to my destination, but like I mentioned before, somehow none of this seemed concerning, just a simple matter of reality.

I began thinking about how I would feel about dying.  Not the actual act of dying, but more the status of all my relationships.  If I were to die without getting the chance to say anything more, would that be okay?  Would I have any regrets?

People often talk about living without regrets.  I don’t think that’s possible.  If you have ever done anything wrong, chances are you wish you hadn’t.  I have regrets, but I also have closure on them.  I decided a better question than, “Do I have regrets?” is “Do I have any unfinished business?”

If I were to die in this instance without the opportunity to say or do another thing, would I be okay with the way I left my relationships?  For instance, if I couldn’t say another word to my parents, I think that’d be okay.  They know that I love them; we are on good terms; I don’t think I’d be leaving them with any questions.  Other people, however, there might be questions:

Did she really care about me?

Was she upset with me or hurt by me?

Did she care or even know about how much she hurt me?

I don’t want to leave these questions unanswered for the people who would survive me. 

Rather than the question, “Would I have regrets?” I think it is better to ask ourselves, “Would I have unfinished business?”  At any moment our lives could be over and I think we might fear death less if we knew our “affairs were in order”, so to speak.

Let’s live without unfinished business.

Name Speaks of Relationship

This afternoon I received a letter in which my sister-in-law’s grandma asked me to call her “Nana.”  In an instant our relationship moved from the formality of a “Mrs. So-and-So relationship” to one more closely mirroring that of a grandmother and her grandchild.  Names are so much more than just a way to distinguish one person from another, as we might distinguish juice from milk, but they say something about the relationship between the speaker and the one who carries the name.

We see this in a myriad of ways.  While I love the fact that my dad calls me, “Pumpkin-Pumpkin,” I would feel uncomfortable if a professor were to address me in such a manner.  Our relationship does not warrant such familiarity.  Or even if a close friend, someone with whom I’m very familiar, called me “Pumpkin-Pumpkin” it would still be strange because that is not part of our relationship.  A number of my friend’s moms have become mother-like figures to me, and therefore I refer to them as such when I warmly greet them.  When a child finds an animal, or even an inanimate possession that they cannot keep, we do everything in our power to keep them from naming it because then they will become “attached.”  In the naming, a relationship is born, or at least taken to a new level.

In the play Eurydice, by Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice dies and is taken to the underworld.  In entering the underworld, her memory is wiped and she therefore forgets the names of everyone she once knew, thus erasing those relationships.  She meets her father in the underworld, but it isn’t until she can begin to relearn names that she rediscovers her relationships with him and those she has left behind.  At one point, Eurydice asks her father to tell her the names of her mother and brothers, but he refuses her, telling her it will make her too sad.  As it stands, she is not in relationship with her nameless family members, but merely knows of their relationship.  Without the names the relationships cannot exist to the same degree.

My uncle’s mother passed away today.  As I thought about the joyous reunion Jesus and Sharon must be having, I began to wonder what God calls us.  Does he call us by our proper names?  Do you think he has nicknames for us?  What would happen if I heard God say my name?

There isn’t really a conclusion to this.  In fact, this is quite rambling and lacking direction.  But today I suddenly became aware of the intimate links between name and relationship, and it fascinated me.

Morning

"If we were to learn again something of the praise and adoration that is due the triune God at break of day, God the Father and Creator, who has preserved our life through the dark night and wakened us to a new day, God the Son and Saviour, who conquered death and hell for us and dwells in our midst as Victor, God the Holy Spirit who pours the bright gleam of God's Word into our hearts at the dawn of day, driving away all darkness and sin and teaching us to pray aright - then we would also begin to sense something of the joy that comes when night is past and brethren who dwell together in unity come together early in the morning for common praise of their God, common hearing of the Word, and common prayer.  Morning does not belong to the individual, it belongs to the Church of the triune God, to the Christian family."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Man a Nothing

O Lord,
I am a shell full of dust,
     but animated with an invisible rational soul
     and made anew by an unseen power of grace;
Yet I am no rare object of valuable price,
     but one that has nothing and is nothing,
     although chosen of thee from eternity,
          given to Christ, and born again;
I am deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state,
     of the vanity of creatures,
     but also of the sufficiency of Christ.
When thou wouldst guide me I control myself,
When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.
When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.
When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself,
When I should submit to thy providence I follow my will,
When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself;
I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself,
Instead of thee I look to man's approbation,
     and am by nature an idolater.
Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.
Convince me that I cannot be my own god, or make myself happy,
     nor my own Christ to restore my joy,
     nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, rule me.
Help me to see that grace does this by providential affliction,
     for when my credit is god thou dost cast me lower,
     when riches are my idol thou dost wing them away,
     when pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.
Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart;
Show me that none of these things can heal a wounded conscience,
     or support a tottering frame,
     or uphold a departing spirit.
Then take me to the cross and leave me there.

From The Valley of Vision - A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Love

"Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ's sake."

"Human love constructs its own image of the other person, of what he is and what he should become.  It takes the life of the other person into its own hands.  Spiritual love recognizes the true image of the other person which he has received from Jesus Christ."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Belief

"Belief in the gospel is not just the way to enter the kingdom of God; it is the way to address every obstacle and grow in every aspect."
- Tim Keller

"It is easy to believe in God, but far more difficult to believe God."
- Dr. Stephen Kellough, Wheaton College Chaplain

"If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself."
- St. Augustine

To a Mouse

Wee, sleek, cowerin', tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need not start away so hasty
With bickering brattle!
I would be loath to run an' chase thee,
With murdering pattle.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
An' fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou must live!
A rare, small piece but from the thrave
Is a small request;
I'll get a blessin' with the lave,
An' never miss it.

Thy little housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly walls the winds are strewin'!
An' nothing, now, to build a new one,
Of foliage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin',
Both sharp an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin' fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out through thy cell.

That wee bit heap of leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee many a weary nibble!
Now thou's turned out, for all thy trouble,
But house or hold,
To bear the winter's sleety dribble,
An' gray frost cold.

But Mousie, thou art not thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice an' men
Go oft awry,
An' leave us nought but grief an' pain,
For promised joy!

Still thou are blest, compared with me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, though I cannot see,
I guess an' fear!

By Robert Burns

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

By Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw