Futbol

I've never really played futbol...or football for that matter.  What better place to learn than with a group of futbol savvy Dominicans and a Columbian futbol-er coach.  So, for the past couple months I have been (trying) to take to the turf and deal with the constant schooling by the local futbol-ers who - shoes or no shoes - are not only fun to watch but great to be with.  There are certainly the cries for fouls and the little ones can sometimes take a good hit (yet reamain unphased and keep on futbol'n) but the overall feel is good sportsmanship and enjoying time together on the field.  

Our leader and super-skilled futbol oficionado is Obed Penuela (TEARS staff).  Obed started the daily futbol games with a heart to meet with guys in the barrio and share - live out...play out - the gospel.  There is prayer after every game and a Saturday morning prayer/biblestudy where the guys meet together to spend time praying, singing, and learning from God's word.

It has been a really blessing to share in this way in the lives of these guys.  They have been gracious to the new un-futbol-er from Canada and let me know where to go (in a good way), why there is a corner kick and other very useful tips for the field.  Additionally, it has been a good "remedy" to the highly starchified diet that seems to take its toll on the (this)  body. 

This Sunday we get to load up and play in the stadium (a real field!) and play against another team from the city. It's pretty cool this barrio futbol crew gets to head out, play on a big field against some new faces.  As you think of this crew, remember them in prayer.  That futbol would be a place where they learn how to work together, relate well together, see care a love in these relationships, where they are encouraged and challenged, and encounter Christ - not in an abstract way - but in a way that they come to personally receive his deep deep love for them.

Kingdom Feet

Ok, so here are a few of the usual "qualifiers" I like to tuck in before you start reading.  

1) My intention has been to post blogs chronologically.  That is, start with images and words from North Africa and work through the various events, ideas, questions, wrestlings, and other bloggable goods that follow.  The list has grown and whether it has been rainy-housebound-days, other work projects, no internet, or a dead computer battery and no power...somehow  there has always been a really good reason to keep me from posting.

2) This current post reads a bit messy for me.  Not really unpacking thoughts and squishing a few too many ideas together.  The big idea is "marveling at what is means to live in the kingdom (marinate in that for a bit) and then wrestling with the reality of living the life God has called us to in his kingdom and then marveling that the Spirit of God (alone) enables is to do this.  So hopefully this sparks some marveling.

Ok, here we go....

How do we live the kingdomized life that Jesus calls us to? A kingdom that, as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, says its people are blessed when they are poor in spirit, live as peacemakers, are persecuted for righteousness, when they hunger and thirst for righteousness. What does it look like to live in a kingdom that calls us to wash our neighbors feet? Living in the kingdom can often feel like virtue unrewarded, works unrecognized – everything that the world rewards and we seem accustomed to receiving are not ours for the taking or receiving in the kingdom. Jesus turns the world upside down. Power structures. Economic structures. Relational and social structures. The kingdom-life can feel topsy-turvy, confusing, and at times just plain undoable.

I have been reading through The Master Plan of Evangelism and recently came to a chapter on the Holy Spirit – fitting as we have been studying, questioning, exploring, challenging, ideating, and learning lots about the Holy Spirit as a team and within the church.

In thinking about life in the kingdom and the ministry of evangelism and discipleship, I found the following selection helpful and wanted to share it. But in sharing it, I also invite you to join us in our dialoguing about the Holy Spirit. If you have questions, ideas, quotes, references, or helpful resources to contribute we’d love to have you in the mix!

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Let no one imagine, however, that this kind of an experience with Christ could be engendered by human ingenuity. Jesus made it abundantly clear that his life was mediated only through the Holy Spirit (John 6:63). That is why even to begin to live in Christ one has to be born again (John 3:3-9). The corrupted human nature must be regenerated by the Spirit of God before it could be conformed to its true created purpose in the divine image. Likewise, it is the Spirit who sustains and nourishes the transformed life of a disciple in knowledge and grace (John 4:14; 7:38-39). By the same Spirit one is made clean through the Word and set apart unto God for holy service (John 15:3; 17:17, see Eph. 5:26). From the beginning to end, experiencing the living Christ in any personal way is the work of the Holy Spirit.

It is only the Spirit of God who enables one to carry on the redemptive mission of evangelism. Jesus underscored this truth early in relation to his own work by declaring that what he did was in cooperation with “the Spirit of the Lord.” It was by his virtue that he preached the gospel to the poor, healed the brokenhearted, proclaimed deliverance to the captive, opened the eyes of the blind, cast out demons, and set at liberty those who were oppressed (Luke 4:18); Matt. 12:28). Jesus was God in revelation; but the Spirit was God in operation. He was the Agent of God actually effecting through men the eternal plan of salvation. Thus Jesus explained to his disciples that the Spirit would prepare the way for their ministry. He would give them the utterance to speak (Matt. 10:19-20; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12). He would convict the world “in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). He would give illumination of truth that men might know the Lord (Matt. 22:43; see Mark 12:36; John 16:14). By his power the disciples were promised the very ability to do the works of their Lord (John14:12). In this light, evangelism was not interpreted as a human undertaking, but as a divine project which had been going on from the beginning and would continue until God’s purpose was fulfilled. It was altogether the Spirit’s work. All the disciples were asked to do was to let the Spirit have complete charge of their lives.

On the Road Again

I don't want to presume I have an active enough readership to express an apology for not writing.  Nonetheless, ye ol' blog has been dormant while lots is on the go.  That said, if you are among the slim readership of inaspacebetween then stay tuned for more frequent posts.

In the mean time, I wanted to show off my new wheels.  My first dirt bike...every boys dream.  Well, this is just a 50cc dream-come-true but it does the trick.

Ok, check back.  More words + images coming.

from the island.

D

Off the Road Again

After 7 weeks of touring the globe (at least part of it) I am back home....here in the DR.  The journey passed through Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, London, down to North Africa, London, NYC, and back the DR.  Stay tuned for more photos from the road(s).

C-O-F-F-E-E

I have been drinking coffee (faithfully) for 4 years and 1 month (exactly). It all started on August 13, 2004 on a flight from Germany. This "sure, why not" acceptance of the free inflight brew began my "relationship" with the bean beverage. In this 4+ years relationship I have tried many a brew and have developed a refined palette (I submit) and am not too keen on gas station or in-flight varieties...even the green mermaid is often subpar (My favorite: Caffe Artigiano or when in the DR a blend of Santo Domingo+Travesia coffee). Beyond mere recreational sipping I have also worked in the industry as a barrista (barristo?) and in wholesale (Caffe Umbria). Now, living in the Dominican Republic I have watched beans through the harvest, drying, roasting, grinding, and sipping stages.

So, I say all this to set the stage for the big event to mark my 4 year-and-one -month anniversary as a faithful coffee drinker: Coffee Fest! Yes, I get to go to Coffee Fest Seattle for a full day of sipping & sampling (and the subsequent coffee-head and coffee-stomach). Stories and photos to come but for the now I share the following song from grade 4 music class (hmmm...not sure how to convey the melody) and hope that any non-coffee drinkers might fight the myths and perceptions and warm-up to coffee (it can even go with solitude).

C-O-F-F-E-E
Coffee is not for me
It's a drink that people wake up with
That it makes them nervous is no myth
Slave to a coffee cup, they can't give coffee up

(repeat...or even sing it as a round if you like!)

Cheers.

Solitude

I like to be around people (nice people).  I like to meet friends for coffee.  Games night with friends.  Hiking (save blisters) with friends. Summer backyard BBQs with friends.  Road trips with friends.  Dinner outings with friends.  Travel trips with friends.  Movie nights with friends. (Family: love you and gladly insert "family" with "friends") . 

So, I enjoy socializing.  Give me a Myers-Briggs and I'll give you a Capital E.  Give me a temperament test and I'll show you Sparky Sanguine.  I can't remember what animal or color I am but let's go with a rather sociable dog and a rather sociable color (ironically, my wardrobe favors black...not goth-black from head to toe...really mostly black t-shirts and blue jeans....so I suppose I am a social black-&-blue).  

To be certain, I am not claiming to be super unique [in fact I believe that my E is increasingly more lowercase and I the 'ol spark isn't so Sparky).  I am sure the introductory list of "likes" is one that many people could say, "Yup, I enjoy those things too."  And there are others which tip the extrovert scales much quicker that I.  And people whose "batteries" require constant social time to be charged. 

Nonetheless, I traditionally lean toward people-time rather than solo-time.  In the past 5 years,  I have noticed/recognized, within me, an increased need for and desire for solo time.  Not only is it something I can appreciate and have become more comfortable with...it is something I have come to see is both healthy and desired.  It is a space that head (thinking) + heart (feeling) + hand (doing) find rest and renewal.

I recognize that life has seasons.  Busy times.  Schedules.  Demands.  It is not always easy or possible to carve out these really great times of solitude or retreat.  Maybe your thinking 5 minutes of silence & reprieve from the norm would qualify as solitude.  I get that it could look different for each person.  I am pushing for long walks in the woods or week-long personal retreats.  Just want to push the word/idea solitude out there and hope it can be present in a meaningful...life-giving way.

Right now I am staying with some friends and they just received the latest issue of Christianity Today.  This Sept. '08 issue features an interview with Richard Foster (of Spiritual Disciplines "fame"...plus a great cover featuring Mako Fujimura...see previous blog on Mako, July 8th).  Speaking of a life formed in the Spirit, Foster addresses a number of questions including the following which resonated with me and I wanted to share it here.

CT: "Evangelicals, among others, have been reading your book for 30 years.  What is the discipline that you think we need to be exploring more at this point?"

RF: "Solitude.  It is the most foundational of the disciplines of abstinence, the via negativa.  The evangelical passion for engagement with the world is good.  But as Thomas a Kempis says, the only person who's safe to travel is the person who's free to stay at home.  And Pascal said that we would solve the world's problems if we just learned to sit in our room alone.  Solitude is essential for the right engagement.

I so appreciate in Bonhoeffer's Life Together the chapter, "The Day Alone," and the next chapter, "The Day Together."  You can't be with people in a right way without being alone.  And of course, you can't be alone unless you've learned to be with people.  Solitude teaches us to live in the presence of God so that we can be with people is a way that helps them and does not manipulate them. 

Another thing we learn in solitude is to love the ways of God; we learn the cosmic patience of God.  There's the passage in Isaiah in which God says, "Your ways are not my ways," and goes on to describe how God's ways are like rain that comes down and waters the earth.  Rain comes down and just disappears, and then up comes life.  It's that type of patience.

In solitude, I learn to unhook myself from the compulsion to climb and push and shove.  When I was pastoring that little church, I'd go off from some solitude and worry about what was happening to people and how they're doing and whether they would get along without me.  And of course, the great fear is that they'll get along quite well without you!  But you learn that's okay.  And that God's in charge of that.  You learn that he's got the whole world in his hands."

I'm not sure what your "today"  or your "this week"  or your "this season of life" looks like.  Where you are "at" I hope that solitude can take a form in and around you that will be life-giving. 

Labor(filled) Day

I like to walk.  I like to run.  I like to hike.  In the Dominican I feel like in a given week I can log quite a few miles...some recreational and some by necessity...in sandals no less (ok, so not when I run).  I like to get out and hit the pavement..or the trail.  

So, it is a bit disheartening that a couple days back in Canada and I have run my shoed-and-socked feet ragged.  

Let me set the stage.  So Mike, Matthew and Darin set out on Labor Day to summit Golden Ears (Maple Ridge, BC).  Their guide book said it was an 11 hour round trip hike (24 kilometres, 1500m elevation gain) of quite mixed terrain.  The day was  overcast but the promise of sun breaking though was assured by all.  So the hikers stuffed their bodies full of carbs, stopped at  a gas station for some emergency rations (prepacked tuna salad and beef jerky..turns out they pair well).  

Mike, Matthew, and Darin got to the base (sounds too professional...really: parking lot) did our stretches and set off at an eager pace.  The hike started out great: Beautiful scenery, fresh air, crossing streams, guy time, and even some snow en route to make it very Canada-in-summer-unique.  About 6 kilometres into the trip Darin didn't quite clear a water blockade and now had 20 kilometres of hiking to enjoy with soaking feet--recipe for blisters he now knows.  With increased elevation came sweat turned cold and the promise of clearer skies being literally clouded over.  By the time we reached the summit we were "lost" (not "panic" lost just "not sure where we are" lost).  Matthew has cell signal so he called a friend who had successfully summited Golden Ears numerous times for directional advice.  His advice: you shouldn't be up there in those conditions.  Come down.

While this was somewhat disheartening given the hikers' proximity to the summit (ok, I realize I said the hikers were lost but they really were close!) it did come as good news as their bodies were needing warmth, food, and rest more than (so it felt for them at that time) more ascending.  Not too mention Darin was describing his feet as being jabbed with shards of glass.  Poor guy.

Ok, as an aside, Darin who wasn't sure about bringing his camera along did end up bringing it but at half way the batteries died so he carried a heavy useless camera adding insult to injury.

So, after a bit of a break, beef jerky, PB & Honey sandwiches, granola bars, and dark chocolate, the trekkers set off in the right direction for the base (with great thanks to the random hiker that they met who asked them if they were lost and guided them back to the shelter just below the summit).

Metres seemed like miles but 5 hours after leaving the "almost-summit" the weary hikers made it back to the car.  Shoes & socks were quickly removed and the car was subsequently filled with a corresponding odor.  Starbucks provided some needed warmth and nourishment and then bodies made it home and flopped.  T'was indeed a Labor(filled) Day.