Is Jesus your friend?

Don't get scared. i'm not going to ask you if you died tomorrow where you'd spend eternity. i'm just asking how you view your relationship with Jesus. Is Jesus your home boy? Is Jesus a fairly cool uncle you visit now and then but don't have much time for? Is Jesus a demanding boss or a lofty religious figure you can't bother? Well, this week i want you to consider who Jesus is and how you see your relationship. Hopefully Jesus isn't this guy for you...

Did God paint you?

Homily at Lenten Worship last night...

My hero growing up, from the time I could walk… was Robin Hood. I loved the character, I loved the stories. In one of my favorite film renditions, Robin Hood is played by Kevin Costner and his faithful companion who saves his life, is played by the impeccable Morgan Freeman, a Moorish Muslim who follows him home from the Holy Land. Safe to say, no one there in England’s Sherwood Forest has ever seen a black man.

At one point, a little girl approaches Morgan Freeman’s character, Azim, and asks him, “Did got paint you?” He smiles and replies, “For certain.” Still curious, she asks, “Why?” Smiling more broadly, Azim tells her, “Because Ah-lah loves wondrous variety.”

(PAUSE)

You need only look around the world to see that this must certainly be true. The sheer variety of plants and animals and people bear out God’s magnificent pallet. God is a masterful painter and has painted the whole of creation with wondrous variety. From the small grey squirrels native to our land to the magnificently tall bespeckled giraffes of Africa, from the purple of our majestic Rocky Mountains to the purple of the Zimbabwean fabrics.

Did God paint you? For certain. Each of us is painted by God, the same God who has painted all of creation, the heavens and the earth. God did not only paint his chosen people in Israel, nor only North America or the United States. God does not only paint in red, white and blue. When Satan takes Jesus up to the summit, he does not show him only the nation of Israel, but all the nations. Our God is not a God of one people, but all people

The people of all nations were painted by our one true God. The people of the United States, the people of Uganda (point to Emily). The shirt I am wearing tonight was painted by the people of Zimbabwe, made by the hands of our brother in Christ, Paul Newshangwe, who has visited us several times. He told me that in speaking to African immigrants in Denver about church, he heard interesting responses. The hospitality our Presbytery sought to provide included seeking the desires of the immigrant community, to see if they would like a church plant, an African worshipping community. This confused the immigrants. They said, “When you visit us in our home country, we welcome you into our church. We would not ask you to build your own. It would not even occur to us that you would want to worship apart.”

Did God paint you? For certain. God painted the people of North America and the people of Africa. We have a view in this country that we must keep those shades and colors separate, neatly defined. In many ways, we are not one canvas, but many color samples, incomplete and unfinished, yearning to paint a bigger, brighter picture. Perhaps the lesson we can learn from our friends from across the ocean is that the one God who has painted us all can unite us, not just in spite of our differences, but because of them. Maybe, instead of finding a place where we fit or sending others to the places where they fit, we can begin to see that in God’s canvas, no color clashes, but all complement one another, and all paint a fuller, brighter picture of God’s kingdom.

Did God paint you? For Certain. Because our God loves wondrous variety. Amen.

Greenday

This week, in Lent, we're focusing on Africa, specifically Uganda tonight at Wednesday Worship. To read a quick summary of the environmental struggles there, take a look at this site.

In other news...

This year, for the first time, the Olympic medals are being made from recycled materials. Read more here.

Why go to church?

i went to APCE* a few weeks ago and saw a video that made me totally flip out. Many, if not most of my close high school and college friends were non church (or synagogue or mosque)-goers even if they were believers. i got to seminary and became a non church-goer for awhile. i've had dozens of conversations with my friends and with my youth about what it means to a church attendee/member. In large part, i think the shift is away from the institutional Sunday morning formal gathering and towards a looser, less formal community gathering in smaller groups and oriented toward fellowship, community nourishment and service. Church going may be evolving for my generation into church being and church belonging. In spite of this though, many of my generation and younger do not even want to belong.

Out of these conversations have come questions and challenges about the importance of belonging to a community of believers. The answers i often give revolve around our individual needs and needs of the community. You need the nourishment and encouragement, the accountability and the perspective of other people in order to grow and be sustained. And even if you're the only person who ever lived who can grow on your own, than the community needs you, someone needs you to grow in their own faith. Even if you don't need church, it needs you.

But there's another concern. "i've seen the Church. i know what it is." i've talked to plenty of people who have been hurt by or are afraid to be hurt by the Church. i've talked to those who think they don't deserve to be there. The video i saw gave so many of the same answers i've given people for years and answers my wisest friends have given me. My hat is off to the filmmaker and to the church that released this video. It went viral on YouTube, and it did so for a reason. My hope is to release a similar one for Wellshire some day. We have budding filmmakers in our congregation. So here it is...

*APCE - Association of Presbyterian Christian Educators, an organization and a conference that meets annually.

Jesus tells it like it is

John will be preaching about evil and Satan this week. This is a tough subject for most Christians, especially God's ever-optimistic frozen chosen. To prepare, i want everyone to watch this important video...

Stardust

i preached a short homily tonight for Ash Wednesday. This is a transcript...

Before I ever considered seminary or the ministry, I was first and foremost… a science geek. I love science. I love how science answers questions. If there’s no answer, there’s a theory. If there’s no theory, there’s a debate, and there are strong opinions. And I have never been accused… of not having an opinion.

However, I didn’t go into a scientific career because science, for me, didn’t answer any of the really important questions. Why are we here? Why do people do the things they do? Why do good things happen to politicians?

But science always remained and always held a fascination for me, especially space, the galaxy. The story of creation was most fascinating to me from about day one to day three, when God gathers the chaos and forms it into the heavens and the earth with his few words. The Bible records God saying, “Let there be light,” and this is amazing. But if you have ever read a scientific narration of the birth of a star from someone like famous scientist, Neil Tyson, you gain a new appreciation for craftsmanship. It’s akin to the years of time it takes it takes an oyster to form a beautiful pearl from a single grain of sand, but it takes millions of years and the process, though slow, is a dazzling light show, the likes of which no mortal has ever witnessed.

Stars are made mostly out of hydrogen and helium, the smallest elements in the universe. But stars are the birth place of all the other elements we know. It is within the womb of stars that the building blocks of all of creation are formed. These other elements are released when the largest of stars explode. As they die, they give life to all of God’s creation. Everything you are made of, everything you can see and touch and taste and hear, God knit their building blocks together in the center of a star. Everything we are and experience… is stardust.

God’s building blocks, his playdough, his clay, the dust from which we come, is not just earth, it is dust… star dust. To make you, God called light into existence. God made a star, and then a star died and then God made you from the remnants of the light he called into existence.

Like the star, all of us will eventually die and to that dust we will return. No matter how well preserved, one day we will all return to dust, to the elements from whence we come. We return to what we once were… star dust. The Lord of all, heaven and earth, our world and the sun that shines by day and the stars that shine down on us by night, has made our inward parts, has brought us to life from the very dust of stars and breathed into us. But the psalmist tells us that one day God will withdraw his breath from us and to that dust we shall return. Amen.

Greenday

Barring any major health problems, i will probably never be a vegetarian. This is something with which i struggle as an environmentalist and as a believer, trying to make good choices about taking care of the earth and the animals which inhabbit it. i love beef. i love most meat, cow, pig, sheep, rattlesnake, bear, deer, chicken, duck, ostrich, gator, ALL kinds of seafood (fish, squid, octopus) and even jellyfish.

In fact, as we begin to discuss our food choices as necessarily responsible and faithful decisions we make about how we are stewards of creation AND how we are neighbors to our global brothers and sisters who lack proper food and nutrition, we have to (re)consider some somewhat more exotic food. The question, "Where's the beef?" is a relevant one. Much of our beef is farmed on mega-ranches and fed with sawdust mixed with chicken manure, cattle squeezed into small pens and shot up with more steroids than your average MLB homerun hitter. These are not the happy California cows you see on TV, and they're significantly less happy than the cows out in the blizzard-like pastures of Wisconsin. While the happiness of your food prior to its demise may not be your chief concern, the cost and environmental impact may be more persuassive.

i have no intention of talking you out of your burger (i intend to eat many more myself before i die). However, i would like to share a few alternatives that may become more popular in the near future for environmentaly friendly carnivores and thrifty omnivores of all kinds...

Jellyfish

Overfishing has killed off the fish that eat jellies, allowing jellyfish populations to explode. In some formerly biologically diverse areas of ocean, the jellyfish biomass is now greater than that of fish, which is likely to continue since climate change and pollution are changing the ocean chemistry, creating conditions favorable to jellyfish. Jellies eat fish eggs, so once they take over the neighborhood, they tend to be there for good.

The Japanese have learned to make jellyfish more tasty. You can find jellyfish ice cream, jellyfish biscuits, rum-soaked jellyfish, and even wasabi-flavored jellyfish sold in vending machines. i personally like it best grilled. When it's boiled, it's very chewy.

Nutria

The nutria is a nasty little water-loving rodent native to Argentina. It was first brought to the US to be farmed for its fur, like beavers. Fur demand shot down and the little beasts took over. They're an ecological menace in much of the marshy southeast US where they've damaged more than 100,000 acres of wetlands, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries pays a $4-per-tail bounty for the creatures. The department promotes the eating of nutria meat, and runs a website featuring recipes for nutria chili, sausage, gumbo, and more.

In other news, if you want to be enironmentally conscious and hip, check out this water bottle from the Onion Store.

Word(s) of the Week

This will not be a long post. A clarification: this post is not about homosexuality. It is about discourse, conflict and hope. The word of the week is "homophobia." It's defined as "fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men." i want to talk specifically about the label, rather than the fear itself, calling someone a "homophobe." i read an editorial in college in which the columnist put forth the notion that calling someone a homophobe was possibly the worst kind of prejudice. i had to think about it.

In thinking about how most hatred is bred, whether it be racism, agism, sexism or religious intolerance, i began to see her point. Most hatred is born of fear. That fear is often based in lack of understanding or misunderstanding. People can fear those of another skin color because they have little interaction with them or never got to know people different than themselves. People can develop agism and sexism through fears about employment and their own job security. People can develop fears about those of other religions because of the actions of minority members of those faiths or how they are portrayed in news sources and cinema.

i would somewhat disagree with the columnist because in a way, maybe the term homophobia is helpful. It helps to label a hatred what it truly may be for some people... a fear. A fear can often be alleviated more easily than a hatred can be mitigated. A fear can be worked on through learning, enlightenment and experience. It may be much more easy to fight hatred by soothing fear.

However, the point the columnist wanted to make is that the label homophobe quickly makes respectful public discourse impossible. It's derogatory and divisive. The moment you call someone a homophobe, you have said, "Your opinion is invalid because it's irrational." At this point, you have admitted you have no desire to debate, but to debase. Your desire is not to come to common ground but to beat your opponent into it.

This is not the only label used by people who debate these issues, nor is it the only derogatory and divisive label groups use to tell their opponents, "you're not worth debating, only defacing and dehumanizing." i would encourage all of us to consider our words carefully so that reaching common ground isn't achieved by laying our ideological opponent out on it.

Avatar

Yesterday, the retirees in our 6th Day group at Wellshire came for their monthly program. Holly picked two movies to review, and asked me to do the review for Avatar. i recommended the movie after i saw it in theaters in an earlier blog. However, i didn't say much about it. What follows is what i told 6th Day about Avatar. As i told them, it's not for everyone, but it is phenomenal...

Avatar is first and foremost, a science fiction movie. If space and aliens and futuristic technology are too much for you to swallow, this is probably not your movie. However, if you’re at all open to this genre, this movie is phenomenal in every way. It has easily the most impressive cinematography ever to grace the silver screen. Director, James Cameron, who directed Titanic, is an avid scuba diver and this passion colors every inch of the alien rainforest where the movie takes place. The plants, animals and even the alien people all glow with underwater florescence and variety of color, shape and form that is unparalleled anywhere above the ocean surface on Earth.

Seeing it in 3D is a must. The aerial shots, giant man-made machines, sweeping jungle vistas and variety of alien creatures are stunning. Some of the creatures are like horses or wolves and some resemble giant dragons or pterodactyls. Still others float through the air, luminescent like jellyfish. It’s a breath-taking world.

As deep and rich as the color and imagination of this whole new world is a very deep and powerful storyline. For anyone who has seen Dances with Wolves, this will be a very familiar tale, even though the characters and ending are so radically different. Just like the film, O Brother, Where art Thou, with George Clooney, which was a remake of Homer’s The Odyssey, the story is new and fresh and the characters newly shape the tale, while teaching many of the same lessons. In fact, the lessons so blatantly painted across this movie got it banned in China. Themes of military and mercenary troops forcing natives off their land for highly-demanded natural resources ring all too true for the people of China and Tibet. It has obvious implications in the US in our history as well as modern international policy.

If you can’t check your sense of disbelief at the door, or you have no interest in the fantastical or a film that will make you think, this movie isn’t for you. However, if you’re eager to experience a sense of wonder that a movie may not have awoken in you since you were a child and to be challenged to think about how we treat the people and their beliefs who stand between us and the resources we need to support our lifestyle, this movie will take you on the ride of your life. It’s not for everyone, but everyone can take something away from this movie… other than the 3D glasses.

In the World

Exciting news coming out of Korea this week. i know, you can reread that sentence. Not scary, not concerning, not threatening, and it's not even technology news. No, North Korea has indicated a desire to reopen reunification talks with South Korea. WWII left Korea divided at the 38th parallel. Soviets occupied the North and Allied forces held the South for a time. The long term consequences have been drastic.

North Korea adopted a dictatorship and South Korea, a democracy. In 1957, South Korea had a GDP lower than Ghana and by 2008 it was 17 times Ghana's. Meanwhile, North Korea experienced a major famine in the late 90's, losing millions in just 3 years. Reunification has been on the table before, but it looks like it may be gaining some fresh perspective. President Horst Kohler of Germany (a country once divided similarly) visited Korea this past Monday to speak with President Lee Myeong Bak. You can read more on JoongAng Daily.

Word(s) of the Week (WOW)

Ignorance is Strength

The title of my blog is one i used once upon a time for an old blog because of its connection with the George Orwell novel, 1984. The government in the book, much like many governments throughout history tries to control the people through strict limits on what they can say and do. Most everything is named ironically, i.e. the Ministry of Truth, which doctors photographs and makes up heroic fictional party members and data, facts and figures of false good news.

The party propoganda which is dsitributed includes statements such as, "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," and "Ignorance is Strength." Much of the book parallels the theories present in Nazi Germany and Communist China, that dissent is unpatriotic and dangerous because dissent is the opposite of unity. Like a person who thinks they will become wiser by ignoring criticism or self-reflection, resulting in doubt or indecision in the short term and possible growth in the long term, these systems rely on the necessity of general ignorance in order to insure blind obedience. Awareness breeds weakness if dissent is considered weakness rather than a means to grow and strengthen.

Every single person in history who made any significant contribution was a dissenter, a rebel or a person with a question. Ignorant people are soon forgotten. For me, this phrase, "Ignroance is Strength," is the banner of every dangerous movement, every book burner, every sercret policeman who imprisons scholars and marchers, every government that locks up its citizens for being different or denies or covers up the mistakes of its past flies this banner high. So as a reminder, in its simplicity and irony, it is my blog title. The pictures it hovers over are representative of dissenters in various films who would be neither silent nor ignorant in word or in action*. Here's to dissenters and rebels because without them, there'd be no churches and no Christian faith.

*If you can name each hero and their film, 100 points to you.*

Greenday

Ethical debates currently rage over genetically modified plants and animals. However, as millions die of starvation each year, and far more suffer from malnutrition, sickness and blindness due to flood, drought, disease and vitamin deficiencies in local food sources, the debate has practical implications. A recent article from Discover Magazine takes a look at some of the hope that science has to offer... (please click on the link or this photo for the neat pictures and stories about the food)

Hope for the Hungry

It's been almost 20 years since the first genetically modified (GM) crop was approved for commercialization, and still the range of biotech foods available to the public is paltry. Soybeans, corn and cotton that tolerate high doses of herbicides and fend off pests―technologies that benefit rich-world farmers―are nearly all the choices we have.

But scientists have the tools to engineer crops that can benefit far needier populations. Here is a sampling of a few of those crops in development. The trick is finding a profitable way to get these crops out of the lab and past convoluted regulations.

-Emily Waltz, Discover Magazine

What do you see?

What do you see when you look at me? When you look at Pattie or Beth or Holly or John or Vinnie or Emily or Alana or Chuck? Is it the same thing? Is it different things? Why? Do you make assumptions about each person you encounter about who they are, their upbringing, their family, their emotional resources, their education, their culture?

i heard a fascinating interview today on NPR with Dr. John A. Rich, the author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time. The book was born out of Dr. Rich's interviews with young black men in the ER when he became curious about why so many of these young black men were there. i'm hoping to read this book because it sounds fascinating, but what i found even more interesting was a particular phrase Dr. Rich used in his interview this morning.

Dr. Rich was discussing his own initial discomfort in interviewing these young men, despite being black himself, because his own upbringing (middle class, suburban and well educated) was so different from theirs. He had his own preconceived notions. He assumed most of these young men were gangbangers, dealers and criminals. It didn't occur to him that they might simply be caught up in the environment in which they lived, victims of circumstance. Upon meeting one young man, he made the assumption that he was unemployed, based on his appearance. But more remarkably, he followed that assumption with one that blew my mind.

Dr. Rich said that looking at him you wouldn't know this was a young man who had a job... and "you wouldn't know this was someone who loved his cousin." i cannot tell you how shocked i was. We all make certain assumptions about people. Some we make from experience, others from cemented notions implanted by culture or media or socially inherited prejudice. We assume that a man in a hardhat and jeans in front of us in line at the Wendy's is a construction worker. We assume all politicians are sleazy.

When i was working as a lifeguard for the YMCA, i made many assumptions about the people who swam there. i once saw a family swimming. They had two little girls, one 2 and one 3 or 4 and another on the way. Dad had a high and tight haircut, was built much like Vin Diesel and fairly tattooed. i assumed that with his build, haircut, tats, and 3 kids about 18 months apart in age, he was probably an actively serving Marine. When i thanked him for his service, he seemed surprised i knew he was a serviceman. We can and do assume much about the people we encounter, and when we're right, it confirms in us not only our correct assumptions, but all our assumptions.

But what really surprised me is that this doctor would make an assumption about this boy's ability to love. i don't know (and maybe the book will reveal this) if he assumed based on the young man's appearance that he had no family or didn't know them or that the family structure was a mess or if he just assumed that his exposure to street life and crime meant he didn't have the emotional resources for love, but it seemed a radical assumption to make. It makes me wonder if one of the reasons there is so much division and prejudice in this world (or country) is not how many assumptions we make about someone's occupation, education, values or family, but rather the assumptions we make about their humanity, their ability to have an occupation, to gain an education, to hold values or to love other people. Once we make assumptions about those things, we have not decided how different a person they are, but how much of a person they are. We have decided how human they are, or can be.

i don't want to lay blame on this doctor i have never met. What i wonder is how much of that sentiment is present in each of us. There is hope in the lives of example, both modern and Biblical, the living out of the knowledge we have that we are each made in God's image, and God cannot be diminished by our prejudices or assumptions. What do you look like? Do you look like someone who loves their cousin? i'm still not sure what that means, but i have hope that we can all look like that and that we can all see that in one another.

*Word(s) of the Week will return on Thursday this week*

Ask the Well

As many of you know, Wellshire has been approached about the possibility of moving to a new location just eight-tenths of a mile down the road. Just like the hiring of an Assoicate Pastor for my position last year, the response to investigate this opportunity is based strictly on the strategic plan adopted last year.

In true Presbyterian fashion, the strategic plan was developed over several months of careful study and prayer by a committee and drew from the wisdom, intelligence and imagination of the entire congregation with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Even after its adoption, the portions that related to Youth and Young Adults and Worship Leadership were not immediately implemented, but rather a nominating committee was formed to determine what sort of ministerial position would fulfill those needs and what sort of person would be able to serve the congregation best in meeting those needs and goals. That committee was tasked with and entrusted with the decision to investigate the possibilities rigorously and faithfully on behalf of the church and to then present a candidate to be examined by the church and voted on. That committee took months to decide and did so carefully because the life of Wellshire, its future and the growth of the Church catholic were all intertwined with that final decision.

Like the position of Associate Pastor of Youth, Young Adults and Alternative Worship and the various candidates, the possibility of a move down the street is being considered solely because of the needs expressed in the strategic plan. And like the process to determine the specific shape the Associate Pastor position might take, even considering bringing the move to a vote will require faithful members to investigate the possibility from every vantage, fiscal, architechual, personal, spiritual and emotional with wisdom, intelligence and imagination and the prayerful support of the congregation so that we might be led as a community by the Spirit.

The Spirit may lead us to stay or to go, but as believers and as Presbyterians, we will not make any decision without prayerful discernment, thoughtful discussion and careful and thorough investigation. To that end, the feasibility study has set up an e-mail account to listen and to give opportunity to every member to voice their ideas, their concerns, their expertise and their faithful accountability in the study of this opportunity. If you would like to contact the feasibility study, please direct your e-mails to: AskTheWell@WPCDenver.org and you may certainly speak to the members of the feasibility study group or any of the pastors at Wellshire, myself included.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Luke 18:1

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12

Word on the street

Attention Young Adults! The Core will be sponsoring a book discussion group in February, March, April and May. The kick off is tomorrow night, hosted by the Martinez's. The first book will be introduced tomorrow night and will be discussed on Thursday nights for 6 weeks (February 18, 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25).

The fun will begin at 7pm, tomorrow evening (February 4th) with a spaghetti dinner. Please come join us. Feel free to bring friends.

If you need more details, feel free to contact me at the church, on my cell phone or Facebook.

Greenday

Get excited! i can hardly contain myself! Invented recently in Japan, this new invention really takes the crown for green devices, well, at least the throne. It turns your office paper into toilet paper. That's right, from inbox to outbox to outhouse, your paper can be recycled right in your office. What better way to deal with junk mail and undesired office memos. For many of you, this might go on your wish list for office supplies right under red Swingline Stapler.*


All you need to do is feed the machine 40 sheets of AR office paper, and let the machine do its work of shredding, dissolving the strips in water, thinning it out, and then drying it out and winding it into the rolls.

In just thirty minutes, your office TPS reports are a roll of TP, without the tube in the middle.
It only costs eleven cents to make a roll, and regular use of this easy-to-install machine can save you up to 60 cedar trees per year.

Of course, you have to ask yourself if the price is worth it. Right now, this machine weighs 600 kg and is 1.8 meters tall. So not only does it take up a lot of space, but it costs a lot of money at $100,000.




So, Wellshire may not be immediately acquiring one of these, but when the price comes down, i don't see why we can't be showing visitors our green side by sending them home with a roll of Wellshire's finest. The perfect perforated prostilization tool.


*Swingline did not make a red stapler until after the movie Office Space popularized it.

Word(s) of the Week

The three most beautiful words in the English language are, "I love you." And four of the most hurtful are, "I love you, but..."*

Many years ago (i think i may have been in high school), i came across this quote in Reader's Digest. i'm fairly certain that the author went to a church i used to attend ocassionally. The words struck me hard, and for the last decade or so, i have taken note of how often this phrase is used and endeavored never to use it myself. Those four words, whether in that particular phrasing, or another, can be so detremental to a relationship and to a community. Even in jest, it is easy to give slight emotional bruises that collect over time.

"I love you," can heal in the most wonderfully deep ways imaginable. For someone who needs to hear those words sincerely, they can be life-giving. However, when we are insincere with the use of these words, or use them to softpedal a blow of criticism we are about to deliver, they can become an unwilling weapon.

I love you... but that outfit is a tragedy.

I love you... but you can't dance.

I love you... but I can't help you with that.

I love you... but your family...

I love you... but your friend ____ ...

I love you... but your jokes...

Most of us say something along these lines every day, and alone, they can be fairly innocuous, like stubbing your toe or jamming a finger. But over time, they can add up, making you feel very clumsy, wounded or under attack. I encourage each of you to set aside time each day to speak words of affirmation to the people in your life and to try to catch your tongue every time you're tempted to mitigate an "I love you," with a "but."

And on that note, i have a few people i need to e-mail...

*Editor's note: quote is a very close paraphrase. Actual quote could not be located by publishing deadline.