On Oil Spills and Heart Health

This morning I was reading Psalm 103. David begins, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name." His words, "my inmost being" got me thinking. Why so much attention to the inmost self? The inmost self is the interior me. It's that part of me that no one else sees. It is the hidden me, veiled to the human eye, but nevertheless of vital importance. In ancient Hebrew literature, sometimes the inmost place is referred to as the "heart" or the "eye." Simply put, the inmost place is the place most real to us, the center that defines us, orients us and animates our lives. On one occasion Jesus said that it is from this center, this core place that relational toxins like, "evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander" come forth (Matt. 15:19). No wonder David said earlier in Psalm 51, "You Lord desire truth in the inner parts, you teach wisdom in the inmost place." (Ps. 51:6).

Since it's so much in the news today the question occurred to me, "What does the BP oil spill in the Gulf teach me about my interior life?" At the time that I am writing this blog we are in the 51st day of the Gulf Oil Disaster. Undoubtedly the ecological and environmental consequences of this catastrophe will far exceed any of the previous disasters. In the early days when we were first learning about the oil spill in the Gulf, the public was misinformed. BP Executives grossly underestimated in their initial reports the severity of the situation. Now we are learning that in spite of sophisticated attempts to plug the well, it continues to spew upwards of 25,000 barrels of oil every 24 hours. Do the math--a barrel contains approximately 40 gallons of oil equalling 1,000,000 gallons of oil dumping into the Gulf every 24 hours. Scientists tell us that the oil is pouring forth from a source more than a mile below the surface of the ocean. At first, the effects of the oil spill remained secluded, buried and out-of-view from the public eye. But now in its fifty-first day, the whole world knows what was once hidden. What was innermost in the ocean floor is now uppermost in people's minds. The once beautiful azure and turquoise waters of the Gulf are now laced and stripped with currents of brown, oily pollutants. Pristine sandy beaches are being threatened, marine life is being drenched with petroleum, fishing industries have suffered, and the livelihoods of thousands have been affected. And now weather scientists are predicting an unusually severe hurricane season raising the strong possibility that the toxic mass now present in the Gulf will be carried by the loop current up the Atlantic seaboard. All of this because, what originated in the inmost place of the ocean floor has now reached the surface.

What does an environmental disaster teach me about the spiritual life? For one, whenever I ignore the "inmost" place, I run the very real risk of setting the stage for the release of harmful pollutants and toxins into my relational world, my ethical world and my spiritual world. Whenever I cut corners devotionally, ignore divine standards morally and fail to monitor my heart personally, it's only a matter of time before what was once hidden and concealed from the public eye eventually rises to the surface. Usually by that time the damage is already done.

S t r e t c h e d

On Rabbits and Being Real

A couple of days ago I did something I rarely do. I read a children’s book. Don’t worry, it wasn’t for remedial purposes—I just wanted to read a simple story. My regular reading diet often includes selections like biblical commentaries, theology books, sermons, occasionally a novel or biography—but rarely do I ever read a children’s book!

I thought it was time—time to break out of my reading rut and introduce a genre of reading that I’m less familiar with—a child’s book. The great thing about juvenile literature; it doesn’t take as long to finish. My book of choice: Margery Williams’ classic The Velveteen Rabbit. Long before Pixar produced Toy Story, Margery Williams used vivid imagination to personify a “fat and bunchy” rabbit whose coat was “spotted brown and white and his ears were lined with pink sateen.” Williams delicately portrays how the velveteen rabbit was naturally very shy, often overlooked by its owner and frequently snubbed by the more expensive mechanical toys.

But there was one toy in particular who took notice of the rabbit—the Skin Horse. He was old, bald in a few places, and had been around long enough to see a lot of the mechanical toys come and go. One day the Rabbit asked the Skin Horse, “What is REAL? Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?” The Skin Horse replied, “Real isn’t how you are made, it’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real.”

Nowadays it seems a lot of people are asking the same question the Velveteen Rabbit asked the Skin Horse, “What is Real?” As proof that the question is very much on the minds of many, our culture has fallen in love with a popular entertainment offering called, “Reality TV.” Frankly, I find most reality shows hardly seem real to me at all! Nevertheless, we are very interested in what it means to be real these days.

The Skin Horse is right: the moment any of us truly become real is the moment we understand just how deeply we are loved. “It’s a thing that happens to you.” This is the Gospel—a real man born in real time in a real place. He lived a real life and died a real painful death. And then judging by the countless numbers of people he appeared to after his death, he REALLY rose again. God’s proof of love is this: He sent the Lovely One to die for this very unlovely one. Moreover, when unlovely people suddenly discover they are deeply loved—there is no need to become anything other than REAL!

One day the Rabbit asked the Skin Horse, “Does it hurt to become real?” “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

C.S. Lewis once said, “As an adolescent I would have been ashamed to have been found reading fairy tales. Now that I am 50 I read them in public. For when I became a man, I put away childish things especially the fear of childishness.”

When I was a child my heart was filled with wonder. But when I grew up I needed something else—I need the Gospel.

S t r e t c h e d

Ripple Effect

For two days I’ve been in San Jose, Costa Rica learning about a ministry that’s pioneering new and creative ways to train and equip church leaders throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It’s called ProMETA and the word “ProMETA” is a Spanish acronym for Programas de Maestria en Estudios Teologicos Accesibles. In short, it means, Master’s Programs in Accessible Theological Studies. All the study programs offered through ProMETA are conducted entirely through the Internet. They are leveraging technology to create virtual learning communities all around the Spanish-speaking world. Not even ten years old, ProMETA is already successfully training experienced and seasoned leaders in 24 different countries with minimal overhead and impressive results.

Thorough research indicates that Christianity’s center of gravity has shifted dramatically in the past fifty years from the northern hemisphere centers of influence (North America and Northern Europe) to the southern hemisphere centers (Asia, Africa and Latin America). In 1980 there were roughly 17 million evangelical believers throughout Latin America. Today there are more than 60 million evangelicals. Studies indicated that everyday throughout Latin America some 8,000 people come to faith. If you do the math, that’s a staggering statistic. But here’s the challenge. While the Spanish speaking church has exploded with growth, there is a disproportionate growth in leadership to meet that growth demand. And unless there is a strategy of multiplication, that disproportionate statistic is likely to increase.

A strategy of multiplication works like a ripple. A small drop of water released into a larger pool thus creating a ripple effect. The larger and weightier the drop of water, the larger the ripple effect. This week I’ve heard numerous examples of the power of a ripple effect. I met a young Venezuelan leader this week named Samuel. His English was certainly better than my Spanish, but through an interpreter his story managed to move me deeply and illustrate the “ripple” of multiplication. Samuel is a key Latin American leader in his country. He is enrolled as a distance learner in ProMETA and recently took an online Master’s course in church planting. He ministers in a city with a population of 1 million people. After he completed the course he decided to take what he learned and share it with 100 pastors whom he oversees in his denominational setting in Venezuela. Samuel reflects the Apostle Paul’s strategy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:2). They met for a week, unpacked the principles of church planting, discussed strategies, videotaped each session, closed with prayer and returned to their homes. Days later someone suggested they place the training on YouTube. Within days Samuel was flooded with over 500 requests throughout his country to come and conduct the same training in their area. He did and as a result of multiplying his influence, 20 new churches sprung up on Venezuelan soil. That’s the “ripple” of multiplication. Technology has not only created a “flat” world, it has created an “open” world too.

It is true that sometimes technology can be used in ways that actually detracts from our message and hinders our effectiveness. But before throwing the proverbial “baby out with the bathwater,” I need to reflect about all the ways technology is helping to advance the Gospel and strengthen the church across the world. And a good place to begin is to consider ProMETA (www.pro-meta.org). I learned this week that when godly men and women blend the science of technology with the truth of Scripture powerful kingdom-sized ripples result.

Speaking of technology…. I think I’ll sign off,

S t r e t c h e d

Shhhhhh….Don’t Talk About IT!

Last weekend I spoke to over 200 university students at a conference sponsored by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. The topic: Sexuality. As I was doing my final preparations last week for the three talks I was to give, I received a phone call from a woman who used to attend our church (she no longer attends because of relocation, not because she was mad). She had called to inform me that her son would be in attendance at the conference and when he heard that I was the main speaker his comment to his mother was, “Oh, Pastor Lee—he’s the Sex-Pastor!” Now I’ve been called a lot of things, but that’s a new one! Apparently this young man had heard me speak on the topic some time ago and it made quite an impression on him. Whether the impression was good or bad, I’m not too sure!

Some may think the word sex and the word religious or God or spiritual don't even belong in the same sentence with one another. And yet maybe the two are more closely related than we think. It’s rather difficult to talk about one without talking about the other. Let me explain: it’s hard to talk about sex without talking about how we are designed as human beings. Which leads to a deeper and more profound question, “Who made us?”

Most of the time whenever Christians or those associated with the church talk about the subject of sex, we begin the conversation at the wrong place. More often than not, we use as our starting point the numerous prohibitions about sexual behavior in the Bible (plentiful, to be sure!). As a consequence, we shroud the subject matter with a cloak of negativity. Simply put, we are ashamed to talk about, dare I say it—our sexuality! However, God is not the least bit ashamed or embarrassed to talk about sexuality. In fact, he does a rather masterful job of explaining it in the first two chapters of the Bible—Genesis 1and 2. And every time Jesus and Paul spoke about the subject in the New Testament, they always seem to start the discussion by pointing back to Genesis 1 & 2 (cf. Matthew 19:3 and I Corinthians 6). What God was not ashamed to create, we should not be afraid to talk or think about.

Let’s be honest to God! We in the church are not at our best when it comes to the issue of sexuality. We are known more for what we are “against” than what we are “for.” So it’s no surprise that when a Christian group decides to discuss it, controversy lurks right around the corner. And the conference last weekend was no exception! The Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (GLBT) campus group was up in arms about the conference. They managed to circulate misinformation and rumors about the sponsoring organization Inter-Varsity, as well as about me, the conference speaker. The campus GLBT was operating with the erroneous assumption that the whole conference was intended to target the gay community and denounce homosexuality. Because of those misguided assumptions they organized protests, registered their complaint with school officials and even attended some of the conference sessions.

What impressed me most was how the conference organizers chose to address the concerns of the GLBT representatives. Admittedly, we’ve not always won a lot of style points by our attitudes and actions toward those in the gay community. All too often the church is viewed as homophobic and oppressive. The gay community in this case was upset, angry and ready for a fight. But on this day I saw something different. What the GLBT encountered last weekend from these Christians was not quite what they were expecting. I witnessed courageous Inter-Varsity campus leaders leading the entire conference in prayers of humble confession for our sins of indifference, arrogance and self-righteousness toward those in the gay community. We asked THEM to forgive US for our sometimes less-than-Christian attitudes! But we were also unapologetic about our belief in God’s original design for marriage and human sexuality as portrayed in Genesis 1 & 2—a belief that the church has unanimously held for 2,000 years.

Here’s what I learned through my weekend experience. We need to speak about sexuality, but we need to speak with a different voice—a voice that affirms the positive, noble, redemptive and virtuous view of sexuality presented in the pages of Scripture. We need to speak with kindness and humility—not with arrogance and anger. And we need to enter into conversations with those confused about matters sexual, but do so with sensitivity, saneness and the scent of Christlikeness.

Let’s talk about IT,

S t r e t c h e d

Taboo!

It’s Sunday night in Adidome, Ghana West Africa. We were up early this morning after what can only be described as a fitful night of sleep for me. I guess jetlag finally gets you sometime. My time happened to be last evening.

Pastor Jacob, my host and translator for the week knocked at my door dressed in his Sunday best. “You look so ‘smart’ in your Sunday suit,” I said. “Oh. I’m just wearing my suit because I’m cold” was his reply; which I found quite amusing given the rising humidity and 85-degree temperature I felt when I opened my door. I am not in Wisconsin this December 6^th. Angelo and I gathered our things and walked over to the chapel where the early service had already begun. Singing, dancing, drums, clapping and joyful exuberance met us as we arrived. I thought to myself, “It’s good to be back in Africa.”

Each morning this week before I start training these pastors in the subject of expository preaching, I take a passage and preach a mini-expository message in order to model the principles I am teaching. I had decided some time ago to teach from the book of Titus during this week. The passage I had selected for today’s message was Titus 1:10-16. The topic: “Dealing With Unsafe People.” Not exactly an easy passage or subject matter. Onward I went.

When I finished we were dismissed for breakfast. Immediately pastor after pastor approached me to tell me some story about some unsafe and difficult person in their congregation. It was as if someone had finally given these dear men and women permission to talk about that difficult someone, or that disappointing circumstance they were facing. Most had been carrying silent pain and agony for a long time. I have learned through my interactions with pastors, especially in these past couple of years that there are some subject matters that are taboo. I don’t know who declared them so, but they aren’t talked about near enough. So we talked about one of those subjects today. It clearly seemed to touch a nerve, if for no other reason than these dear saints were given opportunity to bear their unspoken grief and pain together.

Throughout today, more men and women have approached me to say, “Thank you for teaching us this week. Your words have given me renewed perspective and hope for ministry.”

So at the end of this Sunday in early December in West Africa I’m unusually tired. But it’s a good kind of tired. Come to think of it, it’s my perspective and my hope that’s been renewed.

Off to sleep,

S t r e t c h e d

Ghana Day 2

It’s Saturday, Day #3 for training. Each morning we have awakened to beautiful sunny days with a slight haze to the air due to the dust from the north. The wind is a gentle breeze and when you walk out in the morning it feels like a hairdryer is blowing against your skin. By noon the air has quit moving and you feel like you are standing in a sauna.

Each morning I have been teaching these dear servants of God about preaching. Today Angelo got up and gave his testimony. He was moved to tears telling these men and women the journey of his own son’s long history of drug abuse and alienation from his own parents. Angelo often refers to himself as a “trampler.” A corporate big-whig who would trample over anything and anyone to make his way to the top. He and his dear wife Margey had come to faith in Christ years ago through a friend in Baton Rouge, LA. But it was during the heartache of losing his relationship to his drug-addicted son that he finally renounced control and surrendered his life to Christ. He wept and so did we as he recounted the precious story of his son’s long recovery from drug abuse. Angelo has been my traveling companion on this trip and I’m deeply grateful for the friendship we are developing. Incidentally, yesterday while I was teaching the preachers I happened to mention one of the New Testament Greek words for preaching was “euangelleo.” The word means, “to announce Good News.” Later as Angelo and I walked together to lunch he told me his birth name was really “Euangellos” and his Greek-born parents had shortened his name to “Angelo.” I told him that he had come along with me just so he could deliver his “Good News.”

We both were quite relieved this afternoon during our daily break when we heard the pitter-patter of rain on the corrugated tin roof of our rooms. Before we knew it the rain turned violent and what started as pitter-patter suddenly sounded like the force of a mighty freight train rushing through a canyon. Gushing rivelets of water poured from the gutterless roof splashing the dry soil below and disappearing only moments later hardly leaving trace of a puddle. It’s supposed to be the dry season. There is an almost savannah-like quality to the terrain here. You can see for miles and miles the bush and the brush with a occasional tree poking it’s branches above the horizon which jiggles in the mid-day heat. The rain felt good! But we knew it was only a temporary reprieve from the heat. In a matter of minutes, we could feel the humidity building. It was now time for the afternoon teaching session. I was glad for my breathable Ex-Officio travel clothing.

Many of these 40-50 pastors that I’m teaching this week traveled by bus or car 2 whole days to attend this training. Almost all of them are working and serving in remote Ghanaian villages among the poorest of the poor of Ghana. Their conditions are austere and difficult and almost all of those I have talked with were responsible for not one or two churches, but seven or eight congregations. They travel village to village on bicycles providing spiritual oversight to their people. One pastor from the north, shared over lunch yesterday that his congregation’s offering last Sunday was 4 Ghanaian Cedis (Ghanaian currency)—about $2.80USD, and one of the cedis had been given by he and his wife. This same pastor went on and on about the value of the training we were providing. Penetrating stories from simple people that constantly remind me why BrookLink is doing what it does.

Today was the first day it was possible to use the Internet. I also called my wife from Ghana. It was good to hear her voice. It’s good to be here. One wonders what impact these days will ultimately have on a few pastors and church planters who come from the out-the-way and hidden places in the world. Only God knows what fruit will ultimately be born. As I lay my head down to sleep tonight I'll try to remember these familiar words: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Humbly,

S t r e t c h e d

Touchdown in Ghana

It’s Thursday, December 4, 2009. Angelo Afgrafiotis and I arrived in Accra, Ghana at 7:30am this morning aborad a Delta Airlines flight out of NY’s JFK airport. A loaded plane with crying babies. Not the way you want to spend a 10-hour transcontinental flight, but oh well, we are here.

Walter met us and took us immediately to the newly acquired IN Network headquarters. A clean, well-maintained two story with adequate parking and nicely appointed offices for the operation. We went inside to greet the staff there interrupting them in the middle of their morning devotions.

One of the first impressions here was the heat. It was stifling hot—93 degrees plus. The air was hazy due to the enormous amount of dust in the air. The cold winds from the European continent blow southward across the Sahara Desert and deposit liberal amounts of dust and particle into the Cape Coat countries like Ghana. It’s not only hot, but dry. The rainy season is during the summer months of June, July and August. In addition Ghana is only 5 degrees north of the Equator and this means you can count on heat during this time of the year.

It’s been 12 years since I last visited Walter in Accra. I was anxious to travel to Adidome, our destination for the next five days. Adidome was selected as one of the major sites for the IN Network work because it is this region where the Trokosi slave practice predominates. It’s a area of the country tucked away, hidden from the public eye, off the beaten path making for an ideal setting for a diabolical slave practice that torments women and children to thrive. We drove three hours north of Accra into the remote area of flatlands that stretched as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road. Lots of vegetation and greenery, but little arable farmland. Futhermore, there was little evidence of any form of wildlife. Walter explained that years ago as kids they would frequently see antelope and deer dart across the ball fields where he and his friends would play. But no more! The African wildlife was conspicuous by its absence.

We arrived in Adidome by 1pm. Angelo and I were feeling not only the effects of the heat, but the jetlag too. We had a small bite to eat and conversed with some of the IN workers before retiring to our rooms for the afternoon to escape the unrelenting heat and take a shower. We will begin tonight the training we are here to conduct.

Gratefully,

S t r e t c h e d