Archives for category: prayer

The Daily Dose

September 5, 2007 //

I have written a new piece over at Relevantmagazine.com, Mother Teresa and the Experience of Doubt. It is strange to think of the well-known as actual human beings. One of my favorite passages from The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne is the one in which he describes his phone conversation with Mother Teresa. Shane writes about how, in his pursuit of living out his faith in Jesus with abandon and authenticity, he wrote to Mother Teresa to seek an “internship.” Through a bit of detective work, he was able to place a phone call to directly to the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta:

So I got the digits for Mother Teresa… we called at 2 a.m. from the pay phone in our college lounge. It began ringing. I was expecting to hear a formal greeting, “Missionaries of Charity, how can we help you?” Nope. I just heard an old raspy voice on the other end mutter, “Hullo.” Thinking I had the wrong number in Calcutta with the tab rolling at four dollars a minute, I started railing: “Hi-I’m-calling-from-the-USA-trying-to-reach-Mother-Teresa… I’m wanting to visit.” On the other end, I heard the muffled voice say, “This is the Missionaries of Charity. This is Mother Teresa.” My initial reaction was, “Yeah right, and I’m the pope.” But I held back. I told her we had written and wanted to come work with her… She said, “No, come for the summer. Come.” Come? Where would we eat and sleep? … She didn’t worry a lot about that. She said, “God takes care of the lilies and the sparrows, and God will take care of you. Just come.” Who am I to argue with that? I thanked her, and we hung up.

On June 20, 2007 the Simple Way community center in Philadelphia was destroyed — along with much of the neighborhood — in a massive fire. According to the latest news on the Simple Way site, it looks like they could use some people who are looking to pursue Christ with abandon and authenticity in their rebuilding efforts — in particular, roofers, carpenters and plumbers. If you’re in the area and can lend a hand, I’m sure they could use your help. Even if you’re not in the area, sending gift cards from Home Depot or Lowe’s would help purchase some of the tools they need in the rebuilding process.

Categories faith, hope, prayer

Homeward Bound

August 30, 2007 //

The final seven South Korean hostages in Afghanistan have been freed and are on their way back home!

May we continue to pray for these followers of Christ, their families, their church and for those who perpetrated these evil acts. In particular, pray for their church which, although this should be a time of great joy, has been issuing apologies and has been unfairly criticized by many inside and outside of South Korea.

Much respect to Eugene Cho for cutting through the media silence and becoming a voice and advocate for these followers of Christ, for his wise insights, and for calling the Church to sincere prayer throughout the last six weeks.

Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy.

Categories church, controversy, evangelism, faith, hope, outreach, prayer

The Ways In Which God Answers Prayer

August 9, 2007 //

We have a really amazing bunch of youth group students here at our church. For our recent VBS, out of a youth group of fifteen, we had twelve of them helping (it would have been thirteen, but one was out of town for several weeks). An 80% participation rate… great stuff! I’ve been bragging about them to everyone I know :)

A couple of our elders wanted to treat all of the volunteers to a nice dinner at Todai on a couple Sundays ago — which was awesome! — but the restaurant didn’t open until 5:30 pm. So, with most of the afternoon to wait, we decided to catch a film together after church. We were this close to allowing me to nerd out over Transformers, but we got there a little bit too late and it had already sold out. [A quick aside: If anyone would like to join me on this nerd-venture in SD, please let me know.] So, we ended up watching Evan Almighty together…

While I must admit that I like most films, I really enjoyed this movie — as did the students and youth group teachers who joined us. I know some people have criticized the film for being simplistic or preachy, but it was lots of fun. There was one scene, in particular, that surprised me by how it affected me. Lauren Graham’s character has just left Steve Carrell, and finds herself unknowingly engaged in a conversation with God (Morgan Freeman) at a diner. Here is what God says to her:

Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

Many young people want to be great in God’s kingdom — which is a noble goal. But we often send the wrong message to them by upholding bigger! flashier! cooler! as the standard for greatness. Maybe, instead of zapping us with a bolt of greatness, God gives us opportunities to attempt great things for Him (thanks, William Carey!) in our everyday lives.

For example, on Saturday, September 29, 2007, walktheirwalk is hosting a walk-a-thon to raise funds to build a school and provide fresh water “for children in Zambia, Africa who have been orphaned as a result of the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty.” [h/t: Marko]. While I admit the prospect of walking 12 miles makes me want to take a nap already, I am humbled and moved to know that there are kids there who make this walk every single day to and from school. And that makes me want to attempt something great for God. Members of our youth group will be there. I will be there, even if I need to be dragged across the finish line. If you are in the San Diego area, let’s do this!

Categories films, outreach, prayer, youth ministry

Mourn with Those Who Mourn

July 26, 2007 //

A South Korean pastor was murdered by the Taliban in Afghanistan yesterday, and twenty-two members of Saemmul Church are still being held hostage there. In the face of such evil, how do we trust, believe, pray? Eugene Cho has put together a picture of what Pastor Bae Hyung Kyu’s life was all about — by all accounts, a life marked by sincerity, generosity and love. Eugene has posted a photo of Pastor Bae’s father, an ordained elder, praying for his son which is utterly crushing in light of what has happened to his son.

We’re right in the middle of our VBS. It has been a wonderful time of seeing God work in the hearts of so many people in our church community. I do believe everything we’ve been sharing — that God is strong and that He is with us — but these words feel so frail and so fleeting when the darkness pushes its way into our lives so forcefully.

I understand when people try to emphasize God’s sovereignty in these situations — that the “blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Perhaps part of “counting the cost” in going out into dangerous places is a willingness to give up one’s life. But when I think of the family Pastor Bae left behind, my heart breaks. All we can do is mourn together, pray and weep and stumble through the darkness together, and carry those who are unable to move forward.

Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy.

Categories prayer

Our Refuge and Strength

April 17, 2007 //

My wife and I spent most of the day picking up pastors at the airport and dropping them off at our church for a conference on transitioning into house church ministry. We started around 9:00 am, and because of a distinct lack of planning, we ended up going back and forth about ten times throughout the day — wrapping up around 5:30 pm.

It wasn’t until we picked up our daughter, purchased up some much-needed groceries and got settled in at home that we found out the extent of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. When we left our place in the morning, the story was just starting to register on the morning news. By the end of the day, an unimaginable tragedy.

It’s strange how these types of events move us to self-reflection. Hopefully, it’s more than just narcissism at work, where even world events point back to ourselves. Massive tragedy reminds us that we are not in control, and how frightening that can be. I remember when the Columbine shootings happened, during my seminary years. I was sitting in a roomful of bright, devoted, funny and usually very chatty youth workers in a youth ministry class. But there was a heavy silence that day, tears and confusion filling the space where thoughtful conversation normally existed.

I hate how the news anchors, and even the entertainment wrap-up hosts, roll out stories like this as the “big story” of the night. They try to behave with a professional demeanor, forehead slightly wrinkled to convey sincerity. But there is always a hint of enthusiasm in the voice, almost as if they are glad to move on from tainted pet food and car bombings far away. The graphic in the background lays out the statistics of the highest death tolls from different shootings in our recent history as if we were checking batting averages or free throw percentages.

Evil can be so real and present. That lingering fear disrupts our security, brings up those dormant questions of theodicy — how can such evil and a good God coexist? There are answers, great answers, to those questions. But to someone who just lived through such terror, how does any of this make any sense?

I hear the words of the psalmist and I want to be comforted. I want these words to comfort others. I want to believe.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging

May the real presence of God be closer than any terror, a refuge in the face of violence, strength when ours crumbles into the foamy waters.

Categories hope, prayer