My Final Journal Entry

An ancient fable relates the tale of a group of blind men upon their first encounter with an elephant. Having heard of an elephant before but not knowing anything about them, these men are given the opportunity to feel the creature in order to know what it is. In this story (which has been told by countless people groups on multiple continents for over a thousand years) a string of 3 to 6 blind men each approach the elephant one at a time, grabbing different parts of the animal.

One, having felt the side of the animal, claims with certainty that an elephant is some form of wall. Another adamantly disagrees with him claiming the elephant is some kind of tree, having wrapped his arms around the animal's leg. A third chimes in stating that it must be some form of farming equipment, like a plow. He, of course, had felt the tusk. Yet another still claims they are all fools stating this is nothing more than a kind of snake, all the while wrestling with the elephants trunk.

Term in Review: 5 biggest lessons learned

I needed this post.

I had a lot of fun choosing my 5 most entertaining posts for last week's Term in Review, but I needed to work through this week's post. It was medicine for my soul.

Recently, I mentioned my lack of excitement about returning to the States, and as that time has quickly approached, I have found myself running a gamut of emotions. Sometimes it is the dread of returning to the world from which I came and being disappointed with what I find. At other moments it is hurt at leaving a life created here, saying goodbye to friends and people who have now become family.

But sifting through this next portion of my Term in Review, I finally found a little perspective.

My Term in Review

There is simply too much to say.

If you have ever had someone pose a really deep question as you were pulling into the parking lot of your destination, then you understand the feeling.

Instead of attempting to sum up the entirety of my two-year experience in 1000 words or less, I am opting to take another route. I want to do a “Term in Review.” Certainly you are familiar with the Year in Review that many news and media outlets do at the end of each year, taking memorable moments and stories throughout the year and providing a summary of events.

Well, for the next two posts, I will walk back through some of my favorites. My goal is to provide a good cross section of my experiences here for the last two years.

Some more thoughts on independence

Before she woke up this morning, the small group of us here began celebrating her birthday.

The 4^th of July is a different experience overseas. You do not drive up and down streets dressed in red, white and blue ribbons. There is no smell of hot dogs wafting from your neighbor’s yard. You do not see scores of ski boats and party barges lazily floating down the rivers, filled with partiers enjoying a long weekend.

Here, it is a day like any other. No pomp, no circumstance. No celebration, save the handful of us who call the United States home.

This is my second Independence Day abroad, and I find myself in much the same position I was last year, writing a blog post while everyone else is preparing for the cookout.

Here's to you: Christian t-shirts

In war, a soldier must wear his armor. In the throws of battle, one must be able to identify friend from foe.

Enter the Christian t-shirt.

Blasting out the message of faith in full silk-screen style, you were masterpieces of poly-cotton blend art. Classy and thought-provoking, you challenged t-shirt readers everywhere with the full out, robust message of the gospel by stabbing their hearts with phrases as keen as, “Body piercing saved my life.”

On Moralism

The following is a reaction to a post by Dr. Ray Van Neste on his blog, Oversight of Souls. Read that post first.

I came to Africa to share the gospel with moralists. In reality, I believe that term embodies the worldview of the people here.

These people are a very religious people. They believe in one, almighty God who is in control of everything. They believe in a holy book that tells them how to live. However, this holy book is merely a big list of morals. From cover to cover, it lays out long lists of sins and long lists of noble deeds.

These people live their life trying to do the good things in the book and avoid the bad things. That is the extent of their spiritual existence, following rules. To be moral, as defined by their holy book, is the ultimate aim of their religion.

However, it must be said that you do not have to cross an ocean to find someone with this worldview. As a matter of fact, they may be sitting on your pew next Sunday.

On storytelling

“There once was a man named Jacob…”

Those were the first words out of his mouth. Abe, a local pastor from the capital city, had come down to help with a volunteer team, and now, he was telling a story to a crowd of children.

Abe and I had driven up to make plans for a baptism that would be happening later that week. The tiny hut where this small group of believers meets is no more than 20 feet in diameter. The walls are open all the way around and it has a grass roof. There are no chairs or benches in this little meeting place, because the believers hold their studies and prayer on mats on the floor.

Children had slowly trickled in until the crowd spilled out and surrounded the hut. A crowd of kids sat inside, while an even larger group stood around the rim, their little heads bobbing over the walls trying to see and hear all that was happening. Eventually an adult spectator chided the children for crowding in and getting in the way. What happened next was priceless.

Off Topic: Prayer Positions

This past weekend I saw something I have not seen in a while.

It was Prayer Hands.

As you well know, Prayer Hands are the officially adopted prayer position of the western church. For time and memorial they have been emblazoned upon countless pieces of Jesus paraphernalia. As a child, this is the first of many prayer positions we learn. Our parents teach us to put our two hands together in this fashion as we kneel over our bed and thank God for our puppy and mud puddles.

Is the battle finally over?

My generation’s children will study this day, and so will their children to follow.

Tucked away somewhere beside the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War and the 2001 attack on New York, the death of Osama Bin Laden will make the history books. Perhaps that chapter in the book will be titled, “The fall of modern terrorism,” or perhaps not.

But today, streets are lined with celebrators, and the red, white and blue hangs proudly, punctuating the revelry. Thousands have supposedly gathered at Ground Zero to put a nail in the coffin of their suffering. People across America, across the world really, are cheering out, praising Justice for the blow it has delivered against Evil. Many Muslim countries and leagues have lauded the efforts of America in bringing down Bin Laden, and Saudi Arabia refused to repatriate his body. They had to bury him at sea, apparently because no one wanted him on their soil.

It is already being hailed as the end of an age. Alongside the recent rioting and political upsets occurring across the Middle East, people are saying there is a new age rising, an age that sees a brighter future for global relations. US-friendly democratic states in the Middle East may develop and now we have seen the death of the most wanted man in the world. Is the battle finally over?

Cow training - Part 2

If you are perhaps thinking, “Wait, didn’t he give us the Aha moment from the cow training thing like two days ago?” then you feel the same way I did.

This lesson was a double whammy. Right when I thought this little visual demonstration had provided the extent of its enlightenment, I was blindsided with one more unexpected sucker punch of awesomeness.

This is how it went down:

Cow training - Part 1

I like Aha moments.

Aha moments are those little points in time when the proverbial light bulb goes off and some previously known factoid gains new, deeper meaning. What first existed merely as meaningless trivia sprouts and grows into a three dimensional reality. Needless to say, my two years in Africa have presented me with more than a couple of Aha moments. * Life is lived in such a way here that many points of contact still exist with the biblical culture.

I had one such incident this week.

The message of the cross - Part 2

Before you even attempt to read this post, I would suggest you read Part 1. 

Desensitized.

It is a word that gets tossed around a lot in western culture now. We talk about being desensitized to violence or sex in movies. We talk about how children in our society see so much filth they do not really grasp that what they see on television is, in fact, fake. In a country where it was once wrong for Lucy and Ricky to be in the same bed on television, it has now become the norm to hear about sex scandals from members of the Mickey Mouse Club (with plenty of internet pictures and video to accompany). Even video games can acquire a “mature” rating. Skin is everywhere and most of us have seen so many people get shot on television we could fill a stadium with the “dead bodies.” 

Is it true? Can people see or hear something so much that it loses its significance?

I found the answer to that question last week.

The message of the cross - Part 1

We were running late, and I was mad.

However, the object of my frustration was none other than myself. We had a couple of errands to run before we left for the village, and I had, yet again, grossly underestimated the amount of time it takes to get even little tasks done in Africa. So, I found myself wanting to swear as I tied pieces of lumber to the top of our truck.

Here's to you: Christian ska music

Exploding onto the scene with trombones blazing, you gave youth group members everywhere a new way to stick out. If wallet chains and ringer tees with stupid logos were not enough, you added fuel to the “I am weird” fire. Your sound was reminiscent of a brass ensemble getting into a fight with a jaguar. Furthermore, you proved a bugle could indeed be a punk-rock instrument and running around like a mad chicken could be called dancing.

Here's to you!

If you are too much older than I am, this post will probably seem absurd to you.

If you are too much younger than I am, this will not even make sense.

But if you who remember being excited about dc Talk’s first album and upset about their last, then this post is for you!

Would you like fries with that friendship?

People ask me all the time what things I miss from the States, expecting it to be a steak or some real fancy meal. Quite to the contrary, I have discovered people miss the things they did and used the most. It is the things that were a part of my life everyday that seem to have left a hole.

So I really miss fast food.

Would Jesus wear Chacos?

If you ask any number of youth ministers, trying to prove to their kids that you can still be cool and live a Godly life, the answer would be, “Of course he would, along with his North Face jacket and one of those cool KAVU visors.” However, Joel Olsteen would probably disagree and say that Jesus would definitely be sporting a snazzy hair cut and a million dollar smile.

Off Topic: I'm Feeling Lucky.

So, I have decided to write a commentary on the Revelation of John.

There are several reasons behind this. For starters, everyone knows writing a commentary is how you make it into the “big leagues” in the realm of theology. It is also a well known fact that approximately 83% of evangelical commentaries say basically the same thing about any given passage and typically just reword each other. (Save their relationship to the freewill/sovereignty, dispensational/covenantal, and emergent church pop Christian culture questions.) Finally, any one who writes a commentary on the Revelation gets bonus points for walking off into that minefield.

Therefore I have devised a plan that will, in one stroke, make me famous and provide Christian readers the world over with new, valuable information they must know about the Bible.

In fact, I believe I have discovered the true identity of that one world government everyone is always saying the Apocalypse predicts.

Learning to learn

Have you ever noticed the similarities between a lower case “r” and “s”? Or for that matter, have you considered the fact that an “h” is really just an “n” with a tall back?

Yeah, neither had I, until a couple of weeks ago.

Addressing the state of our union

Ever since I can remember being old enough to have the slightest interest in government and politics, the State of the Union address has been one of those moments in the national timeline I felt obligated to watch. It is like election night or the inauguration of a new president; good Americans are just supposed to watch it.

Tradition outlines that every year in January, the President has his opportunity to update the Congress on the state of our union. Since the advent of broadcasting, this means he is also updating all Americans, as well as the world.