Partnering in Western Europe

If you are in the Northern Virginia or Atlanta areas in March, you should go over and sign up for one of the two meetings put together by the Regional Leadership Team for Western Europe of the IMB. For too long we have outsourced our work. We need to become real partners in the Good News.

Cafe con Leche … When In Barcelona

I guess I have grown up. Nearly 20 years ago I was told when I grew up I would drink coffee. I grew up around coffee so it was not a lack of exposure. I took a sip here and there but the bitterness did not work for me. Caffeine was not the problem. I preferred mine cold and sweet. Sometimes I wondered if it were the residual grounds present at the bottom of the cup using older model coffee “percolators.” The advent of automatic drip with the finer filters did not entice me so I gave up on that idea.

Whatever the case, I guess I have grown up. That’s right, this past week I followed the maxim, “When in Spain do as the Spaniards.” Yes that was an adaptation for those who learned it, “When in Rome … .” Every day I found an occasion to enjoy a “cafe con leche.” Mix in a little sugar and I could have had several cups a day - and did.

What drove the decision? Spending a few days with people given to giving up their own cultural connections to incarnate Jesus in another culture spurred my imagination. We often think of hospitality in terms of how we welcome others. Sometimes hospitality turns on the way in which we respond to those who invite us in.

I recall a trip to Burma a number of years ago. We sat down for an evening meal. Our hosts were wonderful people. They set a meal before us that included “chicken.” I love fried chicken. Not one piece looked vaguely familiar to the “pieces” I had grown up enjoying. We took in a very good meal but could have easily offended our hosts by suggesting we would not even try what lie on the plate.

We entered a cafe in Barcelona. It would have been easy ordering a “coke light” and continuing to shun coffee. However, it seemed right to do what the vast majority do when sharing time together in this great city. With a cafe on nearly every corner - I think it was my brother to referred to Barcelona as one large shopping center - it seemed most everyone connected with others over a cup of coffee. Were we to share time with people from Barcelona it seemed coffee should not be a barrier. Whether or not this new habit will continue remains to be seen. But, when in Spain it just seemed right to enjoy the coffee as the locals did.

Hospitality works both directions. Hoping to expose people to an hospitable God may well be communicated in how well we respond to the hospitality of others.

Friday Photo … Guest Photos … From Barcelona

Walking through Barcelona we saw Amanda’s photos on display in a little cafe. Worth looking at.

Barcelona from the Street

Perspective is everything. Once upon a time I hoped for a career in architecture. Coming to Barcelona and seeing some of the world’s finest architectural features and hearing of strategic city planning for growth brought back memories. In high school we prepared a “perspective” drawing of our dream house. Each horizontal line found a relationship to a particular point or series of points on a vertical line. The reference point served as an “anchor” point from which the structure would be viewed.

I have taken quite a few pictures and would love to take hundreds more. I have shot taken from a cafe atop a massive department store where one may see the structures built to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. In another I am standing on the ground trying to take in the massive cathedral begun by Gaudi. Interesting side note - it is easy to see where we get “gaudy.”

For the last few days I noted pictures taken from the window of our hotel room as well as from the ground. The small photo in this post is from the street - one of the most trafficked streets in Barcelona. Each of the photos I have taken while from my camera are all taken from different perspectives; that is, different locations shooting the same thing.

It is easy to think that because of what I may read on the internet or in travel books I “get” Barcelona. However, there is something missing. I cannot get the feel without being on the “street.” I am grateful for a group of new friends who call this city home. They get the vibe. They understand the city from the street. No amount of reading can possibly replace such a view. For a couple of days they took us to the streets. Cafes, restaurants, alleys and streets became the means by which we would get a glimpse and hopeful grasp of just what kind of place is this historic city.

One thought keeps returning to me. What kind of presumptive people are we who pretend to know the plight of another from any other perspective other than the street. It is where life happens. For my life as a pastor is often laden with occasions to be on the street. If I should think I could grasp another from a travelogue or photoblog I make a tragic mistake. The view from the street is a “with” view.

When I think of the life of Jesus, I cannot help but think of life on the “street.” He gave us the “with” view. We who follow Jesus need the with view. Herein is the lesson we learn from those who give their lives to learn the “streets” of others to bring grace and hope.

Thanks friends. I have learned much.

Friday Photo

Things turned cold here in Oklahoma Tuesday evening this week. I could not help but throw up a pic from our Labor Day trip to Creede, CO. These Aspens caught our attention as we came down from Love Lake.

Late Friday Photo … Oops it’s Monday

We never leave a place unchanged. It may be we are changed. It could be the place we visited was changed. An art project by a local artist included items given by participants at Soularize. During the last main session the artist took the items and turned them into a mobile. I found the relationship of the rock with “hope” inscribed on it and the “Save Darfur” bracelet moving. Yes, I took off my Save Darfur bracelet for the first time in almost two years to leave a part of me - a commitment to the Gospel as “whole.” That is, a message of setting “everything” right - even the atrocities of malevolent dictators. I pray for an end to the genocide in Darfur with great hope.

My New Friend Jim Palmer

Mark Scandrette, poet, pastor, catalyst, and friend , coined a phrase this past week - “My new friend Jim Palmer.” We spent the week as “condo” mates while working at Soularize in Nassau, Bahamas. One of our “condo” mates was Jim Palmer.

On Wednesday as we were making rounds and taking care of details I shared a seat in the van with Jim. He told me some of his story. I distinctly remember him telling me of his work at International Justice Mission. Jim shared the horrors of what I would refer to as the slave trade of young girls into prostitution in Asia. He was involved in something of an undercover meeting that eventually led to the freedom of many young girls. The experience took an emotional tole. Jim writes about the experience in his first book, Divine Nobodies.

During Soularize Jim served as interviewer extraordinaire.

Jim gave me a copy of Divine Nobodies. I read it on the plane home as we narrowly escaped the effects of tropical storm Noel. My plans were to read a chapter or two from Miami to Dallas. Early trips to the airport on consecutive days left me tired from staying up way to late to get up that early - 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.

After the first introduction, yes Jim noted he broke a writing rule or two, I was gripped. I read the entire flight and forgot about my fatigue. By the time we landed at Will Rogers I only needed another thirty minutes to finish. Wednesday morning I got up early and finished. I laughed. I cried. I shouted for joy. I shared pain.

One endorsement suggested Jim may be the next Donald Miller. No disrespect to Donald, but I liked Jim’s book a bit more. It may be Jim’s experience as pastor and the oft disillusioning effects of working toward a practical theology. It may be feeling the pain of working through our own dark sides and coming out learning not only much about ourselves but about God. It may be the recognition we have too often ignored the mystical aspects of our spirituality ignoring the visible intersections of God in our world. Maybe it was connecting my own experiences with “divine nobodies” that kept “ringing the bell” for me.

I found a new friend. My new friend Jim Palmer is not just worth reading, he is worth getting to know. Despite his own misgivings about what he may be able to contribute to the Church and the Kingdom of God, Jim has been for me a refreshing “Divine Somebody.”

Order Divine Nobodies. Read it. Cry with it. Laugh with it. When you get up from reading keep your eyes open and your heart sensitive and see who God crosses your path with - these divine nobodies.

P.S. - I am looking forward to Jim’s next book, Wide Open Spaces.

Friday Photo

If you can’t change the weather … change your location

Sunday evening the wind began to howl out of the north. Prognosticators ensured viewers will consider them worth listening to another day. It is that time of the year. We will look for frost on the pumpkin soon. Most of the time we simply add layers and enjoy whatever the weather. As for this particular cold front, I will change locations for a week. Further south the highs are in the mid-80’s and the lows are not supposed to drop below 70. Chances of rain will threaten everyday but after more than 50 inches here in the plains that should not be disconcertin.

I will hop a plane and fly south. For a few days of vacation I will help a friend working at a conference. We will share time with the likes of Bishop Tom. Conversations around “church beyond borders” will probe possibilities for the Church around the globe.

Should you be a tad bit envious, you may join in via an high-speed connection. Get you pass and join us regardless of your weather. While you may not be able to change your location, you could engage in some thought-provoking conversations. Friday begins webcast interviews with Len Sweet and Shane Claiborne. Don’t delay sign-up and join us.

Friday Photo

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