Dreams About Apologies

Mats Tunehag is a good friend and colleague who lives and works out of Sweden. He is a long-time "partnering guy" who has done many significant things for the Kingdom within the context of Central Asia (and elsewhere). Among many other adventures together, I remember fondly traveling with him 10 years ago to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan where he first displayed his many giftings to me.

Mats wrote something today regarding 2006 dreams that I thought was quite good (well mostly -- I wasn't overly happy with his US reference). Drop him a note if you want to interact with him on this at: MatsTunehag@compuserve.com.

Mats wanted us to imagine if we were to hear the following in 2006.

• Iran's president: Sorry, I was wrong, very wrong. The Holocaust did happen, no doubt about it. From now on I will work for all Muslims todefend Israel's right to exist - in the Middle East.
• Russia's president: I ask for your forgiveness. I have abolished free press, concentrated more and more power to myself, I have continued abrutal war, maybe even genocide, against the Chechens. I assume fullresponsibility and I will resign.
• Myanmar's military regime: Forgive us! We unlawfully grabbed power; we have oppressed a whole nation for many years. We hereby resign and handover power to Aung San Suu Kyi.
• The president of USA: I am sorry; I was a part of a deliberate lie and had wrong motives when we started the war against Iraq.
• Leaders of the Arab League: Please forgive us! We have been passive regarding the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Furthermore, we have ignored basic human rights for women and denied our citizens religious freedom
• President of France: Please accept my sincere apologies for my shameless nationalism. I now admit that the EU budget needs to be modernised and theFrench farmers should not have any special favours.
• Cuba's president: Forgive me; my regime is nothing but a dictatorship, regardless of what I've stated in my long and boring speeches. Cuba should introduce democracy. George W Bush: I'll call you!
• Prime minister of Turkey: An apology does not suffice, but it is a start. The Armenian genocide is a stain on our history.
• Zimbabwe's president: Sorry, Africa's misfortune is rulers like me. I plead with you white farmers to return. And Tony Blair - I am sorry for false allegations, please help Zimbabwe.

Published in the Swedish newspaper Världen idag, 30 December 2005.

The War on Christmas

It seems a bit ironic to me that some prominent Christians are making a big deal out of the so-called war on Christmas in the American retail community. Some stores have decided to call things “holiday” rather than Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa). Conservative Christians are in an uproar because they feel it is taking away from the recognition that Christmas is a religious holiday. So holiday trees are being talked about instead of Christmas trees (which actually is a bit ridiculous since Christmas trees are a historical development).

Funny. These are some of the same people who years ago descried the commercialization of Christmas by these same stores. Retail establishments were promoting aspects of Christmas (gift giving) to their advantage and Christians didn’t like it.

Now, when they try and take Christmas out of the strategy and just talk about holidays, Christians are upset. Seems like a bit of a double standard. Didn’t Jesus have His most harshest comments for people who tried to commercialize the synagogue during a religious holiday?

Perhaps we should be celebrating (or at least not making a big deal out of it) the fact that these stores don’t want to talk about Christmas. Perhaps then we can get an opportunity to explain to them the real nature of Christmas.

Ah, just a thought, and likely not a Political Correct Christian one either.

Why the Body of Christ Needs Each Other

It seems to me that most Protestants are always (or usually) looking for something fresh and new in what God is saying and doing in the world. What is the latest trend, the latest technique?

Catholics and Orthodox on the other hand are always (or often) celebrating the past of what God has done. What are the traditions we need to hold on to?

We need each other to maintain the balance! Perhaps that's what God has had in mind all the time.

Being Perturbed

A friend shared with me one of the secrets about learning. Real "cellular" learning occurs under pressure or when you stand in the heat. It's called "perturbation." Whe we are perturbed we put ourselves outside our comfort zone -- that is when we can make quantum leaps in our ability to be resourceful, dealing with the complexities related to things like our relationships and finances.
In 1977, the Nobel prize for chemistry was given to Ilya Prigogine, a Russian physicist wsho actually discovered that perturbation is how nature actually grows. Science again proving in specific what we sense generally.
Learning comes from the willingness to push where few dare to go. Rather than running from the "heat" in our lives -- look for it and jump into it!!
Life at the boundaries is where growth happens.

Revolutions

George Barna's new book, Revolutions, is just being published. As many would know, Barna leads a church research institute, and is one of the more quoted people in the American Church today.

Here’s a brief summary of the book’s conclusions that I’ve seen:

* The number of Christians attending local church in the USA is declining rapidly. Today, 70% of Christians attend traditional churches, but this will sink to 30-35% in 20 years. (Why George is a bit surprised by this is beyond me. As relevancy drops so does attendance.)

* The number of those who claim to follow Jesus and who do not regularly attend a local church will grow from 30% to 70% in the next 20 years. (Again, see above.)

* Alternative fellowship forms (house churches post-modern churches etc.), currently home for about 5% of USA Christians (but growing exponentially internationally), will make up 30-35%; another 30-35% will live out their faith in the fields of media, arts and culture; the remaining 5% of Christians attending non-traditional forms of church will have a family-based spiritual life.

The reason alternatives are being sought is because they are not finding community, relationship and authenticity. Are you?

* Conclusion: a minority group presently not even noticed by many will become the mainstream of North American Christianity in only two decades. So, I guess we can either wake up and be a part of it, or continue down the road to “non-mainstream” or irrelevance.

"This is a revolution, and will change not only the recruiting strategies of seminaries and Bible schools, but also radically question church building projects," says Barna. If only half as many people will be visiting traditional congregational services in 20 years, a smaller building will suffice.

For a more in-depth review check out Andrew Jones at http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2005/08/george_barnas_r.html

Are You Rich?

if you want to see where you are among the people of the world with the most money, check out this website. Might shock you.

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

I am not endorsing the donation that is solicited, though feel free if you want.

Prayer for Children

Just participated in the Cutting Edge Conference sponsored by the Viva Network (http://www.viva.org/). More on the specifics later perhaps, but here’s a prayer I came across that might bless you.


Prayer for Children


WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who sneak cookies before supper
who erase holes in math workbooks
who can never find their shoes
and probably watch too many cartoons on TV.

AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE
who stare at photographers from behind barb wire
who have no shoes
who were born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead
and who live in an X-rated world.

WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions
who won’t eat their vegetables or go to be on time
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch.

AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE
who can’t find bread to steal
who never get dessert
who don’t have a room to clean up or a blanket to drag behind them
who watch their parents watch them die.

WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN
who like to hear ghost stories but are afraid of what’s under the bed
who get regular visits from the tooth fairy
and spend their weekly allowance before Tuesday
who squirm at church and don’t want to be kissed in public

AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep
whose nightmares come in the daytime
who eat anything and have never seen a dentist
who aren’t spoiled by anybody
who live and move but have no being

WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN WHO WANT TO BE CARRIED
and for those who must be carried
for those that we never give up on
and for those who might never get a second chance.

How to be TrueFaced

I’m currently re-reading my way through TrueFaced, by Bruce McNicol, Bill Thrall and John Lynch. Bruce will be visiting Seattle for a Leadership Catalyst event and then staying with us at our home for a small dinner gathering. I guess it was fitting to go back through some of his book.

One thought I had is that it seems to compare to Keith Miller’s perspectives when he went through his “crisis” a few years back. What Truefaced calls masks, I think Keith called the “constructed personality.” Keith went to great lengths to explain how when we go through our development stage as adolescents, we “learn” aspects of performance to gain approval and esteem from others.

The irony is that because of this constructed personality we often can loose what we are really seeking: love, acceptance, intimacy and the success that comes with self-esteem. They are sacrificed and put in the prison of our souls.

As the spiritual disintegration process continues, we become less conscious of who we really are and what we really want. The constructed personality is really only good at emotional one night stands – being able to share reality only for an evening.

The key is in developing a process where we can break free of the construction and move into the reality of who we really are – and being good with that. Easy to say.

I find TrueFaced one of the better resources out there -- suitable for small groups and mentoring relationships that are pursuing being real with one another -- and creating a culture of trust.

Brian McLaren

I took a class from Brian MClaren at Mars Hill Graduate School last month. I enjoyed it immensely. It was based on his book, Generous Orthodoxy.

A few of my colleagues and friends have taken issue with some of the challenges Brian (and others) raise in the quest to perhaps personalize their faith journey. By raising questions and wondering why we believe what we do (and behave like we do) as Christians, some have seen a slippery-slope theology that they don't like.

I have no degree in theology, only in history, political science and international relations. I have studied church history in depth and perhaps because of my Catholic upbringing and journey of faith have some broader understanding of Christianity (studying Russian history and the Orthodox Church helped, too!). My personal journey has taken me to many denominational settings and forced me to look, learn, and evaluate how expressions of faith are made. My 10-year each tenures with the Natl. Assn. of Evangelicals (NAE) and World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) have brought me into contact with virtual all expressions of Protestantism. In addition, since I was often tasked with "ecumenical relations" at NAE and WEA (involved in things like Evangelical and Catholics Together) I feel fairly confident of where the primary, foundational pieces of orthodox Christianity are.

Okay, that may give you some context for the following.

Many haven't even read McLaren's books or even attempt to understand what he's really trying to say (or *do* with what he says). I don't believe he would say that all truth is a personal choice (as some seem to imply). He might agree with me and say that many evangelicals (especially Americans) seem more concerned with whether they are right on certain points rather than to demonstrate the love of Christ to our culture. He might agree with me in saying that many of our churches are not as relevant as they could be because they seem to have been more interested in creating and building Christian subcultures rather than creating and building relationships with non-followers of Christ (especially the marginalized of society). He might agree with me in saying we have been too interested in our congregations and not with our communities. He might agree with me in saying that we seem to be more interested in preaching the good news rather than reaching with the good news through our love and concern.

All of these have marvelous and numerous exceptions, but they still are that. Many of the emerging leaders around the world (NOT just Brian McLaren), from which I have had the privilege of learning much, are trying to develop a practice of following Christ that has less of the hypocrisy and more authenticity (see Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz), less of the arrogance and more humility (see New Kind of Christian, by McLaren), less rules / regulations and more life (see Doug Pagit's Reinventing Spiritual Nurture), less theological theory and more practice (see Theology for the Community of God, by Stanley Grenz); less conservative/republican and more prophetic (see Jim Wallis, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It).

All in all a very good thing in my estimation. I have seen no compromise of core Biblical beliefs, no call for embracing universalism, no baby going down the drain. Francis Shaeffer used to warn evangelicals about going down the slippery slope of liberalism (change your views on one thing and everything else will go, too). The fact is many of us have might have been so concerned about the slope that we've failed to see that we're not even climbing the mountain anymore.

And certainly, since western/northern/American Christianity has had so much influence in the South/non-west, there are challenges in those settings as well. Fortunately, we are learning from our non-western friends and colleagues. In addition, many of them have tried to look deeply and substantially into how to avoid the trappings of merging Christianity and culture (and they, too, have not always succeeded).

When McLaren calls for a "generous orthodoxy," he is asking us to be open to new and different things. Baptists, look at the ways in which the Orthodox affirm liturgy and learn from them. Charismatics, look at the ways the Presbyterians think and learn from them. Catholics, look at the ways that many Protestants embrace God's word and learn from them. And, we all can (and get to) assist each other in the journey.

Most of the values of this so-called emergent generation of Christ-followers are ones that I believe we should loudly applaud and encourage: community, relationship, social justice, authenticity, partnering -- things that have often not been emphasized enough. Are these folks perfect? Of course not; nor do they claim to be.

Robert Pickus

Robert Pickus -- the man who changed lives. Fifty years ago “Pick,” as everyone calls him, dedicated his life to building “a peace effort worthy of the name,” and in the mid 1980s recruited a young Brian O'Connell to work for his improbably named World Without War Council. As we researched the evangelical world's views on war and peace, he (and another mentor, George Weigel) put me on the way to making many contributions in the National Association of Evangelicals and their parent body, World Evanglelical Alliance. During the so-called “peace movements” of the time, Pick defended as Richard John Neuhaus once said, "the honorable tradition of a liberal realism that challenges both the cynic and the utopian."

I hope you are well, Pick, my friend. You are fondly remembered.

My Friend, Diane

My friend and colleague, Diane Knippers, passed away this week. It was a shock to my heart. Among other things, Christine and I have fond memories of regular Sunday lunches over several years with the Knippers and the Frickies in Virginia. We would talk of life and trends, work and play, church and relationships. I learned many things from those conversations that serve me to this day.

Diane was one of the first people to actively support and advocate on behalf of the persecuted church. In the days long before Christian leaders or media outlets were devoting radio and newspaper columns to religious human rights, Diane focused her passion and energy to supporting it. It was Diane, along with Dave Howard and John Langlois from World Evangelical Fellowship (now Alliance), who encouraged me -- and Mike Morris from England -- to consider launching a Religious Liberty Commission to help coordinate advocacy for the persecuted church. With her encouragement came time, effort, and counsel for the cause.

At one of the first conferences we sponsored as the Religious Liberty Commission, she argued that "we need to support our persecuted brothers and sisters not because of any attention we might receive, but because it is the right thing to do." As the idea of an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church was originally explored, she was one of the strong supporters that helped me overcome some initial skepticism on the part of many (including several who are among the staunchest backers today).

There are many things to be said (and I hope many people will say them) about all that Diane did -- and who she was -- in the many roles she played. As we worked together as Board members of the National Association of Evangelicals, she brought deep insight and perspective on the wider Body of Christ. As leaders at Truro Episcopal Church, Christine and I benefited from her wise leadership and consensus building skills. We will be eternally grateful to all our friend Diane contributed to our lives, as well as to the early stages of our children's lives (she also served as godmother for our twin boys, Joseph and John, now 17).

Diane, the world is less -- and so am I -- without your passion, strength, energy, sense of humor, courage, wisdom and gentleness. Thankfully, you remain ever present in special places of my heart.

For more reflections on Diane, check out: http://www.ird-renew.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fvKVLfMVIsG&b=470197&ct=706653

Pope John Paul the Great

As someone whose spritual journey began in the Catholic Church, as well as one whose professional portfolio used to include ecumenical relations (see the launch of Evangelicals and Catholics Together), the death of JP II causes natural reflection.

The many details of John Paul II's life and achievements can be easily found elsewhere, the impact he has had, however, should not be underestimated. He was, as his official biographer George Weigel stated, "the first truly modern Pope."

He moved the church in interfaith relations like no one else in recent memory -- maybe ever. His involvement in the fall of communism was inspiring to me as a budding Russian scholar.

When I visited Russia for the first time in 1985 and went to a Catholic church in Lithuania. I saw people coming out of a side door with a two babies in their group. As it was late in the afternoon, it was fairly obviously that a baptism had just taken place. My friend and I slowly walked down the side street and said hello. As we talked, I asked them what caused them to risk possible problems with the Soviet government and have their children baptized. They never hesitated. They said, "The Pope has encouraged us to do what we should do regarding our faith. We intend on following his lead." We stood there with our mouths in open amazement.

Interestingly, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Adrian VI (1522-23). He inernationalized the church in ways none before him had ever done. Of the 117 cardinals allowed to vote for his successor (i.e. those under the age 80) -- of whom 114 were appointed by John Paul II -- only 58 are from Europe, including 20 from Italy. During the previous two millennia, Europeans were an overwhelming majority and Italians the dominant group, when not in majority by themselves.

Today, there are cardinals from Benin and Indonesia, Angola and India, Cameroon, Honduras, Ghana, Japan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Samoa, and Syria. None of that is surprising, considering that this Pope also traveled to over one hundred countries, giving the Vatican not just credibility but a highly charismatic physical presence. Furthermore, some of the third-world cardinals, such as Francis Arinze of Nigeria and, before him, Bernardin Gantin of Benin, have attained high positions in the Vatican hierarchy. An impressive legacy by itself.

John Paul II will be missed -- but his greatness will live on.

NGO-ization of the Church

How can we build the capacity of the local church? That is the key question of many of the initiatives in which REACT assists. The frustration of many non-western leaders is that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like relief and development groups, in order to communicate greater effectiveness, often set up their own structures in places of need. Sadly, this often can circumvent the church and cause them to appear to be less relevant. Even though these groups can hire non-westerners as their representatives, the impact of their involvement can be counter effective to the overall goal of seeing long-term cultural transformation.

"We need to see the end of the NGO-ization of the church," said one African leader recently at a meeting I was facilitating in east Africa. He argued that in order to maintain stronger control and to communicate back to their donors what they are doing, some western organizations actually contribute to dependency.

Perhaps that is why problems of hunger, AIDS, refugees, etc., have been addressed, but they are still there and still a major challenge. In many places (especially in Africa) the church is quite ubiquitous. How can what we do build the capabilities of the local church to be the delivery system of the answers to the problems being faced? If we could do that, perhaps the church's witness and effectiveness would be hugely enhanced.

Indonesia Story

“The devastation is even worse than reported.” That’s what folks I met with this week are saying about Banda Aceh. In one area where there were 28 villages, now there are 4 and those are barely there. Whereas official government reports coming from Indonesia are saying about 115,000 dead or missing, people in those areas are saying it is closer to half a million

Sadly, one of the other difficulties is the competition among and between some of the relief agencies (including Christian ones). As community development projects are proposed and implemented, some agencies are saying that they want to be responsible for this village or another. As one can imagine, other groups also would like to be involved. Instead of trying to work together to meet needs (and therefore be able to do much more), organizations want to be able to “report back” to their constituency all that “they” are doing

This is the kind of thing that REACT is trying to work for – assisting ministries in both their understanding and execution of partnering.

For more see www.REACTServices.com