La Vida de Ben y Meggan

The Omelet

2012-02-11T23:20:00.000+01:00

I have been overcooking scrambled eggs for as long as I can remember. I am always paranoid that they're undercooked, and despite enjoying an egg over-easy every once in a great while, undercooked scrambled eggs really freak me out.

The last full day of Mima (Ben's mom's) visit, however, I woke up and had the thought Today is a good omelet day. Let me be clear. I have never made a successful omelet before, so I have no idea what prompted this sudden assurance that I would be able to on Thursday. But, it worked!

Okay - maybe I know.

A spatula that looks like a scimitar!

It's made by the brand Orca, but I couldn't find a picture of it online. My mom bought if for me from the Wire Whisk in Appleton, a kitchen-gadgety store. It's made of flexible plastic and is GREAT for flipping Swedish Pancakes and apparently really helpful when making omelets.

So, make sure there's enough butter or oil so that the eggs won't stick to the pan.

As the eggs heat, skim around the sides with the scimitar spatula. This helps the omelet get ready to flip.

When the eggs start to bubble and almost all of the liquidy part of the eggs on the top is gone, remove pan from heat and shake it around a bit. If you've greased the pan enough, the omelet should slide around.

Then...confidence, Atreyu. Flip it!

It's scary, I know! Or, you could slide the omelet onto a plate and then flip the plate over onto the skillet. Or try with the spatula. But flipping it is fun (here I am flipping a Swedish pancake on New Year's Day...yes, in pajamas).

Once flipped, add ham or cheese or whatever to one side, then fold the other side over. Ta-Da! You're an omelet chef.

Blessed to have a Visitor

2012-02-10T18:30:00.000+01:00

It's Friday afternoon. The house seems rather quiet after taking Mima (the name our oldest niece, Emily gave Carol, my mother-in-law, several years ago) to the airport this morning.

Having visitors while living in Spain is so great. We get to share our lives with people: show them around the neighborhood, introduce them to Spanish food (well...the few Spanish foods that we eat), take them to some cool parts of Madrid, and introduce them to our small group of friends here. We do life together. And we usually spend a lot of time playing games together, too. (Unfortunately, we have concluded after this visit that Bohnanza (the Bean Game) requires a minimum of 4 players to be interesting.) Ben and I even got to go on a date for the first time since...oh boy...when did Harry Potter 7 part 2 come to theaters in Madrid?

The tough thing about visitors is that the visit inevitably ends. It doesn't matter how long or short the time period; at some point, it's over. Life goes back to normal within a few days, but that first day (or days) after they leave, things are in limbo. The airport always does this to me. I'm so close to home when I'm there, waiting for Mima while she checks in near a sign that says New York on it. I could get on plane and within hours could cross an entire ocean and re-enter the country that I know, the culture that I understand through and through, the language that I can articulate freely. I could hug the family members that I love and enjoy the deliciousness of Chipotle (okay, burritos are not really THAT important).

I have to be careful sometimes when I think about life in the United States. If I lived there, I would still have days when I wanted to pull my hair out because of Andy's tantrums. Well, actually he pulls my hair out, so I'll have to find a new metaphor for frustration. That's been one of the advantages of accidentally getting my hair cut really short several weeks ago - there's less for him to grab onto! I digress. If I lived in the US, I'd still have lonely moments, moments when I couldn't just go hang out with friends and family, moments when I'd be overwhelmed with cooking or laundry. Moments when I'd feel disconnected with the Lord. I'd miss taking ballet for 5 hours a week, because that's just not realistic when you have a toddler. I'd still be stressing about enrolling Andy in pre-school or not in the fall.

So, living overseas doesn't really change a lot of my day to day wear-me-out factors. But, saying goodbye to someone at the airport without really knowing when you'll see them face to face (not on Skype, but thank you, Lord, for Skype) again is tough. It's the other side of having visitors. It's great to have them, but it's always a short-term thing. Granted, in our little apartment, I might kick out even the best visitor after a certain point.

Longing for reunion, for no more goodbyes is a sign that we long for eternity with the Lord. I find comfort in knowing that one day that reunion will take place forever. No more airport goodbyes. Or a lot of other much more painful goodbyes where Skype can't reach the person you love. Those goodbyes will come one day, regardless if I live in Spain or the US. The good news...the ONLY news I have to hold onto in those sad moments is that the Lord Jesus will return. He longs to return. Do I dare say that he longs to be united with us as much as he longed to be reunited with the Father while he was on Earth? That's a very powerful thought.

So, in light of that, I'm trying to look at having visitors as a little taste of that reunion. The goodbye will come, certainly, but the blessing of a visitor will outweigh the bitterness of that goodbye...until all is overshadowed (in a good sense) by the ultimate reunion at the Lord's return.

Rotary Madrid

2012-01-31T19:11:00.000+01:00

Thanks to my adventurous mother, I enjoyed a new cultural experience today here in Spain: a Rotary International club meeting. Mom is a fairly new member of Rotary, and there's an open invitation for Rotary members from all around the world to drop in on a club meeting wherever they happen to be. So, she did all the legwork & found a group that meets for lunch every Tuesday at the Palace Hotel (a rather nice establishment). She took me along as her buddy/translator.

We were mildly underdressed for the occasion (I without a tie or jacket, Mom in her nicer vacation attire), but no one made us feel the lesser for it. I was probably the youngest person in the room by about fifteen years. I would guess about half of the 30-40 club members present spoke fluent English, including two Americans who had each spent half their lives in Spain (one man half of his 86 years, another woman half of her 50). The elder American gentleman lost his wife just last week; he was present at the meeting particularly because he needed a change of scenery. We sat between a Swiss gentleman who spent a generation as the CEO of a cosmetics company and a Spaniard who works as a headhunter. There were folks from a wide variety of career fields, as is the Rotary way, and generally speaking two generations present (the "white-haired" folks and those in the 45-50 range brought in to reinvigorate the group, as our headhunter friend explained).

The food and beverage were all delicious. The main presentation of the day focused on building an elite Spanish university. Based on global university rankings, the best university in Spain only ranks as #150 worldwide. Our resident expert (a physicist-turned-educational researcher who himself has spent time at Stanford, Berkeley, and Princeton) focused on two important traits for building such a university: independence from political oversight, and a global faculty and student body (which for him would require abandoning the regional languages). He also talked about the importance of philanthropy and independence between campuses. With a number of professors in the club, a heated conversation ensued in the Q&A time, so Mom and I got to witness the Spanish passion in full swing. It was a lot of fun. We spent part of our metro ride home talking about whether the eliteness of a university was its most important trait, plus the general equality of undergraduate education from one institution to the next, even in the hallowed halls of the upper-tier schools.

On our way out of the hotel, we decided not to pay 1,400 € for a purse. We'd rather take our pocket change elsewhere, thank you.

Recovery, thankfulness, and reflection.

2012-01-22T11:29:00.002+01:00

Last week was a doozy! I had a few moments of not feeling well last Sunday, but the real jump-start to our family illness was Andy throwing up in his highchair during lunch on Tuesday. I was really grateful that the "my baby needs me more than this grosses me out" ability kicked in as I gave Andy a bath, started laundry, and cleaned up the highchair.

The next few days involved only one more vomit incident (poor Andy...poor crib this time), lots of body aches, and lots of toilet flushing. But, here we are, trying to get back into the swing of things, trying to tell the fatigue (and other lingering effects) to hop on the next train out of town, or at least out of our apartment.

Being sick will forever remind me of that horrible time last year when Ben was really sick, and we felt completely helpless as newcomers and foreigners in Madrid. This year wasn't nearly as serious, and we were able to get ourselves to the doctor (in our own car even!) without involving an ER visit.

Life in another country is all about celebrating the little things sometimes. This is one of those times. I am trying to be a person of thankfulness and a person of prayer. Sometimes by my own power, sometimes by relying on the Holy Spirit as my true power source. But, today, Father, I pause to say thank you for taking us through a week of illness and ask for a full restoration of health for the sake of your glory.
And now I'd better get Andy some more cereal.

Saving money - BOOM!

2012-01-17T14:29:00.000+01:00

With a year under our belts, we're finally at the place where we know how to save money on general expenses. When we first arrived, we went with whatever bank, utility company, or phone provider was easiest/recommended without doing any of our own research. Then, when we bought a car in November, we did the research & saved a small fortune annually (almost 1,000 €) on the best insurance plan for our situation. Today I just moved our banking to a different bank, because the old bank was charging us exorbitant fees, whereas the new account has no fees or commissions on anything. This will probably save another 150 € per year or more. It's a good feeling to be able to navigate the culture well enough to make these decisions now. Also, since car insurance and banking fees officially came from the "work funds" portion of our budget, we've just gained about 100 € per month that we can spend on the youth rather than giving it to "the man."

Up next, our utilities and cell phone service providers... maybe. :)

2 years of Parenthood

2012-01-14T23:27:00.001+01:00

Two years already? I (Meggan) was showing my friend, Candela, the Shutterfly book of Andy's first year today as we were celebrating Andy's 2nd birthday. I have definitely had my moments of missing baby Andy (though I still call him that), but the joys of Andy growing and learning really are very joyful. He occasionally hugs, he frequently kisses, he spells his name out loud, has his favorite little movies... He also is obsessed with the metro and insists upon going there every time we leave the house, doesn't really like being put in his stroller when I have to go grocery shopping, and can flail like nobody's business when he's upset. Parenthood is quite the roller-coaster.

As a wise friend told me, having small children simplifies your life. I get Andy dressed, fed, cleaned up, and to bed day after day. We go the grocery store, the park...everywhere together. Sometimes it's monotony, sometimes it's wonderfully peaceful, sometimes it makes me stir-crazy. I'm trying to learn to be content every day, trying to take better care of myself, trying to be more patient, trying to enjoy each moment with Andy without being overly sentimental. I'm also trying to get Andy to stop hitting his head on things (including my face) when he's angry. There's a lot of trying going on, even in the midst of a rather simple life.

Parenthood is life-changing. There are days when I really miss being a student at UW and at Denver Seminary. Almost every day I miss ballet classes in Littleton. A lot of who I was seems very far away sometimes. I know that living in another country has a lot to do with that, too. What I know for sure, however, is that my life is much richer being a parent. I am very grateful for the gift and challenge of having Andy.

A gift of a weekend

2011-09-24T23:25:00.007+02:00

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. (James 1:17a, NIV)

Last night was our first night of Fusión 47, our youth group at La Elipa Church. We had over 20 youth gathered, including friends of our regulars, and it was a good and fulfilling afternoon together. I got the opportunity to share about why we exist as a group, and we talked about our plans for the year to come. We also played a relaxed game of ultimate frisbee in the park with another teen, Jorge, who we met there. Jorge has Downs Syndrome, and as is so often the case with people with Downs, his spirit blessed us, and I hope our acceptance blessed his mom and grandma. (When he showed up with his grandma, she seemed disappointed that we were in the spot that was his routine play spot. Glad for the opportunity to turn the disappointment upside down!)

In the midst of a busy week, it just made sense to take the day off today... and it's been a great day. We really had a great Meggan and Ben day as a couple; we connected well together throughout the day. It's amazing how clean we can get the house when we're working together! (Translation: it's amazing how clean Meggan can get the house when she has a little help from me.) We had multiple conversations about stuff deeper than just the urgent or current stuff in our lives. We Skyped with Meggan's parents after over a week w/o chatting (they had been on vacation), and we also watched a sermon online that got us talking and processing about our present & future on a healthy level.

It certainly helps that Andrew has been incredible all day; he was in a good mood all morning, even after getting a big g-DONK on his forehead. (He likes to walk around with his eyes closed sometimes, and that can be dangerous, as you might imagine.) He ate well at lunch and dinner, and he took a 3.5-hour nap, which certainly doesn't hurt in the mood department. We Skyped with Mima, and for twenty minutes during our conversation after his bath, he was just shutting himself in Mommy and Daddy's closet and popping back out. When he was done, he picked up the milk cup Mommy had brought back for him and walked to the rocking chair in his room to tell us he was ready for his bedtime routine. That was a pretty incredible first to witness as a parent. What a boy!

Our friend Hannah also arrived today. She'll be living in Madrid this year, working at a Spanish public elementary school not too far from us as an English teacher. It's a blessing to serve as a welcoming party, and it certainly doesn't hurt when one's guest is a highly agreeable person.

Pork stir fry for lunch; spaghetti for dinner; apple crisp for dessert, with a Dutch beer and a fútbol match before bed. Tomorrow morning I'll eat breakfast w/ the youth before church, and it'll be another good day. Giving thanks profundamente.

(And to think, when I first wrote this post, I didn't even remember that I woke up this morning to find out the Brewers had clinched the division. Seriously, where are my priorities?)

Hillsong in Madrid

2011-09-12T15:06:00.000+02:00

On Saturday, September 10, Hillsong came to Madrid for a one-night concert. One of the students in our youth group said, "hey, let's go!" - so ten of us went and had a great time. (Note: ANYTIME a student takes the initiative to plan an event that involves spiritual content, you jump on board!!!)

There were a handful of songs where the crowd - surprisingly large for an evangelical crowd in Spain - sang their guts out, in Spanish, while the singers just backed off from the mics and listened to the people. I was overcome with the sense of the artist's joy they must have experienced, hearing people sing the art they had written and created, in a language they could not understand, in worship of the God they share and together desire to see glorified. Powerful stuff.

Reflections from Newark

2011-08-11T18:00:00.002+02:00

As detailed in the previous post, we have been in the U.S. for the last two weeks. This was our first visit back since moving to Spain nine months ago. What follows is a stream-of-consciousness journal entry of reverse culture shock from our layover in Newark when we first entered the country.

Friday, July 29
    Right away in the C concourse there's a tchotchke store called "AMERICA." Big eagle over the store sign, everything red-white-n-blue... wow. Ya no estamos en España (we're not in Spain anymore). Besides the fact that it's American stuff rather than Spanish stuff, it's that Spain is not a very patriotic country. You would be hard-pressed to find a store like that in a Spanish airport.
    It was strange to me to hear people cheer when the captain welcomed everyone to the "good old U.S.A." It was the cheer of folks glad to be home, and it was strange not to feel like one of them - this is our home in one sense, but the home where we put up our feet & relax is an apartment in Madrid. It's not necessarily that I feel more at him in Spain than in the U.S., but the coming-home place for us as a family of three is our piso, our neighbors, our grocery store, our swimming pool, and our regular routine.
    I spent a good chunk of the flight reading a couple chapters of Meggan's driver's ed textbook (I should sign up soon after we get back). Something I noticed in getting off the plane is that I understand every word on any sign - "it is advisable to maintain custody..." etc. Paragraphs like that in the driver's ed manual, I get the gist of it 98% of the time, but I'm not familiar w/ every word. Or take a restaurant name here - "Cheeburger Cheeburger" - I know instinctively that "cheeburger" is not a real word, but rather a shortened version of "cheeseburger" that one might say in a silly voice when one is particularly in the mood for said food item. In Spanish w/ something similar, I would look, think, ponder, maybe eventually figure it out (whether in seconds or in ten months), then feel particularly accomplished/proud for such a feat. (Example: there is a cell phone service provider in Spain called "yoigo," and months after our arrival, Meggan said, "hey, 'yoigo' is short for 'yo oigo' [meaning 'I hear']." Me: "ohhh...")
    Just look at that paragraph! I just rolled that off in English, and it felt so... fluent. Uff. Natural. Nuanced. It's very hard yet for me to do nuance in Spanish.
    Most chatter is in English, and that sounds weird (Sheryl warned us about this). Our language of common courtesy with strangers is English (this is a context that has only existed in Spanish for us for nine months, so that was a genuine adjustment). Airport personnel have been very kind.

Surprisingly enough, that was about the end of the reverse culture shock for me. Once we got into the A concourse and found out our next flight might be delayed, we entered into mildly-stressed-American-traveler mode. When we got to Wisconsin, even though we were seeing things that were abnormal for our recent experience, they looked like they "belonged" here (big SUVs, orange cones, cornfields, outlet malls, etc.). The remaining big "wow" moment for me the rest of the trip came when we were on our way to a family gathering. Our caravan with John was to converge in Princeton, Wisconsin, and he got there first. He called us with the most convenient meeting spot: "I'll be in the church parking lot with the signs for the gun show." A gun show in a church parking lot. Boy, are we ever back in rural America. :-)

Our unexpected Wisconsin visit

2011-08-11T17:11:00.001+02:00

As some of you know, Meggan, Andrew, and I have made an unexpected trip to the U.S. for my grandpa's funeral. Today is our last full day here, and it has been a real blessing to be able to spend quality time with family. Before planning our trip, we wondered how long to come, whether our time here would be able to feel restful, and whether it would be okay for us to be here from the standpoint of continuing our healthy transition to life in Spain. After a good chat with Ed and Sheryl, we decided to make it a two-week trip, cancel our plans for Dublin, and make this our summer vacation. That turned out to be a very good decision. We have had a lovely time with both sides of our family, and I feel particularly refreshed. I also feel a sense of "we can do this" between now and the next time we get to see everyone, whenever that may be. Thanks be to God for a great trip.

Thanks be to God even more for the life of my grandpa, Bill Ward. He was a good man and a wonderful grandpa. A farmer, a family man, a servant, an intellectual, a craftsman, an historian, a lifelong learner. He was the most insatiably curious man I have ever known, and he was always willing to engage in a friendly conversation with a stranger who might be able to teach him something interesting. Grandma and Grandpa came along with our immediate family on numerous family vacations, and he always kept a detailed journal of each day's happenings. He continued learning new things throughout his life, from taking flying lessons at age 50 to picking up stained glass as a hobby in his latter years. I think it's time for me to put a little extra effort into learning something new myself - I've picked up the guitar again, and I'm gonna try to give it what it takes this time. We went through the journey of Alzheimer's as a family with him in his last years, and it is a comfort to know that he has been released from that disease. I look forward to spending time with the curious, loving man I knew when the resurrection comes. Here is the touching newspaper article commemorating his life.

We apologize for not being super open about our travel plans in advance of our trip. I hope you can understand that this needed to be a family-centered trip, and as such, we didn't spend any appreciable time with friends or ministry supporters. We appreciate your prayers for a good month of readjustment and planning back in Madrid before the ministry year shifts into gear.

Camp Week 2.0 - God at work

2011-07-17T18:20:00.000+02:00

After a few days' "breather," we took the camp plunge once again. This time we went as a family; it was tough for Andy to work on a rigid schedule, but it was well worth it. This camp, Nuevas Aventuras ("New Adventures"), brought together almost 50 teenagers from all over Spain. The camp ran nine days, July 8-16. We arrived toward the end of their week together, on July 14 (also my brother's birthday; a shout out to Indy) and stayed for their last 48 hours.

We had been invited by our friend David (he of paella fame), and I had the privilege of teaching for one session, within an hour of our arrival. Later in the evening we also got to share together as a couple about how the Lord worked in our lives to bring us to Spain.

After teaching, Dani wanted to talk. Dani is a youth of Romanian descent (of which there are many in Spain) who lives in a suburb of Madrid on our side of town. I was humbled by his desire to talk on a deeper level about the theme from my lesson, and it was clear that God had a purpose for our presence at the camp. (He's happier in person than he looks in the picture, I promise!)

Here's Mommy and Andy goofing off in our room. The accommodations at Pinos Reales ("Royal Pines") were quite nice for a camp. We basically had a hotel room, with our own bathroom and everything. We did have trouble getting the little man to eat well. We didn't have a highchair, and he seemed to be a bit stressed by the atmosphere of the dining hall...

... but that didn't stop him from enjoying some chocolate ice cream. (Anyone interested in signing up for the Knox School of Parenting, give us a call anytime. Operators are standing by.)

We spent an hour or two each day at the pool, mostly playing water polo and watching a handful of guys throw anyone they could into the pool. It was convenient to have Andy in our hands, cuz, you know, even rambunctious young'ns know you don't throw a baby in the pool.

We met all sorts of good people from churches around the Madrid area. Here's Andrew with Monica.

On the last night they had a variety show. This student, Melissa, sang a song for the whole group. She took a song she likes by a German artist, with English lyrics, and rewrote the lyrics - in English! - with a Christian message. She did an artful job, both writing and singing, particularly when you consider she was conveying spiritual themes in her second language. She wanted to conserve bits and pieces of the original lyrics, and it came off... well, like a song. She asked for my English help to work through some writer's block on the second verse, and it was an honor to be invited into the creative process of a bright young woman with a passionate desire to follow Christ.

A very full 50 hours. We're very thankful to David for his invitation and to God for all he was doing in the lives of everyone at the camp.

Snapshots from Nómadas 2011

2011-07-09T17:53:00.000+02:00

As a lad I went to Hell with my family. Now I've been to purgatory (or, more specifically, Purgatory Falls). It's a proud day.

David plays Gollum with a dead trout we found.

Two hippies and a guy who just got out of the shower - must be costume night.

Three guard dogs stopped us in our tracks on this hike.

What can't be captured in pictures: an incredible surge in the level of connection I have with these students; an opportunity to teach and a chance to share my life's story of how Christ got a hold of me in my teen years; a youth trusting me confidentially as we processed through his personal stuff; the mix of emotions I feel (excited, nervous, humbled) as I take over as the "point person" for the youth group. Also night games. Don't have the right kind of camera. And the smell of teenage man-sweat in our bunk room; still waiting on the scratch-n-sniff technology to come to digital cameras and computer screens.

My sentiments exactly, Eli - it was a great week, but I'm exhausted. :-)

Something's Fishy: Authentic Paella en Casa

2011-06-21T17:09:00.000+02:00

If you know me (Meggan) well, you know I'm just not a fish person - never have been. When Ben and I were dating, I chose to ignore the fact that he really liked Culver's fish sandwich. And the time that Ben's parents served me a whole fish for dinner the second time I visited their house is one of my favorite "I felt like a total idiot" stories (picking bones out of my mouth the entire dinner was really embarrassing). What can I say, I just don't really like fish.

Spaniards, on the other hand, love fish. And they should. Spain has much better access to fresh seafood than Wisconsin. Walk into any grocery store here, and there's a vast array of whole fish and shellfish to choose from...and smell. I've never bought any; frankly, I would hardly know how to prepare most of it. Well, yesterday, I had my first lesson in traditional Spanish cooking: a mixed Paella with (you guessed it) LOTS of seafood. Paella is a rice dish made with a mixture of meat and vegetables, especially seafood. The good news: I actually really liked it.

Our friend David came over for lunch yesterday. He said he'd like to cook for us, and boy were we in for a surprise. He started opening all these little packets of fish. Get ready:

1. A fish head for making the paella broth. We placed this in a pot of water.

2. Raw shrimp (little ones called gambas. Ben shelled these, adding the shells to the fish head broth.

3. Cooked king prawn (larger shrimp) (langostinos) for snacking. I shelled them...heads, eyes, legs, and all!

4. Squid (calamar), snipped and added to the paella.

5. Baby Clams (chirlas), soaked in water and added to the paella.

6. Chicken. Having meat from the land and the sea is what makes this paella mixed (mixta).

A little garlic, onion, and olive oil, and we began by cooking the chicken, draining the fish broth, and adding the shellfish and rice! David is great at making paella. I was nervous to try it, but to be honest, it is the smell of seafood that has always been more of a problem for me than the taste. And yesterday, I didn't have any problems. I'm not saying I'm ready to go eat scorpions if I ever make it back to China, but I was pretty proud of myself for trying and enjoying an authentic and delicious paella. If you're here for a visit, we'll call David to help us make one for you.

Personal/emotional update

2011-06-06T14:07:00.001+02:00

This is another post to go hand-in-hand with our monthly email update.

Thank you so much for your prayers for us to connect with people here. Days after sending out the email, I met two women with young children at a park nearby. We have also met an older couple from our apartment complex from Ecuador who keep track of their grandkids most of the time. We also got together with a couple our age from our church for the second time, and are building stronger relationships with our teammates.

As a student at UW-Madison, I often enjoyed the anonymity of a huge lecture. However, day after day, anonymity is lonely and wearing. As I walk with Andy every morning, I find myself wishing that I could just see someone that I know and knows me. I think this often leads to what I call “twin-spotting,” seeing someone here who really looks like someone from home.

Besides making the effort to really meet people at church, there is an internal effort that I find myself hesitant to make. Maybe it’s the “self-preservation” mode that I feel like I’ve been in for almost a year (preparing to come to Spain, actually moving, then getting settled), but I feel myself often hesitant or simply unable to really be myself here. While I know this is normal, it is still a barrier to forming relationships here. Thank you for your continuing prayers and support.

In the middle of August, we will head to Dublin for our first vacation! We are staying in a little apartment within walking distance of stores and public transportation. More to follow once we have some things planned.

What is baseline cultural stress?

2011-05-09T22:32:00.003+02:00

This note goes along with our May monthly email newsletter.

In our home culture, it was fairly easy to fake belonging. You can feel like you belong when you're driving on streets you know, shopping at familiar stores, or watching the Badgers kick somebody's butt in any given sport. Here, belonging is a bit more challenging, because you're always facing baseline cultural stress.

Baseline cultural stress is the white noise behind our life here. Sometimes it’s a quiet hum, and sometimes it’s a dull roar. We genuinely feel at home inside our apartment (praise the Lord!), but away from the house, we often feel like outsiders. It’s not necessarily any one cultural strain. Language? Sure, that can be taxing (though we can usually both communicate fairly effectively). Life in a foreign city? That, too (though I love the metro and the sense of history). More than these or others, it’s the cumulative effect, which builds into the feeling that we don't belong. Unfortunately, this can even be amplified by honest thoughts on missionary service - all other things being equal, a native is always the better person for the job than a foreigner, and I’ll always be one and not the other here.

I’ve called it more of a background noise, but that’s not to say we don’t have moments where cultural stress drowns everything else. One day in early April, we went to get Andrew’s immunizations but didn’t bring a particular piece of paper (one we had no way of knowing we would need). About a week later, we were grocery shopping and shrimp was on our list - Meggan had given me permission to cook seafood for the first time since moving here. I wanted to buy fresh shrimp, but the seafood counter was incredibly busy, and I didn’t have the energy to learn a new system under increased social pressure, so I opted for the frozen product (in rather a greater quantity than we needed). While we eventually move on from each individual incident, the continual possibility of another such incident rising adds another layer to the mix.

We then find ourselves not always knowing how to interpret our issues. What percentage of our parenting stress is related to cultural stress? What percentage would we be facing wherever we lived? How much of our extended family stress is related to our distance from home versus normal family dynamics... and, honestly, how much family stress is actually relieved by living far away? And how do we relieve the destructive, unnecessary guilt that last bit creates?

Check out our monthly newsletter for a bit more resolution.

Good Friday Thoughts...Fulfillment versus Servanthood

2011-04-22T21:25:00.003+02:00

My mother-in-law and I worked out together this morning. While I normally am energized after exercising, today was different. I felt happier than I have in quite a while. Why? Because for the first time in a long time I found myself in the position of “expert consultant.”

Our first semester at Denver Seminary, Ben and I participated in one of those “career match” inventories and met with a consultant afterwards. They don’t actually tell you what your future job should be, but they can point out strengths and weaknesses. What is the role in which I thrive? Expert consultant. That means that I thrive in situations where I can share my specialized knowledge and experience and help others.

Now the idea that I am actually qualified to be personal trainer is pretty far-fetched. I’m just more familiar with the exercise dvds than my mother-in-law is. But, the point is, I was able to explain and help her become comfortable with a series of movements. I can see why a friend of mine from college who is a personal trainer says that he can’t wait to go to work everyday. It isn’t just the exercise (though being healthy is great!) – it’s the experience of encouraging and helping someone.

Living in Madrid for the past 5 months has not offered a lot of opportunity for me to be an expert consultant. I think I’ve been able to direct someone on the street twice, and it felt fantastic each time! But, that’s been about it. Living cross-culturally is really difficult. I am a learner in things that I’ve taken for granted for years: communication, driving, making friends. As a person who likes to have all the information, it is humbling to day after day ask for help, feel helpless, or at least feel like an outsider.

Besides the cross-cultural piece, I am still learning what it means to be a mom. However, at times I am currently the expert consultant for knowing when Andy is tired or thirsty or hungry…but even then sometimes I’m wrong!

So, on the one hand, this reminds me of a talk I once heard about “filling your bucket.” The point is that each of us should know the things that “fill us up” – meaning, those things that give us energy, make us enjoy life, give us joy. We should also be aware of the things that “empty our bucket” – meaning those things that take our energy, make us weary.

For example, as I stated above, being an expert consultant “fills my bucket.” Being the person that needs help “empties my bucket,” and I think it does for most people.

On the other hand, I am pondering Jesus’ words in Mark 9:35, after the disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest: Anyone who wants to be first must be last, and must be the servant of all. In addition, Jesus’ example as he washed his disciples’ feet: John 13:12-17.

To say Jesus was an expert consultant just falls short; he is God. He is the expert in everything. Yet, his time on earth was humbling. He was an outsider. He wasn’t in need of help per say, but he certainly wasn’t in the business of coming to earth because it was personally fulfilling. And on today of all days, Good Friday, I can say with certainty that Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross was the most profound “self-emptying” action in history. And we are called to imitate him, being a servant to all.

This topic is very complex, and I could go down the rabbit trails of some people’s buckets being filled by serving, or how we should seek out those occupations or volunteer activities that fill our buckets because that’s a healthy and God-honoring practice…but I don’t want to.

I want sit for a bit in the tension of God creating us individually and uniquely, setting in our hearts certain passions and abilities that give us life and joy (the Chariots of Fire “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure”)…and God asking us to be the servant of all.

Date Day!

2011-04-02T19:07:00.005+02:00

Meggan and I just went on our first date since we've moved here. What a nice time! We went to a great little Indian restaurant that Meggan found online. The food was DELICIOUS - every course was spot on, and it was particularly fun for me to eat spicy food again (hard to find in Spain). We then walked around the neighborhood, which was a discovery experience, because we hadn't been to that part of town before today. Special thanks to Julie & Chad Reeser and Niki Gudeman for babysitting the little man!(And now you officially know that my April Fools' post wasn't TOTAL junk.)

One WiLD week

2011-04-01T13:40:00.003+02:00

We've had an exciting week since the Parishes left!

After finishing the theory section of her driver's ed, Meggan has begun teaching diesel mechanics on a volunteer basis at a local community college. Who knew?

The CIA called me on Wednesday to ask if I would be serve as a temporary incognito security agent in Madrid at World Catholic Youth Day (coming to Madrid this summer). I turned them down; couldn't compromise the REAL mission.

We enrolled Andrew in soccer school, and he's been tabbed by the Spanish national team training center as an up-and-coming star. Apparently the ratio of the length of his femur to his fibula/tibia are ideal for an elite soccer player. He can't walk yet, but boy he can kick!

Tomorrow Meggan and I are going on a DATE!!! A REAL DATE!!!!!! I'm kind of excited. I think we're headed to an Indian restaurant. Meggan found a place online called Diwali, which made her think of "The Office," and it has good reviews & looks like a nice atmosphere. Woohoo!

On this day in Spanish history, the civil war officially ended, marking the beginning of what would become 36 years under Franco's dictatorship.

Curious about an interesting Spanish holiday? Check out the Feast of the Innocents, celebrated on December 28.

Highs, Lows, and Highlights

2011-02-12T15:30:00.001+01:00

High: Women's Night at Church
I have very strong memories of going with my mom to women's gatherings when I was young. I remember her getting dressed up, looking so pretty, bringing some kind of bread or dessert for the chatting time after the presentation. There was usually some kind of kids' program so that the mothers could bring their children. I attended my first church women's night at La Elipa last Saturday evening. I almost didn't go because Andy had a cold, but Ben and I decided he was well enough to go and be in the nursery (a rare thing at our church which doesn't have a nursery on Sundays). There was also a men's event at church that night, so the whole Knox family was there.

The evening's topic was anxiety, facilitated by our wonderful teammate, Eva, who is a Spaniard. I walked into the room downstairs and found 5 or 6 tables set up with tablecloths and flower vases. I chose a seat at a table with a few women who I knew a bit, and the evening began. It was the first time that I'd been totally immersed in Spanish for 2 hours without Andy on my lap. It was wonderful - I was challenged and encouraged on a topic that very much applies to my daily life, and I understood almost everything that Eva and my tablemates said. I'm not at the point where I could've translated it all fast enough to someone with me who didn't speak Spanish, but I really was understanding, interacting, and participating. After the presentation, I happy to chat with several women. I was mentally tired, but very content.

It was the first time in Spain that I really felt like I was a part of our church. I was challenged to engage scripture intellectually in our discussion. And, bonus, Andy did great in the nursery. The kids from the youth group were in charge, and Andy's best friend there is Esteban, who loves kids. Andy hardly wanted to come to me when I came to get him. What else could a mom ask for? Ben later described Andy as being exhausted and happy for the first time ever when we got him home. Poor little guy just collapsed right into bed after his bath.

Lows: Church Lunch and Driver's Education
Church Lunch
Sadly, the weekend did not continue so well. We attempted to stay for the church lunch the next day. I should've gone with my gut and just left after church, but we thought Andy might fall asleep in the Ergo Carrier. Nope. Sundays (even without lunch afterwards) are super long. If I attend the youth group's Sunday school with Ben, we leave the house at 9:30am and don't return until about 2-2:30pm. That's a long time for Andy to be confined to a lap, without a nap. We always end up taking him downstairs to crawl around a bit, but still. It's just a really long time for him. So, long story short, about half way through the lunch, Andy had had enough and we got on the bus as soon as we could.

These situations are tough for me. When Andy's losing it, I start to have a very short fuse. I demand way too much from other people, having impossible, unspoken expectations. Like, Ben, why can't you read my mind and go get Andy's sippy cup from the diaper bag? In another sense, I worry that I will seem like I'm excluding myself from my church family by "bowing out" from activities because of Andy. I know that God has brought Ben, Meggan, and Andy Knox to Spain as a family. But, sometimes, it's hard not to feel like I'm just this behind the scenes person, enabling Ben to be able to participate in ministry while I take care of Andy and our home in general. Is that part of why I'm here? Absolutely. But, I'm still figuring out the other reasons why I'm here, in the midst of being a mom and a wife.

Driver's Education
Yes, we need to go through driver's education here; we can't just transfer our American driver's licenses. I finished my first week of class (4 nights a week, 1 hour/class) this past week. I've jumped in in the middle of the lesson cycle which is given continuously at my particular school. I have about 45 minutes of reading in my manual before each class, then a practice test covering that material to complete after each class (20-30 min). And it's all in Spanish. Reading the manual isn't too bad, actually. But, understanding what my instructor is saying in class often is difficult. I usually leave with a fantastic head ache.

The other night I felt like a complete idiot twice. The first occasion dealt with a question on a practice test: can you pass on a curve? I answered no. Well, apparently, you can pass on a curve in Spain if and only if you can pass the other vehicle (while staying in your lane) without invading the lane of oncoming traffic. I have never seen a lane large enough to make this scenario a reality, but that's not the point.

The second instance involved me asking if Spanish law required drivers to turn into the closest lane possible (traveling in your direction) when making left turns. Think one way streets - ie: when turning left onto a one way street, you should turn into the left lane, then make a signaled lane change if you actually want the right lane. I was trying to ask if this was the same in Spain. According to my driver's ed instructor, it is actually the opposite. Turning left onto a one way street (or a two way street that has several lanes in each direction), you are required to turn into the right most lanes possible. I drew about 5 diagrams that night and brought them in the next day to review. Yup, it is completely contrary to what I consider normal and safe. Do people actually drive like this? Who cares. The point is, I need to know these nuances of Spanish driving so that I don't fail my test. This is the first time that I'm having the "My way is the RIGHT way" feeling here in Spain. It's not a good feeling.

So, 4 nights down, another 13 or so to go before I start taking literally hundreds of practice tests before I take the actual written test. Then it's on to 15 sessions of behind the wheel. Marty Houdek (family friend, driving instructor from my hometown), I wish you could be my driving instructor. We speak the same language, you probably wouldn't shout at me if I made a mistake (Spaniards yell sometimes and call it talking). Of course, we'd also be driving in the greater Waupun, Wisconsin area, not Madrid, population 7,000,000. P.S. I also have to learn to drive "de marchas," manual transmission. This makes me extremely anxious. If only I'd just attended a women's seminar on anxiety! Well, Lord, I'll be relying on you in a very tangible way when those lessons start. Though I will by no means follow Carrie Underwood's model, letting Jesus take the wheel, or perhaps the clutch.

Highlights
The other day, Ben said that my highlights from October had grown out a lot. Wow, when my wonderful (but not usually hair-observant) husband makes this comment, it is time to go get my hair done. I had my hair cut in Spain in 2008, and it was the best haircut of my life. So, I was excited for my appointment this morning. Salons are very common here. Many are run by the owner and just a few other stylists, or just the owner alone. In my 2 experiences, one person cut my hair, another washed it. The "washer" person is usually an apprentice.

My stylist, Vanessa, was super sweet and kind, talking slowly so that I could understand her. She asked about how I was adjusting to Spain. We bashed English a little bit together for being such a crazy language to learn. She cut more of my hair than I expected, but I really like it. Spaniards cut hair differently than in the US. It's hard to describe, but it's just different. They also have a tendency to cut your hair how they think suits you. So, if you only want an inch off, you'd better be pretty adamant. But, my two experiences so far have been very positive. Finally, she spent about 25 minutes blow-drying my hair so well that she didn't even need to flat-iron it. If you've never seen me before I've flat-ironed my hair, picture Hermione as described in the Harry Potter series. Hermione's hair is way to pretty in the movies. Think lion's mane + electrical outlet. I walked out more blond, with a great cut for a good price. Now if I only never had to wash it again.

A Week in the Life

2011-02-04T17:04:00.004+01:00

In this month's email prayer letter, Meggan shares what a normal week looks like for us, plus a few other tidbits.

Bless Eva Kirchner on her first birthday

2011-02-02T17:02:00.005+01:00

Eva Kirchner was born into a loving home on February 2, 2010. Eva's mom, Rachel, was a friend of Meggan's from UW (Rachel was one of the first women to dance in the worship arts group Meggan started). The two of them reconnected over the phone in February, coming alongside each other in the new challenges of motherhood. In early April, when Eva was about two months old, Rachel was diagnosed with cancer. Rachel fought her cancer hard, both in the course of medical treatment and in prayer. Nonetheless, on January 24, Rachel passed into the arms of her Heavenly Father.

Today is Eva's first birthday. I cannot imagine the challenges she will face. Praise the Lord, she still has a family who loves her very much.

You can help care for her in a small way, too. As a memorial for Rachel, you can contribute to Eva's college savings account. We can't change the thing we would most like to change, but we can come alongside Eva and her family in this tangible way at this most difficult time. Checks can be made out to Eva's dad, Matt, and sent to:

Matt Kirchner
W168 N9307 Grand Ave.
Menominee Falls, WI 53051

Thanks. Lord Jesus, come quickly.

(If you would like to read more about Rachel's journey through cancer, she kept a blog. Her obituary can be found here.)

The Milkmaid

2011-01-19T22:17:00.003+01:00

My language classes began last week, and things are off to a good start. We're quite the mix of students - six from the U.S., four from Brazil, one from Germany, and a Dutch gal. A dozen in total, plus two alternating professors (both Madrileños, a woman and a man). January is the "intensive" section of the course, in which we spend twenty hours a week together working on our grammar.

One recent grammar exercise involved reading a certain children's fable to work on our verb tenses. However, the content of the story was far more interesting than the grammar. It's called, La Lechera - "The Milkmaid." And it goes like this...

The milkmaid walked happily to the market to sell her milk. Along the way she was making plans:

"Once I sell this milk, I'll buy some chickens that'll give lots of eggs. The eggs will hatch, the chicks will grow big and, one day, I'll sell all the big chickens. With that money I'll buy some piglets, fatten 'em up, and sell 'em. Then I'll buy calves. When they get big, I'll sell 'em for beef. Then I can buy a big house, nice clothes, jewelry..."

With these happy thoughts in her mind, the milkmaid walked faster toward the market... just fast enough not to see a tree root sticking up out of the ground. She tripped and spilled her entire bucket of milk. And along with the milk spilled all her grand plans, too.

The moral of the story: Children should not waste too much energy on their elaborate dreams for the future, because something will probably happen to interrupt them from coming to pass.

After the story, our professor, Juan, asked us how many of us knew the story from our own cultures. Nobody had known it before that, and he was quite surprised. I explained how this is not a popular sentiment in U.S. culture, where we generally tell our kids to dream big and never give up on their hopes. (I couldn't help but think of the constant stream of "your dreams will come true!" songs played at Disney World.) One of my Brazilian classmates said it's the same there - any boy or girl is told, "You could become the president one day." Juan responded, oh, that's not good, eh? It would be better to be more realistic, wouldn't it?

What do you think? Is it a good thing that we tell our kids to dream big dreams, even though the vast majority of people in the U.S. will live relatively "normal" lives and never achieve their grandest dreams?

Quality Christmas music, supporting a great cause

2010-12-08T12:03:00.002+01:00

Buy some solid Christmas music here. Check out the free download, and if you like it (which you will, if you have good taste), buy the album.The artists are donating a large portion of the proceeds to help a great church with some really scummy people remodel their building to bring it into compliance with fire codes. That gift is being matched by another donor, so the donation portion of your purchase is doubled. Bonus. Do it.

Retail photos

2010-12-03T22:04:00.000+01:00

Here are two pics I took from our cell phone during recent shopping expeditions. Enjoy our random observations.

Parents will appreciate this one. It's baby food. The packaging says, for kids from six months of age. It also says, multigrain cereal with honey. Yikes!

Here we have Spongebob Squarepants, a.k.a. Bob Esponja, and his two friends dressed as the three kings. El Día de Los Reyes - Epiphany - is the holiday with all the presents here. Just like the magi brought the baby Jesus gifts, so the Reyes bring gifts to the little children of Spain. It's like a stuffed animal of Mickey and Minnie dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Three weeks in the city

2010-11-23T15:55:00.002+01:00

Well, we've been here almost three weeks, though it feels like longer! Time has slowed down for us. I suppose big change has that kind of effect. We haven't been great about taking pictures, but here are a few.

This is the view from our temporary home at dawn. If there were enough detail in the picture, you would see an airplane coming in for a landing off in the distance on the right side - we're in the neighborhood near the airport. A very special thank-you shout-out to Tammy Scofield for opening her home to us without ever having met us! Only once did we come close to burning the place down.

Andy eats a meal in the midst of the chaos we have left around him...

Andy helps Daddy do some laundry. Good boy.

Ethan, Toby, and Navi (the dog) watch after Andy during lunch at the Gudeman home. Those guys were SO GOOD with our little guy! And, Andy really likes all three of 'em. Navi might be his favorite Spaniard.

Meggan feeds Andy some yogurt on the Metro (Madrid's subway system).

A highway at night, as seen from a pedestrian bridge.

Some of the youth group chicas from La Elipa. We already knew all five of these young women (that includes you, Eva!) from our 2008 summer trip. We've had a couple chances to dip our toes in the water with the youth, and we're excited for the years to come.

House Hunters International: Madrid

2010-11-17T16:46:00.003+01:00

So, we've spent about a week and a half looking at pisos (apartments). On the House Hunters TV show, the people see three places and then reveal their choice. From what we've heard, the buyers film the show after they've already pulled the trigger, so the suspense is a little manufactured. In the real process, you don't have to manufacture any of the suspense - it's very real! Leaving out the hundreds of online listings we scoured, the people we called who didn't answer, and the places that got rented out before we could see them, here are the places we checked out in person, in the order we saw them.

(After I started writing this post, it got LONG. We saw a few more places than I thought we would. For highlights, check the **starred** paragraphs.)

Monday, November 8

PISO No. 1 - Compact Urban Chic
Furnished apartments are common in Madrid, so it was nice to walk into this place and really like the furniture & decor pretty much everywhere. Nice appliances in the kitchen, though it's a little cramped in there. In fact, it's a pretty small space all around, but the owners have done a nice job maximizing the space. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Check out the listing here. Walking away, we felt like it was too small, but we were encouraged that we could find a place we liked.

PISO No. 2 - Spacious, Traditional, and Right Upstairs
This apartment has four bedrooms and lots of space. The decorative style is a bit more traditional than we would like, and the landlady is not flexible with the furniture - it all stays. The best part of the apartment is its location; we would be an eight-story elevator ride away from our friends and mentors, the Gudemans. It's also a little less expensive than our other options. Here's the listing. Unfortunately, with the state of the furniture, we weren't terribly interested in this one.

Wednesday, November 10

**PISO No. 3 - Windows Everywhere, Recently Refurbished**
**Another three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment; one bathroom has a shower, and the other has a jacuzzi tub. Each bedroom has many windows, as does the living/dining room. The apartment has A/C, a parking spot, a storage room, and nice appliances. The landlord is very flexible with the furniture - we can buy what we like at a reduced price, and he will take the rest with him. We can also paint if we like. Once again, the listing. We REALLY liked this place. But, we still had an appointment to see one more piso the next day, so we decided to give it 24 hours before we would make a decision.

Thursday, November 11

PISO No. 4 - Close, but No Cigar
After seeing Piso No. 3 the day before, this place just couldn't stack up. It has many nice amenities, including a swimming pool in the complex, but it just doesn't feel like home for us. The living room furniture isn't quite right, the flooring and appliances are a bit older, and the built-in furniture in one of the bedrooms doesn't fit for either a guest room or a baby's room. It's closer to our church than Piso No. 3, and it's available immediately, whereas we would have to wait until December 1 for Piso No. 3. Still, patience is a virtue. Here's the listing, but **we're calling Piso No. 3.**

**At this point, we thought we were done, and we were pretty excited - both about finding a place we liked and about being done with the process. So, Sheryl Gudeman, our piso-hunting guide and buddy extraordinaire, called the landlord to confirm. Or, not. The landlord's neighbor found out that he had shown the place to somebody, and she stepped in to say, I want to upgrade from my two-bedroom to your three-bedroom. They've been friends for ten years, and he felt obliged to give it to her. BUMMER. It took us a day or so to get over our disappointment, but get over it we must. Okay, let's keep looking... but, hopefully, let's wrap this process up pronto.

Monday, November 15

It's a four-piso day, folks! Hold onto your hats.

PISO No. 5 - Terrace With a View, Kitchen Without Appliances
Here's another place near the Gudemans, about ten minutes away on foot. It comes across better in person than it does in the pictures on the listing - the green kitchen floor is much more subdued and less tacky than it appears. The terrace space is very inviting, with a gorgeous view, and the piso comes with a storage room plus two parking spaces (one for dinner guests!). The guest room is a little dark, and the only appliance in the kitchen is the oven/stove; every other place we've seen has included a refrigerator, washing machine, and (usually) dishwasher. The second bathroom has a cute mini-tub, perfect for baby bathing. Listed here. At the top of our price range, and with the added expense of buying kitchen appliances, this place could only be our pick if it were absolutely perfect. It's nice, but not that nice.

PISO No. 6 - Now You're Cooking With Gas ... in the dark?
We saw this place at 6 PM, right around dusk. I use "saw" loosely, because the apartment has been vacant long enough that the electricity has been turned off. So, we couldn't see much more than what's already in the pictures (and, in some cases, less). Still, it's a nice space. It's a gas stove, and we like cooking with gas. Unfortunately, like Piso No. 5, the oven and stove are the only appliances in the kitchen, but this piso is € 100 cheaper per month, so we could afford to buy the other appliances. The apartment complex is a big plus - there's a central courtyard with a pool, which could be great for meeting our neighbors and for its own sake. The listing...

PISO No. 7 - A Marble Canvas
This listing was not yet posted online when we called to make an appointment to see Piso No. 6, but the agency for that one told us about this one about a block away, so we signed up for a double-dip visit. Details. Between these two back-to-back visits, we would pick No. 7 over No. 6.

PISO No. 8 - Incredible Terrace, Coat of Many Colors
Short version: this place has an AmAzInG terrace. It's an attic apartment, on the top of its building. But, that means it's a little smaller inside, and we're having a hard time seeing how it could work. We also just don't feel like we're home here; among other things, the colors are a little off. But, with a good option in the place we saw before it, could this be our last listing?

**At this point in the game, we are ruminating on Piso No. 7. It's our top choice from those we've seen that are still available, but we're not quite ready to cash in our chips. There are a number of unfurnished places available, and with an unfurnished apartment, you get to define much of its character. So, we don't feel greatly rushed - if Piso No. 7 goes off the market while we're still making up our minds, another unfurnished place will do the trick just as well. At this point we're still interested in seeing a few more places with some originality and character, if we can get a hold of the landlords.

Tuesday, November 16

We have two visits on our schedule for late this afternoon. **BUT, in the meantime...

**... algo extraño ocurre. (Something strange happens.)

**For five minutes, Piso No. 3 is ours.

**Remember Piso No. 3? Our favorite so far? Well, the landlord changed his mind & decided not to include the parking spot in the price of the rent. Consequently, his neighbor changed her mind - she no longer wanted the place. So, the landlord called Sheryl, Sheryl said "yes!" on our behalf, and Sheryl called us to share the good news. Woohoo! Then, the neighbor's husband came over. My wife is mistaken; we still want the place, even without parking. Landlord calls Sheryl, revokes his offer of the apartment (very apologetically). Sheryl calls us. Sheesh; what a hullabaloo.

Back to today's visits.

PISO No. 9 - ... and they're running together in my mind
Wow, are you still reading everything? You're more patient than I am. Here's the listing, and it was a nice place, but in the end, it's just another possibility for me. Go to the next one.

**PISO No. 10 - Something Worth Writing About**
**Yes, something worth writing about - but not yet. I don't want to share any details publicly until we've signed a lease. We think we've found our place, and we're trying to seal the deal. Given our previous experiences, we're not counting our chickens till they hatch, but the champagne is on ice, metaphorically speaking. (I suppose we could get real champagne, and then it wouldn't be just a metaphor anymore, but I really wouldn't know where to buy it.)

We'll share more when we can!

Travel day snapshots

2010-11-07T14:40:00.000+01:00

Friday, November 5
London’s Heathrow Airport
8:34 AM local time (3:34 AM in Wisconsin)

We’ve had quite a travel day! We finished packing late Wednesday night, and Steve Heitz came to pick us up in the GenCon Van at 9:30 AM Thursday morning. (Thanks again to Steve for his help! If you’re gonna ride, ride in style.)

We loaded things up & hit the road for Chicago. We made good time, dropping Meggan off at the consulate on Michigan Ave. around 12:15 PM. Rather than find a parking spot (difficult and/or expensive), we drove around for twenty minutes – a lovely scenic tour of downtown. Then we picked Meggan up curbside & headed back to O’Hare.

We got to the airport around 1:30 PM. A couple skycaps brought our bags inside, where we set up camp near the British Airways ticket counter (which wouldn’t open for another hour). Andrew enjoyed some quality floor time after being a VERY good boy in the car.

Chris & Kim arrived, helped us check in, and we all hung out in the food court for about an hour. We said our goodbyes to Chris, Kim, and Mima, and went through security. There was a cute little play area near our gate where Andy made some new friends.
Then we boarded our flight, where Baby slept a lot, Daddy slept a little, and Mama watched mediocre movies.

So, here we are, waiting for our connection to Madrid in an airport lounge. Hauling around a guitar, car seat, stroller, and baby in addition to our carry-ons… an adventure. Hopefully customs in Spain will be manageable! All in all, smooth sailing so far. Thanks for your prayers!

-------

Sunday, November 7
Our temporary apartment in Madrid
2:40 PM

Our travel day finished up with no major hitches. All thirteen of our checked pieces came through to the baggage carousel in Madrid. We had to do a little hunting to track down the guitar and stroller, which had been checked at the gate in London, but they came. The friends-and-family waiting area is beyond the baggage claim area, so we did a mini-relay, handing off one luggage cart at a time through the doors to our friends.

Since then we've been battling jet lag (worse than normal for both of us, and Andy's had some issues, too), experiencing a wide range of emotions, and spending some time with our WorldVenture teammates. We had planned to go to church this morning, but we decided not to interrupt Andrew's sleep. We had a pleasant walk around our neighborhood in the late morning. Tomorrow we hope to set up our bank account and see a piso (apartment).

New prayer letter

2010-11-01T16:11:00.000+01:00

Read it here!

Update on visa timing

2010-10-22T21:20:00.002+02:00

UPDATE: As of October 25, the visas are in! Woohoo! See prayer letter (next post) for details.

Hey friends - FYI, here's what's going on vis-à-vis our impending departure for Spain.

We have learned that Meggan's and Andrew's visas were being detained in Madrid, only to be released when I would arrive in the country and register with the government. This confused us when we first learned of it, but we have since discovered a bit of the rationale for this detention - it serves to curb illegal immigration. Apparently some people have used the system by getting family visas off of a primary visa that goes unused, effectively getting people into the country on false pretenses with no means of support. So, there you go. Our team lawyer in Spain is going to lobby on our behalf to get the visas released into processing. If she is successful, the process should take another three weeks, give or take. If she can't get it released, we will leave in a week, and Meggan will have to fly back to Chicago to pick up her visa when it is ready. That would be a bit annoying, but whatever we have to do, we'll make it work. Philippians 4, baby. Either way, we are confident that we will be leaving the U.S. before Thanksgiving. (We think.)

In other news, this weekend is the retreat for our WorldVenture teammates in Spain. Some of our friends, Brian and Cassie, landed in Spain earlier this week, so they and their boys are able to participate in the weekend. Go, team! We'll see you soon!

Homemade Masala Chai Latte

2010-10-22T20:50:00.001+02:00

Drug of the day...

Masala = spiced; chai = tea; latte = milk. I'm mixing my languages, but you'll have to deal with it.

Using what I had at my disposal in Mom's kitchen, I now know that spiced chai concentrate will never satisfy again. Thank you, Dushanbe Tea House of Boulder, for awakening a holy discontent within me for all prepackaged substitutes. Most recipes call for cardamom, but we didn't have any, so I made it work w/o it. All measurements are approximate.

Cinnamon stick
Nutmeg (I used a few shakes of the ground stuff)
Allspice (just a shake)
Ginger root (4-5 slices)
Whole black peppercorns (1-2 tsps)
Cloves (1 tsp)

Add spices to one cup boiling water on the stovetop; let simmer ~6 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp loose Earl Grey tea (I'm kind of impressed by mom's tea selection here; I'm sure any black tea would work fine), brew another ~6 minutes. Strain the brew, or pour the liquid off (easier than I thought it would be). Rinse out your pot, put the liquid back in there, and add one cup of your preferred milk. For sweetener, I added about a tablespoon of Mom's vanilla syrup. I'm sure sugar would do the trick just as well, plus some vanilla extract if you so choose. Heat to desired temperature and enjoy.

I'm thinking this could easily become a party beverage. It would not be difficult to multiply this recipe for a gathering. As an added bonus, my sore throat feels a little better. Placebo effect? You be the judge.

Car for sale (no longer!)

2010-10-09T02:37:00.009+02:00

UPDATE: October 14 - sold! Thanks to all who expressed interest!

2005 Toyota RAV4

60,600 miles
Single owner, well maintained (have maintenance record), has never required any engine repair or body work
Front-wheel drive, automatic transmission

The back seats can also be removed, and there is a luggage cover that can hide anything in the back from an outside view.

Standard features, including:
--Dual air bags
--ABS, traction control
--Power steering
--Power windows, power locks
--Remote keyless entry
--Cruise control, tilt wheel
--A/C
--Single-disc CD, cassette, AM/FM
Additional feature - Toyota "sport package" pedals

Rated for 29 MPG highway, 24 MPG city

Jeremiah 29:11

2010-10-03T20:30:00.000+02:00

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I think I'm about to step on some toes.

Jeremiah 29:11, the verse quoted above, is a popular line among certain Christians. Some people take it as their "life verse," others quote it to help through hard times, and there are even entire ministries that take the verse as their name. It's an encouraging sentiment - the idea that God has secure plans for each of us in life, and they're good plans, plans that can give us rest.

The problem is, that's not quite true.

We have at least two good reasons to reject it. First, life experience shows us otherwise. Life doesn't work out like that for everybody. Many people follow God with all they are and all they have, but their lives are full of harm and lacking prosperity. Second, the Bible rejects this kind of reasoning. You don't even have to leave the book of Jeremiah - the prophet himself followed the Lord into the miserable life of a misanthrope, and he talked all about it.

But why am I subjecting you to this rant? I just sound like a killjoy. What's the point? Well, some of us experience the good life, where things go our way time and again, and we start to associate our good life with God. We think, since God loves me, he will give me a good life, and that's why things are going so well. Then, something awful or tragic hits us, and we don't know how to handle it. Who knows how we will respond? Some have decided to leave God behind altogether under such pressure. That's the thing - bad theology can be dangerous.

So what's going on in this passage? The first thing to remember is, the books of the Bible were not written to you. They were written to a variety of peoples who lived 2000-3000 years ago in a variety of circumstances. Yes, they were inspired by the same God who loves you and who is active in your life; yes, there are certain commonalities between all people everywhere. These similarities make it possible to learn something about our relationship with God in the 21st century. The Bible is absolutely for our benefit... but it was not written to us.

To whom was this word written? The Lord was speaking through Jeremiah to the Hebrew people in exile. Among other things in the larger prophetic passage that includes our verse in question, Yahweh mentions that it was he who carried them into exile. He discourages the people from listening to the sweet promises of those religious people afflicted with the disease of false optimism in God's name. The promise to prosper and not harm is spoken to a community of people, not to any individuals within the community. It was God's greater purpose to bring the Hebrew people back from exile after seventy years, because he still had a plan for them in redemptive history. Anyone who was an adult at the time these words were spoken would have been confident they would not live to the end of those seventy years - they would die in exile. God had promised to bless the world through them, and he had to uphold them as a community to make good on that promise. There would still be plenty of individuals and families who would live and die, prosper and suffer, survive and thrive. (As an important aside, we see clearly that most lines in Scripture lose their original meaning when you take them out of context.)

What does this passage show us about God? His greater purpose in redemptive history will never fail. We now know that includes Jesus, and through Jesus, that includes us. God went to great lengths to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, and God our Savior went through crucifixion and separation from the Father to make a way for you and me to know God's intimate presence. That's powerful, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. What else do we learn? Again, we see there is no guarantee that God has comfortable plans for any of his individual followers. He carried the Jews into exile, both the faithful and the unfaithful, and about two generations died there. God's love for you does not automatically lead to prosperity.

What else can we take for ourselves in this passage? God is the kind of God who wants his people to have hope. He does want his people to prosper, and he wants to give us a future. We have no promise of those things now, but we do know they will be ours in Christ when he returns to this earth. Whether or not we prosper now, we will prosper in the coming kingdom of God. That is our hope and our future, fulfilled perhaps long after we die, no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable our circumstances in the meantime.

Art and heartache

2010-09-02T14:37:00.001+02:00

Madrid is known for three world-class art museums - the Prado, the Thyssen, and the Reina Sofia. Meggan and I had the opportunity to visit the Prado and the Reina Sofia in 2008, and we generally enjoyed those visits. However, there were moments at the Reina Sofia when we felt a bit out of our aesthetic sensibilities. To put it bluntly, some modern art is just a little too "weird" for us. One memory we often chuckle about was from a room in the museum where we couldn't quite appreciate an artist's genius in a large canvas (over 4'x6') painted plain white with a line and some dots.We weren't being obnoxious, but another woman in the room noticed our general lack of enthusiasm, and she looked straight at us, scowled, and gave us a disapproving shake of her head. We got culturally scolded!

We're not the only ones to have had similar experiences. Some "art" doesn't seem like art to everybody. However, at the Reina Sofia, it never occurred to me to consider a different kind of response to this sort of work: sympathy. One of our seminary professors called this to my attention with his blog post on Lady Gaga. Some "strange" art is the cry of an aching soul to squeeze some sort of meaning out of a painful existence.

Consider the painting above, "Landscape," by Joan Miró. Miró was 83 years old when he created it. Have you spent time with a variety of 83-year-olds lately? Some of them are still spry and very lucid; others show distinct signs of breaking down. Perhaps the woman disapproved of our response to the paintings because it betrayed an inherent lack of understanding for the challenges aging can bring. Walking the Reina Sofia you get to see the progression of some artists' work from the beginning of their careers into their last years of creating. The next time I walk the Reina Sofia, I'll be on the lookout for this very human phenomenon, and others like it. Salvador Dalí features prominently in the Reina Sofia. Now THERE'S a tortured soul for you. Lord, let his art be an opportunity for me to understand what people are going through every day in this broken world.

Requoting Francis Schaeffer, from our professor's blog:

These paintings, these poems and these demonstrations which we have been talking bout are the expression of men who are struggling with their appalling lostness. Dare we laugh at such things? Dare we feel superior when we view their tortured expressions in their art? Christians should stop laughing and take such men seriously. Then we shall have the right to speak again to our generation. These men are dying while they live, yet where is our compassion for them? There is nothing more ugly than an orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion.

Saying goodbye to stuff

2010-08-01T18:55:00.001+02:00

Today we're packing up a decent load of our material possessions. Tom and Becca Whitney are buying much of our furniture for their first apartment together, and tomorrow is the pick-up day. It's incredibly convenient to have buyers for these nice things that we have to unload, and we're truly thankful for that!

It's also sad for us.

Physical things carry memories with them. I've woken up next to this nightstand for five years or so. It's held an alarm clock, water bottles, books, passports, a lamp - useful stuff that has played a role in God's myriad of blessings in our lives. Getting rid of it all also makes our continuing transition away from life here that much more tangible. We're leaving; it's real. There have been tears this morning. I'm glad these things will continue to be used to bless others, and I know we have to let them go in order to move on to the next step God has for us. And, it's good to recall, it's just stuff! Still, there's a slice of us that laments today.

Two devotional thoughts on the theme: "Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies..."
and, second, physical things and remembrance: "This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

Prayer request - visa stress

2010-07-23T17:11:00.001+02:00

Lord willing, Meggan, Andrew, and I will apply for our visas at the Spanish consulate in Chicago on August 6. In the meantime, we're gathering the decent-sized portfolio of paperwork necessary to make that possible. There's a lot of red tape to cut through, and if we don't have just the right stuff, we could be turned away. I would love it if things went smoothly, but I would also love it if I could just handle myself smoothly. Below is what I recently wrote to our field leader in Spain, Dan:

I'm not sure why, but something about my personality makes the visa application process one of the most stressful parts of getting ready to come to Spain. Raising support... downsizing our personal possessions... saying goodbye to friends and family... I'm mostly handling those with grace, self-control, and healthy emotions. This? I get nervous, worrisome, and short-tempered, and I feel like the process controls me rather than me having self-control in the midst of the process. Prayers appreciated. (And thanks for listening.)

Jesus the lifeguard?

2010-06-14T14:28:00.001+02:00

I ran into this intriguing quotation on a friend's blog. What do you think?

The New Testament proclaims an unlikely Savior. The work of Jesus in his incarnation, life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension makes no worldly sense at all. The portrait the Gospels paint is that of a lifeguard who leaps into the surf, swims to the drowning girl, and then, instead of doing a cross-chest carry, drowns with her, revives three days later, and walks off the beach with assurances that everything including the apparently still-dead girl, is hunky-dory.

(Originally from a book by Robert Farrar Copan.)

Our June 2010 email newsletter

2010-06-11T16:55:00.006+02:00

Hey there - we've just jumped back into the world of email updates. Here's our latest newsletter. If you'd like to get them sent directly to you in the future, click here to subscribe.

Youth ministry in Spain: another missionary's reflections

2010-06-06T05:33:00.001+02:00

What follows is an excerpt from a blog post written last October by Dan, our field leader in Madrid. Almost a decade ago, he and his wife, Eva, spent some time as leaders for the youth group at a church called La Elipa. Here he answers "Where Are They Now?" for the youth who were part of the group at that time. This shows a glimpse of why we are excited to work with youth. Read and enjoy!

The current youth group at La Elipa
Andy was always a committed believer even from before we ever met him. He went on to marry the daughter of a well-respected missionary. He went to Bible school and then on to a masters program that is related to Ravi Zacharias ministries. He now lives with his wife and two kids in Granada were he is leading an apologetics ministry for "Agape" (Campus Crusade). The Lord is using him and his wife on university campuses all over Spain.

Pablo has been very involved with summer outreach campaigns and has become a gifted preacher at La Elipa. He is particularly effective in communicating with the younger generations. He and his wife are leading a small group ministry for the older "jóvenes" (25-35) from our church and other churches as well.

Alex has also been very involved with summer campaigns and camps. He is gifted in leading music and leads the worship time at La Elipa from time to time. When he is not at La Elipa he is often helping lead music at other churches or ministries. He is also quite involved with united youth events.

Chema has gone on to be a manager for Christian music groups and artists. He has organized many concerts and has been quite successful in getting Christian artists into secular venues. Chema currently is working with a ministry that is part of Agape that consists in working with Christian musicians and also in reaching out to non-Christian musicians and groups. He is also very involved with youth and music on a national level.

Andrés was the son of an elder who had some medical problems. A valve inserted at the base of his brain when he was a baby became infected when he was about 19. This infection led to his loosing all sight. His family lives in England now (his mother is English). He has had a ministry online to other blind people as well as chatting with others all over the world. I've not heard much about him in the last few years.

Eugenio and Luna... I mention these two together as they recently got married. Both were in our youth group. Eugenio and Luna have been very active with the Sunday School program and with summer camps, Christmas programs and summer campaigns. [NOTE: Meggan and I know Eugenio and Luna! We worked together with them at La Elipa's children's summer camp in the summer of 2008. They weren't yet married at the time. We're excited for the possibility of being "couple friends" when we return!]

Ismael was pretty young and just starting in the youth group when we left. Today he leads the worship ministry at La Elipa and is very involved with another ministry with youth at a church in San Fernando. There he is preaching quite often as well as leading worship.

Carolina was a leader in the group when we were with them. She has always been very responsible and influential with the other youth. She married a very fine young man from Zaragoza who is career military. They live in Zaragoza now and have a one-year-old baby with very a severe disability (I don't remember what it is called, but part of Samuel's brain never formed). Carolina is Alex's older sister. They also have a younger sister who came some to our group. Since then she has left the church and I don't know where she is spiritually.

Sarah and Israel are brother and sister and the children of one of the elders (now an elder at a different church). Sarah never accepted Christ and even when she came to the group always made it clear that she was not a believer. Israel did accept Christ but about the time we were ending our involvement in the group he ran away from home and became very rebellious. He got into all kinds of stuff in the years that followed. He came back to the Lord some years later and has been involved with ministering with drug addicts at rehab centers.

Kevin is Andy's younger brother. He fell away from the faith some years after we left and has never returned. We are still praying that some day he will come back.

The reason that I mention these "jóvenes" is to illustrate how a little involvement at a crucial period of a young person's life can have a far-reaching impact years and even decades later. I think that working with jóvenes from as young as 12-15 or even up to their mid- to late-thirties can have a profound impact on the local church and on the communities that they in turn will later impact.

Fresh reflections on John 4

2010-06-01T20:35:00.002+02:00

The story from John's gospel of Jesus with a Samaritan woman at a well has long been a favorite of mine. Like the parable of the prodigal son, it's one of those gospel stories that amazes and inspires on first reading, then gets richer and even more incredible when you delve into its literary and historical-cultural context. We learn so much about God's heart and about ourselves in this story. But reading it recently, it didn't feel like a favorite anymore. It's not an encounter I found particularly inspiring this time, and I'll tell you why.

I don't like the Samaritan woman.

Apparently it's been over a year since I've read this story, because the Samaritan woman's situation took me by surprise. I was appreciating the story up through verse 16, but then Jesus startled me with her place in life. "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

Suddenly I found myself feeling like one of the other women in town, the women avoided by going to the well at the hottest time of day. This Samaritan woman deserved to be socially ostracized - she is dangerous. When you've been with at least six men, and you're currently living with one out of wedlock, the collateral damage of your broken relationships spreads to every nook and cranny of your small town (and in that day, they were all small towns). The women who wouldn't socialize with her were possibly all related to men she had been with - uncles, cousins, brothers, sons, or maybe even husbands. Whereas the Samaritan woman had always seemed like a victim of her social circumstances to me in previous readings, now I can't help but see her as the incarnation of the adulteress warned of multiple times in the book of Proverbs.

Slightly removed from the initial shock of this new view on the woman at the well, what can I say about this? Who indeed is the woman? And what does it mean that Jesus approached her with love and truth?

First, who was she? Was she a victim of lifelong abuse from a young age, who kept getting stuck in abusive relationships, who may have been widowed a couple times, who just needed some roof for protection in a patriarchal culture, who was unfairly cast aside by the other women in town? Or was she spoiled, a poisonous personality, a gold-digger, always seeking a new man to conquer sexually and financially, using and abusing the people around her, only looking out for her own good, leaving a trail of wreckage behind her wherever she went? . . . We don't know. The text doesn't tell us. The point is, she could be either one. We can't take comfort in the fact that Jesus would only reach out to people who fit our moral sensibilities.

The fact is, she was probably a bit of both of those caricatures. That's the thing - real people don't fit in the skin of their Disney prototypes. Every innocent victim has a narcissistic streak, and every rotten apple has been a victim along the way. Jesus sees it all in each of us: every bit of our junk that's not our fault, and every time we play the victim card when we're actually the perpetrators. The same goes for the people who have left us as the wreckage in their wake. He knows that they are even more despicable than we understand, and also that they're more deeply wounded than we can fathom. He moves toward people who society casts out, even when society has good reasons for that judgment.

The reason the Samaritan woman is a hero in the text is not because of her colorful past; it's because of her response. She opens herself to God's redeeming love. It doesn't matter if you're an eagle scout or a gangsta, Mother Theresa or Lady Gaga - you can humbly accept God's love and grace, or you can pridefully try to stand on your own two feet.

He moves toward you. You don't fit God's moral sensibilities. But he loves you. Respond to his love with humility, awe, and restful acceptance. Then extend his love to others; go love your "enemy" today, wherever you may encounter such a person. Find a slice of sympathy for that person, even as you acknowledge you're with a real jerk.

Holiday

2010-04-29T05:29:00.001+02:00

This week Meggan, Andrew, and I are in eastern Tennessee, enjoying some quality time with Rick, Lynn, and John. We're staying in a secluded log home with a gorgeous view. Weekly activities include exploring the Smokies, a couple days at Dollywood, card and board games, laughs, baby play, music, stories, meals, and soaking in the general Southern charm.

Here in the U.S., we typically call this a "vacation" - we vacate the premises of our everyday routines, and we try to vacate our regular concerns from our minds. In Britain, people go on "holiday" – a break in the routine is afforded by national and religious holidays, such that the typical time to get away like this has taken the name of holiday, even if you’re going during an ordinary week. Still, in its original meaning, a holiday is not about taking a trip; it’s a holy day, sacred, set apart.

This week is not really a vacation for us. It’s a holiday, in the older sense of the word.

There is no general occasion that the outside world observes that makes this week holy in any manner. Even within the family, there’s nothing special about late April. (Well… that’s not precisely true – Rick and Lynn’s 30th anniversary was a week ago! But this isn’t an anniversary trip, per se.) This trip is sacred because of where it fits in the rhythm of our lives. Our first little one is here, and he's worth savoring. Our transition to Spain is just a few months away, at which point the opportunity for family time will shrink dramatically. This is a unique season, and it calls for us to respond in intentional family togetherness.

Are we away from many of our regular responsibilities and goings-on this week? Yes. Yet even more than this, the week plays a highly significant role within the journey God has for us. This is a true family holiday, and we are blessed to be able to celebrate.

Reposting other people's good stuff

2010-03-25T08:15:00.000+01:00

Nancy Buschart was one of Meggan's mentors during our time in Denver, and her influence spilled over into my life as well. Check out her insights on using The Three Questions (tm) for spiritual guidance.

Introducing...

2010-01-11T15:40:00.003+01:00

Andrew Christopher Knox!

Born Sunday, January 10, 2010, at 10:32 PM
8 lb. 4 oz., 20.5 in.

Mama and baby are healthy and off to a great start. Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes! We will let you know when we are ready to receive visitors.

Marvelous are the works of the Lord!

Christmas present and future

2009-12-24T20:36:00.003+01:00

Merry Christmas!

Meggan and I are in Waupun today. It's a beautiful white Christmas outside, with an extra ice storm last night to make things interesting. We had Ben-and-Meggan Christmas on Monday morning; weather permitting, we will get to celebrate Christmas with many of our different extended families over the next few days. We've been participating in "Advent Conspiracy" through our church, which has dropped our stress levels a little, refocused our attention on the Lord's coming, reminded us of the needs of the world around us, and included some fun crafting for gifts. (Look out, family!) We are content, blessed, and significantly ready to have the baby. (Look at my pretty preggo princess!!!) Being pregnant gives advent a fresh poignancy - it sometimes feels like we're traveling along with Mary and Joseph towards parenthood. Songs about the joys that come with a certain baby have a double entendre for us.

I love my families. I feel so deeply blessed to have them, besides being particularly fortunate to like them (most of the time =-P). Up until the point of writing this, I've mostly been avoiding thinking about the idea that we'll probably be off in Spain next year. One's life journey is a curious thing - when I first became passionate about global ministry, I was a single male college student, eager to participate in God's mission to save the world, ready to make whatever sacrifice might be necessary. It was almost a foregone conclusion for me that this would involve leaving the U.S. I knew that would be bittersweet, but when you're 20, male, and loving college life, (1) you think it would be worth anything to pursue your passions, and (2) you're in the one season of your life where you feel like you could live a happy life apart from your family of origin. Besides, what passion could be more worthy than the gospel? The Lord's promise to his servants seems black and white - trust his words; follow wherever he leads; don't let the Christian subculture's family-first message dilute the Lord's prophetic call; go serve where servants are deeply needed.

Inevitably, my perspective has evolved over time. I still believe a lot of that stuff... but there are way more shades of gray than there used to be. I have a deepened desire to maintain faithful connections with my family members, both on principle and on a heart level. My strongest connections with my brothers and sisters in Christ do not naturally feel as enduring as my connections with my brothers and sister. Supernaturally, the family of Christ will surely endure, but I can't help seeing the world both ways, for better and/or worse. Puedo esperar por "abuelos, tíos, y primos" que van a venir con nosotros cuando criamos nuestro hijo en España, but I know there are grandparents, uncles, aunt, and cousins right here in the Midwest who will always be here for us, wherever we go.

Nevertheless, we do have family to look forward to in Spain. We will be part of a local church family, as always, but the people who will probably feel most like family will be our WorldVenture Spain family. This won't be a replacement for family, but we're praying and believing they will become a new family for us. We will love one another faithfully, but as far as Meggan and I can tell, we'll also probably like each other, A LOT, the vast majority of the time.

So, Lord willing, we will spend next Christmas with...

¡Los Gudeman! Ed and Sheryl, with their son Mark (off at school), their daughters Angel and Nikki, and their dog Navi. The Gudemans will be our veteran missionary coaches in Madrid, and probably our babysitters from time to time.

¡Dan y Eva! Dan and Eva are our Spain field leaders. They have two boys, Manuel and David. Dan grew up as a missionary kid in Papua New Guinea, and Eva is the only native Spaniard on the team.

¡Brian y Cassie! Our fellow Coloradans, we met Brian and Cassie for lunch before we left Denver. We had a wonderful time with them and their two boys. We and they are two of five missionary family units currently raising support to join the Spain team. All of us hope to be there within the next year.

¡Bill y Gina! Bill and Gina will be the team coasties (from New Jersey/Philadelphia). In our online team conversations, Bill is building a reputation as a goofball. (I already consider myself an unofficial member of his fan club. If it doesn't exist, I'm unofficially starting it.)

¡Los Reeser! Chad and Julie hope to be involved in church planting and theological education. They will probably be the first of the new units to arrive in Madrid, sometime in early spring.

¡Theresa! Theresa will be working with other WorldVenture ministries in southern Spain. She flies very soon - January 12!!!

As hard as it will be to leave, we are so thankful for our WorldVenture Spain family-to-be.

Christ the Lord has come to us this day, in the humble garb of infant flesh. He is coming again to make all things new.

Pro-life argument in the form of systematic logic

2009-12-04T01:12:00.004+01:00

I just crafted the following argument for a facebook conversation, and I would like outside input. In particular, I'm wondering if my friends & acquaintances who are trained philosophers could help me find the technical holes in my formal argument. I know I'm not the first to put something like this together, and I certainly won't be the last... but, it was fun!

Argument in favor of pro-life legislation in the United States
1. Our nation promises all humans the right to life and liberty. (Axiom, from the Declaration of Independence)
2. The right to life qualifies all other rights. (Axiom, implied by the Declaration of Independence)
This is the only statement I'll elaborate on just a bit. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness are to be granted to U.S. citizens in that order - that is to say, when there is a conflict between one person's life and another person's liberty, the claimant on life has the legal right. You and I have liberty, but that liberty is qualified by the state in important ways - I am not allowed to murder you, and vice versa.
3. The right to liberty is one of those "other rights." (Follows from #1)
4. One person's right to live qualifies each other person's right to liberty. (Follows from #2 & #3)
4a. Each person's right to liberty does not include any right to infringe upon any other person's right to live. (Restatement of #4)
5. A nation that promises rights should defend those rights with the rule of law. (Axiom, probably from Plato's Republic or some other classic I've never read)
6. Our nation should defend the human right to life with the rule of law. (Follows from #1 & #5)
7. Our nation should defend the human right to liberty with the rule of law. (Follows from #1 & #5)
8. Our nation's defense of the human right to liberty should not include any right to infringe upon any other person's right to life. (Follows from #4a & #7)
9. A woman's choice to receive an abortion in any case where her own life is not in mortal danger is a matter of liberty. (Axiom, from the definition of liberty)
10. If a fetus is a human, s/he has a right to life. (Follows from #1)
11. If a fetus is a human, s/he has a right to life that qualifies each other person's right to liberty. (Follows from #4 & #10)
12. The mother of any fetus is in the category of "each other person." (Axiom, from the definition of person)
13. If a fetus is a human, s/he has a right to life that supersedes and qualifies her/his mother's right to liberty. (Follows from #11 & #12)
14. A fetus is a human from the point of conception. (Separate scientific and logical argument, alluded to above)
15. A fetus has a right to life that qualifies her/his mother's right to liberty. (Follows from #13 & #14)
16. Our nation should defend a fetus's right to life with the rule of law. (Follows from #6 & #14)
17. Our nation should defend a mother's right to liberty with the rule of law. (Follows from #7 & #12)
18. Our nation's defense of a mother's right to liberty should not include any right to infringe upon her fetus's right to life. (Follows from #8, #16, & #17)
19. Our nation should defend, with the rule of law, a fetus's right to life from her/his mother's choice to receive an abortion in any case where the mother's life is not in mortal danger. (Follows from #9, #16, & #18)

Will Ferrell as a third culture kid?

2009-12-02T21:10:00.002+01:00

There are a lot of Christmas movies out there - some good, some not, some classic, some goofy, some cheesy, some highly irreverent. Odds are you have a favorite, maybe "A Charlie Brown Christmas" or "It's a Wonderful Life." Meggan and I? No buts about it, our favorite is "Elf." Will Ferrell is hilarious, and unlike most of his stuff, it's clean. Good plot, good comedy, good pick-me-up, nothing raunchy. An all-around fun flick.

We put it in the DVD player this week, and a whole new way to see the movie opened up for me: Elf is basically a third culture kid.

What is a third culture kid, or TCK? TCKs are kids who grow up between two cultures. Their parents are expatriates, living in a culture other than their home culture. Oftentimes TCKs don't really "fit" in the country where they live or their parents' home country. The two cultures combine to create a "third culture" (hence the name). A TCK of Nigerian parents raised in Germany would quite possibly feel like she has more in common with a TCK of Canadian parents raised in Brazil than she does with anyone from either Nigeria or Germany. In our world today, third culture kids come from military families, government diplomats' families, international business families, and ... missionary families. If we stay in Spain long-term, our kids will be TCKs.

So, how is Buddy the Elf a TCK? On the surface, the movie is about adoption. Will Ferrell's character, Buddy, is a human who crawls into Santa's sack as a baby in an orphanage. He is adopted by an elf father and raised at the North Pole. However, with the differences between elves and humans, Buddy's situation ends up more like that of a TCK than that of an adopted child. He cannot perform basic elf tasks at the level of the elves around him, and he stands out as the different kid. Some of his differences are useful, but many make him a misfit. When he returns to New York City, the same thing happens - he doesn't function like a normal human being. He has been raised in a perpetually upbeat culture, and he subsists on a diet of various forms of sugar. He commits some serious cultural blunders that any born-and-raised New Yorker would not make. He also has some skills that no New Yorker can match - his energy and ability for crafts and play, while sub-elf, are superhuman. He is an unparalleled bridge between the two worlds, and that becomes a great thing.

So this Christmas, as we expect our first child who will probably be a TCK, "Elf" takes on fresh emotional significance for me. When I see him doing things no one else can do, I glow with a hint of expectant pride. When I see his sorrow at feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere, I ache just a bit. And theologically, when I think of the day in the renewed heaven-on-earth to come at the end of the age, I rest in knowing that we will all feel as though we have come home.

If you've never seen "Elf," go watch it! If you like "Elf," watch it again and look for this theme. If you have personal knowledge of TCKs, take a look and let me know of any parallels you see that I haven't mentioned.

(Photo credits - Flickr user Positively Puzzled)

Social pressures and following Jesus

2009-11-25T22:01:00.009+01:00

How is it that I am who I am, where I am, doing what I am? Why am I following Jesus rather than the American dream? How did I get here? How did you get where you are, and how did the dude next door get where he is? How did I come to make the good decisions I made? What about the bad ones? Where is God's pursuit of me evident in my story? Where are my autonomous choices?

... and how much of it all really just comes from social realities?

Here's the thing. I've been seeing a smattering of good things and bad things happening in the lives of people around me lately. Nothing new to that. But as I get to know their stories, I can't help but feel that the different social pressures each of us face end up shaping more than I might care to admit.

This isn't unexpected, I suppose. And it's not that God, the devil, and personal autonomy are ever removed from the situation. Everybody's present all up in there together. I guess it just feels like the social side is a tad overwhelming in the lives of people around me these days, to the extent that the other factors can seem like puppets in the social game.

My reflections here are motivated by some new tension I'm experiencing. For a while now, I've thought there were three main schools of thought in the church for instructing Christians on who we should be socially:
(1) No school of thought. People just live their lives and run into whomever and do whatever and that's it. It's sad, but lots of people live unexamined lives like that.
(2) Avoid corrupting influences, because they will drag you down. Hang out with other good Christians, and you'll sharpen one another. This one is particularly popular among parents of teenagers, and it has some biblical support (1 Cor. 15:33; Prov. 27:17).
(3) Become a person of contagious holiness. Under the OT law, ritual uncleanness was seen as contagious, such that the pure and the impure had to be segregated until the impure could be cleansed, such as through ritual washing and animal sacrifice. Socially, Jesus modeled the reverse for us - he hung out with society's down-and-outs, and he had a positive influence on many of them, such that his goodness became contagious in their lives, affecting who those people would choose to be in the future. The idea is not to avoid corrupting influences, but rather to remain faithful in love and friendship to the messed-up people in our lives. With God's strength and grace, we lead them up out of sin rather than following them into sin.

Ever since my understanding of these three options took shape, the third has stood out as the best paradigm. But lately, it seems to be falling flat.
--What if you've never been exposed to righteousness in a certain area of life? Say you're a Christ-follower, and all your friends smoke pot whenever they hang out. You've heard some people say pot-smoking is bad, but you've never heard anyone make an actual case for why it's a bad idea to be a regular toker. You see the fun social atmosphere it seems to create, and it never even crosses your mind not to participate. Why wouldn't you?
--What if you don't have any other social options? Let's tweak the previous scenario - still a Christ-follower, friends are still potheads. Now let's say you know it's wrong to get high, but you live in podunk Bartlett, Nebraska. These are the people who have been your friends since kindergarten. If you don't smoke when they're smoking, they treat you like an outcast. If you don't hang out with them, you don't hang out with anybody. If you suggest any alternative activity within a reasonable traveling distance, like bowling (about as good as it gets in the area), they say a bowl goes well with bowling. What do love and wisdom look like in that situation?
--What about mutual influence? Let's take another Christ-follower, a single guy. You've given Christ total control over your anger issues. You become friends with a non-Christian gal at work or school who has serious anger problems. She has seen you change a lot in the past year, and you start to become a mentor figure for her in dealing with her anger. Christ is definitely a part of the conversation, and she seems to be cautiously open to the God-stuff you're sharing with her about anger. She also has a casual view of sex, you find her quite attractive, and she has come on to you a few times. She likes what you're saying about God and anger, but she disagrees with your conservative sexual mores. Even when you hang out in public places, you find your mind wandering to places you wish it wouldn't. You're seriously worried that you're going to end up sleeping with her one of these days. How do you choose between continuing to exercise the unique influence you have in her life and avoiding situations of intense temptation?

Contagious holiness doesn't fit any of these scenarios very neatly. Neither does avoiding corrupting influences. What is the response of love in these situations? Who am I to judge the actions of a brother or sister in Christ in these situations who "gives into sin" or who "abandons their friends"?

Frankly, I had it easy as a teenager. I didn't get into drinking or drugs, but it wasn't because I was "above" that stuff. I was just involved in lots of activities that took up my time, and I happened to hang out with the last teenaged non-religious crowd in the entire U.S. of A. that didn't drink. I did once walk away from one of my cliques of friends, but it was in a rather mean way, and it was not for any moral reasons - I just didn't know how to relate to the other people anymore, and it was an hour's drive to go see them, and I wanted to hang out with my girlfriend. She was from an evangelical church, so I started thinking about Jesus more seriously and personally than I had before; when I went to college, I started hanging out with the Christian kids, and the rest is history. How much of where I am today has to do with responding to peer pressure in the direction of God?

Is there a resolution to this post? I have some thoughts in that direction, but they're not very systematic yet. I'm seeing that contagious holiness w/o iron-sharpening-iron is a recipe for disaster (and even a little avoidance of bad influences can be necessary). I'm seeing that God can use peer pressure, and so can Satan, and it's not always clear how deeply each is present in a given social situation.

I'm also reminded that our God is the God who creates good things out of nothing and miraculously redeems the ugly into the beautiful. I pray for God to create new positive social realities where they do not yet exist, and I pray for God's redemption to be poured out in our messed-up social spheres all over the place.

Accessible Eschatology: for further reading

2009-11-16T04:24:00.004+01:00

Thanks to those of you who have been reading along throughout this series! Clearly it became drawn out a little longer than I had originally intended. I guess life has its own timeline.

Wanna do some of your own exploring on these issues? Here's a bibliography of books that have helped to shape my thoughts in this arena. Some are amillennial; others are premillennial; others are not primarily eschatological in their focus, but they still have a good deal to contribute to this conversation. Read synopses and reviews on sites like Amazon to find out which might suit your personal reading desires.

--The Bible. (Odd, but, hey, read it & allow it to shape your views more than anything else. Do these other books comport with what the Bible teaches? Do the things I have to say agree with the Bible? Cuz, hey, that's a tad important.)
--The Bible and the Future, by Anthony Hoekema
--A Case for Historic Premillennialism, by Craig Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung
--The Mission of God, by Christopher J. H. Wright
--The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work, by Darrel Cosden
--Work in the Spirit, by Miroslav Volf

A Day in the Life: Madison, WI

2009-11-10T18:24:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I (Meggan) have written, so I thought I'd take a few moments to catch people up on our lives here in Madison. We have been living on Whitney Way since July and really do feel settled in our apartment. It has been great to catch up with Madison friends from college and reconnect at Blackhawk Evangelical Free Church, where we were married over five years ago. That's a blast from the past, right? Of course, Blackhawk has since moved to a new location in Madison. My cousin Chris is now a freshman at UW-Madison, and we had fun running into him one Sunday.

Ben and I are both working as we raise support to return to Spain, hopefully by fall 2010. I work at a local dance retail store called Rosy Cheeks in Westgate Mall. Ben works at Victor Allen's Coffee at Odana and Whitney Way. We can both walk to our jobs and are grateful that we didn't have to buy a second car during our time here.

Support-raising is the adventure that it always is. We are finding again that our expectations are usually way off, which is a challenge at times. We keep reminding ourselves that this is God's mission that we are taking part in, not Ben and Meggan's mission that happens to be God-honoring. Thank you so much to those who have already joined our support team! If we haven't been in touch with you yet, don't worry - we will be soon!

The pregnancy is going very well. I didn't have a lick of morning sickness. My stomach is going through a sore stage again, but that just means baby Knox is growing and trying to stretch out in his limited space. I had a recent scare, thinking that I had developed gestational diabetes, but the second test came back with fantastic results, making the first test just an abnormality. Praise God for that since I don't have the greatest family health history.

This Christmas, we are participating in Advent Conspiracy. Check out this video to learn more! We are hand-making a lot of our Christmas gifts, and are deciding to give a lot less in order to give to people in NEED. Blackhawk will be donating 100% of the funds received in a special offering to build wells for communities without clean water in Honduras, Peru, and Kenya, as well as provide wheelchairs for people with limited mobility. Of course you don't have to participate in the literal Advent Conspiracy to follow the "spirit" of this project. I challenge and invite you to approach Christmas differently this year, not because of the economic state of the country, but because of the overabundance that we already enjoy.

Our other weekly activities include going to Childbirth/Parenting classes at Meriter Hospital on Monday nights. Tuesday nights, we attend our lifegroup through Blackhawk. We are so grateful for this group already and have really enjoyed getting to know everyone there. Sunday nights, Ben volunteers with Lief, our college and seminary friend who is the high school youth pastor at Blackhawk.

Ben and I miss our Denver artistic outlets like Ben singing with the Sliders and both of us dancing at Littleton Dance Academy quite a bit. But, this is a season for other foci. We know we'll have those types of opportunities again in the future. And frankly, it's my own fault for not dancing here in Madison while I still could have. Those days are no more until this baby is born! In the meantime, I still feel connected to the dance world by working at Rosy Cheeks.

And that, friends, is a day in the life in Madison, WI.

Accessible Eschatology: the future and the work of our hands

2009-11-03T00:00:00.002+01:00

Flipping burgers. Building furniture. Selling insurance. Tech support. Retail dance apparel (Meggan). Making coffee (me). ________ (you).

What does it all have to do with the coming of the kingdom of God?

There are some commonsense answers about how being a follower of Christ affects the way we work - being people of integrity, the "Protestant work ethic," providing for the physical needs of our families and of others, keeping busy rather than being idle, the opportunity to share Christ's love with coworkers... the list could go on. These are all good things, and they can motivate us to work hard and work well. But what about the actual work itself? Is there something redeeming about the very act of making the best darn latte I can make? Can that have anything to do with the kingdom of God?

Many would say, "no - that has to do with the appetites of this world, not the things of God." But what's wrong with this line of thinking?

(I feel like most of you readers could answer that question yourselves. Go ahead, give it a shot, then I'll write what I have to say & you can see if we were on the same page. Feel free to leave a comment about what you were thinking at this point if you like.)

...

...

Here's what I have in mind - our physical appetites are a part of the things of God. There is no great schism between the physical and the spiritual; these two "parts" of our lives are inseparably intertwined. Sure, it is common in our culture to live a life that inappropriately revolves around the physical appetites, and self-control is a virtue to be cultivated, but the pleasure of a delicious, artistic craft of the kitchen is a God-given pleasure.

In agreement with this, there is a physical side to the coming of the kingdom of God. If you've been following the series of posts, you know that the kingdom of God broke into this world with the coming of Jesus; it continues to break into this world through the work of the Holy Spirit (both in the Church and outside it); and it will have its ultimate fulfillment on this earth at the return of Jesus. If the kingdom has a physical dimension, our work can be a part of this.

This is where we need to pick up where the last post left off. Recall, we were talking about signposts, bridgeheads, and foretastes. Our work for the kingdom of God in this age is about establishing the presence of the coming fulfillment of the kingdom - call it a sign or a taste of that kingdom, or a bridge to it, whichever metaphor speaks to your soul. Just as this gives meaning to our ecological efforts, it can also give genuine meaning to our work. When I make the perfect cappuccino, it can be a signpost of the coming perfection of the kingdom of God. When I try my best to make a beautiful latte, but the foam looks nothing like a heart and everything like a man's twig-n-berries (happened, and definitely required correction before giving it to a customer), it can be a reminder that genuine efforts in God's name will no longer fail when the kingdom comes in its fullness. When you build a useful structure or invent a valuable product or play a role in some technological advance, your work could be something that is a part of the renewed earth - or, if not, it could join in the chain of precursors to that final renewal. A little abstract, but definitely awe-inspiring (and even pretty stinkin' cool).

In our work, we are given the opportunity to create something productive and useful where there once was nothing. It might not always be something absolutely groundbreaking - in fact, most times, it won't be - but it is still a creation that is working to build the future. It doesn't matter what it is, from babysitting to bull-riding: work can be an eschatological act.

Let us join in this prayer of Moses: "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:17, emphasis added)

Next post: for further reading (and that will wrap up the series).

Accessible Eschatology: the end and the environment

2009-10-10T18:48:00.002+02:00

Some Christians are generally unconcerned about the health of the environment. Why pay attention to dwindling resources when the God who works miracles can lovingly provide for his people whatever they need? A certain sector of dispensationalism has extra incentive for this lack of concern. Why care about global climate change when the big idea is that God will rapture us out of this earth?

Some take it one step even further, that we should welcome ecological collapse as a sign that the Apocalypse is growing ever nearer. On RaptureReady.com, they maintain a "Rapture Index," which is described as follows:
"You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture."
Among the factors they consider to be positively related to quickening the rapture (and therefore worthy of our excitement) are Wild Weather, Famine, Drought, Climate, and Food Supply.

So, what do you think? Many Christians reject these arguments and consider themselves environmentalists. They give many good reasons:
--Christians are called to be stewards of God's gifts to us, and this earth is one of those gifts, so we should take care of it rather than exploiting it.
--The creation is described as "good" throughout Genesis 1 even before human beings are mentioned, so we should honor it as good in its own right rather than merely good as something to be used for our human purposes.
--The "creation mandate" in Genesis 1:26-28, the first command ever given to human beings, instructs us to "rule over" the earth with the kind of rule that God shows over us - a rule of love and care.

These are good points, and I agree with them. I think we can add two additional factors from an eschatological perspective that would make us even more sympathetic with the environmentalist cause than with the exploitive view of creation described earlier. One factor is against welcoming environmental destruction, and another is in favor of caring for the environment.

Against Welcoming Environmental Destruction
If we look back to our post on the signs of the end, we find a number of things to expect before Jesus returns. Some are good, many are bad. But it would be ridiculous to say that Christians should cheer for the bad things to happen, let alone participate in them. Would you cheer for someone falsely claiming to be Christ merely because you knew it might be a sign of the real Christ's return? Would you assist such a person in rising to power, faking miracles, and persecuting Christians, all to rush the coming of the glorious end? Of course not. Likewise, it would be backwards to choose not to worry about the environmental impact of your decisions with an attitude of, "Hey, who cares about this world? Maybe I'll even speed the coming of Jesus!" When we apply this same logic to the martyrdom of Christians, we see its absurdity. We don't cheer for bad stuff or accelerate evil - we endure hardship and suffering of all kinds for the sake of Christ, and we work as agents of redemption in this world.

In Favor Of Caring For The Environment
Here's another thought: what about the positive destiny of this earth? If you are premillennial in your convictions, you believe that Christ will reign on this earth for a really long time. Many amillennial believers today have similar convictions, seeing the "new heavens and new earth" described in the Bible as an utter renewal of the current creation rather than a completely fresh start with all new materials. One can make an argument for this possibility from the linguistic range of the word "new" in the Hebrew and Greek, but there are logical and analogical reasons for accepting this position as well. If this creation is inherently good, why would God start over completely? Why would he annihilate everything? Wouldn't that be, in a sense, an admission of the failure of this creation? By analogy, look at Noah and the flood. When this creation needed a fresh start, God didn't obliterate everything; he cleansed this earth and used its raw materials moving forward.

So, whether you are premillennial or amillennial, you have good reason to believe that this earth will see a glorious age someday. Unless you are postmillennial (which we argued earlier is the wrong view to take), you do not think the Church will be the one to usher in the golden age. Only the return of Jesus will bring that era. But what is our work for the kingdom of God in this age, if not the establishment of foretastes of the coming kingdom? When we extend God's grace to others, when we pray for physical healing, when we live humbly and generously, when we praise God in word and deed, are we not erecting signposts on this earth of God's redemption and the coming kingdom? Though our efforts will not bring the kingdom in its fullness, we are to live our lives now to partner with God in bringing whatever corner of the kingdom into realization as is in our sphere of influence.

As pastor and author Francis Bridger points out, this should apply to our care for the environment:
The primary argument for our ecological responsibility lies in the connection between old and new creation. ... In acting to preserve and enhance the created order we are pointing to the coming rule of God in Christ. ... Ecological ethics are not, therefore, anthropocentric: they testify to the vindicating acts of God in creation and redemption. ... [T]he fact that it is God who will bring about a new order of creation at the End ... frees us from the burden of ethical and technological autonomy and makes it clear that human sovereignty is relative. The knowledge that this is God’s world, that our efforts are not directed toward the construction of an ideal utopia but that we are, under God, building bridgeheads of the kingdom serves to humble us and to bring us to the place of ethical obedience.¹

So, take care of this earth, and not just for the sake of human convenience. Rejoice at its flourishing; mourn at its frustration. Remember that we are living in the already-but-not-yet kingdom of God - participate in its presence, and look forward to its glorious future consummation.

Next post: the future and the work of our hands.

1. Francis Bridger, “Ecology and Eschatology: A Neglected Dimension,” Tyndale Bulletin 41, no. 2 (1990): 301, as quoted in Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2006), 411.

Accessible Eschatology: support for Israel?

2009-08-23T01:17:00.001+02:00

Last summer in Spain, Meggan and I spent a couple days with some new friends of ours, a family of Spanish Christians. We had been getting to know these folks for a few weeks, and we grew to love them. They showed us incredible cross-cultural hospitality! They opened their homes to us beyond what the average Spaniard would do, and I must add that the husband was immensely patient with my atrocious broken Spanish. On our second day hanging out, at one point in conversation, the wife said (as I remember and translate it), "I don't understand how any Christian could read the Bible and not be pro-Israel."

Earlier this summer, after moving back to Madison from Denver, Meggan and I went to the farmers' market around the capitol square on a Saturday morning. It's a staple of the summer in Madison, and on a beautiful morning, it's just a great place to be. In addition to the farmers' stands along the four sides of the square, each of the four corners holds a number of card tables set up by groups promoting their particular causes. One such group that Saturday was supporting Palestinian rights. Their primary informational Q&A sheet comes from an organization called Inter-denominational Advocates for Peace (IDAP). These are enthusiastic folks from at least six Christian traditions who believe in divestment from companies who profit from the harming of innocent Palestinian lives, an end to U.S. funding for the Israeli military, and an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

What's going on? How is it that different Bible-believing Christians look at this situation and come out with such diametrically-opposed viewpoints? Well, eschatology plays a big role in this conversation. Let me show you how.

A couple posts ago (on "the millennium"), I asked the following question:
--Does God have a special plan at the end of time for the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, or the Jewish people?
Answer: It depends who you ask... so let's ask a couple different groups.
Dispensational answer (for a refresher, see post on "two types of premillennialism"): Yes, yes, and yes.
Amillennial answer (see post on "the millennium"): No, no, and no.
Not surprisingly, our Spanish friends mentioned above are dispensational (whether they are familiar with that term or not), and the U.S. denominations represented in IDAP come from amillennial traditions (Methodist, Anglican, Presbyterian, and more).

However, the question for a Christian of whether to support the present-day political state of Israel against the Palestinians is not just a question of dispensationalism vs. amillennialism. There are amillennials who support Israel and dispensationals who don't (and plenty of Christians for and against Israel who are unfamiliar with eschatology altogether). The Israeli/Palestinian question is wrought with historical, political, and theological complexities.

I am the wrong person to break down the historical and political issues. What forces led to the post-WWII creation of the state of Israel? What has transpired in the military conflicts since then? How have civilians been put in harm's way, and by whom? Is Israel a democracy, an apartheid state, or both? (Is that even possible as a combination? Gosh, I'm ignorant.)

On the other hand, I am a little more qualified to talk about the theological issues. In no particular order, here are some questions to consider.

Who are the people of God? In a certain manner of speaking, all people are God's children. He loves and cares for every human being. He desires that each of us would have our basic material needs met, he expects each of us to hold to basic moral standards, and he wants us all to come into a personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ.

This points to another way of answering the question - God's people are those who trust in Jesus with all their being and become part of the global Christian movement (a.k.a. the Church). These people may come from any ethnic background or religious upbringing. In Israel/Palestine, they include Muslim-background followers of Jesus (a tiny group in number), messianic Jews (a larger but still very small number), and Palestinian Christians (the largest of these three groups, though still a small minority among all Palestinians).

There might be a third way of answering the question, depending on your eschatological viewpoint. Dispensational Christians would say that ethnic Jews remain the people of God. They assert, as we mentioned a couple posts ago, that God is doing two separate things in history, one with the Church and one with the Jewish people. Eternal salvation for individual Jews can still only come in Christ, but God's Old Testament promises to the Jewish people still stand. Amillennial Christians would disagree, saying that the Church has replaced Israel as the people of God since the coming of the Messiah.

Does the land of Israel belong to the people of God? The answer to this question is usually tied to the third part of the previous question. From an amillennial perspective, the Old Testament promises to the Jews about the land of Israel and the temple will find their ultimate fulfillment at the end of this age, in God's reign over all of the new heavens and new earth. The new Israel, the Church, is a kingdom that is "not of this world," yet it will spread "all through the dough." That is to say, there is no land or country that necessarily belongs to the people of God, but the people of God will continue to spread throughout every country on the planet and have a positive influence within in every land. The land of Israel/Palestine has no special significance for amillennial Christians.

Dispensational Christians would agree with much of this - the Church has no land yet is spreading to every land, and the land of Israel does not belong to the Church. On the other hand, they would say that the Old Testament promises to the Jews about the land of Israel and the temple will be literally fulfilled on this earth for ethnic Jews in the land of Israel/Palestine. This fulfillment will come in Christ's millennial kingdom on this earth at the end of the age. Because of this perspective, a great number of dispensational Christians place a high significance on the founding of the modern-day nation of Israel about 60 years ago, seeing it as a sign that the end of this age is coming soon. Many dispensational Christians desire to see the modern-day nation of Israel expand to include the widest territory in the region God ever promised to the Jews (a region much larger than either Old Testament Israel or modern-day Israel at their largest points).

How are the people of God called to live in their political lives? Entire libraries have been written on this topic over the past 2,000 years, so we'll stick to some basic points, important for our conversation, which the majority of Christians would endorse. The Bible shows a healthy skepticism of human government throughout the OT and the NT. Political states are entities that can accomplish some good in administering criminal justice, protecting the people, and caring for the poor and downtrodden... but they (and the people in them) are prone to arrogance, injustice, violence, and corruption. God's people who find themselves in positions of political influence should work for gains in effectiveness in the former categories and (naturally) declines in the latter categories.

Two specific biblical outworkings of these general principles deserve our particular focus. THESE ARE PRETTY IMPORTANT FOR WHERE WE'RE GOING, SO PAY ATTENTION. First, while God expects the pursuit of justice, peace, and the common good from all political states, he has higher expectations of his people. He believes we can live far closer to these ideals than people who do not know him (see, for example, Amos 1-2). Second, the Old Testament people of God were repeatedly instructed to show kindness and generosity to the non-Israelites living in their midst. This instruction was usually tied to remembering that their ancestors had been in that same position when they were foreigners in Egypt.

Where does the modern-day political nation-state of Israel fit into this conversation? For the amillennialist, the answer is short and sweet - there is no theological reason to favor or disfavor the nation of Israel. One should care about the political situation in the Middle East for the same reasons one cares about other political situations around the globe: for the control of human violence and the promotion of a just peace between warring factions.

For the dispensationalist, there are approximately four options worth considering:
(1) The current state of Israel is unrelated to the kingdom of Israel to be restored in the millennium; or
(2) it is in some way a precursor to that coming kingdom of Israel; or
(3) it is the same state as the one to come in the millennium, when it will be ruled by Jesus; or
(4) "I don't know if it's the same state or not."
Most dispensationalists opt for (2) or (3). The reasons to hold different positions depend on what one thinks of the nature of the state of Israel in the millennium. If one expects it to be a mix of people who are faithful to God and people who are not, much like the Israel of old, the current state of Israel (which holds Jews of every stripe, from secular to Orthodox) could fit that description. If one expects the millennial Israel to be comprised of the remnant of Jews who are faithful to God, the current state could not be the same as the one to come - it would be a precursor at most.

Here's the rub, and this is the money shot... Most Christians who unquestioningly support Israel are dispensationalists who believe it has a role to play in God's end-times drama. But if one truly believes that the current state of Israel is, in this important way, the "people of God," one should hold them to HIGHER standards of justice and peacemaking, NOT give them carte blanche. The dispensationalist should be MORE CONCERNED that Israel would show kindness and generosity to the non-Israelites in their midst, rather than supporting anything Israel might do to "claim its land" from the Palestinian inhabitants. For these reasons, regardless of one's particular theological beliefs about the role of the Jewish people or the land of Israel at the end of the age, one should never overlook or excuse any injustices perpetrated by the Israeli government. Even if you think it is God's will that the Jews should have this land, you should not be content as they violate God's ways to pursue that end.¹

That's my bit, and a little longer of a post than I had expected. Apparently it takes a bit of space to address a complex issue, even though I'm only addressing it from one angle. For those who are interested in a little more reading, including more historical and political perspective than I have provided here and a list of other potential resources, this article by one of my seminary professors can serve as a launching point for further investigation. As you read you'll see that my thoughts on this matter have been influenced by Dr. Carroll's. UPDATE (Oct. 1): See Claire Rymer's comment to this post for two helpful resources. Claire has massively more knowledge about international political realities than I have.

Next post: the end and the environment.

1. As a disclaimer for those of you who might need to hear it at this point, I'm not trying to say that all Palestinians are merely innocent victims. I'm just not willing to turn a blind eye to the evidence of injustices committed on both sides.

Accessible Eschatology: Why I Do Not Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

2009-06-16T21:57:00.003+02:00

I have this vivid memory of being a little kid, sitting in a gym watching a movie about the rapture, accompanied by Larry Norman’s “I wish we’d all been ready.” Later in middle school youth group, I watched the entire series: A Thief in the Night (1972), Distant Thunder (1977), Image of the Beast (1980), and The Prodigal Planet (1980). I was terrified. Terrorized. I remember having several conversations with my dad, asking him if he really thought we’d have to choose between Jesus and the guillotine.

Years have passed. My interest in the “weird” things in the Bible has somewhat decreased. The bizarre imagery of Revelation and accounts like the Gerasenes demoniac don’t interest me nearly as much as they once did. However, that does not mean that the Bible doesn’t interest me. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I began studying the Bible in a new way, inspiring me to continue at Denver Seminary.

So what is the purpose of this blog post today? It isn’t to show off all that I’ve learned in Seminary. It isn’t to say that if you don’t agree with me, you’re ignorant or just plain set in your ways. The topic of Revelation is always controversial because the book is extremely mysterious. Sometimes the best answer to a question about Revelation is simply “I don’t know.”

However, I have learned quite a bit that certainly challenges what I learned as a child and adolescent on the topic of Christ’s return. I share that with you, readers, not to puff up, but to build up. How we think about Revelation does affect how we think about the present, not just the future. I humbly ask you to read this (well…you should probably go back and read all of Ben’s posts on this topic, too) without your guard up. We can agree that in the end, God is in control and he alone determines the manner and timing of Christ’s return.

What does the term pre-tribulation rapture mean? Well, if you’ve read Ben’s posts, he explains it in his most recent post, under the heading Dispensational Premillennialism (that’s a mouthful). Basically, this is what the movies I watched as a kid portrayed. One day, the Christians of the world will all disappear. Have you ever seen that bumper sticker: “In the event of the rapture, this car will be unmanned”? The tribulation is thought of as a time of intense suffering on earth – probably lots of war, famine, death. You get the picture. The pre-trib rapture advocates say that we as God’s people will escape this because it is God’s wrath being poured out, and we as Christians do not face God’s wrath. Remember that important point; it will come up later. (For more on the role of Jewish people in this time, see Ben’s previous post.)

At first glance, this sounds pretty awesome, right? I mean, seriously, who wants to live on earth through the terrors of extreme war, famine, natural catastrophes like hail mixed with fire falling from the sky, insane dictators, genocide, psychopath murderers, let alone any sort of spiritual horrors that we could imagine (if you can’t imagine, check out Revelation 9 which describes some really creepy, satanic scorpion creatures that sting people until they want to die, but they’re not allowed to die)? No one wants to suffer. No one invites suffering into their lives.

But, I cannot uphold the pre-trib rapture view. I’ll tell you why.

1. The nature of Apocalyptic Literature
This is Revelation’s genre of literature. We do not read a novel the same way that we read a newspaper. We do not read poetry the same way we read the sports column. In order to understand a text, we need to understand the genre. Apocalyptic literature was very common, especially in the time in between the Old and New Testaments. The purpose of Apocalyptic literature was to give hope in the midst of difficult circumstances and show that God was totally in control, no matter the situation. To talk of escaping the troubles was simply not normal in this genre.

2. The repetitive nature of troubles on earth
Ignoring the satanic scorpions for a moment (okay, and the hail mixed with fire), all those other things like war, famine, and natural catastrophes should sound pretty familiar unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 2,000 years! That doesn’t mean we’re not in the end times. We are. But, we’ve been in the end times since Jesus’ resurrection.

This has two implications.

A. First, don’t believe all this sensational stuff about how this or that current event NOW REALLY tells us that we’re at the end.

Jesus is very clear in Matthew 24 when he talks about the end of the age. The disciples, just like us, were curious about the future. Remember that they thought Jesus was coming to overthrow Rome and establish Israel again. That was their definition of a Messiah. So, they ask Jesus for a sign. Jesus talks about all kinds of terrible things that will precede his coming: false christs, wars, famines, earthquakes, martyrdom, family division etc. But, he calls these the beginnings of the birth pains (24:8). This isn’t the birth yet. These are the first contractions that must occur, but the end is not yet! If there is really one clear message in Matt. 24, it’s that no one knows the hour except the Father (24:36), so keep watch. Keeping watch doesn’t mean tracking international events in order to crack a code. That’s the first point.

B. The second point is that many Christians have been experiencing all these horrors all over the world during these past 2,000 years. Where was their pre-trib rapture? While a rapture is very appealing to us as Christians in America, we cannot forget that there are millions of Christians throughout history who have not been exempt from suffering.

3. Theology of Suffering
This stems from B. above. As I already mentioned, no one likes to suffer. But, suffering is inseparable from our walk as Christians. We are to follow and imitate Christ, the suffering servant (see Isaiah 52-3).

However, remember that above I mentioned that proponents of the pre-trib rapture argue that we must be raptured so as not to suffer the wrath of God? I absolutely agree that we do not suffer God’s wrath. Jesus suffered that for us. But, when I say that I think we will and are experiencing the tribulation already, that is not experiencing God’s wrath.

Revelation is very clear about drawing strong lines of allegiance. Everyone’s heard of the mark of the beast, 666. Without getting into what I think that actually means, that isn’t the only mark, or seal, present in Revelation. The people of God are sealed as well (Revelation 7). It is that seal that exempts them from suffering the effects of the trumpets and bowls of wrath. The evil scorpions? They are ordered not to harm those with God’s seal (Rev. 9:4). The earth suffers, those without God’s seal suffer. And make no mistake, God’s people suffer, too. The Two Witnesses are killed because of their stand for God. But, that is not God’s wrath. That is oppression from Satan and his followers.

Suffering is a part of our walk with Christ on this earth. We have the promise of eternity (see Ben’s post on life after life after death) without suffering. We were never promised life on earth without suffering. Is a pre-trib rapture theology just an attempt for us to escape suffering?

4. 1 Thess. 4:17 – a weak argument for the rapture.
This is the primary place in scripture to which proponents of a pre-trib rapture argument point. It isn’t a good argument. Paul is writing to people who are worried about what will happen to people who have died. Remember, they were expecting Jesus’ return any day. So, what about those who died in the meantime? Paul assures them that those who are dead as well as those who are alive will meet Christ in the air. The word for caught up in the air actually describes a welcoming party. Sort of like, a movie star is coming to your town and you are assigned to pick them up at the airport and escort them to the town’s celebration for them. So, in the historic premillennial view (see Ben’s posts and diagrams), this is Christians welcoming Jesus in the air as he descends to set up his kingdom, where in some way, we will reign with him.

5. Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
In John 17, Jesus is praying for himself and for his disciples, as well as all future believers. He says “My prayer is not that you [God] take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (17:15). This reinforces what we’ve already said about suffering not being equated to God’s wrath.

6. Redemption of Creation
Care of the Earth as God’s creation is really important. If we see the world merely as something we’ll escape, why should we care for it? However, if we see Earth as God’s creation that he called good and will come and restore and renew in his millennial kingdom, that’s a whole different story. I realize this post is more about arguments against a pre-trib rapture, but I do believe in a millennial kingdom on earth. That understanding reveals again God’s nature as one who keeps his promises, even to creation.

Next post (back to Ben): support for Israel?

Accessible Eschatology: two types of premillennialism

2009-06-10T21:22:00.001+02:00

If you're reading along from post-to-post (which, regrettably, is probably the only way this is gonna make sense), you'll recall premillennialism as it was introduced in the last post. Let's look at it again, shall we?Remember, the cloud stands for Christ's return, and the throne stands for Judgment Day. So at the end of this age, premillennialists believe that Jesus will return to establish his global rule over all things. It will be a spiritual, social, economic, and political rule, known as the "millennium" (whether or not that period will last exactly 1,000 years). Those who have died in Christ will be resurrected when he returns to live and reign with him in the millennium. At the end of the millennium, the ungodly who have died will be resurrected, Christ will judge all people, and then the "new heavens and new earth" will come.

There are two major versions of premillennialism, and they differ in their expectations of what will happen during the period of intense tribulation immediately before the millennium...

Dispensational premillennialism. This view has been widely popularized by such books as the Left Behind series. There is an emphasis on a pre-tribulation rapture: Jesus' return is expected to come in two stages. There will be an unseen return, when he takes all those who are already Christians off the earth. This will be followed by seven years of intense tribulation on earth. After that seven years will come Jesus' public return, and he will bring all the Christians back with him. Dispensationalists believe that God is doing two separate things in history (different "dispensations"), one with the Jewish people and one with the Church, and the seven years of tribulation will be a time when God is primarily dealing with the Jewish people. There is an emphasis in many dispensational churches on the importance of saving people's souls because of the view that the Church needs to help people get out of the way of the coming tribulation. Many dispensationalists are staunchly pro-Israel in their political views.

Historic premillennialism. This view expects Jesus' return to be a single event. There will be no unseen return to take Christians away from a period of tribulation - we will still be on earth for that time. The "rapture" will be concurrent with Jesus' public return, and it will not be a matter of Christians being taken away from earth. Rather, Christians will be caught up into the air as Jesus descends to serve as his "royal welcoming party" to earth, and we will immediately descend back to earth with him to rule in his kingdom. (This is often called a post-tribulation rapture.) Historic premillennialists emphasize the unity of God's work in history concerning the Jewish people and the Church. Because they believe Christians will live through the tribulation, there can be a stronger emphasis in historic premillennial churches on holistic ministry, desiring to meet people's spiritual, physical, and even political needs. (To give a random example, a "dispensational soup kitchen" might view feeding people as a fringe benefit to gaining a captive audience to hear the gospel; a "historic premillennial soup kitchen" might view the act of feeding people as integral to what it means to share the gospel with them.) Finally, historic premillennialists may or may not be politically pro-Israel.

Are you beginning to see how these different theological views inform practical choices in life and ministry? I hope so!

In the next post, you get to hear from Meggan!!! Her topic: Why I Do Not Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Accessible Eschatology: the millennium

2009-06-08T01:18:00.001+02:00

So, what happens after the "signs" we talked about in our last post? The Bible is clear about one thing: At the end of time, Jesus will return to earth. It will be a glorious return! In his first coming, he came as a baby, lived as a servant, and suffered on our behalf. When he comes for the second time, it will be in power, honor, and glory. He will take his rightful place as ruler of all things and all people. He will right all wrongs. He will establish true justice and peace. Those who have died will be resurrected, and he will judge all people. This coming should inspire awe, hope, and fear - hope for victims of injustice, fear for those who take pleasure in their wrongdoing. All Christians can agree on this - Jesus is coming, and it will be a great day indeed! (Some scriptures about this: Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 37; Joel 3; Matthew 24:30-51; John 5:27-30; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Corinthians 15, especially vv. 20-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:4; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 19-22.)

However, there are some significant details about Christ's return where many Bible-believing Christians disagree. These peripheral items may seem unimportant, but they actually have a practical impact on some important questions:
--What is the destination of the physical elements of this world?
--->In light of that, should I care about the environment?
--->Also, does my job have significance as more than just a paycheck?
--Does God have a special plan at the end of time for the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, or the Jewish people?
--->In light of that, should I support politically the modern-day state of Israel?

So, let's consider the three main options. These options can be most clearly distinguished by how they interpret the following passage:
"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:1-6, emphasis added)

Notice that repeated phrase, "thousand years"? That's the millennium. The three main options for interpreting this language are as follows:

Amillennialism. This view holds that the millennium described above should be understood as a metaphor for God's kingdom rule in history (either after the cross or after Christ's return, depending on the theologian). We should not expect a literal millennium of Christ's rule on earth between his return and Judgment Day. Instead, we should expect that Christ will return, followed immediately by the resurrection of all people and Christ's judgment of all people, followed by the "new heavens and new earth" (spoken of in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21). (This has been the majority view in the church since the fourth century. The name "amillennial" signifies "not millennial" - as in, there will be no literal millennium.)

Here's a "timeline" of amillennialism in picture form. The cloud represents Jesus' return, and the throne represents Judgment Day. (Giving credit where it's due - these three pictures come from our friend Craig Blomberg. I think he has similar diagrams in his book, From Pentecost to Patmos.)
Premillennialism. This view sees the millennium as a literal period of Christ's rule on this earth. Christ will return, God's people who have died will be resurrected, and Jesus set up the rule of his kingdom (spiritual, social, economic, and political) on this earth. After a long period of time (the "millennium," whether or not it will literally last for one thousand years), the ungodly who have died will be resurrected, Christ will judge all people, and then the "new heavens and new earth" will come. (This was the majority view in the first three centuries of the church, and it has experienced a resurgence in popularity over the past 200 years. The name "premillennial" signifies that Christ will return before the millennium.)

Another "timeline" picture - again, the cloud is Christ's return and the throne is Judgment Day.
Postmillennialism. This view expects the church to usher in the millennium. The Holy Spirit will work through the church to usher in a golden era of the reign of godliness over the whole earth in all areas of life (spiritual, social, economic, and political). After a long period of time (again, the "millennium"), Christ will return, all people will be resurrected, Christ will judge, and then the "new heavens and new earth" will come. (This view has been most popular during times when Christians had high confidence in progress, such as during the Enlightenment or significant missionary movements. Very few Christians today espouse this view. The name "postmillennial" signifies that Christ will return after the millennium.)

Here's "timeline" picture #3.
Clear as mud? Don't care? If you have to reread this section about the three main views on the millennium to understand it, go ahead and do that. It will serve as our foundation as we continue our conversation, and I promise this conversation will eventually have some practical bearing on your life (see the questions above).

But let's just get one thing out of the way - postmillennialism is not the way to go. There is no strong biblical support for this view, and experience tells us the church is not about to usher in a utopian global society. As alluded to above, postmillennialism is a perspective that has had its heyday in Christian communities that have been a little too optimistic about the church without being realistic about the world. It's darn near impossible to believe in postmillennialism in those places in the world that have been wrecked by genocide; ditto in places where the church has eroded significantly. Also, remember my last post about the signs of the end? There were positive and negative signs, an increase of both good and evil on earth. The postmillennial view has to ignore the growth of evil in the world.

So, moving forward, we'll be restricting our conversation to different forms of amillennialism and premillennialism.

Next post: two types of premillennialism.

Accessible Eschatology: read the signs

2009-05-24T00:31:00.003+02:00

"When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." (Matthew 16:2-3)

What does the Bible have to say about signs from God? In this passage the Jewish religious leaders had asked Jesus for some kind of proof of his identity, but he went on to say that no sign would be given to them "except the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 16:4, referring to his impending days in the tomb as similar to Jonah's days in the belly of the big fish). The gospel of John is filled with references to Jesus' miracles as signs of his identity. There's the passage about the fleece and the dew from Judges 6, where Gideon hears from God but still asks for a sign to confirm that he heard him right.

What about signs that the end is coming? Well, the Bible talks about those, too. This fuels a great deal of speculation in certain circles, where people try to say that such-and-such an event corresponds with some sign of the end predicted in the Bible. Is this conclusion warranted? Let's take a look at some of the signs and find out...

"Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:5-14)

"There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. ... Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand." (Daniel 12:1, 10)

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

"Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved." (Romans 11:25-26)

"Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10)

"I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, 'Who is like the beast? Who can make war against it?' The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to make war against God's people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. ... It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name." (Revelation 13:1-8, 16-17)

So where does that leave us? Let's make a list of signs we can expect. First, some negative signs:
--false Christs, false prophets, and false teachings
--an oppressive, blasphemous religious/military/economic leader
--counterfeit miracles and false worship
--wars, earthquakes, and famines
--persecution of Christians, including martyrdom
--apostasy (Christians leaving the faith)
All that being said, there are certainly some positive signs mentioned:
--the global spread of the gospel
--the salvation of many Jews
--many Christians remaining strong in the faith in spite of persecution

What do you think? Do you see these things happening in our world today? I do.

The thing is... they've been happening for two thousand years. Not one thing on this list wasn't taking place in some shape or form in the first century of the church. The signs we should expect to precede the end of the world are an intensification of things that have already been seen throughout church history. We are not looking for anything categorically different. Evil is on the rise, but so is good! This is just what the Bible would lead us to think.

I'm not making this up; it's in the biblical passages themselves. Notice, for example, how Paul shifts from talking about the future to talking about the present in 1 Timothy 4:1-3: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (Sounds like the future.) "Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods." (Sounds like the present.)

In the same vein, consider 1 John 2:18: "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour." (emphasis added)

So, what should we see in the biblical teaching about the signs of the end, and what should we see as we look at the world around us? We should recognize that evil is on the rise. Satan is still active in many awful ways at this time on earth. There are great injustices, religious persecution, false teachings, violence, oppressive dictatorships, and many who reject Christ. We are called to resist this evil and persist in following the true Christ in the face of all obstacles that oppose goodness. God is also moving! The gospel has spread to every political nation-state on the planet. Jewish people continue to embrace Jesus as the true Messiah. Many persecuted believers are persevering in the faith. And alongside great injustices, there have been many strides for justice, human rights, and freedom of conscience. We should not be surprised by the increase of evil, we should praise God for the increase of good, and we should seek to be a part of the latter rather than the former.

Next post: the millennium.

Accessible Eschatology: THE END OF THE WORLD!!!...?

2009-04-21T19:18:00.002+02:00

Okay, so far we've introduced the topic of eschatology, defined it, discussed the "already, but not yet" character of life after Jesus according to the Bible, and addressed one underemphasized theme on the topic of personal eschatology (see previous posts). Now we turn our attention to general eschatology, which addresses the question, "Where is world history going?"

So, let me be the first to tell you, "THE END OF ALL THINGS IS NEAR!!!" (1 Peter 4:7, ripped bleeding from its literary context)

Yes, the Bible does talk about the future, and we have good reason to believe that what it says about the future will genuinely come to pass. For starters, it's happened before - the Old Testament prophets foretold a great many events that came to pass, both in their own generations and in the person of Jesus. Jesus himself predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, an event that came to pass 40 years after his ascension. So, when the Bible talks about things that it claims are yet to come, we have good reason to believe they're coming.

How should we respond to that truth? In my first post in the series, I talked about the two most common responses - ignore it or sensationalize it. Let's talk a little about the sensationalistic tendency. It's a very understandable response. A person comes to see the Bible as an authoritative book; like all of us, they have a natural human curiosity about the future; they learn that the Bible has something to say about the future that can be trusted; they try to figure out the future based on the Bible. This is where it gets tricky - the passages that talk about the future seem clear as mud to the average 21st-century reader; someone (maybe the person themselves, maybe someone else) suggests a way to interpret these passages that makes them fit together in an understandable picture; the person accepts this picture and uses it as a lens through which to interpret any and all biblical passages that might be talking about the future, so that the Bible makes sense in a way it didn't before. The person feels satisfied now. And depending on that interpretive method they have bought into, the person might start to interpret CNN in light of the picture they think the Bible gives us of the future. "THE END OF ALL THINGS IS NEAR!!!"

On the other hand, let's think of some different people. These people were the original audiences of the biblical texts - Isaiah, Daniel, Matthew, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Revelation, etc. These people keenly felt the brokenness of their world. Some were in exile from their homeland, while others were suffering persecution for their faith. They needed hope. Along comes a new message - from a prophet, from Jesus, or from a trusted leader in the global Christian community. This message says, "yes, times are hard. But God is in control! The future is his! He has promised that he will one day set all things right! Take courage!" The audience receives just what they needed - hope.

And that's the idea. In the Bible, apocalyptic books - books like Daniel and Revelation, wherein God reveals mysteries like the future - were not written to satisfy the curiosity of those of us with some time on our hands to "crack the code." They were written to give hope to people living in desperate circumstances. God has plans for an unprecedented redemption in the future, and you are a part of his plans. What you're going through now will not last forever. Therefore, our primary response to language about the future in the Bible should not be to stimulate our curiosity, but to dare to hope in the midst of life's crap.

Next post: read the signs.

Accessible Eschatology: life after the afterlife

2009-03-13T17:10:00.002+01:00

And now that life is a little less day-to-day, back to our "accessible eschatology" series. Today I didn't even remember what I had already talked about, so I went back and read everything I've already said starting back in January. If you're new to the series, I encourage you to do the same, or else this will just float out there with no context for you.

We turn our attention now to personal eschatology, the study of the question, "what happens when a person dies?" Under the umbrella of eschatology, this is the arena that is most often talked about, because death happens. Sure, it's possible to ignore death or not think about it, especially in our culture where death is the realm of select health care professionals, but since "there are only two certainties in life - death and taxes," death is way more real to most people than the coming return of Jesus. ("What coming return?" Exactly.)

So, what does happen when a person dies? If I had to guess, I bet the three most common answers to that question in our culture would be as follows, in order:
1. "I don't know."
2. "You go to heaven."
3. "Nothing. You decompose."
Let's work with #2 - "You go to heaven." What do people mean by "heaven"? Well, it's rather common and even cool these days to use your imagination to craft a compelling vision of heaven (like in Mitch Albom's book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven). A lot of that is very meaningful to the person doing the imagining, whatever else other people (myself included) think of it. Some "you go to heaven" folks would alter that just a bit:
"Good people go to heaven, and bad people go to hell."
Many evangelical Christians would tweak this to say:
"People who trusted in Jesus as their personal Savior in this life go to heaven, and those who never trusted in Jesus go to hell." (Sidebar - we could have a nuanced biblical conversation about who gets the "thumbs up" and who gets the "thumbs down," but that is another conversation for another day. In the meantime, if you're more curious about that than you are about the topic of this post, by all means close your browser and go read a good book like this one.)
Asked to describe heaven, the average Christian might say something like this: "There will be streets of gold, and we will worship God for eternity."

For a picture of the afterlife, this has some quality slices of the truth incorporated. However, there's something important missing, something that is rarely taught about in a great number of churches: The ultimate biblical hope for the future is not for the afterlife. It's for life after the afterlife.

What does this mean? Human beings were created as bodily creatures. We were meant to live a physical existence. Ever since the Hebrew prophets, the hope of the people of God has been for our resurrection from the dead. Among other things, the resurrection of Jesus was God's way of declaring his faithfulness to the promise of our resurrection. We will all be raised from the dead in bodily form; Jesus gives us evidence of this as the "firstfruits" of the resurrection (see I Corinthians 15; the firstfruits metaphor is drawn from agriculture).

The Bible teaches that paradise (what we commonly think of as "heaven"), our home in the afterlife, will be a splendid place. We will no longer struggle with sin there, and we will experience fellowship with Jesus. On the other hand, paradise is a holding tank where we will await the even more glorious resurrection from the dead. That... is our real hope. We will possess incorruptible bodies, engage in meaningful relationships, and pursue physical tasks - all without the frustration and futility that faces us today. It will be paradise-plus. The ideals of the kingdom of God will be lived out in a physical kingdom, not just a place where our souls float around. It will be more wonderful than paradise; it will be more wonderful than the garden of Eden; it will certainly be more wonderful than any utopia that can be imagined by the human mind.

We'll talk more about this place in coming posts. In the meantime, I probably have a good number of skeptics in the audience. Allow me to provide a few readings from the Bible for your consideration:
Isaiah 26:19
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Daniel 12
I Corinthians 15
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Revelation 19-22
And if you don't believe me yet, consider what Anglican Bishop Tom Wright has to say - he has a whole book on the issue: Surprised by Hope. I don't agree with Wright on every count, but he knows the Bible very well, and he gets a lot right in this book. *UPDATE* (Saturday, March 14): I wrote this post yesterday, the same day a much more prominent blogger - evangelical Methodist scholar Ben Witherington III - posted this interview with Bishop Wright. Check it out.

Next post: THE END OF THE WORLD!!!...?

Personal odds & ends

2009-02-21T17:48:00.012+01:00

Life's been a little hectic for me lately, hence, no "accessible eschatology" posts in the last couple weeks. So, what's been keeping us busy? Well, here's a brief respite from the series of theologizing for some random bits of "what's up?" in our lives...

Graduation is in sight! We're less than three months from the end of our time here at Denver Seminary. It's nice to be finishing up, but it's also bittersweet. This season of life here in Denver has been a blessed one for us, and we will dearly miss the people and communities that have made this time so special.

In order to graduate, we each have capstone projects that we're working on. Meggan implemented her course last October on incorporating dance into the corporate worship setting, and she's wrapping up her paperwork for that. My capstone project is a doctrinal paper outlining my personal views on a variety of issues in theology and ministry philosophy. I handed the paper in yesterday after a couple weeks of cRaZIneSs getting it ready. I will stand before a panel of two professors in mid-April for an oral defense of the paper. So, for both of us, one part down, one part to go.

Separate from her project, Meggan danced in church a couple weeks ago. (The picture is of the four gals who danced, along with some friends from Littleton Dance Academy who came to show their support.) I've started working with the high school youth at church, and I'm enjoying it a lot. I meet with a senior guy every other week or so. He wants to be a political science major, so we're reading this book together about how different Christians have chosen to engage politics in the past hundred years. Youth ministry is a privilege and a pleasure. I'm excited (and rather nervous) to engage youth in Spain.

We're moving along in the appointment process with WorldVenture. We have an interview scheduled for this Tuesday. We continue to consider it an honor to be working with such a quality organization.

In the meantime, there's next year! We're planning to move back to Wisconsin in July to raise our team of financial and prayer partners for our return to Spain. While we're in Madison, I hope to volunteer with my friend Lief, who's a high school pastor there. Meggan has a potential job lead that would be a really good fit, and we found an apartment while we were home over Christmas break. It's right across the street from Vitense Golfland, so we'll be mini-golf pros by the end of the year. :-)

Another honor - I've been chosen as one of the senior preachers here at the seminary, which means I'll get to speak in chapel. I'm very much looking forward to it. If you're in the Denver area and available, you're welcome to join us; it's Tuesday, March 10, at 11 AM. If my preaching doesn't interest you, come to hear Meggan sing!

In other news, for the first time in my life, I got glasses. Yup, the son of two parents who wore glasses from the age of six (Dad) and two (Mom) finally got some of his own. I'm 20/20 in my left eye, but too much time in front of books and computer screens for grad school got me a stigmatism in my right eye. The price of education. They're taking some getting used to, but the transition has been smoother than I would have guessed; no major headaches or anything.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Accessible Eschatology: the "already, but not yet" in spiritual formation

2009-02-07T01:29:00.003+01:00

So, the "already, but not yet" of the Christian faith is an expression of the tension we experience as followers of Christ living between his first coming (in humility, service, and suffering) and his second coming (in power and glory, to rule with true justice over all the earth). I believe that understanding this tension can help us understand the ebbs and flows of our relationship with God. It can teach us about our seasons of life, others' seasons of life, self-esteem, and suffering.

Allow me to use my personal journey as an example. I first started taking my faith in Christ seriously as a college freshman. Each week I participated in a Bible study, went to church, and went to a large-group campus ministry meeting. I was reading my Bible and praying privately almost every day. I went to a fall conference and a winter conference with the campus ministry group, and I volunteered for random stuff here and there. My faith was growing like gangbusters - the Bible was speaking into my life in ways I didn't know it could, I was connecting with God as never before, and my thoughts and actions were being reshaped by my growing convictions. I spent that first summer doing what was called a "summer project" with the campus ministry group, and I came back my sophomore year on a huge high - continuing to grow individually, and also growing as a new leader of others in ministry. God was bearing fruit in me and in others' lives through me. It was an exciting time!

In retrospect, I see that I was experiencing the "already" of life in Christ. Everything was new, and the horizon of life was expanding before my eyes. My appetite for learning new things and experiencing new things regarding life in Christ was insatiable. It was wondrous and wonderful... and I couldn't understand how some other Christians were living anything but an abundant, victorious life.

Fast-forward a few years. I had been exposed to all of the "big truths" of the Christian faith on at least some level. I became resigned to the fact that I would very rarely learn anything truly new from a preacher (or even from the Bible!) ever again. I had experienced a wide variety of ministry opportunities, and I had learned that ministry wasn't as simple as I once thought it was. I was seeing the world through increasingly pessimistic lenses, recognizing that many people aren't just passively naïve of spiritual truth - they can be intentionally ignorant, avoidant, and unresponsive. I had learned that the church had more problems than I thought it did & way more than I thought it should. I had been through a rough patch in life, facing issues that did not have simple answers. I began to long for God's deeper redemption.

I was living in the "not yet" of our life in Christ. At the same time, this felt wrong. I had one category for what life in Christ should feel like, and that was the "already" category. In this place of "disequilibrium," where the old ways of thinking were no longer working, I could have become disenfranchised with the whole enterprise - church, trusting God, Bible, prayer, ministry... whatever. Disenfranchisement could have taken the face of enduring pessimism in these areas or outright rejection of all of them.

Fortunately, I took a better road: I allowed new categories to take shape in me. These weren't entirely new categories for the Christian life, but they were new to my life. I found that life in Christ is big enough for both "already" and "not yet." In fact, I found that this is the essence of what it means to live for Jesus in this age on earth - we need both.

Those of us who find ourselves in a season where the "already" dominates must not look down on those currently soaking in the "not yet" (as I had in my early walk of faith). Those of us abiding in the "not yet" should not look on "already" folks with snorts of sarcasm and a "just wait and see, buddy" attitude. We need each other - "already" folks need to be reminded that life with God isn't always roses, and "not yet" people need to recognize that God really does bless his people and transform their lives in many ways in this life.

Marinating at one end of the spectrum while ignoring the other is unhealthy and unwise. A "not yet" life with no theology of the "already" wrongly resigns itself to the thought that spiritual growth and freedom from patterns of sin can't happen; the "not yet" self-esteem is too low. An "already" life with no theology of the "not yet" wrongly labels everything that isn't going right in another person's life as the result of that person's sin; the "already" self-esteem is too proud. A mature spiritual life is a blend of the "already, but not yet," allowing for certain seasons of life to ebb and flow between being deeply satisfying and truly painful. The "already, but not yet" self-esteem is on the high side, because we know that we have been created in God's image and even re-created to become like Christ, but we are not unrealistic about personal limitations and ongoing struggles with sin.

God is there in the midst of all seasons. The risen Christ celebrates with us when his reign is evident in our lives. The crucified Christ suffers with us when life sucks. We praise God for his blessings on this side of Christ's first coming, and we praise God for the coming end to our frustrations when Christ will come again.

Next post: life after the afterlife.

Accessible Eschatology: already, but not yet

2009-01-31T17:07:00.011+01:00

The central thrust of New Testament eschatology can be summed up in one phrase: already, but not yet.

At the end of my last post, I said this idea has the power to serve as a holistic framework for the way a Christian looks at life. That sounds a little over the top, doesn't it? Do I really mean that? Well, yes. When I first heard a professor focus on the already-but-not-yet character of our life in Christ, it gave me a row of hooks to hang all my hats on. It fits the biblical evidence so well, I would be so bold as to say it's the second-most important Christian idea that is only indirectly taught in the Bible, right behind the doctrine of the Trinity.

The "already" is about the fact that the kingdom of God has already come to earth. Jesus came as God in the flesh, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. He lived a perfect life, empowered by the Holy Spirit, saying and doing exactly what God the Father wanted him to say and do. He healed the sick, embraced the outcast, challenged corrupt authorities, and taught broken people about eternal life. He died for all people, making it possible for us to be reconciled with a holy God, corrupt though we are. As a result, those who embrace Christ are current participants in the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit, who was only given to special individuals under special circumstances in the Old Testament, is now available to the entire community of people who follow Christ, just as the prophet Joel had promised.

The "not yet" is about the fact that the kingdom of God has not yet reached its ultimate fulfillment on earth. Jesus did not bring final judgment on the wickedness of this earth, so the good stuff remains mingled with the bad stuff. Everything is in shades of gray, the worthless so frustratingly intertwined with the worthwhile. The Old Testament expectation of the Messiah had included complete restoration and redemption - socially, politically, economically, spiritually, physically, vocationally... you name it. It had included Judgment Day, because that had to be part of the equation; if God were to usher in a golden age, he would have had to cleanse Israel from all evil. Christians continue to embrace this Old Testament hope for the consummation of the kingdom of God on earth, which we expect to occur when Jesus returns to earth (cf. Acts 1:1-11).

One way to put this is that we are currently living in an era that is an overlap of the old era (earth before the Messiah) and the new era (earth under the Messiah's rule). A visual representation of this is helpful (this is from our professor/boss/friend Craig Blomberg's Jesus and the Gospels, p. 385 - click the image for a larger view):

Thus our life in Christ is replete with the tension between the already and the not-yet. We experience it in our struggle with sin: we have the power of the Spirit living within us to make us conquerors over sin, yet we still struggle almost constantly with our enduring sinful tendencies (see Romans 7-8). We experience it in our worship and knowledge of God: "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) We experience it in our churches: the church is sometimes the most beautiful example of community the world has ever seen, yet it has known all the interpersonal ugliness one can find anywhere else in the world. We experience it in our mission in the world: the gospel continues to spread in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; William Wilberforce successfully argued for the end of the slave trade in England; the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement here in the U.S. brought an end to institutionalized racism, and we now have a biracial president... YET, the gospel has eroded in lands once populated with Christians through forces such as Islam in the 7th century and the Enlightenment in the 18th; though no longer sanctioned by our governments, there is more slavery on our globe today than at any point in human history; much of the Western world has decided it's okay to kill the most vulnerable persons in our societies for the sake of convenience. We experience it in our work: we often find satisfaction in our efforts and toils, particularly when we get to do something we enjoy or when the fruits of our labors are evident, yet we all too often find work to be a frustrating, futile endeavor, or our job brings us very little joy, or demand drops and we lose our income.

There's plenty more to say on this topic, but there's already plenty of food for thought in this post, so we'll draw the line here and save some for the next post, where we'll talk about the "already, but not yet" in spiritual formation.

Accessible Eschatology: what is eschatology?

2009-01-25T00:01:00.010+01:00

In order to embark on a series of posts about eschatology, it will be helpful for us to define the term. Short answer: Eschatology refers to biblical teaching about the future. It is concerned with two big questions - "What happens when a person dies?" and "Where is world history going?"

Of course, if that were all I had to say, there wouldn't be much point in putting together a whole blog post, now would there? So let's unpack that a bit. Eschatology comes from the Greek words eschatos (last things) and logos (word/study/doctrine). Thus, Bible-believing theologians use the term eschatology to refer to biblical teaching about last things. (Profound. This is why you pay me the big bucks, to tell you that 2+2=4.) Of course, we haven't really gotten anywhere yet - what are "last things"? We don't use that kind of language in everyday conversation. So, let's build a definition that makes sense.

Starting from the bottom up, we can say that "last things" equals the future. But it's not quite that simple, because "last things" includes elements that are present and even past. Why? Well, some of the things the biblical authors spoke about as future are now present or past for us, many centuries down the road, while others still have not yet come to pass. So, let's tweak our definition - "last things" equals things that were future to the biblical authors writing about them. One natural consequence of this is that Old Testament eschatology is different than New Testament eschatology. This is because certain things that were future for Old Testament authors came to be fulfilled in the life of Christ and the birth of the Church. So, another tweaking is in order - "last things" equals things that were future relative to the OT authors and things that were both present and future relative to the New Testament authors. If we put ourselves in the equation, we find that "last things" equals things that were future relative to the OT authors; that were both present and future relative to the NT authors; and that are past, present, and future relative to us today. I trust you can remember the second and third parts of that by hearing the first and thinking back to this conversation, so we will pare it down for brevity's sake: Eschatology refers to biblical teaching about things that were future relative to the OT authors.

Eschatology is commonly broken into two related fields of study - personal eschatology and general eschatology. These two correspond to the two big questions mentioned above - personal eschatology is related to what happens when a person dies, and general eschatology is related to the direction of world history. Personal eschatology is considered a subset of eschatology because, hey, anytime you're on this earth writing a book about death, it's a future subject for you.

In the next post, we will talk about the central thrust of New Testament eschatology, an idea that has the power to serve as a holistic framework for the way a Christian looks at life: already, but not yet.

Accessible Eschatology: making sense of the present and the future in light of the past

2009-01-23T21:45:00.001+01:00

What comes to your mind when you think of "eschatology" (the study of "last things")? Maybe your mind is a blank slate - you've never heard the word before, and the idea seems strange. Maybe you think of the Left Behind series of novels, or so-called "prophecy conferences" that many churches and ministries promote, teaching how current events in the newspaper correspond with events predicted in the Bible. That association could lead you to become fixated with these predictions: "Did you hear what happened between Russia and Iran? Read Ezekiel 38-39 - the end is near! I'd be surprised if the rapture didn't occur by 2012, at the latest." Or you might have a different reaction: "Why do people bother talking about this stuff? It's impractical and obsessive, and I don't buy it. I don't even try to read Revelation - it's hard enough understanding other parts of the Bible. Besides, what does the future have to do with my life now?"

I've sketched what are probably the three most common approaches to eschatology among Christians today: unintentional ignorance, intentional ignorance, and sensationalistic newspaper-Bible analysis. I hope many of you reading this will recognize that none of these three is particularly admirable (though one usually can't be held responsible for unintentional ignorance). So, it's my intention that this post will be the kick-off to a blog mini-series on eschatology. I'm calling it accessible eschatology, because my heart is that the average Christian reader could read these posts and be able to understand eschatology and understand its importance. This doesn't mean I will avoid all technical theological vocabulary, but I wholeheartedly intend to explain that vocabulary so its meaning is clear. If I ever offer too little explanation of a certain term, please leave a comment asking me to explain it better - you're probably not the only one wondering what the heck I'm talking about! (I'm also expecting that these posts might start a conversation here and there on a more technical level among my seminary-trained friends; don't let that scare you off - I promise, we don't bite, and it's perfectly normal to engage this subject at various levels.)

So, for my first trick, I have to try to convince you to keep reading the next few posts as they come. "Why should I care?" "What's wrong with where I'm at?" To the sensationalist, I pose a few questions: Does your current engagement of eschatology make you more like Jesus? Does it intersect with your day-to-day life? My guess is, the answer's no. Plus, I want to save you from looking and feeling stupid, like Edgar Whisenant and many others of the same ilk. To those who just don't know anything about eschatology, hear me from the top of my lungs: ESCHATOLOGY MATTERS! The Christian study of eschatology is intimately linked with a variety of topics that intersect with your daily life and relationship with God:
--hope
--the significance of your vocation
--the meaning of suffering
--your self-image
--international politics
--optimism, pessimism, and realism
--the tension between "life is good" and "life is hard"
... and more. Are you interested now? I hope so!

Next post: what is eschatology?

Kudos to Rick Warren

2009-01-20T22:50:00.004+01:00

I was skeptical of Warren's acceptance of Obama's invitation to pray at his inauguration. An inaugural invocation can easily be perceived as an endorsement. However, after watching the prayer, I think he did many things well...

--He quoted the Shema and the Lord's Prayer, both appropriate ecumenical picks, and invoked a wide swath of biblical imagery about the nature of God.
--His prayer was decidedly Christian, not statist (in either a conservative or a liberal direction).
--He acknowledged differences of opinion.
--He called for biblical character qualities like humility, servanthood, integrity, compassion, generosity, responsibility, and civility.
--He asked for forgiveness of sins, including for "when we fail to treat our fellow human beings ... with the respect that they deserve," which sounded to me like an appropriately veiled reference to abortion.
--He acknowledged that "one day, all nations and all people will stand accountable before you."
--He called on "the name of the one who changed my life -- Yeshua, Isa, Jesús, Jesus." Missiologically awesome! For those who don't know, that's Jesus in Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and English.
--By saying nothing about "traditional values," he effectively turned the other cheek to gay rights activists who had been passionately calling for his removal from the ceremony.

In short, he was ecumenical yet evangelical, biblical, missiological, deferent, appropriate, and even mildly prophetic. May God answer this prayer and use it for his glory in the lives of its hearers.

(The full text of the prayer is available here.)

Cultural analysis - Spain

2008-12-05T05:54:00.004+01:00

Tonight I wrote a paper for one of my classes, the topic of which I bet you can guess from the title of this post. I wanted to share it, but it would have been disgustingly long for a blog post, so I gave it its own Google site. Curious parties can find it here.

(Wow, three posts in a day after a month off. What gives, Knox?)

God story

2008-12-04T17:24:00.004+01:00

About a dozen recent University of Wisconsin grads are serving for a year in East Asia, reaching out to college students (and anyone they meet) with the love of Jesus. If you're in need of a good story about what God is doing in this world, one relationship at a time, read this recent blog post from Chris. This is particularly touching for me, because Meggan and I were there on the fall retreat he mentions, we were there with Chris in East Asia when he spent a summer there, and I can remember the blue sweatshirt. Plus, I'm close friends with his roommate who recently had his appendix removed... in a foreign country... Anyhow, enjoy, and pray for Chris, Tom (the newly de-appendicized guy), their team, and God's continued movement in the lives of people in that city.

Study Break!

2008-12-04T17:07:00.006+01:00

Meggan found this gem a couple days ago. Enjoy! (Eight days to the end of the semester!!!)

Post-election stream-of-consciousness

2008-11-06T00:59:00.008+01:00

WARNING: This post may wander. I'm processing things, so one primary purpose for what I'm about to write is personal therapy. In addition, I hope this will be interesting to you, but also that it will serve as a model for a number of values: introspection, vulnerability, honesty, thoughtfulness, civility.

My heart goes out to Kent Koebke of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, who fought hard and with integrity for a chance at a seat in the state house. Kent, thanks for working your tail off for what you believe in, and God bless you.

Meggan and I went to an election night party last night. The majority of us there were McCain supporters, but we still had a good time. We did a "pick the states" pool - our entry had Obama winning, but we gave McCain way too many swing states, so we didn't take the prize. Thanks to Dan and Erin Breed for a fun time!

I was impressed both by McCain's concession speech and Obama's Grant Park acceptance. I didn't necessarily appreciate Obama's "Yes We Can" refrain, since it strikes me as misplaced hope, but I thought he came out with an unexpectedly muted expression. He was not celebratory; he was (exhausted and) rather sober. He did not look like a man who would quickly let the power go to his head. These are two men of character. God bless 'em both. God, we pray that you would keep president-elect Obama and his family safe from crazy people.

I think sobriety is the appropriate response for all of us at the moment. Let McCain supporters acknowledge our feelings of disappointment, submit our feelings to God, and recognize that He is still the Most High King. Let us recognize that Obama is a good man who will accomplish some good, and let us remember that McCain would have made some mistakes in the Oval Office, too. As for my brothers and sisters who voted for Obama, I won't be your killjoy; feel free to celebrate. But, please, do not mistake Obama for the Savior. Neither the real Savior nor our president-elect would want you to do so. A McCain victory would not have been the end of the world, and I hope you will critically examine the man you elected rather than becoming his unquestioned apologist.

The election of an African-American to the U.S. presidency is an historic occurrence. I wish I could celebrate it with enthusiasm. At the same time, we still have racial issues in our country, and the election actually highlights some of those. Black conservatives were ostracized in their communities for voicing their convictions, and they were dragged around in the dog-and-pony show by white conservatives. Millions of white Americans voted their conscience for Obama (or McCain), but, no doubt, there were many who voted for Obama out of "a sense of history" or latent white guilt (in addition to white supremacists who voted for McCain). I look forward to the increase of Dr. King's dream, that, in growing measure, people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Still, it is amazing that we've reached a day where we fall short of this dream in ways so very different than the ways we once fell short of it. Praise God for this progress.

Random wondering - which of the following factors contributed most strongly to the defeat of a moderate Republican by a liberal Democrat:
--disapproval of Bush?
--the economic crisis?
--thinly veiled network media biases? (Before you read too much into that comment, see my Oct. 17 post about NPR.)
--image factors (as SNL put it, "Joe Cool vs. Yosemite Sam")?

I have deeply mixed feelings about international reaction to the election. On the one hand, it will be nice to live as a U.S. citizen in Europe during a time when Europe likes my president. On the other hand, I don't think European opinion should matter all that much in my choice of a candidate. I care a heck of a lot more about the opinion of people in countries that could be much more deeply and directly affected by who's in the White House: Iraqis, Afghans, Israelis, and Palestinians; for our foreign aid, Africans; also, our neighbors, especially Mexicans. Life would go on just fine for the vast majority of Europeans whether Obama, McCain, or Ron Paul were living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. In the reverse direction, I have decided never to pass judgment on an Iranian for voting for Ahmadinejad or a Venezuelan for voting for Hugo Chávez unless I actually understand more issues than just how that vote affects their country's relationship with my country.

On a different note, I am saddened for the pro-life cause. How many justices will be appointed by pro-choice presidents and confirmed by a majority pro-choice Senate in the years to come? Beyond that, Amendment 48 (defining life as beginning at conception) got trounced here in Colorado, and a pro-life ballot initiative lost for the second time in South Dakota, 55%-45%. It seems that over a million babies a year will continue to be killed with government approval in our country. This is deeply unjust - not only to the people killed, but also to the people duped by our culture into thinking that murder for personal convenience is an expression of their freedom of choice. Three cheers for crisis pregnancy centers and adoption ministries, but it seems as though we pro-lifers need to reevaluate our political strategies. Do we turn to the 95/10 Initiative proposed by pro-life Democrats? Do we work harder to let the pro-life voice be heard in the marketplace of ideas (for an online example, see here)? Is creative nonviolent protest the answer? Should we put our efforts for the appointment of constructionist justices and the passing of pro-life ballot initiatives on the back burner or not?

For the trifecta, all three items on the ballot that I had strong opinions on (see my Oct. 10 posting) went the other way. :-)

And now, to end on a lighter note... God bless Minnesota! First, they elect an independent governor who happens to be a former pro-wrestler. Now, they come within 500 votes (out of nearly 3 million cast) of electing a comedian to the Senate, in a race where a liberal independent candidate garnered 15%. The recount is on, and Minnesota officially wins pop culture "cool" points (whether that's a good thing or not is up for interpretation).

McCain and Obama - global poverty commitments

2008-10-30T23:53:00.002+01:00

Here.

As a Christian, I am encouraged that both candidates are committed to addressing issues of global poverty. As a Christian supporter of McCain, I submit that a vote for McCain is more than just a vote against abortion. The GOP is not the party of heartless greed and closed-minded nationalism. (That's not to say there are zero negative influences in the Republican Party; politics is dirty, and you'll find the dirt in both parties.)

Pray for followers of Isa al Masih

2008-10-28T17:12:00.003+01:00

Thinking Christians Talking Politics

2008-10-28T01:36:00.004+01:00

Audio from the dialogue between Dan (supporting McCain) and Craig (supporting Obama) is available here.

More musings - sports & a sermon

2008-10-18T19:17:00.004+02:00

Well, the Brewers have decided not to hang on to Dale Sveum as their manager for next year. I'm a little bummed... Attanasio brings a commitment to winning to the organization, but he also brings that L.A. attitude - loyalty is not priority 1-A.

In other news, I had a grand time last night at the Badger hockey game here in Denver. What a wild one! Very entertaining, but a little bit of a heartbreaker - Wisconsin lost to DU, 6-5. Bucky's 0-3-0 to start the season; they can score, but their defense is suspect, and their goalie is hot-and-cold. Also, they've blown a lead in all three games, which doesn't bode well for the season. At any rate, many thanks to Jeremiah Heiser (who plans to date the gal who sang the national anthem) and Andrew Vitek (the greatest D-III college hockey player ever to come out of Hawaii) for making it fun.

And, my sermon from last weekend is online. You can find it here in video or audio. (If you're using this link after a week or so, the sermon will be down the list - week 26 in the Acts series.)

Confession

2008-10-17T21:58:00.002+02:00

Hello, my name is Ben. I'm an evangelical Christian, a Republican... and I enjoy public radio.

A lot.

And I'm not just talking about the classical and jazz stations - gimme those two and the news and talk station.

What's wrong with me? Don't I know that 95% of the news media in this country is controlled by the left, and that NPR is basically a socialist propaganda machine? Well, I guess I've chosen to listen for myself. And you know what I've found? I've found public radio news and talk to be the most thorough, thoughtful news and talk on the airwaves. I think their journalistic integrity is second-to-none.

Here's a solid example - today I heard a review of Oliver Stone's new movie, W., a biopic about our current president. Of course, if you believe the hype, like one of my friends at church who calls NPR "NCR" (from his tone of voice, I'm guessing the C stands for "commie"), you'd expect a glowing review. Well, the critic found a few positive elements, then proceeded to tear it down, calling it Stone's "shallowest" film to date. (If you'd like to hear it, go to this page and click the "Listen Now" link to hear it; the text given is incomplete.) It was a thoughtful review from a thoughtful critic who didn't feel a need to scream or call Stone a pinkie to make his point.

You know what else I like about public radio? (Ooh, this one could get me in trouble...) Their fund drives are far more realistic than Christian radio fund drives. In a public radio fund drive, the DJ usually says, "Support public radio because you like to listen to us." On Christian radio, the DJ usually says, "Support our station because people who would never darken the door of a church are coming to know Jesus through our ministry." Really? You think a lot of non-Christians listen to Christian radio? You think they don't pass it right over when they're scanning through the stations? You think the radio is a good evangelistic investment in our country? I'm skeptical. Why can't the Christian stations ask for money on the same basis as the public stations? "Support us because you like listening to Christian music/news/talk/sermons."

So, all that to say - my fellow conservatives (politically and religiously), please give public radio another chance.

Friday musings

2008-10-11T00:50:00.010+02:00

We voted! Meggan and I got our ballots in the mail yesterday, did some research, filled 'em out, and handed 'em in today. Some observations:

Voting in Colorado is a lot of work. We voted on nine national, state, and local races; chose whether to retain or reject seventeen justices; and made up our mind on eighteen state and two local referenda. Fourteen of the statewide issues are amendments to the state constitution - that's a big deal to me; you don't amend a constitution on a whim. On another complicating note, four of the eighteen statewide referenda have been pulled by the unions that proposed them as a result of successful negotiations with certain business leaders, so those votes don't matter. Is it possible to be an educated voter? Yes. Will the vast majority of voters be deciding many significant issues on a whim? I'm afraid so...

So, out of 46 choices, we voted the same on 42. (Not bad...?) I don't consider myself to be an expert on all 46 issues, but I'll offer my opinion on one race and two Colorado constitutional amendments:
President: John McCain. McCain is the right kind of moderate - he swings to the center on the very issues where he should disagree with his Republican counterparts. In particular, his approach to immigration is realistic and compassionate. (Sidenote - I was discouraged to see how many Republican candidates I could vote for see the immigration issue as black-and-white. But, hey, I live in Tom Tancredo's old congressional district - what did I expect?) In addition, I have hopes that McCain could nominate Supreme Court justices that might overturn Roe v. Wade. On the other hand, Obama would be a move far to the left on many issues; he is not a moderate; on the rare occasions that he disagrees with his Democratic counterparts, it's in the radical direction. On abortion, he's as pro-choice as you can get. Don't get me wrong - if Obama were to get elected, I think he would make a good president. As an American living in Europe, people might like me better knowing that Obama is my president. Certainly, if Obama wins, my life will not fall apart... but he didn't receive my vote. At any rate, I urge you to pray for both candidates.
Amendment 48: Yes. This is one of only two constitutional amendments that I voted for. A person is a person.
Amendment 50: No. Generally speaking, an expansion of the gambling industry exploits the poor.

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Speaking of politics, things are all set for the upcoming dialogue on campus between my friends Craig and Dan:

Come join us on October 23 - bring your rotten eggs and tomatoes! See this post for more details.

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It's bittersweet, but I'm cheering for the Phillies in the NLCS. (How 'bout that Brett Myers at the plate? But I'll tell you what, Brad Lidge is gonna blow a save before the postseason is over.)

Credimus

2008-10-08T01:02:00.004+02:00

We believe in God the Father, Lord of heaven and earth. He is not like human beings, yet he cares deeply for us.

We believe in Jesus the Messiah, who is God in the flesh - sent by the Father as an expression of compassion, truth, and justice. He heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, and proclaims freedom to the oppressed. He was unjustly tortured and executed, and he rose from the dead on the third day. He calls us to follow him in life with God and love of others.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who lives within us individually and among us as the church. He empowers us to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, and he plants within us the Father's love for the people around us.

We believe the world is broken, fallen, and yet beautiful. God desires to redeem his creation, and he chooses to use his people, the church, as his ambassadors in this mission.

We submit ourselves to our loving Father God.

We commit to following Jesus in word and deed.

We will speak words of truth and life to our family of faith and to the world around us. We give ourselves to serve God and others in all we do.

Go Brew Crew!

2008-09-29T18:40:00.006+02:00

Yesterday, after a roller-coaster September, my beloved Milwaukee Brewers won the National League Wild Card. Gotta say, I'm pretty excited. The last time the Brewers punched their ticket for the playoffs, I was seven months old. (The guy who hit the homer to win yesterday's game was not yet a zygote at the time.) If you're into all the feel-good details, this article, written by a guy I went to high school with, sums it up pretty well.

Twenty-six years ago...

...and yesterday. (Just one question - who let that kid come to the game in a Red Sox jersey?)

Evangelical Political Dialogue

2008-09-25T22:17:00.012+02:00

What: Dialogue between an Obama supporter and a McCain supporter, both evangelical Christians
When: Thursday, October 23; 11:00 AM
Where: The chapel on the Denver Seminary campus (6399 S. Santa Fe Dr.; Littleton, CO)
Why: To glorify God in our engagement of politics

What's this all about? Why hold a political dialogue on a religious campus? Well, for starters, God cares about people, and people are affected by politics. A church that cares about people should care (at least a little) about politics. To approach it from the opposite direction, it is impossible for me, as a Christian, to separate Christianity from my engagement of my citizenship. It is my responsibility to think Christianly in my political engagement.

It is also my responsibility to behave Christianly in my political engagement. During an election year, political conversations in our country often go in one of two directions. On one side is the cat-fighting dominated by image, slander, rumors, and sound bites; on the other side are those who choose not to talk about anything in order to keep the peace. The hope is that this coming event will rise above these two unfortunate options. To that end, the conversation between the participants will be one of convicted civility - not a debate where the two sides try to defeat one another, but a dialogue where two people honestly and amicably discuss their differences so audience members can come to their own conclusions. This is possible for a number of reasons:
--The contributors have far more in common in Christ than they have differences in political philosophy.
--The contributors have the Spirit of peace, kindness, and self-control living inside them and between them.
--The contributors find their ultimate hope in a kingdom that is not of this world.

(UPDATED OCT. 3) The event is sponsored by the Vernon Grounds Institute of Public Ethics. Participating as a supporter of John McCain will be Dan Breed; supporting Barack Obama will be Craig Blomberg. Dan is an associate pastor in Westminster, a seminary alumnus (M.Div. '06), a man with academic and practical experience in politics, and one of my mentors. Craig is a professor of New Testament and my recent boss. I am personally honored to call them both friends.

Consider yourself invited!

(UPDATED OCT. 28) The event was a success; we had a nice crowd, and I've heard lots of feedback in the days since then. Audio from the event is available here.

Can I get an "amen"?

2008-09-18T06:37:00.003+02:00

In a few weeks (Sunday, October 12), I'll be preaching at Bethany Church, our church home here in Littleton. We're working through the book of Acts, and the text I'll be teaching from is Acts 17:16-34. For those of you who are in the area, I'd be honored if you came to hear me.

A mini-update on life - August was truly wonderful with family and friends in the Midwest. At the same time, it's nice to be back into the swing of another semester. Rick, Lynn, and John are here in Colorado at the moment on vacation; we've had some quality time with them here in Denver and in Estes Park, and we'll see them again on Friday. Meggan is plugging away in preparation for her capstone project on helping churches incorporate dance into the corporate worship setting. I've got a gig with the Sliders (five dudes singing pop a cappella) in a couple weeks, which should be fun. I'm also hoping to get involved in some capacity with the youth ministry at Bethany, in light of God's leading toward youth ministry for me when we return to Spain. There's another event in the making as well; I'll share more about that in the near future...

Good News: Epilogue

2008-08-21T18:06:00.006+02:00

What might some concrete expressions of this humble response, this in-breaking of heaven on earth, look like?
--Pray. Talk to God. Acknowledge your need for Him. Ask Him to lead you and guide you. Praise Him for His goodness.
--Seek out a mentor. Find someone who walks with God, someone from whom you know you could learn some things, and ask to spend time with him or her on a regular basis. This takes intentionality. You have to go after it. It's not easy to find someone and get going, but the benefits will prove to be more than worth the effort.
--Get involved in a church. By "church," I mean a group of people following God together. This can look different in different circumstances; it might be Sunday morning in a pew or Tuesday night in someone's living room. The important thing is that this group is seeking God, doing life together, and loving the people around them. In addition to its own benefits (see part four on needing other people), this is probably where you'll find a mentor.
--Read the Bible. The Bible is a record of God revealing Himself to humanity, and it serves as our primary written guide for life. It's also a "living book," because as you read it, you will find it changing you in ways other books do not. For better or worse, it's not a simple book to read. There's no one perfect place to start, but many people recommend the book of John (the fourth book of the New Testament), and I suppose that's as good a place as any to get going. As a supplement, consider How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart.

If you have reservations about following this path, ignore them. Wait... no... that would be ridiculous. Explore your thoughts and feelings. What gives you pause, and why? Talk with someone about it. (I'm available! Blog comment, email, phone...) For intellectual reservations, a good place to start is The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel.

I'd like to address one common reservation. If you genuinely consider this good news I've been sharing, you have probably recognized that following Jesus is an exclusive path. The idea of any spiritual path being true at the exclusion of other paths is highly unpopular in our world today, but I hope you can see why this is the better way to see things. Frankly, the pluralist perspective ("all roads lead to God") is existentially unsatisfying. In its attempt to validate all spiritual paths, it actually robs every single spiritual path of its meaning. Yes, there are common threads in many religions and philosophies, but the fundamental differences cannot be ignored. To say that it doesn't matter if one is a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, humanist, hedonist, or nihilist is an insult to followers of all of those paths (except the nihilist, of course).

Those who believe in a single path above other paths are often accused of being closed-minded or conceited. I am not trying to make a statement of cultural superiority. (How could I? My culture doesn't embody this good news.) This is a statement of the superiority of Jesus of Nazareth. Also, while following Jesus is the exclusively true path, it is not a path of exclusion. No person is barred from following Jesus by nature of their birthplace, ethnicity, gender, past evildoing, or any other trait. All people are invited to follow Jesus.

Good News: Part Four of Four

2008-08-21T02:27:00.007+02:00

So, even though we have corrupted God's beautiful creation, He has pursued us and made restoration possible. Jesus - who is God in the flesh - has shown us the way to life and satisfied God's justice against evil.

How are we to respond to this unfathomable love?

First, any response must be truly humble. It should be clear by now that all goodness comes from God; even those remnants of goodness that we find in ourselves in our tainted state can come from no other source. How could we possibly respond to this true, infinite love that covers our brokenness with pride? Get out of your head (and heart) the idea that you are worthy of even a sliver of the love God lavishes on us.

A humble response consists in acknowledging and acting upon one's needs. Our foremost need is for God Himself. We need His forgiveness for our self-centeredness; we need His enduring, loving presence to fill our lives with true meaning; we need His guidance for every moment from now on.

We also need other people, and we need God in the midst of our relationships. We cannot follow Jesus on our own. How could we love one another without... one another? And how could we expect to follow the demanding path of real love in a world of hatred, division, and counterfeit love, apart from surrounding ourselves with others who shared this vision for real love?

Oddly, a third thing we need is work. We need a mission from God, and the mission He gives us is broader than you might think. It includes the work of empowering the weak, giving a voice to the voiceless, proclaiming that which is good, denouncing evil, teaching about the ways of God, and inviting others to join us in this mission. It also includes creating things - works of art, inventions, organizations, new life, and more. Really, any form of service is a part of God's mission for us, from cleaning house to filing taxes and just about anything you can imagine. When we engage our work God's way, following His leading, this work is transformed. The mundane is infused with value. Where we would once cut corners ethically or engage in outright evil practices, we can now be used by God as agents for that which is good and true, and God can even use us to pull others from evil actions to beautiful actions.

This is heaven. It is the generous gift of God. It starts on this earth for those who embrace Jesus and follow Him. It continues into the afterlife, where it will be freed from the messiness that yet corrupts it in this life.

Good News: Part Three of Four

2008-08-14T20:59:00.005+02:00

In the midst of the bad news, the love of God is not absent. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Though we have ignored Him, His eye is on us. Though we flounder without Him, He continues to bless us in spite of ourselves. Though we have insulted Him, He pursues us.

His pursuit of us was most dramatically demonstrated two thousand years ago. The incorruptible God of the universe took on corruptible flesh. He voluntarily left the comfort and exaltation of heaven to become one of us. He gave up everything to demonstrate His love for us in a manner we could grasp.

What a beautiful love He has shown us! It is not the self-centered bastardization of love we worship in our culture today. It is a deeply emotional love - God is truly enamored with us - but it is so much deeper than a merely emotional love. It is a volitional love, a faithfulness to us regardless of our faithfulness. The compassion of this love is not so empty as to ignore our faults: God forgives our faults, then empowers us to overcome them.

This is Jesus of Nazareth. He healed the sick. He proclaimed freedom to the oppressed. He gave us a new standard for good, beautiful, and true. He spoke with authority, but as a servant rather than a despot. He taught us how to love one another.

His love is sacrificial. While our relationship with God was yet divided in a way we could not restore, Jesus made restoration possible. He satisfied God's justice against our twisted, broken, self-centered hearts and minds when He was tortured and killed. He was innocent; we are guilty. We deserved what He got. He took the punishment for our crime on His shoulders.

On the third day, He rose from the dead. Historical fact. Proof of His victory over death. We can now have hope that our suffering on this earth means something - it is an opportunity to identify with Jesus in His suffering, and He is our model that suffering has been defeated and will one day disappear. Futility has been defeated and will disappear. Self-centeredness has been defeated and will disappear. Division has been defeated and will disappear.

Good News: Part Two of Four

2008-08-13T03:11:00.004+02:00

This is the bad news part of the good news.

You shouldn't be alarmed by that. If you've been around this world any length of time, you know all too clearly that there's a lot of bad news. You also know that much good news tastes sweeter because of the contrast between bad news and good news. As finite creatures, we experience the brilliance of light more deeply in its contrast with darkness.

So, what is the bad news? You don't need me to tell you. Famine; war; disease; oppression; murder; adultery; jealousy; hatred; greed; lust; pride. Good things tainted, twisted, warped, and broken. In the work of our hands, it means futility. Within our hearts and minds, it means self-centeredness. In our most sacred relationships, it means division.

This includes division between us and God. In our natural state, our self-centeredness is a slap in the face of the God whom we should rightfully consider the center of everything. This self-centered condition creates an enduring division between us and God, as we proclaim by both action and inaction that we do not need God. He is justifiably angered and grieved, and we continue in a state of empty narcissism.

This is hell. It is our just reward. It starts here on earth. If nothing changes about this state of affairs, it continues into the afterlife, where it will be robbed of the shades of light that can yet be known in this life. In our natural state of being, there is nothing we can do on our own to climb out of this pit.

Good News: Part One of Four

2008-08-10T21:01:00.004+02:00

Before the beginning, God is love - Father, Son, and Spirit living in perfect community, perfect harmony. Out of the overflow of this love, God created the heavens and the earth. Everything that exists is a result of His love and finds its meaning in Him.

You are a result of His love, and your true meaning is in Him.

Your family, friends, community, and any work that you put your hands to are the results of His love, and they all find their true meaning in Him.

Good News: Preface

2008-08-10T19:12:00.005+02:00

As we've been seeing friends and family in Colorado and Wisconsin, it's been an honor to hear many people say that they've been reading the blog throughout the summer. Thank you! We're blessed to know that so many people care. (You care. Thanks.)

I'd like to take a few posts to talk about our base motivations, the deepest truths that drive us to do what we do. Some of you share these motivations, and others do not. It is my prayer that those of you who don't share them will genuinely consider them. I ask this not because my thoughts are anything special; while the words here are mine, none of this is truly original. To say it another way, this is very personal, but it is not unique to us - it is God's truth for all people as He has revealed Himself throughout human history. So, please chew on it, and feel free to ask questions if you have any.

London in eight hours - or less!

2008-07-31T18:06:00.009+02:00

Step One: Arrive at Heathrow with an eight-hour layover and wisely decide not to drive yourself crazy by spending all eight of those hours in the airport.

Step Two: Go through customs and pay through the nose to ride the underground (mind the gap) to Covent Garden.

Step Three: Walk around a bit. (Pictured here is genuine Church of England, Tony! St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, a house of worship for the past 375 years. Smelled of incense inside & the whole deal. Could’ve celebrated the Eucharist at 1:00pm if we hadn’t had a plane to catch.)

Step Four: British Museum. Free, and chock full of good stuff that the Brits plundered from all sorts of civilizations over the years. Best relic - the Rosetta Stone, which Meggan deciphered in approximately twelve minutes, leaving plenty of time for shenanigans like getting scared by a scarab beetle. (Hey, it’s not like you can really appreciate it all the way it deserves to be when you’ve been up since 3:30am local time, but we did our best.)

Step Five: Grab a tasty lunch, then back on the tube to the airport.

Step Six: Back through security with plenty of time to spare, compose a lovely blog post, then find the lack of free WiFi disturbing. Wait to publish the post until later.

We’re back in Denver - woohoo!! It really does feel great to be home, seeing good friends, sleeping in our own bed (for two nights, at least). We’ve also had a good time lately naming our “bests” and “favorites” from these two months (“best meal,” “favorite tourist site,” etc.).

Another snippet of God’s leading from our summer: We’re thinking about working with high school youth in the greater Madrid area. It feels right to have our focus narrowing like that. At the moment, we think this would be primarily my ministry involvement, while Meggan would be in a supportive role, perhaps mentoring young women and (*gasp*) raising a kid.

Caution - shameless tourist...

Tying a Bow On the Trip

2008-07-29T11:14:00.010+02:00

Sara and Ana, two campers. Sara became Ana’s big sister over the course of a week, largely because Sara cared for Ana more than her actual big sister does. Sara knows Jesus, and it shows.

This is us with our friends Mariano and María after a fun day at a theme park. (Spanish lesson - “Esa montaña rusa me mareó.” = “That rollercoaster made me queasy.”)

Liliana and Meggan are happy after a little Spanish coffee and chocolate-filled croissant.

The Roman aqueduct in Segovia is still strong, beautiful, and awe-inspiring after more than 2,000 years.

The cathedral in Segovia. (That's for you, Chone-chone!)

Nicole Gudeman “pets a horse” at the castle in Segovia.

Meggan with Angel, Sheryl, Navi, Nicole, and Ed Gudeman.

We leave Spain in 20 hours! (On a 7am flight... followed by an eight-hour layover in London...) We think we’ll go into town in London to see Covent Gardens and/or the British Museum. We’ll get to Denver Wednesday evening local time, have two days of unpacking, repacking, and seeing friends, and then hit the road for the Midwest on Saturday.

So, what has God been teaching us during our time here? Where do we sense he is leading us next? It has been a rich time, and we couldn’t do it all justice in blog format. We will continue to share more about our answers to these two questions in the coming weeks, but for now, I’ll just say one thing:

God is faithful; he is in control; and he knows what he’s doing.

¡Cachorro!

2008-07-21T18:38:00.004+02:00

A PUPPY!!!! (Not for us, but hey, we can still celebrate!)

Sunday the Gudemans invited us to join them as they went to a local dog rescue area. Against their expectations to wait a few more days, they came home with a dog that very day. It was a privilege to be a part of the family moment... not to mention fun for us as dog-lovers (rumor has it Meggan asks me if we can get a dog a few times a day). Navi, the newest Gudeman, was found by the shelter on Christmas Day (Navidad in Spanish; hence, the name). They're actually the second family to take her home from the shelter, but the vice which brought her back the first time is not a problem for the Gudemans (she digs holes; nowhere to dig in an apartment). She's a lovely pup - we didn't hear her bark once, and she already knows that the kitchen is off-limits. We'll check with them soon to see how the first night went.

Not Much News, but Clowns and Jellyfish

2008-07-18T09:57:00.009+02:00

Monday night was the big performance of Wet Side Story. It was a long day keeping the children from 8:30am until 6:30pm (when they started getting ready), but it all worked out in the end.

Tuesday, we took the children to an Aquarium. Though Aquarium is a bit of a strong word. There is a really nice Aquarium attached to the zoo here, but it was a little too expensive. So, instead, someone found a pet store that sells fish and gerbils and has two levels of exhibits in the basement. There were several very large snakes, including a yellow and white snake which I'd never seen before, little Australian squirrels that look sort of like tiny raccoons, a very sad looking armadillo, prairie dogs, a giant dinosaur-looking turtle, spiders, and several fish. Not bad for 2€ a kid. Then, we went to McDonalds and bought the kids ice cream cones. I'm not going to lie. It was pretty delicious. But, I've always been a sucker for soft-serve, or as the beautiful people of Vermont call it, Creamy.

We'd like to live in Vermont one day.

Ben and I have enjoyed several nice walks lately. It is really common for people to walk at night because the sun sets so late here. One night, Ben and I totally disagreed on how to get home. He was definitely right.

Yesterday, we walked about 3 miles to pick up tickets to Swan Lake in Madrid. Ben surprised me and is taking me to celebrate our 50th Month-iversary. What a guy!

Last night, we went to a park and a plaza, all dressed up to try and attract children to come to the camp next week. Currently we only have four children this session. So, it would be great if more kids came...but not too many as we have limited space and disciplinary skills. It was really fun though. Our friend, Dario, is a professional clown. So, he was the main part of the "show."

That's about it. Like the title says, not much news. We are enjoying ourselves, but we're anxious to go home, see friends and family, meet our new niece. When I think about living here, I know that I'll be able to do it. There will be some things that I'll love; others that I'll hate. For example, the peaches here continue to be amazing, but I really don't like croquetas (small, deep-fried nuggets of mashed meat and milk). I realize that's a really stupid example. Let me think of a better one. The people here are so loving, the city is filled with beautiful, green parks, the architecture (though we haven't seen a ton) is rich, and the coffee is delicious (back to food again, Meggan!). Not to mention that the Gudeman family is a huge draw for me to return here. I really enjoy talking with and hanging out with their kids, Mark, Angela, and Nicole. On the other hand, other things I don't like so much. Fashion is so important here - everyone is always dressed up. I'll miss the casual feel of the US. And obviously family will always be what I miss the most.

That said, I am grateful to God for the opportunity to return here if it is his will. This may be a country of hard soil for the gospel, but it is a wonderful place in many ways. So...join us!

Until next time,
-meggan

Day in the Life: Friday, July 11

2008-07-12T14:43:00.005+02:00

We woke up around 6:45am, in time to see the sunrise. Liliana (our flat-mate and co-worker at the camp), Meggan, and I left our flat just after 7:30. We took the Metro (underground) and arrived at ARS School of Music and the Arts by 8:45.

The urban camp has eight kids enrolled for two-plus weeks, Monday through Friday, 9am-2pm. The kids have time in music, dance, painting, English, crafts, and theatre. Our primary role this day was to finish the costumes (or, as Meggan prefers to call them, “wearable crafts”) for the camp production of “Wet Side Story,” a bilingual musical about dolphins and jellyfish becoming friends and cleaning up the ocean together after an oil spill. Here’s Meggan working on a fish costume:

It’s good to get the kids outside for a while, so half of the adults went with them to the park for their mid-morning snack. Also in the park, they had their time with Nestor the painter (a very talented Bolivian with a gallery in Toledo) decorating traditional fans with finger-paint.

The late morning (translation: 12:30-2:00pm) was spent in rehearsal for the play. The last of the parents didn’t come for the kids until, say, 3pm, after which we ate lunch together as a team (this is a normal lunch time in Spain – lunch is the big meal, dinner is a little smaller, and both are shifted about 3 hours later than we’re used to in the U.S.). Our team is multicultural/multinational; Meggan and I are two of three white Americans, and two of the adjunct music teachers are Spaniards, but no two other people come from the same cultural background (on a team of 13). Here our flat-mate Liliana (who is Mexican) shows off a salad made by the professional chef on our team, Anthony (a Greek guy raised in England):

After lunch and a brief team meeting, Meggan and I got haircuts. We went to a nearby salon, where a good friend of the camp directors gave us great cuts with European style. For me that meant she didn’t trim my neckline as much as I would normally like (mullets are cool here for some reason), but her general hair advice was great – grow it out & get highlights (coming soon in a few months). As for Meggan, she got the best haircut she’s ever had. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll through the largest of Madrid’s many spacious natural areas, where we enjoyed a delicious Spanish melon.

Then we took the Metro to Lavapiés, a picturesque neighborhood with a population more international than our team (and the stores and restaurants to show for it). We walked around a bit, then sat on a park bench reading good books and people-watching.

At 8:30 we met our friend Enric, the director of the Pequeños Gigantes camp from the week before. He took us to his apartment, most of which is the buhardilla (attic) of his building, low-slanted roofs and all. We sincerely enjoyed one another’s company for about three hours over a delicious three-course meal.

We took the Metro home and got to bed a little after 12:30. All in all, a full and fulfilling day. (We slept very well; thanks for asking.)

All Good Gifts

2008-07-07T19:10:00.010+02:00

Before we left for Aguas Vivas, Meggan and I took some time to pray, reflect, and collect ourselves after the news that we received on Friday night (see previous entry). In that time, the Lord told Meggan that the week would be a gift to us. And it was. Aguas Vivas is a camp facility situated about an hour north of Madrid. It is absolutely beautiful, as you can see.

We joined the director, Enrique, and the team of counselors: Eugenio, Luna, Marta, Dámaris, Mariano, María, Juan-An. The team was so wonderful; we felt immediately welcomed into the family.

We arrived at the site on Saturday night to decorate. We weren't really sure what could take all night and the next morning, but that's because we'd never seen a camp so lovingly decorated. The theme was the story of Joseph; thus the decoration theme was Egypt. We cut out and painted nearly life-size mummies, Egyptian people, hung posters and Egyptian characters, prepared games, and finally went out to dinner as a team in the late-night Spanish style.

The 24 children arrived Sunday afternoon, and the fun began! In total, there ended up being 27 children as three more arrived. The days were filled with daily tournament games outside, trips to the local pool, crafts, workshops, and night activities. Several times Meggan was very nostaligic, remembering her very precious summer working at Arrowhead Bible Camp when she was 19.

In terms of the language, Meggan went through the normal feelings of frustration and joy as she learned and learned more. By the end of the week, she was more comfortable than ever, both in the quickness with which words would come to mind when speaking & in the ability to understand the accent. As for me, the week was a time of IMMENSE growth in the language; there's nothing like immersion, and this was our one week interacting heavily with people who spoke almost no English. In addition to comfort in speaking and listening, I picked up some important vocabulary for using in conversation with Spanish boys - words like culo (butt), pedo (fart), eructo (burp), and mocos (snot).

We continue to learn flexibility here. Meggan had prepared a dance to teach the children in her workshop; however, she shared the workshop with another counselor, and the workshop only met 2 days. Thus, they only had time to learn the other counselor's dance. She still enjoyed herself very much.

We are now back in Madrid, staying in the sixth and last apartment of our time here. It is a lovely apartment (huge in fact) that is owned by a local church. It is close to the metro and a grocery store - so we're very well settled.

Speaking of flexibility again, we have been assigned to head up the crafts for the next three weeks, though Meggan had planned to teach or assist in teaching the dance classes. We are slowly learning what it means to be open to serve in all ways. We will also meet with various other missionaries in the weeks to come, including the Gudemans who have recently returned to Spain. We also have a few "dates" with the counselors from Aguas Vivas.

Thank you for all your prayers and emails. Meggan sat in the Music School this afternoon, very teary-eyed, feeling very loved by all your emails of encouragement. We are learning what it means to trust. It is a place of contentment, even when we don't understand. Love to you all.

Dazed and Confused

2008-06-28T12:30:00.004+02:00

Last night, Ben and I met with Héctor, director of the school of music and dance in Madrid that we once considered Aslan Center for the Performing Arts. As it turns out, the website is out of date, and the ministry once called Aslan does not actually exist. What it has been for the past year is a school of music and dance, owned and directed by Héctor and his wife, Lilli. Most of the faculty are non-believers. The ministry strategy is completely based on relationship building, or friendship evangelism. Nothing about the school is overtly Christian by any means.

Anyways, we met with Héctor last night (Lilli was teaching a class). We'd been anticipating this meeting for over a year. I, in particular, felt that I had a lot riding on this meeting. Seeing the website and their ministry (obviously at the time we didn't know that it was out of date) was really the first time that I said, "Yes, Lord, I will go." It seemed to be the perfect fit, even in light of the new information about their ministry focus (the school is what always interested me more than the performance troupe the old website spoke of).

However, Héctor told me last night that I need a degree in dance, preferably a major, perhaps a minor, to teach there. This is a legal requirement of Spain, he said. I told him that I didn't have a degree in dance. He said that I could be an assistant teacher and still help in other ways, but Ben and I still feel very... well... dazed and confused. Is this a door closing? I had asked that day for a big sign, telling God that I wanted to be on his path, not just a "good" path. Is this that sign? We do not know.

What I do know is that I feel at peace. Or perhaps shocked? I don't know what the future holds. God is in control. Please pray for wisdom and discernment. Please pray for me that I wouldn't believe things that the enemy would want me to believe, like that I've been fooling myself all this time, thinking I was good enough to teach dance. Or that I don't have a place in Spain at all, only Ben does. I'm struggling with questions like that right now. Are my degrees worthless?

Lord, I cling to your word. Isaiah 30:19-21
19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Good food, blessed couple

2008-06-27T16:35:00.006+02:00

Do we look happy? Well, yesterday was a pleasant day. This is us in front of the national library after enjoying a free museum, some window shopping, and a pleasant stroll. Just an hour later, we would be enjoying our first meal in a restaurant we would recommend to others - delicious, great atmosphere, and reasonable prices. And, I guessed the right bathroom ("C" is for "Caballeros").

Spaniards have been happy lately, too. Spain is on to the final of the Euro Cup against Germany after giving Russia a drubbing for the second time in the tournament. This shot is from the Plaza de Colón (Colón = Columbus), where lots of folks gather to watch the games. I decided to stay away from the Plaza and the pubs, which I'm sure were crazy again last night. Alas, we will miss the final...

...because it's Sunday night, and we'll be up at Aguas Vivas (Living Waters) by then. Aguas Vivas is a retreat center where one of the churches we're connected with is having its children's camp next week (they call the week Pequeños Gigantes = Little Giants). We will go there tomorrow and get back to Madrid next Sunday. While there, we'll be corralling the kids, teaching dance (Meggan) and rhythm (Ben as the assistant) workshops, doing a dance for the kids during the counselor talent show, teaching two Bible lessons (Meggan), and doing whatever else our wonderful leader Enrique tells us to do.

Please pray for us throughout the week; it will probably be our most intensive immersion experience, which is a great learning opportunity and probably a high-stress environment. In addition, we might not have much time alone together to encourage one another, so we will need to press into the Lord (and be creative in carving out some time together). Also, of course, pray for the camp kids. The church's hope is that we will have a mix of Christian kids and their non-Christian friends. Pray that God would be at work in children's hearts and minds (and in their parents' lives as well).

We probably will not have net access all week, so we expect this will be our last post for awhile. When we return to Madrid, we will jump into ministry with ARS School of Music and the Arts. ARS has day camps throughout July. Tonight we are meeting with the directors, Héctor and Lilli Ramírez, to discuss our roles with them. We have been anticipating this conversation for a long time! Meggan could potentially see herself serving with ARS when we come here in the future. We'll have more to share about all that a couple weeks down the road.

A pretty tree in Retiro Park. Hasta luego.

Church, Chorizo, and a Good Cry

2008-06-23T11:42:00.007+02:00

Church
Yesterday, our fourth Sunday in Spain, we attended La Elipa Church, named for the neighborhood in which it is located. What a wonderful experience. We arrived at 10:30am for Sunday School, basically a bible study in the main room. The topic was evangelism, particularly an examination of what is a personal testimony. Lots of interaction between the leader and the listeners, even a question from a young girl who was visiting with a friend. There is a lot to be said about the Spanish quality of speaking your mind. There is little walking on eggshells here.

The service began at 11:30am with a few songs. Unfortunately, they didn't have overheads for all of them, so Ben and I had to clap and look a bit stupid as everyone else sang. Then, there was a time to share a reading if the Spirit led, or to pray out loud. Several songs were requested during this time, which the band played. The sermon followed, on Matthew 14: Jesus walking on the water. I understood about 90% of the sermon. It was really wonderful. The speaker hypothesized that the reason Peter starts to sink in the water is not because he doubts that Jesus is God, all powerful, and certainly greater than the storm. Of course Peter knew that Jesus was greater. Rather, Peter doubted because he perhaps started to feel that he was unworthy to be walking out to Jesus on the water. He started realizing his own overwhelming sin, his insignificance compared to Jesus. In that moment, Peter's eyes left Jesus: that is why he started sinking.

That was quite profound for me. I've been recently thinking, God, why me? Don't you know that moving overseas will probably be harder for me than for a lot of people? Don't you know that I will really miss my family, that I want a "normal" life, etc. And of course, God knows all of that. None of those things are surprises to him. That is both comforting and freeing. I don't have to try to squelch those parts of me. God knows those parts of me; he made me to love my family and cherish home.

And yet he still chose me to do this. I don't know why, and I don't have to know why. Or perhaps it is more so that he has called all of us to go. Could it be that most of us wait for a call to go, don't hear it, and thus stay? But, the Great Commission is clear, calling us all. Could it be that we should be waiting for a call to stay? Should "Go!" be the default? For anyone considering mission, Western Europe is a dark place, needing the light of Christ. Come with us! (Enough preaching for now.)

Back to church. After the sermon, the floor was again opened for people to share thoughts, request songs, lead prayers, etc. We then took communion. It was perfectly silent and the bread and wine (interestingly white) were passed. Each ate or drank as the bread or cup came, and I missed the communal aspect at Bethany (our church in Littleton).

However, as a whole, I had never experienced such a community-oriented service ever before. I felt like I was seeing the body in worship together. It was a really special time.

Chorizo (by Ben)
Last night provided a neat moment around 11:20pm. I stepped onto our back patio to hear the whole country of Spain celebrating the victory over Italy in the Euro Cup. What a noise!

The experience was oddly sweetened by the fact that I was feeling okay. About nine hours earlier, I made the dubious decision to go for the chorizo sandwich at lunch. Mr. Sausage left me the direction he came around the 78th minute of the soccer match, and if you're like me, you can identify with the fact that I felt much better after vomiting. (In honor of all our art museum trips, we'll give this picture a name - "Sweet Recovery.") He still did a minor number on my sleeping - my normal resting postures brought on waves of mini-nausea, so I had to sleep on my back (fitfully) until around 5:45am, and my lower back is rather sore this morning.

And that, my dear friends, is a faithful rendering of all my dealings with Sr. Chorizo. For its veracity you can appeal to my lovely wife, who babied me tremendously well in my time of need.

A Good Cry (back to Meggan)
After church, we attended a meeting for La Elipa's camp to be held at a facility called Aguas Vivas (living waters). Unfortunately, the three hour meeting was far from pleasant for me, though of course the people are all lovely and the camp will be great for the 23 children currently registered. The group of people going up have been friends for some time and have worked many camps before. In addition, all had many ideas and thoughts to share. All that adds up to many jokes, fast talking, and many talking at once. Sadly, I only understood about 25% of the meeting, despite all my straining. It was very frustrating and discouraging, and I left with not a small headache. For the first time, I thought, "I can't do this."

After getting home, I cried a little, but was encouraged by Héctor, the director of the arts camp, who assured me that Spaniards speak very quickly, even for him, a native South American Spanish-speaker. His words were kind, but I know that the week at Aguas Vivas will be very challenging for me.

Please continue to keep language acquisition in your prayers for both of us.

Superficial likes and dislikes about Spain

2008-06-21T16:59:00.004+02:00

Likes...in no particular order
1. Peaches are in season here, and I really love peaches. The spanish word for peach (for all you language buffs) is "el melocotón."

2. Public transportation is amazing. The Metro (underground) and the Renfe Cercanías (above ground) are very efficient and inexpensive train systems.

3. The countryside is really lovely. We took the Renfe to El Escorial on Monday. The hour and a half ride was mostly in the rain, but the country was so green and beautiful. Once we reached El Escorial, we were taken by car to little cities nearby. Wildflowers and tall grasses covered the land.

4. Friends in Spain are friends for life. It takes a little longer to make friends here (so we've been told), but once made, they are fiercely loyal and honest. Spaniards will definitely tell you if they don't like your new haircut. Even if you don't ask.

5. IKEA.

6. You can order a cup of coffee and stay as long as you want in a restaurant.

7. The coffee (café con leche) is quite good.

8. Having a clothes-line in the back yard.

9. Lots of dogs everywhere.

10. Lots of Fanta or Trina flavors.

11. The juxtaposition of old and new architecture.

12. Quite a bit of green space in the cities since most people live in apartments, not houses.

13. Relatively inexpensive travel within Europe.

14. Lots of walking everywhere. Even at night, it is really safe to walk. Walking just for fun is called "pasear."

15. Learning to REALLY cook from scratch.

16. The possibility of raising kids who could be fluent in another language.

17. Trying new foods.

18. Big apartments aren't that uncommon. I always want to have a place for guests to stay with us comfortably.

19. Lots of common space where people just hang out.

20. Going out to eat with friends is to enjoy "sobremesa," which means the talking. Food is important, too, but that hanging out is more important.

21. Nutella.

Dislikes...in no particular order either.
1. Late nights. I have never been a night person, but I'm getting better. The sun sets here at about 10/10:30pm in the summer, so it is always later than you think it is, which helps. All the same, I prefer early mornings. But, breakfast at 7am is pretty tough because no one eats lunch before 2pm.

2. Children can begin school at age 2 or 3. It is not mandatory until age 5 or 6, but breaking the norm can bring criticism to your door. See number 4 above.

3. The summer is really hot in Madrid. But, come to think about it, it is hot everywhere in the summer. Even in the Shire...I mean, Wisconsin: the Shire of my heart.

4. The Spanish fry a lot of food; bad for my cholesterol. But, the churros aren't really my thing anyways. The cup of chocolate, on the other hand...or should I say warm chocolate pudding!

5. The "new tolerance" of Postmodernism is very strong here. Certainly it's in the US, too. But, there we continue to live with the false illusion that we're still a "Christian" culture. The same problems face youth today in Spain: pressure to smoke, drink, have sex etc. But, here it is a lot more visible everywhere.

6. Life is very expensive in Madrid.

7. Lots of poop on the sidewalks, but not as much as I thought. The price of lots of doggies around, I guess.

8. You can't walk on the grass in public places.

9. Family very far away.

10. I can't find Teriyaki sauce or hummus anywhere.

11. Milk isn't always refrigerated. I like really cold milk.

12. People have mentioned not having chocolate chips. I'd rather chop up some awesome chocolate to make cookies, personally. But, still - what is so special about chocolate chips that makes them so "rare" and expensive here? Let's work on this, import people.

13. Learning to REALLY cook from scratch.

14. Knowing that no matter how long I live here, in many ways I will always be an outsider.

15. The constant process of learning to understand EVERY word people say, not just getting the "jist" of what they're saying.

16. Dryers (for clothes) aren't that common here, but you can find them.

17. The possibility of our future kids never knowing normal life in the US; being far away from extended family; being "third- culture kids."

18. In our garden, there is an enormous, black, flying, buzzing bug.

19. Lots of nudity in advertisements.

20. Learning to drive here and passing the very difficult exam here will be a huge step of faith for me. Some drivers are crazy!

21. When you order shrimp in a restaurant, they come with their heads still on.

What is Coke Zero, anyway?

2008-06-21T13:25:00.003+02:00

*WARNING* - RELATIVELY FRIVOLOUS POST. (Translation: If you don't care, you're in good company.)

When you eat out here in Spain, it's not very common to drink just water. You can order a glass from the tap, but even those who do that most often have something else to drink (soda, coffee, wine, or beer). Meggan and I usually drink water when we're out to eat in the U.S. - it's free, calorie-free, and more refreshing than other beverages. So, this has become a case of one of those minor adjustments one makes when crossing cultures.

I could turn this into a conversation about how great Spanish coffee is, or about my enjoyment of La Casera (a Spanish brand of sugar-free soda), but let's turn to something that translates back to all of you reading from the U.S.: Diet Coke (here it's "Coke Light") and Coke Zero. When we're hoping to hang on to the calorie-free beverage scheme, these are two viable options. This brings up a reasonable question - why two caffeinated, zero-calorie, aspartame-sweetened colas from the same company? Why, Atlanta?

(Clearly I have a theory, or I wouldn't have brought it up.) The answer must have something to do with marketing. Here's a thought - the next generation is starting to count its calories, so their consumption of regular Coke is dropping, but they won't drink Diet Coke because "it's for old people," or "it's what my parents drink" (that's for you, Dad). Enter the Coke Zero brand. Slick marketing campaign, clearly aimed at a younger generation. And for that reason, I thought, "Rubbish. I officially reject the junk as Diet Coke 2.0 and not worth my time."

Then I tasted the stuff, and the marketing is actually somewhat accurate - it tastes a lot more like regular Coke than Diet Coke/Coke Light ever has. It's definitely not the same as the sugary stuff, but it's a decent alternative. It seems they know the palate of their target market; we youngsters want to have our Coke and eat it, too (?). Of course, even if this is a better taste than Diet/Light, they know they can't touch that brand, because it has its own following. So, Atlanta wins again.

Other things that may interest no one but me...
--It's fun to be in Europe for the Euro Cup. What an ending to Croatia/Turkey last night! Go Spain. I hope to catch at least one game in a pub with crazy Spaniards. Pray for my survival.
--Meggan and I are movie people, and we've seen some good ones (and bad ones) at people's homes this summer. The best - "El Abuelo" ("The Grandfather"), a beautiful Spanish film about family, loyalty, and the changing of the guard in Spanish society; the worst - "Never Say Never Again," perhaps the worst James Bond movie ever made (what made Sean Connery think that was the script he should come back for in his return to the role?).

*COKE ZERO UPDATE*
August 10 - Meggan and I were watching the Olympics last night, and a Diet Coke ad came on featuring a very young and hip-looking cast. Meggan pointed out that this means they're marketing Diet Coke to our generation (or at least to people who want to feel young - but that's another story). Anyhow, this is certainly pertinent information which may require that I modify my theory...

Random pics and candid thoughts

2008-06-17T21:47:00.024+02:00

Tonight we'd like to give you a window into what we're currently thinking and feeling about our future. We see this summer as a journey of discernment, so this stuff is obviously very important. For better or worse, we're putting pretty much everything out in the open in this post. To intersperse the serious with some lighter fare, a smattering of pictures are included, too. (Three cheers for visual aids!)

Kids: There are a lot of questions surrounding kids and living in a foreign culture. The first question for us is, when do we start trying for our first? There are a lot of factors at play in this decision, and we've gone back and forth from earlier to later a few times. Right now, we think we want to aim for our time in Wisconsin the year after we graduate from seminary. That comes with certain perks and other challenges, and our minds could change again, and the Lord could always surprise us... but that's where we sit right now. (Exciting! Scary! Life!)

Mission agencies: We've met with many Spaniards and missionaries thus far, and we'll continue to meet with more, but we feel a particular connection with two agencies - WorldVenture and OMS. We feel relationally connected to both of these missions, we believe we are philosophically aligned with each, and we would be happy to be a part of either of their teams. There is one particular advantage to feeling a connection to people in two agencies - wherever we land, we believe we will have a connection with mentor-figures from outside our own organization in addition to those within it. The obvious difficulty associated with this dual connection is that we have to choose who we will go with, and we're not yet sure how.

With this matter on her heart, Meggan was distracted this morning during the time she had planned to be reading her Bible. As the distraction stirred, she was prompted by the Holy Spirit to turn her focus to the reading she had purposed to do. She turned to Isaiah 30:
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:18-21, ESV)
We believe the same God who spoke this word to his people some 2700 years ago desires to do an analogous work in our lives. So rather than worry about the choice before us, we will wait for him, and we believe he will answer us, and when we hear his voice, we will walk where he leads us.

On an unrelated note, they love Pope John Paul II here. This is a statue of him outside the Cathedral of Santa María Real de la Almudena. The same day Meggan and I were married in Madison - May 22, 2004 - Prince Felipe, heir apparent to the throne of Spain, married the woman now known as Princess Letizia at this cathedral. (How's all that for random?)

Ministry focus: At the moment, we think the following might accurately depict our ministry a few years from now. The big idea is relationships. We will be building relationships with the people in our community with the hope of earning their trust. From this platform of trust, we hope for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ with our friends, because people will not receive the truth when they hear it from a source they don't trust (no matter how deeply and universally true it is). We see ourselves meeting people through a handful of venues - our fellow parents in the neighborhood, our fellow artists, Meggan with her dance students, and I with a focus on teenagers (community contacts and/or the non-Christian friends of Christian youth). That last bit - me in what's called "youth ministry" in the U.S. - is the newest piece, and the one still more up in the air than the other ones.

Madrid (and its surrounding areas): We like this area. In spite of being a large international city, it has retained significant natural character. As for the non-natural, the history continues to fascinate us. (After all, we are from Wisconsin and Colorado, two places where the oldest man-made structures still standing are under 200 years old.) Also, you can get anywhere on the various train systems; depending on where we landed, we might not need a car (though I'm guessing we will have one). We have encountered a number of neighborhoods we would enjoy. One of our great desires for a neighborhood would be a natural congregating place where the people get together in the evenings and get to know each other. In one neighborhood we've visited, this place was a park that the backyards of scores of row houses faced; elsewhere, it was a central courtyard in an apartment complex. One neighborhood where this kind of connection does not naturally occur is where we're currently staying. We definitely like staying here right now, but gates, walls, fences, vines, trees, and bushes set us off from our neighbors. The effect is aesthetically pleasing, but it makes relationships harder to foster.
Here's the courtyard of one apartment complex where the community really does come together.

This is the beautiful backyard garden at our current residence - a pleasure to enjoy, but one of a handful of barriers separating us from our neighbors.

You know a city is advanced when even its lawyers are worthy of their own statue...

...though the presence of a museum devoted to ham across the street brings that conclusion into question. (Actually, this is a chain of restaurants called "Museum of Ham." The U.S. thinks up Planet Hollywood, and Spain gives us this. As they say, "Spain is different!")

Toto, we're not in North America anymore.

Thank you for your continued prayers; you bless us.

Doing life in/from Coslada

2008-06-12T13:11:00.005+02:00

On Monday we said goodbye to the Cox family and navigated the Metro (subway) to Coslada, a near eastern suburb. We will be staying here for almost three weeks total at the home of Peg and Jerry Schweitzer. Peg and Jerry are WorldVenture missionaries who teach at Evangelical Christian Academy (an English-language school primarily for MKs). We spent two evenings with them, but now they've returned to the U.S. for a wedding and other family time, so we have the place to ourselves. Thanks for your hospitality and the gift of your home, Peg & Jerry! Besides this space, Peg has also passed along another piece of herself to us - she taught Meggan how to make a pie shell from scratch. Yesterday Meggan turned that shell into a peach glacé pie (yummy!).

The peach pie brings us to another interesting note - grocery shopping. Tuesday we introduced ourselves to the three stores in the neighborhood, then returned to the first (AhorraMás, which means “SaveMore”) to do our shopping. Meggan successfully navigated the meat counter for two LARGE chicken breasts, while I miserably attempted to ask for help finding something they didn’t carry. But, hey - we’re here to learn, and you can’t learn if you don’t try! We went back to the store yesterday for milk and fresh fruit, but we had to go to all three stores to find what we wanted, because there’s a truckers’ strike going on in Spain right now. The Portuguese strike has recently been resolved; pray for a quick resolution here as well.

Yesterday was also our day to discover the Cercanías (regional train network - a little faster and more expensive than the Metro, with a broader reach). We walked about 20 minutes to the station, then rode about 25 minutes to Atocha, the main train station in Madrid (the station that was bombed by terrorists in 2004). From there we walked around a lot of central Madrid - through Retiro Park, into El Corte Inglés (“The English Court,” kind of like Macy’s), past the Royal Palace and Royal Theatre, and through the Plaza Mayor. We had lunch in a small place off a side street - our second meal out, and our first on our own.

So, how are we doing? We’re okay; it’s an adjustment to be on our own. Some of that is nice, of course, and some of it is naturally intimidating but necessary. The piece that’s a bit surprising is that we were less prepared to feel the absence of having hosts focusing on our goals and needs. Our first three families gave a lot of energy toward helping us along our journey of discerning what God has for us in the future, which was very beautiful and served us deeply. Without their presence, we feel more out of place than we did earlier. If you ask Meggan and me, we’re so thankful things were arranged in the order they were; we needed the extra support at the beginning! So, praise God for that, and pray for God’s presence in our ongoing adjustment to life on our own.

Hopefully our activity in the next few days will help with that adjustment. This afternoon we are meeting with a Spanish pastor named Andrés, tomorrow we are having lunch with a team of missionaries from the agency WEC, and Saturday night we are going to a secular event against human trafficking hosted by Aslan (the performing arts ministry we will be working with in July).