Tuesday, June 30, 2009

coup d'etat

Coup happen all the time. Yet isn't it amazing how one's whole perspective changes when you have a good friend in a country were political unrest is happening. Most of the time i go through my life without thinking twice in a year about countries like Honduras. And i would argue that i am a person who seeks to remain politically and socially aware of the developing world especially Latin America since i hope to retire there someday. yet because heather and i have a dear friend traveling in honduras for the next three weeks i cannot get the country out of my mind.

this morning as i sit in my safe office with the warm california sunshine shining in my window illuminating the keys of my laptop my heart breaks for this country. People just like you and me who now have a curfew and are forced by martial law to be out of the streets. People who only three days ago could walk around in virtual freedom now are completely unsure what the day will bring. I am reminded again that all of life is gift. freedom is gift. and even in a country "like ours" our lives could change in a single moment.

please be in prayer for the country of Honduras, not just today because i have a friend there but everyday, may we be a community of believers who are deeply concerned about the world around us. May we be conscious of the humanity of those around us and stand against anyone who tries to violate that humanity.

and while your at it. pray for my friend Calais and her family as they do acts of love in a country that desperately needs love today.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Parents

My parents are an inspiration. My dad and mom just celebrated their 20th anniversary at First Baptist Church in Wellington Texas. I remember when we moved to Wellington from Oklahoma, as children we thought our world had fallen apart. As a child, it is hard to know what is the will of god or the whim of a parent, and either way you don't have much choice. but i can tell you this, if lives changed and impacted are the test of whether we are obedient to god or not, then my parents have been more than obedient.

Over the last 20 years my parents have seen literally hundreds of student make a decision to fall in love with God and start living in the way of Christ. They have seen many students commit to a lifetime of ministry (including me). They have helped people walk through many difficult issues including suicide, depression, addiction, divorce, death, murder, sickness and every other chaotic life-event you could possibly imagine. They have become townies in a community where that is not an easy task. They have committed to walk alongside their community longer than the majority of the other pastors in town combined. Mom and Dad have seen other pastors come and go for more money, more fame, and new callings, yet they have not wavered on the belief that god brought them to Wellington. Through struggle and triumph, sadness and joy, all the while my parents have not stopped recognizing that their time in this small, isolated community is gift. It is a gift that god has blessed them and our family with. Their calling is a gift from god, and in my humble opinion :) a gift for the town of Wellington.

For some, this may seem like a small thing, but being in ministry myself this longevity, this investment makes an enormous difference.

Therefore, I say thank you. Thank you mom and dad for not only being an example to me but being an example to a whole community. Thank you for choosing to enter my chaos and the chaos of rural America, which if statistics are true, has more chaos per capita then the largest cities in America.

You are powerful examples. So three cheers to the 'rents. Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

reconnection

reconnections are like reconciliation, i know that seems redundant, however i feel like i experience reconciliation the most as my human relationships find reconnection. i got to talk with a long time friend this week and to reconnect and recognize that our spirits are still so interconnected is a touch of divinity. i think this is true when we give our lives to one another. the more you give the more eternal it is. this is true as sean comes and lives with us for the summer as well. connections made 5, 6 years ago are blessing heather and i today. the love that angie and paul gave to me over ten years ago gets to be past on but at the same time it reconnects heather and i to powerful energies (angie and Paul) who continual bless us even in their absence.

today i got a phenomenal email from a dear friend that i have been away from for some time. as i read it my life grew. it was like a plant finding more light even though the plant had enough light to be healthy and because of that new light, the plant thrives even more.

with each reconnection i become even more excited about how god connects us in relationships. these relationships have deep and lasting effects even years separated don't destroy the effects, and affects of love shared.

as i read and study philippians i see this same reality in paul's words to the church in philippi. the bonds we make in love are not destroyed. not by prision, not by miles, not by conflict, or suffering love remains. As love is reconciled or reconnected healing, peace, rest, depth and hope is created.