JBShenk

Matthew - Check

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 20:35:00 +0000

I finished scribing The Gospel According to Matthew. A few observations:

1) Christmas and New Year really threw me off. I got out of my scribing routine, got busy, and it took me a while to get back on track.

2) Scribing is like a marathon or a mountain climb. You start off full of energy and ready to go. Somewhere in the middle it starts to slow down. You are just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Then as the end gets in sight you begin to pick it back up again to finish strong.

3) Matthew 25 was by far the most arduous chapter to scribe. The Parables of the Talents and the Sheep and the Goats are very repetitive and long. When you read, you probably just skip over most of the repetitions. But it becomes quite painstaking when you write it out.

As you can see in the image to the left, I just made it in one moleskine notbook. I started out too free with my spacing. I followed the textual indentation for poetry and OT citations. I sometimes left spaces between paragraphs, etc. At some point I realized I might not fit it all, so I started single spacing everything. For the longer books, be judicious with your spacing.

Now on to Mark :

Woe!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 21:06:00 +0000

Today I scribed (i.e. wrote by hand) Matthew chapter 23. In this chapter Jesus says...

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets."
Matthew 23:29-30

or..
Woe to you, bible professors and pastors, hypocrites!...

Later in the chapter Jesus says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!"
Matthew 23:37

or...
Memphis, Memphis, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
or...
Washington, Washington, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
or...
(__insert city here__), ______, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!

MLK Jr Day has come and gone again. And like other years, children have off school, furniture stores have sales, and we as a society generally white wash the legacy of this man (and countless others who joined the struggle for civil rights).

On this day many speak of justice, equality, peace, and nonviolence. As we should. These are the inspirational and aspirational goals that we strive toward. This is what we want to see more of in the world. This of course, is the message that makes us feel good.

But what about those who speak the corresponding message of "woe"? What about those who speak the corresponding message that we are repeating the same mistakes of history? There are plenty who speak this uncomfortable yet necessary message if we only have ears to hear.

It's easy to look back on history with 20/20 vision. But what about the present? Can we see in our present how the injustices that Rev. Dr. King dedicated his life to overcoming still exist? And do we go on applauding the ideals of this man while continuing to live as if he never existed?

Kudos to a seminary professor of mine. In a class back in 2010, she had the humility and courage to admit that she disagreed with King when he was marching in the 60s. She regrets that now. Perhaps this kind of authentic confession, and a re-reading of Matthew 23, is exactly what we need to not be the people we deplore. Perhaps this kind of re-orientation (which is what the biblical word repentance essentially means) is what we need to be the people that King and Jesus called us to be.

BREAD!?!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:14:00 +0000

An exasperated Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 16:11, "How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread?"

Jesus had just told them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the disciples thought Jesus said that because they forgot to bring bread with them.

Prior to that the Pharisees and Sadducees had asked Jesus for a sign.

Prior to that Jesus had just miraculously fed 4,000 people seven loaves of bread and a few fish. And not long before that Jesus had miraculously fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish.

It reminds me of Monty Python's film "Life of Brian." Brian is a Jewish peasant born at the same time as Jesus. Brian and his friends are present at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, but they are in the back and can't hear very well. When Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers," they misunderstand it as "blessed are the cheese makers." To which an aristocratic bystander interjects, "It's not meant to be taken literally but rather to refer to all manufacturers of dairy products." [Insert Jesus face-palm here]

Probably what happens to the disciples in Matthew 16 is a classic case of overthinking and trying to be too profound, and yet missing the point entirely. They had been wrong before, Jesus has had to correct them and spell things out for them. This time the disciples want to figure it out all on their own, but in the process fumble yet again.

Keeping in mind that the disciples grow and develop in faith throughout the gospel stories, and keeping in mind that the four gospels we have today were written down to help instruct new believers, what would it mean if we read this passage in light of what it means to grow as followers of Jesus?

What if it's not about how literally or metaphorically we take the meaning of "yeast"? What if it's not about how cleverly we can put together all the pieces?

What if it's about rushing off to interpret divine things without being fully formed as disciples yet? What kind of things might we misunderstand and get wrong that are of much greater significance than bread and yeast (and cheese)?

Matthew 13

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 17:30:00 +0000

I've fallen behind in my scribing due to travels for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm currently on chapter 13. The temptation is to hurry and try to catch up. I've noticed that I try to squeeze in a even a few verses here or there. Or that I try to scribe quickly when I have the time.

Obviously, that defeats the purpose. This is a marathon, not a sprint. I'm not on a deadline. The point is to be present, even contemplative, and mindful as one goes through scribing in an unhurried way.

New Pen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 16:14:00 +0000

After scribing all of Revelation as a trial run, and 9 chapters of Matthew, my 0.1 Staedtler fine liner finally wore out. Still plenty of pigment ink, but the felt tip has been worn to the metal shaft.

In terms of scribing, I was drawn to Matthew 9:11-12. Jesus had just called Matthew the tax collector to follow him, and then Jesus goes to eat in Matthew's house with a bunch of other "tax collectors and sinners."

The Pharisees don't like this, so they ask Jesus' disciples why Jesus is eating with these people.

Notice that the Pharisees ask the disciples to explain the actions of their rabbi. But then also notice that their answer isn't given. Instead, Jesus interjects and answers the question.

I find myself curious about what the disciples would have said in answer to the Pharisees' question. Would they have had an adequate answer? Would their answer have been in line with Jesus' own answer? Or would there have been a lot of feet shuffling and mumbling of nonsense?

Authority to Forgive

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 14:10:00 +0000

Matthew 9:2-8 tells the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. According to vs. 6, the reason Jesus performs the physical healing is so that the people will know that he has the greater authority to forgive sins.

Then the story closes in vs.8 by saying that the crowds were in awe because God had given such authority to "human beings."

Not "a human being."

Not, "this particular human being" (i.e. Jesus).

But to "human beings."

This isn't just an NRSV transaltion. CEB and NIV also have the collective noun "human beings" as the direct object in this sentence. The crowds were in awe because God gave authority to forgive sins to "human beings."

Yes, it is true that Jesus has uniquely been given authority to forgive sins, and Jesus plays a unique role in forgiveness. But it's not just something given to Jesus. God, giving authority to Jesus in Jesus' full humanity, has also given "human beings" authority to forgive. That means all of us.

Hence later in Matthew 18:18 Jesus talks about binding and losing. Forgiveness is not just a divine transaction that takes place between God and Jesus on behalf of humanity. Rather, forgiveness is stitched into the very fabric of discipleship.

Forgiveness is part of what it means to be Christian. Rowan Williams names this in his book Being Disciples. So does J. Heinrich Arnold in his book Discipleship.

In our age of outrage, forgiveness is in short supply. I'm not talking about Jesus' frustratingly extravagant call to forgive when serious abuse and injustice has been committed. I'm merely talking about the regular flow of human conversation and interactions.

However, forgiveness is a vital way in which we become involved in the work and ministry of Jesus. It's not merely a personal benefit of being saved. It's a way of living a life that is involved with the very essence of God.

Authority to forgive has been given to human beings. We can extend it, or we can withhold it. Either way, that should fill us, like the crowds, with at least a little bit of awe at the scandalous love of God.

Patience with Enemies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 15:09:00 +0000

We live in a reactionary society. We are quick to denounce, ridicule, and condemn anyone whose view we don't like or whose identity threatens our own.

Edwin Friedman named this two decades ago in his book Failure of Nerve.

From a Christian perspective living in a reactionary society is problematic. If we succumb to reactionary impulses, it undercuts spiritual growth which takes time, patience, endurance, and discernment.

Two things (at least) stand out to me from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount regarding the reactionary world that we live in.

One is that Jesus calls us to love our enemies (5:43-48). Loving enemies is the patient counterpoint to our visceral reaction against them.

Second, one of the most quoted texts that Christians use in reactionary ways toward their enemies comes just soon after in Matthew chapter 7:15-20 - the wolf in sheep's clothing. Christians often use this passage to denounce false prophets and heretics. They use it especially toward other Christians. I've lost track of the number of times I've experienced one Christian accusing another Christian of being a wolf in sheep's clothing because they disagree over a certain theology or church practice.

But more and more it's happening as a reactionary, preemptive strike against another person. If I'm quick to apply the label of a "wolf in sheep's clothing" then I don't have to listen to you, or struggle with the challenge that you present to me. I simply cut you off. And I gain spiritual brownie points if I cut you off in such a way that I chase you out the door while doing so.

But if you read Matthew 7:15-20, and not just 7:15, it doesn't seem like we have license to use the text in reactionary ways. The ways Jesus says we will know a wolf in sheep's clothing is by their fruit, not by our immediate reaction to them.

Last time I checked, fruit takes time to ripen and mature. Fruit is how we know a false prophet, either good or bad fruit. And good or bad fruit takes time to show itself as good or bad.

Someone might appear to be genuine, faithful, and wise. But overtime we see that their fruit is rotten. I'm thinking of the tragic examples of clergy sexual abuse scandals. Often it takes a long time to discover.

Other times, a person might bother us immediately. They seem to go against scripture, they cut against what we hold to be true and valuable. They seem to impede progress toward a goal we want to reach. We are quick to denounce these people as wolves in sheep's clothing. We would prefer it this way. I'm thinking of a progressive Christian in a traditional context, or a traditional Christian in a progressive context. Rather than sitting with the uncomfortable tension that exists, we cut the person off or cast them out, or call them names even worse than a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Unfortunately, this undercuts the maturation process. We may not ultimately agree with the person, but faith must undergo testing, trials, and patient endurance to mature.

Maybe, just maybe, that person we are quick to call a wolf in sheep's clothing might actually bear good fruit in us.

Jesus had a home

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 18:56:00 +0000

In Matthew 8:20, Jesus says, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

For me (and I would guess many people), Matthew 8:20 is more well known than Matthew 4:13 which says, "(Jesus) left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea..."

Because 8:20 is more well known, there is a tendency to think o Jesus as an amorphous being who sort of floats through this world as a homeless wanderer. He has no context, no place, not interest in this world. He doesn't have the everyday, practical cares that you and I have. He's just passing through.

That's the impression, anyway.

But 4:13 tells us that Jesus had a home. Not only was Jesus born in Bethlehem, not only was Jesus raised in Nazareth, he eventually grew up, moved out of mom and dad's house, and got a place of his own. In Capernaum. Jesus had a home in Capernaum.

We often skip over 4:13. But soon after 4:13, Jesus calls his first disciples. He calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and we modern-day church-goers are beside ourselves to imagine how these poor fishermen left everything - their boats, their nets, their families, and their homes - to follow Jesus. It's unimaginable. We attribute this fact to Jesus' presence. We imagine (implicitly of course) that Jesus' presence just radiated divinity so of course they were in awe and left everything to follow him. Maybe Jesus is like hypnotist or maybe he's performing a Jedi mind trick.

Jesus' mere presence may have radiated divinity, but this just further perpetuates the view of Jesus as an amorphous, context-less being just passing through this world.

Except for 4:13.

Jesus had a home.

The reason I think this matters is that it also means that Jesus also left everything. By the time he called his first disciples, he had already left his home behind. He knew what he was asking them to do. He knew what he was asking them to give up.

Eventually, yes, 8:20 says Jesus has no place to lay his head. But first, 4:13 tells us he left everything behind for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

And if we truly believe that Jesus is God incarnate, then that's an amazing thing. Whether it's leaving his home, or picking up his cross, God does not ask us to do anything that God has not already done.

Matthew 2 and Exodus 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 17:36:00 +0000

There are a lot of parallels between the passage called "the slaughter of innocents" in Matthew 2 and Pharaoh's orders to kill all the male children in Exodus chapter 1. Here's a reading we did in worship a few years back that connects the dots:

Exodus 1:8-2:6, Matthew 2:1-23

Narrator: In the time of King Herod... (Gesturing toward Reader 1)

Reader 1: ... after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to

Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star

at its rising,and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened,

and all Jerusalem with him;

Narrator: Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph (Gesturing toward Reader 2)

Reader 2: Pharaoh said to his people, “look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more

powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of

war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore, they set taskmasters

over them to oppress them with forced labor.

Reader 1: And Herod, calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of

them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been

written by the prophet:

Narrator: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherdmy people Israel.'"

Reader 2: Then the king of Egypt called for the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named

Shiphrah and the other Puah…”

Reader 1: Then Herod secretly called for the wise menand learned from them the exact time when

the star had appeared.

Reader 2: Then Pharaoh said, “when you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on

the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.”

Reader 1: Then Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the

child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had

seen at its risinguntil it stopped over the place where the child was.

Reader 2: But the midwives feared God…

Reader 1: And when the wise men saw that the star had stopped,they were overwhelmed with joy.

On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him

homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Reader 2: …the midwives let the boys live

Reader 1: And the wise men having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for

their own country by another road.

Narrator: Now after the wise men had left, (gesturing toward reader 1)

Reader 1: An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and

his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the

child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to

Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the

Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

Narrator: Back in Egypt (Gesturing toward reader 2)

Reader 2: God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.

And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

Narrator: But Pharaoh feared the Israelites, and Herod feared Jesus.

Reader 2: So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “why have you done this

and allowed the boys to live?” Then Pharaoh commanded all the people, “Every boy that is born to

the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile.”

Reader 1: When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men he was infuriated, and he sent

and killed all the children in and around Bethany who were two years old or under, according to the

time that he had learned from the wise men.

Narrator: A voice was heard in Ramah

Wailing and Loud Lamentations

Rachel is weeping for her children

She refuses to be consoled because they are no more.

Narrator: Now in Egypt a man from the House of Levi married a Levite Woman. (Gesturing toward Reader 2)

Reader 2: The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid

him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and

plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank

of the river. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked

beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.

When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, and said "This must

be one of the Hebrews' children.”

And she named him Moses, because, she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Narrator: When Herod Died (Gesturing toward Reader 1)

Reader 1: An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up,take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Josephgot up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But

when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go

there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.

All: The Word of the LORD! Amen

Righteous?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 13:53:00 +0000

In the second half of chapter one in the Gospel According to Matthew, the angel appears to Joseph, who is addressed as "Son of David" (see post below on genealogy). The Angel tells Joseph that his fiance Mary is pregnant, but that this is of the Holy Spirit and the child shall be Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

Before the angel appeared, Joseph was planning to break off the marriage quietly. He had thought Mary slept with another man, so he wasn't going to go through with the marriage. But he didn't want to ruin her life, so he planned to break off the engagement quietly. For this reason, the text calls Joseph a "righteous man."

To be righteous was linked to observing Torah. Joseph is called righteous. Which is interesting because he is called righteous even though wasn't literally following the teaching of Torah.

The Torah stipulated that if an engaged woman has sex with another man, then both she and the other man should be stoned (at least it includes both the woman and the man and not just the woman, cf. Deut 22:22-27). In this circumstance, Torah stipulates a very public and a very harsh penalty. Joseph neither inflicts the harm for such offense nor goes public with the accusations. He goes against Torah, yet is still considered righteous. How so?

Yes, righteousness was linked to Torah obedience, but it was also linked to justice and ethics. Another way of saying righteous would be to say "doing right by another person." Or "acting toward another person in a just way."

Joseph may not have been legalistically righteous. But he was righteous on a higher level. He was trying to do right by Mary by not ending her life or ruining her life through public shame (remember at this point Joseph still thought she slept with another man. I don't care who you are or what culture you live in, that hurts).

Perhaps this early lesson in righteousness by Jesus' earthly father Joseph, Son of David, foreshadows the teaching of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham to come in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

Matthew 5:7 - "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy."

Matthew 5:20 - "For unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

Matthew 5:22 - "... but I say to you, do not be angry with a brother or sister..."

Matthew 7:1 - "For the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Matthew 7:12 - "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets."

Indefinite Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 13:14:00 +0000

Tree of Jesus Harrad of Landsberg
(12th century)

I'm a transplant to Ohio. But one thing that is very important to Ohioans is the Ohio State Buckeyes. It's not "Ohio State." It's "THE Ohio State." Not even "the" with a short e, but "THEEEEE" with a long e. THEEE Ohio State.

It makes a big difference. The University of Toledo is "a" university in Ohio, but "THEEE" is reserved only for THEEE Ohio State University.

In Matthew chapter one, right off the bat, we come to "an account" of the genealogy of Jesus. Not "the" account; not "THEEE" account; "an account."

This is important because the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1 and in Luke chapter 3 don't match. For one, Matthew's genealogy goes back to David and Abraham while Luke's goes all the way back to Adam. For two, even the parts that do over lap don't match.

This freaks some people out, as if the bible and therefore the entire gospel are somehow compromised. But it really shouldn't concern us too much. Remember, this is "an account" not "THEEE account."

This is not meant to be a scientific, ancestry.com approach to Jesus' lineage. Matthew is telling a story. And Matthew is speaking to a primarily Jewish audience. In Matthew's story, the indefinite article "an" is not as important as the definite article that follows...

Jesus is "the" messiah... "the" son of David... "the" son of Abraham.

For Matthew it is more important to help his Jewish audience to see that Jesus not only descends from Abraham and David, but that he is also the fulfillment of God's messiah. Yes, Jesus is the son of Abraham, but as the Messiah God is calling forth a new family. Yes, Jesus is the son of David's, but as the Messiah God is establishing a kingdom that will last forever as promised to David.

The articles matter. Don't turn "an account" into "the account" of Jesus' genealogy. But at the same time, don't turn Jesus into just another messiah or just another Son of David or Son of Abraham.

Scribing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 14:06:00 +0000

An image of Baruch
Jeremiah's scribe (Jer 36:4)
by Gustave Doré

"Every scribe who has been trained for the Kingdom of Heaven

is like the master of a household

who brings out of his treasure

what is old and what is new."

Jesus, Matthew 13:51

I've begun a new discipline of scribing. Scribing is just a nerdy word to say I've begun the task of writing all four gospels and the book of Acts by hand. It's also a good excuse to buy well-designed pens, notebooks, and other nerdy paraphernalia.

This discipline was introduced to me by a friend, and it has already been a helpful way to immerse myself in the text, slow down, and get to know scripture better.

Today is November 1st, and I've started scribing the Gospel According to Matthew. The plan is to scribe one chapter per sitting, and then blog a main reflection from my time in the text. These thoughts and reflections will be just that; they will be unrefined, unpolished thought and reflections.
They won't be definitive answers, and they won't even be things I will necessarily preach.

But that's a good thing. I approach the discipline of scribing in a lectio divina kind of way. In the prayer of lectio divina the goal isn't to write systematic theology but to allow God to speak through the text guided by the Spirit. It's a way to deepen one's reflection and love for the biblical scriptures. Sometimes God Spirit does this through following rabbit holes, asking weird questions, and even pushing the boundaries of what is considered right and acceptable. \

So for the next 6-8 months, or however long it takes me, I'll be scribing and reflecting.

"Let not Moses nor any of the prophets speak to me:

Speak Thou, rather, O Lord God,

the inspirer and enlightener

of all the prophets.

For thou alone without them can perfectly instruct me.

But they without Thee will avail me nothing."

Thomas a Kempis

Of the Imitation of Christ

Book 3, Chapter 2

What does it take to make mission missional?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 13:58:00 +0000

Not everything the church does in the name of mission or outreach is missional. A group of friends and I recently brainstormed a top-ten list of things churches think are missional but actually aren't:

10 - Outdoor worship services

9 – Ecumenical worship services

8 – Prayer walks

7 – Serving a meal to the homeless

6 – MCC school kits and relief kits

5 – Community fundraisers

4 - Small groups

3 – Contemporary worship

2 – Handing out tracts

1 – Inviting people to church.

“What!?!,” you may ask. “How is inviting someone to church not missional? And what do you have against small groups?” I in no way mean to suggest these aren't good or important things. I for one love the way our congregation collects school kits for MCC every year. I further agree that many of the things on this list are ways of offering care to those in need. Many of these things represent a service to others. Many of these things show Christ-like love and compassion. Some of these things are even done in public. It doesn't mean they are missional.

To be missional is about recognizing what God is up to in our lives and in our communities, and then responding in faith to the movement of God's Spirit. To be missional requires that in order for our light to shine our hearts and habits must be transformed more and more to be like Jesus. In its very essence, to be missional is to intentionally make disciples of ourselves and our neighbors.

In the book The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, the late Mennonite missiologist and seminary professor Alan Kreider paints a picture of the early church that is virtually the exact opposite of many churches today. Kreider documents how the early church's mission focused on making disciples. New believers attracted to Jesus or to the church went through a lengthy multi-year process of chatechesis and character formation. The goal of this process was for candidates to undergo a transformation that resulted in new habits and dispositions. Only then was a person baptized and admitted into the worship life of the church. The effect of this approach was that it cultivated a culture of discipleship that ensured robust witness to the reign of God in Christ. That's missional.

My, how times have changed. Many churches today are concerned primarily and sometimes solely with how to get more people to attend worship. They think about ways to make their worship services attractional, seeker-sensitive, family friendly, contemporary, relevant, or any other of a host of buzz words. I don't think any of those words could be used to describe the early church, and yet its growth and witness was phenomenal.

Many churches today simply want to get people in the doors, or get more young people to serve on committees, in the hopes that they will develop into mature disciples of Jesus. But as Alan Hirsch warns, “If you start with mission, you get the church. But if you start with the church you don't always get mission.”

It's not that the top ten things I listed at the beginning are bad, or that they can't be missional. But often it requires some important shifts in how we approach them. Are your small groups really deepening discipleship and drawing others in? Or are they a platform for friends to eat and pray together? (again, not a bad thing, just not missional.) Does your volunteering at the local food pantry or homeless shelter result in the spiritual transformation of both served and server? If so, praise God! If not, then we should acknowledge that it is an important act of charity, but not missional. Does your worship form patient, loving, kind, and joyful people in a world of outrage and hostility? Or does your worship merely cater to the consumeristic patterns of empire?

Taking a hard and honest look at those questions is one of the first necessary steps on the road to becoming missional.

Jesus Fatwa

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 May 2017 13:37:00 +0000

I often find my head spinning in an era of fake news, alternative facts, and a never-ending stream of media (social and otherwise). We live in an age of information overload and information manipulation. My brain just doesn’t have the bandwidth available to process and evaluate all of it.

In the midst of this flood I am attempting to build an ark to take shelter in. Rather than just barely treading water trying to make headway into the sea of noise, I have chosen instead to direct my energy by looking backwards to the origins and history of our faith. I don’t mean or intend to ignore serious issues in our world today, but I need to find a way to rise above and to not be held captive

So I have decided to study church history. And I have chosen Justo Gonzalez’s Story of Christianity as my guide.

I’ve only made it through the first 200 years of the church. But during that time, the experience of the early church was one of being misunderstood, misrepresented, and scapegoated. The young Christian church, being a minority faith throughout the Roman Empire, was an easy target by those in power. Christians were misrepresented as…

atheists - because they didn’t believe in the Roman pantheon of gods;

cannibals - because they were said to eat flesh and drink blood when they gather for worship;

incestuous - because they spoke of love toward “brothers” and “sisters”

These outlandish rumors were more or less easy to refute. Harder still were the philosophical misunderstandings that they were haters of human kind and were presumed to have worldviews that were incompatible with Roman civilization.

At extreme points persecution broke out, Christians were scapegoated for disasters and tragedies, and restrictions were placed on where they could live and/or travel.

This history of our faith stood out to me even more by attending the recent Jesus Fatwa events held at the Masjid Saad Foundation in Sylvania. “Jesus Fatwa” means “Jesus Commandment.” Specifically, you shall love your neighbors as yourself (Mark 12:31 and Matthew 22:39).

It wasn’t a dialogue per se, but rather a chance to listen and learn more about the faith and practice and experience of our Muslim neighbors. We have many Muslim neighbors, after all; Toledo is home to the number two per-capita population of Arab and Muslim Americans in our country.

It is said that one of the greatest gifts that we can give to another is to truly listen to them. So while the Jesus Fatwa event wasn’t intended to be a true dialogue, it was nonetheless a significant way to practice Jesus’ commandment to love your neighbor.

As I listened, one of the things that became very clear, is that Muslims in our world today feel compelled to speak up and defend themselves against being misunderstood, misrepresented, and scapegoated. The reminds me of what I'm reading about the history of the early church. The persecution may not be as intense or violent, but the underlying social and relational animosity and mistrust towards this religious minority in our country is very real and alive today. I don’t think I’m saying anything new by naming this.

There were times during the Jesus Fatwa events that I became frustrated. Particularly when some people would make comments like “well, we pretty much all believe the same things.” There are significant differences in our faiths, so I find such simplistic clichés to be unhelpful and also dishonest.

But that’s not to say there aren’t many significant similarities. In regards to Christians and Muslims, our shared history of needing to defend ourselves against false stereotypes is one of those significant similarities.

In an October 2015 speech, Iranian Muslim scholar Navid Kermani gave a speech upon accepting the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade association. In his acceptance speech, he held up the example of an Orthodox Syrian priest named Father Jacques Mourad. Father Jacques’ community in Syria was facing persecution by ISIS. Yet even up unto his point of abduction, Father Jacques continued to stress how ISIS was distorting true Islam.

Navid Kermani expressed his disappointment when other Muslims like himself brush aside the horrors of ISIS by simply saying that violence has nothing to do with Islam. In his view, for him as a Muslim to simply dismiss it is not enough. However, when a person of another faith, a Christian Priest, who is currently under threat from ISIS, defends Islam, that kind of defense of one’s enemy displays inner greatness.

Navid Kermani goes on to say, “Love of one’s own – one’s own culture, one’s own country, (one’s own faith), even one’s own person - proves itself in self-criticism. The love of the other – of another person, another culture, and even another religion – can be far more effusive and (generous).”

These words of the Muslim scholar Navid Kermani remind me of something Jesus said about removing the log in one’s own eye before removing the speck in your neighbors eye.

As I think about what this means for how we love our Muslim neighbors in our city and in our country, I think it leads us to three very practical and basic postures.

Listen. Listen to our Muslim neighbors as they defend themselves against misrepresentation. And listen to our Muslim neighbors as human beings full of hopes, fears, and daily concerns just like everyone else.
Let Muslims interpret their own faith to us. Much as we Christians have ways of understanding the violence of the Old Testament in light of the fuller revelation of God in Christ, many Muslims like Navid Kermani, and those who presented at the Jesus Fatwa, have resources within their own faith understanding to self-correct and self-interpret. I don’t like when non-Christians, Atheists, or other faiths presume to tell me the true meaning of Christianity. And we are called to treat others as we want to be treated – another one of Jesus’ fatwas.
Finally, we love our Muslim neighbors by sharing our faith openly and honestly with them. It does no good to lie or ignore serious differences. And why would we not want to share the ways that Jesus has transformed our lives by the grace and truth of God? For true dialogue to take place, we must not only listen but also speak. But we must keep in mind that this takes time. This is not just a matter of listening once or twice and then concluding that we’ve gotten that over with, so now we can get on to the business of speaking and arguing. With centuries of tension, misunderstanding, and misrepresentation in both directions, this takes time. But perhaps, if we do steps one and two regularly, and over time, God will open up doors to move into this third step.

Much like with the early church, people who are willing, wise, and mature, can easily distinguish ridiculous rumors from truth if they just take the time to do so. Deeper philosophical and theological differences will naturally require more serious engagement with respect and honesty.

My take-away from this learning event is this:

Let us as Christians take Jesus’ words seriously. Let us love our neighbors as ourselves. The early church faced gross exaggerations and mischaracterizations. Let’s not do that to our Muslim neighbors. Let us hold ourselves accountable to refute and resist the ridiculous rumors of our Muslim neighbors that circulate within our own churches, families, and friendships.

And if we do that, and do that well, consistently, and with conviction, then I believe we will then get on to more mature matters of engagement and dialogue.

Spiritual Resistance: Flipping the holiday script

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 17:49:00 +0000

Twenty to thirty years ago when I was growing up in the Mennonite church, we rarely observed Lent or Advent. As a child I asked my mom why all my Catholic friends give up something for Lent but we didn’t. She said, “Well, we try to live our whole lives in Lent.”

Certainly there is much to ponder in that statement in terms of simple living, but the underlying reality was that Lent (and to a lesser degree Advent) where things that other Christians do but we Mennonites (and Evangelicals) don’t.

That’s no longer the case today. Over the past generation more and more Mennonites (and Evangelicals) are recovering the traditions of Lent and Advent as periods of prayer, preparation, and spiritual renewal leading up to the two biggest Christian holy days.

I believe that one reason for this recovery is that we are far enough removed from historical animosities to realize that there are good things in those “high church” traditions. We are now able to admit that we’ve discarded too much over the centuries.

But I also believe that another reason for this recovery is because we intuitively know that we need fully-formed religious practices to withstand the forces of commercialization and consumerism that continue to co-opt our holy days.

Our somewhat-Christian but secular and consumeristic culture lacks patience. Therefore, a typical lead-up to and celebration of Easter goes like this:

Spring sales, candy, flowers, egg hunts, pictures with the Easter bunny, then off to church on Easter Sunday, followed by dinner at grandma’s, then it’s all over.

This sequence is even worse for Christmas:

Thanksgiving, black Friday, cyber Saturday, more shopping, office parties, school plays, lights, more shopping, hot mocha peppermint lattes, shopping and finally some more shopping, then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, then it’s all over.

Our society celebrates too early and ends too abruptly. As a result, we suffer from post-holiday let-down. The end result of the holiday is more disappointment and emptiness than lasting joy and fulfillment.

The church needs disciplines of spiritual resistance to come out from this pagan rhythm and flip the cultural holiday script. We can do this in two steps.

First, we resist the temptation to celebrate too early by observing the seasons of Lent and Advent. Our worship and discipleship should mine these spiritual seasons for depth in order to curb our appetites and focus our hearts.

Then, we resist the let-down of ending to abruptly by prolonging the celebration. Easter should not just be one day of worship but a season of basking in the resurrection. Sing Easter songs for weeks after Easter Sunday. Don’t buy or use any Easter decorations or candy until after Easter (you’ll even save money by getting everything on clearance). Have people over for dinner the Sunday after Easter Sunday.

Do similar things for Christmas too. Christmas is not just one day of presents but a time of resting in Christ’s presence. Don’t sing Christmas carols until Christmas, but then keep singing them through January. Recover the 12 days of Christmas and give one present each day for 12 days starting on Christmas.

Flipping these holiday scripts would remind us as the church that though we are in the world, we are not of the world. We may not be able to totally buck the system of consumerism around us, but we can set up spaces of sanctuary from the chaos around us through worship, prayer, and spiritual discipline.

Easter Message

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 19:03:00 +0000

It is not the goal of the church to say anything new on Easter. Rather it is the goal of the church to say something faithful to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

The church gathers for worship on Easter to keep the memory and hope of resurrection alive.

This is a vital act of faith; to proclaim the suffering love of God and God’s redemptive victory within the world of death.

Jesus stresses three times throughout his ministry that it is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer, be rejected and crucified, and to rise again on the third day. Jesus warned and told his disciples about this, but they were slow to download this message into their hearts and lives. How could they? This was complete and utter newness beyond their wildest hopes and dreams.

Our society and culture worship at the altar of the new and the novel. The world competes after hot takes and first scoops and innovative technologies. Trendy is the currency of the day. Something that is old is assumed to be obsolete.

The gods of mammon and consumption, whether of things or ideas, and the systems of market production and technological progress have invaded imaginations. And let us be humble enough to admit that these gods have infected our faith at times as well.

The wisdom of scripture proclaims that there is nothing new under the sun. All this competition for the newest and latest is really the age-old human quest for power. It is really just the age-old race to the top; the top of politics, the top of the market, the top of the academy, the top of the family, the top of our friendship circles, etc.

All this has been done before, and so it is, in fact, all so very old. This obsession, this race for the new and the novel has left a wake of disaster and will leave you stretched thin, tired, anxiety-ridden, and driven toward despair and nihilism.

It will, in the end, kill you.

On Easter (as we should every Sunday) the church steps out of this very old race for the illusion of the new and the novel. Instead of saying anything particularly new today, the church aims to say something specifically faithful.

The church proclaims Christ crucified, Christ executed, Christ assassinated, like a common criminal, like a disturber of the peace.

The scripture makes clear that he was executed by a perversion of justice between religious and political powers; a collusion of church and state.

What was his crime? He healed the sick and spoke good news to the poor. He welcomed the outcasts and ate with sinners. He spoke against sacred institutions, preached openly about the coming Kingdom of God, and called all to change their hearts and lives.

But on that first day of the week as recorded in the gospels, something changed. For the first time something new actually happened.

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared, but they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5).

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

It’s not there. You won’t find it there.

The body of Christ is not to be found in that which is dying and decaying and fading away. Rather the living of Christ is to be found out beyond the tomb, out beyond the places of death.

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

So why look for the living among the dead?

That is the Easter question. That is the Easter question that summons us to true newness.

So often in our human quest for power we look for newness and significance among the tombs. We settle for a mere resuscitation of what has already been tried before, but is merely repackaged and re-branded as something novel.

But Easter is not just one more go-round with resuscitated, old ideas.

Easter is about resurrection!

John of Patmos recounts the words of Christ in the concluding witness of all of scripture, “See, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

This is Easter: Complete and total newness. Not a resuscitation of old ideas. Not a recycling of old and tired games into new and fancy packaging.

Easter is about resurrection. Easter is about Jesus, the son of God, entering into creation, suffering and dying at the hands of that very creation, but being raised up again to redeem, ransom, and transform all of creation into something completely new.

Each of us must consider the burdens and sorrows that we carry. Each of us must examine the sin that weighs on our conscience. Each of us must name and lament the miscarriages of justices that are heavy on our hearts. It is on account of these that Christ died. But it is in spite of these that Christ now lives and calls us to follow him in newness of life.

Because the resurrection is God’s answer and God’s solution to all our personal, social, and yes, even our political problems.

It is only the hope by which our lives and our world are transformed.

This is the resurrection.

And I believe in the resurrection.

And I have hope in the resurrection.

Both for this life, and in the life to come.

Thanks be to God

Christ is Risen!

AMEN

Zurich

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 14:48:00 +0000

After our trip to Bodensee, we decided to take a spontaneous trip into Switzerland to visit Zurich. This wasn't an original part of our sabbatical plans, but we were only 1.5 hrs away and it's Zurich... why wouldn't we go?

So on Tuesday April 7th we cleared out of our vacation home in Bodensee, Dave and Rebekka and their kids drove back to Bammental, but we loaded into our VW Passat for a day in Switzerland.

I'm glad we did. Zurich was amazing. One of, if not the, most beautiful city I've ever been in. We had a wonderful day too; it was a bit cool, but not cold, and very sunny. I wish we would have had more than 4-5 hours there.

Walking around a city is not Roslyn's favorite thing to do. In fact, she hates it. We knew this going into it. But still. It was worth dealing with her tantrums and fits for the opportunity.

Zurich is also an important city in Reformation/Anabaptist history. To the left is a picture of the Grossmunster, the cathedral where Ulrich Zwingli began his reforms in Switzerland. Zwingli was an influential leader and peer to Martin Luther during the Reformation. He also was the teacher of Felix Manz and Conrad Grebel, students of his who would go in a more radical direction and become leaders in of the Anabaptist Movement. Several debates between Zwingli and the Anabaptist ensued. Eventually, the Anabaptist broke with Zwingli and his reforms. The Anabaptists wanted a free church that was separate from state influence/control, rejected the use of the sword as a tool of the church, and advocated baptism for adults upon an open confession of faith.

Sitting outside the Grossmunster, I imagined what it would be like 500 years ago when these men worshiped, studied, debated, and argued together in this very place.

Just beind the Grossmunster, on a small street called Neustadtgasse, was the location of the first adult re-baptisms ever recorded. On January 21, 1525, on the street pictured to the left, Conrad Grebel baptized George Balurock in the home of Felix Manz's mother. After Blaurock was baptized, he then baptized the others present. This was a powerful rejection of the state-sanctioned baptism of the Catholic and Reformation churches of the day. It also marked a significant moment in the development of the Anabaptist movement. And it all took place on this little alley right in the shadow of the Grossmunster itself.

The Anabaptist leaders were ordered to stop their baptizing, teaching, and evangelism or leave Zurich. When they refused, they were further threatened with imprisonment, fines, and even death. Still, the Anabaptists refused and remained true to their convictions.

In particular, Felix Manz continued to preach and baptize and give leadership to the Anabaptist movement. He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and put on trial. In the picture to the left, the two towers are cathedral spires of the Grossmunster, the bridge is the place where Manz was sentenced to death, and the place where I took the picture is the place where he was drowned in the Limmat river on January 5, 1527. For all it's beauty, there is a tragic history that took place here.

But it's not without hope. When I was in the Grossmunster, after admiring the architectural beauty I went to the book table. On the table I saw the book pictured to the right, which I bought. It is true that steps toward reconciliation have happened. The Reformed church has made official confession of their persecution of Anabaptists, and Anabaptists have also expressed a commitment to walking together in peace.

I had a brief conversation with the man at the book table in the Grossmunster. Through a combination of his broken English and my limited German he made sure I had the directions to the Shipfe, the location where Manz was drowned. It was a moment in which I felt like we both owned our common history together and are striving to learn and grow from it.

Frohe Ostern!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 13:52:00 +0000

On Easter Sunday we attended worship service at Dave and Rebekka's church. We got really good at saying "frohe ostern" which is German for "Happy Easter."

Like any pastor, Dave and Rebekka were busy during Holy Week. But once Easter Sunday was over, their schedules freed up. To celebrate we all took a road trip to the very south of Germany to Lake Constance. The Germans call it Bodensee, which literally means "bottom see" because you can see the bottom through the crystal clear water.

Bodensee isn't internationally know, but it's a place where Germans go to vacation. I would compare it to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Northern Michigan (only substitute the sand dunes for medieval towns and castles). Rebekka's mother works at managing vacation condos, so she hooked us up with a last minute deal for all of us to go down for two nights.

When you look south across the lake, you are looking at Switzerland to the SW and Austria to the SE. You can also see the snow-caped Alps in the background. The view was much more magnificent than what my Sony Cyber-Shot 10x zoom could capture.

We met Rebekka's parents and sister at their home, and the kids had an Easter egg hunt.

Rebekka's mom served us Kaffee and Kuchen at 4:00. It consisted of rolls, danishes, and "bee-sting cake," which is a delicious honey cake as the name implies.

I thought this would be our supper for the day, so I ate a lot.

But I was wrong. Because at around 6:00 they served us a full-on Aben Brot, which means "evening bread." This is the typical German supper that consists of fresh bread, sliced meats and cheeses, lots of butter, fruits and veggies, and other sides such as olives, pickles, etc.

The next day we were able to work off some of the food from the night before by walking around Bodensee and the town of Meersburg where we toured a castle.

Back in Toledo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 14:32:00 +0000

We've arrived safely back to Toledo. Our 9-hour return flight from Frankfurt to Detroit went smoothly, mostly because Roslyn watch TV for six of those nine hours. We landed yesterday at 3:00 Eastern Time, which is 9:00 Germany time. The girls both fell asleep in the car on the way home from the airport, and that helped us stretch to 7:30 before going to bed. Then the girls got up a little before 5:00 am this morning, but that wasn't even so bad.

What an amazing trip! It's hard to even describe it at this point. In total, we spent 50 days abroad in five different countries speaking three different languages. We had four flights, two train rides, one long-distance bus ride, a boat ride, dozens of hours in cars, and numerous trips on subways, trams, and buses. We slept in 8 different locations, and I lost count of how many homes and restaurants we ate in. We saw amazing beauty in very different climates, and of course we interacted with amazing friends all over the world. Such and adventure!

I've fallen behind on some posts, so even though our travels are over now I still plan to write a post about our trip to Zurich and a post about some other events in Germany.

Since our girls were up early, and we had no food in the fridge, we went out for breakfast at Uncle John's Pancake house in Toledo. Emiley and I were craving biscuits and gravy.

Then we went to the Toledo Farmers Market to buy some food for the week. It was fun to see the vendors we've come to know at the market. Now it's 10:30 and I'm not sure what we'll do for the rest of the day ahead.

Anabaptist History: Augsburg

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 18:10:00 +0000

On Wednesday April 1st, Dave and I took a trip to Augsburg with Wolfgang Krauss, who is the regional expert on Anabaptist History. Dave has known Wolfgang since Dave's parents were missionaries in Germany when he was just a boy. Dave has also been a colleague of Wolfgang's since Dave did an international service assignment at the Mennonite Peace Committee office here in Bammental.

So thanks to Dave for arranging a private tour of Augsburg with the leading Anabaptist expert in Germany. Much of what we saw I had already learned about in Anabaptist history courses, but of course it was nice to see for my self. Here are some of the sights we saw.

This street is the location where Hans Denck baptized Hans Hut, and is located next to the old city gate. It is known to be the sencond adult re-baptism upon confession of faith that took place in Augsburg because of the records of Hans Hut's arrest and trial. Scholars still wonder who was the first Anabaptist in Augsburg, with the leading theory being Hans Denck himself. But since no records exist, it is merely speculation.

The two pictures above are of a house in Augsburg at the corner of Hinterer Lech and Schleifergasschen. It was the house of Susanna Daucher who hosted Anabaptist gatherings. Eventually, her and the house were discovered by the ecclesial authorities and many people were arrested and imprisoned. Susanna herself was then banished from Augsburg. Wolfgang was instrumental in getting this memorial plaque placed on the house, and it is the first officially-recognized commemoration of the Anabaptists in the city of Augsburg.

This intersection is where the old horse market was located. It is significant because city records indicated that a meeting of 60 leading Anabaptists took place in a "house near the horse market." It was at this meeting that some core convictions were agreed upon by Anabaptists in Switzerland and Southern Germany, and from this meeting the participants were sent out two-by-two to do evangelism across the region. This meeting of Anabaptists became known as the Martyrs' Synod because eventuall 58 of the 60 participants were tracked down, arrested, and martyred. You can read more about it by clicking here and here, and here.

These two photos are of the meeting place of the modern-day Augsburg Mennonite Church. They meet in a cafe/club called the Neruda, named after the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda because he's the owner's favorite poet. The Neruda is a cafe throughout the week, and closed on Sundays. Wolfgang got to know the owner and came up with an arrangement where the church can use the space once a month on Sunday morning. They start their gathering with a potluck meal, then sing a few songs, have conversation around a scripture passage, share communion, and then close with a prayer and benediction. We went into the Neruda on this particular night and it was packed with people listening to live music.

Berlin to Bammental

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 14:43:00 +0000

We said goodbye to the Whites and left Berlin on Saturday, March 28. Roslyn was sad to say goodbye to her new friend Ariella, and we of course were also bummed to say goodbye to Ryan and Alethia. It had been about three years since we had last seen them, and who knows how long it will be until we see each other again.

We had a good train ride from Berlin all the way to Bammental. It involved two transfers, one in Frankfurt, and one in Heidelberg. Both transfers went smoothly and we've found we really enjoy train travel. Train travel is the way to go; less stressed and cramped then air travel, and more leisurely than car travel.

Our train out of Berlin left at around 11:30, so we were soon ready for lunch after departure. We decided to go to the dining car, and we had a really good and pleasant meal. Also, Roslyn made a new friend (which has become a theme of our travels). You can see the little girl in the background, and her name was Johanna. She and her mom even invited Roslyn to go with them to their car and play for awhile after lunch. Which was great for us because we took Liz back to our car for a nap and then Emiley and I had some adult time to ourselves.

After about a 6-hour trip we arrived in Bammental. Bammental is a village of about 6,000 people in the hills of southern Germany about 20 minutes from Heidelberg and one hour from Frankfurt.

To the left is a picture of our little apartment where we are staying in the Hausgemeinschaft.

We are visiting our friends Dave and Rebekka Stutzman who are in Bammental through a partnership with Mennonite Mission Network, Virginia Mennonite Missions, and the Mennonite Conference here in Germany. They are working as part-time pastors with an intentional community while also doing some networking among Anabaptist-minded young adults. When their term ends later this year, they will be starting a new church planting project. In my mind, Dave and Rebekka will make excellent church planters, and it's been exciting to catch up with them about their ministry, talk theology, and dream big dreams.

Thus far we've been worshiping with the community for Holy Week as well as taking some time to visit the surrounding areas. I'll post more about our adventures later, but let me just say, Southern Germany is gorgeous. It is quintessential Germany in my mind. The weather has been cool and rainy, but even so, that hasn't stopped us from getting off on the right foot here in Bammental.

Sight Seeing in Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 15:56:00 +0000

I've really enjoyed Berlin. Talk about an efficient, well designed city; it really fits the German stereotype, and I like it. It doesn't look a lot like what I think of when i think of Germany, and that's because most of the city was destroyed in WWII. The city of Berlin that exists today is therefore a relatively "new" city because most of the buildings are newly built.

Throughout our week with the Whites, we had time here and there to go around and see some of the sights. Here are a few of the memorable ones....

The Holocaust memorial is an abstract display made up of concrete rectangular blocks of varying sizes. As you walk through the exhibit, the blocks get larger, and it becomes more maze-like. It is meant to give the effect of experiencing other people gradually disappear.

The Bradenburg Gate is one of the most well-known and popular sights in Berlin. Next to it is the Reichstag (government) Building which we also toured.

Even the playgrounds in Berlin are creatively- and well-designed. Each one has a unique theme, and they are equipped with zip-lines, rope bridges, and all kinds of abstract climbing structures that go really high. It's too bad these kinds of playgrounds would never be approved in the United Stated due to liability concerns. They are fun for children and adults.

One afternoon Ryan and I rode around the city on bikes and stopped at two sights. The first sight, pictured to the left, was a memorial of mentally and physically handicapped people who were systematically murdered during the Nazi regime....

.... The second sight, pictured to the left, was a memorial to those who resisted the Nazi regime. Inside was a large exhibit dedicated to the resisters, which included information about Theologians like Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, among other Christian leaders who spoke out against Nazism.

On one of our last days, we went to see the Berlin Wall. You can see the wall in the background. Behind the wall is one of the few (if not the only) remaining building from the Hitler Regime. Most have been demolished or destroyed, but this one still remains and is now a government finance building.

Right next to the wall is a museum called the Topography of Terror. It is in this location because this is where the central administration of the 3rd Reicht was located. Many of the atrocities committed were a direct result of decisions and orders given from this site.

On this particular afternoon that we visited the Topography of Terror, Roslyn was in a very feisty mood. She was running and dancing and being loud, and wouldn't listen to our instructions to walk, calm down, and be quiet. At first this really bothered me. Partly because she wouldn't follow my instructions, but also because I was worried that her behavior was disrespectful to the others who were visiting the memorial. But then, as I took a minute to think about it a bit more, my perspective changed. I realized that there is something beautiful about an energetic little girl dressed in a bright green coat and full of energy and joy singing and dancing in a place that was formerly a sight of horrific violence and evil. When I realized that, I was glad to let her be the exuberant girl she is, and I believe God was smiling in that moment too.

Seder

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 12:32:00 +0000

Preparing the Lamb

Yesterday, 25 March 2015, at 4:00 Berlin time, we commenced our Seder tradition. We were with the Whites and their friends Ben and Melissa. Ben and Melissa are Mennonite Brethren church planters here in Berlin.

This is the 9th time that we have celebrated Seder, and it has become a significant event for us during the Easter season. The first 5 years we celebrated in Pasadena during seminary. Since then, our friends have scattered but we've continued to observe the tradition whenever possible. We have gathered in Ritzville WA, Sauderton PA, Toledo, OH, and now Berlin Germany.

Preparing the Toum

In addition to being a wonderful feast with good friends, the Seder meal is an important faith experience for me as well. It recounts the Exodus story, and the liturgy we use connects the story of Israel to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It's very rich in tradition, and it makes significant connections between both testaments of the Christian scriptures. My faith iss always deepened each year through both the liturgy and the conversations that have taken place around our 9 Seder tables.

Preparing the Falafel

Preparing the Salad

At the end of a Jewish Seder liturgy, I understand that it ends with the line, "Next year in Jerusalem." The liturgy we use ends with the line, "Next year in Peace." We've often adapted that closing statement to point toward the location of the next time and place where we might celebrate Seder. The last time we celebrated Seder was two years ago when the Whites were just preparing to move to Berlin. We ended that Seder with, "Next year in Berlin!" It took two years, but we are glad that this year, we were able to fulfill that hope.

So this year in Berlin. Next year, who knows. But wherever it may be, may it be done in the peace that God offers the world through the resurrection of Christ.

Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 19:57:00 +0000

We flew from Nairobi back to Amsterdam on March 19. The over-night flight went well, and I'm really impressed at how well our girls do on our travel days. They both slept almost the entire time. We arrived in Amsterdam at 5:00 am, made it to the Owl Hotel by 6:30, took a morning nap, and had breakfast around 9:30.

The last few days before leaving Africa, we all came down with some kind of food-bug. Roslyn and Lizette both threw up at different times, and Emiley and I had episodes of nausea. We were concerned about the girls, so on our last day in Nairobi we made an appointment with a doctor who comes and visits guests at the Mennonite Guest House. He gave us a lot of reassurance that it wasn't anything serious (like malaria), and that we should just keep the girls hydrated and it will all clear up in a few days. Sure enough, it did, and we were glad to get through the flight without incident.

So after a good flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam followed by an over-night in Amsterdam, we took the train to Berlin on April 21st. We are visiting our good friends Ryan and Alethia White and their daughter Ariella for our time here. They are in Berlin through an appointment with the Presbyterian Church USA. They are sharing a position at a church as a pastors to Iranian expats and refugees who are moving to Berlin.

One of our main agenda items for our time here is to celebrate a Seder meal with the Whites. For all 5 years of our seminary experience together, we celebrated a Seder meal with the Whites. In fact, it was that very first Seder meal of our first year in seminary which Ryan initiated that really cemented our friendship with the Whites. We've kept the tradition going even after seminary, and it's such a gift to celebrate with them again, this time in Berlin!

So far, we've been exploring Berlin using the metro and bus system. And we also took time to enjoy some classic German fair at a beer hall in Potsdam. It was very yummy. Glad our stomachs are back to normal so we can enjoy it :)

Goodbye Dodoma

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 14:13:00 +0000

Our time in Dodoma has come to an end. It wasn't always easy to navigate such a cross-cultural context with two young girls, but it was definitely a growing experience that we will never forget.

We got to see old friends like Pastor Musa and Pastor Manase and their families. Emiley and I hosted Musa and Manase in our home when they visited Toledo in November of 2012. It was good to see them in their context and spend time with their families in their homes.

In total, I preached five times, had several more formal introductions where I brought greetings from Toledo along with some kind of brief meditation, and dozens of more introductions to many different people.

We visited Shirati Mennonite Church, Tarime Mennonite Church, two Mennonite churches in Dodoma, two hospitals started by Mennonite Missionaries, The University of Dodoma, the Serengeti National Park, and probably some other things I'm forgetting.

On our last night, our hosts threw a big going-away party in their home...

It was long, and we were tired, but it was a special and fitting way to say good bye.

Then on Monday we took the 6-hour (no, make that 9-hour) drive from Dodoma to Arusha. We stayed in Arusha over-night where we said goodbye to our wonderful driver, Shomari. Even though he doesn't speak much English, and we don't speak much Swahili, we really got to know him and appreciated his companionship.

On Tuesday, we took a bus from Arusha to Nairobi and checked into the Amani Garden's Guest House by mid-afternoon. The bus ride and border-crossing actually went really smoothly, and it was nice to be back on familiar ground.

We fly from NBO to AMS on Thursday night, spend a day in Amsterdam, and then take the train to Berlin to see our friends, Ryan and Alethia White. I'm really getting excited for this next phase of the sabbatical.