Theology of Sexuality (Sex Series: Week 1)

Sometimes people ask me why we are doing a sermon series on sex. One of my pastor friends was completely shocked when I told him. It’s dangerous and difficult to talk about sex so publicly. People might get offended. I might say something wrong. This is a hard topic to talk about, so why are we doing it.

Well, sexuality is an essential part of our humanity. We might avoid talking about our sexuality, but we can’t avoid our sexuality. It is always with us because it is part of our humanness.

Also, sex has deep spiritual and theological implications. We’ll talk about that more today.

And, we’re talking about sex simply because it is dangerous and difficult to talk about. We shouldn’t take the easy way out. We should run into the most difficult, most dangerous topics and address them directly. We should live in the storm of life because it doesn’t stop storming just because we talk about nice things.

To be honest, it was kind of hard to get this series started. I couldn’t find any jokes that wouldn’t get me fired. I didn’t even try to find any videos that were … appropriate. And Sarah made me promise not tell any personal stories.

The way some Christians talk about sex, one wonders how Christians ever have children. Sometimes, Christians have said some pretty bad things about sex. So we’ll start by talking about some of the negative views on sex that Christians have held or taught. ...

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Going to St. Louis

We'll be going to St. Louis tomorrow. Sarah's sister, Elizabeth, is marrying a great guy named Michael on Saturday. We'll head out tomorrow morning, and we'll be back 7 days later. We'll have a grand total of 5 days in the USA. Two of those days Emma and I will be driving down to Little Rock to visit my grandparents.

Emotional Baggage (Personal Health Series - Week 4)

We’re starting today with something we haven’t done in a while: audience participation time. I’m tired of doing all the talking, so I want you folks to get more involved. Here’s your question: What did you pack when you came to Cheonan? (If you happen to be one of the few people here born in Cheonan, then maybe you can answer: “What did you pack on your last big trip?”) First, turn to someone nearby and tell them a few things you packed.

….

OK. Now shout out some of your answers. What did you pack when you came to Cheonan?

….

We all packed the normal stuff: clothes, shoes, books, a toothbrush, maybe a computer. But we may have been packing more than we realized.

• Did anyone pack along some bitterness?
• How about some old wounds that just haven’t healed?
• Has anyone discovered deep feelings of unworthiness hiding in your suitcase?
• You might be like me and have a strong hunger for approval in your carry-on.
• Maybe you take resentment with you everywhere you go.

Today is our fourth week in our series on personal health, and we’re talking about emotional baggage. Emotional baggage is all deep down hidden stuff that we rarely see but really affects our lives. It’s like an American Express card. We “don’t leave home without it.” ...

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Firsts Following Firsts (Annual Report 2009)

This fall we are 15 years old. (So how old are we in Korean years?) To get a feeling for how much we've grown, I thought it might be fun for us to look at some of our previous “firsts.”

• The first baby born in our church (Jenny Mitchel's daughter 2001). (The next baby was Esther Kim in 2006.)

• The first Advisory Council was elected in 2003. For our first 8 years before that, we were just a hodge-podge group that worshiped together.

• Our first mission trip (Indonesia, 2004). We are now planning our fourth, and we're hoping to do one every year.

• Our first year with regular heat in the winter (2005). That may not seem like such a big deal, but it's easier to worship when you don't have to wear gloves and a hat just to stay warm!

• Our first store room – a tiny janitors closet, which we were forced to get because we bought a drum set (2005).

• Our first assistant pastor - Hoom Jeong (2005)

• Our first big attendance day: 79 (2005). We were really excited about 79 people back then!

• More than 50% of our regular attenders from outside the KNU community (2005)

• First after church snack time – started just once a month (2005). I remember our fellowship team feeling really concerned about trying to do it every week.

• First website – a free blog that Susan Kim set up for us (2005)

• First church members to get married (Mark and Naomi, 2005)

• First baptisms (2006)

• First time to have organized children and youth activities (2006)

• First time worshiping in Patch Hall and at a “normal” time (2006). Before this, our worship services began bright and early at 9 a.m.

• First time to have more than one Korean on the Advisory Council (2006)

• First time to have more than one returning Advisory Council member (2007)

• First time to take in members and to be an official Church of the Nazarene (2007)

• First church soccer team (2007) ...
  

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Culture Shock (Personal Health Series: Week 3)

<<Culture Shock Video>>

Everyone gets culture shock. It's normal. It's healthy. It's unavoidable. It's also funny and annoying and depressing and depleting and confusing and sneaky. (Sometimes you are having culture shock even when you don't realize it.) Here in this church, we are blessed or cursed with more culture shock than the average community.

The Bible often deals with themes of culture shock. When the Israelites left Egypt, they complained, “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!” (Numbers 11:5-6). One of my friends is an engineering executive at a Korean company here in Cheonan. He told me when he sends his Korean engineers to England for training, they pack one suitcase with clothes and one suitcase with ramyeon! Food has always been part of culture shock.

When the leaders of Israel were captured and taken into exile in Babylon, they wrested with culture shock, and they were tempted toward isolation. But God sent them a message through Jeremiah: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. ... Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:4-7).

But culture shock isn't always pretty. ...

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Healthy Habits (Personal Health - Week 1)

It was generally not a good idea to get sick in ancient times. Doctors had some pretty crazy ideas about how to cure diseases.

For example, in cultures around the world, one of the most common methods of treating insanity has been trepanation. The basic theory is that people go insane because there are demons or evil spirits trapped in their heads. How do you get the demons out? Well, you drill a nice little hole as an escape route. Unfortunately, the people tend to loose a lot of blood and maybe some brains along with the “demons.”


And, you all know Charles Darwin, the guy who made the theory of evolution famous. Well, his grandfather believed that sleep could cure all kinds of diseases. Not able to get to sleep? No problem, the cure for insomnia is simple: spinning, lots of spinning. Apparently, Grandpa Darwin would put people on a chair on wheels or something and just spin them round and round until they passed out. Unfortunately, it didn’t cure any diseases, but on the upside, it might have given birth to some great carnival rides.

One of the oldest medical remedies is bloodletting. The theory was that, sometimes, we just have too much blood or too much blood in the wrong places. For the body to regain balance, we have to let that blood get out. So the doctor would cut you and let you bleed out all that bad blood. It turns out that we actually need our blood, so letting it bleed out is generally a bad thing.


Here’s my favorite. 3-4,000 years ago Egypt had the best medicine of anyone around. They really knew their stuff, but even they came up with some crazy ideas. Here is their cure for skin sores or lesions: “After the scab has fallen off, put on it scribe’s excrement, mix in fresh milk and apply as a poultice.” Let’s see: scribe poo + milk = skin cream. Any takers? Maybe we could sell the idea to Skin Food or Bath and Body. It makes you soft as a baby’s bottom!


So the old doctors didn’t always know how to help us get better if we got sick. However, they did know how to stay healthy.

In the 13th century, a group of doctors in West Wales recorded the best medical wisdom in their tradition. Here is what they said about the basics of health:

Whosoever shall eat or drink more or less than he should, or shall sleep more or less, or shall labour more or less from idleness or from hardship … without a doubt he will not escape sickness.

An ancient Chinese proverb advises:

He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. ...


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Vision Month (Week 4): Global Change through Local Action

According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the wisest and most cunning human who ever lived. Unfortunately for him, this all led to some conflict with the gods. He stuck his nose into a love triangle involving Jupiter, and he fooled the gods of death two separate times, adding years to his life.

Finally, however, the gods won out. They sentenced Sisyphus to one of the most famous punishments in the history of the world. Every day, he pushed a huge round stone to the top of a high hill. After struggling all day to reach the top, the stone rolled back down to the bottom of the hill. Sisyphus punishment was meaningless work, forever. He was cursed with an unsolvable problem that he just had to fix.

When we hear the statistics of global poverty, we can feel a lot like Sisyphus. 3 billion people living on less than 2,500 won a day. 25,000 children die every day because of poverty. 2.6 billion people lack decent toilets or clean water. 1.8 million children die every year diarrhea.

When we talk in millions and billions, the problem of global poverty seems like an impossible mountain. We look at the pictures of the starving children, and our heart knows that we must do something. But our brain reminds us that we can’t feed billions. If we give 1 or 1,000 or even 100,000 kids enough medicine to prevent diarrhea, there will still be 1.7 million who die from it this year.

After a while, it all feels like rolling that stone up the hill, day after day. We can work hard. We can give our lives to helping others. Yet, it can still feel meaningless because of the millions and billions we didn’t help. Sometimes, it seems as if the whole world has the curse of Sisyphus. Sometimes, it feels like we’re cursed with an unsolvable problem we just have to fix.

So what do we do? Well, some of us keep pushing that stone up the hill. But others of us, give up on that all together. We just quit trying. Some of us even quote Jesus as support for giving up on the fight against poverty, “The poor will always be among you.” We forget that he also said, “Whatever you do to the least of these you to do to me.” But when there are 1 billion “least of these” who need our help, the problem just seems too large.

But we have special powers that Sisyphus didn’t have. In fact, we have three special powers that completely change the game. ...

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Vision Month (Week 3): Multicultural Community

Our world is fractured, separated, segregated, split, divided. And this cuts to the core of our hearts, for deep down our souls know our world and our hearts are designed for wholeness and harmony.

Globalization pushes us together and forces the essential fragmentation of humanity into eyes. We see this theme emerge again and again in our movies and stories. Consider just a few examples:

· Shakespeare's classic story of Romeo and Juliet. The tragic lovers from two divided families shine a light on the brokenness of their world.

· The Lord of the Rings series is asking the question of whether we can overcome our differences to make the world safe and whole.

· Remember the Titans tells the story of a championship football team when the black high school suddenly merges with the white high school. The fundamental question is whether we really can get along.

· Beauty and the Beast challenges the cultural fragmentation that happens when we place too high a value on external beauty.

· The Little Mermaid – amid all its cuteness and fun songs – deals with the serious theme of cross-cultural marriages.

In his book, Sex God, Rob Bell argues that our world is designed to be whole, one … diverse – yes! - but sharing a fundamental unity, soaked with loving relationships. But Bell says, “our world isn't [whole]. It isn't one. It's broken, shattered, fractured, with pieces laying all over the floor.”

So when we see people who come together out of brokenness and find wholeness and peace, it touches something deep in our souls. It connects with our deepest longings and our deepest hopes. We need peace. We need wholeness. We need community amid our diversity. It is a deep, deep craving of our soul, and without it we will forever be malnourished. ...

To continue reading this sermon, click here.

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Vision Month (Week 2): Renewed by Love

KNU International English Church
Josh Broward
September 6, 2009


Drama: Table is set at center stage with: large bowl (preferably glass); two large spoons; tongs; medium size glass bowl; pitcher of water; hand towel; 50,000 won bill; large variety of strange ingredients (mustard, kimchi, corn flakes, peanut butter, dirt, old bugs, chocolate syrup, fish, etc.). Next to table is a large trash can with liner.
Person A:
1)Pick up 50,000 won bill and slowly, carefully shows it to audience.
2)Put 50,000 won bill into large glass bowl.
3)Slowly and dramatically add all “ingredients” to large glass bowl.
4)Mix thoroughly.
5)Smell and attempt to taste.
6)Dump bowl into garbage can.
7)Exit stage.
Person B:
1)Enter with Person A. Sit in chair at stage left.
2)Watch A do everything; smile at 50,000 won bill; look disgusted as A adds and mixes ingredients.
3)When A goes to dump bowl into trash, B says: “NO!” [This is the only spoken word in the drama.]
4)Go to table. Get tongs. Remove 50,000 won bill from trash. Hold it up slowly to show audience.
5)Pour water into clean bowl.
6)Put 50,000 won bill into clean bowl. Clean 50,000 won bill.
7)Dry 50,000 won bill with towel.
8)Slowly and dramatically show 50,000 won bill to audience. Kiss it; hold it to your heart; and exit stage.
(This drama and it's application were taken from a story in the footnotes of Rob Bell's Sex God.)


“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. …
“Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, to be like ourselves. They will reign over the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.'
“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female, he created them” (Genesis 1:1, 24-27).
We are created in the image of God. We are God's representatives on earth. We have something of the heart of God deep inside of us. We are infinitely and inherently valuable.


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You Are God's Masterpiece

Book Reviews

I've finished a few books over the summer. Here are some brief reviews.

The Firm by John Grisham
This is a typical John Grisham book. A lawyer gets mixed up in a conspiracy that is bigger than he expected. The drama and suspense build to a massive climax that works out exactly like you would hope - almost. It's a little creepy, but that also makes it intriguing. I like John Grisham for a good fun read, but on my 6th or so Grisham book, his style is becoming fairly predictable. Only 3j's this time: jjj.

Ten Thousand Sorrows by Elizabeth Kim
This autobiography, by a Korean-American adoptee, is alternatingly haunting and informative. I am enjoying reading books about Korea these days, and the beginning of this book gives us a good look into Korean village life in the 60s. After a brief early childhood with a loving single mother, Elizabeth Kim is launched into one hellish situation after another. This is the story of her hells and her recovery process as a young adult who again lives as a single mom. It is terrible and beautiful. I highly recommend it: JJJJJ.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck
This is my second book by Steinbeck. I also read Of Mice and Men. I'm starting to think that, although Steinbeck is an excellent writer, he's not my kind of writer. Both books were very well written, but very sad. The Pearl is about how a young family's fortunes are deeply changed when the man finds a huge and perfect pearl. It is a story of poverty and injustice and fatalism. I am such an optimist that this story left a bitter taste in my mouth. But, alas, perhaps that was the intent. All in all: jjj.

The Long Season of Rain by Helen Kim
This is a short (fictional?) memoir by Korean-American Helen Kim, of a few months of her family history. Her family became the foster home for an orphan who lost his family in a mudslide. The drama that unfolds reveals much about traditional Korean marriages, traditional Korean families, and traditional prejudices toward orphans in Korea. I think it is intended as a youth novel, but I didn't find it childish. I really enjoyed it, but it lacks the sophistication for a full 5 J's: jjjj.

Sex God by Rob Bell
Rob Bell's second book is good, but not phenomenal. Here he is exploring the connections between sexuality and spirituality. He takes the questionable stand that everything is sexual because everything that involves connecting with others is inherently sexual. I think this is stretching the point a bit too far, but I really appreciate his wonderful explanation of the sexual/marriage based images that permeate the Bible's description of God's relationship with humanity. I'm sure I will use this book when I'm working on a theology of sexuality for the fall sermon series on sex. All in all, very good: jjjj.

Love Wins

These videos are a description of Love Wins, a ministry to people at strip clubs, led by some of my friends at Trinity Family Church of the Nazarene in Gardner, Kansas, USA. Check them out.








Also, check out the Love Wins posts on Donnie Miller's blog. He's the pastor.

People Who Are Changing the World

Professor who is engineering low-tech solutions to big problems for people living in poverty.



Inventor who created a low cost, portable, highly efficient water-filter.



I just sent out an email to a few of our church leaders exploring the possibility of including videos like these (lots more are available at www.ted.com and from other organizations) as monthly HOPE segments in our church. Sometimes, the problems of our world are so big that they are overwhelming. We lose hope that we can actually cause change. Maybe videos like this can help us regain hope - and with hope action.

How Big Small Can Be

I just ran across a very cool song. The band is 1000 Generations, and Relevant Magazine wrote a glowing review of the down-to-earth character of its members. You can listen to the song at their myspace site. I'm sure this will make it into one of my sermons sometime soon - maybe in the upcoming vision series. This sounds like a great example of global change through local action. This song reminds me of Mother Theresa's words: "If you can't feed 100 children, feed one."

Here are the lyrics:
My hands cannot hold the world,
But they can help someone in need,
And my cash could never end hunger,
But it will help someone to eat.

It may seem insignificant but lately,
I think sometimes we forget…

Chorus:
Just how big small can be,
it doesn’t have to be, all or nothing.
How big does small have to be,
for us to do something?
And find how big small can be

A fire starts with a single flame,
It’s not hard to see its attribution.
A storm starts with just a drop of rain,
And it only takes one, one man to start a revolution!

So if it seems insignificant then maybe,
It’s just that we are prone to forget…

What if one person changes one person,
Is that worth the time?
What if one difference makes all the difference
And we start to find…

Adoption Update

We may have found a small hole in the brick wall between us and adoption. This summer we met with an adoption agency that is willing to work with us. The director thinks that we can work with a social worker licensed here in Korea (since this is our place of residence) and just get her credentials officially translated. If this works out, we will be able to adopt an American child once a birth mother chooses us.
Step 1: Get a Korean social worker to redo our home study.
Step 2: Get the US government to approve this is a legit home study for adopting a child from the US.
Step 3: Complete a "family book" which the adoption agency will show to birth mothers.
Step 4: Hopefully, a birth mother chooses us to adopt her child (still in the womb).
Step 5: When the child is born and after the two day waiting period, we make a sudden and urgent flight to the US to welcome our new baby into our family.
Step 6: We try to complete the official adoption paperwork as soon as possible, so that we can get a passport for the baby as soon as possible, so that we can return to Korea as soon as possible. We have no idea how long this will actually take.

Imitation (Ephesians 5:1-21)

(August 16, 2009 - KNU International English Church)

Some people say, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” In other words, if someone imitates you they are paying you a high compliment.

I guess I should feel pretty flattered, then. Sometimes, Emma tries very hard to be just like me. Sometimes, when we're sitting together reading a book, I'll notice that she has her legs crossed just like I do. Sometimes, I am shocked to hear her say the same words I say. (Usually, they are good words. But most parents know that they have to be really careful what they say around their kids because those kids are sure to say the same things later on!) Sometimes, Emma even gets dressed up in my clothes. [[picture]]

And she even learns quickly when we are wrestling and play boxing. [[video]]

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Imitation is also the highest form of worship. God has made us to be like him, and it pleases him when we are. Let's read Ephesians 5:1-21.

Imitating God – living like God – is best thing we can possibly do. If we follow through the passage, imitating God sounds pretty good:

• “Live a life full of love” (5:2).

• Be thankful (5:5).

• “Live as people of light” (5:8). Be radiant!

• Be “good and right and true” (5:9).

• Be wise (5:16).

• Make the most of your opportunities and time (5:17).

• Sing together and make music from your hearts (5:19). Go to Nore Bangs!

• Tell God, “Thank you,” all the time (5:20).

• Live together with respect and mutual submission (5:21).

I think we would all agree that this is a beautiful way to live.

But it is also difficult. As beautiful as the God-life is, it is still difficult to actually live it in our day to day lives.

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Strippers for Jesus (Ephesians 4:15 - 5:2)

(August 9, 2009 - KNU International English Church)
About five years ago, some of my friends started a new church in Gardner, Kansas. Gardner is a small but growing suburb in the center of the USA. Trinity Family Church is a lot like our church. They are progressive Nazarenes. They have a good band, and people wear casual clothes. They have a young pastor and mixed group of people. In many ways, they are very similar to us.

But Trinity Family has one thing we don’t have – a ministry to strippers. Yes, I said strippers – women who get paid to take off their clothes.

A few years ago, some of the women at Trinity Family felt called to love and to serve people who were never going to walk through the church door on their own, people who normally don’t feel comfortable or welcomed in church. Their attention focused on the two strip clubs in town, and they started a ministry called Love Wins.

In 2007, some of the church ladies went to the strip clubs with homemade cookies and gift bags. This scene was repeated again and again. The church ladies brought Christmas gift bags, chocolate covered strawberries, lotions, all kinds off stuff – again and again. They didn’t ask them to come to church. They didn’t tell the people at the strip club that they were a bunch of sinners on the fast track to hell. They just gave them gifts and talked to them and loved them.

To continue reading this sermon, click here.


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DEBT FREE!!!

Yesterday, I sent in our last check for our student loans. Once that check is received and processed, we will officially be debt free! After four degrees and over $50,000 in loans between the two of us, this is a VERY good feeling!

Emma's Birthday Party in 2008

Here's a fun picture of us doing the chicken dance at Emma's birthday party in 2008.

Poll on Nazarenes and Alcohol

While surfing www.naznet.com way too late tonight (this morning!), I found this interesting poll on Nazarenes' opinions on alcohol. Be sure to read comment #459 (about half way down - not actually the 459th comment on this strand) regarding how local churches respond to this issue.
Still no word on the rumored resolution to change the ban on alcohol to moderation. Maybe it was just a rumor.

Impressed with Our Leaders

As I watched General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene unfold and progress, I was impressed with our leaders on several points.

1. We elected Jennifer Brown (from Jamaica) as the president of Nazarene Missions International. She is an ordained elder serving as an associate pastor with her husband. She also teaches high school and administers an after school program for adults who dropped out of high school. She has wide support from the leaders of the Caribbean Region, and she is the first non-white and first non-American president of NMI. This is one important step of our communal understanding that the whole globe is a mission field and the global church is a missional church.

2. We elected Eugenio Duarte (from Cape Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa, and one of the first Nazarene "mission fields") as our 37th General Superintendent. Amazingly, it only required just seven ballots. This is really, really fast. The next day it took 22 ballots to elect David Graves. Eugenio Duarte (sounds like "dwart"), the first G.S. who is non-white, the room erupted in applause, shouts, praises to God, and tears. Duarte was swarmed by the African delegates, who joined in spontaneous song. Eventually, they literally lifted him off the ground and carried him to the stage en mass. Someone picked up the Cape Verde flag (from the flags representing all the countries where we have Nazarenes), and they waved it around the room. In his acceptance speech, he thanked the church in five different languages, and he is reportedly fluent in all five. I am so, so proud of our church for electing Duarte! (To see a video of his election and the subsequent celebration, click here.)
I had hoped for one more non-white, non-American, or female G.S.. Instead, we elected two more white American males. In all fairness, David Graves and Stan Toler are probably great guys who will do a good job. However, many of us were hoping for more diversity in our highest level of leadership. At several points, either a woman (Carla Sundberg) or a Latino (Gustavo Crocker) were leading the voting, but they could never reach the necessary 60% of votes to be elected. Nonetheless, in electing Jenifer Brown and Eugenio Duarte, we have made great strides toward having leaders who reflect our membership. (To get a sense of the drama and ups and downs involved in the election process, click here to see the record of all 51 ballots.)
(An unfortunate side note: I missed seeing Duarte's election in person. This is the day our family chose to go to Disney World. Arrggh!)

3. I was impressed with the action of the General Assembly on several resolutions. Let me list a few which seem most significant to me. (To see a longer list of highlights, click here.)

A) We authorized the Commission on the Nazarene Future to study Nazarene ecclesiology, polity, and missional strategy, with particular attention given to the role of the general superintendency in the international church. Conversations, blogs, forums, and chat rooms have been buzzing for years about the need to restructure our system and structure for General Superintendents. Many districts proposed resolutions with various changes to the role, election, or term of service for GS's. However, (I think) based on the recommendation of the Board of General Superintendents, the General Assembly wisely chose to reject discussion on any changes during the assembly time in favor of a longer, more studied, more considered, more comprehensive change to be proposed by this commission in four years at the next General Assembly.

B) We authorized the Global Manual Advisory Council to do a significant rewrite of the Manual, our rulebook for theology and policy. The portions of our current Manual which express our history, theology, and basic identity will be retained and streamlined. However, the other portions will be adjusted by world region to fit more closely the context of the cultures within those regions. This will include making church structures and expected ethical stances adjusted to the various cultures around the world.
Many people from nearly every corner of the Nazarene world (at least all which have had significant contact with people outside North America) have been calling for exactly this. Personally, I had slim hopes that we would take such a drastic step. The rewrite was proposed by the International Church Committee (a group formed at the last General Assembly to study how to help the structures of our church become more international in nature), and it passed quickly with almost no discussion or fanfare. I fully expected a standing ovation, and I was shocked that we simply quietly moved on to the next resolution. Maybe this was only new news to me, or maybe folks just don't realize how important this is. However, I believe this is one of the most significant and momentous events in recent Nazarene history.

C) The Board of General Superintendents suggested a mild rewrite of Article of Faith #10: Entire Sanctification. (If you aren't familiar with this doctrine, this is often called the "distinctive" Nazarene doctrine, even though other denominations also hold to it. However, recently, this doctrine - and particularly Article 10, our official statement explaining it - have been the center of widespread debate and discussion. I have heard some say, "Nobody likes the way Article 10 is written, but the problem is that we can't agree on how to change it.") Almost everyone in the assembly agreed that the rewrite suggested by the General Superintendents is significantly better than the current statement. (Sorry, but I don't have the text of their proposed rewrite now.)
However, Jim Bond, a retired General Superintendent, suggested that we postpone the changes in favor of a comprehensive study of Article 10 by Nazarene theologians and pastors around the world. After a brief discussion, this proposal was rejected, and the GS's suggested changes were adopted.
Several reasons were put forward for adopting the changes now: (1) This is clearly an improvement over the muddy statement we currently have, so why wait another four years with an unclear statement. (2) Considerable thought (even if only with USA leaders) has already gone into the proposed changes. (3) Accepting these changes does not preclude ongoing discussion and growth in our thoughts on Article 10.
I understand these reasons, and I think it was probably best to vote in the proposed changes. However, I think it would have been best to do both: accept these changes AND authorize a global commission to study Article 10. I think we missed a great opportunity by not choosing both.

D) We authorized a commission to study the difficulty of getting adequate representation from all regions at our General Assemblies. For a variety of reasons (including finances and visa limitations), some regions are unable to send as many as 40% of their elected delegates.
I expect that this commission will suggest a few possible solutions. We could hold the General Assembly in a nation which grants visas more liberally (which would be almost anywhere other than the USA). We could also hold the General Assembly via simulcast with regional groups gathering around the world and participating via video feeds over the internet. Nazarene Youth International held their global convention this way this time. I haven't heard a definite report yet, but I think this went well and enabled wider representation.
I would be in favor of either of these options. We desperately need to do something to enable more of our international delegates to attend General Assembly. For example, if all eligible delegates had attended this year's assembly, international delegates would have out numbered the USA delegates by a significant margin (I think). Instead, the USA held more than a 100 vote majority.

There were other resolutions relating to sabbaticals for local church pastors, maternity/paternity leave for church pastors, and (according to rumors) changing the ban on alcohol consumption to a statement in favor of moderation. I don't know the results of these resolutions.


All in all, I feel like this General Assembly (the first one for which I attended any of the business meetings) greatly strengthened my respect and my love for the Church of the Nazarene. I feel strongly that our leaders are honestly facing the most pressing challenges before us. We are not retreating or hiding or retrenching. Instead, as a whole, we are boldly leaning into the future and doing the hard work of reinventing ourselves while still faithfully pulling forward our essential traditions. More than ever, I am glad to be Nazarene.

Impressed with NPH and House

While I'm at it (and since I'm suffering from jet lag), let me go on and say that I'm also impressed with Nazarene Publishing House and The House Studio.
Here's why.
1. NPH is kind of a traditional denominational publishing house. They tend to publish a lot of the kind of stuff you might expect from a denominational publishing house, mostly Bible studies, program materials, and tip books for how to do the same stuff a little better. I was impressed with their launch a few years back of Barefoot Ministries, a pretty cool in-house yet vogue youth ministries resource group.
However, NPH recently did something which strikes me as completely radical. They launched a new publishing house (in a house across the street) called The House Studio. The idea is simple yet shocking. People want some non-institutional resources. These can't be produced in a big institution (and even if they could be, the people who want them wouldn't buy them).
So NPH put up some cold hard cash and set up three quality young leaders in The House Studio and turned them loose. No oversight. No control. No rules. They just said, "The world needs you, and the world needs you to be free. Go forth and make good stuff."
This is incredibly unselfish, uninstitutional, and very-very-very Kingdom-like. I love it. This is a beautiful example of dying to live, of actually living out the truth that it's not all about us and our group and our success. In a time when NPH is working hard to keep their own house afloat, I can hardly believe that they put up the seed cash to start something new with no direct benefit to themselves. Way to go NPH. You just earned some trust in my book.
2. The House Studio's first offering is a beautiful little book for small groups called The Kingdom Experiment. Between yesterday and this morning, I have already read it cover to cover. It's a group study-experiment on the beatitudes. The basic idea is that each beatitude gets a 1 page explanation. Then, the group talks about two well-formed questions. Next, each person in the group chooses one of eight experiments to try sometime during the week to actually live out that beatitude. When the group meets the next week, they talk about their experiments and repeat the cycle.
I bought a copy, and I hope that some of the small groups at our church will give it a try. Maybe it will even make it into a church wide sermon series and book study next year.
I'm pretty impressed with The House Studio's staff and their plans for publishing the conversations about renovation in the Church. I look forward to seeing where God leads them.

Impressed by NTS

I am here in Orlando, Florida at the 27th General Assembly for the Church of the Nazarene. Yesterday, I attended two workshops hosted by Nazarene Theological Seminary. N.T.S. recently won a US$ 500,000 grant to completely revision the entire seminary to become more thoroughly missional.

This impresses me for two reasons.

1) It takes great courage to revision EVERYTHING. Doing some curriculum review is normal for academic institutions, but NTS is putting everything on the table. They are saying, "We need to do everything differently. We aren't holding anything back. We need to be open to complete change and revision." This kind of innovation takes courage and deep seeded confidence. Such risk-taking is not common in large institutions, much less among academic or theological institutions (some of the most conservative folks out there).

2. This is exactly what N.T.S. needs to do. My good friend, David Brush, repeatedly says to me that the university/seminary as we now know it is a dying species. Centralized, entrenched, isolated education is quickly fading. According to Dave, the education of the future will be embedded in ministry and professional contexts. The academic side of lectures, evaluations, and dialog with the traditional centers of education will happen via the internet, short-term classes, professional mentors (acting as adjunct profs), and/or mobile professors (with the traditional academic qualifications). If Dave is right, and I think he probably is, then N.T.S. is right on track with this revisioning process. Also, they have the guts to take action internally on what many Christian leaders are seeing is happening in a handful of cutting edge churches who are faithfully responding to our radically changing culture. It was just beautiful to hear the leaders of NTS talk about what they are doing to make themselves more accessible to students (a.k.a. ministers) and more accountable (to themselves and to others). They are doing all they can to decentralize themselves, to get out of the way so that we can all learn together how to follow Christ more faithfully together. Beautiful!

So my props go out in a big way to the folks of N.T.S. This makes me glad to be Nazarene.

Adoption Update

We are running into a brick wall with our plans to adopt.
We had planned to adopt from Russia. We had even been assigned to a particular region in Russia.
However, we took a few steps back to pay off our school loans. (We've got the money now. We're just waiting for the exchange rate to go down a bit more. Yeahhh!!!)
In the meantime, Russia has tightened up their adoption rules. In addition to adding several hoops which adopting parents must jump through, it seems like we no longer qualify to adopt from Russia because we don't live in the country of our citizenship (USA).
In fact, this is a big problem for us for other countries as well (including Korea). Sarah and our adoption agencies are currently considering our options in a few other countries. We have a friend who is researching some things in Kazakhstan.
So, unfortunately, we've come to a wall. We are looking for some ways around this wall. Maybe there will be a way around. Maybe not. We might just have to wait, and we might have to wait a long time.

POST #300!: Did You Know?

Circles of Leadership

Over the past few months, I have been getting many questions about my new role as a full-time pastor. How do you like? What do you do with all your new time? How is the church going now? What difference does it make?
I usually answer that I love being full-time because now I can give my full attention to my calling and passions. Sometimes, I say that I'm sure glad I'm full-time now because I don't want to imagine doing this semester while being bivocational. Lately, I've been saying that one of the best things is that being full-time gives me the opportunity to move beyond maintenance issues (keeping things running) toward thinking into the future about how to make things better and how to do new things.
I am beginning to think that my primary job is to focus on developing circles of leadership. There are three basic circles of leadership under my care (with satellite circles working off of them): the pastoral staff, the Advisory Council, and the Circle of Leadership.
This semester we have made two changes as a pastoral team. We have reworked our staff meetings to once a month coffee with reports, sharing, and prayers for each other. We have also added tri-annual reviews. Every four months, we all conduct answer questions about whether we met our goals for that period, our goals for the next period, and other topics. I am hoping that these two changes will be the core of strengthen our leadership as a pastoral staff.
I am currently reading a book called Transforming Church Boards. It is built on the premise that board meetings tend to be tedious, tiring, and divisive, but that boards can change into life-giving, inspiring, and leadership-building communities. I am excited to think about how we can improve our Advisory Council, a key structure of our church's leadership.
The Circle of Leadership is a budding group. Right now we have only had a meeting of a few key leaders who are setting the structure for how to involve others. We envision this as a community of people who are either called to ministry or studying ministry, and we hope it will empower them as leaders who are learning, growing, and practicing. I am hoping that we can start meeting with a pilot group this fall. We have high hopes that this group will not only help the participants but also increase the quantity and quality of leadership within our church.

So as I said, lately, I'm feeling like the best thing I can do as a pastor is to invest in these circles of leadership. If I can help these circles flourish in the life-giving power of the Spirit, then our church and our world will never be the same!

Prayer - Review

I borrowed this book from our church's prayer team leader, Anne, during our Lenten series on prayer, but I've just now finished it. Granted, I've done quite a lot of reading on the side, personal reading and work related, but still I often felt like I would never finish.
Sometimes I loved the book, particularly the moving stories of people's struggles and experiences with prayer. But other times, I just trudged on. As Yancey often returned to the same themes again and again, I felt like the book could have been shortened by a third without losing much.
On the other hand, I love Yancey's approach to prayer. He is humble and honest about the difficulties of consistent and meaningful prayer. When his own experience is limited, he pulls on the writings and advices of others, and explains how he has tried to apply those teachings in his own life with mixed success.
This is a very good book on prayer. It's just a bit too long. Rating: jjjj.

Searching for God Knows What - Review

I picked up this book out of the Owens Building mini-library (a collection of books deposited by KNU profs). It's a fun read, pretty much continuing and sometimes rehashing Donald Miller's earlier name-making book Blue Like Jazz.
This 233 page book summarizes easily: The gospel is not a formula. It's a relationship. What God wants from us and promises to us cannot be defined in neat categories or lists of truths. The truth inherent in the gospel is necessarily embedded in the stories of the people who understand and experience the gospel (especially the first ones to do so).
Donald Miller is king of off-the-wall-yet-strangely-appropriate extended metaphors, and this book is packed with them. The earth is an overfilled lifeboat with the inhabitants taking sides and waging wars of value assessment like people on Survivor trying not to get kicked off the island. Original sin is like the fallout from Chernobyl. Getting an outside perspective is like sitting down with an alien to watch an NBA game. We're all in a big circus act trying to do something to win cheers from the crowd to prove our worth. The moment when we we see that our religious system isn't enough anymore is like the moment when we see the department store Santa taking a leak in the men's restroom.
Great images. Great stories. Same basic thoughts as Blue Like Jazz. Rating: jjjj.

Emerging Nazarenes "White Paper" to General Superintendants

I just read this "White Paper" to the Church of the Nazarene General Superintendents. It is written by a group of Emerging Nazarenes with the purpose of helping Nazarene leaders understand and appreciate the emerging church and those within the Church of the Nazarene who are also "emerging."
I highly recommend it for anyone interested in theology and church stuff.

House and Neruda

Two quick reviews.

1) House M.D. Season 4: We have enjoyed watching House over the past year or two. It is smart and funny, and each episode is like a Sherlock Holmes story. But the dysfunctionality of the characters is getting painfully predictable. Near the end of season 4, just when one of the characters was starting to show some positive change out of dysfunction, they killed off the catalyst. Argghh. The show seems to revolve around House's mantra that people don't change. That's getting a little frustrating, but not so much as to ruin the whole show. We tried to start season 5 last night, but couldn't get it to load.
Also, the writers did a surprisingly good job of incorporating the new set of characters into the story line.
However, here's a big downer. The show seemed to get a little more soap-opera-like. In one scene - in which House really jumped the shark for us - all of House's team gets paged to find their patient passed out in a hallway. It's so melodramatic. If the nurses saw that the patient had fallen and took the time to page House's team, why didn't they attend to the patient instead of waiting for Houses team to come running from various ends of the hospital???
Over all rating: jjj.
(If anyone has recomendations for good TV shows, Sarah and I are in the market for a new series. Korean shows are also welcome.)

2) Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda. (Thanks to my friend Sarah Gu for this loaner.) This is a short little book of love poems packed with images from nature. I'm not sure if they are all about the same woman or not, but poor Pablo seems to have his heart broken again and again. They are alternatingly beautifully sensual and oddly confusing. Sometimes I couldn't quite tell what he was talking about - possibly because they are translated from Spanish. Neruda is Chilean and won a Nobel Prize for his writings in 1971. Even though some of the poetry soared and raced, the confusing parts take it back to a basic rating of: jjj.
(I enjoyed reading poetry for a change, so if anyone has a good book of poetry, I'd be happy to make your shelf lighter for a month or so.)

Two Great Speeches

Yesterday and today, I read two great speeches by Barack Obama.
The first was given at Notre Dame amid a great flurry of conflict and protest regarding abortion.
The second was given in Cairo amid great interest in what Obama would say to the Muslim world.
Both are interesting and inspiring calls to multicultural community and common commitment to improve our world together. Please take the time to read them.

God Is an Atheist

-- This sermon is part of the ONE PRAYER SERIES. --

(( Before the sermon, we will watch this video.))


I am an atheist. Don't look so shocked! You are an atheist, too. So is God. We are all atheists.
If you don't believe in God, you are an atheist. If you do believe in God, you are atheist.
Huh?

The early Christians were called atheists because they rejected the gods of Rome. They had the audacity to say that Rome's long-honored gods were false and that there was only one true God. So people called them atheists – people who don't believe in the gods.
Good Christians are still atheists in this sense today. Stan Martin was a professor here several years ago. He was fond of saying, “So you're an atheist … OK, tell me about the God you don't believe in. I probably don't believe in him either.” ...

To continue reading this sermon, CLICK HERE.


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Acts 2 - The Holy Spirit Is PINK (?)

As I thought about Pentecost this year, I couldn't help thinking of the song by Pink, “I'm coming up, so you better get this party started.” This might be a stretch, but I wonder if Pink is a metaphor of the Holy Spirit? Listen to some of the words:

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
Get this party started on a Saturday night
Everybody's waiting for me to arrive
Sendin' out the message to all of my friends ...

Last week, Yoni read Jesus' words: “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised … you will receive power when the the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere ...” (Acts 1:4, 8).

Making my connection as I enter the room
Everybody's chilling as I set up the groove
Pumpin' up the volume with this brand new beat
Everybody's dancing and they're dancing for me
I'm your operator, you can call anytime
I'll be your connection to the party line

I'm comin' up so you better get this party started
I'm comin' up so you better get this party started

“Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit …” and people from all around town “heard the loud noise” and “came running” (Acts 2:2-6).

Pentecost was God's coming out party. ...

To continue reading this post, click here.

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56 Foreigners Quarantined for Swine Flu

Amazing, but true.
50 some odd teachers were at a week long training session, on their first week in Korea. After the training, everyone dispersed to their hakwons and new apartments all around Korea.
Then, uh oh ... big uh oh ... one of the weigooks (foreigners) was diagnosed with swine flu, for real!
Every last person in the training session was rounded up in ambulances by masked medical personal, and they were returned to the same hotel that hosted the training session. It was something like the movie Blindness without the blindness and total anarchy.
Actually, it was a perfect brew for culture shock for everyone concerned, as the Korean leaders barked stringent orders and the foreigners more or less ignored them at will. Not staying in rooms, going out onto the balconies, smuggling in contraban like alcohol and cigarettes, defying direct orders, holding sit-ins for internet service, etc.
There is a guy who is blogging about the whole ordeal. Yes, as of today, it is still ongoing. He is actually a good writer and sometimes I found myself laughing out loud at the hilarious absurdities involved in this difficult situation. It's a good read. Check it out. And yes, this is an actual picture of the swine-flu-blogging quarantine-ee, though he doesn't actually have it ... so far.

Summer Goals

All of our pastoral team is setting goals 3 times a year. Here are my goals for this summer (May to August).

1. Make sure everything is ready while I am gone, and especially while Matt and I are both gone.

2. Help the Advisory Council teams accomplish their final goals for the church year.

3. Read the book, Transforming Church Boards, and make plans to improve our Advisory Council Meetings.

4. Guide the preparations for our Annual Meeting: budget finalization, choosing our long-term partnership, nominations, etc.

5. Help the Circle of Leadership create enough of a foundation to start a pilot program at the beginning of the fall semester.

(I am not going to finish my sermons a week in advance over the summer, but I hope to start this in the fall.)

I think the most important thing I can do this summer is to help all of our AC teams finish the year with a sense of accomplishment and value (#2). We need for every one of our teams to be able to look back on the year and say, “We did something important. We made a difference. I am glad I helped with this. We can do it again.”

Learning Pony Tails

This semester, it's my job to take Emma to school three or four days a week. In Korean culture, it is crucial for girls to have some kind of decoration in their hair. It is a sign of love and care from the parents. Without it the child seems neglected and uncared for. (This is very similar to African-American culture.)
In the past, I've just helped Emma put in a headband. This is the bare minimum in hair accessories, but it is also easier. A few times, I ventured into hair clips, but I often felt frustrated and gave up.
Something changed last week. Emma asked me to put her hair in a pony tail. I told her that she would have to do that on days when Mommy could fix her hair, but she persisted. I decided to give it a try.
Surprisingly it worked OK. With a few tutorials from Sarah (use a comb not a brush, etc.), I'm starting to get the hang of it. On the elevator today, though, I noticed that her pony tail was pointing a little to the left.
Adventures in being a father.

"Lawrence of Arabia" - Greatest Movie #7

Last weekend, we watched Lawrence of Arabia, the AFI #7 Greatest Movie of All Time. I remember watching parts of it as a child, but I couldn't remember the overall story. It was a little awkward to watch it on YouTube because it was in 26 parts, but we still enjoyed it.
The basic storyline (which is true) is that tribal Arabs were revolting against their Turkish rulers during World War 1, and the British Army decided to support their revolt as a strategy to weaken Turkey (a German ally). Lawrence enters the midst of this as a British officer and expert on Arab culture. His intent is to help the Arabs earn total independence as a unified state. To accomplish this end, he has to do some significant battle strategizing and help the disparate Arab tribes work together as a team. Both of these are huge challenges since the tribes are out-gunned and hostile against each other.
In the process, Lawrence accomplishes his most immediate goals - at least in the short term. But he does so at significant personal cost. He seems to sacrifice his soul to take on the role of a messiah figure.
Lawrence of Arabia is a poignant picture of the struggles of multiculturalism and visionary leadership. I can't give it the full 5J's because it's a little weird at times, and possibly because I read the whole story on Wikipedia's site. All in all, though, it's a good move: jjjj.

Acts 10 - Dangerous

I grew up in Texas, and Texans love Country Music. I grew up singing songs by Garth Brooks, songs like:

I've got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns
And the beer chases my blues away
And I'll be okay
I'm not big on social graces
Think I'll slip on down to the oasis
Oh, I've got friends in low places

One of Garth Brooks' less famous songs is, “Unanswered Prayers.” The song is in a story form. He meets an ex-girlfriend at a football game, and he remembers how he prayed – how he begged – God to give him this one girl. Then, he looks over at his wife and thanks God for NOT answering that prayer. “Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers,” he sings.

I've been thinking this week that some of our prayers are pretty dangerous.

God, make me patient. Be careful what you pray for, right?!

God, make me like Jesus. – Uh, dangerous? Hello! He died on a cross!

God, help me to trust you. Remember what happened when Peter trusted Jesus. He ended up walking on a stormy sea.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. - Everyone who sins against us? No matter what the sin?

God, lead us. Show us your will, and help us to follow. - Yeah, that will get you into trouble every time.

What about this one? We pray this one every week here. May God make us a loving community that changes our world. What if God really starts answering this prayer? ...

To continue reading this sermon, click here.

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Imposing a Curfew

As part of our effort to find a healthy rhythm, Sarah and I are imposing a curfew/lights out policy on ourselves. It sounds kind of silly, but we are tired of being tired. So our goal is now to have the lights out at 10:30 on week nights.
We are hoping that this will help us to get enough sleep so that we can do the other stuff in our day w/o feeling tired all the time. We have both found that it's really hard to find the motivation to exercise or to pray if we are tired. If I'm tired, I just fall asleep when I sit still for devotions.
This new lights out policy means that we often can't watch the TV show we planned to watch or don't read together as planned. We can pretty much just do one thing after we put Emma to bed, and then we have to go to bed ourselves.
I don't know if this means we are getting old or just facing reality - or both.

Finding my Rhythm

Well, as a white boy growing up in the suburbs, I never had any real rhythm, not musically anyway. I regularly step on Sarah's feet and/or lose the count when we dance.
But I did have some rhythm as a pastor. I had a schedule and a plan that worked for me.
Now, however, with more freedom and less office time (since I'm sharing with Sarah), I'm having a hard time finding a good rhythm. Also, I have to take Emma to school four mornings a week, so I can't go into work early.
I'm hoping to try something new - one night a week working late in the office, but we'll see how that materializes. For anyone out there who prays, occassionally even for me, I'd appreciate some prayers up to the Big One that he'll help me figure out a good working schedule that will help me take care of our church and my family (and myself along the way).

Review Bankruptcy

OK, so I've decided that I'm too far behind to catch up on all the reviews that I've missed. I'm declaring "review bankruptcy" and starting over. From this point forward, I'll try to write a short little review on all the books I read.
This week, I read John Grisham's The Partner. I can only handle a few Grisham books a year because I usually end up staying up half the night when I get to the middle of the book because I don't want to quit reading. I did that on Tuesday night of this week. I probably read 200 pages in one night.
The over-all outline of his stories are generally predictable, but he is a master of suspense along the way. His characters get into such difficult circumstances, and I get so attached to the protagonists, that I desperately want to see how the conflict resolves, so I keep reading and reading.
The Partner was a very fun read, but it wasn't particularly profound. It was a good, fun novel, but not especially great in terms of literature. I'll give it 4js: jjjj.