A Charge to Blog I Have

The  new banner is a picture taken on May 5, which began a new phase of life for me.  Hopefully, it is a phase of life that can include an occasional blog post.  I stopped blogging last September because I was tired of listening to myself.  I trust the break has been refreshing for everyone – especially the 3 people who followed the blog regularly.

Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking about how caffeine is the new crack and how coffee houses are not too different from crack houses.  The only difference is that one substance is legal while the other is not.  But there are many similarities: consumers are addicted, the drug is supplied in various forms to suit personal taste, comraderie is nurtured in the friendly confines of the drug-house, a satisfying buzz results from the drug-taking and the brief lasting effect of the drug ensures daily purchase.  Little wonder that evangelicals of yesteryear were abolitionists when it came to caffeine, a conviction that only the Seventh-Day Adventists and Mormons were able to keep into modern times.

If anything, our appetite for coffee should remind us of how dependent we are on the comforts of food and drug.  That said, I think moderation is the best way forward.  Enjoy the comforts of this life, coffee included, but stay in control of your appetites.  If we can’t control caffeine consumption, how will we have the will-power to fend off more sinister temptations?  I really think there is a connection.

August in Pics

Here’s a picture-post of my August:

Chillin' with Dr. Winter and new staff member Doug.

Two INSIGHT alums came for a visit (note my cool shirt).

INSIGHT staff (left to right): Adam (admin. for Pasadena) and Melissa (admin. for national office) Hoffman, Me, Eric DeHart (RD), Becky Lewis (Founder), David Lewis (academic asst.)

During orientation, a bunch of INSIGHT alums showed up. Can you tell the alums from the present students?

Two INSIGHT alums that I hitched a while back. Looks like marriage has been good to them.

Had a great chat with Spangler. More piercings and more maturity - go figure.

The core of INSIGHT - Discussion!

Vishal Mangalwadi gives the first lecture of the new year.

INSIGHT is off to a fabulous start.  Great group of young pups, excellent staff to work with.  I’m truly blessed.

September Banner

What else could I put up here in September?  This scene will dominate my life until the end of May.  We have class daily from 2-5pm.  Hopefully by then Alyssa and Katie will be a little more interested in what Kris has to say, and Kyle will stop getting distracted by photographers.  A LOT happened in August that I need to blog about and hope to soon.  INSIGHT always brings a certain life adjustment that messes with my blogging.  Oh well…

August Banner

The new banner for August is an Aztec Native American dancing at the pow-wow held here on our campus a month ago.  The Aztec regalia was pretty cool, as was their dancing.  At the pow-wow a Native American named Northstar came up to me and said, “Welcome to my country”.  He was a cool guy with a great sense of humor.  I also saw a T-shirt with a picture of Geronimo and company with this caption: “Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism Since 1492″.  Indeed.

Christianity Isn’t the Way

Go look at Tim Timmon’s blog entry from last year entitled “Christianity Isn’t the Way; Jesus Is”.  It’ll take a while to read it all, but will be time well spent.

The Absolute Dominance of 80’s Rock

It’s undeniable.  Wherever I go – the mall, a museum, the zoo, 80’s rock reigns.  Entire radio stations are devoted to 80’s (most add 70’s without being “classic” stations) rock.  Now admit this.  There are no radio stations devoted to the 90’s.  None.  Or to the decade we’re in now (what do we call it?).  Look at the movies.  Right now, Mama Mia is playing, featuring ABBA (yes, began in the 70’s). 

I could go on and on, but I wish you younger people would admit the inability of your generation to even approach the musical standard set by my generation.  I like some recent stuff, but as a whole it just doesn’t have the same “stuff”. 

To all of you young’uns: Bow to the gods of 80’s rock!  Submit!  “We are the champions, my friend…”

Saying “No” to Muscular Dystrophy

Today at the grocery store the lady at the checkout asked me, as they have all summer, “Would you like to donate a dollar to help cure muscular dystrophy?”  My answer?  “No”.  I have nothing against finding the cure for muscular dystrophy.  I said “no” because I think that is a rude tactic.  What is someone supposed to say?  “No, I’d really rather watch them suffer”, or “No, I’m so cheap that I won’t even give a measly buck to a perfectly worthy cause”.  You either give as a good person or you don’t as a weasel.  There are no other options.  So, because I’m offended by the whole process, I just say “no” – with a smile on my face of course.  For some reason I find it highly humorous that I just said no to muscular dystrophy.  I almost break into a chuckle even as I type this.  I’ve also said no to breast cancer.  Man, I’m one nasty shmuck.  It’s because of people like me that the world is the way it is.

Would it hurt to give a buck each time I go?  Isn’t it really a good thing?  Wouldn’t Jesus give a buck?  Surely he wouldn’t say “no” while grinning from ear to ear.  I’m conflicted…

No I’m not.  A buck is a buck.  I give to causes I choose to give to.  If I want to give to your cause I will.  Otherwise, stop hawking your agenda in my face.  I just wanted to get some milk, for crying out loud!  What about the poor dairy farmers?  Why don’t I get any credit for helping them? 

Do people feel this way about missionaries?  Uh-oh…  This doesn’t help my new plan to raise support outside the grocery store.

Speeding God Up

Since God’s ways are often slow, it seems we excel at trying to speed Him up.  Abraham did so with Hagar and Ishmael and Rebekah did so in helping Isaac trick Esau into giving up his blessing.  Because of God’s election of Isaac over Esau, it would have happened eventually somehow.  Rebekah and Isaac didn’t have to resort to deception, but they were helping God out.

I find it hard to know when to wait on God to work His purposes and when to launch out in faith.  Great perils await us when we go to either extreme.  Some people wait and do nothing, expecting God to do everything.  Others are always doing things, sure that “God helps those who help themselves”.  So how do we know which to do?  These extremes are apparent in support-raising strategies.  Some missionaries just pray and have faith that God will miraculously provide for them.  Others believe in rolling up their sleeves and asking people directly for support.  Who is right?  Both models “work”. 

My only answer to this dilemma is that it takes discernment to make these decisions, the kind of discernment that only comes when there is intimacy with God.  Obviously, thinks like deception are always wrong and can never be justified (Oops!  Does this apply to missionaries who use deception in going to a closed country?).  Somehow we have to discern between what God expects us to do and what He does.  In some cases that isn’t so hard, but in others it is difficult.  We should be wary of speeding God up unless we have done a lot of praying and seeking counsel.  Or else we risk playing God.  The stories of Abraham and Isaac reveal that it often leads to significant pain.

God’s Slow Ways

Take Abraham for example.  He was 75 when God promised him that he would be the father of a great nation, whose people would be too numerous to count.  After 11 years, Abraham gave God a little help by producing Ishmael.  When he was 100, Isaac finally came – 25 years after the promise Abraham had but one son of promise.  Isaac and Rebekah didn’t have Esau and Jacob until Isaac was 60 years old – 85 years after the promise there has been only two children of promise born.  Some nation.

Why does God move so slowly?  Most of us look for God to work His promises in our lives daily, weekly, monthly, perhaps yearly, but in Abraham’s case it seemed to be more by decade.  There were very long periods of time when God seemingly did nothing.  I can only come to the conclusion that this is what God intends – he embarks with us on a journey of faith.  Once in a while we rejoice at God’s fulfillment of promise in our lives, but most of our days are spent in the anvil of God’s promise and present circumstance.  That is where we are squeezed and we respond with faith or disillusionment. 

I think of all the wonderful single people I know who long to be married.  I think of those dreaming of being a missionary, yet are faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  I think of those women who, like Sarah, cannot have children of their own.  I think of most young people in a fog of confusion about how to serve the Kingdom vocationally.  God’s promises beckon and give hope.  Present circumstances mock and discourage.  And God doesn’t seem in a hurry to solve our dilemma.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”.  “We live by faith, not by sight”.

Support-raising Lesson from a Homeless Guy

While looking for lunch on Thursday in Long Beach, I was approached by a homeless guy.  He was dressed well and wasn’t the kind that scares you.  He aggressively tracked me down, ignoring my first attempts at just walking by.  When I finally acquiesced, he shook my hand and said, “Hi, I’m Darrell Torson.  I’m going to be completely honest with you.  I’m homeless.  Is there anything you can give, anything at all?”  When he saw me hesitate he added, “It’s ok if you don’t want to”, assuring me of his good will.  Finally, in a last-ditch effort he started talking about God.  Meanwhile, I’m thinking, “Is he going to drink it?  Is he going to get in his Porsche pretty soon and go home?  This is Long Beach, he’s probably making a ton here.”  I ended up mumbling something like, “Not this time”, barely able to avoid caving in to his sparkling performance.  I walked away somewhat in tatters, knowing that this guy was one of the very best and that I should at least have given him some money in appreciation of that fact.  This was no beggar, this was a polished actor.  He deserved a wage.

Then I thought, “Hey, that guy would be a great missionary raising support”.  Be aggressive.  Look people in the eye.  Be point blank honest.  Ask for money.  Assure them its ok if they don’t.  Talk about God.  Hmm…