Start with One, near or far

Yesterday while making visits to one of our members, I met her friend who was from Turkana, Kenya. It is about a 12 hour drive from Nakura, Kenya where Start with One is based. Right now, we have a team of members over there who are "Changing the world, one life at a time..."

I have never been but to talk with the people who come back from these trips, their outlook on life has changed, their hearts are changed, their capacity to love has changed.

You don't need to go to Kenya or Honduras or The Republic of Georgia, or Nicaragua (where we have another team now). But you do need to be vulnerable. You do have to open yourself up to new experiences. You have to believe that if you fail, everything is going to be okay.

Peachtree Road UMC does amazing things in the world internationally, but also locally.

If you can't find a way to go on one of our mission trips, consider signing up for the Great Day of service next Saturday.

Yesterday, I had no idea how far Turnaka, Kenya was from Nakuru, Kenya. I do know now. But the lady who was from Kenya was overjoyed that people here were doing something.

Daris McCullough, who went with our church on a trip Kenya three years ago, once told me "People never care how much you know, until they know how much you care."

In this world, whether you are faithfully serving in Kenya, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Republic of Georgia, or the state of Georgia, take time to let people know that you care.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (I Peter 5:7).

Thanks and Praise

Recently, I have found myself both on the receiving end and giving end of reference letters. It is one thing to ask for people to give honest feedback (that takes humility and a willingness to learn and hear what someone else is saying) and it is another thing to be in a position to give feedback to others.

As I write recommendations for people, I am struck by how infrequently I actually take the time to tell the people in my life what I really think and offer them thanks and praise.

It is a discipline to compliment others and say, "Thank you" or offer praise for a job well done.

But it forces each of us to think about the things we appreciate and the people we appreciate.

During Lent we talk about what we will give up. Think of ways in which this Lenten season you will take time to build others around you up and encourage them. Don't wait for them to ask for a recommendation letter. Tell someone in your life what they mean to you.

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 

(I Thessalonians 5:11)

Thoughts on Revelation (the Book of)

This past year, my church, Peachtree Road UMC has been reading through the New Testament. We are about to embark on reading the Old Testament in 2014. I have been writing the wrap-ups for Revelation. Here is my final thought on Revelation.

Revelation leaves me with a lot of bigger questions. The biggest one is this: Does hell exist and what does it look like? Most of our imagery is shaped by poetry and Milton's Paradise Lost. I believe that there really is a lake of fire, as we read in Chapter 20, but as I read the chapter, I realize one major thing: It is not my place to judge. That's not my job. I do believe as John Wesley does, as he notes in his sermon On Hell, that hell is the experience of loss. "Hell is the loss of beauty, music, pleasant memories, kindness, loved ones, friendship, love, and most importantly a sense of having been created and loved by God. Hell is also a felt experience; a place of hate, horror, greed, rage, lust, unsatisfied desires, envy, jealousy, malice and revenge, characterized by fear, guilt, and shame" (Wesley Study Bible, note on Hell, pg1556).

We live in a fallen world, full of beauty and pain. Life is short but beautiful. It brings love and the loss of that love brings pain. That is the world we live in. Yet we find ourselves in the midst of God's grace here and now, and we wait for the completion of time in which God will reveal all things and draw all creation into God's self. Until that day, we wait for the New Jerusalem.

Sermon from October 13, 2013

Here is a link to the sermon I preached on October 13. The scripture was Jeremiah 29:1,4-7. The idea was that we basically skip to the 11th verse: "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper and not to harm, for hope and a future." What we often fail to do is take into account the path it takes to get there, often times planting ourselves where we did not expect.

Sermon from Sunday, October 6th, 2013

Going to play catch-up the next couple of days, starting with posting sermons from the morning service. Here is the sermon based on the passage, Luke 17:1-4.

The last couple of weeks

From our first Sunday

In many ways, the last two weeks have been the time when realistically we should have been settling into a rhythm. Only as we set to do so, everyone in the country went on vacation. They have year-round school here and the academic year just is done. When kids go back to school on Tuesday, 8 October, they will have been promoted.

Worship on Sundays have been great as have been the regular weekly adult Bible studies that I have been a part of. On September 22nd, I preached on the Shrewd Manager. Here is a link to the audio clip.

It has been different with no office to go to. I've been visiting members in their homes at their invitation as well as stopping in to see people who have not been able to make it to church regularly. Having no regular responsibilities has also given Leslie and I the opportunity to make day trips here and there.

Monday, September 23rd we took the train into Sydney and walked around. It was fun but rushed. I did not fully understand the train schedule so we took a 3 hour train ride there, had 3 hours in the city, then another 3 hours back on the train. It was fun to see the varying landscapes of the coast.

Davis and Leslie in front of the Sydney Opera House

Tuesday was morning prayer and visits. Wednesday was a day around Gerringong, sermon writing, and preparing for Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan's Purse Sunday.

Thursday and Friday were more administration and some grocery shopping (it's always an adventure to see how different/same everything is).

Saturday, the Anglican church in town had a spring festival that was fun to spend time at.

Sunday, we then had the church's Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan's Purse Sunday. The church and community packed 88 boxes and raised the money to ship each one. They will be going to Papua New Guinea, which is a country that closely boarders Australia (for those like me that needed a geography remedial lesson).

 These photos are a snapshot of the Sunday.

Then, Leslie and I were off that afternoon to Sydney for a night away. Thanks to some friends in the church who volunteered to watch Davis, we left and got to stay in another member's unit there. We had an amazing dinner at Hartsyard and then went to see Foals at the Enmore Theatre thanks to some of our friends who gave Leslie a very generous gift before we came. It was a fun night.

Monday morning, we did the Sydney Bridge climb which was an amazing experience. We saw the city of Sydney from the highest point and got a history lesson in the process...all while climbing 56 stories, up and down, over 2 hours.

Wednesday we were off again to visit our friend, Nicole's parents in Canberra. It's like our Washington DC (only open for business). It's the nation's capital and 100 years old. We were graciously welcomed into their home and Davis loved playing with Nicole and her sister's old toys as well as learning the Vegemite song.

Tomorrow we will celebrate World Communion Sunday at Gerringong while others around the world remember the Holy Mystery that we share in the sacrament.

For those who don't know, Leslie is also keeping a blog about our experiences. She also take better pictures than I do. You can take a look here: www.lifewhereweareplanted.com.

Oh yeah, Go Braves!!!

Work on a Thursday

On Thursday, I went to meet a Men's Group for Breakfast. They meet fortnightly (every two weeks, in the morning, not at night) to discuss the book, Pilgrim in the Cosmos by Dean Drayton. He used to be the head of the Uniting Church in Australia and was one of the professors while Peter Chapman was at Bible College. Chapter 5 was about Drayton's experience as a Student Pastor in America while working on his PhD.

After that, I worked on sermon and office stuff and met with a woman whose mother is not doing well. After lunch at the Chinese Restaurant, went back to reading/prepping for the sermon and doing other administrative stuff to prepare for Sunday's worship services. Preaching on the Shrewd Manager, Luke 16:-13.

When Davis woke up from a nap we got out to see the Harvest Moon rising. We went to an area called Boat Harbour, which used to be the boat harbour/pier area for boats coming into Gerringong. There is a rock pool overlooking the ocean, but at 58* F with 15 mph winds, we aren't going swimming anytime soon. We did get some good pictures.

Leslie, Davis, and moon

Panoramic with Leslie and Davis on each end

Moon over Werri Beach

Following dinner, I went to Bible study in which we discussed Ephesians 6:5-9. Why do we work? Who do we really work for? Who do we seek praise from? How do we share our faith? In work, specifically do we seek the approval of God or of man? That was a good reminder. Too often we try to win the approval of others, we compare ourselves to others, but God does not see us as anything other than God's children. He doesn't look at our business cards or titles. God looks at our hearts. Perhaps that was the best place to end a day of "work."