Left of Self Center

Recently I posted two pieces on my blog Left of Self Center about Hurricane Ike that had a weird foreshadowing of what was to come. In these posts, I talked about how a hurricane can change everything. Little did I know that Bolivar Peninsula would become an island and that all the towns on it would be virtually wiped off the map.

One of the other things I mentioned was that a hurricane can change the pace of our lives. Anyone who has lived the past week in Houston has definitely had the pace of their lives changed. Yet despite all the hardships many of us have had to endure at the hand of this powerful storm, I find that so many good things happen in the wake of these storms. When I heard about September Serve , I never imagined this happening. Yet I won’t use my words to describe it, I will share with you the words of my brother Chet in an e-mail blog he was sending to his friends when he came in from San Antonio to weather out Hurricane Ike with me.

“It was an exciting adventure. We lost power around 5:00 Am It was only really bad for a few hours, but it was intense. The next day we went driving around and there were trees down all over the place. It was like someone took a shredder and sprayed leaves and limbs over every yard and street. Afterwards we got 12″ of rain, and there was flooding everywhere. Phones were out, electricity, no TV, or computers, and no cell phones. The instant communication, information, and comfort were gone. It felt marooned with no travel, no communication. Yall knew more about what was happening than we did. All stores and restaurants were closed. No gas stations could pump gas because they didn’t have electricity.”

“One incredible thing was once the rain slowed, everyone came outside, talked, and they all started helping each other clean up their yards and reestablish order. Everyone was laughing and men helped the single moms move branches, and several kids had brooms and were sweeping the streets. Wow it really showed me how much modern technology has damaged our communities. People turn to each other when nothing else exists.”

“I could not imagine 3 to 4 weeks in Houston heat and humidity with no electricity. Now that is pure drudgery. Well I was there for my family and the adventure of experiencing a hurricane, not drudgery. So after extending a invitation of air conditioning and electricity at my home, I decided my career as a eyewitness reporter in the destruction of Ike was over. It was time to go home. I could not get home quick enough. I am now in my cool home, with lights all around me, lap top in my lap, remote in my hand, cold beverages from my refrigerator, despising my neighbors who I have talked to maybe once or twice in 7 years. I am just glad I am not in Houston any more, but I will be forever moved by the destruction I saw, the fun I had, the drudgery I experienced, and the community and humanity I felt.”

Point is this. Adversity brings people together. Adversity makes our faith stronger. The helping hands I saw being extended between people proves this.

Many of the people in the picture above go to either the Loft or attend services over TWUMC . We jumped out and worked to clean up the street and the neighborhood and help out our neighbor. It why I made many 140 mile round trips to Bryan/College Station to get people gas, ice, food, and information for those who couldn’t get it for themselves. We find out what is truly important when we lose things we put our reliance on: Electricity, Technology, Convenience, and so many other things that just aren’t important. My brother felt what being a Christian is really about. He felt what humanity is all about: a relationship with our God and one another.

By the way, my brother is the good looking guy in the blue shirt in the middle of the picture.

The waiting is the hardest part sometimes. You see something coming at you and you know it is coming but you can do nothing much about you. Such is how things are with Hurricane Ike that is bearing down upon us. The winds are just beginning to hit us where I live though at the coast is starting to feel the brunt of the full force of this storm.

When I think about this in regards to my faith, the illustration of an upcoming hurricane is similar to our sinful nature. We can see it coming but often we can do nothing about it. Yet in this case, we are fortunate to have our God who protect us from the storm of our sin.

I sit here waiting. I am waiting on a huge hurricane that is bearing down on where I live. I sit in the cross hairs of this storm. Yet the power and strength that is in this storm are awe inspiring. One thing about a hurricane is that often it can change everything. Hurricanes have a power and majesty to them that makes everyone stop and take notice. I look about today at what is going on. The frantic bustle and constant pursuit of our own needs came to a stop today as we had to take notice of this storm. We had to react. I think God does this with us too. He can stop us in our tracks and make us take notice.

Though I am scared about the effects that Hurricane Ike will have on my community, hurricanes always seem to bring out the best in people as people are forced to help one another. The aftermath of such a storm seems to work as a magnet for people wanting to help others. One thing I have learned is that the goodness of God often comes through things we view as bad or through intense times of trial.

I recently read a interesting post by Jonathan Brink called “God Colors”. Below I have put the question that he puts forth of how we see the reflection of God in our churches. I was instantly reminded of the song “De Colores” which is used frequently at the Walk to Emmaus retreat. The chorus goes like this:

“De Colores, and so must all love be of every bright color to make my heart cry.”

So based on this interpretation, I believe that we see “God-colors” in church when we see people reaching out to others, both within and outside the church in love through their relationships. This is done regardless of who the person is. In doing this they are acting out their own relationship with God with others. May be a bit simplistic but I believe it is very real.

So here are the rule for this mene (for those of you who don’t know what this is, it is any thought or behavior that can be passed from one person to another by learning or imitation. I didn’t know what it was when I first heard the word.) are placed below:

I want to start a meme that will focus on creativity in the church. I hope you will join me. The meme is simple. Select one option and answer it.

Option 1: What is one thing you have seen in the church that really produces a reflection of God colors? It is so good that people can’t help but realize that God is present and active.

Option 2: What is one thing you would like to see in church that you know in your heart would reflect God colors? Use your imagination. The sky is the limit.

The protocol for a meme is as follows:

Answer the question on your blog.
Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
Link back to the original meme.
Post these rules on your blog.
Tag at least 5 people at the end of your post.
Let each person you tag know that they have been tagged.

I am tagging Bard, Bob, Andy, Patrick, Terence.

I read an amazing blog piece called Wait for It by Amy Gustafson. Her analogy in comparing the finding of her wedding dress and the “WOW” that comes from it with God’s relationship with her and her relationship with her fiancee. Her fiancee is Patrick Oden who is also a tremendous author and blogger. He is featured on my links.

I think that is what many of us have lost or are missing in our lives. We fail to see or experience the “WOW” that God places in our lives everyday and all across his creation.

I was taught and it has been my own personal experience that one’s mission or ministry in life often stems from the source of one’s greatest trial, pain or suffering. Recently when I was watching a Youtube video of Donald Miller at Point Loma Nazarene College’s Writer Symposium by the Sea, a question towards the later part of the video addressed the area of pain, both in life and as an aspect of his writing. He references a calling to his being a wounded healer to others through his writing by sharing his experiences through empathy and the assurance that people are not only in their experience. Then I thought about the testimony I shared on the Lofter’s Life blog recently on the Teamloft website managed by my friend Bob East. Wasn’t that living the role of the “wounded healer“?

Many of us minister to others through our words, deeds, actions and writing because of the hurts and pains we have suffered and been through. It is the former alcoholic taking an active role in assisting those who are trying to escape the throes of alcoholism. It is like Donald Miller who created the Belmont Foundation to mentor to those who grew up without a father much like Donald. Whether it is greeting people because you realize how greeters helped you to come to Christ or creating a ministry to assist those families with Special Needs children because you had a special needs child yourself and could find no assistance.

Donald Miller references a quote by Bishop Desmond Tutu when he was asked who should be on a committee for reconcilliation in South Africa where he says “the people who should be on this committee are people who are victims. People whose lives have been ripped open and they have gained an education towards empathy. These people should be wounded healers” This quote is found in Antjie Krog’s book “Country of My Skull“

Attached is a transcript of the part of Donald’s interview I found so interesting. The video is about an hour and it’s towards the end.

Donald as usual inserts his humorous style there at the end.

I know, it kind of sounds like Yoda giving Luke Skywalker some advise, but I truly believe that God talks to us. How God speaks to each one of us will differ as everyone’s walk is different. Only Moses got the burning bush. Noah got a rainbow. I believe that God speaks to us in many ways. It may be through the Scripture, through an experience, through other people, or some for of direct connection.

Case in point, one of my kids and I were traveling down the highway discussing things along the way. My child asked me if I thought God was real. I said yes I believe that God is very real. “Well, how do you know?” was the counter question. “Well, God has spoken to me and he speaks to all who will listen.” At this point, I told my child of several of the experiences I encountered over my years in relationship with Christ. Still struggling with doubt, my child said, “You know, sometimes I wonder if God is really out there.” Before I could reply, I then heard my child say “You have got to be kidding me.” I asked , “What do you mean?”

A big truck had come into my child’s sight. On the front of the truck, was a giant, glowing cross. As soon as the words of doubt had come out of my child’s mouth, this truck came into my child’s view. I never saw the truck, but my child did. It was a powerful message to my child, but I believe it was a message just for my child and not me.

God speaks to us in many different ways. What I experience will be unique to me, though the message will always coincide with the Scriptures. It part of the relationship that God pursues with us and that we should share with Him as well.

I once heard Steve Sample, the president of the University of Southern California, speak at a conference. He joked that his pastor was going to kill him for saying this, but that he had been an Episcopalian for 44 years and a Christian for 25. The thought slammed into my mind like a runaway train filled with explosives and diesel fuel. How true is that statement? If we think not just for him, but for all of us, we find ourselves living lives where we have all the religious trappings upon us but the insides are hollow. The prophet Ezekiel referred to this as “when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash” (Ez 13:10). Jesus referred to Pharisees who were like this in Mt 23:27 as “whitewashed tombs”.

I have always said that it’s not about the ritual, it’s about the relationship. However today I heard a great presentation, by a fellow named John, who had prepared it for an upcoming Men’s Emmaus Walk for the North Houston Emmaus Community. He asked “Do we have a religion or do we have a relationship? Do we have a God or do we have a Savior? Do we merely believe in God and not fully believe God at work in our lives?”

This poses a great question for me. How do we know when we just have religion without the relationship? The answer is that we looked at how God is working in our lives. It really comes down to what our intentions are. So are we for real or are we just a thin layer of whitewash covering up a broken wall?

I was reading my friend Bob East’s blog, Movin On where he talks about being missional and John Ortberg in the same post. The reference remindered me of a presentation that John Ortberg gave at the 2007 Willowcreek Leadership Summit last August. He talked about a concept he called one’s “shadow mission“. When he spoke about it, it really hit home with me and my own walk in relationship to God.

John Ortberg spoke about how everyone has a mission in life. As I thought about it I personally looked at it this way. When we are in relationship with God, He gives us opportunity to “join in his work” to quote Blackaby’s “Experiencing God”. Ortberg continued with an illustration about how one’s mission can be derailed. He said that many people think that when Satan seeks to thwart your godly mission that he tries to take us in the opposite direction. This, Ortberg said, could not be further from the truth. Often, Satan will take your godly mission and deflect it slightly. Just like archery or riflery, a small deflection can mean that you miss the target.

This bring Matthew 7:21-23 in focus quite well.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Ortberg said that in his case his mission is teaching and writing. However his shadow mission is seeking approval of others and seeking validation of his ministry through people. Ortberg made a chilling comment. If you do not know what your shadow mission is, then you are probably doing it. How about you?

I recently ran into a guy that I met at Taft Street Coffee in Houston. Now he and I really don’t have much in common, especially on a socio-economic level. This fellow one day had just walked up to me and began telling me his story about how he had found God. As he told me the story about how he had been addicted to meth and how he had wandered into the coffee shop looking for a glass of water. He told me that he had found so much more. It showed me that we need to be aware of the people that we meet and those that cross our paths.

Now 4 months later, I have realized how much I have in common with this lower classed, former meth junkie. At the time we met, he showed me his former track marks and I commented that I had my scars too but they resided on the inside. Every time we see each other, it seems we were made to help each other out. It is eerie how similar our struggles are despite how different we are. God had provided both of us a person who truly cared about the problems that we had and who would listen and give aid. It is sad that in my former Christian life I would have just walked away from someone like this who has been such a blessing in my life.