Last night on my way back from Denver I had the privilege of sitting next to a cop.  This individual was working on a case aimed at arresting some people engaged in sex-trafficking.  She shared some stories, and she talked about the anger she feels when she hears the stories of abuse that these girls are subjected to.  It was sad to hear, but it was also a shocking reminder.  It’s all too easy to forget that slavery, human trafficking, and the sex industry are billion dollar industries that are often hidden from our sight.

Sex trafficking is easy to miss.  We think that it’s something that happens in other parts of the world.  It happens to other people in other countries — people who look different from us, or speak a different language than us.  But that simply isn’t true.  Women and children are stolen and sold into sexual slavery in the suburbs and cities in which we live and work.  The case she is working on is taking place right here in the US.   Here are some other simple facts about the slave trade from ijm’s site:

• Human trafficking is the world’s third largest criminal
enterprise, after drugs and weapons. (U.S. Department of State)
• Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the
commercial sex trade. (UNICEF)
• There are an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 children, women
and men trafficked across international borders annually.
(U.S. Department of State)
• Approximately 80 percent of human trafficking victims are women
and girls, and up to 50 percent are minors. (U.S. Department of State)
• The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to
be in excess of $32 billion. (U.N.)
• Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic.
(U.S. Department of State)

As I talked with my new friend, I was struck by the kingdom nature of her work.  She said that she had been contacted by churches in the past who wanted to help.  They asked if they could do investigative work.  They wanted to go into dangerous areas and do stakeouts.  She begged them not to do that.  She didn’t want to get a phone call from them after they had gotten themselves caught in the middle of a shoot-out asking for help!  As we talked, it seemed clear to me that the church’s role is awareness so that we can fight against slavery at a systems level (advocating for better laws and funding to fight trafficking) and help with victim recovery — the church can come along side those who have suffered at the hands of sexual slavery and help them to find healing for their wounds.

The work that my friend is doing is really important, and only she can do it.  God is against slavery and the church is about God’s business, but we aren’t equipped to bust human trafficking rings.  Trained police officers who catch sex trafficking rings are doing God’s work.   They are executing justice against obvious oppressors of the weak and vulnerable.  Psalm 12 is one of the great psalms crying out for God to act on behalf of the vulnerable, particularly vulnerable children.  I pray this psalm for my new friend as she engages in God’s work of fighting against sexual slavery.  I pray that God would work through her to protect and save the weak and vulnerable caught in the sex trade.

“Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips—who is our master?”

“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy,

I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.

O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.”

(Psalms 12:1–8 NIV)

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I’m in Denver right now for my denomination’s annual pastors’ conference.  I love our denomination, and this conference is a great reminder of it.  This year’s speaker is John Ortberg.  After I have coffee with a friend, James Kim, I’m going to go into the opening session with Ortberg this morning.  I look forward to hear what he has to say.  They also have a lot of really great break-out sessions that happen throughout the days, and free lunches and dessert times that happen as well.  But the best part of the week is connecting with other pastors.  After being  in the denomination for a while, I’ve been able to make some good friends.  These are friendships with people who are going through similar struggles.  They are trying to plant churches, preach the Bible, start new ministries, and engage in justice ministries.  It’s hard work and this is a great time to connect and share stories.

I also had my ordination interview yesterday.  I passed!  It was by and large a warm and supportive process that left me feeling affirmed more than questioned.  There wasn’t rigid doctrinal probing or hard-nose interpretation of my paper.  In fact the in the one area where I gave an answer that was doctrinally sub-par my interviewer simply suggested, “you might want to brush up on that.”  I’m not sure too many other denominations would be as gracious.

I’m in Denver enjoying my time with the Evangelical Covenant Church.  I’m meeting with friends, and I look forward to hearing Ortberg speak.  This weekend is another great reminder of why I’m glad we are a part of this denomination!

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In last night’s show of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart spent a segment laying into Keith Olberman, host of MSNBC’s Countdown. He is the liberal equivalent to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, and he used to be a host of ESPN’s Sports Center.  He’s known for his quick wit, fast-talking diatribes and punchy rhetoric.  I don’t watch him, but apparently he’s been doing his fair share of ad hominem attacks lately — instead of engaging in idealogical disagreement, he’s just attacking character and doing a lot of name-calling.  So last night, Stewart called Olberman out.

What I find interesting is how universally common this is — it’s so easy to think that name-calling is actual argumentation.  One doesn’t have to be a national broadcaster to be tempted to engage in ad hominem attacks though.  Anytime we find ourselves disagreeing with someone else, it’s hard to remain engaged at an issue level.  It’s hard not to give into just name calling when someone at work, in our family, a spouse, or a friend  disagrees with us or  challenges us.   In the political world, Olberman uses his position of media power to tear down those with whom he disagrees without engaging them in idealogical discourse.    I’m guessing a lot of that is just because it’s really hard work.  Thoughtful and articulate engagement at an issue level is hard for the writers.  It’s much easier to just call someone a “fat-a**” because you think their politics are bad and you’re too tired to explain why you think so.

The same principle applies to our relationships.  When I’m in an argument with my wife, it takes real work to resolve our conflict.  We need to spend time to lovingly wade through our disagreement.  If I’m too tired to do this, I can be tempted to resort to name calling.  I can try and easily win the argument by brining up a past grievance.  I can resort to a sort of ad hominem attack that is really just a lazy cop out of the argument and the relationship.  Listening to Stewart tear into Olberman was more than just entertaining for me, it was good commentary on the temptations we all face when we are engaged in an argument.   And it’s a good reminder  why it’s important to work at our disagreements whether at a national level or in our homes.

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We went to the MLK Holiday Breakfast this past Monday.  This was the 20th year of the event, and this year’s speaker was the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery.  The 88-year-old Dr. Lowery has been a pillar in the civil rights movement, a friend of Dr. King, and he delivered the Benediction at President Obama’s Inauguration.

I enjoyed hearing him speak.  He was funny.  He was direct.  He was challenging.  But more inspiring than his rhetoric, was his personal presence.  His story is compelling.  He has  given his life to fighting against injustice.  He has fought for the oppressed, and done his best to seek out the voiceless in our society and speak on their behalf.  He has spoken on behalf of the poor, the sick, those marginalized for their sexual orientation, people of color, and people stuck in schools and neighbors where the educational system fails to educate.  The primary challenge of his message was for us to see these people.  These are the people that MLK fought for, and he challenged us not to celebrate Dr. King while we forget the people he spoke for.  He urged, even scolded us, not to embrace the missionary but forget his message.

It was an inspiring event.  Dr. Lowery is an impressive figure.  I’m glad I went.  But I’m also a little bit disappointed.  The whole thing was entirely too palatable.  General Mills was the sponsor, and the first half of the breakfast felt a bit like one long advertisement for how great they were for hosting this breakfast.  I got the feeling like part of the reason they host this breakfast is for the positive PR they get out of it.  Also, the response that the organizers called for was very weak.  The push was for everyone to engage in service, to volunteer.   There was a card on our table that said something like, “I pledge to volunteer….” and then a number of volunteer opportunities were available to be checked off.  They were just ambiguous suggestions like, “rake leaves” or “visit a nursing home.”  While these are good things to do, they aren’t really in the spirit of living the dream of MLK.  These seem like weak applications when you have 2000 people gathered to celebrate the legacy of MLK.  I think it would have been more helpful to promote organizations doing the work of bringing MLK’s dream to fruition in Minneapolis.  If just 10 organizations would have been highlighted, they could have received countless new volunteers.  Plus there were all the people viewing the program on TV that would have been connect to these organizations.

Because of the large scale, corporate feel, and the vague call for “volunteering,” I came away from the event feeling a little bit let down.  Part of this probably also has to do with my belief that so much of our hope for racial reconciliation will take place in the context of the church.  Really powerful racial reconciliation happens in more intimate spaces where people are allowed to tell stories, confess sins, and empathize with the other.  This is hard to accomplish at a breakfast with 2000 attendees.

I still appreciated the event, and I would consider attending again next year.  The event adequately celebrated Dr. King, and his non-violent methods of civil disobedience.  I left reminded of how radical non-violence is, and how it was first exhibited in the person of Jesus.  He defeated evil not through retaliation to it, but by absorbing it by dying on the cross.  This is the same thing Dr. King did, and that’s why the civil rights movement was so effective.  The event was a great reminder and celebration of him.

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This past Sunday on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume offered some commentary and advice for Tiger Woods in the wake of his scandal.  I have no comment about Tiger.  Brit suggested that Tiger should become a Christian because it offers a better path for redemption than Buddhism, which allegedly Tiger Woods adheres to.  Hume suggested Tiger would have a better chance at pulling his life together if he became a Christian.

I’ve read that Brit Hume is a committed Christian, and for that I consider him a brother in Christ even though I have considerable worldview difference with him regarding his socio-political commentary.  But when I saw the video of him suggesting that Tiger become a Christian, I cringed.  This is not the way to engage people in private and much less in public.

America is not a Christian country even though Christians are still in the majority and therefore in power.  That means that we have to use our power wisely.  In Christ we have been given the model for how to use this power, and it looks like service.  Christians in the spotlight should use their positions of power to shine light on the weak and vulnerable.  Instead of using our positions of power to prop ourselves up or just hand out advice, we should use our power to protect others and look out for the interests of the weak around us.

Brit used his position of privilege not to help Tiger, but to tell him what to do.   It was so offensive because it was an abuse of power.   Tiger, who is in a vulnerable situation — he has been repeatedly berated by the media — was once again put down, this time in the sphere of religion, by Brit.  A more Christ-like, servant-oriented method, would have been for Brit to defend Tiger.  If he would have protected Tiger, the one who is weak, from the media, the ones who are strong — they are the group in power since they control the airwaves — I believe his actions would have been much more winsome.  He could have said something like, “Tiger may have made a mistake, but the real sickness is in our media and in our American culture that feasts on the failure of its celebrities.  I’m ashamed of the coverage this thing has garnished…”  By doing this he would have embodied Christ to Tiger and to the watching audience which ultimately would have been much more attractive.   And who knows, that might have actually had the effect Brit was looking for.

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Anyone want to read the Bible more this coming year?  It’s a favorite New Year’s resolution for Christians.  Often times we start from the beginning and then get bogged down in the early books.  We give up before we get out of the month of January.   If you’re looking for a new way to read the Bible, here’s something worth trying, YouVersion: http://www.youversion.com/.

You can create an account, and then pick a Bible reading plan — I think there are 22 plans available.  It has a really slick interface and a ton of translations to choose from.  They also have an iPhone app that stays up-to-date with your online account.  You do your reading and then check it off as you complete it, either on your phone or your computer, progressing at your own pace.

I’ve started reading through the Psalms and Proverbs plan.  It takes me through the Psalms twice and Proverbs 12 times in a year.  With young children in the house, I want to get Proverbs deep into my soul.  I believe Proverbs is a book primarily given for the formation of adolescents.  Hopefully over the course of this year, I will get some ideas on how to use it in our household.

But they have a lot of other plans ranging from reading the whole bible in 30 days to just sections of the New Testament over the course of months.  The interface also has some other cool features that allow you to do personal highlighting, note-taking, journalling, and make public contributions.  It’s very cool, and worth checking out!  It’s going to be my Bible Reading medium this year.  Thanks YouVersion!

HT: Mark Batterson

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I sit at my desk watching the snow rapidly accumulate. It sounds like this will be a storm for the ages as some experts predict as much as a foot and a half will fall! In just a few short hours our world has changed into what it’s meant to be. It has become both beautiful and fun. The beauty is breath-taking, and now every square-foot has been transformed into a place of play. For my kids, the excitement of opening gifts may wane in the face of so much snow to frolic and sled in. What a gift on Christmas!

It is the perfect reminder of God’s gift to us on the first Christmas. In Christ, God gives us the gift of soul-snow. Just as the snow outside has turned a dull and dirty world of drudgery into a winter-wonderland of white beauty, God’s grace likewise transforms our broken sinful lives into something free of blemish and full of fun. The guilt, shame, fear, and bondage that plagues our emotional and spiritual lives is covered with a blanket of beauty. The world that seems overwhelmed with busyness and to-do lists is transformed into a playground. Peace and joy take over as walking across our front yard becomes a playful activity. This is the effect that God intends Christ to have in our lives.

““Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 ESV)

In Christ, our sins are cleansed and covered, and we become beautiful and joy-filled. God’s grace falls down like flakes of healing on past wounds and sinful habits. Like the snowy world around us we are transformed into something new, something both beautiful and fun.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas. I hope that God’s gift of snow will serve as a reminder to each of us of the life transforming soul-snow that he gave on the first Christmas.

Originally posted on the New City Covenant Church Blog with image from flickr.

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Oh, how I love them!  I just dropped of a friend, Gerald Wu, at the airport today.  He’s a Singaporean college student who just finished up a semester as an exchange student at the University of Minnesota.  We were introduced over email by a mutual friend.  Gerald happily jumped on board with our church plant and helped us in a number of ways to get our community off the ground.  He participated at our Community Life Gatherings.  He helped me build crates.  He was a huge help at our first service.  He helped setup the praise equipment, and he took care of all the powerpoint and media stuff during the service.  Gerald was great to have around because he was so willing to help out.  He was a gracious servant who helped make our community a better place to be.

As I reflect on Gerald, I realize that the characteristics I love about him are common to many Singaporeans I know.  I have a number of Singaporean friends who are similarly servant-oriented.  Doing ministry with them is a joy because they rarely complain and they are willing to help out with whatever needs to be done.  As a pastor, I deeply appreciate this.  Too often, people are only willing to help out when it is convenient to them.  Or, they only want to serve occasionally without making a long-term commitment.  Or, they only want to serve in a few areas where they feel they can use their gifts and “come alive.”  The reality is there is a lot of grunt work that needs to be done to make a community work.  It’s not all glorious.  A lot of it isn’t all that rewarding either.  People who are willing to just show up and serve are worth more to a pastor than almost anything else.

And that’s why I’ve come to love Singaporeans…at least the one’s I’ve gotten to know.  They are gracious servants.  They are willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of those around them.   Thanks Gerald for all your work, and I look forward to seeing you again some day soon!

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Mark Batterson loves Jesus.  I’ve now read two of his books, Wild Goose Chase and Primal, and the portrait I get of him is a high energy (possibly over-caffeinated, he started a coffee shop) Jesus junky.  He comes across as an adventurer in pursuit of new ways to articulate God’s love. And the good news is, it’s pretty contagious.

I found myself constantly thinking up new ideas of how to share my faith, serve other people, or structure our church so as to more effectively share of the love of God in Christ.  Reading Primal doesn’t present ground-breaking new insights of interpretation, but it does provide a challenge to apathetic American Christians to take risks and do something wild for God.  Batterson challenges the reader to put aside the religiosity that consumes so much of the church and instead get back to the basics, the primal things, of following Christ.

I’ve discovered that when I’ve lost my way spiritually, the way forward is often backward…going back to that most primal place helps us find our way forward… pg. 8

My prayer is that this book will take you down two thousand stairs back to that primal place — the place where loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is all that matters. (pg. 11)

Using the framework of our Primal call to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, Batterson explores what that looks like for us today.  He does a good job of contextualizing each of these aspects of loving God into contemporary life.  He pushes hard on the core essence of the faith as rooted in this ancient commandment (the Great Commandment) to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, but he also emphasizes the need for creativity and relevance.

I have a conviction that gets me up early and keeps me up late: there are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet.  If we keep trying to meet new challenges with tired old ideas, I’m afraid we’ll fade into irrelevant oblivion.  What we need is the freedom to experiment.  We need to dream God-sized dreams and take God-sized risks.  We need to dare to be different. (pg. 114)

He dreams of the church becoming ancient by doing things in new ways.  This book is his rallying cry.  It’s a challenge to Christians everywhere to participate in the next reformation of re-articulation.  It’s his motivational message to get off our couches and do something new and exciting for God.

This book is an invitation to be part of something that is bigger than you, more important than you, and longer lasting than you.  It’s an invitation to be part of the next reformation.  It’s an invitation to be part of a primal movement that traces its origins all the way back to ancient catacombs where our spiritual ancestors were martyred because they loved God more than they loved life.

Instead of a reformation lead by one person though, Batterson hopes that the reformation of our age will come by thousands, even millions, of Christians becoming serious about loving God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.  He believes that will be expressed by us living lives of compassion (heart), wonder (soul), curiosity (mind), and energy (strength).

This is a good book.  It’s a motivational book.  Batterson writes well, and he seems full of stories, analogies, and medical metaphors aimed at articulating the faith in contemporary language.  His creativity spurred new thoughts in me, and I believe it would do the same for others.  If you’re looking for a book to challenge and inspire you to live your faith more fully, you’ll find this to be a helpful and encouraging book.  If you want a book to stimulate new thoughts for a new year, this might be a great book to help you dream up some risky New Year’s resolutions!

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book for free as a part of their blog tour launch of Primal.  Despite receiving this book for free, I’ve reviewed it honestly, and I’m happy to recommend it.

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This past weekend was the big move.   We moved three whole blocks, but we might as well have been moving to a different state.  We still had to box everything up, and we hired movers because we’ve got some really heavy items.  In honor of our move, I thought I’d put together a top 10 list of things I hate about moving:

10. Other people get to see all the junk you’ve never thrown away
9. Between the trips to Home Depot and hiring movers, it is really expensive
8. It’s a reminder that I’m not very organized
7. Scratched walls
6. Lots of snow the day before we moved means lots of muddy feet on the carpet
5. You have to clean a house you will never live in again
4. Inevitable back pain
3. Losing the coffee maker in some random box stacked somewhere in my basement
2. Taking trips to Starbucks in a 15′ Budget truck
1. “Discussions” with my wife about what we will keep and what we will toss

Even though there are all these things to hate about moving, we are still pretty happy.  We love our new house.  I believe it will help us accomplish our mission really well, and it’s just fun to own our own place.

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