Civility is Underrated

We went to Young Life's Family Camp at Woodleaf this past weekend. It was a great time for the whole family. The kids were ready to do anything and everything. It was clear that they were going to try and do everything offered in the first day. If you have never been to a Young Life Camp, they are pretty amazing. Woodleaf has a double zip line that takes you from the top of camp and dumps you into the lake. There is a Blob (a violent experience according to Jason Golz), kayaking, a pool and a giant swing. A giant swing is a poor name and description of this adrenaline creating thrill ride.

You get into a Swiss seat, then a chest harness. Then climb up a six foot platform and sit on the swing's seat. The Young Life staff then clips you into the bar in two different places, the Swiss seat and chest harness. After the two of you are safely clipped in, the platform is pulled away and then a winch hoists you up 30 feet where you decide who is going to pull the rope that releases you from the winch. One tug and you free fall for a second then swing out over the lake. It is a thrilling ride and is very popular. The line does not move quickly because of the emphasis on safety.

Ean saw his brother and sister do the swing and decided that he wanted to try it. We went down right after lunch and got in line, we were in the front and the swing was going to open in 20 minutes. It was hot and sunny, but I knew that this was a real good thing so I suggested that we wait. Ean agreed. Then at about five minutes before the opening of the swing, a group came up to the line that had formed (about ten of us) and announced that when the swing shut down before lunch, the staff had handed out numbers so they were going to go first. This seemed fair to me, but not to my six- year old. He was very disappointed. The thing was that two more groups staggered in, whereas we were told at first there were six in front of us, it was really six groups. Needless to say it was an hour longer before we got up.

It was a good lesson in civility for Ean. We were following the rules, waiting our turn, doing what was fair even when it was difficult. The swing was awesome by the way. Then yesterday I had to get a prescription from Kaiser. There was a line of about thirty people. I waited in line, Ean in tow, and found out I had to wait. I was sitting in a chair at the front of the line. What I observed was difficult after experiencing the civility at camp.

As we sat there we watched over and over again people walking up to the front, ignoring the clearly marked signs and walk up to the window, only to feign surprise when the clerk told them that there was a line and they needed to get in it. Then many times the customer would explain that they were in a hurry and could not wait in line: parking, someone waiting for them, they had another appointment, etc. Over and over again these folks showed that they thought that the line was for everyone else and not for them.

This way of thinking is so attractive. Lines are not for me, rules do not apply to me, these things are for everyone else. But really, to live in our city with peace we have to practice civility on a daily basis. Letting others go first at Peet's, letting the other car have the parking space, following the rules that everyone else follows especially when it is inconvenient, especially when it costs.

Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

                    -Jesus

O Lord, You Alone Know

Some of you know that we have not sold our home in Kansas. We tried to sell it in the summer of 2007 and like most Americans got stuck. We had buyers who could not get credit. We floated for a year, then tried again last year but everyone was sitting around waiting to see what was going to happen. God provided a renter and we have been OK for this year. The renters are moving out. Even though we know this is the bottom of the market, we are going to try to sell the house this summer. We really need it to sell and sell quickly. Seems like an impossible task.

It seems like it could never happen. It seems hopeless.

Some of you know that I am enrolled in a Doctorate of Ministry Program. The class that I am taking is Prophetic Preaching. My assignment here at the end of the class was to write a sermon based out of Ezekiel 37. It got me thinking about my house in Kansas and the circumstance we find ourselves in.

Ezekiel finds himself in a difficult situation, a hopeless situation.

During his service, Ezekiel pleads with his people to repent and stop their sin, but they would not. The consequences fall down. In Chapter 33 verse 21 we read: In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has fallen!"-NIV

The thing that Ezekiel had feared the most had occurred. His biggest nightmare had just happened. The city and the temple, the temple of God were destroyed. Everything that Ezekiel had ever dreamed of and hoped for was gone. This is the stage for the conversation between God and God's prophet. God takes Ezekiel to a valley, a valley of scattered, dry, bleached out bones. A place of despair a place where there is no hope for life, a place no one wants to be.

God asks Ezekiel a question "Ezekiel, can these bones live?" Is there any hope in this valley of death and destruction?

Ezekiel, instead of saying that this situation is impossible and that it was hopeless, places his trust in God. You God, you know the answer to this. Instead of answering God, Ezekiel submits, he surrenders all of his despair, all of his lost dreams and aspirations to God with his response. Ezekiel says: "O Lord, You know." Ezekiel's hope is not in the circumstance in front of Him, but in God who is faithful, God who remains steadfast throughout time.

I was wondering what you are dreaming about that is too big to even hope for, too great of a leap of faith that you can't even say that it could happen. Instead, your trust is in nothing but God. The best that you can do is say: O Lord, You alone know.

Is there any hope that our house will sell?

My answer: O Lord, You alone know.

In that I will trust.

 

Peace

Edwin

A Respite from the Storm

All of us need a break, a rest from the hectic pace, a change of tempo. I realized lately that one of the things that is important for all of us to do is to be able step out from time to time and gain some perspective.

Some of my biggest spiritual growth spurts have been on retreat, camping or some sort of break from the grind. Whether it was Young Life Camp, Work Crew, a Trip to Alaska, a trip to Nicaragua, a road trip to California it did not matter, these were all defining times in my life. They had one thing in common, they were getaways, times away from the day to day. Getting out of what we are doing, if even for a few days, allows us to gain perspective and clarity. Daily time alone, weekly time of solitude and larger retreats are healthy ways to allow ourselves to rest and create and live.

If you study what Jesus did, and not just what he said, you see a pattern emerge: solitude then ministry, solitude then ministry over and over. One such time was when he was going to choose his disciples. Jesus, before making this huge decision went off by himself and prayed. So if this was the most natural rhythm for God when he was in human form, then I think it is safe to say that we could benefit from a time of retreat together.

In a month, Golden Gate Community Church is headed to Mount Hermon on a retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The theme is "Wonder: Finding God in Everyday Life". It is a time in the mountains where we will play, eat, worship and learn together away from the hustle and bustle of our regular lives. I am inviting you to join us. You do not have to be a member or have attended our church to come. I think that if you choose to come, you will be glad that you did, plus it will give us a chance to meet. If you want more information, click here.

I hope you can make it. If not, take some time to get out there this week and find some space to slow down and listen.

 

Peace

Edwin