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Mark Driscoll: Are Stay-At-Home Dads Unbiblical?

I like Mark Driscoll.

For the most part.

Mars Hill Church

Most people have a love-him-or-hate-him relationship with Driscoll, the preaching pastor of Mars Hill, a megachurch in Seattle, Washington. Known to some as the “cussing pastor”, his in-your-face preaching style has drawn many to his ministry. Mars Hill has several campuses with attendance in the thousands. Their Easter service this year will be held at Qwest Field, which is the home field of the Seattle Seahawks. The church hosts the Acts 29 Network, a prominent, nationwide church planting organization. Driscoll’s sermons are downloaded over a 100,000 times each week. So whether you agree or disagree with his teaching style and theology, he is undoubtedly one of the today’s most influential evangelical pastors.

Mars Hill Sermon Series

Now I enjoy listening to Mark Driscoll’s sermons. A lot of them are very convicting and biblically solid. But I can also see where his critics are coming from. His aggressive preaching can be perceived as arrogant, as he is not afraid to speak his mind. Some say he just makes outrageous claims for shock value. Now, I could write a whole blog post about whether or not I agree with Driscoll’s methods and theology, but that’s not what I want to focus on right now. I want to talk about this video clip I ran across at work on Out of Ur, which is a blog run by Leadership Journal, a publication of Christianity Today International. The video is an excerpt from “The Peasant Princess” sermon series at Mars Hill by Pastor Driscoll, and he, along with his wife Grace, tackle the issue of stay-at-home dads.

Before I begin, was anyone else weirded out by Driscoll’s hand on his wife’s leg the whole time? Maybe it’s just me. Anyway, we all know he has a very complementarian view of gender roles, as Mars Hill does not allow women to preach. I guess having his wife up there to help answer questions doesn’t count.

Driscoll seems to be teaching that stay-at-home dads are unbiblical. His main argument is drawn from 1 Timothy 5:8 which states, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (ESV) This is part of a section when Timothy is talking about caring for widows. I think Driscoll is taking this verse out of context. He says that the reason men cannot stay at home is not cultural, but biblical. But in saying that, Driscoll himself is putting his own cultural views on what is considered “providing for family.” Who is to say that providing for one’s family has to mean that they leave the house to work and earn their wages? That’s what today’s culture is saying. Why can’t raising your children be considered providing for your family? He obviously makes it clear that taking care of your children is important, but only for the mother? So it’s not good enough for men? That makes it sound like raising kids is sort of a second class job.

He also says you cannot be considered a man if you don’t provide for your family. In some aspects, that is true. A man should take responsibility for his family and use his God-given talents and resources to take care of his wife and children. But why is this limited to leaving the house to work? What about certain circumstances where it makes more sense for the mother to be the working parent and the father to be the primary parent to raise children? Now, there may be aspects of parenthood that a mother might be able to handle better than a father could, but you can’t say that dads won’t be great at taking care of their kids. Driscoll says that for a family to be honoring to God, the man must work and provide for his family. So is he saying that a family with a stay-at-home dad and a working mom, who are devout Christians and raise their children with biblical standards and teach them godly values, isn’t honoring to God? If a mother received an opportunity that is totally God’s calling on her life and she would be able to use her spiritual gifts and talents like never before, and the father decides to stay home to faithfully raise his children, that would be dishonoring God? That doesn’t sound right to me.

Driscoll says he’s read the whole Bible, and I don’t doubt that claim at all. But I wonder what he has to say about the many female leaders that show up in Scripture, such as Deborah or Esther. I don’t think a mother has to be limited to the house. Of course, raising children is very important, and if the kids are being neglected while both parents are out working, then that’s a whole different story. But I don’t think that’s what Driscoll is talking about. If the father was a deadbeat, and his lack of provision was detrimental to his family, then I get Driscoll’s point. But I think for the most part, he is addressing healthy families with a stay at home dad. Going back to the verse in 1 Timothy, it does not say “If the man does not provide.” It says, “If anyone.” Driscoll is using this verse out of context in order to illustrate his point.

Now personally, whenever I think about getting married sometime in the future and raising a family together, I get very excited thinking about the opportunity I will have to be able to provide for my wife and children. I believe that is a privilege. But perhaps God can call husbands to stay at home. And I believe He can do that. And if that happens, that doesn’t make a family any more dishonoring to God if they are just answering His call.

Pastor Driscoll, if in some crazy way you end up reading this post, I want to say that first of all, I do admire your love for God, and your desire to share the Gospel with everyone. I know you are completely serious about your faith, and you long for everyone to walk with Jesus as well. I appreciate a lot of your sermons. But I have to say, I don’t quite agree with everything you say in this clip for the reasons I have stated.

For a excellent response to this video that explains things way better than I ever could, please check out this post by Ben Witherington, a professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary.

What are your thoughts on Pastor Driscoll, his theology and exegesis?

The Baffling Appeal of “Jersey Shore”

So I have a confession to make.

Ready? Here it is. (Deep breath)

I have seen every episode of Jersey Shore.

There, I admitted it. It’s sort of embarrassing. I didn’t mean to get sucked into the trashiest hour that TV has to offer each week. (In fact, I don’t even have cable, so I watch it online. That’s even more embarrassing to admit.)

It all started my senior year of college when one of my roommates, who is actually from New Jersey, complained that this show gave his home state a bad rep. Which naturally made us all start watching it, and since then, I’ve been keeping up with The Situation, Snooki, and the rest of the crazy cast all the way to last week’s finale of the 3rd season. I hope no one’s perception of me has drastically changed due to this confession.

If you’re not familiar with Jersey Shore, it’s a reality show on MTV (that should already give you clues on the quality of the show’s content) that follows 8 Italian Americans living in a shore house together and their wild tumultuous relationships and adventures. I have never seen promiscuous sex, partying, drinking, and fighting glamorized to this extent. We see cast members bring home strangers for one night stands. Booze flows freely. So many cuss words are bleeped out that it makes Ozzy Osbourne seem innocent. Fighting is so common it makes Jerry Springer look tame. The show garnered controversy from the cast gratuitously using the term “Guido” to describe themselves. Companies have pulled ads from airing during the commercial breaks. So if you haven’t figured out already, it is one of the most unwholesome, immoral, godless, sinful hours on television.

You might be asking why I watch such a show. Part of the appeal might be that it shows a lifestyle that is so bizarre, so worldly, so hedonistic that it’s like a terrible car accident you can’t look away from. Seriously, who wants to spend 30 minutes on their hair every morning? And I’m talking about one of the guys on the show. I don’t find the whole club scene appealing at all either. If you want me to feel uncomfortable like no other, stick me in the middle of a club. But that can’t be the only reason I find myself wondering what the cast is up to next week.

Here’s what RELEVANT magazine had to say about why America can’t turn away from Jersey Shore:

The show sets 99.9% of Americans on the moral high ground. It is the anti-role model—the morality tale that pushes the bar for boorish behavior so low that even the worst of us can easily step over it. It assures us that, no matter how severe our own shortcomings, there will always be someone more screwed up than us.

Americans don’t want to be told that they’re broken, sinful people in need of a Savior. We want to be told, “Hey, don’t beat yourself up. At least you’re not as bad as that guy.” Jersey Shore ensures that we will always have a “that guy.” It offers all Americans the opportunity to join the Pharisee in reciting his favorite prayer, “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like [those degenerates on Jersey Shore]. For I don’t [have promiscuous sex], I don’t [fight on the Boardwalk], and I don’t [get drunk on weeknights]. I’m certainly not like that [Snooki]!” (Luke 18:11, paraphrased)

We can fall into a pattern of thinking we are good people by comparing ourselves to the lowest bar possible. But why should we compare to something that is meant to shock and disgust us? Shouldn’t we be comparing our lives to Jesus’ standards? We have God’s Word to show us what the right way to live is, not the programming execs at MTV. We can’t strive for “good enough”, when we are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). It is easy to be hypocritical, and think our sins aren’t as bad as the ones that are being flaunted on TV. The glamorization of debauchery makes it easy to miss the plank in our own eye when we are enjoying pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye.

So whenever we find ourselves aligning our moral compass to something that isn’t the Bible, we must remind ourselves that we shouldn’t find our standards in our fellow sinful neighbors, but in the perfect example of God. Since we will always fall short of God’s glory, we are continually challenged to strive for godliness. Comparing ourselves to the Jersey housemates and feeling good about our lives is the lazy approach to life.

Living God’s way isn’t easy. In fact, it may seem lame or boring compared to what the world says. But it is not an excuse for us to look down on other sinners like the Pharisees. Because we are just as sinful in the eyes of the Lord. We are just as screwed up as the cast of Jersey Shore. We are all in need of a Savior.

As Christians, we are in no position to say, “Well, at least I am better than that guy.” Because we’re not. We need the forgiveness and mercy that God offers through Christ just as much as anybody else.

Thank You For 1,000 Views!

When I first started this blog a little over 3 weeks ago, I honestly thought that no one was going to read it. And I was ok with that. To me, it was just a way to organize and process my thoughts, as well as document some stories and memories.

Over the weekend, I hit 1,000 blog views. I didn’t think that would come so quickly, if at all. So I just want to thank all you readers, whether you briefly skimmed over something I wrote to more regular viewers. All the feedback has been very encouraging. So again, thank you!

Here are the all-time Top 3 most viewed posts. If you haven’t checked them out, here are the links below.

1. Born This (Sinful) Way – HEY! A look at Lady GaGa’s new hit song
2. What Michael Scott, Prison Inmates, and God Taught Me About Loneliness Pretty self-explanatory
3. Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”: Worth The Controversy? Thoughts on Bell’s new book

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)

“It’s Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on Friday”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know exactly what I am referring to when I start singing, “It’s Friday, Friday…” And your first instinct might be to punch me in the face. Don’t know what I am talking about? I’m shocked if you don’t. Well, wonder no more. If you haven’t heard, the new viral phenomenon these days is a song/video by 13-year-old Rebecca Black, simply called “Friday”, which can be seen below.

At the time of writing, this video has 43,576,329 views, with 68,325 “likes” and 579,820 “dislikes” on YouTube. It is 38th on the Top Songs list in iTunes. I’ve seen it get posted all over Facebook. She’s made an appearance on Jay Leno. Talk about an overnight sensation.

So despite it being dubbed one of the worst songs ever, the song is an undeniable hit. It’s caught favorable responses from celebrities such as Lady GaGa and Simon Cowell. Perhaps the high number of views are due to people hearing from friends about how horrible it is, and they end up checking it out themselves. Or the song is indeed catchy and we’re too ashamed to admit it. People continually bash the lyrics, stating how incredibly inane and repetitive they are. But wait. Why haven’t the Black Eyed Peas been accused of singing stupid lyrics about days of the week (“I Gotta Feeling” anyone?) And before people start attacking Rebecca for her song (remember she’s only 13 years old folks!), have you listened to the songs that are on the Top 40 stations these days? Ke$ha’s idiotic songs make Rebecca Black sound like Shakespeare.

This proves that no matter how vapid and shallow the lyrics may be, if set to a catchy beat and tune (or auto-tune?), people will eat it up. And they’ll listen to it, even if they think it’s dumb.

A lot of people complain that many worship songs these days are vague, that they lack the theological substance found in hymns, and that the way they are written, they might as well be singing about a significant other. With no explicit mention of God, some songs sound just like a love song you would hear on a typical pop radio station. It is not difficult to find a harsh critic of modern worship today.

I used to have pretty strong opinions about certain songs myself (I wouldn’t be honest if I said I still didn’t have them today). But I realized that context is very important. Some “seasoned Christians” might feel that certain worship songs might be too shallow for them, but for someone who is going through a difficult time, or doesn’t know Christ hears some lyrics that are about love and forgiveness, that might just be the thing that they need to hear and be reminded of.

When I was on a mission trip to Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, I met many inmates. And although the prison hosts thousands of dangerous people, there is a thriving Christian community within. And I heard many of them sing songs that I had previously dismissed as shallow and dumb. But then I tried singing those words from their point of view. As someone who is serving a life sentence, but is made free through faith in Christ. As someone embracing the unconditional, merciful love of a heavenly Father even though the rest of society has turned their back. Then I realized, these lyrics are powerful. I can’t be too quick to criticize because there are people who need to hear those words sung.

Several weeks ago, I was going through a rough time, and I was not in a good mood and was really feeling down on the way to work one morning. Then Brandon Heath’s “Your Love” came on the radio. And I used to hate this song. It fit all the stereotypes I listed earlier. But on that morning, hearing that “your love, your love the only thing that matters is your love, your love is all I have to give, your love is enough to light up the darkness, its your love, your love all i ever needed its your love” was just what I need to be encouraged again. There’s no explicit mention of God, but I knew it was His love that the song was referring to, and it served as a powerful reminder that morning.

I think it’s important to choose songs for worship that are theologically strong, and teach us truth about God. But we can’t be too quick to dismiss those that are not. Because God may be using those lyrics to encourage people around the world. And who are we to criticize or doubt the crazy ways in which God works?

Rebecca Black stated she’s donating the proceeds from her song to Japan and her school. Pretty cool.

Dodgeball, Chick-Fil-A, and The Gospel

Photo courtesy of Danielle Solis

Over the weekend, our high school ministry had a great outreach event at the local YMCA. Over a hundred students brought their friends for a night of dodgeball, climbing, and other fun activities. Oh, and of course, catering by Chick-Fil-A.

So what makes a night of hanging out with friends and delicious chicken sandwiches even better? Taking time to share the Gospel. In between games and activities, we took a break in the pool to hear from HYACKs intern Ben Panner. I thought it was a great presentation and explanation of God’s love, and wanted to present it to others who were not able to be there, so here is what Ben shared that night:

Photo courtesy of Danielle Solis

As an adventurous and ambitious 3-year-old, Ben, or “Butterball Ben” as his father affectionately remembers his chubby days, was at a cookout with families from church when he decided to jump into the pool. However, not knowing how to swim, he sank straight to the bottom, and started fighting for his life as he tried to get to the surface. It could have been a dangerous situation, but his father jumped in to save him within seconds. No hesitation at all. Didn’t matter that he was still wearing his sunglasses, shoes, watch, etc. Everything else was replaceable. His son obviously was not.

This story has a special place in Ben’s heart. Not only does it remind him of his dad’s love and sacrifice for him, but it illustrates a story of another Father’s love. This story is the heart of the Gospel. God reaches out to save us, just like Ben’s dad had done, but this story differs in another significant way. We all need to be saved by God, but we are not fighting and struggling for our life in the pool. In reality, we are dead on the bottom of the ocean. As Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world.” (NIV)

This refers to our spiritual death. There’s nothing we can do to please God and be reconciled with Him on our own. But God didn’t originally intend for our depravity. He created a beautiful and perfect world for His creation to live in. However, through rebellion and disobedience, sin entered the world, and humanity’s relationship with God became broken. We are spiritually dead, sinful people, guilty before God. Seems rather bleak and hopeless, no?

Ephesians 2:4-5 then provides the greatest hope in the world. It shows a way out. How we can be rescued. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” (NIV)

God doesn’t leave us dead at the bottom of the ocean. Why? Because He loves us more than you can imagine. We are His beloved children. In His mercy, He gives us what we do not deserve, and sends His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. To die a death we deserve. Only to be raised to life so that we can eternal life through Him. He is reaching out His arms to rescue us. He is calling for us to turn to Him. So that we can be made alive again by repenting our sins. He wants to restore our relationship with Him out of his great love.

On our own, we are dead. Not even struggling to survive, but dead. But God, as a loving Father, extends His arms to rescue us through His Son, so that we are made alive again.

And if that isn’t good news, I don’t know what is.

Thanks to Ben Panner for sharing his thoughts and notes from his message!
Also, check out the promotional video for our YMCA event made by Joey McKenna, one of our students.

Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”: Worth the Controversy?

Image provided by HarperCollins.com No copyright infringement intended.

This weekend, I got a copy of Rob Bell’s new book. People who think the controversy surrounding this release is all just a marketing scheme by Bell and the publisher, I’m sorry I caved in. But there had been so much commotion about Love Wins even before it came out that I had to read it myself and see what all the fuss was about.

So what do I think after reading the 2nd most popular book on Amazon right now? Honestly, I think Rob Bell had some very good things to say, and raised some challenging questions. Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t have any problems with his book, which I will get to, but I thought the overall message he was trying to spread about God’s immense love for us is something we all need to hear. It’s the way he proves his point where we run into trouble, and where his harshest critics accuse him of being a universalist and a heretic.

Now, before I launch into my thoughts, remember that I am not a pastor, a teacher, or anything. Yeah, I took some Bible classes while at Wheaton College, but in no means am I an expert on Christianity or on God’s Word. I am still growing, learning, and wrestling with my faith, and I am merely sharing my thoughts on the statements and arguments Bell makes in Love Wins.

First, I like that he discusses how the Christian life should not be so focused on where you are going after you die, but more on how we live our daily lives. If we become so focused on the future, what’s the point of the present? God created us to advance His Kingdom on the earth, and we can’t do that if our main focus is on the afterlife. Bell says he believes in a heaven and a hell. But for most of the book, he focuses too much on the present realities of those places, especially hell. Bell likes using the story metaphor, that we are all part of God’s grand story of redemption, restoration, and reconciliation (dang, those are some big ‘R’ words…) A new heaven is coming, as it says in Revelation. And we should live in a way that prepares for the way of the Lord.

He also says that hell is all around us, in the form of injustice, hate, and violence. And those experiencing hell on Earth can be rescued through the love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. But Bell seems to be arguing that hell after you die is the same way. That hell is a place where you go to be instructed the right way to live and that it is a place where God continues to carry out His plan of restoration. That there is no way God can be someone who is willing to extend unconditional love to someone one day, and if they die the next day without ever accepting Christ, He would switch to Judge mode and sentence you to suffer forever in hell. Bell’s question is that who would ever want to follow a God like that? He thinks notions like these are the ones that are driving people away from the Christian faith.

Pastor Rob Bell of Mars Hill Bible Church. Photo from MarsHill.org No copyright infringement intended.

To me, it seems like Bell goes back and forth, and keeps contradicting himself. I find myself agreeing with him one minute, then I flip the page, and I pause and go, “Hmm, I don’t know about that…” He sometimes pulls verses from here and there, which makes it too hectic to follow at times. And these verses seem out of context at times as well. Especially verses that deal with God having compassion on his people, God rescuing his people, etc. I believe in these verses that most of the writers were specifically addressing the people of God, His chosen ones, the people who have repented and accepted Christ’s atoning death for their sins. But Bell takes this to mean everyone. Even after death perhaps. He plays around with the meaning of words like “forever” and “eternal”, that people may only suffer for a period of time in hell before God’s love melts their hardened hearts and that they will be able to enter the gates of Heaven.

It gets confusing at times, because Bell argues that because God truly loves us, that He doesn’t force us to follow him, and gives us total freedom out of His love. I can agree with that. He also states though that God is a perfect all-knowing God and will get his way, eventually winning the souls of everyone. But he also mentions that since people are given a choice, some choose to stay in hell, whether that’s a present reality or in the afterlife. So is he saying God will win over people who choose hell, even though he gives them that option?

It’s hard to imagine good people in hell. Some people live loving and serving others better than some professing Christians. So even if they lived with godly values, they will be punished forever if they haven’t turned to God? Those are hard questions, I agree. But God gave us freedom to choose out of his love. He has revealed Himself to us through His creation, His Word, conversations we have with other people, as well as countless other ways. But we have to choose to realize our sinfulness, and that we need the love of a forgiving Savior. There are an infinite amount of ways to reject that. Some may be outside forces, like the culture we grow up in, but some are inner forces, such as pride. And we can’t ignore the warnings in the Bible about the fate of those who choose to reject Him.

Bell seems to put his own twist on verses like 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” (NIV). He would argue “everlasting” doesn’t mean “everlasting” as we know it.

So is Rob Bell a universalist? Well, he says he’s not. And he never calls it by name in his book. Some may find it difficult to accept that he is not due to the ideas present in Love Wins. I think it served its purpose raising some difficult questions, and also emphasizing how great the love of our God is. That is a message that all of us need to hear and be reminded of. That no matter how messed up our lives are and that no matter what kinds of hell we are living in, that God’s love is strong enough to rescue us. However, it’s his commentary on heaven and hell after we die that makes Rob Bell’s new book a theologically shaky work.

Of course, I have only read the book once, and I may have missed things here and there for or against either argument. But if you want to read a more compelling and thorough review and criticism of the book, click here for a careful examination of Rob Bell’s arguments by Kevin DeYoung, a pastor and member of The Gospel Coalition. He explains and discusses the issues much better than I ever could.

So what do you think about Rob Bell? There’s no doubt he is amazed by how abundant and powerful God’s love is. I know he desires everyone to be able to experience this amazing love to free us from our sin. But what about Love Wins? Is he espousing universalism? What are your thoughts of heaven and hell?

Alright Rob Bell. I Bought Your Book.

Image provided by HarperCollins.com No copyright infringement intended.

After hearing so much hubbub about the new Rob Bell book, I decided to grab a copy and read it for myself. Basically, if you haven’t heard, Love Wins – A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived is stirring up controversy because Bell, a popular pastor and author, appears to be a universalist. Bell, known for his books Sex God and Velvet Elvis, and also his NOOMA video series, has been called a rock star of the church world by Time magazine.

So why has he been under fire lately? Basically, it appears that he is arguing that God’s love for us is so great that there is no way he would allow humans to suffer eternally in hell. Is he saying that hell is empty? Jesus says He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that no one can get to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). But Bell seems to be saying that God’s love for His people is so great that even if they don’t accept Christ, He wouldn’t allow them to be punished forever in hell.

Blogs, Twitter, and other social media outlets on the internet have created so much buzz about this book that it was released earlier than planned. It was sold out at every Borders store around me, but I was able to reserve a copy at a Barnes and Noble not too far away. When I went to go pick it up tonight, the cashier informed me that he had sold several copies of the book today, and asked me what it was about. I’m not sure if he was a Christian or not, and I was only able to give him a short synopsis as there was a line of people behind me. I pray that if he is not a believer that he will come to know Christ one day.

John Piper tweeted “Farewell Rob Bell” in response to Love Wins. Even though it seems like the greater evangelical community is accusing Bell of bad theology and heresy, I’m going to try my best to read this book without any preconceptions. I will blog my thoughts about it when I finish it hopefully this weekend.

In the meantime, if you haven’t seen the trailer for Love Wins, here it is. What do you about Rob Bell and his thoughts?

Tsunamis, Earthquakes, and True Hospitality

Disaster movies have been around for a long time. Through unbelievable special effects, moviegoers have been able to witness a wide variety of catastrophes, from giant alien spaceships destroying major cities in Independence Day to a series of devastating storms in The Day After Tomorrow. Despite poor dialogue and cheesy plots of most disaster movies, I think we love watching them because it shows the triumph of the human spirit. We get to watch a team of people battle all odds and work together to survive, often sacrificing their own lives in the process.

Within real-life disasters, there are real-life heroes. Many people work on the frontlines as well as behind the scenes to help those who need help after a tragedy. Charities, aid organizations, and numerous volunteer teams rally together to provide food, shelter, and medical assistance. Hollywood rarely shows the regular heroes working tirelessly to alleviate the disaster scene. But in fact, these are the real heroes, everyone from donors, to people who supervise all the logistics of rescue efforts, to those actually physically involved in the disaster relief. We should be very thankful for them, as they work together to help their fellow man.

It is sad that sometimes in situations like this, the worst of people can also be exposed. That is no surprise, since we are all imperfect, sinful people. But while there are people involved in rescue efforts, there are also people who try to take advantage for the situation for their own selfish gain. We saw news reports of looters during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We hear stories about people run scams to raise money for bogus charities.

We are saddened when we hear reports of such incidents. Which is why the actions of the Japanese after the recent tsunami and earthquake caught my attention. Instead of people breaking into stores to grab whatever they can for themselves, we see lines of patient survivors awaiting their turn to receive supplies. We see a 61-year-old man who plans to give out the free drinks he acquired back to the more elderly in his home neighborhood. While there is sorrow and grief, their resilient spirit seems to suppress any feelings of anger or frustration.

This is also encouraging to hear from a nation that is incredibly unchurched. Christianity accounts for less than 1% of religion in Japan. Even though most of the nation does not know Christ, His love and humility shine through these people, and in fact, show it better than some professing Christians we may know, including me. This goes to show that because we are all God’s children, His light will shine even in the darkest of times and in unlikely situations.

So next time we face a trial where we are tempted to be selfish for our own benefit and gain, we can remember this story. And know that as people who profess Christ as our Savior and Lord, we need to be people who witness to others through our love, humility, and hospitality.

Prayers go out to the people of Japan and the relief teams working to rebuild and restore. Also we pray for the minority of Christians there, that their Spirit will not be crushed, and that the light of Christ will shine brightly in a land that largely does not know Him.

It’s All God’s Children Singing “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah, He Reigns!”

In the summer of 2009, I was in Guatemala on a missions trip with the high school ministry of Willow Creek Community Church. After about a week of serving with a community doing some construction work, our team had about 2 days to relax, debrief, and do a little bit of sightseeing.

We ended up at this national park type of place that was absolutely beautiful. The water in the lake was crystal clear, and the surrounding nature was breathtaking. We had a crazy tour guide that was showing us around. The first activity he had us do at this place was cliff jumping into the lake.

I told you I hate drops and falling.

Now, I hate the feeling of falling you get in your stomach. That’s why I don’t enjoy roller coasters because of the big drops. Even a little bit of turbulence on an airplane can freak me out. Yeah, yeah. I’m a big wuss. Whatever. But for some reason, I decided to climb up the cliff with the others and jump off. Apparently I screamed like a little girl as I was falling. Anyway, I decided to go back up and do it one more time. Somehow, our tour guide had gotten another guy to climb up this huge tree and tie a rope swing off a branch for us to use. If I was hesitant to believe that we humans evolved from monkeys, this guy would have convinced me. He raced up the tree like it was nobody’s business. I’m pretty sure they based Spiderman off of him.

Guatemala Team

So our wild tour guide really wanted me to try the rope swing. Now, he was holding the rope for me on the side of the cliff and wanted me to climb down to where he was so that I could swing to jump into the water. But I could not figure out how to get down to where he was. There weren’t any good places to put my feet, and as I was trying to step down, I eventually lost my footing and slipped off the cliff. Now, I don’t know how I did it, and I like to think that I looked like a cool action movie star when it happened, but I was able to grab the rope as I was falling and swing away from the rocks to land safely in the water. Scary then. Sweet story now.

Later, we were exploring an underground river in a cave. We got to a part where the water was maybe just shy of waist deep. The guide told us to stay close to the left because the current got real strong on the right side and we could get stuck and be in danger. Well, I thought I was close enough to the left side but apparently I wasn’t, because I felt myself getting pulled into the current, and I lost control of my feet and started getting swept away, until a girl on our team grabbed my arm and pulled me back in line. Now, I don’t know if she saved me from getting stuck in an underground whirlpool or something, but let’s just say she did since that makes the story more intense.

Mississippi Katrina Relief Team

Those are two memories that definitely stand out from that trip. But there are so many more insights and lessons that God taught me on that trip, which I’ll get to in a little bit.

Through generous donors and God’s provision, I was able to have many different service opportunities during my life. In high school, in addition to Guatemala, I was able to go serve in Ecuador and participate on a Katrina Relief trip in Mississippi. During college, I went to Memphis, Angola (the Louisiana State Penitentiary, referenced in my post about loneliness, and New Orleans. Our teams were able to serve in a variety of ways, from helping build a school in Latin America, to talking with death row inmates, to ministering to people in neighborhoods right here in the United States. And I don’t take any of these experiences for granted.

Angola Team

These missions trips have been the most humbling times of my life. I saw poverty like I had never seen firsthand. It convicted me of how materialistic and greedy I could be in my own life at home. I met people who knew that they would be strapped in a lethal injection seat soon. They helped me realize the urgency needed to share Christ with those who do not know Him yet. I could go on and on about the lessons I’ve learned on these trips. But I want to sum it up with this one observation.

Memphis Team

Whether I was in a poor neighborhood in South America, or a maximum security prison in Lousiana, or a struggling family’s house in downtown Memphis, there was one thing that stayed constant throughout all those experiences. God. To know that we were worshipping the same awesome God at my home church, in another continent, and in a prison, was just crazy to me. Crazy awesome. Looking back at all these trips, I can see how big God is. That anyone anywhere can come to know Him. How his power and love extends to all corners of the earth. It’s like that Newsboys song: “It’s all God’s children singing ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah, He reigns!'”

It was sad having to leave the new friends we made after each trip. But there was one thought that comforted me each time a missions trip came to a close. Through the uniting power of Christ, I was going to see them in heaven. I knew I was going to see my new inmate friends sometime again. I knew I was going to be able to sing praises again in heaven with my new friends from the Guatemalan church we stayed at. And that’s pretty cool. No. That’s amazing. That’s the power and love of God.

New Orleans Katrina Relief Team

This summer, I have the privilege of going on a missions trip for the first time as a leader. It will also be my first real urban ministry experience. We will be taking several HYACKs students down to Sunshine Gospel Ministries on the south side of Chicago. And while I’m somewhat nervous and anxious about it, I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us, and how we are going to be blessed by the very people we go to serve.

And that’s the best part of missions trips. Because while we go in with an intention to serve others, God flips it around, and we see His face in those we are ministering to, and we become humbled and end up blessed by the ones we came to help.

“So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:16 (ESV)