Light-work

Too Much Airport!

I have returned from two weeks in India, Singapore, and Bangkok. Getting there involved fifty-eight hours in the air and another twenty-five hours of waiting for airplanes, getting on airplanes, sitting on airplanes, and getting off airplanes. The four other members of the CBC ministry team and I averaged more than forty hours a week at or between airports. So it seemed only fitting to capture the essence of the experience in a suitable shot. I have clocked in enough time, why not look the part of "dedicated" airline employee?

That being said, this was a great trip and a great way to start off 2010. It was encouraging to follow-up on our May, 2009,conference by training fifty Banjara disciple-makers in Hyderabad. We were able to see Aletheia Banjara School in action - breath-taking! We also got a taste of what life is like for CBC missionaries, Doug and Melissa Matthews in Singapore, and Bob and Lori Johnson in Bangkok. I'll tell you more in some upcoming posts.

In the meantime, be assured that my "two-week" hiatus is over, my brain has just about rejoined me in Memphis, and there are plenty of situations where we've got to throw some biblical light on the subject. Any suggestions?

Into the Desert

We are headed to the deserts of Southern Cal for a little respite with family. We will not be far from the home of Bill Keyes, one of the few "successful" homesteaders to have lived in what is now Joshua Tree National Monument. On a previous trip, I took a tour of Bill's place and it was stunning to see the remarkable evidence of a hard-scrabble existence he carved out for himself, his wife, and his children in this inhospitable place. Talk about living "off the grid." If you ever have a chance to take the tour, it will inspire you with all that one man accomplished without what we consider the "necessities" of life.

Unlike Bill who made do without electricity, we plan to turn the lights back on at Light-work in two weeks - see you then.

Easy There, Big Fella!

On a recent trip to Atlanta, I went to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History for a chance to see Argentinosaurus. Named after the country where his bones were discovered, let's just call the big fella "the Argentine." Because staff from Fernbank had a part in his discovery, a complete set of skeletal casts was released to the museum. (His bones have remained in his native country. How thoughtful!)

This guy is BIG! At one hundred twenty three fit long, even with a wide angle lens, I couldn't get a single picture to do him justice. (If you look at the top left picture, can't you imagine him saying, "Is this a good angle for me? I'm not sure the light shows off my complexion. Can you get the people off the third story balcony, it kind of detracts!)

Check out this second shot to get a proper sense of scale. The "little guy" on the right is a Giganotosaurus, the largest meat eater, but even he is dwarfed by the Argentine. No photoshop magic has been applied to this picture - the people really are that small. Can you imagine a walk through the forest when a few of these are munching on conifers? Now I know how ants feel.

The exhibit is definitely compromised by all the evolutionary blather. Allow me to put the Argentine in proper perspective. This plant-eating giant was the product of marvelous intelligence, namely that of our Creator God. Here I was in a building dedicated to "understanding" the world with God factored out of the equation. Yet, in all of his gigantic glory, the Argentine was declaring the majesty of my God.

I recalled the words God spoke when He was reminding Job who's in charge: “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron” (Job 40:15-18).

It is doubtful that the Argentine is the specific "Behemoth" mentioned in Job. But he definitely has a HUGE amount in common with Behemoth. God told job to look at Behemoth and remember, "I made him as I made you." So followed Job's lead, gazed in awe at the Argentine, and marveled at the greatness of my God who made him as He made me.

When Swine Fly

My plane from LAX pulled up to the gate at Tokyo Narita airport. The seat belt light had just been turned off but no one was moving. We had been instructed to sit tight in our seats and complete some health forms. Then a crew of 20-30 fully suited swine-flu spotters made their way down the aisles. Several carried thermal imaging guns to take everyone's temperature. Let it be known that Japan was taking no chances with "The Swine Flu Pandemic!"

A few hours later, I was in Singapore reading the FRONT PAGE headline from The Straights Times, the major English daily from Singapore: Flue Scare For Student Who Returned From Mexico. Here's the lead material:

He's admitted to CDC with running nose but tests show he's clear. An undergraduate who returned to Singapore last Friday from an exchange programme in Mexico caused a scare yesterday, when he woke up with a running nose and was admitted to the Communicable Disease Center (CDC). The fear of a first infected patient here turned out to be a false alarm when laboratory tests showed that Mr. Melvin Yang, 25, had not been infected by any Influenza A virus. Mr. Yang, who had been on self-imposed home quarantine, was not anxious because he thought that his running nose was probably due to his body adjusting back to the environment here. But the third year business student from the Nanyang Technological University decided to play it safe and call 993 for the special ambulance service to ferry him to CDC, where he got his throat swabbed and blood sample taken.

I am trying not to be cynical. It is especially hard now that the swine flu pandemic has turned out to be something of a non-event. But, what a commotion it caused at the time! Can you imagine the expense involved in personnel and equipment for flight screenings at Narita? And when a college kid has the sniffles, it's front page news in Singapore?

What a commentary on our values. We are spring loaded for panic when swine flu can fly, but thoroughly complacent about a greater disease that kills. Yesterday, the Shelby County Commission passed a resolution against job discrimination. Commissioner Steve Mulroy sponsored a provision that would have specifically named gays and lesbians among those protected from discrimination. This provision was dropped and a more generic version passed.

Doing what God prohibits and not doing what God requires (The Bible calls this "sin.") is detrimental to our health. When Adam and Eve sinned, they "infected" all of their progeny, including you and me, with this deadly disease. There is only one cure - the blood of the perfect donor, Jesus. But there is a catch. Not everyone who has the disease can admit it! And it makes no sense for those who do not admit they are sick to seek a cure.

At the County Commission meeting, the validation of a "lifestyle" was driving the agenda. When a lifestyle that is defined by sin is validated, there is less reason for someone to seek a remedy. Wouldn't it be great if our world cared about a cure for sin like we care about swine flu. I am under no delusions about when that day will come - when pigs can fly!

Hail to You, Oh Majestic Scooter!

Last May, I bought a Yamaha scooter. (Yeah, that's me at left.) A scooter differs from a motorcycle by having a "step-through" frame design and automatic transmission. Scooters also have relatively smaller engines than most motorcyles - click the link above for some pix. The specific model I purchased is named a "Majesty." I find this more than a little ironic. Do the words "scooter" and "majestic" belong next to each other?

Maybe Yamaha thinks the name will be a great marketing ploy, a way to appeal to an elevated demographic. I can hear the marketing guys gushing as they make their pitch to corporate: "Can you imagine the royals sniffing in disdain as they pass the Bentley show room, eyes fixed on a vision of transport fit for a king? If you're a reigning monarch, you want to be seen by the teeming masses. You want (hold breath here for effect) . . .  a Majesty!" (Crank up the music, pull back the curtain, and start the laser light show.)

Hate to tell you guys, but I'm not feelin' the regal magic. A scooter named "Majesty" is still just ... a scooter. So, let's cut the pretentiousness and simply celebrate its scooteriness! I think there's a lot to celebrate. For one, it's fun to drive (except in the rain). It's well thought out with lots of storage compartments - the trunk under the seat will hold 2 helmets or 4 bags of groceries. Very practical!

My favorite feature, though, shows itself when it's time to refuel. Trips to the gas station have been transformed from somber moments of hand-wringing to spontaneous parties of joy. My Toyota Tundra (there's another marketing mystery - but don't get me started) gets about 18 mpg around town - the Majesty does 60-65 mpg. This means that the Tundra uses about 55 gallons of gas to go 1,000 miles while the Majesty uses 16. Every time I top off the tank and see a total under $10, I chuckle in smug satisfaction. (Not too loudly, of course, so I don't disturb my fellow gas-pump patrons in their moments of somber hand-wringing.) Hail to you, oh majestic scooter, champion of conservation, gleaming herald of cost-conscious living, great leader in the fight against global warming! Oh my - did I just just ascribe virtue to a SCOOTER using regal language?

Internet Based Bai-Bai

For the last thirty years, we have supported R & S. R is a fellow Talbot Alum; he and his wife, S, live in Taiwan and minister in another big country. In their last prayer letter, R summarized a recent television commercial airing in “Central City.” To understand the “product,” he gave some background on the practice of bai-bai (pronounced “bye-bye”):

When people go to a brick and mortar temple in Taiwan, their prayer ritual goes through several steps:

• As they hold their incense sticks, [worshipers] pray to their favorite deity, sitting there carved and silent.
• Then, they can step closer to the altar and pick up several kidney-shaped blocks. These are thrown down on the ground and, depending upon the way they land, the answer is either yes or no.
• Lastly, there is a large cup with carved, long sticks in it. These are loosely held and shaken until one stick appears to stand out from the others.
• The stick is picked out and it has a number carved or printed on it which corresponds to fortunes that are available off to the side in a cupboard in dozens of numbered pigeonholes.
• Once the fortune is given and the desired answer is secured, the “worshiper” then goes home happy with the answer, satisfied their religious duty has been performed and life is going to work out after all.

Here is what R saw in the commercial. A mother and daughter are admiring the latest cell phone. Phones are not the featured product, but an internet service for your cell, a “virtual temple worship service for every occasion.” Here’s R’s summary of the benefits of using this internet based bai-bai .

• No need to hack your way through traffic! And why pay the fees to buy the incense and other paraphernalia at the temple to do your worship? You already have it right here at your fingertips.
• Just hit a couple of buttons on your phone and bingo - there’s the incense!
• Hit another, and boom! You’ve thrown the blocks. Yes or no? If you don’t like the answer, try again!
• Push another sequence of buttons, and behold! There’s your fortune for the week.

I couldn’t agree more with R’s summary: Hi-tech meets the world of smoke and shadows! Now people can be spiritually misled through the virtual world at their fingertips, too. Satan is a master of disguise and now he’s in the middle of our 21st century gadgetry, ready to snare whoever is looking for his form of “guidance,” whether in person or through the web. Not much different from some of our own websites, is it?

Thank God, He leads our feet on level ground and on paths of righteousness for His sake - no need for special software! Just plug into His Word on a daily basis, and we receive all the guidance we need.

Amen, Brother! Preach it!

God's Stained Glass Sunsets

It's bad enough to be sleeping in church.  It's especially bad when you're the preacher!  Yea, that was me, but I have a very reasonable explanation.  We were staying overnight at the "Old Church House" in Oakland, TN.  James and Louis Maddox have converted the Oakland Methodist Church building (originally built in 1927) into a fantastic bed and breakfast.  Our bedroom was once part of the chapel and included three stunning stained glass windows that soared to the 12' ceilings.  During the day, ordinary sunlight was transformed into something truly extraordinary.  

As evening neared, we enjoyed another work of art in which the artist's medium was light.  This was one of those rare sunsets in which the whole sky was ablaze with glory.  The clouds were just in the right place to first be cast in yellows and golds, then oranges and reds, and finish with blues and violets.

The sunset was God's grand stained glass window.  His was not a static display but an animated work of art as clouds moved and changed shape, as one color was replaced by another, and as the crimson disk of our sun deepened in color and grew in size before its departure.  This was not a picture, but a light show.  I thank the Producer for a great performance from all His troupe.  It reminds me that God is interested in making things beautiful.  Even me!  Even you!

Eat More Beef!

Heading East toward Amarillo on Highway 40, we weren't expecting this!  An attention grabbing bossy wooing the famished to gorge themselves.  Draped on the cow's ample flanks are emblazoned the words, "Free 72 Oz. Steak."  The big fella is the PR invention of The Big Texan Steak Ranch, RJ "Bob" Lee's legendary Amarillo attraction where over 40,000 have tried, and 8,000 have succeeded.  Those whose names are enrolled on the "Wall of Fame" have eaten the required salad, shrimp cocktail, baked potato, dinner roll, and, yes, a four and half pound slab of beef in less than 60 minutes.

As a marketing strategy, I can't fault The Big Texan.  They got my attention with their bodacious bovine.  But I wonder, does something not seem a little skewed here?  Is there anyone out there who would champion the benefits (health or otherwise) of such a rapacious act of consumption?  What, exactly, has someone gained by "winning" this challenge?

The apostle Paul enjoins his prodigy Timothy to fight the good fight.  His words suggest that there is nothing good served by fighting well the bad fight, the fight that isn’t worth fighting.  His words call us to be selective about hills we are going to die on, the places where we are going to make our stand, the goals toward which we will strive.  A HS football coach once told me, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”  I don’t question Coach B's counsel, but I also know that the winner in a contest worth fighting refuses to dissipate his energies in lesser pursuits.

So today, I purpose to fight the good fight!  I will seek to apply my best efforts to the things most worth doing and avoid the lure of "winning" at what doesn't matter.