Pakistan Journal: Meet Farooq

He was the oldest of the five and knew the least amount of English. Farooq was the only soldier (a first lieutenant) that I didn't get the opportunity to know well, however I loved being around him and I could tell that the feeling was mutual.

Farooq was an observer. His posture was usually one of leaning on a wall or a tree or a rock with a cigarette in his mouth. I would always observe him watching intently as life happened all around him. It was as though he was taking EVERYTHING in and processing it in a way that only he understood. He was a man of very few words altogether, yet when he spoke, people listened.

On the work site, he would quietly listen and lead and men of the various villages would follow his instructions. It was hard for him to sit back and watch when it came to work being done--however. It was as though he had a sensitivity to and an urgency about what was going on in the mountains for these tribal people. From time to time--especially as it got colder--Farooq would frequently look up to the sky or to the top of the mountains. I always wondered if he was estimating how much time these people had left

Multiple times a day he would, in his Farooq way, acknowledge me and let me know that I was doing a good job or that he approved by holding his hand up--palm towards me and slowly exclaim (while blowing smoke out of his mouth and nose) "J e r e m i a."

We never spoke the same language but we understood each other....

Bumper Sticker Theology

I've had enough with "Christian" bumper stickers! If you sport one of these--do God and Jesus-followers a favor and take a razor blade and some hot soapy water and get rid of it.

Today's bumper sticker read:
God doesn't believe in Athiests.

What a message of hope huh?

Gimme some more Body!

Story #1: I was at a conference a couple of years ago where we were participating in the Lord's Supper (communion)--an ancient experience started by Jesus on the night before He was betrayed and arrested where you eat bread (representing Jesus' body) and drink wine or grape juice (representing Jesus' blood shed) in rememberance of His sacrifice for you and me. During this one particular experience one of the pastors at my church was offering the bread to a whole bunch of high school students. In the mix was her daughter, a fifth grader at that time, who took a huge hunk of the bread, dipped the entire handful in the grape juice and proceeded to have a full meal of the Body. Not two minutes later, when the line was still quite long, this little girl taught me a very valuable lesson. She ran up next to her mom, still offering the Body, and stood there trying her best to get her mom's attention. Finally, mom looked down at daughter (disapprovingly) and asked her what she wanted.

"I want some more bread!" she innocently exclaimed.

When was the last time you ran to the front of any line to get more of Jesus?

Story #2: Yesterday was communion Sunday for our fifth and sixth grade students. This was to be their first experience with the Lord's Table which is a pretty big deal for students and families at my church. I was talking with a couple of the fifth grade girls afterwards about what they thought about the whole experience.

In unison and with eyes rolling back in their heads they said, "The bread was SOOOOOO good!"

When was the last time you were overwhelmed with how good Jesus tastes?

Story #3: Last night we were participating in the Lord's Table at a community called Open Door. Once the evening was over and we were cleaning up, I noticed that there was a stack of bread loaf pieces left over. (Usually there isn't any left over because my friend's two kids will chow down on whats left of the bread after the experience is over.) There are a couple of homeless guys who call Open Door their church--which I love! One of them came up to me and mentioned that that bread looked awfully good. I asked him if he would like to take some with him. "Would that be okay?" he wondered.

"Not only is it okay--take all the bread you can get!" I answered.

When was the last time you were hungry for more of Jesus?

Is the "Emerging Church" Reactionary?

I'm reading a great book right now called Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bloger. Through vast research in the U.S. and the U.K., they have defined 9 characteristics that are shared by "emerging churches." Read the book to discover what they are...

Here are some of my intitial thoughts--

I wonder about the "emerging church." What is it really? I am a part of what some would call an "emerging" church or an "emerging community", but I have no idea why. Frankly, I am a bit confused about why this new movement is here and what they/we (whoever they/we are) stand for.

If we are an emerging church--are we a church? To me, the word "emerging" would imply that it hasn't arrived quite yet. Perhaps there is truth in that. (This point is discussed in the book).

Recently, I have been in on several conversations where the "emerging church" has been defined as a response to the church not doing its job or becoming irrelevant. I don't like the thought of any flavor of the church being a reaction to anything. There will always be an new fad--a way of doing church. My fear is that we all get so caught up in the conversation of how to do church that we lose sight of what it means to BE the church. The title of "The Emerging Church" potentially spells more alienation or division.

As I tap more into this book (which is very helpful) I would love to be able to dialogue with you about the "emerging church."

My second question: Can you paint a picture from the Text of what the Church was originally designed as and for?
My first question: What is your definition of the "emerging church?"