Going the extra mile

This is an amazing video - thanks for posting it, Jim.

Child trafficking and exploitation

Who makes your shoes? Thanks to Eugene Cho for posting this today.

Just show me one fossil of a transitional form. Just one.

Just more of the same arrogance, this time in Maine. It's not proven science, people, until you provide the evidence. Of the so-called millions of years of fossil records, and the millions of fossils recovered - why can't anyone produce just one single fossil of a transitional form? With all this evolution going on at such an incredibly slow rate - there should be millions of these mutant things lying around. Where are they?

What is the criteria for being acceptable in the Body of Christ?

Victims of past abuse usually develop many similar traits. Two of the most common I've found, through my own recovery and in that of others, is a deep sense of shame and personal responsibility for what happened to them, and the development of inappropriate boundaries and poor coping skills.

Abuse victims don't see the world as others do. As part of an anonymous online community for over 2 years, I've had the opportunity to reach out to other women in this area. Most of the women who participate are too ashamed of their pasts, they feel they have nowhere to turn. Most of these women wouldn't dream of darkening the door of a church. Most of these women feel they can't discuss what happened to them...it's too painful. They fear being judged. Sadly, they have reason to be afraid.

Inappropriate boundaries and poor coping skills can, and very often do manifest themselves in a variety of negative behaviors that are unhealthy, wrong, and...well, let's face it, some are pretty shameful. Addictions, adultery, codependency, abuse and bullying, passive-aggressive behavior - these are just a few examples. How does the typical church respond? "We'll pray for you. Perhaps you should get some counseling, and then come back in a few months and tell us how it's going." How about this one..."It's not the church's responsibility to get people help, we're just not equipped for that sort of thing." Or how about this beauty..."The church simply can't be all things to all people. If someone is not getting their needs met here, perhaps they should go elsewhere."

Is this really how the body of Christ, the family of God - is this really what we think of the lost, hurting people who come through our doors? Do we really believe this is a phenomenon that affects only a small percentage of the population? I can tell you - it's not. Hurting people who are looking for help, love and acceptance typically find themselves victims of secondary abuse - that being the judgement from the spiritual guidance they seek. They are told they are welcome. What they often find is bait and switch. They are accepted when they are healed. They are accepted when they are seen as acceptable. What hurting people need to know is that God loves and accepts them the way they are...but they receive the opposite in many of our churches. We show them what happy, well-adjusted Christians are supposed to look like, and then we leave them to figure out how to get there on their own.

What do they learn? They learn how to fake it. We parade our pet triumphs to the world, those who've made it to the ranks of the acceptable. The drug addict who's been clean for 5 years. The single mom who had her baby and is now married. The hurting person wants to be there, too. But if they show any signs of struggle, any signs of not being 100% of what we think they should be, they must wait. They must prove themselves worthy of being acceptable, but how do they do that? We feel that if there is anything unacceptable, then they are a poor examples of a Christ follower...not worthy of contributing to the church body. Well - we'll accept their money, of course. What's tragic, is that they know deep down that this is how the church feels. This is the story I hear over and over again. Whether it's reality or not, this is the message that is overwhelmingly heard, and taken to heart.

How do we reach out to and radically love the hurting people in our congregations? How is the church today making a real difference in peoples' lives? What messages are we really communicating?

Do you have to get cleaned up before you take a bath?

I remember that one line vividly from an old Mike Warnke routine regarding a drug addict asking if he had to give up smoking pot in order to be saved, and it has stuck with me over the past 20 some-odd years. It popped into my head again recently as I read this article by Brian Jones regarding whether practicing homosexuals should be baptized. It's so easy to take a hard-line position on this when you've never actually been faced with the decision.

Here's the part of Brian's blog that reminded me of the Mike Warnke quote:

"How can we expect an openly homosexual person to even want to change their life without their minds and hearts being born again? That’s like a doctor telling someone with radically spreading lymphoma to show signs of remission before he’ll give them chemo."

Please consider reading this with an open mind. He makes a lot of good points, and nowhere did I read any compromise whatsoever of biblical truths. Leave me a comment, tell me what you think.

Looking for a way to help the cyclone victims in Myanmar?

Jesus met the physical needs of people before the spiritual, and we have an opportunity here to do the same. The following is from the Covenant Newswire, and contains information on how you and other individuals can help the victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. Link to the original article is here.

CWR Responding to Victims of Myanmar Disaster

CHICAGO, IL (May 6, 2008) – Covenant World Relief (CWR) funds already have been made available to assist in relief efforts in the aftermath of Saturday’s massive cyclone that devastated large areas of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), killing more than 22,000 people with another 41,000 still missing.

The heaviest devastation centered around the area of Bogalay, where 150 mph winds destroyed all but four of the 369 homes in one village. China's state-run news agency Xinhua estimates that half the death toll is likely to come from Bogalay.

“I have been receiving emails and calls from many Covenanters wanting to know what Covenant World Relief is doing in response to this tragedy and asking how they can help,” reports Jim Sundholm in a conversation with Covenant News Service today.

Covenant World Relief maintains funds in a reserve account with World Relief International that allows that agency to respond immediately to crises anywhere in the world, Sundholm notes. In the event of catastrophic events such as Saturday’s storm, additional funds are sought to support the Covenant World Relief response.

A special Covenant World Relief fund has been established to receive donations from Covenant congregations and individuals to aid in the relief effort. Donations should be earmarked for Myanmar Relief and sent to Covenant World Relief, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625. Donations also can be made online by credit card at Myanmar Relief.

“We are working with two partners on the ground in Myanmar as we speak,” Sundholm says, “and we have two previous partners who have expressed interest in working with us to bring assistance to the people in Myanmar.”

One large challenge is the topical terrain – and how relief workers will be able to traverse the harsh environment to reach victims where few roads are available – and those that are available are clogged with massive debris.

Other concerns include the lack of food and water and appropriate sanitation, which could trigger a health-related crisis, making it imperative that aid workers are allowed to reach the area as quickly as possible. As of this afternoon (Monday), international aid groups were still waiting for the Myanmar government's approval to enter the country.

Closure

It's interesting how closure comes in various situations. Sometimes it's immediate, as in the death of a loved one. Other times it's, well, less than immediate. Regardless of when it comes, I find it interesting that our first response as humans is to demand that we get it - and usually from other people. We feel that closure is something we're entitled to. What someone else did, didn't do, thinks of us - we sometimes are fooled into believing that it all defines who we are. We are inclined to feel that somehow we'll never be complete if we don't know why something happened, or why someone did this, or said that. Sometimes we just want to know we're not crazy - that if we could only make sense of something in our minds, it'll be OK. The trouble with this sort of closure, however, is that it will never satisfy us.

This is where the healing power of Jesus comes in. The only closure we need is Christ, and an understanding of the fallen world in which we live. Other people will inevitably disappoint us. Our minds, intoxicated by strong feelings and emotions, will lie to us. Much a like a child who doesn't yet understand why he cannot do or have everything he wants, we must trust our Heavenly Father who loves us more than you can possibly imagine, and knows what's best for us.

Closure from others is not a right, and it rarely takes place. Closure from God is a gift. Accept the gift, and be whole again.