Surviving Black Friday

     As regular readers of this blog know, I am a simple guy, or in the words of one individual, a caveman so going anywhere near a store on the infamous "Black Friday" is not something I would do. However, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and being discipled by a Brazilian brother named Vinci. His wife owns a travel agency, and once a year she gathers twenty-five or so Brazilians to come to shop in the US. Their incentive is the far greater variety and, amazingly, the far lower cost of items here. They save their money all year and then purchase a year's worth of gifts. The agency rents fifteen passenger vans to take them to various malls and i was asked to drive one of these. My usual vehicle is a very small car.
   I slept about two hours Thursday night after a nice Thanksgiving celebration, woke up at 12:30 to get ready and be at the hotel for a 2AM departure. We actually left later, picked up two younger ladies who were shopping at a toy store and headed for New Hampshire. Arrived there around 4AM, found a parking place for the two huge vans and headed inside. Some stores had long lines just to enter. Most of the Brazilians know a little English but are certainly not fluent. I ended up translating a little. Because i am not used to this i found it difficult to switch back and forth. I would end up repeating Portuguese to the English speaking employee and then remember to say it in English.
   Around 9AM we headed down to a mall south of Boston. I accidentally cut one guy off because i was following the other van and did not know the route he would take. By the time we got to the second mall it was packed. After dropping the people off it took over an hour to find a parking space. People had parked on the grass and every other imaginable location.
    Once this was accomplished i had to find my friends. They were in a particular store but so many people had jammed in that i could not find them. There were long lines of people waiting in bitter cold to enter other stores.  When we went for lunch in the Food Court every restaurant had half hour lines. Then we had to find a table. I went off in the van and read a little. When the sun went down the cold increeased. Was able to park my van next to the other van. Mine was open and warm as the people gradually returned but the other was locked because of all the gifts inside. People kept crowding into my van like sardines until finally the other was unlocked.
     Then we drove to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner, and after a stop at a pharmacy back to the hotel. Virtually all parking places were taken, and we had to search more. Finally i drove an hour to the house where i am staying. All in all, a 21 hour shift with 2 hours of sleep. such is the life of a servant.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday

One of the clearest statements about the will of God is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God concerning you." (NKJV) I am not interested in most holidays; the exception is Thanksgiving which reflects what we should do every day; not gorging on food or watching football games but the giving of thanks to God for who He is and for what He has done for us through Jesus Christ.
    This year I am thankful for many things, a few of which are listed below.
The ongoing grace of Jesus Christ to do the will of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The provision of God allowing me to spend the summer in Brazil .
A deeper revelation of the Kingdom of God and personal discipleship.
My discipler Vinci, and the brothers whom God has given me to disciple
Good health except for my teeth
Retirement from regular work so i can minister full time
A loving daughter and grandson
Friendships of decades
The support/accountability/prayer men's fellowship
New friends from several countries
The best living situation that i have had an an adult
Slowly growing proficiency in Portuguese
The Word of God
"But as for me, I trust in you, O Lord; I say, you are my God... Make your face shine upon your servant; save me for your mercies' sake."  ( Psalm 31:14,16 NKJV)

JFK

  Today, Friday, November 22nd, 2013 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the John F. Kennedy presidential assassination. Everyone of my era remembers where they were on that day. I was almost eleven, in the sixth grade with Mr. Wetherbee, one of the best teachers i ever had at any level. After we received the news we were dismissed from school. As we trooped downstairs in the two story building, we passed by all the teachers. I noticed my fourth grade teacher, a woman whom we thought of as an old battle axe, weeping.
    After we got on the busses I realized that our driver, had the radio on listening for news, a first. In those days few mothers worked so there was someone to receive us.
    Like so many others I accepted the findings of the Warren Commission ( named after the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at that time) that Oswald had acted alone. About twenty-five years later, after having been unable to shake pneumonia with several different medicines, I spent a week in bed reading half a dozen books on the assassination. At the end of the week I came to believe that Oswald had not acted alone and probably was not involved.
    Several historical ironies about the ramifications of JFK's death include that he had allowed the assassination of the South Vietnamese leader a few weeks earlier; that JFK would probably not have escalated the war as Johnson did, and probably would not have had a major expansion of the Federal welfare state as his successor initiated.

California Dreaming?

     In the 1970's i lived in California, and because i have relatives in this state, I visit once or twice a year. The weather is usually better than in New England although the traffic is worse. This past week I have been seeing my daughter, son-in-law and grandson. The little fella is now one, walking like Frankenstein, and starting to grow a little hair. He can problem solve when he wants something, and is finally learning to eat solid food. He likes raisin bread, dried blueberries, and hummus in particular. I suggested a big fat hamburger but that was vetoed. He likes to fall asleep in the car.
    We have taken him to several playgrounds. Today a little blond girl, probably twice his age although no bigger tried to play with him. A young saleswoman said he was "so stinking cute." Well, he is stinking (sometimes) and cute ( sometimes).
   Was also very blessed that a young man of my acquaintance has asked to explore being discipled by me. God has faithfully answered my prayer to show me those men whom He would have me to disciple.
"Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise."  (Proverbs 19:20 ESV)

My friend Mark

     "And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever." ( 2 Timothy 4:18) Many years ago in the Jesus People movement days, I met a brother named Mark, a big farm boy from Indiana. One of his jokes was that ketchup was Indiana hot sauce. Over the course of time we worked together in a Christian business called True Vine maintenance cleaning vacated apartments, lived in the same communal house, and eventually he asked me to be his best man at his wedding to  a sister named Judi. As with so many others we lost touch. He went on to congregations in Oregon and Denver while i was in San Diego and Boston. Through the power of the Internet we hooked up again, and I had an opportunity to see him briefly about two years ago. We sent e-mails back and forth on occasion, and I was contemplating a return visit.
      This morning I learned that he had passed away. His daughter and I spoke and she said that he had been doing very well with the Lord. ( She had been praying for ten years for this) While she misses him, we have assurance that he is in a far better place.
     "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens... For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life." ( 2 Corinthians 5:1,4 NKJV)
      "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints." ( Psalm 116:15)

Missionary to America

     In my previous entry I posted about the death of the House Church movement in New England. The last sentence pointed to a way forward. If someone accepts that Jesus came preaching the gospel of the  Kingdom of God, ( Mark 1:14-15), that living in that Kingdom requires someone to be a fully committed disciple of Jesus Christ rather than a church-goer, whether in traditional or house church, and that being a disciple means receiving direction and accountability from a disciplemaker (Matthew 28:18-20) then this is  foreign and rarely practiced in the U.S. If our responsibility is to make disciples, and Jesus to build the church ( Matt. 16:18) then those who are faithful to that command are more like missionaries than anything else.
     In normal usage a missionary is an individual or a family that is sent from one country to another, usually to start from scratch in preaching the gospel where no witness exists. If we are talking about the true gospel of Jesus Christ rather than a watered down version then the US is a mission field. As I witnessed the continuing dissolution of house churches in New England I became discouraged. Now i believe that this had to occur because we were not building with the proper materials. Instead of preaching the Kingdom and developing discipling relationships we were trying to comfort wounded people and work with rebels. Our need is to submit to other imperfect human beings, receive their wisdom, experience, and care so we can impart that to others.
    The advantage that we have in contrast to regular missionaries is that we do not need to learn a different language and culture, a process that takes years. May God open our eyes.

Requiem for a Movement

     In the spring of the year 2000, with fervent hopes and Biblical conviction, I departed from the traditional church structure, albeit from the best regular church that I had ever experienced in 25 years, into house churching. I spoke to anyone with whom i had any relationship but none were interested. In the fall, I had the privilege of participating in the 1st annual New England House Church Conference, and discovering that there were others who were going in the same direction.
     Thirteen years later, I have been an integral part of four of these groups, and known about twenty others in the region. I have met hundreds of house churching people, participated and/or organized many conferences and regional gatherings, and have given this my best shot. Most of the people who have tried this are no longer doing it and most of the groups have dissolved or are in crisis. Even the staunchest advocates are going in other directions.
     What happened? In the following synopsis I include myself. Most of us were wounded by either childhood issues, mistreatment or marginalization in the regular churches, real or perceived, or both. Despite the best efforts of many brothers, we had inadequate leadership. The groups were usually isolated, inward focused. We were independent, anarchic, and rebellious, reflecting American culture.
     While understanding that some people that i know will disagree with my assessment, I will offer a way forward. Submit to King Jesus to live in His Kingdom through personal, accountable, committed discipleship.

Travels

     Last Wednesday i had the opportunity to visit a Brazilian group in the Boston area, and speak a little about what God showed me when i visited Brazil last summer. ( For more extensive detail the reader could go to the June, July and August posts for this year)
     Thursday i spent some time with my friend Jake catching up, had a quick meal with my friend Russ, and then met with him and two other brothers in our regular support/accountability/prayer group. May we "share" less and pray more.
     Friday had dinner again with Russ. Typically we seldom eat out. Saturday morning had time with my friend Gary. We spoke about the difference between mentoring (accepting or not receiving advice), and discipleship- receiving direction and accountability. In the afternoon drove up to New Hampshire to gather with a home group that i have visited several times although i know the co-leaders better.
    As with most New England house churches, the families are home-schooling so we were treated to a meal done in first century Roman style, along with various skits and presentations by four of the children. I am always impressed with the maturity, knowledge, and assurance of home schoolers, and this was no exception.
   Then they had a rather lively (emotional) discussion on the theme of church membership. Afterwards i went with one couple to their home where we discussed this and related subjects for another two hours. In the morning they treated me to a very nice breakfast, with more prayer and discussion. I am delighted to report that the brother has asked me to disciple him.
   Later we had lunch with one of the daughters of the couple along with her fiance, whom i had known as a boy a number of years before. With another birthday approaching perhaps i should start thinking of myself as an old guy.
   Soon I will go to Canada, and then to southern California.

November 1 Thoughts

     "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him." ( 1 John 2:15) Last night North Americans celebrated Halloween. As a young boy i did too. Once i was a cowboy, and another time i was a pirate and i reveled in the hoard of candy that i received, which i could have one per day per parental instruction until it was finished. Many decades later this holiday is adamantly pagan. Everything is witches or werewolves or whatever. Many employees dress up in costume, and supposedly it is the third best time for retailers. The whole thing is demonic, and the only one laughing is the devil. How can any true follower of Jesus Christ celebrate this?
     "For all that is in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world." ( 1 John 2:16) The night before the Boston Red Sox baseball team won their third world championship of the past decade. As a child i was decidedly unathletic, but i collected baseball cards, memorized the statistics and was as avid a fan as anyone. This continued into my thirties when I believe that God showed me that all of this was just another species of idolatry- something that i was giving my time, energy, money and affection to that was not of Him but of the world. What eternal difference does it make who wins any sports championship in any given year? And isn't there an empty feeling once the season concludes?
     "And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:17 NKJV) I am rejoicing to learn that two brothers with young families whom i know that live on the west coast have submitted their lives to a spiritual father for accountability and instruction.
     A widely circulated note given to allegedly obese children who came trick or treating urging their parents to moderate the children's intake of sweets causes me to wonder whether the author works for the government. When a nation abandons God something or someone must take His place in our hearts.