Under the mango tree

Under the mango tree is where our church began. Then God provided a small covering with a metal roof and now we have this beautiful building. To you and i we might not see it as beautiful. As Americans we are used to multi-million dollar facilities with gymnasiums and dedicated children's centers. This "building" is a wooden shack on poles (because this area floods annually). THe stairs leading up to the one room are barely wide enough for the ball of your foot.

This small church is led by a gifted and passionate woman who has seen heart ache in their village community. Almost apologetically, she shared how the church is smaller today because so many of their friends and family have moved to Thailand to be day laborers because work is so hard to find. These Cambodians are the illegal day laborers of this region. If there were a Home Depot across the Thai border they would be standing outside hoping to get work so they can eat another day.

We spent time with this gracious congregation singing, praying, playing and making a craft with the numerous children. They shared theirs hearts and a dozen coconuts harvested that morning for our thirsty palates. We left only after laying hands on the core leaders of this village church. I was humbled and encouraged as we saw how God uses the simple places of this world to confound the sophisticated. Praise Jesus for his loving and extending church.

If God does it, it's easy

We arrived in Battambang after a 5 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. We were warmly greeted by the gracious brothers and sisters at Hope Bible Institute. Christopher Lapel gave us a history and tour of the Institute and we were amazed by what God did in order for this church and facility to exist, here, in Cambodia. Christopher's story alone is amazing, but we will leave that for another post.

But all the while he shared with us how God provided the land, the permit to exist as a church group, the buildings, the electricity, he kept repeating on phrase, "When I try to do it, it's hard; when God dies it, it's easy." They attempted twice to get permission to be a legitimate religious group and it always failed. But, finally after prayer and waiting, God opened a door that only he could and through a former donut shop owner in Long Beach, CA now turned Ministry of Religion; God opened the door and they could officially exist in Cambodia. One of the very few for which this is true.

Maybe, I can learn from them. Pray, seek and then let God do the heavy lifting. He is mighty and can do more than any of us.

Grace and Peace,

Troy

Taipei – Taiwan again (May 22 7:00 AM)

We just landed in Taipei and will take off again soon for Phnom Penh. I forgot that I landed here that last time. Economy sure looks different... Starbucks has closed its small cafe here and a local business has taken its place... $3.00 for an American style coffee. I don;t do the coffee thing but Mr. Mehren is needing a fix. We will just finished 13.5 in the air and will do another 3.5 before landing in Phnom Penh. The off to the hotel and get our "khmer" on. That's "cambodia" to you and I. Team is doing great... I can tell everyone is very excited. Not a ton of sleep on this last flight... too much anticipation.

Dissensical

This past year I have found myself both fascinated and frustrated by the amazing amount of "dissensical" Christian beliefs. These are either stated or often unstated core tenets that drive and inform our beliefs or at least our conversation about our belief. I call them dissensical because they are not complete nonsense nor completely untrue. There seems to be some attractiveness to the general church going public for these principles or adages have become common place. I have heard them spoken by believers from a variety of backgrounds and denominations.

I'd like to address different ones as they come up in my conversations with others. I will change the names to protect the innocent, since so many have come to believe and confess these tenets to little fault of their own. It is mostly the fault of "ought to know better" pastors, teachers and leaders, myself included. I have, over the course of years in ministry and around church-life, spouted and shared many of these concepts along the way. It seems almost to be a ministry rite of passage. Here: say these things and then as you grow and experience more of life with God, you will regret such naivete and poor theology. Then you can experience humility, which is often in short supply in church teachers.

I hope we can simply look at these dissensical tenets and laugh and sometimes cry, then offer up an honest confession.

Here is an easy one: "God helps those who help themselves". Found in the book of 1 Hesitations (not a real book of the Bible)... This is found nowhere in scripture and seems to have as its purpose to call the individual to "stop complaining and get moving." While complaining is never a good choice to fix a problem, stating that God only moves on behalf of those who are "working hard and getting after it", is also false. Jesus states in Matthew that God "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." It is the mystery of God that we are faced with. God has his purposes and our finite minds cannot always understand His ways and His purposes. Mystery is one of the deepest and most plain realities of our journey with God. After all, we are the creatures and He is the Creator. There is a gap between what we can comprehend and what God is up to. That is why faith is needed. I quote a scene from a deeply theological movie:

Inigo Montoya: "Who are you?"
Wesley (Dread Pirate Roberts): "no-one of consequence"
Inigo: "I must know!"
Wesley (Dread Pirate Roberts): "Get used to disappointment."

A new direction-many of them

Hey All--

If you have visited this blog in the past you are in for a change... I've moved the blog for One Life Church to a new spot. It is now called "one life together". It will be a collaborative experience for those who have a connection with One Life Church.

This re-imagined blog will be a place for a wider conversation and will truly reflect my life of scribbling. If you have ever eaten lunch with me or been in my office you would see that I scribble a lot. Napkins, yellow pad and dry erase boards are my friends. I even have an app on my iPhone that allows me to scribble there, in color!

Scribbling could be with a pen or pencil, like I used to do on the cover of my PeeChee folders at El Dorado High School. Or they can be short bursts of concentrated thought on a particular subject, like this blog. See I just scribbled about scribbling.

I am fascinated by life and in particular people, technology, spirituality and philosophy. I also plead guilty to a number of guilty pleasures, namely pop culture and 80's trivia ("Bueller, Bueller, anyone?").

So, first question: Do you doodle or scribble? What have you scribbled lately?

P.S. I've included a few past posts that share some of my life story and our recent journey to Nor. California from behind the Orange Curtain (Orange County, CA)

Trail Head

A few weeks ago I shared about envisioning a pathway for spiritual formation for our families. It is less about a formula and more about a shared road of God-experiences. This is not to say that we do not have a plan, its just that the plan is a beginning point. Like a trail head.

A few weeks back I have a week with two of my sons. We do this every few years. I spent the first half of the week with my middle son and then the latter half with the eldest. We went hiking a few days (a different trail with each boy). We found each trail head and started there. Sometime we stayed only on the trial, sometimes we ventured off a bit to get, what we thought, was a better view.

The passage that serves as inspiration is Deut. 6:1-9. It is a picture of a whole life filled by God's good presence, experienced throughout each day in the most ordinary ways. A few of you asked for the short prayer we shared together. Is it simple way to begin each morning individually or as a family. It again finds the inspiration from Deuteronomy:

[4] Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [5] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. [6] These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. [7] Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

As you rise, we God and others in your home, join in a prayer of receiving the day:

Thank you God, for this day. I receive it as a gift. This is a one-time opportunity. Help me to live it well. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Grace and Peace,

Troy

Re-create me

This past Sunday we spoke about the challenge of navigating life not in a total sleep deprived, just get me through this, almost-empty-gas-tank-red-light-on-the-dash-board, way. But, how can we? A recent article observed that Americans are trying to cram 31 hours of living into 24 hours. Anyone remember the square peg and round hole problem?

I know I can be as guilty as others on this one... pastor, husband, dad of three boys (all on separate little league teams), community volunteer, trying to keep in shape (preferrably not an avocado shape)... I can definitely push the edge of my time and energy levels to try to get it all in... yet, a few years back I began to get a sense of what helped me stay focused, energized and fully present to those I was with. I call these my core practices or re-creation rituals. They help to re-create God's life in me. When I get these right, I can see a dramatic difference in my capacity for life and ministry. I pray and hope these can be a help to you as you discover your recreation rituals:

1. Sit somewhere quiet - spend intentional time in stilling my soul with God (can include scripture meditation and listening prayer. Anyplace near water works for me (river, stream, lake, pond, ocean).
2. Read something fun - take time to read a magazine, novel, or site that is fully for fun. No need for research or preparation for teaching. WIRED is one of my current favorite periodicals.
3. Fix something up - actually fix something that needs repair or replace something broken or assemble something new. Ministry is about people and you do not 'fix' people. Believe it or not, they actually resist it if they think you are trying to! Cleaning the garage or installing a closet organizer is therapeutic to me.
4. Sweat something out - the need for athletic activity and physical fitness is core to my being. Riding 20 miles in the Tour de Lincoln, playing in a pick up game of soccer, or throwing a baseball with my boys really goes miles in refilling my tank.

What are your re-creation rituals? How are you more ready for God's work because you've taken the time to re-fuel?

Grace and Peace,

Troy