My dad, son and I have spent four days touring Washington DC and having a meaningful and hilarious time together. I’m traveling with some folks that have wonderful sense of humor. We have been all over downtown DC and to the monuments, museums and memorials. Today we visited the new Air and Space Annex near Dulles and toured Mount Vernon. We were at the World War II Memorial on Tuesday and I found it moving indeed. We even met Senator Bob Dole there after a brief press conference he did. My dad got to shake his hand and that was special for him.

Some critics have panned the memorial as not being as moving as more recent memorials such as the Vietnam War Memorial. But the memorial does not have meaning because of its architecture but because of the sacrifice it memorializes. In other words it is not the memorial that qualifies the sacrifice, but the sacrifice that qualifies the memorial. It’s the same with our life in God. Like refrigerator art from our young children, it is not the quality of art that determines the worth of the artist, but our love for the artist that qualifies their work of art.

Tomorrow we go back downtown for the dedication of the Memorial. There has been a lot of talk about a possible terrorist incident associated with this weekend. It is interesting that it has not dampened the spirit or interest of the proceedings here as far as the veterans are concerned. We seem them everywhere and there is an instant camaraderie among as they pass each other on the street. These are men and women who already stared death in the face in their youth and they are not about to let the threat of terrorist activity rob them of the freedom they already sacrificed to gain.

I obviously don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I also think the media gives us a distorted since of proportion about these dangers because it sensationalizes their news story. I am greatly looking forward to spending this day with my dad and son, as a grateful nation acknowledges the sacrifice these men and women made to conquer an unspeakable evil that sought to overrun the world.

What they faced, endured and overcome has been an incredible heritage for the rest of us. Only a fourth of those who fought in the war are still alive today and 1000 of them are dying every day. A tribute for their sacrifice is long overdue. I’m blessed indeed that God allowed us to experience this week together.

These verses are a feast aren’t they?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4

When we’re feeling a bit lost and confused, how often do we run to another brother or sister, browse the Internet or try to find a book that will give us the answer we seek. Here Peter points believers another direction. You have already been given everything you will ever need to live fully in him and participate in his nature.

It’s in Him and he is in you. As we grow to know him, we’ll also sort out the things that concern us most. Maybe why the answer is so hard to find is because we’re looking in all the wrong places. I think we’d all be less confused and more at peace if we sought him who holds all the answers.

Yes, he’ll often use others to affirm what he is doing in us. He loves connecting his family together. But that connection only flows from the Father of the family himself. Always go first to him. Steal away to your quiet place and drench yourself in his presence. Listen to him first for everything you need resides in him. Let his promises wash over you, because in them you’ll find his glory and goodness that will shape you exactly the way God made you to be.

I’m convinced that if we go there first we won’t be so confused by the multiplicity of voices we hear pointing us different direction. His knowing in us will be clear—”go that way!”

On Monday I leave for a very special trip. My father, son and I are flying to Washington DC to tour the city and to attend the dedication of the World War II Memorial, , on the National Mall next Saturday. I have been looking forward to this for a long time, not only to have some special time with my dad and son, and to celebrate my father’s life and his sacrifice in that great conflict.

Fresh out of high school my father enlisted in the infantry to help liberate Europe from the death grip of a madman. He was wounded in a vineyard in northeast just before New Year’s Day, 1945. That experience changed my dad’s life and I have feasted on the fruits of it my entire life. A few years ago he told a story to my wife and daughter that explains so much of his life.

In the middle of that conflict, enduring the bitter elements and trauma of war my dad had a conversation with God. “If you get me out of this conflict alive, I will never complain about anything as long as I live.” It wasn’t so much a vow to barter his way out of trouble, as it was a statement of fact. Dad knew that he would never experience any worse circumstances in his life than he faced there.

Over the years I watched my dad (at right) lose two raisin harvests, his only source of income, to unseasonable rainstorms. I heard others mock and vilify him for leaving congregations that had spiraled into more self than Spirit. I’ve prayed alongside him for people captured in the deepest bondages and watched him care for my oldest brother as he battled Multiple Sclerosis, and even endured his passing. He has been married for more than 50 years and I have never once heard my dad complain about anything, which is remarkable since I grew up complaining about everything.

In times of crisis and challenge I have seen him lean into Jesus with a gentleness and confidence that has held him through his entire life. He has been my father not only of the flesh, but also of the spirit as his example has inspired me to seek the reality and freedom of life in Jesus and never to settle for anything less.

Over the course of the next week I’ll be celebrating him and the best of what America has offered the world. I’ll tour our national museums and historic sites. I’ll attend patriotic ceremonies where I know I’ll be touched by the incredible ideals that have marked the American experiment. While I don’t see American as a ‘Christian Nation’, I do think on balance she has been a force for good in the world and here best ideals of liberty and justice for all are derived from God’s heart. Though our performance on these issues has always been flawed, there have always been men and women calling us to our best. And I will continue to pray for our leaders and be grateful for the men and women who have sacrificed their lives around the world in the name of freedom.

That may come as a surprise to those of you who took offense to my column on the perceived arrogance of the current administration’s rhetoric and foreign policy. Some of you seemed only to prove my point the harder you tried to rebut it. Our expressions of superiority undermine our moral credibility. To talk about how we’re being perceived in the world by our friends is not a judgment against President Bush’s Christianity, but to pray it transforms him even more. It is perhaps asking too much, but I want anyone who claims Christ’s name to also bear his character to the world and think that will go a long ways to accomplish the things President Bush says he wants.

So this week will be filled with joy and celebration as three generations of Jacobsen’s tour DC and join 100s of thousands of people on the Mall next Saturday. I see no problem giving thanks to Jesus for the incredible things he has done in our nation, at the same time I pray for her weaknesses. I do no less for my own life…

My last blog on rejection initiated an email contact with a sister half way around the world. She’s recently walked away from a religious institution because it seemed to her to be abusive.

My big fear is that perhaps they’re right. What if they’re right? What if I’m falling away from God? What if what they say is true – I’m unhappy in church because I’m the problem?

But I can’t fix myself. Don’t know how. Don’t even know where to start.

I mean, if my two best friends and my church leaders are all criticizing me the same way, are they right?

Does my passion scare them so much? Shouldn’t they be happier for me?

I just don’t get it, Wayne. All I want to do is to know God better. I want to break free from the prison I’ve found myself in. I want to question how things are done. Why must they come over and call me names? This journey made me love GOd more. It made me disillusioned with the church, which is good, since it was my crutch before.

Now all I have is Him. And I feel safer now.

 

Here’s how I responded:

I know what you’re going through at least a bit because I went through it myself 10 years ago. It is so hard when close friends suddenly regard you as an outsider. My heart goes out to you. I remember the questions of self-doubt very well. If the two brothers I had worked with closest in ministry now regarded me as unfit for the kingdom, what does that say about me?

 

I don’t think decisions like this are made, however, with trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong. When I stepped away from an abusive environment I wrestled with that also. But I think it is a false question. If I have to decide I’m more wise or closer to Jesus than someone else to step away, I’d never do it. What I found myself saying to God was, “I don’t know who is right or wrong here, but I have to follow my heart. If I am being selfish and independent, then let me be seen for that. If, however, I am following you, let that be known as well.” That gave me the freedom to follow my heart as he drew me closer to himself. I have never regretted it.

 

Time will let the truth be known and if you’re free to admit you’re wrong if that becomes true, then you don’t need to second-guess yourself every waking moment. I think we go on this journey by having the freedom to follow our heart, even if we might make a mistake. True friends will celebrate that with us. Those who just want to use us for their agendas, will be threatened by it. They’ll argue, “Who are you to disagree with us?” But that’s not how God works. That’s why you feel safer following him than pleasing others around you.

 

It can be lonely at times, though. It took me a couple of years to de-tox from religion—seeking the approval of others, feeling guilty for not doing what others demanded and finding my purpose in fulfilling institutional obligations. Through that whole time, however, God just kept making himself clearer and clearer to me. I think you’re already finding that to be true.

 

You’ll also find disillusionment to be a wonderful thing. It means we have illusions about God or about his body that God wants to ‘dis’ so that we could see him as he really is and his body as she really is in the world. In time you will know these are great days to have behind you, because the freedom they will produce in the long haul is truly amazing!

   I had a great time in Washington State last weekend. I spent my entire time west of Puget Sound on the Olympic Peninsula, some of it in Port Orchard and some of it around Port Angeles. A few of us even took an afternoon hike on Saturday through the rain forest to the falls pictured at left. We gathered every night and often talked through the day with people on various stages of the journey—many of them wanting a greater reality in Jesus and a richer body life with others.

We talked about so many things, from helping people get focused on Jesus instead of various ‘church’ models to encouraging people to walk in his freedom rather than the expectations and demands of even well-meaning Christians around them who think our dependence is on an institution rather than on Christ. Some people really struggled with things we shared, others embraced them with open hearts knowing that we were only giving voice to things God was already teaching them. I love when that happens.

As I was reading in I Peter 4 this morning in The Message I came across some passages that speak to that directly. Unfortunately we normally only apply them to people in the world:

Then further down that chapter:

It’s easy to see these passages as only applicable to those caught up in the rebellious ways of the world, but Jesus also lived this out with people who were caught up in the demanding ways of religion. When the religionists of his day chided him for not fitting into their ways or respecting their authority, he was not swayed. He followed his Father’s voice rather than the jealous cries of his threatened countrymen. One of the hardest hurdles for any of us schooled in religion to get past is no longer to seek the approval of others. People caught up in religion use approval to manipulate people. If you conform to their ways they shower acceptance on you. But if you don’t they heap blame and accusations on you hoping to scare you back into the fold.

Peter wanted his readers to remember that it is God that we and our detractors give account to, not each other. If we are following him we will no longer be manipulated by those voices that seek to lure us back into religious obligation or reject our spirituality because it doesn’t conform to their expectations. I love Peter’s reminder in that as well. If you’re suffering the rejection of others because you’re following Christ, then consider yourself fortunate. If, however, you are rejected because you are arrogant, bitter or destructive, then that’s a different matter entirely. Don’t glory in the trouble caused by self, but that which is caused by your life in Jesus and that rejection will only become another tool in his hands to make you more like him.

I know how scary and painful it can be to risk friendships like that, but it is the only way to follow him and in the end you’ll also get to find out who your true friends really are. Real friends will support your passion for Jesus even if they don’t understand the way he’s leading you. To live in his fullness we have to follow him instead of playing to the crowd—whether that’s those caught up in the world, or those held captive by religion.

I don’t often comment on political events in this forum, but there’s something I’ve noticed in my recent travels that has disturbed me deeply. Admittedly my experiences overseas are limited, but I have noticed a significant shift in how America is perceived overseas, and this from believers among our closest allies. Where I used to hear warm appreciation for what America stood for and passionate support for our struggle against terrorism, I now hear the suspicion that we care only for ourselves and will walk over anyone to get what we want.

It’s almost embarrassing to travel as an American in the world these days. Our foreign policy in the last few years has conveyed an arrogance that alienates even our friends.
President Bush ran for office promising a new humility in American foreign policy. “Let us not dominate others with our power,” he said in 1999. “Let us have an American foreign policy that reflects American character — the modesty of true strength, the humility of real greatness. This will be the spirit of my administration.” During the October 200 debate he said the US was attemptiong too much abroad. “If we are an arrogant nation, they will resent us. If we’re a humble nation but strong, they’ll welcome us.”

The campaign rhetoric said he got that but his actions since have demonstrated that he does not. His policies only foster American self-interest without taking into consideration the needs and desires of other nations. Watch the language he uses to communicate with other countries. He talks down to them as a parent would scold a wayward child and in doing so only fosters resentment instead of cooperation.

When you can drop a cruise missile on a specific desk, through a specific window on a specific floor of a high-rise, you do not have to bluster your way around the world. There is no longer an evil empire to play good cop against and if we don’t walk wisely and humbly before the rest of the world we could easily become the common enemy as the last bully on the block.

Even though I receive countless emails from the latest Christian author or singer to come out the Oval Office professing how humble a man our president is, I no longer believe it. I used to chalk it up to his Texas bravado but am now convinced that our President cannot speak humbly before the world, because he really thinks our society superior, he believes our interests are the only ones that matter, and he despises those who don’t see things his way.

It appears now that President Bush’s commitment to war in Iraq was based on faulty intelligence. When we were being told to trust this administration because they knew more than they could tell us, it turns out they knew even less than they let on. Here’s where a bit of owning up would go a long way to dispel the notion of arrogance. But instead of admitting our mistake, he continues to defend it and even speaks about freeing Iraq with an evangelistic zeal, citing America’s divine mission to spread freedom throughout the world. It is scary if not also a bit oxymoronic to think of spreading freedom by military conquest. You cannot force people to embrace freedom and cannot give it to people who will not take it for themselves. The quest for freedom must rise from within a culture. When our founding fathers drafted the Declaration of Independence they put their very lives and fortunes on the line to gain what no one else could give them.

If countries in the Islamic world find freedom it’s because the progressive elements within in them will rise up and reject the tyranny of violence, brutality and control that keep them captive. They will speak out clearly and loudly even at great personal risk and only then will they know freedom from the terrorists and clerics that hold them captive. That said, we now have a great responsibility to support our troops in the most difficult of circumstances and do all we can to rebuild Iraq into a functioning society, if that is possible. We have to recognize that military power alone will never win this war if our rhetoric and policies only encourage others to take the place of those terrorists we kill or capture. For that we need the help of other nations around the world and to do that we’ll have to treat them as partners not as children.

If more Americans traveled abroad we might recognize our own arrogance better. Even as I write this I know many of my American friends will not appreciate what I’m writing (though I meet an increasing number who are uncomfortable with Bush’s language) and those overseas will. Americans are too often the loudest voices in the airports and talk to people of other nations as if we are experts on everything. We still measure temperature by Fahrenheit when everyone else uses Celsius and we are the only nation that hosts ‘World Championships’ without inviting the rest of the world to compete. We consume way too much of the world’s resources and only demonstrate greater greed for more. Even the entertainment we export glorifies our decadence in the name of profit. And sadly our culture treats the loss of American life as more tragic than the loss of any other.

In the minds of others these things are starting to outweigh our generosity that has helped suffering people the world over, our courage that has put our young men and women in harm’s way to rescue others from invasion and our creativity that has provided technology and resources for the world. If we don’t learn how to bend over backwards to play fairly alongside the other nations of the earth we cannot blame them if they join together against us as the mighty Goliath that needs to be knocked down a peg.

Humility is not weaknesses. The term is derived from the concept of controlled strength and pictures a warhorse at rest. Only the insecure and fearful have to boast and bluster. Those who are truly strong and confident can sit at ease until that strength is needed. They can act with resolve, but also compassion, earning people’s respect instead of their disdain. The war on terror will never be won by military might alone if we don’t also disarm the desperation and anger that feeds their army.

It is time for us to do some deep soul-searching in America sort out how we are being perceived in the world. If we cannot fund a more humble and gracious voice to the rest of the world we’ll find ourselves increasingly isolated. No matter what our military power can accomplish it will only succeed in further alienating our friends and inspiring further hatred in our enemies.

Over the last few weeks I’ve found an old chorus running around my head. Part of it says,

A new issue of our flagship publication, BodyLife, was posted on May 10, 2004. The lead article is entitled The Shepherd’s Call. Because this is a bit different, I’m creating this space on the blog for others to comment on the article. I’m not necessarily looking for a string of compliments here like, “Great article”. I’m looking for a place for people to interact with its content, whether positive or negative and I’ll join that conversation with my own thoughts when I can. Just hit the ‘feedback’ button to read other people’s comments or add your own.

I got the following question as a follow up to my recent post on simple church and thought you’d be interested in the conversation that followed:

My response:

He responded:

Me again:

I just returned yesterday from Sacramento after a five day trip to visit with believers in the area and encourage what God is doing in them. My son, Andrew, was able to go with me on this trip to check out a potential move to that area. What a weekend we had sharing God’s life together, meeting new friends and reconnecting with others who’ve been together before!

I spent most of my time in the Elk Grove area. A number of young couples and singles living in that area have found themselves spilling out of various religious institutions and are finding life together in various kinds of house church groupings. The fellowship they share together and the connections they maintain between groups has really encouraged them to live the journey. Many of these had been trained for vocational congregational leadership and been trained for it. Hungering for greater reality than they could find in the institutions they were a part of, they have risked so much to follow Jesus in more relational expressions of body life and other vocations.

On Sunday I spent some time with a large group from North Highlands which has been decentralizing their institution over the last five years and learning to live relationally in God and with each other. This was my fifth time among them and it is always fun to connect with such dear friends. I always look forward to reconnecting because I enjoy so much the journey they are on and the risks they’ve taken to follow the Lamb wherever he leads them.

We also had some others from the Bay Area and from the mountains above Sacramento come over to join us as well. Some of those people I’d corresponded with on the net and have talked to by phone but never met. (One of them is my blog guru who has taught me the joys of blogging. He and his wife are from South Africa and I had a great time getting to know them.) It is great to see God drawing people to himself in our day and the kind of hungers he has placed on their heart. For hours each day and often long into the night, we talked about how we shake free of religious thinking so that we can live freely in God’s life. I loved the hunger I saw for genuine relationship and the price they were willing to pay to find God’s life and freedom. It is so enriching to spend time with people who focused on growing in relationship with God and other believers and not trying to build an institution for themselves.

I want to thank each of them for opening their hearts so wide to my son and me and letting us peek in on their life for a few days. I have no doubt they are well in the master’s hands and that he is leading them spacious pastures and the cool, clean water of his refreshing.

Sometimes it is easy to miss the forest for the trees.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately with people that are really excited about ‘Simple Church.’ I’d be excited about it too if it weren’t capitalized. I’m all for simple church life. But ‘Simple Church’ is a way of doing church in homes with built-in organizational expectations and many come with networking machinery attached. This is the latest incarnation of relational church models that have unfolded in the past two decades—Cell, House, Organic, and now Simple. I’m concerned that once we get our eyes on models for replicating some form of what we call church, we get our eyes off of Jesus and miss what he would do to connect us with others both local and distant.

I got this note from a brother last week:

Here’s my response:

Real church life begins when we recognize that no human effort can build his church. That’s his job. He asked us to go and proclaim the gospel and make disciples—which is helping people get the journey of living in him—and the church of Jesus Christ will spring up all around us. I’m sure this is more than you bargained for, and unfortunately I know that most people need to go this ‘network’ direction as a way of seeing through all man’s systems to try to replicate church.  But if I can save you that detour, I think you’ll be grateful.

Surprisingly enough a few days later I got a call from this brother. His response was fabulous. He said that as they were forming this ‘network’ he kept feeling unsettled about how they were going about it. We talked for almost an hour about recognizing how God works rather than pushing him into our boxes. I loved his openness and honesty with me and willingness to take a fresh look at the direction they were headed to see if God might have something even more free and more fruitful.

One of the first crises people face who live institutional gatherings, is to replicate something that fulfills the same obligation. We think we need it to survive spiritually and it certainly makes us more acceptable to friends in institutions that think we’re backsliding if we’re not involved in something we can call a church. But when we grab for a model to give us security, we risk missing out once again on the reality of the Body of Christ as she exists in the world. When we impose human models on God’s working, we lose out on the unique expressions of body life that would arise from people who just learn to love believers around them and to look for ways to encourage them to live more deeply in Jesus. Once you’ve tasted of that you know it defies every model we would seek to impose on her, and only results in dividing up Christ’s body once again.

Interestingly enough, the next day I got an email from someone who lives in my city and who just returned from a Simple Church conference. He was looking for a home church in Oxnard. I told him that I hang out with a group of believers in the area who are learning to share life together and that he was welcome to join us. I warned him that he wouldn’t find us to be banner-waving ‘house’ church folks, though, but simply people learning to love Jesus and finding ways to love each other in the process. If something more formal than that emerged in the future, we were OK with that, but hadn’t felt led that way at the moment. But we are studying Galatians right now on Tuesday evenings and he was sure welcome to join us.

He didn’t. He was looking for a specific package we didn’t offer, and in doing so he missed the opportunity right in front of him.

I got this from a young visitor to my website last week. Don’t you just love how God draws people to himself and shows them the empty facades of religion?

Thank you for building such an uplifting and helpful website! I’m 21 years old, and have thus far left two religious communities, both of which were steeped in religious tradition and falsehood. I was raised in a movement that taught that this group consisted of the only heaven-bound people on the planet.  After the youth group discovered that I had visited places of other denominations at my own leisure, I suffered backbiting from the youth and the leaders. Then, I left there and became a member of a religion program founded by a denomination. Once again, I was the odd one out because I would not accept Hinduism, Islam, Shamanism, Buddhism, etc. as valid ways to God.  I left there, and when I tried to contact some people who were still in the program, I received no response. In spite of all I’ve observed and experienced, I’m thrilled to know that there are people who desire authentic Christian fellowship. I’m glad to know that people are willing to look through the facade of religion, do away with the false concept of church, and begin to actually be the family of God! Thanks for acting in godly discernment.

My response: What a joy to hear from you, and please forgive how long it has taken me to get back to you.  Sometimes my schedule is not my own.  Actually, my schedule is never my own.  But I do enjoy hearing from people on the journey especially young ones who refuse to settle for status quo religious life and are willing to move on in the journey seeking for the authentic Christian fellowship God has placed in their heart. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to find, but Father knows where you are and who he wants to link you to so that you can live more freely in him and share that with others who have a similar hunger.  

I’ll pray God make those connections for you, in his time and in his way. But don’t ever lose your hunger for the purity and simplicity of being devoted to Christ.
 

The last two weeks have really been a joy. It was great to get home and reconnect with family and finding out I’m going to be grandpa around Thanksgiving time next year. Sara and I also got to take a two-day trip up the California coast to visit some old friends. Aren’t old friends the best? Even though we’d not seen this couple for a long time, we had walked together through some pretty painful places and held on to God together. Relationships centered in Jesus never fade with time. You can get back together even after months or years and pick up the conversation as if no time had ever passed. That’s not true of all relationships, however. Those that remain unreconciled through past hurts or manipulation stay damaged just as long. I’ve still got some like that I pray God heals in time.

Then it was back to Oxnard where we had guests from Colorado, people I’ve only recently met. But what a joy to share new-found relationships as well. We were only together 24 hours but talked almost nonstop through that time. We talked a lot about what is coming to be known as ‘simple church’ and how easy it is for us to be captured by names and models, and miss out on living dependent upon Jesus.

Then over the weekend I was with a group of believers that live in the Las Vegas area. This was the third time I’d crossed paths with them in the last year. They are on a marvelous journey moving from institutional mindsets of the body of Christ, to learning to live freely as God’s people together. That transition is never easy. We’ve been schooled to think so religiously about ‘gatherings’ of the body, that they often seem forced and artificial. Learning how to let them be organic again and still be filled with the life of Jesus can be disorienting.

One of the things Jesus shared with us when we were together is never to think that the middle of a chapter is the end of the story. We tend to do that. So many people lose their bearings in times of transition and run back to the false security of what is familiar, instead of following on past their insecurities into a new spacious place of the Lord’s working. Times of transition can be painful and we often don’t see the fruit of it right away. If we can remember that we’re in a process and that God’s fruit will take time to mature, we will be able to relax more easily and see God’s work through to its end.

That’s probably a good lesson for all of us.

[Originally posed on Lifestream site on April 9, 2004]

A few interesting circumstances fell together during my last day in Ireland that made God’s life a bit more real to me. I woke up on the on my 12th morning since I had left Sara and immediately found myself focused on my return home the following day and the joy of seeing her again and catching up. With eager anticipation I thought of her picking me up at the airport, driving home and spending an evening together after my long absence.

Later that day a brother pulled me aside to tell me how much he had appreciated the latest article in BodyLife, Living in Two Worlds, which concerns how we can live more freely in this present age by keeping our eyes on the reality of eternity.

As I got some time alone later, the juxtaposition of those two events really struck me. I thought about my anticipation of being with Sara the next day and how much more real that seemed to me than someday being face to face with the Father of all and the Son who redeemed us. It was a bit of a reality check. If we only knew what was waiting for us when we finally shed this mortal, corruptible natures and came into the full glory of our inheritance as God’s children, we would have no uncertainty about our mortality.

I know I don’t fully get that yet. If I did I would anticipate his appearing with even greater eagerness than I did my return to Sara. That doesn’t mean I have to be excited about the trip. I don’t relish eleven-hour airplane flights, nor, one would expect, the actual mechanism of dying. But for the joy set before me I endured the one to get home, and will one day endure the other so that I can be with him forever in the freedom and joy of his redemption.

And having such a hope does not make us worthless in the days we have here. In fact, it works just the opposite. My excitement at getting home to Sara made my last day all that much more fun. It allowed me to give myself fully to those we engaged that day knowing this was the last chance on this trip to participate in God’s life together. Isn’t that a great way to live each day—making the most of every opportunity, treasuring every joy while we wait in eager anticipation for the one our souls love most of all!

Last night I arrived home from my 12 day stay in Ireland, exhausted but overjoyed at the people God allowed us to meet and the things we got to experience. Those who hosted us in their homes, or helped with our transportation in the area were a real blessing to Patrick and me.

Our last four days were spent with people around Dublin and down in County Wicklow. They are a network of believers that grew out of a Bible study in Dublin in the 70’s and 80’s during the days of the Charismatic Renewal. God dealt with their hearts many years ago about laying the structures down and walking in the freedom of being children who live dependent on Father and not on tradition or program. Their hunger for the living God was evident at every turn and we enjoyed so much combining our pieces of the journey and seeing God encourage each of us by his work in the others . As an added benefit we were also joined by some people from South African and from England who wanted to join in the fun. The International flavor was an added joy.

One thing that kept coming up over and over again is that some of them felt a bit stuck in the journey. Without structures to maintain an illusion of spiritual life, they have found it easy to get lost in the necessities of survivall (work, raising children, household responsibilities) and lose sight of the greater purpose God has invited them to share in his kingdom. It is something we all wrestle with. Hopefully God encouraged us all to continue walking freely and intentionally with him as he continues to shape us to be demonstrations of his life and character in the world.

It was four days of nearly non-stop talking and gatherings every night with different groups of believers. We talked through so many aspects of the journey and each night went in different directions as we shared together. We also got to enjoy a bit of sight-seeing and shopping in the area and time enjoying the families we stayed with. One evening we met just with those in their teens and early 20’s who had questions as to how they had survived the de-structuring of their parent’s body life and hungers they had which were unmet. Patrick and I shared with them their opportunity to have their own journey. To follow Jesus as he leads them, and while they can enjoy the heritage they have of being people far more focused on relationship with God rather than institutional mechanics and far more focused on family than peer-relationships; they, too, could listen to God together to see how he might provide some of the equipping they desire and more fellowship opportunities with each other. I loved how these young men and women were hungering for more reality in their walk with Christ. not some kind of plastic program to satisfy their temporal needs. And I don’t know that I’ve ever met a more talented group of kids in arts, sports and academics.

There are many lessons from this trip that I will continue to share over the next few days on this blog, but that is enough for now. The closer I got to home yesterday, the sicker I got with some kind of virus. I am pretty wiped out as I write this at 5:00 in the morning because I just coldn’t sleep any longer. I’m not sure what time zone my body is in a the moment, but it will settle down soon. Due to my computer malfunction I also have over 400 emails in my inbox that need to be answered, so please be patient if you’re one of those waiting for a response or an order to be filled. The jury is still out on the computer. I haven’t had time to try some things with it or have it looked at. I should later today.

Thanks for all your love, prayers and support during this journey. I now have about two weeks at home with a bit of holiday time scheduled in as Sara goes on spring break.

We have come to the last stage of our journey, and I doubt I will have time to add more before I return. I do appreciate those who have prayed for us during this journey.

We ended our time with some wonderful people in Drogheda. We felt like God was opening some fresh doors among them, even with new sight and victories over past, long-term situations. There was a freshness of God’s glory shining into hearts who have faithfully clung to him over some difficult seasons.

On our last day there we tried to play golf, but the winds were howling and we just didn’t have the equipment to take it on. But the course was a seaside links course of exquisite beauty and we regretted not being able to let it make fools of our golf games. But that allowed us some opportunities to see a bit of the area and spend some more time with the people there. We also went to New Grange to see a burial mound built 500 years before the pyramids, and perfectly aligned with the winter solstice so that the first rays of the morning sun on December 21 penetrates to the heart of the chamber and illuminates it as if the rocks were glowing. It was an amazing structure and it makes one wonder what would have driven people 5,000 years ago to build such a huge, ornate, and astronomically aligned site… Was it the shame of falleness, or the need for a ruler to prove his superiority or something else? No one knows.

Now we have arrived in Dublin with an extensive group of people who live relatedly in Christ’s life, but are not centered on meetings. We gathered with a few last night and will do so with a number of the youth this evening to talk through a bit of the journey. It should be great fun. Then tomorrow we’ll head for Wicklow, south of here for most of Saturday and Sunday, though we are coming back for a Saturday night meeting in Dublin.

It’s amazing to embrace the variety of God’s family here in the Emerald Islands. Each pocket of folks are doing things a bit differently, but have similar hearts for the reality of God’s presence among his people and demonstrated in the world.

On the downside, my iBook travel computer is officially dead for reasons I do not understand. The screen is black, even with a new battery. It may be that something dreadful has happened inside. It is only fourteen months, too, so that is a bit frustrating, but God will use this to further his glory somehow, because he is amazing at such things.

But that bit of writing I was going to do on the way home will not happen now. I cannot access email or the website from it now, so if you have email waiting for me, I’ll have to see it when I get home. I am sorry for any inconvenience this delay might cause. Today Sara will be checking for book and CD orders and look to get those out as quickly as possible.

All told this has been one incredible trip to taste a bit of God’s working across the length and breadth of Ireland. This country has been so shattered by religious conflicts and war and yet there are hungry hearts growing in God’s life and passionate about seeing his glory thrive here. Please hold them up in your prayers as God might lead you to do…

Patrick (that’s him and me at left on the bluffs outside Kinsale) got in on Saturday night in Tralee and we spent the evening continuing our discussion on the cross and met in the morning with some of the saints in Tralee for a wonderful time of fellowship and then some goodbyes as we headed off toward Cork.

When we first sat down to table in Cork on Sunday afternoon three continents were represented. Along with these two Americans we were joined by an Irish woman and her Australian husband. When we got to the meeting later that night we were also joined by people from Nigeria, Zimbabwe and the Philippines. Isn’t Father’s family the most amazing thing? From every tribe, tongue and people and nation he is calling us together to live as his children in the earth. We had an awesome sense that we were getting a taste of that reality in Cork.

We gathered in a wonderful home ovelooking Cork City and shared about Father’s invitation into an intimate friendship with him and how we live that out, not by our human effort, but by learning how to rely on him. The people were incredibly gracious with us and opened their hearts wide to us.

I’m sorry it has taken so long to get this posted, but I’ve had a host of computer problems here which has limited my access. Then yesterday on the train to Drogheda while I was typing the next blog my computer screen suddenly went on the frtiz. The screen suddenly had some nasty lines shoot through it and now it will not boot up at all. Can you believe it? The computer is just 2 months out of warranty, so we hope the problem is not major. We’re going to have someone look at it tomorrow in Dublin, but in the meantime we’ve had to live off of other people’s computers.

After an incredible train ride we have arrived in Drogheda north of Dublin where a group of brothers and sisters have been meeting in homes together for some time. We had some time last night to focus on how we will not be able to love others freely until we allow ourselves to be loved deeply the way Father loves us. We cannot give what we have not received.

The real stories of the last few days, however, is the opportunities we’ve had with individuals who were at moments of breakthrough in various aspects of their spiritual lives. I can’t give you the details of those, but it is an awesome thing to see how Jesus touches people with an individuality that bears great testimony to his incredible nature.

In contrast to that we are in an area now where the Protestant/British conflict with the Catholic/Irish have resulted in thousands of deaths over hundreds of years. We’ve read stories of those who prepared for battle through prayer and worship only to go out and slaughter the opposition, seize their lands and torture any survivors. It is a sobering reminder that the greatest atrocities of humanity have come from religious people who thought their cause was sanctioned by God and they thought that killing their opponents was a great cause to celebrate before God. It has bred deep-seated and long-enduring resentment between people and it is no wonder people reject the gospel when it has been used to such horrible ends.

May God reveal his power, love and glory and deomonstrate to the world that he is the awesome God and loving Father that invites his children into love and live and freedom.

I’ll try to post again in a couple of days if computers and connections allow…. Tomorrow (Thursday) Patrick and `i head into Dublin for the weekend and the last leg of our incredible adventure in Ireland.

Thanks to all those who have responded about my trip with words of blessing and prayers for my journey and the work God wants to do through my being here.  I think I could enjoy this blogging…

After 22 hours of driving and flying from my home in Oxnard, I arrived at Stuart and Marie’s home in Tralee in Ireland.  There were half a dozen or so folks waiting to greet me and we had a brief time of fellowship together before I found my way to a bed and 10 hours of much needed sleep.  I only slept about 3 hours on the plane coming here and was hardly able to string coherent thoughts together.

Awaking the next morning, Stuart and I headed for a cross-country tour to Killarney and a national park near there.  What a beautiful trip through the mountains and coastal villages of southeast Ireland. We passed lots of golf courses too, but I didn’t bring my clubs, nor have time to play.  The trip gave us lots of time to talk and I love how God has brought this group of people into the simple joy of living as his people together.  You can read a bit about them at a web site they are just starting to put together at: http://www.saintsintralee.net. 

Last night we gathered in Tralee to talk through the power of the cross and how it frees us from sin and shame to live deeply in the friendship God wants with each of us.  We’re going to continue that discussion this evening (Saturday night) as well.  But first we’re going on a bit of a road trip. Stuart will be dropping me off in Ballybunion to meet with some new brothers and sisters there while he drives on to Shannon to pick up Patrick who is flying in today from the States. 

Tommorow (Sunday) we will gather with the saints here in Tralee and then make our way down to Cork in southern Ireland to meet with some other believers there.  Your prayers for us are most welcome.

In less than an hour I will be leaving for the airport on a two-week trip to Ireland. I met the folks there over a year ago during an all-to-brief swing through the region. I’m going back to spend some time in five different places. Accompanying me on the trip is Patrick Mcbane from Youngstown, Ohio.

We are just starting a blog here, so I’m not too sure how this is going to work. But while I’m in Ireland I’m going to try to give some regular updates of what we’ll experience there. If all goes well, you’ll see some updates appear here from time to time. If not, you’ll know I couldn’t figure it out and we’ll start fresh when I get home.

Hopefully you’ll be able to respond to these posts as well. Please be patient with my learning curve here as we try this more direct way of communicating.

Isn’t God amazing?

I am constantly in awe at the things God arranges. I can’t believe I spent so much of my life frustrated that God wouldn’t do things my way or trying to manage a schedule that did more to keep him out than let him in. I don’t know how much I must have missed that he wanted to spill into my life because I was so focused on getting him to do things my way. In the last few years he has won me over. His ability to connect things at exactly the right moment far exceed my ability to do so. And it is so cool.

On my recent flight to Hawaii to teach at the YWAM base in Kona, God put me next to a woman who was on her way to Hawaii to make some medical decisions for her hospitalized father who had suffered a stroke. She was a new Christian and struggling with the choices she would have to make alone for her father’s care. It was such a blessing to be able to sort through some of those things for her both at a personal and theological level. We talked for over half of the journey about her situation and the choices ahead before she settled into a nap and I into some reading.

At the end she couldn’t have been more grateful. I stayed in touch with her through the week and her father passed away Tuesday night. Isn’t it amazing how God can arrange just the conversations we need when we need them most? But we both could have missed it so easily. If we’d just sat quietly ignoring each other as most do on airplanes, we would never have known.

If I hadn’t shown an interest in why she was going to Hawaii, and if she hadn’t taken the risk to tell me the real reason none of this would have happened. It’s a great reminder to take a bit of an interest in what’s going on around you. You’ll never know how God will use it to encourage another brother or sister, or to let the world get a glimpse of him in you.

I’m also going to Ireland next week with a brother from Youngstown, Ohio who I only met a few weeks ago. Patrick Mcbane, is an Irishman who has never been to Ireland. He contacted me a few weeks ago about visiting their group. I was already set to be nearby in Western Pennsylvania, but didn’t have a hole in my schedule to arrange anything with them. But God knew better. He shuffled some things around so I had a piece of the weekend unexpectedly free. Not only did I get to meet some delightful brothers and sisters in Youngstown, but God also connected me with a brother to share this journey to Ireland. I’m not sure what all he has in mind with that, but I’m freshly reminded that Jesus has his body well in hand and connects us with others at just the right time.

So be ready! Who knows what God might want to do with the next person who crosses your path!