Be Bold

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea andSamaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8

            My prayer for you, if you are a Christian, is that you would know your own strength and not be weighed down by sin. Life can be scary. I have seen my share of scary days. You have to remember that you were given power to live without fear. This does not mean that scary things won't happen but that you will not fear them when they do. Why? The creator of the world has put his spirit in you. This does not mean that you will always act like Jesus. We also have sin in our lives. Bad things will happen. Bad things happened to Paul and bad things will happen to you sometimes. 

          When we moved to South Sudan life became difficult. Even the simplest things, like buying bread, became hard work. I have to take a police officer with me (it's ok because he's my friend) so I'll be safe. If I need money it might take many trips to the bank before I can find my money. Then I have to get someone to exchange my dollars into Sudanese pounds, then we walk through the market with my police friend and buy delicious bread from a lady with a very nice smile. 

          There are a lot of people with guns in our town. Sometimes they fight with each other and people get hurt. This makes us sad because many people in our town don't know Jesus and the peace he brings. If we gave into fear, we would not be able to tell the story of Jesus to those how need him the most. We have to be BOLD.

Be Last

First read John 13:3-17

The Story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples is as shocking today as when it happened. What kind of a leader chooses to wash the ones he leads. What would people say if the President of the United States was caught secretly washing the feet of his cabinet? Most people would not understand. Some of you have seen people wash the feet of others. What did you think? When Jesus washed his friends' feet there were no cameras there, he was not even on a stage. Anyone who has worn sandals all day knows that the disciples' feet needed washing. Jesus was doing what needed to be done. Normally, servants did this type of thing. What was Jesus doing? Was he a servant? Yes, he was. He served and was treated like a servant. He taught others to serve. I am reminded of this every time I give my one year old son a bath. I wash his little feet and he laughs. I have to wash my son's feet. He can chew on his feet and play with his feet but he can't wash his feet. This is what Peter finally understood. There are places only Jesus can reach. We can't wash the sin off our hearts. We need Jesus to wash us so we can be apart of him. It takes a lot of humility to say I can't do it, I need to be like a child and have the father bathe me.

Be His

    

   

He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life... Colossians 1:18-22

           Our generation likes to talk a lot about the relationship between Christ and the Church. This is like talking about the relationship between my head and my body. If the two ever become separated I would cease to exist. I would be dead. Any "church" that removes itself from the authority of Christ, has removed its own life source. It will be a quick death, but this is not what we are talking about. The Church and the Body of Christ are the same thing. You can't join one and not the other. Christ is not something you put on once a week. He is something that you become eternally. When you are saved, your salvation becomes a bound identity. You are moved under Christ. You are now part of his body, the church. You do not earn this through membership or classes in any building. It is the amazing incomprehensible will of God. Through the blood of Jesus, God brought salvation to you when he brought all things back to himself through Jesus. 

          Through Christ's sacrifice we have been made friends with God. As you read this, it is not likely that you are my friend. I live far away in South Sudan. You could message me on FB or respond to this post. You could even "friend" me, but we really would not be friends, so to speak, no offense. But what if, I responded to your friend request and said, "I really, really have to meet you. I'll send my son to your house and bring you to visit me in Africa. My son will pay for everything. It will not be cheep but you are worth the cost. My son will go to you and bring you to me. If you come to me, you will be my friend." Now, I can't pay for everyone to come to visit me in Africa but God did pay for everyone to come to him. 

           There are many groups claiming a way to salvation, a way to God. But man cannot find God with rules or acts. Only Jesus can bring you to God.                

Starting a Short Series: Who should we be?

These will be used in this summer's FugeCamps' discipleship materials. I wanted you to get them first. 

  

Back in Kaabong

      

   

Yesterday, we loaded up in a small van, kids in toe and headed to the end of the black top to meet J. Lira was where the good roads ran out. J had stopped on the roadside and purchased two bags of roasted pork, a Baganda specialty. We met J early afternoon, loaded his Land Cruiser, and made the mad dash to Kaabong. 

    We were now midway in a ten hour day on the road. Loaded with gear, we bounced the rest of the way to through Karamoja, five adults, three kids, and a dozen chickens. It was a good trip. We pulled into Kaabong just before dark and were greeted by old friends and new. Ngole was one of the first. He looked quite noble setting there on his big bicycle, smiling and waving his hands.         

          Being back in Kaabong was sobering. The basecamp had never looked so good. Even in the dark, it was clear that so much had happened in the six months that we had been gone. Our home was now a home of others. My garden had been planted by another and my coffee plants seemed to miss me more than the rest. The weather was cool. A soft breeze moved among the buildings and we were together. We sat at table enjoying spaghetti, cold Coke-a-Colas, and overdue conversation. It was a memorial night. The kids swarmed each other. They talked and played and enjoyed getting on each others nerves. 

cont:     The next several days were wonderful. We were encouraged to see all that God has completed in Kaabong. When we left J and Susan were the only ones there. There are now eight Adults working full time form Kaabong. Three days of meeting rendered a renewed and clarified vision for Echelon's future. The biggest focus of the year will be a multi-etnic multi-month training. This will be a huge amount of work for everyone. Pray for the upcoming Echelon church planters training. 

          We were honored to spend time this the expanded team. But it had to come to an end. Sadly we left and bumped along the road for ten hours back to Kampala. Wed. we head back to Kuajok.   

To Write or Not to Write

  

        

       

My blogging hiatus has finally timed out. To set at a computer and put thoughts to blog was more than I could manage for nearly a year. I questioned many of my superficial beliefs about life, relationships, ministry, even writing. The core beliefs stayed in place but much of the practical side of living came into question. I would like to include a few things that helped me move past blogger's block.

Time: I have found that time really does help to heal most things. One of the best pieces of advise           I received during my dreadlocked years was that time would fix a bad dread, it true. Time allows one to step back and see the panorama of life as it unfolds. It is easy to focus on the negative, when taking things one difficult day at a time. But, step back and let some time pass and look at life from a broader point of view and honestly, the good days out weight the bad and things don't look so dim. Writing takes inspiration. Inspiration is like fuel. It runs out if not replenished. Often, we simply need time to rest and time to find a renewed inspiration. 

Reading: The older I get the more time I spend with my face in a book. I try to read broadly and keep up a steady diet of novels, nonfiction (i.e. biography, history, theology) and science. I have discovered so much of human nature in reading novels and science books at the same time. G. B. Shaw has taught me to not judge all people by my "middle class morality" and S. Pinker has taught me to look at life as the interplay of constants and variables. Hugo taught me beauty. Twain taught me humor. Hemingway taught me wonder. Chomsky taught me to question. Melville taught me the art of reading. And B. Franklin taught me resolve. The most inspiring novel I have ever read is most certainly by Curt Iles. The book changed my life, but not by prose nor plot. Curt is my dear friend. He now spends his time making the message and person of Jesus more knowable to the people of equatorial Africa through his work in refugee camps touching the lives of many from DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda. I had never read a novel written by a friend until now. I guess I always thought books came form the printers of publisher, not the minds of men, women, teachers, shopkeepers, politicians, and a few missionaries. Curt puts his pants on the same way I do and if he can put words down to screen, maybe I could as well. 

Communication: There are a few people in my life that truly help me to sort out my thoughts. I have a good friend of mine that has that talent. We have a good conversation about once a month and swap emails about twice that often. He has a unique ability of asking the right questions, which directs my line of thought and allows me to come to my own conclusions. Another such person, is my father. I talk with my father once a week. The conversations are always insightful and wise. My father's openness gives me an advantage over most men. Benjamin Franklin once said, Any old fool can learn from his mistakes, it is a wise man that can learn from the mistakes of others. My father's vulnerability has fostered many deep conversations. He is direct, yet caring and always empathetic. He doesn't hesitate to offer a gentle rebuke when needed. We all have those people in our lives. However, it can be a challenge finding those people in a sea of acquaintances. 

Hardware: For me writing is spontaneous. It is difficult to make myself write when I am not "in the mood," I have always been like this. But, when the mood hits me I need to write it down. Year before last, my wife bought for me an iPad mini. This has been a great little device for keeping up to date on social media. Recently, I bought a Logitech keyboard for my iPad a

nd a few days ago, I downloaded the Blogger app, I am using it now. The combination of hardware and software gives me the ability to write when it suits and publish when I have internet.