The news today reports an incident in California where a man bit off another man's finger during an argument.
Ironically, the argument was over health care reform.
Fortunately, the man with the severed finger was covered by Medicaid.
I'm sure there is a spiritual lesson in this, but, by all accounts, this is a crazy world...
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Going Hostel
Avignon, France
Have you ever stayed in a European hostel? Let me describe it for you. Picture a coed, communal, university dormitory. Four people to a room. Bathrooms down the hall. Shower with a knob you push to get the water to come out in 10 second bursts. Hans & Frans pulsing techno-pop through the wall. If you've ever wanted to live in a nudist colony, a European hostel would be a step in that direction. (If you've ever wanted to interact with a global community, a European hostel is a step in that direction as well.)
God knows all about European hostels. He describes the sleeping conditions perfectly.
Have you ever stayed in a European hostel? Let me describe it for you. Picture a coed, communal, university dormitory. Four people to a room. Bathrooms down the hall. Shower with a knob you push to get the water to come out in 10 second bursts. Hans & Frans pulsing techno-pop through the wall. If you've ever wanted to live in a nudist colony, a European hostel would be a step in that direction. (If you've ever wanted to interact with a global community, a European hostel is a step in that direction as well.)
God knows all about European hostels. He describes the sleeping conditions perfectly.
The bed is too short to stretch out on;
The blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
Isaiah 28:20
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
At the Bridge in Avignon
Avignon, France
From 1305 to 1378, the Catholic Pope resided not at the Vatican, but in Avignon, France. During that time, the French kings held control over the papal selection and activity. But I'll come back to that in a bit...
The bridge in Avignon was started way back in 1177 and completed in only 8 years. Spanning over 3,000 feet, it was considered a marvel of its time. I had to marvel at the image of the bridge ruins, bathed in sunlight and touched by a rainbow this evening. I took the photo attached with my iPhone camera.
Back to the papal thing, it turns out that during this chapter of the church, the Roman Emperor and the Pope were at odds over who was the leader of Christendom in secular matters. It seems that the popes leading just prior to this time enjoyed unprecedented popularity as a result of the successful crusades. Some say that the emperors of the Middle Ages merely served as marshals who existed to do the Pope's bidding. As a result of all this "ruling" the popes were doing, the papal court had to establish all of the governmental practices and procedures of the secular court, leading to a centralized administration under Clement V who was elected at the beginning of the 1300's.
So, would you like to guess what happened? Disaster. The French kings appointed French popes who instituted laws and governed the empire, all under the banner of organized religion. Church leaders lived as princes rather than as clergy. Corruption ruled, which gave birth to a public that despised the faith that these leaders stood to represent. Eventually the church stood on the verge of collapse. In 1378 Pope Gregory XI, a French pope, made the decision to return the papacy to Rome in an effort to bring stability to the land. Unfortunately, the clergy in France disagreed and installed their own popes for the next 30 years. Not helpful.
What do we learn from this? The church is to be like Jesus. Jesus was the King of Kings, but the church is not. History has proven time and again that politics and religion, when mixed together produce a toxic soup. The corruption which comes from power does not stop when a man puts on the priestly robe. Rather, we (church leaders) forget that Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for all. The papal palace right across the Rhone from where I sit at this moment is gilded in gold and stands as an edifice of control. Jesus got on his knees and washed his friends' feet.
Now, don't get me wrong. The church does, at times, get it right. So do popes and pastors. And they get it right when they let Jesus have all power, authority, strength and honor. And they get it right when they take off garments of earthly control, bend down to the ground and serve others with the love of Jesus.
And when Christians live this way, then, like the Bridge in Avignon, it's enough to make one dance...
Monday, August 24, 2009
Lisbon region, Portugal
For the past week I've been with 80 believers from the southern Europe region. All of them are involved in some form of church expression, from the static, building and program based church, to the ultra liquid form of believers' community. They came together under the scope of Christian Associates to connect. In fact, the event was called the Southern Europe Regional Connect. We met along the coast of Portugal, on a beach front called Sao Pedro De Muel. The photo is a sunrise shot from my first day there. Chock this one up to jetlag...
Our retreat center was a Baptist encampment. The dormitory style housing placed 4 of us men - large men - in a room with two bunk beds and 3 square feet of floor space. The snoring was indescribable. Mix older, slightly overweight men with a severe lack of sleep and you’ve got a 3am philharmonic. The sleep apnea drug world is going to make a killing on us someday. At one point I lay on my bunk laughing at the noises coming from the other 3. They were actually "talking" to each other, alternating their breaths in a way that created a rhythmic conversation in the night. The volume escalated as if they were disagreeing until one man gasped for breath so loud that it jostled the rest and created a space of calm for me to rush off to sleep. Thank the Lord for conflict resolution...
The retreat was a beautiful example of believers coming from multiple countries, speaking an array of languages, thriving in a diversity of church styles, with one Lord. A glimpse into heaven.
Thanks to all of you who have prayed and made this trip possible. You, too, will someday join the chorus of believers from every tribe, every language at the throne of heaven. And may you never join us for a night in the dormitory...
Dudley
A Fragrant Faith
Grasse, France
The Perfume Capital of the World, this city sits just above the Cote d'Azure, otherwise known as the French Riviera. Grasse (pronounced like we say "Grass") is warm enough to incubate all of the flowers necessary to make fine perfumes - which the city sells in excess of 600 million Euros per year - and wet enough to make it lush almost year round.
The cathedral dedicated to Notre Dame du Puy serves as the central attraction to the town and is home to several original large-scale paintings by Rubens. This expression of church was constructed in the 11th century. We happened to be standing just outside of the doors at noon when the carillon bells began to ring. I posted a video above of the bells. It's my iPhone attempt at capturing a video moment.
So, how do these two features of Grasse intersect? Perfume and cathedral. Fragrance and faith. For Vincent & Nicole Derieux, our CA workers here in Grasse, they combine to form a church called Parfums De Vie - The Fragrance of Life. A multi-lingual gathering, this church seeks to bring the nations together under the Lordship of Christ. In addition to their outreach to French neighbors, Vincent & Nicole live and serve very near to the large Tunisian immigrant population, offering kids club programs, social services, and language classes. Vincent, a local Frenchman from nearby Avignon, and Nicole, a Scot who is fluent in French, are both learning Arabic in order to better serve the local community. I'm very impressed by what I've seen so far as we've walked their streets today.
It makes me wonder, what do our churches smell like? Not physically, but in terms of the effect of our presence in this world. Do we emit an acrid odor of judgment and condemnation? Maybe we reek with the sweat of self-justification. It takes a lot of effort to earn the love of God! Heaven forbid we would smell with the decay of spiritual death.
Paul encourages us to be like perfume, offering the aroma of Christ to our communities. He writes in 2 Corinthians 2, "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
May you draw people today toward Jesus, just by the sweetness of your presence.
The Perfume Capital of the World, this city sits just above the Cote d'Azure, otherwise known as the French Riviera. Grasse (pronounced like we say "Grass") is warm enough to incubate all of the flowers necessary to make fine perfumes - which the city sells in excess of 600 million Euros per year - and wet enough to make it lush almost year round.
The cathedral dedicated to Notre Dame du Puy serves as the central attraction to the town and is home to several original large-scale paintings by Rubens. This expression of church was constructed in the 11th century. We happened to be standing just outside of the doors at noon when the carillon bells began to ring. I posted a video above of the bells. It's my iPhone attempt at capturing a video moment.
So, how do these two features of Grasse intersect? Perfume and cathedral. Fragrance and faith. For Vincent & Nicole Derieux, our CA workers here in Grasse, they combine to form a church called Parfums De Vie - The Fragrance of Life. A multi-lingual gathering, this church seeks to bring the nations together under the Lordship of Christ. In addition to their outreach to French neighbors, Vincent & Nicole live and serve very near to the large Tunisian immigrant population, offering kids club programs, social services, and language classes. Vincent, a local Frenchman from nearby Avignon, and Nicole, a Scot who is fluent in French, are both learning Arabic in order to better serve the local community. I'm very impressed by what I've seen so far as we've walked their streets today.
It makes me wonder, what do our churches smell like? Not physically, but in terms of the effect of our presence in this world. Do we emit an acrid odor of judgment and condemnation? Maybe we reek with the sweat of self-justification. It takes a lot of effort to earn the love of God! Heaven forbid we would smell with the decay of spiritual death.
Paul encourages us to be like perfume, offering the aroma of Christ to our communities. He writes in 2 Corinthians 2, "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
May you draw people today toward Jesus, just by the sweetness of your presence.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Callison Family Newsletter
Even though we are well into June, our May Family Newsletter is ready to go! Please feel free to click here to download our latest ministry news and information. And if you run into problems with the download, just let me know and I'll make the adjustments.
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