Weary of the Moon

A few pictures from Easter morning

On Easter morning we woke the kids up early and drove to the park.  We'd been reading different parts of the Passion Week story to the kids each day during the week and had talked to them the day before about Holy Saturday and the hope of Easter morning. 

It was cold and a little windy but we sat and read about the empty tomb on the first Easter Sunday, lit our Easter candles (our family tradition -- each candle tells us something of Jesus we learn from the cross and resurrection), and then sat under a blanket to watch the sun rise.

After our family sunrise service, after church, and after eating too much lunch, we went down to the zoo to take a few pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes.  Our kids, like most, like to overpose and oversmile, so I thought it might be best to let them smile more genuinely and try to catch them in the act.  Here are a few of the better ones.

   

  

 

 

I think there is something about enjoying God's creation (which they both certainly do) that is right, especially on Easter morning.

(By the way, take that SydCham -- we have pictures too).

Nemiroff Vodka

I finished off the Pale Ale last night so tonight I opened the cabinet and decided to enjoy a small bit of a vodka I brought back from our last trip to Russia (noting to myself that we'll have to go back soon as I am running out).  Here is a picture of what I am having called Nemiroff.

In looking at the company's website, I found it is a Ukrainian vodka.  This particular bottle is Rye Honey, a flavored vodka, which is really very nice.  If you get an opportunity, you should give it a try.  It is distinctively different from a standard vodka yet the vodka's taste comes through without question.   

The faith of a child

The following conversation took place this morning while I was explaining to Jacob (age 4) why our 11 year old yellow lab, Fisher, bumped into a piece of furniture.

Me:  You know, Fisher's eyes don't work.
Jacob:  We need to get them fixed.
Me:  They can't be fixed.  He's blind.
Jacob:  Then we need to get him new dog eyes.
Me:  You can't get new dog eyes.  If he's blind, he is going to stay that way.  It can't be fixed.
Jacob: God could fix it.
Me:  You're right.  God did cause blind people to see in the Bible.
Jacob:  But we don't live in the Bible.
Me:  Well, you know, Jacob, the Bible tells the story of how God deals with people.  So in a way, our story is a part of that story.
Jacob:  Yeah.  I wish I could go into the Bible.
Me:  What would you do if you could go into the Bible?
Jacob:  I would find Jesus and the blind man.
Me:  Then what would you do?
Jacob:  I would take Fisher to Jesus and get Jesus to rub mud on his eyes and then I would tell Fisher to go wash in Siloam so he could see.

No kidding -- he even remembered the name of the pool.

Fisher and Dixie

What about Madonna?

Because it has been a recurring spot the past week or two on nightly news programs and entertainment gossip shows, the story of Madonna’s adoption of a boy in Malawi is generating a good deal of discussion.  Today, for instance, you can check out CNN and see three major stories about the adoption, the push-back from various human rights groups, and the bleak story of AIDS orphans in Africa.  The story has caused me a good deal of angst.  A couple of months ago I wrote a post on my secret love for Angelina Jolie.  I explained that despite tales of her eccentricities, she appears to me to be walking the walk when it comes to caring for orphan and widows.  She appears to me to be using her position of influence to advocate for those who lack a voice.  So the question arises for me, “What about Madonna?”

The short answer is “I don’t know.”  I don’t know what to think of her.  I don’t know her motives in adopting the child.  I don’t know why she sought to be exempt from the Malawian law that requires a foreigner to live with the child in Malawi for 18 months before adoption.  I don’t know why she picked this child or this country.  She doesn’t have the track record on human rights issues for me to have a good feel for those things.  Maybe some day she will, but for now, I don’t know.

The story for me goes beyond Madonna.  The fact that she is a lightning rod for criticism combined with the fact that she was exempted from the residency requirement and able to take the child out of the country have raised concerns from child advocates and Africa advocates, concerns that have made headlines themselves.  There have been numerous articles recently discussing the problem of child trafficking and removing children from their community.  As an adoptive parent with children from a country far from my own, these issues strike a nerve.  “Wait,” I want to yell, “these kids are without family, without a home, and often without hope.  Adoptive parents, whether domestic or international, can provide those things.”  To the question of whether to allow international adoptions I explain “The countries allowing international adoption don’t have good track records of domestic adoptions for a number of reasons.  Without international adoption these children will remain in more desperate conditions even where lovingly cared for by orphanage workers.”  I want to say those things, but I still know that for many questions remain. 

Here’s where I am on these thoughts.  International adoption is not in itself inherently wrong.  Like anything else it can be abused and, based on the fact we’re dealing with children, the most helpless members of society, should be carefully safeguarded through well-drafted legislation, international treaties, and continued follow up. [As a side note, I think this is my biggest issue with the Madonna situation:  she worked around the law.]  Pre-adoption screening and education and post-adoption follow up and support are a vital key to protecting the children.  All that said, so long as there is evil in the world, there will be those who prey on children.  We must be vigilant in fighting against such predators. 

While I am an obvious (and self-interested) proponent of international adoption, I recognize it is woefully inadequate to address the systemic problems of orphaned children around the world.  In Russia there are between 600,000-700,000 orphans living in state-run institutions.  It is estimated there could be 2 million living on the streets.  Not all of these children are even eligible to be adopted as their parents have relinquished them to the care of the state unable or unwilling to raise them but equally unwilling to relinquish their parental rights.  The UN estimates there are over 40 million orphans on the continent of Africa.  International adoption cannot solve that crisis.  The crisis of these children is systemic requiring a systemic and comprehensive answer.  That answer must come from more than parents desiring to bring children into their homes.  It has to come from individuals, churches, synagogues, mosques, communities and governments.  Simply put, it is a global problem in need of a global solution.  While for some of us that may start with adopting, it can’t end there.  We all need to advocate for these children.  We all need to find ways to improve the economic and health situations in their countries to provide hope. 

There really isn’t a way for me to “conclude” this post because my life is wrapped in concern for orphans.  I have brought two to live with me and my heart beats to give them a family and hope – to tell them they are no longer orphans.  Rather than conclude, I’ll leave you with a few sites of interest – individuals and groups working to better the lives of orphans in various parts of our globe.

ServLife International, Inc. (among other ministries, providing for children in India and Nepal)

Robert & Ann Fuqua (working with orphans in Russia)

Friends of Russian Orphans (obviously working in Russia)

Ryazan Baby Home (our son's first home)

Children's Rescue Outreach International (working in Liberia and a client of mine)

International Justice Mission (advocating and providing rescue and follow up care to the oppressed)

World Vision (among other ministries, helping children in crisis)

These are only a few people and organizations caring for orphaned children around the world.  There are many more.  Where can you help?

A prophetic voice

I'm coming out of a blog hiatus because I want to share something with those friends still reading this space (both of you).  If you've never read Will Samson's writing over at willzhead, you should go ahead and bookmark that page now.  Will is a talented writer, a critical thinker, a pursuer of compassion and justice, and when appropriate a funny guy.  He wrote a post last week called Amos, For Our Times that has stuck with me so I thought I'd give you a link and a snippet.  You should check it out.

So turn your face toward Me now. Seek after Me. Live out My commands. Do you want to be people after My own heart? Then care for the poor, the needy, the marginalized, those for whom My heart has always beat loudly. Cease your endless Bible studies, searching for the answer to righteous living. Commit yourselves to following what I already told you to do. Don’t believe you are pursuing Me if you are not seeking to do justice.

The post challenges me and depresses me all at the same time.  Kind of like reading Amos.

An answer to my question

A week or so ago I asked the question, what is a church?  I saw this story today in the Dallas Morning News about a church that seems to me to understand the answer to the question and what it is to be missional.

As I've tried to say before, I feel great conviction because I don't do these things.  While the Church has responsibility, so do I.

What is a church?

Because my law practice includes a significant focus in the area of tax-exempt organizations, and I have traditionally worked with a number of religious organizations dealing with the federal, state and local tax codes related to exemption as a religious organization or a "church," I am often dealing with what makes a church a church.  Interestingly to me, while churches are exempt from federal income tax under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, neither the Code nor the Regulations promulgated thereunder by the Treasury Department define a church.  The IRS has a schedule which includes "indicia" of a church but yet no definition.  State and local tax provisions are similar though in Texas they focus on being a religious organization or whether property is used as a place of regular religious worship . . . thus opening up another can of worms!  I suppose none of that should be surprising.  The First Amendment should prohibit the government from defining a church or we would be back to state-defined churches.

That little background really has very little to do with this post.  Lately rather than thinking about this for legal reasons, my thoughts have been much more personal.  Yet the question is the same:  What is a church.  More particularly, What is the Church, what is the local church, what is the local church in my context.  Read some notes over my shoulder and give me your thoughts.

Here are some questions I am chewing on:

1) What is the Church (that one should be easy hopefully)

2) What is the local church?

3) What is the local church in our context? (Is it (a) Pantego Bible Church; (b) Duff Community Group; (c) The Hammett Home Group; (d) a more organic combination of these (particularly (b) and (c)) along with other believers in my local area with whom I fellowship, serve and identify?

4) What is the purpose of the local church, i.e. what role is it to play in the life of a Christian?

- Edifying/building up of the saints

- Equipping the saints

- Place of fellowship

- Place of corporate worship

- Place of corporate doing (i.e. and by place I mean group not a location necessarily) where we come together to do the things commanded by Jesus

- Something else?

Here's one of my many issues right now: If I am not doing the things Jesus commanded and modeled, do I blame that on the local church? I ask this, quite frankly, because I know I am not but I feel a reluctance to say anything more than I am at fault though I can see the point of not being equipped, convicted, etc. But again, how much hand-holding does a local church need to do? Which of course goes back to my question of what is the local church . . . If I was doing the things modeled and taught by Jesus with a group of people and joining with them for "fellowship" and "worship," wouldn't we then be the local church . . . Or does there have to be some authority and leadership other than Christ and the Spirit?

How literally do you read the Bible?

In the U.S. Bible belt where I live there is much said in the church about reading the Bible literally.  This story makes me consider how we decide where lines should be drawn.

Lion Kills Intruder in Kiev Zoo Pen

Created: 05.06.2006 13:50 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:24 MSK , 3 hours 36 minutes ago

MosNews

A man was mauled by a lioness at Kiev Zoo Sunday, after he entered lion’s pen, local news agencies reported. Witnesses say he attempted to preach the beasts.

The UNIAN news agency cited police officials as saying that the man had approached the enclosure, tied a rope to the fence and climbed down into the enclosure where a lion and four lionesses were resting.

Other visitors at the zoo tried to stop him but failed.

“We told him — what are you doing, are you crazy?” an eye-witness was quoted by kiyany.com.ua website as saying.

“And he said, ’Who believes in God will be unharmed by the lions’”.

On descending to the ditch surrounding the enclosure, the man climbed out onto the ground, approached the animals and began to preach them, but a lioness attacked him.

The 45-year-old died immediately of wounds. Other visitors tried to distract the animals by throwing bottles and litter at them, but failed.

1 Timothy 2:15

Yet she will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. (ESV)

Have you ever wondered what this verse means?  It is (seemingly) tacked onto the end of a much more debated passage of Scripture (the whole "I do not allow a woman to teach . . .") and typically no concern is really given to this verse.  Maybe because it is so enigmatic.

If you have wondered about or are looking for the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:15, you've come to the right place.  Not because I have much idea, but because I have a resource, my lovely wife and friendly scholar, Terri.  Her thesis (over 90 pages looking at various interpretations of this verse) can be found in The Scholar's Corner to the right.  Feel free to download it (though the greek and hebrew fonts are incorrect . . . my fault!).  Terri wrote the thesis a couple of years ago.  She's now working on her PhD and recently looked at 1 Timothy 2:15 again, this time from the perspective of considering backgrounds to the New Testament, a somewhat "newer" (in the sense that it is gaining in popularity and attention) part of exegesis. 

Terri's backgrounds paper, Childbirth in the Ancient World and the Meaning of 1 Tim 2:15, looks to arrive at a more accurate exegesis of 1 Timothy 2:15 by seeking a better understanding of childbirth in the ancient world.  (Download childbirth_in_the_ancient_world.pdf)  She examines Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo and Josephus, Rabbinic Material, Greco-Roman Background, Apostolic Fathers, Gnostic Literature, and NT Apocrypha.  It is a fascinating paper and, if you have never been exposed to these sources, it is equally interesting to see a person work exegetically with them. 

So what is the conclusion after incorporating NT backgrounds?  "In light of the evidence we have examined, it seems most likely that 1 Tim 2:15 refers to physical preservation through the event of childbirth.  This, however, does not exclude a spiritual sense of salvation, for the ancient world does not seem to separate physical and spiritual danger--if you are saved from the one, you are saved from the other." 

This of course raises other questions that will have to wait for another day.  Take a look at the paper.  It is good.

The Revelation Christmas Card

In my post just before this one, I mentioned that we spent time in Revelation 12 last Sunday.  The comment was made that Philip Yancey was right in that you aren't likely to receive a Christmas card depicting Revelation's cosmic Christmas story.  Of course that was just an invitation.  Here's the card we received tonight from Ryan and Tara (click on the picture for a better view):

Aren't you jealous?!