I've written a few posts on what's happening in Romania on an adjoining blog, but this one's more about what's happening to ME in Romania.
My back has been killing me for two days - right down at the base of my spine. I don't know if it comes from the hip problem or not - but i've made up my mind to go under the knife again and get my other hip replaced. Too many years of constant pain - so next February it'll be back into Belfast. Then at least I'll know if the back problems stem from there.
Been thinking about Pete - for those of you who don't know he has had a double by-pass last week - so please pray for him.
I finished Shane Claiborne's book yesterday - it really challenged me about wealth, possessions and community. And it made me even more sceptical of Northern Ireland "church" I'm afraid. Like Campolo said, take Jesus teaching in the beatitudes and try to set up an organisation completely opposed to thse beliefs, and you would have the church. I'm jealous in some ways of people who love church - who have that genuine community.
I was reading my mates blog, Gary Smith, http://garyideas.typepad.co.uk/, and it's clear how much he loves his church. Lucky fella.
Another interesting thing he talks abut in one of his posts is Duncan Bannatines encounter with God in Romania (he of the Dragon's Den). Read it, it's fascinating.
He also mentions Bannatines tears out here. I've been in tears a lot myself over the last couple of days - tears of searching and tears of anger at God for the hurt that exists here. Hurt that has no earthly justification.
I started to read Rich Mullin's book yesterday and it drove me to tears as well - he had a similar relationship with his father as I did and I've been told recently that I need to deal with that aspect of my past. When I read the letter that Rich had written to himself as if it were from his Dad, I completely broke. So maybe that's something i SERIOUSLY need to consider.
Anyway, there we are. Broken backs and broken hearts. But thank God I still have a Saviour who was broken too. And who doesn't mind worn out cliches....
1 comment:
Things seem to be going well out there and it’s looking like you are getting more of a heart for the work again!
A few comments:
Wealth.
I must say I have been challenged myself about wealth etc over this past while. Actually this last couple of months I suppose it has been more on my mind than usual but to be honest it is something that has been there for quite a while. Something I have been wanting now for a long long time is a CBR 600 or a Fireblade motorbike but I just cannot justify having one as it would be purely a luxury item and there is nothing wrong with the car that I have. I remember when I bought the watch that I currently wear. It cost me £25 and it was probably the cheapest one that the jeweller had in the shop at the time. The first thing that came into my head when I bought it was “How can I walk into the villages in India wearing something that ‘looks’ rich?” I felt guilty and still do when the value of what I am wearing round my wrist is 25 times higher that the wage that 3 billion people in the world earn in 1 day!!! Even though I have been challenged about wealth recently I am still at the stage in debating with God about how strict I should be about earthly possessions etc but then again how complicated is Matthew 19:21 ‘Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”???’
Church.
When we talk about church we automatically think of the ‘Sunday service’. That’s probably where we form our opinion of each individual church and where it rates on our scale of ‘likeability’. Church pisses me off a lot of the time and I mean church in the general sense of the word. The more I thing about it the more I feel detached from its ‘general thinking’. What I really mean is that church presents itself more like a social club than the only organisation in the world that has been given the responsibility to love people until it hurts. It is also hard to work with people who just don’t ‘get it’ if you know what I mean. At the end of the day we do need community and we do need that fellowship of other people. There are genuinely good people in church who will go out of their way in a big way to help others and even though I have found church to be one of the first places that I will get discouraged it is also one of the places where I know God wants me to be. The thing about church is, it s not there for what we can get out of it, it is there for what we can give to it and Trevor, you have a lot to give!!!
Rich Mullins.
Every now and again there are mile stones that come along in life that take us in a new or different direction. I can look back over my life and see how different people have been instrumental in different ways to make me who I am. I owe a lot to my mum and dad for their Christian upbringing and Sunday school gave me a fantastic foundation in my Christian faith. After falling away from church in my teens I came ‘back’ to God in my late teens through the ministry of a New Zealand pastor who gave me a new fire for God. I then was introduced to the music of Robin Mark which just did absolute wonders for my relationship with God and the ministry and preaching of Bill Wilson (Metro Ministries New York) inspired me to get off my backside and actually DO SOMETHING for God’s kingdom. Eugene Smith’s (Canadian bible teacher) teaching also was a major turning point in my life 5 years ago when the whole Indian thing happened for me. Anyway, that’s a ling introduction to getting round to talking about Rich Mullins. The Book ‘An arrow pointing to heaven’ to me is one of those books that should be read one every year. I have been continuously encouraged and challenged be his lifestyle and his whole perception of God. I am just captured by the way he thought and how he presented Jesus. The reason I bought you the book was of what he said about his father. I thought it might help you in some way and I hope it does.
Life is a funny thing, its class, its crap, its interesting, its depressing, its an adventure but its only a vapour, but while that vapour is hanging around in the air keep let it reflect the light onto others the way you are obviously doing. Talk soon.
Post a Comment