A great closing article as the world cup leaves South Africa, and a continent seeks to continue to grow and move forward in the days and years to come...
The first African World Cup didn't belong to Africa, at least not on the soccer field. Of the six African nations that made it to the quadrennial tournament, five fell early -- to indiscipline, tough competitors and heartbreaking missed opportunities. The plucky and focused Black Stars from Ghana were a bright spot for the continent, but when Sunday's final is over, the new FIFA champion will not be African.
Still, winning games isn't everything. For one month of one South African winter, the tournament brought an international celebration to a continent more widely known for malnourished bodies, grandstanding leaders and the ravages of AIDS. Rather than indigence, the world saw balls sailing into the net, crisp tackles, sweat. Ten gleaming stadiums and the collective warmth of 50 million South Africans offered thousands of football pilgrims the time of their lives.
In a year that marks five decades of independence for 17 African countries, from Somalia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the cup doubled as an anniversary party. "Just the fact that African teams can compete, defeat and be defeated on the world's stage is wonderful," Carmen Arendse, a South African psychologist, said while watching Ghana's quarterfinal match against Uruguay.
There's an earlier sentiment that still rings true, as well. In a 1960 speech, Patrice Lumumba, the first Congolese prime minister, made a remark that fits the occasion: "We are going to show the world what the black man can do when he works in freedom."
Even before I had my passport stamped in Lagos late last month, airport ads for telecommunications giant MTN reminded me what the cup means for the continent. With images of star footballers Michael Essien of Ghana, Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon and John Obi Mikel of Nigeria ran the tournament's slogans: "Let's go Africa." "United we score." "Today is a good day to be African."
And it was a good month. While the petty crime that is common in Johannesburg didn't disappear, there were no major incidents of violence at the fan parks or outdoor screening areas. Dignitaries such as former president Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, not to mention Mick Jagger, came to see the beautiful game at the bottom of the world. In every African city I visited, a raucous, family atmosphere prevailed. At game time in Lagos, traffic cleared, strangers crowded around television sets indoors and out, and alongside the news of the world, chatty conversations on the state of play looped constantly on the radio.
In Johannesburg, the "Jabulani" ball, designed specially for the tournament, graced pickup games outside bars and on dirt patches by the highway. In the poor and sprawling township of Khayelitsha, black South Africans live far from the shadow of Cape Town's shiny new stadium -- but during Ghana's fatal match against Uruguay, several men and even a few women celebrated by sporting jerseys from Brazil, South Africa, Liverpool and beyond.
The World Cup didn't just feel universal -- it was. According to market research company InsideView, some 80 percent of the world's population has watched "at least some part" of the competition -- and 600 million are expected to tune in to Sunday's battle between Spain and the Netherlands.
The global spotlight also created some unexpected common ground. The Black Stars may have done more for continental solidarity than staunch pan-Africanists such as Kwame Nkrumah, the father of contemporary Ghana. The team was adopted wholesale by South Africans, whose squad had been eliminated, and by millions more Africans on the continent and in the diaspora who hoped for a showing to rival the great footballers of Europe and South America. In Observatory, a student neighborhood in Cape Town, fans like me who normally identify as Nigerian, Kenyan, Congolese or South African chanted, "Up Ghana!"
When the team's best chance at making history clanged off the crossbar in the closing seconds of its quarterfinal, the upbeat drone of vuvuzelas gave way to groans. "We had the chance," said one Zimbabwean observer who backed the Ghanaian squad. "We just didn't execute."
That is the simplest explanation for the disappointments among the African teams competing this year. And they perhaps mirror the disappointments that have stalled the continent's political and economic progress. Similar to the lack of strong primary and secondary education systems on the world's youngest continent, not enough attention has been paid to youth development in soccer. The sub-Saharan teams' reliance on foreign coaches with little skin in the game echoes the broad mistrust in local leadership and institutions. And the perennial "brain drain" among the smartest African graduates correlates with the flight of top talent to European soccer clubs.
Perhaps fittingly, Ghana's breakout performance came after its investment in a championship under-20 team and two years of training under its (foreign) coach -- and despite being without its star player, Michael Essien of British club Chelsea.
Though athletic victories have eluded African fans, progress has not. In South Africa, many of the 44,000 police officers deployed to watch over the throng of foreign visitors -- Argentine and German, British and Brazilian -- will stay in their positions, armed with better skills, equipment and federal coordination. The upgrades to the transit and telecommunications infrastructures will last as well. And though the "white elephant" stadiums in less-trafficked towns such as Nelspruitt and Polokwane will be a sorry reminder of FIFA's misplaced zeal, regional tourism is slated to rise -- and South African President Jacob Zuma has declared that "after this, employment will go up."
While it may be decades before less-wealthy African countries are prepared to host the tournament, the World Cup has been an essential engine for African self-confidence. This is particularly salient in South Africa, whose racial traumas still live in plain sight. As fellow competitors Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon celebrate their half-century of independence (Ghana broke with Britain in 1957, and Algeria with France in 1962), South Africa is catching up in terms of full freedoms. De facto segregation by race and income persists -- especially on the scrubbed beaches of Cape Town.
Of course, spending money on elaborate new stadiums doesn't address the economic disparities that can inflame tension, but the very sight of white Afrikaners rooting for black strikers is a salve of sorts. "Apartheid consciousness for white society is rugby or cricket," says Gareth Colenbrander, a Western Cape resident who supported the Ghanaian team. "2010 consciousness is football."
Before Ghana's Black Stars departed South Africa, they greeted thousands of fans in Soweto and had lunch with former president Nelson Mandela. Though they weren't leaving as champions, they were leaving as heroes.
For many others I encountered, the official outcome was beside the point. Africa wasn't just the world's poorest continent -- it could compete. Perhaps the best assessment came from a wistful Ghanaian fan, who passed on a Zulu phrase to carry home: Hamba phambili. Move forward.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Missing Zambia...and Why I Think Everyone Needs to GO...
Today is an interesting day for me...I woke up this morning thinking about a team of folks from my former school who were spending their first day in Zambia...this is the first trip that Wheaton Academy is taking where I'm not leading the trip, and it is the first year I won't be visiting sub-Saharan Africa since 2004...don't get me wrong, I am way, way thrilled that they are still going without me...in fact, that is the whole point, isn't it as a leader? But there is a real sadness that I'm not there with them, seeing old friends, playing soccer on dirt fields as the WORLD CUP goes on a couple countries below, and being moved again by the mixture of great need and great Kingdom work present in a nation and communities I've strangely fallen in love with...
A couple weeks ago I already started working on setting up dates to take students from my new campus environment back to Zambia and all that Africa has to offer...I can't imagine not going back, and I still deeply feel called to expose students and co-workers to life and the church and reality in this other part of the world...there are already plans in the works here at Cornerstone to host a big soccer event to help raise funds to purchase bednets that we can distribute next summer as we fight and help to prevent the deadly impact of malaria on families and children...and I've been left to wonder why I am still so consumed with taking people to meet others and see things that I know has great potential to make messy their lives that might be rather together and tidy in their current states...
Below is an excerpt from Palmer Chinchen's new book True Religion that speaks to the power of being deeply bothered when we experience things that produce real conflict in our lives are turned loose...it's a great summary piece of why I long to and will continue to take people to places different than their own worlds...to be disturbed and moved to response and in the process to become spiritually transformed...
"Welcome to hell," the European doctor greeted our medical team snidely at the entrance to the Lilongwe Hospital. Hell is what it was.
I had first visited hell a few years earlier when Boyd, a young man I knew in Lilongwe, was struck by a car while crossing the road at dusk.
Boyd's father showed up at my house in the dark and asked anxiously if! would drive him and his family to the hospital to find his son.
The stench was nauseating. Every part of the hospital was in some state of disrepair. Nothing appeared to have been painted in years. I watched the staff mop floors that remained curiously grimy.
We found Boyd on a dingy gurney in the hallway leading to the ER. He had a compound fracture; the bone protruded through the skin. His leg, his pants, and the gurney were all drenched in blood. He was still bleeding.
"Has he seen a doctor?" I asked.
An ER attendant spoke. "No, we are waiting for the doctor."
I walked into the ER to try to find help. There were no doctors, so I rounded up two interns and convinced them to bring Boyd into the ER to get the bleeding stopped and clean the puncture wound in his leg. They agreed, rolled him into the ER, and promised to look after him until the doctor arrived. I felt good about being helpful and headed home.
That was Friday night. Late Monday evening, Boyd's father was back at my door. "Boyd is in a lot of pain. Could you help me with some money for some pain medication?"
"Pain medication?" I was surprised. "Once a fracture is set, there should be no pain."
"The leg has not been set yet," his father replied.
What? Boyd lay there in the hospital for three days with a compound fracture, and no one had set it! I knew the orthopedic surgeon would not be in at night, so I waited until the morning and headed back to "hell" with several of my Malawian college students. We hunted the halls for an hour looking for the one orthopedic surgeon in the country and finally found him in an operating theater, teaching a class. He waved me in, and I told him about Boyd. He was unaware of the case and graciously told me to bring him.
We found Boyd, but none of the nurses could find a gurney to roll him to the operating room. So we picked up his bed, each taking a corner, and we carried him to the operating theater.
His leg had rotted. It took almost six months to heal. If there's a place in this world where people lie for days with gaping wounds—that's a place of hell on earth.
Bothered
I'll be honest. I write all of this with the intention of bothering you. I hope you will no longer be willing to ignore people who hurt.
Oppression, injustice, poverty, bigotry and abuse are real and present. But it doesn't have to be this way. God put you and me here to make this world a better place, a more beautiful place. When Jesus left, He asked that you and I continue to change and love the world. The mission and purpose of the local church was never intended to end at the edge of our community.
King Solomon writes about the heart of God: "Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help. If you say, 'Hey, that's none of my business,' will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know–Someone not impressed with weak excuses."
So whatever the cost, go in the name of Jesus and love people who hurt. Tell them and show them that God has a better way, a more beautiful war, a life-giving way.
Conflict
Educators have discovered an interesting phenomenon: We learn best and comprehend more when our minds are disturbed. In other words, the more people are bothered by what they are being taught—because it is new or radically different and they disagree—then the more likely the information will change the way they think and live. The process of wrestling with difficult concepts makes them better thinkers and ultimately deeper people. The process even has a name—cognitive conflict (or disequilibration).
Jesus was brilliant at this. He masterfully used parables or illustrations to disturb those He taught.
Being disturbed is not just a good way to learn—it's necessary for transformation.
Jesus would always propose equilibration to people’s thinking by offering a better way to live, a more beautiful way to live, a more godly way to live. But He let them choose.
Diamonds
Spiritual transformation often happens in the moments of life that stun us. When we experience, watch or hear of something disturbing, it creates this cognitive conflict that can change the way we think and live.
You may already know how diamonds are formed. Carbon, which is just black dirt, is compressed by millions of pounds of pressure by the earth's weight. This extreme pressure and heat from the earth's core transform the carbon into something pure and beautiful. The greater the heat and pressure, the more pure (or clear) the diamond forms.
In much the same way, I'm convinced we are transformed through moments of spiritual conflict. Under the pressure of going globally and giving our lives away, we open ourselves to the possibility of God crafting something beautiful in our souls. He uses the pressure of the experience and the heat of the moment—sometimes literally—to transform us spiritually and make our lives a bit more beautiful.
We have two options. We can choose to stay and ignore. Or we can choose to go and see and be disturbed. One choice leads to a kind of death; the other leads to life and change and hope.
A couple weeks ago I already started working on setting up dates to take students from my new campus environment back to Zambia and all that Africa has to offer...I can't imagine not going back, and I still deeply feel called to expose students and co-workers to life and the church and reality in this other part of the world...there are already plans in the works here at Cornerstone to host a big soccer event to help raise funds to purchase bednets that we can distribute next summer as we fight and help to prevent the deadly impact of malaria on families and children...and I've been left to wonder why I am still so consumed with taking people to meet others and see things that I know has great potential to make messy their lives that might be rather together and tidy in their current states...
Below is an excerpt from Palmer Chinchen's new book True Religion that speaks to the power of being deeply bothered when we experience things that produce real conflict in our lives are turned loose...it's a great summary piece of why I long to and will continue to take people to places different than their own worlds...to be disturbed and moved to response and in the process to become spiritually transformed...
"Welcome to hell," the European doctor greeted our medical team snidely at the entrance to the Lilongwe Hospital. Hell is what it was.
I had first visited hell a few years earlier when Boyd, a young man I knew in Lilongwe, was struck by a car while crossing the road at dusk.
Boyd's father showed up at my house in the dark and asked anxiously if! would drive him and his family to the hospital to find his son.
The stench was nauseating. Every part of the hospital was in some state of disrepair. Nothing appeared to have been painted in years. I watched the staff mop floors that remained curiously grimy.
We found Boyd on a dingy gurney in the hallway leading to the ER. He had a compound fracture; the bone protruded through the skin. His leg, his pants, and the gurney were all drenched in blood. He was still bleeding.
"Has he seen a doctor?" I asked.
An ER attendant spoke. "No, we are waiting for the doctor."
I walked into the ER to try to find help. There were no doctors, so I rounded up two interns and convinced them to bring Boyd into the ER to get the bleeding stopped and clean the puncture wound in his leg. They agreed, rolled him into the ER, and promised to look after him until the doctor arrived. I felt good about being helpful and headed home.
That was Friday night. Late Monday evening, Boyd's father was back at my door. "Boyd is in a lot of pain. Could you help me with some money for some pain medication?"
"Pain medication?" I was surprised. "Once a fracture is set, there should be no pain."
"The leg has not been set yet," his father replied.
What? Boyd lay there in the hospital for three days with a compound fracture, and no one had set it! I knew the orthopedic surgeon would not be in at night, so I waited until the morning and headed back to "hell" with several of my Malawian college students. We hunted the halls for an hour looking for the one orthopedic surgeon in the country and finally found him in an operating theater, teaching a class. He waved me in, and I told him about Boyd. He was unaware of the case and graciously told me to bring him.
We found Boyd, but none of the nurses could find a gurney to roll him to the operating room. So we picked up his bed, each taking a corner, and we carried him to the operating theater.
His leg had rotted. It took almost six months to heal. If there's a place in this world where people lie for days with gaping wounds—that's a place of hell on earth.
Bothered
I'll be honest. I write all of this with the intention of bothering you. I hope you will no longer be willing to ignore people who hurt.
Oppression, injustice, poverty, bigotry and abuse are real and present. But it doesn't have to be this way. God put you and me here to make this world a better place, a more beautiful place. When Jesus left, He asked that you and I continue to change and love the world. The mission and purpose of the local church was never intended to end at the edge of our community.
King Solomon writes about the heart of God: "Rescue the perishing; don't hesitate to step in and help. If you say, 'Hey, that's none of my business,' will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know–Someone not impressed with weak excuses."
So whatever the cost, go in the name of Jesus and love people who hurt. Tell them and show them that God has a better way, a more beautiful war, a life-giving way.
Conflict
Educators have discovered an interesting phenomenon: We learn best and comprehend more when our minds are disturbed. In other words, the more people are bothered by what they are being taught—because it is new or radically different and they disagree—then the more likely the information will change the way they think and live. The process of wrestling with difficult concepts makes them better thinkers and ultimately deeper people. The process even has a name—cognitive conflict (or disequilibration).
Jesus was brilliant at this. He masterfully used parables or illustrations to disturb those He taught.
Being disturbed is not just a good way to learn—it's necessary for transformation.
Jesus would always propose equilibration to people’s thinking by offering a better way to live, a more beautiful way to live, a more godly way to live. But He let them choose.
Diamonds
Spiritual transformation often happens in the moments of life that stun us. When we experience, watch or hear of something disturbing, it creates this cognitive conflict that can change the way we think and live.
You may already know how diamonds are formed. Carbon, which is just black dirt, is compressed by millions of pounds of pressure by the earth's weight. This extreme pressure and heat from the earth's core transform the carbon into something pure and beautiful. The greater the heat and pressure, the more pure (or clear) the diamond forms.
In much the same way, I'm convinced we are transformed through moments of spiritual conflict. Under the pressure of going globally and giving our lives away, we open ourselves to the possibility of God crafting something beautiful in our souls. He uses the pressure of the experience and the heat of the moment—sometimes literally—to transform us spiritually and make our lives a bit more beautiful.
We have two options. We can choose to stay and ignore. Or we can choose to go and see and be disturbed. One choice leads to a kind of death; the other leads to life and change and hope.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
20 Years and Counting...
Tomorrow afternoon some of my best friends in the world make their first visit to Grand Rapids after traveling from all over the country and the world...there will be six of us spending a long weekend together catching up, listening to a lecture on faith and sports, watching NBA Finals and World Cup matches at the local Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, cooking out on my deck, playing a round of golf, hitting the west MI beaches, and doing a lot of laughing, eating, playing, praying, and writing another chapter in a friendship story that began over 20 years ago as soccer teammates at Bethel College (MN) in the late 80's...
We've been looking forward to this reunion for several months and the emails we've shared have been filled with comments about each other's sports teams, questions about what we should do, memories from college road trips, and genuine enthusiasm to simply be together again...and the time will definitely go way too fast over the next three days before they all head back home...
As I've reflected on our history as friends in looking forward to seeing these guys again I am filled with gratitude, memories, and to be honest, a bit of a strange wonder...for the relationship we share together seems from my perspective to be rather unique...over the last 20 years of ministry since I graduated from college and physically left this crew of friends I've had easily hundreds of young guys express their frustration with their lack of true friends and inability to find guys who love Jesus and love the things they are interested in when it comes to life...many of these guys have been athletes that I've had the chance to coach and mentor over the last 2 decades...they've actually sometimes thought about quitting sports or giving up hope of finding the elusive relationships they long for and were created to enjoy...
I've had lots of people including family members comment about how lucky I am to have been blessed with a crew of friends that has had such impact and positive influence in my life...I do feel exceptionally blessed and know that we have a community that others would enjoy having in their lives...but I've also often felt the need to share our experience so that other guys can have hope and be encouraged to pursue similar types of relationships...
This group of soccer guys made me believe that following Christ was something you could do as a quality college athlete...it made me believe that young men can talk about their struggles, their questions, their loves in authentic and open ways because of a share trust and commitment to loving one another because He first loved us...it made me believe that there are guys out there who I can have a crazy and fun time without compromising any of my core convictions or hurting other people around us...and it made me beleive that in order to follow Christ well for a lifetime I desperately need the partnership of friends to walk the journey of faith alongside me...
As has been the case often in my life, the sport called the beautiful game by most of the world brought us randomly together...as we practiced and traveled and played together, we fell in love with the game and with each other...athletics was the conduit for bigger and better things beyond just a pretty goal or a last second win...I don't think it is coincidence that a highlight of our weekend will be watching what is perhaps the most anticipated soccer game in US soccer history against mighty England Saturday afternoon...
This weekend I'll show my college friends the university world I work in every day at Cornerstone...we'll kick the ball around on our soccer field and look at the pictures of college students hanging in my office...and as they enter the world God has called me in the past year to enter here in Grand Rapids they represent what I long for the students and athletes in my current sphere of influence to experience at CU...I get to share my story with them as I can tell them that there is a way to become friends as guys that will meet their desires and longings for love and fun and connection...that they can create lifetime memories without generating regrets...and that there is great joy in following Jesus together with brothers who love the games, the passions, AND the Savior in similar ways...
Gotta go get some sleep now...there won't be time for much sleep the next three nights in west MI for a group of former Bethel soccer players...
PROVERBS 18:24...There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
We've been looking forward to this reunion for several months and the emails we've shared have been filled with comments about each other's sports teams, questions about what we should do, memories from college road trips, and genuine enthusiasm to simply be together again...and the time will definitely go way too fast over the next three days before they all head back home...
As I've reflected on our history as friends in looking forward to seeing these guys again I am filled with gratitude, memories, and to be honest, a bit of a strange wonder...for the relationship we share together seems from my perspective to be rather unique...over the last 20 years of ministry since I graduated from college and physically left this crew of friends I've had easily hundreds of young guys express their frustration with their lack of true friends and inability to find guys who love Jesus and love the things they are interested in when it comes to life...many of these guys have been athletes that I've had the chance to coach and mentor over the last 2 decades...they've actually sometimes thought about quitting sports or giving up hope of finding the elusive relationships they long for and were created to enjoy...
I've had lots of people including family members comment about how lucky I am to have been blessed with a crew of friends that has had such impact and positive influence in my life...I do feel exceptionally blessed and know that we have a community that others would enjoy having in their lives...but I've also often felt the need to share our experience so that other guys can have hope and be encouraged to pursue similar types of relationships...
This group of soccer guys made me believe that following Christ was something you could do as a quality college athlete...it made me believe that young men can talk about their struggles, their questions, their loves in authentic and open ways because of a share trust and commitment to loving one another because He first loved us...it made me believe that there are guys out there who I can have a crazy and fun time without compromising any of my core convictions or hurting other people around us...and it made me beleive that in order to follow Christ well for a lifetime I desperately need the partnership of friends to walk the journey of faith alongside me...
As has been the case often in my life, the sport called the beautiful game by most of the world brought us randomly together...as we practiced and traveled and played together, we fell in love with the game and with each other...athletics was the conduit for bigger and better things beyond just a pretty goal or a last second win...I don't think it is coincidence that a highlight of our weekend will be watching what is perhaps the most anticipated soccer game in US soccer history against mighty England Saturday afternoon...
This weekend I'll show my college friends the university world I work in every day at Cornerstone...we'll kick the ball around on our soccer field and look at the pictures of college students hanging in my office...and as they enter the world God has called me in the past year to enter here in Grand Rapids they represent what I long for the students and athletes in my current sphere of influence to experience at CU...I get to share my story with them as I can tell them that there is a way to become friends as guys that will meet their desires and longings for love and fun and connection...that they can create lifetime memories without generating regrets...and that there is great joy in following Jesus together with brothers who love the games, the passions, AND the Savior in similar ways...
Gotta go get some sleep now...there won't be time for much sleep the next three nights in west MI for a group of former Bethel soccer players...
PROVERBS 18:24...There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Summer Reading: Thoughts from Crazy Love by Francis Chan
This summer, a bunch of guys in the CU men's soccer program are reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan along with me...I had a chance to knock it out on the plane rides to and from my recent missions trip to the DR...and in particular his thoughts on actually being obsessed with Jesus stood out to me...and I jotted them down to serve as stakes in my picture of what following Jesus with abandonment in response to His indeed crazy love might look like...here's the notes I typed up in summary of his descriptors of people obsessed with our Savior:
CRAZY LOVE Chapter 8 Summary Thoughts: Profile of the Obsessed…
OBSESSED: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic…
*People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure. Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back.
* People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.
* People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another. Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him (I John 2:4-6; Matthew 16:24-26).
* Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don’t always make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth. As Martin Luther put it, “There are two days on my calendar: this day and that day” (Luke 14:25-35; Matthew 7:13-23, 8:18-22; Revelation 3:1-6)
*A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be “humble enough,” and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known (Matthew 5:16).
*People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving His people (Matthew 13:44; John 15:8)
* People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26)
*A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently. Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.
* A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every other thing and every other being.
*People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures. Obsessed people don’t put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they can be at peace.
*People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God’s Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.
*A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. Obsessed people know that true joy doesn’t depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).
*A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he or she can do is be faithful to their Savior in every aspect of their life, continually saying “Thank You!” to God. An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he or she is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy. He or she revels in their role as child and friend of God.
CRAZY LOVE Chapter 8 Summary Thoughts: Profile of the Obsessed…
OBSESSED: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic…
*People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure. Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back.
* People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.
* People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another. Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him (I John 2:4-6; Matthew 16:24-26).
* Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don’t always make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth. As Martin Luther put it, “There are two days on my calendar: this day and that day” (Luke 14:25-35; Matthew 7:13-23, 8:18-22; Revelation 3:1-6)
*A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be “humble enough,” and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known (Matthew 5:16).
*People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving His people (Matthew 13:44; John 15:8)
* People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26)
*A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently. Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.
* A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every other thing and every other being.
*People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures. Obsessed people don’t put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they can be at peace.
*People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God’s Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.
*A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. Obsessed people know that true joy doesn’t depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).
*A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he or she can do is be faithful to their Savior in every aspect of their life, continually saying “Thank You!” to God. An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he or she is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy. He or she revels in their role as child and friend of God.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Final Blog from the DR...
Hello for the last time from the Dominican Republic...we are just getting ready for a final team dinner together on a warm and breezy night...we said goodbye to new friends this morning at our ministry site and then headed into the capital city of Santo Domingo...we visited the market and then walked in and around some of the oldest buildings in the Western hemisphere, including the National Cathedral and National Monuments of the DR...these buildings are amazing structures and are almost 500 years old!
We then drove to the coast and spent some time this afternoon enjoying a resort on the ocean...there has been good food, lots of Dominican music, and a time to relax after a very busy week for us all...in many ways, it is somewhat strange to be at a resort after being part of a community with such great physical needs during our time in the DR...you find yourself feeling somewhat guilty and somewhat resistant to what you see all around you...yet in many ways this resort represents more of who we are as blessed Americans...and the greatest challenge of this trip is yet to come in many ways...God's calling to us is not to just feel guilty and grateful...it is to live with what we have seen, experienced, and heard from God in a place of prominence in our daily lives...it is the challenge of living in our own community and culture that God has placed us in as a Christian who is compassionate, communicates about the needs of others near and far, and serves out of a heart that is full because of what God has done in Jesus for us...that's really our final task of this trip...to spend time asking God to show us specifically what our response individually and as a team will be as we come back to Cornerstone and the summer months ahead...we'd ask you to pray for us to be motivated and passionate to be advocates for the people of the DR and to help us to build a community that is focused on others and creates a mindset of service and love and character in the basketball community and other places of influence in our lives...
We are tired and yet so very blessed after our time on this missions trip...we appreciate your prayers and support more than you know...we are excited to tell stories, show pictures, and talk about what God is up to in this world when we return...don't be afraid to ask questions of us when we are back with you...
Thanks for reading this blog and giving us encouraging comments back...I've loved being with young men who I believe will indeed change the world...CHIP
p.s. If all goes well, we should arrive back at CU sometime around 1 am or so after our travel day tomorrow!
We then drove to the coast and spent some time this afternoon enjoying a resort on the ocean...there has been good food, lots of Dominican music, and a time to relax after a very busy week for us all...in many ways, it is somewhat strange to be at a resort after being part of a community with such great physical needs during our time in the DR...you find yourself feeling somewhat guilty and somewhat resistant to what you see all around you...yet in many ways this resort represents more of who we are as blessed Americans...and the greatest challenge of this trip is yet to come in many ways...God's calling to us is not to just feel guilty and grateful...it is to live with what we have seen, experienced, and heard from God in a place of prominence in our daily lives...it is the challenge of living in our own community and culture that God has placed us in as a Christian who is compassionate, communicates about the needs of others near and far, and serves out of a heart that is full because of what God has done in Jesus for us...that's really our final task of this trip...to spend time asking God to show us specifically what our response individually and as a team will be as we come back to Cornerstone and the summer months ahead...we'd ask you to pray for us to be motivated and passionate to be advocates for the people of the DR and to help us to build a community that is focused on others and creates a mindset of service and love and character in the basketball community and other places of influence in our lives...
We are tired and yet so very blessed after our time on this missions trip...we appreciate your prayers and support more than you know...we are excited to tell stories, show pictures, and talk about what God is up to in this world when we return...don't be afraid to ask questions of us when we are back with you...
Thanks for reading this blog and giving us encouraging comments back...I've loved being with young men who I believe will indeed change the world...CHIP
p.s. If all goes well, we should arrive back at CU sometime around 1 am or so after our travel day tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A Final Day in Los Alcarrizos...
We are spending our last night in the community that we feel part of now here in the DR...we were back out in the sunshine this morning pouring cement for curbs and sidewalks to help prevent floods from reaching people's homes and helping students to walk to their local community school...
The guys have really put their sweat and hearts into helping the community here...and there has been a sweet satisfaction in being tired in doing God's work on behalf of the people here...
I loved seeing some of the guys walk through the neighborhood holding the hands of kids in their school uniforms and taking pictures with children on their shoulders...they have been ambassadors of God's love to people looking to receive love from the Father through them...
After another morning of work, we headed downtown to take on our final opponent at the University of Santo Domingo...it is a massive university that serves students from all over Latin America...the guys didn't have much energy but squeaked out a final win 64-62...they finished their Dominican Tour undefeated against some of the better players and teams in this country...and they shared the message of hope found in Jesus to hundreds and hundreds of players, coaches, and fans across the nation...using basketball as a ministry tool has been a privilege and pleasure, and athletics provides a platform for service and relationships and evangelism unlike few things that cross cultural boundaries...and it has been a fantastic week participating in God's Kingdom work in this part of the world...
I have to tell you personally this has been a fantastic trip...I've taken students all over the globe and I have loved these last days in the DR...what a joy to have the privilege to watch this team serve God with a heart that loves the people, cares for these kids, and is passionate about changing the future of a community that has needs God allowed us to help meet...in many ways, you see this generation of Christ-followers at its best...and tonite I praise God for what He is doing and will do...
Tomorrow morning we will head out of our camp here and visit the historical sites of Santo Domingo (there's lots of them due to explorers like Christopher Columbus) and a quick stop in a typical Dominican market...and we will close off the trip at a Dominican resort where we will get some rest, enjoy the beach, and hang out together...
We are getting excited to head home to share our stories with you all and appreciate your prayers as we share with one another how we will seek to live differently in light of our experiences and things God has allowed us to hear and experience here away from our normal lives...
I'll close tonight with some verses we've been studying and talking about in our devotional and sharing times together:
Isaiah 58:6-10 (New Living Translation)
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
For the CU HOOPS team in the DR,
CHIP
The guys have really put their sweat and hearts into helping the community here...and there has been a sweet satisfaction in being tired in doing God's work on behalf of the people here...
I loved seeing some of the guys walk through the neighborhood holding the hands of kids in their school uniforms and taking pictures with children on their shoulders...they have been ambassadors of God's love to people looking to receive love from the Father through them...
After another morning of work, we headed downtown to take on our final opponent at the University of Santo Domingo...it is a massive university that serves students from all over Latin America...the guys didn't have much energy but squeaked out a final win 64-62...they finished their Dominican Tour undefeated against some of the better players and teams in this country...and they shared the message of hope found in Jesus to hundreds and hundreds of players, coaches, and fans across the nation...using basketball as a ministry tool has been a privilege and pleasure, and athletics provides a platform for service and relationships and evangelism unlike few things that cross cultural boundaries...and it has been a fantastic week participating in God's Kingdom work in this part of the world...
I have to tell you personally this has been a fantastic trip...I've taken students all over the globe and I have loved these last days in the DR...what a joy to have the privilege to watch this team serve God with a heart that loves the people, cares for these kids, and is passionate about changing the future of a community that has needs God allowed us to help meet...in many ways, you see this generation of Christ-followers at its best...and tonite I praise God for what He is doing and will do...
Tomorrow morning we will head out of our camp here and visit the historical sites of Santo Domingo (there's lots of them due to explorers like Christopher Columbus) and a quick stop in a typical Dominican market...and we will close off the trip at a Dominican resort where we will get some rest, enjoy the beach, and hang out together...
We are getting excited to head home to share our stories with you all and appreciate your prayers as we share with one another how we will seek to live differently in light of our experiences and things God has allowed us to hear and experience here away from our normal lives...
I'll close tonight with some verses we've been studying and talking about in our devotional and sharing times together:
Isaiah 58:6-10 (New Living Translation)
6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
For the CU HOOPS team in the DR,
CHIP
another blogsite to check in on...
Just a reminder that you can also check out some video clips, pictures, and trip moments at a blogsite hosted by Greg, the director of the mission we are working with here...the web address is:
http://untoincorg.blogspot.com/
http://untoincorg.blogspot.com/
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