intersections

Munich

I saw the new Stephen Spielburg film, Munich, yesterday. I can't say I exactly recommend it although there were powerful moments. It's difficult to sit through dozens of brutal asassination scenes to get to the gems. I came home and told my wife that the movie made me physically sick. Because I was less than a year old when the the actual events of the Munich Olympics took place, I'm not really in a position to say how "accurate" the details were but there were some lasting impressions worth passing on:

• The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is really complicated and messy and there are no easy solutions (otherwise someone would have found them by now).
• There is no way you can convince me that violence is a pathway to peace. Violence only begets more violence.
• Revenge does not quiet the anxiety in the human  heart. The only way to peace is through forgiveness. Revenge only yields nightmares and broken lives.
• I think it was Ghandi who said, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." That should have been the subtitle of the movie. There are no "winners." Everyone loses.
• Not much has changed in the world in in 33 years.

Adventist Peace Fellowship

There are some great organizations out there that I want you to be familiar with. Since the beginning of this blog I have listed the Adventist Peace Fellowship in the list of links on the left. It has been a privilege of mine to serve this organization and help in a variety of ways. I strongly encourage you to visit the website and read the mission and purpose of the Adventist Peace Fellowship. If you want to go deeper I would encouarge you to buy the book we published this summer ("yours truly"has one short chapter).

You can sign up for the e-mail newsletter by joining the Fellowship online at the website. If you want to download and read the issue that just came out today you can do so by clicking the link below (you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Download Peace Messenger - Dec. 30, 2005

Other great Adventist peace organizations:
Peace & Justice Fellowship (UK)
Adventist Women for Peace

A Prayer for the New Year

This Sabbath is New Year's Eve. In preparation for our Service of Commitment I wrote this prayer. I share it with you in the hope that you can also recommit yourself to God and His mission in the world in the context of a church community.

Our Father, who is in the heavens all around us,
We come to you on this Eve of the New Year with joy and hope and thanksgiving in our hearts.
Joy because we have been reminded again that you accept us as your daughters and sons and have welcomed us in your kingdom;
Hope because you have given us a vision of the world you are even now creating;
Thanksgiving because of the way we have seen your hand at work in our world and the blessings you have brought into our lives this past year;

We also come with pain, confusion and uncertainty.
Pain because of losses suffered;
Confusion about the direction of our world and our place in it;
Uncertainty about our shared future, both as a congregation and as a human family.

Lord Jesus, forgive the waywardness and unfaithfulness of this past year and restore us in your sight.
Today we ask for the Holy Spirit
To give us vision to see the mission you’ve called us to in Hollywood;
To give us courage to boldly love our world in Your name;
To give us hope that sees past what is to imagine Your better future;
To give us humility, that we might rightly represent your kingdom.

To this end we give ourselves to you today.
Amen.

Announcing Peace

The Shepherds are among the luckiest people in the world. They were chose to receive the happiest news in the history of the world. Israel's long wait is over. Today we are called to take up the vocation of those angels and "announce peace" to our world - that their long wait is over. Messiah has come and is coming again.

Download "Announcing Peace"

Having a Bad Day?

The Place of Scripture in Public Life

Yesterday, a federal judge barred a Pennsylvania school district (Dover, PA) from teaching a theory known as Intelligent Design as an alternative to evolution in science classes. Today's Washington Post had this story. The judges decision said,

The overwhelming evidence is that Intelligent Design is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism and not a scientific theory. It is an extension of the Fundamentalists' view that one must either accept the literal interpretation of Genesis or else believe in the godless system of evolution.

Meanwhile, Bruce Feiler had a guest op-ed piece in the New York  Times that was really well done. I commend this to you.

As Christians in a postmodern world we must ask ourselves, what role does scripture have in our lives? Scripture must move from being merely a devotional book for our private spirituality. It must have a role in our public life. But just as we articulate this view fear rushes in as we think about the atrocities committed in the name of one holy book or another.

Adventists in particular should not be drawn into this culture war. We, of all people, should know that seeking the ascendency is no way to be heard in our world. It just looks like the will to power that it really is. Let us seek, rather, the way of Jesus. Could we start by living out the teachings of Jesus found in the Bible rather than being seeking a privileged place for our Scriptures in the science classroom?

Enter the Wardrobe

I can't resist! This movie was fantastic. You simply must see it! It's been several days since my wife and I stole away for 2+ hours and indulged ourselves in some of the most beautiful storytelling ever.

A friend of mine in Australia, Nathan Brown, asked me to write a review, which you can read here. It doesn't open in Australia until next week.

Go see the movie and tell me what you think.

War on Christmas?

For some reason that I can't quite figure out this Christmas the culture wars have reemerged around the whole notion of Christmas. Of course, Christmas is a distinctly Christian holiday and our society is far being a homogenous Christian society. There are many Jews, Muslims and others who don't celebrate Christmas. From that perspective Christmas can be a bit annoying for those who aren't Christians. Nevertheless, Christmas is an important time of year for many of us in America. What to do?

Check out this ANN report which I think makes some excellent points. I'm proud of our Adventist News Media today!!

New friends

One of the things I love about my job is the opportunities I have to meet new people over coffee. I often attend events for the express purpose of seeing what kinds of connections God will make. I recently attended a breakfast fellowship of Jewish Rabbis and Christian pastors at Fuller Seminary. It was a wonderfully rich time of fellowship and sharing our common scripture.

One of the side benefits was that I met a wonderful person named Eric Jacbosen. He is the author of a book called Sidewalks in the Kingdom (it's the first book in my book list to the right). Today we had coffee in the Fuller bookstore and talked for over an hour. It's just great to meet new people and share our journeys. His book helped put words to things I've been feeling, especially since moving to Hollywood. I highly recommend it.

A friend begins blogging

Monte Sahlin is a great friend and has been a valued mentor in my ministry. Every so often (perhaps once a week or at least twice a month) he would send an email to a group of people in his address book, alerting us to a new book he ran across or some new trend in ministry or society he wanted us to know about. I have had this growing conviction that more people, especially in Adventist congregational leadership, need to hear his voice and benefit from his vast knowledge and grasp of issues. So, I have persuaded him to start a weblog. Now I think I have unleashed a monster. Already Monte's blog is full of outstanding information and wonderful book recommendations. I want to encourage you to visit it regularly. If you use an RSS reader you can subscribe by clicking here. Please visit his sight and post your comments. Let's get this conversation going.