Day 2: In Quito, Ecuador

We landed in Quito, Ecuador last night! Currently, I'm in the dining hall of the Nazarene compound.

So far, things are going great! It was a long day of flying. Started at 6:15 am Nov. 1. We drove up to St. Louis to catch our flight out. Made it to Atlanta in mid-afternoon. A breif layover and then the 5 hour flight across the caribbean and down into South America.

Today we're heading up the mountains to Riobamba, where we will be staying, and then it's on to the worksight.

Everyone is healthy, happy, and ready to get going! Continue to pray for our health and saftey. Pray that the work goes well and we stay ahead of schedule.

I'll have more thoughts on the country of Ecuador after we travel through more of it. I have some snap judgements about it after our breif drive through Quito, but not enough to get a more complete picture of what the country and culture are like. Needless to say, it's a lot different than the states. They certainly need as much prayer and support from us as we can give!

Blessings to my readers from Ecuador. Please continue to pray!

Ecuador Work and Witness

For the next 14 days I'm going to be coming to you from Riobamba, Ecuador as part of a Missouri Nazerene District Work and Witness trip! We're leaving today, Monday morning, and should arrive in Quito tonight around 10 pm.

I'll be updating my blog as much as I'm able to, hopefully every 2-3 days. Please pray for our trip, for the safety of the team, for safe travels, for productive work, and for us to reach the people of Ecuador with Christ!

The next time you hear from me, it will be from the field!

SpongeBob SocietyPants?

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? I know you know the rest. I've done my research and there are three groups of people that regularly watch SpongeBob.

1) Kids. Obviously this is the target audience. For over a decade now, kids age 2 to, oh, 18 regularly agree that nautical nonsense is, in fact, something they wish.

2) Parents of kids. Most of us in this life stage have invested in a nice TV, a nice place to sit and watch that TV, and even a nice cable/satellite package in order to have the best programming on said TV. In the end, though, we all know that our kid's are in charge of our TV's. Deny it if you wish, but I know that you know that "absorbent and yellow and porous is he".

3) Grandparents. Yes, Nana and Papa, you might talk big about "the good ol' days". You might also wrongly believe that the canceling of Howdy Doody marked the end of society as it should be. You too, though, have had your grand kids over and at their request, you've enthusiastically agreed to "drop on the deck and flop like a fish".

That's right. We've all been subjected to "spongebob squarepants, spongebob squarepants, spongebob squarepants, spongebbbboooooobbbbb squarepaaaaannnnttttts!"

Did you know that Spongebob is Nickelodeon's highest rated show? That might not surprise you, but it's also MTV Network's most distributed property. In other words, it's one of the most popular cartoons ever.

SpongeBob really doesn't have any redeeming educational or moral qualities. It does, though, have some very interesting things to say about society and the value of community. In many (disturbing) ways Bikini Bottom and the Krusty Krab remind me all too much of our neighborhoods, school groups, and, dare I suggest, churches.

After all, if an amiable sponge, a pretentious squid, a dim-witted starfish, a tight-wadded crab, and an under-water squirrel can discover true community through krabby patties, secret formulas, and bad clarinet'ing, then why can't we?

Community, a new sermon series, starts this Sunday at Cape Naz. We'll be looking at the earliest church -- itself formed from a comedy of errors cast -- and how they managed to come together in a model community (through a common unity).

So, catch up on your SpongeBob this week in preparation for this Sunday. Consider it research to get a head start on the message. That's what I'm claiming!

Samsung (or why I've come to despise Pavlov)

One of the many classes that I coasted through in High School was AP Psychology. I can neither confirm nor deny that we had a textbook for that class. I certainly can't tell you anything about any major psychologist. Well, except one guy. Pavlov. You know Pavlov, don't you? The guy with the bell and the dog that slobbered?

(First, a fair warning. If you've stumbled upon this blog entry looking for an in-depth analysis of Pavlovian theory, then you might as well quickly stumble yourself somewhere else. Because I have no idea what I'm talking about. I didn't pay attention in AP Psychology, remember?)

Pavlov had a bell, a bowl of dog food, and a dog -- as all great psychological experiments should begin! He studied something that I'm going to call conditioned behavior (that might or might not be its real name.) Every time he fed his dog, he rang the bell. Through repetition, he conditioned the dog to associate the noise -- the ding-ding-ding of a bell -- with the pleasure of getting fed.

Eventually, Pavlov learned that all he had to do to make his dog slobber uncontrollably (like he was being fed) was to ring the bell! One ding-ding-ding and his puppy would start slobbering like a Great Dane in a butcher's shop. I'm sure that trick was a big hit at parties.

I've unknowingly been conducting my own Pavlovian experiment.

We have a Samsung plasma TV. It's a great TV. We love it. Our Samsung isn't so much a source of entertainment as it is the most vocal member of our family. It captivates us when we are in the room; on or off, it's always found in its honored place in the center of our living room. It talks to us when it's on -- TV shows. It even talks to us when it's off -- it goes to sleep with an impressive glow of blue light and a pleasant melodious beep "good night". Good night, mouse. Good night, house. Good night, Samsung TV with your melodious beep.

We usually take our giant beagle Lucy outside to go potty one final time before hitting the hay -- usually right after we say goodnight to our TV.... Hmm... The TV. The dog. The melodious beep. The potty. Darn you, Pavlov.

When she hears that melodious beep "good night", Lucy will immediately jump up from her spot on the love seat and sprint (not walk) across the living room, down the stairs, and to the backdoor so she can visit the potty.

It's a conditioned behavior, locked into our dog's brain. It doesn't really matter how recently she has been to the potty or even what time of day it is when we turn off the TV. When she hears the beep, she's gotta go and she's gotta go now!

Look, I'm a pastor so I feel like there needs to be a spiritual point to this. Everything is spiritual, someone (Rob Bell) smarter than me once said. What have we become conditioned to? What has Pavlov done to us? What signals -- no matter how melodious -- trigger unconscious behavior in us?

I think that when we get into certain familiar situations, we have conditioned ourselves to act a certain way. We act like this around some people, like that around others; this way when we're here, that way when we're there. We're allowing an external influence to dictate who we are and what we do. That's not always healthy, especially when the influences push us away from God's will for our lives or in the direction of sin.

Don't Be a Fool

Wisdom says: As it is, I’ve called, but you’ve turned a deaf ear; I’ve reached out to you, but you’ve ignored me.

This past weekend at Cape Naz Church we discussed among other things wisdom vs. knowledge. I briefly made the point that the opposite of wisdom is foolishness. A few definitions that will mark this brief discussion, and then to the point:

What is wisdom? Knowledge that you successfully put into action.

What is foolishness? Knowing the truth and how it should affect your life, and then ignoring it.

I don't think that anyone wants to be called a fool. It's a harsh term. Though it's not necessarily an active word in our modern vernacular, -- you don't hear the teenagers calling each other fools -- we would still be hurt if the term was used against us. I'm not going to call you a fool. Instead, I'm going to ask you to evaluate whether you are one or not.

The critical aspect of wisdom is the "successfully put into action" part of the definition. I've mentioned before that Christianity isn't a "do" religion. It's a "be" relationship. Be more like Christ. Be lovingly obedient to God. Be a follower of Jesus.

Our actions should flow out of our relationship with Christ. We've chosen to become like Christ and that affects our "do" -- our behavior. A behavior change without the relationship with Christ doesn't matter for beans. We aren't saved by good works. We're saved by grace through faith (a "be" concept).

That's where wisdom comes in. Do you consider yourself a Christian? Answer the question to yourself right now.

OK. If you answered yes, then you've committed to "be" like Christ.

Let me say that again. If you're a Christian, then you've committed to "be" like Christ. That's the implication of salvation. We've tried to dress it down over the years as little more than a prayer, but it's more than that. You are accepting Christ... that he is God, that he is truth, that his way will be your way, that without him you are sinful and separated.

A wise Christian daily grows in his/her knowledge of God and then puts that knowledge into practical application in their lives. They are "be-ing" Jesus.

What would a fool do? Ah... You can see where I am going.

A foolish person would know the truth about God and then deliberately ignore it.

I personally feel pretty foolish sometimes when I know I've done something that goes against God's word (his wisdom). There are many times when I just want to curl up in a box and hide because I've ignored a truth about God and the life he wants us to live. It hurts. It's painful. It's a bruise to my ego.

Becoming a person of spiritual wisdom takes time, practice and failure. If you start with that one commitment -- to be more like Christ -- then actively seek God to let him change who you are and what you do. That's the Christian life. It's going to have ups and downs, trials and tribulations, but God will constantly be speaking to you, building you up, pushing you farther in faith, and revealing his wisdom to you.

Become a person of wisdom. Don't be a fool.

Can You Mess Up God's Plan?

I had a friend today send out an email that really got me thinking. Here's the question that I drew from his conversation:

Can you mess up God's plan?

This topic couldn't have come up at a better time as we (Cape Naz Church) are in the heart of our series on iDentity.

I think that the answer to that question lies not in what we do (the plan) but in who we are. Our society in many ways has become very "do" oriented. We identify ourselves by our jobs. Who we work for and what we do -- that becomes our defining characteristic.

If you don't believe me then think about the last time that you met someone new in a casual, social setting. I'm willing to bet good money that one of the first questions you asked (or they asked of you) was "where do you work" or maybe "what do you do?"

So, we become nurses or engineers or doctors or pastors or whatevers.

I would sincerely hope that for all of us the answer to the question "what do you do" is not the summation of all that we are.

So, back to the questoin of the day: can we mess up God's plan?

That entirely depends on you. Do you think God's plan is simply a "do" or do you think God's plan is more of a "be"?

After all, if God is who he says he is and continues being who he says he will be then we don't have much to worry about.

Do you think your flaws and failings are bigger than God? Why do we so often believe that the God who created the universe, flung the stars into the sky, and gave us breath would be at all surprised or flustered (in other words: rendered ineffectual) by our decision to "do" this or that?

No, God's plan for us is a "be" plan not a "do" plan. Be like Christ. Your "do" is a reflection of who you "are". We show our faith by our works. Our works themselves are not faith.

Can you mess you God's plan?

If you sincerely devote yourself to God and becoming the person He wants you to become, then you can be absolutely 100% completely and utterly assured that God's best will "be" in your life!
You might (scratch that... you will) mess up, but what matters is not yesterday's sins but today's decision to "be" like God and tomorrow's decision to be that way again.

I'm back!

Hey! It's August! I promised that I would be back in August, and here I am. I'm not really making a post today. Instead, I'm just reminding you that I'm here. I'm ready to write. I hope you're ready to read.

Here's hoping that you enjoyed your summer! Here's hoping that you, like me, took some time away from blogs and businesses and schools and whatnot to catch up with your family.

In the coming weeks expect me to dig deeper into the concept of iDentity, which is our current series at Cape Naz. Who are you in Christ? We'll be talking about that all August and into September.

I'll probably also look ahead to our next two series: Community (yes, like the TV show) and Life (yes, like the board game). Lots of blogging will be heading your direction, so keep your clicker pointed in "The Stomp Box's" direction.