Marginalia

King James bible

2012-01-09T12:51:00.000-08:00

A friend sent this Vanity Fair article on the history and impact of the King James version of the Holy Bible, written by the recently departed Christopher Hitchens. It's a good read.

new year, new resolutions, same old me

2012-01-06T16:13:00.001-08:00

As a gym enthusiast, I found this piece from the Wall Street Journal funny and truthful. Last set--best set!

parkside II

2011-12-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

D-Squared, part of the Pinnacle Housing Group, held a public meeting on the Parkside Village site redevelopment on December 8. This is a mandated community input meeting in order to secure tax credits.

Readers of previous columns should be aware of my bias toward affordable housing developers. Sadly, the performance by D-Squared only reinforced my view. However, in the interest of transparency, I will offer both their presented points and my take on what was and was not said. My commentary will be in bold.

The developer will have a pool on site. There will not be a lifeguard but it will have a punch code and fencing so as to restrict its use to residents. This is not atypical for apartment complexes. Someone will need to know about pool maintenance (more on staffing below).

The developer will also have an outdoor fitness area and improve the park area. Well and good.

The developer will have retail facing Colcord. They will rely upon current zoning laws and the ground lease with the city to keep out check-cashing stores, payday loan stores, pawn shops and the like. This is more of a city criticism--current zoning doesn't keep out these parasitic enterprises now. D-Squared also didn't mention how they would recruit retail stores; there seemed to be a Field of Dreams mentality that retail would just magically appear. In this economy, that outcome is not likely. I do applaud that these units will be multi-use with residential above retail.

The developer will not build the single family units until they are needed, i.e. buyers to purchase them. Here is where they got elusive. D Squared will build a 85/15 affordable/market rate rental housing complex to include senior housing. When asked about the single family homes, they kept referring to Waco CDC, Habitat for Humanity and NeighborWorks. D Squared seemed uninterested in this piece and I understand that these other organizations have not officially signed onto this partnership. The single family units are on an adjacent piece of property but will be separate from the D Squared complex and that seems to be how D Squared is looking at it. They won't make money off this aspect and seemed very detached from it.

The developer said that they have a May 1 deadline to submit an application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. That state agency will announce funding recipients in late July. If this goes well, D-Squared anticipates an occupied housing complex by early 2014. In response to a question, they also noted that these tax credit, most likely originating with a major bank, would supply 60-70% of the financing for this endeavor. $30 gets you $100. This doesn't need anymore comment than has been supplied in previous posts.

The developer noted that they will have after-school programs. When asked, these programs will not be funded or administered by D-Squared but rather by volunteers. I asked what their annual budget would be for these programs as they said that they would dedicate funding. The answer was $15,000/year. So they promise programs but in reality they won't be doing anything hands on. They will not be on-site (though they will be sitting by the phone--more on this below) and won't staff. What exactly are they bringing to these after-school programs, other than a physical facility? Even that contribution seemed ironic as we met in the Dewey Community Center.

The developer will do background checks on all residential applicants and anyone with previous felony or drug convictions will be rejected. As well, the City and State will conduct annual inspections of the property. The management company will conduct monthly inspections. The equity investor may also do this twice a year. The income qualifications will be set by HUD, which is standard. The development will not accept Section 8 vouchers. D-Squared also puts in 5% of rent into escrow for residents to use in the future as down payment assistance. The 5% down payment piece is a sweetener, though I would like to know how often this has been utilized in previous developments (sounds like a letter I need to write). The background check stuff is standard and legally most renters have their hands tied. I was very disappointed that the inspections of this facility won't change from the standards under the previous Parkside incarnation. The City and State didn't do enough previously; those entities are the watchdogs on this. While residents will start with a new facility, what has changed inspection-wise?

The developer will not manage the property. They will not have a subsidiary manage the property. They will hire an outside group to manage the property. The D-Squared VP who drove down from Dallas, and was late by the way, argued that this arrangement was more favorable to the residents b/c D-Squared could fire the management company if the management company didn't do their job. The same VP, whose name I did not get, said that she would take calls of complaint against the property manager. They do have a particular management company in mind. What is more reassuring: that D-Squared lacks confidence in their management company hiring practicies so that the ability to fire that hired manager is a selling point or that the developer's involvement past construction is limited to its willingness to answer the phone? I'm undecided. This arrangement also provides evidence that profit in affordable housing comes in building it, not managing it. Expect that dynamic to impact management.

The developer noted that the City would own the land and lease the property to D-Squared for two 40 years leases. Our council representative even said that they could fire D-Squared if need be. I would like to see the language in that contract authorizing that. But, again, D-Squared gets it's return after completion of the project. It might prove more beneficial for them to cut ties to the development after it's developed. A way around this would be to include benchmarks over the course of the lease tied to incremental payments/tax credits allotments. That is probably not in the contract however.

I asked the developer about on site security. They won't provide any. They will have a live-in manager and possibly a courtesy officer [This didn't make a lot of sense. The VP said something about giving a law enforcement person a cut rate on an apartment if they too would live on the property and open and close from time to time. I can't see a police officer or sheriff doing this though.]. They could have up to 30 cameras on the property viewable on the web and with recording ongoing. The development will be part of the Crime Free Multi Housing Program city program. I ask again, how does this markedly improve on what was there before? The cameras could help but they are passive deterrents. No one will officially watch the cameras, only look at them after the fact. Will those cameras be maintained? The CFMHP is compulsory for new apartment complexes.

The developer will supply washers and dryers and use high end materials [we hit upon a "ceramic tile" chorus at one point]. Well and good. Will they also enter into a binding agreement to establish an independent tenants association with the ability to take D-Squared to court should it (or its hired management company) fail to abide in upkeep, security or other fiduciary responsibilities of the renting agency?

D-Squared is a private company and will not release its financial statement to the public; I asked this one. They did let the City look over this but then the company retrieved the data. Our Council rep remained silent during this portion of Q & A. I'm not sure this temporary glance would be legal in NJ. If a document is submitted to a public entity, particularly as public money is to be used, that document should become public. Perhaps not in Texas. However, other than the assurances of our public officials, assurances that did not come last Thursday by the way, how do we know the company is viable. The previous developer/owner of Parkside seemed flush with cash initially but was crying poor later as building were no longer maintained and families had to heat their apartments with gas ovens. I would like something in writing, but maybe that's a me problem.

I was probably in the minority with my disapproval. Most questions concerned aesthetics. There was some levity, at least as I heard it. I have pulled a quote below from a Trib article that was loudly repeated by our council representative. Her nomenclature aside, my fears of Parkside Village II, by any other name, have increased, not lessened.

“We need something that doesn’t say Park, side or village,” said Councilwoman Toni Herbert, who represents the North Waco neighborhood around Parkside. “We need a clean break. So many people are afraid of seeing Parkside Village II."--Waco Tribune, October 19, 2011.

finale for christopher hitchens

2011-12-19T08:26:00.000-08:00

Douthat really encapsulates my sentimentality towards Hitchens well in this piece.

rubik's

2011-12-16T12:48:00.001-08:00

I have a rubik's cube on my desk at Calvary. I'm learning to solve it in fits and starts. The video here from the Wall Street Journal impressed and humbled me.

death of christopher hitchens

2011-12-15T21:35:00.001-08:00

Sad news here.

book review: toxic charity

2011-12-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

I just finished Robert Lupton's Toxic Charity. This book focuses on Christian charity, its practice and effects. It is in the same vein as When Helping Hurts, arguing that most Christian benevolence fosters bondage, rather than providing liberation. He advocates, correctly in my opinion, that churches need to move from a relief model of charity (meeting immediate needs) to a rehabilitation and development model (partners to build self-sufficiency).

One mild criticism is that the book is filled with too much anecdotal evidence. I like a good story and save many for sermon illustrations. I believe that he could have supplied some economic and sociological data to augment his assertions (assertions I readily agree with even excluding this additional evidence).

Notes from the book are below:

Over last 50 yrs., Africa has received $1 trillion in aid. Dambisa Moyo, African economist and author of Dead Aid, says, “it’s a kind of curse, the disease of which it pretends to be the cure.”

Food Security for Atlanta, builds co-ops that leverage buying power of members, turning $3 to $30 worth of food.

Oath for compassionate service: 1)never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves; 2)limit one-way giving to emergency situations; 3)strive to empower the poor through employment, lending, and investing, using grants sparingly to reinforce achievements; 4)sub-ordinate self interests to the needs of those being served; 5)listen closely to those you seek to help, especially to what is not being said—unspoken feelings may contain essential clues to effective service; 6)above all, do no harm.

Jacques Ellul in Money and Power: It is important that giving be truly free. It must never degenerate into charity, in the pejorative sense. Almsgiving is Mammon’s perversion of giving. It affirms the superiority of the giver, who thus gains a point on the recipient, binds him, demands gratitude, humiliates him and reduces him to a lower state than he had before.

Three essential elements to successful microloans: borrower must have 1)an ingrained work ethic; 2)a demonstrated entrepreneurial instinct; 3)a stable support system.

John McKnight, Asset Based Community Development, concludes 1)service systems divert money away from poor people to service providers; 2)programs are based on deficiencies rather than capacities; 3)services displace the ability of people’s organizations to solve problems. He asks: does the proposed activity strengthen the capacity of neighborhood residents to prioritize and address their own issues? Will the proposed activity be wealth-generating or at least self-sustaining for the community? Do the moneys generated for and/or by local residents remain at work in their community? Does the proposed activity have a timetable for training and transferring ownership to indigenous leadership?

Neighborhood ministry asks: is capable, indigenous visionary leadership behind the effort? Is the plan neighborhood-specific and does it focus on one and only one target community? Is the effort comprehensive and the programmatic pieces all have as a primary objective the ultimate self-sufficiency of the neighborhood? Does the plan emanate from local churches and/or people of faith? Does the plan protect against displacement or reconcentration of lower-income residents? Does the plan promote interdependency rather than continued dependency? Does the plan attract, retain, and/or develop indigenous leadership in the community? Does the plan attract new achieving neighbors into the community? Does the plan utilize grants and nonprofits as catalysts for development that can eventually reduce the need for external subsidies? Does the plan lead to economic neighborhood viability, as measured by its ability to attract and harness market forces?

hands

2011-12-09T08:53:00.001-08:00

Nice piece sent over by Carolyn Meyer here.

christopher hitchens, death and Jesus

2011-12-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Very good read here on an article about avowed atheist Christopher Hitchens and how cancer has changed his outlook on the nature of things.

user friendly

2011-12-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

I had a chat with a friend not long ago. This friend has visited a number of churches in his town over the past year, seeking to find a place to put down some roots. As an outsider, with previous inside-church experience, his take on church's user friendliness is fascinating and instructive.

His best story concerned a traditional church that he has visited the most over the past year. We may consider it his church home by default. Each Sunday as he enters, the same older gentleman greets him at the door. They shake hands, say hello, perhaps engage in a bit of banter. My friend felt like they were building a relationship. One Sunday, my friend got there late and no one was at the door. But, he did see his greeter-friend in the congregation and during the time of welcome, when congregants leave their seats to say hello to one another, he rushed over to greet him. As he walked up to the man and said hello, he added, "I missed you at the door this morning!" The man returned his cordial introduction with a blank stare of befuddlement. In a moment, the oblivious response revealed the perceived connection and relationship as fraudulent.

Clearly, this greeter had no idea who my friend was and performed the perfunctory task of saying hello to all who entered. Perhaps the faithful greeter understood his position to entail only that. But, for someone seeking to form a tie to a church, this entrance does not suffice. Most of us have a story about walking into a church and feeling excluded (intentionally or otherwise) and ignored. Those are rarely churches that we return to and seldom places where we encounter Jesus in our midst.

In chewing on this episode for some weeks, I have considered how user-friendly Calvary is. Do visitors know where to go when they enter our church? Are they welcomed and met (implying more than just a standard hello and handshake)? Do they feel appreciated and do we seek to make connections to them? Is there a transcendent spirit of hospitality and care made manifest in the words and actions of these followers of Christ?

These are some things for all of us to consider.

Fred Craddock's story

2011-12-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

Good article from CNN on one of America's best preachers, Fred Craddock.

the profitability of affordable housing, #2

2011-12-01T06:40:00.001-08:00

This post has been a long time coming but here it is.

As I asserted in a previous companion to this post, affordable housing is a bit of a misnomer. The housing is affordable for the resident. However, it is obscenely profitable for the developer. Altruism does not get these units built. I am loathe to attribute this to greed but profitability certainly does enter into the equation.

Thus we arrive at the Parkside Village Development, on Colcord & 9th. A number of community activists worked tirelessly to force the previous owner, American Housing Foundation, to provide dignity & decent housing to its residents. This developer/complex management had fallen into financial difficulty and the ramifications of this fell upon residents. Vacant apartments were cannibalized to fix occupied apartments. Maintenance was spotty. The complex lacked basic services and security. Eventually, due in large part to public outcry, the City of Waco got control over this project.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development retained some influence on this site. In keeping with federal bureaucracy, communication on ideas and plans moves at a slow pace. However, as I understand it from public meetings and press accounts HUD gave the City of Waco four years to redevelop this site as of January 2011. This encompassed actual development so the planning timeline was probably closer to 3 years. Credit goes to the City leadership for fighting for control and HUD openness to mixed use development (i.e. retail). The City also fought for any new development to include demolition of the current structures. Kudos on these great points. This timetable for redevelopment began this Fall.

Everyone hoped for some private development to augment affordable housing. Mixed income neighborhoods are healthy, encourage additional private investment including retail and foster upward mobility among low-income residents. The downtown master plan even included some planning points for this property so that it would fit into the matrix of development spanning from downtown to Cameron Park.

Suddenly, a plan was publicly presented to the City Council at 3pm on Oct 18 to name a developer, D-Squared, who planned to build a development with 90% affordable housing and 10% market-rate. The ratio has recently changed to 80/20, better but not good enough. Included in this development will be Senior restricted dwellings and that number, originally at 50 seems to be moving up as well. I hastily wrote a letter on 10/18 that is below:

Dear Honorable Elected Officials of the City of Waco,
I write to express my dismay over the Parkside Village Redevelopment plan that the Pinnacle Group will present to you later this afternoon for your consideration this evening. While the plan does contain some laudable elements, including the of inclusion retail property and mixed use zoning as well as the replacement of the current physical structures, the development plan fails to remediate the problems the led the community and the City of Waco to this point in the first place.
Parkside Villages has historically served as a repository for low-income residents. This concentration of poverty contributed to both generational poverty and to a high crime rate within the community and larger neighborhood. This style of urban planning, very reminiscent of 60’s style segregated public housing, fails to promote advancement for residents and hampered the revitalization of the greater community. Furthermore, the social service and public safety costs outweighed any short-term financial benefits the City may have received. At this juncture, when there is an opportunity to reject the failed the development models of the past and to promote diverse, healthy mixed-income neighborhoods, why would the City return to prior mistakes?
To this point, your body has fought for a brighter future and dignity for residents of Parkside. You argued for HUD to expand its criteria to include mixed income and mixed use development. You insisted that any redevelopment include new physical structures. You spoke positively about the Downtown Redevelopment Plan’s inclusion of this area in its intentions for this area. I urge you to hold fast to this stance in accord with your previous comments and those of the community, voiced repeatedly during public comment opportunities about the Parkside site.
As a resident of this community and pastor of one of its churches, I cannot support a plan that calls for 90% low or moderate income housing. This community needs mixed income housing, in keeping with the fabric of the surrounding neighborhood. I urge you to affirm the Pinnacle Group where they got the plan right but also to send them back to the drawing board until they present a plan that is truly mixed-income and will benefit this community and Waco at large.
Sincerely,
James H. Coston
Senior Pastor

Only several hours after this initial public presentation, Council voted for it. The plan is below.

Can we agree that this process lacked some transparency? Can we agree that it appeared as an urgent and forced decision? Can we agree that this was not on its surface good government? I understand that the developer came with a sob story about needing to apply for federal tax credits (I read "federal tax credits" as "their profitability") before a deadline expired. It's been my experience that this is the typical modus operandi for affordable housing developers; it's akin to a timeshare sale. There is not enough time for additional consideration as some contrived obstacles force a quick decision. Rather than feel squeezed to make a decision, perhaps the developer should engage in better planning.

Furthermore, if it's a great plan, it can not only withstand public scrutiny but also win over those passionate souls who desperately want something more for the community than a third iteration of a failed public housing model. If the City had four years to make a decision--and I hear that HUD wanted a 'shovel-ready project' sooner rather than later but they did give the City 48 months--then why hitch this wagon to one developer using a 80/20 ratio only 10 months into that timeline? The housing market will come back; private capital would build on that site when things turn around. Is ten months even enough time to survey the myriad options available? Additionally, why undercut the downtown master plan with this development?

One possible retort is that HUD was adamant that demolition of the site take place immediately. Apparently, HUD extended a deadline on demolition by 6 months but the City was still going to have to cover this cost. The D-Squared plan does take the City off the hook for this service as ultimately the developer will pay for demolition. However, if that is the impetus for the deal, D-Squared has leveraged a minimal investment to Wall Street proportions.

There are a lot of pieces to this that just don't make sense on their surface. Public service is often thankless and an exercise in putting out fires. While I start from a place of distrust of affordable housing producers and management companies, I start from a place of respect for our public officials. Perhaps there is a sound explanation for a quick decision that will discourage private development and continue the concentration and cycle of poverty in the Brook Avenue community.

Perhaps we can hear this sound explanation next Thursday, December 8, 6pm, at the Dewey Community Center, 925 N. 9th St. Please join me as we seek enlightenment.

2012 MAP

2011-11-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

Paul Wash, the chair of our Finance Team, gave a thoughtful and detailed presentation of the proposed 2012 MAP on Sunday, November 20, at our Ministry Conference. [It went so well that immediately after we decorated our church for Advent and it looks fabulous!]

The budget is lower by 0.5%. This isn't out of any need to cut the budget as we are on pace to meet our 2011 budget. Rather, the line items better reflect the expenses associated with those designations. We had over-budgeted for some items in our current budget; the 2012 budget corrects those inflated amounts.

Some high points to the budget: our Church Administrator had a positive salary correction in keeping with his position and duties. The Children's budget was increased per the request of the Children's Ministry Team. The Youth budget also increased over the current allotment.

Chairman Wash also provided good news about Calvary's building debt. You may recall that since the 2010 budget, we have allotted around $80,000 to pay down interest and principle. Demonstrating a faithful and wise congregation, Calvary has received additional offerings to go toward paying down principle on the debt. We are well below $600,000 on the note and could possibly lower that to just under $500,000 by the end of 2012. Given where we started just a few years ago, we are making excellent progress to becoming debt free.

We will vote on the Mission Action Plan for 2012 on Sunday at the close of Worship. It is appropriate that this business of the church occurs within the context of worship--certainly we have much to praise our Lord about.

advent begins

2011-11-26T13:23:00.000-08:00

Calvary will join churches across the globe to celebrating Advent beginning tomorrow. For this season of expectation, we have decided to utilize N.T. Wright's book Simply Christian. In this book, Wright argues that there are whispers of God throughout the world. Equally powerful is the fact that our spirits long for more than this world can offer. Wright names four aspects of these promises. We seek justice but do not find it here. We long for beauty and catch only glimpses. Community beckons us but we still deal with estrangement. We long for harmony of body, mind and soul yet live in unsettling and anxious times.

Over the next four weeks, our Worship will use as a starting point each of these aspects. Join us as we await the Coming of the King.

Thanksgiving family football

2011-11-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

As someone who played football every Thanksgiving weekend at my granny's from 1978 - 1988, I found this piece highly relevant. Hope you enjoy the read.

giving thanks

2011-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I am truly thankful for Calvary--our community, our neighborhood, and all of God's blessings that are Calvary.

Calvary hosts a recovery ministry, Celebrate Recovery, on Monday nights. I have the privilege of providing some leadership to this on a weekly basis (along with our CR worship leader Stephanie Mettler). After some discussion with our lay leaders, we decided to change up our typical Mon night routine this past Monday.

We had a potluck, along with some Uncle Dan's fixin's, and ate a big family meal in the Welcome Center. As we finished the meal, we offered folks the opportunity to share blessings and name things they were thankful for. It was grace-filled. I am reminded every Monday night at 6:30pm that if Jesus returned, he would be at CR meetings.

Of the many blessings I count this Thanksgiving are to the pilgrims I get to journey with on Mon nights.

Advent Conspiracy

2011-11-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

Advent begins on Sunday, November 27. This is the beginning of the Church calendar; we begin with four weeks of expectation and preparation for coming of Christ.

Our adult Sunday School classes will engage in a unified study during Advent. The study is based on the book/movement Advent Conspiracy.

This study seeks to free us from the rampant consumerism that has come to dominate Advent and Christmas. We know this season more for sales and shopping than for the birth of the Savior. Jesus has become an excuse to buy, buy, buy. Advent Conspiracy reminds us why celebrate who we celebrate.

It has four main tenets, which we will study in order one a week: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All.

May this liberate us from the idolatry of consumption and return our attention to the Infant Savior.

Calvarians in Lebanon

2011-11-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

This comes from Jeremy and Sara Boucher, who are interviewing to work for Kids Alive International in Beirut, Lebanon. Sara sent the following out after their recent interview:

I am full of joy and love for you all as I write this. We are certainly aware of the prayers of the saints as we traveled and had our interview this past weekend. I don't think I realize often enough how God's good hand covers us as we are going...and this weekend I may have gotten a glimpse of that. Bear with me as I try to articulate our weekend!

On Friday we went to Dublin. Thad did great - in fact, he did SUPER great. He suddenly decided the time was ripe for him to stand up and walk all over the house like he's been doing it forever. We said goodbye to sweet Thad and left him in his wonderful grandparent's care on Saturday afternoon around 4:30 to head to Ft. Worth where we met up with Jeremy's aunt and cousin. We stayed up late with them to see Baylor beat OU for the first time in history - it was totally worth it, even if we did only get 4 hours of sleep...

We woke up at 4am to head to the airport and catch our 6:30am flight out of DFW. The airport was already crowded with Thanksgiving travelers. We got to sit next to a sweet little 12 month old and her grandma on the plane and she did great. We made our connection no problem and arrived in Chicago right on time. A van had been scheduled to pick us up and we found it just fine - this van also had 2 other passengers who would be dropped off in Indiana near where we were. Okay, so here's where I said, "Okay, really??" The van was all but held together with bungee cords and duct tape!! I felt like I was back in our '85 landcruiser in Ethiopia...ahh memories :) To get my mind off the duct tape and my doubts about this vehicles road-worthiness, I asked the lady in front of me where she had just come from. She just let out a "don't get me started" kind of sigh and said (in accordance with her sigh) "Don't get me started!" haha! She had been in like 8 different states within the past 8 hours moving her recently graduated son into his new apartment in NYC. She got on the phone and Jeremy and I talked and generally let our eyes go blank from fatigue, when she turned around after her phone conversation and said, "Now what are you guys doing up here?" We explained about our interview with KAI and she just got so excited!! She asked if she could pray for us right then and there and as she prayed her voice rose in excitement - I can only imagine what the other guys in the van must have thought! It was awesome! She shared her story with us after she finished interceding for us and man, what a story. I'll share the depth of it with you later, but long story short, she has been tested and tried and has loved God all the more through it and for it!

We got to our hotel and collapsed for a few hours and then grabbed dinner.

Monday morning we woke up feeling just so refreshed. Thank you for your prayers!! We went down to the lobby and waited for Cambria and Gordon to show up. Cambria is our contact person at Kids Alive and Gordon is the Human Resources/Office Administrator. Cambria walked in first followed shortly by Gordon and we all sat down for breakfast at the hotel. It was great just getting to meet them! It was such easy conversation and good fellowship - the formal interview wouldn't be till later in the morning. After breakfast we headed over to the Kids Alive office where we met all the staff (there were probably 15-20 staff at the office - accountants, receptionist, assistants, church liaisons, missionary liaisons, etc) - it was full of energy and packed out! They're talking about building an addition because Kids Alive is exploding and they need more staff to keep up with the growing work load! What a great "problem" to have :). We got to participate in office prayer time when everyone stepped out of their door into the hall to share prayer requests and praises and seek God together. We got to meet the president of Kids Alive and he reminded me so much of my dad! ha :) Our formal interview began after prayer time and we stepped into Cambria's office. She asked us several questions, ranging from our salvation experience, our experience cross-culturally, to things that stress us out and how we handle those stresses...After we finished these questions, Gordon shared with us the three responses we could receive from the psychologist. The first is Not Recommended, the second is Recommend with Reservation (requiring counseling prior to going on the field), and the third is Recommend. Gordon told us the psychologist wrote "Highly" in front of Recommend - looks like we made a 4th option!! :) Our interviewers told us we would have an answer in 2 weeks - but to please go ahead and start writing our fundraising letters so we can get those out as soon as they give approval!! WOOHOO!

So, minus the tiny little 1% reservation I have to saying, "WE'RE IN!", we're pretty much in :) We felt so comfortable with everyone we met. We learned more about the organization and got to put faces to names. Cambria talked $$ with us after our formal interview and asked when we'd like to go - we said June would be ideal. It looks like for a family we'll have start up costs of around $10,000 that would be a one-time amount apart from our monthly needs, then around $3,500/month that we would need commitments for. 100% of our fundraising is required prior to leaving for the field. We need 50% of our fundraising before we can make reservations for missions training before we go. We aren't scared of these numbers - God has always, always, ALWAYS gone above and beyond when we seek Him! We have felt his guidance and his grace over us in this specifically since we decided to move to Waco. We are confident he will continue to take care of us and carry out His purpose in us throughout this process.

For Fundraising, I do have a few networking questions for you all. I know that many businesses (and even individuals) like to give charitably before year's end for tax exemptions. If any of you know people in our church who are business owners or might be able to give generously towards our one-time $10,000, please let us know so we can sit down with them and/or write them a letter. Of course, if they want to support us monthly, that would be fantastic, too! :)

After our time at the Kids Alive office we went straight back to the airport to fly home to our sweet little boy who we missed so much! We had some rough turbulence when we were coming into the DFW area due to the storms and I kept saying, "God, you're not done with us yet!" I said that throughout our stormy drive home at midnight and thanked God when we got back home and saw our adorable son with his footie PJ's on and hiney in the air in his crib...Jeremy's parents graciously brought him home last night and spent the night so we could have our kiddo with us this morning :).

We are newly in awe of our great big God! Forgive us, Lord, when we make you look like us. Forgive us, Lord, when we apply our limitations to You, who are limitless. Give us humble hearts and servant hands. Increase our faith and help us to do everything you ask.

Thank you for walking with us!

Jeremy & Sara

Christians in the city

2011-11-12T19:16:00.001-08:00

Follow this link to a good article in this month's Christianity Today. The author provides a solid biblical narrative for urban ministry going from exodus to exile to expectation [and so close to Advent!].

the profitability of affordable housing, #1

2011-11-01T07:18:00.001-07:00

When I served on Trenton's City Council, and before, I had the opportunity to deal with housing developers. Most of these, particularly in Trenton, built affordable housing.

There were a number of reasons for this. Trenton had become the repository for economically challenged folks within the County following the post-WWII housing boom and the Eisenhower era road building. Princetonians talked a good game about social justice and high-minded ideals but their zoning, tax and planning structures spoke more truthfully; they wanted to talk about poor people, not live next to them. Trenton has far more than its share of affordable housing in the City.

Another reason for this beyond municipality policy was State policy. The State of NJ has a Coalition on Affordable Housing [COAH for short] that mandates that a % of new housing development include affordable housing [affordable being defined by a complex formula utilizing median income and local housing costs among other variables]. COAH also allowed for municipalities to "sell" their obligations to other municipalities. Trenton fed at this trough early and often.

For instance, Hopewell township, a wealthier community than even Princeton, was required some years ago to build a certain number of units of affordable housing to go along with additional market rate housing that had been built within the municipality. Instead of actually building that housing, Hopewell sent a fat check (usually $65,000.00 per unit) and its affordable housing obligation to Trenton. Hopewell made out by not having to build affordable units within their homogeneous community and not having to provide those commensurate services (social, school, fire, police). Trenton made out because they had few revenue sources and could bundle these checks to provide offsets for developers. This short-term gain never lasted as the City had to provide additional services and poverty became more concentrated.

After much public outcry, COAH did change this practice somewhat. As well, Trenton realized that these checks cost more than they paid out and stopped taking them. The damage had been done as poverty was concentrated in Trenton while good jobs increasingly resided in suburban and exurban locales.

Again, affordable housing was the name of the game in Trenton. And of all the developers I knew, the only millionaires were those that developed affordable housing. And why not, most of the units built had massive public subsidies backing them--either from the State, other local municipalities paying Trenton to build their mandated units or even federal $. Developer XYZ would propose building a 100 unit housing project, get a $100,000 per unit subsidy, finance $50,000 with private financing, get the municipality to market the project to prospective buyers (if it's homeownership) and sell those units for $85,000 per. There's a built in profit of $35,000 per unit and if they can keep the costs down, or self-finance, they make more per unit. And I haven't even gotten into PILOTs (payments in lieu of [property] taxes) which can last for 20 years.

This may seem a rather lengthy excursus on affordable housing, and perhaps misplaced on a pastor's blog, but part 2 of this subject should make this discourse a bit more germane to Waco.

Happy All Saints Day

2011-11-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last night was Halloween of course, which comes from All Hallows Eve. Halloween originated as a result of the Roman Catholic holiday of All Saints Day. All Hallows Eve was the night before the holy day; medieval ecclesiastics postulated that the holy day would bind evil spirits. Those evil spirits would therefore engage in double the mayhem the day/night before.

I suppose the candy and costume companies could not find a way to grossly commercialize All Saints Day, and instead settled for Halloween. Or, maybe the medieval ecclesiastics were correct after all.

If you do not feel saintly, do not fear. Tomorrow is All Soul's Day on the Church calendar.

parkside villages

2011-10-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Waco's City Council will hear a plan this evening from the Pinnacle Group to redevelop the Parkside Village site at 9th and Colcord. The plan has some good elements but it relies upon a 90/10 housing ratio of low to moderate incomes/middle incomes. This is simply unacceptable given that this is what was essentially there before and whose failure led us to this point in the first place.

Below you can find a letter I wrote to the City Council as they consider this plan:

October 18, 2011

Dear Honorable Elected Officials of the City of Waco,

I write to express my dismay over the Parkside Village Redevelopment plan that the Pinnacle Group will present to you later this afternoon for your consideration this evening. While the plan does contain some laudable elements, including the of inclusion retail property and mixed use zoning as well as the replacement of the current physical structures, the development plan fails to remediate the problems the led the community and the City of Waco to this point in the first place.

Parkside Villages has historically served as a repository for low-income residents. This concentration of poverty contributed to both generational poverty and to a high crime rate within the community and larger neighborhood. This style of urban planning, very reminiscent of 60’s style segregated public housing, fails to promote advancement for residents and hampered the revitalization of the greater community. Furthermore, the social service and public safety costs outweighed any short-term financial benefits the City may have received. At this juncture, when there is an opportunity to reject the failed the development models of the past and to promote diverse, healthy mixed-income neighborhoods, why would the City return to prior mistakes?

To this point, your body has fought for a brighter future and dignity for residents of Parkside. You argued for HUD to expand its criteria to include mixed income and mixed use development. You insisted that any redevelopment include new physical structures. You spoke positively about the Downtown Redevelopment Plan’s inclusion of this area in its intentions for this area. I urge you to hold fast to this stance in accord with your previous comments and those of the community, voiced repeatedly during public comment opportunities about the Parkside site.

As a resident of this community and pastor of one of its churches, I cannot support a plan that calls for 90% low or moderate income housing. This community needs mixed income housing, in keeping with the fabric of the surrounding neighborhood. I urge you to affirm the Pinnacle Group where they got the plan right but also to send them back to the drawing board until they present a plan that is truly mixed-income and will benefit this community and Waco at large.

Sincerely,

James H. Coston

Senior Pastor

Current Issues in Christian Higher Education

2011-10-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a lecture from Royce Money, Chancellor of Abilene Christian U. given in June, beginning on page 4. He lays out rather skillfully the course for faith and scholarship moving forward, complete with pitfalls. It's a good read.

sironia

2011-10-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

I think you'll know this guy.

Sunday School

2011-09-30T14:33:00.001-07:00

This link comes courtesy of Doug Weaver. As for Calvary, our Sunday School classes are doing great. We will soon have to find additional physical space if some classes keep growing.

from one blog to another

2011-09-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Jason Whitlark has a blog post here on a new book he has written with Charles Talbert taking a biblical look at salvation [hint--it encompasses more than a walk down a church aisle].

product obsolence

2011-09-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

I have subscriptions to four magazines: Christianity Today, Christian Century, Christian Ethics and the Atlantic. The last one is the only secular magazine of the four. And my intentions are to subscribe to it until the Lord calls me up yonder. It is a fantastic magazine, transcending political or economic categorization. It just has thought provoking articles each month. In the interest of full disclosure, I pay full subscription and am not getting anything in return for this endorsement (though, if the mag wants to give me a discount rate--I'll surely take it).

There was an article in last month's issue that struck a chord. I've been playing this note in my head for a month. The author talks about 'planned obsolence.' This is the purposeful manufacturing of goods that will wear out after a given period of time. I recall a teacher in school (junior high or high school) who said that if they wanted to, GE could build a refrigerator to last 70 years; they don't because then consumers would buy only 1 per lifetime, rather than 12 or more. They make much better profit from selling 12 or more to a consumer over 70 years than just 1. The same goes for cars and other items. They are built to last, but only to last for so long.
This concept isn't new and is on the supply side of the economic equation.

The article author, Rob Walker, then writes about 'perceived obsolence.' This involves the consumer wanting the newest and latest item (in this case a smart phone) to replace a perfectly functional item of the same kind (in this case an older model of aforementioned smart phone). Walker's current smart phone works great and it's not very old; but it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newest one, which won't have all the do-dads of the one to come out in six months and so on. This is demand-side and consumer driven obsolence. It's phones, tvs, entertainment pieces, computers and the like.

I found all this fascinating. It also gave me pause to consider how obsolence impacts faith. Church shopping is part of 21st century American Christianity. Folks go to one church and when they encounter something newer or more interesting at another church, they hop on over there. Churches now compete with neighboring churches so as to keep their own flock and possibly expand. This is demand-side ecclesionomics (I just made that word up) too. It's also supply side as churches continually reinvent themselves and repackage, creating the perception of something new.

On the other hand, I am reminded that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. There is no obsolence with our Savior or our faith or our salvation. Christ doesn't wear out; he doesn't get old; there won't be a fancier savior to take His place. But, there is some obsolence in this dynamic; it comes in us--as Christ remakes us our old self wears out. We hunger and thirst for righteousness and become a new creature.

I'm also thankful that God doesn't view us or Creation as obsolete. There is certainly cause for that conclusion.

Ten happiest jobs

2011-09-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Forbes has a column of interest to me, and perhaps by extension others.

I do love my job, both at Calvary and as a profession. Sure, there are some tough days. But the highs are celestial. The variety of tasks allows for creativity and study and collaboration. Where else can one get to know so many folks so intimately and work with these souls to accomplish some divine things?!

A bad day at the office is an opportunity to start again the next day. A good day at the office is a REALLY good day.

Calvary's neighborhood

2011-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Waco Regional Baptist Association has worked up some reports on different neighborhoods in and around Waco. Calvary's community was one of those surveyed. The reports came to me earlier in the week (thanks WRBA Exec Tim Randolph) and I've provided links to them below.

Ministry Area Profile

Ministry Area Profile Info Maps

Ministry Area Profile Active Map

Sourcebook Support Document

religious landscape

2011-09-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

Tia Park-Kim sent this link over. It details a recent Barna survey on American religious identity.

ten years

2011-09-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, during our pre-children days, Julie and I were sailing Alaska's inner passage on a cruise with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. We were celebrating my dad's retirement. As with most of American life after 9am on September 11, 2001, the cruise took on a surreal feel.

Julie and I got on one of the first of the resumed domestic flights after the cruise ended, making it from Anchorage to Minneapolis-St.Paul. The flight crew that was to ferry us to Philadelphia did not make to Minneapolis-St.Paul so we spent a night in MN and the next morning checking out the Mall of America.

We had probably been to the Top of the World at the World Trade Center half a dozen times, including youth trips. The view from there was spectacular. That NJ Transit ran into a terminal under the WTC made it a familiar spot for us.

I knew a woman on flight 93. We weren't close but had collaborated on a Habitat for Humanity house in South Trenton. She was an advocate for the visually impaired and on her way to Las Vegas for a convention. We built a house for a blind couple and she helped make sure our specifications were appropriate.

Sunday, 9/16, 2001, stands out in memory too. I had lined up a guest preacher, Evelyn Oliveria, as Julie and I, co-pastors at this time, weren't expected to get in until late on Friday; in reality we arrived on Sat afternoon. Evelyn and her husband Bill Stanfield are good friends (and currently doing fantastic work in South Carolina); she preached ably. It was Women's Sunday but that theme quickly lost center stage. A dear soul, one of the pillars of the church, asked to speak at the conclusion of the service. As she was also a woman, we had her come on up and give a word. Her word was an unholy wedding of nationalism and Christianity. I'm not judging her now, nor did I then. Everyone worked out their grief, anxiety, fear and shock differently--for her it was to issue a call to arms to beat back the barbarian horde. She didn't have the last word that Sunday--I ran up to the pulpit as soon as she finished to offer a different word on the Gospel.

I later officiated at this dear lady's wedding. In some ways, those dualing renditions of Jesus brought us to a deeper relationship. She passed some years ago at home with her husband; I had the privilege of officiating her send off to glory.

Exactly one week after 9/11, I was in a board room at the corporate headquarters of Merrill Lynch with a couple of vice-presidents and other employees. We had scheduled 9/18 as the day on which I would make a pitch to the brass about sponsoring a Habitat house in South Trenton, not anticipating what would happen a week earlier. The idea was to have ML provide funding but more importantly to utilize employees in the construction aspect to do some team building within the corporate organization. Many of these folks knew people that had died, employees from other financial firms or former classmates, at Ground Zero.

I led into the presentation by noting the dichotomy of building a house shortly after witnessing the destruction of much of lower Manhattan. Some might have called this venture cathartic, others therapeutic but I called it civic. With the vision of smoldering ruins in our mind's eye, we talked about providing housing and opportunity for a neighbor.

Ten years later, the house stands and provides shelter for a family; parts of Manhattan and Pennsylvania are shrines; and my kids know to take their shoes when we get in line at the airport. Reflecting back, I learned about the spontaneity of life--it's here and perhaps here only for a brief time. Use it appropriately for it may run out.

update from Michael Gelly

2011-09-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

The email below came from Michael on Monday.

Hi Jim, I am excited to inform you all that I have arrived in Ghana and reconnected with family, friends and the church. My flight took off from DFW on Tuesday at 9:30 am and reached Atlanta Georgia at 11: 30am. We took off from Atlanta at 8pm and landed in Ghana at 11:10am on Wednesday. The whole flight time was 12hours. It was a joy when the whole leadership of my church and my family all converged at the airport in our locality and took me home. Since then, I have been receiving visitors from the church and outside coming to visit with me and talking.

Right now, the weather in Ghana is excellent, 77 with almost no humidity. Thanks for the time together and the sendoff for me. Extend my appreciation to both the church and my Sunday School members for the sendoff party and the card with all the best wishes.

graffiti on creation

2011-09-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning, my youngest woke me up saying, "Daddy, the eggs broke." I immediately noticed that 1)it's dark outside, 2)it's 4:30am, 3)the hallway light is on meaning someone has been up and 4)Samantha is butt-naked. I next wondered 1)why is she up, 2)where are her clothes, 3)where is her sister, 4)what eggs, 5)where did they break?

I got up as Sami took me in hand downstairs--to a natural disaster area. These two cherub like demons had utilized a step stool to 1)empty most of the refrigerator, 2)pull down and empty a utility shelf, 3)gain access to spray paint. I discovered a mess of tools, craft products, matches (by grace all unlit) in the kitchen.

I find twin A in the den, also stark naked. And, of course, eggs broken on carpet as the girls seemingly attempted to replicate cooking breakfast on the coffee table. With bread, crackers and some sandwich meet added for taste, not to leave out the bars of chocolate under the couch cushions, it was a smorgasbord.

Realizing that I was out of my element, I quickly got Julie out of bed and we began cleanup. Aside from some unedible food and junked craft parts, we got things in order. With one exception: spray paint.

I don't know why we had spray paint somewhere else than in the garage, with the other paint, but we had a can that the girls got to in the kitchen utility cabinet. The girls proceeded to spray one another's hands, the back wall of the kitchen, door and all. I give Jesus thanks that they didn't spray their eyes or into their mouths. And, of course, we can repaint--and will have to do this as you can see. We may also need to put bells or warning alarms so that the girls don't get up and wander off again.

Reflecting on this episode, and having the visual constant, I wonder how analogous it is to how we treat Creation. God created everything in proper place. It was beautiful and neat and proper. Humanity then emptied the fridge, pulled out some drawers and spray painted all over everything. And here we are, with a mess to clean up and most of the world needing a coat of paint.

awkward church signs

2011-08-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

I do not know under what circumstances a faithful congregant found this, but it is gold. Please take a gander.

Ken Massey

2011-08-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

Calvary got some difficult news on one of its former pastors, Ken Massey. You can read the story here. We will keep Ken in our prayers even as we know God has plans for him in a new venue.

urban development

2011-08-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

A good friend from NJ sent this piece over.

sermon from august 14

2011-08-20T13:37:00.001-07:00

Had a number of folks ask for a copy of Sunday's sermon. This is basically it, though inquirers can hear the actual message on Calvary's website.

8/14/11 An Incarnational Kingdom Theology (Sider-series, wk 1)

Lk 4.14-21 (16); Isaiah 9.1-7

9/21/97 while off coast of VA, USS Yorktown, state-of-the-art advanced missile cruiser, shuddered to a halt. Yorktown had gotten new software but an engineer left out an instruction. At that instant, 80000 horsepower became worthless. Had to be towed to port. Missing something. Without that part, that billion dollar boat was dead in the water.[1]

I fear that our churches are missing something, and that they too have ceased moving. Jim Wallis: Churches today are tragically split between those who stress conversion but have forgotten its goal and those who emphasize Christian social action but have forgotten the necessity for conversion.[2] It’s true. We-- 21^st century American Christianity—we have divided the Gospel of Jesus into either/or parts. In varying degrees, churches either hold a theology and practice that focuses on the individual relationship between God and the sinner, emphasizing a personal salvation experience, while neglecting issues of social justice and physical need OR churches hold a theology and practice the views sin as injury (injury to self and neighbor and community) and not as offense to God, a theology and practice set upon earthly matters to the neglect of transcendent redemption. For the most part, churches are either concerned with the vertical relationship (me and Jesus) or the horizontal relationship (me and my neighbors and my community and my world); rarely is it both.

FBC-Columbia, TN; evangelism without any social mission. Missing something. BSU-Wake Forest; social mission without any evangelism. Missing something.

Baptists did this during the convention wars of the ‘80s. The fundamentalists and conservatives decided to save souls and get their baptism numbers up. The progressives or liberals decided to focus on reforming social structures and serve those with physical needs. The bible thumpers scoffed at the do-gooders as the do-gooders mocked the bible thumpers. This sad tendency continues today. Some months ago I was in conversation with another local pastor; this pastor openly ridiculed some children’s curriculum that sought to teach children the necessity of following Christ. I know of another church that serves the poor a meal each week, but only after listening to their sales-pitch for Jesus. We followers are missing something.

I can’t find Jesus in my reading of the gospels keeping track of how many people he led to Himself. Nor can I find in my bible offering physical comfort without also providing spiritual recovery. Jesus never talked of saving souls. Jesus never used the words community development. But, my bible is full of Jesus proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

What are the characteristics of the Kingdom of God? Is it physical healing? Is it spiritual transformation? Is it a personal relationship with Jesus? Is it community, including family, friends, neighbors, strangers? Is it reforming the ways of this world? Is it confession of sins and offences against the Creator? Is it loving? Is it being loved? In the name of Jesus, it is all these things and more.

Luke 4. Jesus reads from Isaiah to his home church—preaching Good News to the poor, proclaiming freedom to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, release to the oppressed and proclaiming the year of God’s favor. This is the beginning of J’s ministry and for Luke here’s the theme of J’s message. We have images that will be used over and over again—poverty/need, captivity/imprisonment, blindness/ignorance, the love of the Father. Can we say with a straight face that Jesus only cared for souls? He fed and healed and comforted. Can we say with any integrity that Jesus only cared for social needs? He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Jesus raised up the poor and the spiritually broke. He freed those in the bonds of sin as well as infirmity. Our Savior gave sight to the visually impaired and light to those spiritually blind. Christ announced and made manifest God’s love to the rich and the poor, the well-to-do and those on the margins. This is the Kingdom and Jesus has brought it forth. Today the scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing. Today.

Today’s title is: Incarnational Kingdom Theology. Term coined by Ron Sider, professor at Palmer Theological in Philadelphia. Luke 4 describes the Kingdom—it describes Jesus and His work. It is a description of the follower of Jesus too, followers who not only live out Luke 4 but who embody it. The Kingdom takes on flesh. Not either/or. It is both/and. It is proclaiming Jesus as Savior of the world while working to redeem creation: its structures and ways and even the dirt. It is announcing Jesus to the lost as we serve the least and the last. It is living out our adoration for Christ so that we love wastefully and speak of our Redeemer without hesitation. It is caring for physical and spiritual needs. It is being in relationship with the Son of God to give ourselves up to Him. It is being in relationship with others to expand and enlarge the borders of the Kingdom. Karl Barth said of our Luke 4 passage—J is the one who comes and by His coming everything that will come has come. It is done. The Kingdom is here…now…today. [3]

The following three Sundays: whole salvation—redemption is not limited to my soul but all the earth screams for it; whole conversion—the powers and principalities of this world remain unless Jesus transforms them; finally whole Gospel—there are not parts or pieces—it’s just Jesus making the Kingdom of God here and now.

On that spectrum of evangelism and social action, where is Calvary? Can we honestly claim to embody the Kingdom of God? Do we live out the words of Jesus in Luke 4? Is the Kingdom that cares for the person and society, the soul and the body, individual relationships and community, is the Kingdom here?

Kingdom as a plant. Children’s message. Pots and soil up here. The Worship Folder image at masthead. What if you left out an ingredient? Good soil? Seed? Nutrients? We don’t have to look around very far to see what happens when water is left out. What is growing either withers and dies or it just doesn’t grow at all. For the plant to thrive, to grow, it needs all those things. You can’t leave one or another out. What about the Kingdom? What happens to the Kingdom when we leave something out? When it’s either/or, when it’s part of the message or half of the mission then we cease to be about the whole Kingdom. I want to be about the whole Kingdom. I thirst for that, I crave it. I want that for Calvary.

May the scripture be fulfilled in our hearing…today and everyday.

[1] Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea; Charles Seife; 2000.

[2] Good News and Good Works; Ron Sider; 1993.

[3] Church Dogmatics, Vol. 5, Index with Aids to the Preacher; Karl Barth; 1976.

book review: Soul among Lions

2011-08-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

I love Will D. Campbell. Born in MS in 1924, Campbell became a prophetic preacher in the South before/during/since the Civil Rights movement. Never one to mince words, Campbell just told it like it was and how Jesus wants it. His book about Mercer college's integration (The Stem of Jesse) and his autobiography (Brother to a Dragonfly) cut to the core of one's faith.

For a time, Campbell did a short radio show. The topics were really anything he was thinking about. The best of this show became the book Soul among Lions: Musings of a Bootleg Preacher. It's a short read but I found the 3 page rifts a welcome change from lengthy discourse. From theologies 'of certitude' that exclude others to humor-laced defenses of women to the 'faithlessness of the steeples,' Campbell provides raw commentary. It's a short read that I'll pick up again.

book reviews

2011-08-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

The family spent a few days in San Antonio in early August. We found a suite at a reasonable price with a pool--we were there. To make my theological/biblical reading more poignant, I decided to read some non-fiction.

Stephen Ambrose provided lengthy fodder: D-Day which chronicled the planning and implementation of Operation Overlord as well as its execution from the paratroopers dropping into France before dawn to the invasion at Juno, Gold, Omaha, Sword and Utah beaches. Saving Private Ryan offered a realistic picture of Omaha beach but Ambrose provides great detail as plans got thrown out the window and execution faltered.

Following this, I read The Victors which details the European theater of WWII. He borrows passages from his other books, including D-Day. However, he skillfully tells of war plans after the Normandy invasion to Berlin and German surrender.

I appreciate that Ambrose offers a critical perspective to the war plans, leadership (Eisenhower's handling/mis-handling of Generals Bradley, Patton and Montgomery), supply lines and infantry training. In my history classes, we usually patted ourselves on the back for winning. Ambrose goes to the domestic factories and inventors and to the soldiers in the trenches and foxholes.

With his descriptions and testimonies from G.I.'s, he provides clarity to war. Aside from the deaths, the soldiers that survived came home emotionally or physically broken. No one went through unscathed. I understand very plainly why so many don't want to share those memories.

If you are interested in this type of material, I recommend these works.

dublin dispute

2011-08-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

Dublin Dr. Pepper no more?

piece on Adam & Eve

2011-08-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Interesting piece on NPR.

Kwame has a church

2011-07-31T05:57:00.001-07:00

This from our friend Kwame Acheampong in Ghana:

Hi brethren in Christ,

I am happy to announce to you that the church has called me to be their pastor effective this Monday. Glory to God in the highest. Although there are a lot of challenges yet I am hopeful that the Lord will do HIS own thing through me to bring the needed change. Thanks for your prayers.

Book review: Radical

2011-07-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes for this book. Platt is the pastor of a SBC mega-church in Birmingham, AL. Reviews I had read his book shortly after its publication implied that this book was a clarion call to a consumption oriented Americanized Christian culture, akin to Luther nailing his theses to the door at Wittenberg.

I can't blame Platt for my disappointment. Rather than a call to devotional sacrifice and a reorienting of one's entire life, it seemed like the author suddenly found some previously overlooked pages in the Gospels. I was struck by the author's incredulity that Jesus actually had things to say about the poor and how disciples should react to them. Interspersed with exegesis of these new found passages were anecdotes about Platt's many mission trips overseas. All well and good but i have to reject any notion that we rich believers need to go rescue poor believers. It might be the other way around.

As well, the idea of devotional sacrifice seemed dumbed down. The relevant image from the author was the removal of pew cushions from their sanctuary.

I expected more and perhaps that says more about my own needs than the author's. He wrote what he wrote. Perhaps what was left unwritten needs another author to voice it.

a word from Lebanon

2011-07-28T07:17:00.001-07:00

I received the following from Brent Hamoud who administers Kids Alive Lebanon in Beirut. Kids Alive hosted Calvary's Lebanon trip earlier in July.

Dear Pastor Coston and Mallory,

On behalf of all the children and staff at Kids Alive Lebanon I want to extend a grateful thank you the Calvary Church. We were greatly blessed this month to have members of your church join our family for a short while. This was a significant thing for us since it has been decades since a we’ve hosted a volunteer team from the U.S. so the church did something a bit groundbreaking!

Everyone was very encouraged and impressed by the team. They were outstanding individuals who worked very well together as a group. Each one had gifts and abilities that they put to effective use. I was personally impressed by the willingness to jump in and participate. Nothing was ever quite organized or prepared, yet they easily caught the flow of the ministry and did their part comfortably. Most important was the teams heart for the boys. They loved well and reflected Christ’s character to our boys. I know they boys will hold on to the experience well into the future.

Lebanon presented a fair host of challenges from strange foods and bacteria, hot summer weather without air conditioning, fatigue and jet lag, and difficult boys routinely test boundaries and patience among other things. Then there was the personal loss for Les and Lanna that added stress to already stressful circumstances. Through it all they all were troopers, enduring through challenges with perseverance and a positive attitude. As the staff member responsible for the team I was extremely relieved to experience the graciousness and kindness of the members. They put so little demands on me. It was a true pleasure to serve them as they served us. Our only complaint is that they only stayed for one week, we would have loved two!

I appreciate the role you and the entire Calvary family played in this mission trip. We acknowledge it was an extension of your church’s ministry and we are thankful for the support and fellowship of our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. Clearly God’s hand has directed this all. I remember sitting last summer with Tim and Sheila dreaming about the possibility, and this summer we experienced it in a way that superseded our expectations.

We are very greatly for the Calvary’s faithfulness to answer God’s call to missions and partnership with the global church. We will pray that God continues to direct your ministries local and global, and we will hope that your partnership with Lebanon continues into the future.

Perhaps you may able to join us someday too! Inshallah (God willing!).

Salaam Aliekum

(Peace be Upon you)

Brent Hamoud

public prayer

2011-07-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

Posted without comment:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/video/pastor-joe-nelms-wild-nascar-prayer-14159123

churches and mental health

2011-07-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

Great piece from a friend, and one that convicted this pastor.

baptist parking

2011-07-22T13:30:00.001-07:00

Posted without comment:

a word from the Reverend James Kwame Acheampong

2011-07-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Ghana. I thank the Lord that He has been ordering my steps every hour and moment to bring me to a successful end in His ministry. A local church in an area that divides the Christian South and the Muslim North in Ghana wants me to be their minister. As their tradition demands I have to go there and have a revival service with them before the congregation will assess me and cast their vote. I will finish a week’s program by tomorrow. The church was started by the Nigerian migrants but when they left Ghana the indigenous people (Gh Baptists) took over and brought it under Ghana Baptist Convention. I have also been organizing seminars and revivals for other Baptist churches in Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo region. I visited a poor Muslim community in the north with my friend from Waco (Chris)with an intention of bringing the women together to form a coops to run an income generating venture as a way of helping them to come out of the poverty. I am thinking of establishing a small GARI (made from cassava) processing plant to process raw cassava into gari which can easily be exported to other urban centers and cities for sale. This can indeed turn their lives around for good. Counting on your prayers. God be with you all. Thanks.

Below shows some of my family pics and where I stay currently.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1051253849417.2009600.1467883552

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2232152131136&set=a.1051253849417.2009600.1467883552&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2074127260613&set=a.2074101339965.2129887.1467883552&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2232158611298&set=a.1051253849417.2009600.1467883552&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2232156371242&set=a.1051253849417.2009600.1467883552&type=1&theater

Kwame

1 469 619 6544

"All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke -

"When you want change, first you have to say what's wrong."

- John Geer -

North Waco Redevelopment update

2011-07-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

From Jimmy Dorrell of Mission Waco:

North Waco “Near Northside” Area Master Plan Moves On

“Near Northside Redevelopment Master Plan” adopted
Earlier today, Mr. Michael Bennett, CEO of Gideon-Toal in Ft. Worth, presented to the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce the recently completed “Near Northside Master Plan.” The plan is the result of over a year of work by these consultants, local community leaders, and public meetings in North Waco to revitalize the area, generally bounded by N. 18th and the Brazos River and W. Waco Drive and Herring Ave. It was primarily funded by local stakeholders in the North Waco area, as well as the City, Chamber and local businesses. The plan shows both assets and challenges, including the growing positive synergy of numerous activities occurring in the N. 15th/Colcord Ave area, access to the Brazos River, as well as excessive vacant property and zoning inconsistencies.

Greater Chamber of Commerce approves resolution affirming plan
The Waco Chamber unanimously passed the attached resolution, including both the process and content, of the Near Northside plan as a part of the Downtown Development project, as well as affirming the City’s role is getting control of Parkside Villages for redevelopment. The recent negotiations with H.U.D. gives the City of Waco the right to demolish existing abandoned apartments, and create multi-use property and mixed income housing. With the adopted Master Plan in place, this component of the strategy is a huge success.

City of Waco also engages in ways to embrace North Waco revitalization
Bennett also recently presented the same content in June to the Waco City Council, with dialogue from Council regarding design overlays, zoning, challenges, and impact. District IV Council member, Toni Herbert, has been advocating for improvements in the historic neighborhood for years, as well as Rick Allen.

Phase II...Implementation of Strategies
With an approved plan in place, stakeholders will now begin the implementation phase of the various strategies within the document. Efforts to find local “champions” to promote economic and community development in the area is critical, as well as encouraging local investment and incentives.

Change is already happening!
Currently the entire corner of N. 15th and Colcord is under construction with a newly designed street which helps control speeds and makes the pedestrian traffic safer for children in the nearby school. New lighting, planter boxes, and even outside eating will be in place by mid-August. Construction of Family Health Center’s new two-story building is nearing completion. New and renovated housing has been occurring in the area for several years by Habitat for Humanity, Waco CDC, and NeighborWorks. The area has become popular because of its diversity with several residents desiring a blended environment. The two neighborhood schools, West Ave and Brook Ave, continue to make significant academic progres. Both D’s Mediterranean Grill, Beatniks, North Waco Tropical Fish and Mission Waco’s “World Cup Café” have been drawing significant customers. The remodeled Jubilee Theatre had a very successful first season last year and currently has numerous requests for rentals including events such as talent shows, cultural dance, social justice films, meetings, and musical presentations. Last year’s “Better Block Project” and Jubilee Music Festival was attended by hundreds of families from all around the city filling the streets. (Sat, Oct 9 this year!).

Join us!
If you are interested in knowing more about the area and how you can get involved, send us an email.

Off we go

2011-07-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Calvary's team to Lebanon leaves tomorrow at 7am. The China team will leave Friday afternoon. Keep them all in your prayers.

You can follow their adventures and ministry at the following blogs:

http://www.lebanoninjuly.blogspot.com/

http://www.abridgetochina.org/

book review: The Big Short

2011-07-02T10:39:00.001-07:00

This served as light reading while in San Diego last month. Lewis was a bond trader for a time with Salomon Brothers in 80's. He knows the financial world. Since leaving that life, he has become a successful author of a number of books.

He turned his attention and acumen to the financial collapse that began a few years ago asking who knew what and when did they know it. He manages to make credit default swaps and colateralized debt obligations somewhat understandable, all the while illustrating that the folks using and selling these devices a few years ago didn't themselves have a clue what they were doing. They also didn't care as long as they made money quickly.

During the tour of Wall Street players, we learn that the push to increase homeownership and make it accessible to everyone was really a get-rich scheme for financial houses. They offered folks with little or no credit and fewer assets outrageous amounts of money with which to buy homes (for instance, a seasonal produce picker who made $14,000/year qualified for a loan of $750,000 for a house in CA). This 1)inflated home prices, 2)made the lenders money through fees and 3)almost bankrupted the country when the whole thing fell apart. As lending standards were relaxed--and our federal government bears blame for this too (in a non-partisan way as this happened under D's and R's)--loans went to folks unable to pay those loans back. The loans usually started with very low rates that were manageable; but by years 3-5, those rates exploded upward thus resulting in defaults. This stopped the upward ascent of home prices, increased vacant housing inventory and has depressed the housing market. The bubble burst in a big way.

Why didn't the financial services industry foresee the defaults? There are a couple of reasons. They were consumed by their consumption of loan fees. These folks made millions personally and billions professionally by selling loans. The short term gain kept them from recognizing the long term cost.

Also, they foolishly expected housing prices to continue climbing, thus enabling overburdened mortgage holders to acquire home equity loans to pay back the original loan, continuing a trend ad infinitum. But housing prices increased at a rate far outpacing wage growth. An economist will tell you that this model just doesn't work over time.

Third, the financial devices created to generate short-term profits (for financial service employees and their employers) were so complex and new that no one, from the crafters to the seller to the buyers to the CEO's, knew what they were, how they worked or their potential for crashing.

Lewis does a good job in telling stories of folks who did recognize the coming storm. While these folks made a boatload betting on the coming crash, they also sought to raise the warning flag that danger was fast approaching. Those garnering commission fees and looking at fat bottom lines, while holding in the shadows toxic assets, did not pay attention.

It's an interesting read and allows one to see the societal ramifications of what some on Wall Street did to Main Streets everywhere. The disappointing aspect to the tale is that those who caused this mess got paid and continue to make boatloads of money while those suffer are ordinary citizens. In the end, for the average person Wall St. is no better than a casino. The odds are always in favor of Wall Street, its employees and institutions.

Deacons

2011-06-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

Calvary is blessed to have several interns this summer through Truett and CBF. As part of that training, I've had Kari Tingle, Michael Gelly and Blake Herridge attend as many lay teams as possible.

They attended the Deacons meeting on Sunday and Kari offered the following reflections on that:

I enjoyed being a part of the Deacon meeting. I honestly kind of expected it to be boring and was pleasantly surprised when it was so relaxed and enjoyable. I didn't realize that different members were responsible for different areas of ministry within the church. I know that deacon means servant, but I guess I had always imagined that the deacons were authority holders - servant being less of the idea behind the deacon. The area updates showed me that I really had the wrong impression about what the deacons do. And, I know Calvary doesn't have a problem with women in ministry, and after attending that meeting I was left wondering why any church would insist that women could not serve in that capacity. It baffles me. (Maybe women in ministry is something we could discuss in our meetings? I've still got some questions.)

I also found myself getting really nervous when you brought up the situation with [a member in distress]. We had discussed it in our meeting and were on the same page about how to respond, but I wasn't sure how the deacons would react. I was almost in tears when Kevin Tankersley, Todd Becker, and others were so adamant about providing her with financial assistance. And was overjoyed when I saw that their support didn't stop at saying yes: Kevin Tippen offered to help work out financial things and others provided ideas for how we could realistically come together to help her. For me, it was a moment where I appreciated even more being a member of a church who takes seriously the call to be the kingdom, even when it looks difficult.

The deacon meeting didn't fit what I had assumed, but I was encouraged by what I saw. I'm not sure why, but I'd always imagined them as tense meetings where people leave frustrated or unhappy. This was not one of those times. I'm sure that the deacon meetings don't always go smoothly, but I think this was a great first exposure, and it made me realize that there's a lot of ministry that happens at Calvary that I'm not really aware of. And, though I think it's important to encourage those serving, it's also important that things are done behind the scenes - ministry doesn't always have to be in front of others. (I'd do well to remember that myself.)

High praise for our Deacons!

Son Dance

2011-06-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Calvary held its first showing in the Son Dance: Faith in Film Series last Sunday. We had around 30 folks who stayed late into the night to discuss the movie and how it relates to redemption and salvation.

The evening was by all accounts successful. We did have some technological difficulties however. We didn't have a good connection from the computer, and thus the movie sound, to the amplifier. This hindered us from having sound going to the speakers, at least for a while. Because we spent time working to get this corrected, the PC battery died just before the end of the movie. However, we held a dry run on Wed and got everything properly coordinated, plugged and linked.

Tomorrow, we will watch The Spitfire Grill at 5pm. Jon Singletary will lead facilitate discussion immediately thereafter. Please join us as this movies offers much fodder on atonement and how we can think of sacrifice.

book reviews return

2011-06-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

I have neglected to include book reviews over the past few months. I have read, a great deal, but have not posted notes from those readings. Lacking any future certitude, please allow me to review books I read on vacation while in San Diego.

Our first installment covers a look at Wall Street during the 1980's: Michael Lewis' Liar's Poker. Lewis was hired by Salomon Brothers to work in their London brokerage office. The author adequately explains what he did and how he felt about it [more on this further down]. He superbly lays out the dominant, greedy culture of Wall Street during this decade, detailing its roots under Paul Volcker's Federal Reserve watch into rabid bond trading.

There is a lot of technical financial stuff; Lewis makes it accessible, all the while noting that most of the folks who designed the stuff didn't know how it worked either. Neither did the regulators.

The author spends a fair number of pages detailing his own catharsis, going from someone who benefited and supported a system of excess to someone who ultimately rejected it. He witnessed a culture change within the financial system. It ceased to be about the customers and fiduciary trust with their brokers to making profits for the broker houses.

It's a fascinating read. It also serves as a great primer to his financial follow-up The Big Short [a review of which will follow shortly].

40th anniversary D Day speech

2011-06-06T05:46:00.001-07:00

by President Ronald Reagan can be found here.

san diego marathon

2011-06-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I didn't accomplish my goal of a sub-4:00:00 marathon. Rather, it was a 4:25:00 marathon. My split was under 2 hours and at 19 miles I was on pace. Then I fell apart and missed my mark. I did finish and got a medal (like a 10lb medal). And, at present, I feel no need to ever run 26.2 again.

Top 7 signs seen today (in order that I saw them):
1. You're almost there. Only 26 miles to go. [This was from two guys just off the start line. It was funny at the time.]
2. Worst. Parade. Ever.
3. I thought this was a Justin Bieber concert.
4. Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much assphalt.
5. Jesus Christ died for sinners. [And we got some street preaching to boot.]
6. I thought you said it was 2.62 miles.
7. If you can read this, I'm faster than you. [Worn by a runner.]

humility

2011-06-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

The Men's breakfast, Friday mornings at 7am at the old Hillcrest Hospital cafeteria, roundtables sermon scriptures as a matter of course. This morning, Trevor Brown, our youth minister, led us in a discussion of Matthew 11:28-30. He will preach from this text on Sunday.

Amongst other topics, we talked about what it meant to be humble. It is not synonymous with being a doormat nor is it akin to a self-serving martyrdom complex. It means being really grounded in one's identity and that foundation provides one with the self confidence to serve others and work towards the interests of others. Using Matthew 11, I argue that true humility can come upon us only when Christ frees us from the bonds of egotism.

Along these lines, though with that critical transcendent element, David Brooks submits the following [thanks to Ralph Cooper for dispersing this piece].

memorial day

2011-05-28T07:22:00.001-07:00

Interesting read here on American churches and American patriotism, using Memorial Day as a context.

I had some conversation almost a year ago with a [now former] Calvary member. She was quite perturbed that our worship on July 4, 2010, did not include patriotic elements. It didn't and should not have and won't in the future.

I appreciate our freedoms and those who serve to protect them, and those sacrificed for them. One of those freedoms is to worship without civic or nationalist or other encumbrances. As long as I have anything to say about it, we will use that freedom on Sunday mornings.

zumba

2011-05-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Kay Dunlap sent this through Sarah Miller.

Our Zumba ministry has really taken off, thanks in large part to Sarah and Mallory Homeyer's persistence. We are now offering it 2x a week: Tues nights at 6 and Thursday nights at 7:30. Last night, Thursday, they had over 70 adults including 4 men.

It is a ministry, not just exercise. There's prayer request sharing and a devotional at each occasion. This may seem an unorthodox mission but we are reaching out to folks in our Sanger-Heights community.

Let's shake our hips for Jesu...or at least continue to support our Zumba ministry.

may 22 and still here

2011-05-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

Most folks by now have heard of Harold Camping's prediction that the Rapture would take place on May 21. It didn't obviously.

I read a story earlier in the week about the formulations Camping went through to get to May 21, 2011 as the Rapture date. Here's a piece from:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/149511/20110521/may-21st-doomsday-end-of-the-world-may-21st-doomsday-2011-harold-camping-apocalypse-earthquake-new-z.htm

How he does make this superhuman finding is interesting: In the Bible, it is said that Noah had been given 7 days to prepare for the flood. He was alerted that the flood will wipe out anyone and everyone who was not on board his vessel, animals and human beings included.

Likewise, Camping says the '7-day warning notice' has been in place and he has actually decoded it precisely. Camping says though, that instead of a 7-day warning, it's really been a 7,000-year-warning.

"Seven thousand years after 4990 B.C. (the year of the Flood) is the year 2011 A.D. (our calendar)," he says in his website. "4990 + 2011 – 1 = 7,000," he calculates. "One year must be subtracted in going from an Old Testament B.C. calendar date to a New Testament A.D. calendar date because the calendar does not have a year zero."

And here's how he arrived exactly at the date: 'Amazingly, May 21, 2011 is the 17th day of the 2nd month of the Biblical calendar of our day. Remember, the flood waters also began on the 17th day of the 2nd month, in the year 4990 B.C."

I am amazed and disappointed at so simple a calculation. The flood, really?! I had at least assumed that he would have a complex arithmetic incorporating all kinds of verses from Matthew and 1 Peter and Revelation as well as some OT sprinkled in. This sophomoric math is sad.

What's sadder by far is that he duped a lot of people who quit jobs and sold their possessions and made no plans for today with something so blatantly false.

We may hope that those folks who didn't expect to be here today will turn toward their faith in Jesus, instead of rejecting Him. We may hope that Camping can focus on living for Christ here and now, and not let the future comsume him.

Plans for N Waco

2011-05-16T13:42:00.001-07:00

I was invited last Thursday to attend a presentation on some plans for the Colcord corridor. Mission Waco, the City of Waco and a few others hired Gideon Tool to develop some plans and implementations strategies. The May 12 meeting was the final presentation of that work.

Here's a quick rundown of the Near Northside Master Plan [with the caveat that it has not received official approval from any single entity--it's a great place to begin conversation though].

Goals/vision for this area encompassing Bosque to Herring and 15th to the River: diversity, stability, safety/perception of safety, business viability, beautification and infrastructure improvement, identifying economic development and funding, practical plan w/clear goals and steps.

Sidenotes: zoning for this region does not match what is presently there. The area is a good location with transportation access, adjacent to the River and Cameron Park. There are lots of vacant lots--this is both a challenge and an opportunity. City of Waco [CoW] does not get the ratables from this area that it could. Adding homes and more middle class will help the City too.

They divided the region into 3 areas. The first is the Colcord catalyst area (15th - 10th). They hope for streetscape improvement, increasing pedestrian walking, and more mixed use (retail and residential using same building). Cf. Magnolia Ave in Fort Worth.
The second area is the Parkside catalyst (1oth to 6th). The plans are to redevelop the Parkside Village apartments into mixed use and single family. Promote infill development. Initiate park improvements--it's good land but needs more things to do at Dewey Park.
The third area is the Brazos River catalyst (6th to the River). Make a pedestrian walkway/path to the water. Do streetscape improvements as much as possible and infill development.

Implementation strategies: 1)hire someone to advocate/coordinate--a development director. Businesses could help fund this along with the Downtown Development Corp. This person could establish a Near Northside non-profit within 3 years. 2)revise zoning to grow according to the vision. Incorporate urban design standards. 3)Improve pedestrian connections to leverage Cameron Park trails and the water. 4)Community garden. 5)Promote city incentives (tax abatements and $100 vacant lots) on spots you want to redevelop first. 6)Work with the Downtown Development Corp as it gets formed. 7)Control redevelopment of Parkside Village apts. HUD's bid package will be favorable: 150 units, multi-use allowed, developer will have to demolish and rebuild on site. 8)Detail economic development strategy; the County will not help or provide incentives by the way. 9)Marketing campaign to businesses and new residents. 10)Set aside vacant land on flood plain to create linear park. This is a long-term goal. 11)Hold 2-3 community events a year, around 15th and Colcord, to draw new folks to the area.

Question & Answer:
Most streetscape improvements will be shaped concrete and sidewalks. This is already underway at 15th & Colcord and should be finished by the summer. It includes brick pavers, landscaping and street lights.

Can start once you get that key person. That won't happen until the Downtown Development Corp begins. It's a group effort until then.

This neighborhood is largest area within Greater Downtown area. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Waco.

financial meltdown

2011-05-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

I've linked below to an NPR "This American Life" episode on the financial crisis and how it started and accelerated so quickly. The group that did the story just won a Pulitzer for their work. This is the best explanation this non-MBAer has heard.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/405/inside-job

overdue

2011-05-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

This post is much delayed. I had a computer crash almost two weeks ago and am only now getting back up to speed.

I must also admit that writing a blog no longer comes naturally to me. When I was on city council in NJ, I write a daily blog for over three years. I haven't counted the total pages but it is ridiculous. Perhaps my fingers are tired.

However, blogs are for commentary and there is much upon which to comment. Julie and I were not in NJ on September 11, 2001. We were celebrating my father's retirement, cruising through Alaska's inner passage with Mom, Dad, my sister and her husband. Needless to say, the cruise went from one of wonderment and merry to one of grave concern and anxiety. We actually were on one of the first flights within the US, and it got us to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

We did not have any church members who died on Sept 11. I did know a woman on flight 93. She was an advocate for the blind, on her way to attend a conference about same in Las Vegas. We had met a few times as our work with Habitat overlapped. Our county lost a lot of folks though.

So, I didn't shed a tear learning that Bin Laden had been killed. I also didn't take to the streets and begin celebrating.

Julie and I attended a denominational gathering not long after 9/11. I remember being shocked by a pastor from California who advocated bombing most of the Middle East, under the guise that he lived near Los Angeles thus putting his children in jeopardy from a terrorist attack. The vivid disconnect between real world events (and dangers) and his professed faith in Jesus Christ--who promises to provide all things in this world and the next--shocked me. It was also a primer for many other similar "confessions."

Realclearreligion had an article on Bin Laden in Hell--the title was catchy but it was more about Islamic political-theocracy than theology. I believe there is a Hell and I believe Bin Laden is there. But I still don't feel like celebrating.

peeps

2011-04-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

I can't say that I like to eat peeps but I do admire their spongy nature and seemingly imperviousness. If you feel similarly, please check out the link below: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/peeps-show-v/2011/04/11/AF3NYHSD_gallery.html#photo=5

faith and the inner city

2011-04-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Interesting piece: http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/04/05/life-beyond-blue-faith-and-the-inner-city/

conversation on worship #3

2011-03-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Calvary continued its ongoing conversation on the nature of worship per se and worship at Calvary this past Sunday. Dr. Terry York once again led us. Below are my notes.

Worship Conversation #3, Calvary, 3/27/11, Dr. Terry York.

Style & Application

Baptists have not talked about worship style for long, though it may seem much longer. City wide revivals (Sunday & Graham) got folks to ask why Sunday was not like Mon – Thurs. Also, in civil rights era new ideas arose. Sun night services were a response to these tendencies.

Worship is more than musical style. Preaching style, how scripture is read, congregational participation all impacts worship. When talking about changing styles, are we just talking about changing music?

Some worship styles don’t want silence. Adding more silence can scare people more than changing music. Radio and TV put in soundtracks; later churches did too. They call this seamless worship.

Worship style is not goal or tool, it is discovery: our voice, identity, personality. Worship can’t drive global or evangelical or missional endeavors; worship comes out of who we are. We must develop discerning ear to see what God is telling us through the congregation. God articulates through our worship.

God speaks in ways other than through the pulpit. No church has ever said no new songs; some churches say not those new songs.

York had us engage in group discussion: two theses: worship is not just music; worship is not a tool/goal.

Application

When do we decide to change things? How do we change? When do we know when it’s over? Answer these on front end. Not all worship problems are solved at 11:00am on Sunday and not all discussions on worship are discussions on worship.

Is our current worship style who we are? Getting close counts. Why do we do what we do? What development of our voice can there be? Is there more work to be done? Is transformation taking place? Hard part is how to measure that. York says we only know when we see it.

Keep making in-flight adjustments. Don’t create problems to have something to fix.

Work in application needs to further development of church voice. How to gauge that?

Communication from leadership as to why/application matters.

pole dancing for Jesus

2011-03-22T14:46:00.001-07:00

Posted without comment:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/hallelujah-christians-pole-dance-jesus-texas/story?id=13194891

truett faculty fight club

2011-03-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

I am sworn to secrecy as to my source for this but in the interest of knowing our fellow parishioners better, I must recommend the following link. It will take a few minutes to load so be patient, but it is well worth the wait.

http://edge.baylor.edu/media/128879/128879_ipod.m4v

evans for sat

2011-03-12T13:05:00.001-08:00

March 12, 2011, Saturday in Shanghai

Dear Friends and Family,

This is our last full day in Shanghai. At one point in the week when we were a little stressed we were wishing that we had planned to come home right after Steve finished teaching. Today we’re glad we had the chance to catch our breath and play tourist for a day.

We left the hotel about 10:00 and got a cab down to the “Bund,” the area of buildings built in the late 19^th and early 20^th century by foreign investors in China. The Bund borders the waterway that makes possible the fact that this is a deep harbor port, though not really on the sea. It has an extensive promenade that afford perfect viewing of the port activity. Across the waterway one can see exotically shaped buildings, several skyscrapers which were new since we were here in 2006. We went to this area to nail down a restaurant for dinner. It was also to this area that we came on Wednesday night to “M” on the Bund, a restaurant that we had been to when we were here in 2006 that boasts one of the best views of the waterway and the best service in town. It met all of our expectations. But we wanted to do something else, so we were relying on our Frommer’s guide and it also didn’t disappoint. We found a 7^th floor restaurant in a nearby building overlooking the waterway for brunch. We have had a taste for real breakfast food all week and we were able to get some eggs benedict there that were fabulous. In the same building is the restaurant that is purported to be the best in Shanghai. We went in to see the menu and realized that it would be about $100 per person. A little steep. But at the same time we found that their bar area hosted an “early bird” dinner special for about $35 for 3 courses. The view wasn’t quite as spectacular, but with the same chef and one third the money, we decided to make a reservation.

Then we started walking. We walked over territory that we thought we had treaded before, headed for the People’s Park. As we got closer the density of humanity increased. It’s just hard to describe the press of people on the sidewalks. Getting to the People’s Park was a great relief because there were many less people there. We had walked over a mile so we sat down and made a plan for the rest of the day. The first choice was to go to the Shanghai museum. It’s free and said to be one of the best 3 museums in China. The best part as far as we were concerned was that they had a good bit of information about each of the exhibits posted in English. It is a four floor building that has four exhibit rooms on each floor. The center has a spectacular stairway with gilded wrought iron work lining the stairs. Fortunately there were escalators as well. We decided to see just the fourth floor where there were exhibits of furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties along with a history of currency that included the fascinating exhibit of money that was used on the ancient Silk Road.

It was a lovely day, about 65 degrees, and we wanted to be outside, so we headed to the French Concession, an area of very interesting old buildings that are mixed with new that has become an “in” spot for restaurants and shopping. Curiously, in amongst the old buildings is the place where the Communist party had its first meeting in the 1920’s. There’s a museum there that we had visited before that extols all of the virtues of the Communist takeover that sits alongside these new glitzy shopping areas of huge capitalist expansion. On our way there we walked through one park that was the chosen spot for two different brides to be photographed. Their dresses were something else—very princess like and totally white, which is interesting since the traditional Chinese wedding dress is red. We sat down in one of the many open air cafes to have mid afternoon coffee and watch the world go by. There were lots more (ok, not a lot, but more) westerners there than in the area around Fudan University where we have been all week.

We then decided to try and find an area of art studios and restaurants that were described as the Shanghai equivalent of New York’s Soho district. It took some doing, but we managed to get there and enjoy it with about 2,000 other Chinese tourists. On the way back we took in Fu Xing Park which had a ton of really cool stuff for little kids. At one point there was a little pond on which there were huge balloon type conveyances that had a hollowed out center. Little children, and I mean little ones, were inside of these bubbles and propelled themselves over the water by running inside the bubble. Ok. That may not be very precise, but they kids were having a ball. Further on there were amusement kinds of rides and at the north part of the park there was an oval on which a little older kids were roller blading. Oh, yes, and on the other side there was a great group of older couples doing a waltz to recorded music. Lots of fun for a Saturday afternoon.

So everything thus far had gone very smoothly, and we thought it was time to get back to the Bund for dinner. We were very far from the Bund then, so we thought a taxi was in order. Oh my goodness. This was the moment of terror for the day. First of all getting a taxi was a problem. Everyone else had the idea at the same time. When we finally found one we gave the driver the address in Chinese characters which we had used before. He started out in the opposite direction of where we were supposed to go. We waited for several blocks thinking he knew a quicker way over more traveled streets to go, but after five minutes and going in the absolutely opposite direction of the way we knew we should be going, we both just yelled and Steve pointed to the left. We then gave him the note with the Chinese characters again, and he seemed to get it, though we couldn’t be sure. With no Chinese at all, we were at the total mercy of the driver, and he could have taken us to outer Mongolia. But once he knew that we knew we were going wrong, he seemed to get back on course. Still, I was very relieved to get out of that taxi where we knew we should be.

Dinner was exquisite. Steve had the set menu of three courses—pea soup, red snapper and chocolate cake for dessert. I order the snapper but with an asparagus salad to start. We had a lovely view of the waterway and lingered for more than 2 hours over dinner. We had a similar taxi experience on the way home with the driver going in the opposite direction of the way we were supposed to go as we started out, but once again, once we protested he seemed to get it right. I’m glad we just have one more taxi ride and that’s to the airport. You’d think that they could get that right.

So we’ve done some packing and are relaxing now. Tomorrow our host will come and take us to lunch before we go to the airport. We’ve been upgraded to business class on the way home and we are ever so grateful for that. We should be able to sleep some and arrive in Chicago Sunday night without too much trouble! Right now we are also grateful that our travel does not take us through Japan. We are finally seeing images of what happened there on Chinese TV.

We’ll be on our way home shortly. Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. We are looking forward to home and are very thankful for your prayers.

Love, jan

evans latest update

2011-03-12T12:59:00.001-08:00

March 11, 2011, Friday from Shanghai

Dear Ones,

This day dawned with possibility. Fortunately for me, it was all on Steve’s shoulders. I slept wonderfully Thursday night. Steve slept fitfully, imagining scenarios and answering hypothetical questions. We had our now well planned out breakfast of Cheerios, yoghurt, orange juice and coffee, gotten from a combination of stores that are open before 8:00. We were ready to go to the university by 9:00.

In significant contrast to my supposed lectured yesterday, there was a line up of folks waiting for the room to open up for Steve’s lecture on Kierkegaard’s critique of modern philosophy. By the time we were all assembled there were about 15 students and 2 faculty members there. I have never seen Steve better. He was passionate and clear. He managed to articulate the essence of the gospel while describing Kierkegaard’s view of epistemology and ethics. The questions were from many different angles. I also have never seen the breadth and depth of Steve’s philosophical knowledge displayed. (Ok, I’m a little OTT in my estimation of things, but, hey, I am his wife!) He showed his understanding in service of the truth he was conveying. I was so proud of him!

We were hosted for lunch at another of these Chinese restaurants where the biggest challenge is ordering your meal. It’s one thing if the host just takes it into his or her hands, it’s another if you are invited to make a judgment about all those different possibilities pictured in living color in the menu. This time our host was a woman, and I was more comfortable being forceful in my wants. We had a nice combination of beef and shrimp dishes with a soup that was very tasty. The chicken we had as an appetizer could have been kept in the kitchen. It was more bone than meat to eat. But never mind. We had a delightful garden to look at and very lovely company with our faculty host.,

The big event of the day, however, was Steve’s culminating seminar on the basis for morality. He had worked all week to represent various views, but today was the day to give the group his view that the ground of morality is God—and divine commands. He had such a diverse group to talk to. He had questions from the atheists about how this could possibly work for someone who didn’t believe in God to a young woman who was clearly a seeker who wanted to know how he responded to Romans 1. In all it was a perfect venue to speak the truth in grace, and he and I are most grateful for the chance to be in this place at this time. Only God knows what fruit will come of this labor.

So tonight we were in the mood to celebrate and do something special for dinner. We invested in the cab ride to get to an Italian restaurant in the French concession that had been recommended in our guidebook. When you get into a cab with just an address (written in Chinese characters for assurance) you do take your life into your hands. But all went well, and we arrived at the restaurant with little delay and so enjoyed our leisurely dinner.

Tomorrow we get to be totally tourists. Thanks so much for reading through all of this. We continue to be grateful for your prayers.

Love, jan

proof

2011-03-10T18:31:00.001-08:00

While I prefer the traditional proofs for God's existence (cosmological, ontological and teleological), the piece at the link below makes for interesting reading.

The rub with the proofs is that they may suggest a god, but they cannot detail who that God is.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-adam-jacobs/a-reasonable-argument-for_b_831185.html

evans update #4

2011-03-10T09:36:00.001-08:00

Thursday, March 10, 2011 Shanghai

Dear Family and Friends,

I woke up many times in the night, but the one at 4:00 am had me worrying a lot about my lecture today. Would I be able to answer questions adequately? Was my talk too religious? I was beginning to wish that they had never arranged the lecture, but I kept assuring myself that God was in control and would be with me.

So we got up and got showers before we went out to the KFC for our egg/burger breakfast. The best part of KFC is watching the crowd outside dance. The men are older than the women. One comes dressed to the 9’s in red blazer, vest and tie. Another is so old that he and his partner just hold hands and just shuffle their feet. I love it. This group is distinct from the tai chi group down the mall.

I worked on my paper, marking smooth transitions until 9:30. Then I demanded that we leave, even though it only takes 10 minutes to get to the university and we knew exactly where we were going. We arrived very early. No one arrived before 9:58. Xiang Huang was the philosophy faculty member assigned to chair the session and take us to lunch. The door to the room was not open so he managed to find the secretary to make that happen. It was a gorgeous room with an oval mahogany table and more rectangular tables on the edges for an overflow crowd. There was no need. By 10:15 it was clear that no one was coming to my lecture. I was disappointed, for sure. I had worked like mad on the translations of the quotes and then at the last minute adding a 3 page introduction to Unamuno who was probably unknown to the audience. It was my chance to learn a lesson in humility and be gracious. Our chair, Xiang, was very chagrined that no one came. He was very interested in the talk, even though he is a philosopher of science and technology, because he lived and worked in Mexico for 16 years and had read Unamuno under the mentorship of Mexican friends who nonetheless had little patience for Unamuno’s religiosity, having imbued Ortega y Gasset’s attitude toward Unamuno entirely. We chatted for more than a half hour and then determined that it was a losing cause. We agreed to meet for lunch at noon.

Xiang plied us with a hundred questions at lunch. I had given him my paper and a copy of my book. We first talked about Kierkegaard and Unamuno—more specifically Kierkegaard and San Manuel Bueno, mártir, which he had read a long time ago. We talked about everything from Spanish history in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century to evolution, evolutionary ethics and Jorge Luis Borges. He is incredibly well read for a philosopher of science! He told me that he regretted the fact that no one came to my lecture but he knew the chair of the Spanish literature department at Beijing University and he would be contacting him on my behalf. He was sure that they would want me to lecture there. Lunch was the usual Chinese affair of multiple dishes, from fish to veggies and pork. Most were edible (the tiny fish was only bones, no flesh) but we were given grace to use a knife and fork instead of chopsticks.

We found out later that there were at least a couple of Steve’s present students who had wanted to come to my lecture but whose schedules prohibited it. I’m going to believe that the lack of attendance was just poor scheduling and the fact that no one is interested in Spanish anything here. I was tempted to think in conspiratorial terms about the fact that I had sent my paper ahead of time to our host and I had worried that he would find the themes too religious for Chinese tastes. I will never know, but he said that he had just been overly busy the day before and had not even opened the email that had my text.

Steve will speak at the same time tomorrow morning. He has worked very hard to develop a brand new paper for this audience, which he sent to be duplicated this afternoon. We’ll see if he has anyone to listen. Our host assures him that there will be much more interest in Kierkegaard and in Unamuno.

This afternoon I took some time to go shopping while Steve taught. I’m amazed at the prices of things--$75 for a basic blouse, $150 for a simple skirt. It seems to us that there are so many people that have menial jobs that can’t pay much. Who buys this stuff? I also spent some time looking for a place for us to have supper. We could have tried to get another taxi out of the university area, but that’s relatively expensive and time consuming, so I was determined to find a restaurant where we could eat something other than Chinese in pleasant surroundings. I found a restaurant called the Bullfighter Steak House that had beef tenderloin or lamb chops for 98 RMB, about $17. The beef was ok, but not HEB good. The lamb was tasty but full of a lot of gristle. The saving grace was that it wasn’t expensive and we could walk there.

So now we wait to see if folks will show up for Steve’s extra lecture tomorrow. After his afternoon seminar he will be completely done and we will look for a nice restaurant in which to celebrate. WE hadn’t decided entirely what we will do with Saturday. We’re both wishing that we had planned to go home, but we can’t change the reservations now, so we need to enjoy.

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf. They certainly were with me this morning as we dealt with an awkward situation.

Love, Jan

evans update #3

2011-03-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Shanghai

Dear Ones,

We had hoped to get away from the university area this morning and do some sight seeing, but we both felt we needed to accomplish some significant tasks before we could go and play. Steve had been writing the outlines for his lectures on Thursday and Friday in his head all night. He’s been preparing a hand out for each class that has the basic outlines of what he will say. I needed to work on my lecture which I will give tomorrow. We had gotten a request from our host for the full papers to be copied ahead of time for the students and those in attendance. I had an electronic copy of mine but Steve didn’t of his. We did have to think for a moment if what our host wanted was just to see what we were going to say to make sure it was politically correct.

In any case, after a breakfast in our room with the good Cheerios from Walmart and oj from the local equivalent of 7-11, we were ready to work. At about 11 we went out for our first and maybe only run of our time here. Last evening, when we were struggling with the crowds, I couldn’t imagine trying to run here. We did find a track, so this morning we made a bee-line for the track and it was quite pleasant since no almost no one was there.

We ventured into the food court again for lunch and found a bakery that had savory sandwiches and good pastries. That was all we needed. Steve taught his class which has proved to be wonderful and challenging. The students are bold with their questions, and they have a good time going around the issues.

We determined that we would get out of the area for dinner. It was a little bit of a leap since last night we were overcome with the huge hordes of people who didn’t move very quickly f or anything. But we made a reservation for 8 at a restaurant we had visited before in 2006. It has spectacular views over the river and is in the formerly colonial area. The lights are dazzling and we had a table that could take in the buildings as well as the activity on the river. It wasn’t cheap, but it was exactly what we needed at this juncture in our trip. I’m so grateful.

Tomorrow at 10 I lecture. I will appreciate all your prayers for the day ahead. I have no idea how many people may show up. My session is scheduled for 1.5 hours. I have about 45 minutes of material, so that should work out find.

I hope you are well. We miss you all!

Love, Jan

evans update #2

2011-03-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, March 8

Dear Ones,

We started the day with the brilliant idea of going to Walmart to buy breakfast stuff. Cereal isn’t a part of the Chinese world, evidently, because they had just two different kinds sitting on the shelf and fortunately, one of them was Cheerios. We spent some time trying to figure out which of the milks was skim (we never did). Oh, and then it was time to find plastic spoons. Hah! If the culture doesn’t use spoons normally (they use chopsticks, of course) why would they have plastic ones? We scoured the paper plates/paper cups aisle to no avail. Finally I pointed to the plastic paddle/spoon that was included in the yoghurt that we were going to buy and asked a clerk where we could find such in the store. She understood my gestures and waved me over to the other side where there were, in fact, the plastic sort of scoops that they use for soups and also real stainless steel knives, forks and spoons. We decided to get the real deal and spent a dollar on two spoons.

Having made our purchases at Walmart we went back to the Paris Baguette to get coffee and a pastry. Both of those were superb but expensive—and we think the personnel there just really don’t like foreigners because they have been brusque and inhospitable to us, though, in truth, they were that way with everyone. Warm, personal attention is not part of the Chinese employee’s outlook. He/she is there to do a job and that’s it.

We enjoyed our purchased breakfast to the max, but it wasn’t long until sleep overtook us again. We were awakened at about 10 by the phone. Tongdong Bai, our host from Fudan U, was calling asking if we wouldn’t like to go to lunch with him. Of course! He explained that we could go to a “proper” restaurant, but he wanted us to have the local color experience in a food court. Food court? We didn’t know what he was referring to since we have seen lots of food on the streets and didn’t know if that was what he had in mind or a shopping center food court.

We needn’t have worried. . .or maybe we should have. It was a shopping center food court, but oh my, it was totally Chinese. There was a place at which you could place an order and then it was just the survival of the fittest for a table. We were instructed to hover over the tables and descend upon a table whenever it looked like it was near to being vacated. Our host ordered food at the concession where we would be entitled to park at one of the tables. He explained that the really wonderful food was from another place, but at least we had a space we could call our own. To say that we wouldn’t have attempted all this by ourselves is to say the obvious. So we watched while the most aggressive Chinese got a spot to sit at this particular venue. It wasn’t pretty. But our guide was as good as the rest and within 10 minutes we had a place to sit down. We waited another 10 for food to come and another 10 for our main host to arrive. He had wanted us to have the authentic Shanghai dumpling that is fried. We will attest to the fact that it was absolutely delicious and well worth the wait, the best food we’ve had since we came to Shanghai. It’s hard to describe the overwhelming population here.

After Steve’s class we determined that we would go out and walk for at least 45 minutes. It was rush hour and just crossing streets was a matter of taking life into your own hands. Even though there are lights and “zebra” crossings, Shanghai drivers are really oblivious or disrespectful to pedestrians, so one needs to be constantly vigilant. There is a tendency of drivers to lay on the horn at the slightest provocation. Thus, all of rush hour is a cacophony of car horns.

Since we had eaten considerably at lunch we were not in a mood to go downtown and get a high end meal tonight. After we took our walk we went to the local Pizza Hut. Oh my goodness. There were so many people, and people who do not know how to wait for their turn. There was a line outside the building and a line inside, but plenty of people who were willing to disregard any line and barge ahead on their own. We took one look at the situation and said that we would “take out.” I’m so glad we did. We waited 30 min for the pizza as it was, and we would have waited that for a table. I know you must think, “How could they go all that way and eat Pizza Hut pizza? Well, you just have to understand the press of the people and the craziness of the situation. We were incredibly grateful to be back in our little sanctuary of our hotel room after running the risk of losing our lives crossing streets in rush hour traffic.

We are hoping to get to some of the historic areas tomorrow morning. Steve is ahead on his preparation for his class so we should be able to do that. He’s working very hard, and the students are responding well.

Sleep well! Until tomorrow.

Love, Jan