Happy Thanksgiving!

(More photos here)

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

Psalm 95

C.S. Lewis and the Purpose of the Church

The church exists for nothing else but to draw men
into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are
not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions,
sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of
time. God became a Man for no other purpose.

— C. S. Lewis

Photo of the Week

The Divine Commodity

I just finished Skye Jethani's book The Divine Commodity and found it to be both fresh and convicting in diagnosing much of the state of contemporary Christianity. One of the main characters in his book is the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Jethani does an excellent job telling the story of the modern church through the works and life van Gogh. Here are a few excerpts from the book that really struck me.

On the church's idolatrous focus of creating a consumer experience:

"Ministries that focus on manufacturing spiritual experiences, despite their laudable intentions, may actually be retarding spiritual growth by making people experience dependent. Like caged animals, consumer Christians lose the ability to do what they were designed by God to do—have a vibrant, self-generating relationship with Christ. Instead, they become dependent upon their zookeeper-pastors for life nourishment. This captive/captor relationship is unlikely to change as long as both the church member and leader are satisfied with the arrangement. But is this what the Christian life is supposed to be?" -pg. 79

On the church's tendancy to practice a form of divination where we try to control God and get him to do our bidding:

"The exchange of an unpredictable God for controllable principles is also common within the church. Our insistence on an institutional and programmatic faith is a savvy new form of divination. Invariably, churches that experience significant numerical growth will publish books outlining their methodology and create conferences so other leaders can reproduce such success in their in their own churches. The assumption is that with the right curriculum, the right principles, and the right programs God’s Spirit will act to produce the outcomes we desire. This plug-and-play approach to the Christian life makes God a cosmic vending machine, and it assumes his Spirit resides within well-produced organizations and systems rather than people." -pg 97

A call to live out the Gospel in the midst of our daily obedience, hospitality and authenticity:

"Our homes are to be hospitals—refuges of healing radiating the light of heaven. And our dinner tables are to be operating tables—the place where broken souls are made whole again. In our churches people should find rest from their battle for acceptance and release from the lie that they are nothing more than the goods they possess. When we lower our defenses, when we remove our facades and our peepholes, and we begin to be truly present with one another—then the healing power of the gospel can begin it’s work." pg-154

Guantanamo: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Design that Saves Lives!

Photo of the Week

I paparazzi'd my wife last year when she was reading.

Life is Ministry

Get your own barcode here!

Refugee Stories

This past weekend my family had the privilege of participating in the Ride for Refugees. Sometimes in the USA it is difficult to fully grasp the reality of the situations refugees face. The following is a podcast from the BBC sharing the stories of several refugees. These are very powerful and very touching real life stories.



Organizations that are working with refugees:
World Relief- Partner with churches and connect them with refugees who seek asylum in the USA.
Crossing Borders- Serving refugees and orphans who have fled from North Korea.
World Vision- Serving and helping the poor world wide
Ride for the Refugees- Want to serve refugees and not sure where to start? Join the ride for the refugee with some friends to raise awareness and funds for refugee ministries.

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Don't Forget the North Korean Refugees
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God Grew Tired of Us
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An Explanation of Synesthesia

Did You Know? Video

Photo of the Week

This photo was a happy accident (click on photo to see larger version). I took a photo of Abi on the first day of school that was over-exposed, but it looked cool so I used some filters in Photoshop to enhance the colors.

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The Ride for Refugees: Family Practice Video

Visit the Ride for Refugees site to find out more.

RedBrown.org

Some good friends of mine just launched a new website at RedBrown.org. I first met Mark in 2001 during a cold and rainy week in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. At that time he was the pastor of some of our teammates. He and his wife Deb eventually moved from Massachusetts to Elgin, IL to join the staff of International Teams. We had the privilege to get to know them and their family well over the years. Their website definitely is a reflection of how God is working in and through their lives. One thing I always have appreciated in Mark's writing style is the insight that he has in to the lives of refugees around the world. After you check out their quick welcome video to visit their site at RedBrown.org.

Quick Welcome from Mark Foshager on Vimeo.

Photography Fun: Sisters

A year ago after some saving and some birthday cash I was able to purchase a Nikon D40 DSLR which is a great camera for an beginner to check out their chops on. I have been having a blast practicing my amateur photography in the suburbs, in the city as well as friend and family gatherings. I have decided to start highlighting a favorite photo once a week on this blog (the rest of my favorite photos will be published on my Facebook albums). I hope you enjoy them.