Adventures...and praying for “smoothness”

When given an opportunity to tell about something interesting that happened to them over a week end or even a long holiday break, my students often have trouble thinking of anything they deem worthy of recounting. Even if they traveled, they often don’t “see” much that’s new or stimulating to them.  pon returning from reunions with relatives, they usually can’t think of anything noteworthy they conversed about.

This is partly a function of “normalcy.” Good parents work hard at making their children’s lives as free from stress and distress as possible. Stable homes are not generally characterized by high drama. But “interesting” does not have to equal “traumatic” in order for our lives to be filled with meaning and edification. One observant eight-year-old recounted for me in some detail the scavenger hunt he participated in. It involved word play and clever clues, all of which he relished in the retelling. This is a young man who, rather than complaining that life is boring, took the hand that was dealt him and found pleasure in it. He then committed it to memory, so as to entertain and challenge others with the retelling of the story. This is a good use of the “adventures” God sends our ways.

It is a phenomenon of the “Pre-Polly” years (preschool through about age 6) that young children tend to see things with eyes of “wonder.” It is inevitable that as children mature, they are not quite as amazed by new experiences as they were in those more impressionable years. But we have also poisoned our culture with the vanity of  being “too cool to be impressed,” and it only takes a few times of being laughed at, or ignored, for the sensitive child to ”catch on” that his enthusiasms are a bit quirky to others. The goal then becomes to sublimate or deny them as much as possible.

But back to “normalcy.” We are all conflicted over this. We want it…and we don’t. I remember the first time I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Lucy got safely back to the spare room following her first visit to Narnia, part of me wanted her to stay in England and not go back…to unknown places where there are witches! I knew there would be trouble! And we like things to be safe.

Of course, she did go back, and the events which troubled her return became one of my favorite stories of all times. I came to understand that while adventures are not completely “safe,” they are worthwhile when Aslan is there to guide and interpret for us. And in each succeeding book in the series, the children are constantly getting themselves into hot water (read: “dangerous adventures”). And over and over they encourage each other to face up to the adventure thaty Aslan has sent.

In the thousands of prayers I have prayed in the course of teaching in Christian schools, I have oft repeated the phrase, “Father we thank you for the adventure you have chosen for us.” It is my intentional contrast to the common phrase I hear in the prayers of both adults and children: “Help everything to go smoothly.” While I understand that this is the normally desirable state of affairs, I also realize that it is not always in God’s design for things go as “smoothly” (in human terms) as we believe to be necessary.

A more Biblical way to pray would be to say “May you be glorified in…” the event that we hope will go “smoothly.” In general, we need to pray that we would be faithful, that God would be honored, and that we would grow in grace through the adventure that Aslan has designed for us. Thank God, things often go “smoothly”! Our psyches could not take a steady diet of ”adventures.” But when adventures do come, we must be emotionally and spiritually prepared not just to accept them, but to profit from them.

When hearts are united in love...

I have often commented to those who do not live
here, that not only is Tucson a "big smalll town," but

there is a peculiar unity here among Christians that easily transcends church boundaries and denominational lines.  That was particularly evident in the overwhelming response to a local tragedy this week end.

Doctors Brice and Becca Kopas met at U of A medical school in the 1990's.  Becca is a Tucson native and grew up in Casas Church.  Brice is from Phoenix and became a Christian during college years.  By the time I met them in spring of 2010, they were the parents of three lovely girls, ages one through five.  This past year it was my joy to teach science to their oldest, Ella, at Veritas Academy of Tucson.  Because the Kopas's are founding board members of Veritas, they were often the first ones on campus in the mornings, and I would often see the youngest, Olivia, enjoying life on the playground under the sun shade as I prepared for class.

In a tragic accident this past Sunday, Olivia was drowned in a jacuzzi.  Heroic medical efforts kept her alive at TMC until 2:51 AM Monday morning.  As soon as Olivia was rushed to the hospital, prayer requests were being relayed throughout the Tucson Christian community.  By early evening a Facebook page had been created where friends could write their prayers for Olivia on the wall, as well as leave messages for Brice and Becca. In churches the Kopas had never even attended, prayers for Olivia went up from the pulpits in Sunday evening services.  Friends from Phoenix have begun leaving their messages on the Facebook page, as well.    

By Tuesday morning (today),  less than 36 hours after it was initiated, the Facebook page has over 580 responses and messages for the Kopas family.  We are all emotionally jolted by the tremendous grief that such an experience must be for these young parents.  It is clear from the responses that we are all united in our love and support for them.  They are deeply respected in terms of their professional, spiritual, and social impact and leadership here in Tucson.  

As I scanned the wallposts this morning, I saw dozens of faces and names I don't even know, of course.  But just among those I do recognize, I could name more than ten different churches represented.  It is evident that in times of suffering, we are united in our love and support for those who need us.  

...the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.    Job 1:21b

More about courtship

In WorldMovers this week we discussed the effects of courtship teaching on contemporary Christian young people.  The upshot was that we left with a renewed commitment to praying for the singles in our congregation.  More on that later.

The article in World was partly a response to the book at the right, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a book that was popularized in the '90's that introduced the idea of courtship versus dating to a mass audience (the actual concept of courtship has been around for centuries, of course, while "dating" is a very recent and intially American phenomenon).  Since writing the book as a very young man, Harris has gone on to become pastor of the largest church in the Sovereign Grace movement, Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Here is a description of Harris's new edition of the I Kissed Dating Goodbye from the Sovereign Grace Ministries web site:

"Ideal for single adults and teens, I Kissed Dating Goodbye presents the model for Biblical friendship and principled romance. A best-selling book with more than 800,000 copies in print, this book was named the number one paperback non-fiction book for all of 1998 and number two for all of 1999.


Now, for the first time since its release, the national #1 best-seller has been totally updated. The new edition includes:

• A new foreword by Sam Torode
• A brand new chapter
• Expanded content in many chapters

Most 'new editions' are just the same book with a new cover. This is different. Every chapter has been carefully fine-tuned. Joshua builds on the strength of his book, clarifies its core message and honestly answers the concerns of critics who have written response books since I Kissed Dating Goodbye was first released. The result is that the book's simple message of trusting God with your love-life has more power than ever."

Happy Pentecost!

The streets of Jerusalem were bustling with activity on the morning of Pentecost in 33 A.D. An unusually large number of pilgrims had assembled from the four corners of the Jewish world to celebrate the feast. On this fiftieth day after Passover, faithful Hebrews gave thank offerings to God for the gift of Torah, the Law of God revealed on Mount Sinai after the Israelites had escaped from bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt. Observant Jews connect these two events in this line of thinking: Passover was God’s divine deliverance of His chosen people from that age’s most powerful civilization, that of ancient Egypt. When the Israelites were separated by nearly two month’s time, and by all the miles of distance from the banks of the Nile to Mount Sinai, Moses met with God and received the Ten Commandments.


In the fashion of more than a thousand years of observance, those flocking to Jerusalem that year would celebrate with many visits to the temple, for

• singing and dancing in the Court of the Women,

• for the presentation of “first fruits offerings,” brought from the young harvests of their fields back home

• for the offering of sin and thank offerings in the Court of the Israelites

• for all-night Torah readings in the synagogue

• for the eating of seasonal treats made of fruit, milk, flour, and honey in the marketplace

• for connecting with old friends and the making of new friends.

Casting something of a pall over this year’s celebration were reports of some disturbing political and social events in recent weeks. Those visiting from outside of Jerusalem were brought up to date on the news of the upstart Jesus of Nazareth, whose Passover week return to Jerusalem had ended in his crucifixion. The civil disturbances he had caused had troubled some residents about the buying and selling of animals in the outer court of the temple; now the out-of-town visitors noticed a more subdued atmosphere than they has witnessed in previous visits. There was even a disturbing rumor that he had risen from the dead, but up to now, none of his followers had stepped forward to publicly confirm this rumor.

And then it happened.

Those on the periphery of the crowd felt a surge away from the Beautiful Gate of the temple; they felt an unseasonal wind rushing across Temple Mount toward an obscure two story residence on the back side of Mount Zion. Moving with the rest of the crowd in that direction, they found a group of Galileans standing outside the upper room, speaking loudly in the all the languages represented that day in Jerusalem. Everyone pressed closer to hear what they were saying. Hearing that the Galileans might be drunk, some discontinued trying to repss closer and made their way back to the now less crowded temple area. But others swore that they could see tongues of fire over the heads of the Galilean men.

In a few days news of what the Galileans were preaching would be all over Jerusalem – that their Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, had been seen by many witnesses, and as of Pentecost, had sent his Divine Spirit to indwell those who were His followers. Within days those who professed to be His followers had increased by thousands. Within a few years this message would be known all over the Roman Empire. And within the next two thousand years, the message would span the globe in hundreds of languages.

And it all started on Pentecost.