Worldly Holiness

Khalid, originally uploaded by papalars.

I've been thinking recently of our trip to the Middle East and to Jerusalem and the experience we had with the shop owner on the Via Dolorosa–literally the "street of pain!" Luke's story of Christ's Triumphal Entry into the very city whose streets we walked is also bouncing around in my head. This is quite a place and our experience seemed to live up to the city's reputation, both in scripture and current day. There is no shortage of tension.

Our new friend, Khalid, manifested some of the ethnic and religious pain when he shouted an insult at us strolling by his shop. We were
noticeably American. And we didn't stop to look at his stuff in the shop. I think
he had some pent up anger toward America and we were his target. It hit
a hot button in my friend, Nate, who had to respond to the insult. So
for the first 5 minutes of our encounter, Nate and Khalid were face to
face, about 5 inches apart, Mid-East style. All other pedestrians in
the area began to swing wide of the incident, perhaps wanting to avoid
any fallout. I came up to Nate and Khalid and began to pray while I
sought to insert calm comments from time to time.

You may remember the scene in the New Testament when Jesus entered Jerusalem near the end of his time on earth. If you are not a Bible scholar that is OK. The story has been re-enacted in movies for some time. Anyway, it unfolds like this. People were all excited when Christ was entering Jerusalem and the people were praising God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen. The Pharisees must have been jealous because they asked Jesus to rebuke his disciples to which he replied–"if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"

Jerusalem is full of many stones. The old city is built with stones. Cobblestones on the streets, bricks and larger stones in the buildings, gates, and of course the famous Wailing Wall is a formidable tribute to the principle building material in the region. Jerusalem, the city, is full of stones. It is also full of much pain. 

Back to our incident with the shop owner, a Palestinian. Bit by bit, and for no reason of my own effort really, things began to calm down and within about 15 minutes were inside the shop talking more calmly on stools offered by our new host. At minute 30 I think we were offered coffee. Within the hour we were shoulder to shoulder for this picture and exchanging emails. Clearly God was with us. We listened, extended our hearts of understanding and empathy and sought to be the presence of Christ. I bought a very nice, simple cross necklace for Carol. Maybe this was our new friends strategy all along. Grin.

I kind of feel that Jerusalem is a microcosm of our current world, especially on the issue of religious and cultural fault lines that now seem to divide us around the globe. I also feel that we are called to be ambassadors for the Prince of Peace in this conflicted world. If we remain silent, the stones of the city of Jerusalem, which have seen so much pain, will probably cry out if they don't collapse in upon us. The world needs to know the Prince of Peace and the message he brings to all–"For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…" [Ephesians 2:14-15]. By the way, the story of Jesus to which I refer is in Luke 19:40. There are some new protagonists in the story but the storyline is very similar in present day Jerusalem.

As-sallamu Aleykum 

Desert Floor, originally uploaded by papalars.

Hey friends, I bet you are beginning to think about Christmas. Actually many of you are probably well into your shopping list for friends and family. I have not started. In part because I was out of town last weekend, from Thursday thru Sunday night. Likely excuse, right? I was well south of here, in a region where they have things like the foto you see above. I love the way cacti look. Or is it cactuses? Anyway, the town I visited is also home to some ministries I am looking at for the Mosaics Project, serving and loving focus people for Christ. I also spoke at the local Covenant church and began conversations with several people in the congregation about next steps for themselves.

One of the important ministries that I became acquainted with is serving Iraqi refugees, providing an oasis of care and support for these wayfarers as they transition into a new society. Not an easy task. By the way, you can pray for the 2 million plus Iraqi refugees held in limbo presently in countries bordering Iraq–like Jordon, Lebanon, and Syria principally. One recent estimate puts the number of Iraqi citizens displaced from war and violence at around 4 million. About half of those remain in Iraq but have been uprooted from their homes because of the sectarian violence. Most have a family member who has been killed. The people I met last week are ministering to the needs of the few who are coming into their city, with practical things like basic home furnishings, clothes, English classes and the like. The recent arrivals are looking for an oasis and have found it with my new friends.

By the way, on another note, I have wanted to mention for some time an exciting thing that has happened in recent months, a significant bridge that is being built from the Muslim to Christian community, reaching across the chasm that divides Christians from Muslims. Last fall a leading group of Muslim leaders and clerics in Jordon drafted a letter to the global Christian community. The letter is called "A Common Word Between Us and You." In the letter a strong appeal is made to Christian leaders around the world. The content addresses the desire to demonstrate love of God and neighbor to each other, to strive together for a religious peace that would be the foundation for world peace, and to find common ground that could be the basis for genuine interfaith dialogue. Scriptures verses from both the Bible and the Qur'an are used to support the appeal. This is perhaps the most significant move in interfaith relations in my lifetime. Many in the Christian community are giving the letter, and the intent behind it, high marks. God is up to something.

Below you will find two important links to the actual letter from the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan, and a Christian response from the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. My professor from Fuller signed the letter as did many other leading evangelicals. I actually signed the response found on the Yale site. Look for my name. It is in the long list of "who's who" in the Christian world, but a little down the list, where a growing number of not so "who's who" are adding their two cents. Actually, this initiative is worth a lot more than two cents. This is really big and provides a bridge upon which more positive interaction can be conducted.

The link to "Loving God & Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to 'A Common Word Between Us & You'" can be found here. The official Website of "A Common Word Between Us & You" from The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Jordan can be found over here. Both of these links are now also listed in my sidebar in the Outward section. We are living in interesting times that are pregnant with very significant movements in our world. Behind the mayhem and ugly stuff God is doing something. Will you take notice? Won't you join me in prayer for this opportunity? Let's pray that at all levels God could use this for his Kingdom.

By the way, this is Friday so enjoy this edition of Friday Fotos! 

Dearborn Mosque 1, originally uploaded by papalars.

I'm in Dearborn this week to learn more about Muslims in the metropolitan area of Detroit. This is a unique place in the United States, officially claiming to have 30,000 Arab-Americans, the densest Arab population of any community outside the Middle East. Unofficially the number of Arab Muslims in the greater Detroit metropolitan area is much higher, perhaps closer to 200,000, making this the 2nd most Muslim populated area in the US.

Arabs first settled here to work in the automotive industry over 90 years ago, invited by Henry Ford to work in his plants. In January 2005, a new Arab American National Museum opened as a result of this large concentrated population. The city is also home to the Islamic Center of America, pictured above, the largest mosque in North America and the Dearborn Mosque, as well as a mosque in the South End that is one of the few places in the US where one can hear the call to prayer over a loudspeaker. Because of the Arab cultural influence on the east side of Dearborn, store signs and billboards written in Arabic are common. On Wednesday, I was treated to a wonderful Lebanese meal that left me wanting to return for more. The ethnic make-up is principally Lebanese, Yemenis and Iraqis.

This week I have been meeting with Christian groups, theologians and missionaries serving the needs of this community and will speak in a church in the metro area on Sunday about our involvement with the Mosaics project. The interaction has been most fascinating and strategic as we continue to develop partnerships and discern ways to serve this community in different places around the world.

One of our keynote speakers has challenged us by story and example to commit ourselves to a "presence among Muslims of loving service and faithful witness that neither avoids differences nor exacerbates mistrust." I really like this statement. Our speaker further sees two opposed tendencies in most interactions today between Muslims and Christians. One approach seems to overlook or ignore differences between these faith communities in an effort to make peace while the other condemns the faith and practice of the other community as totally false, often demonizing the other. Neither of these is fully truthful or effective and adds fuel to the clash between us!

I hope to write more about what I am learning in this journey in these pages. Suffice it to say, as Christians, we follow the Prince of Peace, and are ambassadors of His Kingdom. We should follow his example in every way. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God [ 2 Corinthians 5:20].”

By the way, since this is Friday, enjoy the foto! Have a great weekend and continue to pray for God's work of reconciliation in our world and for us as we seek to raise this banner. 

Pulling Stumps, originally uploaded by papalars.

One of our new joys since returning to Seattle has been worshiping at Quest Church in Seattle. This is a newer church that started in an urban center about 5 years ago and seeks to minister to the community through a community center and local cafe. 

Their story has been written up in the Seattle P-I and Seattle Times because of its noteworthy and non-traditional approach to doing church and for being a part of the community. They are not seeking to be a model to others so much as have a presence in the community that truly serves that same area. Their outreach team last week held a memorial service for a homeless man that they serve who had no family or community of his own. The warehouse which up until now had served as their worship space on Sundays doubles the rest of the week as "a community center with a computer lab; a tutoring/mentoring center, and conference rooms. Profits from the coffeehouse will be used to the outreach ministries" [from Quest church blog].

Quest church is currently in the midst of a merger with Interbay Covenant Church, which owns the original warehouse and property of the church campus. The last two Saturdays I have helped volunteer with basic work projects as they are preparing for their new launch in the older Interbay church sanctuary this Sunday. This picture is one I took last week when we were busy pulling Rhododendron stumps and laying new dirt around the church building. Our backs started to give up doing the back breaking work near the end of the day so we decided to extract the stumps with a truck and chain. Why didn't we think of this before!?

I'm meeting new people in the trenches, so to speak, and thoroughly enjoying our times working together. Most, but not all, of the workers are much younger than me. It has been a joy to meet them and begin to hear their stories and to join the emerging "good news" story at Quest church.

Looking Over Barcelona, originally uploaded by papalars.

I'm getting a few of my last pictures in before we leave this beautiful city. Here is a shot from Tibidabo, the highest point above the city of Barcelona. Some like to even go a little higher in the vertigo inducing rides at the top of the mountain. Where did I take this photo, you ask? From the top of the church that stands above everything. I'm just under the feet of a statue of Christ on top of the church. By the way, that is a very good place to be because He is above and before all things and in Him all things hold together [Colossians 1:17]! I need to remember that from time to time regardless of how things sometimes seem. Anyway, you can see a picture of the spot where I took the above picture: Under the feet of Christ.

In just a few days I will need to change the heading on my blog. We will be moving back to Seattle so our son can finish high school with his buddies that he has known for 9 years and so we can also attend to some family needs which require special focus at this time. So I will need to change the "Barcelona" to something else in the header. Small potatoes really. Perhaps more importantly, let me make two comments about our move to clear up any confusion that you may have. Some have wondered why the change and what is going on?

1. Ministry-wise, I will continue to be involved with the Mosaics project in strategic ways as well as share the vision of what God is doing with churches and individuals. I will also be sharing in a workshop at the Covenant minister's Midwinter conference in February about important developments in ministry to focus people. At this point there is much that is already scheduled on my calendar for the Fall and it is exciting to see how God continues to move in this very important project to give witness to focus people. I hope to be traveling back to Europe for important events over this coming year as well and to continue to support some of the things we have started in Barcelona and nuture our network of relationships. If you'd like a 1 page synopisis of my strategic objectives for the coming year let me know and I will gladly email you a copy. Suffice it to say, our involvement in the Mosaics project is NOT restricted to what we have been doing on location in Barcelona and it is NOT stopping because of our change of location. In fact, it is becoming very clear to me that some important new aspects to the project are beginning to emerge that I can only attribute to God's continued direction and blessing.

2. Our return to Seattle affirms the healthy commitment that Covenant World Mission makes to issues of member care. I am very glad for the input we have received from trained professionals and wise leaders who are as committed to the health of missionary families as they are to the work of the Kingdom. At one time these were viewed perhaps as competing agendas but I have come to believe they are not. I am convinced God wants whole people and healthy families to represent his work among the nations. So I am grateful to God and also our mission's commitment to this value.

I plan to post some more photos over the next few days from Barcelona and some of the people and stories that have been part of our lives here over the last 11 months. Keep posted and keep praying for the Larsen family. God has provided a place to live in Seattle as well as a house for 10 days before our rental opens up. Continue to pray for our transition, for health, strength and vision for the entire family. Pray also for our children and their needs as the nest moves yet once again. We praise God for his provision and care and also for the many who support us in prayer. Sorry my posts have been few so far this month. We have been busy with packing, visiting guests, ministry events and life!