On The Global Road...

thoughts about Exodus 33

2010-10-25T18:33:00.002-04:00

Moses meets with God and the whole entrance into the Promised Land is up for grabs. God says He’ll make a nation from scratch out of Moses - scrap Israel and start over. How do you respond to that? A giant “do over” is a golden ticket. I would have been tempted, not just for My Name, but just the practicality of it all. Hey, this has not been working very well, let’s start over. You know the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results. It would have been a pretty reasonable move on Moses part to take God up on his offer.
Moses somehow manages to see bigger issues than mission completion or that his legacy at stake. It was about God and His glory. God’s reputation was always the primary end, and how His mission was accomplished was more important than attaining the Promised Land itself.
Moses is totally dialed in. But, to add another layer to it all, God had said He will bring His people in safely to the Land, and will route the enemies of Israel. And that He will send an angel ahead of them to get the work done. On that one alone, I’m probably fine with God’s plan. I’d take a promise of victory with a militant angel running point. But God says He won’t be going with them. I wonder, would I have missed God’s caveat if I had been there. (Victory without God’s presence? Hmm, surely God must know what He is offering. It is His idea, after all. Take the angel and the land, and call it “a deal.”)
But Moses doesn’t shake hands on it. God’s presence is the main thing. “Show me Thy ways…may your presence go with us…Show me Thy glory.” The clear and unmistakable presence of God was what Moses was all about. Nothing else mattered in comparison. Though Moses’ leadership mission was clear, it was more about his connection with God. It had not always been so. Forty years earlier, it was about getting the job done of getting Israel out of Egypt. It made sense, but proved to be a 40 yr cul-de-sac of spinning around the desert with sheep, until the burning bush lit up the landscape and he found himself on holy ground in the presence of God. And after those initial days and weeks where he experienced the power of God’s presence to do what no leader could ever hope to pull off, Moses had now integrated the main thing, the only thing that mattered in spiritual leadership. Try leadership without God’s presence and you are left with strategy, large group maneuvering, and motivation, or maybe just manipulation. For Moses, that was not going to fly.
So now, he meets with God, he is angered by rebellion against God, and he is jealous for God’s glory, whose name is “Jealous.” He waits on God without food or drink in order to write down His commands. He is consumed with meeting God – on the mountain, in the tent - and he spends so much time with Him, that his face shines with His glory. God’s presence and light permeate his life, even physically. His face is lit up by God’s presence. When people see Moses, they see on his face, well the imprint of God, His transforming work brought on by His Spirit.
When other’s look at my face, what do they see? (I mean, except for the freckles and ears that are just a little oversized...) Do they see someone being transformed into His image, someone connected in heart and mind to the Creator and Redeemer? Its a tough question, but one must look in the mirror from time to time and do some honest assessment.

Stint Briefing 2010

2010-08-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

This picture may say it all…if you could multiply it by 50. We just finished our commissioning of 350 STINTers, many of whom are arriving at their locations around the world right now. To live in community for Jesus, to love others around them and draw them in, to share words that give life, bring light, give hope.
The images of this last night keep coming back this morning: teams of students with flags posing for pictures, like the winning team of a relay in the Olympics, or the festival on the closing night; or unlike the Olympics, teams spontaneously gathering to hug and pray and commit themselves to each other and the Lord for the year. It is an amazing sight to behold.
I’m exhausted from the intensity of the week, but it feels great - prepping our team leaders the first day, short conversations in the hallway, laughter in elevator rides, a thousand cups of coffee, and in the middle of it all, a whirlwind 36 hour trip to Duluth, Minnesota for my Uncle Bob’s funeral, and a return to Chicago for the last day and night of commissioning.
Kim and I celebrated an outstanding week by going out for ribs at Smokey Bones. This morning I’m just sitting here, trying to get my brain to work with a cup of coffee, numb with a STINT hangover.
Last night I told Kim, “This past week is why I’ve never really wanted to do anything else.”

Scraps from the kitchen table

2010-08-07T09:34:00.003-04:00

As you may know, "Scraps" is a little feature of random thoughts and observations that I just throw out there from time to time, much like I do food from the table to our WSN mascot, Freckles the Wonder Dog.

Speaking of...The Wonder Dog turned 98 on Monday (14 human years). He's in good health, except for the hearing loss, arthritis in the hips, a back that needs chiropractic and acupuncture, and a few unsightly tumors. He gets outside for a walk for about 20 miinutes a day. So yes, he's pretty like any 98 year old.

If I had only editorialist I could read on the state of political and cultural affairs in the US, I would choose Peggy Noonan. I love her writing style and insights. I really liked her column in WSJ yesterday. Disclaimer: Peggy didn't pay me anything to say that, as she has no idea who I am, and I will toss in the obligatory "I don't agree with everything she says", which also reminds me...

I think in common conversations this "of course I don't believe everything that they say" is in itself a commentary that we are all quick to attach labels and categories to people, to put people and those they read or learn from into conservative or liberal or idiot boxes. We are so afraid of that happening to us, and so we qualify our comments. Could we just have an agreement: If I quote someone, or like something someone says or does, I don't necessarily buy everything from them. How did that all get started? (If you re-read this, it sounds better with a slightly angry voice, but not shrill or whiny.) I'm going to start qualifying when I reference somebody with this line - "and you know I believe everything they say" and see what happens.

Kim and I went to see "Inception" last night. We loved it. We like movies you talk about after. Not just figuring it out, but discussing the different layers of stories and their meaning, like: is the main plot about the dream inception, or is it about reconciliation with loved ones and coming to terms with guilt? It was a great discussion, but then suddenly, something shook our house, it felt like we were tilting at 45 degrees, and I woke up. So, I think we'll go see the movie Inception tonight.

Okay, Saturday morning, so its time for the weekly mowing of my small plot of grass before the daily summer thunderstorm moves in.

Almost forgot. While watching the movie last night, there was a couple making out one row in front and just off to the right, which was a bit distracting. But then I remembered the "Seinfeld" episode of Jerry getting caught making out with his girlfriend during Schindler's List. Which made me almost laugh out loud.

Stop the Press!

2010-08-06T15:57:00.005-04:00

Students and faculty working together? Really? And liking it? Oh yes! Here is the raw commentary of a professor and a student on the Haiti summer project, from their project blog:
Faculty Phil: I am a professor of almost 30 years who has made well over a dozen foreign-mission trips all over the world. I have had some great trips.
From experience, I know that soon, people will soon begin asking me, “How was that trip to Haiti?”
I’ll say something like this, “Haiti was fantastic, but this was an unusual trip for me.”
If they are really interested, they’ll say something like, “How so?”
And I’ll say, “This trip was different for me, because, for me, being in Haiti wasn’t the key factor. The Haitians were wonderful, kind, welcoming people...(but) the real key factor for me was the 60 students and staff who let me tag along. These college graduates, undergraduates, and one pre-college student, and Campus Crusade leaders, were among the finest bunch of people with whom I have ever associated, and I have been at it for 60 years. They were enthusiastic, considerate, encouraging folks.
They sweated night and day in the dusty, hot, humid environment; they rode a bus for two hours in the heat, they didn’t complain and continually looked for opportunities to minister. They sought out kids to play with, and on one occasion carried kids over two miles to and from Flamingo Lake. They happily met for hours on end, they waited, they sang, they prayed, they played, they ate, and a few would even sleep a couple of hours at night. They seemed to even enjoy talking to the staff!
I was blessed to be among them, to watch them interact, and to learn from them. We could have been in Alabama, or Texas, or anywhere, and the trip would have almost as good for me. Just being around these folks has done a lot to make me want to be a better Christian. So I guess I was just one of the many folks to whom they ministered.”

Austin the Student (not the city): When I think of Campus Crusade for Christ, I think of the college students across the nation and world who are working to expand Christ's kingdom by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I would never have thought of the professors that also comprise the movement. I was awakened to my ignorance the first full day that we spent in Haiti. Phil, as he prefers to be called, is a tenured Exercise Physiology professor in Alabama.

Phil is not your average Joe, even when it comes to professors. He is a marathon runner, has been to numerous countries in service to the LORD and is fully committed to walking according to God's will or his life. Loving to highlight God's predominance evidenced by creation, he is certainly a mentor on this trip. Again, it is pretty awesome/surprising to receive spiritual guidance from a professor, but Phil is not defined by his profession. He is defined by Christ's work on the cross.

In light of the ministry that Phil has in Alabama and the work that he has done around the world, I would encourage you to pray for your professors or encourage you to become one yourself. As quirky as they often are, they too need Christ, and have the potential to store up treasures in heaven alongside us as brothers and sisters through the ministry that Christ has prepared for them.

Me the blogger:So, there is the raw, off the Iphone and onto the blog comment from Haiti. It's something powerful to consider. Imagine if the Nehemiah's of the collegiate world - Christian students and faculty - joined together in the proclamation of the gospel. There might just be a revolution.

Wanted: a Million Nehemiahs

2010-08-03T11:28:00.007-04:00

(Not an actual photograph)
I started reading The Book of Nehemiah on Sunday, and here is what hits me so far: we need a million "Nehemiahs" in the world. Quick review: Nehemiah is in exile with his fellow Jews, but 2 previous attempts have been made to restore Jerusalem and they are mostly not back in Jerusalem. The first was under Zerubbabel 94 years before, and the second was under Ezra about 13 years before Nehemiah's account. While both previous efforts had glimmers of success, the bad news that Nehemiah had received from his brother on the condition of Jerusalem was a kick in the gut that affected him physically, emotionally, and spiritually and quite literally brought him to his knees.

He heard bad news and instead of giving in to the status quo thinking that nothing could be done, he prayed, fasted, and hatched a plan over the next 3 months or so. And with his career on the line, when the King asks him what's going on with all the puffy eyes and sad face (I don't think cupbearers were supposed to be melancholy) Nehemiah lays it out on table. In fact, he responds in such a way that the King is asking him, more than he is asking the King. Genius. And when it's time to speak, he has a "plan" - simple, direct, and to the point. I love the way he doesn't plow the King with details - just purpose and 2 simple facts: "Oh, can you make sure I'm free to go there and I sure could use some wood." Or something like that, probably better to leave the quotes off my paraphrase.

We need a million Nehemiah's who will respond to the crises of our day like this. Men and women who will see physical disasters, spiritual need, emotional distress and status quo thinking that nothing can be done, and will be so provoked by God that they are brought to their knees in surrender, prayer, fasting, and arise with a call from God to action. And it doesn't have to be a giant "thing" to act, like a Katrina or Haiti (though acting there is great too.) It can be the huge needs on your campus, in your community, of a neighbor who is losing their home...whatever.

I think this is what God is doing among the Christian students and faculty of our world, (and many others, of course.) This little blog is re-dedicated to telling that story, of encouraging this kind of behavior among more and more students and faculty around the world. Of course, wrapped in my own personal musings, mixed with outstanding coffee recommendations, and incredible insights about life in general. And humor, cause there is alot of stuff that is still very funny out there.

So, there you have it. Tell me and others your Nehemiah moment. Comment below, or just tell a friend - What has captured your heart that has brought you to your knees and made you say "This must change?" Where were you and how did it happen? Let others know - you may inspire another Nehemiah-to-be that is in need of a little push. And if that hasn't happened, then ask God for that breakthrough, cause it's ultimately from what He does in you, connecting you and your life to what He wants to do in the world. And then put on your seat belt and get ready, cause you are in for the ride of your life.

Passing the Baton

2010-06-21T22:11:00.000-04:00

Tonight: Team 1 returning from Haiti reads scripture and prays over Team 2 as they prepare to leave tomorrow.
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Hope for Haiti Summer Project

2010-06-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

The first 3 week project returned fro Haiti yesterday. Doing the debrief today. God worked in and through them in fantastic ways. Their lives have been changed, and we trust God is using this effort to bless Haiti. But certainly, God used Haiti to bless them.

Went out with the leadership team last night for dinner. Watched them eat their first "real" meat, salads, and fruit in 3 weeks. I've never seen people enjoy a meal like they did.

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Filed under "Things I don't get".

2010-05-16T14:37:00.017-04:00

Cross cultural study of the day. I saw this minivan parked outside church this morning. Bible verses and references cover almost every inch. I suppose its not too different than covering your body with tattoos, just another form of personal expression.
But what I found as intriguing as all the verses on the Bible car, was what I've circled in the picture. Look closely above the license plate, to the left of the right rear light, what is clearly NOT in the Bible - "Go Buckeyes!!!". Clearly, a man - I'm guessing - who must label all that he is devoted too. Oh, and below the car model, is the word "Caddie". Which either is referring to the Sienna LE as the driver's Cadillac, or professing his deep respect for those who carry someone else's golf clubs and help them line up putts. Not really sure on this one.

But clearly what we have is a devoted fan of Jesus, the Bible, and Ohio State football.

Dental marketing

2010-02-15T20:33:00.002-05:00

I don't like going to the dentist. But I have to. Again. Not just the 6 month cleaning either. On this last trip, I broke off part of a tooth while eating a salad! My teeth aren't really that bad, the culprit was an overly hard crouton. Which is only marginally better when I really think about it.

I went in today dreading these words: "root canal", but praying for only these words: "a crown". So, I've been thinking that dentists are really hampered by the phrase "root canal." This alone is a phrase that makes you want to run. It sounds very painful. (i.e. digging a large hole pathway through or into the root of your tooth. whatever, I don't really even want to know.) Especially next to "crown". Oh yes, I'd like a couple of crowns, please. It almost sounds downright Christian, like I should want crowns. This is HUGE marketing issue for dentists.

Surely they could come up with something else. Especially for those of us who think in exaggerated pictures. Which is increasing all the time in a media culture.

By the way, my appointment outcome: its going to be "a crown." YES! There will be no root canal. YES Again! Tiger fist pump. Oops, probably out of fashion for awhile.

Story of Snow-zilla and Jet Lag

2010-02-14T08:13:00.003-05:00

Yes, we are now safely back in Orlando. But one month of being in Asia has made for some pretty powerful jet-lag conditions. Like being up at 4:00 am this morning. But that is actually an improvement. The story begins a few days ago in Singapore or Washington DC, depending upon how you look at it.

We arrived in Singapore, leaving the Stint Midyear Conference in Malaysia, preparing for a 7 am flight through Tokyo, then to DC. But the second snowstorm to hit DC was on its way (I have called it Snow-zilla, not knowing it was gathering other nicknames from other more famous people, like the President.) So, after 3 calls with United, we got rerouted from Tokyo to Seattle to Denver. Good thing, cause by the time we got to Tokyo, they had cancelled the DC flight, and we might have ended up walking the concourse for hours, eating seaweed on a stick. (All airports in every nation have their specialties.)

But we can only get as far as Denver. Turns out that Orlando is a vacation destination this time of year, with the dreaded President's Day/Daytona 500 combo. Seems everyone wants to be where we live this weekend. No seats available from anywhere to Orlando. So we spend 2 nights at an airport hotel in Denver/Eastern Colorado.(Those that have been there no what I mean.)

Then, the jet lag takes over. Arriving exhausted in Denver, we go to bed at about 10 pm and wake up, thinking its only an hour or so until morning. However, its only midnight, and we're both wide awake. After all, its already 1 PM in Australia/Malaysia. And we're hungry. With no food, except at the hotel snack shop. Here is what I managed to take back to the room for our midnight/midday snack:
Bag of microwave buttered popcorn, which was had more grease/butter on it than anything we'd ever eaten.
One Twix bar
One Vitamin Water
Bag of SunChips
Large pepperoni burrito/pizza thing

We downed everything but the burrito/pizza thing, which we eventually left in the fridge for the next guests.

We stayed up till about 3.

Next night, almost a rerun, this time starting about 2 and going til 4

Next night, home in Orlando, I sleep til 8 and think I"m back on track.

HA, not so fast. This morning, we are both up at 4 am.

Life on jet-lag. I've been up for 4 hours. Its 8:30. I'm ready for my Sunday afternoon nap.

Asia mid year conference

2010-02-04T05:32:00.000-05:00

I wanted everyone to know that I'm breaking out musically here in Malaysia. Catch the buffet and special memories with Mr. Keith.
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Kookaburras, Kangaroos, and Koalas

2010-01-31T02:15:00.006-05:00

from the land down under

2010-01-30T05:56:00.008-05:00

Kim and I gave 3 of the 4 talks together. I think here though, we are telling the story of our courtship, answering questions from the audience, and generally shooting from the hip on life and relationships.

More exciting stuff: I ate Vegemite, which I won't try to descirbe in taste on this blog. You spread it on bread, and it is supposed to help young kids grow up to be big and strong. I see the reasoning behind it, because if you can take eating it for several years, then its a forecasting of how hardy you are going to be in general.

Another favorite is spaghetti from a can on toast. Also baked beans on toast. For brekkie.

More on this little journey, beyond breakfast food and courtship stories, perhaps with a different shirt on, coming up later.

Australia Student Life Conference!

2010-01-21T06:49:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Brisbane late Sunday night to speak this week, after a trip that included 31 hours of plane time, sitting across from a 6 fingered man, and a family with a 2 year old 3 rows up that was a little terrorist with the tantrums she threw, thus holding all of economy class hostage .
We had a stopover in Perth (we took the longer cheaper route) and it was 108 degrees. The next day in Brisbane also set records. So, yes its been hot. We are on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane, with all the missionaries of Student Life at their annual Nexus Conference.
Kim and I have been sharing from Hebrews 11; especially the lives of Abraham and Moses. It's been a blast for us, and we are encouraged to be with them. They are trusting God for great things in their country.
We were learning cultural trivia tonight, most of which I don't recall just an hour later. I also had some Vegamite for breakfast this morning. For breakfast tomorrow I am hoping for either baked beans or spaghetti on toast. I now say "no worries" when someone says "Thank you" to me.
Pictures on the way soon.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

2010-01-16T19:52:00.001-05:00

So you start thru security at the airport, and suddenly you realize you have left your laptop at home. What do you do? Turn to Freckles the wonder dog? No help there.

Its neighbor Mike to the rescue. I've mentioned Mike before. He is the ideal neighbor, there when you need him. Its not like he's watching our house all the time aka Gladys Kravits (watch Bewitched, young people). He's simply...there in time of need.
One phone call and 30 minutes later, Mike shows up with Mr Dell in hand and I'm on my way. Just-in-time service; trip is saved. Mike ever leaves the neighborhood, we're moving. Thank you God for Mike.
Oh yes, a few months have gone by and I'm not sure exactly why Global Road was on layaway. I'm not exactly sure why I'm starting it up again. So, we'll just see what happens.

Do you wonder where I'm headed? Well just be patient, all in due time.

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Labor Day, Dana Point

2009-09-07T13:06:00.003-04:00

Scraps from the Kitchen table

2009-08-22T09:01:00.002-04:00

For those who are just beginning the journey on the global road, "Scraps" are disconnected thoughts or events with little real purpose or meaning, as far as I can tell. Which is why I share them with the world.

I returned on Wed night from STINT Briefing Conference up at Copper Mt, CO. (A fantastic week with lots of meaning and purpose...it is a reflection of God's work in 250 lives and a glimpse of eternal impact across the world). I was exhausted and entered 2 straight days of national meetings.

I hit the fatigue wall about noon yesterday, and felt like I might pass out. After panang curry lunch, I revived enough to almost understand our conversation the rest of the afternoon. Vaguely recall something about students and Jesus, I'm not sure really.

I can get pretty sarcastic when I'm really tired. I think I only broke out once yesterday, but it was probably more and I didn't even notice.

Tried to watch a movie last night from Blockbuster, but it wouldn't work, so we watched Comedy Channel with Flight of the Conchords. If I was a talented musician, I think I would have ended up doing a verson of what they do.

Why do so many car dealership owners put their kids in their commercials? Is this marketing tactic really so wise? Don't most adults get really annoyed at children in cars? "are we there yet?", "my brother is annoying me". Do we really want that memory when we go to buy a car? (I just reread this and must have been channeling Andy Rooney from 60 minutes. I know no one under 30 even knows that guy, but the little dude is still around giving commentary on just about everything.)

And about cars, I had a new Nissan Altima rental while in Colorado. It has a start/stop button, so you don't turn a key, you just press a button. I found this so much easier on my wrist, no more troublesome inserting a key and then all that rigorous 90 degree turning of the wrist to start the car.

I mow my jungle/yard today before the afternoon rains come. Going 10 days in Florida without mowing this time of year is not recommended.

I love weekends.

Stint Briefing Conference

2009-08-16T11:20:00.000-04:00

Sitting at the Copper Mountain Conference center with 248 stinters getting ready to go to over 30 strategic locations around the world. I've been to one of these every year for over a decade, and I never get bored of what I experience here - the faith, courage, and energy of young men and women trusting God to make an eternal impact in the world. Every Christian who is starting to get a little skeptical or pessimistic about the state of Christianity in the US should come to this for a couple of days. The story line here is one of hope because of the love of Christ that has transformed their lives.
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10 Reasons the Great Commission will be fulfilled in this generation

2009-07-25T21:52:00.000-04:00

Dr. Steve Douglass' view of why the GC will be fulfilled soon.
1. He intends to do it
2. He has commanded us to go.
3. He offers us the power
4. He is moving today
5. His people are praying more
6. Hs people are planning more.
7. His people are more at one.
8. Non-written methods are overcoming illiteracy.
9. Scripture translation is expanding rapidly.
"Never since the beginning of time has every people group had the Bible in their language. This will be happen by 2025."
10. Many other breakthroughs have occurred. E.g. Student-led movements, films (Magdalena, Damascus); leaders reaching leaders; Everystudent.com
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Big Conference

2009-07-23T12:10:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in Moby Gym/CSU at the Staff Conference for CCC. Listening to Tim Keller on Luke 10.
Yesterday I had conversations with leaders from S Korea, the Philippines, Central America, Uruguay, and Western Europe. The common theme - we want and need US students to come as missionairies to our countries. Help us reach more students. Help us raise up leaders. Be our partners in the Great Commission.
Tim Keller's opening comment on CCC paraphrased - if you (CCC) disappeared tomorrow, church leaders would need to start figuring out how to recreate you, because of your role in the world.
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We all need a mission

2009-05-16T19:38:00.000-04:00

I joined several of our illustrious WSN leaders in beautiful downtown Portland for 2 days to plan some next steps for reaching students in global cities. But we weren't the only ones at the Doubletree hotel on a mission. We were overwhelmed in numbers by the knitting convention. Lots of knitting and pearling. An argument in the restaurant where someone was accused of dropping a stitch. Some very interesting clothing, shawls, and other stuff made by knitting. Most of all I liked this car window sticker.
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Psychotria nervosa is ...

2009-04-15T16:26:00.000-04:00

Kim and I ran in to this at the Selby gardens in Sarasota. Whoever named this plant must have not been a regular coffee drinker.
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"Make disciples"

2009-04-09T01:17:00.000-04:00

Powerful last night and last morning of the conference! Over half of the students and staff responded to a challenge to "make disciples", and David Bedolla followed it up this morning with a practical challenge to launch and lead spiritual movements all over their country and the world.
The group of guys in the picture are 2 students and 2 volunteers with Craig Johring, the Enfoqie Mexico team leader. The 2 students are planning a christian concert outreach with a leading music executive sharing the gospel.
Its been a week full of great stories of faith from students reaching students who want to change their country.
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2009-04-07T20:14:00.000-04:00

The past 3 days have been awesome here. Students are excited about their relationship with God. The conference has been creative and professional. Last night they gathered on the beach and let helium balloons go, representing a life that is filled with His Spirit, experiencing freedom from guilt and sin. I speak on the Great Commission in just about an hour. Afterward, students will go on a prayer journey around the world with maps of the continents on the wall and prayer requests at each station.
Today they have been out serving in the community and we'll be hearing some of those stories as well. It should be a big night.
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Mision Acapulco

2009-04-05T11:02:00.001-04:00

Kim and I have joined 200 students from Mexico who came here yesterday for their spring break to share the gospel with fellow students and do community service.
I speak the last night on "La Gran Comision". I am working hard on my Spanish. (not really) Last night was kind of a party plus a message. These kids don't know most of the people at the conference, so it will be cool to see them bond during the next few days. I think the balloons help the bonding process.

Get a piece of the Rock

2009-03-29T19:26:00.010-04:00

My soul finds rest in God alone; He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1,2

When Kim and I were Spain at the midyear retreat for STINTers across Europe and the Middle East, we took a trip to Gibraltar. You drive along the coastal highway, through some hills, round a corner, and then you see it in the distance, rising out of the ocean. Gibraltar is stunning as you look at from up close or faraway. But then you drive onto it, and you realize how big it really is. It is a giant rock fortress that is also a city, still fully owned and operated by the United Kingdom. Everywhere you go, there are signs of past conflict - tunnels dug out of solid rock, large cannons, military barracks and monuments.

But in the middle of this rock is a beautiful garden, with paths, fountains, waterfalls, benches, and scenic views of the bay, all designed for rest and reflection. We were stunned by its beauty, simplicity, and serenity in the middle of this rocky reminder of war and conflict.

King and songwriter David, no stranger to warfare, compared His relationship with God to the experience of a warrior who runs to the high ground, the rock, to be saved. Only in the middle of this fortress can his soul can find rest. The battles may still rage, but rest can be found during it all.

This reminds me that the very need for rest is natural, brought on by the conflicts we find ourselves in each day. Whether we are facing large scale invasions that seem to threaten our stability, sanity, and survival, or the small daily challenges of life common to all, Jesus wants to be our Rock right in the middle of it all.

Real rest is found in Him, in the middle of real life. I can’t find it elsewhere.
Prudential’s slogan had it right – “get a piece of the rock”. It’s just that they don’t offer the rock that never fails.

A view from the top, with the airport and Spain in the background.

40 Days and 40 Nights...

2009-03-17T21:56:00.002-04:00

Yes, it has been that long since I've been on the Global Road. There was not master plan for this, like Jesus' 40 days/nights in the wilderness, or the 40 days of rain that pummeled Noah and his family in the ark. I just ran out of the time and energy; but I am back again, and will bring you up to speed on all the provocative stuff I've been doing.
I'll start with the most recent, 48 hours in Sarasota on the beach with Kim. We usually like to head to Longboat Key, but this time went to Siesta Key, and the beach there is so much better than Longboat. We enjoyed 2 perfect days of weather on the beach, with lots of reading, sleeping, walking, and talking. No real swimming though it was perfect for jumping in to cool off.
Below is a pictorial review of what you've missed while I've been blog-less. I start from the most recent and go back to my trip to Turkey in mid February.

On the way out of town today we visited the Selby Gardens in Sarasota. If you are in that area and you like gardens, you should take time to visit it. This is an awesome tree that I've never heard of before, and I wish I had written down the name. It's all about the root system. It looks like its moving. There were great views of Sarasota Bay, large trees with the canopy to walk through, banyan trees, this incredible tree in the middle, and dart frogs that looked like they were ceramics painted by an elementary school kid. A nice ending before heading home and working on the blog during American Idol.

2009-03-17T21:52:00.001-04:00

Walking off the beach at the end of the day, we ran into this drum circle that formed up on Siesta Key. It seemed to include some planned hula hooping and then little kids who just jumped in and tried it on. There were also a few who were just dancing in their own world.

Packin heat in Orlando

2009-03-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

This is neighbor Mike. Last weekend he takes me out to the gun range, and we de-stress our lives by shooting things. Last time I remembered firing a gun I was a junior in high school. Wayne Smith took me through a field of corn stalks and mud in November. I shot at stuff. I didn't hit anything. I got really cold. Only 2 redeeming things; I laughed a lot at Wayne and knew I could save time and money by crossing off hunting as a future sport to take up.
So, I was wondering if this would de stress or add stress. I missed the first 2 clay pigeons, but then went 4 for 4. I had found my game. Bring it on. Thanks Mike.

2009-03-17T21:12:00.001-04:00

Yes that's me, with a semi-automatic 22. And a slight bald spot. And 2 very impressed friends casting long shadows alongside me. The first several shots I missed completely. Gun range director comes over and says, "You're left-eye dominant". Huh? Who knew. I shot left handed the rest of the day, even got a few on the target. Yours truly, left eye Bubalo.

2009-03-17T21:04:00.002-04:00

Bulls Eye with a 22. Hey, I was too aiming at the one on the right. Notice the lower right corner black dot of the target on the left. Oops.

Sea Shack

2009-03-17T21:00:00.002-04:00

National Leadership Conference at Hilton Head at the end of February. This annual US Campus Leadership gathering is known for cooler than average weather, meeting with great friends who serve together, celebrating all God has done the past year, and unifying around a common vision for the future. It also requires a pilgrimage to the Sea Shack, standing in line outside to get in, eating seafood prepared with a little homemade flavor and love. (Aka "cheapest seafood dinner on the island.")

2009-03-17T20:53:00.002-04:00

On the free afternoon, I took on this challenging par 3 over water, the toughest hole on the course. Great was the celebration as we all - me, Ron, and Jon - all planted on the green and 2 putted. The rest of the game was well, a bit less successful. But it was still a blast.

2009-03-17T20:29:00.001-04:00

Friends and colleagues at a Leadership Conference in Turkey Feb. 9 - 11. These men and women have incredible faith as they follow Jesus in some pretty challenging places. I receive far more each time from these gatherings than I ever imagine I will.

And the Winner is...

2009-02-07T17:51:00.004-05:00

Here I am in my personal coffee corner at home. Its a happy place, and a happy moment every morning when the beans start to brew. Here's my favorite brewed at home cup of coffee. I know you've been waiting patiently -
1. Tres Rios, from Costa Rica. I get this delivered from my friend and colleague, Carlos “the Jackal” Tenorio. He lives in Tres Rios region, and this bean makes a superb cup of coffee for any time of day. It’s probably considered a medium roast, and I usually prefer bold, but this is so smooth and full of flavor, that I can drink it all day long. You can get this from Starbucks now, but it isn’t as good at the stash he brings me. When I saw *$ was selling it I was thrilled, but it just doesn’t match up to original.
2. A close second and worth your time to order is Jeff’s Java, from Mission Roasters. I’ve known Jeff for 15 years, and he roasts the beans in his garage with TLC. He’s a chaplain for Orange County fire and rescue, and you can go online and order. Some of every order goes to help a humanitarian cause. And the coffee is so good. Its bold, but not bitter at all. Perfect morning cup of coffee, every morning. So grab a couple of pounds of this.
3. Honorable mention goes to the boldest cup of coffee - Hairbenders - I’ve ever brewed, from the beans sent to me from my buddy Matt in Portland. It was from Stumptown, a coffee shop in Portland. Hairbenders is an appropriate title, and I highly recommend it just for the effect. I left Matt a message after I drank the first cup, and called it Hellraisers, not being able to even think straight after I had a cup.

So, there you have it. Look them up, order your own, and enjoy a great cup today.

Award winning Coffee

2009-02-06T09:43:00.000-05:00

The drama has been building as you have waited for the announcement. Here I am pouring the award winning coffee from the past year (or so). The winner ...

will be posted in the next 24 hrs.
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Watching the Inauguration in Spain with 125 stinters

2009-01-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

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As promised, my personal focus for 2009

2009-01-17T14:13:00.004-05:00

John 15 describes a life connected to Jesus, one that results in joy that comes from Jesus Himself and fills our life. As I reflected on 2008, and thought about my life, I felt that joy was NOT a characteristic that I experienced a lot of. What is joy exactly? Here's something I've been thinking - it's connected to "peace", yet different; they go together, like ice and tea, like peanut butter and jelly. This is obviously not a theological defintion. But joy seems like the overflowing expression of peace and contentment. It's an extra step above and beyond that is supernatural, not based on everything workig out right.

So, how do you get that kind of joy? It took me back to John 15:1. Jesus is the true vine. I started thinking about staying connected to Him who is "true", rather than those things which are "false". How often do I try to find life in what is a mirage, a phantom, and not the true life-giving Vine? What are those things? And the result when I do - Not real joy, but all too often a dependence on things working out right.

Here's a list of stuff I plug in to thinking it might bring me life -
-Getting more informed about the world around me
-Getting my inbox emptied out, my work all done
-Being liked and understood by everyone, and all that pushes me to do
-More money, fewer problems, almost anything, except a life totally connected to and immersed in the life and heart of Jesus.

So that will be my focus for the year. To uncover and name those false vines, and to relinquish them as false suitors, hopeless fantasies of real life and joy. And then to connect to Jesus, as a branch stays connected to the vine, and bears much fruit...including a whole bunch of joy.

The fruit of life connected to the true vine will produce the kind of joy that will rise above the ebb and flow of good circumstances. That is the kind of life I want. So that is my focus for the year

Summer project leaders training

2009-01-12T20:07:00.001-05:00

Here's Mark Gauthier, our National Director, challenging our leaders to trust God to reach thousands of students for Christ all over the world and in the US this summer.
Mark's first summer project experiences were at Huntington Beach, CA and he momentarily freaked out when he was announced as a leader to go to Romania the next summer.
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WSN mascot health update

2008-12-31T17:30:00.004-05:00

For over 12 years, Freckles the Wonder Dog has been the WSN mascot. On Friday before Christmas, he pinched a nerve in his neck or back, or both. Of course, at the time we didn't know that. All we knew was that he had random yelping at all times of day and night that would send us all in to shock. He was obviously in a ton of pain. We took him to the vet emergency room, and came home not knowing how damaged he was, but with lots of pain killers. I wasn't sure if they were for the dog or me. Props to our daughter-in-law Laura, a nurse who helped us figure out that the muscle relaxers were making him work too hard to breathe and seemed to be making him worse.

By Christmas he was doing better, but still in a lot of pain and we started searching for different solutions. We had heard that chiropractors can help dogs, and being the son of a chiropractor I was pretty convinced it could help. I just couldn't imagine getting the Beagle to lay on a table and let someone work on his spine.

Yesterday we took him to a vet who not only does spinal manipulation, but also accupunture and food supplements. Who knew? I had to see this, and also hope that it works, cause watching our pet in pain has not been pretty. And there won't be any surgery. I've had him with 2 paws in the grave over the last 10 days, so it kind of felt like a last resort. Let's just say I wasn't going to watch Marley and Me, or Old Yeller, or any other pet movie that makes grown men cry.

Well, the experience was awesome. The Pet Chiro really knew her stuff. You can see her treatments frm the pics. The Wonder Dog isn't dancing on his back feet (except if its begging for steak, when he seems to recover really quickly - "only a flesh wound"); but he is defintely doing a lot better, and we hope he will keep improving. He still lets out an occassional yelp but his overall response is better everyday. It looks like Freckles will continue his reign as the WSN Mascot for a little while longer, imparting wisdom during those long daily walks in East Orlando.

I couldn't believe he allowed this! And have no idea if it helped.
Well, 2009 is just about 6 hours away here on the East Coast, and over the next few days I have much to say as we get this year rolling, including -
*my personal focus for 2009
*my favorite coffees of 2008, and
*my favorite story of God using a student to touch other lives from this past year.

Stay tuned in 2009.

Lessons from the dinosaur (now in a convenient Bible study method format)

2008-12-20T09:35:00.005-05:00

On a slow news cycle, we can always pop in a story about our friend the dinosaur, and what we can learn from them. Here is what I just read:

"In families of some of the most vicious and carnivorous dinosaurs, dad took care of the developing eggs, possibly laid by more than one mom, a new study suggests. Evidence for dino daddy daycare and potential polygamy comes from the fossilized remains of three dinosaurs sitting on nests. In the animal kingdom polygamy is common."

Observation
Notice the 3 dinos fossilized while sitting on the eggs. Does it surprise anyone that men would fall asleep and die while doing childcare? My wife would say that is a common trait of all males while watching children, proving some theory of evolution.

Interpretation
Imagine being so sleepy that when the mudslide or lava flow came, you didn't budge. But this is how boring childcare is for men. So BOOM, millions of years later, you're a social science icon. I think they got fooled into watching Barney, which always put me to sleep in about 5 seconds. (But I heard the US military blared the Barney theme song for hours to break terrorists. Genius. Who needs waterboarding, Barney will make any grown man cry for momma.)

Also, like men today, no self respecting dino would do childcare alone. That idea would have been laughed off immediately.

Application
Dads, don't do child care, certainly not baby care, and definitely not any egg care. You will get fossilized. And people will say you were probaby a polygamist too, when it was just helping out at a CCC conference, or the neighbors.

And don't fall for this line - "Hey honey, why don't you invite your friends over, it will be more fun for you." Nope, you'll still die, only all together. Which is still no fun in my book. Don't take your friends down with you like this.

Big Finish
Don't be duped by childcare offers, or enticed by polygamy. Stay away from both.
Let's not forget, despite how fascinating they are, dinosaurs are still extinct. This kind of behavior will kill you and eventually all of us.

You've been warned.

Evangelism Breakthrough?

2008-12-17T22:41:00.000-05:00

Today I'm driving on the 408, and I saw my house being pulled by a small van. It even has our name - sort of - all over it. (Bubbalou's is actually a BBQ place here in Orlando.) This is one of their mobile units out providing quality meat to the masses. Which makes me think we've missed a connection right in front of our noses for years:
Bringing the reality of Jesus to the students of the world, now being served with an order of BBQ ribs, brisket, or pulled pork, fries, Texas toast, and sweet tea.
I will keep working on this brainstorm for all of us.

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It's a Wonderful Life

2008-12-13T21:09:00.000-05:00

This is what it looks like to be me watching "It's a Wonderful Life".
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Heading back to Orlando

2008-12-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

Sitting in massive gridlock in Buenos Aires as I head to the airport. Its about 8 pm here and we're sitting on the 9th of July Ave approaching the famous obelisk landmark in the heart of the city.
Highlight of the time here - talking with staff about their ministries and hearing how God is moving around the world, as well as the challenges they face.
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Reaching 130 million students

2008-12-12T10:57:00.000-05:00

As we complete our week of global meetings, we are in work groups adressing topics relevant to reaching the students of the world; like establishing global learning communities; students leading movements - not staff; and the use of the internet to plant movements.
For example, imagine a series of fun videos that students put on Youtube that tell the story and practices of student-led spiritual movements.
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Argentina BBQ

2008-12-10T16:25:00.000-05:00

Standing on the roof of the Argentina CCC National office, grilling meat for dinner. Every office needs a grill like this.
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Buenos Aires

2008-12-09T08:36:00.001-05:00

Sitting with 50 other campus ministry leaders around the world. Right now we are interacting with a panel of South American leaders about leading organizational change with those who lead us (leading "north") as Bill Hybels has said. This is a very unusual concept in many cultures, and very hard to practice in any organization. But while we are to respect everyone and honor those who lead us, we still have a role to influence those in the org. who are above, and beside us (peers, "east and west"), not just those who report to us ("south").
This process is building a new leadership culture in South America.
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Rocky on Election Night

2008-11-04T20:25:00.004-05:00

Ever since the last presidential debate, I've been thinking of this election in terms of Rocky. And then just now, I turn on the TV looking for something besides election results, and there it is, Rocky 2. A serendipitous moment if ever there was one.
There is Barack "Apollo Creed" Obama, young, slick, polished, the heavy favorite. And his adversary is John "Mickey" McCain. I know, your thinking; Keith, that should be John "Rocky" McCain. The biggest comeback kid since Truman, and the foreshadowing of Bill Clinton."
But no, I mean Mickey Goldmill, Rocky's trainer. The crusty old boxing trainer for Rocky. Its felt like old Mickey has been doing the boxing for the past 2 months against this quicker, younger opponent, just trying to land a punch, with Sarah "Adrien" Palin watching and cheering him on. Go, Mick, hit him.

I don't know how this fight will turn out, but I'm guessing it might look something like this -

I don't know, it's just the way I think it will end tonight.
Notice Sarah P in blue.

I know, many of you young people haven't enjoyed Rocky, in light of the series debut in 1976, but the last sequel was only last year wasn't it?

Friends in Another Portland

2008-10-21T02:01:00.000-04:00

2 weeks ago, Kim and I were in Portland, Oregon. (Scroll down global road for highlights).
Now we are visiting our team in Boston, so we came up early and met with our best friends from our days on staff in Philly, David and Robin, who now live in Portland, Maine. We had not seen them in 17 yrs, which is so sad for all of us. We all just got a little busy there for awhile, huh?. But we picked up like it was only yesterday, which is an amazing thing about frienship.
They gave us a taste of Maine with a lobster lunch and took us on a hike on a chilly but beautiful Sunday afternoon. They also have a genius dog, Max, who plays soccer.
There is more to be said on all this, but its 2 am and I really need to try to sleep. Its like I have jet lag for some reason.
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Scraps from the kitchen table

2008-10-12T16:54:00.004-04:00

For those of you who are new to the Global Road, "Scraps..." is the random thoughts, experiences, observations, keen insights (ha)- all usually unrelated to each other - that get chucked in to this blog every so often. Like the leftovers thrown off the table to our genius beagle. So tasty and bite size.

We were asked for input on our conference room at our headquarters, in order to make some improvements. Here was mine:

I like it that the table is so long, if I sit on an end, I can’t hear people on the other end. This allows me to do something else and not feel like its my fault, and I’m not multi-tasking then. This is why I’m disappointed if someone saves me a seat in the middle. Stop doing this. It is irritating me.

I have a feeling I will only get middle of the table seats from now on. A sort of meeting purgatory!

After getting home from our recent trip to Portland, I watched football off and on all day yesterday. My good friend Eric in Indiana is a Texas fan. He was doing something with his family and unable to watch his Longhorn's in the Red River Shootout. I knew this was hard for him, so I texted him updates throughout the day. He especially liked it when Texas won. I was glad I could be of help to him during family time.

I watched Mizzou get upset by Oklahoma State. This was disappointinng, but I was happy for my friend Dave Robinson, since his nephew is the QB for OSU. Dave was one of the founders of WSN, and worked with CCC in Eastern Europe for about 15 or 20 years, but is now a pastor in KC, Missouri. I was happy he got to see his nephew play so well. Sorry Mizzou fans, you were going up against Robinson mojo.

Today is a slow day on ESPN and FOX Sports Network. I flipped through the channels this afternoon, and saw in succession: Kids playing for the championship of Scrabble, Europe vs. US in Trickshot Pool, and Championship Darts. Sports?

I am very excited about what God is doing in Moscow CityFocus. I think you'll be encouraged. Check out the link for the story of Yana and Kristina at Humanitarian University.

Also got a few reports in the last week of 50 students at a retreat in an Asian country, trusting God for almost 600 decisions for Christ this year in their region of the country. This is awesome stuff. God is working all over the world.

Time to go, there may be professional hula hooping or marbles on TV now.

Portland

2008-10-10T09:45:00.004-04:00

You must visit Multonomah Falls and have the world famous "A" take your picture. She's a talented 6 (maybe 7?) year old photographer and one of the stars of the Burning Heart Revolution.

Kim and I came out to meet with Matt and Krista Mikalatos. Matt gives leadership to WSN in the Greater NW region, and does a fantastic job. Some have called him a genius. Well, one person called him that yesterday, but I think it was used as sarcasm. We have been talking since he joined the WSN team about visiting him in Portland, and the past few days we've finally been able to take him up on the offer.

The regional team of leaders here is awesome, the Columbia River is beautiful, the falls are majestic, the food has been amazing - I had fresh salmon for dinner and once for breakfast -and the coffee is always good.

(More on salmon: I had the best salmon in my life, seriously, this is not hyperbole, grilled on Wayne and Elaine Wright's Weber on Monday night. The Wright's have blessed us for 28 years as ministry partners, but we haven't seen them since they moved from Kansas City 25 years ago. Great Reunion. And salmon has never tasted so good.)

I'm a convert, this is a great place to be. WSN moves its offices here next week.
They do need to work on the whole rain thing though.

Well, back to Orlando today. And I'm back on the Global Road.

Paris

2008-08-31T23:45:00.000-04:00

Kim and I are here to pray, plan, discuss, and dream with about 12 others from Western Europe, Canada, and the US, about bringing the reality of Jesus to every student here.
We got here Sat am and have spent the past 2 days sightseeing. Unfortunately, jet lag has won out tonight/this morning, and I've been up since 2:30. Kim, however, is sleeping just fine. So I just decided it was time to blog.
The bird statue with the man's head is at the entry to St. Chappelle church. No idea what that's about. Architect's humor? Who knows?
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Paris

2008-08-31T23:33:00.000-04:00

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Rain, Sleet, Snow, (and Michael Phelps) at Copper Mountain

2008-08-18T00:12:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in Lefty's Mile High Grille at the Denver airport, about to enjoy my favorite tuna steak sandwich anywhere. On my way home from the '08 STINT Briefing conference at Copper Mountain. It's a gathering of over 300 young leaders, most of them having just graduated a couple of months ago.

To welcome them the first night, I spoke on Moses' encounter with God in the bush on fire on Mt. Horeb, and how God wants to surprise us, even when we feel like we are the least likely or adequate for being used by Him. (Remember, Moses was living pretty far at that time from his original vision of delivering Israel.)

All of these STINTers have heard from God - had their own Mt. Horeb moments marked by worship and full surrender to Christ. They shared where some of those had taken place; a coffee shop, a cemetery, on an airplane to Rome. The atmosphere is filled with a mixture of deep humility and great anticipation of God moving and leading and overpowering with His presence.

We experienced the drama of weather in the Rockies, from driving rain to sleet, a ground covering hailstorm, and a thunderstorm that dropped snow - all in about 24 hours. This has only added to the sense of majesty that we are in His hand, at the intersection of the finite and the eternal. And also being wet and cold a lot.

Each night there have been large gatherings in the lounge, watching the Olympics and cheering on Michael Phelps to his 8 gold medals. It feels like a certain sense of "team" is forming as we celebrate these moments together. And just maybe, we are breathing a bit of the truth from 1 Cor 9:25: "they sacrifice everything to receive a gold medal, but we live in surrender to Christ 24/7 to receive an eternal reward. (My paraphrase)

What a privilege to be together in God's presence, in His amazing creation, preparing to believe Him for spiritual movements to be launched all over the world this year.
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All in a day

2008-08-01T18:21:00.014-04:00

How much could happen in one person's life on the same day in the calendar. Turns out quite a few. And all together they can produce a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

August 1 -

12 years ago. Freckles the Wonder Dog enters the world. Our kids pick him out of the litter in mid September. This happens because in a moment of sadness after Nike the Hamster dies we tell the kids they can upgrade to a real pet. Enter the Beagle.
10 years ago - My Dad dies of cancer at 69. It is hard to believe he has been gone for a decade. Trauma, tears, sadness. Remembering how bravely he fought the cancer, how he loved my mom, and me and my 3 brothers. How he tried to show up at every sports event we were in. How he helped build a swimming pool in our hometown cause kids needed a place to swim. School board president. City Council member. Mowed the yard with his tie on, at least once. Bad golfer. Funny guy.
4 years ago - our family with our load of worldly possessions loads up the truck and moves to...Orlando. Trauma, sadness in leaving friends, hopes for God's hand to be upon us, questions of how this will all pan out. Wondering a few times if it was all a big mistake. Confidence that God has revealed His will, even though its hard.
3 years ago - our son Matt starts dating Laura at the Daytona Beach Summer Project. And now, they get married in one week. Whoa. Weren't we just getting over Nike the Hamster?
Today - Megan our daughter drives home from FSU. Tons of great stories. Awesome to have her home. She's a leader and a story teller, and a great kid.

So, what do I make of this? It reminds me that our lives consist of so many different pieces and threads, no matter what day they fall on. Our lives are filled with simple joys and powerful grief, and everything in between. And it is God's presence which is the constant in every one of these moments. He is the One who is our Refuge, or Provider, or Peace, or Strength, or just Whatever we need at the moment. He not only is there, He is handcrafting each of our days to accomplish His good purposes for us. When they make sense, and when they don't. When they are filled with celebration, or filled with pain.

"In your book all the days of my life are written; The days that you planned for me before I lived any of them." Psalm 139:16

I'm reminded of the last lines from the song "One Day More" from Les Miserables - my favorite broadway play - where everyone is imagining what the next day will hold for them,

Tomorrow we'll discover
What our God in Heaven has in store!
One more dawn
One more day
One day more.

August 1.

Learning New Skills may not always be good for you

2008-07-27T13:40:00.016-04:00

I heard that learning new skills was good for you. Especially the older you get. Not sure where I got this, but I vaguely remember hearing that it helps prevent Alzheimer's. Which is why you've got airplanes full of people working Sudoku puzzles, all in hopes that by the time they figure them out they will either have a) healthy brains, or b) arrived at their destination, even if they don't know who or where they are. Cause I guarantee you, those puzzles are not inherently fun or relaxing, but instead put you into a math-induced coma.

So I have tried something more practical in the past week. First I tried my hand at Putting in and taking out a contact lens. (I don't really consider wearing them a skill, just in case you wondered.) This became MY GOAL, on the order of JFK's vision - by the end of the decade, landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. (Practice saying it like him, it sounds more dramatic.)

By the way...
I have always thought the ending of the Man on the Moon vision - "and return him safely to earth" - was an interesting tack-on, like we might not care if we got them back safely, as long we beat the Russians in getting them up there.

NASA techie #1 "Hey does anyone know how to get Neil back?"
NASA techie #2 "No, it wasn't in my job description."
NASA techie #1 "You hungry, let's go get pizza."

Back to our featured story...MY GOAL-
The Contact Lens Skill wasn't just for my long term mental health. Its because I'm tired of reading glasses. Mostly, finding ones I like, then sitting on them in the car or crushing them in my backpack on the plane. I thought it would be more convenient to get A Contact Lens. But actually, I almost lost my short term mental health learning this refined and extraordinarily difficult art, which is practiced successfully by 40 million Americans according to my reassuring optometrist, Dr. Ipokeu. Anyone who tells you its easy to learn to put in contacts should be immediately regarded as a habitual liar. I tried every method and trick for days to keep my eye from blinking at the critical moment. Turns out my eye has a fantastic avoidance system for having someone's finger in it, including my own. This is what eyelids are supposed to do right? 50 years of training, and my eye has it down pat.

I discovered my eyelid is actually stronger that my finger's ability to hold it back. I tested them at the YMCA, and my eyelids can lift 150 pounds, but my index finger and ring finger only about 2.5 lbs. So, my eyelid wins every time.

As if the Contact Lens Skill sessions weren't enough, I decided to vastly diminish my long term Alzheimer's odds in the same week by putting on new screens that turns our backyard in to a small version of a batting cage. Turns out Mr. Weedwacker got a little too close over the years (another skill I must improve on) and I have enough rips in the screen that they serve as safety flaps to let the lizards know they are now entering our living area.

My friend Bob gave me great instructions on how to plan for, measure, cut, and install the screens. Even gave me the tools. Unfortunately, he could not do a brain transplant beforehand to tell me which side of the rubber stripping to put in that holds the fence into the frame. Of course, I had it turned the wrong way. Never once did it occur to me that I had it turned the wrong way. That is why God gave men wives. So that they can show us how to do stuff.

Wife: Honey, maybe if you turned it around it would help.
Husband: Right? Its obvious this is the right way.
Wife: Hey, look, its easy the other way.
Hsuband: #$%^&#! (while screaming)

Yes, it was magic. Suddenly, I did not have to use the strength of my arms, legs, and eyelids to force the threading in the groove of the frame in the fence of the cage that surrounds the house that sits on the street that Jack built, but it actually went in fairly easily, much easier than a contact lens in fact.

So, there are many morals, principles, and lessons you, or I, can take from this week of Learning a New Skill. Feel free to make up your own. I had a few to share, but I can't remember them now.

Family Reunions

2008-07-20T14:18:00.014-04:00

Its been a week already, but our family went to KC for the annual Bubalo reunion, aka Bubalo Golf Tournament and Eating Extravaganza. Our whole family gathers each year for a weekend golf charity tournament, which honors my dad's inolvement with young people. We came up with the idea of this golf tournament shortly after he died of cancer almost 10 years ago.

A fond and somewhat excruciating memory of my childhood was of my dad taking me and my three brothers golfing. The excruciating part of the memory is that these endeavors usually involved 5 hours of running around a course looking for lost balls and generally wreaking havoc on the lives of anyone who was unfortunate enough to have chosen to play at the same time as us. My dad lived life with an eye on the watch, and was afraid of "slow play" like it was the Grim Reaper, about to descend upon us if we should cause someone to wait more than 10 seconds. This, we managed to do alot. We weren't great players, but we were more in shape by the end of the round. That's what jogging 18 holes of golf will do for you.

Somehow we usually ended the afternoon by feeling it had been a great time, despite scores that matched the heat index on a hot Missouri summer day. (It does seem we usually chose the hottest day of the year to play, so survival was pretty much a victory.)

The family of Missouri Bubalos has grown from 2 parents and 4 sons to include their 4 wives, plus their 14 children and their spouses/fiance's/girlfriends. And a couple of their children. Add in the Northen Bubalo tribe from Duluth, Minnesota, where my dad was born - his brother Bob and some of his family attended - and you end up with the scene above. We may have had people who just jumped in the picture for all I know.

We've done T Shirts for all 10 years. My brother Mark plus some of his friends from St. Peter's UMC do most of the heavy lifting for this tournament. All the money raised goes to send kids from their church to camp and on mission trips.

I was happy to be part of winning The Wisk Broom Plaque - won by the team I was on with 2 of my nephews and my brother Al, it will be proudly displayed in Al's office this year in Indiana. Seems a wisk broom was an indispensable tool of my Grandad Bubalo, and genuine mostly-used relic was saved and turned into a trophy for the family team with the lowest score.

The weekend is a reminder of the power of family. Certainly anyone's family background makes a huge contribution to who they are in life. You may spend your life trying to overcome the background or riding its benefits. Sometimes a bit of both. I've been fortunate that what my family gave me balances way out on the positive, for which I am grateful.

Lucky travel clothes

2008-07-06T23:03:00.000-04:00

I believe anyone who flies a lot has found their most comfortable travel clothes. Yet rarely does this get talked about. I am breaking this trend and telling the world. I have a short sleeve/ long sleeve - depending on the weather on arrival - and jeans. My favorite short sleeve was getting worn. It also had an chlorine stain that made it start to look like a work shirt. Imagine the joy when the same shirt went on sale online for $15. Same color same brand. I imagine its about 8-10 yrs younger than the old fave - on hangar, on way to retirement. But I can still travel in comfort.

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In the Lion's Den

2008-07-02T10:30:00.002-04:00

Oh yes, Matt and I are not still stuck at Dulles in a thunderstorm. Though when we did get cleared to take off, the pilot referred to us as "the pathfinder, the first plane given permission to go west through the storm to find a route between all the major thunderstorm cells that other planes could follow." I wasn't very excited to be a pioneer at that moment, but I was also too tired to really care. Plus what do you do at that moment...press the flight attendant call button and lodge a protest. "Could you please tell Mr. Pilot that I am not as adventurous as he is and that I did not buy the Pathfinder thrill ride fare, just the basic economy fare?"

Yesterday I spoke at X Track. Its the 5 weeek cross cultural preparation class for our staff who are headed for international assignments. It is always so encouraging to be with them. You rarely find a more teachable audience. They are following Jesus to the edge of their comfort zone, out on an edge where their faith has never been before.

To lift their spirits, I took them on my own little journey through Daniel 6. Here is the short summary. In first grade, we learn the lesson of Daniel in the Lion's Den. God rescues those who follow Him. I like that lesson. It is helpful, it comforts me.

It's just that as we grow in faith, we need to teach the other lesson of Daniel 6 that precedes deliverance, i.e. sometimes following God fully will get you thrown in a lion's den. There is a good reason we don't drive this point home to first graders on the flannel board at Vacation Bible School. "Okay kids, who wants to get thrown in the lion's den? Just follow Jesus with your whole heart, and eventually you'll get that chance. It may not be until your 70, but just wait, it will happen."

This teaching would really hurt our VBS numbers.

However, as we grow we need to not only be challenged by the example of Daniel's integrity and dedication to follow God fully, and God's deliverance of those He loves, but also that following Jesus will at some point, and probably many points, lead us into lion's dens and fiery furnaces of challenges where the outcomes are not certain.

Because sometimes you get a physical deliverance, and sometimes you don't.
Try on Hebrews 11:35-38. A nice cheery verse you don't find in a lot of Christian bookstores. No bumper stickers will be made with this on it.

On the runway; so close, yet so far.

2008-06-10T20:12:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's our plane...sitting still - a "live" shot out the window. We left Cairo at 530 am - that's 1030 pm yesterday EST. Now we sit on the tarmac in DC- a mere 2 hrs from home. Surrounded by thunderstorms and 30 other planes. I kid you not, we've been on this plane for 2.5 hrs already and no end in site. So, we wait.
We have been served survival rations of granola bars and lemonade to keep us pacified. Matt is sound asleep. I want to be.
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Sharm El Sheikh

2008-06-09T12:08:00.000-04:00

Perfect last day for Matts graduation present after the conf. We flew here last night, snorkeled in the Red Sea today, and sit at the airport on our way back home, via Cairo.
This place is fascinating, people from all over the world, but very few Americans. We saw a muslim woman totally covered in black on the beach, with just the opening for her eyes. And there was the opposite from Western Europe. No need to elaborate.
This trip with Matt has been so amazing. I just feel grateful as we sit here and prepare to leave. Words are inadequate.
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Great 24 hrs

2008-06-07T18:04:00.000-04:00

It started last night bumping in to a fancy wedding in our hotel. This morning we headed out to the pyramids, which included crawling in to a couple of them, a short camel ride, a horseback ride, the sphinx, pushing away lots of people who wanted to sell us anything and everything, taking tons of pictures, looking at papyrus parchments, and ending the day with a sailboat ride on the Nile and spotting a Sheikh in a hotel lobby. As far as cool days go, this one gets a 10. More pictures later. Its time to sleep.
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2008-06-07T04:11:00.000-04:00

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Beside the main drag in Alexandria

2008-06-05T17:35:00.000-04:00

Matt and I are about to be beseiged by street vendors while relaxing at a cafe on Alexandria's main boulevard along the coast.
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Ancient alexandria ruins

2008-06-05T17:27:00.000-04:00

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Touring Alexandria

2008-06-05T11:41:00.000-04:00

Spending this afternnon in Alex, not a lot of time, but we went to the Bibliotheca Alexandria. One of the world's largest and definitely coolest libraries - with incredible architecture. Alex the Great pulled together all the worlds top literature of his day - then it got burned somtime after. Bummer. So this one was built in recognition of all that. Don't hold me to any of this though.
Also went out to the citadel, a big fort protecting the city. As well as to some ruins ofthe original Alexandria. There you have it. Tourist day in Alex.
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Egypt Campus Conference

2008-06-04T11:29:00.000-04:00

That's me with luther our National diector. About 50 campus staff are meeting here, somewhere near Alexandria. Awesome and intense prayer and praise, along with some messages on keeping our relationship with Christ fresh are what we are doing today.
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Egyptian rest stop

2008-06-03T10:33:00.000-04:00

On our way right now to Alexandria, our driver Mo stops for chai. We've listened to Arabic music for 2 hrs while dodging and weaving through city traffic and now on a main "interstate". We also played "frogger" with pedestrians because that is just the way it all works. Watermelom must be big here, just passed 3 guys competing for sales abt a mile apart - or maybe its a genius sales strategy.
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20 F and G

2008-06-02T17:03:00.000-04:00

We leave in 15 minutes. See you in the land of pharaohs and pyramids.
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16 years of waiting

2008-06-02T15:56:00.001-04:00

Matt and I are at Dulles airport on our way to a campus leadership conference somewhere outside the city of Alexandria, Egypt. In Jan '92, when Matt was 6, I went to this awesome land, and ever since then we have talked abt going there together. So, you can imagine that I"m pretty excited at this becoming reality. I'll be trying to send some pictures and stories throughout our adventure. I will speak to some of our leaders on how to think differently about ministry and reasons why those who do what we do lose their vision and passion. Should be an awesome time.

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scraps from the kitchen table

2008-05-25T10:01:00.006-04:00

A few appetizers on this fine Memorial Day Weekend -

American Idol I - I pulled for Blue Springs, Mo's own David Cook all season long. First time I've ever watched the whole show. I usually quit after the early self- deceived ones are eliminated.

American Idol II - went to a BBQ in the neighborhood for Paul B, who was back for 2 weeks in the middle of his deployment in Iraq. Just a normal guy who is serving his country. He talked about bringing peace to Iraqi citizens who just want to be free, and they are glad the US is there. Hmmm. Something you don't hear everyday.

Matt graduated from Miami University (in unison..."the one in Ohio.") It was a beautiful day, but bittersweet. I wished we had lived closer to experience more of this along the way. But it was sweet to enjoy with him the memories of his college career over some great food and walks through campus.

CityFocus Summit - A trip to Chicago to meet with 25 staff leaders from around the US who are bringing the reality of Jesus to the students in 6major US cities, plus Craig, Joe, and Kathryn from Mexico City. I believe we are on the verge of major breakthroughs in seeing movements launched all over our cities.

Indy 500 - yes its today, and though I lived there 8 years, I never went. Wish I would have though. Go Danica.

Madness in Mexico City

2008-04-09T21:09:00.003-04:00

Spring break blew open doors in Mexico City and Acapulco. Here is an account that Enfoque Mexico co-leader Craig Johring sent to me a few days ago.

Up to this point we’ve launched the first 35-40 campuses through our staff and short term folks, like Spring Breakers from the US showing up on campuses and believing God for Divine Appointments to find leaders who will launch movements.

At our Acapulco Spring Break conference the 150 staff and students here gave away over 3500 Four Laws. They shared Christ with 546, and saw 208 make decisions for Christ.

But even bigger for the Kingdom was seeing students own and sense empowerment with the mission. I sensed we had turned the corner when students stopped handing me the contacts of the students they had met here on the beaches who wanted to start movements on their campuses back in Mexico City. They would show me the contact, and then say they were going to coach and help that person launch a group.

Yesterday on the last morning of the conference we had students fill cards listing the names and universities where they were making a commitment to go and help the friends they have on those campuses launch a movement. There were over 70 students who brought their cards up for the commissioning, and most of these students had 2-3 cards in their hand.

Craig wrote today and told me there are now 45 movements in Mexico City. Less than 2years ago, there was one movement at UNAM (one of the largest universities in the world). Read more on Mexico City from Craig and Joe Cross on the blogs I have listed

Campus Meets Berlin

2008-03-29T10:08:00.003-04:00

March Madness jumped to Europe last week when 50 German students gathered in Berlin to share their faith with other students. This kind of gathering had not happened in the last 15 years with our ministry. 20 students from Univ of Indiana and Purdue joined them, along with the Berlin Stint team. They talked to students at Humboldt University, Technical University, and Free University.

At one university, 8 German students did a creative outreach where they put 50"Soularium" cards on the floor of a lobby and interacted with those who stopped by about what they meant. (These pictures are designed to grab curiousity and connect with someone who might not typically respond to a conversation about the Bible.)

A huge answer to prayer was the transit strike (airlines, buses, trains, oxcarts, everything) was settled the day that everyone traveled to Berlin.

One of the leaders of the Western Europe ministry called the "Campus Meets Berlin" gathering historic. So much prayer and work have preceeded this moment by German leaders and students, plus Americans and other Europeans, who have a heart for spiritual awakening throughout Europe.

Its a great day for all of us to celebrate. Count me in. "Ich bin ein Berliner".
(And no jelly doughnut comments from the peanut gallery. Look it up. That whole slam on Kennedy's German grammar being wrong is an urban legend...according to Wikipedia)

March Madness

2008-03-25T22:00:00.002-04:00

There's a different version of March Madness than the buzzer beatin, bracketology lovin, Duke hatin festival that lasts three weeks - of which 1 week is in April. It occurs all over the world, with college students using their Spring Break to travel the world and bring the love and grace of Jesus to other students. So, I'll take the next few entries to tell the story of some of these world rompin, Jesus lovin students who've set out around the world to experience their own March Madness.

Costa Rica STINT team shared this -
"On Friday a group of staff and students from Idaho arrived. They were able to meet so many new students on campus. We are now in the process of following up about 40 students they met that week. In fact, we have one new brother in Christ!

We also spent one day at an orphanage in Cartago, a neighboring town. That experience affected all of us deeply. We are hoping to have continued contact with the orphanage in the future...taking supplies to them and playing with the kids."

"The pain is unbearable"

2008-03-18T08:06:00.006-04:00

Yes, this is a quote I read this morning. But what was it about?
-A father losing his child to cancer?
-Genocide in Sudan, perhaps?
-An innocent life lost in some kind of random violence?
If these or similar thoughts race through your mind, you would be wrong.

It was freshman basketball player Jai Lucas from Univ. of Florida, explaining how hard it is to not make the NCAA tournament after being NCAA champs the 2 previous years. And if that wasn't hard enough, the Coach actually has locked them out of their $10 million practice court .
Ouch. That's right, the coach decided they needed some old fashioned discipline. Seems the team doesn't want to win badly enough; takes their status as 2 time national champions a little too much for granted. So the coach was forced to take draconian measures. Back to practicing in the little old dusty gym that the fraternities play their intramural games in. No more big screen TV in your own private lounge. And no wearing the school colors around campus, including "gator" logos. They are simply not worthy of all that, until they figure out had to play harder and win more.

Oh the pain. The embarrasment. The shame and humiliation of it all. It must really be hard on these guys right now. Next thing you know, they'll have to go to class too.

Scraps from the kitchen table..

2008-03-15T10:18:00.009-04:00

Nothing like a beautiful Saturday morning to get back on the Global Road again.

It is amazing to see the student involvement with the needs of the world. Every time I look up, students are doing something to help others. Here are three examples from my own tribe, which I happen to be quite proud of -

I went to Dad's weekend at Megan's sorority, and they were doing "Race to Live". It's the biggest philanthropy on campus, 700 runners, all put together by a bunch of college girls. Raised thousands for breast cancer research. Nice job, ZETA's. Quite impressive.

Matt is leaving today for New Orleans during Spring Break, with about 100 college kids, to join the ongoing rebuilding efforts there.

Matt's fiance (yes, managed to work that in) Laura leaves today for a medical mission trip to South America for her Spring Break.

Now, dial back to when I was a college student student (whoa, too far there, I was not born during the depression). None of this kind of stuff was being done, or very little, or I was just not paying attention. What is happening is totally cool. Students want to make a difference right now.

A few other morsels to get you through the weekend. In case you've been wondering, I will not be running for President. Since Michael Bloomberg made his big announcement to clear that all up for his 5 friends, I thought I should do the same.

Also, like Barack, I will not be accepting any VP role with Hillary. I've worked too hard and long to get where I am (exactly where is that?) just to help her win Missouri, Indiana, and perhpas the whole South - only to break ties of boring Senate votes when in office. Just not worth it.

I have a new coffee streak going. Since Dec. 10, we've been on another free coffee binge at the Bubalo household. Props to my friend from South America who I'll just code name "Carlos" for getting me started with the bean grown in his own neighborhood, Tres Rios in Costa Rica. Since then, the cupboards have been full. I may start doing coffee reviews sson.

150 bags of Clothes

2008-02-16T17:58:00.000-05:00

6300 students at the Passion Conference gave their own clothes to students at Union University in Jackson Tennessee. That campus was torn apart by a tornado on Feb 5. Students here were asked last night to consider bringing any clothes they had to give away. This morning as they walked in the door they dropped off enough clothes to fill 150, 50 gal plastic bags. They assembly-lined them just now into a Penske rental truck which is on the way to Tennessee. Pretty cool stuff.

Oh, that's in addition to the 14,000 pairs of new socks and 5000 new towels they brought with them to stock homeless shelters in Dallas. And the $4500 they contributed to drill fresh water wells for 2 African villages. So, turns out a Passion for Jesus could actually change the world around us, if we just give people the opportunity.
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Passion Conference - Dallas

2008-02-15T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here's Kim and I in Dallas with Joe and Craig from Mexico City, at the opening night of the Passion Conference. Here's a taste of the first night's message.

Die to little things (of your life) so you can live for a role in the epic story of God. - Louis Giglio

Pray with us for a partnership between Enfoque Mexico and Passion that will bring a day very soon where there are movements everywhere in Mexico City so that every student will know a true follower of Jesus, and the true message of Jesus, and ultimately Jesus Himself.
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Nerja

2008-02-01T00:18:00.000-05:00

The picture is blurry, but there was a lot of motion in the dining room with the stinters and staff roaming for food after a day of R&R in spain. Some went to Gibraltar, others to Granada. Talked to a few folks who went kayaking in the Med. WSN buddy Ron and I opted for a couple of hours in Frigiliana, a village in the foothills above Nerja. We were going to get gifts there for our wives but got sidetracked by the view of the valley below and a bbq grill at a restaurant at the top of the village. Oops.

The past few days were awesome, connecting with fellow staff and friends from all over the world, many I've known for 10-15 years, with a common love for life on the Global Road; men who share a love for Christ and His work among the students of the world. People who have suffered hardships of many kinds for the sake of the gospel. Relationships like this create a richness, a connectedness in life that is hard to put into words. Several of us finished the evening off last night being regaled by Paul, the Brit who owns the Smuggler's Inn restaurant, and heard of his total rejection of all US and UK foreign policy, not that we asked.
After a solid 3 hours of sleep, I headed off for Malaga, and sit in the airport right now, beginning to wake up after a great latte from the Cafe Ritazza...another little oasis. Leaving this little gathering impressed by the faith and hope of the men and women who are bringing the reality of Jesus to students all over the world.
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Frankfurt wind tunnel

2008-01-28T07:26:00.000-05:00

So I'm on my way to Spain for a conference with about 200 stinters from Europe and Asia. On the layover, I'm in the Lufthansa lounge when a large fan or motor kicks on in the celing above us. It sounds like a jet engine turning on. It gets louder and as it does, air in the room starts to move. Within seconds we have a pretty good wibd tunnel going...hair is blowing, papers are rustling, the blinds are moving, it is getting pretty windy, and just then they get on the loudspeaker: "please evacuate the lounge." I did, and didn't look back. I have no idea of the outcome. But I am on the south coast of Spain and doing just fine. Crisis averted.
I am going to a meeting in just a few minutes with our Western Europe leaders Javier and David. I'm posting this from my phone, and mostly excited to try it and see if it works.
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Commuting to San Antonio

2008-01-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

I went to the home of the Alamo for our Summer Project Leaders conference, flew back home to see Matt before he returned to Miami (the one in Ohio) for his last semester of college. Then Kim and I flew back to SA for another few days to meet with regional leaders in our ministry that are committed to planting movements among all the students in the US. Special emphasis here on the ones we aren't reaching very well or often, the ethnic students in the major cities of the US.

Summer mission trips are one of the best environments to lead for the first time. It provides many of the challenges of organization, communication, focus, courage, faith, and care for people that you will experience the rest of your life in leading. We had students with us, and I hope we have more in the future. I'm not sure how many students will go with us on our summer mission trips, probably about 3,000. As life changing as these are, I wish we were seeing about 10,000 a year go.

I also think of the impact these mission teams will have. Students lives will be changed as they encounter a new life in Christ in over 30 countries around the globe.

The second half of the trip was about CCC regional and national leaders working together to reach the unreached students all around the US. We are still learning how to move from isolated leadership styles to ones that are far more connected with other leaders, even within our own organization. Not mention connecting with the resources that God has provided outside of our own organization. It his hard to move from singular leadership toward collaborative leadership. It requires so much time and trust to be built. And it demands a shift in the way I look at my role and my success.

I came away wondering where I have become stagnant in my leadership approach, and what changes do I need to make that will unleash Kingdom resources that God has provided within our organization and also outside of it.

"unChristian"

2008-01-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

I started reading the book, "unChristian - what a new generation really thinks about Christianity." Here are some descriptions of the most current generation of university students:

...relationships are the driving force. Loyalty to friends is one of their highest values. They have a strong need to belong, usually to a tribe of other loyal people who know them well and appreciate them. Still, under their relational connectedness lies fierce individualism.

Though they esteem fair-mindedness and diversity, they are irreverent and blunt. Finding ways to express themselves and their rage is an endless pursuit. Being skeptical of leaders and institutions is part of their generational coding. They do not trust things that seem too perfect, accepting that life comes with its share of messiness and off-the-wall experiences and people.

They engage in a nearly constant search for fresh experiences and new sources of motivation. They disdain self-proclaimed experts and "talking head" presentations. If something doesn't work for them, or if they are not permitted to participate in the process, they quickly move on to something that grabs them. They prefer casual and comfortable to stuffy and stilted. They view life in a non-linear, chaotic way, which means they don't mind contradiction and ambiguity.

What do you think? Is this generally accurate? And if so, how does it make a difference?

2008 Non-Resolution

2008-01-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

I just love Pillsbury's Grands with Cinnabon icing. In 20 minutes, with a cup of coffee, eating one of these can put you on another planet. Wow. This is why God created grocery stores and processed food.

You may have already guessed from the first line, I've made no New Year Resolutions. No promises to be a better Bible reading-in shape-financially astute-time organized-tough and tender dad/husband/leader Christian servant. No "one more lap for Christ" vows coming from me in 2008. Perhaps one more cinnamon roll for Christ, if there is such a thing.

It's not that I think dedication and commitment are bad. They have their place in long list of good stuff to have. But I want my focus to be more about connecting...with Christ, my friends, colleagues, and those I just meet each day, not accomplishing more or getting "better". To just be aware and listening to what God is saying to me, and see where that takes me. With or without cinammon rolls. Preferably with.

Being a goal setter by nature, I'm sure I'll make some plans for the year. While I love spontaneity, I don't do well with total randomness. I swallowed one big heapin' spoonful of "strategic" sometime in my life and I'll spend the rest of my life digesting it. But I hope (resolve? hmmm, whatever) those goals will be more like compass headings than a tape to break at the end of the year. And "due north" would seem to be connecting with Jesus. Anything else and eventually, I will end up off track and lost.

Just in time for the Holidays

2007-11-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

I went to Rome. Mark Brown from Miami of Ohio was there too. And many others. We saw many famous buildings and places. And famous people, like this person enveloped in gold fabric of some sort, on a little podium, looking like a Pharaoh or something. It moved when you gave it some change. It was out of place, quirky, odd. If you look closely, we caught it moving its arms inside the little gold suit.

I know, I know. You've been on a forced "fast" from Global Road. Let's just say, November was full...unlike the Global Road. There was the father-in-law open heart surgery (he's recovering well), a CityFocus trip to Rome where there was so much to say (more about that later) and then, well the rest of life to manage. But here it is again, time to bring you cheer and hope during the Holiday season.

Another explanation: There was no internet connection in the hotel in Rome and I never walked by an interent cafe in the whole city. Our staff told me there was one a few blocks down from our hotel but for some reason I always ended up at an actual coffee shop before I got there. Oh yes, the coffee is good in Rome. And I drank lots of it. My hands are still shaking from the overdose. When you drink too much coffee and wake up with a pounding headache, what do you drink to snap out of it?

I should say that some of our staff had wireless in their apartments and did invite me over, but by then I was usually just done for the day. Anyway, the next few weeks will be insightful, biased, and colorful commentary on the topic of students and cities and what it means to reach them, including stuff about Rome. Along with all the coffee you can drink. Right here on the global road. All for free.

The Streak is alive

2007-11-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I realized I had an unusual streak going. Last December I got several gifts of coffee. Then, on some United flights I took, they were giving free small bags of Starbucks coffee around Christmas. Suddenly, I had momentum going in my favor. Throughout the year, I just continued to receive coffee or coffee gift cards at various times, unasked for. Result: I've had free coffee at home since the middle of last December. It's coming up on almost one year. I was coming to the end of the glorious run this week when Kim, my loving and non-caffeinated wife, stepped in to keep The Streak alive. She dished off to me a gift card she had been given, laying it all on the line for me. A great use of the re-gifting principle.

Some would argue this was technically breaking the streak, because she knew about it. I think it stays on, because this was of her own free will. Others would just argue that my life has become very boring to even bring this up.

I'm taking it as symbolic of my undeserved provision from God for my daily needs, each morning as I sit down and start the day with the proverbial "cup a joe".

Scraps from the kitchen table

2007-10-20T10:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's time for some more random food for thought at the breakfast table. Freckles, come and get it...
My good car-ma has turned sour. In August I shelled out a few thousand dollars in 10 days on my car and Matt's. Then a few weeks later, it turned out my car had not really been fixed. The problems were deeper, more sinister, more...expensive. It was time to give up Mr. '96 Cirrus as an organ donor for other cars who still have a chance at a full, productive life.

Since then, I've been on a hunt for that proverbial "good second car". The one I drive to work, that doesn't matter if it breaks down on the highway cause men can handle themselves in life threatening situations; e.g. car broken down on 4 lane interstate where people are not the least interested that your fan belt went out, you're just blocking traffic.

So, I find that a neighbor down the street has a Toyota Camry for sale at a really good price. I test drive it. Pretty nice. I think I've got a winner, until yesterday. While driving it to a garage to have it checked, a noise starts up. It gets louder as the mechanic takes it for a (very short) test drive. The water pump is going out. How is that? I take a perfectly healthy car for a 10 minute drive to the doctor for a check up, and it gets sick on the way. Corky the Mechanic says to stay away, this probably has more ills where that came from. I am going back to bicycling.

I just imagined myself pulling up to the airport on a bicycle with a luggage rack. That would be fun someday just to see people stare. "Sir, where is the long term bicycle parking lot?"

Speaking of stuff that doesn't work, the laptop I'm working on is a Sony. I've had it for 3.5 years, after my other one was stolen. I love this one. It works great, though its a little slow now. Tired I think. When I turn it on its side, a piece of loose metal on the inside can be heard sliding down the inside casing (that can't be a good sign).

The funny thing is that the wireless connection has worked around the world except one place. And in that one place, whenever I turn on the wireless, the computer screen quickly flashes a message that literally fills the whole screen with various messages of impending doom for my computer, and then it just shuts down. Where is this place? Ahh, The Tokyo Airport, specifically United's lounge, the Red Carpet Club. Everyone around me is steadfastly working on their computers, doing work, sending messages to loved ones about how soon they will be home, etc. and I'm shutting down.

Irony: the only place my Sony will not work is Japan. I think it should work better there. It's home. Visiting its birthplace. Roots. All that. But it just collapses in a heap. Perhaps its just too emotional of a moment. Having been separated from its homeland to live with me, and my broken cars, in Florida. I can understand.

Okay Freckles, we're all out of scraps. Stop begging and go lay down.

Now is the time for "gi".

2007-10-14T17:13:00.000-04:00

So, there we are at the end of the trip. Jessica Tekawa, the outstanding stint team leader in Tokyo stepped in and saved the day with a picture. So much happened its hard to know what to say, but here are a few quick thoughts and impressions-

First, Japanese students are receiving Christ. At least as big of an issue is discipleship and growth, because of the social structure that is "stay with your group" in orientation. But for the spread of the gospel, that can be an advantage. The Japanese ministry is already moving to a small group strategy based more on relational networks than the campus you go to. Second is that God has to get in the conversation for the students. For this one, we need to pray and ask God for His plan to unfold. There are things we can do with media and so forth, but we all wonder what God might do to bring the question of eternity and hope for a different life in the here and now to the forefront of conversation. Something out of our control. Hmmm.

The Japanese leadership is moving forward in faith. Several other countries are looking at bringing in stinters and staff to Tokyo starting next year. I think the stage is being set for a spiritual breakthrough there as laborers are preparing and praying for a new day in Japan. THere staff leaders are excited about trusting God for spiritual movements all over the city, not just on a few campuses. So pray for God to bring the leaders that we need for such a large endeavor in the years ahead. And for the Kingdom of God to break in and bring life to the students, and ultimately all of Tokyo, and Japan, and the world, from what happens there. If an awakening broke out here, it would surely be noticed.

On the lighter side, the last night 4 of us went to a local restaurant that is known for its little beef and chicken skewers. I've never tasted beef on a stick that was sooo good. We sat next to a Japanese couple who had lived in Washington DC and joked and laughed for an hour with them. We got into a David Letterman style banter about corn ice cream, one of the flavors in Japan, which they like. But they didn't like root beer, which they had in the US. It was all pretty hilarious. A "had to be there" moment for sure. But it was so worth it.

I also like that the Japanese word for "righteousness" is "gi". I like that. Gi. Jesus is our gi. May he bring gi to Tokyo.

Conveyor Belt Sushi

2007-10-10T19:48:00.000-04:00

Our City Focus team ended a day of conversations and planning by going to 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at sunset and praying over the city. It is an incredible view, to look out over Tokyo, and its millions of citizens, and pray for the Spirit of God to sweep over this city and bring awakening. Our prayers join with millions of others I'm sure, for this great nation and city.

I ended the day with Greg Triplett from USC and Dennis Chen from Austin at a converyor belt sushi restaurant. On small plates the sushi (fresh raw salmon, tuna, etc) comes by on plates, you grab what you want, and pay for what you eat. 7 plate minimum, with 20 min. max for 7 plates. So there is an initial frenzy of sorts as a novice, cause I felt like I was eating against the clock. It was awesome. I think I won somehow, but not really sure. Notice the missing people in the picture. This of course because I left my camera in Orlando, but at least I brought the cable to transfer the pictures to my computer, as well as the battery charger. So, I got that going for me.

Tokyo City Focus Trip

2007-10-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

I forgot my digital camera, or else you could be enjoying another picture of me in an airport. I’m in San Francisco on my way for another CityFocus trip to Tokyo. (In case you are new to The Global Road, CityFocus is WSN’s partnering effort in some major cities of the world to see spiritual awakening among the students) I’m going with John Waidley, a way cool friend from Mission Viejo, CA with a huge heart for the cities of the world. And Sam Osterloh, long time friend from college days at Southwest Missouri State University and current fellow National Team member with CCC. Joining us will be Scott and Jen Thomson from Yale and Greg Triplett from USC, Dennis Chen from Austin and Ralph Cooley from Idaho.

What strikes me as pretty amazing about John, Sam, and I on this trip is that we were all present at the spiritual birth of WSN in 1988 at Horn Creek Ranch in Colorado. This gathering of about 100 or so CCC staff from around the world launched what God had been putting on many hearts for years, that students could actually be effective “short term” missionaries that planted campus movements all over the world, and not just go for week long experiences with a hope that they would go long term some day overseas. And that it would be about all students going, not just American students.

But what signified this as a spiritual birth, and not just a strategy or conceptual meeting, was what we all experienced from the Lord one evening. A powerful wind rushing down the mountain during an evening of worship knocked out the electricity. We continued to worship by candlelight with an acoustic guitar and some simple choruses, and what happened next can be told, but not fully appreciated unless you were there.

Within a short time, we were led to a time of prayer and confession of sin in this mountain lodge, and you could feel the Spirit of God in our midst. Mixed with prayers of confession of pride were prayers for the nations to know the glory of God, for His Kingdom to advance, and for the gospel to reach out to the “Powerful Percent”, the 1% of people in the world who are university students. And when we ended that time, everyone felt a sense of awe, that we had just experienced something that was of God, and His presence was there in a special way. For many of us, it was and continues to be one of those defining moments in our Christian experience.

So here we are, three of us from that gathering, 19 years later, still involved in the vision that had grabbed our hearts; seeing God change the world through the lives of university students. Please pray for these meetings as we gather this week and pray and plan for an outpouring of His Spirit on the students of Tokyo and all of Japan.

Hey, I played trumpet in high school

2007-09-24T12:46:00.000-04:00

One of the coolest things happened last week. I met with Louis Giglio, head of the Passion Movement, in Atlanta, along with two of their staff, Cheryl and Daniele. He now calls me his best friend as you can see from this picture. JUST KIDDING. I did tell him I played harmonica and wondered about a spot in one of their concerts. He was kind to not kick me out of their offices right then.

Okay, this part is true: as we talked and prayed together about students and the cities of the world, it was awesome to see how unified we are. The Spirit of God does that in us. Passion is ramping up for a World Tour in 2008, and I am so looking forward to hearing where they will be when the schedule gets finalized. I'll post it here, as well. I know it pleases the Lord when we as various members of His body are supporting and encouraging each other's Kingdom building efforts. Pray that God would use the Passion Movement to bring about a new generation of Christ followers around the globe. We're all in this together.

Award for the least known bicentennial...

2007-09-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

Two hundred years ago today, Robert Morrison, arrived in China as the first Protestant missionary in that nation. While en route, he was asked if he expected to have a spiritual impact in China. Morrison responded, “No, sir, but I expect God will.”

I just had the above sent to me today. Robbie left for China on Jan. 31 and arrived - after a month stop in the US - at the ripe age of 25, all by himself. No team. No computer. No Ipod. He had spent almost 200 days on a boat getting there. He translated the whole Bible into Chinese in about 12 years, and his first convert was after 7 years. (All according to my source...Wikipedia) You should read the summary on this guy. Amazing. The perseverance of these type of men and women is astounding.

This makes me wrestle with the question of how tied in to results we are in our modern missionary culture. You write home from your "mission field" and report: No converts again this year, but I got another 100 pages of the Bible translated. Wow.

Just being honest here, but if someone had asked me that question on a boat after 2 weeks of being seasick, I think I'd have said something like, "why do you think I'm going there? Of course I expect to have a spiritual impact..." That would be while trying to throw the guy overboard. This alone may be why I was not born 200 years ago.

Parades and Flags and Labor Day

2007-09-03T11:02:00.000-04:00

You all remember that little conference of 16,000 students 2 months ago in Korea. I have a few video clips to show of the Parade of Nations. Here is a link to a news report on Korean TV of the conference, and the first part shows the Parade.
Today is often a day of parades and honoring those who work (which I think is all but 4.5% of Americans), conceived by the labor movement in the late 1800's to honor American workers' achievements. I thought I'd honor the Christian students of the world, some who came to attend CM2007, and were sent out declaring the gospel as laborers in the Kingdom of God. We Christians should be the largest labor movement in the world. Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Beseech the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers into His Harvest."

A new vocation?

2007-09-01T09:22:00.000-04:00

Personal amazing accomplishment of the past 2 weeks: Flipping pancakes for the staff who work in the campus office in Orlando. Our National Team made breakfast for our fellow staff, and I discovered hidden natural talent in flipping (and catching) pancakes. Notice the form, how I keep my eye on the pancake. Like hitting a baseball, this is the key. You can see the almost grim concentration all over, yet staying very relaxed and calm. With the pressure of the paparazzi, I was determined not to blow this flip. I personally like the pancake reflection in the mirror, proving this was no hoax. Notice the guy in the mirror, looking over his shoulder in admiration and awe. I now have a back-up vocation should the missionary thing fall apart, entertaining hungry masses at county and state fairs.

This is me with my boss, Mark Gauthier, our National Director. Mark felt a little upstaged by me and my flipping, but I still wanted to include him in a posed shot. We had a personal contest with whose pancakes were going the fastest. Mark is a natural optimist, and he felt his were going faster because they were disappearing from his serving tray faster. I told him it was because there were fewer pancakes on his tray to begin with because he was a slower cook, and that the staff in the office were naturally working him over, making sure to be on his good side.
As for me, and my stoic look: I thought we were going with one of those early 1900's style photos that you see of your great grandparents, where no one dares to smile because this is a moment that will live forever and we must not be caught having fun.

The last 2 weeks became a blur of "start the year" meetings. I've been doing one version or another of these for 28 years. But when you go from "comatose" (read previous entry) to all day meetings for almost 2 weeks, you still feel weak in the knees at the end of the day. A couple of them almost put me back into a coma. I actually do okay at meetings, its other people I can wear out as I begin to self entertain.

coming out of a coma

2007-08-16T09:17:00.000-04:00

So, what do you say after coming out of a coma? How's it going? What's for breakfast? Why is everyone so old? Why do I drool when I talk?

After CM07, I put myself in my own social/spiritual/relational coma of sorts. I needed a large margin just to rest and connect with the Lord and my family, and recharge my batteries. Of course, there were a few jobs I still had to do, which I managed to muddle my way through, but mostly I went into deep hibernation.

This past Sunday Kim and I left for Colorado. We joined 350 Stinters going to 28 countries on the Global Road for the next year to bring the reality of Jesus to students of the world. Many are leaving for their destination this Sunday. This has been a great way to wake up out of the self induced exile of the last month. So by God's grace, I will begin a new journey with you and thousands of others who are connectting students of the world to the Light of the World; the One who wakes each person out of their own spiritual slumber into life and light.

I hope you'll join with me on the next stages of this journey.

CM2007 Rehab

2007-07-15T11:04:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I thought, really, seriously, that I would just start posting pics and commentary on the conference. Instead when Kim and I returned to the US, we have found ourselves at a barely functioning level. Such are the accumulated affects of planning an event for 2 years, and a 3 month sprint at the finish line to see it all come together. Now we are in Ft. Collins, Colorado at the US Staff Conference after a week in Colorado of doing laundry, seeing some friends, and speaking at a couple of events.

The big win for us this week was hiking 6 miles on Friday in Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. It was a perfect day, and though exhausted at the end, it was a blast to see 3 sets of waterfalls, and also to know that we could still do this hike. Our hiking equipment consisted of 2 plastic bags from Target with Gatorade, nuts, peanut butter, and crackers. Other more professional hikers looked at us like we had gotten lost on our way back from the grocery store and wandered into the park. They had walking sticks, and Indiana Jones hats, and backpacks from the "I'm a professional outdoorsmen" catalogues. I was not dismayed. The watefalls looked just the same to me as to them!

So, our Campus Staff Conference starts today and we are doing somewhat better after our week of rehab. We will have 6 breakfast, lunch, or dessert receptions on Monday and Tuesday for staff interested in what we see God doing among the students of Central and South America, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. So, I will get to the CM07 highlights and pictures, and commentary eventually, but it will all take awhile. But do not worry, the best stories are yet to come...of students who are believing God to work miracles in the lives of fellow students around the world. And I hope to tell some of these stories in the weeks and months ahead. In fact, if you are our there bringing the gospel to the university students of the world, feel free to post a short story of what happened right here in the comments section.

2007-07-06T23:39:00.000-04:00

Sitting in the airport in Seoul, on our way back to the US. I'll write more later, but I wanted to give a few pictures. Needless to say, there was so much going on that I didn't take time each day to update. I'll put more in later, like some stories and commentary on the conference.

This fashion show opened the conference. It was pretty cool actually. It gave an overview of Korean culture and also tied in the glory of God in the gospel.

This is what it looks like when 15,000 students file out at once to eat Korean box lunches.

Worship leader and singers the first night of the conference

Kim and I meet up with our nephew Kurt and his wife Ruth, and Matt and his girlfriend Laura. They had just been on the Rome Summer Project.

Korean BBQ is good, and its good for you. Even had some kimchi with it.

It's time to catch a plane.

Unbelievable

2007-07-04T11:23:00.000-04:00

I'm exhausted from so many conversations in the last 2 days I can hardly think. It's 12:30 am here, and I haven't stopped meeting people since 7:30 this morning. I'd love to download some pics, but that will have to wait for now.

Sorry for those around the globe who have tried to get on the video link, though I did hear from someone that they were getting it to work. I think I've been most amazed in conversations about the students from the more "closed" countries, who are seeing more Christians gathered together in one place than they can even imagine. But American students are equally inspired by the parade of nations and the gathering of those from all over the world. Today my conversations ranged from Central Asia to Moscow, Mexico and East Asia. Only one more day to enjoy this incredible gathering.

Happy Independence Day all you Americans. Enjoy the hamburgers and watermelon.

Opening night

2007-07-01T09:01:00.000-04:00

Here is the picture from the first night. It was an awesome evening. Right in front of Kim and I were 3 of our staff from Nigeria. There was a huge sense of excitement and anticipation at this incredible gathering.

This was the first run at feeding of the 5,000 delegates from around the world, right out in front of the Convention Center. I met with our STINT Team Leader's who are heading all over the world in the Fall. We had them come to Korea to experience the reality of what we are all trusting God for at each location. Teams like this are why many of the students are here in the first place; they came to Christ through a student missionary effort.

10,000 more Korean students arrive tomorrow.

Colombian cowboys

2007-06-29T21:22:00.000-04:00

Heading to lunch yesterday, and the Colombians had just arrived and were registering. Do you like their hats?

They couldn't resist getting me in their picture. Seriously, I didn't ask for this. I've never looked good in hats, especially cowboy hats. It's really kind of an "Olympic Village" experience that is taking place. The lobby was a sea of nations yesterday, and the big registration will be this afternoon.

If you go to CM2007.net, you can see how to watch the conference on either streaming video of the main sessions or pull it up on an archive. Enjoy.

How long does it take 50 Argentinians to get to Korea?

2007-06-28T20:38:00.000-04:00

I'm eating dinner last night in the food court across the street from the Convention Center. About 30 students and staff come in from Argentina after a 36 hour trip from Buenos Aires. Here was their route. BA to Capetown to Johannesburg to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 12 hour layover there. Puddle jumper to another Malaysian airport (none of them seemed to know where exactly it was) and then on to Seoul. Then a 5 hour bus trip to Busan. Perhaps they get the award for longest trip.

After they leave here, half of them are going to the south coast of Spain to share the gospel with families as they come in to Spain from North Africa.

It's steady drizzle of rain here today (it's the rainy season in Korea) and registration is being set up outside the convention center. Students start arriving in large chunks today. I'm feeling a bit like a kid on Christmas Eve. Lots of anticipation and hope that the wait has been worth it! What am I hoping for? That God will move in our midst so that our lives and the world will never be the same. To me, there are really only 2 questions now that matter with this? How will God move, and what will be our response to His work here? That is where the anticipation comes for me, on the eve of Cm2007.

The banner on the right is up next to our CM2007 banner on the convention site. I call it: The Praying Mantis that ate Busan: A Child's Tale of Terror. Kind of a Harry Potter knock off.