Worldly Holiness

Adelante–Onward & Upward–Prayer Updates

Just thought I should give some quick updates on our lives and things you have been praying for recently. The word that comes to mind as I describe what is happening is a Spanish word–adelante. The difficult part is effectively translating the word into English, the language of most of my readers. My best efforts are "onward and upward." That may be as close as I can get at a dynamic equivalence translation, which is what most Bible translators try to do when putting the scriptures into the language of indigenous cultures around the globe. A word for word, literal translation, often does not convey the message of the original. So what's up, you ask. What is this "adelante" referring to?

1. First, my proposal was accepted in June at the Covenant mission meeting in Wisconsin. That means that I am approved to go forward with the Mosaics project, but based in Seattle. That is great news! Thanks for praying for this. My role with the project will morph a little bit into facilitating ministry from local churches in the states, to training and supporting people who engage focus people, showing the love of Christ and friendship. I will travel some back to Europe and other parts of the world as well, doing some recruiting and serving as a liaison to our work with focus people with our denomination. I will also build bridges into the focus community locally. If you want a 1-page synopsis of my ministry, email me for a copy @ prayformosaics@yahoo.com.

2. Nicki is headed to North Park in about a month. She is excited and beginning to plan for the next big chapter in her life. Continue to pray for her and this next step. She is asking for a good roommate, for clarity and direction in her life. Pray for God to guide her feet and guard her heart.

3. Kjel was also accepted as a Covenant short-term missionary last month and hopes to be serving with Merge Ministries before the year is out. He now needs to raise his support and begin to make plans for serving with Merge, coordinating and guiding short-term mission trips for groups into Latin America. Get this, he will initially be placed in Monterrey, Mexico where we lived for about 10 years and he has maintained contacts and friends over the years since we have left. He is excited and we join him in that enthusiasm. Who would have guessed 10 years ago that Kjel would be returning to Monterrey as a missionary.

4. Our planned attempt for the summit of Mt. Rainier is still in place. Kjel, Erick and me will be joining a group of 13 climbers August 10th-13th and take the Emmons Glacier route to the summit. That is the plan at least. About 50% of all efforts to summit Rainier fail. My personal rate so far is 30%, with one successful assent in 3 attempts. That was about 25 years ago. We continue to train and are getting psyched. The picture above was one of my recent conditioning climbs up Mt. Si in North Bend. The goal was to carry a 40 lb. pack to the top in under 2 hours. I did it in 1 hour and 50 minutes. I have to keep in shape for this climb so that I can keep up with my boys who have an edge.

5. Carol also is seeking to build her counseling practice and would like to be able to do that full time. Could you pray for a steady flow of clients? She is taking steps to do that, moving adelante, and would love to attend to people's special needs.

So, I invite you to continue to pray for us in all of these things. Your support makes a huge difference and I am deeply grateful for your encouragement and prayer. Please, drop me a note. Tell me what is going on in your life. May your summer be rich in the knowledge of God's abiding faithfulness.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:9-11

July 14th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Prayer & Praise | no comments

Distortions–Friday Fotos & Prayer Requests

The Bean in HDR, originally uploaded by papalars.

“If Focus People are to be enabled to see the Christ of the Gospels, they must first see the likeness of Christ in his followers.”

Whether we like it or not, we reflect something to our world, to those we meet and those we seek. In my work with focus people, I am aware that many times I reflect a stereotypical American whom they perceive as hating their religion and people around the world. This is not my idea, but what my culture and passport say to focus people before a conversation even begins. I would maintain that this is a distortion of what I feel in my heart toward them. But how will they know what is in my heart unless I engage them in an honest, open friendship? By the way, this sounds a little bit like Romans 10:14-15. Why don’t you pause and think of this passage as you pray for me, for those I meet and those I seek. Would love it if you did that.

I find a big part of my work is to clear up distortions—in two ways. In the church I speak of focus friends that I know, clearing up stereotypes of the bearded militant who wants to kill Americans. With focus people I am developing friendships that show love, sincerity, a posture of humility, learning and hopefully, the love of Christ extended to them. This is different than what they expect.

So with this edition of my prayer requests please focus on praying for a clear understanding on both sides of the conversation that takes up most of my life.

Specifically pray for:

1. My conversation with the Department of World Mission this weekend as I present a modified proposal of my role with the Mosaics project that has me based stateside. I hope to be involved more with mobilizing, training, and developing local church ministries to focus people. I can send you the proposal upon request. Just email me at: prayformosaics@yahoo.com.

2. New focus friends in the Seattle area. Some wonderful doors are opening up into the Focus community at both a lay and leadership level. Pray that distortions be minimized, that the light of Christ be seen, understood and embraced. Pray especially for 3 new contacts that I am developing.

3. Family as we continue to launch our children and careers. Pray for our relationships with each other, for good mental and physical health and for clarity and passion for our future[s].

4. Pray for the development of my “Glocal” strategy. At home that means clear direction in the who, what and where of the Mosaics project. I also want to develop a local team who would join the ministry. The other part is far reaching as I develop our approach to mobilizing, empowering local churches and individuals.

If you look closely at this picture of the Bean in Chicago, you can see me with my tripod, snapping happily away. I love to take pictures of the Bean. The distortions are fascinating. As you look at the photo, why don't you pause to ask yourself, "What do others see when they look at me?"

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
2 Corinthians 2:14

June 20th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Prayer & Praise, Friday Fotos | 2 comments

Friday Fotos–Seattle Panoramic and Qur’anic Studies

Seattle Pan HDR, originally uploaded by papalars.

Wow! It's Friday again. Seems to come upon me sometimes a little too quickly. For most of those who will read/see this your Friday may be already slipping into the weekend. Life seems to happen after everybody else here on the West Coast sometimes. My old friends in Spain are fast asleep, or at least they should be. Saturday soon greets them.

I took this photo last night after my class in West Seattle on the Qur'an. Let me tell you a little about that before I post this photo.

In my efforts to build relationships of trust with my focus friends, and to understand their faith, I have taken upon myself to read their holy book. To help me in that task I am taking a class in West Seattle on the Qur'an. We are getting deep into our subject, reading whole sections, chapters [Suras], and verses. In our study we are also drawing comparisons to the Hebrew scriptures and New Testament. Very fascinating, needless to say.

One of the criticisms raised by Christian theologians and pastors with regard to a study of our scripture is the danger of reading single verses from the Bible out of context. Many hair brained doctrines or beliefs spring from this inappropriate use of the text. It is funny how the Bible is often used to buttress ideas that in fact are contrary to the clear teaching of scripture when read and understood in context.

It turns out that the Bible is not the only holy book that is used and read in this way. A commentator on the Qur'an that we are reading in our class in fact says this: "Since the Qur'an is….., all its component parts–phrases, sentences, verses and surahs–form one integral, coordinated whole. Hence, if one is really intent on understanding the Qur'anic message, one must beware of a 'hasty approach'–that is to say, of drawing hasty conclusions from isolated verses or sentences taken out of their context…"So I am trying to understand the Qur'an, and its message in its whole. You'd be surprised what I am discovering. The Qur'an, apparently, has been twisted and used to support all kinds of agendas, much like the Bible. Muslim believers are not happy about this at all.

Two weeks ago I went to a lecture given by a leading Imam who was visiting the Seattle area giving a series of lectures on "purification of the heart." I liked the topic and found much that I could agree with. Not all, mind you, but much. A theme is beginning to emerge in conversations for me with the Muslim faithful–the issue of materialism and its negative effect on the spiritual life. That is a bridge I can walk across in my sharing. Afterward I met some of the area leaders, exchanged names, phone numbers and emails. Curiously, I thought to ask one of the Imams if I could insert my notes which I had scribbled out on a piece of paper from the lecture into my Qur'an. He smiled at me and said, if the text was in Arabic, I should only put the notes in the front part of the holy book, not in the middle, like a book marker, half way through the text. Wow, what an interesting insight. The Arabic text printed in the Qur'an is literally the word of God and should not be broken apart with another piece of paper. That act would be interrupting God, so to speak.

I am learning much. I have much yet to learn. Pray for me. "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." 1 Peter 3:15

June 13th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Ministry Updates, Friday Fotos | no comments

Friday Foto–Framing Rainier

Framing Rainier w Sail Boat, originally uploaded by papalars.

I have been exploring a little more with my bike recently in the Seattle area. What a wild [meaning GREAT] place when it is nice out. I should mention that the days like the one above depicted in this photo are few when looking at the span of the entire year, but when it is nice I can't think of another place on earth as golden and enchanted as this. Might be exaggerating a little bit. Maybe not though.

This photo is from two weekends ago and it was probably 10 miles or so from home along the path I took. Great conditioning for Rainier this summer. Great refreshment for the soul as well.

Did I mention we climbed to Camp Muir earlier in May? Don't think I did. Now that was truly wild [meaning CRAZY]. For starters, Camp Muir is just above 10,000 feet on Mt. Rainier and is the base camp for most who make the summit attempt on Washington's greatest mountain. We are training with a group of folks who have the goal of climbing Rainier this August [including the 3 Larsen boys]. Our fearless leader has us all on a training routine that is pushing us to be in condition and mentally ready for a climb. Our trip to Muir was a test.

We hit a day that was "inclement" to say the least with white-out conditions for a good part of the assent. Even lost our trail for about an hour. We also had strong winds and precipitation. I guess the wind chill was below freezing and the winds, which blew horizontal for most of the climb, were hitting over 30 mph.

Rainier beckons to many people in the Puget Sound region. Growing up in its shadow as a kid, I always heard tales of intrepid climbers who climbed this peak and others who trained on this mountain in preparation for climbing Everest. Some of this was legend, but then every once in a while you would read a story of someone who slipped to their death or was caught in white out conditions and lost orientation. One sad story from a few years ago was about an uncle/nephew team who were found frozen to death about 50 feet apart. They had all the correct gear in their packs but somehow lost orientation and hope, failing to rely on their equipment and each other.

In the journey of life, sometimes discouragement hits us, like the 30 mph horizontal winds that intimidated us on the mountain. The storms of life and "white-out" conditions make us lose the trail. The temptation is to just sit down, failing to utilize the resources at hand or find help from others. Don't do that. Let the words of the Psalmist direct how we navigate these hard times: "From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings." Psalm 61:2-4. Let this be your heart's yearning and may God direct your steps to the right resources. May his comfort sustain and strengthen you. Have a great weekend.

May 30th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Friday Fotos | no comments

Every Inch in Jerusalem, Conditions at Year 60

Candy Store in Jerusalem, originally uploaded by papalars.

This is a foto of a little shop inside the old city of Jerusalem where I visited in March. The man was kind enough to let me take his portrait. I found his square unit very interesting if not a little claustrophobic. Space is a premium inside the walls. In fact space in the entire region seems to be a premium. It is sad that each inch has to be contested and that people are displaced and killed in an effort to get the upper had, to take possession of the Holy Land. How ironic. I wonder what God thinks about this? The Associated Press early today ran a story about the Birthday celebrations in Jerusalem for Israel's 60th birthday. The first part of the story read like this….

AP Story / JERUSALEM - Israel staged its 60th birthday bash with fireworks, air force flyovers and a great sense of pride Thursday, but also with uncertainty about its future and doubts about prospects for peace with the Palestinians. Across the country, Israelis held barbecues in backyards and public parks, and were entertained by parachute jumps. Israel at 60 is a paradox of exuberance and despair — a country enduring near daily rocket attacks from militants while producing scientists who have pioneered Wi-Fi and instant messaging. Six decades after rising from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish state is still plagued by threats from abroad and an identity crisis at home.

I am not an expert on Israel's place in the Middle East, nor the world for that matter, but it does seem to me that indeed the country is in a delicate if not precarious place these days. In my recent trip to the old city in Jerusalem you could feel some of the underlying tension that reflects the broader conflict in the region. In all honestly, it felt a bit like a tinder box.

The ever present security forces and cameras seemed to monitor every step of every citizen and visitor alike, making sure nothing came out of joint in the balancing game within the walls of the city. At one point I had difficulty accessing a stairway to the ramparts on the city wall. I thought I would just leap a small fence and be done with it, thereby gaining entry to the coveted perimeter wall and viewpoints around the city. My friends persuaded me to think otherwise. Then I turned and saw a camera. I wasn't in Kansas, that is for sure.

The city does seem to thrive with commerce, but not like what I grew accustomed to in Europe. Things began to close down much, much earlier in the evening and it became hard to find a place to eat after 9:00 in the evening. That is kind of when things get going back in Barcelona. And here in the States you can at least get fast food almost 24 hours a day. Not in Jerusalem.

I left the city with some good memories but also a lot of questions. I also found, in comparison, that the city of Amman, Jordan was much friendlier. I have no major conclusions to draw at this point as to why. These are just the simple observations of my first trip to the region. I wonder what Jesus thinks about the city today. Does he still weep?

May 8th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Friday Fotos | one comment

Downtown Chicago from the Hancock Building

Downtown Chicago from the Hancock Building, originally uploaded by papalars.

We used to talk about "refried" sermons in Mexico when you took something your preached in one church and did it again in another. Of course I never do that in the US. Ha-ha. Well, you have a refried blog post in front of you right here. You may recognize this photo from the previous post. I lost it from the original post a few weeks ago because of some editing I did with the shot on flickr. I did not want to leave a wide open space on my blog, so here it is….

I'm keenly aware of a large backlog of stories to share, pictures to upload, and thanks to be given on these pages. Life this past month since my last posting has been a bit full. I hope to share some reflections on these pages over the next few days and weeks. Let me just say, my trip to Europe and the Middle East were profound both in terms of perspective gained and relationships built in ministry.

But before I launch into some of these stories, I want to post my Friday Foto, which I have not done for awhile.

I'm in Chicago currently for some meeting and speaking. I was invited to share in a class at North Park Theological Seminary on Tuesday night about what I saw and experienced in the Middle East. That was fun. Last night I was able to attend a lecture at the Seminary as well on Islamic Christology given by a leading Muslim scholar. It was fascinating and also gave me the awareness of how much more I need to understand about Islam. Tomorrow I head to Little Falls, Minnesota where I get to preach and speak this weekend at a Covenant church, again about our work and the interesting things God is doing in the focus world.

On Wednesday night I escaped to downtown Chicago and spent about 5 hours wandering with my camera, up and down Michigan Avenue. As you may have guessed, that is not hard for me to do. I went to school here in Chicago in college plus a few years in Seminary. I have not been up the John Hancock building for 30 years. That is where the picture above was taken. Things look pretty much the same from this level. Down on the street however, much has changed. Millennium park close to the Art Institute and the Loop are a significant addition. Of course, when I was here before we were not close enough to the Millennium to have a park named after it. Anyway, I have a bunch of new photos from my long walk on Wednesday night on my flickr site should you care to browse.

Sorry it has taken so long to post to my blog. I've been busy over on facebook , traveling and speaking. Stay tuned and please keep us in your prayers.

May 8th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey | no comments

Friday Fotos–What is Your Vision for the Future?

Old Mansion, originally uploaded by papalars.

Yesterday I was invited to speak about my work with focus people in a Christian High School close to Black Diamond. Close to Auburn as well. The school is out in the woods and the drive took me on fun roads that are a little off the beaten path. Golden opportunity to drag my camera along and enjoy the views. I share with you one of my HDR [High Dynamic Range] photos for this edition of Friday Fotos. HDR is a process of making one dynamic photo and sandwich from 3 photos shot at different f-stops or shutter speed. It affords a greater range of color, sharpness and overall quality. 

This is an old mansion that is also a historical site in the region. The date on the sign says 1894. To realize we lived all last year in Barcelona where human civilization of some kind was in the area before the time of Christ makes me chuckle thinking of how relatively "young" this place is. I guess it goes with the territory in these parts. When Rome was building roads in present day Spain, the state of Washington was inhabited with some Native-American Indian tribes but probably mostly trees. Our broader culture was dreaming about building a mansion somewhere.

Anyway the class I taught today was very engaging. It consisting of 10 and 12th graders and went well. They were eager to learn and hear of what God is doing in the focus world. It continues to strike me how much our youth engage the focus world and are spiritually curious. When I ask in groups of people who has a friend from the focus world, most are under 30. I think they know something that my generation does not. Our future will have more to do with religious and spiritual stuff, discussions between religions, conflicts stirred by warped religious passions and much less about the goals that gave my generation apparent meaning. 

Our future is ultimately NOT about secularism and materialism which the leading thinkers of the 20th suggested. You may remember that Marx and others believed that the more educated and economically productive people became, the less religious they would be. Even though America did not officially subscribe to that doctrine [we believed in God and the other guys were atheists], we are perhaps the country that most embodies the idea–value is measured by material wealth. But David Brooks in the Atlantic Monthly states: "It's now clear that the secularization theory is untrue. The human race does not necessarily get less religious as it grows richer and better educated. We are living through one of the great periods of scientific progress and creation of wealth. At the same time, we are in the midst of a religious boom…secularism is not the future; it is yesterday's incorrect vision of the future." Atlantic Monthly, March 2003. 

This weekend I take another road trip up north, with a full load of speaking engagements on Sunday. First, I get to share in worship [that means preaching], followed by a Q & A for Sunday School. After that is all over, I then take a boat trip with a bunch of men where I give a different talk on marriage, parenting and family. The title of my talk with the guys is "Relational Fidelity: Reaching the Summit, Going the Distance." I took some time in the woods the other day, thinking and praying about what in the world I could share with a bunch of men about relationships. This is a bit of a new challenge for me. I don't feel adequate to the task. I know I could be doing a lot, lot better in this area of my life. Who am I to give a word about this topic? Pray for me this weekend on this topic in two ways. 1. How I actually live the stuff I'm going to talk about in my family. 2. How I speak about it with others in such a way that God is brought into the equation, showing us the way. But for now, enjoy my Friday Foto!

Drop me a line when you have time. Would love to hear from you. What do you think of the photo? What is your vision for the future? What do focus people have to do with your future?

May 2nd, 2008 Posted by andres | Prayer & Praise, Friday Fotos | no comments

Friday Fotos–Walkway to the Dome

Walkway to the Dome, originally uploaded by papalars.

April 25th, 2008 Posted by andres | Friday Fotos | no comments

The Stones Will Cry Out–Following the Prince of Peace

Khalid, originally uploaded by papalars.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As-sallamu Aleykum 

April 23rd, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Ministry Updates | 2 comments

Friday Foto–In Training and on the Road

St. Helens crest looking into crater, originally uploaded by papalars.

I leave tomorrow for Europe and the M.E. I asked for prayer in my last post for this 3 week trip. Briefly, I'm headed first to Barcelona to reconnect with ministry partners and friends, followed by our staff retreat in Southern France. Mark Novak, our conference Superintendent in the North Pacific Conference, is our speaker and I get to be his and wife Marilyn's special host for a few days in Barcelona before we head across the border to France. Should be fun.

After two weeks in Europe, I join 3 others for a trip to the M.E. to observe some things going on in that region. This will be my first venture into that part of the world but is very important for our ministry. I'm a tad bit excited and eager to learn, listen, observe, pray and discover. Pray for our team, for safety and God's hand to be upon us each step of the way. So I will be on the road for awhile. Hope to post some stories from abroad but we will see if I have time.

Besides being on the road, I'm also in training.  I suppose you could say this applies to at least two areas in my life right now. Clearly, I am still learning what it means to be a messenger of the Good News to focus people. I started on this journey in midlife and do not have command of the holy language nor years of experience under my belt. But clearly, God has called and continues to lead in significant ways. I used to look at my "liabilities" as something that disqualified me for this work. Now I view them as assets. They keep me focused and trusting God.

I'm also training for another adventure. This picture gives a hint. Since January I have been exercising and doing small climbs in the area in a regular training regime to climb Mt. Rainier with a group of friends this summer. The picture above is from the summit of Mt. St. Helens, looking into the crater. You can see a new peak that is pushing up the rocks, making a new summit for the mountain, slowly but surely. I took this before we left for Spain, in the summer of 2006. I hope to get back up this one sometime this summer but the big goal is Rainier in August.

As I sit here in my favorite chair, I'm aware of the soreness in my legs from training. I am also aware that it takes time to prepare for reaching the summit. Climbing is a bit like spirituality and the fruit of ministry. It doesn't just happen. Nor does it come from merely trying. It requires training and concerted, focused effort, while also leaning on God. But the rewards are great! Join with me in training and living the race set before us. "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14.

March 6th, 2008 Posted by andres | Daily Journey, Friday Fotos | one comment