Dream Awakener

Super Tuesday - A Look at Faith and Politics

So today is Super Tuesday in the United States where people have the opportunity to go and vote in the primaries, helping the Democratic and Republican parties find their candidate for President.  It is called Super Tuesday because it is when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to their perspective national conventions.  From California to New York people will be lining up to vote for their favorite candidate.  This year has been a record turn out in each state that has held primaries.  The democratic race between Hillary and Obama is tight (so your vote really counts if you are voting democratic) and it seems that McCain has a significant lead in the Republican race (it is still good to vote if you are voting republican).

In light of this being Super Tuesday, I thought I would direct you to an interesting article.  It is an article written by James K.A. Smith, the author of Whose Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Dirrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church (an excellent read).  In this article he reviews Greg Boyd's book The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church.  Smith shares what he likes about the book, and he also critiques it. 

I will give you just a taste of the article.  Here is a little of what James Smith liked, "Boyd's intervention into the discussion is welcome. He is bold (1,000 members of his congregation left after hearing the sermons that gave birth to the book), passionate, and discerning, while still attempting to be charitable. Boyd doesn't pull punches, denouncing the nationalistic "idolatry" of American evangelicalism, which often fuses the cross and the flag. "Because the myth that America is a Christian nation has led many to associate America with Christ," he writes in his introduction, "many now hear the Good News of Jesus only as American news, capitalistic news, imperialistic news, exploitive news, antigay news, or Republican news. And whether justified or not, many people want nothing to do with it."

And in the introduction to his critique of the book he says, "While there is much to appreciate in Boyd's exposure of the Religious Right's idolatries, the question becomes: Does Boyd swing back to the other extreme? No doubt he imagines that he is charting a third way, but there are at least three factors of his proposal that indicate it is simply pietism resurrected."  You will have to go to the article to read the rest.

How You Can Help People in Kenya

Having many personal friends who are Kenyans, my heart continues to go out to those who have had family members killed (death toll is over 600 now) to the over 180,000 people who have been displaced, to the many who are experiencing hunger.

Here is part of an email I received on Sunday from my friend Bishop Kaaleng, who chairs a board that helps to serve over a hundred churches all around Kenya.  Here is what he wrote (keep in mind that Swahili and Turkana are his first two languages):

"What happened after election in Kenya,... in moi's bridge houses were burnt, in Eldoret the church was burnt and people dead, in kisumu supermarket were burnt 40 people were dead, in Soi pastor  house was destroyed, 28 children and his family run to Eldoret army camp these were oprphans children.

In Lodwar were doing fine with my family and the church. We need your prayers because many people now need relief food, cloths and medicine. The red cross was asking the Government if they can assist with the relief but the opposition rejected. No food transported to our place. most people of kenya are affected now.There was no communication from December up to now, so pray for us. waiting to hear from you."

Bishop kaaleng and family

There is some good news coming from Kenya.  BBC reports that the opposition has canceled the protests that were to take place today in hopes that international mediation might help to solve the crises.  In the meantime, though, Kenya is facing both a health crises, as well as a hunger crises.

One way you can help is to pray for the people in Kenya at this time.  And if you want to help these groups of churches that I am connected with in Kenya, you can send a check to help out. (I give you more detailed information below)  I will personally be wiring some money to the board of these churches in Kenya at some point in the near future.  Last month we wired some money from the Solis Foundation to give micro grants to start ten new businesses, and Kairos also sent some money to help with the orphanages in the Turkana region of Kenya.  It is a ministry called, The Unembraced - picture is on the left, you can click it to enlargen it. 

The gift that you send would go to the board who will then distribute it to the different regions to meet the needs from the damage done due to the chaos that has been happening in Kenya.  If you desire to support the Kenyans in this way, please make the check out to "Kairos Los Angeles", and in the memo please put "Kenya Crises".  One hundred percent of the proceeds will be going to help this current crises.  You can mail you check to:

Kairos Los Angeles
Attn:  JR Woodward
5217 Hollywood Blvd  Studio 520
Los Angeles, CA 90027 

Please continue to pray for these people, and if you have a desire, send a check to help them out as well.  While some parts of Kenya are still facing difficulties, there does seem to be some relief in other areas.  So I leave you with an email that I received from some medical missionaries just twelve hours ago, that shares at least some good news.

"Great news for the peace of Kenya…the rallies scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled.  I’m not sure if that’s a reflection of talks between the parties, but it’s really good news for getting things back to normal.

We are starting to see more staff coming back to the hospital.  More patients are coming day by day.  Surgical clinic could be interesting tomorrow…we haven’t had one with all of this in about three weeks.  Dr. White had to treat two patients Friday night (gunshot to the chest and abdomen/arrow shot to the chest) who had been shot on Monday.  It took them all that time to make it to the hospital.  Amazing they survived as both had significant lung injuries.  The young man I had to help with last night is doing well.  He had an arrow lodged in the largest vein in his abdomen and coming out of his pancreas.  Tight spot to have an arrow…but we seem to have gotten him through it.  Thank God.

The person helping me operate this morning is also a pastor.  His name is Daniel.  He had between 500 and 600 people at his church yesterday praying for the peace and safety of Kenya and our area.  Apparently it was an experience to be there.  Unfortunately one of those families came home to nothing but the rubble of a house burned to the ground.  It is unclear how it happened (violence or mishap).  However, today we are seeing a more peaceful scene.

Several people were able to leave the hospital grounds today and make business runs into Bomet.  Daniel was one of those as he desperately needed chicken feed for the 400 that he raises for eggs or meat.  The concern was that tomorrow’s scheduled rallies would close the roads down again and halt business yet again.  Not having food or available transport is certainly impacting what we see in the hospital these days.  So it is great news that we will have another peaceful day tomorrow."

E-Mails from Friends in Kenya

For those of you who have an interest in keeping up with what is happening in Kenya, I will occasionally post some e-mails from people I know in Kenya - both medical missionaries and locals.  I think sometimes it is helpful to hear from the people on the ground instead of just the popular news sources. I will leave out or edit some details, when it deals with the potential safety of those sending me the emails. I have permission to share these emails with you on this blog.

Here are a couple emails from my Medical Missionary friends:

12/31/07
While I can’t prove it beyond doubt, God protected ..... (place where they work) today.  A large mob had gathered in the square of the small town two kilometers away.  They decided to attack .....  in some form of retaliation or protest of the election.  Guns could be heard from here and were coming closer. Police were using tear gas and weapons.  Families gathered inside their homes.  The hospital administration gathered the people from the rival tribe into a safe place as they were being targeted around Kenya. 

My wife had to decide whether to run home or run to the hospital as the nursery staff hadn’t shown up.  She chose to run up the hill to the hospital with people shouting, “Wrong way!” Her husband?  I was deciding with three other surgeons whether to continue with an emergent operation on a gunshot victim or wait to see what the situation would bring.  We went ahead and hopefully saved that young man’s leg.  Many people were praying with gunshots in the background.  However you choose to see it, the mob suddenly decided to change course and attack another location.  I am personally very grateful to God this evening.  Of course life isn’t all rosy, I still lost my temper somewhat with a busy day and became short with a few people.  My wife just went back up to the hospital to work as many staff are afraid to leave their homes to come to work.  And yes, Mom…I’ll walk her home at ten when she’s done.  Please continue to pray for Kenya and ... (place we work and live).  It is unfortunate so much violence is happening.

1/2/08
Today has been rather quiet here at .... (place they work).  We are grateful.  

However, much violence is still going on.  The local chief’s house was burned down across the river from us.  All of our local gas stations have been burned.  Locals have set up roadblocks to get bribes and look for people from other tribes. We have only had 7 gunshot victims since things began and one arrow shot victim.  We rarely have gunshots here as so few people have guns.  So most of these guys were shot by police likely doing something they shouldn’t have been.  We haven’t had any injuries from rungus (clubs), pongas (machetes) or knives.  That is our usual trauma mechanism. 

One clinical officer intern was trying to report for his first day of work today.  He had just been given a training spot to fill in for someone else before the holidays.  Apparently he was trying to get here and got stuck about an hour’s drive away.  He called on his mobile to say that he couldn’t make it to his first day of work…he was hiding in a bush due to the violence.  Many staff haven’t reported for duty so we are struggling some to keep the hospital running.  Some very local staff have come even off duty to check and when vacancies have been found, they have filled in.  Most who aren’t here are stuck some distance away having traveled for the holiday.

It has been hard for our visitors.  We had a great family from the US who were here for two weeks to give our orthopedist a break for the holidays.  They were scheduled to leave on Saturday.  With the violence we couldn’t send them by road.  However, our local airstrip has recently become in need of repair such that we can’t get a plane in.  So this family had to travel with a police escort thru back roads to get to a large wheat field where a mission plane picked them up.  They called to say they were airborne en route to Nairobi to catch their commercial flight home.  I pray their travel in Nairobi is safe.

I filled up our Toyota with diesel tonight from the hospital tank.  Ben was doing the same and it seemed like a good idea to me.  I need to replace the bushing on the rear strut again but can do that in the morning so the vehicle will be ready if we need to do something.  For now, I’d rather be here than travel as it’s a bit out of the way.  Stores are being looted so eventually things will need to settle down or we’ll have some trouble there.  Fortunately my wife has a large store of things out back.  I don’t know how long the hospital can last without the roads opening up for supplies.  It is dry season and the river is low.  So we’re having to supplement our hydroelectric plant’s electricity production by using a diesel generator.  Interesting times…

Thanks for all of your prayers.  I’m certainly more concerned for our staff and neighbors than for us as our hospital grounds have been without incident.  Some of our staff are sleeping in bushes as their homes are targets for one reason or another.  Some are hiding out.  I’ve heard horrible tales of people suffering and I’m concerned for them.  Please continue to pray for the people of Kenya and for peace.

P.S.

Oh yeah, on the light side…My wife scared herself severely today. She calls to tell me she saw a large truck pull up outside of her window in the nursery this morning and all of these military guys jumped out with AK47s.  She was working alone due to staffing and was nervous. She was also in the middle of changing the light bulbs on an incubator (source of heat for the babes).  Not paying attention to the bulbs any longer to see what the men with guns were up to, one of them rolled off the table and fell to the floor.  The subsequent “Pop!” was of course recognized as a gunshot…”I’ve been hit!  It won’t be long now. Tell my husband I love him”  she thought to herself…  Finally she calmed enough to realize what happened…  We’re still laughing now as we listen to some jazz at our place….

Kenya Needs Our Prayers

While I have been in NYC it has been a little difficult keeping up with the news, as the apartment that I am staying in does not have a television.  But I have received calls and e-mails from a number of people about the crises in Kenya.  I have gotten emails and calls from people in the U.S., emails from Kenya and have had a chance to talk with Kenyans here in the U.S. to try and get a sense of what is happening.

Ever since Kenya's independence, while being a democracy, it has still retained a strong sense of tribalism.  There are over 70 tribal groups, and about 40 primary tribes in Kenya.  The largest tribe  is the (Kikuyu) tribe, and they have dominated during elections, because people basically vote among tribal lines. 

So what is different about this past election on December 27th?  It seems that Mr. Odinga of the Luo tribe (the second largest tribe) was able to get some other tribes to vote for him, and thus was looking forward to a victory over Mr. Kibaki, of the Kikuyu tribe.  It looked as if Mr. Odinga had the victory, but then a more than usual amount of votes came from a number of regions.  Mr. Odinga as well as the International community has cried foul when this happened, all the while Mr. Kibaki swears in again, very quickly, for a second term as President. 

Many believe there is strong evidence of a rigging of the vote, and it seems as if the European Union, Britain and the U.S. have not considered Mr. Kibaki's victory legitimate.  But one of my Kenyan friends said, "It doesn't matter what the International Community says, Kibaki will probably remain the President because this is a Kenya election, and it is something Kenya must decide."  He said this not because he agrees with the results of the election, but because this isn't the first time something like this has happened.

One of the reasons for all the unrest in Kenya is there form of government is different than that of the United States.  In the United States the President has more limited power.  In Kenya there is a strong President and a weak Parliament.  He can basically over-rule whatever the parliament says.   

All this to say that since the election, there have been over 300 deaths related to this election.  Kenya bloggers are pleading for peace as they provide eyewitness accounts of violence.  British tourists tell of what they experienced.

I will share with you later some emails I received from some Kenyan's as well as some medical missionaries serving as surgeons in Kenya.  I just wanted to ask you to pray for Kenya.  While some are pronouncing Kenya as an unstable country because of the current violence, my Kenyan friend reminds me that the same thing happened in 1992, but this doesn't make Kenya an unstable country. He says this after having talked with his family and friends living in Nairobi.   

An Interview with Ron Osborn about Los Angeles 88

Recently we hosted some training with the Salvation Army and the SDA on how to spot and assist victims of human trafficking.  During the training time I had the chance to meet Ronald Osborn, who is working to help people become more aware of the on-going crises in Burma (Myanmar).  He with others have organized a group called the Los Angeles 88 which in various ways tries to bring a greater awareness and redemptive actions to this crisis.  Ryan Bell and I met with him today to talk about some things we can do in the future to bring a greater awareness of this crises.  Early I sent Ron some interview questions via e-mail and here is his response:

INTERVIEW WITH RON OSBORN
JR: Tell us a little about yourself and how you first got involved in being an activist on behalf of the people of Burma (Myanmar)?

Ron: I actually don't feel like I can honestly claim the title of "Burma activist".  I'm a PhD student in politics and international relations at the University of Southern California and was once accused by a friend of being an "armchair activist".  But when I discovered that there is no Burma campaign at USC and that very few students know about what has been happening there I felt compelled to step outside of my comfort zone and start a campaign to try to help raise awareness and take concrete action.  Maybe one of the reasons why Burma roused me from my inertia is that I taught English in Thailand for several years and visited refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border.

JR: Why did you decide to organize the event - Los Angeles 88: In Solidarity with Burma, this coming Saturday?

Ron: I'm not the organizer of the event but one of several individuals involved in a network that includes Burmese and other students,members of the interfaith community, and human rights activists.  Our goal is to maintain attention to the ongoing crisis in Burma, to show our solidarity with the courageous monks and people of Burma, and to urge Congress to pass legislation that will force western corporations--and especially Chevron--to stop funding oppression by doing business with the military regime.

JR: What are you hoping happens as a result of this Solidarity Rally?

Ron: We hope that area media will pay attention to this event and that we can raise awareness among the people of Los Angeles about the struggle for human rights in Burma.  We that through various communication channels word of what we are doing will filter back to Burma and encourage people there to continue to resist the military regime.  We hope that countries and corporations that continue to do business with the generals realize that we are on to their game.  And we hope to gather hundreds of names for a petition letter that will be sent to key members of Congress urging them to support the Saffron Revolution Support Act introduced by Senator John McCain, which would force Chevron to end its ties with the generals.

JR: How can someone learn more about the atrocities in Burma as well as this upcoming event in Los Angeles?

We have a webpage up and running that describes the goals of the Saturday rally and provides information on the role of Chevron and Total in financing brutality in the country. Anyone with a facebook account can also join our Los Angeles 88 group, which includes regular updates of Burma events in the LA area including rallies, film screenings, campaigns, and lectures.

Thank you Ron for what you are doing to help us be more aware of this crises.  Just last week I had the chance to see Total Denial, which was a moving documentary on the Burmese crises.  It is playing this week at various Indy theaters around Los Angeles.

America's Greenest States

  ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫ 
  Originally uploaded by bocavermelha-l.b.

Forbes Magazine just came out with their "first-ever list of America's Greenest States.  They ranked states according to the following criteria: "We ranked each state in six equally weighted categories: carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives and energy consumption."  Your can read the whole article.

TOP 15 GREENEST STATES



BOTTOM FIVE STATES


If your state is not in the top fifteen or the bottom five, then check out the entire list to find out where they ranked.  HT: Jonathan at Creation Project.

Top 25 Cities

  Hong Kong Sunrise 
  Originally uploaded by dream awakener

I have found that many who visit this blog on a regular basis enjoy learning more about the other people who visit this blog site.  So I try and give a monthly report of the 25 top cities that have visited this blog in the past month.  So here are the top cities for September of 2007.

TOP 25 CITIES VISITING THIS BLOG LAST MONTH

1.  Los Angeles, CA
2.  Irvine, CA
3.  Milwaukee, WI
4.  London, England
5.  Orlando, FL
6.  Plano, TX
7.  Fayetteville, NC
8.  Sydney, Australia
9.  Chicago, IL
10. New York, NY
11. Toronto, Canada
12. Pasadena, CA
13. Austin, TX
14. Mt. Laurel, NJ
15. Atlanta, GA
16. Roanoke, VA
17. Miami, FL
18. Ames, IO
19. Boston, MA
20. Long Beach, CA
21. San Jose, CA
22. Indianapolis, IN
23. Amsterdam, Netherlands
24. Rochester, NY
25. Owosso, MI

A SHORT ANALYSIS
Five cities in the top 25 are in California, which makes sense, since that is the state in which I live.  There are cities from each of the major sections of the U.S. in the top 25, cities from the North East, from the South, from the Midwest and the West Coast.  There were two cities from New York and Texas in the top 25, and there were four cities from other countries in the top 25.  Two of the cities from other countries landed in the top ten - London and Sydney.

The Unembraced

Tonight @ the Fountain Room along with a concert by Josh Garrels, I will be sharing with all who are in attendance about our ministry to the unembraced.  We hope to raise some funds to help orphanages that we work with in the Turkana region of Kenya.  If you have a desire to help out with this ministry, please e-mail me at theunembraced@gmail.com and I will let you know how you can be of help.

Top Twenty Five Cities...

Here are the top twenty-five cities that have visited this blog during the past month according to statcounter.com:

1.  Los Angeles, California
2.  New York, New York
3.  Irvine, California
4.  Fayetteville, North Carolina
5.  Plano, Texas
6.  London, England
7.  Austin, Texas
8.  Atlanta, Georgia
9.  Toronto, Canada (Ontario)
10. Pasadena, California
11. Long Beach, California
12. Orlando, Florida
13. Denver, Colorado
14. Roanoke, Virginia
15. Sydney, Australia (New South Wales)
16. Dallas, Texas
17. Bellevue, Washington
18. Herndon, Virginia
19. Surrey, Canada (British Columbia)
20. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
21. Mt. Laurel, New Jersey
22. Lake Mary, Florida
23. Chicago, Illinois
24. Melbourne, Australia (Victoria)
25. Valhalla, New York

So as way of review, there were four cities in California, three cities from Texas, and two cities from New York, Florida, Virginia, Canada and Australia.  There were  five cities in the top twenty-five that were outside of the United States, and  three California cities in the top ten.

Quote of the Week: A Question for Every Congregation

"The question which has to be put to every local congregation is the question whether it is a credible sign of God's reign in justice and mercy over the whole of life, whether it is an open fellowship whose concerns are as wide as the concerns of humanity, whether it cares for its neighbors in a way which reflects and springs out of God's care for them, whether its common life is recognizable as a foretaste of the blessing which God intends for the whole human family."  Leslie Newbigin

The Next Christendom - Analytical Report

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Philip Jenkins is a distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University.  He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Cambridge and has authored twenty books and about 120 book chapters and articles.  This and other books have been translated into many languages.  Since 1980 he has delivered over one hundred papers to scholarly gatherings and professional associations, from the Pennsylvania Historical Association to the G.K. Chesterton Society.

HIS THESIS
In The Next Christendom, Philip Jenkins makes the case that the most significant changes happening in our world this century are religious in nature, with Islam and Christianity as focal points.  While many in the North [Europe and North America] focus on secular trends, and talk about the decline of the church; Jenkins asserts that Christianity will thrive and most likely continue to be the largest faith in the world, though its center of gravity is quickly shifting from the North to the South [Africa, Latin America and Asia] with profound implications for the entire world.

OVERVIEW
With demographics in one hand and religious studies and history in the other, Jenkins makes forecasts for our world tomorrow in light of the New Global Christianity. In the early chapters of his book, Jenkins helps us understand that in the next hundred years the face of Christianity will change. The new face of Christianity will be poor, urban, persecuted and black or brown; instead of wealthy, white and intellectual.  These new faces and voices will reflect a faith that is “far more enthusiast, much more centrally concerned with the immediate works of the supernatural, through prophecy, visions, ecstatic utterances and healing” (107). By chapter six Jenkins starts to help us come to terms with what these dramatic changes might mean for our world, as he looks at the expressions of the “Third World Church” faith, how faith and politics mix, the potential interactions of two major religions of this century - Christianity and Islam – and how the faith of the South will effect the faith of the North.  He closes with some personal reflections and challenges to the West.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK
I found Jenkin’s insights about what is happening today and what might happen tomorrow both fascinating and convincing.  His use of demographics and historical stories help make the case that the world in 2025 and 2050 will be shaped profoundly by the new Christianity of the South, one that is “charismatic, visionary, and apocalyptic… where prophecy is an everyday reality, while faith-healing, exorcism and dream-visions are all basic components of religious sensibility” (8).

I want to re-read this book and digest it in order to consider further implications for my life and ministry.  Some immediate applications that I want to enact include strengthening ties to churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America by fostering relationships between churches in the West/North and the South, as well as continuing to explore and work toward economic justice in various ways.

In light of the conflicts between Islam and Christianity now, and potential conflicts in the coming century, I hope to increase my understanding of what it means to be peacemakers in the way of Jesus, so I can help equip God’s people in the North and South learn to follow in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace.  It seems to me that it will be both vital and helpful for us in the North to meaningfully connect with our family in the South, and vice versa, in order to help one another further God’s kingdom.    

Movement

  Be! 
  Originally uploaded by brunoat.

Today I read Philip Jenkin's The Next Christendom.  It was an amazing read that got me thinking about many things.  I will be writing more about it soon, but for now I thought I would just give you a quick sentence where Jenkins quotes Philip Yancy in an article in Christianity Today on February 5, 2001.

"As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God moving geographically from the Middle East, to Europe to North America to the developing world.  My theory is this:  God goes where he's wanted."

Announcing the Kingdom - Analytical Report

Arthur Glasser is dean emeritus of what is now called the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.  Glasser became a Christ-follower in his late teens and has a rich missional history as both a practitioner and professor.  He and his wife served as missionaries in China (1946-1950) with China Inland Mission as well as taught at a number of seminaries. He is an author of other missional books like The Good News of the Kingdom and was a founding member of the American Society of Missiology in 1972. 

In Announcing the Kingdom, Glasser takes us through a panoramic view of Scripture - from Genesis to Revelation - with a missional lens.  He demonstrates that the God of Scripture is a Missionary God, who desires to work through His missionary people, so that “His kingdom would come and His will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Glasser traces God’s Mission from the Beginning of time until the Consummation in six different parts.  The first three parts focused on the Hebrew Scripture.  He trace’s God’s mission for all nations from the creation of the world, to the creation of his people Israel, and shows how God’s mission was furthered even when His people lived in exile among other nations.  The second three parts of his book focused on the New Testament.  He begins by showing how the Father worked through His Son Jesus, then through the Church by the power of the Spirit.  He concludes by examining the book of Revelation to demonstrate the continued theme of King and Kingdom from creation to the renewed heaven and earth.

What I liked most about this book is that Glasser helps us to view the entire text with a missional lens.  He is able to draw out rich missional lessons from each section of scripture, whether it is from the life of Abraham, the life of Israel, the church or Jesus himself.  The rich quotes that are sprinkled throughout the text often caused me to stop and ponder our awesome God and His mission.  Throughout the book he helps us to remember God’s heart for all nations, and calls us to partner with our missional God to bring about His kingdom, always reminding us that our mission is in good hands – the hands of our triune God.

While the theme of missio dei was traced from Genesis to Revelation, some themes of God’s mission seemed incoherent. For example, in the chapter on the powers, he states, “…they [the powers] do this through incarnating themselves in existing structures in society and in cultural traditions and religious institutions” (337) and states that “Paul goes beyond the familiar New Testament thesis that Christ’s redemption delivers his people from the guilt of sin… Paul speaks of Christ as One who also liberates his people from… bondage to the powers.” (336) Yet when talking about Jesus he said, “While he advocated sharing with the poor, he did not condemn the economic system that helped make people rich.” Glasser might benefit by reading Wink’s triology on The Powers and Ched Myers Binding the Strong Man.

With that said, I deeply appreciate Glasser’s humility as he closes his book (373), admitting to “truths that have appeared to conflict” and imperfect perception.  His humility causes me to humble myself before our awesome missional God for His service.

LA Happenings: The Great Triduum Services

  Wilshire Christian Church 
  Originally uploaded by Clinton Steeds.

The Great Triduum is at the center of the entire liturgical year.  It consists of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.  Audrey Blumber on our staff team here at Kairos in Hollywood put together a couple of interesting happenings over this time.

USC/Downtown:
o St. John’s Church, 514 W. Adams Ave.
• Maundy Thursday 7pm
• Good Friday, Liturgy 12noon
• Good Friday, Stations of the Cross 7pm
• Holy Saturday, The Great Vigil 8pm

• Los Angeles/Wilshire Center:
o St James’ Church, 3903 Wilshire Blvd.
• Maundy Thursday, Eucharist & Foot Washing 7:30pm
• Maundy Thursday, Agape Soup & Bread Meal 9pm
• Good Friday, Eucharist 7am
• Good Friday, Stations of the Cross 12noon
• Good Friday, Liturgy 7:30pm
• Holy Saturday, The Great Vigil 7:30pm

• Los Angeles/Echo Park:
o