Dream Awakener

The Cobalt Season - Thursday Night - April 24 at 7:30 p.m.

My pastor friend Ryan Bell and his congregation are hosting The Cobalt Season tomorrow night.  It is great music (Indie/Acoustic/Folk) and meaningful lyrics.  Check out their myspace.  Details below.

Virginia Tech: Remembering the Massacre One Year Later

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre.  To remember this horrible event I will be wearing maroon, orange and white. This tragedy hit my heart deeply because the first church that God had me plant was [nlcf] at Virginia Tech.  I spent over thirteen years of my life on this campus.  I just "so happened" to be in Washington D.C. when I heard the news, so my friend Chris Backert and I drove down that Monday night, to be there for the students.

While I was there that week I made a series of posts to to share what was going on in my heart and what I was seeing first hand.  As a way to remember this tragedy, I have put together a collection of the posts that I had posted a year ago.  If you click through on anything, take a moment to listen to the song Forever Changed and the slide show that I link to under  Virginia Tech: A Journey Toward Healing.  After my posts, I have three other important links to help us remember.

Forever Changed
Here is a link to a band called The Season.  This band has two graduates of Virginia Tech in it - Kurtis Parks and Josh Kim, who were members of the worship band at the church I founded.  They saw this time as a way to use their gifts and wrote a song entitled Forever Changed.  Take a moment to listen to the song, as a way to remember.

From Virginia Tech: The In-between Day
Having just arrived in Blacksburg, I gave an update on what was happening as well as shared some thoughts about a day that didn't make the Christian Calendar, the day in-between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  On Good Friday we see the reality of evil, when God took all of the evil upon Himself and in return gave a blessing.  Then there is Easter that speaks of the hope of a whole new world.  We live on Saturday, this in-between time.

From Virginia Tech: The Ministry of Presence
This is another person update with some thoughts on one of the best ways we can help people during tragedies - a ministry of presence.

From Virginia Tech: Prayer and Ministry
I shared some of my experiences at the campus-wide prayer meeting.

From Virginia Tech: The One Thing We Need
I share my heartfelt words to all affected by this tragedy.

Virginia Tech: A Journey Toward Healing
I put the photo's that I took at Va Tech in a slide show with some music.  A journey of the healing events that took place on the campus in the aftermath of the tragedy. This is a must watch to remember.

Remembering Virginia Tech - One Year Later
This is an honest post written by Eugene E. Cho today, reflecting on why this tragedy means so much to his life as a Korean.

When Answers Aren't Enough: Experiencing God as Good When Life Isn't
This is a book by my friend Matt Rodgers.  He is one of the current pastors of the [nlcf].  This book just came out at the beginning of this month, it's about the Virginia Tech Massacre.  Philip Yancey writes about this book, "Tempered by tragedy, Matt Rodgers explores both doubt and hope, and emerges with compassionate wisdom."  It might be a good read for you as a way to remember.

A Day of Remembrance
This is the site at Virginia Tech that shares the names of each of the Hokies that were victims, along with events that are taking place to remember.

Invisible Children Roadies This Saturday at Artist @ the Fountain

This Saturday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m.  Artist @ the Fountain presents a screening of Black is for Sunday.  There is no cover.
 

A four person road crew from Invisible Children will be hosting this event.  They will be giving updates on what is happening with Invisible Children as well as showing the film. If you are in the LA area and want to come to this film screening, the Fountain Room is located at 4903 Fountain Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90029.

ABOUT "BLACK IS FOR SUNDAY"
Invisible Children's filmmaker Bobby Bailey went back to northern Uganda in March 2007 to spend 10 days living among and like the people displaced for 10 years in one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time.  His adventure took him to the heart of the longest running war in Africa and into the life of a child that would change his life forever.

In this film, you will meet Sunday.  Only 15 years old, there isn't a part of his life that hasn't been affected by the war.  Orphaned at a young age, he lives in a displacement camp and struggles to survive amid the affects of poverty, disease, and malnutrition.  Having no family left to depend on, he must try to provide for himself.

But without enough time to work and go to class, Sunday can't make the money needed to pay his fees and is asked to leave school.  The war that has already taken so much from him now threatens to take the most valuable thing he has left: a future.

Come check out the screening.  Spread the word.  This Saturday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. The Fountain Room 4903 Fountain Avenue  Hollywood, CA 90029  There is no cover, but you can buy black bracelets to help the children in Uganda.

Monday Morning Medicine

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

Easter Weekend Events

Artist @ the Fountain Presents: The Black Tongued Bells

For THREE nights ONLY, (February 28th, 29th and March 1st) the Fountain Room will be transformed into a professional theatre, with elaborate sets, lighting, and sound.

Upon arrival, you will enter into the living breathing swamplands of the Louisiana Bayou, and you will be taken on a journey back in time, to the depression era of the early 1900's.

With a cast of seven, through clothing, set design, and music, you will venture back nearly 100 years, to witness first hand, what life might have been like during such a pivotal point in
American history.

To accomplish this with a powerful sense of realism, the Director has chosen the colorful life and times of legendary Blues and Gospel artist "Laurence Douglas Miner", born and raised on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1923. The story is delivered through the classic theatrical medium of "narrative" and "song", with Laurence himself as the storyteller. It is not made clear in the history books, whether or not Laurence was a real, or fictitious character of the era, and in the end, it is up to you, the audience, to decide. Laurence takes us on an enlightening roller coaster ride of stories and songs, and he treats us to an eye opening and entertaining glimpse of life in these economically troubled times.

Through his music, he turned the "Blues" into "Gospel", and oppression into hope. He will captivate you, and move you to your feet, your soul will dance it's way home after this performance, guaranteed!

If you are in the Los Angeles area, you will want to check this concert.  You can call 323.284.8081 to reserve your tickets. Most of the proceeds will be going to help people in Kenya who have been going through crises.  This event is sponsored by Artist @ the Fountain, an organization that I co-founded with Daichi Kimura where we appreciate artists as well as fight for social justice.

Give Input to the Budget of the City of LA

If you live in the city of Los Angeles, you have the chance to give the Mayor your thoughts on what should be some off the priorities this coming year in the budget.  The budget year for Los Angeles goes from July 1st to June 30th.  This city of Los Angeles allows all of us who live her to give budget input that impacts the entire budget development process.  So if you live in Los Angeles, please take a moment to give your input to the budget.  I just gave mine this past week. It only took about five to ten minutes.  It was helpful to work through it because it helped me to realize how difficult it must be to develop a city budget.

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.

Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my hero's. He has inspired me in so many ways, how he was able to be both peaceful and prophetic at the same time.  If you want to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr, check out some of his sermons like Loving Your Enemies or Rediscoving Lost Values, or some of his famous speeches like I Have a Dream, you can go to the Martin Luther King Jr., Research and Education Institue that is hosted by Stanford.

Also, click here to check out some of the quotes by Martin Luther King that have inspired me.

Kenyans Protest Election - Video

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.   

Happy New Year 2008 from NYC!!!

A friend of mine Ephany from Kenya and I went to NYC from my parents house in Ohio.  Ephany wanted to see NYC before heading back to his country, so I took him.  We met other friends of ours yesterday and traveled to some common sites in the city. 

We are staying with Jon Tyson a friend of mine who is a church planter in Manhattan.  The church he serves is called Origins and really seems to be connecting with the city.  Jon is a passionate man, with a huge heart for this city.  He has been incredibly hospitable to us.

We spent New Year's Eve roaming around the city meeting people from all over the world.  For Christmas I got a Cannon HV20 and was able to get some video footage that I hope to post after I get home.  I probably won't have time before that to edit and post it.  I haven't really worked with video much, but that is one thing that I hope to do more of this coming year.  I would love to have more video posts on this blog.  We'll see.

At around 11 p.m. last night, we went to a New Year's Eve party on 51st street.  It was a party that was raising money for a safe house in NYC for victims of human trafficking.  Jon invited us and we met a number of people.

After the party, I went around the streets talking with people getting some video footage of what New York is like on New Year's Eve after the ball has dropped.  There is high energy and many friendly people here.  I had a great time. 

I want to wish you a Happy New Year this coming year and encourage you to take a moment to reflect on this past year.  I plan to take some time in the next couple of days to examine the past year of my life.  I want to look and see what things were life-giving and what was life-draining.  I want to look over the year and remember the times I walked with the Lord and the times I didn't.  I want to take some time to ask God to forgive me for the times I didn't walk with Him and to help me to walk closer with Him in the coming year.  I will take some time to review each of my roles in life and consider how God would have me focus for the coming year. I hope that you might do something similar. 

May this coming year be a rich and rewarding year for you!

Man is shot in crowded Old Town Pasadena

While gun shots are common in the LA area, they are not common in Old Town Pasadena.  In this LA Times article the police say they can't ever remember a time when someone was brazenly shot in old town Pasadena.  Being that it was just the day after Christmas at 7:30 p.m. the crowds were at their highest.  The shooting occurred near Colorado Blvd and Fair Oaks Avenue, which is at the heart of Old Town Pasadena.  The article quotes Lt. Randell K. Taylor from the Pasadena Police Department saying, "It was crazy, mayhem; shots were being fired and - imagine - hundreds of people trying to take cover."

This is a place that I visit regularly, because Fuller Theological Seminary is right around the corner.  The victim of the shooting was 23 and the suspected shooter was a man in his 20s.  Pretty crazy.

Around the Blogosphere - The Best of This Week in Blogs

  The Amazing Race 
  Originally uploaded by HaMeD!caL

There are many great bloggers who not only write excellent posts, but are avid readers of other blogs.  As readers they typically devote a post, often once a week, where they make a list of links to some of their favorite posts from other blogs that week.  This conglomeration of links goes by many names.  Scot McKnight calls this kind of post  - Weakly Meanderings, John Santic calls it - Speedlinking, Ben Myers calls it - Around the Traps, Tony calls this kind of post - This Week in Blogs, and I call it Choice Blog entries.  Regardless of what name these posts go by, they are often filled with many great links.  So it is my hope to travel around the blogosphere once and week in order to give you the best of this week in blogs.  This is my first installment. 

Weekly Meanderings by Scot McKnight
This week Scot takes us from the food pantries in Chicago to Jesus Creed prayer beads, to global crises and discussions on the kingdom and church.

Speedlinking by John Santic
This week John links to some musings on global capitalism, to Advent Conspiracy, as well as some facts that will make you gasp.

Around the Traps by Ben Myers
This week Ben links us to some rich listening resources, to a book review, as well as some Kierkegaardian posts.

This Week in Blogs by Tony
Tony takes us to Jason Clark's thoughts on the theory of creativity, to a short piece on dying to self, as well as an informative piece on building an ideation team.

I hope you enjoyed this trip around the blogosphere.  Come back for more next week.

Learning for Free from iTunes U

  History in modern life 
  Originally uploaded by yanni

The LA Times in an article entitled The iPod Lecture Circuit talks about how iTunes is making hundreds of lectures from elite academic institutions like U.C. Berkley, Harvard, Yale, Duke, Stanford, MIT and others, available online for free.  28 colleges and universities now post select courses without charge. 

The article states, "Retirees in Long Beach and Weaverville, Calif., halibut fishermen in Alaska, data entry clerks in London, casting agents in New York -- all separated from the classroom by age, distance or circumstance -- are learning from some of the world's top scholars.

Apple began working with Duke University in late 2004 to broadcast classes from its website using iTunes software and has expanded the service to other schools. Separately, some universities started putting lectures on the iTunes store in the form of podcasts, which are free video or audio recordings that anyone can download to their computer or iPod.

The downloads have surged since May, when Apple began featuring lessons on the iTunes home page under the heading iTunes U. For example, the 86 courses UC Berkeley offers are now being downloaded 50,000 times a week, up from 15,000 before Apple's promotion."

You can find some lectures from some great divinity schools, like Duke Divinity and Yale Divinity. Check it out.

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 Image Abroad

  Midnight Obelisk - The Washington Monument 
  Originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs

The latest article from the Pew Research Center in there Pew Global Attitudes Project is entitled Foreign Policy, Not Public Diplomacy, Mostly Determines How the World Views America.

The article starts off talking about the hopes that came with Karen Hughes as the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in the fall of 2005, but how America