Today I was sitting in the passenger seat of Jake's truck driving on the "anillo" (ring) which wraps itself around the city of Tegucigalpa. It was rainy and overcast today, which might not seem that wonderful to a man born and raised in sunshine-depraved West Michigan, but the timing was perfect. You see, we are in the midst of the dry season here in Honduras, which means water for a shower is never guaranteed and that rushing river outside my house is nothing more than a trickle. A cloud of smog sits over the city and its inhabitants inhale a dry and dusty cloud with every breath. The rain was desperately needed.
It was as I was sitting in the passenger seat, contemplating our good weather fortune, when he turned to me and said, "So... What in the world happened at Bible Study last Wednesday??"
More on that later...
About seven years ago (oh my goodness I am getting old!) I packed up my things and moved 40 minutes south to start attending Hope College. For me, this stage of life could not have come soon enough. I was ready to try new things, to exlore new possibilities, and to reinvent myself in a new setting. One thing I noticed right away at college (and admittably was a little uncomfortable with) was the concept of groups. Within weeks of living on campus I was confront with all kinds of groups. There were small groups, worship groups, prayer groups, service groups, interest groups, intramural teams, Spring Break mission trip groups, musical groups, breakfast groups, lunch groups, dinner groups, 3AM pizza groups (need I go on?)
For a shy, intraverted kid like me it was all a little much. Especially when it came to groups based on faith... I just wasn't sure how to fit in, how to have community. I mean, faith was something that was personal, not something that I let others in on. And all of the sudden I was presented with all these opportunities to learn, grow and (gulp!) be vulnerable.
Now, I tried my hand at a bunch of different groups. I was part of some great prayer groups, some pretty cool worship groups and even an occasional small group. These were all great and I learned a lot, but nothing contributed more to my spiritual growth than Bible Studies. There was something about opening up God's Word with brothers and sisters that was so different from any other kind of community I had experienced. In fact, it was with a rag-tag group of guys hanging out in the lounge of Wycoff that I first started to understand what it meant to struggle through the scriptures together... to wrestle with the tough passages... and to be changed.
I guess I should not have been surprised. The Bible is full of examples of the early Church meeting together in community, praying, wrestling with the scriptures, and never being the same. Sometimes the place where they met was shaken... like physically shaken... like OH MY GOODNESS IS THIS AN EARTHQUAKE?!?!?!? kind of shaken. And they left as different people.
Hope College talks a lot about "Growing World Christians in the Soil of Hope", but looking back, that statement had little to do with the college itself. The growth started in the underground; the Bible Studies, the prayer groups, the fasting, the tarrying meetings. And the Holy Spirit took that cultivated a crop that spread (and continues to spread) to the ends of the earth.
Since leaving Hope I have struggled to find the community that I once had there. In my post-college life my faith retreated back to a personal level, and I have been guilty time and time again of wallowing in the self-pity of not having a comparable group with which to seek the Lord.
It's false... not true... a straight-up lie
You see, where two or more are gathered... He is there as well. When we open up the Scriptures, He is there. When we bow our heads and lift each other up in prayer, He is there. And when He is there, there is communion. That's how communities are built, that's how lives are changed, that's how revolutions are started.
Last Wednesday I was discouraged. Our men's Bible Study group has been a great source of support for me this year, but also a great example of inconsistency. I was sitting at home, looking at my phone, and debating whether to make the call. We were going to have a maximum of three people in the group that night, and it might not have been worth it, I mean... we are all busy people and could use some extra time.
But I didn't make the call, and we ended up meeting together. We opened up God's Word, we shared, and God put ideas and visions in our hearts about community and what He desires. We came away from that night with a renewed focus and God put an ambitious plan on Matt's heart to organize a community clean-up day to pick up trash around our community. It was superb... I'm not sure why I was surprised.
It was as I was sitting in the passenger seat, contemplating our good weather fortune, when Jake turned to me and said, "So... What in the world happened at Bible Study last Wednesday?? All of the sudden Stefan is talking about how great the meeting was and Matt comes to my office and wants to borrow my truck for a community clean-up day!?!"
What happened? We opened the scripture, the Holy Spirit showed up, and we were changed. That's real community. We shouldn't be surprised.
(Check out Hebrews 10:24-25 if you don't believe me.... okay... check it out even if you do)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Like a tree
I've been thinking a lot about trees lately. Now, that may sound weird since I'm not a biology teacher, don't have a yard, and live in a concrete-city of over a million people. But trees (and GROWTH in general) have been in my thoughts.
One of my neighbors and fellow-teachers Rhonda was commenting on a tree across the street from where she lives. Rhonda lives in the white house, which is where I lived last year. One of the best things about that house (and consequently what I miss the most) is the porch area. Perhaps my favorite thing to do last year was to sit out in the hammock, read for hours, and watch the people as they passed by. It is from that hammock that you can see a big tropical palm tree directly across the street.
Now, the tree is a little bit out of its element. It is a coconut-yielding palm tree that should be standing tall on the beach instead of stuck behind a gate on the south-side of Tegucigalpa. But this is its plight... a tree of paradise that is stuck in the hazy city where we have not seen a drop of rain in several weeks.
"If somebody would take down that cement gate and give that tree some water you might think we lived in a paradise"
Rhonda is right. With just a little more rain and little less barbed wire our neighborhood would be a different place.
Sometimes I feel like that tree. Life comes fast and hard and our days are filled with things vying for our energy, our focus, our attention. To take cover we pull away and put up our hedges of security (cement and barbed-wire gates if you will) and many times we are left covered up... dried up.
This past week was Spring Break for us here in Honduras and I took advantage of taking a trip with three other guys to the largest lake in Honduras. One evening we rented kayaks and set out on the lake. The water was so calm, so peaceful, and the vegetation so green. It was a stark contrast to the dried-up brown city where we live. The trees around Lago de Yojoa were the most vivid green and as the sun dipped below the mountains I couldn't help but be overcome by the beauty surrounding me. There was so much growth, so much LIFE.
On our way back to shore we took a few minutes to kayak around some trees growing in the lake a few feet from the shore. Their roots were fully exposed, as they drank deeply from the life-providing water beneath.
The whole scene brought a verse to my mind which has been a bit of a theme for me the last few months:
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. For his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. HE IS LIKE A TREE, PLANTED BY STREAMS OF WATER THAT YIELDS ITS FRUIT IN SEASON, ITS LEAF NEVER WITHERS. Whatever he does prospers"
Psalm 1
The thing I love about that picture that the Psalmist gives is that the tree is planted by the source of its nurishment. It does not mention the seasons of change when the weather gets rough, the hardships and trials and tribulations. But instead it presents a picture of a tree deeply attached to its source, despite anything that might be going on around it. It's leaf NEVER withers... not when life gets busy... not when times get tough... NEVER.
Lately I've been trying to stick by the Source. I have a tendency to be a person who tries to do as much as possible to maintain some level of control. I've got to do more to be the best teacher or the best friend or a better Christian. However, sometimes life is not about doing, it's about BEING and right now I am enjoying sitting still and drinking deeply; deeply from friendships, deeply from relationships, and deeply from God's Word.
It's a good place to be I think and I cling to the promise that one day... when my season comes... the fruit will be there with it.
Lago de Yojoa
Psalm 1:3
One of my neighbors and fellow-teachers Rhonda was commenting on a tree across the street from where she lives. Rhonda lives in the white house, which is where I lived last year. One of the best things about that house (and consequently what I miss the most) is the porch area. Perhaps my favorite thing to do last year was to sit out in the hammock, read for hours, and watch the people as they passed by. It is from that hammock that you can see a big tropical palm tree directly across the street.
Now, the tree is a little bit out of its element. It is a coconut-yielding palm tree that should be standing tall on the beach instead of stuck behind a gate on the south-side of Tegucigalpa. But this is its plight... a tree of paradise that is stuck in the hazy city where we have not seen a drop of rain in several weeks.
"If somebody would take down that cement gate and give that tree some water you might think we lived in a paradise"
Rhonda is right. With just a little more rain and little less barbed wire our neighborhood would be a different place.
Sometimes I feel like that tree. Life comes fast and hard and our days are filled with things vying for our energy, our focus, our attention. To take cover we pull away and put up our hedges of security (cement and barbed-wire gates if you will) and many times we are left covered up... dried up.
This past week was Spring Break for us here in Honduras and I took advantage of taking a trip with three other guys to the largest lake in Honduras. One evening we rented kayaks and set out on the lake. The water was so calm, so peaceful, and the vegetation so green. It was a stark contrast to the dried-up brown city where we live. The trees around Lago de Yojoa were the most vivid green and as the sun dipped below the mountains I couldn't help but be overcome by the beauty surrounding me. There was so much growth, so much LIFE.
On our way back to shore we took a few minutes to kayak around some trees growing in the lake a few feet from the shore. Their roots were fully exposed, as they drank deeply from the life-providing water beneath.
The whole scene brought a verse to my mind which has been a bit of a theme for me the last few months:
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. For his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. HE IS LIKE A TREE, PLANTED BY STREAMS OF WATER THAT YIELDS ITS FRUIT IN SEASON, ITS LEAF NEVER WITHERS. Whatever he does prospers"
Psalm 1
The thing I love about that picture that the Psalmist gives is that the tree is planted by the source of its nurishment. It does not mention the seasons of change when the weather gets rough, the hardships and trials and tribulations. But instead it presents a picture of a tree deeply attached to its source, despite anything that might be going on around it. It's leaf NEVER withers... not when life gets busy... not when times get tough... NEVER.
Lately I've been trying to stick by the Source. I have a tendency to be a person who tries to do as much as possible to maintain some level of control. I've got to do more to be the best teacher or the best friend or a better Christian. However, sometimes life is not about doing, it's about BEING and right now I am enjoying sitting still and drinking deeply; deeply from friendships, deeply from relationships, and deeply from God's Word.
It's a good place to be I think and I cling to the promise that one day... when my season comes... the fruit will be there with it.
Lago de Yojoa
Psalm 1:3
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