I'm not the kind of guy that wants to kick someone while they are down, that's not what I'm trying to do here. The people of LA, MS, and all other areas affected by Katrina have my prayers and wishes and condolensces. I have heard that a lot of them have been ripped apart pretty good in the mainstream media, and I write this not to add to that.

However, I have to question in light of this incident the wisdom of building a major city on the coast under sea level. I have never been to NO so don't know all of the details, but due to the events of the past week I have learned that the city is actually under sea level and the reason for the flooding is the damage to a levee protecting the city from the Gulf. (Please forgive my ignorance on this matter as this is probably common knowledge to most of you, but I wasn't taught this in school). Of course it is the mouth of the Miss. River and a major port and people move to where the jobs are, but are there any other options? Maybe there's not, and if not please again forgive me. It's the same with Amsterdam, I watched a special on the Discovery Channel a few weeks back about the levee that had to be built to protect that city from becoming part of the North Sea. Again, are there any other options? Now the government has to bail them out with billions of dollars of aid.

John Stossel wrote about this in his book and did a 20/20 special on his Long Island beach house. Not once, not twice, but three times his house was washed away by powerful Atlantic storms. And not once, not twice, but three times was he refunded for his multi-million dollar estate by government subsidized insurance. Finally common sense took over and he cashed in without rebuilding, but as he looks back, should the government pay for him to build a house that had a great chance of being damaged almost yearly? Should the government pay for that who stubbornly refused to abandon their houses and are now in need of rescue? What about people who unwisely choose a sea port that lies under the sea? The humanitarian side of me says that we have to help them, and we do, but where do we stop? Do we ever say no, it's your fault, deal with it? Not in a civilized society, but sometimes its tempting.

(Note to reader, I'm thinking through this as I write and an uncomfortable with part of this blog, bear with me while I work through this issue.)

A lot of press on the spiritual world has been made of late due to the upcoming release of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." I have seen numerous specials on people performing exorcisms around the world and debates on the validity of demon possession. Normally I would be overly suspicious of this supposedly true story, but this case is different.

About five years ago I received a call from my pastor on a weekday afternoon that he wanted Lisa and I to come down to the church office immediately. He gave me a few words of instruction and off we went. I had no idea what I was in for.

When we arrived, I saw a lady in the office conference room who I had known and seen every Sunday in church. I was then told that this lady experienced bouts of demon possession and we were to pray for her and try to exercise the demon. I was a little skeptical but a few minutes later I was a believer. All of the sudden as we began to pray the lady's eyes turned red, she stiffened in the chair, and she started cussing us out in a deep, male, voice. She cursed the pastor, told us we had no part in being there and we would not win. He released his name, Pornea (sp?) and said he lived in this lady. We did not succeed in getting the demon out, but I was told we had made some good progress.

So like I said, my worldview on the spiritual world did a one-eighty. It's one thing to read about account of demon possession and exorcism in the Bible or other accounts, it's one thing to see them first-hand. I think I'll take in this movie and see how this event compares to my experience.

The Sports Guy is doing it, now I'm going to give it a try. Every Tuesday (I saw every, I'm not very good at keeping up on things like this, but I'm giving it a shot) I'm going to post a brief book review of a text I highly recommend and one that has gone a long way in shaping my worldview and the life I seek to live.

This week's is a no-brainer, I took one glance at my book shelf and it basically threw itself at me. "Safely Home" is a fictional account of the Chinese church at the current time, when the government of China is trying to put on the front that it allows religious freedom to its people. I am usually am not a fan of fiction (find it somewhat of a waste of time, especially fiction in the Christian genre), but this book, while fiction, takes events that truly happened and revolves them around one character, Ben Fielding.

Ben Fielding is your typical American businessman who has bought into the lie that our faith is a private matter and any sign of one expressing their faith (a cross on one's desk, the sight of a Bible, someone professing their faith in Christ as a reason for doing something) should be prohibited. He is in a management position and while a church-going believer, he does not allow this activity in those underneath him, especially his co-worker named Doug who is very pro-life and will not go along with the tolerance espoused by his company (side-note - I use tolerance here in a negative way, as I believe it has been forced on us by the liberal world. I believe we should be tolerance of others, accepting of their differences. However, the new definition as it has been forced upon means that we must not disagree with anyone or say that any culture is belief or lifestyle is wrong. This is just not true, there are some worldviews that are wrong. Take for instance radical Islamic governments who believe they are in a jihad with the infidels, or parts of India and China where children are just thrown on the road when they are not wanted, or parts of Africa where the culture tells the men the way to get ride of AIDS to is have sex with a virgin, and the only way we can be sure one is a virgin is to rape a ten, six, or two year old, or younger. I love these people with the love of God, but their behavior is wrong and I will not tolerate it.) Anyway, Ben is about to fire Doug due to him being vocal about his religious beliefs.

But then a turn in the story happens when Ben has to return to China for some business (a place he has spend a good deal of time in) and happens to receive a letter from his old college roomate requesting he visti. Li Quan, the name of his roomate, is a pastor of an underground church in China and one that the government has been watching out for. He also has received his share of beatings. Ben doesn't know this until he visits, which he doesn't want to do but feels obliged, and he gets a different view of Christianity than he has experienced in the West. The story continues to tell of Li's struggles along with Ben's eye-opening experience in a world he never know. While the book is over 400 pages, it can be read in a few days (I couldn't put it down, believe it took me three) and encourages one to pray for those around the world as well as take a look at our own faith and ask whether we have bought into the Christianity the world and the West tells us is okay, which may be contrary to what Jesus is calling us to. I urge you to check it out, I have a few extra copies if you want to borrow one.

I came across the following news piece on Friday and was going to make it the focal point of my next post:

Matt Leinart, the probably number one draft pick in LAST year’s NFL draft, returned to school and is taking one class this fall semester, Ballroom Dancing. Being a single man in Southern California at one of the greatest college campuses in the nation with only one class and a sure-fire future multi-millionaire, this man has my vote for having THE LIFE!

But after spending this past weekend with my family at the wedding of Lisa's cousin, I have to change my mind. For those of you who don't know me, I HATE WEDDINGS! I am the most unromantic person you know, so spending a day oodling over the wedding couple makes me nauceous. Furthermore, I am a very cynical person, so I'm always thinking about what could go wrong with this relationship (I know, I'm a tortured soul).

This weekend wasd different, however. First, I really like the couple. Stacie is Lisa's coolest cousin and I have always liked her husband. I also like the family surrouding the both of them and the setting was a pristine lake.

More than that, though, my daughter Maiya was a flowergirl for the wedding, and watching her walk down the aisle (with a hint of seriousness and just enough of a smile to melt all hearts in the audience) nearly brought a tear to my eye. I was so proud of her. Then, during the father-daughter dance she wanted to sit on my lap while "Butterfly Kisses" played. That song should really be outlawed as I don't know how the bride's father kept from losing it, there didn't seem to be a dry eye in the place, especially not among the men with daughters. And to add insult to injury, she fulfilled my dreams by dancing an entire song with me, laying her head on my shoulder for the whole song. Times like that are just priceless!

So I take back my comment above that Matt Leinart has my vote for THE LIFE. I'm sure it would be great to take part in the college life again, beautiful girls chasing you around, millions of fans watching you throw a pigskin around every Saturday, millions of dollars waiting for you in the bank, what could be better. That life is sure envious, but I wouldn't trade my life yesterday for the world.

This needs to happen more, there is a church in our area who does similar work with people from some part of Morocco, what a great ministry!

Heart and Soul Community Free Methodist Church of Rochester, New York, includes nine refugee family groups from the Uduk tribe of Southern Sudan. They are among the very few who have been allowed to enter the U.S. while most of their fellow tribal members remain in refugee camps in Ethiopia.

Today has symbolized somewhat of an end of things for me:

First, Maiya and I went to the pool for the last time, meaning summer is over. This was my best summer ever, I worked a little, took a class that I enjoyed, relaxed, and had a lot of time with the family, not to mention adding another member to our family. I think two children is enough for me, but if we ever have another child I would want to have it in summer, the time has been invaluable.

I also officially retired this evening from competitive athletics. I always said when I get old and can't compete anymore, I'm done, and it's time. I can't play for fun, and since I'm not good anymore, I have to hang up the cleats and sneakers. I'm sure I'll go back on this occasionally, but I'm pretty set on this. Only running, biking, and roller blading for me, and only to stay in some sort of shape.

Finally, I'm through arguing points of theology. I had a good talk with my neighbor tonight on baptism. He and his family are believers, and he brought up the topic, as they were all baptized as infants. Lately, he said that he has felt it laid on his heart that maybe infant baptism isn't the way to go and maybe they should go with an adult immersion. At that point, I could have began a debate on infant/adult, sprinkling/immersion, but I don't know what that would do. On the other hand, what I did was begin to look at the purpose of baptism with him, what it is for, why the Lord desires/commands it, etc. Our conversation got cut short, but I believe more fruit will come out of this rather than arguing the other details. It also seems to be the method of Jesus, when the Pharisees would try to get him to debate with them, he would go to the heart of the matter with them(see Matthew 15). Let's get to the heart of the matter rather than argue the non-essentials.

One last note, I've had a few hits on my blog lately and it's pretty exciting, thanks for all that show support and interest in my little world and coming alongside of me on my journey.

Jason Whitlock posted a very interesting article this afternoon on ESPN.com regarding the firing of Cincinnati men's basketball coach Bob Huggins. What I particularly like is the following comment Whitlock makes:

What must be questioned is the sanity of the black community that continues to allow its youth to be used by institutions that don't respect them.

Read the full article here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whitlock/050825

Once again, from the anals of "it's not the gas prices that will kill our pocketbooks, CBS News reports that Americans will spend $36 billion on their pets this year, including high end spa treatments.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it when Christians use prayer as an evangelistic tool. Maiya is infatuated with our wedding video, we have to watch it almost once a day. During the prayer at the meal, the gentleman decided he would use this as a time to preach the Gospel rather than thank God for the day and the food. I almost threw up. It happens all the time (too many times, admittedly, by yours truly), prayer is meant to worship God, not help people belive in Him.

For some reason, I've watched quite a few movies starring Denzel Washington lately. And I must say, I give this man his due. Not only does virtually every movie he is in win critical acclaim, but he portrays such a wide variety of characters, from the fiery coach in "Remember the Titans" to the bad ass in "Training Day" to the caring father in "John Q." Add to that the fact that he stays out of the tabloids, and Denzel cracks my top five list of most appreciated and talented actors.

The following quote is from Psychology Today as reported by Chuck Missler and Khouse news:

Couples who move in together before marriage have up to two times the odds of divorce, as compared with couples who marry before living together. Moreover, married couples who have lived together before exchanging vows tend to have poorer-quality marriages than couples who moved in after the wedding. Those who cohabited first report less satisfaction, more arguing, poorer communication and lower levels of commitment... Accidental pregnancies are more common among cohabiting couples than among couples who don't live together...[and] once their lives are thoroughly entangled, some couples may decide to wed more out of guilt or fear than love.

This quote amazes me on two levels. First, the fact that Psychology Today would even publish something like this is unheard of. How did they get it by the editors? Second, the whole concept of not living together before marriage (or keeping the marriage bed pure) is so foreign to common sense that it has to be from the Lord. In every other aspect of human existence, "try before you buy" is good practice, it just doesn't seem to work in marriage.

Earlier this week I reread Jim Wallis' op-ed in the NY Times from a few weeks ago. He cites the often quoted stat that 36 million Americans, including 13 million children, live below the poverty line... I for one find this hard to believe, that around ten percent of America lives below the poverty line. I believe Harvey Conn provides appropriate balance here in his book "Urban Ministry" when he advises us to define what one means by the "poverty line" as it surely is different from what third world countries would define as poverty. Is it life without digital TV, high speed internet, and cell phones? Or is it life without proper waste management, food, shelter, and clothing, more of where I would lean on the "poverty line." I don't want to diminish or shame those who may live in poverty, but being in Mexico many times and Africa twice, there is a great difference between poverty in our culture and others.

- Another sign that the apocalypse is upon us, MSN is reporting today on the latest fashion trend of jeans that cost upwards of $200. One lady, a receptionist where the author of the article works, confessed to owning 20 pair in the $150 to $300 range. Ahhhh, but gas prices are what is causing our wallets to run dry, just as I suspected.

- I was amazed at my experience at the Post Office yesterday. First, I went at 3:30, not the optimal time for quick service. There were at least twenty people in front of me, with one lady holding up one window with so many boxes that she had a dolley and made numerous trips out to her car for more boxes. I thought I was in trouble, but the clerks worked very hard and I was out in ten minutes. Not only that, but I was able to send three packages to Kenya for less than $15, and they will arrive in 4-7 days. WOW! Thanks USPS! I'm a fan even though you sponsor Lance Armstrong.

- From the "you have to see this" files, the Pamela Anderson roast on Comedy Central is pure humor. It's especially interesting to see celebs rip on each other without stretching the truth one bit. I was laughing so hard that I woke Kendyl, who was sleeping on my lap. A word of warning, however, it should be rated R, even though it appeared on cable, so if you are sensitive to those things, buyer beware!

- Finally, with "Remember the Titans" planing on ABC last night and the topic of racism comprising a large section of Yancey's "What's So Amazing About Grace?", this topic has entered my thoughts again. Basically, I am just angered at the treatment of blacks and other minorities in the history of this country, mainly in the name of religion, and saddened that it is still such as issue today. As the generations pass, people are more open to those of other races, but to even think that we would judge harshly those who simply look different than us makes me sick. For believers, this is so contrary to the ways of the Kingdom, yet we continue to exhibit these behaviors with little or no guilt.

One thing that stikes me often with "Bible Thumpers" is that I question whether they really believe what the Bible says. It's almost like it amazes them when what the Bible says really happens or that it makes sense.

Two interesting bits in the local paper yesterday:

1) First, there was a poll out that consumers are seeing their "wallets run dry because of sky-rocketing gas price." This always amuses me. So far it's only been a few dollars every time I fill up. If things continue as it seems they will, we may be looking at $10-15 additional cost every time I go to the pump. Of course I'd rather do other things with this money, but it's not going to break me, and it really shouldn't break the majority of Americans, with the amount of disposable cash most of us have (or should have) access to. What I see here is the fruits of Americans crediting ourselves so tight with our mansion houses, big-screen TV's, vacation homes, etc., that this could have a serious affect on our budgets, though it should do nothing more than be a speed bump in our accounts. In my estimation, our economy is holding a delicate balance due to our national and individual debt. A good friend and mentor told me a short time ago, "if you do anything in the next five years, get out of debt." I can't say I've taken his message to action, but I do agree wholeheartedly with him, our economy is on the brink of disaster!

2) Related to that was the news out of NY that Pan Am is cancelling some local flights in the area due to low travel and high gas prices. Thank You! Airline companies are in a heap of trouble financially, and I think one thing they need to do is cancel some of these flights that aren't near full. I travel occasionally from Appleton/Green Bay to Chicago or Minneapolis, and rarely is the flight half full. On my return flight Monday, there were about six people on the plane. While I like the convenient connections, these airlines needs to start cutting a few of these flights and let us decide whether we'll drive to the bigger airports or put up with the long layovers. It won't be popular, but it's about the bottom line.

- My vote for the celebrity being most misplaced with the produce he or she is endorsing has to be Tiger Woods and Buick. You couldn't pay me enough to believe this guy is driving the vehicle I grew up with.

- One concern that came to my mind while in Africa was how we as Westerner's try to fix everything about their culture. I noticed that in a lot of the white people I met, and I think it stuck out to me more because that is the polar opposite of my purpose there. I seek more to listen to the needs, build relationships, and empower where I can rather than come in like I know it all and overpower the existing ministries. I think the problems caused by the latter outweigh the good that it does. In addition, we get too concerned about the "accountability" of those we are working with. In other words, if they don't do things the way we would, then they aren't full of integrity and we pull out our support of them. I was pressured to do that last year with my friend Japheth, and I almost fell for it. Fortunately, I have come to the realization that I must obey the heart the Lord has given me for that ministry and others, and when I am called to give, I need not worry about any other factors, I must just obey.

- It's really amazing how much I am hearing different opinions from different people about different churches in the Fox Valley. I am thinking of one church in particular due to a converstation yesterday, but it happens with others as well. This person couldn't stop praising the vision and such of church A, yet I have heard so many people just bash this church and it's leader. There is no in-between, it's like politics, very polarized and now willing to hear what the other side has to say.

On a whim, I am strongly considering never again referring to the death of the Western Church. What good does it do? I was convicted tonight while reading "Urban Ministry" and noting the author's word choice about the city. In particular, he engaged in a lengthy discussion on how some look at the city as chaotic in a negative way while some see that as positive. I fall in the latter group, I love the city, even in the midst of the depravity that is found there, as I found out more these past two weeks, Dan and I felt most and home in Nairobi vs. the remote villages. Thus, I am now close to choosing for good to take the positive changes our culture is experiencing and focusing on how the church can use to them further God's Kingdom rather than ranting against something that I can't stop or change. A few more days of thought to be sure I am on the right track here and then I'll cross the threshold forever.

I also find it interesting in a recent email that Barna has had enough, it seems that he has realized that what he has been saying to the church for the past twenty years has falled on deaf ears, no one has listened to what he had to say, so now he is changing the strategy. I am told that his new book and all subsequent ones will focus on "ministry that is percolating to the surface of American society through new forms of ministry such as the cyberchurch, house churches, marketplace ministries, and tribal faith experiences." I'm excited and have added his next book, "Revolution," to my amazon wish list to be purchases when it becomes available.

A few more thoughts I neglected on my previous post:

- My stomach is having a difficult time readjusting to American food. I didn't think this would be such a problem, but going from our food to their food and back to ours has just done major damage.

- I hope "Meet the Parents" got major royalties from "Guess Who." I don't think I've seen a bigger rip off of a movie in my life.

- I've used this space to rant about Christian jargon before, and I must add another one to the list. The phrase "first time commitment to Christ" is a very Western phrase, one I have not heard in Kenya nor in any of my readings on foreign cultures. It's kind of a buzz phrase, a way of measuring one's ministry, and one that makes my blood boil. According to these people, we are having millions of first-time commitments to Christ per year, yet the world is falling further and further away from Christianity. So either these people are making up their stats or this is not a good way to measure one's ministry.

- One of the major highlights of the trip I keep failing to mention is how interesting it was reading the newspaper every day. One article in particular caught my eye as it backed up what I have been saying for a long time. It seems the Kenyans are starting to pick up on the fact that the hundreds of millions of dollars a year being allocated to their country in aide isn't getting to them, it's lining the pockets of big corporations around the world. They are calling for accountability in this process as they should. Another reason for us to forego relying on governments to help the world and get involved ourselves.

A few random thoughts from my trip and time home:

- Dan and I came to the conclusion that Kenyan women are beautiful, and the men kept trying to set Dan up with a date...

- Much of the theology in Kenya is terrible, it is controlling and I believe doesn't allow them to grow spiritually or economically for that matter. On the other hand, they understand community and worship like I have never seen before.

- Dan and I spending the two weeks with our driver, Nelson, was like two A list celebrities from Hollywood coming and spending time with Lisa and I. The highlight for him was probably us going to meet his family the second to last day we were there. It was our idea and he loved it! We took pictures of the family and are going to send them, they don't have any family pictures and the mom and dad are both in their 90's. He couldn't stop saying how much fun he had, and if we come again he said to let him know as he would stop whatever he was doing to spend the time with us.

- These people can eat!

- Some of the major frustrations included never knowing where in the hell you were, getting nauceous from the roads and constant outpouring of diesel fuel, always being scared that you were going to die from the meals, yet always getting yelled at when you didn't eat enough, and always being asked for money.

- I don't know why it is, but whenever I travel east I have no problems with the time change, but going west just kills me. I am just starting to get situated back here, while on the way there I had no problems with jet lag.

That's about it for now, it's good to be home. Coming soon, I almost finished "What's So Amazing About Grace" and want to share some thoughts on it.