Global Leaders Forum -- October 11-12, 2007

On October 11-12, 2007 I had the privilege of participating in the Global Leaders Forum that was sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the Micah Challenge and the United Nations. About 220 evangelical leaders from the USA and around the world met for one-and-a-half days. The meetings began with a reception and dinner where the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon was the guest speaker. This was the first time a UN Secretary General had ever spoken to a group of evangelical leaders.

Much of the focus of the time was devoted to seeing how evangelicals can work together to see the fulfillment of the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). If you are not aware of what the MDG's are, here is a brief description. The MDG's are 8 goals that the 192 member states of the United Nations agreed to achieve by 2015. The goals are as follows:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by reducing by half the proportion of people living on less than US$1 a day, and by reducing by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger around the world.

2. Achieve universal primary education for all children through at least primary school.

3. Promote gender equality and empower women at all levels by 2015.

4. Reduce child mortality among children under the age of five by two thirds.

5. Improve maternal health by reducing by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases by beginning to halt and reverse the spread of AIDS, malaria and other major diseases.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability by focusing on sustainable development, reversing the loss of environmental resources, reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water, and achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million urban slum dwellers by 2020.

8. Develop a global partnership for development.

On the 2nd day of the Global Leaders Forum attendees participated in small groups that focused on strategic issues related to evangelicals in the Global North and Global South working together with government, the UN, business and NGO's on achieving these goals -- many of which are fully in-line with "Kingdom" goals.

The 36 hours I spent at this forum were very encouraging to me for a number of reasons. I saw well known people from both the political left and the political right discussing the issues -- wondering how they can work together. I saw well- known evangelical leaders interacting with people from the United Nations, the Peace Corps and from various NGO's both Christian and secular -- talking about how to work together.

Finally, I saw hope for the words "evangelical" and "Christian". I saw hope, because I believe that if we as evangelicals and Christians work together and serve together to reach these goals -- many of which are Kingdom goals -- the name of Christ will be honored and the words "Christian" and "Evangelical" may no longer be dirty words.

Perhaps the story that impacted me the most in this regard was that of Geoff Tunnicliffe the International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance. He was recently in Germany speaking with Chancellor Merkel. He offered her help on behalf of the German Church and the global evangelical church in helping Germany do its part towards achieving the MDG's. Chancellor Merkel said something like the following to Geoff Tunnicliffe -- "Everyday I have people coming into my office telling me what I am doing wrong. Rarely, if ever, do I have someone coming to me offering me their help and assistance. Thank you so very much. You have an open door to my office."

This is the power of servanthood! This is the power of the Kingdom. This is what Greg Boyd talks about when he says that Christians should be characterized by "power under" not "power over".

I am encouraged that perhaps the day is coming when Evangelical Churches will be the "Mother Theresa's" of our time and the Church will be the greatest threat to injustice the world has ever seen.

"To plead the cause of the poor, afflicated and needy; . . .
Is that not what it means to know Me?" says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 22:16

GIVING -- How Each of Us Can Change the World -- Bill Clinton

I purchased this book not because I am a big fan of Bill Clinton, but because I wanted to hear what he had to say about giving.

Frankly, I was quite disappointed. The book has a good introduction, excellent first and second chapters and a decent last chapter -- but most everything in-between is rather uninteresting; unless you want to hear about what Bill did (while president) and is doing -- and what his famous and wealthy friends have done and are doing.

While I would not recommend spending the money on this book, there were several things in the book that made me think or were fairly interesting. Let me mention a few.

1. Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.
- Martin Luther King

Great statement by a great man.

2. In every corner of America and all over the world, intelligence and energy are evenly distributed, but opportunity, investment and effective organizations aren't. As a result, billions of people are denied the chance to live their lives to the fullest, and millions die needlessly every year.

Because we live in an interdependent world, we cannot escape each other's problems.

3. Clinton identifies the three major reasons why people give to charities. I think these are quite interesting and should give those working to fund charitable organizations some food for thought.

1. About 1/3 of all giving is directed towards places of worship and their affiliated activities.
2. Another 1/3 is given towards local, national or global needs that are publicized in the media. Katrina, the Indonesian Tsunami and children in a local community needing medical help are examples.
3. The final third of all giving is in response to local fund-raising activities by a group in which the donor is involved, or to which the donor is asked to give by a friend or family member.

4. Perhaps the most profound statements in the book are taken from a speech made by Bill Gates at Harvard University in June of 2007. Let me quote some of that speech here.

If you believe that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. . . . How can we let children die? The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system. . . . If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world.

It is this last sentence that I find particularly sad. I think it is true -- but it is really very sad. What Bill Gates is saying is simply this -- the only way we can get the job done is if we can convince businesses that they can make more money by appearing to be concerned for the poor, and if we can convince politicians that being on the side of the poor will help them get elected.

I read this statement and I realized this is an indictment of the western world. If we can cater to the greed of corporations and politicians, then we can help the poor.

Perhaps this is what Bono has realized and why he started the "red" campaign. He convinced corporations to give a small percentage of their profits on some "red" items. It looked like this was good for business -- so corporations did this. No altruism here -- simply another way to make money.

Sad -- but unfortunately true.

Now I know that there are a small minority of business people who have a genuine concern for the poor (I've actually met some), and I know that there are some politicians who have a good heart and at least start out wanting to do what is right and just for everyone in our society. But, I think one would be hard-pressed to say that what Bill Gates said is not true. The good businesses and politicians out there are definitely in the minority.

5. Ideas are what change the world.
- Chris Stamos

6. We live in an interdependent world in which our survival depends upon an understanding that our common humanity is more important than our interesting and inevitable differences and that everyone matters.
- Bill Clinton

Some Thoughts after the Heritage Festival in Edmonton

So, today we spent 5 hours walking around Hawrelak Park in Edmonton at the annual Heritage Festival. It was a wonderful afternoon for a number of reasons.

1. 75 ethnic groups had displays including crafts and artifacts, food booths and cultural performances. Living in the Phoenix area where 70% of the people are white, 25% Hispanic and 5% "other", it was wonderful to see so many people with different colors, music, languages, traditions and experiences. Our family misses that kind of cultural diversity.

2. There was virtually no commercialism at the event. There were only a couple of businesses that had booths (in out of the way places). So unlike a festival we attended in Colorado Springs in June that was essentially businesses trying to sell you stuff -- even though the event was billed as a city wide celebration. This was an event celebrating the cultural heritages of the people of Edmonton. Wonderful!

3. There was virtually no garbage around. People used the garbage cans. They recycled drink containers. Each booth had people volunteering to pick up garbage that may have dropped. The park was clean -- and there were over 50,000 people there!

4. No cars were allowed. The city provided transportation to the park. The only mode of transportation other than city buses or walking to the festival were bicycles -- and there was a bike park available that was supervised.

5. There were only a few police officers around. Apparently you don't need police when 50,000 people come to celebrate each other's heritage!

6. The event was FREE! The only "admission" was a suggested donation to the city food bank.

7. The weather was just right -- about +25 (mid-70's for Americans).

All around a great day at a great event.

Random Thoughts from Edmonton, Canada

Well, I haven't posted for a long time even though LOTS of stuff has been going through my head. But now, I am on holidays in Edmonton, Canada visiting my parents and I have a bit of time. So who knows, there may be a few posts coming -- some may even be interesting!

So yesterday morning we attended Central Baptist Church in Edmonton. Central was founded around 1900 by immigrants from Europe. It has a rich history -- at times quite innovative -- at times very conservative. The last few years have been innovative ones. I spent many years at Central when I was growing up. Even as late as 1972 the German language service had 450 people in it, while the English service barely hit 100.

So, yesterday morning I am sitting in the 9:15 service with about 200 people. The average age of those attending that that service was probably 70. The "satellite" service in the gymn had an average age of about 30. So here I am, singing hymns and listening to quite a boring sermon, yet I am in the middle of innovation. Here is why I say that.

The sermon portion of this service was being broadcast to the "satellite" service in the gymn. Not only that, it was also being broadcast live on the internet. In addition, another church, about 20 minutes away was also watching the sermon live via the internet. Really quite good -- considering that the "live" service had only about 25 people in it under the age of 60 and probably 100 people in it over the age of 70.

This may not sound revolutionary to you, but knowing the history of this church, and the people who are the primary financial supporters, this is all quite amazing.

Sometimes those of us who think we are innovative aren't -- and some of those who we think are boring, dull and anything but progressive -- are much more interested in trying new things in new ways. God is at work in lots of ways -- some we agree with, and some we don't.

Good thing I (or anyone of you reading this) are not God.

Observations from 6 hours in Heidelberg, Germany on May 19, 2007

I am writing this from the Diner's Club lounge in Terminal 2 at the Frankfurt airport. Since I am about 25 hours into a 44 hour trip to Malawi, Africa is -- GOD BLESS Diner's Club. This lounge is air-conditioned, has free wireless internet and an abundance of food and drink. Not only that, there are very few people here, and it is all VERY pleasant.

After walking over 10 kilometres today all over Heidelberg, I have a few observations to make. These are not intended to astound anyone. These are just things that stood out to me.

1. Everything in clean.

2. Everything seems to run on time, and it is important that it is on time -- not late, not early, on-time. This morning when I asked about a Lufthansa bus from Frankfurt to Heidelberg I was informed that it left at 8:00 -- EXACTLY at 8:00 am -- and it did. This afternoon, in Heidelberg they loaded up the bus. It was full -- no room for any more passengers -- but it was 2:53 pm and it was scheduled to leave at 3:00 pm. Well, we all waited in our seats, and at exactly 3:00 pm the bus driver started the bus and we left.

3. Very few American tourists -- lots of Germans, French, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Koreans, and Japanese. Maybe it's because the tourist season hasn't started in the USA.

4. Young women in the USA dress much less modestly than young German women. Whether dress has anything to do with the following, I'm not sure. But a couple of days ago I was waiting in an office briefly and I read a Time magazine article indicating that American pregnancy rates, abortion rates, pre-marital sex rates, etc. are all higher than in Europe. Rather ironic since North American Christians tend to think Europeans are immoral.. I suspect that murder rates are much lower here as well. I have always wondered why American Christians tolerate high levels of violence on TV, and low levels of sexual activity. Perhaps it is more Christian to make war than to make love. My suspicion is that Christians should be against both sex and violence on TV.

5. Older (+40) German women dress much less modestly than older American women. I wonder why this is. But this trend could also partially account for the low birthrate in Europe among non-immigrants. I remember being in Turkey at a resort a couple of years ago and seeing a lot of 50-70 year old European men in "speedos" and 50-70 year old European women in bikini or "mono-kini" bathing suits. It struck me that seeing all that skin on people at that age would naturally reduce the birthrate. I think when you are 70, and you insist on wearing a speedo or "mono-kini" you should only be allowed to do that at night or during solar eclipses.

6. There are bicycles EVERYWHERE and people walk A LOT. Seemingly thousands of bicycles, driven by people of all ages and economic levels. People walk here -- it is kind of like a religion. (I have German relatives who are obsessed about taking a daily walk even when the weather is absolutely horrible). Perhaps this is also why you see far fewer obese people here than in the USA -- where we think walking is a mortal sin. We'll drive around in a parking lot for 10 minutes finding a parking space close to the entrance of the store we want to go to.

7. Cars are a lot smaller. Not only are there SmartCars, but Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Peugot, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Volkswagen, etc. are all producing cars that appear to be about the same size as a SmartCar -- and people appear to be buying them.

8. Not having a speed limit on the Autobahn is a good thing. On the way to Heidelberg I sat behind our bus driver and we were generally traveling around 165 kilometres an hour (thats' about 100 miles an hour). And, even at this speed, she drove in the right hand lane because people were passing us.

9.Gasoline is expensive. In Heidelberg is was right around US$7.00 for a US gallon. No wonder everyone drives small cars.

10. Recycling and being "green" is valued.

11. The loudest tourists are Americans and Italians.

Like I said -- nothing brilliant or remarkable or perhaps anything you are the least bit interested in.

Well, that's what happens when you are tired and jet-lagged and facing another 19 hours of travel.

Back to Africa Again

On May 18 I am returning to Malawi for the 4th time in the last 18 months, and to Africa for the 5th time. This time I am leading a "Vision Trip" for pastors and church leaders. There will be 15 of us on the trip from 4 churches in Arizona, Wisconsin and Maryland.

The purpose of the trip is threefold:

• Enable these leaders to see firsthand the impact of HIV/AIDS on the ground in Malawi and South Africa.
• To enable these American leaders to meet and interact with African leaders, pastors, churches and organizations who are on the frontlines of the battle against AIDS and for community transformation.
• To see if any of these four churches are willing to to walk alongside African churches as they build hope, generate faith and minister in neighbourhoods and communities devastated by the AIDS pandemic.

This trip will focus on learning rather than serving. Our purpose is to understand, learn and build relationships.

I think that one of my biggest challenges as I lead this team of leaders will be to help them understand that the American "can do" attitude is the one we need to lay down. As Americans we DO, we plan, we attack problems, we try to solve them, and often without meaning to, we run over those we are "ministering to". But the challenge is to help them understand that if anything is going to happen positively in the battle against AIDS, it will take a "mission with" attitude, not a "mission to" attitude. We need to be humble, be willing for our African brothers and sisters to take the lead, and be willing to follow. That is very hard for us.

So pray for our team of leaders -- that we would become followers and learners.

We'll talk to you again in June -- hopefully with some pictures and good stories and reports.

A Sad End to the Hockey Season in Phoenix

Back on October 8, 2006 I posted a little something about sports in Phoenix. Well, unfortunately some of my hopes were dashed. But, here are the highlights of this years' sporting season.

1. As I predicted, the Arizona Cardinals were terrible. They did bring me some joy though. I watched most of the games that were on TV -- primarily for the joy of seeing them discover new ways of losing. I noticed that at times, my faith in them losing wained, BUT, if I kept hope alive long enough, and was patient, they eventually found a way to lose. So, all-in-all, I was satisfied with the NFL season as it pertained to Arizona.

2. The Phoenix Coyotes were a major disappointment. I looked at their off-season signings and had hope they would at least turn the corner and make the playoffs. But alas, they essentially stunk. We went to a couple of games -- one was actually quite good -- but as the season progressed, and they continued to play poorly, my desire to spend money to see bad hockey decreased. I am beginning to have my doubts about Wayne Gretzky as coach and judge of talent. I'm willing to give him another year, but if the end is result is the same as this season, I will join the growing chorus of people who would like to see new leadership. So, now I am left cheering for the Canadian teams to win Lord Stanley's Cup. Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. I'll cheer for Western Canadian teams first. But if it ends up being a Canadian team (even the Ottawa Senators) versus a US team, there is no doubt where my loyalties lie. The Cup belongs in Canada.

3. The Phoenix Suns and Steve Nash are wonderful. He should be MVP again -- but I suspect he won't get the award. Nash is not only a brilliant player, but he is team man, makes everyone around him better, and has humility rarely seen in NBA players. The truly great players know how to stay humble and work hard. The fakes don't. The Suns have a shot at winning it all. I'll be watching and cheering for them. I'll cheer for anyone but the Lakers and Pistons.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks? Who cares! I certainly don't.

5. I'll watch the Toronto Blue Jays. And, I'll cheer for anyone who plays against the Yankees, any team Barry Bonds is on, and the Red Sox. Baseball really doesn't get interesting until October and the run to the World Series.

6. Can you believe that more than 184,000 people paid to watch the World Curling Championships in Edmonton, Canada this year! Curling is actually fun to play and can get interesting to watch if you know what is happening. Give me curling over baseball or golf any day of the week (and twice on Sundays).

Well, that's all for now folks.

Easter!

Christ has risen!

He has risen indeed!

When This War is Over

When this war is over it will be a better day
When this war is over it will be a better day
But it won't bring back those poor boys in the grave

When this war is over, it will be a better day
When this war is over, it will be a better day
But it won't bring back those poor boys in the grave

Lyrics by J J Cale
from the CD entitled Escondido by JJ Cale and Eric Clapton

Latest numbers from Iraq:

• Iraqis killed 139,000+
• American soldiers injured and back in the USA 73,000+
• American soldiers killed 3,240+
  

When this war is over, it will be a better day
When this war is over, it will be a better day
But it won't bring back those poor men, women and children in the grave.

The AIDS Crises: What We Can Do -- Deborah Dortzbach and W. Meredith Long

This book is an excellent introduction to the AIDS pandemic. If you need AIDS 101 -- this is one of the books for you. If you already have basic knowledge the AIDS epidemic, this book is an excellent refresher.

The authors do a good job of talking about the broader issues related to HIV/AIDS, outlining the history of the AIDS pandemic and providing some basic statistics.

An old friend of mine (Winkie Pratney) once told me that a book was worth it if you came away with at least one good idea, concept, or new piece of information for every $1 you spend. That was a number of years ago, and with inflation, it is now probably one good idea for every $3 you spend.

Based on that, I would recommend this book for the following reasons:

1. The excellent retelling of Biblical stories that illustrated the response Christians and the Church should have towards AIDS. In particular I thought the retelling of Christ's encounter with the woman caught in adultery was very effective.

2. I thought Chapter 6 entitled Avoiding the Violence of AIDS was excellent -- perhaps worth the price of the book alone. The chapter starts out talking about David and Bathsheba and Amnon and Tamar and the long-term implications of bad choices. But the real focus of the chapter is the lack of rights that the majority of women have in the developing world. Women in most of the world have little choice in relation to marriage, sex, and almost everything else in everyday life. The way that Dortzbach and Long talk about this major issue related to the spread of HIV/AIDS is simply outstanding.

3. Chapter 9 on AIDS, Sex, Sin and Forgiveness. Simply an excellent discussion of the issues.

Bottom line -- if you want to get a good introduction to the AIDS Pandemic and how the Church should respond -- this is one of the books to get.

I'm Off to South Africa

Tomorrow morning bright and early, I head to the airport for a brief visit to South Africa. I, along with 2 colleagues will be joining others from Canada, the UK, Australia, and South Africa in the annual meeting of Hands@Work. Hands@Work is a South African NGO working with more than 10,000 orphans in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Congo and Nigeria.

We'll be spending our time meeting with African leaders of Hands@Work and with others, who like ourselves, are attempting to walk alongside African Christians and churches working in communities devastated by the AIDS pandemic.

In the next 3 years Hands@Work will be taking care of 100,000 orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa -- so there is a lot of work to do.

I'll be back in about a week - jet-lagged and tired, but hopefully feeling like our trip was significant and accomplished the purposes of God.

Pray for us as we go. I especially need prayer for my health, as I am battling a bad cold/flu like thing.

Blankets for Malawi

We are in the process of raising $20,000 to purchase 2,000 blankets for a village in Malawi. We will be purchasing the blankets in Malawi and working together with Hands@Work Malawi to distribute them to a village that they are working with -- and that needs them for the coming Malawian winter.

If you are interested in donating to this project, click on the link below. Thanks so much.

When God Stood Up -- James Cantelon

When God Stood Up is subtitled A Christian Response to AIDS in Africa. In reality it is a prophetic call to Christians in the Western World and in Africa to "to arise" and "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God."

The book is a combination of stories and the examination of Scriptures -- primarily from the Old Testament. Having lived and pastored in Jerusalem, Cantelon is obviously quite at home in the OT and very familiar with Jewish teachings and customs. As a result he provides a significant amount of insight into OT texts relating to the character of God and His desire for His people to reflect His character.

I struggled with a couple of chapters in the book -- primarily the one on suffering (which I felt was very weak), and the chapter on the wrath of God.

However, overall, the book was excellent, and I would recommend that you read it -- IF you are ready to respond to the message of the book.

What is the message?

Cantelon begins the book by stating the following (pages 21 and 22)

The core concerns of most prophetic messages, generally refer to one of four "sins": idolatry (a low view of God), adultery (a low view of neighbor), neglect of the poor (again, a low view of neighbor), and the shedding of innocent blood (once more, a low view of neighbor).

The call of Scripture is that Israel (or the people of God) return to a high view of God (righteousness) and a high view of neighbor (justice). The focus of righteousness is love for God. The focus of justice is love for neighbor. . . . in Old Testament times, if someone was to ask the question, 'Who is my neighbor?', the answer would be, "start with the alien, the orphan and the widow".

As I read through this, my thoughts immediately went to those of us in North America who call ourselves Christians.

• Are we idolatrous? Do we worship fame, church attendance, offerings and buildings, materialism, religious experience, celebrity, etc. more than God?
• How are we on the adultery scale, when the divorce rate of evangelicals in the USA is as high or higher than that of the general population?
  
• Are we neglecting the poor? What about immigrants -- even undocumented aliens? What is the Biblical response to this issue? Should we be standing up for the rights of aliens, or should we build a wall to keep all the aliens out? What about single mothers and fatherless children in North America?
  
• The shedding of innocent blood -- most often used by evangelicals to talk about abortion -- one of our favorite subjects. I believe abortion is the shedding of innocent blood. But what about the evangelical support for a war, most likely built on false pretenses (at least the justification for the invasion of Iraq has changed numerous times) that has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in the last 3 years in Iraq?

Cantelon ends the book with a powerful chapter on what the Old Testament prophets said about righteousness and justice. He talks about Jeremiah stressing the fact that knowing God is more than religious services, solemn assemblies and praise and worship, which in the absence of righteousness and justice is essentially hollow and hateful. Those who know the name of God, must know the names of the poor.

Jeremiah has a word of the Lord in Chapter 22:3

Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not she innocent blood in this place.

From Jeremiah, Cantelon moves on to Isaiah. The famous passage on fasting and prayer in Isaiah 58 becomes the focus. Through the prophet Isaiah God speaks to the His people and tells us that when we loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, share our food with the hungry, provide the poor wanderer with shelter and clothe the naked, then the glory of the Lord will be our rear guard, our righteousness will go before us, and the Lord will answer our prayers.

In case Israel (and those of us living in 2007) didn't get it, a few verses later this is repeated. If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, THEN your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

My question is -- are we listening? God is telling us that when we take care of widows, orphans, the fatherless, the poor and the hungry -- and we rise with Him against individual and structural injustice -- when we are concerned about ALL the shedding of innocent blood -- THEN, He will hear our prayer, and we as His people will bring glory to His name -- and His name will be honored among all the peoples. As long as we fail to reflect righteousness (His character) and justice (especially for widows, orphans, the fatherless, aliens and the innocent) in how we live, God's name will not be glorified.

How does this relate to the AIDS pandemic?

• 15 million AIDS orphans in Africa. That number is growing by more than 2,000 a day.
• 25 million AIDS orphans around the world.
  
• Billions of people around the world live on less than $1 a day. Think about it -- a special coffee at Starbucks is 5 days of salary for more than a billion people.
• Millions of women in Africa and around the world becoming widows due to AIDS.
• Millions of women and girls being raped, sexually abused and thrown on the rubbish heap (more often than not -- literally) because they have contracted AIDS due to what was done to them by men -- or because of poverty or war, or a number of other reasons.
  
• 1 million HIV+ people in North America. While this is a very small percentage of the population, what has the church done to minister to those with AIDS right on our doorstep?
  

God is standing up -- ready to do something. He has sent his prophets -- Bono, Stephen Lewis, Jim Cantelon, Rick Warren, and numerous others. Will the church in the West and the church in Africa listen?

Will we stand with God?

Will I stand with God?

You Tube

has got to be one of the

BEST THINGS

on the web.

Frost and My Flowers and Bushes

So my friend Andrea tells me that my posts have all become to serious -- dealing with global issues, slavery, AIDS, etc. So here is a post that is fairly meaningless to everyone but me.

Having moved to the Arizona desert from British Columbia and Kansas, and growing up where things are naturally green, I try my hardest to keep a green lawn in the Phoenix summers and have flowers and bushes around as much as possible.

Due to global warming, in January we experienced the coldest two days since 1978 here in Phoenix -- it was -2C or +28F overnight. I know those of you from my home and native land are all laughing. I remember the good old days when -2C was when we took our jackets off and were tempted to go swimming. Well, since having moved to Phoenix I have become a wimp.

The other things that are wimps are the flowers and bushes around here. So, this weekend I have literally spent about 10 hours cutting away all the dead stuff from our Lantanas and Honeysuckles. What follows below are before and after pictures -- so you can appreciate my work and be sad with me. I think everything will recover -- it will just take a couple of years.

By the way -- all letters and cards of sympathy will be greatly appreciated -- especially if they include large sums of cash.

Anyway, here are the before and after photos.

My Honeysuckles BEFORE the Frost


My Honeysuckles AFTER the the Frost


My Lantanas BEFORE the Frost


My Lantanas AFTER the Frost

I trust that now you can cry for me and understand why my guitar gently weeps.

Boston Legal, Jay Leno, Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith and the Perception of Christians

A couple of nights ago I watched Boston Legal and Jay Leno. Boston Legal was especially interesting. As you may know, at the end of each episode James Spader and William Shatner have a conversation on a balcony. These conversations are often philosophical in nature.

The conversation on Tuesday night was particularly interesting because it provided a very clear picture of the perception that those outside of the evangelical church have of Christians. James Spader asks William Shatner who the role models are for those who would be the moral police of our culture. Here was Shatner's answer.

On marriage and fidelity -- Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert
On heterosexuality -- Ted Haggard
On gun control -- Dick Cheney

Now Boston Legal is not a show that anyone would say portrays Christian values. Some would even say it is a propaganda tool of the "liberal media". All that may be true -- but the reality is that this is actually what people think about the leadership of the evangelical/charismatic movement. While there are millions of decent, honest, Christ-like followers of Jesus in the USA, their lives are often discounted because of the "witness" of those who have led us. I asked myself where are the Mother Theresas and the William Wilberforces of the 21st Century? Where are the Christian leaders who live lives that are so Christ-like that they can say the "hard things" and be listened to?

Later that night Jay Leno talked about Ted Haggard. Earlier that day a news story broke that after 3 weeks of intensive counseling Haggard announced that he is totally heterosexual -- despite the fact that in his confession he said he had struggled with homosexual leanings all of his life. Haggard also said that he was going to take an online masters degree in psychology and then perhaps become a counselor. Leno laughed, everyone laughed -- because it seemed rather ludicrous to everyone. I asked myself where are the Mother Theresas and the William Wilberforces of the 21st Century? Where are the Christian leaders who live lives that are so Christ-like that they can say the "hard things" and be listened to?

I also remembered what I heard and read on radio and online and in the newspapers about two other men -- Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. Both men were coaching their teams in the Super Bowl. What I heard and read was so good -- both men, followers of Jesus -- whose lives matched what they believed. I heard respect. I heard admiration for their character. I heard respect for their faith. Again I thought to myself -- wouldn't it be wonderful to have more high profile Christians who actually lived like Jesus? Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were more people like Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith?

It brought me back to the conclusion that I am coming to more and more. If those who claim to follow Jesus, lived like Jesus, wouldn't we then have the opportunity to see transformation in our world. But as long as we focus on being the moral police, on being against people and against agendas and against . . . and fail to live like Jesus, fail to love, fail to do justly, to love mercy and to walk HUMBLY with our God, we will continue to be the laughing stock, we will continue to be considered hypocrites, we will continue to have little or no respect and continue to have little or no voice on those issues that God cares about.

May God bring to us more followers of Jesus that lead like Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, and William Wilberforce.

Amazing Grace -- The Movie

Last night I went to a preview of the movie called Amazing Grace -- the story of William Wilberforce. If you click on the link below, you can go to the website.

Amazing Grace

Excellent movie. I would recommend it to one and all. A great story that stays fairly close to the facts. It is well done. Also gets you thinking about the current situation in the USA in terms of the war with Iraq (when a nation is at war ethics, integrity and morals tend to be forgotten), immigration issues, and how easily our consumerism and desire to be wealthy and comfortable perverts our sense of justice and what is right (the fight against the abolition of slavery was largely a fight about economics, standard of living and comfort).

I am so glad that I can call William Wilberforce a brother.

The movie also gave me hope that people who are wealthy and have political power can, if they choose to, make a significant difference in the world. William Wilberforce, because of his Christian convictions changed the lives of millions of people -- without violence and war. Perhaps we can too!

Go see the movie. Encourage your friends to watch it as well. You won't be disappointed.

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid -- Jimmy Carter

To be honest with you, this was not necessarily one of the books I had on my "must read" list, but it was a Christmas gift so I began to read it. I know the book was controversial, and that Jimmy Carter had received a fair amount of criticism.

The book is essentially a historical look at the situation in Palestine and Israel with a strong focus on the time since 1973. Carter writes a significant amount about his personal experiences in this part of the world with many of the leading Palestinian and Israeli figures -- from before the time he was President to 2006.

Simply put, the book is a call for peace - not a a form of apartheid between Jews and Arabs. If peace is to become a reality Carter believes 3 things must happen:

1. A recognition that if there is to be peace in this part of the world the security of Israel must be guaranteed. Arabs must acknowledge openly and specifically that Israel is a reality and has a right to exist in peace, behind secure and recognized borders and with a firm Arab pledge to terminate any further acts of violence against a legally constituted nation of Israel.

2. Israel should have permanent borders that coincide with those prevailing from 1949 to 1967. Any change in these borders should be negotiated and can be modified with mutually agreeable land swaps.

3. The sovereignty of all Middle East nations and sanctity of international borders must be honored. There is little doubt that accommodation with Palestinians can bring full Arab recognition to Israel and its right to live in peace.

It seems to me, that the most controversial part of Carters book deals with what he believes are the actions of Israel over the past 25 years to disregard previous agreements with Palestinians, illegally occupy land, cease to honor human rights, severely restrict the ability of Palestinians to earn a living, travel, educate their children, vote, and have access to healthcare. In addition, the building of the wall through Palestinian lands further exacerbates the issues related to finding a lasting peace.

While Carter clearly blames both Palestinians and Israelis for the seemingly ceaseless violence, it is clear that he holds the Israelis responsible for being the provokers.

I do not know as much as I should about the situation between Israel and Palestine. But I do think that anyone who wants to learn and gain perspective should read the book -- even if you disagree with Carter.

One of the things I will do is contact Palestinian believers I know who live in Bethlehem and work with both Palestinians and Israelis in an attempt to bring reconciliation between these two groups. It will be interesting to hear their perspectives on Carter's book.

In the meantime, read the book with an open mind.

Amazing Grace -- The Movie

"You may choose to look the other way but you can never again say you did not know." This was William Wilberforce's conclusion to his three hour debate in the Houses of Parliament before Members of the British Parliament voted on his Abolition Bill in 1789.

While Wilberforce was able to see slavery abolished in the UK, unfortunately slavery is still alive and well in many parts of the world.

On February 23, 2007 a movie called Amazing Grace will hit theaters around the world. Amazing Grace, based on the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce, is directed by Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough, Coal Miner's Daughter) from an original screenplay written by Academy Award® nominee Steven Knight.

The film stars Ioan Gruffudd (Black Hawk Down), Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich), Romola Garai (Vanity Fair), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Benedict Cumberbatch (Hawking), Rufus Sewell (Legend of Zorro), Ciaran Hinds (Rome) and introduces Youssou N'Dour.

You can check out the trailer for the movie as well as a lot of background information by clicking on the link below.

Amazing Grace

For information on the associated campaign to change slavery in 2007, click on the link below.

The Amazing Change

He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God
Micah 6:8

The Muellers Annual Letter -- 2006 Edition

Hard to believe that 2006 is almost over, isn't it? I don't know about you, but this year went by way too fast. Maybe it is just old age creeping up on me (you better not agree!). Anyway, here are the highlights of 2006 in the life of the Mueller family.

Donovan

Donovan had quite the year. He started the year on his Discipleship Training School (DTS) outreach in Uganda and Kenya. Then it was back to Switzerland for a couple of weeks before heading to France for 3 weeks with a friend. Finally, in late April he arrived back in Mesa -- only to be off to Korea six weeks later. Donovan spent 3 months in Korea visiting a friend. He arrived back in Mesa in August, ready to stay home for a while.

Donovan playing guitar in Uganda

Over the past few months Donovan has been working as a web designer/programmer for several companies and organizations. His client list is growing! In January he will continue pursueing a degree in Computer Sciences in Software Engineering as well as continuing to grow his web business.

For his parents, it is great to have him home again.

Donovan at Home!

Debbie

Debbie continues to work part-time as a receptionist at Word of Grace. But her real love is throwing pots. She is taking classes at Mesa Community College, and is not only enjoying the classes and developing her skills, but also building friendships with people who are not yet followers of Jesus. As the proud husband I can honestly say that she is getting really good, and this year she has been able to sell a lot of her creations.

Some of Debbie's Creations

In August Debbie's mother passed away. So all three of us flew to Kansas City for the funeral.

Karl

I've had a busy year as well. I've been to Africa twice (Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Uganda), to Turkey once and on several trips within North America. After racking up more than 50,000 miles, I'm glad to be home!

I continue to be responsible for Local and Global Outreach at Word of Grace and recently took over the young adult ministry as well. I am spending an increasing amount of my time and energy on the HIV/AIDS pandemic -- especially in Africa where more than 25 million people are HIV+. God has given us some amazing opportunities to walk alongside African Christians and churches particularly in Malawi. In 2007 I will probably be in Africa at least 3 more times.

Here I am at a borehole/well we drilled for the community of Matanda in Malawi.

Istanbul, Turkey in November

25 Years of Marriage

This year Debbie and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a wonderful two week trip to the Big Island of Hawai. We had a wonderful time exploring the island, swimming with the fish and turtles, and simply being a couple. It was the first time since our honeymoon that we were just the two of us on a holiday for 2 weeks. During our time in Hawaii, we also met some very interesting people -- as the pictures below indicate.

We found the Hawaiians to be friendly, but a bit wooden.

Recommended Reading

1. The Myth of a Christian Nation (Greg Boyd). When 1,000 people leave your church because of your sermons two things are obvious. First, you must be preaching the truth. Second, you should write a book based on these sermons because it will obviously be a bestseller.

2. A Generous Orthodoxy (Brian McLaren). Some people love this book, others hate it. I found it to be interesting, challenging and thought provoking. Even if you don't agree with McLaren you should read this book to understand where the emerging church is moving.

3. Escaping the Matrix (Greg Boyd and Al Larson). In this book theologian and pastor Greg Boyd and clinical psychologist Al Larson bring together Biblical and neurological truths that help you understand how Scriptural principles and how God wired our brains work together. This book shows you how you can transform your thought processes to experience a deeper life in Christ and escape the world's Matrix that control you.

4. God is not . . . religious, nice, "one of us", an American, a capitalist (D. Brent Laytham). This series of essays is well worth the read if you want to be challenged about our North American perspective on Christianity.

5. If Jesus Were Mayor (Bob Moffitt and Karla Tesch) A terrific book that lays a foundation for Christians and churches to see communities transformed by the power of God through service.

6. Race Against Time (Stephen Lewis) Perhaps the most important book written on the AIDS pandemic in the last 5 years.

7. African Friends and Money Matters (David Maranz) If you are working with Africans or have African friends this book is essential reading. Africans and westerners use and manage money and other resources in very different ways. Understanding these differences will help you avoid misunderstandings, friction and conflict.

8. Cross-Cultural Conflict (Duane Elmer) If you work with people in shame-based and community oriented cultures, you must read this book. Lights go on, on almost every page.

Well, I guess that is all for 2006. If you read this entire letter, you should receive a prize (you may not get one, but you probably should).

Have a wonderful Christmas and a terrific 2007.

Karl, Debbie and Donovan