#4 Mission Impossible

I am coming off two weeks of camp. First Christian Reformed Church every summer runs two weeks of camp for kids ages 10-15. On the Thursday night of camp we play a game called "Mission Impossible." The object of the game is for the campers to make it to a specific point without being identify by the counselors. Each time a camper is successful, he or she earns one point. The camper with the most points wins. If a counselor correctly identifies a camper, the camper must return to the starting point and try again. To make things more difficult for the counselors, the campers disguise themselves. They use sleeping bags, table cloths, boxes, each other's hats, sweat shirts, and shoes, and anything else they can find.

The campers' commitment to scoring points impressed me. I was also impressed by the counselor's knowledge of each camper. The counselors could call out a camper based on how they walked. And when all else failed, the counselors rattled off every camper's name as fast a possible. I thought I knew the campers well but this game proved me wrong.

While playing Mission Impossible is fun, it got me thinking about how deeply God knows each of us. Psalms 139 reminds us that God knows when we get up and go to bed. God knows each of our thoughts even before we know them. There is no thought that we can hide from God. Nor is there any place we can hide from God. God is always present. While it can be scary to think that someone knows me so well, it is also comforting. It is comforting to know that I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A #1)

Grace and Peace,
BD

# 3 What do these stones mean?

When I drive into town or to church, I cross the North Saskatchewan River. Crossing the North Saskatchewan River on a daily basis caused me to think about water and in particular the Jordan River. The Jordan River is the place where the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land. The Jordan River is place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus and God affirmed the ministry that Jesus would do. In both of these stories, people witnessed God at work.

At the end of Joshua 4: 7 God tells the Israelites that the 12 stones taken from the Jordan River are to be set up as a memorial. A memorial of when God cut off the waters of the Jordan River so that the Israelites could cross over. The stones would be a reminder for the people so that when some asked what do the stones mean, they could tell the story of how God worked.

In the church I grew up in, we would call these moments God sightings. Sharing our God sightings provides us an opportunity to share how God is working in our lives. Sharing God sightings provides us with a source of encouragement when we encounter difficult seasons of life. Sharing God sightings gives us joy in knowing that God cares and loves us. Sharing how we see God at work, helps us connect with one another. Sharing how God is at work teaches the next generation about God and shows them that God is active in the world today.

How have you seen God lately? 

Grace and Peace,
BD

North Saskatchewan River

# 2: Spiritual Surveyor

During my trek out to Rocky Mountain House, Alberta Canada, I encountered several stretches of road construction. While driving through one of those stretches, I noticed a construction crew hard at work. I am not sure what they are doing but I am sure it took some planing. I am sure planing had to begin with surveyors measuring angles and distances so to develop a plan for the construction crew to work from. And this got me thinking about the book of Ezra.
The beginning of chapter 7 is the genealogy of Ezra. Normally I would simply skip over this long and often difficult to pronounce list of names. Instead, I slowly made my way through the list of names and at the very end is "the son of Aaron the Chief priest." This last name struck me with the realization that Ezra was part of the priestly line. Then upon arriving to Jerusalem in chapter 9, Ezra gets a report from the leaders that the people of God have intermarried with the local people. Something God had commanded them not to do. So what does Ezra do? He surveys and calls the people of God to reform. He calls them back to God.
Michael Williams in his book How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens nicely summarizes Ezra's purpose. He writes:
They [God's people] had labored long and against fierce opposition to build the temple where he [God] would visibly dwell among them. But the major obstacle to their progress was not the bureaucratic red tape strewn in their path by the jealous and suspicious local officials. No, their real obstacle was internal. The external construction [of the temple] was accomplished, but there was some work left to do for the internal construction work of the returned exiles. Ezra served as building inspector for the internal construction work of the exiles. (58) 
Thinking about Ezra and this quote from Williams, I asked myself: who are the Ezras in my life? Who has God used to be my spiritual surveyors? 
The Ezras in my life have been my mentors and close friends. They have surveyed my internal construction, noting what needs repair. They have walked along side of me as I made such repairs. And I thank God for placing these "spiritual surveyors" into my life. So who are your spiritual surveyors? Who are your Ezras?
Grace and Peace,
BD

#1: The Journey Begins (Again)

After reading several friend's blog, I remembered I had a blog. Inspired by those friends I am once again starting the journey of blogging, so here it goes:

One year ago, I graduated from seminary. In the last year, I worked three jobs. I worked as a intern chaplain. I worked at privately owned country club. Finally, I worked at Five Guys Burger and Fries. Each place taught me something about ministry. My time as a chaplain taught me how important empathic listening is for pastoral care. Both my time at the country club and at Five Guys taught me how to talk about faith with those are estrange from church or do not have faith.

Now I am beginning the journey as an intern pastor at First Christian Reformed Church in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta Canada. I am excite to partner with God and the people at First Christian Reformed Church in doing ministry in the Rocky Mountain House community. I am excite to learn even more deeply what it means to be a pastor. With this excitement, let the journey begin!

Grace and peace, 

  BD

Exploring the Land of the Text: Day 4-6

Day 4:
      Today we went to Tel Arad and observed a Bedouin Shepard boy. I learned that the Bedouin culture is that of hospitality. The question that I ponder on throughout the day was how I can be hospitable in a culture that has such abundance? At this point I am not sure what it looks like. The other question I was pondering is: How do I fully depend on God when I live in such a culture that is full of abundance? As of right now, for me to fully depend on God, I have to be less selfish with my stuff. 

Day 5:
     Today I climbed Masada. A Fortress Palace built by Herod the Great which is atop a 1000 foot mountain. The trail up was step with a lot and I mean a lot of stairs (700 to be exact, and no I did not count them all). For me this was the hardest hike I have every done. I was only quarter of the way up and my heart was pounding and my lungs trying to take in every bit of oxygen they could. At about the half way point, my legs were jelly, I was alone and ready to give up. In that moment God provided Andrew as a source of encouragement. We together continue to climb up, Andrew being a constant source of encouragement. God gave me the strength and grace to make it to the top. The other two spots was En Gedi and Qumran. More on those when I get home.

Day 6:
     Our fist day in Galilee. We began by climbing Mt. Arbell, near the sea. The trail was a challenge but compared to Masada was easier. The end of the tail required me to do some vertical rock climbing (with metal hand holds of course). At the top the view of Galilee was amazing. We spent time in worship. The next stop was the Mountain of Beatitudes. I wouldn't call it a mountain but rather a hill. Being on there and listening to the sermon on the mount gave me a new sense of the words of Jesus. Our next stop was Korzen one of the cities Jesus visited. Here I learned how important family and community are to the Jewish person. Living in community offers support and countability. When a son went to marry, he would build a room off his parents house, eventually creating a community. How can I promote community at home? How can I minister to the family in a culture where the family is fading?

Day 7:

Today we went to a Zealot town and had a synagogue service. What really struck me was how important the word of God is to the Jews. It is the center of the service. When it came out everyone would touch the scroll. The question I asked myself is how important is the living words of God to me? I know that they are important but so often they lose their meaning and I forget their importance. The Bible becomes just another book. The service also made me appreciate the Jewish heritage that Christianity grew out of. I hope to bring some of the elements of this service into my own personal worship. We then went to Caesarea Philippi and Tel Dan.

Well that is all for now!

Exploring the Land of the Text: Days 1-3

Day 1:

Greetings from Israel! After traveling for a little less than 24 hours we arrived safely in Israel. Our first stop was Tel Gezer! What is a tel?  A “Tel” is actually a specific archaeological feature which is very common in Israel, a place that has been inhabited by people for thousands and thousands of years. Basically a “Tel” is a mound underneath which lay the ruins of previous settlements that once stood on the same spot (Hebrew Today). How do you tell a tel? There are three criteria for a tell. First it has to be able to get water where that was through a spring or collected in a cistern. Secondly, it had to be in a strategic spot such as nearby stream or near a road. Thirdly it had to be defendable. Tel Gezer is located on the south side of the Aijaion Valley. Here a branch of the Kings highway that ran through Israel and connected Egypt and Mesopotamia. This branch went to Jerusalem and Jerico. 

Day 2: 

Today we visted several tels. The first tel was Bet Shemesh which means house of the sun. It with in a couple of miles that Samson was born and lived. Next we visited Tel Azekah. Here we over looked the Elah valley where the story of David and Goliath took place. Our next stop was Maresha. Here we saw several caves and an olive press. While in the olive press we learned about the process of making olive oil and how Jesus might have prayed in an olive press when praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Finally we visited Tel Lakish, a military fort that was was conquered by the Assyrians and allowed them to siege Jerusalem. 

Day 3: 

Today our text of focus was on Psalm 23. We are exploring the wilderness. The biggest thing I did today was hike down a wadi. A wadi is place that water runs durning the rainy season. Hiking down the wadi was difficult because the the path was so rocky that one miss step could have terrible consequences. We descended 700 meters or roughly 2000ft and walked the wadi out to the Dead Sea. We ended our day by floating in the Dead Sea.      

Looking through the rearview mirror: Reflection on the Practice of the Spiritual Disciplines

As some of you may remember that I started this blog because of a class requirement. I'm the kind of person who has thought about something but doesn't share it because I don't want to embarrass myself nor do I think anyone will benefit from my comments. But this blog has given me the opportunity to do just that: share my thoughts. It has been a huge blessing to see how God has challenged me with this blog and even some of my readers. So now this post is a reflection on my time practicing the spiritual disciplines.   

1. Foster says spiritual disciplines are not designed to be ends in themselves, but are intended to facilitate a person's journey into greater freedom in living a Christ-like life. How did your practice of the disciplines this semester (either some in particular or all together) help you grow in your faith and obedience to God?

As I reflect on my experience engaging with the spiritual disciplines, I noticed a common theme: focus. Each discipline practiced, called me to focus on God. How did these disciplines help me grow in my faith and in obedience to God? These disciplines helped in several ways. The first way is focus, as already noted. Each discipline prompted me to take time from being a student, a son, a friend, and a youth leader and instead become a child who was not worried about what to get done or how to complete this or that but rather be like Mary and take time from my responsibilities to listen and experience God. 

The second way the disciplines helped me grow in my faith is to stop what I am doing, be still and know God. Each discipline required listening and by listening I began to understand just how grand and infinite God really is. He is so much more than someone who is there only when I am in trouble. He is so much bigger than all my worries, fears, and dreams wrap together. He is… words cannot due the justice that God deserves. Finally, the disciplines prompted self reflection. They nudge me to examine myself, to look beyond the physical but to look at my soul and heart. What did I find? I found my own sin and its darkness and I found God’s grace, mercy, and peace protecting me from becoming that monster. I found a passionate heart for God. It is in these ways that the practice of the spiritual disciplines help me grow in my faith and obedience to God. 

2. What were some of the distractions or hindrances that kept you from practicing, or practicing to the fullest, the assigned disciplines this semester? What does this show you about yourself? How do you plan to address this area (or these areas) of struggle? 

Clearly practicing the spiritual disciplines helped me grow in my faith but there were some hinderances that kept me from practicing each discipline fully. Three hinderances come to mind as I reflect on my experiences of the disciplines, they are: distractions especially media, busyness (working, full time student, and a high school youth leader), and motivation (finding the energy to put into the practice after all other responsibilities). So what do these three hinderances show about myself? These hinderances reveal that I often take on so many responsibilities that all my energy is poured into them rather than first using my energy in my relationship with God so that it is he who sustains my energy so that I am then able to fulfill my other responsibilities. These hinderances also show that I care too much about my own appearance before others and thus, my desire to please them. My plan for addressing these hinderance is to think before committing to something. This address the issue of becoming too busy and only doing a job partially and also helps to keep motivation on doing the task at hand. As for the distraction of media, I don't have a plan. 

3. Identify three disciplines you think mesh together well and explain how you see them interrelating. How would you plan to practice them together?  

As I reflect on my experience with the spiritual disciplines, three disciplines I think that mesh together well are solitude, fasting, and mediation. These three mesh together because they all draw the focus to God. Solitude focuses the participant to listen for God speaking by removing outside distractions such as media, facebook, etc. Fasting also helps remove distractions but internally. In other words, fasting helps the participant understand what internally distracts them from listening and obeying God. Finally, mediation focus the participant on encountering the presence of God and not leaving that encounter without having heard God and changed by God. Thus, these three disciplines fully encompass the head knowledge, the heart, and the hands. Another way to put it is these three disciplines together allow the participant to come to understand something about God (head), allow that understanding to burden their heart which then moves them to either obey or ignore the burden (Hands). My plan to practice these three disciplines together would be very similar to what I did while on the retreat when practicing the discipline of solitude; find a secluded spot, ask God for guidance, and mediate.  However instead of few hour fast, I would do a normal twenty-four hour fast.

4. Identify one discipline you would urge a new believer to practice. How would you instruct them in the discipline? Why do you think this discipline is especially well-suited to the formation of a new believer?

It is wonderful to reflect on my experience with the spiritual disciplines but what if I had been a new believer, what discipline would I urge myself or any new believer to practice? I would urge them to practice the discipline of study, especially studying the Bible, because the discipline of study helps the new believer gain biblical knowledge but it also helps the habit of reading scripture be established. The discipline would also serve as an opportunity for the new believer to find a mentor who would help in answering the new believer's questions but it also be an opportunity for the mentor to be challenged and to articulate his own spiritual journey.

With this understanding of why I think this discipline is well-suited to the formation of a new believer, the next question would be: how would I instruct a new believer in this discipline? I would begin by reminding them study includes repetition. That is, reading the passage of scripture over and over again each time asking God to revel something new. I would instruct them to write down any observations and questions. I would then encourage them to read the context, the chapter before and after and even the whole book, that the passage is in and then explore the historical cultural context, like author, audience, purpose, etc. Finally I would encourage the new believer to share what he has observed, any questions, and even any insight with someone else, so that the whole body may be built up and encouraged.

5. Spiritual disciplines fortify believers against some of the universal struggles and weakness all Christians have battled against. Identify and describe an area of weakness you observe in the Kuyper College student population. What spiritual discipline, if corporately practiced, would target this area of weakness and why?

 Often I think that the Kuyper community stress the importance of reading and applying Scripture into our lives... yet often they leave it up to the students to figure out what is the best way for them to accomplish this. Thus, a spiritual discipline that would target this area of weakness would be the spiritual discipline of mediation. The spiritual discipline of mediation would allow the Kuyper community to come together and focus on a single piece of scripture, listening for what God may want to teach them through his word and how then they could apply the teaching to their own life. The spiritual discipline of mediation would also promote sharing what God has taught, thus forming a community that really desires to seek God in all areas of life.

6. What advice would you give to the next class of spiritual formation students at Kuyper College who will be practicing these disciplines?

The advice I would give is this: Take the time to fully practice each discipline and journal your thoughts. I say this because I wish I had taken the time to fully practice each discipline because the ones that I did fully practice are the ones that impacted me the most. As well as, look for ways to continue to practice each discipline rather than move on to the next one as if each discipline is not interwoven. I found that journaling my thoughts and experiences with each of the disciplines has helped me see how God has been working and moving in my life over the semester.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ~ Ephesians 3:16-21