Cruising

Reggie McNeal uses airports to describe what churches are supposed to be. Airports connect people to their final destination. They get it wrong when they think they are the final destination.

That got me thinking about it some more and I think I would add that a lot of churches think they are cruise ships. I know there are some of you who would argue that the ports of call on a cruise make all the difference in the world, but they really don't. What you really care about is what amenities the cruise ship has. You couldn't care less that the cruise ship isn't preparing you at all for your destination. It is the destination.

For disclosure sake I should mention that I have never been on a cruise. I'm more of a resort person. But I've heard you talk. You talk about service, swimming pools, shows, sports, and above all you talk about food. I wonder what percentage of passengers actually ever get off the boat. I wonder if cruise ships could simply sail over the horizon and turn in circles for a week and still keep everybody happy.

Churches get caught up in that too. We really only talk about a destination because it seems we should. We have to have something to put in our mission statement, after all. Instead we want to make sure everyone is entertained, having fun, and well fed. We really like it if they have a great program for our kids. That way we can be free of some of our parental responsibilities to have even more fun. We know that we are supposed to be on a journey of some kind so we like the idea of a cruise. We even make a port call every now and then to soothe our consciences a bit. Then it is back to the good life.

We need to get back to being connectors. We need to help people get to their calling in life. We need to be the best airports we can be but we can never lose sight of the fact that we are not the destination.

Fight

I really don't like ruining Christmas but I am a little concerned I may do just that with my sermon this Sunday. Christmas is one of those times of year when people take in the glittering lights, the piles of gifts, and, if they dig deep enough, an image of Mary & Joseph hunched over a beautiful baby Jesus laying in a manger. (It's usually a lily white baby Jesus too, but that's another topic.) These images make us want to sit back and say, "Awww, how precious."

In actuality that baby in a manger is the result of a decision to take up a fight, to get down and dirty with the gloves off, to go ahead and accept a battering, bruising, and bloody fight. The way I see it, God had a decision to make about this 3rd planet from the sun. Seeing the mess it was in, the simply thing to do would have been to obliterate it. It was hardly worth saving. Instead God decided redemption would be the better way so he entered the fight in the only way it would work, as a vulnerable baby born in a barn located in an insignificant town.

When I connect that baby in a manger with the God making that decision about this planet it changes things. That baby suddenly doesn't seem so warm and cuddly. It represents a gauntlet thrown down to Satan. It says God loves this world enough to fight for it and he has arrived, ready for battle. It's not a publicity stunt either. Otherwise God would have arrived with pomp and circumstances befitting a champion, and not in a lowly manger. He's not hiding behind 10,000 angels because he can't win the prize that way. He arrives naked with no gimmicks. This is serious. This is a battle. This is God confronting the enemy.

I hope I don't ruin Christmas for people by connecting the baby Jesus to a battle. (I know some people get tired of all the military talk we use all the time. But if we learned to fight like Jesus that wouldn't be a problem.) I hate to take away your "Awww" moment. But I do hope we'll learn to love enough to fight. Love our families, love our friends, and love our church communities enough to fight for them. Love others enough to fight for them. And love God enough to fight for him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Outdoors

Every now and then I get this urge to be outdoors. I get tired of my office. Tired of sitting behind a desk all day. Tired of not getting out there and enjoying God’s creation.

A friend sent my kids a subscription to a back packing magazine. They live in the southwest of the USA where they are surrounded by opportunities to take a hike. I thumbed through the mag and felt a strong urge to be anywhere but here.

I hate camping because whenever someone tried to take me camping I could never see the point of it. I guess I should qualify that by saying I don’t see the point of camping unless it is on the way to somewhere or to do something. Camping on a fishing or hunting trip I’m fine. Camping while climbing a mountain or hiking a trail, no problem. But camping just to sit around and swat mosquitoes, no thanks.

I grew up in Africa where I spent a lot of time outdoors. We climbed a few mountains but mostly we went hunting. I went to a boarding school that was surrounded by mountains, jungle, and grassland which provided ample opportunity to “get out there” and we took full advantage.

Planning a camping trip in those days began by gathering everything we thought we would need to stay warm, safe, and comfortable. We would place the huge mass of gear in the middle of an old army surplus sleeping bag liner and roll it up as tight as we could. After tying it all together we would balance it precariously on the back of a motorcycle, which took a lot more tying, and off we would go.

The word “road” had a lot of different meanings there. It could mean anything from asphalt to a track that was at least wide enough to squeeze a vehicle through. The latter would usually lead to a small village where a vehicle would maybe show up twice a year. From there we would take our motorcycles on footpaths that led farther out to the farms of the villagers. After going as far as we could it would be time to abandon the motorcycles and start hiking.

We would untie our gear from our motorcycles and throw it over our shoulders. I’m not sure we even knew what a backpack was in those days. We usually made it about 200 yards before we would realize we brought way too much junk. We would leave everything behind except for a pot of uncooked rice, salt, matches, canteen, and a tree hammock. We’d pick up the rest on the way back.

Those camps were never comfortable. We would always have good food (hunting is different there) but the hammocks would only be comfortable for a few hours and we were never warm enough no matter how big we made the fire. We never let that dampen our spirits though because the camp wasn’t the focus of the trip. It was the hunt, or the climb, or the hike. We wouldn’t have endured the hardship just to camp.

I lost a lot of my appetite for the outdoors over the years. I went hunting here in the US a few times but I never got away from the sounds of cars on a highway somewhere near by. Somehow that ruined it. I knew there were places I could go but I never went. I read Bryson’s book about his hike on the Appalachian Trail and thought it sounded great. But it was too far away.

My kid’s magazine has an article highlighting hiking opportunities in various regions of the USA. I eagerly turned to the Midwest section only to find that the nearest one is several hundred miles away. That kind of puts a damper on things.

Of course there are hiking trails in Indiana and I would probably be surprised if I took the time to check them out. For some reason I keep picturing myself trudging along the border of a bean field from one small woodlot to the next. But I’m sure there are nice trails available. It’s just that the thought of hiking in Indiana is not very motivating.

For now I’ll just think about it. I’ll picture myself alone on a trail stopping to take in an inspiring overlook. I’ll imagine the wind rustling in the trees and the sounds of the wildlife playing in their world. At least this way I can leave out the mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, and thistle out of the picture.

Expression

I went to a wedding the other day. It was a friend's daughter and he officiated. I learned something.

It was a great wedding. The musicians were great. There were no glitches that I was aware of. And my friend did a great job. One thing I liked about the wedding was the simplicity. No tulle hanging everywhere. No mounds of gaudy flowers. Nothing outlandish. The sun shining through the stained glass windows bathed the whole place with a nice warm golden light that fit perfectly.

My friend did a great job of expressing himself both at the wedding and at the reception. But in spite of that I got the feeling that he wasn't satisfied with what he said. You could tell he was absolutely bursting with emotion. It was like he wanted everyone to know what he was feeling but didn't feel like he was doing those feelings justice. The words just weren't there. I think he might have been happier if he had the roar of a cheering crowd at a packed football stadium blasting through the sound system for a half hour. I tried to think of what I would say if I were in his shoes and drew a complete blank. I would have looked like a bumbling idiot and it is a credit to him that he did such a great job.

So this is what I learned. Those times when there are no words to express ourselves happen more often than we know. That's a good thing. That's what pushes human creativity. That's where beautiful art comes from. Beautiful music. Beautiful poetry. Beauty.

So I get it. I know that my friend was feeling a lot more than he could ever express with words. And while I get that I also get that I will never truly understand all that he was feeling. And that's a good thing too.

Economy

I recently read a report on financial giving in churches during the economic crisis. I won't post a link because those have a way of going bad after a few months but it was presented by the Alban Institute. I was a little surprised that only around 30% of the churches in the survey reported a decrease in giving in the first half of 2009. 37% percent reported an increase while the rest reported their giving stayed the same.

There are lots of explanations for the numbers and some of them are good. Church growth during the time period is a good example. Overall, I'm not sure there was enough information available to draw many useful conclusions.

But it did get me thinking about what should be the case. If you base the numbers on per capita giving to take out the affect of a gain or decline in numbers, shouldn't our churches mirror what is going on in our communities at large?

My first thought when I saw this survey was that an awful lot of church people must be lucky enough not to lose their jobs. But then I got to wondering if in some way the church tends to not welcome people with easily expendable, and therefore usually the first to go, jobs. Are we prejudiced in some way against people who are more economically vulnerable.

I wonder what would happen in Jesus' church. Actually, I think I know because, though I can't say for certain what is in the heart of people, I do think I have met people that belong to his church who are amazingly rich and desperately poor. I also know that he tended to attract the desperately poor while he warned the rich during his time on earth. That leads me to think that while there certainly are rich people who belong to his church they must be greatly outnumbered by the desperately poor. My conclusion is that watching the giving in Jesus' church would reflect what is going on in the larger economic picture.

I also think that Jesus' church would make a great leading economic indicator, if you could somehow get a hold of that number, because members of Jesus' church, especially the poor ones, are incredible givers. (Remember the story of the widow's mite.) If you saw the giving at Jesus' church going down you could be pretty sure that the economy was going to tank because the desperately poor, who give like no one else, would have stopped giving, not because they got disillusioned with it, but because they really had nothing to give. Likewise, if the giving in Jesus' church went up you could bet that economic recovery was on the way.

So what does it mean if our church finances go up, down, or stay the same? Maybe it means that God is blessing us. Maybe it means our guilty consciences are kicking in and we are actually giving a greater percentage of our income. Or maybe it means we aren't including a lot of people who we should include.

Gifts

I heard that some retailers are going to be dropping prices early this year. Have you got your Christmas list all ready? The discussion about whether giving Christmas gifts is good for our economy is an interesting one.

I just read an article by Tyler Cowen debating the issue against Joel Waldfogel's book "Scroogenomics." In the book Waldfogel apparently suggests (I haven't read it) that we shouldn't give gifts because people value the gifts they receive at only about 85 cents on the dollar. Since we spend approximately $60-$90 billion on gifts that 15% drop is a considerable loss. That 85 cent figure is probably high too. That puke colored sweater you got from your in-laws you probably value a lot less.

So there we have it. Clear cut case against buying presents. The Christian thing to do is to be a good steward and not by gifts. It will cut billions of dollars in waste.

But then Cowen muddies the issue all up again by pointing out all the intangibles that are associated with gift giving, or "indirect costs" as he puts it. One could add the stress involved in deciding what to get to the cost of the gifts along with many other factors to really drive up the cost of giving gifts. But then you also have to count the value of joy, celebration, love, not feeling forgotten or alienated, relational growth, etc. on the plus side. And what about all the valuable information you learn about yourself and your friends from the gifts you receive or don't receive. "How come Jim got such a nifty gift from Julie while all Julie gave me was a new pair of socks?"

The articles goes on to mention a lot more but the result is that it just isn't cut and dried. It is just another thing with which you have to live with the tension. So I hope everyone enjoys their holiday season while you roll that one around in your head.

Roles

I have been turning over a saying in my mind for several months now. Earlier this year Dr. Ralph Winter passed away and I was reading about his life and reflections from his family, friends, and co-workers. Something that came up repeatedly was his love for a Dawson Trotman saying that goes something like this. "Don't spend your time doing what others can do, spend your time doing what others can't do." That is probably not exactly right, as far as a quote goes, but you get the idea.

Dr. Winter seemed to apply that thought to his life and ended up with a role that he was uniquely qualified to fill. So I look around at our church and I ask myself that question. Am I spending my time doing what others should be doing or am I doing what others can't do? It seem that if I am going to use the unique talents and abilities God has given me I need to be working on this.

Somewhere along the way I came across an addition to this that goes something like this. "Spend your time doing what others can't do, or you can't motivate them to do." (Not exactly sure where this came from.) That is a little more awkward but something that I think a lot of pastors relate to. We see the potential but can't motivate people to act for one reason or another.

Turning it yet again I began to think about what it would be like to inject more of a servants heart into it. "Do what anyone can do to free others up to do what only they can do." The idea here is that if I take the mundane tasks it will free people to do the really important stuff that no one else can do. The added benefit is that while I do the mundane tasks I can feel like a martyr, and therefore more spiritual. :) Or at least I can feel like I've done penance. (The scene where John Newton is mopping the floor in the movie Amazing Grace comes to mind.) Okay, so maybe it isn't so servant oriented after all, but at least it sounds good.

I guess this quote needs to spin around in my mind some more.

Connecting

As a pastor I regularly agonize over the sermon I'll be giving on the next Sunday. But it doesn't stop there. I agonize after I've given the sermon too. At least for a little while.

There is an interesting phenomenon that many pastors experience that goes something like this. The worse you feel about your sermon the more likely people will tell you how good it was and how it was the right message at the right time. Likewise, the better you feel about your sermon the more likely it was a flop.

One way to explain this is to bring the Holy Spirit into it. The logic would be that the Holy Spirit can take any sermon, no matter how bad it may be, and move people's hearts with it. But the pastor who feels really good about his sermon needs to be humbled so the Holy Spirit is not as active following such a sermon.

I suppose it could also be that it is revealing a disconnect between the pastor and the congregation. He is touching chords that he is not seeing on the one hand and playing chords in the other instance that are relevant only to him.

Of course, it could also be that the entire phenomenon is a figment of the imaginations of a collective of pastors who are paranoid and uptight. Why does this option seem so much more likely?

Wind

Continuing education is a wonderful thing and well named. Or maybe "ongoing" would be better. Unfortunately we lose the sense of the ever onward and upward idea these words convey and replace it with the idea that our very next seminar, conference, class, workshop, etc. will find us at the ultimate answer. Here it is! This is it! Proven! At least until it is time for our next ultimate answer.

I wish we had more of a sense of "adding to the knowledge base" or "expanding our horizons" when it comes to our quest to be updated, freshened, inspired, grown, and personally and professionally developed. That would help us maintain a healthy posture toward these learning experiences. We wouldn't be overly enthusiastic or harshly dismissive of what we were learning. We would allow it to filter through who we are and the context we find ourselves in and truly help us grow.

No doubt we partakers share a lot of the blame for this problem. We want the final answer. It would make life so much easier. The magic pill or the super shot sound wonderful. We need to temper our enthusiasm a bit.

But some of the blame lies with the sponsors and presenters. They are selling, after all. It is their livelihood, their passion, and their life's work. I just think they would help their own cause if they were more realistic about their product.

There are a few who seem to get it right (Reggie McNeal comes to mind.) but most leave me with the feeling of "chasing after the wind." I think the cure from my side of things is to maintain a focus on Jesus. Anything else is just more wind.

Discipline

Someone once said that educators, politicians, and pastors are the three groups of people who have the hardest time with accountability. A lot of truth in that. But I also think that this abhorrence of accountability is the result of having some other character traits that make them good educators, politicians, and pastors. In spite of this, I think we pastors should be accountable to others but also focus on personal discipline.

I was in Africa for my 7th-11th grades of high school. The boarding school I went to only went through the 9th grade. For my 10th grade the school agreed to allow about 4 of us students to attend even though we were using home school curriculum. I guess the thought was the structure and resources would help us. By 11th grade we apparently caused too much trouble because they decided to stop the program so I was a true home-schooler for 11th grade.

For some reason my parents allowed me a lot freedom with regards to my schedule as long as I got the work done. A teenage boy in Africa is a wonderful experience and I spent most of my day hunting, fishing and playing soccer. After supper I would work on my school work before hitting the sack and repeating the routine.

Funny how teenagers prioritize. It wasn't long before I started falling behind in my school work. When my dad found out I was over a month behind he put his foot down. No more fun until I caught up. I worked hard until I got my "toys" back but then I had to be disciplined to keep them. That was a tough year and the first time I had to really force myself to be disciplined for a long period of time.

I think pastors need to think about self-discipline every day. There are a lot of good things I could be doing but I need to consider what is the best thing I could be doing. There is a lot of tension between passion and your work. Even though something is your passion doesn't mean there aren't times when you have to do things you really don't want to do. I'm quite sure Jesus was passionate about his redemptive work but I know there were parts of it he didn't want to go through.

So my daily prayer of discipline???? Lord, let this cup pass if possible, but if not, give me the discipline to do your will. Amen

Worship

Saw a beautiful sunset the other day. Absolutely stunning. I was reminded of how incredible God is. It was a very worshipful experience as I humbly felt overcome by his magnificent presence.

I know that there is a scientific explanation for sunsets like this. I suppose it has something to do with light, water droplets, and fine grains of dust, and maybe a few other things thrown in. I don’t believe that those players in the masterpiece have any feelings at all towards God. They are simply objects of his creation. But that doesn’t matter. To me it is all God. They play a part in his revelation whether they like it or not.

Sometimes I hear people say that they are worried about how we approach music in churches today. “It’s not worship, it’s a performance. We shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves, we should focus our attention on Jesus. It’s not about us, it’s about him.”

Well, yes and no. If you have the right attitude, isn’t playing or singing with all the ability God gave you an act of worship of the highest order? Isn’t watching someone perform like that very similar to watching that amazing sunset?

And what if the performer isn’t a follower of Jesus and couldn’t care less about God. When that performer performs at a very high level aren’t they still revealing the magnificence of God anyway, just like the water molecules and light?

Sure, there will be times when inappropriate use of talent occurs. But that works both ways. Failing to use the talent God gives us is just as bad. When people fail to play or sing to their highest ability what is that saying about God? Yeah, it might be excellent technically speaking, but unless it is inspired playing it really is tepid. Does that really reveal God’s magnificence? Or is it just a false humility that really says that the really good stuff we can do is all ours and God has nothing to do with it.

So I don’t care how people participate in worship as long as they participate. If that means they sing along, fine. If it means they sit and enjoy the show, just as good. In either case I’ll be praying they have the focus on God.

As for me, I just want to be mindful of his great creation whether it is a beautiful sunset, awe inspiring mountain ranges, or someone’s virtuoso performance. And the next time I see someone pick up a Stratocaster I’ll be rooting for them to play the hell out of it. Pun intended.

My One and Only Post on Health Care

Wow. Talk about a lot of debate and argument. A lot of lies, half truths, kind of truths, and mostly truths. One thing for sure, it is an incredible complex issue and though there are sources of information that try to simplify it, I'm not sure that's possible. It's a perfect environment for the fear mongers.

The current debate seems to be about the public option. This is key because it flies directly in the face of those who say that a competitive marketplace creates the best and most efficient system. On the other side are those who believe that a government run system has been proven effective in other countries and is the way to go here. Public option proponents claim that the current system isn't as competitive as we think. But instead of fixing it they propose the public option that, despite what they claim, will become a single payer system for all intents and purposes. But it is also obvious that the current system isn't working either. I have a hard time even listening to Republican counter-proposals in light of their failure to address the issue during the last 8 years.

I am also surprised at fellow Christians who imply that to not support the proposed universal health care system is anti-Christian. I'm sure there are so called Christians with all sorts of different motivations for their opinions. But like most issues there are perfectly good reasons for Christians to oppose it and those views should be accepted gracefully. Some fear that UHC will limit the amount of money spent of research. I personally think that will not be the case but I understand the concern. (Free market systems can actually stifle innovation too. And this doesn't include the loss of innovative capacity in unrelated fields due to innovator's not being in the right situation due to fears of losing health coverage.)

I have my own concerns about the proposal. I don't want to do something that could have a net negative impact on poor people. In other words, it wouldn't do a lot of good to have UHC if it created an economic environment where the same poor could no longer afford to eat due to an adverse reaction by the job market. I also think it is important to consider all poor people and not just Americans. I know that's not popular but I'm a Christian first. So what happens if drug companies don't make as much profit in the US as they do now? Will they still make drugs available to third world countries at reduced cost? Just how much does our current health care system indirectly support health care in poor countries?

When it comes down to it, the worse part of the proposal is that it ends up in the hands of politicians. I'm cynical enough to have this be a major factor. I think I'm right to be concerned because instead of building and improving on a system (like Massachusetts) that has had at least a degree of success they jumped right to what will give them the most control. Go figure.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I am saddened by the allegations with regard to what is the Christian response from both sides. I believe it is possible to have legitimate points on both side of the issue.

Conqueror

Lion heart
Brave
Courageous
True

Ferocious
Muscular
Strong
Fierce

Victor
Champion
Conquering
King

The Character of the Christ
The Lion of Judah
King of Kings
Lord of Lords

And yet He conquers
As a Lamb
A Slain lamb
A Crucified Lamb

Such is the mystery
His secret way
Upside down
Inside out

His character
The Lion
Who Conquers
Like a Lamb

Nationalistic

Admittedly, I haven't researched this post very well as I'm sure their are a ton of ideas written on both sides of the issue. I know there are several books about it as well and I haven't read any of them. And now that I've verified that this post is garbage, here it is.

I don't think most Christians I know would really want to live in a Christian nation.

Have you ever thought about what a truly Christian nation would look like? For one thing I think it would blush at the idea of being called a nation at all. No nationalism here. The height of Israel's glory is usually considered to be during the time of kings David and Solomon. But remember, that was a result of their rejection of God's idea of a nation. Can you imagine the USA governed like Israel in the time of the judges? No flag to wave? No president to rally around? No 4th of July celebration?

It would be far from the wealthiest nation on earth, not because God wouldn't bless it, but because it would give it's wealth away to those in need. It wouldn't seek to be the world's leader. It would seek to be the world's servant. There would be a high possibility that it would be in servitude to another country and they would probably see that servitude transfer among several countries, which ever one happened to be ruling the world at the time.

Some argue that God led Israel to conquer other peoples as proof that a Christian nation today would do the same. But that was all part of God's redemptive plan for the world and it wasn't a pattern he would continue for all time. That's what the Jews were looking for in Jesus' day. They were looking for someone to save them from Roman servitude and lead them to military dominance. But God's plan was the way of the cross. Following through with military victory would have been exactly what Satan would have wanted and was apparently expecting.

So I think a true Christian nation would really struggle with the whole idea of war. It would be severely distressed over the thought of war and deeply troubled about it. There certainly wouldn't be victory parades and we would feel the pain of war just as much as the other side.

How dare I write a post like this while enjoying the freedom of this nation. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. It certainly has it's faults but it has many good qualities too. I have no problem waving a flag or celebrating it's independence. But I don't consider it a Christian nation either. It certainly has drawn on Christian influences to varying degrees over the years and that is a good thing, as long as those ideas are truly from God. But in the end it is a secular nation. It happens to be the nation that I was born in so it is my country. God saw fit that in all the world this is where I should be placed. So this is where I live out his redemptive mission.

Torture

I found the results of this survey by Pew Research disgusting. What part of "...love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..." (Jesus in Luke 6:27) don't Christians understand? Is that too radical of an idea? Well, here's a news flash. Jesus is radical. Following Jesus is radical.

Library

My wife is wonderful. She is cataloging my library for me so I can search and find what I'm looking for. There is no way I could do it because it is just way too tedious for me. So far she has done a little over 1500 books and I think she might be just about half way done but that's just a guess. A lot of the books were in boxes so I'm going to need to buy more book shelves. That's had a ripple effect as we are now looking at re-organizing the basement to accommodate them better.

She has thought about the possibility of turning it into a business. You'd need a lot of wealthy people willing to have their books cataloged in order to make it work and I'm just not sure you'd find that many. Some would say it is costing me a lot but I think I'm getting a bargain.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/datema

Beck

My birthday was several months ago but I was given some cash instead of a gift to go buy a book or some music. I knew what I wanted but it didn't get released until late March. The wait was hard but I am now the proud owner of "Jeff Beck: performing this week...Live at Ronnie Scott's" the DVD. It is 2 hours and 35 minutes of pure heaven.

It is basically the set he has been playing for a year or two now with a few guest appearances from Jos Stone, Imogen Heap, and Eric Clapton. Jeff, Vinnie, Tal, and Jason make a few changes to account for the small venue but I like it just as much as what I've heard in the past. All three guests compliment the rest of the set beautifully. In other words, you aren't watching and wondering what they are doing there, or thinking that they were just thrown in for the star appeal. (If you are after star appeal just watch the audience.) They combine with Jeff's style but take it somewhere it wouldn't go without their own unique talents.

Even Clapton does a great job with this. I'm all for watching Clapton and Beck play together but it would easy for that combination to be very predictable. But Clapton playing Little Brown Bird and You Need Love with Jeff messing around with the bottle neck is great.

Imogen is the most interesting of the three guests though. She brings her own unique style to Blanket and Rollin' and Tumblin' and sounds like a Stratocaster all by herself.

All in all I would say this is one of the best music purchases I've ever made. Time to sit back and enjoy some more.

Forsaken

Having spent a significant portion of my life living in Sierra Leone I find it sickening how the rebel war there, as well as so many other conflicts in Africa, are basically ignored by the rest of the world. I would blame it on the media but they only get part of the blame. They are a business after all and if we as ordinary people cared about these conflicts the media would probably cover them.

It is not just about coverage either. Along with that coverage goes time and money. So governments, institutions, and influential people spend tons of time and money on the most popular contests while the conflicts that have impacted the most people receive hardly any attention.

Some would say that while those smaller conflicts may not have the same number of deaths they still impact far more people. I believe that is true. But why is that? There is something wrong about the way we value people.

Here's some stats I pulled from the Stealth Conflicts website. They have a lot of interesting information there. I like the maps and charts they produce to graphically illustrate the issue. I can't vouch for the accuracy of these numbers but that's kind of the point. We just don't know what we really should know.


Conflict /Death Toll

Democratic Republic of Congo /5,400,000

Southern Sudan /1,200,000

Angola /800,000

Rwanda /800,000

Afghanistan /500,000

Somalia /400,000

Iraq /400,000

Burundi /300,000

Darfur /300,000

Zaire /300,000

Liberia /200,000

Algeria /150,000

Ethiopia-Eritrea /100,000

Chechnya /100,000

Uganda /100,000

Sierra Leone /50,000

Kashmir /50,000

Colombia /50,000

Sri Lanka /50,000

Bosnia-Herzegovina /50,000

Philippines /20,000

Turkey /20,000

Nigeria /20,000

Gulf War /20,000

Azerbaijan /20,000

Bougainville /20,000

Cote d’Ivoire /10,000

Congo, Republic of /10,000

Peru /10,000

Aceh /10,000

Myanmar /10,000

Nepal /10,000

Croatia /10,000

Kosovo /10,000

Kurdish Iraq /10,000

Southern Iraq /10,000

Senegal /< 10,000

Guinea /< 10,000

Chad /< 10,000

Mali /< 10,000

Niger /< 10,000

Central African Republic /< 10,000

Haiti /< 10,000

Mexico /< 10,000

Israel-Palestine /< 10,000

Israel-Lebanon /< 10,000

Yemen /< 10,000

Andrha Pradesh /< 10,000

Gujurat /< 10,000

Northeast India /< 10,000

East Timor /< 10,000

Irian Jaya /< 10,000

Kalimantan /< 10,000

Molucca Islands /< 10,000

Sulawesi /< 10,000

Georgia /< 10,000

Moldova /< 10,000

Northern Ireland /< 10,000

Extremists

The other night Bill Maher was on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He said all religious people were extremists. Man, I wish that were true of Christians. (Yes, including me.)

Tension

A group in our church is going through a parenting DVD series by a well known psychologist. His section on birth order was good but something he said made me think of pastors and denominations.

He pointed out that most company CEO's and presidents of institutions are first borns. It fits their psychological profile. They are driven, successful, orderly, systematic, and orthodox. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to be middle children. They are rough and tumble, are sick of being bossed around by older siblings, and have had to go their own way to find a voice for themselves.

I think both types of people have good qualities that serve a pastor well. I'm just not sure how well they do at leading each other. What kind of person ends up leading a denomination, conference, district, cluster, etc.? My guess is that usually it will be a first born. The problem is that the middle born pastors they lead will fight them every step of the way. I'm quite sure the same would be true if the roles were reversed.

Some might suggest that the answer is to let the babies of the family run the show. Get serious. The only thing good about that would be the speeches at the conferences.

I guess it just really takes a lot of understanding.