More answers

Dear friends: To clear out the “inbox”…

Unfortunately, not all missionaries will have extra rings in their halos (though some may have distinguished positions in Eternity). All will, however, have great joy in heaven because: They are worshiping with over 100 people at a time (a rare occasion for many missionaries); They will see people groups who are united in Christ because of their mission… People who have stood the test of fire and are faithful for eternity.

No Pepperdine for me in 2006. However, my co-worker in Marseilles, Philippe Dauner, will be speaking at one of the evening keynotes. Young, intelligent, down-to-earth, not at all showy… I think you’ll like him. He desires but one thing: To know Christ better and to help others know Christ better. Welcome him (and Dolores, his wife) for they may feel very much out-of-place.

Sandra, we have not decided where we are going to retire (or if we’ll retire)! I’m thinking of moving in with Beth when we get up there in age… However, there are 2 empty bedrooms for any of you who want to retire in Lausanne.

In Europe, December 31 is known as “Saint Sylvester”. (I don't know why they celebrate a cat, but hey…) It’s usually spent with family. We’ll be with the Geneva church, playing and praying-in 2006.

May God watch over you…

P.S.: For what it's worth, just got an email from christianbook.com (I use them a lot) that we can get an additional 10% off Steve's recommended books (or any other book in stock). Enter the promotional code 234650 as you enter the checkout process… Good Sat., Sun. and Mon.

Not a renter…

Last Wednesday, Wife and I sat in the lawyer’s office reading and rereading the documents before us, ready to sign to buy the house on Ave. de France. It took three hours.

Wife’s father first bought the building in 1983. It was a mess. Though centrally located, the rooms were water damaged and the place unlivable. Three floors, and not a room you could sleep in comfortably. A year later, with contractors and help from brothers and sisters the world over, he re/built his radio broadcast recording studio, a worship place for the local church, offices for Slavic World for Christ, and a two bedroom apartment on the top floor.

That’s the apartment we rented in January of 1985. Much later, Wife’s parents moved office to home and we moved into the three bedroom apartment (1996).

He left us enough to make the down payment (Swiss law stipulates 20% of purchase price) and to get loan payments of less than 33% of salary (bank's requirement).

The loan is for 100 years, renegotiable in 2015. Interest is 3.28%.

So the church will still meet in the neighborhood for at least 10 years. We’re glued here for another 100.

Boy, do I feel secure. ☺

2005 Books

I’m going to mention the few books I read in 2005 that I’ll probably read again (or already read twice this year). There aren’t 10. There in no specific order:

Come to the Table by John Mark Hicks. Subtitle: Revisioning the Lord’s Supper.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. A recent defense of Christian spirituality.

Life on the Ash Heap by Jim McGuiggan. Deals with suffering from Job. VERY GOOD.

A Theology of the Social Gospel by Walter Rauschenbusch. Written in 1917. All theology seen (rightly or wrongly) through the lens of social justice.

The Shaping of things to Come by Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch. Not all chapters are equally good. But some are too good.

The Message. “Translation” by Peterson. 9 pages a day and it’s finished in a year.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene. A novel set in Vietnam, written in 1955. Did LBJ ever read it?

Of course, I’d be negligent if I didn’t mention your blogs which tend to lighten up my day, often make me think and, from time to time, make me want to visit a Costco on Christmas Eve.

Enjoy the day…

Christmas Presents

It’s time for our first annual EVEN DAYS “If Only I Could Really Give You These Things” Awards sponsored by the College Church of Christ in Fresno.

This is that time of the year when we think of those who drop by our blogs wishing we could sit together around a plastic Christmas tree, sip eggnog and spit sunflower seed shells onto ye ole flaming Yuletide log.

To Randy I give a new study, out of the basement, and intelligence in all things, from Mice to Men. And several ping-pong victories over Tadd.

For Greg I’ve ordered Ima Picken Bass’ book on Frustrated Rock Stars and the Origin of their Addictions.

To Cecil, from the local Home Depot, I’ve ordered a new sander and designer varnish for the Table, and pre-ordered plywood sheeting for Hurricane Omega.

To Steve I send a new Kitchen. And a no parking sign to hang in it.

To Keith I send a hearty SINCORAMAKWAHANAMAS, and may you be more Incarnational every day.

For Sandra I’ve ordered a leather motor cycle jacket and the book, Blogging without Guilt.

To Son 2 and Daughter who always read but never comment on this blog, I send… Well you just wait. Sunday’s a coming.

To Son 1, a warm welcome home.

To any supporters reading this: My deepest appreciation for your trust. You are amazing.

To Wife: A new food processor.

Dear bloggers, enjoy your gifts. To those I forgot: Your check is in the mail

Ternopil to home

The trip home was uneventful. An overnight train to Kiev. One of those old diesel trains with ancient wagons where you pay to try to sleep the trip away. Rick, a preacher in the Shevchenko church (the only Kiev church that uses the Ukrainian language) met Vlodya and me at 6:30 Saturday morning (bless his heart) and dropped us off at an apartment where we were able to read and rest. The flight out of Kiev to Milan and on to Geneva was uneventful, and I arrived in Lausanne by train at 11:15 pm. Good to be home!

A great group was present for Sunday morning, and after a potluck (AGAPE) meal together the family headed to Geneva for the year-end program. The singing was excellent, the kids adorable, and the visitors happy to have come.

Jordan arrived at the Geneva train station later in the evening. He’ll be around till December 27.

I’m planning on driving back to Ukraine sometime in March or April, 2006, carrying back some of Father-in-law’s Ukrainian books, about 600 kilos total. It’s almost a 3 day trip one way, and I need someone to come with me.

How ‘bout it?

A Monk's Life

No TV. No Radio. No Internet. No phone. No noise.

It's amazing how much thinking and dreaming you can get done. And pray if you want to. This is a great place to study and teach. All you have to do is fill up on the Word, then teach it later in the day, wait for questions, then go back to your apartment and get ready to answer the questions. Seeking wisdom.

I'm sure it would get old in a short while (I always miss the family about 13 minutes into the trip), but it is refreshing. And new ideas tend to flow.

All the teaching is translated into Ukrainian. Two night's ago we did a textual study of Ephesians 4.7 ff and that was a challenge, not because of the interpreter (she's great), but because my English Bible translation and the Ukrainian translations varied (good thing I'd learned the Greek text by heart). We worked through it, with me receiving the new insights. The 2 hours flew by.

Last night, after meeting with the single ladies for a couple hours, we spent time in Foster's chapter on Self-Righteous gifts and God-Glorifying gifts. He has practical insights.

And I forgot to mention lunches, which last each day from 2 to 4 pm. Fortunately I was able to walk for 3 about three hours the other day. And it all brought back memories of times here with Wife's Father. He loved this town and its people.

Thank you for your prayers and for stopping by.

Sunday in Ternopil

The oldest member of the church arrived first this morning. She's 90, according to Vlodya. Most of the members come in quietly, all bundled up (it's heated inside but still about 60 degrees). I don't know why the older women cover their heads, but it's true that everyone wears a hat outside. It's an unwritten Ukrainian rule, I think. Anyway, we stand to pray. We stand to take the Lord's Supper (Cecil: I was pleased to see the table at the front in its rightful place!) People listen attentively.

Then I gave an exhortation on eating in the presence of God. Worship is a serious matter here, especially the Lord's Supper. So we studied through some of the celebration passages and the joy we have being in the presence of the Lord. Just a little information to compliment their deep faith. Children finish the 2 hour worship with a play where "the tongue" is put on trial. (I think he was guilty, but I don't speak the Ukrainian tongue...)

The Ukrainians I know are extremely hospitible. The first time our kids came with us to Ukraine, they couldn't believe how people who LESS than they did could be so generous. The only way to give something to one of the Christians was to do it the first day. If not, they would load you down with gifts.

In fact, in two minutes, I will sit down to a real home cooked Ukrainian meal. The fellowship will be good. In fact, it promises to be the plat de resistance.

Thanks for stopping by.

Ternopil, Ukraine

I’m flying Saturday morning to Ukraine. After meeting up with people in Kiev, it’ll be the night train to Ternopil in western Ukraine (NOT Chernobyl, though they do rhyme). There will be opportunities to teach and preach for the entire week, before coming back to Lausanne on Saturday.

My first visit to Ternopil was in Jan-Feb 1991. Wife’s dad and I drove for 4 days to get there. Terrible roads. No gas. Lots of pickles. Snow 6 feet high on each side of the road in the Carpathian mountains. When we arrived in Ternopil, all the apartments looked exactly the same: dirty-grey in the foggy light of the setting sun. But we found a distant relative and worshiped with a house church that Sunday. They graciously asked Wife’s dad and me to preach. They listened intently and asked many questions, stuffed us with food and asked more questions. Later we visited, it seemed like, every local city official and made plans for the future.

We were both struck by the spiritual thirst of the women. And yes, they continue to be the backbone of the church of Christ in that community.

Advent Calendar

It’s old news to some of you, but it’s time for our Advent Calendar. Some of you are saying: What a great idea! Others: What the heck is Advent?

I really don’t know when in church history it all started, but Advent is made up of the four Sundays before Christmas (this year: 27 November, 4, 11, 18 December). In many churches there is even an Advent Liturgy to prepare believers for the coming (the FIRST advent) of the Christ. With each new Sunday, people light a candle, till all four are lit the last Sunday.

ANYWAY, about 6 years ago, I got to thinking, “How can we connect with some of our neighbors who think we’re a sect even though we’ve been here 15 years and we rarely sacrifice chickens?” The Advent calendar on the front of our “house” was the answer. In late November, I put up numbers 1-24 on the outside wall. Then, on December 1, it’s up the ladder in the morning darkness to hang the first wood re-liefs (60x60 cm kind-of-3D panels that we made ourselves). They tell in chronological order the birth of Christ. Plus there’s a web site that French-speakers can go to and read the real story (and read ahead, if they want. You can see it by clicking on this post's title...).

We’ll have a small open house on December 19 for folks from the neighborhood. And then, before you know it, Christmas is over.

Answers

O.K. Let me finally clear out my in-box with the following:

Jim McGuiggan’s site is http://jimmcguiggan.com/. I often listen to the audio as I clean out my office (when I finally get around to it). He even answers his emails. (I read his “Life on the ash heap” book on Job just a few months ago and was blessed.) My favorite line when he preaches: I’m not angry, I just sound that way! (Some preachers yell when the point is weak. Jim yells when he feels like it. Definitely NOT a screamer, though.)
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Ascension books: Basically, the two following books are a history of Ascension theology, and both are good…

• He Ascended into Heaven, J. G. Davies (1958). You can usually find it at Abebooks.com (great site. Ask Greg.) It was the first book written in English on the Ascension in something like 50 years.
• Ascension and Ecclesia, Douglas Farrow, (Eerdmans, 1999). Much more in-depth than Davies. Only to read if you really want to know what everybody thought about Ascension. Not a light read, at least for me.
• Ascension Now, Peter Atkins, (The Liturgical Press, 2001). O.K. Pretty practical and pretty short. I liked it better the second time through. Anyone can understand it though he dwells excessively on the paradox of the “absence” and the “presence” of Christ.

Just realized I really can't count…
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Will you pray for our future? Signing for a loan for a “permanent life” with an unforeseeable financial future shakes my faith.

Taizé

I want to put up Jeanne’s dad’s message that he sent out to the church, but I need to talk to him about it first. I will tell him you are praying. Thank you.
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There is a religious retreat center/movement here in Europe called Taizé. The place is not too far from Lausanne, and lots of youth go there. Several of the protestant and catholic parishes send young people there for retreats, and from what I’ve heard, up to 5000 people meet together from all over Europe, from all different languages.

One of Wife’s friend’s daughters spent 10 months there and really enjoyed it, according to wife’s friend (though she said the daughter came back as sassy as ever – Is sassy still a word?).

But in an article in the recent protestant publication, this daughter said:

A Taizé, il y a à la fois beaucoup de monde et beaucoup de silence…

Oops…

At Taizé, there is at the same time lots of people and lots of silence (in worship). In the local parish, it’s the opposite. There are 10 people in the church, but lots of words, and little silence.

Now, I’m not a true Taizé fan, but that’s made me think: Few people. Lots of words. Lots of people, lots of silence.

Could our worship time really include lots of silence before our God, or would we have to have a video presentation and humming in the background to keep ourselves interested? (I’d probably be counting the number of times people cough per minute. I guess that’s my math side…)

Thanks for stopping by.