Size doesn't matter

Matthew 13:31,32

The size of the kingdom doesn't matter. It is not about the big grandiose whiz-bang- flash things, It starts of small. I think this flies in the face of our American super size culture. We are always waiting for the next BIG THING! The next BIG THING actually has a small beginning. I think we are impatient with small beginnings. The kingdom of God isn't necessarily about big crusades or mass evangelism or huge powerpoint projector screens. It is about the small and subtle. It is a smile. An embrace. A good tip to your server at a restaurant. That is the seed of the kingdom and soon it will grow into a tree where the birds of the air nest in its branches (Daniel 4:19-22)

Eternal Sunshine in my Spotless mind

I just got a chance to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind and I think it is wonderful. Jim Carrey did an awesome job and he finally got my respect as a dramatic actor. Kate Winslet did great as well. You could never guess that wasn't her real accent.

The movie really made me think about all the past relationships I've had and my marriage to Yvette. I think it is truly better to go ahead and experience love with all of it's hurts and joys than to be a blank slate. I think this is the heart of God when he made humanity. He foresaw the pain that he would endure in creating us with the capacity to choose him or something else in the place of him. Seeing all the sin he chose to love. I am awestruck by the reality of that kind of love.

The title is from an Alexander Pope poem. Here is the stanza and it is beautiful:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
Labour and rest, that equal periods keep;
"Obedient slumbers that can wake and weep;"
Desires compos'd, affections ever ev'n,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav'n.
Grace shines around her with serenest beams,
And whisp'ring angels prompt her golden dreams.
For her th' unfading rose of Eden blooms,
And wings of seraphs shed divine perfumes,
For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring,
For her white virgins hymeneals sing,
To sounds of heav'nly harps she dies away,
And melts in visions of eternal day.

The Story of my Stuff Pt 2

Well here is an inventory of the things I purchased in Ethiopia:

1. A jebena (ethiopian coffeepot)
2. two coffee mugs with the story of Solomon and Sheba painted on them
3. bag of unroasted coffee beans (for Mimi an ethiopian lady in our church)
4. bag of roasted coffee
5. white scarf with ethiopian flag colors on the edges

This was pretty good. I say I did ok in managing my consumerism. It can creep up on you.

Soul food is the gospel!

Last night me and Yvette went out to the Soul Food Kitchen in Inglewood. Short ribs, catfish, greens, red beans and rice were all on deck. That was some real deal soul food although there are some better places around LA. Just ask the chowhound. It's funny because it got us to start talking about how good here Mom's neckbones were and led me to strange yet true discovery: Neckbones are gross. Who wants to eat the neck of an animal? We realized too that there isn't much meat on a neckbone but it is considered a delicacy. Soul food is an amazing example of redemption. Taking what was discarded and turning it into treasure. That's what the gospel is. A despised, rejected man from an obscure town in an oppressed nationkilled as a criminal who rose from the dead as King and Savior of the world. This makes me want to eat catfish and red beans and rice before every communion!

growing a beard...

they say having a beard is a symbol of wisdom. Many biblical figures wore beards. John Wimber wore a beard. Santa Claus. Gandalf. I don't know. It makes my chin itch. Maybe I will try to keep it if I can manage it.

trying to make money blogging

I have been online for 2 hours trying to figure out paypal and google adsense. You guessed it: I'm trying to make some money blogging. Two things about that come to mind:

1. I need to post more frequently (6-12x's a day)

2. I need to create multiple blogs for multiple streams of income.

3. I need some better technology to post fast and efficiently

Can I do it? It's possible. Just ask the Problogger

The world of the 1st century church

It is amazing to me how similar in worldview and cultural terrain Ethiopia is to the mediterranean world of the 1st century:

1. Word of mouth advertising is used for good purposes or bad. This means that word of mouth can help to plant a church as well as persecute a church.

2. Persecution is very real as many of our Ethiopian friends have experienced being beaten or thrown in jail

3. Agriculture is the main business of the day. The words of the Bible come alive as pictures of threshing wheat, harvesting, oxen plowing etc. are lived out before your very eyes

4. Belief in the supernatural is prevalent. People will turn to witchcraft in a heartbeat to cure their problems. This creates opportunities for power encounters with God.

5. Family bonds are strong. When the head of a family comes to Christ the whole family comes to Christ.

You can see why the gospel spread rapidly in the 1st century and also why it is on the move in countries south of the equator. The question is how can we see more churches planted and the gospel spread rapidly in the Northern Hemisphere? Are there opportunities in our culture which we haven't tapped into?

Derrick and his verbal paintings

My friend Derrick is coming out with his poetry book Verbal Paintings. He is a very creative guy who loves God. His book signing will be in April at Awakenings coffeehouse (more info to come) He has been a faithful supporter of our church's coffeehouse Awakenings so I have to give him his props. Check out his webpage Derrick Engoy

Afromatics

I have just taken up a fascinating study of a new subject: Afromatics. In the realm of Afromatics meeting someone at 4:00pm means that you will meet them 2 hours later at 6:00pm. It means that a 90$ room becomes a 120$ room because you are a foreigner.

It also means that 7 churches plus 1 more equals 20 because the gospel is spreading like wildfire in africa. Right now at this very moment there are 20 vineyard churches in Ethiopia and it happened in a matter of 1 year. That is some amazing growth. I'm just praying that God gives us the strength and the resources to keep up with the Afromatics.

Peeing on walls

This guy says that real men pee on walls. I guess Ethiopia is full of real men and this time I joined them. When you gotta go you gotta go. Sorry no pictures.

The story of Stuff and my way of packing

I am all about less is more. Except when it comes to books. If it wasn't for my generous heart we would probably need a separate storage facility for books. Althought they do cause problems when it comes to packing for trips. Other than books I am a pretty simple guy. So I packed light for my trip to Ethiopia but I forgot about needing extra room for when I buy stuff. Although there is a conviction now when I buy stuff.Probably because of the ideas being propogated through this movie The Story of Stuff

So I will take a tally of the things I buy in the Mercato and you can be the judge of whether I need all this stuff. Talk to you when I get back.