Glaciers in Retreat

Dear Friends,

In the early afternoon I was standing aft on our small ship traveling east up a wide fjord in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This moment of stunning beauty and spiritual stillness was worth the price of a trip to Alaska, I thought to myself. We had been cutting through the beautiful water dotted by jumping salmon for nearly an hour. Per the usual, we were told nothing by the staff of our destination. This voyage was all about surprises.

I saw our guide approaching on my right but continued to watch striking beauty pass by and enjoy my diet coke, cooled by glacial ice that we had harvested the previous afternoon near a glacier on the other side ofthe sound. Hugh began to speak quietly but passionately. "A decade ago when I first came to the sound, this fjord, from quite a few miles back, was filled with glacial ice. From the tops of the mountains on your right and on your left, nothing but ice. (The empty space he was describing was almost beyond imagination.) Now the glacier is in retreat and some people believe what I tell them about that retreat means and some people do not."

How often in our lives, and in how many situations, do we hear phrases like:

I don't believe that.
I can't believe that.
That is beyond belief.
That could never happen.
I refuse to believe that.

The truth is too painful to believe or too difficult to do anything about.
We chose to stay in a comfort zone of denial rather than enter the danger zone of awareness that requires passionate action.

Every moment of my travel up that fjord towards a glacier was through what only ten years ago was solid ice. Now there is only air. Multiplied by thousands of times, what does the melting of that much ice mean for the planet and its people? Does anyone have any interest in knowing such a truth?

The Days Have Rushed Past

(The photo above is there just to get your attention. No matter that it looks so much like a Polar Bear. It is a Sealion at home in Prince William Sound. You can see a few other Alaska Wildlife photos on my Facebook page.)

There was a time, around three months ago, when the days of my sabbatical passed slowly and it felt like I had an eternity ahead of me to travel and experience and write and read and ponder. Now it is Wednesday, August 10 and the last days of my sabbatical are passing like a train that I cannot board. Sunday I will preach at my church for the first time in over three months and a few important projects have already demanded my attention. Also, more friends in the church died during my absence--we lay Dorothy Taylor to rest on Saturday--than the church has ever lost in a similar amount of time. When I allow myself to touch my feelings I weep, simple as that.

I am very conscious of the debt I owe to some friends here for their committed and able performance of ministries that allowed me to experience such a dynamic sabbatical. Pastor Bill Salyers, a retired colleague, rose to the occasion in his usual compassionate way, to care for the people experiencing loss. Ali Vorhees, the young woman we called to serve the church during my absence, served with talents beyond her years and took maximum advantage of the opportunity to begin practicing her compelling call to ministry. My friend, and Church Moderator, Curtis Fett, led the church with grace and skill he did not know he had. No one could have cared more for our church and people than Curtis.

All that being said, I have been sorely tempted these past few days to come up with a concise and enthusiastic answer to the question, "How was your sabbatical?" But it just occurred to me that I prepared for months for the sabbatical. I organized and planned and read and prayed literally for almost a year. It is going to take an equally long period to integrate this vast experience into my life and ministry, though I hope that my church will notice from the beginning that I have learned and been inspired and grown and changed.

More reflection later. (It sure is helpful to write, to journal, to take time to consider. I need to do more of this relatively soon, though the pressure to attend to details is, as always, almost overwhelming.)

Yes, I Do Feel Fear

Do I often feel anxious when I am traveling away from home again? “Yes,” and “No.” The possibility that I will be overcome by unidentified fear in a new setting is always there. But most often, in my 62nd year, I can travel anywhere without worrying about what I will do with my fear when I get there.

This is a substantial, and welcome, change. In the past, when I went away for a continuing education conference or a convention or whatever I could count on being assaulted by anxiety for about the first day. I did not know where this foreboding came from and never could come up with an explanation for how the nervousness went away. But, away it went! Away the unease went when it wanted to go away.

I rarely have these feelings anymore. I did not have them when Kathy and I arrived in Instanbul, Turkey together five weeks ago. I did not feel any apprehension—quite the opposite, I was filled with excitement—when I arrived by myself in the Cappadocia region of Turkey nor when I drove alone to the Mediterranean Coast. Traveling to the Biennial Meeting of the American Baptist Churches, I recall no doubts or fears. But in the past, let’s say 1990, plus or minus ten year, I always had misgivings and a disquiet feeling that there was something to be afraid of.

My spiritual Journey over the past 30 or so years has changed all that. Having grown closer to God I now find myself remembering, whenever and wherever I am, that I am protected by and loved by God. When apprehension apprehends me, I remember God and as soon as I remember God the fear fades. (Please note that the word “remember” is not a “head thing.” “Remember” is a spiritual event. We remember with all that we are, body, mind and spirit.)

However, this week, arriving at the Trappist Monestary in Gethsemani, Kentucky, I definitely felt fear and it did not go away quickly. I can identify a number of reasons that I may have felt this foreboding and I did not pass through it easily or quickly. One problem was that I could not use my usual defenses against fear. I was not supposed to talk and besides I had no friends to talk to. I arrived a day late and so did not experience the orientation meeting. And, the reason I was a day late was that I began on this past Monday, the first day of my retreat, to experience some unknown ache in my upper abdomen. An afternoon of tests and exams in the ER did not identify the cause and so I am in the middle of dealing with this worry. Also, in the midst of the silence of this retreat it also entered my consciousness that my sabbatical is almost 2/3rd over and that soon I will have to confront all the challenges of reentry.

I just took a few seconds to pray. I found myself reciting Psalm 121:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
Who made Heaven and Earth.

As I prayed I found my tears taking over, along with a feeling of being safe in the arms of God. That is what I need most to experience and remember no matter what the challenges of life are or will be.

More Bells, More Prayers, More Services

Do you recall an earlier post when I emphasized the significance of all of those loudspeakers atop the minarets in Turkey? Maybe you also recall the story I shared about helping to ring the church bell, when I was around seven years old, at the Federated Church of Busti, New York. I was trying to accent in that blog the value of these loud and undeniable calls to prayer and worship. Everyone who hears these reverberations knows they are being reminded, or in some cases warned, to create spiritual rhythms in their life.
This evening, from the window in my small but private room at Gethsemani Abbey, a Trappist Monestary in Kentucky, I can see the building where the Monks live, a parking lot and some of the grounds. And in fifteen minutes the church bells will ring calling us to put aside all work to attend the 7:30 service called Compline. The Monks will then retire to their quarters so they can wake up around 3:15 A.M. for the first service of the new day, called “Vigils.”

The offices of the day are:
Vigils 3:15 A.M.
Lauds 5:45 A.M.
MASS 7:00 A.M.
Terce 7:30 A.M.
Sext 12:15 P.M.
None 2:15 P.M.
Vespers 5:30 P.M.
Compline 7:30 P.M.

I probably will attend six of these services (between 15 and 30 minutes long) and you can probably guess the two that I will avoid. Still, the bells will ring to signal the opportunity that belongs equally to the Monks and the Guests, to organize our days around prayer and worship. What would it be like to organize our days around prayer and worship instead of around work or details or obligations or entertainment or chatter?
Well, that is what I’m here to find out, to spend five days experiencing what it is like to seek a life that centers on prayer and then to find a way, should I so choose, to elevate being in the presence of God to time commitment # 1 in my life.

By the way, Compline is my favorite office of the day. I discovered this during my first retreat at a Trappist Monestary, in 1984. Two other Baptist pastors and I went for five days to the Spencer Abbey in Massachusetts. I found the songs and prayers of Compline to be peaceful and reassuring. Here is one chanted song:

Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray,
That with thy gracious favor thou wouldst be
Our guard and keeper now.

From fears and terrors of the night
Defend us, Lord, by thy great might,
And when we close our eyes in sleep
Let hearts, and Christ, their vigil keep.

Also, I’ve started thinking what I could do to have some kind of reminder announce to me each day when it is time to pray. Maybe there is a Trappist Monk somewhere in the world who could take it as his vocation to call me seven times a day? Would an alarm on my sort of smart phone accomplish this purpose? Could the alarm on my phone sound like Trappist bells or the bells of my childhood?

I'm Thinking About Culture

The two signs in these attached photos point us in the direction of beautiful and healthful walks. We all need to be guided by more signs like these while, at the same time, being led away from aspects of our lives, like mind numbing and endless entertainment, that diminish vitality.

My first mission trip to Romania, in 1982, was the most transformational experience of my life. I experienced God there, many times and in many ways. Baptists survived under communist oppression by trusting God. I longed to experience such faith and the rest of my life, up to the present moment, has been lived in pursuit of this goal.

I observed this faith and hope and trust the first night in Romania in the city of Arad. Before the dinner and service at one of their churches we stood around outside our hotel and observed hundreds of Romanians walking past us. It was a gruesome sight!!! They walked like Zombies. Rigid. Emotionless. Saying nothing. Apparently frightened. Turning neither to the left or the right. It was a gruesome sight--walking was an expression of their barren emotional lives and their dead souls. However, later that night as we broke bread with our Christian brothers and sisters, and later as we worshiped in a standing room only church--with dozens more crowded outside near the windows--I began to understand how Christianity can transform culture, how faith can overwhelm despair, how life inside the Body of Christ can resurrect the death outside.

I wish you could have been with me ten years later when I returned to Arad, Romania to lead Evangelistic services at the Golgatha Baptist Church. The peaceful revolution and the overthrow of Communism had also overthrown many facets of Romanian culture. People walking by the river laughed and played. Even outside the church newly free Romanians we drinking deep from the fountain of liberty.

I tell you that story, and posted the two photos of trail signs at the beginning of this blog, in order to make a point about culture. CULTURE CAN CHANGE. People can change. People can learn to walk with joy in their hearts and appreciation for the creation in their souls. We can learn to walk and talk again, even after years of sitting around seeking entertainment. In fact, the church, in its responsibility for discipling believers, is exactly the place people can be taught such transformations. Worship can teach how to live in the world without being dominated by the world.

All in all, it seems to me that there is plenty of time for all of us to learn how to be in the world without being of the world. Just reduce the time we dedicate to entertainment and assign that time to building community.

What aspect of your life is lived too much "of the world?" Are you interested in transformation? Maybe we should keep in mind those gruesome Romanian walkers from 1982. Maybe we should ask where in our lives we look like that.

Turkish Tea or Time for TV?

The third photo I have posted with this blog entry has my guide,Gokhan Yaramis, and his friend hanging out and about to share a cup of tea. Gokhan was a "guide's guide" and other guides often called him or stepped up to him seeking information or insight for the tourists they were leading. Every time we visited a new sight our visit would include tea and time with friends. One evening, when I was staying at Gokhan's house, we got back from a dinner theater event about 11:30. I was totally exhausted but he politely asked me if it would be OK for him to go next door to spend some time with friends. Gokhan returned two hours later.

Six nights of my last two weeks in Turkey were spent staying in the homes of friends. Hospitality was extraordinary. Often the evenings were spent in the town with groups of Gokhan's friends, talking about everything. A national election was coming up and everyone was taking seriously their responsibility to think about politics and to vote. In other words, these conversations over tea or Turkish coffee--and sometimes the national alcoholic beverage, Rakhi--meant something. They meant friendship and they meant dialog about decisions that counted.

On the other hand, no one in any of the homes I visited, ever turned on the TV. Rarely were Turks too busy for each other and rarely were they too busy for tea. Even long trips in the car were punctuated by tea breaks. I myself took a couple of these breaks while driving across the mountains to the Mediteranean Sea. Everyone has time for Tea but within present day Turkish culture, few people have time for endless and meaningless entertainment.

What does this cultural difference between the USA and Turkey suggest to you about your life? To me about my life? I've been wondering if I could declare Fridays, for example, to be Teadays by setting time aside just to be with the tea, and with you. What do you think?

This photograph was taken on Kathy's camera so I just found it and thought you might like to see us eating ice cream on what felt like the top of the world; actually the top of the cliff on which the village of Santorini is built. This is one of the Greek Islands we visited while on a three day cruise on the Agean Sea.

Beautiful places discovered when they are not expected are one of the reasons Kathy and I love to travel.

Soon,
Ken

POSTSCRIPT TURKEY

 
Postscript Turkey. 

 On the last day of my driving adventure in Turkey, experiencing as much as I could of the 560 miles between Cappadocia and the Mediterranean Sea, I battled my way through the traffic of the magnificent city of Konya in search of the Mevlana Museum.  I had known a few things about the 13^th Century Sufi Muslim mystic, Jelaluddin Rumi, for many years.  But of late I had been turning to him more and more as I sought to understand the soul of Islam.

Rumi is said to have said:

                “The past has vanished.

            Everything that was uttered belongs there.

            Now is the time to speak of new things.”

These are simple and beautiful words and they are also wise and hopeful words.  Something different is needed in our world than the thoughts and actions of the past.   Looking only to the past we will likely find plenty of reason for fear and mistrust.   A future of prosperity and peace requires that we strive together to find every possible good reason to believe in each other and to respect what the other believes.

Did I find such good reasons in Turkey, which was after all my primary goal for traveling there?  Absolutely!  The first day to the last my month in Turkey were filled with experiences and people and insights that declare loudly that we can COEXIST with our Abrahamic brothers and sisters.  I learned that the people of Turkey can and desire to have a very significant role in the future we are building together.

Also, and very important, I have discovered in the past ten days back in the states that my interest in Turkey and its people and its role in the world, and my interest in Islam have not declined since my return.   I have continued writing to friends in Turkey and I have continued reading books.

My new favorite book on Turkey is entitled, Crescent and Star; Turkey Between Two Worlds, by Stephen Kinzer, who for five years was the bureau chief for the New York Times in Istanbul.  Do you recall how many people asked me, “Why go to Turkey?”  This is KInzer’s answer to that question:

                “When the first edition of this book appeared in 2001, Turkey was the most fascinating country in the world.  It still is.  Other than that, almost everything about Turkey has changed.”

Kinzer believes that the future of the world is as much in the hands of  the people of Turkey as any other people.

            “For centuries they shaped world history and the not so distant memory of Ottoman glory allows them to believe they can do so again.”

Among many meanings of this affirmation are that Turkey and its people are probably the strongest force in the world for illuminating the way for Muslims who hope to be both faithful and democratic.

Will I return to Turkey?  It’s certainly possible and I would love to do so, but on the other hand the answers to questions like this—question about the purpose of our lives and our destinies—are hidden in the stars, only to be revealed at exactly the right time.  One thing I do know, if I do return to Turkey and if I do value my life I had better take my wife, Kathy, with me to be overwhelmed by the sights of Cappadocia.  Some things do not take a lot of insight to understand.

Far From Home

“Lord I’m one, Lord I’m two, Lord I’m three, Lord I’m four, Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home.  Away from home, away from home, away from home, away from home, Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home.”

The above words were from a folk song we sang in my growing up years.  The  essence of the song was whether or not the traveler could depend on God in the new circumstances of his life.  Well, could he?  Can we?  Or are we afraid to begin the journey because we don’t know how help will be given along the way?  How often do people not start out on a journey because they are afraid they will not have the necessary resources to complete their travels?

In effect that was the  motivation for my final travels across Turkey.  I was in the Cappadocian  region of Turkey and I wanted to get to the Mediterranean coast, specifically to visit a mountain gorge in the small town of Saklikent.  I also just wanted to spend some time besides the sea.  The challenge was that Urgup and Saklikent are five hundred miles apart with no direct public transportation.  I would have to rent a car and with very limited language skils navigate the roads between the cities, across a very wide and high mountain range and through two major cities, Antalya and Konya.  Wanting to minimize my  spending of remaining Turkish Lira, I would also need to get off the beaten tourist path for lodging.

Everything went very well.  I drove more than a thousand miles in three days and spent two nights beside the Mediterranean in Kemer and was surprised by the height and breadth of the mountains and took time to have tea with many strangers along the way, and spent most of a day in the very lovely and roaringly beautiful Saklikent Gorge. 

And I learned once again that I could both find my way and find help whenever it was needed—though I did have to give up on figuring out the wireless internet at my Turkish hotel.

I returned the car to Urgup in Cappadocia and stayed overnight with my new friend Gorkan and the next morning flew  back to Istanbul for my final four nights in Turkey.  Friends here are providing me a place to rest and write and work on photographs so that I can arrive back home more ready to set off on the next adventure.

I have learned more in Turkey than I could ever imagine but one thing I am certain of is this is a beautiful, safe, welcoming and amazingly diverse place for anyone to travel and to learn to trust the goodness of others and the provision of God.

A Few Photos of ballooning over Cappadocia

Yesterday's Trekking in the Valleys of Cappadocia

A Church Full of Sinners

At dinner yesterday, enjoying  lentil soup and borak and  salad and chicken wings, my guide, Gorkey, suddenly asked me a question.  “Are there much sinners in your church?”  Even though we had discussed religion and our lives quite a bit, I was caught off guard by this inquiry.  I paused for about 10 seconds trying to decide if I would say something funny about a church overflowing with sins.  I decided on a different approach.  “We don’t emphasize sin that much in our church.  Yes, people sin and with God’s help can sin less often.  But we are more interested in encouraging people to live their lives on God’s side, to be people of justice and peace and love.  Then sin more or less takes care of itself.”

In response, Gorky slapped me on the back and proclaimed, “Good for you Ken.” 

Today Gorky wanted to know why protestants call their leaders “Pastors.”  He said that pastor means shepherd in Spanish and who would want a shepherd for a leader?  Every flock of sheep and every herd of cows has a shepherd in Turkey. “Why not priest? Gorky asked.   I reminded him that a shepherd cares for the sheep and protects them and I added that the image comes from the Bible, that Jesus was the great shepherd of the people, the one they could recognize and the one they could trust.

Priest is a very different image, I added.  The priest leads rituals that represent people before God.  We believe that each person can talk to God for themselves.  You can pray and listen to God.  No one has to tell you what God says.

Gorky responded, “I like this.  Right now I am your shepherd in Cappadocia but I can teach you to see Cappadocia for yourself.”

I’ve been thinking a lot on this trip about what churches consider most important, “Job 1.”  For the first two weeks of our trip we traveled with 39 American Christians and almost all of them thought that Job 1 for the Christian is being prepared for the second coming of Christ---and He is coming soon!  That’s why they were so enthusiastic about traveling in Asia Minor to see the seven churches of Revelation for themselves.  Some of them stood in Laodicia, for example, and were thrilled to hear the scriptures read that warmed the church of Laodicia how they  must change.  For me these places were interesting and informative but I was not inspired to deep emotion.  Others were.  I on the other hand was deeply moved by the visit to Corinth and the reading of 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter.  I was inspired that Paul, so long ago, sent a message of love to these Christians whom he personally loved.   We made some wonderful friends on that trip but as Christians our priorities are very different.

So, here is my list of some of the possible primary purposes of the church and of Christians.  And I can tell you, what a church/Christian decides makes all the difference in the world.  I am putting them in my order of importance, but this order is subject to change and addition,

1)       Building the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven.  Justice, peace, love.

2)      Being people of prayer and devotion.   Spiritual growth and maturing in Christ.

3)      Repentance from sin and personal devotion.  Heaven and hell.

4)      Personal holiness.  Unflinching commitment to codes of conduct.

5)      The Return of Jesus at the end of time.  Being ready for what God does next.

Please think about this.  What does each possibly priority mean for what God requires of us?

120000 Varieties of Fragile Flowers

120,000 Varieties of Fragile Flowers

The number seems hard to believe. Could there be 120,000 varieties of flowers in the entire world? Yet, this is what my guide told me in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Ankara has a Peace Park that has gathered 120,000 varieties of flowers from around the world. Think about that! How much effort would it take to gather and plant and tend that many flowers?

The symbolism of the Peace Park is that it takes less effort to gather and plant and tend 120,000 varieties of flowers from around the world that it takes to have a war. Peace requires effort and peace requires respect for the contributions of all the Peoples of the Earth. Why are we so unwilling to work at peace? The symbolism is also that like flowers, Peace is fragile and it must be nurtured with deep and loving care.
Yesterday Gorky, my guide, told me of a village is south eastern Turkey with approximate equal numbers of Syrian Christians, Jews and Moslems who live together in peace. We talked also about the latest news coming out of Egypt. Gorky believes that Turkey is a model for other Muslim countries on how to be a modern , democratic and religiously open country that celebrates its diversity.

When we arrived at my cave hotel in Cappadocia, signing in was like nothing I have heard of before. I was ushered into a beautiful Turkish lounge and seated on a bench covered with beautiful carpets. I was offered my choice of welcome beverages and chose red wine made in Cappadocia. The manager joined us to take care of a few details and welcome me warmly. Like others had done throughout the trip, he asked me about my "COEXIST" necklace. I explained and he shared with me his knowledge about another community in southeast Turkey that had chosen to celebrate its diversity and affirm people of all faiths. Doesn’t it start to seem like there are people and forces at work all over the world that work for peace?

In the Istanbul airport I bought an English copy of Time Magazine. One of the cover stories was entitled, "EGYPT: Christians and Muslims Start a New Conversation." In the wake of the Turkish Rebellion, there were sporadic outbreaks of religious violence. In response to one threat, "A group of young Muslims and Christian leaders in Cairo who had worked together during the revolution swept into Sol to address the situation. The group was building on the spirit of Muslin-Christian partnership that had developed in Tahrir Square. Day after day during the revolution, Christians locked arms to protect Muslims during prayers. Muslims did the same for Christians during Mass. Muslims and Christians linked arms to protect Cairo’s historic synagogue. The protesters even adopted an interlocking crescent and cross as their symbol of a new Egypt…A popular televangelist, Amr Khaled, often called Egypt’s Billy Graham," told the crowd, "My message today for Muslims and Christians is, ‘Let’s be one hand.’"

my hotel in cappacocia

it is phenomenal to me that i get to stay in Cappadocia for five nights with the possibility of a couple of more.  by the way i am typing on a turkish keyboard which has a lot of variations with ours.  i can get the periods about right so that may help you to read.  cappadocia is one of the most spectacular places in the world and has been in my heart to visit for a decade.  many of the rock formations and stunning features of the landscape are similar to places like the bad lands of south dakota and zion national park and other incredible places in the states.  the difference is that cappadocia also vibrates with history and spirituality and the extraordinary capacities of human beings to live in their environments.  For example today we visited eight cave churches carved out of solid rock.  i will try to post some photos tomorrow.  the cave churches were constructed between the eighth and  13th centuries and the most beautiful ones were within the complex of a monestary.  Being also the site of much education the churches were decorated with frescoes that tell most of the important bible stories plus other stories important to the religioous community.  

For example in one frescoe in the SANDAL CHURCH we see depicted the Sultan Mesud the second wearing a turban standing with and shaking hands with a  Christian saint with the usual halo surrounding the head in order to declare to their communities and to the future that moslems and christians are children of the same God.

their was a very serene and loving feeling in these cave churches...

What Is Turkey All About? Or, Turkish Flies Fly Fast

.

Turkish Flies Fly Fast

We stayed for two nights in a five star Turkish hotel on the Agean Sea.  One afternoon prior to dinner I was trying to use their wireless internet connection in the lobby. (Technology failed again.)  The doors of the hotel were wide open to the sea as it was a beautiful  and warm day.  But flies were everywhere.  I pride myself on my ability to kill  flies bare handed but I kept missing.  I focused more on the task and mostly kept missing the flies, and had to come to the conclusion that Turkish Flies Fly Fast.  Some things you just have to observe for yourself.

What is Turkey all about?  Some things you just have to observe for yourself.  Many people in the states have fear-based impressions of Turkey .  Our understanding of Turkey, past and present, is grounded on very limited experiences and knowledge and impressions that make Turkey an unattractive destination and an undependable ally and a spiritual protagonist.  Personally, I was most interested in the possible role of Turkey, very much a Muslim AND democratic nation, as an alternative to Islamic States where Islamic law (sharia)  is enforced, often oppressively, on everyone. 

Conclusion, thus far:  Turkey is a modern, secular, democratic, and economically prosperous country that may, we can hope, be a powerful example to other Moslem countries about how Islam can be both vibrant  and democratic.  Turkey, at least the western half of the country where most tourists go, is safe and has an exciting history and is historically a unique meeting place of cultures and religions.  In the midst of the current global economic  crisis, Turkey has the second fastest growing economy in the world.  It’s commitment to democracy and to religious freedom is intense among most of the people.  That commitment has a symbol, in the founder of the modern Turkish nation, Ataturk (Father of the Turks), who reminds the Turks how important mutual respect and tolerance are.    There are definitely forces that would subvert the country’s commitment to democracy but over and over again I have spoken to people who are determined that their country will remain free of dogmatic religious influence.  By being a strong ally to Turkey, by visiting and making friends,  by letting go of fear, we can support the forces for freedom.

We ran into some amazing symbols of religious tolerance and mutual respect in Turkey.  A few days ago we visited the site of the ancient city of Sardis, one of the twelve cities mentioned in Revelation.   One of the buildings, a treasury, had fallen into ruin as the result of an earthquake.  In 200 A.D., when persecution was still severe against the Christians and Jews.Someone had carved a series of symbols into one column.  These symbols may be hard to see in the photo but they were very clear  in person.  Growing out of a Jewish Menorah was a Christian Cross and beside these on the left side was an olive branch, then as now a symbol of peace.  In a Roman City, 170 years  after the crucifixion of Jesusmsomeone seemed to be saying the known world, “Peace requires tolerance and respect.”  Our faiths grow out of each other and we must respect our common origins and shared beliefs.

Islam and Christianity and Judaism grow from the same tree.  That tree is Abraham who taught us all to believe in One God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Merciful One, Giver of every good and perfect gift.

Let there be peace on earth among all of God's chldren, nations and peoples.

Beautiful, Stunnning, ,And Once Again, Frightening

 Hello World!  This is easily the most beautiful day of our  trip thus far,. but I only have a few minutes to tell you about it. We are sitting atop the Greek Island of Santorini and Kathy is out and about spending our money of gifts for the grandchildren.    She has great tastes.  In 15 minutes I am hoping to SKYPE my church.  (After ten days of technology failures, we finally did connect to the church in Springfeld by way of the gracious offer of a cafe owner in Santorini.  The way it worked out was quite miraculous.)

And Kathy put God's care to the test again by agreeing to ride mules with me up the incredible steep slope of this gorgeous village.  At one point she fearfully took her right hand off the "handle" that kept her on her mule, reaching out for me.  She started falling off!!!  Fortunately I was in a position to push her back on.  She tells me she has no memory of the whole event.That's what fear does to  you--though I was very proud of Kathy just getting on the mule, after her last experience riding in the Grand Canyon.

Kathy hopes we can return to Santorini some day on a vacation.

The Terrifying Taxi Ride Through Istanbul

I will let Kathy tell you most of the details when we return from Turkey.  Suffice it to say for the purposes of this  blog that my hand will be permanently scarred from where Kathy dug in as our driver played bumber cars with dozens of other vehicles and pedestrians.  I, on the other hand, thought the whole situation was very funny and I gloated at Kathy’s weakness—until one of my own was revealed.  After 15 minutes on the Taxi roller coaster I began to get car sick and then sick of being in the car and I barely held on until we stopped.  I just wanted out of that taxi and I did not care that neither Kathy nor I were certain we were anywhere near our destination.

But the real point of this illustration—besides getting your attention—is that in the first two days of our visit to Istanbul, Turkey, twice, in order to find exciting and inspiring destinations that  were not on our itinerary—Kathy had researched them on the internet—twice we had to escape the relative security of our tour group to find our own way around in a strange city.

Altogether, what great experiences these were!   We did take some risks—ask us about more of the details—but we had amazing experiences and met equally amazing people.

You may recall from other blog posts that one of my goals for this journey was to be a traveler rather than a tourist, especially to meet people along the way with whom, in our diversity, we could become friends and learn how Christians and Moslems can be brothers and sisters.  We were standing in line to buy tickets for one of the incredible sights of Istanbul, an underground cistern built in the 6^th century.  On top of the cistern still stands a sultan’s palace

Anyway, we  were in line and began a conversation with a young couple.  One thing led to another, as they always do in the Kingdom of God.  As I got to the ticket booth I knew I was supposed to buy their tickets.  So I did and I handed them their tickets and they protested strongly.  But we worked it out and agreed they would host us for coffee plus after our underground excursion.  We began a friendship that has potential to continue and talked about many of the important issues—tough questions of theology and politics-- we had come to Turkey to learn about.  Actually, I was pretty much awed by the depth of this encounter and also the fact that it happened so quickly after our arrival.  Knowing now that Mustafa was of one mind with me on the importance of building  respect among our religious traditions, I gave him one of the five COEXIST necklaces I had brought to Turkey to share with soul mates I met along the way.

(Please pardon the delay in beginning to publish this blog from
Turkey.  Severe technical difficulties had to be overcome.  I think we are now full speed ahead.  KCW)

The Next Step Beyond fear

     As a parent and as a pastor I have watched many people take their next step beyond fear.  In one of our recent Baptism services I baptized a young man who, unknown to me, was terrified of going under the water. He wanted to be baptized in the "best way" and so was willing to take the next step beyond his fear.  By the way, even as he surrendered in Baptism to God he fought me with all his physical strength.  I barely got him under the water.  I came perilously close to losing my grip on him.  What have you wanted so much that you were willing to take the next step beyond your fear?  Is there someone you trust enough to know they will not lose their grip on you?
     Over the past weekend, and with much help from my wife Kathy and daughter Lauren, I took my five grandchildren on an exciting outing.  We stayed two nights at the indoor water slide park, Fort Rapids, in Columbus.  One deeply rewarding facet of this experience was watching my granddaughter Elaina, age 4, take her next step beyond fear.  A couple of us tried to get Elaina to play under the water falls and go down the children's slides.  But she kept telling us that she didn't like getting water in her eyes.  We pushed her a bit.  She resisted more until finally all Elaina would do was to sit in a chair by the pool watching all of the other children delightfully playing.  This went on for about an hour and I finally acknowledged that Elaina would have to overcome her fear in her own way and time.
     Suddenly Elaina darted from her chair.  She is a runner and can disappear faster than ice cream on a hot summer day.  I chased her--but kept my distance.  She played near some other children in the shallow pool.  Gradually her play became more joyful.  Soon it was time for supper.
     We came back the next morning and Elaina headed for the same quiet pool, with one alert adult or the other always ready to pursue her at a moments notice.  Then, in the fullness of her own time, Elaina was ready and she darted towards the falls and the smaller slides.  Her delight and self-confidence grew.  Elaina took her next step beyond fear.
     What about you and me?  Do we take our next steps beyond fear because someone pushes usor because our eyes are on some kind of prize, like freedom, or adventure or joy or love, and we finally decide that the reward is worth the risk?
     Perfect love casts out fear.  What kinds of love?  Love for oneself.  Love for family.  Love for God.  Love for all of God's Children.

     Lots of Americans are afraid of Moslems and their real and imagined connections to terrorism.  Americans and Moslems are, in actual fact, a threat to each others perceived self-interest.  We are afraid of each other's religions because Islam and Christianity have committed atrocities against each other.  For me, what I must do to transcend this fear is to remember prayerfully that we are all children of God and God longs for us to COEXIST and RESPECT and LOVE each other.  Even my imperfect love for God casts out fear.  As I look forward to being in Turkey for almost a month my fear is not that harm will come to me.  My fear is that nothing deeply meaningful will come of this, especially that no life changing relationships will be birthed.  I journey in search of other faces of God seen especially in the faces of the Children of god.
     May we all follow the example of my granddaughter Elaina in learning to let go of fear.  Love, Ken

My Opinion--A Few Days Delayed

     A few friends have asked me how I "feel" about traveling to Turkey in the wake of the world's reactions to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.  They know that my prayer is that I will not be in Turkey just as a tourist but that I will be a traveler among potential friends and dedicated experiences--experiences dedicated to brotherhood/sisterhood, just like all the experiences with all of God's children are supposed to be for Christians--and I believe for Moslems too.
     Many friends and family members have sent me their responses to the death of Al Queda's truly vile and violent ruler.  I have watched as many news reports and read as much as I could about both the Special Forces Operation and the reactions of people near at hand and far away.  And I am finally ready to add my thoughts to the ongoing conversation.
      All nations, influenced by the principalities and powers of the world, are ambiguous when it comes to good and evil.  Some, like Hitler's Germany and the Grand Inquisitor's Spain, seem to have been swallowed up by monstrous evil.  But no nation-state, people, empire, or confederacy is a perfect reflection of God's perfect Kingdom, which exists fully only in Heaven.  This Kingdom of God is a reign of perfect justice, peace and love. We pray for this Kingdom to come on Earth as it is in Heaven..  No effort of Christians is more important that striving for the advancement of this Kingdom.  But no decision of any political people unambiguously builds the Kingdom of God. Some decisions and policies and even some acts of violence are less imperfect than others and Christians who are good citizens try to influence their countries to do the maximum good possible in any situation.  
     The assassination of Osama Bin Ladin was an imperfect good.  Most of us feel better because he is dead. Citizens of many countries and even many Moslems feel better because he is dead.  We have a feeling of satisfaction; a feeling that a horrible wrong has been made right.  I read a story about a ten year old boy who lost his adoring father in the 9/11 inferno.  Hearing the news report on Bin Ladin's death, he went to his mother and they wept together.  Together they felt relief that the mass-murderer had been brought to justice.  Justice for them included closure.
     Yet, almost immediately we begin to ask questions that point out the ambiguity of this justice.  For example, some information used in tracking down Osama Bin Ladin came from the victims of torture at the hands of their American captors.  Many of these tortured captives knew nothing useful.   What policies on torture and assassination should guide the foreign policy of our country?  Do you and I have different answers to this question when we are seeking to be good citizens than when we are seeking to be radical followers of Jesus?
     When are most Christians in the United States of America going to take seriously the clear and dramatic and consistent and persistent teaching of Jesus that we are to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us?  Jesus never instructed his followers to be people of violence.  We are always to be people of peace.  For the First Three Hundred years the church of Jesus Christ followed this practice to the letter.  Today most Christians say  this practice of non-violence is impractical.  Impractical!  Egypt is not even a Christian nation and they just practiced non-violence to overthrow an oppressive government.  If the Egyptians, and many others, can do this, when are Christians going to believe again?

This photo was taken today towards the end of our Celebration Dinner.  We welcomed Allison Vorhees as our Sabbatical Interim and celebrated the beginning of the Sabbatical Season.  Today, according to our plan, was my last Sunday in the pulpit until after the Sabbatical, on August 14.  On the left side of this photo is my friend and new church moderator, Curtis Fett.  Curtis will have the major role in making sure that Alli is supported in her ministry with First Baptist and that we help her grow in her vocation of Christian Ministry.

Next Sunday is the first day of the Sabbatical--it is really here!!!  Many many preparations have been made.  Plans have been carefully thought through.  But now it falls to all of us to watch and see how God is active in this time and how we each are called to follow God's lead.  The first few day of the sabbatical will actually be spent with other members of the church as we learn together how to use a software program entitled, "Media Shout" which runs the media "show" every Sunday at our church.  We have a consultant coming to teach us and will also use a program called, "Media Shout University."  The first significant event of the sabbatical is the weekend of May 13 when my five grandchildren and I will stay at an indoor water park called, Fort Rapids.  I can hardly wait.  Five days later we fly to Istanbul, Turkey.  During that time you may want to check this blog often.  There are sure to be a lot of postings.

Looking forward...

Ministry to the Diversity of Our City

The Baptism of New Believers last July

On Easter Sunday morning we will baptize two new believers from death into life.  They will rise, with Jesus, from darkness into light.  But, specifically, what is each of these two women being baptized FROM and INTO?

I believe that being baptized FROM death and darkness has a different meaning for each believer and that being baptized INTO life and light has a different meaning for each believer.  On Easter Sunday one woman (Details are modified for the sake of confidentiality.) will be baptized from the death of broken relationships and poverty into the life of a community committed to her relational and economic prosperity.  The other woman will be baptized from the death and darkness of isolation and sorrow into the new life of belonging and joy.  In the past year or so, we have baptized ten other new believers and each of them was experiencing death in a particular way and each of them has been finding life in a way uniquely suited to their life situation.  I have asked them a few well placed questions and learned that these new believers are able to give voice to the specific form of life they are experiencing on their journeys toward the light.

Though we don't usually talk about ministry to the diversity of the city in this way, I am convinced that this is the most important meaning of diversity.  It takes into account two major principles:  1) The importance and uniqueness of the individual and 2) The primary meaning of salvation.

When new believers come to our church--this is the ideal that we hope happens--we promise them that tomorrow can be very different from today.  Life can begin again and it can be abundant life beyond anyone's expectation.  Immediately they know what I am talking about because they came to church, and to Christ, to find a particular kind of abundant life.  One Sunday about a year ago a man came forward to seek Baptism and as we were talking, so I could introduce him to the church, he said to me, "I broke my relationship with my son.  I want that relationship back.  Pray for me and my son."  We are still praying and we helped him to enroll in an awesome fatherhood program offered by Christians in our city.  The individual, loved unconditionally by God, is job one.

Let me be very direct about this.  Though many Christian Evangelism programs focus on heaven and hell, by asking questions like, "If you died today where would you spend eternity?" no one who has come forward in our church to accept Christ and seek Baptism has ever had heaven and hell as a primary concern.  Actually, none of them have ever expressed to me that heaven and hell were a secondary concern.   I am sure this will come up later, but not today.  New believers in our church have a lot in common with people who have grown up in poverty.  Their needs are immediate.  Their longings are for a better life, TODAY.  If you want to connect the Good New of Jesus to their lives, you must hang the gospel on the hook of their expressed needs. The way I see salvation, this is exactly as it should be.  First and foremost God's salvation is about life lived today in the light of the love of Christ.

This experience of salvation is available to everyone, one new believer at a time.  And this understanding of salvation can begin to overcome the damage done by adherents of various religions that condemn each other to hell.

This conclusion is directly connected to my sabbatical, especially my hope that during my journey to Turkey I will form relationships with Muslims who are living transparently in the light.  I can read many books and hear many theories.  But peace and unity in our world--an easing of the dark and deadly divisions among religious groups--are not built upon the sand of theories.  Rather, it is the rock of relationships that will change the world.

Much more will be said about this.

The Subject Is Prayer

Some of you know that a long time ago, since around 1981, I very suddenly began to get very serious about prayer.  Over time prayer became so much the center of my life and ministry that some friends told me I was a mystic.  Sometimes I saw myself that way, especially in times when I was paying deep attention to my spiritual life and was equally devoted to nurturing the spiritual lives of the people who called me "pastor."  I also know, for an absolute fact, that when I stay close to God amazing things happen; sermons are birthed in a micro-second, answers are given before questions are asked, I show up in the nick of time and others arrive in my life before I knew I needed them.

Leading a church in the year 2011 and preparing at the same time to go on a sabbatical--to say nothing of spending as much time as possible with my wife, children and grandchildren--has lately made it extremely difficult to take time for prayer.   (Exercise has also been short shifted recently.)  However, one aspect of my sabbatical preparations has been to get to know more about Islam and to meet some real flesh and blood Muslims.  There is a lot to learn and I still do not have anything like a significant friendship with a Muslim, but one thing that is impossible to miss in even casual encounters is that Muslims are people of prayer.  Formal prayer.  Disciplined prayer.  Prayer grounded in their holy book and the life of their prophet.  Frequent prayer.  Prayer in community.    Over and over I read and hear about the Muslim's commitment to pray five times a day, ritualized prayers memorized from the traditions of their faith.

I hardly ever pray prayers memorized from the traditions of my faith.  I take scant advantage--or at least I have of late--of the rich resources of prayer in my Christian tradition. "Not good," I told myself a few weeks ago.  I need to add something very significant to my practice of prayer.  This is what happened.

I decided that I would decide on five prayers or scriptures that were especially meaningful to me at this time in my life.  I would commit these five to memory and I would pray them all, in sequence, a couple of times a day.  I did this and I am continuing to do it and it has been making all the difference in my connection to God and in my life.  The five are:  1)  The Jesus Prayer,  ("Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner.) 2)  The Lord's Prayer,  3)  The 23rd Psalm, 4)  Isaiah 40:28-31,  5) John 3:16-17.

One great difficulty I have with prayer is that I get DISTRACTED, BIG TIME!  I am one of those people who can listen to a lecture only if I am doodling.  I would need something physical to help me to focus on my five prayers.  Muslims help focus their prayers by bowing towards Mecca.  I thought about bowing to our family homestead in the Catskill Mountains, but that smacked just a bit of idolatry.  After a couple of experiments I settled on taking advantage of our church sanctuary which is definitely sacred space for me.  I visualize five places in the sanctuary, one for each prayer.  Four of the places are the corners and the fifth is the communion table at the front/center of the church.  I don't know why it works, but focusing my attention on these places helps me to stay focused on each prayer.  And when I am so focused and pray each prayer I feel the message of each prayer deeply, I experience the power of each prayer to draw me close to God and to change the way I am living my life.

I think it would be wise for anyone who wants to pray in a similar way to first pray for God's guidance in choosing the prayers and scriptures and I also think it would be wise to change the prayers and scriptures now and then according to the spiritual needs of one's life.

May your life of prayer be a blessing to you, giving you the grace and power to be a blessing to others.

The Subject is Worship

Worship is one of the major themes of my sabbatical,  It is also one of the arenas of church life that, at First Baptist, needs the most transformation.  It is an arena of church life that matters to a lot of our people--enough so that quite a few people have been impatient with our lack of progress over the past five years.   At various times I have tried to make significant steps forward  but I always encountered enough non-interest and resistance to cause me to keep worship transformation on the back burner.  This was frustrating but necessary.

Without having resolved the non-interest and resistance to worship change, we still included it as a major theme in the proposal we wrote to the Lilly Endowment for a sabbatical grant.  Maybe this was wishful thinking but when I was writing the grant proposal and listening to the input of others for the proposal it seemed like this might just be the time.  The sabbatical might create the context for us to become truly innovative with worship.

So far I would say that this is exactly what has been happening.  The sabbatical has created opportunities to explore and experiment with worship.  Worship Services on Sundays February 27 and March 6 were set aside for some experiments in designing worship in new and creative ways.  Three lay members of a worship design team worked with me to create two services on the themes of 'Life Is Difficult," and "Leadership."   We will meet soon to evaluate and learn from these experiences.

During the sabbatical each of the three lay members who designed the two services mentioned above will be forming their own worship design team.  We are trying to involve as many people as possible in planning and leading worship.  Each team will begin to plan some of our worship services between May 8 and August 13 by meeting and reading the appropriate lectionary texts and agreeing on a theme.  Our sabbatical interim, Allison Voorhees, will meet with each of the teams and will have a significant role in all of the services during the sabbatical.

I will make a continuing contribution to many of these services.  Once the design teams have chosen worship themes, I will be creating worship resources for the services based on my experiences during the sabbatical.  Learning to use Media Shout, the software the church uses to create our media show each Sunday. and growing my skills in digital photography will help me to make more creative and meaningful contributions to worship, now and in the future.

So, what about our worship is in the process of being transformed?  We are not seeking to transform worship by dramatically changing the kind of music we use using.  We are not going to focuse on what we title our emerging form of worship.  We are not trying to divide the church by declaring some practices of worship to be old-fashioned and others contemporary.  What is changing is the level of engagement in worship that our people have.  What is changing is the amount of time we spend together imagining the most powerful ways we can of praising God.

It is going to be very interesting to see how all of this evolves but it definitely seems that the sabbatical has created an exciting time in the life of our church when many things can be made new.