Congo Photo series 5

Some photos of "the women without homes" and other scenes from Congo....

Congo Photo series 4

Here are some photos from when I spoke to the soldiers on Integrity as a soldier and prevention of violence towards women. This group of officers and chaplains was a mix-match of Congolese soldiers, some of which were former rebels. It was daunting to stare in the faces of men who knew much more about war than I did. Deep within the "rape capital of the world", in a stick tent, I was given the opportunity to speak with the Governor of Kivu's assistant, Valare, about sexual violence towards women. It was incredible. I felt the prayers of the multitudes that day, and each word I uttered to these men I count as a gift from God. Never have I felt so exactly where I should be. There was no need to accuse the men so I just showed them using truth and scripture that it's our job to defend women and children, not rape them, not hurt them. With power comes responsibility....The men took it well and responded with words of affirmation that they will take this issue and discuss it with their men. After Valare, the assistant/counsel to the Governor, gave a sermon, somewhat about what I had spoken about, we were dismissed. An older man, a chaplain of some kind came up to me and said very slowly and deliberately, in broken English, "I. love. youu". It was beautiful and powerful. Thank you for your prayers....

Congo Photo series 3

Here are a few more photos of the Congo, the pastor's conference, and of the prostituted women's conference... such an incredible experience. God is moving...

Prayer request: Heather

Hey my beloved friends out there in the "real" world, please be in prayer for a dear friend here in Congo. Her name is Heather Wright and she's one of the teachers/helpers here at UCBC University here in Beni, DRC, where we are staying. She's an awesome woman of the Lord and has been such a servant to us on the MTS team in every way. In her past few months here she's had run-ins with Typhoid and Malaria and as a result contracted a kidney infection, which she's been fighting since. Now she is very sick and fears her kidneys may be shutting down. Eastern DRC is not the place to deal with such a serious situation so she may have to fly to Nairobi, but more likely, head back to Wisconsin for the treatment that she may require. It's a pretty serious situation and her prayer is that she will know what she should do, since leaving is not what she wants to do. Also, if God is willing, we pray that she would know healing. Please join me and our whole team in praying for this woman with a servant's heart for the Lord. Thanks!

Dan

Congo Photo series 2

Hello All, here is some more photos of me speaking, the conference, kids, people, you know... I'm taking hundreds and hundreds of photos, I look forward to getting them posted as long as we have internet (it's been down for the past two days)! I love you all, and know that the conferences are going amazing. Today a ton of people came to the Lord.....
Praise God!
dan

Congo Photo series 1

I want to share with you an amazing quote that my friend Lindsay (we went to Malawi together) sent to me, and is SO applicable to things here. Thank you Lindsay, continue your work for Him in Argentina. It's from "A life interrupted" about a girl in Aushwitz who was killed along with her family....

"Dear God, these are anxious times. Tonight for the first time I lay in the dark with burning eyes as scene after scence of human suffering passed before me. I shall promise you one thing, God, just one small thing; I shall not burden my today with cares about my tomorrow. I shall try to help you, God, to stop by strength from ebbing away... All that really matters is that we safeguard that little piece of you, God in ourselves. I defend your dwelling place inside me to the last... And there are those who want to put their bodies in safe keeping but who are nothing more than a shelter for a thousand fears and bitter feelings. And they say 'I shan't let them get me into their clutches', but they forget that no one is in their clutches who is in your arms "

Post 2: Congo & Hope

Friends:

Never have I been on the cutting edge of ministry as I am now. God is moving mightily. The Democratic Republic of Congo is simply different than anything else I’ve ever experienced. As the bush plane we took to the Congo descended into Beni over the lush rainforest of Ituri, I had to take a gasp at the immense beauty, never imagining the destruction and utter hopelessness that seemed to be all that I’d ever heard concerning this country to be true. But the people are lovely… and exploited and lied to and in bondage like I’ve never experienced before. Mending the Soul is here in Beni (now that Goma has fell back into violence) with the Congo Initiative to minister to the broken people of Congo. The rubber meets the road here. This is where the modern west and traditional Africa collide. This is where the bible meets myth. This is where colonization’s legacy is played out in ways that I could only dream of prior to experiencing it myself. The culture here is as far from mine, yet somehow so alike, as I can imagine. Africa has always posed a conundrum with me, and Congo has only further complicated that paradigm.

I don’t want to give too many details now until I’ve processed the complex situations that I’ve experienced since being involved with this, but the youth track of our complex has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. Healthy-sexuality has everything to do with everything in Africa. It is one of the most key aspects of every major issue in this amazing continent. One might not gather that when thinking of poverty, war, famine, and other issues commonly attributed to “the dark continent”, but the patriarchy, war, rape, family dysfunction, poverty, AIDS, corruption, and many other issues are intrinsically linked with sexuality. I’ve seen its destruction in America. Here it has defined life and death. There is hope with the youth though…. I have hope for them, we all do, and we know God is faithful to complete what He has started, for God is able to do ALL things, no matter the difficulty we perceive. Moment by moment we are all reminded just how much God has to be at the center of all of this. He is the ONLY hope for the Congo, no amount of “free love” and NGO aid will fix the issues of the DRC, and the greatest leaders of the Congo echo these sentiments. Only Christ can heal this land. Period. I won’t attempt to explain all the dynamics at this time, but I will tell you this: after copious amounts of facing the reality of abuse-acceptance, victim-blaming, traumatizing-rape stories, clergy-denial, and a profound misunderstanding of sexuality, there is hope. The people here have a respect for scripture that is allowing for repentance on a large scale and normal people going to great lengths to care for the abused and to change their country back for Christ.

I want to share with you a story. A story that could change your life. I’ve only just begun to understand what it means in my life. Read. Absorb. Be changed.

Last year when the MTS team was here in Beni with the Congo Initiative they traveled to the nearby city of Butembo and went to the local mental hospital. There they faced the reality and aftermath of war: raped women who were so traumatized they could no longer function. Rape is always evil, but the rape in Congo is of a caliber that it is hard to express the profound destruction that is given to women who experience this rape. Steve and Celestia Tracy, the founders of Mending the Soul Ministries (MTS), were there to minister to the people there, and met a woman who was so traumatized she no longer could do anything for herself. PTSD doesn’t even describe the reality this woman lived in, her eyes were hollow and blank. She had been brutally raped by the rebels while she lived in her village, and had gotten pregnant from that tragedy, and in turn resented the child, and to top it off her village had rejected her, leaving her socially ostracized. Hell was her life on earth. And it is in this dire existence lies the most amazing story of redemption ever told, a story that could change the world… Celestia took a photo of this woman, Nama, was here name. The photo captures Nama’s empty eyes, her empty soul. That photo came back to the United States, became a painting that was eventually put into an MTS healing workbook. It haunted the Tracy’s thoughts and prayers for a year. The debilitating trauma of rape in the eyes of those who have experienced it will do that to someone. They never forgot her. God answers prayers. This year as we were here in Beni, at the conference, the ladies who worked at that mental hospital were here reporting on their work with rape survivors. After they spoke, Celestia and Steve went and talked to the ladies and brought along that book with the photo of the woman in it. They asked the ladies “Do you know this woman?” and the ladies said, “Yes, we know this woman!” and Steve and Celestia said “We have been praying for her for a year now, how is she?!” and then the best story told in decades was unfolded from women whose eyes wept with the ramifications of epic.
“Her name is Nama, which means ‘Grace’ in Swahili”, they said. “She was one of the most traumatized women we’ve had, but God did a work through us to her. Over the past year she has healed from her abuse completely. She can function as a normal person, loves her child, has moved back to her village and again can work in the fields. She has experienced amazing healing and her love for Christ is real. God has done an incredible work in her! But there is more. The man who raped her, and left her with child, has left his evil life in the bush and has given his life to Christ. He repented from his sinful and destructive life and has sought to turn completely around. He is actually from the same village as Nama is from and now has fallen in love with Nama and they are to be married! He is submitting himself to the leadership and discipleship of the church for two years to ensure that he has thoroughly changed from his past and that he is the man he must be to marry this woman he nearly destroyed. He doesn’t do this because he feels he musts, or because of some cultural reason, but because he has turned away and experienced Christ!”

This story of redemption has the power to destroy our fragile framework about what is possible, and build up in that void the truth; God can do all things, and he can redeem fully all things.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Please pray earnestly for healing in this land. Thank You, Dan

Ps. I miss the comments at www.glocaldan.blogspot.com ! Hook a brutha up!

Post 1: Dubai

It is 1:35 AM in Dubai, U.A.E. and I spent my 4th of July flying over the US, Canada, France, most of middle Europe, Turkey, and best yet, IRAN. Iran was beautiful, and it was awesome to see a country most people never see. It was a great flight from Houston to Dubai!

It has been a long time since I've been to this wonderful place, but the people are even more friendlier than I'd remembered! Our time in Dubai has been splendid, although our grand plans to go out on the town have been thwarted by collective tiredness. Not so much me, but you can't do much alone here... it's safe, but still not wise. It's good to get back and collect my thoughts here at the "Dream Palace" Hotel near Dubai Airport (where i got to hear my first call to prayer in a while...). The 14 hour flight from Houston was quite enjoyable and I spent the entire time next to really cool girl from Pakistan heading back to where he family is from, Karachi. She was a Muslim and we had a cool discussion about getting ink (tattoos) done of scriptures from our Holy Books, mine being the bible, and hers being the Q'aran. She said she would get Henna done when she was back in Pakistan. Anyways, the flight was good, already there have been small hiccups but the Lord is with our team, even though, as aforementioned, we've only been growing in weakness.

I've been anxious a little today however. I'm trying to focus on what I'm to be doing so soon, but i don't feel prepared, nor do I feel that my heart is exactly where it should be. I'm afraid of interpersonal relationships and issues getting in the way of things. At one point tonight i just had to put my head down and just say "God, I need your strength". I've already gotten, not annoyed, but apprehensive. I guess I'm just used to being on my own. I don't mind being in a leadership position, which i kinda am here, but I'm a lot more independent than some people think. At any rate, it isn't about me, and I am excited to see what God is going to do in the Congo through this team. I'm even more excited to spend a decent while in Uganda. We've got some great interns (Coreen, Hannah, & Sarah) and it will be great to see them love on the boys of African Hearts. The work in my heart is one of love too, and it is asymmetrical loving, if you will, in that I need to rest much more in Christ's love of me, so that I may know love of others and give love to others. Satan has been working overtime to get me down and steal my joy, but I hope in Christ that it won't happen. Pray for me and the team.

well, i should be going, but i thought I'd leave you with a little reminder of home, the good ole' American Starbucks, in the Middle East.




Love ya!

dan

sushi before bed

I'm going to go ahead and admit I've eaten Sushi twice in the past 24 hours. I don't want to say I'm "entitled" to it because I won't be able to eat it for two months, but I have just been craving it like crazy, and I know a great sushi place you can get it on the fly.  The "Vegas" roll at EastWinds Sushi is simply legit. Today I actually ate it with Mike (blog), who came up to hang out and give me a break from the insanity of my packing and everything. It was awesome. We listened to The Killers (I admit, I'm on a kick) and the new Coldplay (both really, really good) and talked about Uganda. Mike used to work for Invisible Children in San Diego, which is how I know him, so he's got a huge heart for Uganda as well. He actually came to the awesome party we had at Abby's on Saturday, where there was people from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Congo, Sudan, and even a couple, though few, Americans! Mike said "Dude, I love the friends you and Abby have! It makes me miss Africa." I know what he means... they were so great, just having so much community and laughter, the party didn't end until 1 AM, which is much later than we'd anticipated... but it was awesome... lots of laughter and interesting stories... Anyways... 

Today I finished my last class. I'm not going to miss the "intro to the exceptional learner class", but I really enjoyed my Speech class. I've mentioned it a number of times in my blog and I will miss how spiritually enlightening it was. And I don't mean that in a metaphysical, but a literal, we-are-all-created-in-the-image-of-the-invisible kind of way. I learned much about the human condition in that class and about people's hunger for God... it was evident in almost every speech. It was encouraging, especially with all these fears about the "new atheism", it was peace-inducing to know that God can't be kept out of people's lives, even when we, as a society seem hell-bent on trying our hardest... I mean "God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), so as C.S. Lewis said "A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." 

Leaving ("in a jet plane") in 13 hours. Just wanted to slow it down and let the caffeine get in the bloodstream... no sleep tonight...

Love you all. You'll hear from me next as I spend the 4th of July in, what better place(?), the Middle East! 

Dan

Congo/Uganda 2008

Friends... 

It has been too long since I've last written you. Many of you do know that I am leaving the country soon, Thursday to be exact, and many of you have written, sent money, prayed (and hopefully will continue to do so), and called in support of my journey back to Africa for the Summer of 2008. Thank you for that! 

This journey has already proven to be much different than the past times I've journeyed to the continent which I love... but the Lord has been good, as He always is, and has provided not only monetarily for me, but in all the things I need, whether it be the life lessons, time, or just relationships that are going to be crucial to my service in Africa... for that I am eternally grateful and hope that through these emails I'll be sending you will be able to hear and experience much of what God is doing in the African continent. 

As most of you know I am going to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the first third of my time in Africa. The opportunity was given to me by Mending the Soul Ministries, an abuse healing and counseling ministry here in Phoenix. Every year they take Pastors, Counselors, a gynecologist (once), and people who love the Lord to minister to the broken people in the DRC, one of the most afflicted areas on the planet. In many parts of the area we will be in, if you're a woman and you haven't been raped, you're the minority. The amount of sexual violence in this area is simply profound. One doesn't have to think too long about how this affects the very social and spiritual fabric of this beautiful and yet tortured land before realizing that this reality changes everything. Rape is being used as a weapon of war.  If you'd like to read up on it, click this link HERE. Our purpose in going is to take our expertise we've been blessed with (more others than me ;-) and bless those in the Congo. We do not go to export our American values, but to share Kingdom values and principles with the common people, the perpetrators of evil, and caregivers. To empower the women and prostitutes to dream and know there is healing and hope. To free the men to understand women's equality and value, which allows them to be men. To free the youth from following in destructive patterns of violence and abuse. To share Christ with a broken world that will simply blow your mind. Specifically for me I am sharing the topics of Abstinence and "Satan's lies about sexuality" (I'm an expert. Just Kidding.) with the youth, and speaking with soldiers about the ethical treatment of women, since they commit most of the atrocities. I'm also the trip photographer and general "go to" guy... I hope they've picked the right guy!

But Satan does not want this trip to happen. Already we've had massive changes come up for this trip. A complete change of location in the Congo at the last minute, to name one of the problems. But God has hooked us up. Period.. and he's in the business of being God now as much as ever. It was brought up today at our final, and hectic, meeting tonight that we have only grown in weakness since we started to work towards this adventure in seeking the Lord in a foreign land. It's been one rough patch after the other... but in our weakness, He is exceedingly strong. As it was pointed out today it says in 2 Corinthians 12:9 " 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." His power, that is Christ's power, is sufficient, and overflowing... that's what we're claiming for this trip, we have to because we're not prepared and we're coming to a place where we have to rest on the Lord, because apart from Him we will inevitably fail. It's beautiful. Also my "anchor verse" for this trip is Matt 11:28-30 which says: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." This is pertinent to me because I am weary and burdened, and leaning on Christ is hard for me to do, but when I do I know peace... 

From Congo I will be returning with the team to Uganda, but not leaving as soon as they will be. I'm staying until the 16th of August. The rest of my summer in Uganda I'll be working at African Hearts Community Organization with Abby, Lutaaya, and 3 Interns from ASU we have convinced (against their will of course ;-) to travel with us to Uganda. Chiefly our initial work is preparing the new land in Ssenge (essentially a village-esque suburb of Kampala) for the arrival of the new street kids. There are over 1,000,000 million street kids in Uganda. That is a lot. Think about that statistic.... our goal is to bring in a dozen of them off the streets and love them to death. This is where it all begins and this is where Abby will be eventually spending the next many years of her life serving these new boys so it is definitely an exciting time! I am looking forward to just being there, grasping the ministry of presence a little more, and further understanding my role in this passionate pursuit of a life-changing environment that we seek, with the Lord's help & guidance, to create at African Hearts. It's hard to step in to it all when you're 10,000 miles away, but when you're there... finally there, you just have to drink it in.... and, again, know peace....

Thank you for your prayers and support thus far, please continue to pray about the things mentioned below

Prayer Requests

-Congo team adhesion and grace for one another and that we make it to Congo, not only safe, but with our supplies and sanity

-The people who we will be ministering too in Beni and for David Kisali of Congo Initiative

-All the people of Goma who are suffering greatly in this time of social upheaval that never really ends

-African Hearts: for the 'old' boys and for the new boys as they leave their marginalized and tragic lives 

-for the Ugandan leaders and interns at African Hearts (Lutaaya, Rosco, Tony, Jr., Jessica, Abby[blog], Myself, and the interns, Sarah, Hannah, & Coreen[blog])

-that the spiritual battles would be fought with us by those of you back on the home front in prayer!

-that I would have a servant's heart and be able to speak His words to those people I'm speaking to

-that my clarity increases concerning my future at African Hearts and my future in general, and that I can trust Him in all those things

-my sponsored boy at African Hearts, Eugene

-Pray for God to do what only he can do, bring hope to one of the most tragic places on our small planet.

Thank you for your prayers. They go before us, paving the way and lighting our path.

Feel free to write me here while I'm gone and feel free to comment too! the other team member's blogs are listed on the left side as well 

My iPod has enough Thrice and mewithoutYou to last me a while, so as long as my Bible still in my backpack, I'm off! Praise be to the Lord! I love you all. 

 ~Dan~

Congo/Uganda

July 3rd-August 17th, 2008

family

"Family"

circa 2008

David & Goliath

David:

I had one of the most pleasant and uplifting conversations of my recent life today with my friend David C concerning our individual journeys. If you've ever met David you would understand why engaging in such a conversation would be so fulfilling. At this moment in time he is in Pennsylvania just living life, and this is but one step of many that he's taken since he set out to wrestle the world and dig deeper than he ever has before. To question what hadn't been questioned. To rest where rest hadn't been found. It is always my distinct pleasure to hear his insights and to partake, in a small way, in his adventures and experiences. I've gleaned much wisdom even thus far just from his profound insight. It is notable to mention how interesting it is to speak to someone and know he genuinely cares about you when he talks to you... All my friends care about me more than I could wish for, I do not doubt that one bit, and I hope I show them all an equal or greater amount of friendship and commitment in return, but David, by his very nature, engages you and draws out of you the deeper parts of the soul. Today he spoke well of me, which was an honor, and one i hope to repay in the future, but he offered me great advice concerning my time in Africa, advice that was apt in so many ways. He said "Dan, you're on of the most intelligent people I know, and sometimes you can get ahead of yourself... which is something I find myself doing as well, but when you're in the Congo and you're helping to lead a team in real ministry and talking with people, slow down... take the time to say what you say simply and well, and in situations where there is issues, speak slower than them, and speak quieter as well. I think it would prove to be beneficial to you." Mind you David is much more eloquent than that, and i am paraphrasing, but his advice was just what I needed. His confidence in me, as a friend I think very highly of, and one who understands me so well for our brief friendship, was very timely and I will carry that advice into my time, my speeches, and even my manuscripts (lol)! So David, if you happen to read this thing, Thanks! 

Goliath:

Have you ever just drove by a Hometown Buffet and just thought to yourself "I'm going to eat there."? That's what I did today. Now, this is not normal for me, because unless I'm out with kyle or chris, the BBQ kings, I eat pretty healthily. But today it was calling me in, the siren song of unlimited food, of the Goliath of an American celebration of excess, one last shot at getting fat before Africa, drew me in. I met Goliath.... I had nothing but two plates of food (I used to do 5 or 6) to show for myself, and it was by far the worst Hometown Buffet I've ever been to, but it was quite the experience. I mean, spectrum mall: the Htown Buffett was in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Oh yeah.  I people watched as I read "The Macho Paradox", which is, by the way, one of the best books I've ever read. I saw a dude with a mohawk listening to a discman and hitting stop signs with his hands because he thought it was cool. That's right folks, a CD player. I saw the requisite (for the area) homeless and mentally ill, but it felt strangely familiar, as I never want to be too far away from the real world (but somehow self-servingly detached enough? Hmmm). The parking lot had a plethora of American vehicles, which is a good sign you're deep in something. What, no Prius'? (is there a plural for Prius yet? Prii [pree-I]?)And the guy in the lifted F-150 about ran me over but his 75 cent stickers said many intelligent things like "get in. sit down. shut up. hold on." and other pithy comments about people in general. In the restaurant here was an adorable little girl running around too, even the Htown had enough hispanic people in it to give it a blessed air of community as the little girl drew everyone unto herself that we might have an excuse to share in her delightful antics together. It was a blessing actually. What was not a blessing however was the food. Man... call me a hippy, but I love my organic food... this deep fried stuff ain't happenin' for me. I'm leaving this country in like 70 hours but I'll never forget where I'm coming from with this 10 pounds of grease and "fast-food-nation-guilt" in my stomach....

The Weapon of Rape

----------------------

read this!  The Weapon of Rape

 It will help you understand the world that exists where we are going. It will also help you understand the conference we (Mending the Soul) will be doing in the DRC this July. It's well worth your time, I promise! Thanks. Dan

Justice AND Mercy

Today I've pondered a great question, which I've wrestled with for years now. I praise God that I am personally emotionally detached from the reality of this great struggle, this struggle over the control of life.

Does anyone have the right to take a life?

I am pro-life. I view abortion as one of the most evil things a society can condone. It is interesting to me how the talk about abortion is all politics now. Few people on either side of the fence seem interested in why people get abortions or what societal factors create its acceptance... but that is not the story today.

Today I was in speech class, a class I really enjoy, a place where I've learned some amazing things about some amazing people. It's a summer class, so it's really fast paced, but I've still been able to have many deep conversations with the people in there. I absolutely surprised by the spectrum of faith I've found there. It's truly profound. I can't think of a single person in that class that would profess any athiesm or agnosticism, everyone has claimed God in some way I believe... but, again, that is not my point here. Today, Christina, a young latino girl with a heart of passion and the desire to become a prosecutor, gave a speech today defending Capital Punishment. She quoted the old testament where it says "an eye for an eye", and I'll admit I cringed. But she gave a decent speech that was a little lacking in logic, but still given with passion, which often, for better or for worse makes up for logic. I'm becoming a logic-junkie...so much so it is kinda scaring me, haha! After her speech I spoke with her a little bit, trying to pick her mind. We discussed some different ideas, and i tried to pull her ideas to their logical conclusion. I'm not sure if we saw eye to eye, but seeing eye to eye was, itself, the point. I had my bible with me and turned to Matthew 5:38-39 which says: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Earlier she had quoted what Jesus quotes in this passage, Exodus 21:24, where God is describing the punishment, in His law for His people, concerning someone who hits a pregnant woman and the baby dies. It says an "eye for an eye" which is interesting in this context and what that says about life and abortion.... but that is not the topic right now. I attempted to unpack how Jesus was qualifying what "an eye for an eye" meant during the sermon on the mount. I am no biblical scholar, and the old-testament law still causes me to ask God some honest questions, but Jesus' words ring true with his triumph over sin on the cross. Jesus' sermon on the mount was vertigo, flipping people's understanding of what the God we serve demands of us. Oswald Chambers in Biblical Ethics said "To preach the Sermon on the Mount apart from the Cross is to preach an impossibility". But Christ has made a way. He has made a way in a world there is no justice. He made a way for us to come to the Father, despite our sin....

I don't know if Christina heard my words, or if she knew the implications of this passage on her passion for retribution and worldly "justice". It was not my intent to argue with her or even prover her wrong, and we didn't argue although some class members asked me those loaded questions that, again, have zero logic in them: "so you're saying people who rape people should be set free?!?" which is a common idea about people, like me, who use morality to persuade people to give up their passion for capital punishment and admit there may be a better way. As if you were against Capital Punishment you would be against any prison time. I'm saying No CP but the alternate to CP being life without parole. So there, I said it. I'm against capital punishment... and the day I had to fight to define and defend my world view came on the day the Supreme Court made it illegal to kill a man who rapes a child.... As many of you know God is moving my expertise and passion into issues of gender rights and abuse rights etc... and rape is obviously one of the most evil and destructive acts that one can inflict upon a soul. It is easily akin to murder. It is wrong and there is no defense under the sun that should allow people who have committed these terrible acts to have the opportunity to inflict damage again. I was left with a quandary in my mind. How much do I believe what I believe? A long time ago, I used to argue for capital punishment, citing non-existent stats that show it lowers violent crime. I used to believe those people, those monsters deserve it (as if they were so different than me). When the Carr brothers executed my teacher, Mr. Bedford and five others, when I was in High School, I was for the death penalty. I had been, I always thought I would be.

Jesus changes some things though.... I'm the worst sinner I know, and I'm not afraid to tell you I've thought deeply about killing some people. Not so much recently, but in the past. A small part of my choice to join the Marine Corps was to fulfill my ideal of "judgment and justice". I never killed anyone during my time in the Corps, although my actions in Iraq could have resulted in the death of people. I am ok with that at this point in time. I have peace with God concerning this, but I cannot support the Death Penalty in the United States (or anywhere for that matter). We are not the most unjust nation, but I see severe amounts of injustice in our justice system and for the state to take a life is too much for me to condone. Capital punishment, in my opinion and conviction, is not justice. It is retribution. We as a society have given the stamp of approval saying "violence is ok". I see it more and more in my study of men's relationship to women in our own society, where misogyny is the rule, not the exception. Our society wrought with "Grand Theft Auto" and violent movies etc. I love violent movies, and i'm not immune to their affects. I guess I'm working out the particulars of my conviction... I'm full of contradictions perhaps. Some could call me a hypocrite at times. I am not categorically against war or killing when it is necessary to protect life. I'm not sure what to think about this war, but after my wrestlings with this subject I've come back to realizing the sinful nature of the world necessitates war, in theory, from time to time... but I'm open to a change of heart... I, along with the world, am in the process of being redeemed after all!

I don't say all this to preach to you, but to express the desire for people to perhaps hear me out and dialog with me about what they think. Please separate Kingdom values from Americanized cultural values please. Do you think that society can condone a life for a life? Are people redeemable? Do you think our nation has learned that justice is served when a heart stops beating in the lethal injection chair? Was Moses a murderer? Is there and Justice apart from God? What is your opinion on Capital Punishment?

I'm not arguing for "moral equivalency" but aren't those "monsters" we commit to death sinners like us? I can promise you I've committed 1st degree murder in my heart, Jesus says I'm guilty (albeit forgiven by His grace and love)

Questions I struggle with.... I'm not jumping for joy for the new Supreme Court ruling, even though it will keep people off death row... perhaps I'm somewhere in between... trying to balance all things in life with my conviction: Justice and Mercy

He has showed us, my friends, what is good. And what does the LORD require of us? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8, emphasis and minor "you/us" language-changes mine)

Thanks.
Dan

ps. 1 week until Africa. I will tell you my opinion on this subject when I return from hearing these women's stories....

Evangelical Manifesto

Check this out: www.evangelicalmanifesto.com

Isaiah 1:17

learn to do right! 
       Seek justice, 
       encourage the oppressed. 
       Defend the cause of the fatherless, 
       plead the case of the widow.

Statement of Faith

There has been a remarkable trend in my Speech class, that I'm taking this summer, to speak openly about deep convictions of faith, and about God, and our pursuit of Him. I find this remarkable because my previous experiences in school have led me to see a lot of the branded Christianity that has no real effect on the human in which it inhabits. Often what is witnessed is a wholesale avoidance of speaking openly about what you believe no matter what it is, as if we aren't to tolerate thought or desire. Perhaps post-modern thinking has truly ruined what is means to be "merely human".
However, in my Speech class I've seen incredible statements of faith and admonitions that without God this person wouldn't be alive. All around me is the open reminder that God is alive and well and working in the hearts of men, and that to think God is irrelevant is a folly of the highest order. Diane, a 40-yr old mother of 3, today described one man's insistence and joy in the Lord, which ultimately brought her to faith, and eventually her husband to faith. They are now both in the ministry. Kiyomi is a student from Japan who is one of the few Christians in her country (now in ours), and has another amazing story of trusting God with the details. Tony is not a Christian but a thinker of the highest caliber who often reference some of the greatest thinkers of all time from Lewis to Chesterton to whomever. It's a new experience to speak openly about "The Abolition of Man" with a man who quite frankly is scared by its implications, which are, by design, the implications that life without God is fruitless and destined to hell. Then there is Carl, the devout Catholic with the most extreme of conversion stories. His religiosity, for lack of a better term, makes it hard for the Christians in the class to even relate to him and his stories of the virgin Mary and the "holiness" associated with that. But it's still incredible to me to see these people from all over the world acknowledging much about the heavenly realm. I too have been able to share my faith and love for Christ in this class and know that more opportunities will arise. This is not even to mention the plethora of other people in my class that during speeches have confessed their undying love for Christ or God's providence in their life. The stories are different, but it's a rare case to have heard people speak without some conviction of someone, somewhere watching them, holding them, guarding their steps. The purpose in the lives of all these beautiful people is profound and liberating from the sentiment of desperation that secular life will inherently provoke. Diane said it best today when she said, quoting Matt. 10: 32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."

Praise God for this small revelation....

value vs survival

The Eternal Embrace

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." C.S. Lewis

 

I AM THE CHURCH

Enjoy Such Liberty

Just reading my journal entries tonight from Malawi, it seems like yesterday when I was there, beneath some of the most beautiful stars that a man could ever gaze upon. The entries take me back there as I try to recall certain people, certain occurrences. Never in my life has God's masterful hand had such an impact in my life... even till' this day it can be seen in the most subtle of reminders whether it be accidentally calling something by its Chichewa name or a memory of walking through the small thatched villages at dusk or even the song that I sang with Chris, Funa, and Z at the Msilitza church on our last night there... "Lord my heart cries out, glory to the king my greatest love in life, I hand you everything...." 

It's still so true. 

I wrote this poem in my journal too as I headed across the Zambian countryside. I didn't write it of course, it's by Richard Lovelace the English poet, and it was written in the 1600's sometime, but when i read it, it felt so real, so applicable. I still treasure it to this day. It's the last 'stanza', if you will, of the poem "To Althea, from prison" and it says....

Stone walls do not a prison make,
nor iron bars a cage;
minds innocent and quiet take
that for a hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love,
and in my soul am free,
angels alone that soar above,
enjoy such liberty