A Few Things I Learned in Uganda

You may be aware that I recently took a teaching/mission trip to Uganda. I worked with a team from South Indiana to help train pastors in Uganda. We had a great time and I learned some lessons. Here is a little bit of what I learned.

1. There are deeply committed Christians all over the world. Although we came from vastly different cultures and languages, we were united in our love for Christ.
2. Personal happiness is not equal to having money. I saw abject poverty all over Uganda. In fact, at times I became downright depressed at the poor conditions I saw. Inside plumbing is a luxury that few people enjoy. Electricity is non-existent in most homes. These people live on dirt floors. And yet, they are extremely happy.
3. I learned that patience is a virtue (one that often does not exist is the USA). Waiting 45 minutes for a grilled cheese sandwich in a restaurant teaches you that speed is not always the most important thing.
4. I learned that it is possible to be exceedingly kind, even to strangers and foreigners. Everywhere I went it was obvious that I was from somewhere else. And everywhere I went I felt safe, welcomed and befriended. Kindness was something that I saw every day, and that I need to incorporate at home.

Of course, I learned a lot more than these few things. If you would like to know more about my trip, you can see some pictures and read our team journal at http://ugandabibleacademy.blogspot.com/. I do not know if I will go back, but I know that I will never forget this experience and I will never be the same.

Jesus is a Taker!

That phrase just flies in the face of everything that we have always learned in Sunday School, doesn't it? We know that Jesus is all about giving, loving, caring, sharing and all that other warm mushy junk. But in the middle of all that, we too often lose sight of some of the really important aspects of the work of Jesus in our lives. We seldom consider the hard parts of the Christian faith, or the difficult claims and actions of Jesus.

The church has done a very good job of making Jesus pretty harmless through these last two millenia. He makes no significant claims on our lives, our time, or our money. He has very low expectations and a lot of grace and forgiveness. In fact, Jesus loves us so much that we can do almost nothing that is wrong. Sin has become an out-moded, out of touch doctrine that is inconvenient at best. Or at least, so goes the popular notions of Jesus in the church.

We keep running back to Jesus the lover of my soul, the friend of sinners, because that is a lot more comfortable than Jesus the Judge. We prefer the Jesus of Easter morning than the Jesus of Good Friday. Good Friday Jesus is filled with sin. He was a bloody, sinful mess. In fact, on Friday, at his crucifixion, Jesus was so full of sin that his Father could not even look at him. And most of us find that Jesus hard to look at too. It could be that this is the most important Jesus to see, however. You see, it is when Jesus is at his worst, that he has about our best.

In the crucifixion he takes our sin. All the nasty, secret, dirty, ugly sins that you and I have ever committed are taken away by Jesus on the cross. His sacrifice allows us to be made whole. The ugly Jesus is a great sight for us.

In the crucifixion Jesus takes our sickness. The prophet of the Old Testament tells us that by the stripes, the scourging, of the Messiah we can be healed. How appropriate then, that Jesus' body was beaten and broken so that ours' could be made whole. Our healing and restoration is taken by Jesus.

In the crucifixion Jesus takes our sorrows and sadness. When we know that our guilt has been taken away, we have cause for celebration. There can be no sorrow, no sadness, among those who are redeemed. The forgiven are by definition joyous.

The crucifixion is a terrible, ugly event. But it is through the bloody sacrifice of Jesus that so much of what is bad in my life is taken away.

Yes, Jesus is a taker. And I, for one, am glad about that!

Life in 3-D

My life is not boring. I do not sit around waiting for things to happen. (In fact, there is too little sitting around in my life. There is always something to do.) As I look around me, however, I see a lot of people who live very lifeless, vanilla lives. This should not be.

I believe that every moment of every day in every life should be lived with complete zest and gusto. That television commercial from my childhood said that 'you only go around once in life.' How true. We should be intentional in our decisions and actions. We should make life the most and the best that it can be.

One of my philosophies of life- I may have too many philosophies- is to always have fun. If I find myself in the middle of an activity that proves to be dull, it is my responsibility to either stop it, or to find a way to make it fun. Life is too short. Carpe Diem. Live for the day. Make a difference.

So, here are some suggestions, some ways to live life more fully and to be more fulfilled. I like to think of this as life in 3-D.

1. Discover who you were meant to be. Many people are unhappy in life because they have no sense of purpose or direction. You might be drifting from one job to another, one experience to the next. God has given everyone a specific purpose in life. Find what your purpose is and fulfill it. Discover your 'calling' and answer.
2. Develop the gifts and talents that you have been given. Interests come from a number of places. Everyone has them. Be sure to use the gifts that you have. Learn what hobbies and activities create energy in your life. Focus on those things. Do those things. God gave everyone their own particular gift combination. Your gifts, interests and talents are to be used. Use them.
3. Deploy and do the work that you were created to do. You will find that fulfillment comes when you are actively pursuing those things that you are best suited to do. When you go and do the work that you were meant to do life will get better.

Marty and other lonely people

Who would think that a movie made in 1955 could speak so clearly in 2007? Marty, starring Ernest Borgnine, is a movie about a bachelor in his 30's who still lives with his mother. All of his siblings have married and Marty feels alone, like an outcast. He is successful as a butcher, and even considering a purchase of the shop that he works in. He seems to have friends, but we learn that they are all caught up in an adolescent mind-set that does not allow them to mature emotionally.

Marty is caught between two worlds. On the one hand he is lonely. His mother constantly reminds him that he is the only one of the family is not married. And, in fact, Marty would like to be married. He longs for companionship and a mature relationship. On the other hand, his friends see any relationship that Marty might pursue as a threat to their established order. They do not want to deal with a new member to their group (if Marty gets a relationship), and they do not want to lose Marty (if his new relationship becomes serious).

Marty's other difficulty is that he is very shy. He has a hard time meeting and relating to new people, especially women. That is, until Clara comes along. Clara turns out to be just as plain, lonely and shy as Marty. They are a perfect match. But, the complications with Marty's friends and family do not go away. No one likes Clara. No one wants to lose Marty.

The tension in the movie comes from all the relationship pressures that Marty and Clara have to deal with. And these pressures are significant. They are actually the sort of pressures that you and I deal with quite often. We work hard to make other people happy. And when we make someone else happy, we realize that they do not care if we are happy.

I do not want to give away the movie because I loved it. You should see it right away. But I do want to encourage you in several ways.

• God wants you to be happy. The pressures that you are dealing with need to be secondary to God's plan for your life.
• God made you to be in relationships with other people. Marty had a family. He had friends. And finally, he found his partner.
• It is important to stand strong for truth and right at all times and in all circumstances. The tension that comes in life is secondary to justice.
• Perseverance is one of the most important virtues of life. Never give up.
• Do not lose hope. God has a great idea about where you will end up. Hold on to his promises.

The Importance of Reading

I recently read the following quote from historian David McCullough: "The average American watches four hours of television a day. That's 28 hours a week. I also understand that the average American reads 250 words per minute. Therefore, if the average American would turn off the television set and spend those 28 hours a week reading, he could read all the poems of T.S. Eliot, all the poems of Maya Angelou, two plays by Thornton Wilder, including Our Town, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and all 150 Psalms in the Old Testament. That's all in one week."

Think what you could do with your life if you would spend more time reading and less time watching television. In a year's time you could read dozens of classic novels. You could easily read the whole Bible. You could change your life.

But maybe no television is too big a step for you. It could be that you need to take baby steps. So, here is what I suggest.

• While you are watching television, make sure that you have the remote control in your hand. Use the mute button whenever a commercial comes on. (You really do not want to change the flavor of pop-tarts that you eat anyway, do you?) There are about 15 minutes of commercials in every hour of prime time television. That is a lot of reading time, and you do not have to give up Desperate Housewives to get it.
• Always have a book on your lap. Never go anywhere without a book. Read while you are waiting for the doctor or the check out clerk. So much of our lives are spent waiting we ought to put that time to use.
• Do not spend too much time with magazines. Use magazines to stay up on current events and trends, but do not be consumed with them. In a few weeks (or months at the most) your magazines will find their way to the trash bin. Generally speaking, your books will not.
• Commit yourself to a certain amount of reading. Make commitments to read a set amount of time each day, and a certain number of books in a year. Making goals is a good way to increase your reading intake.
• Read from a wide range of genres. It is easy to get caught up in reading a favorite author, or staying with a familiar topic. But be sure to read biographies, mysteries, non-fiction and classic novels in addition to your favorite kind of books.
• Join a book discussion club. This will do several things for you. It will help you widen the scope of what you read. It will also help you to read more thoroughly and critically. Book groups and their discussions also cause the reader to enjoy the reading as he/she anticipates the debate that is ahead.
• Read some books that get good reviews, but are not very popular. Just because it sells a lot of copies does not mean that a book is worth your time.

One more word of encouragement; Reading is hard work. It can wear you down and be overwhelming. But, reading is one of the most rewarding and beneficial things that you can do. Commit yourself to reading and reading a lot right away.

Reality TV is not Real!!

When will the television networks get over 'Reality TV?' I know that the answer to that is as soon as people stop watching reality TV. But really, enough is enough. There is nothing about any reality show that looks at all like my real life.

I have never been trapped in a house, a bunker, an island or a board room with 12 body building, fitness trainer super-models. And even if I was, I think that I would volunteer to leave. Who are these people? Where do they come from? Why does anyone care about them?

Meanwhile, network television executives are loving the reality craze. Production costs are relatively low for these programs. There are no actors to pay. There is a small crew, and only one host. The main expense is the 'large' cash prize at the end of the season. The cash prize is nothing to the producers and advertisers who bring us this stuff.

And ultimately, reality television adds nothing of value to our lives or our culture. After an hour of the Apprentice Survivor in Hell's Kitchen, we have no new knowledge. We have not been enlightened. We have not grown. The best that can be said for these programs is that they leave us mildly amused and curiously interested. There is nothing soul-stirring or conscience-pricking about them.

And so, I propose we take action.

1. Stop watching these reality television shows. There is surely something else on. After all, we have hundreds of television channels to choose from. And if there is nothing else, simply turn off the television.
2. Encourage your friends to stop watching reality television programs. This will require swimming against the current, but you can do it.
3. Find other ways to occupy your time and expand your horizons. Television should be art, and as art it should make the world a better, more beautiful place. And if it cannot do that, it ought to at least provoke some thinking and discussion. When television fails, think about books, films, museums, dance. Live!
4. Look at the world in realistic ways. Do not be fooled into believe that every person in the world is 28 years old and beautiful.
5. Finally, be alive. Use television. Do not let television use you.

Ready to Go Again

I have been in Uganda for the last three weeks. I was there for a wonderful time of teaching, preaching and training United Methodist Pastors. Although it was tiring, our time was very productive. If you would like to know more about that trip, you can check out http://ugandabibleacademy.blogspot.com.

But, now I am back from the mission field. That means that I will be focusing once again on...

• my local churches
• the Shed (youth outreach ministry)
• writing.

So, whether you look forward to it or not, there will be some new posts in Rev Dewey's World. Look for new posts starting on Monday of next week.