Today  is Mother’s Day in the U.S.A. and Ukraine has just celebrated “Victory Day” (May 9), commemorating the end of World War II. The TV here showed old war movies all day May 9. Speaking of TV, the first Narnia film was on Friday night and I counted 54 commercials between movie segments! 54! 

After settling in at Sasha Savich’s house in Lutsk, I spoke Saturday at the Volin region Youth Conference. Sasha estimated 500-600 youth. From 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. there was music, a new film debut and preaching. As “the American” guest, I got some extra time. I spoke on the church as the continuing presence of Jesus in the world, stemming from Saul’s (Paul’s) insight from the Damascus Road encounter. Saul was persecuting the church and Jesus said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” From this initial revelation, Paul slammed into the reality that to arrest Christians is to arrest Jesus, to vote for the death of Christians is voting for the death of Jesus. Jesus and his Church are one. I developed several missional realities from this core one.

Today (Sunday) I will go to a village about 40 minutes from Lutsk and speak. I am told that because “an American” is coming, lots of unbelievers will be there. I will speak about Matthew’s Party (Luke 5) and present Jesus’ great love and ministry to “sinners.” Sasha’s youngest brother, Volva, will interpret for me.

Later today I will “move” to another place–a young couple who attend Fimiam Church will host me. It is within walking distance to the church where I will teach for a week on New Testament Survey. In the evenings I will teach at New Life Baptist Church on the kingdom of God.

Ukraine is beautiful this time of year. I have come so often in winter that to come in Spring is like coming to another Ukraine.

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IT’S A UKRAINE TIME OF YEAR! 

I leave tonight from Grand Rapids, MI and shuttle-jump to Detroit. I will fly through the night to Amsterdam and arrive in Kiev, Ukraine tomorrow at 4:45 p.m. (Ukraine time). I fly Northwest/KLM.

Maksim and Lena Rakovich will meet me at Borispol airport and I will spend the night with them. On Friday, I will take a marshuka (small bus) trip 6 hours west to the city of Lutsk (not far from the border of Poland). I will team up with my  good friend and fellow-pastor, Sasha Savich, who leads Calvary Church, Lutsk. I will speak at a Youth Service on Saturday and preach somewhere on Sunday (”blessed are the flexible”).

From May 12-16, I will teach two hours each morning at Fimiam Church (Pavlo Myronuk is the pastor) to people in rehab who are new believers and other recent converts. I was asked to do a New Testament Survey fly-over with specific applications to the Christian life. In the evenings, I will teach from 6 to 9 p.m. at another church on the topic “The Kingdom of God and the Shape of Christian Life and Ministry.” This is a leaders/people training course for believers from many churches in the Lutsk area. A good friend and excellent translator, Anya, will help me communicate meaningfully. She has been my translator on several strategic occasions. A short story: about 3 years ago, Anya and her special friend, Yuri, a dentist, took me from Lutsk to L’viv by car. I did pre-marital counseling (seriously) from the backseat. A little over a year ago Yuri and Anya got married (Julie and I saw their wedding pictures last trip).

After the week of intensive training in the two venues, over the weekend I will have ad hoc ministry opportunities with various individual leaders and church staffs, undoubtedly preaching in another church. I will return to Kiev on May 20 and spend two days with Maksim and Lena, visiting the orphanage operated by their church. I fly out of Kiev on May 23 and arrive Grand Rapids, MI, the same day (time zone wonders).

All who visit here, I ask for your prayers for this trip. Also, pray for Julie and Lois, Julie’s mother who lives with us, while I am away. Remember Fellowship Evangelical Covenant, too, in your prayers. The people of Fellowship are so supportive of my mentoring ministry in Ukraine. They helped me purchase a lap-top computer for my friend Sasha Savich. My good brother and pastoral intern, Jeremy Bouma (who just finished his whole first year of Seminary today), will be at the helm for the two weeks.

Thanks so much!

Das Vedanya!

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I copied this from Eugene Cho’s blog.

10 reasons why men should not be ordained for ministry

10. A man’s place is in the army.

9. The pastoral duties of men who have children might distract them from the responsibility of being a parent.

8. The physique of men indicates that they are more suited to such tasks as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do ministerial tasks.

7. Man was created before woman, obviously as a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. Their conduct at football and basketball games demonstrates this.

5. Some men are handsome, and this will distract women worshipers.

4. Pastors need to nurture their congregations. But this is not a traditional male role. Throughout history, women have been recognized as not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more fervently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are prone to violence. No really masculine man wants to settle disputes except by fighting about them. Thus they would be poor role models as well as dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. The New Testament tells us that Jesus was betrayed by a man. His lack of faith and ensuing punishment remind us of the subordinated position that all men should take.

1. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep sidewalks, repair the church roof, and perhaps even lead the song service on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the church.

Thanks for the laugh, Eugene!

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“Tiberias Caesar August Son of Divine Augustus”

This inscription with an image of Caesar was on the denarius that the Herodians and Pharisees handed Jesus in Mark 12:13-17. On the reverse side of the coin was a female figure seated on a throne with the inscription “Pontifus Maximus” (High Priest). For Rome, “son of God” and “high priest” had nothing to do with the Jewish story.

These otherwise political/religious enemies (Herodians and Pharisees) band together at the Sanhedrin’s urging to finally trap Jesus. They conspire around one of the most explosive issues for Jews in Jesus’ day: taxes.

After buttering Jesus up with gaggingly sweet words (vs 14), they spring the trap: “Should we loyal Jews pay taxes to Caesar or not? Is it right or wrong?”

In AD 6 a Roman census of Judea was used to levy a head tax. To use idolatrous pagan coins was deeply offensive to Jews. Some revolted and minted their own Judean coins. Without mercy, Rome crushed the rebellion and crucified the leaders of the movement. Roman taxes would be paid.

Jesus faces the question. If he says and unequivocal “Yes,” then he could not be considered a loyal Jew and certainly not an authentic claimant as the promised Messiah. Popular interpretation and vision could not tolerate a Messianic leader capitulating to Rome. Messiah would liberate from Rome, not bend to Rome. So, a “yes” gets Jesus in trouble with the deeply-oppressed, overly-taxed Jewish people. On the other hand, if Jesus says “No,” then these Jewish leaders scurry to Pilate, Rome’s agent in Jerusalem, and cry, “We have another dangerous rebel raising up new resistance to Rome. Jesus of Nazareth is a trouble-maker to Jews and to Rome, as well.”

What will Jesus do?

“Bring me a denarius. Whose image and inscription in on it?” Jesus asked.

They respond, “Caesar’s.”

Hit pause.

These (allegedly) loyal Jews with a piece of portable idolatry in their possession are in the sacred Temple precincts. The coin is both visually and theologically idolatrous. These Jewish leaders have it. By this brilliant maneuver Jesus exposes these leaders’ willing participation in Rome’s oppressive presence. I wonder if “IN GOD WE TRUST” on our USAmerican currency will come back to bite the USAmerican church and culture.

Hit play. Jesus plainly says, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.”

Paraphrase: “You only owe Caesar mere taxes. The idolatrous coin is his so give it back to him. Yet, you owe God your very life as does every human life in the world.”

One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD ‘;
another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’
and will take the name Israel. Isaiah 44:5

Jesus answers in a brilliant way so that he can neither be accused of being a disloyal Jew nor a rebel against Rome.

Mark 12:17 ends with “And they were amazed at him.”

Mr. Leader-of-the-People-Astray, Mr. Illegitimate Child, Mr Demon-possessed man, Mr No Name from Nazareth, Mr Ignorant Rabble-Rouser shocks the smart, powerful people. He outwits them…again! Who is this?

It is brilliant Jesus.

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The Bible died, was buried and rose again on the third day.

While I was in the Detroit, MI area for the Annual Great Lakes Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church for the past few days, Julie and some friends attended the Good Friday service of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids, MI.

Why is this significant? At the end of my novella Out of Print: A Novel, I have one of the characters tell about an Orthodox custom. At the Good Friday service, an icon of Jesus is taken from the cross, wrapped in cloths and buried. Actually, the Epitaphion (or tapestry) is carried around the church, then is “buried” in the bier/tomb. And, along with “Jesus,” the Bible is also placed in the tomb. Congregants walk up to the bier and kiss the dead Bible. Julie saw all of this at the service. (She actually took a picture of it, but I can’t get it uploaded into this post.)

Friends, without the Living Word–Jesus, the Written Word–the Bible, is just a dead book to us. It is the living Christ who energizes the sacred text to be a blazing fire, the penetrating sword, the nourishing food, and the light to guide our way. When Jesus died and was buried, the Bible (at that time) was dead and buried, too.

On Easter morning, not only does Jesus arise to a new dimension of life from the tomb, so does the Bible. The living Christ energizes the Bible as never before as the Word that brings new birth, new life and growth, unbelievable and timely insight, and staggering transformative power.

What a beautiful drama! Living Christ, living Word! God’s love endures forever!

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Why doesn’t some Bible publishing company come out with “The Fortune Cookie Bible”?

Many Christians treat the Bible like they do a fortune cookie after a nice Chinese food dinner.

Pithy, little positive sayings that perk up your life and create a little, fun curiosity, that’s what fortune cookies do. And that’s all that many Christians want from their Bibles.

Life is about me, most American Christians conclude, and so the Bible should be about me, too. God is nice, but nice (and disposable) in a fortune cookie kind of way. Maybe his Word will tell me something I really want to hear, and if it doesn’t, I’ll close it up until I want another fortune told.

I’ll read my “verse for the day” or my little morsel of pious Bible-sweets and then I’ll be all my way to the important business of the day…my business. The truth that the Bible expresses the most revolutionary, turn-your-whole-world-upside-down-Story never occurs to them. The Bible has been chopped up into nice, tasty bite-size pieces since they can ever remember and so to grasp its total upheaval of life as we know it is foreign to them. Not only foreign, but frightening. Please keep the Bible bite-size and disposable. They’ve been trained to eat fast-food, so to eat their way through the tough-to-cut meat of the Bible sounds too hard. At the most, you can just give the Cliff Notes version. The American version of the Cliff Notes is: “God is love; I am a sinner; Jesus died for my sins on the cross, so if ‘I accept him,’ I’ll go to heaven when I die.” But until I die, I get to live the American Dream like everyone else. What a deal!

The New American Fortune Cookie Version Holy Bible. I think it would sell. Don’t you?

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