The North American Convention ended yesterday.  Whew!  All of us that were involved are exhausted.  NAC is really an exhausting experience.  We have lots of responsibilities, lots of meetings, lots of people that want to talk to us, and everyone’s schedule is jam-packed during these conventions.  But it’s also a great time to catch up with supporters, pastors, friends from overseas, and co-workers. 

A few people have asked whether there is a CD or DVD of my sermon.  The answer is “yes” but it has to be ordered and apparently they sold out on the first day.  That’s good news.  I knew this sermon was special when I wrote it 9 months ago.  It is about the inevitability of change in the church and I had a strong feeling when I wrote it that it would have an impact.  Well, it has and people are getting copies of it and taking it back to their home countries.  I said a lot of things in it that I guess people are afraid to say, but as with this book I’m writing, I just don’t think time is on our side.  Either we deal with these issues now or it really will be too late. 

I had actually been dreading giving the sermon for 360 days (that’s how long ago I was given the assignment) so I’m pretty happy to be done with it.  With the book coming out at the next NAC, I have a feeling I’ll be back in a similar position next summer–talking about challenging things and waiting for the bullets to fly in my direction.  Thus far, however, both traditionalists and progressives have been happy with the NAC sermon.  I haven’t had anyone throw things at me or curse me yet, so that’s good. 

In the coming days, I’ll try and figure out how people can get copies and whether we can load it on the website eventually. 

BACK TO WORK–OH WE WERE NEVER OFF WORK

Now that NAC is over, I am now off to the Leadership Forum in Washington DC for emerging Church of God leaders of high school age.  Due to the fact that the schedule has been insane, I never got around to booking my flight to Washington DC.  Consequently, the airfares are sky high for the 90 minute flight from Indianapolis to Washington DC.  I tried Dulles, National, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charlotte….I even considered flying to Pittsburgh and driving 4 hours to DC from there..but no matter what combo I tried, the total cost of my 48 hour trip was going to be about $700 US when car rental and fuel is addded in.  So I’ve decided to drive to DC.  What a total drag.  It’s 9 hours there and 9 hours back.  But it will save about $400 or $500 US.

So my plans have drastically changed.  Tomorrow we will go to Cincinnati to take Marco to his first Reds game.  I promised him a baseball game during this USA visit.  I was 6 years old too when I went to my first Reds game!  We are taking Grandma with us and we’ll be back on July 4th (Saturday).  Then Sunday I’ll drive to DC and I’ll drive back Tuesday.  What a DRAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And I left my CD’s in Hong Kong! Oh well, it’s for a very good cause.  I’ll be talking to the young people about how and why the CHOG needs this generation.  I can’t really write about how we need them and then NOT speak to them when I’m invited to speak to them. 

I’ll get back Tuesday and then Thursday we’ll head down to Miami, Florida, the Tampa Bay area and then Costa Rica.  The schedule actually gets even worse in August.  All of this means I’m falling behind on the reading and the research for the book.  It’s kind of unnerving.  But the good news is I found some new leads at NAC for stories to follow. 

MICHAEL JACKSON’s LEGACY

Well, a lot of people have been writing me asking me about Michael Jackson.  That’s probably because everyone knows I can do an awesome Michael Jackson impression. I specialize in the “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” dance moves, but of course my talent knows no bounds (or is it my Nerdiness that knows no bound?)  Marco also started learning the moves a couple of years ago.  He does a number of dance moves including breakdancing.  He’s at his best when no one is watching and a song with a strong beat is playing. (By the way..the answer is NO…we will not perform for you….unless money is involved).

I was a huge fan of MJ’s until I was about 1987.  That’s when BAD came out and Michael Jackson put a cleft in his chin and started to go from eccentric to absolutely nuts, I kind of lost interest.  I didn’t like any of his later music at all.  Not even one song.  And then when the molestation charges hit and he refused to say that it’s wrong for adults to sleep with children–well, that was really too much.

Musically, I think he peaked with Thriller and a lot of his best work came from his collaboration with Rod Temperton and Quincy Jones.  Once he changed producers, I thought his music really suffered.  He still had a gift for melody, but the melodies were boring.  “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” from BAD is a good example of what his post-thriller music was like.  It’s a cute, melodious, yet utterly forgettable song,  The later albums had some astonishingly bland songs like “Keep it in the closet” and “Dangerous.” 

I went out with 11 year old Randy from Indianapolis last week. (Yes, I realize he was in his 30’s when this diary started.  It’s like Benjamin Button okay? ) While we were at a movie, I got a text from my sister saying Jackson had died.  Afterward we went to a restaurant with TV’s and watched the news.  A waitress my age was reminiscing.  For people my age, Jackson peaked at the height of our youth.  Young, young Randy asked me whether I thought Michael Jackson was really such a great musician.  I said Michael would be remembered for 3 things.

1) The Last Mega-Pop Star:  Michael Jackson and Madonna were the last pop stars to truly dominate television and radio.  This is because radio and television got subdivided to such an extent in the 1990’s that it’s hard for any artist to have that kind of dominance.  Today there are so many different kinds of radio-formats and so many cable channels (plus the internet and downloading) that no artist can get the kind of centralized exposure that MJ and Madonna got in the 1980’s. 

Today, the biggest selling album in a year can be something like 50 cent.  The percentage of people who even know who 50 cent is, what genre he is, and what his hit songs are is miniscule.  There’s probably one person reading this that could quote the title of a 50 cent song (and I am NOT one of them).  Miley Cyrus is huge, but when do I ever see her on TV.? Never unless I’m watching a children’s channel.  What song does she sing? I don’t know.  It’s not possible to dominate the media today the way that it was in the 1980’s when most of us had 4 channels and rock and pop radio stations were one in the same.  And Jackson was huge in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and everywhere else. 

2) A Remarkable Performer:  Unlike the Beatles, there are few Michael Jackson songs that have really stood the test of time.  Even Billie Jean and Beat It are rarely heard on the radio even though we all agree they are good pop songs. Prior to this week, when is the last time you heard PYT on the radio?

But there’s no doubt that MJ in his prime was an electrifying performer.  His dancing was pretty astonishing and he was remarkably fluid physically.  He made other dancers (and his back up dancers) seem clumsly and slow in comparison.  MJ imitators never got it quite right.  it was akin to watching Michael Jordan in his prime.  Jordan made the most fluid, graceful basketball players look clumsy in comparison.  Jackson was unusually graceful on the stage when in motion. 

3) Breaking the Color Barrier:  A lot of celebrities throughout history have been freaks, but it’s impossible to beat the one-gloved, monkey-holding, skin-bleached Jackson.  Despite his insanity, as hard as it is to believe now, Jackson was instrumental in breaking the color-barrier.  Jackson was (emphasis on the word was) a black man that in the early 1980’s electrified people of all colors and all ages.  Even white 50 year old guys in the South were buying ”Thriller.” MTV stayed away from black artists and soul music when it started out as a “rock” channel.  But after Jackson, soul and R & B were no longer relagated to second-class status.  Rap took off in the mid-1980’s, and by 1990 R & B/hip hop was the dominant form of music in the whole world and has stayed there ever since.  Unfortunately, soul music was killed by hip-hop as computer generated/studio produced music pushed out authentic black musicians (I’m still going to write a post on this one day in the future).  For the past decade or more, black R & B/Hip hop/Rap has been the biggest selling musical format in the world.  And lots of white kids (and Japense kids and even Iranian kids) dress like black rap stars.  It wasn’t like that before Jackson came along.  He broke an industry color barrier that people didn’t know still existed.  It’s something I never hear him get credit for.

So those are the 3 significant things about Michael Jackson in my opinion.  And he did have an amazing voice.  His voice as a child was amazing—deeply reasonant yet sweet and innocent.  A unique combo.

But sadly, he was an emotionally-stunted man who refused to take responsibility for his actions and surrounded himself with enablers and syncophants.  Who knows whether the molestation charges were true (I suspected they were true, although I obviously don’t know), but he was obviously a wounded man who never found peace and never wanted to grow up.  A refusal to grow up is always a bad thing with great cost, but in Jackson’s case, it was deadly.  As one wise commentator wrote recently, “Actually, Michael Jackson died a long time ago.”  So true.

I saw my father for the first time in 3 years!  It was his first time to see Marco and Jamie too.  One of the downsides of this line of work is not getting to see family very often at all.  And even when we do see family, it is for very short periods of time.

My Dad flew from Costa Rica to Oklahoma and then drove to Indiana with his wife Julia and her sister Ofelia.  They are here as representatives of the Children of Promise (child sponsorship) program run by the Church of God.  Julie is the director for the Costa Rica branch of this amazing, global program.

We barely got to see them throughout the week.  We had dessert one day, lunch one day, and ran into each other a couple of times in passing.  Meanwhile, we have been mad-busy this week with NAC activities.  The North American Convention started last Friday and is always a super hectic time.  This year was especially more hectic than usual. 

I was chosen to be one of the keynote speakers for the 2009 Convention.  In the CHOG, that’s kind of a big deal to be chosen as a speaker.  It’s like the ultimate stamp of approval or something.  As a kid I had always hoped that I would one day be picked to be an NAC speaker.  That would mean I had really made it. 

But life has a way of humbling you.  Stupid youthful ambition.  Nowadays I dread most speaking engagements.  In fact, I’ve been dreading this one for 360 days!  It’s been a huge weight on my shoulders and something I really didn’t want to do.  But i really felt that it was necessary and that if I said “no” it would be for the wrong reasons.  So I said “yes”—especially since our General Director Ron Duncan (ie. “the Pope”) gave me permission to write this book I am working on, so how could I say “no” to him?

Well, anyway, today was THE DAY.  I spoke today and it went extremely well.  Thanks to all of you that prayed.  It was a hopeful message–but one with some pretty direct words about the inevitability of change.  It was the most complicated sermon I’ve ever given.  It had about 8 different parts and changed in tone from comic, to academic, to serious, to inspirational.  Not easy, but I knew this was the message I needed to give 360 days ago when I was asked.

Well…it’s done and the reception of the message has been overwhelming.  People are very, very happy with the message.  And I am relieved.  I feel like about 10,000 lbs. has been lifted off my shoulders.

My next time to speak will be next Tuesday in Washington DC at the CHOG leadership forum for young people.  After that I should get a bit of a break on speaking—although we do visit some churches. 

Jamie spoke today to the Women of the Church of God about being a TCK (Third-Culture Kid) raising a TCK.  She had a lot of funny Marco stories that were designed to show all the things we parents have to think about when raising our kids in a foreign culture.  Marco’s imaginary friend “uncle” made an appearance and i hear there was a lot of laughter.  Jamie is a wonderful public speaker if you ever get the chance to hear her. 

It was nice to have my Dad in the crowd today.  We’re together so little that it was nice he could be here for that special day.  But i am SO GLAD it’s over.  My stress level has been through the roof. 

Tomorrow is the last day of NAC and my Dad leaves as well.  But luckily in about 13 days from now, we will be flying down to Costa Rica to visit him for 2 weeks.  As usual, I have so many things to do BEFORE that, that I really don’t have time to think about it.  I’ll be in Cincinnati, Washington DC, Miami, and Northeastern Florida, all BEFORE we head down to Costa Rica in 13 days.  Ridiculous.  And then we come back to the USA and I go on an insane journey across America and Canada for a month.

Well, I can’t find my camera at the moment, but I’ll try to add a picture of my Dad and Marco if I can get one here in the next day or so. 

For those of you that have been at NAC, it’s been great to see you.  It’s always frustrating when there is so little time to visit–but it really is wondeful to see our friends from all over the world.  Just to give an example….Pastor Mascall from London, England, Pastor Andrei from Russia, Joy from Lebanon, Klaus from Germany, Alan Lwo from Taiwan……where else can you get all these people–and so many more—in one room?  That is what is so great about these conferences.  It’s amazing to see all these friends. And of course…Harry.  That’s my Dad.

Hello everyone.  Greetings from Anderson, Indiana.  These pictures above are definitely not from Anderson.  They are pictures from Germany that I never loaded up.  My last stop in Germany was in Pforzheim in Southern Germany.  It’s a beautiful area bordering the Black Forest.  I spoke there to their youth on a Saturday night (super fun!) and then spoke on Sunday morning.  We then attended a baptism.  I just look at these pictures and I get tired thinking of the brutal schedule in May.

Well anyway, picture one is of some of the youth and the pastor-intern who is from Peru by way of Germany.  She was a sweetheart and a great help to me. 

The second picture is of the beautiful natural wonders of Germany in the area near the baptism. 

The handsome young gent in the 3rd picture is the new pastor of the Pforzheim church Manuel.  Manuel and I went to college together.  It’s so great to see my peers in leadership.  He just spent a year doing an internship in Argentina.  Now he is the top-dog at the great Pforzheim church.  I’m really proud of him. 

And the last picture is of someone getting baptized.

Well, this is a short post.  We are spending a lot of time in meetings as we head into the Annual North American Convention.  It is really a busy time for everyone.  We have a lot of duties in this one and then our own meetings as well–plus people and supporters we need to visit between all of that.

On top of that…my Dad is in town.  The first time I have seen him in 3 years (marco and jamie too!).

More on that later. 

And I am constantly running into friends from all over the world. Africa, Russia, New Zealand.  It was so great to see my buddy Chad from NZ last night.  Anyway, I literally have to run out the door.  In my next post I’ll talk about my Dad.

Although we’ve been extremely busy since our arrival in the USA, I have been trying to fit in time each day to monitor the events occurring in Iran.  After last week’s Presidential election was apparently stolen, the people of Iran have taken to the streets in protest.  They are shouting from their rooftops all night long, “God is great” (to protest against the Islamic Fascists by using Islam).  They are taking to the streets in a peaceful protest (a remarkable thing in an Islamic nation), and they are being beaten to death by their evil, corrupt government. 

Although the Iranian government has tried to shut off all interaction with the outside world, the Iranians are using twitter and youtube to get information out.  And it is disturbing.  Today the government dropped acid on the people.  Many people young and old have been shot, beaten and imprisoned.  On youtube today there is a video of a very pretty young Iranian girl falling on the ground and bleeding out of her ears and mouth.  She was shot in the heart and fell dead.  It is becoming an iconic revolutionary photo–although a very disturbing one.  It may be the moment the revolution turned and the Islamic government of Iran lost legitimacy.

China is stopping all images of this Iranian revolution.  And the USA mainstream media is not doing a good job of covering it.  But it is a very important event.  There have been 3 great revolutions in the modern era.  The American Revolution in 1776 (which set the stage for Democracy), the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 (which set the stage for Communism) and the Iranian Revolution in 1979 which ushered in the age of modern global Islamic aspirations. 

The leader of Iran, the Mullah Khamenei has threatened the protesters.  There is no guarantee that this will end badly.  But usually there is a tipping point in revolutions, and this one is in the process of being crossed as we speak.  It still may fail, but each day it continues from here, the chances grow that it will succeed.

I have been cheering for Iran (and waiting of this moment for a long time).  Iran is a beautiful country, with beautiful people that have tended to have a very liberal spirit.  The Islamic revolution was an aberration.  But over the past years, the country has been a democracy with a religious council that really rules the country.  Their religious leader–the Ayatollah Khamenei (not to be confused with the old Ayatolloah Khomenei)—is the most powerful man in the country and he has chosen to fight the protesters.  His legitimacy is now severely damaged.

In the West, people focus on Ahmadenijad, the nutty President of Iran, but the real power lies with Khamenei.  Regardless of what happens, it would be nice to see Khamenei’s leadership end.  Under his rule, Iran has become a very backward country with a very young population that wants I-pods and has no interest in hating the West. 

Right now, there are many of these young people risking their lives for freedom from the Islamic criminal mafia that rules the country.  I leave you with a message posted from one of those youth fighting tonight in Iran:

“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow.  Maybe they will turn violent.  Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed.  I’m listening to all my favorite music.  I even want to dance to a few songs.  I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows.  Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see.  I should drop by the library, too.  It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again.  All family pictures have to be reviewed, too.  I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye.  All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them.  I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that.  My mind is very chaotic.  I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure.  So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them.  So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism.  This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children…”

We have arrived in the USA.  We flew from HK to Tokyo to Chicago.  We stopped in Chicago for a night which was relaxing, and then flew to Indianapolis the next morning.  This was my first time in the new Indianapolis Airport.  That heavens they got rid of that old hideous monstrosity that used to serve as the “airport.”  The new one is nice and much, much better.  I still think Portland has the nicest airport in the USA. 

We are pretty exhausted, but gearing up for the North American Convention as well as some church visits.  We are in Connorsville, IND this coming Sunday.  That is one of our closest churches which makes the visit easy. 

Marco’s excited to be with grandma and his Indiana friends, as well as his missionary kid friends who are also in town.  I think he’s really enjoying being in a place where the weather is nice and you can go outside and play anytime you want.  Very nice. 

As you may remember, I was recently in Africa observing CBH put in a new studio at the Kima International School of Theology in Kenya.  CBH has posted a video of that trip, and if you look closely you can see me twice.  Not that anybody cares.  I’m mainly posting it because I never take video footage of my trips.  I was there when they were recording the song you are listening to.  It was cool to watch them make a CD. 

That trip to Kenya and Uganda has been my favorite trip thus far on this book journey.  Today I meet with my editors and I will give them an update on the book.   I have 267 pages written thus far and about 130 more to go.  I still have at least 5 more countries to visit and A LOT of States in the US. 

Enjoy the video.

Here I am (was) in Central Germany.  From Berlin I went to Northern Germany, and then down to the gorgeous town of Fritzlar.  This is where the Church of God Bible School in Germany is located.  I was invited to give 8 lectures to the students here. 

It went extremely well.  The students were fantastic and very attentive. They are also very kind.  They live together in the bible school and they cook meals together and it’s a pretty communal life in this quaint setting.  I had a really great time with the Director of the school too–Rainer. 

I spoke on 2 subjects over the 8 course periods.  The first 3 courses were about the 10 things that will prevent a pastor from making major mistakes.  That’s a really good one.  I gave this one at Anderson University once, but in a 1 hour session. 

The next 5 periods covered the traditional church, the non-western church, and the emerging/missional church.  I actually improvised this one for 5 periods.  I had something different planned and about 10 minutes into it–I just felt the female students weren’t that into it.  So I switched and they loved it.  And I had fun teaching–which lately I haven’t.  Too bad i didn’t record it or have notes.  I’ll never be able to remember whatever it is I said for 5 hours. 

These kids are entering into a complicated Christian world.  The more monolithic world we all grew up with is gone and we are in the middle of some huge paradigm shifts—and that’s what the talk was about.  I can envision doing that one in churches and in conferences in the coming years.  It’s something people need to start understanding–and I cover it some in the new book. 

I meant to take some pictures of the students and I forgot.  They were really great.  They are German, Italian, and Latin American.  The German CHOG has not accepted female pastors (in contrast to the stance of most CHOG’s), but in recent years, the Bible school has been primarily filled with young women.  This has presented an interesting new dynamic.  They’re still working on being fully recognized. 

In general, the German CHOG is facing a lot of the same challenges as the USA.  Although this is much more of a Post-Christendom, post-modern setting.  Which makes it very challenging for the church. 

It’s so weird being “the professor.” As i walked to classes, I felt like I was in school.  It hasn’t been that long–well, 9 years since Grad. school, I guess.  I still picture myself being about 23, but I guess I really am 28. 

There was this little bell (a switch) that I was supposed to ring to bring people back from breaks.  It felt weird to do that.  Funny.  The kids were real attentive and took great notes.  They also asked very good questions.

Then on Thursday I caught the train to Munich which is where I am now.  That’s in Southeast Germany very close to the Swiss border. 

One of my all-time musical heroes lived in Munich for a while.   He’s a soul singer—Michael Jackson/Sam Cooke/James Brown rolled into one—but a much better songwriter.  He didn’t write commercial pop songs though, so CBS records dropped him after 3 spectacular albums (2 of which sold poorly and received little publicity).  That was back in 1993. 

This guy has more talent in his pinky than every artist out there now, but it’s one of those stories that you see in the arts—the most talented don’t necessarily become the most famous.  So i walked the streets that he walked today.  He still plays little theatres and clubs in places like Munich.  One day I would like to go. 

Oh, and other famous historical figures lived in Munich and Hitler started his quest to power and all that other stuff–but who cares.

Well, this probably concludes my diary entries for a while.  Tomorrow I head to Pforzheim in Southwestern Germany to speak twice.  From there I fly back to Berlin for 12 hours before flying out the next day to Hong Kong via Paris.  Then 2 days later we head to Indiana.  We’ll be there a couple of weeks, then it’s off to Washington DC and Costa Rica and then back to Indiana.

I literally have to think one minute, one day at a time at this point, so when I look at that schedule I don’t think anything except…”I’ve got to go to Pforzheim tomorrow.” 

I can’t wait until 2009 is done.

Hello from Frankfurt, Germany.

I just finished speaking at the German CHOG Youth Conference.  The kids were great.  They did a wonderful job of organizing this thing.  There was great music, great skits, great videos, and a lot of sweet young people. 

When I do these youth things, I never know what to expect.  How different are the cultures? But in the end, kids are kids, and human beings are human beings.  I liked all the questions I got over the course of the 4 days.  My favorite:

“Are the Jonas Brothers gay?”  (meaning is it gay to like the Jonas brothers?). 

On Saturday night, there was a concert.  It was a youth band but they played all 50’s and 60’s music while everyone danced.  There was a mosh pit.  Of course I joined.

PHOTO BELOW:  People enjoying the beach about 45 minutes North of Beirut.

PHOTO BELOW:  A Picture of a Very Tired and Jet-Lagged Human Being.

Well, I am done in Lebanon.  That was a quick, action packed trip.  Being taken hostage, the interrogations, the marines breaking in and freeing me, and then the interview on Larry King—it’s all a blur now.  But I’m glad to be back.

It’s amazing how much of the country I got to see in such a short time.  And then you remember the country is the size of Cher’s closet and then it’s not so amazing.  Regardless, I must say I liked Lebanon a lot.  It’s a beautiful country with warm people.  I hope to go back soon and next time I want to take Marco and Jamie.  They would love it there.

Book Thoughts

Working on this book has been really fascinating.  While I’m ready for the travel part to end, the actual subject is something I would love to have another 2 years to examine.  Two years was not long enough, but there’s a rush.  We need to have this book out by 2010 particularly considering the economic crisis.  I’ve been in this long enough t see a lot of things.  One thing I see is that having succesful churches, or states, or districts requires a lot of change and adaptation.  But churches are often the worst at change and adaptation. 

One of the reasons for that is because it’s all so personal.  People feel intimately connected to their churches and they picture it being one certain way.  Christianity is also a religion of absolutes and people easily view their way of doing things in the church as absolute.  So any change seems threatening–as if it is violating spiritual beliefs. 

The end result is that churches tend to be pretty inflexible and they follow the growth-plateau-decline pattern of any organization.  Companies and businesses live for profits and have shareholders to answer to.  They can’t afford to be that inflexible or they will go out of business.  Schools cannot either.  No students, no school.  But churches can hang on for a very long time.  All it takes is a couple of people willing to pay the bills.  Churches can take decades to die and many do…and many are.

So what can be done.  Unfortunately, a lot of it falls upon the leaders.  I hate that John Maxwell is right, but it does all “rise or fall on leadership.” They have to be wise, cast a vision, bring people along, and see it to completion.  Few are up to the challenge, and few communities set in their ways want to go there.

It’s a story I see over and over and over and over and over and over.  It’s not limited to age either.  It can be any group or leader that decides they don’t want to grow, don’t want to mature.

So what can be done?  I’m convinced you have to expect that this will happen and you have to create systems and structures that prevent it.  Systems and structures that make sure that the organization understands that it will most likely need to change from time to time, and that keeps power from being concentrated by too few people. 

But a challenge for the Church of God is that it has never been a very structured church viewing things as needing to be organized by the Holy Spirit.  The founders did this, but then again, they expected the world to end any day.  Today, 130 years later, this lack of thought towards issues of structure and organization have given us massive problems around the world.  And I explore that in the book.

We’ll see if that’s well received or not.  Here’s some more pictures of Lebanon and an extra bonus picture of Hungary! 

PHOTO BELOW: The mountains around Beirut go as high as 3,000 ft. So basically they are a bit higher than the mountains encircling downtown Hong Kong.  They are beautiful. 

PHOTO BELOW: There are lots of canyons along these mountains.  This little section reminded me of West Virginia a bit.

PHOTO BELOW: A view of downtown Budapest, Hungary.  What, you think I would give up a window seat? Not even for Marco! (Although, he doesn’t seem to care). 

I shook hands with an Al-Qaeda suicide bomber today.  He never strapped on the bomb.  He left Al-Qaeda and became a Christian instead.  Amazing. Read on. 

Beirut

I arrived in Beirut at 3AM on Friday.  Boy was I grumpy getting off of that plane, even though the flight through Budapest, Hungary was uneventful and relatively easy.  I was too tired and too behind on work to feel chipper or excited.  But as soon as I met Nabil, the first of many super-friendly CHOG people I am meeting, my attitude changed. 

He took me to the guest apartment at MBC–the Mediterrenean Bible College (a chog school), and it was gorgeous.  The view is lovely as it sits on the hillside of the gorgeous 3,000 ft. mountains that rise out of the sea next to Beirut.  But best of all, Alan McD (who I’ve mentioned on this diary a few times) was my roommate.  He is a dear friend and mission-pastor at one of our supporting churches (in Washington DC).  But he’s also “Uncle Alan” to Marco and a great mentor to me.  Alan McD used to work in HK and China and basically lived my life before I did.  We have a major common bond.  This year, he and I have run into each other in Kenya, France, Lebanon, and Indiana and DC later next month.  How fortuitous.

Photo:  The Beautiful campus of MBC sits on a hillside that is part of one of Lebanon’s 2 big mountain ranges.  I’d love to teach some classes here some day. 

Beirut is gorgeous.  It’s my kind of town.  The beautiful mountains, the beautiful sea, and friendly-warm people.  Despite the fact that this city and country has been bombed and was engulfed in a massively long civil war, Beirut has been rebuilt and looks a lot better than Cairo where we were a few months ago.  The restaurants all look so inviting, the Corniche (the street along the sea that creates a seaside promenade) is very well kept up, and the weather is California-tastic. 

Israel is only 60 miles away or so and Syria even less than that.  Lebanon is a small country.  To get to the Northern, Southern, or Eastern border from Beirut is really only about 2 hours or less–and that’s mainly because of traffic that it takes that long.  Nevertheless, there are 4 million people here (the same as Costa Rica) and 1 million in Beirut.  Yesterday I had a lovely evening taking in the sights of Beirut with a different Nabil  (this is not like Uganda where everyone I met was named “Moses”.)  I am anxious to one day come back with more time and get to know the city well. 

Photo (Below):  A Mosque and some 2,000 year old Roman ruins in the middle of the city.  Lebanon, which is mentioned in the Bible, has been conquered by numerous peoples for thousands of years.  This was also the home of the Ancient Phoenicians.

Hezbollah and the War

My first “memories” of Beirut were of watching the Israeli bombing of Beirut in 1982 on TV.  Most recently, in 2006, Israel bombed Beirut for a month because a terrorist group (Hezbollah) captured some Israeli soldiers near the border.  Hezbollah is a Syrian/Iranian-backed terrorist group that emerged after the 1982 war.  They are not only terrorists, but they also provide a lot of social service and do a lot of “good works” throughout Lebanon.  They are Shiites, like the Iranians, and hate Israel.

Even though Lebanon is a Democracy (with a bunch of dysfunctional parties and a dysfunctional government), Hezbollah actually controls many parts of Lebanon.  It is a state within a state.  There are some neighborhoods you cannot go into.  And there are parts of the countryside that are all Hezbollah.  They look abandoned, but as soon as war starts, the people emerge in the thousands from tunnels and who knows where else.  In fact, nobody knows.  These areas are really not safe.

So when the Israeli’s did their retalliatory strike in 2006, they were surprised that their much superior army was unable to damage Hezbollah.  Nobody knows where their leader lives and nobody knew well hidden there structures are.  So the end result was that innocent people in Lebanon got killed, and Israel was unable to do any real damage to Hezbollah.  It’s an example of how old-style warfare does not work against assymetrical enemies.

The end result was that a lot of people who did not support Hezbollah, now do.  Hezbollah does seem less corrupt than the government and the people are mad at Israel.  Initially, a lot of Lebanese were happy that Israel was going to take out Hezbollah because they don’t like having a terrorist group controlling parts of their country (especially backed by Syria and Iran).  But after the Israeli attack, Hezbollah’s popularity has increased.

Photo:  A major bridge that is being rebuilt after it was bombed by Israel in 2006.  Israel damaged a lot of Lebanon’s infrastructure but failed to get the terrorists.  USAID is helping to pay for these repairs.  A crane in the middle has tipped over because of high winds.

Meeting the Terrorist

Today, I went with Alan MacD to meet a man who works with Muslims.  Amongst the people we met were a former Al-Qaeda suicide bomber and a new Muslim convert to Christianity who at one time had 4 wives and is now down to 2. 

Of course Alan MacD and I had to make a lot of terrorist jokes because we are both immature.  Okay, maybe it was mostly me.

I said to Alan MacD:  “If they take us hostage we need to speak in code.    So if I say, “kill the white infidel first” that really means “I love you and am praying for you.”

Ha ha!  I think I’m hillarious.  Maybe nobody else does, but I sure do.  And Marco does too.  So take that!

But in all seriousness, I’m not going to write much about this meeting or this ministry I visited.  We really did enter into Hezbollah territory.  For the Christians that do evangelism in this area, it is dangerous.  There are threats, Fatwas issued, and no pastor or convert is safe.  You can’t just come out and tell everyone you’ve accepted Jesus either or your death will be quick.

Interestingly, those that are converted who were prepared to die for Allah (as Suicide Bombers) often retain that bravery for Christ.  “I am willing to die for Jesus Christ!” they will say, and they mean it!  We know they mean it. 

And what if you convert to Christianity and you have 4 wives?  The BIble doesn’t tell us what to do in that situation.  These are the kinds of issues faced in this kind of setting.  It’s complicated and dangerous.  It’s amazing to meet these people.  Just in the last month, I’ve met 2 CHOG pastors that risk their lives and the lives of their family to do the gospel: one in Chile and one here in Lebanon.

It’s also interesting to meet Muslims that become Christians.  In the West, some of us have such hostility toward Muslims and Middle Easterns in general.  Our prejudices run deep and it’s easy to view them as a monlithic group of people.  But what are we to think when we meet one that is a Christian?  One that is risking everything (more than we will ever have to) to proclaim Christ?  Suddenly they are not “the other,” but they are our brother or sister.  This is one of the reasons I think the church needs to be global and not ethnically isolated.  It’s also why I think this book project is important.  It’s about viewing ourselves as the children of God.

Photo:  People think that “the Holy Lands” means Israel.  But actually, the “Land of Milk and Honey” and the Holy Lands mentioned in the Bible extend into Lebanon and Syria (remember Israel’s borders were only constructed in 1948).  Behind this hill here is Syria.  The fertile valleys of Lebanon look much like the fertile valleys of Israel–which resemble the Yakima valley in Washington and parts of Eastern Oregon. 

Photo:  Yes, it snows in the Middle East.  Actually, Lebanon has ski resorts.  In fact, this is snow on the mountains today in late May!

Yesterday we took a lovely drive through the green fields and forests of the former East Germany.  Back in the days of the Cold War, (West) Free Berlin of course, was surrounded by socialist East Germany .  It was an enclave of freedom amidst the repressive East German state.  So when you leave Berlin today, you are surrounded by areas that were once part of East Germany and have only been free from Socialism for less than 20 years. 

In those towns that were part of the East, prices are still cheaper and the economy is weaker than those that were part of the West.  There are still quite a few disillusioned folks who live in the East where economic times are tough.  But there are also some beautiful parts of the country and the cost of living is lower than in the West. 

Yesterday we drove to Wittenberg, which is where Martin Luther King Jr. nailed his “I have a Dream Speech” on the door of a German church. 

Oh wait…maybe it was Martin Luther the Protestant Reformer who lived 500 years earlier.  Thanks to Marty L. (as his close friends called him), we now have the scripture in our own language, have our worship services in our own language, and don’t have to pay a priest to get into heaven—-although making donations to Jamie and I will get you half of the way there no questions asked.

We visited the Church where he preached which houses his tomb, as well as the church that had the famous door, as well as his house.  As Jamie said, it took a lot of guts to blatantly go against the Holy Roman Catholic Empire.  It was a dangerous, gutsy thing to do and the Reformation grew quickly leading many people away from Roman Catholicism.  It was interesting to see the pamphlets that circulated around Europe in the 1500’s which equated the Catholic church with Babylon.  The Protestant Reformation was made possible by the invention of the printing press—part of Globalization 1.0.

Photo:  The Church where Luther preached (above) and Marco and I sitting inside just a few feet from Martin Luther’s tomb.  Marco’s disturbed as he hears about the wars between the Protestants and Catholics. 

Marco always likes to hear the explanations of the various sites we see around the world.  Here he is listening to my rendition of the story of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation boiled down for a smart 6 year old.  “How many theses did Martin Luther put on the door?” I asked him later when we were outside.  “Ninety-five” he said without hesitation.  I’m glad he enjoys traveling and learning about the world as much as his Mom and Dad.  We’re all blessed to have seen as much of the world as we have, but we also appreciate it all.

Well, that was yesterday.  And today, Jamie and Marco are taking off from Paris at this very moment on their way back to Hong Kong.  This was the toughest goodbye yet.  It’s just getting harder and harder.  I’m counting the minutes until this project is done.  And then I don’t want to take any more long trips for a while. 

Tomorrow I’m off to the Middle East.  I’ll be in Lebanon and I’ll try to post pictures.  Lots of interviews to do there and a totally packed schedule.  We’ll see what happens.  It’s the most annoying flight in the world.  Get’s in at 3AM in Lebanon and I leave at 4AM (so 2AM at the airport?).  I think this is the worst departure and arrival time I have ever had in all my years of travel.  I’m flying Count Chocula Airlines, or whatever the Hungarian airlines is called.  I stop in Budapest for an annoying transfer in the middle of the night with everything closed.  I’m going to bust some heads when I get there.  If the vampires or car bombs don’t get me first.