http://wmpl.org/pubs/home Reflections, downloads, music, and helps Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:35:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en ©World Mission Prayer League clindquist@wmpl.org (World Mission Prayer League) clindquist@wmpl.org(World Mission Prayer League) Together in Prayer 1440 mission,lutheran,world,prayer,community Monthly reflection from the heart of our praying community Reflections, downloads, music, and helps World Mission Prayer League World Mission Prayer League clindquist@wmpl.org No no http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/tip_online_logo_144.jpg http://wmpl.org/pubs/home 144 144 http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/12/the-little-town-of-bethlehem/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/12/the-little-town-of-bethlehem/#comments Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:00:15 +0000 Lindquist http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/12/the-little-town-of-bethlehem/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/12/the-little-town-of-bethlehem/feed/ 8:53 Why Bethlehem, of all places in the world? Why should the Savior of all peoples everywhere land here ndash; in "the little town of Bethlehem"? ... Why Bethlehem, of all places in the world? Why should the Savior of all peoples everywhere land here ndash; in "the little town of Bethlehem"? Surely our wonderful Lord might have done better! Heaven must have known, for example, that Rome was still in its ascendancy. Why not choose the capital of the civilized world, with its impressive infrastructure and power? Mexico might have been a strategic alternative, too; Teotihuacaacute;n was soon to become one of the largest cities on earth. Or how about China? Here was an advanced civilization in Jesus' day ndash; even then, perhaps, the most populous nation on the planet. And one out of five of our entire human family is Chinese today: just think if Jesus had been born among them! What a strategic move! But Bethlehem? The "little town" we sing about is really no more than a village. There must have been a bakery in town, at least; "beth lehem" means, literally, "house of bread." Maybe travelers stopped by for a sandwich on their way to Jerusalem. We know that there was an inn in the town, too, a little smaller than it should have been. Yet Bethlehem was not exactly a hub of commercial activity. It was not a hub for much of anything, in fact. The prophet Micah called it "small among the clans of Judah" (Micah 5:2, NIV) ndash; "the runt of the litter" (The Message). The place was a backwater, in many ways, a few miles south of Jerusalem, in the remote countryside of a smallish nation on the periphery of the Mediterranean world. It has not fared much better since the Savior's birth, either. In the second century, Hadrian completely devastated the city; the so-called "Nativity Grotto," if still remembered, was probably lost forever at that point. (Saint Helena, it is true, erected the "Church of the Nativity" two centuries later on a site that seemed Christmassy to her, somehow.) The place was destroyed again during the Crusades. The Ottoman Empire annihilated the village once more in 1244. On the other hand, this was David's village. King David was the "runt of the litter," too. In fact, Bethlehem and its famous son reflected an established heavenly strategy: to work from the periphery and the "runt" end of things. Not from royal Rome or the glitter of Teotihuacaacute;n. For his greatest and most spectacular miracles, God chooses "backwater" sorts of places and their unlikely kind of people. He makes them "by no means least" (Matthew 2:6, NIV). Bethlehem is "no longer bringing up the rear" (The Message). "For out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israelhellip;." Bethlehem, you see, is any town. It is your town and my town. It is Baitadi, in the remote west of Nepal. It is Hovd, in western Mongolia. It is Cariamanga, in Ecuador's southern mountains. It is Maralal, in Samburu District, in the north of Kenya. And it is downtown Bucharest, too, and teeming Nairobi, and Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Bethlehem represents the great movement of the Advent and Christmas seasons. It is the movement of God's own mission in the world. From the throne room of his excellent grace ndash; to the needy byways of human hearts and communities, wherever they may be. So this Christmas season, have a look for Bethlehem. Maybe there are needy byways in your town, too. How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv'n; So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav'n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in. (Phillips Brooks, 1867)Share This Editorial World Mission Prayer League no No http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/11/smaller-than-you-thought/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/11/smaller-than-you-thought/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:00:19 +0000 Lindquist http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/11/smaller-than-you-thought/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/11/smaller-than-you-thought/feed/ 7:41 It turns out that the earth is rather smaller than previously estimated. I learned of the discrepancy just the other day. Researcher Axel Nothnagel of ... It turns out that the earth is rather smaller than previously estimated. I learned of the discrepancy just the other day. Researcher Axel Nothnagel of the University of Bonn discovered the error, having recently completed a measure of the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision. Dr. Nothnagel used a methodology called "very long baseline interferometry" ndash; a complicated mechanism that involves stars and radio telescopes. The measurement showed that the planet is fully five millimeters smaller than previously estimated. You can read the astounding news for yourself at the University of Bonn. Five millimeters is not a great distance, in many ways. Less than a quarter of an inch ndash; the distance, approximately, between here rarr;#124;and#124;larr; here. I have read somewhere that the earth itself is squeezed by its orbiting moon approximately 40 centimeters each day, first one way and then the other. Five millimeters is a small fraction of that daily variability. Five millimeters, in fact, is a smallish fraction of very many things. Yet for people who care about measurements, five millimeters is enough to redraw the map, so to speak. It is enough to impact the orbit of satellites, for example. It is enough to influence the tracking of airplanes and ships ndash; and even hikers who depend upon "GPS" locators. From a missiological perspective, of course, we do not need "very long baseline interferometry" to notice a remarkable shrinkage in the dimensions of planet earth. My little town is home to more Chinese scholars and students than anywhere outside of mainland China. It is home to a larger community of Somali immigrants than anywhere in the United States. More Hmong make their home in my town than anywhere else in the country. Not to mention some 200,000 African immigrants, 400 Afghans, 900 Burmese, more than 5,000 Iranians, some 6,500 Eritreans, etc. There are Sikh groups, Jain groups, Zoroastrians, and more. There are 62 Buddhist temples in my city, 21 Hindu temples and fellowships, and approximately 125,000 Muslims worshipping in nearly 80 mosques. Five millimeters is pretty subtle. But there is nothing subtle about trends like these. The world is smaller than estimated previously ndash; by a long shot. If you are thinking to launch a satellite into geostationary orbit, sometime soon, you will certainly want to take into account Dr. Nothnagel's new measurements. You wouldn't want to be "off" in your calculations. But if you are thinking of something more earth-bound ndash; like living your life for Christ in cities like Minneapolis or Saint Paul ndash; you will want to take into account the radical shrinkage of the world of cultures, languages and religions. You will want to notice that your neighbors may be Muslim as well as Lutheran, and that you don't need to travel to Pakistan to befriend Pakistanis. (More than 1,700 live in my home town.) You can be "off" in calculations like these, too. Changes like these are enough to redraw the map. They are enough to impact the exercise of our faith and witness and worldview. Indeed, concerned believers could lose their way altogether, if they do not recognize changes such as these. The mission of God is sometimes found at our doorstep. The world, you see, is smaller than you thought. Demographic data taken from The Cityview Report, by John A. Mayer (Minneapolis: City Vision, 2006)Share This Editorial World Mission Prayer League no No http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/10/a-parish-as-big-as-the-world/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/10/a-parish-as-big-as-the-world/#comments Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:00:17 +0000 Lindquist http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/10/a-parish-as-big-as-the-world/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/10/a-parish-as-big-as-the-world/feed/ 9:19 I have been thinking lately of a little word from the New Testament -- a word, like so many, that has changed dramatically over the ... I have been thinking lately of a little word from the New Testament -- a word, like so many, that has changed dramatically over the years. It is a little word with big implications -- paroikos, from which we derive "parochia" in Latin, "parroquia" in Spanish and similar languages, and "parish" in English. I belong to a parish of Christians here in Minneapolis; I suppose that you belong to a parish somewhere, too. Literally, the word refers to aliens and exiles in a foreign land -- sojourners, really. It connotes something mobile -- a pilgrim troupe of like-minded believers marching to the beat of a Different Drummer, in movement and in mission across the earth. "The idea of life on earth as a sojourning lies in the background" of this word, explains New Testament scholar Gerhard Kittel (TDNT, p.789, italics added). Moses was a "paroikos" in Midian -- a sojourner (Exodus 2:22). The people of Israel were "paroikoi" in Egypt. Even in the Promised Land, the people of Israel were to live as aliens and sojourners whose ultimate citizenship lay elsewhere (1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 119:19). They were "paroikoi." The New Testament continues the theme. "Like ancient Israel, the saints were strangers and sojourners," Kittel makes clear (TDNT, p.790; cf. Ephesians 2:19). You may be familiar with a related New Testament term -- "ekklesia." The church is the community of the "called out." But the community is comprised of a dynamic network of "paroikia" -- parishes "of resident aliens on earth whose true citizenship is in heaven" (ibid.). Many years have come and gone since New Testament days -- and we have made "paroikia" something geographical and heavy, I am afraid. Today's "parish" has little to do with sojourning. To the contrary, it has the feel of something stationary, safe and still. Something you could draw on a map and find unchanged in a dozen years. Something going nowhere. After all, who wants to be a community of "resident aliens"? We've gotten the "resident" part right for the most part, I suppose. A parish is a place where people live, put in their roots, and settle down. We picture a little church in the countryside and a radius of settled geography that surrounds it. In many parts of the world, parishes have become permanent administrative units in civil society. Like the water-logged parishes of Louisiana, that lay in the path of hurricanes Rita and Katrina a few years ago. But the "alien" part and the "sojourning" part, I think, have come seriously unraveled since New Testament times. New Testament "paroikoi" had their citizenship in heaven. Their allegiance and values were to align with heaven's allegiance and values. They were going someplace; they were communities on a mission. New Testament parishes were "exiles of the Dispersion" scattered throughout the world (1 Peter 1:1), "chosen to be obedient to Jesus Christ" (1:2), "God's own people" destined for holiness, and enabled by grace to "proclaim the mighty acts of him who called [them] out of darkness into his marvelous light" (2:9). St. Augustine retained this New Testament view in the fourth century of our era. Maybe you are familiar with his famous motto -- "A whole Christ for my salvation, a whole Bible for my staff, a whole church for my fellowship, a whole world for my parish." Don't settle for a parish going nowhere. It is time, once again, to pilgrim. Let's sojourn a little -- with Augustine and Peter. We'll find that the whole world awaits.Share This Editorial World Mission Prayer League no No http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/09/the-blessed-holy-cross/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/09/the-blessed-holy-cross/#comments Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:00:57 +0000 Lindquist http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/09/the-blessed-holy-cross/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/09/the-blessed-holy-cross/feed/ 7:53 "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified...." (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) September brings us an ancient commemoration in the ecclesiastical calendar: ... "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified...." (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) September brings us an ancient commemoration in the ecclesiastical calendar: "Holy Cross Day." It falls every year on September 14. The day commemorates the alleged discovery of remnants of Calvary's true cross in the year 325, in Jerusalem. The "Church of the Holy Sepulchre" was built on the site. Visitors to Jerusalem flock to it, to this very day. Sometimes, in fact, they visit the site on Holy Cross Day. Frankly, I have never been so impressed with flocking to Jerusalem. And I am not much impresssed with speculation regarding remnants and relics, either. Holy Cross Day, in my estimation, is observed properly when it becomes an occasion for remembering the astounding fact of Calvary, the cross that once graced that terrible hill, and the One who hung there for the redemption of the race. It is also a day for mission. From very early days, it was customary to give Christian missionaries a cross or a crucifix at their commissioning ceremony. In a book titled Where Mission Begins, William Frazier comments on the practice: "The missionary cross or crucifix is no mere ornament depicting Christianity in general. Rather, it is a vigorous commentary on what gives the gospel its universal appeal. Those who receive it possess not only a symbol of their mission but a handbook on how to carry it out" (1987:46; cited in Bosch 1992:122). There is nothing nearer the heart of Christian mission than the cross of Jesus Christ. 1. The Holy Cross roots our mission in history. At the center of our faith is an actual place, a series of actual events -- and an actual Man, crucified, risen, and coming again. The Christian faith is not about ethereal principles or sublime spiritual insights. It is about a Man and a Deed that that have "made all things new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). 2. The Holy Cross anchors our message. Someone has said that the world does not need more of our Christian views; it needs the news we have to share -- the singular news about Jesus, his cross, and his empty tomb. "When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to in lofty words or wisdom," the Apostle Paul reported. "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). 3. The Holy Cross reinterprets our pain. Paul Lindell discovered the gracious power of Christ's cross, as he struggled through the painful final months of his life. The story is recorded in his little book, The Mystery of Pain, republished this month. (Contact our Home Offices for your complimentary copy.) The Cross reinterprets our very lives, in fact. In the Cross of Christ, our Loving Father took into himself the worst that hell could muster -- real guilt, insufferable pain, utter alienation, even death itself -- and conquered. Nothing in all creation can separate us from such a love (Romans 8:35-39). 4. The Holy Cross becomes our "handbook" for service. "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21). "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way" (Mark 8:34,35, The Message). 5. The Holy Cross impels us into the world. The cross is an event so radical, so stupendous, that you cannot know it even a little -- and not want to shout it out to the world. In the Cross of Christ, God has reconciled the world and its peoples to himself -- and entrusted us with the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). This is the way to remember the Blessed Holy Cross. It is not about flocking and relics. It is about trusting, believinghellip;and mission. sect;Share This Editorial World Mission Prayer League no No http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/08/have-you-got-your-taxonomies-straight/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/08/have-you-got-your-taxonomies-straight/#comments Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:00:38 +0000 Lindquist http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/08/have-you-got-your-taxonomies-straight/ http://wmpl.org/pubs/home/2007/08/have-you-got-your-taxonomies-straight/feed/ 8:13 "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). This year ... "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). This year marks the 300th birthday of the "father of modern taxonomy." It is possible that you have missed the occasion. Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707. Mr. Linnaeus named things. He developed, in fact, a complete and elaborate system for naming things. Some things became part of the "Plant Kingdom." Other things became part of the "Animal Kingdom." Lima beans became "Phaseolus lunatus" ("lunatus" because they look like little moons.) Dogs became "Canis lupus familiaris" ("familiaris" because these are a familiar sort of canine friend.) And on and on, thousands and thousands of things. Mr. Linneaus was a "taxonomist." The word derives from two Greek roots: taxis, meaning "arrangement," and nomos, meaning "law." Taxonomy is literally "the law of arranging things." A taxonomist orders the world by naming the world and its many phenomena. He structures the world in a logical sort of way. Literally, he calls things what they are. There are taxonomists of Christian mission, too. Jesus named the world "a field ready for harvest." Not a desert; not a waste. Paul understood himself an "ambassador" and a "servant." Not a lord; not a master. These are taxonomies of mission. They help us understand the world and our role in it. Jesus and Paul called things what they are. One of my favorite contemporary taxonomists of Christian mission is James Scherer, for many years Professor of Missions at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. As well as anyone I know, Scherer describes a clear taxonomy of "mission": Churches draw up 'mission statements' which are often little more than declarations of organizational goals, e.g., how the church as an institution can survive, and even improve its performance. It is not unusual to hear that some particular activity of the church -- e.g., its preaching, worship, education, or stewardship -- has been designated as 'the church's mission.' Such loose references to 'mission' as designating either the total work of the church or some particularly favored activity are not wrong, but they have the effect of blurring the issue. "The problem with this approach," Scherer explains, "is that 'when everything is mission, nothing is mission.'" He goes on to describe a practical definition: "Mission as applied to the work of the church means the specific intention of bearing witness to the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ at the borderline between faith and unbelief" (italics added). "The heart of mission," Scherer writes, "is always making the gospel known where it would not be known without a special and costly act of boundary-crossing witness." Professor Scherer, really, is doing taxonomy. Maybe you can tell the difference between a Lima bean and a pea without understanding their phyla and order -- a la Carl Linnaeus. But it is not as easy in the world of Christian missions. Can you tell the difference between "loose references to mission" -- and the real thing? The real thing aims "at the borderline between faith and unbelief." It has "the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ" on its lips and in its mind. It is "always making the gospel known," by word and deed at every opportunity. And the real thing yearns to make it known where it has not been heard before -- and where it will not be heard without "a costly act of boundary-crossing witness." The real thing is always aiming for the boundary. It is determined to live the gospel, share the gospel, make the gospel known, whatever the cost may be. This is a "Biblical taxonomy of mission" -- and it is important to keep it squarely in mind. Botanists may want to remember the Latin name for lima beans. But missionaries -- and people like you, who care about the mission of Jesus Christ -- will want to remember that "borderlines" remain in the world. We will want to rem Editorial World Mission Prayer League no No