Those Who Weep
“I’ve learned more about God from the tears of homeless women than any . . . systematic theology books ever taught me,” said Shane Claiborne, explaining what drew him to sharing life in community with the poor. His words take me back to the first time I attended a church service in a poverty and violence-stricken neighborhood in Chicago. During the service, several people stood up to testify of their grief and longing for their community’s healing. As we prayed and worshiped with a depth I had never experienced, I realized that I too was broken and deeply in need of this kind of community—where pain is freely shared and together we encounter the One who meets us in our brokenness.
After the Apocalypse
Popular movies like The Hunger Games and Divergent explore what the world might be like on the other side of the apocalypse. These gritty movies try to imagine how those who have suffered through a cosmic catastrophe could pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives.
drawn
After I finished speaking at a church one Sunday on how the cross shows that God can redeem our broken dreams and suffering, a guy came up to me wanting to talk. “I haven’t been to church in 26 years,” he said. “I’ve just been through a divorce and a business failure—I have lots of broken dreams. Just this week I said to a friend, ‘If there is a God, why doesn’t He step in to help?’ Then all week I had this feeling I should get to a church service. What you said tonight has really rocked me. It’s like I was meant to be here.”
broken for tim?
While away from home on a lengthy work assignment, I attended a church quite different from my one back home. For instance, my adopted church observed communion (the Lord’s Supper) every time they met. Instead of the pastor or elders serving, ordinary members of the church shared responsibility for distributing the bread and wine.
a surfer’s heart
The film Noah’s Arc: The Noah Snyder Documentary tells the story of Noah Snyder and his unique journey from growing up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to establishing a professional surfing career. As my son and I watched it, we were moved by both the stellar surfing and the deep truths found in the story. It was inspiring to see Noah and several of his childhood friends mature from mere thrill-seekers to young men embracing purpose, responsibility, and a relationship with God.
changeless
She said to him, “I don’t want to try to fix our marriage. It’s over.” What had started with such high hopes and evident love was now a cold, lifeless thing. My friend desired to see renewal and restoration in their relationship, but his wife made it clear that the two of them had changed and that their marriage would soon end.
June 2, 2014
What encouraging words would you offer to people who are experiencing great pain—physically or relationally—in their life?
roots that drink from heaven
A man knocked on my office door and asked me if I would officiate his marriage. I asked him to sit down so we could chat about his plans, timing, and spiritual life. “Oh, I’m not sure you understand,” he said, “I’d like you to marry me today, like in the next hour.” The story is complicated, but his fiancée was from a country in Asia and was living in the US with a short-term visa. For numerous reasons he wanted to marry right away, but he didn’t want a civil authority to perform the ceremony. He wanted a church and a pastor.
in the open
Last fall, a professional athlete fatally shot his girlfriend during a domestic dispute at home and then took his own life outside his team’s stadium. Following the tragedy, some tried to pin the murder-suicide on a lack of gun control. Others wondered if the concussion the man had suffered weeks earlier or the medication prescribed for it contributed to his actions. One of his teammates, offered perhaps the most insightful thoughts:
no offense
I’ve been inspired by the book The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons. One of its most profound messages is that Christians who are serious about restoring the broken are not “offended” by their depraved lifestyles. Rather than condemn and pull away from people whose lives are messed up after years of drug abuse, sexual immorality, or greedy materialism, Lyons says we should meet people where they are. This includes reaching out and offering the hope of restoration found in Jesus.
healed
Healing has never been a clear-cut issue for me. While I have never experienced a miraculous physical restoration, I have seen God’s hand of provision at work in my body and others’ bodies.
content with contention?
With its uncomfortable booths and tiled floors, the restaurant reflected the chill of the winter air. Having recently made the decision to take in foster children, my family sat waiting to meet a 7-year-old girl who needed a home.She was accustomed to transient relationships and began calling my parents “Mom” and “Dad” at that first trial meeting. Filled with great optimism, we believed we could make her world different—that she might be grateful and understand the nuances of healthy family relationships. We quickly learned her sense of normal was our definition of chaos.
the gift of (not) being God
Watching a recent fictionalized history of early Roman conquests, I could see that there were no limits to what they felt they could accomplish.
ghost car
In 1939, General Motors created a “ghost car”—a transparent vehicle with a body made of Plexiglas. The see-through outer shell of the Pontiac Deluxe Six revealed a custom chrome-plated dashboard, a spare tire lodged in the trunk, and even the door-locking mechanisms. The “ghost car” debuted at the New York World’s Fair and then traveled to various dealerships before finding a semi-permanent parking spot inside the Smithsonian Institute. In 2011, it sold at an auction for $308,000.
finding beauty
As we walked through a small nature preserve near our house, my son surprised me when he said, “God was pretty amazing when He made swamps.” “Really?” I responded quizzically. I was a little incredulous as to the combination of the words swamp and amazing. Pointing to the vibrant red branches of a particular plant and the tangled arms of…
