"Someone asks, "What is the core of the gospel?" This person hears preaching from the pulpit, through television, on the radio, via the internet, by video, cassettes and CD's. "None of it stirs my soul," she says. "Nothing grabs my emotions, challenges my mind, motivates my will. What is the heart of the Christian message that once turned the world upside down?" * * * They had little money and minimal education. There was no business plan, no human sponsorship, no institutional presence. Mass media was unheard of and mass transportation did not yet exist. Yet within one generation 13 plain … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
THE UNEXPECTED MINISTER
Recently I flew to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on business, where I took a taxicab from the airport to my hotel. Upon entering the cab, I immediately noticed a large and well-worn Bible on the driver's dashboard. I commented concerning the stormy weather I had left in Houston and asked the cab-driver if they had experienced it in Baton Rouge. He responded that he had often wondered about the reason for storms but that he had recently discovered, in one of the Old Testament prophets, that storms are sometimes either punishment or warning from God. One thing led to another and we quickly launched … [Read more...]
DIVERSITY & FAITHFULNESS
The sky was pouring rain as I drove up to the Park-and-Ride bus shelter, where a line of commuters regularly chooses to ride to downtown jobs with strangers in automobiles rather than taking the city bus. We car-drivers like the plan, because it allows us to use the enclosed and fast moving high-occupancy lane instead of turtle-crawling down 25 miles of Katy Freeway from our homes on Houston's west side. My rider today was a Vietnamese lady, whose nationality I easily guessed from her accent and her appearance. We quickly struck up a friendly conversation. After I dropped a comment or two … [Read more...]
TWO RUSSIANS AND A THAI
Regular readers know that I take on riders at the bus stop each morning, enabling a fast commute in the high-occupancy lane to downtown Houston. Recent riders have included two Russian women, who chattered the whole trip in Russian, and a Buddhist lady from Thailand. The Russians and I conversed briefly (in English) about President Putin and their country's future. They despaired of progress, declaring all politicians to be crooks. I expressed my opinion that only Jesus Christ could give Russian people hope and strong character. The ladies responded with stone silence. The Thai Buddhist … [Read more...]
THE PROPHET OF THE MAGI
It's a veritable United Nations, the "228 Park & Ride," where thousands of Houston westsiders catch daily buses. A place also where scores of solo drivers like myself occasionally or regularly pick up some trusting stranger so we can zoom down the barricaded high-speed lane into the city rather than poke along in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway. Over the years I have chauffeured passengers from Africa and Asia, Barbados and Bolivia, Singapore and Scandinavia, Russia and Rwanda, China and Croatia. This particular day my passenger comes from Greece. His name is Farook, he tells me, … [Read more...]
LOST AND BLIND
Houstonians who work downtown enjoy an underground tunnel system, filled with restaurants and shops, providing air-conditioned escape from the weather and other inconveniences of sidewalk travel. Two encounters there on recent days have reminded me of the practicality and power of the biblical metaphors for our condition apart from God. Last Tuesday I was crossing town underground when I came upon a young Chinese man with a pack on his back and a puzzled look on his face. I stopped, and eventually understood that he was looking for the Greyhound bus station. "Follow me," I said, as we … [Read more...]
A CHALLENGE TO THE ‘SENT’ (2)
“Go! I am sending you out." -- Luke 10:3 “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” - Albert Orsbom (1916) The Good News is enough. The Holy Spirit is alive and well. I think it comes down to this: we need to learn to love like Jesus. We are to be “sent” people . . . and unfortunately we aren’t going into a carnival-like environment where everyone loves Christians. We are sent out “like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). I believe this means living vulnerable lives, allowing others to see our struggles. We need to take our hospitality to the streets, where we will rely on the hospitality of … [Read more...]
A CHALLENGE TO THE ‘SENT’ (1)
“Go! I am sending you out." -- Luke 10:3 “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.” - Albert Orsbom (1916) It appears to me that evangelism is much more difficult these days. It's a tough crowd out there. Look around and you'll see what I mean. People are church-phobic. Churches are changing their names so they don't sound like churches. Worship communities all over promote things like "The first twenty visitors will receive free Astros tickets!" or "Come to our Antique Car Show (worship service to follow)!" The church down the road from my house offers a sports camp. They know that people … [Read more...]
GOD’S HIDDEN SERVANT
He never made the headlines. He is not on the lecture circuits. To my knowledge, no books bear his name. He doesn't even travel abroad, except for an occasional visit to friends and supporters in the United States. Yet for 35 years he has been an international missionary of Jesus Christ, a modern-day Apostle Paul carrying the simple gospel message to thousands of Muslims, Hindus and others who might never see a Christian preacher in person. He doesn't travel in jets like Billy Graham, or on horseback as did John Wesley. He rides the international mails, witnessing through correspondence … [Read more...]
THE PERFECT STORM
Last weekend (January 2006) daughter Melanie and I were strengthened and encouraged at a spiritual conference conducted in Fresno, California by The Zoe Group of Nashville, Tennessee. Speakers included John York and Gary Holloway of Nashville, Randy Harris and Mike Cope of Abilene, Texas and Leonard (Len) Sweet, who currently teaches at both Drew University in New Jersey and George Fox University in Oregon. Preacher, author and historian, Sweet is best known as a futurist who stands with one foot each in academe and popular culture to advise an emergent church of the twenty-first century … [Read more...]
