A Child Will Lead Them

Two Sundays ago, Epic had the privilege of having Mike and Jill Lowery, missionaries serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, share during our worship service. When Jill came up to speak, she spoke directly to all our kids who were sitting in their usual seats in the first few rows. She told our kids that the women in Congo knew them as the To Lingana Kids ("love one another") because of the Sunday school campaign to raise funds for new sewing machines. You see, these enterprising Congolese women were starting a restaurant but needed to sew curtains and such for the restaurant's interior, but had no way to do this without the proper equipment. At the beginning of the year, our kids had raised enough money through their own efforts that Jill was able to purchase a first sewing machine and have enough spare change to repair several others.

But what Jill really wanted to communicate was that she in turn shared about this small Sunday school program's efforts in a newsletter that is circulated among supporters. After reading about our kids, other Sunday school classes were so inspired that they followed suit. Less than a year after our kids responded to this need, Jill said they had received enough money to purchase 9 sewing machines to date. She told our kids that they had started a movement!

As I sat listening to this amazing story, I was reminded of the prophet Isaiah's eschatological vision of the coming Messiah who would reign with righteousness, justice, and peace for all the earth and among all the nations. Isaiah said that this Messiah would come to God's people as a child and that this "little child would lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). I couldn't help but see how true that was in this moment: The children of Epic were leading us adults in the act of thoughtful and generous giving.

It also happened to be the final official day for Kristy Prince as our kids director. It ended up being a nice way, I think, to honor her by hearing publicly of the tangible fruit of her ministry with our kids. That might have been the sweetest thing of all.

WE+

This list and following comments were part of my message on community given at Epic (9/18/2011). I got feedback that people wanted the list, so here it is:

What's the point of church? One argument is that we can’t live out the Scriptures, particularly the New Testament, without a community.

Speak truth in love (Eph 4:15)

Bring things into the light (Eph 5:8)

Submit to one another (Eph 5:21)

Build one another up (Eph 5: 29)

Carry each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2)

Resolve conflict with one another (Matt 18:15)

Discern and make decisions together (Matt 18:18)

Eat together and partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:33)

Confess our sins to one another and pray for each other (James 5:16)

Encourage one another (Heb 10:24)

Love one another (Heb 13:1)

Extend hospitality (Heb 13:2)

Forgive one another (Eph 4:32)

The ethical invitation to live in the kingdom of God assumes gathering, relationship, that we know one another, that we are in each others lives. We can believe the right things, but we cannot actually follow Jesus without belonging to a distinct, real, visible, community. It is impossible to truly live as a Christian or function as the church outlined in the New Testament without a deep commitment to the body of Christ.

Letter to Time

I resonated with the aspect of missed opportunity in Kurt Andersen's back cover story, "Terror Has A Half-Life" in this week's commemorative 9/11 edition of Time magazine. So yesterday I wrote the editor the following letter:




Dear Time,

I appreciated Kurt Andersen's back cover story (Beyond 9/11 Issue). Having visited Ground Zero just a month ago, I came away with similar reflections. What if instead of entering two wars as a response to the 9/11 attacks, we had invested that $2-3 trillion on what makes America so resilient in the first place: its people. Not only could President Bush have made the urgent call to wean us from oil, but the opportunity was there to inspire all of us to invest more heavily in education, the arts, technology, and housing for the homeless - or to volunteer - all investments in citizens by citizens that would have made us stronger as a country. In the end, our top political officials governed by the very thing they wanted us to overcome: fear.

Sincerely,

Kevin Doi
Diamond Bar, CA

Postscript: My response ended up being published in the 9/26/2011 edition of Time (Rick Perry cover).

102 Minutes

I had the privilege of visiting Ground Zero less than a month ago while on vacation to NYC. Next week on the 10th anniversary an unveiling of the memorial pools will take place, but construction dominates and looms large as surrounding buildings near completion. At the visitor center, this is one of the few books that I assumed met stringent standards and was worthy of offering. And I can see why. Written by reporters from the New York Times, it is at once haunting and beautiful. 102 Minutes recounts the fate of those inside the twin towers from the moment the first plane struck until the last tower fell. It is enthralling reading (I couldn't put the book down). At turns both horrifying and heroic, the authors effectively expose how decisions - both small and large, by employees and politicians - made in seconds or over decades - saved or doomed thousands of lives during that hour and a half. Right up there with Devil In the White City and In the Heart of the Sea as absolutely riveting accounts of history.

Steak and Eggs

I was walking in downtown Fullerton this week on my way to meet Kristy at Tranquil Tea lounge to talk kids ministry when a homeless man on a bike stopped me. He immediately went into his story about losing his job, wife, life and was now on the streets. He was going on and on so I stopped him and asked, "What do you need?" He said he was hungry and wanted money to get a bite. As I usually do, I told I couldn't give him cash but could buy him breakfast. So on the way down the street to Rialto Cafe, I asked him about his life - where he was from, what he did for work, where he was currently living. When we got to Rialto, I told Becky, the waitress, that I would buy Dennis (the guy's name) anything he wanted, but that I had a meeting next door and would come back for the bill. I told Dennis I couldn't stay, but to order whatever he wanted.

After my meeting with Kristy, I came back to Rialto to pay the bill. It was $17! A little startled, I asked Becky what he ordered that cost that much? She told me, "Steak and eggs." I laughed.

Truth be told, after the initial shock, I was a little bit miffed at the audacity. Mostly, because I know I couldn't have done that. It would have gone against every Japanese bone in my body. I also felt a tinged taken advantage of. But the more I thought about it, I was really glad Dennis ordered the steak and eggs. After all, I told him anything on the menu. Who knows when the last time he really had a good meal, let alone a T-bone steak? I was even smiling at the fact that he had the shamelessness (and appetite) to order exactly what he wanted.

During this past Easter season, P.Erin and I were talking in the office about how Evangelicals often view Lent as a time to make sacrifices (i.e to suffer without) to identify with the suffering of Christ. People will forgo caffeine, television, chocolate. But that assumes we have, so that we can go without for a time. But for others, Lent might be a season to actually indulge in what they cannot otherwise partake or afford. For the poor or oppressed, that might mean enjoying that delectable sweet or out-of-reach treat as a celebration of what Jesus has done. I was thinking about this when reflecting more on Dennis. Jesus often told stories about the kingdom of God being like inviting those on the street to a great feast, to a banquet his Father was throwing.

I can see steak and eggs being on the menu.

Santa Rosa Hike

On Saturday AM we headed out to the Santa Rosa Ecological Reserve with close to 30 other Epic folks, with our own resident botanist Ranger James Harrison leading the way. Turned out to be a warm day, but it was well worth the effort...beautiful pools, native flowers, and great company. Probably the neatest thing was seeing James in his element...giving us commentary about the various types of shrubs and flowers that grow here , warning us about the poison oak along the path, and even a bear story or two. When you see people at church, most of the time you have no idea what they do at work, and how many people are so good at what they do. That's why it's always a treat to see people doing what they love. When it was all said and done, and we were pooped (I was proud of our kids for making the trek), stopping off at Tom's Farms for a burger on the way back really hit the spot. And then we were off to a wedding.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Over Spring Break we traveled to Vegas to visit my dad, which is where he makes his home. Beyond the swimming and eating that is the standard fare, we decided to get outside and exercise a bit by hiking in the Red Rock Canyon area, where they just completed an amazingly creative and interactive visitor center. We didn't hike all that much, but there was plenty to see and admire on the 13-mile loop with its vistas and changing landscapes. All in all, a beautiful way to spend the morning with grandpa. We finished our day, of course, with a buffet lunch at the Red Rock Hotel completely erasing any benefit we made by hiking.