Real Courage

It is rather ironic that Vice President Pence finds himself in Japan today… the 75th anniversary of the Dolittle Raid on Tokyo.

On April 18, 1942, crewmen in 16 Army Air Forces B-25 bombers, commanded by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, flew from the carrier Hornet on a daylight bombing raid that brought the war home to Japan for the first time since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid resulted in only minimal damage to military and industrial targets. However, it encouraged people back in the U.S. who were discouraged by Japan’s advances in the first four months of the war.

I was always fascinated with the story of Jimmy Doolittle. He was a pioneer in aviation and a real character… and I always enjoy characters! Still, when I think of the Doolittle raid I am more interested in Corporal Jacob DeShazer, a native of Oregon and one of the five-member crew of Bat Out of Hell, the last bomber to depart the Hornet. His plane dropped incendiary bombs on an oil installation and a factory in Nagoya but it ran out of fuel before the pilot could try a landing at an airfield held by America’s Chinese allies.

The five crewmen bailed out over Japanese-occupied territory in China and all were quickly captured. In October 1942, a Japanese firing squad executed the pilot, Lt. William G. Farrow, and the engineer-gunner, Sgt. Harold A. Spatz, along with a captured crewman from another Doolittle raid plane. Corporal DeShazer and the other surviving crewmen from his plane, Lt. George Barr, the navigator, and Lt. Robert L. Hite, the co-pilot, were starved, beaten and tortured at prisons in Japan and China — spending 40 months in solitary confinement — until their liberation a few days after Japan’s surrender in August 1945.

Amid his very real struggles, Corporal DeShazer had one source of encouragement.

“I begged my captors to get a Bible for me,” he recalled in “I Was a Prisoner of Japan,” a religious tract he wrote in 1950. “At last, in the month of May 1944, a guard brought me the book, but told me I could have it only for three weeks. I eagerly began to read its pages. I discovered that God had given me new spiritual eyes and that when I looked at the enemy officers and guards who had starved and beaten my companions and me so cruelly, I found my bitter hatred for them changed to loving pity. I realized that these people did not know anything about my Savior and that if Christ is not in a heart, it is natural to be cruel.”

After being repatriated to the States, Jacob enrolled at Seattle Pacific College and received a bachelor’s degree in 1948. He returned to Japan with his wife, Florence, as missionaries with the Free Methodist Church, in late December 1948. 

In 1950, he was privileged to share his faith story with a very remarkable man. Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese naval flier who had led the Pearl Harbor attack and had become a rice farmer after the war, read DeShazer's tract.

“It was then that I met Jesus, and accepted him as my personal savior,” Mr. Fuchida recalled when he attended a memorial service in Hawaii in observance of the 25th anniversary of the attack. Mr. Fuchida went on to become an evangelist and even made several trips to the United States to meet with Japanese-speaking immigrants.

Mr. DeShazer spent 30 years in Japan doing missionary work. I respect that. Flying on the Doolittle Raid was something. However, living your life on purpose to reach others in another culture for that many years took real courage and faith.

Over the years, Mr. DeShazer met Mr. Fuchida on several occasions. “I saw him just before he died (in 1976),” Mr. DeShazer once told The Salem Statesman Journal. “We shared in that good wonderful thing that Christ has done.”

Is God an Extrovert or Introvert?

I know this will come as a surprise to many of you, but I am an extrovert.Without a doubt many of you have been convinced that I am simply a very talkative introvert. However, truth be told, I am energized by being around people.

Some of you have taken a self-descriptive psychological evaluation test called the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. It has been very popular in business and industry. Unfortunately, about 20 years ago it also became popular in Christian leadership circles. I say “unfortunately” because for a while it seemed like every time I met new leaders they would ask me what my “type” was. After telling them that I was an “ENTJ” some would respond with a statement like, “Tsk, tsk, I could never work on a team with you.”

On the short version of the Meyers-Briggs you can score “50 up” or “50 down” on the Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I) scale. I score “48 up” – and I still wonder which question I answered wrong.

Of course, a few people noticed my tendency towards extraversion very early in life. My father claimed I was born with a phonograph needle in my mouth. My first grade teacher (who actually receives this update) wrote on my report card, “Woody must learn there is a time to talk to his neighbors and a time to not talk with them.” Much to my daughters’ amusement, in commenting on my singing ability, my teacher also wrote, “Woody must learn that a loud voice is not necessarily a nice voice.”

I have formed the firm opinion that people - especially very public extroverts - should burn their first grade report cards before their children ever find them.

It is interesting that extroverted people often have fewer close friends than introverts. I think this may be due to the fact that extroverts want to talk to everybody at the church social while introverts actually engage in some meaningful conversations. According to Facebook I have almost 1300 “friends.” The problem is, I really do not have a clue who some of them are!

Maybe that is why my long-time, stick-with-you-through-thick-and-thin friends are so important to me. In fact, they mean more to me than I can really express.

This past week we had the privilege of having John Grant visit with us for a few days. John was on our first church-planting team in Bolivia. Together we landed in La Paz on May 10, 1978. That was so long ago that I actually had hair on top of my head, and he remembers it… vaguely. It was great to spend some time showing John what God has done in the last 15 years here in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America. It was a joy to look at God’s Word together and pray about some our personal concerns. More than anything, it was good to just be with John.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” Personally, I think that true friendship is also born in shared history and even adversity. There is something about getting shot at together that forges a special bond. I remember diving down some stairs with John to avoid bullets being fired during our first coup d’état in Bolivia. Friendships born under fire have a way of surviving more tranquil moments in life.

Of course, we allow true friends to exercise a certain control over our lives. This week one of my friends texted me to let me know he was on his way in for a root canal. I couldn't help it – I had to pray for him. Another wrote me an email about the health condition of his father. Again, I was privileged to pray and write him back. Since his father is also a friend, I found I needed to give him a call. Today a friend is celebrating her birthday. Once again, friendship means Su and I need to call and sing our rendition of “Happy Birthday” – hopefully in a more melodious voice than I managed in first grade.

Author and “pithy quote factory,” Robert Brault wrote, “I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.” It is always good to know you have more value than someone’s agenda.

All this makes me think about what it means when someone is described as a friend of God in the Scriptures.  Abraham was God’s friend - he is referred to in that way by God himself (Isaiah 41:8). Most of us remember James 2:23 where we read, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness—and he was called a friend of God.” (ESV)

It seems to me, whenever possible, friends spend time together. If I am going to be a friend of God I need to sit in His presence, listen to His voice and obey what He has already given me in the Scriptures. Friends care for each other’s concerns. The same is true with God. We know he cares for those things which create anxiety in our own lives. (1 Peter 5:6, 7) As His friends, we should probably take seriously what is on His heart. (Micah 6:8) Good friends enjoy each other’s company. I am not sure why we would think that would be different with God. King David wrote: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Thinking about all of this, I wonder if God isn't more of a healthy introvert than He is a pathological extrovert. He seems to have the ability to go deep quickly. He doesn’t flit around the party – He looks right into our souls with genuine interest and concern. He doesn't check His calendar when we call upon His name. Because of Jesus’ life on Earth He can literally say, “You, too!” to most of our human experiences.

In 1973 I found myself walking along a sidewalk on my college campus. I had moved to Texas two weeks earlier and realized I had “landed on a different planet.” My long hair provoked unsolicited and uncomplimentary comments from my new acquaintances. As I prayed, asking God what He was trying to teach me, another university student came up behind me, put his arm around my shoulders and said, “You don’t belong here, do you Bud?” He continued on, “I don’t either. Why don’t you come home with me tonight?”

Some friends just find us… I’m glad that God found me.

Living Our "Dash" for All It Is Worth

The death of two men last week left me meditating on mortality and legacy. Their departure from this earth took place in decidedly different fashions. My guess is one will be remembered and idealized while the other will be quickly forgotten by all but a select few.

As a young man I remember Nelson Mandela tee-shirts before I had any clear idea of who he was. What I did know was that his image on my skinny chest meant I was against something, and in those days I was against almost everything. Still, I defend myself with the words of another historic icon when he famously said, “Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart.”

For the record, I believe that same quote continues on with something about “old liberals,” but I will allow you to look for the complete statement for yourself.

Unfortunately, when someone like Nelson Mandela passes away, the tendency in popular culture is to idolize him with no respect for his complex humanity. There seems to be an innate need to remove him from his rich historical context and create another simplistic popular icon.

Still, I would gently suggest that a refusal to remember Mandela embracing “limited violence” in the fifties dilutes his gentlemanly behavior when he was imprisoned for 18 years at Robben Island.  Christo Brand became Mandela’s personal jailor when Brand was still a teenager. Mandela’s generous spirit won him over. Brand has been famously quoted as saying "Mandela was my prisoner, my friend, my president and my father."

I said two men died this week.

On Wednesday one of the Costa Rican physicians who worked very closely with Su on her complex health issues for over ten years took his own life. During our years visiting with him he became a friend and companion on Su’s rather long journey. He confided in us when his marriage dissolved and ended in divorce. He allowed us to talk honestly with him as he struggled with his own profound depression.

Unfortunately, suicide limits the creation of glowing eulogies. It goes against one of Mandela’s most famous quotes: "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." In this world there is no “getting up again” once you have taken your own life. Still, it was the persistence of this particular physician which resulted in the diagnosis which eventually led to Su's surgeries in 2011 and 2012. If it hadn't been for his care she might not be walking today.

Nelson Mandela’s funeral is planned to be one of the largest since Winston Churchill’s. It will include several ceremonies and last a number of days. Our friend took his life on Wednesday and was buried quickly on Thursday. I imagine that both of them will eventually have a plaque on their graves that will mark the dates of their birth and death. In Mandela’s case it will have something like: 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013.

It has been said many times in many sermons and at least one poem that all that matters is the “dash.” I rather like the way the Texas songwriter, Kevin Welch, phrased it. “There'll be two dates on your tombstone, and all your friends will read 'em, But all that's gonna matter is that little dash between 'em.”

In a week filled with thoughts of mortality and natural grief, I am reminded that I want to live my “dash” for all its worth - I want to live it as a disciple of Jesus. As Mandela said, “We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

Endurance Like Shackleton

One of my favorite “adventure/ leadership” stories of all time is that of Ernest Shackleton. Along with 28 men, he sailed the ship Endurance from Plymouth, England, on August 6, 1914, and set course for the Antarctic. His purpose was to lead a trans-Antarctic exploratory expedition.

Unfortunately, the Endurance became frozen in the arctic ice flow.  The ship endured for several months until it was finally forced under the water on November 21, 1915. Exercising patient leadership, Shackleton had his men camp on the arctic flow and prepared their life boats for what would come next. When the ice where they were camped began to break up, Shackleton led his men in the boats across open water for several days until they reached remote Elephant Island.
 

Believe it or not, this is where the exciting part starts!

Shackleton decided to risk an open-boat trip to the distant South Georgia whaling stations where he thought help was available. The strongest of the tiny 20-foot lifeboats was modified and Shackleton and six men set sail in it on April 24, 1916, for an 800 mile trip across one of the most challenging oceans in the world. To make a very interesting story way too short, the boat made it! Once they arrived on the southern side of South Georgia, Shackleton and two other men climbed a mountain range to get to the whaling camps on the north side of the island.

Immediately – and I mean immediately - Shackleton began preparations to return to Elephant Island and rescue his marooned men. Although the actual Trans-Antarctic Expedition was a complete failure, the story of Shackleton, his astounding endurance, and the saving of all his men (not one was lost!) has made him one of England’s all-time heroes. 

Endurance is not a highly valued personal attribute in this microwave age.  If someone cannot get the job done quickly we seem to lose interest in him or her. Unfortunately, even in popular Christianity we often seem more impressed with “flash” then we do with endurance.

In one of his most personal and challenging letters, the Apostle Paul talked a great deal about some of the challenges he was forced to endure. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…” (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9, ESV).  In the same chapter, Paul repeats a brave phrase twice, “We do not lose heart” (v.1, 16).

My question is how did Paul manage to endure all that he went through? How did he not lose heart?

A few answers come to mind.

First, Paul was able to endure suffering because he was more concerned with what was happening in the spiritual realm than he was in the physical. Paul had no problem recognizing we have physical problems – he recognized his own body was heading south with Sir Shackleton - but, he kept himself focused on the growth in his soul, not the natural destruction of his body (2 Cor. 4:16).

Second, Paul placed more value on the future than he did on the present moment. He realized his current suffering would lead to an “eternal weight of glory” (v. 17). Paul had learned the valuable lesson of delayed gratification.

Third, Paul learned to focus on the eternal instead of the temporary realities which we currently see (v. 18). He came to understand the visible things will all pass away. However, those valuable aspects of life we cannot see will hang on for all of eternity.

I think it is important to understand that Paul’s perspective did not come to him automatically. We can see that in the phrase “as we look...” in verse 18. As long as we look, by faith, at the right place or person we will also begin to give priority to spiritual realities and to the future kingdom. This kind of “directed gaze” is what will give us the courage to endure our own Shackleton-like challenges with patience and grace. 

Woody's Brain on Su

A Frightening Look into Woody's Brain on a Very Special Day!

I doubt anyone of a certain age who lives in the United States can forget the following public service advertisement: "This is your brain [an egg]. This is drugs [a hot frying pan]. This is your brain on drugs [one sizzling egg]. Any questions?"

Since its appearance in 1987, it has become one of the best-known, mass media, health campaign ads - encouraging parodies, jokes and, even, a few songs.  In 1999 TV Guide came up with a list of the top 50 commercials of all time. “Your-brain-as-a-frying-egg” came in at (drum roll) #11. Personally, I would have scored the old Welch’s Grape Jelly ad – the one with the vapor going up and coming back into the cooking vat – much higher.

Unfortunately, people are still attracted to drugs because it activates the part of the brain that makes you feel, well, good. After all, humans do enjoy that kind of feeling.
 

Now, here is why all this came to my mind today. Arthur Aron, PhD, says, “The area of the brain which is stimulated by drugs is the same reward area which is activated (when) people are experiencing intense romantic desire.” I think he means love, but scientists (and doctors) must get paid by the syllable.
 

Helen Fisher spent her academic career trying to figure out what is happening in the brains of people who are head-over-heels in love. She confirmed that the caudate nucleus – what our evolutionary friends sometimes refer to as the “reptilian brain” – is very active in people in love. I am not sure what that means. However, Fisher also says that love activates our brains a bit like chocolate. Now, that I get.
 

Another researcher, Ted Huston, had more interest in what happens in the brain in long-term relationships. He found that people who tend to idealize their mate have happier marriages. According to Huston, "Usually, this is a matter of one person putting good spin on the other, seeing the partner as more responsive than he or she really is."
 

Score one for blind optimism!
 

Today, my “chocolate-loving brain” is very thankful for Su. We are celebrating our 38th anniversary – certainly not worthy of being announced on Paul Harvey’s old radio program, but, for optimists like me, “something is something.”
 

I was never a quick learner. In first grade I was in the “bluebird reading group” – in other words, I had the natural academic ability of wet cement. When we moved to Bolivia, Spanish was a challenge. I think it also took me more than the average amount of time to learn some of the basic marriage lessons a man needs to absorb. It could be my reptilian brain is stunted in the evolutionary process.
 

Still, marriage is a great school to help us evolve from “I” to “we.” The tuition is pretty high and the homework can be painful, but the degree continues to have value, even in a troubled economy.
 

Thinking of schools, when Su was in the ninth grade, one of her friends developed a crush on me. Hard to imagine, but true. When Su heard about it, she told her friend, “Stay away from him. He’s nothing but trouble.”
 

In retrospect, Su was probably right and would have been well-served to follow her own advice. Still, today I am very thankful that someone as bright and skilled as Su fell in love with a genuine bluebird like me.
 

So, today I celebrate “my brain on Su.” Next to the experience of following after Jesus, nothing has impacted me like life and love with her. In fact, as I look at the people, experiences and tools that God has used to form me as a disciple, no one and nothing has been used in my life like she has.
 

Happy Anniversary, Su! You probably were hoping for something more than a “fried egg” on this day, but keep in mind what Dr. Huston had to say about putting a good spin on what you got. More than anything, I hope you know that I love you more today than I did when that pastor wearing white patent leather shoes married us at Woodland Camp.
 

Some things you can forgive – but those shoes on that wonderful day in those beautiful woods are not one of them!

Desperation as an Act of Worship

Scott Olson, President of International Teams USA, sent out an email this week that sparked a few neurons in my brain. Unfortunately, in my case, that can be dangerous. In his message, Scott shared some thoughts about the woman in Matthew 9 who reached out to "touch the hem of (Jesus') cloak." His first point - and admittedly I had a hard time getting past it - was that desperation can be turned into an act of worship when we reach out to Jesus.

Desperation is not usually seen as a desirable state of being. I doubt many of us wake up in the morning thinking, "I hope I am desperate today." Most people want to be happy, fulfilled, satisfied or, even, "self-actualized" - if they have read too much Abraham Maslow. Beggars are desperate. People with stage IV cancer can be desperate. However, successful people are, well, successful -  never desperate.

Still, there is something about desperation that seems to attract God.

Leonard Ravenhill wrote, "Now I say very often - and people don't like it - that God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe in your heart when you sing, 'Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling...'"

Ravenhill's statement made me think (I told you the neurons started firing!) of James 5:16 and 17, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly... " (NIV) This chapter mentions serious life situations: rotting wealth, suffering, troubles, sickness, sin, and "wandering from the truth." Any one of these could produce genuine desperation in our souls.

Some people believe these verses mean, "If I pray with enough intensity or hard enough and long enough, then God just has to answer my prayers." However, I wonder if it doesn't really mean our prayers need to be empowered by God. Prayers become effective and strong because they are energized by God and not simply by our limited human endurance.

Still, the idea of desperate prayer keeps rattling around in my head.

Abraham must have been praying "desperately-multiplied-several-times-over" as he approached that hill in Moriah with Isaac (Genesis 22). Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 1:10 always comes to mind when I think of desperate prayer. In Psalm 38 we see David's desperation when faced with his own sinfulness and the results of those sins. The entire church gathered to pray desperately in Acts 12:5. James had already been beheaded. It looked like Peter was going to meet the same fate. Those early disciples needed God to show up in a big way.

I wake up desperate some mornings. I want Su to be better. There are tremendous needs in our ministry. Problems are brewing to which I have no solutions. Ultimately, I am faced with my own humanity.

To borrow heavily from The Shawshank Redemption: On those kind of desperate mornings I certainly hope that Mr. Ravenhill was right. I hope that my reaching out is an act of worship. I hope that my weak neurons can still be empowered by All-Mighty God.

I hope.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

I probably heard Bob Dylan's third album The Times They Are a-Changin' soon after it came out in 1964. I know that people who liked his earlier stuff were a bit put off by it. However, for a kid my age, just beginning to wrap my head around some of the craziness that became the sixties, for better or worse, it definitely changed some of my mind! Besides, my parents had a new LP stereo and you had to play something on it, right?
 

The title song is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and the political divide that marked U.S. culture during those years. Dylan, himself said, "Those were the only words I could find to separate aliveness from deadness. It had nothing to do with age." Still,the lines from the final verse actually sound, well, apocalyptic and biblical: "The order is rapidly fadin' / And the first one now / Will later be last / For the times they are a-changin'"
 

I have to admit that I always hoped my PF Flyers' Jonny Quest Magic Decoder Ring would help me understand more of Dylan's lyrics, but it never happened.
 

On Bob's latest album released in 2012 he has a song entitled, "Duquesne Whistle." Its a bluesy kind of song that supposedly talks about a train service that used to run between New York Penn and Pittsburgh Penn Stations. However, I lost my de-coder ring years ago. Still, when Mr. Dylan sings, "Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing, Blowing like it's gonna sweep my world away," I can't help but wonder if the 71-year-old wishes his world had not changed so much, so rapidly.
 

All of us have to face change. However, like Bob Dylan, we probably all like to face it on our terms and in our way. Shoot, like Jonny Quest, we probably all wish that we could have a magic ring to explain change to us!
 

This week, Su and I finished another stage in a change we began to explore and implement about ten months ago. Our change was motivated by the fact that our ministry had grown too much and, especially with some of Su's physical limitations, our personal abilities were shrinking too fast. So, we had to think of some way to keep the work growing without us beginning to limit that growth.
 

The long and the short of it is that we have divided our responsibilities among ourselves and two other very capable leaders. Aaron Passmore is now the Area Leader for our Youth World ministries in Latin America. Aaron was an intern with us in Quito years ago. Since then, he has built up a ministry in Mexico called Spectrum. We are encouraged to have someone with his abilities take responsibility for this strategic ministry based in Ecuador.
 

Fifteen years ago, a young man showed up at our house in Tres Rios at about 9:00pm. I was a bit suspicious as I opened the door - 9 o'clock is pretty late on the Costa Rican social calendar. I remember this young man looking at me with tears in his eyes, saying, "I am sick of playing games. I want to be a real disciple of Jesus." You will be glad to know that I did the right thing and responded, "That's great, Lisandro. Go home and think about it some more and we will talk together in a few days."

I wouldn't want to make it too easy, would I?

Today, Lisandro is married to Michelle and the father of two. He has great ministry experience and is a real example of what it means for a leader to be a disciple of Jesus. Lisandro is taking over leadership for five of our teams in different parts of Latin America. It is an encouragement to still be part of his journey with him as we continue to live and serve closely together and as I mentor Lisandro.
 

So, what will Su and I be doing? A lot of the same. I continue on as Area Leader (or, in Spanish, Coordinador Regional) for IT Costa Rica. Together with our team we will continue to lead and supervise seven teams in Latin America which correspond to ITeams Costa Rica. We will also continue mobilize, train and support those Latins going out into the world. Today, we have over fifty Latins serving with International Teams in over ten countries. I would love see two hundred serving with us before I hear my own "Duquesne Whistle."
 

In many ways I have not wanted to "pull the trigger" on this decision. To misquote Dylan Thomas (from whom Bob Dylan took his stage name), "I do not go gentle into that good night... Rage, rage against the dying of the light... Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight... Do not go gentle into that good night."
 

Still, I am thankful that I do not have to depend on a special ring given away with a pair of tennis shoes (even if those shoes did have a "power wedge" that helped you jump higher and run faster) to direct our path. We continue to live with the certainty that He has saved us so that we might walk in works that He prepared beforehand. (Ephesians 2:10)

Singing Subversive Songs in Space

Last night, Kari, Su and I drove back to San Isidro singing well-worn Christmas carols. In a rather unusual Christmas season for us (with Su’s health issues), it was the most enjoyable holiday activity so far this year. There is something about those songs…

Early Christmas music was sung in Latin and theologically pretty heavy – it made its point, but wasn't something people started humming at the beginning of December. It was Francis of Assisi who popularized Christmas songs as we have come to know them. “Carols” were originally simple songs played on flute to which people danced. We don't see much of that anymore!

Christmas carols grew in popularity until the Brits decided to become the official Christmas party-poopers of all time and outlaw them. In 1647 Oliver Cromwell and British Parliament decreed Christmas carols to be “overly democratic” and “unsuitable activity” for the general public. There is nothing like being named a liberal subversive for singing “Away in a Manger!" Fortunately for us - and for the recording industry in general - King Charles II restored both the Stuarts to the throne and Christmas carols to the people.

Of course, many of our popular Christmas songs today have little to do with anything that Francis of Assisi, King Charles II or, for that matter, Oliver Cromwell could identify with Christ’s birth.

One of the most popular – and a personal favorite – is Nat King Cole’s, “The Christmas Song.” According to WCBS – FM, “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” is number six on the list of all-time best Christmas songs. Interestingly enough, it was written by Mel Torme and his friend, Bob Wells, as a way to distract themselves from the summer heat in 1944. Even so, it has a lot of holiday mojo going for it: embers, little tots, reindeer and the basic assurance that everything is right in the world. Still, for my money, it can’t hold a candle to Frank Sinatra’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” – currently number sixty four on the same list.

“A Merry Little Christmas” celebrates something very close to many of our hearts at the Christmas season – happiness mixed with a solid shot or two of sadness and melancholy. Hugh Martin wrote the song for the 1943 movie, Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland. In the movie, Garland sings to a seven-year-old Margaret O’Brien as they process the sad prospect of moving away from their home. The original lyrics were pretty gruesome:

          Have yourself a merry little Christmas
          It may be your last
          Next year we may all be living in the past
          Have yourself a merry little Christmas
          Pop that champagne cork
          Next year we may all be living in New York
          No good times like the olden days
          Happy golden days of yore
          Faithful friends who were dear to us
          Will be near to us no more
          But at least we all will be together
          If the Lord allows
          From now on, we'll have to muddle through somehow
          So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

For the record, Garland refused to sing the original lyrics in the movie and had Martin do a re-write. Sinatra obligated him to make even more changes for his version recorded in the ‘50’s. I haven’t personally heard it, but I wonder if Twisted Sister’s heavy metal version of the song reverts to the original lyrics? 

In my opinion, one of the best Christmas carols written in the United States is Edmund Sears’ “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” Sears was a graduate of Harvard and spent most of his life pastoring small churches out east. He wrote the carol at a time when there was a great deal of national tension over the question of slavery. In 1849 the country was also adjusting to the realities of the growing industrial revolution in the north and social chaos caused by the gold rush out west. In that context, Sears wrote:

          And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, 
          Who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow, 
          Look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wind:
          O rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.

I don’t know about you, but this is one of those years when some of “life’s crushing load” has given me even poorer posture than normal. In times like these I am especially thankful for the fact that Jesus broke through into time and space. Because He lived and lives there really is rest on the weary road and the angels’ message still speaks today.

P.S. Because I will probably never have another opportunity to share this bit of Christmas trivia: “Jingle Bells” holds the honor of being the first song broadcast from Space. On December 16, 1965 the crew of Gemini 6 reported seeing someone wearing a red suit in polar orbit. They then serenaded mission control with their rendition of the song, complete with bells and an eight-note Hohner "Little Lady" harmonica which they had smuggled on board their spacecraft. Come on! The picture of astronauts shaking bells and playing a small harmonica as their capsule shoots through space HAS to bring a smile to your face!

Woody's 2012 Complete Guide to Christmas Gift Giving

Even diehard fanatics like myself must eventually make the transition from the Thanksgiving season to "what comes next." Once you have eaten all the turkey leftovers you can find in the back of the refrigerator, it is finally time to face the music - Christmas season has arrived. With that in mind, I would like to turn our thoughts this morning to the true meaning of Yuletide -  buying gifts as fast as you can because you spent way too much time savoring the joys of Thanksgiving!

Admittedly, gift buying can provoke a certain amount of tension. You want to make reasonable decisions and stay within your budget. Still, you want to make sure you communicate your love and concern for the people with whom you are sharing. After all, we all remember the wallet Grandma bought for us when we were ten years old and how we promised ourselves we would NEVER give something like that to people we cared about.

So, today I present to you the first official "Woody Roland Guide to Christmas Gifts":

If you live in the States, you should consider truck stops as a possible source of quick gifts for those you love. Seriously. Besides the GPS navigational packs for the men in your family, you should remember that it may be one of the only places you can still get CDs of Porter Wagoner singing with a very young Dolly Parton. Su once found a great gift for our grandson, Jonathan, at a truck stop - an official Buckee Beaver cap (I neither am nor could make this up!). Remember, there should be no negative stigma attached to shopping in truck stops. After all, Ummu Bradley Thomas, the founder of the Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School in Denton, Maryland, says, "Even road maps make a perfect stocking stuffer for children." 

Once again, I really am not making this up. 

Although I have not lived in the States for a long time, I have observed there is now a Walgreens or CVS on almost every street corner. It would seem they would be an excellent place to pick up the right gift quickly. Admittedly, in Texas both of these stores run excellent specials on Blue Bell ice cream. However, as much as I like Blue Bell and believe it is the perfect gift for all occasions, it tends to "go soft" when you wrap it and place it under the tree. Still, according to Kerry K. Taylor, creator of the frugal shopping advice site Squawkfox.com, drug stores are a good source for cheap cosmetics for teenage girls. Ms. Taylor identifies these as "the perfect stocking stuffers." For the record,Justin Bieber's perfume "Someday" is now four dollars cheaper at Walgreens than Target. However, when tempted to buy it, please remember that wallet Grandma gave you. Please... just put it down... and back away slowly. You don't have to do this.

It is not necessary to live in the States to know that online gift buying beats even truck stops and corner drug stores for convenience. According to a survey commissioned by CashStar, a digital gift company, many people are now making their holiday purchases while in unusual life situations. Favorite locations for doing holiday shopping are during business meetings and, despite warnings about texting and driving, while stuck in traffic. Perhaps the most disturbing statistic is that 16% of the Christmas gifts purchased online are bought while in the bathroom. I wish I was making this up! 

Since the whole reason we give gifts at Christmas (besides rescuing capitalism) is the gift that God gave us when He sent His son, it might be worthwhile to think of what gift we could give back to Him from our rather limited resources. Seriously, what are some things we could offer God as we walk through the Advent season - something better than a wallet? A few quick suggestions:

1. Recognize His place in this holiday season and very literally humble our hearts - after all, He really is the reason for the season. It is not about us. It should be focused on Him and His gift.

2. Repent. That's right. We don't talk a great deal about repentance anymore. However, there is a great deal of that we need to do during our lifetime. In my experience, repentance is usually a process rather than an act. However, it begins with a decision to quit going our way and start going His. Christmas seems like an excellent time to reflect on those things which have entered into our lives this year and have produced some distance between us and God.

3. Give Him your time. There is many ways you can do this - studying the Scriptures, prayer, serving others, etc. Every intimate relationship requires time. Let's give Him some of ours this year.

4. Obedience. This is probably related to repenting. God is pleased when we choose to obey Him... no matter what is happening around us.

5. Faith, especially during the challenging times. Throughout history God has been glorified when men put their faith in Him. It is not uncommon to have to face dark personal times during the holidays. If you are struggling this year, making the choice to trust in God would be a precious gift to give the Savior. 

Admittedly, my short list of gifts to give to God is not very convenient. Each one of them would deeply impact the way we live during this Christmas season. However, on the bright side, they could help us avoid buying Justin Bieber's latest perfume or, even, his singing toothbrush. Really. As you know, I couldn't make something like this up.

Thanks for the Common Things

Every year I fight a rear-guard action to make Thanksgiving last as long as possible. Admittedly, with the fact that most stores begin to promote Christmas sales in October (or September!), this is a lost cause. Still, all true-lovers of pilgrims, turkey and actual giving of thanks should give me credit for at least trying.

In Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis has Wormwood, the master demon, write the following to the inexperienced tempter, Screwtape: "The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring twopence what other people say about it, is by that very fact forearmed against some of our subtlest modes of attack. You should always try to make the patient abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favor of the 'best' people, the 'right' food, the 'important' books. I have known a human defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions."

Of course, this is really what sincere gratitude is all about. If we spend more time thanking God for what really delights us - even the most common things of life - we will be less tempted to conform to the general attitude of always wanting more, better and bigger. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts." 

With that firmly in mind, I would like to give thanks this year for some common things that I have enjoyed in life - kind of on the order of "tripe and onions", which I will not include on my own list!

Thinking of food, I am thankful for Bodacious Bar-B-Q. The restaurant was founded in 1960 as "Lil Roland's Bodacious Bar-B-Que" in Duncanville, Texas. However, Roland, and his wife Nancy, relocated to Longview, Texas in 1968, and by the grace of God opened their first East Texas location right across from my alma mater, LeTourneau University. Back in the Seventies, when Su and I were young and broke, on Tuesdays you could buy five sandwiches for $1.00. I ate so many them that I sweat the odor of mesquite smoke on hot Texas days - and I seem to remember there were a lot of those!

I am thankful for the Swift Jewel Cowboys, Louis Innis and His String Dusters, and The York Brothers. In other words, I am thankful for old time music. Truth be told, I enjoy many genres of music. However, this year I have especially appreciated listening to guitar players who couldn't do it digitally, didn't do unlimited retakes, and actually had to own their mistakes - maybe it is because they sound like actual human beings playing those instruments.

I am thankful for root beer floats. I do not eat many sweets - don't even take sugar in my coffee. However, there is something about root beer floats that somehow realigns the universe in its proper course. I am not sure why that is, but the man or woman who discovers the science behind this phenomenon will probably be awarded a Nobel Prize. 

I am thankful for times when Su is a bit more with it and in a lot less pain. We do not get many of those days, but when they happen it is something very special indeed.

Although they do not really fall into the "common category," I am very thankful for life-long friends. I am thankful that I can be who I am with them and they still let me come back the next time. I am thankful I can share my hurts, questions and, even, doubts and they still continue to share the "long obedience in the same direction" with me.

I am thankful for authors like Henri Nouwen who wrote, "Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift... The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy."

Finally, I am very thankful for one of the basic necessities of life: water! I imagine you rarely think about it. But, we have spent many days and, even, weeks this year with the house's water supply cut off. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am so happy when we can open the tap and have water come out of it! Well, that and flush the toilet.

(Su wants you all to know that she is thankful for pumpkin pie, especially pumpkin pie made by Kari. She even had it for breakfast today!)

God's Love Languages

Since it's publication in 1992 over seven million copies of The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman have been sold. It has become normal for couples to talk about their primary love language as they try to express and interpret their care and commitment for each other. It is also common for people who work together to use the vocabulary of the book to communicate what helps them feel accepted and appreciated.

I serve with one man from Chicago who values hugs... good, "manly-man" hugs. Words roll off his considerable (and hairy) back. However, a good hug lets him know how much I value him as a co-worker and friend.

Although I thought I knew the answer, I once asked Su about her "love language." She surprised me a bit by saying she had never really bought into the vocabulary of the book(s). In fact, after thinking about it, she told me she "wanted me to speak ALL five languages." 

I tell you folks, it keeps me running!

This week I spent some time thinking about God's love languages. What is He looking for in His relationship with me? It is common for men to offer all sorts of opinions about what God wants in His relationship with them. It seemed like it might be a good idea to "ask God" about His love languages by looking at what He has revealed in the Word.

It could be that God's answer would be even more surprising than Su's.

Right from the start we should recognize that religion and religious expression don't seem to do too much for God. Sacrifice and burnt offerings (even in the Old Testament) only went so far for Him (Hosea 6:6). Still, men invest energy, resources and, even, their lives, trying to "out religion" each other. I can only imagine how stale that must seem to God by this point in our creation's history.

Abraham seemed uniquely capable of capturing God's attention in the Old Testament. There was something special in their relationship together. Abraham understood at least one of God's love languages. Ultimately, I believe God responded to Abraham's faith. When God told Abram to leave his family, his father, and his country, to follow after Him as a nomad, he did. He stepped out by faith and kept walking.

Of course, that was just the beginning. In Genesis 12 we discover that even after receiving special promises from God, Abram experienced unbelief. First, he went down to Egypt to escape a famine even though there was no indication that God had called him to do so. Second, when confronted with personal danger in Egypt, Abram lied about his relationship with Sarai rather than trust God in a tough situation.

Now, how do I say this? I appreciate the fact that Abram or Abraham knew the love language of God and still failed. It makes him less of a hero and more of a human. It also allows me to have hope when my own faith fails. I am reminded that faith is not a one-time decision. It is a life of living.

Thankfully, there was enough faith in Abraham's walk that James would later refer to him as "the friend of God" (James 2:23). He was someone who practiced God's love language of faith.

In the New Testament, the Apostle John "got" God's other love language. He understood which attitude/action in man God finds irresistible. In John 14:21 he wrote, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me..."

I am convinced it is no accident that it was John who recorded these words of Jesus. Matthew must have heard them. Peter, who probably gave much Gospel material to Mark, could remember them. However, it was John who wrote later in his life (and years after Jesus' ascension) that obedience was God's love language.

John lived a long life and had many opportunities to obey or disobey his Master in a variety of situations. He learned obedience as he pastored the early church in Jerusalem. He practiced obedience as he cared for Mary, Jesus' mother. Later, he perfected obedience during his travels to Asia where he experienced persecution. He continued in obedience on the small, barren island called Patmos. Even as an old man he demonstrated his obedience as he stood up for the truth of the Gospel against an early form of Gnosticism in Ephesus.

Faith and obedience - when we put them into practice, they become God's love languages. When they remain a religious theory, they must be as offensive to God as empty terminology is to Su. 

The Call

This weekend we had nineteen Costa Ricans staying at the Multiplication Center for Vista Previa. Most of them were here to get some of their questions answered about ministry and, more specifically, cross-cultural missions. As the "encargada" (one in charge) Kari organized the event, recruited teachers and even cleaned up after the activities. My own participation was limited to greeting the participants and enjoying conversations with them over coffee. However, this morning I did have the privilege of sharing with the group for an hour on the subject of "the call to missions."

There is only one real problem with this - I don't think I was ever really called to missions!

The first time I ever remember hearing about missions was over milk and cookies at Rev. Harry Woods' house. He was my friend Jeff's grandfather and, in my contemporary opinion, a trouble-maker. At the very least, I know I would have avoided a lot of trouble in my own life if I hadn't paid so much attention to his stories about being a missionary in the Orient. My guess is I was also served the occasional glass of Kool-Aid there because I certainly drank it!

Hearing my father's cousin, Bill Pencille, talk about his experiences as a missionary in Bolivia probably did not help much. Rockford, as he was called in our family, had a way of telling a story. He made you think that serving God in Latin America was important AND a real adventure.

Truth be told, there were a lot of experiences, conversations, and closed and opened doors that concluded with Su and I making our own move to Bolivia in 1978. Nobody appeared to us in our dreams telling us to go to South America. Neither of us "walked forward" at a student missions conference. I guess we just "up and went."

Now, that is not saying we did not have a calling on our lives. In fact, the Bible tells us a number of things we have been called to:

• I Corinthians 7:15 tells us that we have been called to live in peace.
• I Timothy 6:12 reminds us that we were called to eternal life and that we should fight or compete for the faith.
• I Thessalonians 2:12 instructs us that we are called to live as part of God's kingdom and for His glory.

In all, I count over 100 times that we are called to something, someone or somewhere (mostly heaven) in the New Testament. I am pretty sure that "call" is one of the most common verbs in the Bible. What I am not so sure of is how many people actually respond to those calls.

Can I be honest? Going to La Paz all those years ago was easy compared to responding to some of the other things we have been called to do or be as followers of Jesus Christ. Living somewhere is always easier than living as someone - especially when that someone is a disciple of Jesus.

This morning, as I looked out at the group of mostly young people attending Vista Previa, I realized I had become the "old guy" telling the missions stories. I can only hope that some of the things I shared will have the same impact as the words Pastors Woods and Pencille shared with me all those years ago. I hope that some of those young Latins capture a vision for living out their calling as disciples in some of the challenging places where we are mobilizing missionaries today.

Getting Our Numbers Straight

Numbers are not my specialty. It is not that I am bad with figures - I can hold my own with others reading a spread sheet - it is just that there are several other things higher on my "to do" list. That is why people like Eric Gustafson and Elaine Pacheco work with me. I need someone around me who wakes up in the morning and can't wait to "reconcile" things. To misquote Tiny Tim in the Christmas Carol, "God bless accountants' souls everywhere."

Still, I have been impressed this week with how much wealth the Book of Numbers offers to anyone who is serious about walking with God. Let me share a few of my favorite "numbers" with you:

One: Numbers 11:4,5 helps us understand that it is better not to whine (or, whinge, as my Brit friends would say) about our dining arrangements. "Then, the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt, and the people of Israel also began to complain.'Oh, for some meat!' they exclaimed." 

Many contemporary apologists are embarrassed by God's response to Israel's complaints. However, God had a plan for His people... and it didn't include going back to the slavery they had known. For this plan to be accomplished, the Lord required His people's complete obedience and unwavering trust. In a phrase, He was looking for people who would cooperate rather than complain.

I have to admit, I have been known to make more than the occasional complaint. I admit that I whinge about Su's health situation, or, what is happening (or not happening) on a specific ministry team. Still, I continue to find that getting on board with what God is doing - whether it makes me comfortable or not - is the wisest policy. I need to trust that He has a plan and He knows what He is doing.

Two: In Numbers 14:17-19 I am reminded that patience really is a virtue. "Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed it to be. For you said, 'The Lord is slow to anger and rich in unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin...'"  It sounds anachronistic, but there are many situations in life where we would be better served by patience than by our decisive ability for action.

Instead of reacting to provocation, God chooses to "wait and see" with His people. He knows what He is planning on doing, and He will do it when He is good and ready. I know I can learn from this. Not everything will be fixed the way I think it should be. However, that does not mean that good cannot come out of the situation. 

God's patience is certainly good for me. I would be literal toast without it. My guess is that being patient is also good for me - and for those around me.

Three: There are a lot of explanations for what happened with Balaam in Numbers 22. I have probably heard a number of "authoritative" messages by excellent preachers on the passage. My guess is that I have given a couple myself - all different! Still, as I read it again this week, I was impressed with the fact that God will not tolerate hidden agendas. On the surface, Balaam claimed to do what was right, but on the inside he still wanted to do what was wrong. His pressure point was money - the motive was greed.

There is nothing new about this. When it comes to "numbers," money puts principles under pressure. When we experience that kind of pressure there is a natural tendency to choose the option which is comfortable, profitable and popular. As Stuart Briscoe wrote, "Many a torn heart beats underneath a well-cut suit."

In the political season in which many of us are living (we are praying for Venezuela today!), it can be easy to forget the right choice is that which is good and right and true. Better to be poor and right than wrong and rich.

Four: For all the years that Su has been a mother and grandmother, she has prayed Numbers 6:24-26 over our daughters and grandchildren. I have heard it so often that the meaning can occasionally slip right past me as I listen to the comforting words. This week I was reminded that Israel did not have an "ordinary God" and they were not an ordinary people. Israel showed God's favor to the world by demonstrating that God had given them "His peace." This peace was not meant to be evident just in the good times. Instead that peace was something Israel was meant to enjoy while the stress and hostility continued.

When we choose to follow after God (even in the desert) and trust Him rather than complain, we are going to need His peace. Sometimes, after we have totaled up all the numbers, it is all that we have left.

Helpless, Helpless, Helpless

In 1969 Neil Young wrote and recorded a song about his early childhood. I do not claim to understand all the references in "Helpless," but it seems to reflect on bittersweet memories from the time he lived in the small town of Omemee, Ontario; his experience of contracting polio when he was six and the long recovery; and, his parents' rather acrimonious divorce. If you know the song, you understand the chorus (which repeats "helpless, helpless, helpless, helpless..") is one of those earworms which is almost impossible to get out of your head. As I sat next to Su's bed in the hospital this past week, the song, and more importantly the concept of being helpless, kept traveling a well worn path through my brain.

There are certain limitations to what you can do to help a loved one when they are recovering from major surgery. They are the ones who feel the pain. They are the ones that suffer the side-effects of the drugs. They are the ones who the well-meaning hospital personnel wake up at all hours for blood pressures, checking oxygen levels, and to ask rather invasive questions about basic body functions.

I'll admit it, along with Mr. Young, this past week I have felt plain ol' helpless.

I came of age in Christian ministry when the visionary, can-do kind of leader was in vogue. Real Christian leaders were meant to be small caliber television stars who had an answer for almost anything. In a sense, it was like we were all suppose to miraculously combine Henley's Invictus ("I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.") with a large dose of pop Christianity.

Neil Young

Yesterday morning, the restaurant where I ate breakfast had a preacher on their television set. I won't name names, but he has an extraordinarily large smile. In the few minutes I actually listened to him, he let me know that I can do anything. ANYTHING! I can do "all that" because God wants me to live a life without limits.

Anything? To tell you the truth, during my hospital nights this past week I would have been satisfied with "something."

In the light of day (and with Su still in pain, but out of the hospital) I realize that God is going to continually be at work on my tendency to rely on myself rather than on Him. In John 15:5 I read, "Apart from me you can do nothing." My guess is that He probably meant it.

Unfortunately (for hard cases like myself) God often has to use adversity to teach us that we cannot be self-reliant. The Apostle Paul understood this. He described his difficulties as "far beyond our ability to endure." He also said those difficulties occurred so "[we] wouldn't rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." (2 Corinthians 1:8,9)

It is good to know that in weeks (months?) when we find ourselves humming rather maudlin songs like "Helpless" that God isn't. He is still our strength, our rock and the One who supports us in difficulties beyond our natural abilities to endure. He is "all that" and much more.