4 Days and Counting

Actually, it is about 85 hours away - just over 3.5 days - until my family drops me off to go to the airport and I fly to India.  I should be packing (and maybe I'll do a little before the night is done), but I am not.

This has been an interesting time of preparation.  When I committed to go on the trip, I was so uncertain about being able to raise the funds I needed to be able to go.  Needless to say, I have been provided for. Just this week several folks have come out of the wood work and surprised me with needed funds to finish out my commitment financially for the trip.  Likewise, a few months back, I had a visit with immigration in Canada while I was traveling, so when I went to get my visa for my trip to India, I expected to have issues...but I didn't, the way was made clear.  When I began to prepare my material for my teaching times, I thought I was way over preparing, but now another member of the team may not be able to make it because of visa delays due to back to back trips and I see that I am more than prepared to help take on additional teaching responsibilities should that become necessary.  Lack has been replaced with provision, doubt with faith, and fear with peace (at least as far as the trip is concerned...nobody is perfect).

Today I visited with several folks that have been battling illness (add Pre-trip health to my growing list of blessings) and I have been caused to think about the healthcare situation in India.  With a population of more than 1.2 billion people and home to some of the largest poorest slums in the world, to say that India has a healthcare issue would be an understatement.  From malnutrition to typhoid, malaria to hepatitis (especially types A and B), the list of issues far surmounts the resources necessary to provide for all those needs.

I do know that there are doctors (at least a couple from the states) that have moved to India to provide ongoing help to so many in need.  But from the outside looking in, it appears to me to be little more than a pebble sized ripple in an ocean of need.

I think about the blessing of having insurance and being able to see the doctors I want and need to see and then I remember that even here in the states there are millions that are uninsured or under insured and unable to get the healthcare and treatment they need.

Whether India or the United States (or anywhere else in the world), too many people are not getting the help that they need...help that is available, just cost prohibited.  Here are the questions that this situation is bringing up for me:  1) if we believe in the sanctity of life, why don't we provide healthcare in equitable ways?  2) is it even possible in the current world economic order to accomplish this?  3) if so, how?  4) if so, why don't we?  And finally, what is our theological responsibility (or put maybe a better way, what is our responsibility in carrying out the healing ministries of the kingdom of God in doing
so)?

Again, I have no answers.  I will try to give some more theological thought and substance to my thinking during and after my trip to India; but in the mean time, I invite you to share your thoughts and answers.

You just don't know...

who you're going to help or how you're going to help them.  Today I learned that several people have been touched by either actions I have done or words that I have spoken in the past few weeks.  Instead of sharing the details of how God used me in these people's lives, I want to share a story of how God used someone else in my life.

Her name is Mrs. Seagler and she was my Spanish II teacher in high school.  Mrs. S. had seen me at my worst, when I was in the throws of my drinking and drug addiction.  She witnessed from the front row the devastation that those choices had as they rippled through my life. 

During the Christmas season about 11 years ago, I ran into her while buying stockings and decorations at a Christmas store in Memorial City Mall.  I had finished making my selections and was in line to pay for my goods.  As I was standing there, I began to think that I recognized the back of this woman's head (her hairstyle hadn't changed in the passing years) and I began to attempt to get a view of her face.  As my eyes met hers, there was that instant flash of recognition that we both experienced.  I said her name and asked if she remembered me.  She responded that she did and I began to tell her of how I had sobered up a few years earlier and how I was married and how my life had been completely turned around.  As I related what had happened, she began to cry.  I asked why she was crying, insisting that this was good news.  She told me that from the time she had first met me and knew of the issues I was struggling with that she had included me daily in her rosary prayers. 

Now my eyes were welling up with tears because I realized for the first time...during all those years of darkness...I hadn't been alone.  She was encouraged to know that her prayers for more than 15 years had been answered.

I share this with you because up until that point, I didn't know that anyone else was for me.  I had no idea that others were standing right there beside me fighting for me.  It caused me to look back on my life and realize that there had been countless others whose words, prayers, and actions had blessed me in amazing ways.

Neither of us realized the work that God was doing in us and through us in those years.  Sometimes you just don't know who you're going to help or how you're going to help them.  So pray hard, speak kindly, and act in the ways of love and God can and will do amazing things in those places...even if you are unaware.

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip - Day 3 Revisited

My batteries had died and I had brought the wrong charger for our other video camera, so I was unable to post these videos on the day of occurrence.

On day 3, we began the day at Walmart picking up some additional drinking water and some toys for the 10 children that lived in the house we were working on. After a full day of work, our team stopped to share the toys and candy we had bought. Here is some footage of our basketball antics and of Doug assembling the new soccer goal.

The narrative:



Another look:



And finally, the soccer goal (maybe we should have read the direction!?!):



What a great way to end the work day!

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 4 Final

These are the last three videos from our work site today. It is amazing what can be accomplished working together! I encourage you to check out the videos from the first day on our site and compare them to these on Day 4 to see just how much we were able to accomplish!

Here is #1:



Here is #2:



And here is #3 for today:



While we know that there is much more work to do, we are certain that the groups that will follow us will complete that which has been begun. Our particular family will have workers from Americorp and other groups over the next couple of months until all of the work is complete.

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 4 Continued

These next two videos are of our liaison to the family and the family themselves as we say goodbye after our time in the Las Penitas community.

This first video is our liaison, Clemente:



This video is of the family we helped...to give you an idea of the the circumstances, there are 12 people living in the house we worked on this week:



What a huge blessing it was to be a part of their lives!

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 4

Today was our last work day and we had a great time. Working extra hard and extra long, we were able to finish what we set out to do and some extras that couldn't be over looked! The following videos are from Tommy Earl who did a walk through mid day.

Here is the first:



The second:



and the third:



You can't begin to imagine how grateful I am for such a talented and committed team while working here near the border. Two more postings will follow shortly, including a final goodbye to the family and final walk through of the project. Be sure and check those out as well.

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 3

Today was a very busy day full of a lot of work and fun! I have just two videos to share with you right now (the battery is dead on one of the cameras with footage, so I will upload those at a later date after we get home).

Our first video is a morning walk through of the house that my particular team has spent the week working on. You will see that a lot was accomplished today after I post tomorrow morning's walk through video, but here it is for now:



This second video is rather dark, but after dinner a few of us went over to a wings place next to where we are staying and watched the end of the Yankees/Rangers game and here is Melissa leading us in celebrating the Rangers' victory:



Check back tomorrow for more updates. And if you know and follow Bill, Tommy, Doug, myself or others on this trip who are on Facebook, don't forget to check out their pages...there are some amazing pictures there.

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 2 Continued

Every day has been an adventure! We have trained hard, worked hard and found time to have some fun along the way. One of the more jovial times we have is every evening at dinner. We get a chance to eat some really good food, recap the days events, and spend some quality time getting to know one another.

Here are just a few clips from tonight's dinner time together at Applebee's:





The all important Tommy Earl Burton interview:



And just a couple of more:





Crazy fun times here in the valley! I am looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 2

Today we got to our job sites and had the opportunity to begin our work. The videos that follow show you the three sites that we will be working on through the weekend and the types of damage we are repairing.

Here is the first site:



And some other shots for that site:



The second site:



And the third site:



An outside look at the roof of our third site:



Each of our 3 sites had its unique challenges and opportunities. All three teams rose to the occasion and made an excellent start on repairing these homes today. I will post more updates on our progress tomorrow!

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 1 Continued

As we continued our afternoon training, we checked out a couple of houses at or near completion. Here are Jeff and B.T. in one of those houses with me narrating part of the video:



This next video shot was a snippet showing all of the houses that were under construction...notice how they are built on blocks like some of the Habitat houses we have built over the years...this allows for them to be loaded onto skids and moved. It was an amazing thing to see so many under construction:



Our next stop was to the tape and float house where we got some more training and of course more hands on experience! Here is Diane hard at work:



This next piece is a little part of the training we received regarding mud:



And finally, our friend Mary tapes and floats her first seam:



Stay tuned tomorrow as we will share more video and images from our time here in the Valley!

DCM/Cabinet Mission Trip Day 1

Here are some video feeds of the work being done in training by one of our teams.

These first two videos are of John as he jumps right in and begins working:






Robyn was next up in training:



Then it was Melissa's turn:



Finally, our very own Bishop Huie stepped up to the plate to have a turn at the power tools!



Check out our next post to see our taping and floating practice and keep checking back through the weekend as we show you more of what we are up to in the valley area of Texas!

Mission Trip with the Cabinet

Today we traveled to Mission, Texas with the Bishop and other members of the cabinet, to begin a 5 day trip to repair houses that had been damaged by hurricanes and tropical storms. Many of us arrived in time to catch an 8:45 a.m. flight out of Hobby Airport in Houston, while others met us in Harlingen as we arrived or later in the day.

Our first course of action was to get settled into the hotel and grab a bite to eat. After lunch and another trip to the hotel, we went to get our training for the rest of the week.

Here is one of our gracious trainers making the installation of sheet rock and the cutting out of the window look easy:



More videos coming shortly!

What does it mean to do Missions?

I have several friends that work for YWAM (Youth With A Mission) around the country. I have many more friends that are committed to and participate in missions in our country and around the world. I too, am involved in missions. So needless to say, I am having to stop and ponder once again what it means to do missions in light of recent news.

This week, ABC aired a story about YWAM fighting against infanticide in the jungles of Brazil. You can read their brief write up and watch their video here. Likewise, YWAM published an article from their vantage point and you can view that article here.

Personally, I don't have any problems with the YWAM missionaries that live in Brazil and adopted the children that had medical or other issues that would have faced certain death had the missionaries not intervened...for me it is a sanctity of life issue and a no-brainer as far as decisions go. (feel free to offer your own thoughts on this)

What made me really stop and ponder, however, is the undertones of culture clash that run through the ABC account of the story. As a Christian, I have no issue with sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those we encounter...but the question becomes how much of what we do is "Christian" and how much of what we do is "Westernization"?

For example, we want to feed those that are in need of food. Let's say that an indigenous tribe is a hunting and gathering tribe. Does that mean as Christians practicing our faith that we are called to deliver food that is grown elsewhere to them? Are we called to help them with better instruments for hunting and gathering? Are we called to change them into an agricultural tribe that is no longer nomadic? Or are we called to work to maintain natural habitats to where they have enough area to hunt and gather to support themselves? Are we to do this without uttering the name of Jesus? Which of the aforementioned choices is most Christ centered?

In order for someone to understand and receive the good news is it necessary that their culture be changed as well?

Surely providing clean drinking water, food, clothing, shelter, etc are good things. Surely advocating for the lives of children...looking out for the orphan, the widow, and the others that are marginalized is what we are called to do. Surely these are the things that the gospel calls us to do. But at what cost? Must culture be changed in order for the gospel to be received?

These are just some of the thoughts that run through my mind. In the background I can hear Niebuhr's writings running around in circles screaming...is it Christ the transformer of culture (surely this is preached with great frequency), or is it Christ above culture (surely this is preached with equal fervency), or is it Christ of Culture (yes there are proponents here as well)...AHHHHH!!!!!

I am curious, what do you think? How do we do missions in such a way that allows us to fulfill our mission (Great Commission---go forth and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), while doing all the good that we can and doing no harm (which means we have to decide if changing culture is doing harm or not)?

When Harm is Unavoidable

As my profile says, I am a firefighter (and soon to be a certified first responder) and a pastor. I also volunteer each week at a place called Sundown Ranch working with teenage boys that are attempting to find recovery from chemical dependence of all types.

Each of these activities places me in people's lives at times when they are often not at their best. I walk along side of those struggling with sin, experiencing medical problems or other loss due to fire and accidents, and I walk the journey of recovery with families and their children. Despite the problems that can be faced in each of these situations, it is still a huge blessing to serve in these ways.

Each of these activities has either an explicit or implicit nature of confidentiality. These activities also have, however, regulations regarding events or circumstances that must be reported to various agencies (medical, legal and otherwise). Homicide, suicide, abuse, etc are all examples of reportable events.

This past week, I had the difficult duty of reporting such an event.

When the General Rules require us to do no harm and to do good, these are not always mutually exclusive. Nor are they mutually compatible. Sometimes, as my recent experience shows, doing good can be harmful (or maybe that should be restated to say doing the greatest good). In order to do good, I needed to report this incident (this is doing good ethically and morally and doing good by protecting others); but in doing said good, I did harm (in a relative sense I am sure some of you will tell me!) to the individual that was reported. The outcome of what happens regarding a reported event (punishment, justice, or sometimes nothing at all) is completely out of my control. But confidence is still broken and trust tarnished and potential consequences set in motion.

All of this is to say that following the General Rules is not as black and white as it may seem. There are not always cut and dry answers regarding how to put them in practice together. Sometimes, when considering the greatest good or the good of others, doing no harm is not possible.

How do you handle situations that seem to put the General Rules in conflict with one another?

Doing No Harm

Doing no harm is more difficult than it seems sometimes!

There are situations that I am sure we all encounter, where the very first thought or easiest course of action is to lash out at the individuals that are involved. Obviously, anger is not the best way to react or interact with anyone...it is harmful (violating both the first and second General Rules) and gets us absolutely nowhere.

So what do you do in situations where expectations aren't met? Is it different if the situation involves a contract between you and someone else? What do you think are some good guidelines for doing no harm in these type situations?

Let me have all of your non-harmful conflict resolution thoughts!

Peace,

Russell

Doing Good in Our Family

My wife and I were over at church recently for an evangelism meeting. In the course of pre-meeting conversation, time off/days off came into play. I boldly stated (erroneously, I might add) that I take time off. My wife, being one of the greatest accountability partners I have, promptly said out loud something along the lines of "no you don't."

As the conversation continued, she recognized that at times I do take time for myself, but when there are big projects happening, I do a very poor job of this. For example, when we were developing the new website for the church, I spent every possible moment writing code, playing with widgets, testing applications, etc. I worked on it during the day, before dinner, after dinner, on days off...you get the point. I was completely engulfed in the project at the expense of time with my family.

My wife, as usual, was very right. I do not always do a very good job of taking care of myself (or them) by taking my days off as days off. Sometimes this is difficult to do because we live in the parsonage (basically in the church parking lot) and when you live that close to the church, it can be difficult some days to get away from "work".

It can also be difficult because as pastors, some of what we do we consider 'volunteer' work for the church. In other words, if we had another job, we would still be doing some of the things for the church that we are doing, even if we were not on staff. So pastorally speaking, it can be blurry what is volunteer ministry and what is 'work' related ministry (I am still not convinced that there is a clear line). Additionally, I have spent the last 3 years working on my Mdiv degree and taking 12 hours in the spring and 12 in the fall. This is insane I know, but going to school full time, pastoring two churches, and having a family is tough to do with only 24 hours in the day. Unfortunately, with most of the folks that I know, family is always (just as in my case) what seems to suffer the most.

Well, part of doing good has to be doing good towards our families (going back to the living the General Rules). So in an effort to correct this in my life, my wife and I made plans for time in Dallas last weekend (we went in to be with our friend Stacey and her girls...her hubby was out of town on a mission trip) and this weekend we are going to go to the lake with my folks on Saturday.

I have to admit, when I run so hard that I run around my family, I am the one missing out. Not to mention that it is nice to unplug occasionally and just be. Taking time off and away this past week has reminded me just how important it is to me, my family and my ministry.

My future plans for doing good regarding the family (or an application of doing no harm and doing good) is as follows:
1) take my days off as a days off
2) except on nights where there are unavoidable church meetings, spend the hours between 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. with them (if there is something that absolutely has to be done, do it after Bailey has gone to bed and I have hung out with her and Erica).
3) Find babysitters and get back into a regular pattern of date night on Friday evenings
4) Start planning the family camping trip for November
5) continue to be in the cooking rotation (more about this in another post)

I would love to hear how you are balancing family, ministry, work, etc in your life!

Peace,

Russell

Doing Good - Starting with Me

Perhaps it is selfish, perhaps it is just plain prophetic, or perhaps it just is.

Today is the first day of attempting to really live into the General Rules (see my earlier post today) and I decided to start, of all places, with me.

No I didn't go to the spa or take some extravagant shopping trip to some quasi local galleria type mall. Instead, I began with my own health.

For the past couple of months I have really enjoyed Los's blog found at http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/. One of the things that Los has going on is the Ragamuffin Top Challenge where his readers are challenged to do something about their weight, shape, and fitness. After 3 years of pastoring two rural churches, all the while attending 12 hours of graduate work, I have noticed that my mid section is much larger than everything else...it has all settled to the belly!

About two weeks ago I received a home gym, thanks to my wife's job, and recently set it up (actually finished the last bench last night!). Since I spend so much time behind a computer, driving, sitting, visiting, etc., I thought that the greatest good that I could do (beginning with me) was to get back into shape and take better care of my health.

To that end, last week Erica and I cooked more (ate out or ate poorly a lot less) and enjoyed some really fabulous meals. Today, with the beginnings of better eating and the home gym assembly tackled, it was time to begin with workout number one after a number of years (I won't tell you, because it is just down right embarrassing!).

At day one, I weigh 185 pounds (again, with a large portion of this misappropriated to the belly area) and am not in the greatest shape. I began with a very short beginners program on the home gym today. I did seven exercises all with 40 pounds of weight at 2 sets, 10 reps each. My goals for the upcoming months/years are to continue to build strength through increasing both weight, sets, and reps. I am hopeful that this will allow me to relocate some of the misappropriated pot lucks on my body!

As time goes on, I will be adding ab exercises and other weight exercises to my routine. My weight/strength training will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

In addition to this I will be running on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

I will be taking Sundays off!

I don't want to lose weight...in fact, I expect that I will gain a little by the time all is said and done...I just want to rearrange it and be healthier for God, myself, my wife and my Bailey girl.

I will measure my goals regarding my strength training with the amount of weight, sets and reps as the milestones. I will measure my running goals (aerobic exercise) by the time and distance that I run. By the end of the year, I hope to complete a 10k run with my District Superintendent!

Let me know how you are doing good to your body, what your goals are and how your journey to those goals is going!

Until next time, grace and peace.

Russell

Living the General Rules

One of my friends and mentors, Bob, recently set out upon an experiment to live out more fervently the General Rules from the early Methodist Societies. I have been watching and reading his blog posts (and the insights by another friend of mine, Melissa) with great interest and if you would like to follow his journey, you can do that by clicking HERE which will take you to the opening article on his blog and you can follow from there.

I am looking at going for commissioning (a final step prior to full ordination in the United Methodist Church) at our 2009 Annual Conference. As Bob mentions, the bishop asks us what the General Rules are and if we will live by them. The answer to the latter question is obviously yes, but the answer to the former question is this:

1) "Do no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind..."
2) "...doing good of every possible sort, and , as far as possible, to all..."
3) "By attending upon all the ordinances of God" (Bob calls this "staying in love with God")

These three simple rules flowed out of John Wesley's understanding that "evangelical faith should be manifest in evangelical living." (2004 Book of Discipline, 48). And it seems to me that as I stand before folks every Sunday-teaching, preaching, exhorting, encouraging, etc-to live a life that encounters and becomes radically altered by God, I am no less called to do the same. It also occurs to me that since I am about to take a further step towards a lifetime of mission and ministry in the world as an ordained elder within the United Methodist Church, I too, should be paying particular attention to the commitment that I give to these rules.

So as of today, in addition to my thoughts on theology and other meanderings here at Radically Altered, I am going to begin writing about my journey as it relates to these three rules. Future posts that involve these three rules will all be tagged with Living the General Rules and then sub tagged with which ever rule applies to that post (ie. do no harm, doing good, attending upon the ordinances of God).

My hope is not to make a move towards legalism, but rather to have a rule of life that helps shape and form me as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Many monastic communities and corporate bodies of worship utilize rules of life for their congregations and as individuals...so I thought that I would give it a whirl!

As I set out on this journey, I wonder if you have a rule of life that you are living by? If so, what is it and how is it shaping you as a disciple of Jesus Christ? If not, what prevents you from embarking on such a journey?

I look forward to your comments!

Russell