"Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking"
by Susan Cain
Almost all my life, people have said, "You’re so quiet." My teachers commented that I didn’t speak up in class. My parents tried to push me to be more outgoing. My least favorite words in church are, "Turn around and greet someone near you." (On second thought, there is something worse: "Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know.") I am an introvert, and I grew up thinking that was a bad thing. I always wanted to be the outgoing girl that everybody noticed, but I just wasn’t made that way. And contrary to what my mother tried to convince me, I couldn’t fake it, either.
In her bestseller, Susan Cain says that at least one third of the people we know are introverts. We are often overlooked by our American culture that values extroverts. Teachers pay more attention to their extroverted students. Parents worry about their children who are quiet and introverted. Introverts are passed by for jobs and promotions. Even in the church, pastors are encouraged to adopt an extroverted, exuberant persona.
Cain points out that introverts aren’t necessary shy or socially challenged. She provides fascinating stories of introverts who have made important contributions to our world, from Rosa Parks to Steve Wozniak to Dr. Seuss. She highlights the benefits of listening and taking time to think things through.
She shows how the trend of working in teams rather than individually is not necessarily better for education and business. Some of the most interesting stories in the book are about top-notch Asian students who come to the U.S. to study, are overwhelmed by boisterous American college life, and then face difficulty getting jobs with companies that seek to hire candidates who score high on the extrovert scale on personality tests.This book helped me to better understand myself. One of the true-false questions in an informal quiz is, "I often let calls go through to voice mail." I hadn’t realized how often I do that, especially on my business line. Now I understand that I’m hoping the caller will leave a message and tell me why they are calling, so I can be prepared for the conversation, rather than being forced to speak off the cuff – something introverts aren’t good at.
Cain offers suggestions on how introverts can be more extroverted when they have to be, and tells stories of individuals who have successful careers in fields such as entertainment and teaching. She talks about how extroverts and introverts can communicate with each other. I think one of the most important chapters addresses how parents can nurture introverted kids rather than trying to change them.
I highly recommend this book to those of you who are introverts, who live with introverts, and especially parents of introverts. It’s a well-researched and fascinating book that will help you appreciate your own strengths as well as those of other people who are "Quiet."
June Hoover
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 10
Well, you did it! You can pat yourself on the back if you have persevered through Leviticus and Numbers, for this week we forge ahead into the book of Deuteronomy. Way to go! If you are jumping in mid-way through the journey; no worries. Welcome! Enjoy Grace Monday and start fresh.
I have always found Deuteronomy to be much more accessible than her predecessors. Take courage!
Deuteronomy means "second law" or "repetition of the law." What makes this book exciting and interesting to me is the context. This second reading or giving of the law was most likely done by Moses on the doorstep of the Promised Land. He speaks out these words of God to a new generation. The adult population that saw the miracles of God through the plagues, the power of God at the Red Sea, and the glory of God at Mount Sinai have now passed away. A young generation, many of who were only kids or not even born at the time of the Exodus, have now come into maturity and represent the people of God. The giving of the law at Mount Sinai is only a story to them. Most of the miracles have come to them second hand. They have only experienced a small portion of the power of God compared to their ancestors.
This is what makes Deuteronomy so good. Moses is looking out across a vast crowd of young men and women that are about to enter the Promised Land. And Moses calls them to God. He calls them to remember the miracles, even ones they didn't see personally. He calls them to hold on to the covenant and the promises. He calls them to live out the words of God in a way their parents never did. He calls them to be the people God dreamed of creating and crafting for Himself when He called them out of Egypt.
I think I like this book so much because it confronts our "what have you done for me lately" mentality that is so common among us. If God hasn't parted the seas in the last few months, or days, we start to wonder what's wrong with Him, or us, and we are tempted to lose faith. We hear stories of what God did in missions' movements of the past, or revival meetings long ago, but we weren't there. We haven't always had the first-hand, front-row seat experience of our ancestors. But like Israel, we are called to remember. We are called to remember a God who gave His life for us. We are called to remember when He first found us and saved us. We are called to remember His goodness and faithfulness to us throughout the years. And then we are called to turn and face the challenges of entering a Promised Land. We are called to go and be His people.
May Deuteronomy speak to you this week of who YOU are called to be-
Nick
I have always found Deuteronomy to be much more accessible than her predecessors. Take courage!
Deuteronomy means "second law" or "repetition of the law." What makes this book exciting and interesting to me is the context. This second reading or giving of the law was most likely done by Moses on the doorstep of the Promised Land. He speaks out these words of God to a new generation. The adult population that saw the miracles of God through the plagues, the power of God at the Red Sea, and the glory of God at Mount Sinai have now passed away. A young generation, many of who were only kids or not even born at the time of the Exodus, have now come into maturity and represent the people of God. The giving of the law at Mount Sinai is only a story to them. Most of the miracles have come to them second hand. They have only experienced a small portion of the power of God compared to their ancestors.
This is what makes Deuteronomy so good. Moses is looking out across a vast crowd of young men and women that are about to enter the Promised Land. And Moses calls them to God. He calls them to remember the miracles, even ones they didn't see personally. He calls them to hold on to the covenant and the promises. He calls them to live out the words of God in a way their parents never did. He calls them to be the people God dreamed of creating and crafting for Himself when He called them out of Egypt.
I think I like this book so much because it confronts our "what have you done for me lately" mentality that is so common among us. If God hasn't parted the seas in the last few months, or days, we start to wonder what's wrong with Him, or us, and we are tempted to lose faith. We hear stories of what God did in missions' movements of the past, or revival meetings long ago, but we weren't there. We haven't always had the first-hand, front-row seat experience of our ancestors. But like Israel, we are called to remember. We are called to remember a God who gave His life for us. We are called to remember when He first found us and saved us. We are called to remember His goodness and faithfulness to us throughout the years. And then we are called to turn and face the challenges of entering a Promised Land. We are called to go and be His people.
May Deuteronomy speak to you this week of who YOU are called to be-
Nick
Thursday, March 07, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 9
As we continue to wind our way through the first five books of the Bible, one of the things we can't help but stop and ask is, "why are there so many laws in these books?" And, "why are they in the Bible?" For most of us, I think we feel like there is little that we can gain today from studying them, and we never hear them preached on, if not for more than a passing reference here and there. This blog is an attempt at helping all of us to understand the place these laws have in our faith today.
If you think about it, these first five books were the only Bible the Israelites had for quite some time. In fact, for several thousand years, when Jews would ask the question, "How do we live in a way that is pleasing to God?" these books- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy- were their answer. Their ONLY answer.
So imagine if you had been alive many, many years ago before the Bible came to be the Bible. You had no written record of what pleased God and what didn't. One day, God came along to you and said, "Person, if you sin, you should bring me a sacrifice!" With no other reference point, you are going to have many, many questions. Such as, "what is sinful and what isn't? What kind of sacrifice? Do all sins require the same sacrifice? When do I bring the sacrifice? Where do I bring it? Do I sacrifice it myself, or does someone else do that? What does it mean to sacrifice something to begin with? Burn it? Kill it? Eat it?" All of these questions and many like them would be logical, and expected responses to God's command.
In light of this, the length and specificity of all these books starts to make a lot more sense! I have been told that even in the 1st century at the time of Jesus, Jewish school boys were still required to memorize the entirety of these books in school. Crazy as that may sound, it actually makes a lot of sense when we remember that these rules were their primary link to pleasing God.
If reading all of these laws and commands does one thing for us, it ought to make us eternally grateful for the work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice has ended the system of sacrifice (Hebrews 10) and made righteous forever all who trust in His name. So as you read about bulls and goats one more time, pause and thank Jesus for coming on your behalf.
So while Jesus made our approach to God much simpler, he actually made the requirements infinitely more challenging! When you think about it, Jesus summarized thousands of laws with two: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Very simple, but very, very hard to do. It would actually be much easier for us to follow the sacrificial system than to live out the laws of love in every single thing we do.
This is the amazing conundrum of Jesus. He raised the bar of God's righteous standard even higher than the Old Testament law, but he lowered the bar of acceptance. In the past, the people had to obey all the commands in order to be acceptable. Jesus, however, made everyone acceptable through His blood. Why? Because God knew that when people understood they were loved and accepted by God already, they would be empowered to go and live out his law of love.
We can never hope to love God and others perfectly. But thanks to the amazing love and grace of Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to try, knowing that our acceptance before God isn't contingent on how well we obey His law. How cool is that?
So go for it. Go and love God and love others with all that you have. And when you realize you've come up short, which you always will, fall back into the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. And then go out and love some more.
May your journey through Scripture give you a deeper love for Jesus than ever before!
Nick
If you think about it, these first five books were the only Bible the Israelites had for quite some time. In fact, for several thousand years, when Jews would ask the question, "How do we live in a way that is pleasing to God?" these books- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy- were their answer. Their ONLY answer.
So imagine if you had been alive many, many years ago before the Bible came to be the Bible. You had no written record of what pleased God and what didn't. One day, God came along to you and said, "Person, if you sin, you should bring me a sacrifice!" With no other reference point, you are going to have many, many questions. Such as, "what is sinful and what isn't? What kind of sacrifice? Do all sins require the same sacrifice? When do I bring the sacrifice? Where do I bring it? Do I sacrifice it myself, or does someone else do that? What does it mean to sacrifice something to begin with? Burn it? Kill it? Eat it?" All of these questions and many like them would be logical, and expected responses to God's command.
In light of this, the length and specificity of all these books starts to make a lot more sense! I have been told that even in the 1st century at the time of Jesus, Jewish school boys were still required to memorize the entirety of these books in school. Crazy as that may sound, it actually makes a lot of sense when we remember that these rules were their primary link to pleasing God.
If reading all of these laws and commands does one thing for us, it ought to make us eternally grateful for the work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice has ended the system of sacrifice (Hebrews 10) and made righteous forever all who trust in His name. So as you read about bulls and goats one more time, pause and thank Jesus for coming on your behalf.
So while Jesus made our approach to God much simpler, he actually made the requirements infinitely more challenging! When you think about it, Jesus summarized thousands of laws with two: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Very simple, but very, very hard to do. It would actually be much easier for us to follow the sacrificial system than to live out the laws of love in every single thing we do.
This is the amazing conundrum of Jesus. He raised the bar of God's righteous standard even higher than the Old Testament law, but he lowered the bar of acceptance. In the past, the people had to obey all the commands in order to be acceptable. Jesus, however, made everyone acceptable through His blood. Why? Because God knew that when people understood they were loved and accepted by God already, they would be empowered to go and live out his law of love.
We can never hope to love God and others perfectly. But thanks to the amazing love and grace of Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to try, knowing that our acceptance before God isn't contingent on how well we obey His law. How cool is that?
So go for it. Go and love God and love others with all that you have. And when you realize you've come up short, which you always will, fall back into the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. And then go out and love some more.
May your journey through Scripture give you a deeper love for Jesus than ever before!
Nick
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 8
This week, our reading journey takes us into the book of Numbers. Here we see the people of Israel beginning to take stock of their tribes and the ordering of their people. The commands of sacrifice and worship begin to normalize and we see the priesthood in action. We also see the people continue to wrestle with what it means to trust God in this desert place. He is leading them with cloud and fire to a Promised Land, but the road is long and difficult. Many will lose heart and miss out on the promise. But through all these stories, I believe God is building into the people an awareness of what it takes to follow Him and be his people. The new generation he brings up will have the faithlessness of their ancestors as a backdrop for entrance into God's land.
Keep up the reading!
What thoughts are you processing this week?
Peace-
Nick
Keep up the reading!
What thoughts are you processing this week?
Peace-
Nick
Monday, February 18, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 7
As we continue in our Chronological reading this week, we enter into some portions of the Bible that may be described as heavy sledding. The sacrificial and covenant language, along with the myriad amount of laws and commands, makes Leviticus one of the most difficult books for the modern reader to appreciate. I joked this weekend that more one-year Bible reading plans have died in the desert than anywhere else!
I encourage you, though, to read carefully and to persevere. While some of these texts may feel a bit dry, hidden within them are some great nuggets of truth. Additionally, a basic understanding of the Old Testament law will make other parts of Scripture come to life. The rebukes of God through the prophets make much more sense when we understand the backdrop of a neglected sacrificial system. The significance of Christ's statements and activities take on more depth when the OT context is known. The book of Hebrews jumps to life when the source material of Leviticus is kept in view. So take heart, read on, and allow God to direct your thoughts.
It may be helpful to see Leviticus in four main parts: The Sacrificial Laws (ch. 1-7), the Priestly Beginnings (ch. 8-10), the Purification Laws (ch. 11-16) and the Holiness Code (ch. 17-27). These four movements of the book all center around one pivotal theme: God is holy. In many ways, Leviticus 11:45 serves as the theme verse of everything else, "For I the Lord am the One who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy." It would be an understatement to say that holiness is a big deal to God!
As we come to grips with the extreme requirements of God's holy standard, we can begin to appreciate the significance of Christ's sacrifice for us. Jesus has imparted to us his perfect holiness, so that we can stand before the Almighty God without spot, blemish or defect. God's holiness standards have not changed one bit since the book of Leviticus. The method of becoming holy, however, has changed completely. How awesome is that? I am so glad today to be clinging to Christ, and not headed out to sacrifice some animals so I can be made clean.
May you also cling to Christ as you read Leviticus. Peace-
Nick
I encourage you, though, to read carefully and to persevere. While some of these texts may feel a bit dry, hidden within them are some great nuggets of truth. Additionally, a basic understanding of the Old Testament law will make other parts of Scripture come to life. The rebukes of God through the prophets make much more sense when we understand the backdrop of a neglected sacrificial system. The significance of Christ's statements and activities take on more depth when the OT context is known. The book of Hebrews jumps to life when the source material of Leviticus is kept in view. So take heart, read on, and allow God to direct your thoughts.
It may be helpful to see Leviticus in four main parts: The Sacrificial Laws (ch. 1-7), the Priestly Beginnings (ch. 8-10), the Purification Laws (ch. 11-16) and the Holiness Code (ch. 17-27). These four movements of the book all center around one pivotal theme: God is holy. In many ways, Leviticus 11:45 serves as the theme verse of everything else, "For I the Lord am the One who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy." It would be an understatement to say that holiness is a big deal to God!
As we come to grips with the extreme requirements of God's holy standard, we can begin to appreciate the significance of Christ's sacrifice for us. Jesus has imparted to us his perfect holiness, so that we can stand before the Almighty God without spot, blemish or defect. God's holiness standards have not changed one bit since the book of Leviticus. The method of becoming holy, however, has changed completely. How awesome is that? I am so glad today to be clinging to Christ, and not headed out to sacrifice some animals so I can be made clean.
May you also cling to Christ as you read Leviticus. Peace-
Nick
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 6
To all of you who have been reading and keeping up in the Chronological Bible- Woo-hoo! Way to go! Keep it up. To all of you jumping in, or who feel like you've fallen behind- I'm so glad you are on the journey. Don't forget about Grace Monday; the invitation to start each week new no matter how far behind you may be. Pick up fresh and track with us for the week- you'll be glad you did.
This week launches us full-time into the Desert wanderings and into the language of the covenant. In this later part of Exodus, God begins to show people who He is and how to relate to him. We see the people of Israel struggle and wrestle with what it means to be people of the Presence and no longer live as citizens of Egypt. God pours forth his standards in laws and commands related to every area of life- ceremonial, sacrificial, the temple, relationships, you name it! After a "worship-many-gods-live-for-yourself" attitude of Egypt, this had to be a huge adjustment for the newly-free Israelites.
I imagine that though our experience is much different, our struggle to truly walk with God and live as His people carries many similarities to these Israelites. Living out God's commands in a pluralistic, post-Christian era can be hard to do. Understanding God's view of holiness in light of the laissez-faire attiude of other around us can be intimidating. Yet I believe when we allow ourselves to face these issues and not run from them, we begin to discover the heart of faith.
What are you processing this week?
What are you planning to let go of during the season of Lent?
What are you planning to pick up during Lent in order to live more Christ focused?
Thanks for reading- now take a moment to share!
Blessings-
Nick
This week launches us full-time into the Desert wanderings and into the language of the covenant. In this later part of Exodus, God begins to show people who He is and how to relate to him. We see the people of Israel struggle and wrestle with what it means to be people of the Presence and no longer live as citizens of Egypt. God pours forth his standards in laws and commands related to every area of life- ceremonial, sacrificial, the temple, relationships, you name it! After a "worship-many-gods-live-for-yourself" attitude of Egypt, this had to be a huge adjustment for the newly-free Israelites.
I imagine that though our experience is much different, our struggle to truly walk with God and live as His people carries many similarities to these Israelites. Living out God's commands in a pluralistic, post-Christian era can be hard to do. Understanding God's view of holiness in light of the laissez-faire attiude of other around us can be intimidating. Yet I believe when we allow ourselves to face these issues and not run from them, we begin to discover the heart of faith.
What are you processing this week?
What are you planning to let go of during the season of Lent?
What are you planning to pick up during Lent in order to live more Christ focused?
Thanks for reading- now take a moment to share!
Blessings-
Nick
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Did Someone Say "Lent"?
Once again this year, we have decided as a church community to
observe the season of Lent. Without fail, this announcement will elicit a
few raised eye-brows from the crowd, and a few more questions about why
we do this. Why observe Lent when we aren't a formal, traditional
church? Why do Lent if we're not Catholic? Why do Lent and put ourselves
under a kind of "bondage" when we are free in Christ?
For many of us, however, we have found the experience of Lent to have an odd appeal to us, and in this post I want to try and explain why.
In Hebrews 11:25, 26 we read,
Moses chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
While living in Egypt as a young man, Moses had the opportunity to choose a life of comfort, riches and ease. He could have lived out his days in the Pharaoh's palace and enjoyed the benefits of that life. Moses, however, chose differently. He realized that he was not at home in Egypt- that his real people and his real purpose lay somewhere else. So he intentionally did some very difficult things. He identified with the slaves. He followed the leading of God's Spirit. He stared down the Pharaoh and he took a million people through the Red Sea. Why? Because in his heart he believed in a better land, a better place, where God was leading him and the people. Sacrifices and hardship would be worth the journey. Giving up the treasures of Egypt would be a small sacrifice in comparison to living fully alive as the people of God.
In many ways, I see us facing the same choice. In a metaphorical way, we live in the palace of Egypt- our modern life offers us a continual feast of self-satisfying pursuits and possessions. We have the choice to live out our days here, or we can choose as Moses did to sacrifice for a better land.
I don't know about you, but the "treasures of Egypt" have a way of gripping my mind, and eventually my heart. Things that I once knew nothing about have become essentials in my day-to-day living- coffee, email, Kindle, Words with Friends, ESPN- the list could go on and on. As I hold these treasures in my hand, I realize that none of them are bad or sinful in and of themselves. They are tools and objects. But at the same time, I also realize that my hands, and my life, can be pretty full. Lent is an opportunity to willingly lay some of these things down for a time so that I might come before God with empty hands. Lent is a time to say, "God, show me how to follow you into a better land. This Egypt is not my home- I want to belong to your people."
So, may I encourage you to enter willingly into a time of self-denial on some level? We might be tempted to see this as a yoke of slavery- doing without something we love- but we need to see that it is a bold attempt to throw off true slavery. You see, the treasures of Egypt will always keep us bound to Egypt, and this kind of slavery keeps us from belonging fully to God. Sure, on a spiritual level we are fully His already, but on a practical level we know this is not our full experience. We are captive to our possessions and our pursuits. What would it look like to throw off these captors and to journey with God into the wilderness of transformation? That is the purpose of Lent.
What will you choose?
If you know what you are laying down for Lent, post it below!
May you know that God longs to lead you on a journey into His great reward-
Nick
For many of us, however, we have found the experience of Lent to have an odd appeal to us, and in this post I want to try and explain why.
In Hebrews 11:25, 26 we read,
Moses chose to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
While living in Egypt as a young man, Moses had the opportunity to choose a life of comfort, riches and ease. He could have lived out his days in the Pharaoh's palace and enjoyed the benefits of that life. Moses, however, chose differently. He realized that he was not at home in Egypt- that his real people and his real purpose lay somewhere else. So he intentionally did some very difficult things. He identified with the slaves. He followed the leading of God's Spirit. He stared down the Pharaoh and he took a million people through the Red Sea. Why? Because in his heart he believed in a better land, a better place, where God was leading him and the people. Sacrifices and hardship would be worth the journey. Giving up the treasures of Egypt would be a small sacrifice in comparison to living fully alive as the people of God.
In many ways, I see us facing the same choice. In a metaphorical way, we live in the palace of Egypt- our modern life offers us a continual feast of self-satisfying pursuits and possessions. We have the choice to live out our days here, or we can choose as Moses did to sacrifice for a better land.
I don't know about you, but the "treasures of Egypt" have a way of gripping my mind, and eventually my heart. Things that I once knew nothing about have become essentials in my day-to-day living- coffee, email, Kindle, Words with Friends, ESPN- the list could go on and on. As I hold these treasures in my hand, I realize that none of them are bad or sinful in and of themselves. They are tools and objects. But at the same time, I also realize that my hands, and my life, can be pretty full. Lent is an opportunity to willingly lay some of these things down for a time so that I might come before God with empty hands. Lent is a time to say, "God, show me how to follow you into a better land. This Egypt is not my home- I want to belong to your people."
So, may I encourage you to enter willingly into a time of self-denial on some level? We might be tempted to see this as a yoke of slavery- doing without something we love- but we need to see that it is a bold attempt to throw off true slavery. You see, the treasures of Egypt will always keep us bound to Egypt, and this kind of slavery keeps us from belonging fully to God. Sure, on a spiritual level we are fully His already, but on a practical level we know this is not our full experience. We are captive to our possessions and our pursuits. What would it look like to throw off these captors and to journey with God into the wilderness of transformation? That is the purpose of Lent.
What will you choose?
If you know what you are laying down for Lent, post it below!
May you know that God longs to lead you on a journey into His great reward-
Nick
Monday, February 04, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 5
Hello friends, and welcome to week 5 of the Chronological Bible. This week we dive into Covenant territory, as Yahweh begins to spell out the terms of His covenant with the people of Israel. Not only do we learn about the holiness and righteous standards of God, we also learn a great deal about Israel as they struggle to become His people- a people set apart for God's glory.
I am really looking forward to the way the exodus and the wilderness journey will serve as a parallel for our Lent experience. Lent is an opportunity to ask ourselves the question, "What could I willingly go without in order to live a more God-focused life?" We spend the rest of the year doing what comes naturally- doing what makes us feel comfortable, secure, and fulfilled. Lent is a unique time to do what is unnatural- to go without- so that we might also learn to be a people set apart for God.
You'll hear more in the weeks to come, but I hope that the reading this week will be a primer in the language of struggle. Becoming the people of God didn't happen overnight for the Israelites, and it won't happen overnight for us either. Learning to follow this God can be challenging, but it is the journey He invites us to undertake.
Read on!
Nick
I am really looking forward to the way the exodus and the wilderness journey will serve as a parallel for our Lent experience. Lent is an opportunity to ask ourselves the question, "What could I willingly go without in order to live a more God-focused life?" We spend the rest of the year doing what comes naturally- doing what makes us feel comfortable, secure, and fulfilled. Lent is a unique time to do what is unnatural- to go without- so that we might also learn to be a people set apart for God.
You'll hear more in the weeks to come, but I hope that the reading this week will be a primer in the language of struggle. Becoming the people of God didn't happen overnight for the Israelites, and it won't happen overnight for us either. Learning to follow this God can be challenging, but it is the journey He invites us to undertake.
Read on!
Nick
Monday, January 28, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 4
This week's journey through the Chronological Bible takes us into the rest of Job's story and introduces us to the book of Exodus. For those of you who were at EHA this weekend, my apologies again for spoiling the end of the book! But I pray that as you read, God will speak to you of His wisdom and His presence in our unexpected pain and suffering. He is the magnificent Creator, and if He can do everything He lists out in Chapters 38-41, we can trust Him to hold our lives.
Personally, I love the story of Moses. I love the faith of his mother to release him into the stream, only to get him back again. I love Mose's zeal to stick up for his people, even though he's been raised as an Egyptian. I think most of all, though, I love that Moses keeps doing what he was made to do, even when things didn't work out. He runs off into the desert fearful that Pharaoh will hunt him down, and what is the first thing he does in his escape? He gets involved in a water quarrel by defending some young gals. He could easily have looked back on past experiences and thought, "when I get involved in fights that aren't my own, it ends badly." But instead he continues to act- to be the redeemer and leader God had made him to be. I know that for me, yesterday's bad experiences often become tomorrow's excuses. I pray that I learn from Moses to trust God even when life turns out differently than I expect!
What are you learning this week? What will you take away from the book of Job?
Peace-
Nick Stumbo
Personally, I love the story of Moses. I love the faith of his mother to release him into the stream, only to get him back again. I love Mose's zeal to stick up for his people, even though he's been raised as an Egyptian. I think most of all, though, I love that Moses keeps doing what he was made to do, even when things didn't work out. He runs off into the desert fearful that Pharaoh will hunt him down, and what is the first thing he does in his escape? He gets involved in a water quarrel by defending some young gals. He could easily have looked back on past experiences and thought, "when I get involved in fights that aren't my own, it ends badly." But instead he continues to act- to be the redeemer and leader God had made him to be. I know that for me, yesterday's bad experiences often become tomorrow's excuses. I pray that I learn from Moses to trust God even when life turns out differently than I expect!
What are you learning this week? What will you take away from the book of Job?
Peace-
Nick Stumbo
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 3
Hello All! Sorry to be so late posting a lead-in for your third week of reading through the Chronological Bible. How is your experience going?
This week marks the first time that the Chronological Bible really changes from reading the regular Bible. Typically Job is found right before the Psalms, halfway through the Old Testament. This traditional placement is due to the fact that Job is viewed as "Wisdom Literature" and so it gets linked with Psalms, Provers, Ecclesiastes, etc, that all have a more poetic, teaching kind of focus. The Wisdom books, along with the Law and Prophets, make up the three primary sections of the Old Testament.
Putting Job after Genesis, however, grounds it in time where it most likely occurred. We have scant few details on the setting, but from what little details we can glean (such as the fact that Job functions for his children as a kind of "priest" in chapter one- definitely pre-Covenant, pre-12 tribes kind of behavior), it seems evident that the story of Job happened sometime during the events of Genesis.
What I love about this book is that it gives us a very early picture into the struggle humans were having in understanding who the Almighty God truly was. Was he like all the other gods of the age- rewarding those who pleased him and punishing those who didn't? Or was this God somehow nearer, somehow more real and personal than any other concept of God? As Job wrestles with the "why" of his circumstances, he comes to know the "Who" standing behind them.
Job has MANY challenging verses and ideas. How are you processing them? What do you find difficult?
May you discover unique insights about God as you read through Job this, and part of next week!
Peace-
Nick
This week marks the first time that the Chronological Bible really changes from reading the regular Bible. Typically Job is found right before the Psalms, halfway through the Old Testament. This traditional placement is due to the fact that Job is viewed as "Wisdom Literature" and so it gets linked with Psalms, Provers, Ecclesiastes, etc, that all have a more poetic, teaching kind of focus. The Wisdom books, along with the Law and Prophets, make up the three primary sections of the Old Testament.
Putting Job after Genesis, however, grounds it in time where it most likely occurred. We have scant few details on the setting, but from what little details we can glean (such as the fact that Job functions for his children as a kind of "priest" in chapter one- definitely pre-Covenant, pre-12 tribes kind of behavior), it seems evident that the story of Job happened sometime during the events of Genesis.
What I love about this book is that it gives us a very early picture into the struggle humans were having in understanding who the Almighty God truly was. Was he like all the other gods of the age- rewarding those who pleased him and punishing those who didn't? Or was this God somehow nearer, somehow more real and personal than any other concept of God? As Job wrestles with the "why" of his circumstances, he comes to know the "Who" standing behind them.
Job has MANY challenging verses and ideas. How are you processing them? What do you find difficult?
May you discover unique insights about God as you read through Job this, and part of next week!
Peace-
Nick
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Chronological Bible- Week 2
What are your thoughts, questions, and input as you read during this second full week?
I have been amazed at what a flawed human being Jacob appears to be- deceptive, conniving, and stealthy- and yet God chooses to use him and bless him. That gives me hope!
What are your thoughts this week?
Nick
I have been amazed at what a flawed human being Jacob appears to be- deceptive, conniving, and stealthy- and yet God chooses to use him and bless him. That gives me hope!
What are your thoughts this week?
Nick
Saturday, January 05, 2013
The Chronological Bible Journey- Week 1
As you read through the Chronological Bible, this is a place to come each week and share your insights, thoughts and questions. Dialogue with one another by posting your own comment! Each week, we will start the conversation fresh, so check back and interact on a regular basis.
If at any point during the year, you would like to share a longer thought, email the office and we will put it up in its own unique post.
May God's Word speak to us all!
The Staff
If at any point during the year, you would like to share a longer thought, email the office and we will put it up in its own unique post.
May God's Word speak to us all!
The Staff
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Days 9 and 10
On Saturday, our team got to do something in Sarajevo that I have been hoping to do on every trip. We drove over to the south side of the airport and visited a small, family-run museum. This family home is the end of the famous "Tunnel of Life". During the 3 year long siege of Sarajevo, the tunnel became the only connection Sarajevans had to the outside world. The tunnel took over 4 months to build, and stretches over half a mile. Through this tunnel flowed, troops, arms, food, water, and medicine. Many historians say that without the tunnel, dug by hand tools, Sarajevo would never have endured the siege. The tunnel to me represents the fierce resolve of the Bosnian people. They can and will do whatever they must do in order to survive. Pray that Bosnians will come to know Christ as the true tunnel (way) of life!
The rest of the day Saturday was spent on preparations for the open house, and then celebrating Thanksgiving with Bosnians at the open house. Around 150 people flowed through the doors of Izvor. People of all ages came- children and their families came for a kids program, high school students and their parents came to see a classes artwork on display, and many adult English students and members of the Evangelical church came as well. This was a great time of making new connections and renewing old friendships.
In this picture, you can see Vesna, the Izvor assistant, as well as a young girl named Zerina. Perhaps a few of you will remember her. Zerina was one of the very first contacts at Izvor as she and her brother came to a Kids English Camp our church presented in 2010. She has stayed connected ever since! It was great to see her again. She still remembered our English camp caricature "Surfer Sam."
For Sunday, our team split into two groups in order to attend two different churches. Jim Venable got to preach for the Ilidza church, while the other team members brought greetings to Pastor Slavko and the Kosevsko Brdo church. After a nice afternoon, we all gathered at the Malta church where Pastor Nick shared a message on our identity in Christ. Our team probably has the most connections in this church, so it was great to see so many familiar faces.
Please continue to pray for the Bosnian church. While this group is so full of life and zeal, the growth is very slow. People are so rooted in their culture and religions of their past that it is difficult for them to even consider Christ as a viable option. Pray that the church will stay encouraged to be light in darkness and show the glory of Jesus everywhere they go.
Thanks for partnering and praying!!
Team Bosnia 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Day 7/8- Sarajevo and Mostar
Hello again from the far side of the world!
After a week of classes in Mostar, we have rejoined the rest of our team back in Sarajevo. Here is a brief summary of the last two days...
When class ended Thursday afternoon, we headed out to a rural part of Mostar known as Rodoch. This area was once the industrial heart of the city, but the war in the 1990's left the area impoverished and broken. On the whole, it has recovered much slower than the rest of Mostar. But in this rural cluster of homes and dwellings live several members of the West Mostar Church. They have a real heart for their village, so the church has begun renovations on a building that will serve as an outreach and ministry center. As we prayed over this half-finished project, we truly sensed the power of God at work and a divine plan coming into place. Throughout history, God has used marginalized groups working from the fringes to change society. Pray that this small gathering of believers would shape the church in Mostar and in the whole country of Bosnia!
Friday morning was the final test for our three students. They appeared to have studied hard and took the test very seriously. They reported that it was neither hard nor easy. This felt like a success for Nick in his first shot at being the professor. The three students are pictured here- Arnes, Aldin, and Miki, along with our translator Sanela. She was awesome to work with! Pray that these three men will continue in their schooling and be released one day as true leaders within the local church.
Our trip back to Sarajevo included a detour up to the camp Emek Baraka. (Valley of Blessing) It was amazing to see two things- the perimeter fence around the grounds is completed, and the outer work on the main house is nearly done. Both look amazing. As we wandered the grounds, we shook our heads in awe at the hard work our summer team and other locals put into digging the posts. Piles of white rocks still cover the ground at the base of each one. With the fence complete, you can also see how large the camp property is and what potential it has for growth. The main house is looking amazing. It will be a great center of ministry for many years to come. Pray that the work will continue as planned so that it will be open and in full swing for camp next summer. Pray that hundreds upon thousands of Bosnians would meet Christ at this camp. (PS- rumor has it that we are trying to put together a team for late spring/early summer to work on a camp construction project. If you like this rumor, please email pastor Nick ASAP!)
The gals have been busy in Sarajevo doing English one-on-ones, meeting local Bosnian women for coffee, and blessing Todd and Karen with a night out. Tomorrow is a big day. The team expects over 150 people will fill Izvor for the Thanksgiving open house. Pray for good connections and a good time. Tune in tomorrow for a full report.
Blessings-
Team Bosnia
After a week of classes in Mostar, we have rejoined the rest of our team back in Sarajevo. Here is a brief summary of the last two days...When class ended Thursday afternoon, we headed out to a rural part of Mostar known as Rodoch. This area was once the industrial heart of the city, but the war in the 1990's left the area impoverished and broken. On the whole, it has recovered much slower than the rest of Mostar. But in this rural cluster of homes and dwellings live several members of the West Mostar Church. They have a real heart for their village, so the church has begun renovations on a building that will serve as an outreach and ministry center. As we prayed over this half-finished project, we truly sensed the power of God at work and a divine plan coming into place. Throughout history, God has used marginalized groups working from the fringes to change society. Pray that this small gathering of believers would shape the church in Mostar and in the whole country of Bosnia!
Friday morning was the final test for our three students. They appeared to have studied hard and took the test very seriously. They reported that it was neither hard nor easy. This felt like a success for Nick in his first shot at being the professor. The three students are pictured here- Arnes, Aldin, and Miki, along with our translator Sanela. She was awesome to work with! Pray that these three men will continue in their schooling and be released one day as true leaders within the local church.
Our trip back to Sarajevo included a detour up to the camp Emek Baraka. (Valley of Blessing) It was amazing to see two things- the perimeter fence around the grounds is completed, and the outer work on the main house is nearly done. Both look amazing. As we wandered the grounds, we shook our heads in awe at the hard work our summer team and other locals put into digging the posts. Piles of white rocks still cover the ground at the base of each one. With the fence complete, you can also see how large the camp property is and what potential it has for growth. The main house is looking amazing. It will be a great center of ministry for many years to come. Pray that the work will continue as planned so that it will be open and in full swing for camp next summer. Pray that hundreds upon thousands of Bosnians would meet Christ at this camp. (PS- rumor has it that we are trying to put together a team for late spring/early summer to work on a camp construction project. If you like this rumor, please email pastor Nick ASAP!)
The gals have been busy in Sarajevo doing English one-on-ones, meeting local Bosnian women for coffee, and blessing Todd and Karen with a night out. Tomorrow is a big day. The team expects over 150 people will fill Izvor for the Thanksgiving open house. Pray for good connections and a good time. Tune in tomorrow for a full report.
Blessings-
Team Bosnia
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Day 6- Mostar and Sarajevo
Thanks for your continued prayers for our team and for the people of Bosnia! We are nearing the halfway point of our trip, and we are all doing very well. We can feel the strength of your prayers on our behalf! Here's an update from the gals in Sarajevo about their day on Tuesday: Today we had the opportunity to visit with some inspiring women. First
we met with Tanya, who has an amazing story of redemption from drug
addiction and crime. She works at Celebrate Recovery, where many addicts
and their families have seen their lives changed by Jesus.We also had the privilege of visiting Asima, a 67-years-young Sarajevan woman. (She was featured in a video shown by the Eikosts last winter at EHA.) it was such a blessing to hear her remarkable story. She served us our first genuine Turkish coffee! She makes beautiful handcrafted items, and we pretty much cleaned out her jewelry inventory. Some of it will be available for our EHA family to purchase when we get back (if we don't decide to buy the rest ourselves).
Back in Mostar, Wednesday was another full day of class. Today, we walked through the history of sanctification in the church, and the different streams, or faith traditions, that have developed over time. I believe it was helpful for the Bosnian students to see both where their church tradition has come from, and how much they can learn from other traditions within Christianity.
After class, the gals came over from Sarajevo and we had time together as a team. We walked the beautiful cobblestone streets of Mostar and took many pictures of the famous "Stari Most", a walking bridge dividing the town. Following this, we had dinner with the Bosnian students at the Shady's home. This was a great time of story-telling and laughter- a good time for everyone to interact outside the classroom. In one picture, you will also see Zeljko, the cameraman fro Izvor. He came with the other half of our team to help shoot a video for our trip. Lord willing, you will see this video if you are at EHA this weekend.
Continue to pray for good interaction with the students, and for opportunities to encourage other believers after class hours. Pray for the gals in Sarajevo as they work at Izvor and do English one-on-one session.
Until tomorrow-
Team Bosnia 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Day 4/5- Sarajevo
Monday marked the start of our class on Sanctification at
the Mostar Bible School. Mark Shady, the school director, was hopeful that we
would have some students come on campus just for the week long module, but as
this did not occur we are proceeding with the three students who are currently
full-time students. You can be praying for Arnes, Mickey, and Aldin, the three
young men pictured here. 
Class went well the first day.
Following class, Mark and Vivianne Shady had us up to their home in West Mostar
for dinner. There, we were joined by Pastor Carmello, who has led the West
Mostar Church since 1994. He grew up in Croatia, but felt called by God during
the war to come here. He is a fascinating, humble man. He maintains over 130
hives of honeybees as a way of supporting himself. Be praying for his wife who
is in the hospital recovering this week from the removal of a tumor.
We received this report from the other half of our team back
in Sarajevo:
This morning the three of us started the day at a wonderful
prayer meeting at Ilidza Church with Elder Zeljko, his wife Vojka and two
others from The church-owned second-hand stores. After a short devotional
about the one leper out of the ten coming back to thank Jesus for healing him,
we had a great bilingual discussion about giving and receiving thanks and
encouragement. We talked about the differences between American and Bosnian
cultures. It was encouraging to us to learn that they admired our openness in
expressing our gratitude to others.
We spent the rest of the
morning helping Vojka's volunteers sort bags and bags and bags of
clothing,getting them ready for sale at the two secondhand stores. They didn't
entrust us with the breakable household items, saving that fun for themselves.
Each time something was accidentally broken, they broke into song.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at Izvor. June
helped out in the office and Sue sat in on an English one-on-one. Marian
had coffee with a friend at the Bill Gates Cafe, which ironically does not have
Internet.
Thanks June Hoover for keeping us posted on Sarajevo!
After our second day of
class here in Mostar, we went up to visit this huge cross that sits atop the hillside
near Mostar. It was from this position that the Croatian army, under the sign
of the cross, bombed the Bosniak (muslim) east side of the river. As you can
imagine, the city is still very divided, and the cross is a very misunderstood
sign. For the Catholic Croatians, it is a defiant sign of their culture against
the spires of the mosques. For the Bosniaks, it serves as a constant reminder
of the hate and injustice fired on them which took the lives of so many they
knew and loved.
We took some time from this vantage point to pray that God
would transform the meaning of the cross for them from a sign of hate and war
to its true meaning of love, forgiveness and sacrifice.How do you talk about
Jesus when this gigantic reminder of war is what they see hovering over their
city day after day? This is the challenge for the church here- roughly 100
people in a city of 120,000. Only the power of God can transform hearts. Pray
that He would do new things in this city!
We are doing well. Thanks so much for partnering with us
through your prayers!
Bosnia 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Day 3- Sarajevo
On Sunday, the team headed out to West Sarajevo to take part in the church gathering at Ilidza. This small church meets in a tiny building- half a house. The man Nick is posing with below leads this small fellowship with great passion and grace. His name is Zeljko, and he has a challenging job! In addition to leading the church, he runs a small printing company right next door to help provide income. He also oversees the Second Hand Shop ministry this church has. A group of gals comes in each week to sort through clothes and household items, and then puts them up for sale in one of their 3 stores. Can you imagine a church of 9 or 10 people running 3 stores? That's what they do- all of this in an effort to reach Sarajevo with Christ's light. After several years of these efforts, the church has seen very little growth. They have had many positive contacts, but hearts are still resistant to the gospel. Please be praying for Zeljko, his wife Voika, and their small fellowship. 
After the church gathering, our team split up for the week. The gals will stay in Sarajevo and help out at a number of different events at Izvor and around Sarajevo. In fact, on Monday they will be helping sort clothes for the Second Hand Stores just mentioned. I hope that you will get a first-person report from one of them later this week. Nick and the Venables headed further south and west to the city of Mostar. As you can see, the fall colors along the way were outstanding. Bosnia is a beautiful, beautiful country. It is so sad to see the scars of war all over this picturesque landscape. Perhaps one day you will come and see it with your own eyes.Mostar is a city about 30 miles inland from the Aegean Sea. The weather is more temperate and the land produces great fruit and vineyards. This is also the location of the Mostar Bible School, the only Christian higher education option in the country. This week, Nick and Jim Venable will be teaching a class on spiritual formation to 4 or 5 Bosnian students. Please be praying for their connection with these future church leaders and for the effectiveness of the class.
Upon arrival in Mostar, we were able to participate in a church service with the West Mostar Church. This is another topic of prayer. This church of 40 or 50 meets on the east side of the river, even though they all live on the west side. They have owned property on the west side for over 10 years, but have been consistently blocked in their efforts to build due to government red-tape and opposition from neighbors. Pray that God would pave the way for Pastor Carmello and his group to get the permits they need to move forward.After church, we strolled down a cobblestone street to one of the most awesome bridges you will ever see. This bridge connects the Catholic west side to the Muslim east side. Please pray that Christ would become the bridge between these people as they are still very, very divided in spite of the physical bridge that connects them.
Prayer matters! Thanks for journeying with us-
Bosnia 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Day 2- Sarajevo
Today was another great day in Bosnia! Several of the gals were able to help out at Izvor this morning with both a children's music class, and then with a card-making class later in the afternoon. During this time, I (Nick) was able to meet with one of the local Bosnian pastors. Over the last few trips, we have been building a great friendship with Pastor Sasa and the church at Malta. He and his wife Drina have led the church there for about 12 years. The work is often challenging, but God has used them in significant ways in this city. Keep them in your prayers. Right now, they are really in need of more leaders to step up and take some of the work load. The church did have an associate pastor, but he has had to open up a coffee shop and put in much of his time there in order to make ends meet for the family. This has put Pastor Sasa in need of more help. 
You can see from the shot above what an "outdoor" culture they have here in Sarajevo. The temperature today was hovering just below 50 degrees, and yet this outdoor cafe seating was packed at about 3:30 in the afternoon. Cold weather? No problem. Just drink coffee with your friends and you'll stay warm. At about this time, most of our team was warm and toasty inside Izvor as Sue (our friend from Salem) helped lead a writers workshop. A group of about 8 Sarajevans attend the class. Be praying for positive connections and follow up as part of this class.Our team enjoyed a fun meal together inside an old hotel in downtown Sarajevo.
After dinner, DESSERT. I realized as I was choosing my plate of whipped sugar that I would never let my kids order this. It was like eating lemon meringue pie without the lemon. Mmm...can you say sugar induced coma?
Thanks for your continued prayers for our team, and for all the people of Sarajevo. I continue to hear stories of challenges many of the churches and leaders have faced in this country over the past year. It really seems that evil has made a concerted push to discourage and dishearten the church. Pray that God would overcome the darkness and that His light would shine over this beautiful place.
Grateful for all of you-
Bosnia 2012
Friday, November 09, 2012
Day 1- Sarajevo
Greetings! We hope that you will check this blog several times in the next few weeks to get updates on our team in Bosnia, and to get specific ways you can be praying for us and for the people of Bosnia Herzegovina.
After a decent night of sleep (for most- one of the team members mistook advil for a sleep aid, tossing and turning all night. But at least she was pain free!), our team began our first full day in Bosnia. In the morning, Nick and Jim gathered with a group of international workers who meet each work for discussion and encouragement. After this, our whole team met for a brief orientation at Mark and Kathy Eikosts.
Following our team meeting, we headed out with Todd Denius to a local park that overlooks part of Sarajevo. To me, this park captures the essence and spirit of the last 150 years or so of the Bosnian people. The park was original a fortress built during the Austria-Hungarian Empire in the late 1800's. During World War 2, the Nazis used this area as an execution site where many Jews were put to death and buried in mass graves. Under Tito and his communistic government, the area was transformed into a war memorial and park, with a wall listing the name of every Bosnian killed in that war. In the 90's, Serbian forces used this position as a strategic point from which to bombard the besieged city below. Today, the park is minimally maintained as the fountains sit dry, memorials are crumbling, and weeds have begun to take over. From this place that represents a great mix of pride and pain for the people, we prayed. We prayed that the God of peace would bring His peace to the hearts of the nation. 
Following our prayer gathering, we headed over to Izvor, the cultural center in downtown Sarajevo. It's good to see this space in full swing, as the team is in midst of preparation for an editing workshop and kids classes on Saturday, English classes during the week, and a Thanksgiving open house next Saturday. A local news station is even planning to come and film a member of our team about the editing seminar being put on by the Source.
And what would a day in downtown Sarajevo be without a trip to our favorite cevapi place? For those who may not be initiated to the tradition of cevapi, this is a sausage-like meat made from lamb and veal that gets tucked into a pita like flat bread, and is served along with onions and kaymak. (A salty, creamy kind of butter.) This is a heart attack waiting to happen. Most of the team order a small plate of 5. Pastor Nick ordered 15.
Please pray for the team as they continue to adjust to the time change. Pray also for the gals who will be helping out tomorrow at a Kids' reading class and a card-making craft session at Izvor. The guys will be meeting with a local pastor. Pray that our connections and conversations will be meaningful; encouraging believers, and displaying God's great love to seekers.Peace-
Team Bosnia
Monday, November 05, 2012
Team Sarajevo!
Hey all-
This week, our team heads to Sarajevo, Bosnia for a 12-day trip of connecting with believers, preaching in churches, and teaching a class at the Mostar Bible College, the only Christian higher-education option in the country. We will also work alongside the Alliance team at Izvor, the cultural center in the heart of that great city.
Recently, author Philip Yancey toured Bosnia and Croatia as two of his most popular books were translated into those languages. I am re-posting his thoughts and observations for you to consider as our team prepares to leave. May these insights prompt you to pray and intercede for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovnia.
Be sure to check back during the next few weeks for updates on our trip and insights into what God is showing us!
This is from his official site, PhilipYancey.com:
This week, our team heads to Sarajevo, Bosnia for a 12-day trip of connecting with believers, preaching in churches, and teaching a class at the Mostar Bible College, the only Christian higher-education option in the country. We will also work alongside the Alliance team at Izvor, the cultural center in the heart of that great city.
Recently, author Philip Yancey toured Bosnia and Croatia as two of his most popular books were translated into those languages. I am re-posting his thoughts and observations for you to consider as our team prepares to leave. May these insights prompt you to pray and intercede for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovnia.
Be sure to check back during the next few weeks for updates on our trip and insights into what God is showing us!
This is from his official site, PhilipYancey.com:
Don’t Cry For Me, Sarajevo
On a book tour last month, as we were driving along the highway
from Croatia to Bosnia, traffic came to a sudden stop near the border.
Car doors opened, drivers stepped outside for a smoke, and everyone
speculated on what had caused the backup. An accident? Road work? No,
as it turned out: personnel were sweeping the adjacent fields for mines
left over from the war that ended 17 years ago. Welcome to the former
Yugoslavia. More than five million mines were planted during that war
and they continue to maim or kill unsuspecting farmers, hikers, and
children.
When we finally reached the border, the world abruptly changed. A four-lane superhighway narrowed to a windy, potholed two-lane road. Road signs now used both the Roman alphabet of Western Europe and the Cyrillic alphabet of the East. Most obviously, every other house was vacant, its interior gutted by fire bombs, a relic of the Serbs’ ethnic cleansing campaign to force Croats and Bosnians from Serbian areas.
“Who owns these homes now?” I asked my Croatian host. “Probably the people who were chased away and live somewhere else now. But would you want to go back and reclaim a home in the same town where your neighbors raped your daughter and slit your wife’s throat?”
In Sarajevo, our destination, East and West meet on the same street. Standing in the bazaar, if you look one direction you’d swear you were in Austria with its neat buildings, onion-dome churches, and sidewalk cafes; look the other direction and you’d think you were in Istanbul with its tea shops and covered Muslim women browsing in the spice market. Indeed, not far from here bloody battles stopped Islam from taking over Europe centuries ago, and no one has forgotten.The Balkans dominated the news back in the 1990s. International leaders stood by wringing their hands while the horrors of World War II seemed to be playing out again on miniature scale. I could never keep the adversaries straight back then, much less pronounce them, and the villains seemed to change weekly. Who can make sense of the former Yugoslavia?
Under communism Yugoslavia forced three major groups (as well as other minor tribes) to live together: Croatian Catholics, Orthodox Serbians, and Bosnian Muslims. Before the 199os war Sarajevo had a large population of each; now the city is 90 percent Muslim, with greatly reduced Orthodox and Catholic populations and only a sprinkling of Protestants (perhaps 800 out of 400,000).
For
just shy of four years Serbian soldiers who inherited most of the
Yugoslavian army took up positions in the hills that surround Sarajevo
and strangled the city in a brutal siege, the longest in modern times.
An average of 329 grenades rained down on the city every day, and on
busy days ten times that number. Snipers cruelly picked off easy
targets: a seven-year-old Muslim girl, a 70-year old grandmother, a
medical worker administering aid. At least 11,000 civilians died during
the siege, including 1600 children. Bodies floated down the river that
now picturesquely winds through town. Cemeteries filled up so that the
dead had to be buried in a soccer field just down from the site of the
1984 Olympics.
This was modern Europe, where such things were not supposed to happen again, especially not here, the exact site of the assassination of an archduke that triggered World War I. But it did happen, for 1443 horrific days of bombardment on a city that had no electricity, no heat, gas, or telephone service. (Imagine the inconveniences of those affected by Superstorm Sandy in the East, for four years, plus relentless bombardment.) The main source of water was a brewery that generously opened its supplies to those brave enough to dare the snipers who fired down on them at will.
The residents of Sarajevo lived on a diet of beans, macaroni, and rice, humanitarian aid supplied largely by air from the UN and NATO forces who controlled the airport. It took four months to dig a half-mile tunnel under open fields to the airport, and at night as many as 1000 Sarajevans crowded the tunnel to fetch the heavy loads of rations that kept them alive. The entrance to the tunnel provided a new target to snipers, who targeted any who braved the run during daylight hours.
Few buildings have been fully repaired even today, 17 years after a cease-fire. Most bear the scars of bullet holes and shrapnel. Plaques mark the spots where grenades fell among civilians: 27 died on this corner, 40 in that pedestrian mall, 70 in a nearby food market. I stayed in a Franciscan monastery, now restored, that had received 42 direct hits from grenades.
n
the world exists only one human; everything else is statistics,” said
Jorge Luis Borges. Speaking with a few who had endured the siege, I
heard some of their poignant stories:
•
“Without heat, we would burn anything at hand in the winter to stay
warm. I had a newborn baby, born in the midst of that hell. We chopped
up heirloom furniture with an ax. You go numb after a while. One
Christmas a friend brought me a priceless gift: the dirt-covered root
system of a tree he had found somewhere. I cried. I have never
received a Christmas gift that meant so much, and I still have it. I
could not burn it. I tell you with shame, that gesture moved me more
than hearing that thirty more people died.”
I came to this part of the world because two of my books, Where Is God When It Hurts and What’s So Amazing About Grace, had
just been published in the Croatian and Bosnian language. I had
prepared talks on grace, informed in large part by the splendid work of
the Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf, a faculty member first at Fuller
Seminary and now Yale Divinity School. With one exception, however, I
was asked to speak on suffering, not on grace. When I asked, “Are you
ready for reconciliation,” not one person answered Yes. The wounds are
at once too fresh and too old, for these disputes go back more than
seven centuries. “Every compromise is defeat,” said one Serbian leader.
And another: “Any reconciliation is betrayal.”
To be sure, all sides shared guilt, not just the Serbs. Two Croatian generals were sentenced for their crimes, and mujaheddin fighting with Bosnians and Albanians fighting in Kosovo also committed atrocities. Though the war ended, in part because of NATO bombing and the Dayton Peace Accords, the disputes have not ended. The one nation of Yugoslavia split into seven: Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Slovenia. Serbians ended up with the largest share of territory, but ethnic minorities remain in each country, including a “Serbian Republic” within the borders of Bosnia. Conflict in the Balkans could erupt up again.
Today Syria dominates the news, with a reprise of the kinds of atrocities I heard about firsthand. It happened in Rwanda, of course, and continues today in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Nigeria. I could not help thinking of Gandhi’s remark that if you take the principle “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” to its logical conclusion, eventually the whole world will go blind and toothless. I have never visited a place in such need of grace and forgiveness, and yet so resistant to it.
One
afternoon in Sarajevo we were escorted by a cheerful Franciscan monk
named Ivo Markovic. He took us first to the Jewish cemetery on a hill
high above the city, one of the main lookout posts for Serbian snipers.
Every grave had been marred in some way, pockmarked by bullets,
gravestones overturned. I had read of Markovic in Miroslav Volf’s book Free of Charge.
In his village, Muslim Bosnians were the villains, massacring 21 men
including nine members of his family—all senior citizens, his
71-year-old father the youngest of them.
The Franciscans lost most of their church members as Catholics moved out of Sarajevo. Yet the monastery stayed behind, leading the frail peace movement and distributing food and practical help. After the war stopped, Father Markovic visited his home village. I will let Volf tell the story:
ur
last day in Croatia we toured an odd tourist site that has gained
acclaim for its originality. It mainly displays items donated by lovers
who have broken up. Some are nostalgic: a wedding dress, the chiffon top
worn the night he told her it’s over, the sticky roller he used to
remove her cat’s hair. Others are bitter: an ax used to chop up her
music collection, a framed photo shattered into pieces, the side mirror
of his car that she broke off when she found it parked in front of a
rival’s apartment. A few items refer to other kinds of broken
relationships, such as the a Newsweek cover featuring Barack Obama with the note, “I really wanted it to work out.”
The Museum of Broken Relationships, it’s called, and I can’t think of a more appropriate symbol for that part of the world. A visit to the Balkans gives a stark picture of what can happen among human beings apart from grace. As I wrote in What’s So Amazing About Grace?
When we finally reached the border, the world abruptly changed. A four-lane superhighway narrowed to a windy, potholed two-lane road. Road signs now used both the Roman alphabet of Western Europe and the Cyrillic alphabet of the East. Most obviously, every other house was vacant, its interior gutted by fire bombs, a relic of the Serbs’ ethnic cleansing campaign to force Croats and Bosnians from Serbian areas.
“Who owns these homes now?” I asked my Croatian host. “Probably the people who were chased away and live somewhere else now. But would you want to go back and reclaim a home in the same town where your neighbors raped your daughter and slit your wife’s throat?”
In Sarajevo, our destination, East and West meet on the same street. Standing in the bazaar, if you look one direction you’d swear you were in Austria with its neat buildings, onion-dome churches, and sidewalk cafes; look the other direction and you’d think you were in Istanbul with its tea shops and covered Muslim women browsing in the spice market. Indeed, not far from here bloody battles stopped Islam from taking over Europe centuries ago, and no one has forgotten.The Balkans dominated the news back in the 1990s. International leaders stood by wringing their hands while the horrors of World War II seemed to be playing out again on miniature scale. I could never keep the adversaries straight back then, much less pronounce them, and the villains seemed to change weekly. Who can make sense of the former Yugoslavia?
Under communism Yugoslavia forced three major groups (as well as other minor tribes) to live together: Croatian Catholics, Orthodox Serbians, and Bosnian Muslims. Before the 199os war Sarajevo had a large population of each; now the city is 90 percent Muslim, with greatly reduced Orthodox and Catholic populations and only a sprinkling of Protestants (perhaps 800 out of 400,000).
For
just shy of four years Serbian soldiers who inherited most of the
Yugoslavian army took up positions in the hills that surround Sarajevo
and strangled the city in a brutal siege, the longest in modern times.
An average of 329 grenades rained down on the city every day, and on
busy days ten times that number. Snipers cruelly picked off easy
targets: a seven-year-old Muslim girl, a 70-year old grandmother, a
medical worker administering aid. At least 11,000 civilians died during
the siege, including 1600 children. Bodies floated down the river that
now picturesquely winds through town. Cemeteries filled up so that the
dead had to be buried in a soccer field just down from the site of the
1984 Olympics.This was modern Europe, where such things were not supposed to happen again, especially not here, the exact site of the assassination of an archduke that triggered World War I. But it did happen, for 1443 horrific days of bombardment on a city that had no electricity, no heat, gas, or telephone service. (Imagine the inconveniences of those affected by Superstorm Sandy in the East, for four years, plus relentless bombardment.) The main source of water was a brewery that generously opened its supplies to those brave enough to dare the snipers who fired down on them at will.
The residents of Sarajevo lived on a diet of beans, macaroni, and rice, humanitarian aid supplied largely by air from the UN and NATO forces who controlled the airport. It took four months to dig a half-mile tunnel under open fields to the airport, and at night as many as 1000 Sarajevans crowded the tunnel to fetch the heavy loads of rations that kept them alive. The entrance to the tunnel provided a new target to snipers, who targeted any who braved the run during daylight hours.
Few buildings have been fully repaired even today, 17 years after a cease-fire. Most bear the scars of bullet holes and shrapnel. Plaques mark the spots where grenades fell among civilians: 27 died on this corner, 40 in that pedestrian mall, 70 in a nearby food market. I stayed in a Franciscan monastery, now restored, that had received 42 direct hits from grenades.
n
the world exists only one human; everything else is statistics,” said
Jorge Luis Borges. Speaking with a few who had endured the siege, I
heard some of their poignant stories:
• “For nine days in a row we ate plain
pasta. We had no spices, no meat, no flavoring. My mother was so
desperate for flavor that she went out and gathered grass to sprinkle in
just to add a bit of variety and color. When we got something
different, like rice or powdered milk, we would throw a party.”
•
“Without heat, we would burn anything at hand in the winter to stay
warm. I had a newborn baby, born in the midst of that hell. We chopped
up heirloom furniture with an ax. You go numb after a while. One
Christmas a friend brought me a priceless gift: the dirt-covered root
system of a tree he had found somewhere. I cried. I have never
received a Christmas gift that meant so much, and I still have it. I
could not burn it. I tell you with shame, that gesture moved me more
than hearing that thirty more people died.”
• “The worst thing is, you get used to
evil. If we knew in advance how long it would last, we would probably
have killed ourselves. Over time, you stop caring. You just try to
keep living.”
• “I have two brothers. One joined the
Muslim army to fight against the siege. One escaped and served with the
Croatians. My sister was married to a Serb, who was conscripted to
serve with the forces besieging us. So many marriages were mixed like
that—Serb/Croatian, Croatian/Bosnian, Bosnian/Serb—and many of them
broke apart.”
• “Why such brutality? These were our
friends, our neighbors, now shooting at us, blowing up our homes.
Hannah Arendt writes about the banality of evil. The biggest criminals
were nice fathers and husbands, people I knew. They were like the
Nazis who would gas Jews in the day and then go home and listen to
concerts with their families.”
Croatia was the first region to
resist the Serbs, who sought a Greater Serbia comprising most of the
former Yugoslavia. The Croats had no army to speak of, just a few tanks
left over from World War II and a handful of planes used for
crop-dusting. Improvising, they learned to drop propane tanks and water
heaters out of the crop dusters onto Serbian forces. To get around an
international arms embargo, they released some Mafia-type gangsters
from prison, gave them trucks full of money, and commissioned them to
find a black market in weapons. (As a reward, some of these criminals
now hold high government posts.)
Dubrovnic, Srebenica, Vukovar—these
names stand out as sites of the worst brutality, crimes that are even
now being tried before the International Criminal Court. More than
100,000 people died in the wars. In Srebenica Serbs rounded up every
male over the age of fifteen, 8000 in all, tied their hands behind their
backs, and shot them. Workers are still digging up the mass graves in
an attempt to identify the bodies.
To read the eyewitness reports from the
international court in the Hague is to read a litany of horrors: of
pregnant women cut open, their unborn babies smashed with rifle butts;
of gang rapes of girls as young as nine; of toddlers decapitated, their
heads placed in their mothers’ laps. There is only one explanation for
what happened, one Bosnian told me: “God overslept.”
I came across this poster promoting my talk on suffering posted in a Zagreb bar window!
To be sure, all sides shared guilt, not just the Serbs. Two Croatian generals were sentenced for their crimes, and mujaheddin fighting with Bosnians and Albanians fighting in Kosovo also committed atrocities. Though the war ended, in part because of NATO bombing and the Dayton Peace Accords, the disputes have not ended. The one nation of Yugoslavia split into seven: Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Slovenia. Serbians ended up with the largest share of territory, but ethnic minorities remain in each country, including a “Serbian Republic” within the borders of Bosnia. Conflict in the Balkans could erupt up again.
Today Syria dominates the news, with a reprise of the kinds of atrocities I heard about firsthand. It happened in Rwanda, of course, and continues today in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Nigeria. I could not help thinking of Gandhi’s remark that if you take the principle “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” to its logical conclusion, eventually the whole world will go blind and toothless. I have never visited a place in such need of grace and forgiveness, and yet so resistant to it.
One
afternoon in Sarajevo we were escorted by a cheerful Franciscan monk
named Ivo Markovic. He took us first to the Jewish cemetery on a hill
high above the city, one of the main lookout posts for Serbian snipers.
Every grave had been marred in some way, pockmarked by bullets,
gravestones overturned. I had read of Markovic in Miroslav Volf’s book Free of Charge.
In his village, Muslim Bosnians were the villains, massacring 21 men
including nine members of his family—all senior citizens, his
71-year-old father the youngest of them.The Franciscans lost most of their church members as Catholics moved out of Sarajevo. Yet the monastery stayed behind, leading the frail peace movement and distributing food and practical help. After the war stopped, Father Markovic visited his home village. I will let Volf tell the story:
Occupying the house in which his brother used to live was a fierce Muslim woman. He (Markovic) was warned not to go there because she brandished a rifle to protect her new home. He went anyway. As he approached the house she was waiting for him, cigarette in her mouth and rifle cocked. She barked: “Go away or I’ll shoot you.” “No, you won’t shoot me,” said Father Markovic in a gentle but firm voice, “you’ll make a cup of coffee for me.” She stared at him for a while, then slowly put the rifle down and went to the kitchen. Taking the last bit of coffee she had, she mixed in some already used grounds to make enough coffee for two cups. And they, deadly enemies, began to talk as they partook in the ancient ritual of hospitality: drinking coffee together. She told him of her loneliness, of the home she had lost, of the son who never returned from the battlefield. When Father Markovic returned a month later she told him: “I rejoice at seeing you as much as if my son had returned home.”Did they talk about forgiveness? I don’t know. And in a sense, it doesn’t matter. He, the victim, came to her asking for her hospitality in his brother’s home, which she unrightfully possessed. And she responded. Though she greeted him with a rifle, she gave him a gift and came to rejoice at his presence. The humble, tenuous beginnings of a journey toward embrace were enacted through a ritual of coffee drinking. If the journey continues, it will lead through the difficult terrain of forgiveness.
ur
last day in Croatia we toured an odd tourist site that has gained
acclaim for its originality. It mainly displays items donated by lovers
who have broken up. Some are nostalgic: a wedding dress, the chiffon top
worn the night he told her it’s over, the sticky roller he used to
remove her cat’s hair. Others are bitter: an ax used to chop up her
music collection, a framed photo shattered into pieces, the side mirror
of his car that she broke off when she found it parked in front of a
rival’s apartment. A few items refer to other kinds of broken
relationships, such as the a Newsweek cover featuring Barack Obama with the note, “I really wanted it to work out.”The Museum of Broken Relationships, it’s called, and I can’t think of a more appropriate symbol for that part of the world. A visit to the Balkans gives a stark picture of what can happen among human beings apart from grace. As I wrote in What’s So Amazing About Grace?
If you ask a bomb-throwing teenager in Northern Ireland or a machete-wielding soldier in Rwanda or a sniper in the former Yugoslavia why they are killing, they may not even know. Ireland is still seeking revenge for atrocities Oliver Cromwell committed in the seventeenth century; Rwanda and Burundi are carrying on tribal wars that extend long past anyone’s memory; Yugoslavia is avenging memories from World War II and trying to prevent a replay of what happened six centuries ago. Ungrace plays like the background static of life for families, nations, and institutions. It is, sadly, our natural human state.
Peace and Joy-
Pastor Nick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)