The sun was rising over the volcanoes and glistening on the water as we sped across the lake. The boat was made of straight fiberglass and really rocked your bum with every wave, but I didn’t care. I was deep in thought, pondering all the people who gave their lives in the villages along the sandy shores during the Guatemalan Civil War. We arrived at the village and walked up the cobblestone streets until we arrived at the church. ... Read more
On the mountainside in a small rural Guatemalan village, the morning was dark and cold. Everyone was on high alert. The army had entered the town overnight under the cover of darkness. The soldiers demanded that men go to their places of worship for meetings with government officials. The small Methodist church in town sat on the side of the mountain slumped downward. Close to forty men filled the inside of the small space. The men were told if... Read more
The mountains seemed to grow fiercer with every turn of the wheel. Then we stopped and stepped out to a place that seemed frozen in time. A forest as lush as any I have ever seemed. I asked our Mayan guides why this mountain was so lush and the other mountains were so barren. The reply came back sharply, “The people of this region fight for their trees.” The Mayan Mennonite pastor told us of a protest against deforestation... Read more
I met a forest of trees this morning. The pines exploded toward the sky like rockets. The ground was covered in a dense rug of clovers. There were no borders in this sanctuary, just an invitation for communion. I spoke the words of Jesus to the trees in this place, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me in.” As I stood in silence in this space, a Mayan spiritual guide joined me. “The Mayans ask for all... Read more
“16 of my friends and classmates disappeared.” “My brother had his testicles cut out with razor blades and bled to death.” “My cousin had all of his fingernails pulled out before he was shot in the head.” “Our bishop was beat to death with one rock.” “The soldiers consistently remarked, ‘The best way to stop the insurgency was to kill the insurgent in the womb.’” Comments like these filled my day. The interactions were unbelievably intense. Tears welled up... Read more
San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala When I stepped off the boat in San Pedro La Laguna, I was greeted by a giant poster proclaiming, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through him.” Now, I have been a Christian long enough to know that posters reciting variations of John 14:6 usually are not placed by people inviting dialogue about the ins and outs of spirituality. There is no question that... Read more
What is Love? Everything. What is God? Everything. 1 John 4: 8 argues, “If you don’t know love you don’t know God for God is love.” We are created in the image of love, the very image of God, the very image of everything. So, why can’t we love other people? Why can’t we see the God in them? Why are we so closed off? Perhaps, it has to do with the fact that we can’t find... Read more
I spent most of my early life terrified of Jesus. Our church taught about hell much more than it taught about grace and mercy. We seemed to learn much more about the Book of Revelation and getting left behind by God than we learned about the Gospels and the message of Jesus. To make a long story short, I don’t want to have much to do with the traditional Jesus of my youth. I am still afraid of that Jesus. ... Read more
This has been a difficult week. In Boston, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, Sean Collier, and eight-year-old Martin Richard were all killed in a heinous crime spree. In West, Texas, 14 people were killed. Most of them first responders and firefighters, just like my dad. We mourn and hurt for those killed. We long for justice to take the place of the injustice of lives cut short. Who are we to be in such times? What are we... Read more
What does hope look like? Can you smell it? Can you hear it? Can you taste it? Can you hold it? Can you see it? I held a bottle of pills in my hand one time. I unscrewed the cap. I put the pills in my mouth. I was a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I lived in an apartment on campus. I lived in a place where we were supposed to be taught about a... Read more
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