Trying to Be a Christian

Revelation 6:4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 

Today we visited the "Killing Fields."  The cruelty humanity is capable of is nothing new.  The first brother in human history committed fratricide.  Never-the-less, the chilling reality of who we really are sinks much more deeply when seeing the sights first hand, be they on American, European, Asian, or, I would imagine, African soil.  Pol Pot's genocide is one of many stories that could be told, and need to be told, if we are to understand who we humans are beneath our veneer of PBS styled philanthropy.

I don't put much stock in dreams.  They are easily influenced by Pizza and whatever we watched on T.V. before bed.  But, I had a dream last night in which I was asked a brilliant question.  I only mention it because the question was profound, regardless its source.  In this dream a lady asked me, "are you trying to be a Christian?"  That was her witty way of letting me know that she knew that Christianity is far from a simple vocalized profession.  I answered, "yes, I am."  She responded with a sincere, "why?"  I told her something that became very real to me while working with skeptics in Germany (and then I woke up).  That is, only the Christian story offers both an honest recognition of the evil in the world, and a plausible solution.  Every other philosophy, world-view, religion, or whatever you want to call it deals with one or the other, but essential Christianity presents both.  I am trying to be a Christian because Cambodia, Germany, Rwanda, Burma, and the U.S.A. need bold faced honesty about evil, and be offered a solution that is brazen enough to make a difference.

Which brings us to Revelation 6:4.  I grew up under the teaching that Revelation, in its entirety, has yet to be fulfilled.  Since then I have learned of other interpretations that allow for a partial fulfillment throughout human history.  Any way you slice it, Revelation 6:4 has a lot to say about us.  Notice, this second horse of the apocalypse did not kill anyone, or cause anyone to be killed.  Rather, he "took peace from the earth."  It is as if peace is a sustaining force for our good, a blanket that inhibits our natural, violent tendencies.  Once that blanket is removed we humans do what is our natural instinct, post-fall, and we "slay one another."  Pol Pot.  Hitler.  Burma.  Rwanda.  9-11.  The evening news.  Every now and then the curtain is pulled back and our fangs come out.  This is who we are.  

Now, a generation after grass covered the graves of the Killing Fields, Cambodia leads the world in the pre-pubescent sex-trade.  It is bad enough that Cambodians slaughtered Cambodians in the 70's under a psychopath's rule.  Now Cambodians are selling their preschool sons and daughters to demented Westerners for a few bucks a night.  The sustaining curtain of peace is pulled back.  Fallen men rape, torture, and kill their fellow man.  The red horse of the apocalypse marches on, while we sit at home, insulated from the horror much of the world wakes up to every morning.

But not everyone stays home.  We spent our afternoon today at a mission that has taken this seriously.  They have been brutally honest with themselves about the evil in our hearts and have decided to try to be Christians.  They have left all and followed Jesus, and He led them to Cambodia.  They are rescuing children and women from the sex-trade.  They are helping pimps find more noble forms of employment.  They are training parents how and why to value their children beyond the few dollars a night they can sell themselves for.  They are working with authorities to prosecute the perverts who prey on the vulnerable.  And they are doing it all in the name and the power of Jesus Christ.  

Why am I trying to be a Christian?  Because Jesus came and died because evil is real.  Because, though there is more work to be done that what I can do alone, it is other followers of Jesus who are trying to do it.  Because it takes a heart-change to convince a pimp to find other work, and Jesus is in heart-changing business.  Because I've seen a whole lot of evil in the world, and only one solution beefy enough to make an actual difference.  Why are you trying to be a Christian?

Initial Thoughts on Cambodia

I arrived in Cambodia this morning.  What a roller-coaster of experiences this will prove to be!  My first impression is that if the Cambodian writing on signs and awnings were substituted for Spanish this could be any number of Latin American cities I have seen.  I suspect the same could be said of Africa, but I haven't been there (yet).  I intend to post more later, but I'll briefly share some of my early experiences with you.

A snack during my brief layover in the Tokyo airport.  The bottle of soy sauce reminds me the tabasco sauce they put in MRE's.

A European inspired, in-flight breakfast on AirBangkok this morning.

In-flight entertainment.  Can you name the show?

We are staying in a plush, 4-star hotel for less than the cost of a Motel 6 in the states.  These shacks along the river are the view from our window.  Wrap you brain around this: more people in the world live like this...

than like this.  In other words, the houses above are normal.  Yours isn't.

The drive here.  We survived!

This evening we will meet with a missionary working in the area, and tomorrow we'll get a tour of his mission organization.  We will also get a tour of the Killing Fields.  We are surrounded by spiritual and economic poverty.  Pray that we can be a light in the brief time we are here.  Pray that we can be as gracious towards our hosts as they are towards us.

Unexpected Blessings

Out of the blue some friends from home Facebooked me on their drive from Switzerland to Frankfurt.  They drove out of their way to Landstuhl, and we were able to spend some time together.  Juli's ancestors are from nearby Otterberg, so we spent most of the evening there.  We found the Cathedral that was originally Catholic but turned Lutheran with the Reformation.  Eventually, the Catholics and Lutherans agreed to share the building.  It took many years to iron out the details, but in time they found harmony and it is still shared to this day.  That kind of cooperation is virtually unheard of in our age, let alone ca. 18th century when the preferred method of theological compromise involved the wrack.

If you know me, you know that I firmly believe in theological conviction.  I hope you also know that I firmly believe in civil conversation, even constructive debate.  The differences between theological camps are significant enough they should not be overlooked in the name of unity.  We need to wrestle through the tough issues of justification, election, communion, and so on.  If the Reformation taught us anything, it is that Truth is worth dying for.  But, we need to hold these convictions with the Spirit of Christ seeking harmony when unified melody is simply not possible.  If you know the Jarvis family, you know that this ancestral spirit of peaceful cooperation has survived the generations and geography separating them from this Cathedral where it all began.  If you know them, you'll also know that Chris had equipment suitable for photographing Otterberg in the low light, so check out his Facebook page, or Juli's blog for more pictures and stories coming soon (I'm pretty sure).

Dinner, where Juli strategically positioned herself in view of the Cathedral.

Juli and Chris in my office at 2:00 AM.  Never a dull moment around here!

Saarburg

We took some of the guys to Saarbug today, located close to the French border.  We started with a tour of a castle followed by another fabulous meal.  The restaurant was part of what I called a European food court.  A small river runs through the center and tumbles over small waterfall.  Both sides are lined with restaurants and tables and awnings outside.  It was so cool to watch these guys, some limping, some with an arm in a sling, some with invisible wounds, but everyone of them looked like kids in a candy store.  OK, maybe I did too.

The view of Saarbug from the castle tower.

After some free time we headed over to a stainless steel tobogan run.  The first time down the guys were pretty macho and played along just because it was expected.  The second time down they were giddy.  Check out these battle hardened soldiers pushing past the little kids waiting for the same ride.  No, I'm not kidding.

Today I went to Kirche...

This morning I walked down to the Protestant Church (Kirche) in Landstuhl.  The steeple in the picture below adorns the beautiful building.

 I got there at 10:00, and saw that the service started at 9:30.  Given my Baptist heritage I assumed I missed the hymns and got there in time for the preaching.  Not that it mattered, the whole service was in German anyway.  I went on in and slipped quietly into the back pew.

 This sanctuary could easily seat 200+.  To my left were two young ladies and a group of elderly folks numbering roughly what you see in the picture above.  They sang a hymn, the pastor stood and I assume prayed (again, it's all in German), and then walked out.  It was now 10:05 and church was over.  So...

I walked down a block to the cafe and enjoyed this cup of coffee.  I wish the picture did justice to the setting.  It was a beautiful sunny morning, about 70 degrees.  At 10:20 the bells from both the Protestant and Catholic church started ringing.  Apparently the Ecumenical movement has brought some harmony to the German churches, because the bells were tuned to each other.  The tones resonated through the streets, bouncing off the stone buildings.  I posted a video below, but in person it was much easier on the ears.

I did some reading, thinking, and relaxing.  Not a typical Sunday morning for a preacher, but I'll take it.

Landstuhl Castle

This evening I had the opportunity to see the Nanstein Castle in Landstuhl.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

You can see the town of Landstuhl in the background.

This was the enlisted soldiers' baracks.

Another view of the enlisted baracks... as compared to...

The Officers' Quarters.

The Officers' Quarters from another view.

More than just a decorative fountain, the basen was used to collect rain water.

I didn't see it in the tour guide, but I'm almost certain the blue trashcan liner is an authentic, 12th century piece.

Kind of like a duck blind, arrows could be fired out through the openings on either side of the gate, but virtually impossible for an enemy to fire into the castle. 

The Treck to Germany

Rebekah, Lucas, and I had a great time in Cheyenne taking care of the last minute details for my deployment.  A highlight of the trip was when the TAG (The Adjutant General) stopped by Sunday afternoon to see me off and offer his encouragement to Rebekah.  It is a great privilege to serve in a State where our highest ranking military member makes the effort to personally thank deploying personelle.

After a rousing game of ball...

Lucas was a ready for a scrub.

Once he realized what all the attention was actually about, he took it kind of hard.  He'll miss his dad.

We woke up Monday ready for a leisure morning of packing and organizing since my flight didn't leave until evening.  One look out the window and all leisure departed.  It looked like this.















Get it?

After two and half hours of stop and go traffic on I85 with about 50 yard visibility, we made it to DIA. An awaiting passenger was kind enough to snap a picture.

We flew over Canada and off the Southern tip of Greenland.  At this point I couldn't help but imagine the fishing villages that dot the coast.  That's a place I'd love to visit one day.

Pictures of where I am now will have to wait for another day.  But, before I go, I'm going to tell you about some of the interesting people with whom I shared a very large, double-decker airplane.

They range from the Catholic church ladies headed to a European cathedral tour, to the guy up a row and across the aisle from me who watched raunchy movies on his iPad the entire 9 hour flight, and laughed out loud with his earbuds in.  It looked more disgusting than funny from my vantage point, but he was having a great time.  Or, so it seemed.

Then there was the lady towering at about 5' 1" and boasting a frame of at least 105 lbs.  Otherwise, by both looks and demeanor she reminded me of Meg Ryan.  She was headed to Germany to compete in an international competition of... wait for it... power lifting.

We were also kept company by the eccentric cat-lady, only, it wasn't a cat.  It was a small, fluffy service-dog that was the subject of several arguments between Fluffy's owner and the otherwise accommodating flight crew.

I sat next to a book publisher from Copenhagen who specializes in Philosophy, Psychology, and pedagogy.  She was more interested in the Big Horn Mountain pictures on my iPad than she was in talking about her work.  I think the world needs more people like that.

International travel is a fascinating thing.  Just this evening over dinner I met an Army officer with an advanced degree in entomology.  Didn't see that one coming.  But, the story that reminded me why I am here - that was the young Marine who had to leave his guys in the desert to come home for a family emergency.  Those matters being cleared up, he was headed back for the remaining month of his second deployment.  Those are the guys who need support.  I'm here to serve those who serve our nation.  Thanks for making it possible for me to be here.  Pray for me: tomorrow it begins.  I'll be in touch.