Bodies

I know that I haven't posted since May 3rd.  I also know that I spend way too much time apoligizing for not writing more on this blog.  My goal this year was to post at least once per week, but once May hit, I found myself nearly speechless.

Early this month, Erin and I got to go on a date with two good friends of ours.  We took the day and went to Atlantic Station in the city to see the Bodies exhibit and take Erin to California Pizza Kitchen.  We also took the opportunity to walk through Ikea and John and I tried out all the chairs.

The Bodies exhibit was really amazing - if you're ever near it, I'd recommend it.  Having grown up with a mom who is a nurse and other family members in the medical field, then becoming a pastor who frequently visits church members at the hospital, I feel like I've learned a good bit about the human body.  I've always found our systems facinating and a good insight into the character of God. 

If you've never heard of the Bodies exhibit, their website explains it this way:

This Exhibition--which features actual human specimens--allows people of all ages access to sights and knowledge normally reserved only for medical professionals. Take the opportunity to peer inside yourself, to better understand how your elaborate and fascinating body works, and how you can become a more informed participant in your own health care.

The first room you enter begins by displaying our skeletal system.  The plaques and posters on the walls give bits of information on everything you see.  The next area shows off the muscles of the body.  Then the nerves and brain, the veins and arteries, the heart, the reproductive system, and so on.  They actually found a way to remove the nerves from a human body intact.  Likewise with our blood vessels. 

As we walked through, I couldn't help but think how magnificently and intricately God has created us.  The way that our organs all work together and the capacity of each to do its job is unfathomable.  In the midst of so much science, it was undeniable that our phisiology is no cosmic accident, but the work of a Supreme Craftsman.

Then I was reminded that, though we are beautiful and a tribute to God's love, we are not perfect.  Just three days later (a day after my last post), on May 4th, I watched a 36-year-old husband and father of two lose his fight against metastatic malignant melanoma.  For a year and a half, I witnessed his efforts to go through medical trial after medical trial, then chemo, and finally heavy doses of narcotics, all to try to fend off this unconquerable foe.  Jason's form of melanoma is considered incurable so far.  Some people have recovered from it, I know one of them, but those occurrances have never been able to be explained by doctors or researchers - they were true miracles. 

Early on May 4th, I went to see Jason at one of our local hospice centers.  They had stopped all treatments and the goal was for hospice to treat his breathing for a few days and send him home with 24-7 hospice care.  The end wasn't supposed to come that soon, and even at that point, we expected to still have a few more days, if not weeks, with Jason.  It wasn't so.  In just hours, he went downhill quickly and we witnessed him breathing his last just before four in the morning.

I've been asked by more people than I care to remember just how God could let this happen.  Why do such horrible things happen to people, especially those still in the prime of life?  Having wanted to shake my own fist toward the heavens, I needed to ask that question for myself.  I knew the answer as firmly as I know that 2+2=4, but grief is rarely that rational and explanations aren't always the best consolation.

The fact of the matter is that though our bodies are works of art, molded by the Potter, and set into motion with incredible internal timing, our bodies are still imperfect.  They fail, they slow down, they stumble, the fall, they fall apart, and eventually, they all die.  We are succeptible to cancer, viruses, and cholesterol.  None of that means that God loves us any less.  In fact, because of that, we are able to see God's love more clearly.

You see, God isn't even the cause of these things.  No, he didn't need one more angel in heaven.  Jason's work certainly wasn't done here.  It wasn't the wrath of God and God didn't have other plans for Jason.  His time wasn't up.

These things are a part of the reality we live in.  To blame God is to deny that his heart was broken too.  I believe that the God of love who created each of us with such grace is not a smiter or afflictor.  I think we do enough of that to ourselves.

So where was God in all of this?  He was by the side of Jason Capes.  Every step of the way, though none of us could feel what Jason was feeling, God could.  Though no one else could find the right words to say, God knew Jason's heart.  God doesn't cause bad things to happen to us, but because God is who he is, we never have to endure those things alone.

Now, God is walking beside Jason's wife, son, daughter, parents, sister, and everyone else that mourns his death.  We are not alone and we have certainly not been forsaken.

The Feeding of 5,000

We experienced a multitude of people coming through the doors at Mt. Bethel on Saturday. Maybe it wasn't 5,000 and rather than fish and loaves, it was fish and hushpuppies, but a multitude was fed.

In April, one of our members, a 35 year old husband and father of two, was diagnosed with metastatic malignant melanoma. It starts out as skin cancer, and in his case, it spread into his endocrine system and quickly to some of his major organs. He's undergoing treatment that has a 5% chance of success, so the prospects seem pretty grim.

Mt. Bethel has rallied around this family, not just because they are part of the church family, but because they are a family in need and we can do something to make a difference for them.

Saturday, several of our men and women showed up at the church around lunchtime, heated up some peanut oil, and fried almost 200 lbs. of catfish. By the time I got home Saturday night, I was greasy and tired. Together, we raised $6,000 for Jason and his family. I enjoyed listening to the buzz around the church that afternoon, which carried over to Sunday morning. People who estimated they would raise $2,000 to $2,500 were clearly blown away by the difference that was made.

475 people came through the door on Saturday. Some drove from an hour or more away. Many live in the community and have no church home, but saw a flyer. Not bad for a 230 member church!

I think more has happened than feeding a multitude and helping a family through hard times. I think some eyes were opened and God is laying the foundation for the vision and getting people where they need to be to help the church pursue that vision. Saturday was a teaching moment.

Two years ago - almost one month after I arrived here - some of our leadership hosted a fish fry. The 2007 fish fry was to raise money for our building debt. Not because we weren't able to make payments, but because we wanted to pay as much as possible on the principle of the loan. When the dust settled, we raised about $1,800 for the building.

Everybody being blown away by Saturday's turnout blessed me with numerous teaching moments. I've had frank conversations where I didn't have the opportunity before. Many people didn't see the difference in the fish fries until the tally was made and it became clear that there is a difference between fundraising for "selfish" purposes - money we spend on ourselves - and fundraising for "selfless" purposes - money we spend on others.

God blessed the generosity of a few and multiplied their sacrifices to bless someone else. In so doing, the Kingdom of God became visible to dozens of people. Eyes were opened to what the mission of the church really is and the fact that God blesses our efforts when we pursue his ends.

People are buzzing at Mt. Bethel. The community is buzzing around us. God is up to something...

As you read this, say a prayer for Jason and his family. Today (July 28th) he is undergoing a PET scan to determine if his treatments are working or not. Hopefully tomorrow he'll get his results.

My Newest Guilty Pleasure

Before I tell you about my newest guilty pleasure, let me give you the disclaimer. I believe that God created all things and sat back and admired his work. He declared it good, and it, therefore, has great value to me.

I support conservation and I believe its sinful when we harm the environment. That said, let me tell you about the TV show that's caught my attention...

On Friday nights, Animal Planet has started broadcasting a show entitled "Whale Wars." It's highly entertaining and if you're not doing anything tonight, pop some popcorn and sit down for some quality entertainment.

Whale Wars is about an organization known as Sea Shepherd. It's headed by Paul Watson (who is quite possibly the only overweight vegan I know). Watson is one of the 12 founders of Greenpeace and the one that happened to be voted off the organization's island for being too radical.

They've been well funded by some other crazies and thanks to Animal Planet, we learn that there are whole levels of stupid that most of us never knew existed. The crew, most of which have no experience at sea, steam around the Antarctic Circle in their ship, the Steve Irwin (you guessed it, the ship is named after the Crocodile Hunter). While on their cruise, they search for Japanese whaling operations. Once found, they make threats over the radio, hurl stink bombs and other various chemical grenades at these ships, and even pull off a couple of really stupid stunts.

Last week, Watson had the brilliant idea to have two volunteers from the Steve Irwin come alongside and board the Japanese ship. Once on board, Watson would call the Australian government and start a political fight, declaring his own crew members to be held captive. I always thought boarding someone else's boat without permission while at sea was an act of piracy, but I guess I'm just too reasonable as a person to see it Watson's way.

I'm not sure which part was the most enjoyable, that they threw the stink bombs on board and THEN jumped on, or when the Japanese crew members actually tried to throw one of them overboard into the icy ocean.

All of this is an attempt to deter people from killing whales for research and profit. I found myself asking one question over and over again: Is this really the best and most effective way to get your point across and change people's minds? I really doubt it.

As Christians, we could be accused of some of the same tactics. How we relate to non-Christians is often disgraceful. We forget that Jesus mentored and loved his twelve disciples (even Judas). We forget that Philip made a friend out of the Ethiopian eunuch. We forget that Paul was cared for by Ananias. Coercion and nasty behavior is never a substitute for love, mercy, kindness, and genuine care.

I have more to say about the Sea Shepherd crew, but I'll save that for later.