drew moser: October 2007

30 Day No Shave: Day 10

29 October 2007

20 more days...

Testing, 1,2,3,

I'm testing out Flock's blog editor. We'll see how this works. . .

Blogged with Flock

Labels: testingflock

Looking Back, Surveying the Present, and Peering into the Future

24 October 2007

National Adoption Awareness Month begins next week. It's a month to raise awareness; a month to call people to action. Our church will be having our second annual 'adoption Sunday', and I'll be preaching. I've found it relatively easy to lay out a biblical call to care for orphans. All you have to do is read the book to get the gist. Throw some startling statistics in there and people are sold.

The tougher part is trying to authentically and effectively communicate what adoption has done and will continue to do to my soul and my family. To gain a glimpse of what parenting Eloisa will initially look like, I'd encourage you to read THIS, from an adoptive mother on the struggle to win her adoptive daughter's heart while she waits for the completed adoption of another child. It's gut-wrenching yet also inspiring to someone on this path. I know the battle for Eloisa's heart will be very, very hard at times. I know she'll put up a good fight (her name, after all, means 'warrior'). But I'll fight for her.

But this is all looking ahead. At present, with 17 grueling months in an adoption process behind us, here's what I know:

"Adoption is very hard. It's at the center of God's heart, but it will rip yours out."-Dr. Leichner

I can't describe it any better. This has been our journey. It's been hard, but it's also been an incredible journey exploring the center of God's heart.

But it's nearly destroyed mine. It's been ripped out, trampled on. Meeting Eloisa for the first time, spending a week with her brought me as close to the center of God's heart as I've ever been.

But then we had to leave her in Guatemala...and wait. Bekah and I shot a video moments after dropping her off with her foster mom. Between sobs, we tried to communicate to Isa what we were feeling. She's the only person who will ever see it; someday when she begins to ask the tough questions.

But until then, we wait. Anticipated deadlines come and go. Progress stalls. Hope fades.

I'm coming to realize that this has been a necessary (though unbelievably painful) part of the process. The closer we enter to the center of God's plan, our hearts give way to His. Our plans give way to His. Our intentions give way to His.

And slowly, excruciatingly...they stop 'giving way' and they become His.

The shift from surrender to transformation continues. It's hard to explain, and words seem to be failing me right now, so I'd encourage you to prayerfully, seriously consider adopting yourselves. Then you'll understand.

But be warned: your heart will be ripped out.

Great Book: The New Friars

23 October 2007

I just finished The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor. It's a great introduction to global poverty, and the sacrificial love of young adults who are choosing to make a difference. If you're interested in working with the poor on a sacrificial, incarnational, and local level, this book highlights a handful of great organizations.

An inspiring read....

If You Care at All About the Future of the American Church..

22 October 2007

Then you need to read this.
Programs are not the answer. Willow Creek (yes, THE Will Creek) has come to the conclusion that the program-driven approach isn't working. Bill Hybels (yes, THE Bill Hybels) puts it bluntly: "We made a mistake."

They're wiping the slate clean and starting over...

Huh.

This is gonna get ugly...

18 October 2007

Today marks the beginning of a '30 day no shave' for the men of VOX. Solidarity. Devotion to God and one another. Just because. Because of my 'adoption protest beard', I'm going into this with a few weeks growth; an already pathetic excuse for a beard. This won't be pretty...

Climbing on a Good Day.

17 October 2007

(a snippet from my journal...re: our adoption journey, and some other stuff)

"I'm only just now realizing what a dark valley my soul was in. But now I'm on the arduous, but exhilarating journey above the tree line...

I'm tired, but alert. I'm aware.
Blood is coursing through my veins.
The air is fresh and clear.
The breeze is cool and refreshing.
The view is magnificent.

I'm breathing deeply, letting it all sink in.
Man, it feels good.
This. This is livin'."

Climb people, climb. Scratch, crawl, pull your way out of that pit.

Flirting with Libertarianism...

16 October 2007

(So here's what I'm thinking re: libertarianism. I'm considering this political philosophy for a number of reasons. These are all 'in-process' thoughts, not intended to be considered concrete conclusions. Also, just a reminder: These are solely my opinions, not the opinions of any org. that I'm a part of.)

First, I get very, very angry with politics 'courting Christian conservatives', or with the 'moral majority' or any other attempt to synthesize Christian faith and conservative politics. I think the result has been disastrous in so many ways. The lure of political power has corrupted the American church into focusing its efforts more on political posturing, less on a posture of prayer and service. The church belongs on its knees, not on a political 'stump'.

This leads to political campaigns invoking faith as another mere political tool. The Christian faith gets used and abused, all for the sake of getting our votes. I'll save that rant for another day.

Second, such a marriage of faith and politics has diverted the attention of the church away from its central purpose: glorifying God by loving Him and others. The local church is a visible sign of the universal church in a particular neighborhood. We have the responsibility to care for the poor, to love our neighbor. It seems to me as if most of the American church has passed on that responsibility to government (whether Republican or Democrat).

This leads right into my third thought: If the church dumps its responsibility to care for the needs of the world, is the government an appropriate substitute? I'm becoming less and less sure. If there's one thing that 17 grueling months in an adopting process has taught me, it's this: Governments do not primarily seek to care for their people. They court your vote, promising a hope that they can't provide. They only care for their people when it's in their best interests of maintaining power and a good global images.

These thoughts have led me to a crossroads of sorts. I certainly leaned more Republican in teenage and college years, as a direct result of my evangelical theology. I assumed that this was just the way a Christian should vote. During my 3 years in seminary, I really wrestled with that assumption, and came out an independent who leaned Democrat, mostly for their stance on caring for the poor, and as a reaction to the harmful effects I saw in faith and conservative politics.

In recent elections, my voting record has been really, really mixed. In the upcoming presidential election, I really don't find one candidate who truly inspires me...yet.

Throw my strong Anabaptist beliefs into the mix, and I've got a conundrum on my hands. I very strongly resonate with the Anabaptist doctrine of noncomformity to government, and I'm exploring the revolutionary, subversive nature of Jesus Christ and the cross.

As of now, libertarianism seems quite compelling, not because I would agree with every practical result of a libertarian run government, but because I firmly believe faith is too precious to be legislated, and the church's mandate to the world is too important to be ignored. Many libertarians believe in the absolute authority of the individual to have control over his/her life. I don't. I believe that God's absolute authority reigns over His created world, but in His love and mercy he gives individuals freedom to choose. So, I guess you could say I'm flirting with Christian Libertarianism, but only if we, the church, would step up and do our job.

Many left-leaning libertarians seem to be near anarchists, therefore allowing for liberties such as prostitution (one example), which I wouldn't support or be in favor of allowing. To me, prostitution is one example of liberty lost, as most women in the 'business' are truly modern day slaves, victims of circumstances that were very much beyond their control. For a john to pay for sex directly infringes upon the right to liberty that a prostitute deserves.

But I digress...

This doesn't mean that I'm looking for a nomocracy or a theocracy. I'm trying to avoid it. I'm looking for THE CHURCH TO STEP UP AND DO THE JOB IT WAS CALLED TO DO. Are we too unsure of the gospel we preach and live that we seek our government to carry out our interests? Or do we truly find our hope in the gospel of peace, the gospel of love, the gospel of truth? Do we believe that this gospel is powerful enough to mold and shape the hearts, minds, and souls of people to choose to live biblically, lovingly, and with care and concern of others?
(thanks to my brother in law, Josh, with planting this seed in my brain a few years ago, that it's the church's responsibility to care for one another)

It seems as if Christians who vote Republican don't have faith that they can influence people in this manor without the government's help, so the strategy is to legislate morality and secureity (i.e., Patriot Act) for the safety of all. It also seems as if Christians who vote democrat don't have faith that they can care for the marginalized amongst them or make peace with their enemies without government intervention. The church has left it up to the government to care for its people. The church has decided that the best way to carry out its witness is in the political realm.

The result: an increasingly contemporary form of Christendom. We know how that all ended.

Constantine is dead isn't he?

Again, these are just stream of consciousness thoughts, meant to be understood from the perspective of a guy who's wrestling. Help me out here...

(and no, this isn't some grand scheme to make it ok for me to smoke pot. I promise.)

Libertarianism?

15 October 2007

I've been flirting with libertarianism for awhile now: any libertarians out there?

My weekend...

What a weekend! We potty trained Ben this weekend, and let me just say...my son is a potty training fiend, and I have never been so glad to get through a weekend. It was 3 days of torture, but well worth it.

For the record, we implemented the 3 Day Potty Training Method. My thoughts: It works. The woman who came up with this deserves Al Gore's Nobel prize. She's saving the world from countless disposable diapers and pull-ups.

Fascinating Op-Ed: Read It.

09 October 2007

A Nation of Christians is Not a Christian Nation, by Jon Meachem, via the N.Y. Times.

Thoughts?

Tozer is one wise sage...

08 October 2007

I've been reading Tozer's The Pursuit of God again (it's been years), and man...this guy is slappin' me upside. Here are a few quotes:

"...I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the 'program'. This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us." p. 10

"We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him..." p. 16

"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart." p. 15

Holy heartburn, Batman. Follow hard people. Pursue with reckless abandon...

David Crowder: Remedy

03 October 2007

I've been listening to the new David Crowder album, Remedy. Good stuff. Time will tell if it is as amazing as A Collision, but regardless, Crowder is a breathe of fresh air in Christian music.

My favorite song BY FAR is "Never Let Go." Chalk it up to the adoption junk (the junk pile seems to be getting bigger), but I keep playing this one over and over:

"Never Let Go"
David Crowder Band

When clouds veil sun
And disaster comes
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rise
And hope takes flight
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Ever faithful
Ever true
You I know
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go

When clouds brought rain
And disaster came
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rose
And hope had flown
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Oh, my soul
Overflows
Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, my soul
Fills hope
Perfect love that never lets go

Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, what love, oh, what love
In joy and pain
In sun and rain
You’re the same
Oh, You never let go

Mint: Easy, Simple, Online Money Management

Wow. I just signed up for a Mint account. I took less than 5 minutes to enter our credit card account, savings account, and checking account.

I now have instant access to account transactions, spending trends, etc. Very, very cool.

Now, if they can allow me to access investments (Roth-IRA, Money Market, Ben's college savings) and our Jan-the-Van auto loan, then we'll really be in business. Hopefully they'll add these features soon.

Oh yeah...one more thing: Mint is very, very safe and secure. I read up on that extensively before signing up.

Did I mention it's free?

It'll be a constant reminder of the meager balances that we have in each account, but at least we'll be organized.

Labels: mint

drew moser : : theological riffs, cultural rants, anecdotal quips

journal : : field notes