2nd KaRen family arrived...

The second KaRen family arrived Thursday night. They are: Kan (dad) Lee (Mom) Clow(12), Klee(11), Bah Eh Doo (3).
It was quite a different arrival than the first family, this time there was a family reunion at the airport. Lee is Yoo Yue's sister, so Moon Lights family were so excited to see relatives and welcome them to their new home. You can see that joy in the faces of the two youngest as they hug each other.



We also secured a second duplex for the Shwee family and they signed the lease on Saturday and we will move them in on Wednesday. The place was trashed when we looked at it originally but the landlord really put a lot of work into it and it was fine when we looked at it yesterday. Now we just need to furnish it and it will move from a house to a home. It's a two bedroom home and when Kan saw it inside, he remarked to Moon Light that it was SO BIG! He thought they would have to have somebody else live with them because it was so large :) Oh perspective, it can turn a stone into a ladder to heaven.



Now we need a one bedroom apartment for the next sister and her husband, they are in their mid twenties and come Wednesday.

The ladies of the house...

the ladies
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

What's strange is I see Angela in Destiny in this shot

When monkey's throw poop...

this is nuts....

This is so wrong...in so many ways...but I still laugh, why is that?
http://www.glumbert.com/media/tonguetwister

How rich are you?

How rich are you compared to others in the world?
Check it out:
I've got a lot of dough?

Becoming home

becoming home.JPG
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Moon Light's family are quickly becoming more at home here in Spokane. They have a nice 2 bedroom home in our little neighborhood. The children are all registered and scheduled to start school tomorrow at my kids school, in fact July is in Austin's class. Moon Light and YooYue are attending english classes and have learned how to take the bus, shop at Fred Meyer and got their own phone today. They join us for all our services at church. It really has been an amazing journey to watch, shape and enjoy.

YooYue's sister's family arrives Thursday night, another group of 5 and her other sister and her husband arrive on the 25th. We found and secured a 2 bedroom duplex right down the street from Moonlight for the next family and hopefully they will get the keys on Saturday! Now we need to find a one bedroom apartment for the last family.

God has been so faithful and has answered all of our prayers for these families, I give God praise for His care.

so true...

Christ vs. Moralism

I've already confessed...

Everybody going and I want to go too 

Don't wanna take a chance with somebody new 

I did all I could, I did it right there and then 

I've already confessed - no need to confess again 

-Song: Thunder on the mountain, Bob Dylan

I find God all over the place in Bob Dylans lyrics. 

It amazes me that people question his faith.

You gotta serve somebody...and it won't be me.

In a day when it seems music is pudgy with the steroids of ego, it is
refreshing to listen to pure poetry woven into song but not
emasculated by sound. I loved that the band would soften their
instruments when Dylan would play a few notes on his harmonica. The
music was fantastic but not at the expense of the words. Dylan can
weave together words like few others can even dream of doing. His
words move me, a few times I even felt tears form. That is the power
of communication...when words become flesh.

Dylan didn't suffocate his music with himself. He came out, played,
introduced his friends that were making fire with him and left.
At first it all seemed quite detached but I realized it was an
offering from one that had learned to give without expecting much if
anything in return. We had come, that was enough. He played and sang,
that was enough. We want art to be about the person. We want to be
the focus of the performance, show us we are important, sing to us,
play for us, talk to us...and in the end...bow to us. Or...become a
manifestation of all our self seeking idolatry and make the stage
your own altar and force us to worship you....we love it so. It
really is depraved.

Dylan didn't do that...it was as if he was free in a way that seemed
so strange in the face of so many artists that have turned the art
into a anthropocentric experience. At the end the band came to the
center of the stage and just stood there facing the crowd. They
didn't smile, say anything and definitely didn't bow to us and then
they walked off the stage. Of course people stomped their feet,
screamed, clapped and tried with all their might to lure them back to
us...but he didn't come....He left.

He was free to just walk away from the stage...Oh that more people
could come to that place in their craft. I loved it.

Letting loose the Wild Boar!

WildBoar
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

After darkness, light! This was a rally cry of the reformation and we could benefit from hearing it sounded yet again in this theological hazy era.

Since it is October I thought I would focus on the 5 Solas of the reformation at Jacob's Well. Luther (nick named the Wild Boar by his catholic foes) lit the powder keg on the 31st by nailing his 95 thesis to the old church door. For the next 5 weeks we will be digging into the 5 main theological points of the reformation.

This Sunday: Sola Scriptura...let the mayhem begin!

Did Dylan...

dylan
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

wow...

Dylan, Water and rest...

Woodmark hotel
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

LeeElla and I are in Seattle to see Bob Dylan in concert and staying at a great hotel called The WoodMark in Kirkland. We were able to steal away for a real quick trip. Our room overlooks Lake Washington and from this desk all I can see is water, sun and sailboats and the sound of water lapping up on the shore. Oh...so relaxing. We had dinner out on the patio as picture above but there was no one out there, it was sunset, calm wind and about 65 degrees.

Demon dogs from hell....

Pitbull bite
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Johnny, a bro from our church was visiting a friend in the neighborhood and the guys dog (a pit bull) got hungry for Johnny's leg. He had to punch the dogs head with all his might to get it to let go. Yikes! Those dogs are of the deeevil.

Rambo 4

rambo4
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

No way! Check this out, how crazy is this? Talk about being on the cutting edge...

The next chapter finds Rambo recruited by a group of Christian human rights missionaries to protect them against pirates, during a humanitarian aid deliver to the persecuted Karen people of Burma. After some of the missionaries are taken prisoner by sadistic Burmese soldiers, Rambo gets a second impossible job: to assemble a team of mercenaries to rescue the surviving relief workers.

UFC fix

ortiz_ft
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Tito smashed the Shamrock tonight and it was good. But I was most impressed with Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald from Canada that dude is going to be one to keep an eye on.

a good iTunes download

"We Believe"
What a great song by Good Charlotte

Gently in Thy fire...

Fire
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Remember, Lord, thou hast not made me good.
Or if thou didst, it was so long ago
I have forgotten, and never understood,
I humbly think. At best it was crude,
A rough-hewn goodness, that did need this woe,
This sin, these harms of all kinds fierce and rude.
To shape it out, making it live and grow.

But thou art making me, I thank thee, sire.
What thou hast done and doest thou know'st well,
And I will help thee: gently in thy fire
I will lie burning; and thy potter's-wheel
I will whirl patient, though my brain should reel.
Thy grace shall be enough the grief to quell,
And growing strength perfect through weakness dire.
-George macdonald

Dwight's on the phone...

Send someone a telephone message from Dwight at the Office.
http://www.theofficedvd.com/dwight/
Too funny.

Love this style...

This video game has a very cool look to it, I have never seen one like it.
www.limbogame.org

fantasy football?

fantasy football
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

yep...sounds like something I would be interested in.

Flower of June God's face shines on you...

flower of June
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Jacob's Well started meeting in East Central as a gathered church in June 2006. I found out this week that the Karen phrase we had painted on our walls means something different than I thought it did. We thought it meant "flower that loves God". For me that phrase captured the spirit of our growing church as reflected in a poem I wrote at that time called "Gutter flower".

But I found out the phrase actually means "Little girl who loves June flower". Jacob's Well is truly a small flower that was planted in June.

We are so thankful to be a part of what God is growing in our community. It has been a difficult yet extremely rewarding adventure.

One of the awesome parts of this journey is reaching new people from in and out of our neighborhood. We are growing and having to adjust all our time tables because of it. So far this month we have moved past 100 people! God is so good.

We are praying that the fragrance of Christ in this little gutter flower will continue to draw those who who are awakening to the kingdom. That the graves of the dead will be opened and that our community will begin to hear the singing of those who have been brought alive by the power of God's mighty voice. That a rushing stream of grace and mercy will continue to spill out of this well and bring to life everything that the river touches. That sweet fruit will grow up among us and the leaves of of this branch of the tree of life will bring healing to the nations.

And most importantly Jesus will delight in this little flower. That she will grow in beauty for the glory of His name. That her unfolding petals will glisten with grace. Though she should be trampled in the dust at times, she will rise again and again to His glory. That she will become the host to a thousand seeds that spread on the four winds of God to other hidden places. That she will be one of many to come that will grow in unlikely and holy places.

Day 9 in America

Moon Light
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Moon Light & Yoo Yue sign the lease on their first American home tomorrow. It's a nice 2 bedroom duplex right around the corner from our church and around the block from our house. They are excited to have their own place and putting their new life together. Our church and World Relief are furnishing their home from the bottom to the top. It has been quite a project, collecting stuff, purchasing items and making sure they like what we are gathering. They arrived with hardly anything, some clothes and personal items but that is about it.

It has been a lot of work helping a family enter the US and become familiar with all the ins and outs of American life. Government meetings, housing, funding, medical, doctors visits, english lessons around the kitchen table, household lessons about everything from how to use our various bathroom stuff to washing machines, stoves, microwaves, tvs and anything else you wouldn't find in a village in Burma. But dont let that stuff fool you, they are smart tacks for sure. They love to laugh and are quick to learn too.

So much I could share about so many things thats for sure. It has been a stretching experience but a rich one too. Last wed. night it was cool to hear all of them singing hymns with LeeElla in the kitchen. We will have to include some in our sunday service because they know them in english. They love the Lord and Yoo Yue even plays guitar. She picked it up at the church and started singing a song with her kids...it was quite moving to watch.

So ends this leg of the KaRen journey but more is to come. Two of Yoo Yue's sisters are arriving with their families too. The first family of 5 arrives on September 22 and the second, a couple, arrives on the 25th. So it all starts over again...whew! So pray that we all will stay energized, prayerful, rested and healthy to help with the next families. Pray that we can find them housing in our neighborhood too, so that all the families can be close to each other, our church and our home.

God is good.

This is my body...

body
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Great article on the power of birth and the sacrifice of a mother.
Here: This is my body

I saw this at the park today.

abattle.JPG
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

I wish...

Beer can smashing neanderthals

I have read a lot of criticism of various different ministries that are voicing messages to men about masculinity. I feel some critiques have valid points being raised but to me many are missing the real point of why these manly messages are being so received. What is it about the characters, the bits of heroic prose and imagery that are used that resonates with a lot of men? I have read many of the theological concerns with some content in books like Wild at Heart etc...and it seems some are valid but many are over the top too. I have listened to the paranoid prognostications of a mass of steroid popping, wife slapping, gut protruding, beer can smashing neanderthals storming the pews. But to me that seems to be just doing the exact type of over characterizing that the critics seem to be complaining about. 

Granted not all church bred men are sea-foam green wearing, lillty two stepping charismaniacs, with one eye cocked to the ceiling and the other glossed over. Not all talk in submissive hush tones like a beaten dog. Not all shake your hand like its made of tissue. But many do...but most of that stuff is not really the problem; though it sure does grate against many men's minds. So much so that just writing it or finally voicing it out-loud has been like finally exhaling after holding ones breath for what seems like eternity. Oh my goodness I am not the only one who cant stand that stuff! Coming out of the closet so to speak has been liberating to the male soul. Getting in touch with his real feelings has been therapeutic even if those feelings are the ones being expressed. Every woman and every man possessed with a counseling spirit wants us to talk, share, be honest and real...as long as it isn't too rough. 

Many talk about Jesus as the perfect example of masculinity, that sounds so spiritual to say, but in reality there is a few hundred layers of feminized preaching that have coated that image that desperately needs to be peeled away. I think many of these ministries are just trying to do that; redeem Jesus from the nursery and the tea parties. 

Let's be honest the Hugh Grant image of the Christian male reigns supreme. 

It amazes me that this issue seems to be up for debate. 

Much of the messages from Eldridge and Driscoll and others seem to be awakening the very core elements that undergird the very concerns being made. Being a good father, a loving husband and productive worker and a righteously ambitious expander of the kingdom are all noble endeavors. William Wallace and Maximus can embody those characteristics too. Conquest isn't evil. The challenge of Jesus to the church in Revelations is to be an overcomer. That is both an internal war and an external war against odds, hardships, failures, lack, opposition, unbelief, fear and a host of other opponents. The masculine soul is needed in such matters. An awakening of the fire in the belly is a good thing when faced with so much today that seeks to distort the true image of God in man. 

I applaud the books, the sermons, the language, the manner in which it is spoken and the edge in which it has been done. It has born great fruit in me, helped me take courageous leaps of faith, awakened His grace and courage in me and helped me see I am not alone. 

Day...4

This is Linda Po, she came to our house for the weekend to help with translating for the KaRen family. She is KaRen as well, been here for 5 years. She is a student in another town in Wa. She is studying Micro biology and plans to return to her people to help with malaria. She was sweet and a great help and thankfully she is just a call away if we need a little communication help.



One of the amazing things about this experience is seeing my kids become apart too. They have been awesome, especially Austin, he has really been a good friend, host and helper. Haley obviously enjoys the boys.



I am pretty sure this was their first swing set experience by their reaction. The little willies' in their stomach made them giggle and want out fairly quickly. It was funny to watch.

Becoming a prayer for the damned...

meth-addiction
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. Those who seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception. -Psalms 38:3-12

If you have never seen a meth addict in the throes of a body contorting high, it's hard to explain the horror. We met Natalie on the sidewalk in front of our church today. She was painfully high if you can call a life crushing, hope stealing, body hammering...a high. She was around 21 but obviously a few feet from eternity on the road she is on.

Her name was Natalie I think, she had bruises on her arms. She wore loose clothing that hung off her contorting skinny body. Meth creates havoc on the central nervous system, you can see it yanking each nerve fiber like a master of puppets it is. Violently racing through their cerebral cortex like a city street in Bombay. Confusing, chaotic and completely out of control.

She wept openly, stumbled over her words as they poured out of her frightened and embarrassed soul. Skittish is putting it mildly. Through a mix of excuses, mumblings about men, prostitution and words that liars say to her...she begged, blubbered and simply manifested the spirit of death before us. She is being consumed like dry paper.

Some offered to pray for her, what else can you do in a moment like that?...she said she had prayed already. I stood there silent, no prayers to pray for her. I could only pray for someone to come help us minister to young women like her. I prayed for a house to care for abused women who are being raped by darkness. I prayed for a church to rise up that can say more than...can we pray for you? I am sick of praying, I want to do something...I want to be the answer to prayers for the damned.

Unfortunately there was about 8 of us around her on the sidewalk, that means there were too many for compassion to fully help. She felt like a caged animal and paced around in circles like a dog who had just been beaten...it wants to be pet but is deathly afraid of the hands that meet out pain and pleasure...it was just too confusing for her to remain there, so she stumbled off in a fit of mixed desires that overwhelmed her all ready fried mind.

July

July
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

The look on July's face captures the glee they had at the park today.
It's very amazing to watch mundane pleasures become new adventures in the blink of an eye.

KaRen kids meet the Mac

KaRen meet the Mac
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

We spent about 15 minutes playing with the mac software that makes all kinds of funny pictures. They laughed thier butts off seeing themselves in such crazy shots. It was priceless.

Full house...

Here is the KaRen family from the refugee camp in the Thai/Burma border.
They arrived in Spokane on Thursday night.
Dad's name is Moon Light
Mom's is Yoe Yoo
Son's is Haliey
Oldest daughter name is July
Youngest girl is Larde Eh

We have been enjoying the family immensely, even though it is hard work, emotionally and mentally.
Lots of ground to cover, stuff to constantly explain, language barriers to work with, cultural challenges etc...but much is the same. Kids are kids for sure, they love playing with Destiny's dolls, riding bikes and scooters, playing at the park and they had their first Mc'D's dinner tonight. So much to share, I will try to put this experience into meaningful words as the whirlwind calms down. Pray we will be able to find a close house to all of us for the family.

The impact of fathers...

fight_club
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Not being fathered well is simultaneously sinful and violently traumatic. Absentee fathers physically, emotionally, or spiritually disconnected from their sons pilot Boeing 757 right into their son’s heart. Passive fathers, sons of divorced, abusive fathers, silent fathers, busy fathers, spiritually dead fathers, unhealed fathers, wounded fathers, emasculated and feminized fathers traumatize their sons, often unintentionally, by sabotaging the initiation process that God intends for the masculine maturity of a God-made man.

Read more here: Masculinity Gone Wild

Tanks & Flowers...

coup
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

My brother Matt and his son Nic in front of one of the Thai military tanks. A recent coup in Thailand has taken place but it seems like things are pretty normal. Everyone say CHEESE!

Something to burn...

bellini
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Cast your bread upon the waters for after many days you will find it again. -Ecclesiastes 11:1

Blogging never ceases to amaze me. This last Sunday we had a visitor that moved here from back east and came because she read my blog. Crazy.

But I also know that not everyone uses the internet (what are you amish?) or cant get access or whatever, so I am currently putting together a print edition. I have been going back through my blog and reformatting articles and I am goign to bind them together for people who just want a print copy.

The first edition should be ready by this Sunday I hope.

slowly moving with invincibility....

Franz Josef glacier
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Rick Bass, a very good writer, is another Montana neighbor of mine. Besides being an excellent writer, Bass is a fervent environmentalist. Environmentalists care deeply about this creation, which is a good thing, but a lot of them are also pretty mean-spirited, angry, even violent—verbally if not physically. Bass is small of stature, elf-like, energetic, and laughing, it seems, most of the time. There's not a polemical bone in his body. He hosts parties for the loggers and the miners, working for common ground, developing a language of courtesy and understanding.

Bass wrote an essay recently that I consider required reading for anyone who cares about the contemplative life, immersed as we are in this impatient, shortcut addictive culture. He writes that when confronted with a complex and difficult task, he used to imagine himself laying down one brick after another, brick by brick by brick, to eventually accomplish his aims. But he's recently changed his metaphor from bricks to glaciers. A glacier is the most powerful force the world has ever seen. Literally nothing can stop a glacier.

A glacier is formed by the falling of snow that collects over a period of time. As the snow deepens, the weight compresses, ice forms, then more snow, then more ice, year after year— and nothing happens. Nothing happens until that glacier is 64-feet thick. Then it starts to move and nothing can stop it.

Bass notes that one theory about the origin of glaciers is that they are "the result of a wobble, a hitch, in the earth's rotation. . . . Glaciers get built or not built, simply, miraculously, because the earth is canting a single one-trillionth of a degree in this direction for a long period of time, rather than in that direction." And then this comment: "When I am alone in the woods, and the struggle seems insignificant or futile, or when I am in a public meeting and am being kicked all over the place, I tell myself that little things matter—and I believe that they do. I believe that even if your heart leans just a few degrees to the left or the right of center, that with enough resolve, which can substitute for mass, and enough time, a wobble will one day begin, and the ice will begin to form, where for a long time previous there might have been none. Keep it up for a lifetime or two or three, and then one day—it must—the ice will begin to slide" (The Roadless Yak, Lyons Press).
-Eugene Peterson article

Dad & Monkey Butt

Monkey Butt
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

That's what I call him...I know, strange. He's a lover and a fighter...I think we had a call or a note home each day from the school last week, Ughhh...this varmit can't stop talking...but how can you punish the boy, look at that face?

da boys...

da boys.JPG
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Here is a shot of two of the Blauer church planting team. They have been troopers...new church, new home, new schools, new friends, new neighborhood...wow, they amaze me! I thank God for giving me a bunch of radicals who have taken on this challenge with little complaining. Not that it hasn't been tough but overall they are inspirational to me.

Hospitality in the hood...

We have really put a lot of hard work into creating a meeting space that will be a local hub of community in our neighborhood. It has taken a lot of different peoples talents to bring this all together. It's great to finally see it being used for connecting with the people we are becoming friends with and by God's grace will help become followers of Jesus.



Today the ladies put on their first Women Only "Bonjour Breakfast" for the community. Around 25 women showed up! Great food and a chance to meet some really awesome people.



We had a lot of new people and two ladies that came simply from reading the poster on the church window! Too cool.

Foolish things....

shaming the strong
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are. -1 Cor. 1:26-28

We were trying to have a prayer meeting but no one seemed to be able to muster up any requests. So we did what happens at most prayer meetings talk more to each other than to God. So...God shuffled in.

He came in the person of Gary.

You can see him meandering around the neighborhood with his funky leather hat and shabby clothes that hang off him like a windless flag hugs it's pole. Near toothless like most people around here and the ones he has seem like they are not worth having either, more trouble than any good. It seems we have acid in our water and everyone is eating black licorice by the looks of it.

Gary has grown old in the hard living sense, more has been done to him in his days than mere living should produce. You can see it carved into his withering skin. He made his way right to the table next to his pastor and stood there in an awkward way. The kind of intrusion that everyone feels but doesn't quite know what to say or do.

He talked, made a few jokes, greeted the people he knew and just stood there...like something was expected to happen but know one knew what. Affection was clearly evident in is interaction with his pastor, both in his warm proximity and in the eyes and smile of the one who obviously shepherds him with gentle care.

"We are going to have a prayer time Gary, so if you want to join go ahead and have a seat" said his pastor.
"Oh no, I got to get...got stuff to do." Gary said with out apology. "But I got something for you" he said, as he rustled through his countless bulging pockets.He pulled out his wallet and handed the pastor a handful of crumpled bills. “How much is there pastor” he said. “Oh about seven dollars” he replied. “Well there will be more on Sunday, I had to borrow a few.” Gary explained. He then said his goodbyes and made his way out.

The exchange has lingered on me like perfume hangs in the air long after the wearer has gone. The whole moment reminds me of a line in my favorite song “Thunder on the mountain” off of Bob Dylan’s c.d. “Modern Times”.

“Gonna raise me an army, some tough sons of b*tches
I'll recruit my army from the orphanages
I been to St. Herman's church, said my religious vows
I've sucked the milk out of a thousand cows’

I want an army of Gary’s born out of the hell of life...they seem to understand what is important in life. Herman’s Church produces a lot of vows and offers a lot of sacred cow teats to suck from but rarely do you see such powerful generosity expressed. True sacrifice and love being expressed not out of abundance but out of lack. On a fixed income...7 bucks is gold and so was Gary...pure and undefiled indeed.

ouch...

Ronald Sider in his recent book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, makes the following observation based on statistical analysis of the giving patterns of American Christians by a couple named John and Sylvia Ronsvalle:

“American Christians live in the richest nation on earth and enjoy an average household income of $42,409.  The World Bank reports that 1.2 billion of the world’s poorest people try to survive on just one dollar a day.  At least one billion people have never heard the gospel.  The Ronsvalles point out that if American Christians just tithed, they would have another $143 billion available to empower the poor and spread the gospel.  Studies by the United Nations suggest that just an additional $70 - $80 billion a year would be enough to provide access to essential services like basic health care and education for all the poor of the earth.  If they did no more than tithe, American Christians would have the private dollars to foot this entire bill and still have $60 - $70 billion more to do evangelism around the world.”

But the reality is that American Christians do not even tithe their income to their local church.  According to recent surveys by George Barna, the average evangelical Christian in America gives less than 3% of their income on an annual basis to their church.  And less than 9% of all evangelical Christians actually give 10% or more on an annual basis to their church.  With statistics like that it is obvious why the average church in America cannot meet the basic needs of its own operating budget, let alone the needs of missions causes outside the local church.

What do Mormons really believe?

Many people have friends that are Mormons and often are very confused
about what exactly is the difference between a Christian and a Mormon.
Here is a clear chart showing the major differences between the two.
http://www.mormoninfo.org/index.php?id=1

The spiritual, intellectual creative wasteland...

“I really struggle with American Christianity. I'm not really sure that people with our cultural disabilities, people who grow up in a culture that worships pleasure, leisure, and affluence, are capable of having souls, or being saved...” -Rich Mullins 

Read the whole article here: Rant of an old soul

spock ponders...

spock
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

It's quite illogical, for a democratic country with elected officials to submit to a military coup; no matter how much one may disagree with the previous leaders.

Thoughts from across the pond...

Perhaps I am feeling the void of church which is full of words and little action, invisible to the community around it, unmissed if it dissapeared tomorrow. 

Would my town feel the pain of the kingdom withdrawing from it? If the church walked out of town tomorrow, would anyone notice, and if not, had the kingdom come there at all?

-Gaz Kieshere

military coup

military coup
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

As some of you know and some more than likely don't, there was a military coup in Thailand yesterday. It appears this situation is a positive one, so we will continue to pray it unfolds for the good of all involved.
More here: Thai military coup

...in the Shadow of Adultery

Wise message about how to fend off the lure of adultery found here:
The man in the shadow of adultery

What it means to know God...

feeding the poor
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Did not your father (King Josiah) eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He plead the case of the afflicted and needy; then it was well with him. Is not that what it means to know me? But your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain...-Jeremiah 22:15-17

Knowing God seems to be really important in most christian conversations and sermons today. But I often wonder if we really understand what it means to "know God". According to the above verse true knowledge of God is found in clear demonstration of love and compassion. The evidence that one knows God should be seen more than heard.

I want that to be true of our church and my life.

It was said of Jesus that he was "powerful in word AND deed" (Luke 24:13-32). What a legacy...

"Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper rooms without justice." -Jeremiah 22:13. The “wine” of heaven is to endlessly experience God’s love passing through one’s soul as it is expressed to others. To lose sight of this central reality in the christian life is to get lost in a quagmire religion that produces perpetual navel gazing. So many Christians are caught up in chronic temperature taking of their spiritual life. It's all about degrees, they are hardly ever able to rest in the confidence of their salvation. They have been taught that the main goal of the christian life is to attain some spiritual height that is only reached through straining the gnats of their imperfections. But what happens is they end up being so self focused on spiritual perfection that they end up swallowing a camel sized dose of irrelevant christianity!

I would rather be around a person who is real than someone who is good...at least the version that the church often produces. Somehow the church has been pumping out sterile, persnickety, phobic christians that have come to believe that the essence of following Jesus has been reduced to listening to people talk about other people that did something with their life worth talking about!!! God help us get free from the quicksand of a faith with no hands to work. You can't build the kingdom of Gods with just breath! It takes work, sweat, sacrifice and costs you something to see something. God banish the endless streams to religious blabber that fill us up like a barrel of buttered popcorn but just leave us wanting to take a nap and only produce another pound of spiritual gut blubber.

We are called sheep for a reason...we are designed to produce something that benefits others. We are created to be sheared. Too many of us are walking around with tons of wool hanging off us. It's gotten matted and dirty because we have forgotten our purpose of existence. There are countless lost people shivering in the cold of this world because the church hasn't been sheared of it's fruitfulness. The evidence of a powerful ministry coming from the pulpit is a behemoth pile of wool laying before the altar of God.

God give us sharp shears...this world is getting colder.

Such a peaceful religion...

"You infidels and despotic, we will continue our jihad (holy war) and never stop until God avails us to chop your necks and raise the fluttering banner of monotheism when God's rule is established governing all people and nations," you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword."-Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of Sunni Arab extremist groups that includes al-Qaida in Iraq.  (Islam forbids drinking alcohol and requires non-Muslims to pay a head tax to safeguard their lives if conquered by Muslims. They are exempt if they convert to Islam.) 

Pope Benedict on Tuesday in Germany had quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and an educated Persian on the truths of Christianity and Islam. "The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,'" he quoted the emperor as saying.

The pope on Sunday said that he was "deeply sorry" about the angry reaction and said the remarks came from a text that didn't reflect his own opinion.

Hummm...Islamists are angry about a quote about Islam using a sword to spread the faith, and yet this is the kind of threats and intentions they make publicly? Are these people completely nuts? What is going to happen when these groups to get a hold of a nuke?

Musical prayer...

A short music video I made on the people of Burma:
A slow train coming

Imagine if you had to run for your life

eragon

eragon
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

This movie looks sweet.
http://movies.aol.com/movie-trailer-clip/eragon-ed-speleers-jeremy-irons

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

"Protest Against The Rising Tide Of Conformity"

I've been listening to Bob Dylan's new cd "Modern Times" and His old Cd "Saved". I must confess, I like his less in your face faith music more. His faith is woven all through his lyrics and biblical imagery is behind so much that he writes, past and present. The "christian" cds are obviously potent with His new found faith at that time and the evangelical zeal for sharing Christ is strong in them for sure. But It just seems so...pushed in some ways.

Maybe its my postmodern upbringing but I cringe at bull horn preaching outside of the pulpit. Using art as a "tool" is common among the chosen, but I find myself tired by such endeavors. Not that I don't believe in sharing Christ but the methods today seem so commercialized or packaged like a frozen tv dinner. Personal cooking is by far the most preferred choice for eating food. A loving cook is much more meaningful than a fast food worker hashing out some cheap grub. So often I feel that the treasure of Christ has been forced into a cardboard container and shrink wrapped for quick and easy consumption. Like all the mush at the local buffet, soft and mushy os anyone can swallow it. But soon it all tastes the same.

Art gets hijacked in the church, whether film, music, paintings or books, the message trumps the medium. Soon even people are not important just their spiritual guts. Who cares whether they have food or clothes or emotional needs...we just want to know if they are saved? We depersonalize humanity and reduce the human drama to accepting a few propositions of truth. We have taken a color filled existence and reduced it to a black and white experience. I don't like it and it often makes me slightly spiritually queasy.

I want prophets that are not looking for profits....be they spiritual or material. Bring back the oracles that speak to speak, sing to sing, paint to paint, write to write. Give the ones who are passionate about the WAY as much as the TRUTH and understand that TRUTH must be wed to LIFE to truly be lived.

My thoughts on the passion...

I finally saw the Passion of the Christ the other night. I had a lot of thoughts about it...one that being, I wasn't moved as much as I thought I would. Which either says I must be backslidding or It could be that I was able to watch it as a movie, which most people didn't seem to be able to do. It's a modern day icon in my opinion, it's not Jesus but a persons attempt to picture Him for people. I think Mel did an amazing job.

I like some stuff more than others but over all I will buy it for sure. I didnt feel the movie needed more flash back scenes like I heard form many people. I enjoyed the narrow focus of it. I loved the use of original languages, I felt it made it more rich and textured. The bloodiness of it all was perfect in my opinion. I didn't think it was over done...any Jew who is familiar with the amount of bloodshed at a typical temple sacrifice session would know that the bloodiness of it all was biblical and accurate.

I didn't care for most of the Satan stuff...other than the opening scene and a few lurking in the crowd shots. I liked the Judas parts, I felt it fleshed out the back story as it could have been, I mean, the dude killed himself, he had to be tormented.

The whipping scenes was brutal for sure but the nails being hammered was the part that got my queasy meter on 10.

My favorite parts were: the Mary flashback:


And the Mother Mary scene when she flash backed to him falling as a child:


Those two scenes moved me the most and then the part where Peter curses Jesus, that was powerful too. Anyway, I liked it, two thumbs up and I think I will watch it again soon.

Tham Hin Refugee Camp

karenrefugees_1
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

The first family of KaRen are coming to stay with us on Sept 21, they are from Tham Hin Refugee Camp in Ratchaburi Province, south of Bangkok, Thailand. This picture is from that camp.Thier names are: Kan shwe (40 years old) Father
Lee shwe (38 years old) Mother
Klee (11 years old, girl)
Klow (10 years old, girl)
Bah Ehdoh (3 years old, girl)
They will be living with us for the first two weeks and then moving into a house close to us as well...Lord willing.

Why a bookstore in a church is important...

In light of this verse:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.                                                                                                                      Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you may be no priest to me.                                                           Because you have forgotten your God's law, I will also forget your children. -Hosea 4:6

This statistic is alarming:

ParaPublishing.com reports that “58% of the adult population never reads another book after high school.

Yet one more reason I feel called to make literacy a part of our ministry in the area that we live.                                                    A bookstore is cutting-edge ministry if such facts are true.

What we can do...

Good Life club
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Often when evil seems to prevail, we wonder what can we do. Here is a practical way to help those in Burma.

The good life club comes from John 10:10, where Jesus promises abundant life, and is especially applicable to children who are on the run, hiding with their families in the jungles of Burma.

What to do:
1. Get the following items together:

For mothers and children:
Multivitamins (for mom)
Pediatric vitamins (Gerber Vitamin Drops, for example)
Cap, hand mitts and a shirt (not a one-piece) It gets very cold in the mountains of Burma!
A drawing or photo of you or your group
A post card from your town or state
A teether
Small fingernail clippers

For Children:
Small comb and mirror
One box of children's chewable vitamins
2 child size toothbrushes
A drawing or photo you or your group
Fingernail clippers
A small toy

2. Then, making sure to put everything in a sturdy ziplock bag, send to:

The Good Life Club
Box 14 Mae Jo
Chiangmai, 50290
Thailand

It's only just for God to repay with affliction...

judgment
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

In reflecting on the recent tragic imprisonment, rape and suffering of Naw Bey Bey, I have been reminded of these verses that hold in tension the realities that face us as we face injustice. Most people respond to such horrors with one side of the christian coin....forgive and forget but I think there is more to the picture than that. To not present the whole character of God can cause additional harm to the inner life of those who have been abused. We often present a God who has mercy on the offender but loads down the victim with lopsided scripture verses that paint God out to look like He isn't Just.

Solomon says that so much "under the sun" is mere meaningless and vanity. Our only hope is in the prayer Jesus told us to pray...Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven...forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors...(matt 6:9-13).

I dont pretend to understand the how of all of that...thats why we pray it, it is a work of God that He must be involved in or it cant happen. It has to "come heaven to earth" so to speak. We become the source from which that new kingdom life emerges. We become the epicenter of change, of new values, of new thought, of love.

But we also become the place where Justice also crawls back to her feet. In the streets she may have fallen but in the church she is nurtured back to health and finds strength to once again not just stand, but to even walk in us and through us. For God is holy and His love is grounded in righteousness as well as mercy and grace. He will have mercy on who He will have mercy and the rest will taste of His wrath.

His wrath will be revealed...

"We ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. -2 Thess 1:4-8

I see the ministry that we are called to show being a prophetic foretaste of what is to come. We are in that Kingdom already and He desires the earth to taste of the powers of the age to come as Hebrews puts it. We can say that the Kingdom of God is among us too, not in it's fullness maybe but in the fullness of its King, in whom we move and live and have our being.

That should make a difference around here in my opinion. Jesus suffered at the cross...now He is reigning and putting all His enemies under His feet...the last to be...death.

In dog we trust...

dog
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Putting another nail in the limp wrist coffin...read more here: Text to be displayed/

Naw Bey Bey

NawBeyBey
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Naw Bey Bey is a health worker for the Karen National Union KNU and works for KWO (Karen Womens Organization) as a nurse. In this picture (by FBR) she is helping treat hundreds of internally displaced people on the run from Burma Army attacks.

She is in her early twenties and has her whole future in front of her. Or she did… last year she was arrested by the Burma Army while traveling with her friend and husband who was married the day before. First she was interrogated and beaten then sentenced kangaroo style to 8 years in prison for aiding the resistance. She was seen after this bruised, unfed, frail and her clothing torn.

Forget that medical personnel are protected in such instances by international law; we are talking about Burma here. From reports of family and friends things have gotten much worse for her. Recently we heard that she was moved or taken to another prison and forced to travel with one of the Burma Army battalions. During this time she was raped by a large number of those soldiers, made pregnant and sent back to prison. The baby did not survive… We don’t have hard evidence of any of this but the sources are people who know her.

And this is not uncommon for the Burma Army to do. In fact it’s part of their modus operandi, well documented and made public by multiple organizations. What can we do for her? For me I have to keep from hatred, but how? So I pray and look for ways to help. Please think about doing the same. (Matt Blauer www.refugeeswithin.blogspot.com)

This kind of evil is why we as a church (Jacob's Well) will be helping two families from Burma relocate to Spokane in 2 weeks from now. Any money or household items, or leads on some housing in East Central would be helpful. We want the two families to be close to all of us, so we can be present to help in any way we can as a church. Please pray...for Naw Bey Bey, her family and friends who love her and for the families coming to both Spokane and Portland. May God's mercy, love and grace tell a different story than this evil.

have we become bored of Jesus?

Supper at Emmaus (Caravaggio)
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.” - Soren Kierkegaard

This Sunday in the sermon at Jacob's Well, we will be looking at two paintings by Caravaggio that depict the same scene but painted at different times in his life (Supper at Emmaus, 1601 & 1606). One of the often tragic fading realities of the Christian life is the disappearance of "Joy & Amazement"...our hearts seldom burn anymore. We have grown accustomed to the One who used to bring life altering wonder...now it's painfully obvious most of us have become bored of Jesus.

I think many have come to the same conclusion about faith that Homer Simpson came to in an episode where his son asked him a question about the families religion:

Bart: What religion are we?

Homer: You know, the religion with all the well-meaning rules that don't really work in real life.

If we are going to have any substantive impact on this post-modern culture, we are going to have to recover a New Testament fire that once again produces "Joy & Amazement". Speaking with Jesus has got to burn again...or the smoldering wick of our devotion will yet again cast a dark cloud of irrelevancy over our generation.

ahhhh...sweet confirmation.

christianity-today
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

I'm not crazy.

Whatever happened to the deep end?

deep end
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

Preach the word...be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. -2 Timothy 4:2-3

Is it just me or has the deep end of the pool disappeared from most churches community life? The word study has fallen out of vogue in most circles and a "desire" focused programing model has replaced the the rigorous past of learning to love the Lord your God with among other things...your mind. Paul warns the Romans in chapter 16 of men who will come that deceive the "naive, simple, unsuspecting". The simple path is a wide path for sure. The heights of God are ascended out of love to know Him, to know His ways, His will, His heart and HIs character...so that we might enjoy Him first and foremost and then to spread that knowledge to those who do not know.

The primary means to accomplish this is through His word. We are called to "study" the scriptures (2 Tim. 2:15) not just be listen to them. Inspiration is important but impartation is critical in this day, especially since we live in a time where the tickle is the preeminent goal of most endeavors. Our desires rule and our "wants" are king...as a pastor, I see this all the time. It is laced through almost every conversation. Not what God desires or wants but what do we want. It is true that we should throw the new christian in the deep end because they have not learned to swim in the depths of God's mysteries. But we shouldn't remove the deep end for fear of such possibilities. The mature long for the depths of God.....deep calls unto deep.

The shallows are safe, rarely does someone drown there. The deep has taken many lives, the dangers are real...pride, arrogance, isolation, party spirit, insanity; but the the dangers do not outweigh the rewards. Let not the fear of the unknown deter us from swimming out to the places where we can no longer touch.

You might drown or you might discover a God who is waiting for you to leave the shallows.

Creating songs...

singing woman
Originally uploaded by ericblauer.

I made the widow's heart sing...-Job (29:13)

God wants to make some music again and he is going to do it through the lips of those who are facing desperate situations.
So often we kind of think that only those who deserve a song, should get to sing one. But the beauty of grace is that God puts a song in the mouths of those who most often don't expect to ever sing again.

Singing in the church has too often become a mere formality or nice section of the service to warm us up for the rest of the religious program. We are in desperate need of the songs of deliverance to be sung in our churches. The tear streaming, mercy tasting kind of singing. Songs sung from stories that have unexpected and surprise endings.

Saturday I talked to a young mother outside our building, as she sat smoking on our benches. She had fled an abusive husband in Ohio and was living at her mothers in a small trailer with no heat. She needed to find a place to stay but because of previous problems with the state, she couldn't go through them...she looked desperate in a hollow kind of way.

Yesterday after the service, I had a older woman come into the church, frustrated and in need of someone to pray with her.
Her landlord treated her unfairly and evicted her and didn't give her the deposit she rightly should have gotten.

Later, a father and his young daughter came by to ask for a backpack and school supplies. He had recently just gotten out of jail and needed some help. We told him to come back in a few hours and we would have the supplies, just in case he was really just looking for drug money.
He came back and she was thrilled, smiles from ear to ear as she was handed the little girl backpack with schools supplies in it.

Even later, a single mother came by, she was overwhelmed with her health issues and cried as she shared how hopeless and hurt she was, that she couldn't give her son the things he needed...like school fees.

All this took place outside of church, not during a service...one of the blessings of being in a neighborhood and not just holding a service in one.

"From the city men groan and the souls of the wounded cry out..."-Job 24:12

God has called the church to be more than a sign that points to Jesus. She is called to carry His Spirit, speak His words, shed His tears, release His power and live in and among those she is called to love and serve.

We are constantly goaded by the gospel and the Spirit to embrace a community and sow the words and actions of a Spirit empowered life there. This won't happen until we start living the gospel and stop just talking and praying about the gospel. The gospel is to be preached not simply meditated on.

Our neighbors need Jesus...and He needs His church to arise and be who she is called to be. Let's go and make some widow's hearts sing!

Her name is Constance...

I was talking to a friend at the Spokane branch of World Relief a few days ago. She said that they know that the there is sex trafficking going on in Spokane but that they have not been able to make any arrests yet. I was shocked to find out that such a dark thing was going on in our city. This video nails the issue to the wall, beware it is moving...Hopefully it moves us to action.

A new law...

What an amazing video! I have been trying to say this verbally for so long...oh to be a musician.