Tamara Buchan

The Chocolate Party

2008-07-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

One afternoon last week I was invited to a "Traffic-Free Chocalate Party." It was an innovative idea--to serve chocolate to raise awareness of yet another injustice in our world.

Around 12,000 children have been trafficked into cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire. Children are either sold by their parents or stolen, shipped to the Ivory Coast, and sold as slaves to cocoa farms. Once they get there, they are stuck, they cannot get out. They are beaten and abused and forced to live a life of pain and slavery.

I can't imagine the despair of a family so desperate that they sell their children. How deep the pain must go in their hearts, probably to stay there a lifetime. I can't imagine the utter horror of being kidnapped as a child and taken into slavery. We worry about our kids crossing the street, but in many places in the world, the fears are much more extreme.

Once these children and others start picking the cocoa bean, another injustice arises. The bean is acidic and eats away at the skin on their hands. The jungle is also filled with poisonous snakes that can bite the picker, to injure or even kill them. Boots and gloves help make these dangers much less prevelent, but the boots alone cost $10, and on a yearly salary of $77, this is a luxury no one can afford.

Isaiah 1:17 states this: "Learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."

One way that we can seek justice for these children and cocoa bean workers is to help provide them with boots and gloves. This is what we did at the chocolate party.

We can also buy chocolate that ensures that their product is slavery free. Companies that can not ensure that their chocolate is slavery free includes: Ben and Jerry's, Ghiardelli, Hershey, M&M, Nestles, and Sees Candies.

We can also pray. We can remember the tragic stories of the cocoa bean pickers and let our hearts be broken for them.

Organizations that are addressing this injustice:
www.freetheslaves.net
www.IJM.org
www.stopthetraffic.org

Going to Iglesia Latinoamericana on Sunday

2008-07-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

I was invited to speak about Missio Lux at Iglesia Latinoamericana Covenant Church on Sunday. This is a church that meets at Highland Covenant in Bellevue, Washington. It's a small congregation that worships in Spanish.

Our family went together. I didnt' know what to expect, except that I would be interviewed by the interim pastor about Missio Lux.

While we were worshipping, I experienced one of those times when the Lord was very present with me, giving me clarity on what to say, how to make connection with the people, and he even went to far to show me that he gave us the name Missio Lux because he wanted many ethnicities and languages represented, so it needed a name that wasn't English. I was thrilled with that new thought, and very grateful that we have a name that isn't "usual" for a church.

I was directed to the day of Pentecost. Did you know that there were 18 cultures and languages represented that day? Think about all the seeds which were planted and taken back into those different cultures. Think about how the Gospel began to spread from the very first moment, and it has never stopped spreading since.

Once God showed me a picture of a dried dandelion; the kind that look like a ball of seeds. He took it and blew it and I saw seeds going everywhere. He said that this is how Missio Lux is going to spread. Whereever a seed falls and takes root, a missional community can rise up and begin to meet, making their own seeds to blow in other directions.

We had a connection with Iglesia Latinoamericana Sunday. Even though a language barrier existed, (but it was great to have Bonnie to help interpret), the commonality of loving Jesus united us. I met so many wonderful people that day because their community was evident in how they love one another.

I am richer from the experience.

The Homecoming

2008-07-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a long awaited day, the arrival of our middle daughter Bonnie home from 5 months in Guatemala. We bought the biggest balloon we could find to welcome her home, and filled the house with beautiful summer flowers. Our house is brighter when Bonnie is in it, she brings such joy to all of us.

Bonnie went to YWAM, which stands for Youth with a Mission, in Gutatemala as a pre-requisite for her next training: to become a midwife for 3rd world countries. This combines all of Bonnie's passions: the poor, other cultures and mothers and babies.

She loved Guatemala. She loved the people, the culture and the experience of living in South America for the second time (she also spent a year in Ecquador as a freshman in college.) Bonnie was able to live with people from many different places: Canada, Austrailia, El Salvador and others. They did their studies both in Spanish and English, so her Spanish increased dramatically.

Bonnie is born to live in other cultures. She is at ease with people different from herself. She loves the poor and the disenfranchised. She cares about justice and involves herself in ways to bring justice.

Yesterday we met with a representative from IJM: International Justice Mission. IJM is one of the leaders in addressing human trafficking. I saw Bonnie's face light up when she spoke about some of her experiences in being a part of the solution, and most fully when we were told that sex trafficking for minors is almost non-existant now in Cambodia. Bonnie wrote a paper on that very subject in college and has committed herself to pray for freedom ever since.

I know that Bonnie is on loan to us, she has been since birth. God entrusted her to us so that we would be good stewards of her life: giving her encouragement and permission to follow her passions, even if it means to places that are at times rather disconcerting. Bill and I look forward to the next year that Bonnie will be home before she leaves for Austrailia for midwifery training, and then we will do it again: put her on the plane to a far away place to follow her passions and the very unique and specific dream that God planted within her since birth.

Detox from Church-Part 4: Come to the Table Together

2008-07-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

One of the big questions for Missio Lux is "What are you going to do with the children?" It has been a stumbling block for many families in their willingness to engage the lifestyle of Missio Lux. It seems that we have been conditioned to believe that our families are meant to be segmented.

But, I wonder, is that really what God intended?

If it is, why does Jesus tell everyone around him, especially the disciples, that he is never too busy for a child?
If it is, why did God make such a big deal that parents needed to train their children up in the ways of the Lord?

Let's dream about how it can be at the table. Have you ever sat next to a child during a meal that isn't your own? Have you watched them and the amusing things they do? Have you ever heard the funny joke from a child that makes absolutely no sense, but they laugh and laugh, until everyone else is laughing too? Have you ever had the chance to affirm a child, watching their eyes water from the praise?

We need each other. Adults take one another way too seriously. Children bring joy and laughter, yes, also a different pace. Perhaps we can adapt to how children learn by having lots of movement and song and a short focus.

My favorite conversation from last week was with a young man in Missio Lux. His name is Daniel. He is 10 years old, but the wisdom he carries is light years beyond his age. I asked him what he was reading in the Bible and he told me that he had just finished Revelations. We had a fascinating conversation, one that left me feeling like I had eaten a meal at the most fabulous restaurant in Seattle.

Children are a gift and a blessing. Part of what can happen as we take the step away from the traditional church that sends them to Sunday School is remembering what it is like to have interaction and relationship with people of all ages and lifestages.

Let's come to the table for a rich and satisfying meal!

Detox from Church--Part 3: Come to the Table

2008-07-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

As I move away from the busyness of being at church, more and more I can experience Jesus' call to "Come to the Table." This phrase has been remuniating in my mind over and over, and making something deep within me long for more of it.

What does "Come to the Table" mean?

What is Jesus saying in his invitation to us to come?

He invited his disciples to come to the Passover table with him before his arrest. They, of course, didn't know what was coming as they gathered around the table, experiencing Jesus' presence, his laughter, his love, and his servanthood as he washed their feet.

But, I know that when the disciples looked back on that night, they knew that they had been invited to the table with Jesus and the experience totally shaped how the early Christians lived.

I keep going back to Acts over and over. Today I read it again (Acts 2) "they met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generousity." The Message says that the early Christians "committed themselves to the apostles teaching, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers." Right after that it states, "they worshipped in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful.... People in general liked what they saw."

There it is: the DNA of the early church in action.

They made being together a huge priority, in fact, they met together every day.

They did life together. They ate in one another's homes, blessing the home by their very presence in it.

They had fun together--laughing from the deep place in their bellies.

People on the outside saw what they had, and wanted it.

This is a far cry from many of the meals I've shared with other believers. They most often took place in the fellowship hall of the church, and everyone just hoped that by the time they made it through the line, there would be enough food. Most times, the people were gathered around an event, a missions talk, or a new members class, or the end of a Sunday School class.

We've substituted organizational gathering for the real thing: community, authentic friendship, living life together.

We've been so busy doing the organizational gathering that we've forgotten how to "live life together."

There's been a couple of people in the Missio Lux communities that have questioned, "Why do we have to eat a meal together? It makes it take so long--we could really shorten things up if we skipped the meal."

But, they are missing the point. The point is the meal. We are invited to the table with Jesus and with one another. This is the heart of what Jesus did. He hung out with people, going to parties, weddings, celebrations. Many of his best teachings happened in the context of the meal.

There's so much more that I can say about this. Jesus keeps calling me deeper into as I explore what it can be. I hope that you are hearing and responding to his invitation to "Join him at the table" but wait, don't forget to invite your friends, for they are desperate to come too!

Detox from Church, Part 2

2008-07-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about the comment that Jason Zahariades made in his paper, "Detoxing from Church." He says, "This may sound harsh, but in order to BE the church, we need to LEAVE the church."

At first glance, this is extremely offensive. Doesn't Jesus tell us that we need to become part of the Body of Christ? Yes, he does. But, he doesn't tell us that in order to follow him, we need to follow the religious structure of the day. In fact, this is the very thing that he came to confront. The Pharisees were keeping people so busy following their rules (they had over 400 just for the Sabbath alone) that the people didn't experience the relationship with God, the very reason for which they were created.

God came to earth to pursue us. He wants to know us, and wants us to know him. The only way to do this is through relationship, both with him and with one another. I don't think that we can truly experience earthly relationships the way that he intends for us unless we first experience relationship with God.

We know that all relationships take time. They can't be microwaved--they need to bake in the oven, so that we smell the sweet aroma of baking bread and are filled through experiencing it.

So, when we remove ourselves from the constant busyness of life in church, what is left?

What do we do to move toward God?

Part of the answer involves finding out what thrills us, and awakens our heart.

Is it being out on a boat on a sunny day?

Is it having a Starbucks coffee with a friend?

Is it working in our Garden, experiencing the joy of seeing the beauty of nature come forth (this is easy to do in Seattle).

Is it playing with children and seeing the world through their eyes?

Perhaps it is opening the Bible and letting the Creators' Words speak to us.

Perhaps it is enjoying the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit sweep across our face.

Perhaps it is going to serve in a homeless shelter, offering ourselves for the sake of others.

Whatever it is, let's find it.

Let's find those ways to reconnect, or connect for the first time, with the One who Created us, and who adores us.

Let's find ways to understand what it is to BE the church, through first finding a way to know the One who created the Church.

Detox from Church

2008-07-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

There's a website called "the off ramp" that is written by two former Vinyard pastors. They left their positions because they realized that working on the staff of a large church was toxic to their faith. They didn't realize it right away, it took some time away from it to get their perspective, but once they did, they knew that they had been sucked into a lifestyle that was often at odds with what Jesus asked them to do.

I've had similar conversations with people in my own life. One person remarked after they had been away from their church position that "I could actually hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me again." Another person I spoke to said that after several years of worship leading in a very large church, they knew they had lost their true calling.

Recently a woman that is part of Missio Lux told me that once she stopped participating at our parent church, she began to have connection with Jesus that looked very different than what she had experienced while in church.

Is it possible that we have allowed our worship to be more about the church than Jesus?

Is it possible that we have gotten so busy "running the church" that we lost sight of the fact that "we are the church"?

Is it possible that we have substituted activity for relationship?

It is vital that we put relationship with Our Creator before anything else. Time with the One who Loves Us puts the rest of our day on an even keel that carries us through challenges and joys. Time with Jesus gives us space to make room for his priorities in our life.

Missio Lux is not about creating busy Christians. We seek to be authentic Jesus followers that are living counter culturally to both our world and to much of the traditional church.

We want to live lives of worship, making room for Jesus' interuptions in our day to help a neighbor or a stranger. We want to experience community of coming together with people who Know who we are, so we don't feel the familiar isolation that is so prevelent in American culture. We want to leave a meaningful impact on the world, one created through relationship and lived out of the missio that God has planted into our spirits.

Now, let's take a deep breath and enjoy the summer day.

The Power of One Life

2008-07-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Her name was Irena Sendlerowa. She lived in Poland when the Germans had the Jewish people imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. Irenea was responsible for the identification and treatment of tuberculosis so she had frequent access into the Ghetto.

Irena knew that her life mattered beyond treating TB. She saw the handwriting on the wall for the Jews in Europe and knew that she had an avenue to help bring freedom. It wasn't an all out assault, it was more like a slow trickle of hope offered to the imprisoned Jews.

This is what she did. She smuggled infants and young children out of the Ghetto.

This is how she did it: she trained her dogs to bark whenever the German guards were present so that the children weren't detected, even if they were crying in fear. She put them in suitcases, bags, even coffins to smuggle them out.

Eventually, Irena was caught and brutually tortured and sentenced to death. However, she bribed a guard and escaped. All in all, she saved 2, 500 lives. She kept their names in a glass jar buried in her yard, so that when the war was over, she was able to re-unite many of the children back to their families.

I love this story.

I love the idea that if we take our ordinary circumstances and think creatively with God's imagination planted within us, we can do extraordinary things!

I dream about what can happen with Missio Lux. Imagine people all over the world, dreaming and asking God how they can take their ordinary life and make it count for something that will transform entire villages, generations, or even the course of history.

Irena Sendlerowa died on May 12 this year. She was 98. We won't have a holiday named after her, but for her courage, she deserves one. I choose to remember and honor her life, the power of her life should not be forgotten. Who do you know that is making a silent difference in their circumstances? Perhaps it is you; let's tell the stories!

The Fall

2008-07-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the day we had been waiting for: Heather, Molly and I were going to San Francisco to celebrate Independence Day with Bill.

Bill is my husband and he works in San Francisco. No, really. He gets on a plane every Monday morning and flies to the city where he works all week and comes home Friday. This weekend, however, he was hosting a baseball game for some clients so he invited his family to come join him too.

I was really looking forward to it. Something about July in Seattle (perhaps the sun?) just makes it a rule that we have to put work aside and have fun.

But, before we left, Heather and I wanted to do some work in our garage--several moves home and some parent's things brought from Colorado where they are downsizing for a move to a retirement home has made our garage rather full and very disorganized.

I climbed the ladder to put some sleeping bags on our camping shelf. Suddenly, I knew that I was going to fall. I guess I even said it. It was almost as if someone or something pushed me over. Down I went, feeling a bit in slow motion.

But, the landing felt very much like concrete and kitchen chairs sticking into my arms, my side and my back.

I look like an abused woman. An bruise covers my entire right arm. I feel like an old woman when I move a way that arouses the injuries.

It's just got me thinking, however, about how much our physical state affects our entire life. The pain I was in affected my ability to enjoy San Francisco. It makes me feel vulnerable too. It makes it harder for me to embrace the challenge and delight of each day.

Take a moment to think about someone that you care about that lives with physical challenge. Pray a prayer for them.
And, just a word of caution: watch out for standing ladders!

One Prayer

2008-07-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

If you only had one prayer to pray, what would it be?

I think that this has to do with the dreams God planted with in us, and as we listen to his voice in our lives, we can determine what that prayer would be.

What is your prayer?

Mine is to create a structure that will free God's people up to live out their dreams.

I dream of seeing people owning their faith, living like Jesus and responding as he did, with compassionate, truth and grace.
I dream of seeing people live in such a way that people around us like what they see and want to be part of it.
I dream of living out our faith as Jesus followers in such a real way that we have a true connection with Jesus and authentic relationships with one another.
I dream of people having so much support through their community that they have the courage to take the risk to discover and to walk out their dream.

The prayer.

I am beginning to live out my dream. I am beginning to see Missio Lux form in such a way that the lightbulbs come on. . . and as the light shines, we come alive and we decide that we will do anything we need to do to live out God's dream in us.

Divine Appointments from Around the World

2008-07-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

We started having neighborhood dinners to connect and build friendships with our neighbors. Last month we hosted it, and my next door neighbor brought a friend who was from Bulgeria, which used to be Communist until the late 80's. She brought up the Christian faith because her current boyfriend was a Christian and was telling her that she wasn't good enough for him because she wasn't also a Christian (I wonder what Jesus would think of those conversations?).

Scot and Kim were there too and we were able to talk about our faith and our relationship with Jesus in a compelling way, painting a very different picture than she had from her Communist upbringing and current boyfriend. After she left, we also prayed for her; that God would change her circumstances, her relationships and her heart. (We heard through our neighbor that her boyfriend broke it off when she got back home.)

This month my same neighbor, who is from China, brought her cousin who had just arrived from China that day! He is in his last year of University and is studying to become a lawyer. I asked him about the Christian faith in China and he told me that it is illegal for anyone in his university to become Christian. I asked him how much he knew about it and he told me that he didn't know much, but that Christians followed a man named Jesus. I asked if it was okay if I told him more about that Jesus and he said yes, he would be honored to hear. I said a bit and he indicated that he "would be honored to hear more about my faith."

Let's just think about this opportunity for a moment. Here is a young man that will carry influence in China, the emerging world leader. He has heard nothing about the Christian faith, but is living on my street for the summer and has expressed interest, an honor, in hearing about Jesus and following him. Wow, this is a divine opportunity that I must not miss.

Wait to hear more! and while you are waiting to hear how my second conversation goes, pray about whom you are being called to invite to dinner, to plant seeds and to build relationships, and then dream about what God can do which is beyond our wildest imagination.

Independence Day

2008-07-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a card in the mail inviting me to a new churchplant to celebrate our country's birth and independence day celebration. It struck me a bit odd that this new church would pick this weekend to send out a mailer inviting people to attend. For the obvious reason that a lot of people leave town, but bigger is the confusion that comes with trying to mix our faith with our allegience to our country.

But, in further reflection I remembered a sermon that I preached a couple of years ago on July 4th entitled "Our Citizenship is in Heaven." I thought it was important to remember that our first allegiance is not to our country but to the One who created this country: the One True God!

I think that this distinction is really important because when we begin to mix our faith with our patriotism the message of Jesus gets blurred. Jesus priorities never included getting elected or reigning on an earthly throne, but there were many around him who thought that was his goal.

I am comforted by the fact that even after all the disciples experienced with Jesus, they still didn't get it when Jesus was ready to ascend into heaven. They still asked him the question, "Lord, are you going to restore Israel now?" He had, but not on earth, and not through the political or military process. So, if at times we don't get what's happening, we have good company!

I also remember that historically the first 3 centuries of Christianity were really the church at it's best, when it was illegal and hidden. People were caring for one another to such an extent that people became saved because they liked what they saw taking place. Everything began to shift, however, when Christianity became the state religion.

We are blessed but also challenged by our political freedom. It is easy to take our faith for granted and expect that we will always have the privilege to live it out without interference. But, I look at China where it costs them something to live out their faith and I see a maturity and willingness to sacrifice, and I wonder what it would look like to Americans to live that way.

I love the 4th because it's a fun holiday but I always remember that my first allegiance is to Jesus and his kingdom come on earth. May we live as citizens of the King!

The Bull Horn

2008-06-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, a family that is part of Missio Lux attended the People's Parade in Fremont. Now, you have to know Fremont. It's a quirky neighborhood in Seattle that attracts an eclectic mix of people. Once a year, they have a naked bicyle race. (I always wonder if that isn't terribly uncomfortable.....)

This family thought the naked bicycle race would be a handful of people. They quickly figured out that it was MANY handfuls of adventurous, hang it out there, people!

But, in a sense for this family, the naked bicyclers weren't as offensive as the man who came with the sign and the bull horn announcing that people were going to be judged by God and they were going to hell. He stood on the prominent corner and proclaimed this message to all the people that were present.

It hit Cathy pretty hard. She struggled with his view of God. She struggled with the message that he was conveying to a people that needed to know "God loves you" rather than "God is going to condemn you to hell for your behavior."

The next day when she was spending time with Jesus seeking his priorities for her day, she heard him say, "Go back and look for the man. Ask him what is driving his message. Ask him why he sees God this way. Go and be a witness to the witness."

Cathy took a big gulp and pretty much tried to worm her way out of her assignment for the day. She told her husband, "I have to go back."

So, she did. She said that "Every step I took closer to the corner, my feet got heavier and heavier. My thoughts became jumbled. I wanted to turn around and drive home as fast as I could."

But, she didn't do it. She kept on walking until she had walked through the entire fair and realized that he wasn't there. The Bull Horn was absent.

Cathy knew it was a test of her obedience. But, she also knew that she was prepared for next time. She discovered an idea that could counter his message too, perhaps bringing water to offer people on a hot day. No strings attached. No tracts attached to the bottle. Just a bottle of water to those Jesus loves and he created.

John 3:16-17 stand out to me for this subject:
"For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, Jesus, that whomever believes him him should not die but will have life that lasts for eternity. For God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."

Missio Lux is committed to being a loving light that will call others to the awareness that God is pursuing them, not to judge them and condemn them, but to be in an eternal relationship with them.

Where can you offer a bottle of cold water today?

An Airplane Conversation

2008-06-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Living a lifestyle of following Jesus can bring the most amazing opportunities.

I had one on my way to Denver last week. It was one of those days where I packed a half an hour before I left, and got to the airport late thinking that I had my husband Bill's premier status, only to be told that I had to go to the back of a VERY long security line. So, when I got on the plane, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thought, "Good, now I can finally relax!"

But, of course, Jesus had other plans.

He sat me right next to a man that had just gone to a church in his town, Boulder, that Sunday. He hadn't been to a church for years and decided to go. He left in the middle because all he heard were pleas for money and a sermon that made him feel judged. He thought "who needs this?" and left, leaving a piece of his heart more bitter and closed off than ever.

I didn't know all this when he asked me what I did. I told him I was a pastor and that I was leading Missio Lux, a church that seeks to help people live a lifestyle of Jesus.

I spoke about the Missional Communities and how our time, money and relationships were freed up to experience and share the freedom and hope Jesus offers with everyone.
I told him about the Missio Lux structure that enables us to develop deep friendships where we do life together.
I spoke about having funds to live out our missional purposes, rather than giving it to the church budget.
But, most of all, I spoke about how Jesus came to earth to pursue a relationship with us, he did not come to judge us.
I also spoke about my fascination with the Bible, that it was the most interesting book I had ever read.

After I was done talking, then he told me his story. He spent a good amount of time, (after all we had it being held captive on the airplane), venting about his recent experience in the church and his overall experience in his life. He vented about all the Christians that he does business with, where he sees them live their lives on Sunday but also through the rest of the week and it does not match up.

I didn't try to change his opinion. I listened to him. I agreed with him where I could. I prayed for him under my breath and asked Jesus to shine his light on his spirit and to bring it to life. I prayed for more divine appointments to come into his life.

But, I knew that I had been given a divine appointment.

I was able to help love this man closer to Jesus, and to present a compelling picture for how our faith can be a lifestyle that makes a difference.
I began to dream about what could happen if there were thousands of us living a Missio Lux lifestyle of following Jesus, responding to the opportunities that Jesus gave to us wherever we are.....perhaps the conversation on the airplane would have looked very different.

Maybe this man would have told me how radically his life had changed because he had a community of people that loved him unconditionally. Maybe he would have told me what his missional purpose was and how he was making intentional sacrifices to carry it out. Perhaps he would have told me how Jesus meant everything to him and that he never thought that following Jesus could be so adventurous. Maybe he would have been telling the person next to him how much his life mattered because of the lifestyle he had chosen.

Paradigm Shift

2008-06-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the Scripture read or spoken in Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurely more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, amen!"

But, did we realize that this verse has the power to change our lives dramatically forever?

It truly is bigger than we can ever imagine.

Here's why: the Greek word for "power" is dynamis which has a similar structure as dynamite.

It's explosive power.

The Greek word for "work" is energia, which has a similar structure as energy.

So, here's the deal: God's explosive energy power is in us. It's not something over there, it is in us. God's power (which comes from Holy Spirit) lives in us. His energy flows through us. He has given us everything we need to see more than we could ever imagine.

We often pray and ask God to do something. But, should we consider instead that we already have God's power and his energy within us to call forth ourselves?

Jesus told his followers to pray the Lord's prayer. Part of the prayer states this: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

This is our reality: we are being instructed to call Heaven to Earth.

How can we do that? By releasing the dynamite power that lives within us. We can do this to bring God's heart, his will, his work, his plan to earth, so that earth begins to look a lot more like heaven and a lot less like suffering, pain, illness, poverty, and isolation.

You have been invited to dream. So, let your imagination go as you consider all the ways that you would like to see earth become more like heaven. What would you ask for first? Begin there and let God show you how available he is to bring forth his dynamite power to earth through you.

Meeting Arok

2008-06-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

I am in Colorado, and today I met a wonderful young man named Arok.
Arok is Sudanese and comes from the same village as our Sudanese brother John. Today Arok and I met and I heard his heart for getting the children from his villlage to school. It seems that several months ago John and Arok got together and divided up the list of 60 kids, these are real lives, not just names, and decided that they would do what they could to get 30 kids each to boarding school.

Arok is an amazing young man.

He is 27 and in his lifetime he has seen his village burned down, his relatives killed, he has walked across to Sudan to Ethiopia, facing starvation and crocadiles and even lions, as they treked to a refugee camp. They were able to stay in Ethiopia for about 2 years before Civil War broke out in Ethiopia and the Lost Boys of Sudan were told to leave. They treked again. This time it took 6 months to go a two day journey by car. It took this long because it was the rainy season and they had to wait for the flooded rivers to subside before they could cross them.

They finally got to Kenya where they entered the Kakuma Refugee Camp. This camp was shelter but little else. He said it was such desert that it lacked trees and often water. The nearby villagers often came and killed them in the night. They were always hungry because they were only given one meal a day. They received a substandard education because they didn't have educators.

The world forgot about them, until one day the US opened it's borders. Approximately 3,000 Lost Boys came to the US until 9/11 happened and we closed our borders again. Arok was one of the blessed ones that came to the US, was sent to Colorado, and worked his way through school until he recently graduated from Colorado University with a degree in Economics.

Arok gets it.

He understands that he is to get educated so that he can become part of the solution to Sudan. He dreams of going back and helping educate his people. But, in the meantime, he showed me pictures of 15 children who are currently in school, but have no money to go back to the next term in September.

I saw the heaviness of his heart and I ache. I saw the desire to do anything he could to help get the message across that there is a sense of urgency. Without a chance to go to boarding school, eventually these kids will have to go back to Sudan and face the familiar dangers again: extreme poverty, a hostile government and army, and the open enemy of war. They will exist, but the cycle of poverty will continue to move from generation to generation.

This is my dream.

My dream is to see all 60 kids in boarding school and more. I dream of this Missio just being one of the areas that we focus on because each missional community will have their opportunity to see wholistic transformation come forth in their area of focus and passion.

Our intentional decision to make sacrifices of buiding and staff make it possible for the funds to be freed up to change a life; one life at a time. Right now we have 13 kids (photo above) who have sponsors who are making it possible for them to go to boarding school where they can be safe, fed and able to learn. Arok has 15 more kids that we need to find sponsors for so that next term, they can put their uniforms back on to return to school.

I know that one person can change a life, and it is my dream that out of these 60 kids, we can see not one life changed, but the entire nation of Sudan. Oh, God of Mercy, let it be so.

Starbucks Reflections

2008-06-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

My appointment didn't show this morning at Starbucks, but since I had one in 45 minutes, I decided to stay and wait. I didn't have enough time to do anything else. It was a gift. I have a long list of to-do's because I am leaving for Colorado today, to see my parents and help them to downsize their house as they are moving into a retirement home. I am also giving a Healing Prayer Training this weekend on emotional and spiritual healing. But, in the midst of the pressure of leaving, God wanted me to hear his voice and experience his heart.

I continue to hear Jesus ask me the same question lately: "Do you believe that I am for you?" As I hear this question, I read the answer all over the Bible. Paul's letters are full of the answer. He begins the letter to Ephesus with the statement, "God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms." Every means that nothing is withheld from us.

So, why does it seem that we all believe that God is withholding something from us?

As I listen to people, and listen to myself, I know that this is the question we are all asking:
Is God trustworthy?
Is his love for us enough?
Does he love us?
Can he bring good into our lives?
Does he want us to experience good?

When we open up the Scriptures, we hear the answer. Yes, he loves us so much that he sent his beloved son to earth, not just to hang out with us, but to die so that we can have life.
Is God trustworthy?
Why do we ask this question and not the reverse?
Is Satan trustworthy? I don't hear many people asking that question. Why?

It is the Garden. It all started in the Garden when the Serpent told enough truth mixed with a giant lie that caused Eve to question God's charater and his provision. Eve bit, and we have been biting too, ever since.

Today, as I reflected at Starbucks, I struggled with how to wrestle with this in Missio Lux so that we can stand in the place of truth: knowing God is for us, and that it is the enemy that cannot be trusted. We must figure this out and begin to live from a different place: the place of spiritual riches, not spiritual poverty.

Then, my appointment came. Guess what his question he wanted to discuss with me was. It is the question of our lives. Let's start wrestling and get to the place of knowing, not just in our heads, but in our lives experientially, relationally, the truth.

This Things Made of Sticks

2008-06-16T19:29:00.001-07:00

Friday night Alex held his second Art and Poetry night calling it "This Things Made of Sticks."

Missio Lux values art and creative expression as a pathway to God, so we are thrilled to hold these as they lift up the unique dreams that God has given to many; that they are allowing to come forth. Friday night about 80 highschoolers and college students (and a few adults) gathered to hear Alex do new renditions of his Slam Poetry, several musicians play and sing, as well hear an awesome band that rocked the house, as well as others who displayed their photography and art work and read poetry.

I looked around and was grateful to be see all the people that gathered to honor what many willingly shared. We hear so many negative reports about this generation, and yet, there were many present to participate in God's dreams flowing out. And, even though all of it was respectful and some very openly about God, none of it fell in the traditional Christian box.

Alex also announced that he is starting a missional community called Film & Theos. They will watch cultural films and look for themes of God in them. Look for it to begin soon.

Service for Worship

2008-06-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

One of the people in Missio Lux has discovered what can happen when Sunday morning is freed up. Her name is Angie and she is leading "Seeds of Hope," our initiative to send Sudanese children to boarding school. Seeds of Hope's dream is to help transform Sudan from the inside out as people get educated and help bring solutions to Sudan's chaotic existance.

Angie is forming a team of people who see the same potential. One of her team members is a woman that works full time and cannot meet with Angie any other time than Sunday morning. She has never gone to church, and has had little spiritual interaction in her life. But, when Angie and her friend meet, they pray and they dream and they work on building a strong structure for Seeds of Hope. This woman is being transformed by the experience of community with Angie, of connecting with God in a way she has never experienced before, and finally, by working on a missio that is bigger than she could ever imagine. As we connect all three: knowing and experiencing God, loving one another and serving the world, this is when God's heart beats in us.

Angie told me that she is so glad that she is now using her Sunday morning this way, she is serving for her worship. She is seeing what happens when she is freed up to spend time with those that must belong before they will believe.

I love this. I think that Jesus does too.

Water to Karari

2008-06-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Having access to water is a right, not a privilege.
How many times a day do we go to our sink or water bottle or refrigerator to have a drink of water?
Can you imagine not having the abiity to do that? How often are you dehydrated? It makes one sick and dizzy and weak.

This is the reality for much of our world. One village in particular is near and dear to one of Missio Lux, her name is Andrea Kiehle. She is working on a master's thesis and went to this far northern village of Kenya last summer. She fell in love with the people. She is now advocating to anyone who will listen to help this village get the pump replaced that broke earlier this year.

This is the story. They have a well, but the pump to it is very old and it finally died. So, what would we do? We would replace it. Well, they have no one to bring the well to them. Andrea has even contacted every organization that works to bring water to villages and has been told that no one goes that far north in Kenya.

Now the people in the village, significantly women, make a 12 mile trek to a dirty water hole that they share with animals, one being Water Buffalow, which are very dangerous. The animals use the water hole as their bathroom as well as a drinking place so even after the villagers get the water, they have to carry it back six miles and boil it before they can have a drink.

One boy was shot at the watering hole. This caused three women to miscarry because their fear and grief became too unbearable. The village has taken a huge plunge downward, all because their pump died.

What can we do as Missio Lux?
We can PRAY! God can make a way where is there is no other way to get that pump to their village.
We can donate funds to buy the new pump.
We can educate ourselves to become more aware of the vast number of people in the world whose lives would be dramatically changed by having a well in their village.
We can stop buying water bottles and use that money to donate to Water First or other organizations to get more wells in destitute places that don't yet know that water is a right, not a privilege.

Missio Lux Test Pilot Celebration Service

2008-06-10T13:51:00.001-07:00

Sunday we took the plunge and held Missio Lux' first Celebration Service.

We plan to do two over the summer to figure out what works and what changes need to happen. Despite some pretty big scheduling obstacles, we had a great crowd of enthusastic worshippers. Young and old came to be participants, not spectators!

We opened with kids and teens going to the living room setting and lighting a candle. It was moving to see the older kids helping the younger ones light their light. This is a picture of how God wants us to move: whether we are further along spiritually or in number of years, we should always be looking for whom we can encourage in life, brightening up the room!

Our theme was identity, knowing who we are so that we can live into the unique dreams God has designed for us so that we are experiencing and able to share the freedom and hope Jesus offers with everyone. We did this through many avenues: some videos--one with two people strugglign to know who they are and another through movies that speak to the challenge.

Did you see Blood Diamond? There is such a moving scene where the son was kidnapped from his father. The Father commits the rest of his life to pursue his son, trying to bring him home. He finds his son, but the son has a gun pointed at him. The Father says to him, "You are Dia, my son, the one that I love. You are a good boy" as he inches closer and closer to his son. Finally, his son falls into his arms.

This Father is the picture of God. He spends his life pursuing us, willing to sacrifice everything so that we can know who we are and how much we are loved, so we can come home.

Instead of preaching, I did a dialogue with my nephew Scot. I've always wanted to teach this way because it gives a chance to hear from different voices, and in our case, it is the voice of different life stages and genders. It is a more balanced way of presenting God to others. It was really well received and very rewarding for me to do.

There was more, but that's enough for you to get a picture if you weren't able to attend. Keep praying that Missio Lux will fulfill the missio God designed for it~

Which Psalm Really?

2008-06-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

I read this on the Mustard Seed newsletter and thought that it describes a 21st century American's life.

Seed Smile: Psalm 23, Antithesis
by Marcia K. Hornok, as quoted in Living On Purpose by Christine and Tom Sine

The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.

It makes me lie down only when exhausted.

It leads me into deep depression, it hounds my soul.

It leads me in circles of frenzy for activitiy's sake.

Even though I run frantically from task to task,

I will never get it all done, for my "ideal" is with me.

Deadlines and my need for approval, they drive me.

They demand performance from me, beyond the limits of my schedule.

They anoint my head with migraines, my in-basket overflows.

Surely fatigue and time pressure shall follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the bonds of frustration forever.

by Marcia K. Hornok, as quoted in Living On Purpose by Christine and Tom Sine

Now, let's read Psalm 23 leisurely, thinking about David writing the Psalm while he lived the simple life of tending sheep on a mountainside.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.
Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

Honestly, how did we move so far from end of the spectrum to the other?

Don't you long for a day where you can go outside and enjoy nature, knowing that the Good Shepherd is there with you?

As God's people, let's seek to live Psalm 23 and show those around us that we walk to a different clock, the one that our Shepherd has given us, and it will not cause us to dwell in the bonds of frustration forever.

Missio Weekend~Breakfast for Homeless

2008-06-02T12:07:00.001-07:00

I got stuck in a bike race on my way to the breakfast that Missio Lux holds every last Saturday at the end of the month so I was late arriving for it. When I walked in, I was given a delightful glimpse of Missio Lux in action. There were whole families present to cook the breakfast, one man came without his family but he stood at the griddle teaching the delicate art of making scrambled eggs and griddling pancakes. The person who leads this Missio is Brad. He loves what he does, enthusastically greeting each guest for breakfast like they are the king of the world.

I went out to the line with him to greet the guests before they came in for breakfast. I met many; Billie, an older woman who came for the first time, Tom, who has come for several months and struggles to believe God exists because of the daily suffering he experiences and sees taking place in his world; Robert, who had a fight with his wife and took off for a few days, and ended up on the streets, Princess, who wears a tiera and a veil and has an infectious smile.

One of the breakfast guests told me that they love to come to this breakfast because they feel welcomed and made to feel like real people. He compared it to other shelters where the attitude is more one of regiment, let's get this done, than hospitality.

I left the breakfast so full. Not from the food, I was too busy to eat. But, from the experience of offering Jesus a cup of cold water and a warm meal through the people he delights in! And on top of it, to see how Missio Lux really does understand that serving is a lifestyle, that when we go beyond our own borders and care about those outside of our everyday life, God's life in us rises up to bring us one step closer to the abundant life Jesus invites us to experience.

How are you living a Missio Lux lifestyle today?

Missio Weekend~Carry 5

2008-05-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend Missio Lux is participating in four ways to shine the light of Jesus with others. Today one of the opportunities was to do a walk with Water First called Carry 5.

The goal was to raise awareness of the need for wells all around the world, and to bring people together to walk with a 5k with 5 gallon jugs of water on their backs.

Missio Lux had several families participate, all with daughters, who if they lived in other places in the world would most likely be walking up to 16 miles a day to fetch water and carry it home on their backs or their heads. As I struggled with the very heavy water container on my back, I let my mind and my heart think about and pray for those young girls or pregnant women or elderly women who have very little to look forward to other than their daily trek to get water. Most often the water is dirty; with feces and carcuses of animals, sometimes the water is even where people relieve themselves.

I was proud of Missio Lux today. Two of the elementary age girls, Britta and Madison, saw the video on Water First and were so inspired that they went door to door and called friends and relatives to ask them to contribute. They developed a real sense of ownership with their missio. This will help develop lifetime hearts of compassion for people who don't even have access to the basic necessities of life.

Missio Lux hopes to raise enough to pay for one well: $5,000. One well will dramatically change a villages life, as well as the individual girls lives.

The reason that they named the walk Carry 5 is many. Girls often start carrying water at age 5, the usual container holds 5 gallons of water, the typical walk to get the water is 5 miles, the average cost to give a child water for life is $50, and the cost of a well for one village is $5,000.

Take out your wallet. Do you have $5, or $50 to give to change a young girls life? If so, email me at t-buchan@comcast.net and let's add to our fund to dig a well!

Missio Weekend~Redmond Family Village

2008-05-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last night Missio Lux took dinner to women and children who live at Redmond Family Village. It's a transitional housing facility that offers an apartment and childcare for up to 18 months so that the families can get stable and get back of their feet financially. RFV has a monthly training meeting and they ask volunteers to make a meal and then do childcare for the meeting.

I felt so much compassion for the women. They obviously had experienced many painful situations in their lives as I observed their downcast faces and lack of connection with other people. My heart went out to them as I realized that oftentimes it only takes one event in our lives to take us in places that we never dreamed we would find ourselves.

The children seemed happy and enjoyed playing together. As I sat with the babies, I began to think about how patterns seem to continue through generations. I felt an ache for these innocent children who may have a similar life as their parents in the years to come. I began to pray for them, asking God to dramtically intervene in their lives to bring hope and a change of their lifetime circumstances.

I can't say it was fun to go there. It was challenging; it would have been a whole lot easier to stay home and "get my work done!" But, I woke up today with the faces of the women and the children in front of me and I knew that I was given the opportunity to have a heart similar to God's heart. He has compassion for their lives and knows that the gift of Jesus to the earth brings hope for change: for their circumstances for sure, but even more, for their spirits to come alive and their emotions to awaken to experience joy, peace and love.

It takes effort to go beyond our normal routine. It is often not convenient. However, it is often the best way that we can gain perspective on our own lives and step into a greater level of God's heart.

What's your plan for this weekend?
How will you be experiencing and sharing the freedom and hope Jesus offers to everyone?