Another week

Is it sad that I'm so often tempted to title my posts things like "Another week"? Surely something important has happened that would set this most recent seven days apart from all others? Well it has. I suspect that is often more of an indication that too much has happened rather than too little.

I think the same is often true of our face to face communication. Ange and I led worship at the Big MAC (that's the Muncie church for the uninitiated) yesterday. It was truly a pleasure, but I was overwhelmed at the number of people I wanted to catch up with and who wanted to catch up with us. Lots of people with whom there is so much to say that there is nothing to say. We love you though. We'll have time to catch up in that sweet by and by, eh?

Peace,
Mark

who descended into hail and on the third day...

It's been a busy week in the Guinn household. Last Thursday Ange and I were in an Easter program at Ange's parents' church. I was Jesus and she was part of the crowd that crucified me (sounds like everyday life...;) ) It was actually really moving for both of us. To enter in to that scene and imagine what it felt like to be rejected and to serve those who would shortly be hurting you so much. To look at those coming up for communion and think of the potential of each one, the love of the Father for each one. To try to envisage the garden and the cross. It was pretty awesome. (and it was fun to be singing again)

We've also had some crazy weather, including falling ice, howling wind, torrential rain, and a tornado watch or two. Our cars both got dinged up a bit and you can see why...

On the whole we're in good spirits. Enjoying our jobs (oh yeah, Ange is working part time for a public relations firm now). Keeping the faith. Eating pizza. Playing music. Good stuff.

Mark

Brother Andrew

Yesterday I was listening to a sermon by one of my favorite people, a Dutch guy named Brother Andrew. He started a ministry called Open Doors and has been involved in smuggling Bibles into closed countries for probably fifty years. He's written a couple of books. The only one I've read is called God's Smuggler (recently re-published as The Narrow Road) and it was a big part of God moving us towards Ireland. We would read it before going to bed and on long car trips and it often amazed us, challenged us, and built up our faith. In short, he's a crazy dude. One of those down-to-earth types--not hyper-spiritual, but radically faithful. I want to be like that.

Here's a link to the sermon. I was listening to it at work and I wanted to stand up at my desk at the end when he gives the invitation.

• The kind of people God can use - part 1
• The kind of people God can use - part 2
• Brother Andrew sermons at SermonIndex.net (a great site by the way)

Blessings,
Mark

idols

I was sitting in a meeting a couple weeks ago with some clients of our company and before the meeting actually started they were talking about the movie Brokeback Mountain (which I haven't seen, but would like to). One lady told how she couldn't get any of her friends to go with her because of their "religious beliefs" (which could be a whole discussion in itself - will skipping out on a movie change anything, except maybe deepening our own lack of compassion?). The guy on my left sympathised and proceeded to recite and espouse one of the great creeds of modern American religion: "You know, you have to be yourself. That's the great tragedy of the movie--that they couldn't live the lives they wanted to live." Followed by a pseudo-responsive reading with the refrain "Yeah, you just have to do for yourself and be what you are." Followed by a closing hymn (not really).

I didn't really enter the conversation--out of fear or lack of a quick, glib one-liner--but it's been on my mind a lot. I think of how Paul and his friends would go into a city and sometimes within a few days would have people riled up enough to kill them. What did they say? Who did they challenge?

When Paul went to Ephesus (Acts 19), they nearly killed him because the spread of the gospel so threatened the demonic values and social conventions and patterns of thought upon which their city was based. "Of course, Artemis is a real god. Everyone knows she's worshipped throughout Asia. (plus it will really hurt business if people don't buy our idols) How dare you..." Or maybe "Of course my life is about me. Everyone knows that the greatest tragedy is if I don't get to do everything I want, say everything I want, consume everything I want. How dare you..."

I wonder what would happen the Lordship of Jesus began to challenge our American idols (no pun intended). I wonder if we might not get a few stones ourselves. I pray that we--that I will have the courage to speak the truth.

Mark

after a long break

So, I think we're going to starting using this thing again, I think. A lot has changed for us in the last few months. Maybe I'll just list it all off:

• Got home from Ireland. We're still not sure what to make of that experience. But we're pretty sure God will send us back before too long.
  
• Went to Arkansas for Christmas. So good to see my parents again. You don't realize when you're 18 what going to a college that's 700 miles away will mean. It's meant a lot of good things for me, but I wish I could see my parents more.
  
• Ange's car got hit on the street (at 4:00am) and we had to buy a new one. Fortunately the guy's insurance paid for the whole thing. She got a great little blue Honda Accord.
• I got a new job in Indianapolis. I'm doing web design and programming for a company called Firm 57. It's actually been really fun, though it's quite a different world working 40 hours a week. But I look forward to going to work most days, and that's more than many people can say.
• A month ago we moved to Indianapolis. We are renting a really great two story house. It's nice to finally have room to have guests stay with us, friends over for dinner, etc. Our church started a church-plant down here a few years ago, so that was our main reason for coming down. We'll be helping out in any way we can.
  
• I've been teaching through Isaiah on Wednesday nights at church. It's really been a blast. We're getting close to the end now (which is good because it's now quite a drive back to Muncie).
  
• We got cell phones. We resisted for a long time, but it just made more sense when we moved. Plus we secretly wanted them in our hearts all along. We'd love to give you our numbers, but maybe not on the public internet like this. Shoot us an e-mail or something.

Well that's us. As I said, we'll try to post more often in the future.

Mark (and Ange)