playground restoration

This summer our church took on some community service projects. One that we've completed was the restoration of a playground near our house.  As the Lord provides opportunities and resources for these projects, we hope to continue to reach out in this way to our community.  While the group of volunteers from our church was working on this playground, many people approached with amazement and asked why we would do this.  It was a blessing to share with them that Jesus loves our city and He told us to.  In a land where far too often people are happy to get ahead at the cost of ripping others off and the government is primarily concerned only about maintaining power for itself rather than caring for the public, it is truly counter-cultural to serve in a self-sacrificial way.  We believe God is using these projects to reach and convict hearts about the reality of the gospel.  If you'd like to be involved in sponsoring a project, please contact me, or visit our church's giving page.  Below is our vision statement for these community projects and a few pics of the playground we restored this summer.

Vision for Community Service Projects

As we enjoy the free grace and love that Jesus shows us, this necessarily births in us a desire to share that grace and love freely ("freely you have received, freely give." Mt. 10:8).  It is in allowing that grace to not only pierce our hearts but to be reflected through our lives and joining in His work to bless others that our enjoyment of Jesus is multiplied.

God came and gave grace to us who were undeserving and ill-deserving at great cost to Himself. We not only recognize but image that fact in serving others who have not asked for or earned it and at our own cost (of time, talent, and treasure). God "makes the rain to fall on the just and unjust." (Mt. 5:45) In this active thanks for His grace, we are further rooted in it, as where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.

Through these projects, we seek to live in love in a way that is received as such by those we serve. The most loving thing we could do for a person is to share the gospel with him. However, if he is not open, he will see it as us just trying to cram our opinion down his throat. If we show our love in a tangible way, it will give such a person cause to ask why. Scripture itself says "let us not love only in word and tongue, but in deed and truth." (I Jn. 3:18)

The culmination and goal of this is particularly to reach the world. It is these projects as an outworking of our own delight in Jesus, a manifestation of grace and a tangible act of love that is one way we seek to reach the world with the gospel. These projects will not themselves preach the gospel. However, they are a powerful witness that we as Christians have a truly self-sacrificial love for others and do desire the good of those even who reject us. Our hope is that these projects will be compelling in themselves as a manifestation of the reality of the gospel and open doors to share of the One who is the true Servant. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:16)

Now the pictures...

before:

 in process:

after:

serving the city

this ukrainian independence day (august 24th) we continued the tradition we began last year of a church picnic / beach clean-up day.  our desire in doing this is to "seek the good of the city" (Jer. 29:7) and to show people the love of God in a very tangible way.  we believe that such community service is a vital part of reaching the city for Christ.  we have also been going out this summer and doing street witnessing every week, but the fact is that those whose hearts are not yet open to the gospel, though it is the greatest "good" we could do them to share Jesus with them, do not yet perceive it as such.  in taking on projects to practically do good on a level people who are not yet saved can recognize, we are able to show them the love and care of God in a way they can understand it.  since in ukraine there is really no concept of "littering" or "pack it in, pack it out", the parks and beaches all look about like this:

after a little of this...

(and by little i mean over 1,000 gallons (4,000 liters) of trash collected...)
the beach looked like this:

we had quite a number of people stop us and say, "this is great!  i wish everyone cared about our city like this.  why are you doing this?"  we were able to answer them simply "because Jesus loves this city and we love Him."  a few of the responses were ones of shock: "really!?  you guys are from a CHURCH!?  that's the kind of church i'd visit."  our desire is to take on other community improvement projects as God leads us and resources allow.  one thing we've had on our hearts for a long time is to repair some of the dilapidated playgrounds around the city and in so doing serve the mothers and young children that play there.  please pray with us that these seeds of simple service would grow in people's hearts to the glory of God.

ukraine is a land like no other (except maybe russia :)

from time to time as i walk around the experience that is my life in ukraine, i run into things that i realize are very bizarre to people who are not from here.  since i've been living here for over 8 years now, i have to force myself to remember that these things strike most foreigners as very odd, since i have just come to accept most of them (granted, not all of them).  so for your education and amusement purposes, just a few pictures from the last month or so:

this picture probably doesn't explain itself well unless you've seen one before.  for those not familiar with ukrainian ritual, this is a funeral.  you'll notice that the crowd is gathered right outside the apt. building.  no, this is not a wake.  the body is in the coffin right there next to the stairwell (didn't get a close-up out of respect for the friends and family of the deceased).  the colorful bars off to the left are the playground equipment (abby was swinging on an incredibly squeaky swing before we made her stop so as not to provoke the ire of the crowd).  the most interesting part about this is if you live in the stairwell where the person died, you get to walk right up to and past the coffin with bags full of groceries as babuska's cry over their loved one.  this might all seem very tasteless, but i have to say i prefer it.  death here is not tucked away and denied the way it is in america (or i imagine western europe?).  it's right there in your face (outside your kitchen window, actually) ... a reality to be reckoned with.  it is not disguised and sanitized:  no funeral homes, no formaldehyde (hence same or next day burials) and a simple pine box. 

on a similar note: the morgue.  (don't ask me why i was there). 

these are shots of our local morgue.  the first shot shows that in the waiting hall, there is a typewriter from i'd guess about 40+ years ago.  i'm not sure if they're keeping it around until it attains "antique status" and then hock it to provide for a lock on the door to the "dissection hall" (seriously, there wasn't one.  just a sign that said "no entrance without permission!").  or maybe it's just a statement that the typewriter itself has met it's end.  ah, modern art... nah, probably the first option.

the second picture is a soviet style plaque of a woman weeping over the grave of a loved one.  the great part is that these metal figures are nailed onto the door of an old wardrobe.  you can still see the old hinges at the top.  nothing says "our condolences" like dismantled furniture.

next, a sign on the doctor's office door:

the working hours of the doctor in this particular section of the hospital are from 8:00 until 14:36.  yes, that's right, 14:36 (2:36pm).  the funny part is i'm willing to bet he never sticks around that late anyway. 

the last picture would be the funniest if it weren't real.  below is the sign that you see as soon as you step onto the property of a certain church here in ukraine:

i

for those who don't read russian, it says: "we do not allow: smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, improper language, walking on the grass, picking flowers, walking dogs, leaving trash."  seriously, is that really the first statement you want to make to visitors?  if i were not a Christian, i'd turn around before i ever hit the door (i'm a pastor and i almost turned around anyway).  sadly, this sign typifies the attitude and bent of the majority of churches in ukraine; in a word, rules (and mostly petty ones at that).  it's all about what you cannot do, about ridiculous codes, and little to do with the heart of Jesus.  the sad part of course is that this is the way a lot of Christians present themselves to the world (not just in ukraine either) and the way a lot of non-Christians perceive the church (ned flanders, anyone?).  the fact is a lot of "Christians" have no idea who Christ really is (and pass their ignorance on to non-Christians).  i bet if they let Jesus make the sign at that church, it would say something more along the lines of, "we do not allow: self-righteousness, arrogance, gossip, walking on people, picking fights, barking at others, and trashing your neighbor."  the more Christians i meet here, the more convinced i am how desperately this country needs to hear the Gospel of Grace: that Jesus didn't come to make more Pharisees, but to rebuke them, and to make lovers of God instead.

McNazis, Religion and the Gospel

well, i figured i'd write about my latest adventure in a string of very unusual spiritual attacks. i was invited to teach at a men's conference for calvary chapel of kiev this weekend. i headed up to kiev on friday and as i was leaving mcdonald's, a guy, mid-twenties, rather "aryan" looking, stares at me and asks me if i've ever read mein kampf (hitler's autobiography and ideological treatise). i was shocked by the question and didn't even know what to say. he proceeded to call me a "friggin' jew" and pushed me a few times. i'm pretty sure he was on some kind of drugs. i tried to explain to him that i'm not jewish (though i do look it and would be completely proud to be jewish). he didn't listen and began to punch and kick me. i was able to block most of his swings, though he left a few good bruises on my legs from kicking. i yelled to the manager to call the police. this is all happening in the middle of a very crowded mcdonald's.... and NO ONE even stood up to help. for all their tough-guy facade, men here are generally pretty cowardly. the police arrived in a few minutes and put him in their car to take to the station.

now, besides the obvious warfare right before the conference (which actually encouraged me because it made me even more sure that God wanted to do something important there if satan was going to such lengths to stop it), there was another very interesting aspect to this event. tomorrow we will be in Rom 12:13 and discussing the phrase "given to hospitality". the word "hospitality" here in greek is "philoxenia". it is basically the opposite of "xenophobia": a fear or hatred of strangers/foreigners. interesting timing for my first ever xenophobic attack.

but the idea of "philoxenia", friendship or love of strangers/foreigners, is much wider than race. the phrase in verse 13 literally translates to "pursue, chase after friendship with those who don't belong, who are outcasts and rejected". what it got me thinking about was how so often this is the last thing people would describe christians as. in fact, it is sadly "christians" (who often for some reason that i cannot comprehend feel that fox news is on nearly the same level of spiritual authority as the Bible) who demonstrate a dislike and even disgust of people who do not fall into their club; democrats, illegal immigrants, muslims, homosexuals and the like. sure, they would not likely take to violence, but there is a certain animosity that nevertheless some "christians" hold against those who don't belong. sadly i've heard too many rants against illegal immigrants, homosexuals, democrats, and others perceived as somehow doing damage to "traditional society" coming from the "christian" pulpit.

the reason i keep using the word "christian" in quotation marks is because people who hold this xenophobic attitude (in more than the racial sense) have really very little that is Christ-like about them. the fact is that christians who avoid or even disdain those who are other than themselves, christians who do not pursue the outcasts of society/culture have really forgotten the Gospel (and may not be more than culturally christian or just religious in the first place). in the epistle to the Ephesians in chapter 2 Paul says that we were once aliens and foreigners (xenos) to the promises of God and without hope in the world. but because God is full of "philoxenia", He pursued us and brought us into His family, made us part of His kingdom. He did not shun us in high-minded disdain, but came to earth, became one of us, and humbled Himself on the Cross that we might be brought near by His precious blood. therefore, if the Gospel means that we have received this love of God as outcasts, it only follows that we would pass this along. a "christian" who is high-minded and hateful towards those who do not fit into his understanding of the world have forgotten that they are no less "alien" by nature than the one they now disdain. the Gospel must necessarily produce in us the same kind of "philoxenia" that God has shown to us in Jesus Christ, otherwise there is reason to question if we have experienced the Gospel at all and instead are merely religious.

[disclaimer: the image at the top of this article is a not a production of the national socialist german worker's (nazi) party nor of the mcdonald's corporation, neither is it meant to imply that ronald or any of his friends is a fascist (except for possibly the hamburgler) or for that matter that adolf would have clogged his aryan arteries with bigmacs. it is merely meant to illustrate my experience on friday... so now i can't get sued. :) ]

ukrainian road repair

i was driving up to kiev last weekend and thought i'd give everyone an understanding of how ukraine deals with road problems (very similar approach for many other problems):

rather than fixing the road, they just put up signs that let you know, "for the next 3 km, this is gonna suck." well, at least they're not pretending that these road conditions are acceptable and warning you about it. ah, ukraine, you never cease to amaze. :)

Ukraine: A Democracy at Risk

i just read this article from the widow of murdered ukrainian journalist, gregory gongadze. it pretty well sums up the steep, downhill ride that ukrainian democracy has taken since the orange revolution in late 2004/early 2005 and the resulting mindset of many ukrainians as they head to the polls this january. very sad, but unfortunately true. if you're interested in where ukraine is at or is heading as a country, i'd recommend it:

Ukraine: A Democracy at Risk

things i missed about ukraine in the states and things i miss about america here

things i missed about ukraine while in the states:

1. real food: unless you are going to a farmer's market in the states (and paying thrice the standard price) food is tasteless, especially the meat. like a wet sponge.
2. fellowship in church: i don't know if its just part of the american culture or what, but it seemed in every church we were in, that as soon as the service ends, at least 80% of the people rushed for the doors. another 15% were gone within 5-10 minutes. maybe it didn't help that we were in indiana and the colts were playing almost every week. :) here in ukraine we hang out and fellowship after service for sometimes up to an hour.
3. toilet paper: yes, that's right, i like the brown ukrainian toilet paper. its just so darn sturdy!
4. the medical system: allow me to clarify. the kids got on medicaid this time, but lena and i got turned down. when i went to the pharmacy to get a prescription filled, i was told the medicine cost $120! i passed and upon returning to ukraine found the same medicine for like $8. so ridiculous! they should destroy the whole medical funding system and start from scratch (with a completely universal system).

things i miss about america here:
1. good coffee: not that it doesn't exist in ukraine, but is very rare and usually cost more than the bux in the states.
2. cheap technology/clothes: yes, both of these things cost MORE here than in america. fortunately they are things you can stock up on once every 2-3 years.
3. wi-fi everywhere: gotta love that. here its mostly only at mcdonald's.
4. the medical system: it may be expensive as all get out, but at least they are all about quality care.
5. customer service: a concept largely lacking in ukraine. the best example in america during this trip i can think of this was the apple store. i brought my macbook in that i had for 2.5 yrs. and had just about every part on it possible replaced (under warranty so it was free). but when i brought it in for another repair this time, i told the manager about all the problems i've had with it (very unusual for macs, btw). i was hoping to get a free battery out of the deal or something. he goes away and comes back and says "we're gonna give you a new macbook". sweet! way to take care of your customers, mr. jobs! i was already hooked on macs even with the hardware problems, but they have just won a very satisfied life-customer.

cc svitlovodsk video

so i've been meaning to post this video on here for a while. oddly, we have better and more consistent internet connection here in ukraine than we did in the states. this is a video i put together with pictures of people and events in our church as well as interviews with people to let them share how Jesus has worked in their lives since coming to calvary chapel svitlovodsk. the interviews are subtitled in english. enjoy and pray for us!

in addition, be sure to check out our church's website and podcast.

in ukraine, the good times never end

so, my family and i were in our neighboring big city, kremenchuk, yesterday doing some shopping at the equivalent of a wal-mart. we were strolling down the office supplies aisle and were looking at the permanent markers when we spotted this:

sharpies? no, look closer. they are "skerples"! yes, that's right, a knock-off sharpie look-alike (even the logo script looks the same). but yes, it is a "skerple". i couldn't stop laughing and thought i'd share the fun with you all. i almost bought them just so i could keep laughing, but then considered it and figured they'd break in a few days, so i passed.

the sordid tale of politics in ukraine

i ran across this brief synopsis of the last dozen or so years of ukraine's political history on radio free europe and thought i'd share. for any who are curious or interested in understanding what it going on over here and how ukraine got to the place it is, this article is a really good start:

Constitutional Instability In Ukraine Leads to Legal Turmoil

why ukraine's problems cannot be solved by any amount of money

so, i was reading the headlines and stumbled across the latest reason why ukraine's problems will not be solved by any amount of imf loans. as it turns out, yuri lutsenko, ukraine's internal affairs minister (over all the police and generally charged with "maintaining social order and safety"... incidentally probably one of the better ministers in the cabinet) got into a drunken brawl with some german police officers in the frankfurt airport and has officially offered his resignation from the cabinet of ministers. he is rejecting the claims of the german officers, but for some reason resigned anyway.

this reminded me of one time last year when my wife and i happend to be visiting her mother and she had the news on. and much to our amusement and simultaneous discouragement, we saw video coverage of the Verkhovna Rada (ukraine's parliament). took me a while to find it on youtube (archive of everything embarrassing that people wish could be erased), but here it is:



but maybe that is a faster way to decide politics: throw two senators in a UFC cage and whoever remains alive gets their legislation passed. :) of course, the sad part is THESE are the people ruling the country. no wonder we are in such a mess (despite any global crises). at least we know the only way anything positive is gonna happen is by praying for them. ;)

some good news for crisis-wracked ukraine?

i found this article the other day to be very interesting. it is probably the first article on the economic crisis in ukraine that i've read that is optimistic. though the assessments on the political part may not be entirely accurate, it is interesting to get an overview of the situation here. here are some highlights.

Together with the international financial institutions, the Central Bank has examined all of Ukraine's banks and quantified their bad debt. Compared to the West, Ukraine's share of toxic debt is small.

Seventeen Western banks have committed themselves to recapitalizing their subsidiaries in Ukraine with $2 billion this year. In addition, it is estimated that two-thirds of the country's refinancing needs this year will be met.

Thanks to early and resolute anti-crisis actions, international reserves remain reassuring at $25 billion, or eight months of imports. Industrial production increased in both February and March over the preceding month, suggesting that Ukraine might already have turned the corner (although GDP will probably still decrease by 8 percent to 10 percent this year). Even the bond and stock markets have soared in the last month.

desperation and fascism in ukraine

(the above poster is from soviet days and translates: "beat the fascist scum!")

this article published by the Telegraph just a couple days ago tells a horrifying tale, especially in light of the destruction caused by nazi fascism in ukraine not all that long ago:

On March 15, voters in the Ternopil region of western Ukraine elected a new regional assembly. This was an Orange Revolution bastion, a region that has long sought to embrace the West and shun Russia.

But it is also has Ukraine's highest unemployment. In a crowded field, the previously little-known Freedom Party won 50 of the regional assembly's 120 seats as voters embraced its hard Right leader, Oleg Tyagnibok, who has urged the expulsion of all Jews and Russians from Ukraine. (emphasis mine)

"The problem is less the popularity of the nationalists than the universal disappointment with mainstream parties," said Viktor Chumak, a political scientist in Ukraine's capital, Kiev. "Voters are sympathising with radicals more and more as a result of the crisis."

it's pretty sad when political infighting among the powers that be is so bad that people are ready to vote in a little hitler. there might be many underlying problems causing the friction between the president and prime minister now, but the main one seems to be this: there is absolutely no concept that the goverment is enstated to serve the people. it still seems very much to be a left over sentiment of soviet times that the people exist for the state and not the state for the people. or as good old william wallace put it, "You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom."

this result is unlikely to repeat itself in the eastern and southern parts of the country where there are many ethnic russians and the majority of the jewish population reside, but still, its shameful that people anywhere would be driven to such desperate choices by the indifference of their leaders. then again, it often seems that in desperate times people are willing to accept solutions that normally they would be appalled at. perhaps pragmatism is the ultimate moral vacuum.

john tetzel is not dead

i know, it sounds like the title of an episode of LOST, but it's not. :) john tetzel, as some will know, was an indulgence seller for the catholic church in the early 16th century, promising forgiveness of sins for money. it was said that he even claimed that the indulgence offered by pope leo x for the building of st. peter's basilica could pardon the violation of the virgin mary. martin luther, the great reformer, wrote his 95 theses largely in response to the practice of selling indulgences, and especially to the tactics of john tetzel. one of tetzel's "ad jingles" for selling indulgences is enshrined forever in scathing rebuke in the 95 theses. his line was: "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."

well, while we were in kiev to give birth to isaac (see pics here), i was in some of the shopping centers and realized that john tetzel was not dead, he had just moved to ukraine (and aparently switched allegiance from the roman catholic church to the ukrainian orthodox church). this is a "coffer" that stood by the entrance of the shopping center in downtown kiev for donations towards the construction of a new church in kiev, and i saw many identical ones in other shopping centers:


the translation of the inscription is: "place your brick in the foundation of the holy habitation and in her walls prayers will sound for you eternally". guess tetzel hasn't lost his knack for jingle-writing even after almost 500 yrs.! it's truly heart-rending that men would gladly sell out the truth of the Gospel of grace to finance their programs (and no, it's not limited to the catholic or orthodox churches!) luther also had a slogan of sorts which, while perhaps not as catchy, certainly rings loud even to this day with the great truth of the Gospel:

"Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria"
(by Faith Alone, by Grace Alone, by Scripture Alone, by Christ Alone, to the Glory of God Alone)

why can't the dollar stop growing?

okay, so it's not so much that the dollar is growing as that the "hryvnia" (ukraine's currency) is in a death spiral. the dollar has reached its all-time high, or in other words, the hryvnia has hit an all time low. (9.26 grn. to $1) bloomberg has this article on the situation here. some highlights are below:

Ukraine’s hryvnia tumbled, closing at a record low against the dollar, after Moody’s Investors Service said it may cut the country’s rating because political infighting is hampering efforts to avert a financial crisis.

The hyrvnia has lost more than 50 percent against the dollar in the past six months as reduced demand for exports and a lack of foreign credit causes Ukraine’s first economic contraction in a decade.

Inflation soared to 22.3 percent last month, the highest level in Europe

for the foreigners here whose accounts are in dollars (myself included), this makes things comparitively cheaper than a few months back when it was still 5:1. but, though it's almost hard to imagine i'm saying this, i wish the dollar would go back down some, cause if it keeps growing, ukraine's economy might just free fall off the precarious cliff it's teetering on.

NOTE: the following day bloomberg updated this article, and outlined the newly dropped default rating. the new rating implies:

a 69.6 percent chance Ukraine will default in the next two years and 91.8 percent in the next five years.

celebrating the new year ukrainian style

for our church's pre-new year's talent show, lena and i decided to sing a traditional ukrainian folk song called "Pidmanula, Pidvela" in full-on ukrainian garb. anyone living in ukraine will know this song. for those of you who don't, its basically a guy singing about how he was supposed to meet this girl on each day of the week and she doesn't show. the translation is something like this (attempting to keep some sense of the rhyme):

on monday you told me
flowers we will go to see
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

on tuesday you told me
forty times you will kiss me
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

on wednesday i was told
we'd walk among the marigold
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

on thursday you told me
in sorrel walking we will be
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

on friday you told me
we'd walk among the blueberries
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

on saturday you told me
we'd work together, you and me
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

on sunday you were saying
we'd be going to a wedding
i showed up but you weren't found
you set me up, you let me down

chorus (repeated between each verse):

you set me up
you let me down
you've turned my young mind upside down

next, the skit part we added. the guy (me) asks where she's been all week, and she tells him she's been at Bible studies and invites him to come to church on sunday. his reply is, "lena, i'd follow you to the end of the earth!" (that's where everyone cheers :) then the last refrain is our addition, where i sing:

on sunday you told me
at church service you'll meet me
i showed up and you were found!
you didn't set me up, didn't let me down!

hope you enjoy it!

back in the USSR?

i just was reading about a proposed change to the constitution of Ukraine under the article "concerning freedom of conscience and religious organizations".  for those of you who read ukrainian and are interested in the details of the proposed changes here are a few links:

read the proposed changes (in Ukrainian): click here (on this page click

Проект Закону 21.04.2008 to open the word file with said proposal)

to compare the changes (which reference the original constitutional article on religion) to the original: click here (in Ukrainian)

to read about how unhappy the Ukrainian buddhists are about this proposed law (and i totally agree with them), click here. (in English)

the basic gist is a few additions making life harder on newer churches (read non-eastern-orthodox): a proposed annual RE-registration of a new church for the first 10 yrs. of its existence (those of you in Ukraine who are even vaguely familiar with this process know that once is bad enough), and changing the minimum number of citizens necessary to register a church from 10 to 50.

in addition to that there are specific additions to make it harder for foreign leadership within the church (or at least statements which are xenophobic in nature, even if they don't change the actual way things are done).  whereas the previous article states only that foreigners are allowed to carry out ministerial functions in the churches that have invited them, the new addition states "foreign citizens do not have the right to take part in the government of religious organizations in Ukraine".  also it forbids religious organizations whose "governing center" is not in Ukraine from owning property in Ukraine (implying Roman Catholics with the HQ in Rome or Buddhists with the Dalai Lama in... where is he again?  possibly also applying to JW's and Mormons?)  This particular law would not so much apply to protestant Christians here, since there is no centralized authority center, but the principle behind it is still one step away from kicking all foreign religious workers out.

this is all suspiciously similar to what is already in place in Russia, stating that only religious organizations having existed in russian territory for 50 yrs. or more have full rights, kicking out foreign missionaries, only allowing the practice of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in all armed services, and generally Putin being the high priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

BUT in Ukraine the good news is that this amendment is only being proposed.  it was given to the Rada (Ukraine's Parliament) on Apr. 21, 2008 by Genadiy Moskal' (see pic below) with a request to take action on it within 2 month's time.  That means it may be coming to a vote very soon.  so please PRAY that this bill would not be passed (if it is the Lord's will).  it would be the beginning of possibly more restrictions on religious freedom in Ukraine.  here's the guy who put it forward, pray for his salavation, too. (oddly enough he's not on Yanukovich's team, but in the "Our Ukraine" block (the western-leaning side)).

 

"The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,
    Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." -Proverbs 21:1

i'll post something less political next time...

happily behind the times...

i've recently listened to and read a number of works on the emergent church and the infiltration of postmodernity into the church.  statistics that churches calling themselves emergent are the fastest growing "movement" in christianity today speak volumes about the current state of the philosophical fabric of "the west". 

the trend towards postmodernity in america and europe (aka, "the west") is evident in just about everything.  i thought the other day about all the recent films i have seen that are as blatantly post-modern as a hammer to the forehead. the sheer amount of them is staggering. (must be part of that whole life-imitates-art-imitates-life thing.) 

perhaps you're asking yourself, "what exactly qualifies a movie as post-modern?"  well, the way i see it, the first conspicuous sign of a post-modern (pm from here) flick is that you get an overwhelming sense of the movie having no real plot.  there's no flow of events, just chaotic happenings.  there's no real climax to the film; people kind of do whatever they're doing for an hour and a half or two and then it stops.  next, everyone in the movie looks like they're on prozac for most of the duration of the film (or like they ought to be).  there is an overwhelming sense in the characters of purposelessness and loneliness.  and as the characters have no purpose, hence the absence of actual plot.  (the best, or worst rather, recent example i can think of is "friends with money".  if you were unfortunate enough to see it, you know what i mean.  if you didn't see it, i DON'T recommend it.)  the overwhelming message is "life doesn't have any meaning (and so neither does our movie)".  the literary critic fredric jameson says of pm art (film and other mediums) that it is "the transformation of misery into beauty" and that it contains a "deathly quality… in a way that would seem to have nothing to do with death ... on the level of content."  good description.  even in a pm film that has nothing to do with dying, the viewer is still left with the feeling of emptiness or death.

the whole pm system of thought (which i am not about to attempt a summary of in a blog entry) has slithered its way into the christian community as well.  hence, the birth of the "emergent" movement.  now, i'm not saying that EVERYTHING put forward under the "emergent" label should be tossed out.  the emphasis on cultural relevancy (or "contextualization"), personal relationships and actual experience of God (juxtaposed with mere ritual) are truly positive things (none of which, however require adoption of pm thought, merely acceptance of Biblical teaching).  the sad part is that the emergent movement in typical pm fashion, cuts the boat loose from the anchor of the soul, Christ.  the emergent movement promotes deconstructionism, redefinition, removal of what in the philosophical world is called a "meta-narrative" (what we'd simply call one objective truth for everyone), and a bag full of other problems.  (for a pretty good summary of the emergent movement, listen to this teaching by mark driscoll (formerly a leading member in the emergent community): click here.)

in contrast, ukraine is currently very much in the "modernism" mindset (which has its own problems, of course... materialism being one of the greatest ones.)  we've not caught up to the west in that area, thankfully.  ukraine is an odd mix of old and new.  in many ways this country is much like america in the 40's.  people are much more interactive within society (think like open markets, public transport, and neighbors borrowing things from each other like matches or sugar).  most everyone is convinced that there is an objective truth (though they certainly don't all agree what that is).  they are struggling to find an acceptable order in areas of politics, family, work, etc., rather than the trend to reject order.  there is, in general, an accepted understanding of moral absolutes, and even the existence of God.  at the same time, just about everyone and their mom has a cell phone, mp3 player (younger generation) and a dvd player at home.  the younger generation (30 and under) are starting to catch on to many of the techno-trends of the west as well as the philosophical propaganda of the west.  the moral/spiritual climate will likely change very quickly as the younger generation grows and the older generation dies off.  well, all that to say, it makes me really glad that we here in ukraine are way "behind the times".

on a completely separate note, me and lena, and the navarros and two married couples from our church were able to go up to kiev for a married couples' retreat in feb.  it was a great, refreshing time.  pray for God's strengthening of all the marriages in our church (i'm counseling with one couple currently and Jesus is definitely doing great things).  here's a pic from that retreat. 

from left to right: igor and anya dikiy, lena and tom navarro,
grisha and valya yaromenko, ben and lena morrison

thoughts from a public restroom

last week lena, abby and i went to kharkov to share thanksgiving with all our friends in "the armpit of ukraine" as we affectionately refer to it as, along with the hoffs coming up from dnepro.  it was a great time and good to be there and get to visit vanessa in the hospital (we are so glad you're home now, nessie!) 

well, while we were there visiting vanessa, on our way out of the hospital i had to use the bathroom.  i went into the public one on the first floor (for visitors as opposed to patients) and the trash can next to the pot was overflowing with paper covered with fecal matter, the toilet was leaking around the base with some rancid, old rag mildly containing the flow and general squalor.  now, having lived in ukraine for almost 6 years, i am used to these kinds of bathrooms.  you learn to pee while holding your breath after a while (i personally think they should make it an olympic sport :).  but what made me laugh was that in this restroom was a brand new, shiny, polyvinyl "euro-window".  now, for those in the states who don't know, this is like a status symbol in ukraine that you're moving up in the world.  as i held my breath and did my thing, i thought about the people that will walk by that window outside and think "hey!  i bet this is a nice place inside!"

what struck me about it all is how representative this little toilet-room is of how we often live our lives.  we invest lots of effort and resources into making sure that people walking by us think we've got it together, that we are on our way up.  when in all reality, inside there might be a smelly load of.... well, you get the picture.   we want to make sure people see us as those who are always at church on time, carry a large Bible with us... whatever it is that we feel will give the outward image of godliness, when in reality we neglect the real issues in our hearts.  on the inside we might be reeking.  Jesus used a similar illustration about the pharisees "you are like whitewashed tombs which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones".  i know its too easy for me to get sucked into the game of making the exterior presentable while the inside continues to rot.  may our first concern be always what's inside, what God sees.  i heard a quote a while back that i think sums it up well "much of the misery in the world would be alleviated if people were more concerned with being rather than seeming." 

in addition to my last post:  it seems that many people who've commented and others i've talked to lately about the health care issue are all for a universal system and see the benefits....  well, the fact is, its not gonna happen by wishful thinking.  now, i'm not advocating picketing dc unless that's your thing, but if you're interested, take 30 seconds to fill out the petition info at this link that will automatically be forwarded to your congressperson expressing your support HR676 - the universal health care act.  if you wanna see change, click here to do something about it. 

oh!  and a huge praise report: we've FINALLY got a facility for our church to meet in!  we are working on renovations now and hope to have the first service there in a couple weeks.  i'll try to get some pics up soon.  tom has a few small one's up at his site.  click here to see them.  keep praying for Jesus to lead us through this process and to be glorified in even greater ways!

and here a couple pics of abby trying on my winter boots... she hopped in them herself.