Steve on Sabbatical: Part 6

Monday, July 26, 2010

As the old song goes, "The party's over." After 15 weeks away from all pastoral responsibilities, on Tuesday morning I'll show up at 401 W. Mineral Ave with hopes that my key works, my name's still on the office door, and I remember what in the world I'm supposed to do!

God is so good to have given me this time of amazing experiences for rest, renewal and reflection. My journeys (most with Darlene) took me into significant places such as:

• Israel... especially walking where "The Word became flesh and dwelled among us."
• Italy... especially the little mountain-side town of Assisi where almost 800 years ago a man named Francis gave his all in following Jesus.
• England... especially Oxford where a man of brilliant imagination named C.S. Lewis lived, taught and built up the faith and hope of thousands through his books and stories.
• Sedalia, Colorado... where for thirty days I had nothing to do but to be present in the Presence of God who I believe gave a rest deeper than sleep and a grounding in him deeper than my awareness.
• Home... to enjoy family, long (for me) bike rides, a short mountain trip, household chores, and lots and lots of reading.

The "grand finale" of this Sabbatical funded by a Lilly Endowment grant was our whole family of 14 spending last week in two Oceanside, California condos -- literally at the side of the Pacific. The unusually cold and cloudy weather demanded extra courage when we swam in the ocean (or at least got thrashed around by big waves and strong currents), but was perfect for our days at Sea World and Disneyland. At the latter, I succumbed to strong pressure from grandkids to ride with them through "It's a Small World." If that cute and meaningful (and torturous?) theme song was not already imbedded in my brain, it is now... forever. The best for me that week was simply watching grandkids and kids interact, play, laugh, occasionally get grumpy, and share their hearts and pray for each other. A seemingly bad ending was my getting lost trying to return the rental car and then so rushing when I arrived that I left my "smart phone" in the vehicle. I'll get it back in a few days, but it occurs to me that God may have used my folly to bring me full circle to my 30 days of solitude to be just a bit less chained to electronic connectedness. So don't try calling my cell quite yet!

Looking back over the 15 weeks, the thought has come: one could easily get used to this. Of course, Lilly does not have its hand out with more money. And, more importantly, God does hold out his -- to lead me back to his people and mission. What raises expectation is what I sense the Spirit saying: "You're not going back to work; we are moving ahead into a new season of life." I'm looking forward to seeing what that means.

I can't say how thankful I am for the Centennial church family and its leaders who not only allowed this sabbatical, but lovingly demanded it. Special thanks to the Church Councils who guided this (led by Matt Lewis and Jeff Sahr), my Sabbatical Planning Team (Tom Ashbrook, Adam Wilson, Valerie Weyand, Bill Morgan, Don Payne), our Preaching Team (Chris Durkin, Dale Flanders, Steve Graber, Rebecka Sutton, Tom Ashbrook, Jon Hardin, David Bosworth), and our great staff led by David (Ron, Randy, Karen, Jake, LeeAnn, Deb, and, of course life partner Darlene), with temporary help from Stefany Bergstrom and Leadership Coach Steve Logan.

Shalom,

Steve

Steve on Sabbatical: Part 5

Saturday, July 3, 2010
Tuesday night our British Airways plane touched down at DIA. After 45 days and nights abroad, it was wonderful to be home – a bit tired, but very grateful for the gift of this journey.

Our last 10 days of travel allowed us mainly to concentrate our attention on two towns. Assisi, Italy – a small city made famous by a passionate follower of Jesus named Francis – sits along a mountain overlooking a lush valley. Old Assisi has retained both its medieval look and small town feel – full of great family-run restaurants where it’s a sin to spend less than a couple hours over a meal. Despite ways the many Francis-sites draw mere tourists, it was not hard to gain fresh appreciation for this amazing man who responded to Christ’s call to declare the Gospel through a joyful embrace of poverty and compassion in the early 13th century. It’s ironic, if not comical or sad, how incredibly vast and ornate buildings were raised to honor a man who worked hard to renounce property and fame. And yet, in many of the sites where Francis encountered Jesus and served, we were given special times of worship – not to mention considerable exercise walking the steep streets and paths!

After a quick visit to Canterbury, we had three days in Oxford, England, staying at a small 16th century Hotel surrounding an equally old pub, to take in this important University town where the likes of John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, C.S. Lewis, and J.R. R. Tolkien made an impact on the world and still do. Highlights?

• Visiting where C.S. Lewis lived (“The Kilns”) and taught (Magdalen College and its long wooded path (“Addison Way”) where, in 1931, Tolkien and another friend led Lewis to see that Christianity was “true myth”).

• Worship first at historic St. Aldate’s Anglican Church that has long had effective outreach to Oxford students, along with strong internship and mission programs, and then at Christ Church College’s “Evensong” led by its very traditional men’s and boys choir.

• Time with our Superintendent Rick Mylander’s daughter Maren and her husband Jeremy who just finished an M.A. in international relations at Oxford.

• Blackwell’s – perhaps the largest bookstore in the world.

• And, of course, the pubs!

There were times these last six weeks when Darlene and I wanted to slow the pace, stay longer in various places, and go deeper in relationships with fascinating new friends in Israel, Italy and England:

• like a passionate young Palestinian believer, Zack, who runs a small shop in old Jerusalem;

• like an older Jew named Moshe who owns a store near the famous Western Wall, but would rather dialogue with Christians about Judaism than sell his goods;

• like Messianic Jews we worshipped with one Sabbath (catching little of the their Hebrew, yet aware of Messiah’s presence);

• like the co-owner of Hotel Montreal in Rome who welcomed and helped me and Darlene (“Mama” he called her), starting with calming reassurance after our Taxi driver threw a tantrum because his partner at the airport gave us, in writing, a very low fare;

• like a brilliant young Harvard grad from Brazil, Tamara, we met while touring Rome’s ancient ruins;

• like 83 year old Margaret from Oxford who delighted us with stories while we waited for a bus that never came and then shared a Taxi (“it’s absolutely delightful to be this old,” she declared with a big smile; “I feel like a college student... no responsibilities for anything and you get all these free things!”);

• like Dr. Michael Ward, a chaplain at an Oxford college, who gave us a private tour of C.S. Lewis’ house and with whom we shared a love of this great Christian writer as well as a concern that he not be idolized as especially some American believers are prone to do;

• like all those and many more.

And yet how blessed we are with friends and family in a beautiful place called Colorado! It’s good to be home.

Now, for 23 more days, my Sabbatical shifts to home and family, and especially to unrushed time in God’s presence to reflect on what he’s been saying and showing.

Shalom,

Steve


St. Francis Basilica

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Oxford B&B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kilns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CS Lewis' grave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspirations for Narnia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blackwell & White Horse Pub

Steve on Sabbatical: Part 4

Friday, June 18, 2010

“Yasu” (“hello”) from Greece where Darlene and I have spent the last two days! After three weeks in Israel, we journeyed through Jordan and Italy, and now are “suffering” on a cruise ship that took us from Rome to Sicily, Ephesus (Turkey), Athens and today Crete. My only significant challenge has been keeping Darlene from gambling all our money away in the ship’s Casino and smoking too many of her cigars on the back deck. Good food with new friends has helped distract her.

Want something a bit more serious (and honest)? Even on this cruise, and especially during the nine days prior in Jordan and Rome, we continue to sense God showing us sites that stir significant reflection. As examples, let me mention four places we stood to look and marvel:

• In Jordan, we stood on Mount Nebo where Moses looked across the Jordan River to see the land promised to Israel. There he died without crossing after leading the people through the desert for forty years. See that story in Deuteronomy 34. I stood there, thanking God for his promises and for faithful servants like Moses, and praying that I might have a vision for what God has not just for me, but for generations to come.

• Also in Jordan, we stood (after long hot hiking) in the amazing city of Petra, first built in desert canyons by the enterprising nomadic Naboteans, and then taken over by the Romans. I marveled at the ingenuity of humans made in God’s image, as well as the vast reach of that Empire just before and after Christ. They say “all roads lead to Rome.” Truer is this: Rome built roads to almost everywhere. In Israel, we had already explored some of the Empire’s fortresses, cities and temples. Further east, we saw yet more in what is now Jordan.

• And then we came to Rome itself. Along with navigating the chaotically congested streets and loving great Italian cuisine, we stood in lots of famous places: e.g. the Forum where the republic was born and the Empire administered, the Coliseum where a million foreigners and slaves died as free entertainment for the city’s citizens, and the Vatican (including St. Peter’s and Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel) where a form of Roman power still is a tangible reality in the lives of millions. My impressions are in terms like beauty and brilliance, immensity and power, and then both evil and redemption. Our last day in Rome, we happened upon the Baths of Diocletian (the viciously anti-Christian Emperor). There he had forced several thousand Christian slaves to build a huge Temple for the pagan gods (and himself). When the work was done, the expendable slaves were killed. Now however, that Temple is a Basilica, consecrated to Christ in the 4th century – an external sign of what followers of Jesus, like Paul and Peter and those unknown slaves, boldly held up to change lives and even that city.

• Standing in the ruins of Ephesus was a gift. Again, we could see the presence of the Romans in this large portal city (today’s west Turkey). Yet again, Paul and others stirred up the city declaring Jesus as Lord (see Acts 19).

• Yesterday, in an Athenian heat wave and a typical mob of tourists, we climbed the marble steps up to the Acropolis to see the famous Parthenon and other Temples – the hub of Greek civilization that reached its heights about 400 years before Christ and greatly shaped much of our own society’s way of living. The high point for us, however, was standing almost alone on a nearby rocky hill where the first century Greeks had a central market place and informal assembly point called the Areopagus (“Mars Hill”). There, as you can read in Acts 17, the Apostle Paul let conversation with spiritually curious people become an opportunity to speak of a Jewish prophet raised from death by God for people he made to seek and find him. Once again I was struck by the way ordinary people walked among the world’s best and brightest with a story that seemed weak and foolish, and yet finally is the greatest good and strongest light.

There could be more to say and show, but Darlene says it’s time for some afternoon ice cream. At least, she’s stopped wanting cigars. Starting Sunday (20th), we get to spend four days in Assisi, Italy, and then five more in England, and finally fly home.

With love and prayers for God’s peace to you all,

Steve


Basilica at Diocletian Baths

Steve on Sabbatical: Part 3

Friday, June 4, 2010

Shalom – i.e. “peace” – from Israel… even if the tensions here between Jews and Palestinians have all the more surfaced since the incident near Gaza a few days ago. Personally, we have been richly blessed in fresh learnings, new friendships, and encounters with God. Shalom indeed!

The last ten days have taken Darlene and me beyond Jerusalem to experience more of the history and geography of this land God chose for his most direct self-revelation and self-giving.

• Our group traveled west through the “hill country” and its valleys where Israel frequently contended with the coast-controlling Philistines in the days of Samuel, Saul and David. You can see Darlene holding the very stone David used in his sling to take down a big guy named Goliath (or maybe one a tiny bit like it). Seeing the ruins of various towns and fortresses, the stories read and imagined get filled in with a sense of the rugged realities and complicated politics of those times.

• Moving south, we spent the night in the Negev, then took a long hike through the vast Wilderness of Zin, getting a tiny taste of the harsh environment a generation of two million Israelites circled through after their liberation from Egyptian slavery. The intense baking heat and rare but beautiful springs gave a glimpse of the people’s desperate wandering and need for dependence on God.

• Sometime read about “Masada,” the massive rocky fortress at the southwest edge of the Dead Sea. In 73 AD Jewish rebels held off the Romans before committing mass suicide. Also, David may have spent time there in his flight from King Saul. It was not hard to see there how he would call God his “fortress.” We climbed up and down Masada in 106 degree heat – one of many ways this trip is physical fitness training. Relief came through a strange “swim” in the Dead Sea, and then hiking to the lush En Gedi springs where David definitely found refuge. That day also included seeing the famous caves where the “Dead Sea Scrolls” containing some our oldest biblical manuscripts were discovered, starting in 1948.[more photos below]

• After a couple days back in Jerusalem (with a bit more time to roam and reflect), we traveled north, first to the significant Mediterranean port of Caesarea where God led the Roman Centurion Cornelius to faith through Peter (Acts 10) and where Paul was imprisoned for two years, bearing witness to Jesus before Roman Governors and Herod Agrippa (Acts 23-26). Soon after, our bus took to Mount Carmel where Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).

• Three days around the Sea of Galilee was an especially meaningful time: visiting Nazareth and then sites near that fresh water body where Jesus spent most of his ministry years. Much has survived from ancient Capernaum, including the house church developed out of the actual home of the disciple Simon Peter. Along the shores, where we stayed at a Jewish Kibbutz run resort, it was not hard to imagine Jesus giving people teaching, healings, deliverances, and multiplied bread and fish. We took a boat across the waters – albeit motorized, not in a terrifying storm.

• Further north, I loved visiting the ruins of Caesarea Philippi where Jesus asks the crucial question “who do you say I am?” It’s here – standing at a center of Roman power and pagan temples – that it’s made know that he’s God’s Messiah and Son. Confusing the disciples, Jesus also begins speaking of the necessity of his cross… and theirs in following him (Matthew 16).

• On our return south, we took in more sites. At the Harod Spring, God reduced the troops of a self-designated weakling Gideon to use them to liberate Israel from oppression. We stood on Mt. Gerazim where Joshua renewed God’s covenant with his people (Judges 24). Nearby is village where about 700 people still claim lineage from the ancient Samaritans and still practice their unique form of worship, based on just the first five books of the Bible. A hospitable Samaritan priest took time to explain his people’s faith… and urged us to be good to the real Samaritans! In the area, a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church houses what scholar’s are sure is “Jacob’s well” where Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman about springs of living water. From the 100+ foot deep well, we each took a drink of the clear, clean water.

• All that, and so much more!

Today, back in Jerusalem, we worshipped with a Hebrew speaking Messianic Jewish Congregation. One can sense God’s presence even if we could pick up very little of what was sung and said. My Hebrew is a bit rusty!

What now? About ten of us travel into Jordan for three days of more exploring and learning. Then it’s a crazy travel day (6/8), starting at 1 am through Tel Aviv, Germany, England to get to Rome. The British Airways strike meant our flights were cancelled, demanding some new arrangements.

With love and prayers,

Steve and Darlene

(Photos below: Wandering Denverites, Dead Sea, En Gedi, Caves of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Capernaum)

Steve on Sabbatical: Part 2

Darlene and I have spent one week now walking (lots!) in the land where Jesus walked. Our class so far has focused on Jerusalem and the surrounding tribal regions of Judea and Benjamin. While most of this concerns biblical history, we’re also getting exposure to current political and cultural realities that are complicated and tragic.

A few things I never fully realized:
• How riding a camel is fun, but not terribly comfortable (see photo). We’ll keep our two Hondas.
• Having said that, how here I would rather walk than drive. Auto traffic is bad in this crowded city.
• How even if the water in a foreign city is declared drinkable, it’s good to bring Immodium. Most of us from Denver have done some running as well as walking (know what I mean?).
• Concerning our studies, how the original Jerusalem David called home in 1000 BC was a football field width town of just 2,000 people, built along the steep decline of the hill where his son Solomon would eventually build the first Temple.
• How the region given to Israel’s smallest tribe, Benjamin, became extraordinarily strategic for transportation north-south and east-west, and as a political buffer between the competing clans of Ephraim and Judah. David chose to move his capital north to Jerusalem, partly to be in a neutral site just into Benjamin, unclaimed by any tribe – calling it (not so humbly) the “City of David” – sort of like an American mid-coast city called “D.C.” that’s not in any one state.
• How strongly and mixed my feelings would be on the “Temple Mount” – a huge rectangular box of limestone walls on which Herod the Great began rebuilding the “second Temple” before Jesus was born. That sacred edifice was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., but the tall foundation walls remain, including the famous “western wall” revered by Jews. On top now is the Muslim “Dome of the Rock” and a large Mosque. There’s some sadness in that. And yet there’s this: the Temple’s destruction reinforces the reality of God’s dwelling Jesus said he (as “Emmanuel”) is, and we (as his body) are.
• How exuberantly the Jews here celebrate “Shavuot” – i.e. the feast of “Pentecost” – which was a virtual all-night celebration of praying, dancing and eating last Tuesday evening through Wednesday, especially among crowds at the large area near the western wall. At the same time, we were able to see Christian sites commemorating God pouring out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost some 2,000 years ago here.
• How, in the barren Judean wilderness, between Jerusalem and the Jordan River, the city of Jericho (where the “walls came tumbling down”) was and still is a palm tree “oasis” for travelers and the rich – like the powerful and paranoid Herod the Great who built one of his many palaces there in the decades before Jesus was born.
• How that wilderness is both intimidating and beautiful – a place of both testing and refuge, of judgment from God and intimacy with him.
• How from the ridge of hills called the Mount of Olives – where Jesus spent significant amounts of time – he could look across the deep and narrow Kidron Valley and easily see a) the glorious second Temple, b) Herod’s citadel where Pontius Pilate would try him, and c) probably a rise in the terrain beyond the Temple called “Golgatha,” and d) maybe even a garden area with a tomb. By there he rode on a donkey toward what many assumed (so wrongly) would be a political coronation. There he wept over a city of people loved by the Father, but blind to their redemption. There he prayed for his followers (those living then and those to come). There he agonized honestly but submissively with the Father over the horror on its way. There he ascended to heaven’s throne to reign as risen Lord and pour out his Spirit.

The last two sites touched places deep within both me and Darlene. In the wilderness hills (see photo), I could imagine Jesus in both battle with our Adversary and intimacy with the Father. On the Mount of Olives (see photo), I could sense his love as he prayed for and wept over a city and a world that needed, but pushed away, his peace. Looking at Jerusalem in 2010, it’s not hard to imagine the tears still flowing. There is great sadness over the injustice this land represents and holds: both the Holocaust that pushed millions of Jews to seek a homeland here, as well as the lost rights of millions of Palestinians (Christians as well as Muslims) in what has been their home for centuries. And, of course, Jesus weeps over other cities too – like the ones we live in. Thank God his ongoing intercession is as the Mediator who endured a cross to reconcile all things to God and begin a new creation. And somehow that feat – “finished” he cried – happened among people like us, on this planet, in this city.

Looking ahead, we now travel beyond Jerusalem for three days, heading south into the hot Negev and then the even hotter Dead Sea region where it’s supposed to be 120 degrees on Thursday! That should be one place Darlene will not get chilly.

Thanks so much for your prayers and allowing us this rich time!

Shalom,

Steve

Steve on Sabbatical: Part 1

It’s a bit surreal. Darlene and I are within the walls of Jerusalem’s “old city” (at the Gloria Hotel, just inside the “Jaffa Gate”). For over three weeks, starting Tuesday morning, we’ll get to explore Israel with instructors at Jerusalem University College. I can’t wait! Though it’s good we have this Monday to rest after 28 or so hours of travel from Denver through London, and then a meandering shuttle from the Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem.

This long desired visit – to the land Jesus walked – follows another kind of journey: thirty days of mostly solitude and silence at Sacred Heart Retreat House. That may seem a bit crazy, but I can honestly say: it was crazy good. Hard at times? Sure. I missed Darlene and the family, playing with the grandkids, reading more than just Scripture, and watching episodes of “Lost.” And God did some probing, exposing things I was not always comfortable facing. Mainly, though, I was allowed to face yet more of his vast love that stirred fresh hope and joy.

It’s still hard to explain. And maybe I can’t. Apparently our five year old granddaughter Meg was mystified (if not a little miffed) when she asked her Mom (Sarah): “What IS ‘Papa’ doing?” She was told that “He went to a little cabin near a town called Sedalia so he could be with Jesus.” Meg thought that was silly: “Doesn’t Papa know Jesus is everywhere… and you can be with him wherever you are?”

Indeed. It’s getting clearer for me as the years go by: the “life that is truly life” is to be present in that Presence. Whether alone at a Jesuit Retreat Center, with your best friend in Israel, back in Colorado working on the job, going to school, or at home with your Mommy asking good questions.

Thanks so much for all who have been praying for me and Darlene in this unique season of “pilgrimage” with our risen Lord! This day, may you know the reality of his loving presence.

Shalom,

Steve

Steve at his "hermitage" during his 30-day silent retreat.

Steve in front of the western wall at Jerusalem's temple mount.

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