Messiah

Do you pray? Do you pray to Jesus? How do you address Him? We know that Jesus, since the time of His incarnate ministry, was known as Jesus Christ. The latter is the Greek Word for Messiah. Whenever we pray or confess or sing we call Him the Messiah. In Advent, the four weeks preceding Christmas, we devote ouselves to the expectation of HIS coming again. We hope for His coming as merciful judge and inaugurator of the new age. And we call him "Messiah". So what does it mean to do so? We take a Jewish notion of God's activity for granted, don't we? I mena have you ever stopped to think about Jesus Christ? Half of the time we say it without any thought at all, sometimes in disdain or anger as a kind of curse. But what does it mean to give this title to that man named Jesus?

Today, with my talk about Messiah, bible study was challenging. But this is a good time to think about what we say and believe about Jesus the Christ---the Messiah, the anointed one. It is no small leap to say that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, rejected by His own. Its an even bigger leap to say that said Messiah was also GOD in the flesh. Adonai, the LORD. Emmanuel, God-with-us. This was, in Judaism, a blasphemous claim of self-idolatry. It leads to His execution.
Although a Messianic eschatology, a belief in a redeemr King ushering in a new age of peace and joy, unity and prosperity for God's people, was a widespread belief, Jesus did not fit the criteria for this Messiah. Many Rabbis in the time of Jesus taught that Messiah would come to rescue them from the hands of the Roman occupiers. Messiah would usher in a golden age, a return to the days of King David, the ideal King. messiah would embody the ideal and His reign would not end. Messiah was also a priestly or prophetic character who would stand between God and Israel forever as their chief defender and seeker of mercy. he wuold also be judge of the nations, the gentiles, and the unrighteous Jew. His judgment would be harsh and weed out the bad seeds.
There were multiple strands of thought in Judaism about Messiah at the time of Jesus. The gospel writers claimed that Jesus, in many ways, embodied the Messiah foretold in the prophets. But students of the hebrew Scriptures would disagree or at least struggle with agreement.
I have been doing a little basic study of Judaism's messianic thought. I have discovered that the claim of Jesus' Messiahship and the subsequent eschatology of the church are tied into Judaism more integrally than I knew. One cannot understand the title or Jesus' expression of it, nor know how to live as those who follow this Messiah, without understanding Judaism better. Our future hope is not unlike Jewish eschatology. We believe in an ultimate time of divine promissory fulfillment. God will vindicate, bring justice, healing, peace, a new rule and a new life. This is a shared hope of Jews and Christians. We, however, come at it from two different points of theological departure. Christians begin and end with the Christ event---the life,death, and resurrection of Jesus. Jews come at it from their understanding of the Torah and the Prophets.
Anyway, what I have come to believe is that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel and the savior of the world (a title that also shows opposition to the dominant powers of Rome). I have come to believe this and I understand that Jesus and His storytellers were influenced by Jewish Messianic thought. He is portrayed in such a way as to bolster these titular claims. And yet, something compelled the story to take life in the lives of so many others. Even though Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they thought they were watching for. Not the kind of savior they thought they needed. I think it is clear evidence in favor of His resurrection from the dead. What else would have prompted the radical leaps of faith His followers took to identify Him as Messiah, savior, Son of God. God in the flesh.

a genuine Christmas

No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything, look down on others, those who have no need even of God---for them there wil be no Christmas. Only the poor, the hungry, those who need someone to come on their behalf will have that someone. That someone is God. Emmanuel. God-with-us. Without poverty of Spirit there can be no abundance of God. ---Oscar Romero

What is the Gospel? It has taken on so many secondary meanings that it has become a word lost to Christians and the world. It may mean a certain type of music. "For some it means the invitation to an individual to accept the forgiveness of sins, so to preach the gospel, to evangelize, is to spread the message oof this invitaiton. For others, it means correct teaching about the work of Christ, so that "evangelicals" are those who hold to traditional doctrines. Elsewhere 'evangelical' is the current word for protestant." John Howard Yoder.

But Yoder believes that Gospel is a word best understood in the language of revolution. Yoder says, "Gospel is the good news having seriously to do with the people's welfare." It is news that changes a community's fate, its status, its life. Gospel is when the Iranians set free the hostages in 1980. Its when the Berlin wall collpased. Its when nazi death camps were liberated. Gospel is when the fate of a community is changed from despair to hope., from tragedy to fortune.

For a long time, and for many Christians, gospel is the promise of eternal life---heaven. For others it is the forgiveness of sin, the expiation of guilt, the death of anxiety. These personal ways of understanding the gospel's purpose are true, but only partial visions of its far reaching consequences. When we understand gospel in the language of revolution we begin to see how transformative Jesus intended to be, indeed is for those who believe in Him.

"The priority agenda for Jesus, and for many of us, is not mortality or anxiety, but unrighteousness and injustice. The need is not for consolation or acceptance but for a new order in which [humanity] may live together in love. In his time, therefore, as in ours, the question of revolution, the judgment of God upon the present order and the imminent promise of another one, is the language in which the gospel must speak. What most people mean by revolution,the answer they want, is not the gospel; but the gospel, if it be authentic, must so speak as to answer the question of revolution. This Jesus did." ---Joihn Howard Yoder, theologian.

Luke's Christmas story is the story of this quiet revolution. Hidden in the babe of Bethlehem is the revolutionary, liberating, GOD.To take on that particular flesh was to take on the very weakness and vulnerability of an oppressed, backwater, impoverished "royal" family. Mary and Joseph embody all who are in need of rescue from the present world order. Without God's intervention and their trust in God, their story is impossible. It opposes every power and perception of this world. from the imperial might of Augustus to the tyrannical reign of Herod, Jesus is a a revolution waiting to happen.

Are we revolutionaries?

Mary's Word

"What business have we of reversing the priorities of Mary's Magnificat, filling the rich with good things and sending the poor empty away? There's nothing in any sacred scripture anywhere that says that the whims of the rick should best the rights of the poor. How, Sunday by Sunday, can Christians pray "forgive us our debts" and not think of third world countries, some of whom are spending three to five as much paying off foreign debts as they do on basic services to their own people?" ---William Sloane Coffin.

:A friend who had spent a sabbatical working with refugees in Southeasa Asia once sent me a homemade Christmas card...a black-and-white snapshot of a Cambodian mother holding her infant in her arms...In silence, the photgraph spoke powerfully about Mary as a presence in our world, a constant reminder that in the incarnation the omnipotent God chose to take on human vulnerability...a child born not to wealth and power but to an impoverished peasant woman and her uneasy husband in the rural backwater of a small, troubled, colonized country."---Kathleen Norris.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day and the end of U.S. global isolationism in the face of militant fascism. It was a surprise attack that alerted every American to the global threat overwhelming Europe and Asia---a threat that finally reached outr own shores. We could no longer stand by. We were compelled to act.
In my estimation Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks tell us somethig about American life. Americans are not particularly watchful or vigilant. We don't know what hits us until it does. Nor are we particularly visionary in our estimation of global politics and economics. We don't know our place in the world, our collective responsibilities as members of the global national community. Why not? What is in our collective unconscious, our national story,that prevents us from being more aware? Why are we mind-numbingly slow to recognize our place in the scheme of things; and that our place of honor among the nations requires of us a great deal of humility and sacrifice?
Today we honor men and women who's lives were lost in the 1941 attack, and those whose lives were lost in the resultant war effort.

"Prince of peace, we pray for our enemies and those who have waged war against us. We pray for our fellow countrymen who have given their lives in battle. We pray for those who continue to follow orders to protect us from the ravages of war. But we also pray that you might awaken us to the poverty and pain around us. Alert us to the ways in which we cause global strife, warfare, and injustice. Make us attentive to the struggles of our neighbors and show us how to serve them. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Compassion's Money

What if the U.S. chose to spend the money we spend at war to rebuild war torn nations? What if we risked our own national security in order to actually serve the needs of the desperately poor around the world? Imagine using that money and our highly educated human resources to improve the lives of people suffering from AIDS in Africa or suffering from genocide and oppression in Israel/Palestine. President Bush had an opportunity five years ago to stand as a world leader who understood empathy and compassion, rather than retaliation and destruction. He could have called 9/11 a global tragedy, carried out by a few Saudi terrorists fueled by a radical interpretation of Islam and by the injustice perpetrated by American imperial dominance of the global financial market. American consumerism, entitlement, and faithlessness to the God of the Bible ignites that religious fuel. The God of the bible is clearly a God who defends the poor, the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, the refugee, the woman, the child, the castoffs, the cutoffs, the left outs, the persecuted and oppressed. God is a God of justice which is guidedn by compassion.

And yet, we cause daily, hourly, weekly, annual struggle. And we are numb to it. We are isolated from it. But look at your clothing. Where was it made? Who made it? How much were they paid to make your clothes? How much did you pay for them? Who benefited the most from the money yuo spent on your clothes? Was it the Chinese woman who stitched your shirt together or the businessman who sold them to JC Penneys? You thoughtless generation. No wonder we are at war and you are not changing your habits. In ten years, you will have spent a lot of money paying for a war effort you did not necessarily believe in. But since you are satisfied with your place in the global food chain, you don't see a reason to change. You don't know how to change it. What of the American Spirit that dsought independence from tyranny, not for freedom's sake alone, but in order to make a more just society where more people had opportunity to live good lives. Where is our boldness? Compassion is a bold political move because compassion requirs that you are not nub to the pain of others. It requirs that you embrace the pain of the other in an effort to accompany them, console them, offer them a communnity of hope. And our neighbors are dying from hunger. Nobody should live on less than $2.00 a day.
What are you going to do about it today?

Real Money

"By one estimate, the war in Iraq may eventually cost us $2 trillion! Which raises the question: how else could we have used this money? Acording to Nicholas Kristof (New York Times, October 24), it is four times the amount of money needed to stabilize social security for the next 75 years, and it is four times the amount needed to provide health care insurance for all uninsured Americans for the next decade. Every minute we stay in Iraq costs another $380,000." --Christian Century, November 28, 2006, p. 6.

My Father-in-law thinks we could avoid a full blown Iraqi civil war and actually stop car bombings all together by purchasing a new car for every Iraqi. It would have ot be the same vehicle, same make, model, color, etc...Maybe a Ford Focus. For less than the cost of the war effort, every Iraqi would receive the gift of a new car. Who wants to blow up a new car? And if all the cars are the same, there's no competition. Iraqi oil companies would thrive, auto mechanic schools would be full. Just an idea.

light of lights

"Light of Lights! All gloom dispelling, thou didst come to make thy dwelling here within our world of sight.
Lord, in pity and in power, thou didst in our darkest hour rend the clouds and show thy light.
Praise to thee in earth and heaven now and evermore be given, Christ, who art our sun and shield. Lord, for us thy life thou gavest, those who trust in thee thou savest, all thy mercy stands revealed." St. Thomas Aqinas.

moonlight

Moonlight

moonlight shining dimly in the dark, i see your dirty face, your dusty self,silently shrinking from fullness to newness;
strange how the new moon is invisible, as if all begins in darkness, letting light emerge carefully, slowly, night after night after night.

moonlight reflecting rays that are not your own, the greater light hidden behind global grandeur, or global danger. we turn away from the light of day only to catch her constancy in the dusty mirror of your face. the great light always illumines the earth, even in shadows, where you light the path through midnight depths.

Moonlight, we are like you. No more than dust, beholden to the earth's pull, her gravity, her allure---her worldliness we cannot escape. We shine, but not an inner light transcendent of ourselves. Our light is moonlight, mystery, madness---a dim reflection of the sun's pure light. And so too, we glow in the darkness, searching for the end of night, longing for the warmth of the sun, the light of day to dawn around us, exposing our soiled selves. we long for night to cease, to be forever comsumed by the gret light of GOD. To fade away as the sun rises, never to set, to fall, to darken day again.
Come great light, overpower our moonlight reflection with your brightness and turn our advent hopes into Christmas Joy.

a good wine

I enjoy a glass of wine with my wife. She's a semi-sweet girl--mostly White Zinfandel. I am not. Anybody have any suggestions for a good merlot?
I recently had a fairly decent Pinot Grigio by MonteVina, California.
I like semi-dry to dry wines. From chardonnay to cabernet.
Anyone drink Cabot,an Italian wine...?
Always searching for a decent dinner/after dinner wine.

javateas and the Spirit

its a quaint little coffee bar on the north side of town. i've been in there twice now; once for a mocha and once for lunch. I would like to host a gathering there for conversation about Jesus, God, life, stuff...maybe to review interesting books, movies, or discussion topics. I hope to stop by this week to find out if they're interested in providing hospitality. We'll see...I'd like to publicize it soon. I think they host some other activities already.

a new look

time for a change. here is the new look for my blog. what do you think? i hope the content of my blog continues to build a community. i'm open to suggestions...

anyone intersted?

I'm calling it "x's and why's: the quest to question God." I intend to get a small group of peers together for conversation. This is a little tricky because I am an institutional man---I dress like a church pastor a lot. I have an office, etc...But I believe that my peers are interested in meaningful relationships and meaningful experiences that will motivate and inspire their lives. They hunger and thirst for GOD, for the mystery in the madness, and for JESUS (although they may not even know HIM yet). They're searching for someone to make sense of what they experience in life. They know it can be found in many places and ways, but they are savvy shoppers and know what is a cheap knockoff and what is authentic. Authenticity is key. The church does not appear authentic to them. Why? The mega church is not gospel, its culture with an agenda. The mainline church is not gospel, its what remains after the church gets inculturated and politicized and rich---which will happen eventually to the mega churches, too. Authentic followers of JESUS will thrive under only a few conditions; one, they are a persecuted or rejected minority, not "the moral majority or the leaders of nations"; two, they are small, weak, dying, suffering servants willing to give all to rescue one more. three, they are deeply sacramental--needing the water of baptism and the bread and cup often. they are evangelical, needing to listen to JESUS. They are apostolic---sent out with a clear mission for the day to live life in the world for the world, the neighbor.

Christ the King

Robert Powell in "Jesus of Nazareth"

Does anyone else find it subversive that Christians declare allegiance, faith, loyalty to this King whose Kingdom is not of this present world order? Does anyone find it contrary to follow this servant King, this compassionate Lord, this sacrifical monarch, while continuing to serve our own self-interests? Or our nation's self-interests, when those interests cause war, economic disaster, and global tyranny? How might we become ambassadors for Christ the King during this Holy Season of hope and peace? Are we not His loyal subjects, his servants, his students? To where does our king lead us? To the mall, the outlets, the online shopping plaza or to the prison, the homeless shelter, and the hospital bed? "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life." If we echo Peter's commitment to Jesus, what does that mean? His crown, a crown of thorns. His throne, a cross and tomb. His power, made known in weakness. He stands in direct contrast to the powers of this world. Do we stand with HIM?

Pouring Justice

I've been drinking coffee for 10 years or more. Every Year I give it up for LENT. But I may not give it up in 2007. Not because I crave a caffeine fix more than I used to, but because I need to buy coffee to make a difference in a village in Nicaragua or Tanzania.
Do you drink coffee or tea? Do you drink folgers or maxwell house or starbucks? Do you know that for a dollar or two more you can actually bring justice to a global neighbor?
Thanks to Lutheran World relief and their partnership with Equal Exchange, a non-profit coop that supports growers in developing countries like Nicaragua, we can buy coffee at a fair price and know that the growers of that coffee are receiving a more just payment for their labor. You must buy the coffee in bulk cases (6-12 ounce bags per case, apprx. $31.00 per case).
For the Holiday Season, I have the coffee and tea available for sale at ZION. We have a mixed assortment of coffees and teas from around the world. The coffee will go for $6.00 a bag and the tea for $4.00 a box. I can also take additional orders for gifts, etc... And I can show yo how to purchase the coffee on line.
if you go to www.lwr.org and follow the link to buy coffee on line you will be taken to Equal Exchange's site for sales.
I only drink fairly traded coffee anymore. It makes sense and it's simple. And the Hazelnut blend from Central America is delicious!

I want to be ready

I want to be someone who is ready to share my hope. Not only on Sunday morning from the pulpit. Not only in bible studies or in meetings. But everyday. In small and subtle ways with people I meet. I want to be ready to encounter strangers in such a way that the conversation will lead to Jesus. I don’t mean that I want to be comfortable asking passers-by if they believe in Jesus. I don’t mean to become a “bible beater” in the pejorative sense. I mean I went to embody the Spirit of Jesus in my daily encounters with others. So that in regular old conversation we might invite God to address us somehow. That we might experience Jesus.
I met her at the wash and lube. We were waiting for oil changes and tire rotations. She read a “Star Wars” novel. I noticed that everyone in the room was reading something; a newspaper, Popular Mechanics, an employee manual. The news was on the television, and as usual, it was all bad. So I commented in the awkward silence of a small room with four strangers waiting, “Good news again today.” That’s all it took. In the course of the next 7 minutes she and I talked about politics, war, religion, work, school. Not car washes. Heavier things. Things that sort of matter. She lives in Lititz, went to Warwick. She works for a local manufacturer exclusively doing government contracts, military safety equipment. She was 22 but had worked there for 3 years. “It’s a job,” she said. She’s Episcopalian, a member of St. James in Lititz. “But I’m 22. I like to sleep in on Sundays and haven’t been in a long time. I should go.” When she asked what I do I told her. She said, “So you must have some religious views and feelings about the war.”
Its then that the cashier’s window opened and called me up to pay. I hesitated. I felt like a moment was passing that I could not somehow control, get back, rewind. I needed a DVR or a TiVo so that I could simply pause the live action, reverse it, and start again--only more prepared to respond. You know, I guess what made people follow Jesus was that he was actively responsive. He seemed to know what to do immediately. He was able to address every encounter with meaning and hope. Or to address the enemy with passion and justice.
What did I do? I walked away. She was 22 and we were talking about religion, politics, war, work, life. And I walked away.
Advent is the season of hope, of anticipation, of preparation for the coming of the one who brings light and life and hope and peace to all. And although I was alert to the holy moment and its possibilities, I was unprepared to respond. I might have said, “Don’t go to church because you should. Go because you love it or you need to hear God or you want to give back and say thanks.” Or I could have said, “As a follower of Jesus I guess I’m against the war. The whole love your enemies thing, you know? What about you?” 7 minutes at the wash and lube could have meant so much more than a safer trip to NY. God wanted to change more than oil. As Christmas approaches, people are more receptive to sacred things. Next time I’ll be prepared. Maybe I’ll get my tires rotated too. With love

Hope in the dark

Hope in the Dark
Advent Night Worship
Mystically Candlelit, contemplative intimacy
December 3, 10, 17 6:04 pm
Gen Xers Seeking to Follow Jesus
Zion Lutheran Church, 435 Main St. , Akron

Advent ready

I want to be someone who is ready to share my hope. Not only on Sunday morning from the pulpit. Not only in bible studies or in meetings. But everyday. In small and subtle ways with people I meet. I want to be ready to encounter strangers in such a way that the conversation will lead to Jesus. I don’t mean that I want to be comfortable asking passers-by if they believe in Jesus. I don’t mean to become a “bible beater” in the pejorative sense. I mean I went to embody the Spirit of Jesus in my daily encounters with others. So that in regular old conversation we might invite God to address us somehow. That we might experience Jesus.
I met her at the wash and lube. We were waiting for oil changes and tire rotations. She read a “Star Wars” novel. I noticed that everyone in the room was reading something; a newspaper, Popular Mechanics, an employee manual. The news was on the television, and as usual, it was all bad. So I commented in the awkward silence of a small room with four strangers waiting, “Good news again today.” That’s all it took. In the course of the next 7 minutes she and I talked about politics, war, religion, work, school. Not car washes. Heavier things. Things that sort of matter. She lives in Lititz, went to Warwick. She works for a local manufacturer exclusively doing government contracts, military safety equipment. She was 22 but had worked there for 3 years. “It’s a job,” she said. She’s Episcopalian, a member of St. James in Lititz. “But I’m 22. I like to sleep in on Sundays and haven’t been in a long time. I should go.” When she asked what I do I told her. She said, “So you must have some religious views and feelings about the war.”
Its then that the cashier’s window opened and called me up to pay. I hesitated. I felt like a moment was passing that I could not somehow control, get back, rewind. I needed a DVR or a TiVo so that I could simply pause the live action, reverse it, and start again--only more prepared to respond. You know, I guess what made people follow Jesus was that he was actively responsive. He seemed to know what to do immediately. He was able to address every encounter with meaning and hope. Or to address the enemy with passion and justice.
What did I do? I walked away. She was 22 and we were talking about religion, politics, war, work, life. And I walked away.
Advent is the season of hope, of anticipation, of preparation for the coming of the one who brings light and life and hope and peace to all. And although I was alert to the holy moment and its possibilities, I was unprepared to respond. I might have said, “Don’t go to church because you should. Go because you love it or you need to hear God or you want to give back and say thanks.” Or I could have said, “As a follower of Jesus I guess I’m against the war. The whole love your enemies thing, you know? What about you?” 7 minutes at the wash and lube could have meant so much more than a safer trip to NY. God wanted to change more than oil. As Christmas approaches, people are more receptive to sacred things. Next time I’ll be prepared. Maybe I’ll get my tires rotated too.

Its time

Its time to start a new way. I'm uncertain how to start, but I have to do it. Its been so long that I've been stuck. I don't know anybody. How will I meet them, my peers? I feel like I'm going to kindergarten for the first time. Who should I speak to first? If you are reading this and you are one of my peers and you are wondering how to be faithful to Jesus without being trapped in something called 'church' that hardly resembles the kingdom of God Jesus had in mind, pleae respond to me. I want to invite you to a conversation about things that matter, which may lead to some new thoughts, feelings, or passions. It may lead to a new understanding of God, yourself, your neighbor, the world, your small and important part in making it better. If it doesn't lead there, then its not worth doing.
In two weeks, we begin a season called Advent, which precedes Christmas. It is a four-week time of preparation for the end of the world as we know it. Four-weeks may not seem like much given that trajectory, but it is what we have. I would like to get together during that time. How about Sunday nights at 6:04?

Dear Church and other issues

I've been at a conference with a couple of peers for three days. I picked up a pile of new books and three of the dvds from the nooma series--a series of short films that deal with faith in Jesus. I'm reading a collection of books right now that I would like to call writings for the new reformation. The church must be reformed in postmodernity by faithful followers of Jesus who are tired of the church as it is; and tired of the culture as it is. Diagnosticians have been examining the body of the church for decades to determine where exactly the heart beat is and is not audible anymore. What is clear is that liberal mainline churches' vital signs had weakened. Many of those churches are on life support, barely breathing, hoping against hope to survive a little longer. But its terminal.
The evangelical megachurches appear vital and alive, but they have the same disease that eventaully weakened the mainliners. That disease is called 3P: POWER, privilege, prestige. When churches drink from that cup, the end is only a matter of time. Mostly because this disease first effects the hearing. And once the hearing goes, the church cannot receive the Word of God. Once that happens, the vision is next---the church loses sight of its teacher, its Lord, and the direction he travels. People begin to follow the bright lights, the flashy noise, the guy with the best smile, who can put a positive spin on anything. We fall back on our default mode of existence-ignorance, entertainment, and comfort. Things like service, mission, the cross, suffering, are forgotten. What we're fed is the poision of self-justification---we have what we have because we are special, blessed people of God. Forget the poor, the oppressed, the last, lost, and least. And reject those who reject you, too.
Soon, the church is so curved inward in attempts to keep the messiness of life out, that there is no air left.
So, the megachurch is really just the new mainline. 50 years ago mainline protestants were at the top of the religious food chain. Now, we are not. And the evangelical fundamentalists are. Funny how we are duped into thinking that the one with the most toys wins. The one with the most power, prestige, and privilege is the best. How wrong we are!
So, here I am. And I am not concerned about church attendance or membership. I am concerned about following Jesus and helping others to do so. The good news is that a big dose of humility can often heal the disease of 3ps. Since we've had that dose, I suspect that means we're on the road to healing as a body. But we have to be ready to reject the 3ps and listen for the voice of GOd. Being ready is called faith. I know we have that. Its a gift, not unlike humility. When you need it something happens to give it to you. In our case, loss, weakness, diminshment, fear, rejection, and the like have been the recipe for humility. We have been humbled so that we can arise, emerge, evolve.
I am hopeful in this moment. And right now I am ready to lead the mainline revolution. Taking the lessons of history, good and bad, into the present day we are able to see a clearer future.
Why don't we just ask ourselves these questions: Are we willing to experience humility and loss as a gift? Are we willing to die in order to live? Are we willing to seek the truth, when it hurts? Are we willing to follow where He is leading us, especially when we know it will NOT include the 3Ps that we love so much. (As much as one can love a disease of the heart).