Lessons from the Gulf Cleanup

     I watched a powerful CNN segment last night on the cleanup efforts in the Gulf. It chronicled the daily adventures of a Coast Guard crew that endures 100-plus degree temperatures on deck (wearing those yellow, plastic "chicken suits") skimming oil from the water's surface. The work that this crew contributes (and all cleanup crews contribte) daily to the Gulf-wide cleanup efforts could be so frustrating, and seemingly pointless, if they thought for a moment that they were doing it alone.
     How could they work each day if they believed the "redemption" of the Gulf was their mission alone.
     No, they focused on the mess in front of them, did their best to suck it out of the Gulf, and then disposed of it properly.
     Another cleanup crew rescued 41 birds off the Florida coast, cleaned them up, restored them to health, and released them in the Aransas refuge on the Texas coast.
     Another crew scooped up tar balls out of a 100-yard stretch of sand, only to watch more tar balls wash on shore the following day.
     The work of each crew is a drop in the bucket, but so significant because they are agents of a larger clean-up effort across the Gulf.
     Their work has reminded me of some imporant things. The first is that I cannot save the world. We cannot save the world.
     As much as our narcissism would convince us that the sun rises and sets with us and the choices (good and bad) that we make, and the actions that we take, redemption of all creation is a job for our Savior, and our Savior alone. All we can do is participate in some small way in Christ's reconciling work in the world.
     That means we do not have to carry the burden of redeeming every broken thing in our lives and in the  world.
     What a load off our shoulders this should be.
     But it also shows me that we cannot sit idly and not participate in God's redeeming work. Whether it is the Gulf cleanup, or cutting back on the goods that I consume, or being a friend to one person who previously had no friend, or sponsoring a child through missions like World Vision, we are all called to "put on the uniform" and get to work in some small way.
     There is plenty of work to be done.

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until not; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:22-23)

Out of My Routine

     I am a creature of habit. Take me out of my routine, and I feel like Samson without his locks.
     The Enemy, of course, knows this, and rejoices. Me, I just keep putting one foot in front of the other each day as I live between two worlds: Beamont and Dallas. I preach my last sermon this Sunday at Saint Andrews, and we await the congregational vote this Sunday at Grace.
     It can't come soon enough!
     I have seen my family probably five days over the past month-and-a-half. I never knew how difficult this would be! Sure, it's crazy when we are all together -- the loudness, the television, shuffling to-from activities, cleaning up messes. But man, they give structure to my day and keep me on track.
     I guess this time alone has revealed just how much I need to better develop personal disciplines and healthy habits, and lean more on the strength of the Lord. It also has revealed how much I depend upon others and how much meaning my family brings to my life. I guess I will have to accept that I am not a self-made man, by any stretch!
     The family returns to me this Tuesday for our final week in Beaumont, and I can't wait to see them.
     When I finally start at Grace in mid-August, it is time to get down to business: Get back into a running routine, stop eating out so much, and return to "budgeted" living with our time and resources.
     And of course, getting down to business means getting to work at Grace!
     Until then, I continue saying farewells to the many folks who have touched our lives here in Beaumont. I have participated in many "last" things over the past few weeks -- my last Wednesday Night Bible Study, my last Lamar Bible study, my last Youth Sunday School Class, my last Junior High Sunday School Class, my last sermon, my last Monday Morning Bible Study, et. al.
     I am blessed to have these "last" opportunities at St. Andrews as  approach my last week.
     Being out of my routine is what I have been called to do over the past month-and-a-half, but I long for the structure that a new routine will bring.

It's Not All Good

     I led my last Bible study last night at Lamar University (weep, weep).
     Cliche, I know, but it was a sad and joyful occasion.
     Sad because I said goodbye to some awesome students who have been so faithful to WONE Ministry over the past three years. Sad because I said goodbye to a ministry that fed me, even as I helped feed them. Thanks to Jonathan, Whitney, Marissa, Katie, Marcus, Courtney, and so many other students who poured themselves into this ministry and helped St. Andrews get a Presbyterian presence (for the first time in 20-25 years) at LU.
     It was a joyful occasion because the ministry, under Julie's direction, is headed in the right direction. We started off as Israelites wandering in the desert, moving from building to building looking for a home. We have now found a home in the Communications Lounge for our Monday night Bible study, and are doing a variety of fellowship and missions activities that take us out into the world.
     It's pretty cool to take a big picture look at this ministry since we started back in fall of 2007.
     When it came time to crack open our Bibles last night, we spent 30 minutes on half of one verse -- Romans 12:2a ("Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.")
     The take-home message:
     1. World -- not all good; not all bad. Go with the flow on the good stuff; swim upstream against the bad.
     2. Be Changed -- The only way we can keep from "going with the flow" is to be changed time and time again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Transformation is not a one-time deal, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but a lifetime process.
     3. Renew Your Mind -- Some of us renew our thinking about the patterns of this world by taking a run, taking a nap, attending Bible study, nurturing genuine Christian friendships (where there is accountability), and prayer. We need to find our style, and our unique ways of renewing our minds, or we will not be able to make it up-stream.
     I see so many tie-ins for me personally, as I wrestle with the "Consumer Project." There are so many consumer demands that we face on a daily basis: Buy this, eat that, drink this, take this medicine, drive that, own this, wear that, etc....
     If I do not renew my mind, I will be swept away by every cultural current and unable to judge between what is good for me (and my family, and my congregation, and my neighbors, and Creation) and what things I need to let pass by. We can't do it all and shouldn't do it all. Or in other words: "It's not all good."
     Now that's good stuff!
     Blessings!

Vegan Experiment: Part II

     On New Year's Day, 2010, I made the shift to the vegan diet. That means no meats, no milk products, no eggs, no animal products.
     Part I of the journey, which ended in May, went awesome. I lowered my cholesterol by at least 45 points, without the aid of medicine, and I really did not have a regular exercise routine during this time (which would have brought the points total down even lower.) I allowed myself, during this first phase, to "eat the fattened calf." In other words, once a month, I allowed myself to indulge in some old favorites like barbecue and briskett.
     The biggest challenge of going vegan, no doubt, was finding an adequate substitute for sweets like doughnuts, muffins, etc... There is nothing like a good blueberry muffin with your morning coffee.
So what did I eat during this time?
     Dinner could include whole grain pasta and marinara with veggies on top, or perhaps brown rice with stir-fried veggies, or a mexican sald with beans, salsa, onions, etc.... My breakfast favorite is whole grain toast with "natural" peanut butter (the kind with only five ingredients) and some good fruit spread. I also occasionally got my cereal fix with some whole grain cereal and almond/rice milk.
Lunch is more difficult, but of course veggie burgers (make sure they are not made with cheese) and the Veggie sub at Subway (sans cheese and dairy spreads) are old standbies.
     Phase I crumbled in mid-June, culmnating in my carnivorous binge in Austin during my two weeks of study leave. I am slowly getting back to where I was in May, but it continues to be a challenge.      Everywhere I go there are foods made with animal products, from French toast to homemade biscuits.
     My hope is that I can go hard-core vegan by September, after our family relocates to north Texas.
My goal: Get my cholesterol below 150 (at the recommendation of Rip Esselstyn, in his book The Engine 23 Diet), and my weight down to 210 (currenty struggling to stay at 230). Weight Watchers got me from 262 to 232, until I could no longer stand the legalism of counting points. Hopefully the vegan lifestyle will lead me home.
     The reasons for embracing the vegan lifestyle are several: lower cholesterol and weight to appropriate levels, to avoid heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other illnesses that have been linked to the western diet (read Colin Campbell, The China Study). And as stated in yesterday's blog, I am also becoming more educated on some serious problems with our food production and eating habits in this country. There are a whole constellation of ethical and social justice issues that convince me more and more that veganism is the way to go.
     Bon Appetit.

Christian and Consumer

For the past two years, I have explored how to live more faithfully and fruitfully as a Christian disciple living in a consumer culture:

• I have tried to gain greater control over the foods I eat, and have slowly transitioned to a vegan lifestyle. The journey has opened me, personally, to many physical and spiritual blessings. It has also opened my eyes to ethical and social issues at play with farming and food production in this country. Before this journey began, I rarely considered this discipline as related to our Christian faith and witness.
• I have examined how my family and I handle financial resources. My wife and I wrestle over what constitute "necessities" and "luxuries" in our budget, and how we can live more consistently within our means. I have enjoyed teachings by Dave Ramsey, and others, in this regard.
• I am conducting mini-experiments/feasibility studies, just for giggles. For instance, I investigated becoming a one-car family, and how this would affect us logistically as a family of six. I explored trading in our gas-guzzling '99 Suburban for a hybrid or even a high-mileage scooter, but succumbed to the realities of (in)convenience and the increased monthly car-note payments that would come with purchasing an environmental-friendly car.
• I am researching macro-economics, micro-economics, sustainable living, sexuality, substance abuse, feasting/fasting, and a variety of Christian doctrines (humanity, creation, sin) and theological themes (docetism, ascetism, to name a few).
• The end goal in all of this?
• To develop a healthy, personal spirituality that can hold in check the powerful consumer forces that vie for my deepest affections.
• To create a model that congregations can use to keep consumer forces in check, and bear faithful witness in the midst of this consumer culture.
• To graduate with my doctor of ministry degree by May 2013!

Hope you can join me on this journey, which is and always will be ongoing.

Peace in Christ! (Romans 12:1-2)