Mike King

Pain in Israel... Oh, God bring Peace on Earth as in Heaven

Having visited the Middle East 21 times I have made several friends.  Some of them are Israelies, some of them are Palestinians, some are Jewish, and some are Christians.  Avi and Chaya Mizrachi are a Jewish couple who have become followers of Jesus.  They live in Tel Aviv...

I received this e-mail from them today;

"On July 12th, 2006  two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped during their patrol, by Hezbollah terrorists who crossed into the Israeli border and took them.  For two years, Hezbollah would not confirm if they were dead or alive.

This week I watched TV with two of my daughters, waiting for these soldiers to be brought from the Lebanon border to Israel, we still did not know their condition, one way or the other.  It was not until the final moment when the two coffins were brought forward, that we knew they were dead.

Tears flowed, tears for the families, for our nation, for our great loss.  Great grief and anger is what we are feeling as a nation.  Tears when their bodies returned, anger because Hezbollah had refuesed to tell us if they were dead or alive.  Tears because the small hope of them being returned alive was dashed, anger that we have now released 5 Lebanese prisoners, all of them alive.

One of these men was a terrorist by the name of Samir Kuntar, a man who left Lebanon and made his way to Nahariya, Israel, where he shot and drowned an Israeli father in front of his 4 year old daughter, then, in cold blood bashed her little head against the rocks, killing her.  He has now returned to Lebanon, this child killer, to a red carpet and hero's welcome, as people rejoice that he is free.  In Lebanon today, his brutal crime means nothing, only that he is free from Israel and home with them.

This week we grieve and we bury our dead IDF reservists: Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev."

In the midst of so much pain I'm reminded of the prayer I prayed yesterday at Youthfront Camp South with 300 plus teenagers during Midday.

Heartbreaking Image

I was sitting in Broadway Cafe with Vicki reading the paper.  A commentary by Matt Schofield caught me eye.  Actually this picture, taken by Karim Kadim of the Associated Press, caught my eye...

The picture was large and detailed in the paper.  I was struck by the reality that this two year old child named Ali was just a couple of months older than our granddaughter Alexis.  I had just held her in my arms the day before and she was in a pose very similar to the one Ali is in except that she was asleep.  Ali died later in the hospital, a casualty of collateral damage caused by a U.S. missile.  I read Matt Schofield's commentary...

“'The children of Iraq have lost all sense of humanity,' he said. 'Killing and being killed has become daily routine to them.'

But to children as little as Ali, the world often is limited to immediate surroundings. The walls of their homes, the skirts of their mothers, don’t seem confining as much as comfortable.

So, when he died, he died in the place he must have felt the safest, the place his parents must have known was safe. Instead, it was one of four homes in the area 'destroyed by U.S. missiles.' In the photo, you can sense the panic in the pose of the man, the chalk-covered baby extended above him after he’d been pulled from the rubble. There is a sense that the man believes the boy can still live, if only he runs fast enough, holds him high enough above the deadly ground.

The photo’s caption notes that Ali died later, at a hospital. But in the photo, he’s already striking a death pose. His leg is reminiscent of Marat’s arm in Jacques-Louis David’s painting of death; his face wears the same look of indifference.

In fact, the photo looks like a work of art. It is beautiful, on one level, capturing an intensely human moment. The photo could simply be admired.

Except for the shoes. The tiny sandals on Ali’s feet are a child’s shoes. My sons have worn those same sandals. Those are sandals that should be clomping about the living room, not a piece of collateral damage."

I tried to read this to Vicki and could not.  I wept.  I hate war.  I long for the restoration of all things, for the time when God's Shalom will prevail.  Thy Kingdom Come, O Lord, On earth as it is in Heaven.

Read the full story here.

Bill Gates returns to Harvard

Bill Gates spoke at Harvard's commencement service earlier this summer.  Gates dropped out of Harvard 30 years ago to pursue his dream that became Microsoft.  Gates' address to the faculty, students, and their family and friends is worth a read.  I welled up with emotion several times while reading it.  Check it out here.  Everywhere I go I hear stories of people who are catching the vision to cooperate with God and God's Kingdom agenda (whether they know it or not).  Does Gates' know he is in partnership with God?  I don't know but it is interesting to read his reference about his mom who died of cancer and never gave up the chance to remind Bill and Melinda - "From those to whom much is given, much is expected." 

I had breakfast with two very successful business men yesterday.  One of them managed one of the largest funds in the country and is now planning to teach in an urban school of Kansas City because of his passion to do something of significance for God.  The other business man owns a prominent company and spends most of his time serving in ministry opportunities.  He is trying to organize his life and business in such a way that he can engage in doing the kinds of things Bill Gates spoke about in his address.  God is birthing new passion among the people of God to live lives missionally in the way of Jesus Christ.

Tragic news

18-year-old Kelsey Smith, who was abducted coming out of a Target Store four days ago, was found dead this afternoon.  Kelsey was very involved at Hillcrest Covenant Church where our good friend Nate Severson is the youth pastor.  We have been in tears over Kelsey's situation several times over the last couple of days.  Our Jessica was in this Target the other night on her way to camp.  I can't imagine how parents can go through this.  Kelsey's father has spoken several times with extraordinary wisdom and grace.  The Grace of God is the only explanation for the amazing response from Kelsey's family.  Please pray for Kelsey's family, friends, for Nate Severson and the rest of the staff at Hillcrest Covenant Church.  Our hearts go out to the whole church family.

A Reading from Isaiah

But now, thus says the Lord who created you;
Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name and you are mine.
When you pass through the water, I will be with you;
In the river you shall not drown.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned;
The flames shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God, your Saviour.
This is the Word of the Lord.   

Billy Graham Library Dedication on C-SPAN

I'm watching the Dedication Service for the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC.  President Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton spoke eloquently and emotionally about Billy Graham.  Jimmy Carter told about hosting a Billy Graham Film in the '60's that Billy insisted needed to be integrated.  He shared how he gave the invitation after the film and more than 600 responded to give their lives to Jesus Christ.  Bill Clinton told about all the Billy Graham Crusades he had attended over the years, the most humorous was when he was trying to court Hillary to marry him.  George H. W. Bush shared many wonder stories and at one point was overcome with emotion and began to weep.  I know that he was criticized a couple of months ago for showing public emotion like this.  I think those who would criticize this kind of emotion are very sad people.

George Beverly Shea, who is 98-years-old, belted out a song that he first sang with Billy Graham nearly 60 years ago, How Great Thou Art.  Wow.

After all the tributes, Billy approached the podium with the help of a walker and his son Franklin.  His first comment was "I feel like I've been attending my own funeral."  Billy seemed to be clearer and stronger than he was when he was in Kansas City a couple of years ago.  He spoke eloquently and looked quite well with his beautiful long white hair.  He was deadly serious when he stated, "There is too much Billy Graham in this library."  I hope he lives another ten plus years.  What an amazing man of God.

Can the "E" word be saved?

USA Today featured an article called "Evangelical: Can the 'E-word' be saved?"  I knew within seconds of the Ted Haggard announcement that the word Evangelical (which is a wonderful word rich with history and meaning - and describes my Christian tradition) would be under intense scrutiny. 

Here is an excerpt, "Who's an evangelical? Until last year the answer seemed clear: Evangelical was the label of choice of Christians with conservative views on politics, economics and Biblical morality. Now the word may be losing its moorings, sliding toward the same linguistic demise that 'fundamentalist' met decades ago because it has been misunderstood, misappropriated and maligned." 

Read the whole article here.

Shane Claiborne on Saddam's Execution

A couple of years ago I met Shane Claiborne at the Greenbelt Festival in the UK.  He made an immediate impact on me.  I recently finished his book Irresistible Revolution.  You need to read it!  Shane was also a general session speaker at several of the YS National Youth Worker Conferences.  Shane is a modern day St. Francis of Assisi.  He is the real deal.  Shane was featured today on Jim Wallis' Blog God's Politics.  Here are some of his thoughts concerning the execution of Saddam Hussein...

"What do you think of that man?" the old guy asked in a raspy voice as I settled in next to him on the plane. He pointed to the face of Saddam Hussein on the front of his newspaper with a headline story of the looming execution. I gathered myself, and prepared for what could turn out to be a rather chatty plane ride. I replied gently, "I think that man needs some love." And the rather boisterous gentleman sat still, perhaps not exactly the response he predicted. Then he said pensively, "Hmmmm. I think you're right..." And finally, he whispered in a forlorn tone, "And it is hard to communicate love through a noose."

Sometimes we just need permission to say, "It's not okay to kill someone to show everyone how much we hate killing." As Christian artist Derek Webb sings, " Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication. It's like saying murder is wrong and showing them by way of execution." I am encouraged by how many Christians I hear voicing an alternative to the myth of redemptive violence in light of the recent killing of Saddam, folks who love Jesus and have the unsettling feeling that Jesus loves evildoers so much he died for them, for us. I have heard many evangelicals who see Saddam's execution as the ultimate act of hopelessness and faithlessness – after all it is humanity stepping in to make the final judgment, that this human created in God's image is beyond redemption. And for those who believe in hell, executing someone who may not yet know of the love and grace of Christ is doubly offensive.

It is rather scandalous to think that we have a God who loves murderers and terrorists like Saul of Tarsus, Osama bin Laden, or Sadaam Hussein – but that is the "good news" isn't it? It's the old eye for an eye thing that gets us. But the more I've studied the Hebrew Scriptures the more I am convinced that this was just a boundary for people who lashed back. As the young exodus people are trying to discover a new way of living outside the empire, God made sure there were some boundaries, like if someone breaks your are, you cannot go back and break their arm and their leg. If someone kills hundreds of your people, you cannot kill 160,000 of theirs.

We've learned the eye for an eye thing all too well. A shock and awe bombing leads to a shock and awe beheading. A Pearl Harbor leads to a Hiroshima. A murder leads to an execution. A rude look leads to a cold shoulder. An eye for an eye we have indeed heard before and learned its logic all too well. But Jesus comes declaring in his State of the Union Sermon on the Mount address (Matthew 5): "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,'" but there is a another way. No wonder Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the people "did not know the things that make for peace."

Gandhi and King used to say, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves the whole world blind" (and with dentures). The gospels tell the story of a group of people who have dragged forward an adulteress and are ready to stone her (this was the legal consequence). Jesus is asked for his support of this death penalty case. His response is this... "You are all adulterers. If you have looked at someone lustfully, you have committed adultery in your heart." And the people drop their stones and walk away with their heads bowed. We want to kill the murderers, and Jesus says to us: "You are all murderers. If you have called your neighbor 'Raca, Fool' you are guilty of murder in your heart." Again the stones drop. We are all murderers and adulterers and terrorists. And we are all precious.

When we have new eyes we can look into the faces of those we don't even like, and see the One we love. We can see God's image in everyone we encounter. As Henri Nouwen puts it: "In the face of the oppressed I recognize my own face and in the hands of the oppressor I recognize my own hands. Their flesh is my flesh, their blood is my blood, their pain is my pain, their smile is my smile." We are made of the same dust. We cry the same tears. No one is beyond redemption and no one is beyond repute. And that is when we are free to imagine a revolution that sets both the oppressed and the oppressors free. The world is starving for grace. And grace is hard to communicate with a noose.

What do you think?

Evangelical?

"Evangelical" has come to mean everything and nothing.

I woke up this morning to discover this news.

My heart is grieved... that can be my only response right now.

Barney exhorts Bono

I heard with Stephen Baldwin on the NBC Today show being interviewed by Matt Lauer concerning his new book, The Unusual Suspects: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith.  It was very interesting.  Lauer read a portion of Baldwin's book in which he exhorts Bono to get radical about his faith (like Baldwin is).  Lauer wonders where Baldwin is coming from.  Baldwin replied with something like this - Can you imagine what it would be like if Bono took 15 minutes in the middle of his concert to preach the Gospel?  I believe if he would be faithful to the gospel like that AIDS and Third World Poverty would take care of itself. 

Baldwin seems to have no clue that it may be quite impossible to separate these important issues from a scriptural understanding of what Jesus means concerning the good news of the gospel, the in-breaking Kingdom and Jesus' call for us to pick up the cross and follow him.  I had lunch with Stephen Baldwin a little over a year ago.  I believe he loves Jesus.  I pray for him to have wisdom.  I don't believe he showed a lot of wisdom today.

What do you think?

Too busy

I have been too busy to blog lately, plus I don't think I have anything to say...