Departure

Our France Team meet at the Bluffton Campus Life Room at 3:15 pm and after prayer left for the airport at Toledo. We arrived without incident and all received boarding passes at the NWA counter. Then it was off to our screening which we all breezed through. Now we wait to board our turbo prop airplane for a short flight to Detroit. We expect to leave at 6:50 pm. Then we'll catch our flight to Paris with an expected departure time of 9:20 pm. Thanks for praying. We're already having a great time. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

France Day One

Today we leave for the Toledo Airport from Bluffton at 3:15 pm. From there we'll take a very short flight to Detroit. We'll board a Northwest plane and take off around 10 pm. Our team consists of Jim and Pat King, Adam Wireman, Megan Kohli, Jessica Watkins, Matt Kohli, Laura Hermiller, Jerry Wheeler, and Andrew Sciba. Pray for our journey. Sometimes sleep is difficult when traveling and we'll be on the move by van, flight, and train for many hours. So you know, France is six hours ahead of daylight savings time. Keep in touch with our adventures at this site. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Why France? Part 2

One of the great aspects of our service project in France is the opportunity to visit historical sites. When our trip concludes in Paris, we'll visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. What strikes you about this massive church is how dark it is inside. In a sense, it's an object lesson illustrating the spiritual darkness of the land. So many French people groping in darkness, not seeing the light of Christ. So we go to help service France YFC in being more effective in sharing the Light of the Gospel with young people. Remember that I shared yesterday how only 1% of the population of France is considered evangelical Christian. That means they often lack manpower in getting physical type of work done. This summer we are partnering with France YFC in helping to renovate a hotel (large house) into a training center. This house will be used to train college age young people in sharing Jesus with youth. The program is known as Matthew 9:38. The verse tells us what the purpose of the training is all about, "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." The hotel/house is at Sondernach in the Alsace region of France. You can check out Matthew 9:38 Project at this site, http://www.yfcasiapacific.org/pdf/Flyers%20V1eng.pdf
So we go to help France YFC and their director Samuel Weiler, to have a beautiful facility in which to train people in youth evangelism. May the Lord bless our work as we serve Him and the people of France. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Why France?

On Friday, I'll help lead a Youth For Christ team to serve in France. Why a mission team to France? Let's look at some Frnch history...The French branch of the Reformation came to be referred to as the Huguenots. They followed the teachings of the French-born Reformer John Calvin.
In 1559, a sickly fifteen year old Charles IX ascended to the throne. The government was run by his mother, Catherine Medicis. At first, Catherine Medicis tried to promote peace between the Catholics and Protestants by granting certain privileges to the Huguenots by means of the Edict of St. Germain (1561).
The peace became short-lived when on 1st March, 1562 a number of Catholics descended on a large Huguenot assembly in Vassy, killing 1200. This ignited the the Wars of Religion which would rip apart, devastate, and bankrupt France for the next three decades.
By August 1570 the Regent Catherine de Medici was forced to declare the Peace of St. Germain to prevent the Huguenots from taking Paris. Their leader and spokesman, Gaspard Coligny, succeded in obtaining freedom of religious practice in all cities except Paris. Coligny was the Admiral of the French navy as well as Governor of Picardy. He joined the Protestants in 1559. The Peace of St Germain had illustrated clearly just how much power was vested in the Huguenots. The Catholics feared this power and it was decided to eliminate the Huguenots, particularly their leaders. With the marriage of Prince Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot, to Marguerite Valois (daughter of Catherine Medici) on 23rd and 24th August, 1572 a golden
opportunity presented itself. It happened during the wedding, when thousands of Huguenots converged on Paris for the wedding celebrations.

At some point during the night of August 23, the decision was taken at the Louvre to kill Coligny and the Huguenot leaders gathered around him. Charles IX was certainly there along with Catherine de' Medici and Henri d'Anjou. It may not have been originally intended to be a general massacre. Charles IX was reputedly badgered into this decision by Catherine and his councillors, and when he finally broke he is alleged to have said, "Well, then kill them all that no man be left to reproach me." The killing spread into the country side and lasted for 3 days. The powerful Huguenot Henry of Navarre's life was spared by pretending to support
the Roman Catholic faith. Despite persecution, Protestantism continued to flourish in Orange, Uzès, and especially Nîmes even though religious battles occurred regularly.
When Henry of Navarre (King Henry IV) came to the throne in 1589 he pressed for the basic civil rights for the Huguenots although he himself had turned back to Catholicism. The 1598 Edict of Nantes temporarily brought relief to the persecuted church. However, in 1685 King Louis XIV of France revoked the edict. This drove the bulk of the Huguenots out of the country. France lost so many highly skilled and industrious people in this "brain and skill drain," that its economy suffered severely. It is estimated that more than 250,000 French fled. Perhaps that
many more were killed in France before they could flee. So what happened was the evangelical voice in France was killed. Today France is largely a secular state which claims Catholicism as its official religion. But very few Catholics attend church. You're considered a regular church goer in France if you attend two services a year. Only 1% of the population is considered evangelical. With the rise of Islamic immigrants, the religious state of France is up for grabs. So we go to help France Youth For Christ in its mission to share Jesus with French young people. I'll share more about our project tomorrow. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

I'll Take a Table For 20

It's the hottest foodie trend - communal dining. Most of us when we dine out, seek privacy. We want a table or booth to ourselves. But lately, out of our postmodern need for community, sharing dining spaces with total strangers is appealing to many diners at all levels of dining experiences. This cultural trend shows the need in our culture of what is called "The Third Place." People in general, experience family and work as the first and second place. But many lack a "Third Place" where you have a sense of belonging. This is important for us involved in ministry. We need to create space and opportunities for people (all ages) to connect and belong. So have places where people can mingle and sip on a cup of good brew (preferably coffee, but not limited to that if you happen to meet in a pub, ie. Europe) Make the space inviting, remember utility with design. Help to create community opportunities where people can connect, like life groups, Campus Life Clubs, Adult Bible Fellowship groups, and small groups. Think "Third Place." It's there where people can connect and belong. You can even break bread together. I can taste the cinnamon roll and Starbucks coffee even now! These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Dove - Evolution

Dove's Evolution Ad Tops at Cannes

The 76 second Dove ad for its beauty care brand, took best of show at the 54th Cannes International Advertising Festival. The time lapse video shows how much makeup artistry and photo retouching it takes to turn a pretty but normal woman into a beauty illusion on a billboard. I remember seeing this before and showing it at Campus Life. It's amazing! See it for yourself. The great teaching point is, don't believe everything you see! These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Blame the Boob Tube

Volunteer less? Cheat on a restaurant tab? Small or no retirement fund? Do you think divorce, premarital sex, and skipping church are no big deal? Then according to The Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute you watch four or more hours of television a night. That's what their latest poll results tell us after extensive research of boob tube viewers. I always think it's to simplistic to blame behavior on one aspect of lifestyle, in this case how much television you watch. On the other hand, don't miss out living life instead of being a couch potato watching life pass you by. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Kirk Herbstreit's Football Challenge Remembers the Sabbath

Our culture often forgets the Commandment "to remember the Sabbath." Sunday is just another day to shop, mow the yard, and play a little high school football. But the Alabama High School Athletic Association told The Kirk Herbstreit Challenge, not so fast my friend. Hoover (Alabama) was scheduled to play Colerain High of Cincinnati in the marquee high school football for this year's classic. But the game was scheduled for Sunday September 2nd. The AHSAA said no. Their reasoning, Sunday is a day set aside for worship. Good for them! Someone actually says Sunday is a day that's supposed to be different from the rest of the week. So now the game has been moved to Saturday September 1st. I think the Lord is going to enjoy watching that game! These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Dying Kids in Film

I was rather shocked when viewing the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," when in the opening scene a young boy is put to death by hanging. The young lad was the focal point of the scene. He had a coin in his hand and a barrel was needed to elevate the boy so the noose could be tightened around his neck. Then the hanging and death. Other movies also include kids dying. In "Hostel: Part II," a killer orders a child to pick one of his playmates to die, then executes that boy. (I can't stand gory movies where people are tortured and murdered) "Pan's Labyrinth" ends with the shooting of a young girl. What do you think? Do movies play a part in advocating a culture of death? Are we setting ourselves up to see more acts of violence against young people? I am aware that many kids already live in a culture of violence in their neighborhood, fueled by poverty, breakup of family, drugs and gangs. But do movies need to display the death of kids? Nell Minow, a film critic and columnist for Yahoo! says, "What's next, killing infants.?" Let's do better! Celebrate the lives of kids. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

USA Today Top 25 Music Milestones

To celebrate 25 years, USA Today shares its Top 25 "Music Milestones" from the past 25 years. Here's the ones that perked my ears...
*Live Aid. A concert benefit that raised 245 million dollars in famine relief in Ethiopia.
*Michael Jackson (when he was normal?) on MTV in 1983. Made music video innovations with Beat It and Thriller. I loved those music videos!!
*Eminem in 1999. Anyone still listen?
*Parent Advisory Sticker in 1985 brought about by Tipper Gore.
*American Idol in 2002. You choose the next American Idol.
*This is the real music highlight for me - The CD - the compact disc introduced in 1983. The CD overtook vinyl records in 1988 and the cassette in 1992. Anyone still use cassettes?
These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Handprint on my Heart

In celebration of Father's Day for both the biological dads and the spiritual "dads" in our lives...here's the song from Wicked on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpnyX-adHW8
These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Church Hopping

One of the benefits of going on vacation is being able to visit different churches. While on vacation at Grand Haven, Pat and I attended Covenant Life Church on both Sunday's that we were here. It's interesting to participate and see how the worship takes place. In Covenant Life they used drama, a story teller, film, interviews, along with the music and message. One Sunday evening, we went to Grand Rapids to Mars Hill Church. This is the church Rob Bell pastors. You may have seen his film work in a series of short films called "Nooma." Both the morning and the evening worship gatherings are the same. At Mars Hill they give you a Bible as you enter (this church is attended by thousands)and project the page number on a screen to help in looking up the passage that the pastor uses. We had the privilege in hearing Rob Bell that evening. He has a remarkable presentation style that the Lord uses. This worship primarily used music and message. Later this summer we'll keep "church hopping" as Pat and I will be in France for three Sundays. Our worship in France may be done by our group or we may attend a Protestant church. The problem in attending a church is most are in the French language and rarely translated into English for us Americans. One unique figure is every church worship gathering I have attended in France involves communion. Real wine and bread. After all, it is the land of wine and cheese. Good bread too! We're also making plans to worship this summer at Cedar Creek at Perrysburg, Westwinds in Jackson, Michigan, and a small emerging church in Findlay. When we're not church hopping, you'll find us at home at Ebenezer Mennonite Church. What's your worship like where you gather? When on vacation, check out an area church. It just might be refreshing for you. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Service with a Servants Heart

Last Friday for dinner, Pat and I, along with family members Elnora, Chris and Elizabeth, ate at O'Charley's in Holland. Tuesday, Pat, Elnora and I ate at Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch at Muskegon. In both cases we had young waitresses. In both cases we had excellent service. Both waitresses were friendly and looked after our needs. Both waitresses received good tips. I understand that waitressing can be difficult, with rude or demanding customers. I also understand the waitresses get paid and want to do a good job to receive a good tip. But you and I have had bad waitresses who act and probably want to be doing something else. So I relish a meal at a restaurant where the service is good. These dining experiences remind me of the service we are to perform for others in the name of Jesus. Our pay is not monetary, but spiritual in nature. Do our neighbors (who's my neighbor? anyone we are around at the moment) see and experience the love of Jesus through our thoughtful words and service? Look to be God's waitresses and waiters. Serve others in the name of Jesus. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

I'll Take Mine To Go

Usually takeout for me means going to a McDonald's drive thru for coffee. But takeout business is booming. In 2006, the typical American ate 81 meals inside restaurants but ordered 127 to go. Outback has curbside service on takeout where you don't even need to get out of your car. They'll bring the food out to you. So what's your experience, pretty much like mine or do you get "more fancy" meals like Outback or Olive Garden to go? These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Take This Job and Shove It!

Popular Science has issued what it thinks is the worst science related jobs. Here's the ones that caught my eye...
*Whale feces researcher. They say this poop really smells bad.
*Forensic entomologist. It's all about studying bugs found on human corpses.
*Olympic drug tester. You watch athletes urinate into cups then test for drugs.
*Preserved animal preparer. Dissect an animal in biology class? Somebody had to prepare those critters for you to cut into.
*Garbologist. Sift through garbage.
*Elephant vasectomist. Elephants are big and so are their testicles.
*Hazardous materials diver. Swimming in sewage can't be fun.
I think I'll stay with Campus Life! No bugs, poop, or dead animals for me!
These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Cockroach In My Orange Juice

Would you take a sip from a cup of orange juice that had a sterilized cockroach dipped into it? Most people won't. It reminds me of the question, would you eat a bowl of live crickets for $1000? The more important question, how big is the bowl? But back to the sterilized cockroach. There's actually research being done on the "yuck" factor. It's all about what in elementary school we called Cooties. It's the idea that when something repulsive touches something benign, the latter, even if it's unchanged physically, becomes infected. The study is being used for supermarket science. For instance, should you stock diapers (what enters your mind when you think diapers-yuck, stinky poo!) by baby food. Will the image of stinky diapers cause you to bypass or buy less baby food? Would you want to see toilet paper by the cookies? Probably not! So the next time you're in the grocery store, notice how the shelves are stocked. You'll probably see that brand name products are placed on the left side of the display and the lesser known brands to the left. The reason we read from left to right. It's all about supermarket science! These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Virgin Born Shark

This is an interesting birth. A hammerhead shark born in captivity in Omaha in 2001 was determined by researchers this week to have only one parent. Tests confirmed no male DNA in the shark. The bizarre biological phenomenon is known as parthenogenesis or virgin birth. It's been seen before in insects, birds, and some smaller fish but never in such a organism as complex as a shark. It has scientist wondering what triggers an organism that is capable of reproducing sexually to turn on the ability to conceive on its own. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Top 10 Weather Moments

The Weather Channel is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a top 100 biggest weather moments of all time. Here's the Top 10...
1. Global warming. First identified in 1958 by Charles David Keeling.
2. Hurricane Katrina, 2005. Death toll stands at 1,836.
3. D-Day, June 6th, 1944. The weather improved enough over the English Channel
for the Allied invasion of Europe to take place. I've had the privilege to visit
the beaches at Normandy and the America Cemetery twice in France. Impressive!
4. Tiros 1, the first weather satellite, April 1st, 1960
5. Interesting choice and it's #5 The storm that lead John Newton to write the
hymn Amazing Grace in 1748.
6. Air conditioning! Invented in 1902. Who doesn't appreciate that!!
7. Supercomputers, 1950. First step in making more accurate weather predictions.
8. Thermometer invented in 1714. How hot is it? Now we know.
9. Mississippi Flood, 1927.
10. Tornado outbreak, April 1974. Two days with 148 tornadoes in 12 states east of the Mississippi. Made meteorologists rethink everything about tornadoes.
What do you think of this list? How's the weather where you're at?
These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

Knocked Up

Tuesday evening, Pat and I viewed the movie “Knocked Up.” The movie is causing a stir since it is doing better than expected at the box office. It’s an R rated comedy that revolves a one night sexual experience (hooking up) between a successful young woman and a irresponsible young man with an unexpected pregnancy as a result. Pat and I were the oldest people at the movie and we were disappointed the movie theatre didn’t check our ID’s to see if we were 17. I want to say at the beginning we went to the movie to see what the buzz was all about and why so many young people (most of the audience was college age) are going to see “Knocked Up.” That’s right, it was about studying culture in order to better communicate the Gospel (think Mars Hill) to young people. It’s rated R for good reason, three to be exact- recreational drug use, profanity (constant use of the F word), and sex, both nudity and sexual simulation. It amazing how comedy has changed from the days of Red Skelton and Bill Cosby. Now it has to be crude and gross. So here’s the cultural trends you see- lack of the sacredness of sex, the use of “liquid courage,” alcohol, that leads to hooking up with someone you would never choose as a marriage partner, language that demeans people, and drug use that makes it look like fun. But here’s the kicker, and it’s a great one, the point of the story is being responsible as a father and mother for a baby. The mom and dad could easily had an abortion, but don’t. In fact the ultrasound pictures are awesome and would make a pregnant person think twice about having an abortion. It’s also a story about choices that result in negative consequences and how the dad has to grow up. Which he does! The problem is there is so much junk, I can’t recommend you see the movie. For the typical movie going crowd that would think nothing of going to an R rated movie, the movie makes a great point. My question is, could this movie be made by a team of Jesus followers that cut out the crude and crud, that would deliver the same punch line? Would people watch it or would it be too tame? We need to ask these questions so we can be an influence for His Kingdom. The Kingdom needs movie actors, producers, and writers. Film today carry cultures’ stories. As His followers we need to find ways to communicate. Film can be a way.
These are the days my friend.
Jim “Train”

Casper Goes to Church

Yesterday I read "Jim and Casper Go To Church." It's a book by Jim Henderson (a former pastor)who takes an atheist, whose name is Casper, to different churches with him. They visit the major mega churches and some city ones. They then talk about their experiences by way of critique- the good, the bad, and the ugly. I read books like this, even though my ministry is with a para church group, to learn how people perceive communicating the message of Jesus. Several ideas...almost all churches follow the same format-prelude, music, offering, message, and dismissal. Is that being too repetitive every week? Can the format be changed? How is our ministry always the same? Then another "biggie"- most of the people who met and talked with them were only those who were supposed to. The official greeters/ushers. So it appeared canned. The best experiences they had were when they actually talked to someone not in an "official" capacity. The problem- it rarely happened. Key for us- it's so important to make connections with each other. I constantly remind our adult and student volunteers to not gather with each other, but connect with our the students present. Relationship is so huge in our culture! After all, these are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"

On the Beach at Grand Haven

Tomorrow, Pat, Mary, and I take off for Grand Haven. We stay at the Srunger Cottage where you can walk out the back door and onto a beautiful beach on Lake Michigan. It's a great time of refreshment and renewal. I especially look forward to the enrichment I'll receive through reading. My book list includes Einstein, Teenage: the Creation of Youth Culture, The Secret Jesus, and the new book by the Pope - Jesus of Nazareth. I'll keep you updated on the insights gained through my readings. I can't wait to feel the sand under my feet. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"