I saw a shepherd the other day on my way to work. I’ve never seen a shepherd before. He was leading about 30 sheep across the street and we stopped briefly to let him and his flock pass. He offered a slightly embarrassed wave of thanks and we went our way as he went his. He was wearing the standard issue Chinese winter coat with the typical communist style hat. It was obvious that his garb was no match for the cold and wind of that bitter December afternoon. His face appeared prematurely aged by years of weather and dirt. His crooked and rotten teeth and the callousness of his hands suggested that he hasn’t been invited to many social occasion recently, or maybe ever. His companions, who did not even have the good sense of a dog or a squirrel to get out of the way of a moving car, surely did not offer much in the form of friendship or pleasure.
I couldn’t help but think about the shepherds from the Christmas story. Surely this Chinese shepherd had much in common with his ancient near eastern brethren. I wondered how this shepherd would have fit if I would have invited him to our Christmas party. I imagine his social skills would have been awkward at best. He would have had no gift to bring – unless it were a white elephant party, then I am sure he would have plenty of gifts we could have laughed at. His hygiene and attire would have set him apart from the rest of the crowd, and if the crowd was not gracious, his odor would have literally set him apart.
The obvious question that this timely meeting brought to mind is “why?” Why did God choose shepherds to be the first witnesses to the birth of the King of kings, and Lord of lords? Why would He choose to have the angels invite guests to the birth of his Son who could not even bring a gift? Was their awkwardness in the stable the same as if I would have invited the Chinese shepherd to my Christmas party?
When I look at the Christmas story, however, the shepherds fit perfectly. They fit perfectly with a nameless, common, unwed yet pregnant teenager who was chosen to give birth to, change the diapers of, nurse, and raise the Christ. Shepherds fit well with a story whose setting is Bethlehem, a small insignificant town about 6 miles south of Jerusalem. They fit with the barn and feed trough where the Messiah spent his first night. They fit with the rest of the crowd – sheep, horses, and cows.
They also complement the rest of Jesus’ story. His ministry was to harlots, adulterers, tax collectors, “sinners.” His love was not, and IS not based on some diving merit system. His economy doesn’t know the word deserved, but it knows well the ridiculous concept of grace. His mission was not to sit on the throne, but to kneel in humble service. His job was not to rule, but to wash feet. He came not to be robed with splendor, but to be crowned with thorns.
Why Shepherds? An equally confounding question is, Why Me? With worldly, rational eyes, I deserve to be in the Lord’s presence about as much as shepherds deserve to be witnesses of His birth. In the economy of grace, the shepherds…and myself, are exactly the sort of company that the King of kings and Lord of lords wants.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
#1 - Fellowship
Simon and Garfunkel, in 1965, agonizing with heartache from a broken relationship, sang the words “I am a rock, I am an island.” With hyperbole in their harmonies they proclaim their disdain for love and laughter. “I touch no one and no one touches me,” is their solution for the danger of love. It is one of the most desperate songs that has ever been written. Some people use this mantra as a guide to life. Isolation equals safety.
This is obviously not the way the New Testament commands followers of Christ to live. In fact, I think one of the disservices the contemporary western church has done to the New Testament has been the isolation of the individual. We talk about having a “personal relationship” with Christ as being the end all-be all of the gospel message. Protestantism has thrown the “baby” of accountability out with the “bathwater” of Catholic confession. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” was the question that Cain not so rhetorically asked God after he had murdered his own brother. In the evangelical emphasis on personal quiet times, individual spiritual gifts, and consumerist church attendance (we Americans even take our capitalism to church with us on Sunday mornings as we choose the church that gives us what we want, and when we don’t like it anymore, we find a new one with better customer service), we seem to be asking God the same question that Cain posed to Him.
While I don’t believe one can get to heaven on someone else’s coattails, it is a dangerous thing to undervalue the necessity of community. In the Old Testament, when someone sinned, the entire nation of Israel paid the penalty. When they repented, they repented on a national level. When they were victorious, there was national celebration. While I believe it is an exegetical fallacy to compare America to Old Testament Israel, or even to compare the New Testament church to Israel, there are many things we can learn about community from the Hebrew Scriptures.
In all of Paul’s commendation of individuals or chastisement of individuals, he only praises or rebukes as their actions have affected the church. When Paul speaks about the virtue of a church, he praises the body. When he lectures a church for their wrongdoing, such as the Corinthians, his words are for the entire congregation. He holds them all responsible for selfishness, immorality, etc. In the giving of individual spiritual gifts it is only as they help the body that they have any value. When we fast-forward to the wedding feast talked about in Revelation, it is not you (individual) who is the bride of Christ, it is the church (universal and communal) who is the bride of Christ.
When we first signed up to come to China we were not sure about what access we would have to English speaking fellowship. We knew one family that would be here in Beijing also, and we knew there was an international church, but we didn’t know how much access we would have to it either. When we got to Beijing we were amazed to see what a network of like-minded people we would have. The Beijing International Christian Fellowship has been an essential blessing in our lives every Sunday morning. It takes us an hour and a half on the bus/taxi to get there yet our kids complain when we don’t go to church some week. Our kids are also part of a homeschool co-op which includes around 20 families and meets weekly. There are 2 foreign co-workers that work at the orphanage also who an essential part of our success. There is a team of English teachers in our small town which includes 2 other couples and Chyloe and I meet weekly with them for prayer and accountability.
Most importantly, we are a part of a team. Our team meets together regularly for fellowship. Our team is our family this side of the ocean. When we first arrived in Beijing we could not even count to 10 in Chinese. You can imagine the difficulties we faced multiple times every hour while we were still linguistic infants. It is only because of the aid of our teammates that we survived that first year. And now that we are the seasoned veterans and linguistic experts, we have been able to return the blessing to new team members who have arrived in the last 2 years. Now that we don’t need our hands held every step of the way, we don’t see our team as often as we used to. However, whenever needs do arise (and they always will), I know that we have a group of people, both at church and on our team, who would do anything to help us.
I will go so far as to say that if we did not have this fellowship that we would not have survived in China. Whether we leave tomorrow, or stay here the rest of our lives, we will forever be indebted to these people who have been our community. Our success is intertwined with theirs. Our failures affect them, and theirs affect us. When they mourn, we mourn with them. When they rejoice, we rejoice alongside them. If we would have been forced by our circumstances to live on a relational island, we would have failed. If we would have chosen isolation, so that we touched no one, and no one touched us, it would not have led to safety but rather to misery.
All of the other things on my Top Ten list we could survive without. I know there have been people in history who have done it by themselves, but we are not those people. And, if I were to be honest, I don’t think those people should have done it either – they should have done it with a team. Had they had a team also, then perhaps we would not have read about their destroyed marriages, alienated kids, and crippling depressions. More than anything else in Beijing I am thankful for fellowship, and it is the only item on the list that is indispensable.
This is obviously not the way the New Testament commands followers of Christ to live. In fact, I think one of the disservices the contemporary western church has done to the New Testament has been the isolation of the individual. We talk about having a “personal relationship” with Christ as being the end all-be all of the gospel message. Protestantism has thrown the “baby” of accountability out with the “bathwater” of Catholic confession. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” was the question that Cain not so rhetorically asked God after he had murdered his own brother. In the evangelical emphasis on personal quiet times, individual spiritual gifts, and consumerist church attendance (we Americans even take our capitalism to church with us on Sunday mornings as we choose the church that gives us what we want, and when we don’t like it anymore, we find a new one with better customer service), we seem to be asking God the same question that Cain posed to Him.
While I don’t believe one can get to heaven on someone else’s coattails, it is a dangerous thing to undervalue the necessity of community. In the Old Testament, when someone sinned, the entire nation of Israel paid the penalty. When they repented, they repented on a national level. When they were victorious, there was national celebration. While I believe it is an exegetical fallacy to compare America to Old Testament Israel, or even to compare the New Testament church to Israel, there are many things we can learn about community from the Hebrew Scriptures.
In all of Paul’s commendation of individuals or chastisement of individuals, he only praises or rebukes as their actions have affected the church. When Paul speaks about the virtue of a church, he praises the body. When he lectures a church for their wrongdoing, such as the Corinthians, his words are for the entire congregation. He holds them all responsible for selfishness, immorality, etc. In the giving of individual spiritual gifts it is only as they help the body that they have any value. When we fast-forward to the wedding feast talked about in Revelation, it is not you (individual) who is the bride of Christ, it is the church (universal and communal) who is the bride of Christ.
When we first signed up to come to China we were not sure about what access we would have to English speaking fellowship. We knew one family that would be here in Beijing also, and we knew there was an international church, but we didn’t know how much access we would have to it either. When we got to Beijing we were amazed to see what a network of like-minded people we would have. The Beijing International Christian Fellowship has been an essential blessing in our lives every Sunday morning. It takes us an hour and a half on the bus/taxi to get there yet our kids complain when we don’t go to church some week. Our kids are also part of a homeschool co-op which includes around 20 families and meets weekly. There are 2 foreign co-workers that work at the orphanage also who an essential part of our success. There is a team of English teachers in our small town which includes 2 other couples and Chyloe and I meet weekly with them for prayer and accountability.
Most importantly, we are a part of a team. Our team meets together regularly for fellowship. Our team is our family this side of the ocean. When we first arrived in Beijing we could not even count to 10 in Chinese. You can imagine the difficulties we faced multiple times every hour while we were still linguistic infants. It is only because of the aid of our teammates that we survived that first year. And now that we are the seasoned veterans and linguistic experts, we have been able to return the blessing to new team members who have arrived in the last 2 years. Now that we don’t need our hands held every step of the way, we don’t see our team as often as we used to. However, whenever needs do arise (and they always will), I know that we have a group of people, both at church and on our team, who would do anything to help us.
I will go so far as to say that if we did not have this fellowship that we would not have survived in China. Whether we leave tomorrow, or stay here the rest of our lives, we will forever be indebted to these people who have been our community. Our success is intertwined with theirs. Our failures affect them, and theirs affect us. When they mourn, we mourn with them. When they rejoice, we rejoice alongside them. If we would have been forced by our circumstances to live on a relational island, we would have failed. If we would have chosen isolation, so that we touched no one, and no one touched us, it would not have led to safety but rather to misery.
All of the other things on my Top Ten list we could survive without. I know there have been people in history who have done it by themselves, but we are not those people. And, if I were to be honest, I don’t think those people should have done it either – they should have done it with a team. Had they had a team also, then perhaps we would not have read about their destroyed marriages, alienated kids, and crippling depressions. More than anything else in Beijing I am thankful for fellowship, and it is the only item on the list that is indispensable.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
#2 - The True Heroes
We work at an orphanage. We love our job. We love the kids. We have fun with them, teach them English, and help guide them in their lives. However, we do not wake them up in the morning, discipline them when they get in trouble, change their sheets when they wet the bed, do their laundry, or hold them in the middle of the night when they miss home - that is the job of the house parents. They do the hard stuff, we do the fun stuff. If credit is due anywhere for the success of these kids then it should be given first and last to the house parents. Their job is difficult, exhausting, under-appreciated, and pays poorly, but it is for these, the true heroes, that I give thanks this holiday season.
#3 - McDonald's
I can hear your scoffs, you judgmental health food types, all the way across the Pacific as you have just read the title of this post. I am not going to apologize for it. I am not going to try to justify it to you Trader Joe's shopping, organic produce buying, Super Size Me quoting folks with culinary superiority complexes. The fact is simple - I love McDonald's! There, I said it. I know this is an unpopular thing for a healthy, fit, slender 33 year old male. I feel like it is on par with claiming my love for Justin Beiber, Wall Street, crack cocaine, Darth Vader, high gas mileage vehicles, and Iran - it is not the "cool" or healthy thing to do. You are trying to make me feel like I am rooting for the bad guy. Well here I am, saying it loud and saying it proud...I love McDonald's!
I love that I could go to lunch 4 days in a row and get a different sandwich. I love their breakfast. I love that McDonald's is cheaper in China than in America. I love that we have a McDonald's only 400 yards from our house. I love that the golden arches emit a welcoming glow 24 hours a day. In a land where people are trading their tea for coffee more and more every day, I love the new McCafe, which not only brews up good coffee 24 hours, but also will prepare a mocha, latte, or cappuccino to brighten my spirits as well.
My wife doesn't like Chinese food. This is not that big of an issue except for the fact that WE LIVE IN CHINA! This has forced my wife to become a fantastic starting-from-scratch cook. It has also increased our appreciation and thankfulness for McDonald's. When we feel like we just can't eat any more gongbao jiding, there is always the option of a Big Mac and fries (I am getting hungry just thinking about those golden fried potatoes).
A friend of mine who own stock in McDonald's was telling us recently that their stock has done incredibly well over the last 2 years. We just smiled and told her, "you're welcome."
I love that I could go to lunch 4 days in a row and get a different sandwich. I love their breakfast. I love that McDonald's is cheaper in China than in America. I love that we have a McDonald's only 400 yards from our house. I love that the golden arches emit a welcoming glow 24 hours a day. In a land where people are trading their tea for coffee more and more every day, I love the new McCafe, which not only brews up good coffee 24 hours, but also will prepare a mocha, latte, or cappuccino to brighten my spirits as well.
My wife doesn't like Chinese food. This is not that big of an issue except for the fact that WE LIVE IN CHINA! This has forced my wife to become a fantastic starting-from-scratch cook. It has also increased our appreciation and thankfulness for McDonald's. When we feel like we just can't eat any more gongbao jiding, there is always the option of a Big Mac and fries (I am getting hungry just thinking about those golden fried potatoes).
A friend of mine who own stock in McDonald's was telling us recently that their stock has done incredibly well over the last 2 years. We just smiled and told her, "you're welcome."
Friday, December 2, 2011
#5 - Slingbox
I know Thanksgiving is over, but as they say, Thanksgiving should not just be a Thursday at the end of February, it should be a state of mind... so the list continues.
With the advent of smart phones and tablets some marketing genius thought it would be a good idea to invent a device which would make one's TV portable. The true value of this invention is for those of us who live overseas. Completely legal and with a fairly cheap one time price tag, the slingbox allows me to watch television on my computer in China (or your smart phone or tablet). I purchased my slingbox at bestbuy.com and had it shipped to my in-laws house. They then took the box, and using an internet connection also hooked it up to the TV in their guest bedroom. Magically, as long as my in-laws pay their cable and internet bill, I am able to watch TV on my computer as long as I also have an internet connection.
I was let in on this gem of a secret by a friend of mine who lived across town. We had a small group of guys that met weekly on Monday mornings, and occasionally our meeting would be at his house to watch Sunday Night Football (which is Monday morning China time). After suffering through 3 entire baseball seasons lost to the lack of Chinese interest in the divinely inspired sport, I decided enough was enough. I purchased the slingbox for this year's MLB playoffs. I was vicariously excited for my Father and my brother who are both lifelong Cardinal fans (side note - I was watching game 6 and had to leave for a lunchtime appointment in the 7th inning when the Rangers were winning by 3 runs. I assumed the series was over when I checked the score later that night. If you watched game 6 then you understand my agony).
You may think this is a shallow item to be #5 on the list of things I am most thankful for as a foreigner living in Beijing. While it is true that life in Beijing is possible without it (we did it for almost 3 years), it is these little treats that make a huge difference when the larger issues are driving us to insanity. We could do without it, but I am thankful that we no longer have to.
With the advent of smart phones and tablets some marketing genius thought it would be a good idea to invent a device which would make one's TV portable. The true value of this invention is for those of us who live overseas. Completely legal and with a fairly cheap one time price tag, the slingbox allows me to watch television on my computer in China (or your smart phone or tablet). I purchased my slingbox at bestbuy.com and had it shipped to my in-laws house. They then took the box, and using an internet connection also hooked it up to the TV in their guest bedroom. Magically, as long as my in-laws pay their cable and internet bill, I am able to watch TV on my computer as long as I also have an internet connection.
I was let in on this gem of a secret by a friend of mine who lived across town. We had a small group of guys that met weekly on Monday mornings, and occasionally our meeting would be at his house to watch Sunday Night Football (which is Monday morning China time). After suffering through 3 entire baseball seasons lost to the lack of Chinese interest in the divinely inspired sport, I decided enough was enough. I purchased the slingbox for this year's MLB playoffs. I was vicariously excited for my Father and my brother who are both lifelong Cardinal fans (side note - I was watching game 6 and had to leave for a lunchtime appointment in the 7th inning when the Rangers were winning by 3 runs. I assumed the series was over when I checked the score later that night. If you watched game 6 then you understand my agony).
You may think this is a shallow item to be #5 on the list of things I am most thankful for as a foreigner living in Beijing. While it is true that life in Beijing is possible without it (we did it for almost 3 years), it is these little treats that make a huge difference when the larger issues are driving us to insanity. We could do without it, but I am thankful that we no longer have to.
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