The Forgetful Church: An Intro

Europe is known for a few things. One thing that usually comes to mind is old churches. Well, Køge, Denmark is no exception. In the center of town is a very old church. It’s said it was built in the 1300’s. According to the all knowing source of Wikipedia, its tower doubled as Denmark’s first lighthouse in the 1500’s. Imagine that, a church literally being light to the community.

However, it seems that at some point the church in Denmark, Europe really, lost its glow. I’m not sure if church history here is so deep that people just wanted a break or what, but the church is dying. More and more people have decided that God no longer plays a pivotal role in their lives.

What does it mean, “the church is dying?” I think it’s worth investigating. I actually, come to think of it, don’t really care for this terminology. A church dying? Doesn’t that imply that at some point it will be dead? How can the church die? Here’s how I see it. The church is the “physicalization” (I made up a word, I know) of Jesus. It’s His bride. In a sense, it’s under His ownership. So how can it die? Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the church has lost its identity. It’s forgotten it’s the bride of Christ. It has forgotten it’s “physicalizationism” (this is just getting worse). So, the church here in Europe has just forgotten who it is.

This church in Denmark, this very old one in the center of town, is very hard to miss. We can see its tower from the ship. Wherever you go in town, you can see the tower. It is how I know which way I’m going when I walk somewhere new. If you go into any small western/central European village, this will likely be the case; a large church that designates direction for disoriented tourists. So, it’s easy to dismiss these buildings as actual representations of Jesus. After all aren’t they just historical markers or cultural hotspots? I believe no.

Therefore, I feel I have been asked to be a part of this church here in Køge. I’ve asked around the ship and all the people who’ve gone there for service have said that the building is very nice and the service is in Danish. One even said it was the most catholic protestant service he’d ever been to. So my part in this church will be simple, to observe and to pray. To observe what a church that’s lost its identity looks like and to pray that it finds it again. I plan to go every Sunday morning that I have free and to walk around it and pray whenever I’m in town on free time. I plan, of course, to document what I discover not only to inform, but also to see how God works in this.

Somehow I thought just coming on this ship would be my crazy adventure for God these next two years, but obviously I was wrong. Yet again God asks me to do something that is completely uncomfortable, that may have absolutely no visible fruit for my labor, and makes me completely dependent on God for purpose. Should be fun.

The Language Barrier: Converting from English to Engine Room

It’s been a weird day. As of this point, I have been in “training” mode for two months and I still have about a month left. That’s three months of training for a twenty-four month commitment. That is, for every eight months of commitment, one month of training. What’s weird though is that there are very few left from the original group with whom I joined the ship that are still in “training” mode. About 90% have already settled into their jobs and I along with a few others still have to train.

This realization hit me today; that I was still in training after already two months away. I have to admit it was very discouraging. I started to doubt my ability to even be here. I thought with all that college education and world experience (I’ll wait for the laughter to stop), I’d adjust easily into this new life. I guess I’m human.

See, it’s the engine room that requires all this extra training. There is a load of information that we have to cover in a short period of time and it is quite overwhelming at times. But what’s more overwhelming is the fact that you have to see everyone else on the ship hard at work while you are sitting around and studying. It gives me a desire to do a really bang-up job once I get to the engine room on a full time basis (I’ve been there and worked there, just not without a training purpose behind it), but it is difficult to see that end.

One of the things that I was sad and grateful for at the same time before coming here was the fact that I didn’t have to adapt to a new language. The language on the ship is English. Granted it’s some strange combination of UK English, American English, Australian English, and ship English (you know; port, starboard, that sort of stuff), but it’s English. I felt sad, for one, for the people who do have to adapt to English. I can’t imagine changing location, culture, and language all at once. I felt grateful because I don’t have to go through that stress of learning a new language; or do I?

See not that my training sufferings are in any way equal to those suffering from language barrier but I’m kind of learning a new language as well. The engine room is a new language and I’m still smack dab in the middle of learning it. Like any language training there’s classroom learning and then there is leaning by emersion. I think to be encouraged I have to think of this time as overcoming my language barrier.

I know of folks living overseas in different culture who have been there for years and still have language issues. They are still studying language and I’m complaining about two months of learning. The problem I often have is that my expectations far out reach that of those that actually exist in reality. I expect no mistakes, no problems, no barriers. That is never the case. There are always mistakes, there are always problems, there are always barriers. So, I just have to accept that there is this barrier of engine room “language” that I have to overcome and that this training is the way I have to overcome it. Simple as that.

It’s not so simple actually. There are still my fellow shipmates who walk by our training who are working and I still feel guilty for not working.

God's Prep Work: Or How What I Spent All of My Childhood Doing Finally Payed Off

Hindsight is 20/20 right? Then how come after looking back I still can’t figure this one out? See, last evening it was revealed to me that I was being prepared this particular evening since the age of eight. Let me paint you the picture.

A bit of background. Our weeks here on the ship are fairly structured. We work five days a week. We get one day off, and we get one day designated as an “experience day.” Experience days, as of now, consist of training for ministry and a bit of practical application. Well, yesterday was my experience day for the week.

I was designated for a team from the ship to go to Copenhagen to do what was classified as “street evangelism.” For me, this is not comfortable. In fact, there are times where I absolutely despise “street evangelism.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term or the activities associated with the term, it consists of Christians out on the street handing out “literature” to unsuspecting passer-bys. I recognize God’s sovereignty in that He can use anything for the advancement of His kingdom. I just wish He would phase that particular practice out.

This event was no different. We were given “literature” to hand out and I optimistically took four pieces out of a possible much more than four. There was a table set up along the street with coffee to hand out to people as they walked. (Street, in this case, means paved walking area. In fact, there were very little cars in this part of Copenhagen.) I should mentioned that we were given the liberty to do whatever we liked as far as “outreach” goes, but we were encouraged to stick around the table to see if we could strike up any conversations. I chose not to stick around.

I mentioned to my team that I was interested in just walking around the area and praying. Three other were interested as well so two of us went one way and two the other. My partner in prayer and I walked not by five minutes to find what would occupy the rest of our night and for what God was preparing me for the last sixteen years.

There before us, sitting in an open square, were several white tables. Surrounding these tables were a series of flood lights pointing toward the tables. Between these lights and the tables were all kinds of people. People from Copenhagen, people from Spain, people from Italy, and people from the United States. Keeping these people occupied, sitting on the tables, were piles and piles of white Lego bricks.

I’m not going to lie to you friends, I’m not going to fabricate the truth, I was pretty darned excited. Without asking or seeking the reason behind the square converted play pin, I immediately began to build.

A woman standing, building next to me with two children was talking with someone across the table in Danish. Perhaps she was inquiring as to why all the Legos? Her conversation finished and I asked if she spoke English. I then asked why the Legos. She told me and before long we were having a conversation. I was talking with a woman on the street of Copenhagen. The whole point of the exercise that evening, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the medium of Lego.

As you can see, this was clearly a divine appointment. And as you can see I am completely flabbergasted as to how much preparation God puts into His kingdom work. With God’s sovereignty, He can use a tacky Christian track handed out by a very bold Christian person, but He can also use someone’s favorite childhood toy to strike up a conversation between two people in the middle of Copenhagen, Denmark. I hope He uses the later, or even better, both.

A Short Note From The Clay

My apologies to you faithful readers who've had to spend a month reading the archives. I was hoping to post more often, but neither time, nor words have allowed me to accomplish that. Please feel free to chastise me for not posting. It may be a motivating factor.

Speaking Words of Wisdom, Let It Be.

Ship life has come. The bunks are small. The people are diverse. The energy and emotional levels live at extremes. Times like these one wants a little godly wisdom to keep him grounded. I’ve been reading some A.W. Tozer along with someone else I can’t remember (the book is in my cabin and that requires going up and down four flights of stairs) and I wrote down some quotes that have become relevant to me these last few weeks.

From A.W. Tozer:

How good it would be if we could learn that God is easy to live with.

We’re here to be worshippers first and workers second. (Very relevant for ship life since work can get in the way of worship very easily.)

An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives al of Himself as fully as if there were no others. (I like infinity.)

A man by his sin may waste himself, which is to waste that which on earth is most like God. This is man’s greatest tragedy, God’s heaviest grief.

Five vows to make and keep:
1. Deal with sin thoroughly.
2. Never own anything – get rid of the sense of possessing.
3. Never defend yourself.
4. Never pass anything on about anybody else that will hurt them.
5. Never accept any glory.
Remember that these vows are not something you write in the back of your Bible and forget. They have got to be written in your own blood.

From the other guy:

There is only one requirement for enjoying God’s grace: being broke . . . and knowing it.

That’s it for now.

Live from Amsterdam . . . it's any ol' night really

So, I’m in the Netherlands now. (See map in side bar.) Prior to meeting up with OM for the beginning of my training, I spent two days in glorious Amsterdam. Some might be a little frightened by a young, single, Christian male traveling alone in Amsterdam (too many temptations), but I’m here to dispel some of the myth that is Amsterdam.

Amsterdam was founded by fisherman living along the Amstel River in the early 13^th Century. (Source: Wikipedia. Take it with a grain of salt.) It is thought that the fisherman dammed the Amstel before it met the IJ, the bay/lake that is considered now Amsterdam’s waterfront. This created a natural harbor which fisherman would then take advantage of. Since then, you could say, Amsterdam has continued to think outside of the box.

Yes, prostitution is legal. Yes, soft drugs such as marijuana are legal and sold openly. However, not everyone participates in these activities. Prostitution tends to be geared toward the tourists. While walking through the Red Light District, I saw more tourists than natives. The soft drugs are mostly sold in open air, private markets (which attract tourists as well) or in Coffeeshops. It’s not available in the grocery store. (I went in one and no marijuana. So, I bought a sandwich.) So, in a sense these industries are under control.

Now, this is not to say these industries should be praised or even tolerated. It still hard to fathom someone needing fulfillment and thinking their only option is selling their body or seeking out casual sexual experiences. Or someone needing relief from pain and sorrow so much that they feel their only release is a chemically (or naturally) induced high. But, it is important to remember that it’s not the actions of sex or smoking or taking drugs that are immoral, but rather the dependence on them for identity and fulfillment. People pop pills for pain relief all time knowing full well it is a temporary relief and as soon as the pain is gone, the pill is no longer needed. People have participated in appropriate sexual relationships and understand it’s a pleasurable gift from God. So, the substances are not to blame, but rather the lies that people believe that they need the substances.

With all that out of way, here’s my experience with Amsterdam.

I was able to do a lot of walking while in Amsterdam. One thing I like to praise about European cities is the ease in the ability to walk them. One thing that struck me while walking Amsterdam is its gross fulfillment of all stereotypes Dutch. It reminded me of Disneyland in that if Disneyland were to have a Dutchland added to one of their theme parks, it would look exactly like Amsterdam only cleaner. Not cleaner in the sense that there wouldn’t be prostitution or drugs (we all know Disney is not high in the morals department), but rather the streets would be swept and the canals wouldn’t be brown. I honestly didn’t think the Dutch could look that Dutch. I’m surprised there weren’t more wooden shoes walking around. (There weren’t any walking, but there were large novelty ones sitting on the sidewalks.)

Walking through the Red Light District as a single male alone was an experience. I was witness to some different tactics in trying to get me to commit to an expensive romp in the hay. (A bit distasteful, but it’s all I got.) The girls would set up behind a glass door with, that’s right, red lights and would sit on a stool in their underwear waiting for a customer to approach them. I would walk by the window and usually be looking straight ahead. The girl would catch on to this and put her high heeled shoe on the glass and tap it with the peg of the heel. This of course would draw my attention and I’d look over. She’d then suggestively move her finger in the “come over here” motion. I’d then shake my head in the “no thanks I’m not interested” manner and walk on. She’d then bang her heal again and give a more suggestive “no really, come over here” finger move. Then I’d just glance over and roll my eyes in a “you’ve got to be kidding me. Seriously?” kind of motion and the dance would be over; only to continue with the next girl. Needless to say, it was quite tiring.

So, Amsterdam is quite an interesting place to say the least. I was able to ride a bike through town a little while and yes, everyone does ride a bike. In fact, everyone rides the same bike. They all have the same shape, style of handle bars, and the same locking mechanism. For a city that embraces variety and diversity, they all have a lot of similarities in their modes of transportation.

I’d like to come back some day, spend a little more time visiting the museums, actually seeing the sights with friends rather than by myself, eating dinner with friends instead of by myself. Basically, I’d like to come back when I’m not by myself.