Permanent Repairs
I recently returned from Orange Texas where our church had a UM ARMY experience. In that week we repaired several storm damaged houses. Our small team worked on one house for most of the week. In working on the house it took me a while to understand something about how we did some of the repairs. Here let me highlight what I was struggling with. We made several repairs but the two main repairs were to the wheelchair ramp, and the second was to the roof. Each repair had a different approach. One approach was to patch, the other approach was to remove and replace. My trouble dealt with the idea of patching.
The remove and replace approach dealt with a wheelchair ramp. We removed the old wheelchair ramp and we built a new ramp. We did not reuse any of the material from the old ramp. The new ramp was built to last—and will most likely last longer than the home. Yet, the roof repair was a patch approach. The goal was to stop the leaking, and have the repair last about 4 or 5 years. (The time line was never stated, but was my observation.) I must say that I dislike repairing roofs. I prefer to just replace a leaking roof. You see, when I repair something I like to fix it in a permanent way. But, after considering all of the alternatives I see wisdom in the patching of the roof. Some of the variables in the decision included cost, ability of the team, recourses, and condition of the house, but I must also say that the heat of July in Orange Texas also convinced me of the wisdom of not being on the roof long enough to replace it.
So, I was watching the discovery channel as I often do, and watched an interesting program. The program had something to do with “my” need for a long term roof. Did you know that well before the Hover dam was built there were several other dams in the Grand Canyon? In fact there were several lakes formed behind these dams. The dams were formed by lava flows. Lava flowed across the Colorado River and created lakes. The process seemed to have happened several times. The scientists seem to believe some of these dams lasted for quite a period of time. They seem to think one dam lasted as long as 40,000 years. But, even that was not a permanent structure. The Colorado River overcame it. So, these scientists seem to think that even Hover Dam will not last forever.
I think there is something in our character that makes us desire to build something permanent. We want to build something that will last. It says that I was here. I think the reason is that God has written eternity on our heart. The problem is that there is just no way to build anything of permanence, and then it occurred to me. In UM ARMY I was building something of permanence. It is a relationship with another human being. CS Lewis said “I have never met a mere mortal.” What he was saying is that we are meant and made for entity. So our UM ARMY investments are more about the people than the projects. DUH! The wheelchair ramps are our way of loving another person; it is our means of showing Gods grace and love in a tangible way. So as several of the UM ARMY leaders comment, “it has nothing to do with the wheelchair ramp, and it is all about the wheelchair ramp.” That is the project is not the purpose, but the project points to our purpose. Our purpose to be about one another, we are our brother’s keeper. When I think about the shepherd who left the 99 to seek out the one who was lost I understand this was an act with eternity on the shepherd’s mind, and love in his heart.
Rev. Patrick Evans
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Christianity A Game?
While at UM ARMY our work team played a word game. Kathy started the game by saying a phrase. As the game was played we learned the rules by playing. The “game” was to figure out the rules. No one would tell you the rules of the game; you had to figure the rules out as you played the game. Life is often like this game. We learn the rules as we go. It can be frustrating. We get upset with people who do not interpret the rules of life the same way we do.
Each society has its own set of rules, and we learn the rules by living in that society. These rules are a part of culture. The rules and our willingness to follow the rules often represent a worldview and deep seated values. In doing prison ministry I have been able to observe a set of rules of prison life. Prison has its own culture, its own set of rules. These unwritten rules include “do not be vulnerable”, “do not be weak”, “do not be an informer”, and “there are more rules”. Each inmate learns the prison cultural rules by watching the group. How to manipulate people is one of the things learned and valued in prison. Inmates are often called “cons”, because they con people. I have met some inmates who con people because they believe the whole world does the same. They just think that they got caught breaking some rules. These inmates believe what they did is not wrong because the world at its basis is about manipulation. The world is about getting what you want, by any means.
So when I proclaim the Gospel to inmates some of these men consider it a new “game”. It is a game just like any other game. It has rules. They believe that Christianity is a means to manipulate their environment and to manipulate people. All that is needed is to learn the rules of the Christian game and play it to get what they want. They quickly learn to clean up their language, be nice to people, go to worship. Go along to get along, all the while missing the radical nature of the Gospel.
You see; many of the cultural values of prison, and of our world, run counter to the values of Christ. So, if an inmate views Christianity as new rules for the purpose to manipulate, the result is a veneer—an outward change with no corresponding inward change. The inmate at his core remains unchanged. Christianity is just a new “game” to be played. So he learns the rules and lives a life untouched by grace.
It reminds me of Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was a man who knew all of the rules and all the right people. He was well respected and knew the rules of Jewish society. He was living within the law, yet he came to Jesus, and here is what Jesus said. “I tell you the truth; no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Jesus is speaking about a spiritual truth here.
Each Kingdom has its own rules, its own culture, and its own values. As I read the bible I see Jesus speaking about a kingdom. He speaks of the kingdom of God. At the core of God’s Kingdom are God’s values. You see, Christianity opens our eyes to an alternative way of being and relating to one another. It opens our eyes to the kingdom of God. It is not just a game with new rules, so that we may manipulate others, but it is a new reality. It is an understanding of God’s values. It is to become a servant at heart.
So here is the challenge, how do I communicate the vision of God’s kingdom? By living the example of Christian service, but the danger is to fall into legalism and bitterness. Here is the secret. It is done by living out of the abundance of a servant’s heart. I do it because I have Christ in me by the grace of God. In this way I am able to do prison ministry knowing my words and actions must match so that I present God’s kingdom, not a game.
Rev Patrick Evans
While at UM ARMY our work team played a word game. Kathy started the game by saying a phrase. As the game was played we learned the rules by playing. The “game” was to figure out the rules. No one would tell you the rules of the game; you had to figure the rules out as you played the game. Life is often like this game. We learn the rules as we go. It can be frustrating. We get upset with people who do not interpret the rules of life the same way we do.
Each society has its own set of rules, and we learn the rules by living in that society. These rules are a part of culture. The rules and our willingness to follow the rules often represent a worldview and deep seated values. In doing prison ministry I have been able to observe a set of rules of prison life. Prison has its own culture, its own set of rules. These unwritten rules include “do not be vulnerable”, “do not be weak”, “do not be an informer”, and “there are more rules”. Each inmate learns the prison cultural rules by watching the group. How to manipulate people is one of the things learned and valued in prison. Inmates are often called “cons”, because they con people. I have met some inmates who con people because they believe the whole world does the same. They just think that they got caught breaking some rules. These inmates believe what they did is not wrong because the world at its basis is about manipulation. The world is about getting what you want, by any means.
So when I proclaim the Gospel to inmates some of these men consider it a new “game”. It is a game just like any other game. It has rules. They believe that Christianity is a means to manipulate their environment and to manipulate people. All that is needed is to learn the rules of the Christian game and play it to get what they want. They quickly learn to clean up their language, be nice to people, go to worship. Go along to get along, all the while missing the radical nature of the Gospel.
You see; many of the cultural values of prison, and of our world, run counter to the values of Christ. So, if an inmate views Christianity as new rules for the purpose to manipulate, the result is a veneer—an outward change with no corresponding inward change. The inmate at his core remains unchanged. Christianity is just a new “game” to be played. So he learns the rules and lives a life untouched by grace.
It reminds me of Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was a man who knew all of the rules and all the right people. He was well respected and knew the rules of Jewish society. He was living within the law, yet he came to Jesus, and here is what Jesus said. “I tell you the truth; no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Jesus is speaking about a spiritual truth here.
Each Kingdom has its own rules, its own culture, and its own values. As I read the bible I see Jesus speaking about a kingdom. He speaks of the kingdom of God. At the core of God’s Kingdom are God’s values. You see, Christianity opens our eyes to an alternative way of being and relating to one another. It opens our eyes to the kingdom of God. It is not just a game with new rules, so that we may manipulate others, but it is a new reality. It is an understanding of God’s values. It is to become a servant at heart.
So here is the challenge, how do I communicate the vision of God’s kingdom? By living the example of Christian service, but the danger is to fall into legalism and bitterness. Here is the secret. It is done by living out of the abundance of a servant’s heart. I do it because I have Christ in me by the grace of God. In this way I am able to do prison ministry knowing my words and actions must match so that I present God’s kingdom, not a game.
Rev Patrick Evans
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
An Unexpected Lesson
All teachers are to teach you at the minimum the requirements and objectives of the class. You paid for it you should get it. If you are lucky, certain teachers make that an easy task by using their teaching skills. Yet there are teachers who teach you much more than the class objectives. Some do it through a passion for the subject, while others do it through a passion for the students. It seems that when there is passion; passion becomes contagious. We just catch our teacher’s passion. In my case, my preaching professor taught me just such a lesson.
The lesson I learned from her did not make it into the lectures, nor was it on the objectives or requirements of the course syllabus. I am not even sure she would have thought to include it in her teaching objectives. The lesson she taught was by example—and her example caught me by surprise. In fact I have heard it said about Christianity it is more caught than taught. The lesson I learned was being lived in front of me.
It happened one day after class. I watched as she listened with incredible patience to a student. Trust me, this is not always the rule, all professors do not do listen, not the way she was listening. As I watched this I just kept wondering how long would she listen to this really boring story? I can say this because the fellow telling the story was a friend of mine. He has better stories, but sometimes he tended to ramble, and he was rambling today. I was thinking how long can she act interested in his story? Then it dawned on me, she had always treated every student the same way. She listened to every student. Once that thought passed though my mind, it was only a second more before the epiphany hit me. She really loves and cares for people. I mean not just the emotion love, but the verb love. It is the love that changes the diapers, or stays up all night with a sick friend. It is the kind of love Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians.
For me as I began to live out the example that my teacher set something funny happened. As I acted out of love, I began to feel love. That is, the emotion followed my act of will.
Rev. Patrick Evans
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
The lesson I learned from her did not make it into the lectures, nor was it on the objectives or requirements of the course syllabus. I am not even sure she would have thought to include it in her teaching objectives. The lesson she taught was by example—and her example caught me by surprise. In fact I have heard it said about Christianity it is more caught than taught. The lesson I learned was being lived in front of me.
It happened one day after class. I watched as she listened with incredible patience to a student. Trust me, this is not always the rule, all professors do not do listen, not the way she was listening. As I watched this I just kept wondering how long would she listen to this really boring story? I can say this because the fellow telling the story was a friend of mine. He has better stories, but sometimes he tended to ramble, and he was rambling today. I was thinking how long can she act interested in his story? Then it dawned on me, she had always treated every student the same way. She listened to every student. Once that thought passed though my mind, it was only a second more before the epiphany hit me. She really loves and cares for people. I mean not just the emotion love, but the verb love. It is the love that changes the diapers, or stays up all night with a sick friend. It is the kind of love Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians.
For me as I began to live out the example that my teacher set something funny happened. As I acted out of love, I began to feel love. That is, the emotion followed my act of will.
Rev. Patrick Evans
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
No Evidence
Jim Austin and I were doing cell to cell ministry. We were on the “A” line at Eastham. We would walk the tier and talk with the guys in “administrative segregation” about Jesus. Jim told me about one guy after we had finished for the day. This inmate looked at Jim through the bars and said with a straight face, “I am going to get my life together.” My initial response would have been to say, “That is great news.” But not Jim, he responded, “There is no evidence that you can get your life together on your own.” WOW, that is a hard truth. I thought about what Jim said, and he was correct. You see, this man was doing time on “A” line at Eastham. To get into Eastham first you must be convinced of a felony. Second, Eastham is a disciplinary unit, so most likely he was sent there for having “behavioral issues” in another maximum security prison. Thirdly “A” line was where the worst of the worst were locked up in Eastham. (This was before Texas opened the new super segregation units.) You had to misbehave in Eastham to make the “A” line. Eastham is a unit with over 4,000 men with close to half there with a disciplinary case against them. Tiers A-H are the disciplinary tiers, and here this guy was on “A” line. The truth is that if there is a bottom of the barrel this guy had found it. He had run his life right into the ditch. Jim was right, all the evidence pointed to this guy being unable to run his own life.
It is amazing though, that a person can ignore all of the evidence in their lives. Here this guy is with no evidence that he can do this on his own. In fact the evidence points to his inability to run his own life. That is the case; this guy is unable to run his own life, yet he is able to ignore the evidence. In his own mind he was thinking, “Give me a chance I can do it.” But Jim had the wisdom to present that “it is only through Christ being both my Lord and Savior that I am able.” That is Jim turned the living of his life over to Jesus.
As I think of this story I wonder how often I have thought that I can run my life better than Jesus. My natural thought is that I can just try harder, or work harder, or build my own kingdom then all will be well. Then I read “ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” And I contemplate what that means….
I wonder if we the men of the Church are still trying to “get our life together” without Jesus. As a man, the temptation is for me to “get my life together” on my own. As I read the following statistics about men in church I wonder as to the wisdom of going it alone. For every ten men in the church, nine will have children who leave the church. Eight will not find their jobs satisfying. Six will pay the monthly minimum on their credit card bills. Five will have a major problem with pornography, and four will get divorced. All ten will struggle to balance work and family.
The reason I wanted to tell that man in prison “good for you” was because I want evidence that I can get my life together on my own. But Jim was right to tell this man “There is no evidence that you can get your life together on your own.” I just have a better veneer than that guy in prison.
Rev. Patrick Evans
It is amazing though, that a person can ignore all of the evidence in their lives. Here this guy is with no evidence that he can do this on his own. In fact the evidence points to his inability to run his own life. That is the case; this guy is unable to run his own life, yet he is able to ignore the evidence. In his own mind he was thinking, “Give me a chance I can do it.” But Jim had the wisdom to present that “it is only through Christ being both my Lord and Savior that I am able.” That is Jim turned the living of his life over to Jesus.
As I think of this story I wonder how often I have thought that I can run my life better than Jesus. My natural thought is that I can just try harder, or work harder, or build my own kingdom then all will be well. Then I read “ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” And I contemplate what that means….
I wonder if we the men of the Church are still trying to “get our life together” without Jesus. As a man, the temptation is for me to “get my life together” on my own. As I read the following statistics about men in church I wonder as to the wisdom of going it alone. For every ten men in the church, nine will have children who leave the church. Eight will not find their jobs satisfying. Six will pay the monthly minimum on their credit card bills. Five will have a major problem with pornography, and four will get divorced. All ten will struggle to balance work and family.
The reason I wanted to tell that man in prison “good for you” was because I want evidence that I can get my life together on my own. But Jim was right to tell this man “There is no evidence that you can get your life together on your own.” I just have a better veneer than that guy in prison.
Rev. Patrick Evans
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