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My Anchor Holds

1 Dead, 3 Injured After Shooting At Seattle Pacific University

I am still processing… I remain mostly wordless, save the moments of anger, sadness, and bewilderment. My wife is in a doctoral program at SPU, and my two incredible kids along with a number of other young adults from my church are undergrads at the University. There are also  some faculty and staff from SPU who attend the church I pastor. As I write, my heart is still numb and stunned in light of the tragic shooting event that happened on the SPU campus yesterday.

Tragedy and crisis reveal the foundation and reality of who we truly are. When we are squeezed through crisis, what comes out of us is what is inside of us. In other words, circumstances reveal our true character, not the exceptions to our character. How you respond reveals who you are.

The community of students, staff, and faculty at SPU are revealing that they are forming deeply into the image of Christ…

In the wake of this tragedy I see:

Courage…
Love…
Forgiveness…
Community…
Questions…
Mystery…
Emotional honesty…
Relational vulnerability…

spuIn the worst of situations, the SPU community is not pontificating a political stump speech exploiting someones pain for their platform, nor are they acting in a narcissistic frenzied fashion grabbing social media and air time. No, they are revealing that they have an anchor that is forming deep within their individual and collective soul that holds steady, yet not without frailty, in the storm.

As I was trying to connect with my kids hoping and praying that they were okay, along with the others I know there, my heart began to spontaneously sing a great hymn within the quiet corridors of my mind…

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Darkness only seems to hide His (God’s) face…

God walks amongst the empty shotgun shells…

spu-spd6His Spirit is moving through the corridors of mind and dorm…

The wounds of Christ the only balm to heal such senseless evil…

At SPU, the anchor holds because it is tethered to something beyond the best we can offer on our own. The anchor is Christ Himself who alone understands the pain of a family asking “Why our boy?” “Why us?” 

I cannot imagine the pain this family is in…so I pray their anchor holds.

I cannot fathom the emotional gutting they are experiencing…so I pray their anchor holds.

I know life is now forever different for them…so I pray their anchor holds.

paul leeHis name is Paul Lee…he matters…his family matters…his friends matter…Paul’s journey on this side of eternity is over, but now he walks in pastures of grace with Christ, but for those who love him, the journey here will be one of sacred wounds…so I pray for this family, “may Christ be your anchor… pushing back the  darkness… and bathing you in healing grace.”

I am proud that the SPU community has chosen to refrain from pithy Christian clichés’, which minimize the pain, and instead, choose to wrestle with the uneasiness of the evil that has found a crack in which to enter their world.

I wondered if my kids would want to come home. At first they said yes, then I was as proud as a pastor dad could be when I heard, “No, I think I’ll stay here to be around to talk with people who need someone.” So instead, Amy and I will go in to visit them, it’s more for my soul than theirs. They are being light and part of their community in the right way.

Life is a gift..
Life is fragile…
Life is fleeting…

Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34) Life is the gift of the present moment, and that truly is all we have. The only way I know how to live well in the moment is to stay anchored to Christ. Jesus knows that when we are continually future-tripping we forget to hold, kiss, and say I love you to the ones that matter most to us.

But it is difficult to be in the moment when the moment is flooded with pain…

We want to escape…

We want to blame…

We want answers…

We want vengeance…

We want to medicate…

But what the SPU community is modeling right now is the choice to simply “Be” in the painful moment.

Silently, wordlessly, quizzically, and honestly. They are grieving well, and as a result, the peace of Christ is pushing back the darkness.

 

Their anchor holds…

 

My hat is off to Dr, Martin, the President of SPU, and the faculty, staff, and students.

You make me proud to be a Christ-follower  as your response in the spotlight of pain shines the light of Jesus in the darkness of the moment.

Your anchor holds, safe within the veil.

As for me, I can’t wait to hug my kids.

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Teachers That Make A Difference

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Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. ~Benjamin Franklin

Since this week is teacher appreciation week, I took a moment today to think about and pray for all the teachers that impacted my life, helping me to grow into the person that I am today. No one is a “self-made” person. I realize that many people think they are, but the truth of the matter is that we are all products of our biology and biography.

When I speak in public, my father’s friends hear my dad.

When I play the piano, the inspiration of Keith Green paved the way.

When I write, an army of dead biblio-mentors sing through my words.

So, in more ways than we know, we are products of the investments, good and bad, of other people. Teachers make a sizeable investment into the forging of our lives. Here are a few of the teachers that I thought of today:

1. Mrs. Stein, my first grade teacher. Yes, truly she was my first crush. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The most talented woman in the world. The best at just… everything! Many smitten school-boys would find themselves accidentally hanging out near her house. Luckily for me she lived in the neighborhood. 1st grade is a crucial year. First grade teachers help us become students, little humans, entering into the journey of learning. Thank you Mrs. Stein.

2. Mr. Grady, my 7th – 12th grade band teacher. More than any other teacher, Mr. Grady, or JW as we called him, impacted my life. He was a true renaissance man. He wanted us cultured, savvy, engaged and involved in the music. He challenged me more than any other teacher…forgave me more than any other teacher…frustrated me more than any other teacher…and invested in me more than any other teacher. My continued involvement with music to this day is because of his investment in me. Music has not merely been a thing I do, but truly, a core piece of who I am. Of all the teachers that I have had, he is the one that I hope is proud of who I have become. Thank you Mr. Grady.

3. Ms. Itig, freshman literature teacher. Ok, maybe another slight crush here (you see the pattern right), but, for the first time in my life I developed a love and hunger for reading. It all began with the book “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and today you might say I have a reading addiction. Thank you Ms. Itig.

4. Mr. Kelly, US History and World Civ. teacher. Mr. Kelly was also my church league basketball coach when I was just a little guy, so I thought I would have an easy go of it in his class…not so much. Mr. Kelly was an incredible teacher, and my time with him opened my eyes to justice issues, government structures and problems as well as skills in navigating the civilization in which we live. Mr. Kelly introduced me to Leo Buscaglia who in turn opened up a beautiful concept of love that was beyond my experience. He seemed tough on the outside, but I could tell he cared for all his students. Thank you Mr. Kelly.

The teachers that I remember the most are the ones who went beyond teaching a core curriculum and involved me in something bigger.

Jean Piaget tells us that:

“The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.“

Education is so much more than test scores and memorizing data.

It is about the curation of the soul…

It is about the formation of the heart…

It is about the unleashing and expansion of the mind beyond the understanding of the previous generations…

In many ways education is a dance between student and teacher as they discover the music that each bring to the process. In an article titled “Uncommon Core” my friend Steve Peha writes:

Education is a deeply personal endeavor. Just as every learner  is unique, so is every teacher. Educators have many things in common, but at their core each possesses something uncommon: their individuality. What makes us unique can’t easily be defined. But in education, it often has to do with the strengths, affinities, and experiences that educators bring to their work and that students bring to school with them each day.  This is the uncommon core. It’s not just what makes us unique, it’s often what makes us uniquely successful. When we tap our strengths, we find the talent to master our challenges. When we tune our attitudes, we connect with a purpose larger than ourselves. When we turn to our affinities—the things to which we are naturally attracted—we unleash our passions and discover our dreams. (check out his web site teaching that makes sense)

The teachers that make the greatest impact are those who have integrated their passion and their understanding together to create a learning environment. In this sense, the best teachers are artists not just information portals.

The art of teaching is a gift, and can easily be lost when we measure the wrong things. In his book “The Courage To Teach” Parker Palmer notes: “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” 

So, to all the teachers out there:

  • Thank you for the long hours you put in most days beyond the contract…
  • Thank you for investing your own money into the lives of your students when the funding doesn’t cover it…
  • Thank you for lovingly caring for a classroom full of kids that lack grace and manners…
  • Thank you for seeing the gold in our children that most people miss…
  • Thank you for creating a world of learning and not just regurgitating the information in the book…
  • Thank you for teaching our kids how to think, not just what to think…
  • Thank you for choosing a career that doesn’t always get many thanks…

This week teachers, may you be reminded of who you are:

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” ~Robert Frost
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Waking Up

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“These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness, and worship without awareness.” ~ Anthony de Mello

I wonder if we are waking up.

I wonder if we will finally look beyond our biases.

I wonder if we will grow beyond cycloptic vision.

Donald Sterling made the news this week for the uncloaking of his racism. Writers, talk show hosts and Facebook news feeds began circulating opinions. I heard, read and saw many of them. I heard concepts such as: freedom of speech is being attacked; the free market system would do its job punishing him; He deserved his fines and repurcussions from the NBA; this is a Nazi which hunt…

However, even though I heard much of the expected polarized rhetoric, I also heard an increasing number of voices looking at a larger picture.

Sterling’s actions have a context, as do all actions.

His past racist brushes seem to be even worse than his present, in fact he was fined 3 million dollars over discriminatory practices.

Some voices are calling out our culture on her sound-bite-issue-of-the-nano-second outrage. This makes me wonder if we are waking up.

Generally, people get outraged and fired-up when the media presents the inciting incident…but then, as quickly as fireworks launch, they are forgotten and the masses have jumped to the next thing. But today, there were voices challenging our right to get angry because of our inconsistencies.

“Why are you mad today, when this person has a track record that is even worse?” Some asked perplexed.

“Where was the outrage then?”  Words that unmask our inconsistencies.

When more and more voices put a mirror before us which reveals how inconsistent we are on most issues, I have hope that we are waking up.

Kareem Abdul Jabar spoke a revelatory word in response to the Sterling news:

“So, if we’re all going to be outraged,” the former NBA star wrapped up, “let’s be outraged that we weren’t more outraged when his racism was first evident. Let’s be outraged that private conversations between people in an intimate relationship are recorded and publicly played. Let’s be outraged that whoever did the betraying will probably get a book deal, a sitcom, trade recipes with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and soon appear on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”(1)

I think he just exposed our pop culture world.

When we award people for their lack of moral integrity by giving them book deals and TV shows it becomes apparent that in our morality the emperor is wearing no clothes.

Get angry about racism…it’s wrong.

Get angry about injustice…it’s wrong.

Get angry about the erosion of privacy rights…it’s wrong.

I’ll know that we are waking up when we get angry and speak out that something is wrong when we first encounter it, not just when our preferred tribe decides it’s wrong. I’ll also know we are waking up when we apply our outrage in a consistent manner and are willing to point the finger at ourselves for selective voicings.

Are we waking up? I hope so, the world needs resurrection.

 __________________________

(1) http://toprightnews.com/?p=2777

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Technology Needs Poetry

bookAmy and I had just entered the biblio-pilgrims destination in Portland Oregon this past Tuesday. Even though the temple was under construction Powell’s Books was busy with life. Grabbing a facilities map as we entered we chose to divide and conquer each of us heading toward our favorite areas of erudite worship.

It wasn’t long before Amy shot me a text. She had found a really intriguing and really old book of poetry on the top floor near the rare books section.

She showed me her rare find.

The book was small and had the familiar smell of dust mixed with age; its pages darkened with time.

Compiled in 1929, the title was utilitarian: “One Hundred and One Famous Poems, with a prose supplement.”

Many of the writers were familiar, but the selected works were like a newly found  picture of an old friend. Quickly I scanned the poems and noted some that I would need to read.  What struck me immediately, though,  was the preface penned by the editor Roy J. Cook. It reads as follows:

“This is the age of science, of steel-of speed and the cement road. The age of hard faces and hard highways. Science and steel demand the medium of prose. Speed requires only the look-the gesture What need then of poetry?

Great need!

There are souls, in these noise-tired times, that turn aside into unfrequented lanes, where the deep woods have harbored the fragrances of many a blossoming season. Here the light, filtering through perfect forms, arranges itself in lovely patterns for those who perceive beauty.

It is the purpose of this little volume to enrich, enable, encourage. And for man, who has learned to love convenience, it is hardly larger than his concealing pocket.”

How timely for us today. The age of science and speed, and I would add technology. As technology continues to increase at an exponential rate, the need to slow, and read prose, practice meditation and find balance in solitude and silence with God also rises.

The very advances that were supposed to bring us more time to enjoy life, seem to absorb any spare moment we might otherwise have.

Noise-tired and technologically-saturated lives have great need of words that remind of what matters most.

hamletsblackberry385-01A book I have read in the past couple years titled Hamlet’s Blackberry (which I highly recommend) looks at our current “screen addiction” offering  some hope for our souls in a culture that is obsessive about connectivity. Hamlet’s Blackberry  illustrates how our technological advances over the centuries have eroded  much more than we realize, and the author gives great advice on how to regain what we have lost. Check it out here.

So, yes, our data-filled, noise-filled, and growth-oriented world need prose, poetry and verse to bring balance and beauty back to us. To that end, allow me to reveal some prose from my new little book. The title is “A Psalm of Life.”  The author is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I know you are busy. There are more things in your inbox than in your completed box. You don’t have time to slow and read something that doesn’t help your current end-game…but hold on.

Maybe reading this will be a tipping point for your soul…

Perhaps in the next few moments your soul will be stirred and offer a different direction for your future…

Maybe, just maybe, you will breathe deeper and feel the joy of life return to your bones. So relax, and absorb Longfellow’s words. May they be a dessert for your busy-soul.

A Psalm of Life

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but empty dreams!–
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like a muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

I agree with the editors premise…our world of science, steel and speed need poetry.