One Body Through the Cross (a corporate prayer based on Eph. 2)

29 02 2012

We praise you today,O God, for your amazing grace toward us.

For we were once outside the wall of your favor

     separated from your covenant love

     strangers to your promises

     aliens without a place in your house

Our lives were in deep distress,

Our eternal destiny hung in the balance, even when we did not know what danger we were in.

But thanks be to you, O Father. You knew our plight, you rose to act.

We worship you, Lord Jesus, for laying aside your glory and coming as a servant. You broke down the wall of separation, you ended the apartheid that once excluded us, and by your shed blood have now included us.

Now, our risen King, all may call upon you for salvation.

All may know the love that passes understanding.

We implore you, O Spirit of the living God, help us live as fellow members of the household of God,

     for that is what we are.

Reconciled to God, we can be at peace with each other.

Draw us near to the cross once again

     for there we recall that everything is by grace.

We are sinners all, needing mercy today, that we may truly live as one body through the cross.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.


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Categories : New Community, To the heart

Fallen reporter Colvin an example to Christians

22 02 2012

I was struck by the report of a seasoned American journalist Marie Colvin and photographer Remi Ochlik, a Frenchman, killed in Homs, Syria. I was drawn to this story because I see in them an example of what the Bible means by the word “witness.”

First, a quote from the ABC article.

“Colvin lost an eye from a shrapnel wound in Sri Lanka in 2001, an injury that she said “is worth it” in a 2010 speech on the dangers of conflict reporting.

“Covering a war means going to places torn by chaos, destruction, and death … and trying to bear witness,” she said at a memorial for fallen journalists.

“Someone has to go there and see what is happening. You can’t get that information without going to places where people are being shot at, and others are shooting at you.”

We translate the English word “witness” from the Greek work, martus. When becoming a witness for Christ became a calling that resulted in death, the word took on the meaning of “martyr”.

It is true that a journalist should just report the facts (unless she clearly indicate that she is editorializing). But here is a reporter who hoped that in reporting the facts she could make a difference. She believed that by revealing injustices happening in another part of the world that help would be stirred, the lives would be spared.

Increasingly, being a witness for Christ costs us something, even in America. I feel that cost when I try to turn a conversation to spiritual things. There is resistance. But that is where I must be willing to die to self in order to spare a life. We feel that cost when we choose righteousness when no one is looking.

I pay tribute to Colvin today, and thank her for her service.  I pay tribute to brothers and sisters in Christ, around the world and in America too, who are dying to self to bear witness of the change Jesus has made in their lives. Let’s all take courage today.


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Categories : The Passion, To the heart

Purposeful Retreat

9 02 2012

Last year Lyn and I took a camping vacation (is that an oxymoron?). I had made my morning cup of coffee and was sitting at the picnic table. As I enjoyed the peaceful surroundings, I found the passage saying Jesus “went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35b).

Solitude seems interconnected with a deepening faith. I doubt there have been spiritually mature believers who have not also followed Jesus’ pattern of purposeful retreat.

One difference between Jesus and me on that morning at the campsite was the schedule: “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight” (1:35a). Unlike Jesus, I had not risen early. It is especially remarkable that He did so, in light of the  His schedule the prior day. It had been the sabbath but there had been no rest! He had taught in the synagogue, cast a demon out, healed Simon’s mother-in-law. Then the work began! In the evening, the entire village arrived at the door and He turned nary a sick or possessed person away. Most of us would have slept in and taken the next day off, but Jesus started the day early in prayer and solitude.

At this point in the story, I try to put myself in Simon’s sandles. My brother Andrew and I have just been called to fish for men instead of fish. I don’t fully understand what that means, but the previous day tells me I now follow a rabbi who teaches with an authority unlike any guest teacher our local synagogue has ever hosted. I know that our little band of followers will heal and deliver, but this is all very new to me. I’m accustomed to boats, nets and sails. Suddenly I am waist deep in needy people. It’s hardly daylight and my tea is still boiling, yet I hear voices outside my house. The first knock comes at the door. A neighbor hails me. Another calls out. I open the door and, O Lord, there are more! Where have they come from, Tiberius down along the coast?

Peter and his wife go to find Jesus. Where did He sleep last night? I thought He decided to sleep on the mat on the roof. Jesus where did you go? Were you aware that “Everyone is looking for you?” (Mk 1:37b).

Here’s my takeaway. Today, solitude suffers inattention because it is undervalued. When our nets are full of needy people, we can’t leave them. But Jesus sets a different example. He retreats. He makes Himself unavailable. He knows He must seek direction for what is next, not merely meet the needs that clamor for His attention now.


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Categories : To the heart

Should black churches try to be multi-ethnic?

3 02 2012

A recent article in UNITY IN CHRIST MAGAZINE contained an article (Feb 2012)entitled, “Is the Preservation of Cultural Expression in Worship A Legitimate Basis for Homogenous Church Ministry?” The leading question posed by author Art Lucero (also the publication’s editor) is: Should Black Churches in ethnically diverse communities be given a pass to become multiethnic congregations simply because they desire to preserve a black cultural expression of worship? If you would like to read the article you can find it here. I felt I wanted to respond to the article, and include my comment below:

BOB RASMUSSEN RESPONSE:

As a white male, it is very difficult for me to understand the importance that the American black church has held for blacks throughout US history.  But as I try to understand it, I come to respect the viewpoint of my black brothers and sisters. With apologies for generalizing, blacks must accommodate the dominant American culture most of their lives. To get education, to get a job, etc. they must adapt to the ways white-led institutions operate. In light of this, I can begin to appreciate the fact that many blacks desire to preserve their church as an environment where they do not have to work constantly at adapting to other cultures.

At the same time, I am one who has been exposed to the beauty of multi-ethnic (or as I prefer, intercultural) church. I believe that we have the possibility of reflecting the diversity of the barrier-bashing Kingdom of God won at the cross of Christ. One of the most powerful ways we as believers can witness to the divided world in which we live is by dwelling together in unity within the same local church. For blacks to intentionally choose to fellowship with whites is, given our history in America, one of the most powerful witnesses of the gospel possible today.

I believe there are very few white persons, especially males, who have the credibility to speak into this issue unless we clarify that we are speaking in theory as opposed to experience. The typical white experience in America is so far removed from the typical black experience that we cannot liken our feelings or convictions about multi-ethnic church to those of our black brothers and sisters. We move into a multi-ethnic context from a position of historical strength. Our black brothers and sisters do so from a position of historical weakness. (Please forgive me if I am mis-stating this reality)

When my wife and I moved to a new city five years ago, we sought for a church with a multi-ethnic vision. We were delighted to find such a church that had a black pastor with a primarily black congregation (75% I’d say). It has not always been easy to be there, but we have come to appreciate the grace that God has shown to our congregation as we have persistently worked toward unity and understanding. Everyone works to appreciate the way other people do things, and the kind of self-denial that Jesus calls his followers to is necessary week in and week out. One of the greatest gifts I have received is a couple of African-American guys who I now call friends.

So, not all black churches are “getting a pass” or even wanting one.


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Categories : Ethnicity & Culture, New Community

Why send missionaries?

26 12 2011

There are voices in the Church today that look at missions-sending primarily through the lens of financial ROI (return on investment). They argue that a US-sent missionary is too expensive compared to the low cost of supporting nationals in their own country. Without getting deeply into this issue which has many facets unseen through the financial lens, such as the crippling dependency that results from the dollar, I am prompted today to share with you a letter I received this morning from one of my seminary classmates who has spent decades in West Africa. This letter reminds me of one of the reasons we must continue to send out missionaries from the USA: We need their perspective to help us see our own lives more clearly.

Here is the letter from Steve and Carol Smith:

Dear friends,

Carol and I stopped by the Nutrition center of the El Rapha Health Center on Wednesday where we saw a young mother with her six month old baby girl who weighed 3 ¾ lbs. (that’s not a typo). Our hearts broke as we saw a tiny adult-looking face (NO baby fat) with big sad eyes & listened to the little girl moaning in her mother’s arms unable to understand why she was suffering. The reason this child is at death’s door from malnutrition is not because the mother doesn’t love her but because of ignorance, unhealthy child-care traditions and poverty.

Another child was born into the poorest of circumstances and grew up in a backwater town in the Middle East over 2000 years ago. On that fateful night an angel announced to the most despised social class of the day these life-giving words: “unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Because he came, there is hope for this broken world. Because he came, we are here for such a time as this and you are where you are for such a time as this and the gospel we live and speak is “the power of God for the rescue of everyone who believes.”

May our hearts break for all who have not yet heard and who moan in misery without knowing why.  May God have mercy on this child and all the children who suffer.  May the love of God in Christ constrain us to no longer live for ourselves but for him who died and rose again on our behalf.

We want to thank you very much for being partners with us as we serve the Lord here in Côte d’Ivoire. We couldn’t do it without you. Your prayers and encouragement and support help us in so many different ways.

We wish you a blessed Christmas season and a New Year full of the joy of knowing Jesus and of making him known.

Steve and Carol


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Categories : To the heart

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