http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com Wrecked - For The Ordinary en-us Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:04:48 GMT 30 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=intimacy-becomes-reality-thoughts-on-god-from-uganda http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=intimacy-becomes-reality-thoughts-on-god-from-uganda Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart. -1 Peter 1:22 We all long to be known. I mean really known. We long to invite someone else into the vulnerable place where our heart lives. We long for someone to notice our uniqueness, to notice the beauty God has created in our individuality. When we are in pain we long for someone to come along side us and hold us until the storms of life Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=finding-calcutta-pt-2 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=finding-calcutta-pt-2 Continued from Finding Calcutta After climbing over a waist-high, cement barricade that read "DEATH" in spray paint, navigating through some overgrown vines and shrubbery, and stumbling down a worn path that would have sent you head-first into the river if you took just one wrong step, we came upon an abode beneath the city. The area was an encampment of six souls and their possessions on the slant of land beneath a concrete substructure of the street. There Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=the-end-of-faith-does-religious-tolerance-make-any-sense-pt-1 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=the-end-of-faith-does-religious-tolerance-make-any-sense-pt-1 I used to get kicked out of Bible studies (or at least pulled aside for a private talking-to) on a semi-regular basis, and I was rather self-righteously proud of it, because I thought it evidence of the fact that I thought about what I believed, and I challenged others (particularly other Christians) to do the same. My favorite question was, "If you don't have a good reason for believing Christianity to be the truth, then what on earth makes your claim for the trut Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=book-review-dressed-to-kill http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=book-review-dressed-to-kill No one has ever confused me for a fashionista. Mostly because I dont know what a fashionista is. On the other hand, I thought I knew what the Armor of God was. I had studied it, and even spoke on it in ministry and gospel outreach meetings. At one time, I tried to illustrate the message by dressing an assistant in goalie equipment. What can I say? Im Canadian. I was quite excited to read more about this topic that I felt very passionate about. But it wasn Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=blog http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=blog From Mexico: "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need." -Philippians 4:11-13 The Apostle Paul experienced life. Life didnt happen to him. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=against-all-hope-happily-ever-after-pt-1 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=against-all-hope-happily-ever-after-pt-1 I dont think that the television show Friends is meant to evoke deep emotion or dredge up tears from the unknown deep within. Yet as I flipped on the show last night, looking for a quick distraction from work while I ate dinner, I was surprisingly caught off guard by the symbolism of the storyline. In this particular episode, Ross finds himself withering at the prospect of his new flame Emilys return to her home in London. He feels defeated and helpless, and his sister Monica manages Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=72308 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=72308 Welcome to Wrecked for the Ordinary, an online magazine for spiritual misfits. Each week, we publish six new stories from Jesus-followers who are re-imagining culture. For more about us, click here. Here's an excerpt from this week's featured article: When I first met these widows, I was so guarded. I wondered if it was even possible to have real friendships with women so completely different from me. What does an HIV positive woman in abject poverty hav Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=poem-in-times-of-need http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=poem-in-times-of-need In the midst of tears behind doubt's cloudy veil Our Lord will battle the fear Taking time for relief love and comfort strengthens our belief Love that is given freely and joyfully from He who has risen Times of prayer always give thanks to th Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=finding-calcutta http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=finding-calcutta Paul and I drove to downtown Nashville, found an overpriced parking garage, prayed, and took our backpack full of apples and assorted energy bars to the riverside. Immediately, we saw a man sitting on the bench. We approached him and offered him an apple. He declined, saying that he didn't have enough teeth to chew it. I munched on the apple casually as Paul rifled through his bag to give the man something. He settled on a semi-soft breakfast bar. I asked his name. "Some Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=ends-and-means-blessing-is-a-twoway-street http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=ends-and-means-blessing-is-a-twoway-street So, about a month ago, my friend E., who is a short brown woman with a taste for rudely worded, black T-shirts, went into the bank. She approached the teller and asked to open an account, producing a government check she wanted to start having direct deposited. The teller asked whether she had a driver's license. No. Did she have a Social Insurance card? No. Did she have any photo ID? Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=not-how-you-die-but-how-you-live http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=not-how-you-die-but-how-you-live Our son, Ian, is spending his summer in Swaziland, Africa. Last Saturday we made the long drive to the Adventures In Missions headquarters near Atlanta to leave him at training camp. I have been so excited for Ian as he has sent out support letters, collected mission supplies, and packed two suitcases jammed with stuff for this trip. Seeing his excitement and knowing God has specifically called him on this trip has given me such peace in knowing he is right in the center of God's will Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=some-confetti-with-my-overblown-idealism http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=some-confetti-with-my-overblown-idealism When I opened my acceptance package to Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, a bunch of confetti saguaros, suns, and chili peppers fell all over my floor. I just got an interview at Bastyr in Seattle too, but of all things, I think the confetti might have sold me on Tempe. I watched Patch Adams tonight because a friend told me it was about an alternative approach to medicine, and recent events considered, I ought to see it. I was sobbing at the end of this one, es Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=book-review-unchristian http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=book-review-unchristian Im thrilled with the push for Christian authors who are finally engaging the fact that we live in a postmodern world and need to re-think our paradigms of faith and culture in light of those facts. I really sense a revolution happening within the Christian faith, particularly among the younger generations. The exciting thing about this revolution is that its finding ways to reach out beyond itself and quit hiding from the world that needs it most. Authors like Donald Mill Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=71608 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=71608 Welcome to Wrecked for the Ordinary, an online magazine for spiritual misfits. Each week, we publish six new stories from Jesus-followers who are re-imagining culture. This Week: Simplicity: Some Confetti For My Overblown Idealism Culture: unChristian: A Generation's Thoughts on Christianity Arts: In Times of Need Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=the-amazing-sophie-muller http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=the-amazing-sophie-muller A few months ago I had the incredible privilege of visiting Puerto Ayacucho, a town in Venezuala just outside the Amazon Jungle. The town was mostly made up of tribesmen recently moved out of the jungle while those living in the jungle still lived rather primitive lifestyles. While there, I met a man named Ricardo who told me a remarkable story about an extraordinary woman missionary named Sophie Muller. What follows is her story, as told to me by Ricardo. Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=mariah-secrest http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=mariah-secrest It only takes about two seconds to like the band members from 7eventh Time Down. These Kentucky boys will welcome you at once with their good-natured banter and laid-back persona. But dont let them fool you. On stage, they mean business. Straight up rock n rollers, they blend classic rock tactics to make their sound aggressive with enough melodic hooks to lodge their choruses into the mind long after the show is over. They pull from the best of timeless bands such as Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=a-tale-of-three-kings-a-parable-for-every-church http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=a-tale-of-three-kings-a-parable-for-every-church I was meeting my friend Saul for breakfast early one Friday morning, before we started our last day of work for the week. I brought in a book that had been recommended to me by a friend on the off-chance that I'd get a few minutes to read a couple pages before cracking open my laptop. After a carafe of gourmet coffee, fully digesting a couple crepes, and bidding farewell to Saul, I picked up A Tale of Three Kings. It was a short bo Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=innocence-lost-pt-2 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=innocence-lost-pt-2 Continued from Innocence Lost: Effects of the war in Uganda Paul came back for the burial of her family members and she clung to him. She was devastated and terrified that she and her daughter could end up in the ground next to them. The stress of wondering whether you would be the next victim of rebel violence as well as trying to live this nightmare without her husband made her weak. Paul held her and comforted her. When he was with her, it took the edge off the intense pain she f Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=the-hand-that-feeds-her-caring-for-the-elderly http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=the-hand-that-feeds-her-caring-for-the-elderly It was mostly out of a sense of duty that I visited my grandmother. I don't really believe myself when I say it its not that I don't care for her; in fact, I care for her very much. Its just hard to see her not know who I am, to be bedridden and so confused about where she is, so deaf she cannot hear me and so unable to talk above a mumble that really I cannot hear her either. In honesty I'd have to admit that I was relieved when I found her sleeping in the Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=christmas-in-july-consumerism-in-christs-name http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=christmas-in-july-consumerism-in-christs-name This may seem a little absurd to some. I mean, its just a Christmas store and Christmas is the day we celebrate Christs birth by showing others how much we care. We give presents, eat giant hams, spend hundreds on electricity, and read the second chapter of Luke. So why then should a store that helps us celebrate make me so uncomfortable? Well, it does. I walked into the worlds largest Christmas store and started spinning because of all the false theology I was witnessing. I literall Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=792008 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=792008 Welcome to Wrecked for the Ordinary, an online magazine for spiritual misfits. Each week, we publish six new stories from Jesus-followers who are re-imagining culture. This Week: Simplicity: The Hand That Feeds Her Culture: Christmas in July: Consumerism in Christ's Name Arts: Voices in Culture: 7eventh Time Down Community: A Tale of Three Kings: A Parable for Every Church Adventure: The Amazing So Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=reaping-and-sowing http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=reaping-and-sowing There is this field in my mind and in it I am reaping what I have sown. Every day, all day, I am reaping what I sowed. And it is always day. There is one row of the field, and it is endless, almost endl Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=searching-for-a-spiritual-father-pt-3 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=searching-for-a-spiritual-father-pt-3 Continued from Searching for a Spiritual Father, Pt. 2 Like I said, there were other father figures, but I just can't take the time to talk about all of them. One was a man named David. A little bit thin on the top of his head, with a slightly metro-sexual bent to him, and a great tenor voice, he and I were a weird match, but he poured some key life lessons into me. The main conversa Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=hope-in-darkness-the-story-behind-the-movement http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=hope-in-darkness-the-story-behind-the-movement We often ask God to show up. We pray prayers of rescue. Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue, to be His body, to move for things that matter. He is not invisible when we come alive. Spoken by Jamie Tworkowski, founder of the To Write Love On Her Arms organization, those words have been a source of much inspiration in my life. I started the HID (Hope In Darkness) project at the end of last year in hopes of making a difference. I kept looking around and seeing a Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=christians-and-divorce-stay-together-for-the-kids http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=christians-and-divorce-stay-together-for-the-kids My parents are still married. Once upon a time, this was not an unusual statement to make. These days, it's becoming more and more an aberration. My parents are still married (it must be 43 years now) despite the fact that they began with many strikes against them in the department of "Marriage Survival Likelihood." They are still married despite chapter after chapter of life throwing them reasons to turn on one another and quit. The Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=innocence-lost http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=innocence-lost A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families -Psalm 68:5-6 Joyce grew up in the quiet peacefulness of village life. She loved her parents and they loved her, always taking good care of her. She learned to cook traditional Acholi food from her mother. Her mother was known as a great cook and neighbors loved to come to their home to eat her delicious food. When the whole village gathered sh Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=living-simply-and-loving-well http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=living-simply-and-loving-well Today we visited the largest slum village in Nairobi. We spent the day walking miles through the slums and it was unreal. Their homes are nothing but dirt huts with pieces of cloth to act as doors. They all work right out of their backyards I guess you could say. They grow what they can and sell corn right outside their doors. Their homes, their land, these things are their livelihood so they do the best they can with them. But whats so beautiful to me is the way they look a Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=722008 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=722008 Welcome to Wrecked for the Ordinary, an online magazine for spiritual misfits. Each week, we publish six new stories from Jesus-followers who are re-imagining culture. This Week: Simplicity: Living Simply and Loving Well Culture: Christians and Divorce: Stay Together for the Kids? Arts: Reaping and Sowing Community: Hope In Darkness Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=animal-abuse-and-sin http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=animal-abuse-and-sin I started my "dream job" this week at a Christian shelter for abused women and their children. Part of my training is a big stack of reading on the psychology, sociology, patterns, and problems of abuse, including deep exploration of biblical perspectives on it. I've been consuming and processing the information fast and hard all week, and I can feel it changing me as it works its way through me. I read about a couple of interesting studies done on animals, and these in particular g Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=church-at-home-is-it-real-fellowship http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=church-at-home-is-it-real-fellowship Church. Exactly what is church? Just what does it mean? Many people associate church with a building, cars parked outside and members dressed in their Sunday best. Church is something we do on Sundays. We tithe. We sing three worship songs and listen to the sermon. Go home, rinse, and repeat next Sunday. It can be as meaningful or as meaningless as people want it to be. Church can be our lifeline, our rock, our way to thank and praise God. Yet it only happen Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=idolatry-of-the-office-of-the-american-president http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=idolatry-of-the-office-of-the-american-president This is a plea to the American public. More specifically, it is an outcry to the body of Christ. It is a reminder that in this day and age, our hope and trust do not, must not, and can not lie in the office of the Presidency of the United States. Our hope lies in our God, and God alone. He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and mig Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=caring-for-widows-an-interview-with-kari-miller-part-2 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=caring-for-widows-an-interview-with-kari-miller-part-2 Kari Miller left for Kampala, Uganda in May 2007 hoping to love the poor. She encountered Dorcas Widows Ministry and found a way to love. She has since become incredibly involved in the ministry, starting a school sponsorship program within the ministry, allowing Uganda widows to earn an income through a beaded jewelry business and other various components that has continued to build a community for the Dorcas Widows. Here she tells us more about her personal relationships with the women and t Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=searching-for-a-spiritual-father-pt-2 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=searching-for-a-spiritual-father-pt-2 Continued from Searching for a Spiritual Father There were a few touch-and-go discipling relationships, one of which was J. (not Jay, just J.), the pastor who baptized me my senior year in college. I called him once and asked if there was anyone in the church leadership who could disciple me. The next Sunday, he came up to me and told me that he could do it. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=voices-in-culture-ever-stays-red-interview http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=voices-in-culture-ever-stays-red-interview Theres a quote hanging in my hallway taken from U2s book, Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2. It says: when you are given a gift, you have to use it. You have to deal with the responsibilities and dilemmas of it. You cannot run from it. You cannot hide your light under some bushel of safety and hope that it just goes away. Youve got to face the consequences of who you are and what your vocation is (30). Those words echoed in my head Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=62508 http://www.wreckedfortheordinary.com/index.asp?filename=62508 Welcome to Wrecked for the Ordinary, an online magazine for spiritual misfits. Each week, we publish six new stories from Jesus-followers who are re-imagining culture. This Week: Simplicity: Animal Abuse and Sin Culture: Idolatry of the American President Arts: Voices in Culture: Ever Stays Red Interview Community: Church at Home: Real Fellowship? Adventure: Searching for a Spiritual Father, Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT