This week's post by Brandon Adent, a deacon at Redeemer Church. He likes words, music, and words about music, and has already had one cup of coffee too many. 

I get angry both too often and not enough.

I get riled up by inconveniences, such as slow internet or getting cut off on the highway.

But I don’t get angry near enough, not well enough, and not at the things I should. I think I’m scared to do that.

We know that God is, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex 34.36). We know, as well, that He does get angry (Judges 2, Exodus 32.9).

Human anger is scary because, even as it's not always violent, it is imperfect - or, I should say - we’re imperfect. We don’t get mad about what we should, so we have a tendency to think that our anger is inherently bad, and even if it’s righteous, our emotions - or our intellect - can easily lead us into sin; we like to think that we’re the Judge.

While human anger can be scary, it’s nothing compared to God’s anger. When He saw sin and ruin and injustice, He did something about it. He sent His Son for the wicked, and not until He had unleashed His calculated, controlled, perfect, terrifying and righteous wrath on Jesus was His mission “finished”.

We get mercy. And it’s only because our Father understands justice, and gave His Son what we deserve.

Because of the grace we have in Him, we can work for justice, mercy, and grace in this world without fear of the eternal consequences of getting it wrong.

Like Nehemiah, filled with sorrow for Jerusalem’s lack of walls, or Moses’ fury with the nation of Israel as they broke the covenant just as it was instated, we should get angry at the things that the things that make God angry, things that are an affront to His rightful authority, and prayerfully take action.

Again, we should be careful with our anger, even if it's righteous. There may be earthly consequences for taking the wrong action. But there could also be earthly consequences to doing nothing.

So what’s broken around you? Where do you see injustice, hurt, pain, and suffering? Where is justice a joke, where are human rights neglected, where is there a lack of love, of mercy, of compassion?

Ask God to act on behalf of the oppressed, and ask Him to stir your heart and mind toward action.

Pray that you’d be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Pray that anger would eventually come, and that your anger would not lead you to sin. (James 1.20, Ephesians 4.26)

Pray that you’d get angry about things that matter, and that we'd work for justice and mercy in this broken world.

This blog post was written by Theresa Adams, a Redeemer member, wife and mom, who would love to have her own roller skating rink & thinks getting her kids to eat kale is a major victory!

Loving others. Serving others. Meeting needs. All of those things can seem so daunting. So overwhelming. It can be paralyzing to know even where to begin. Sometimes people do get immobilized and don't even start. They think the circumstances have to be just so. They think when their kids get older when they have more spare time when they don't have such a heavy class load when they find a cause that breaks their heart then they will begin. I get it. I was that person. I wanted to "do something." I wanted to be a drop in the bucket that would turn into an ocean of loving, compassionate acts. But I didn't even know where to begin. I didn't know what broke my heart. What would make me weep? Sometimes I didn't even want to know that a need was out there. 

When you are living in oblivion/innocence/ignorance, it is so effortless to look the other way. Once you are made aware, it makes it near impossible to go on living without doing something. There is no going back to blissful naivety once you've become acquainted with a need. It's like Nehemiah. He was a Jew, born in Persia during the exile, so he didn't know Jerusalem other than he had relatives there. When he inquired as to the conditions among the Jews there who had survived exile in Jerusalem he went from being unaware of having his heart wrecked. "They told me, "The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still in rubble; the city gates are still cinders." When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven." (NE 1:3,4) The need was not directly affecting Nehemiah, yet he wept. For days. He sought God and then he set out to meet the need.

Perhaps you think: God wouldn't use me.  Why in the world when He has his pick of all the great, kind, loving people on the planet would He ever want to use the likes of me to accomplish something for His Glory? Why would He entrust me to love others?  To serve others? With my past? With my weaknesses? With my judgmental tendencies?  With my greed? With my selfishness?  With my potty mouth? With my grades? Whatever the reason you think you aren't "good" enough to accomplish something for His purpose have you ever thought that when we say we are incapable of being used by Him that we are saying He's made some mistake?  

God made each one of us perfectly and intentionally. He doesn't make mistakes.  It's not as though He had some terrible no-good-very-bad-day when He was creating you.  He knows you from the hairs on your head to the tips of your toes.  He knows your thoughts, your words, your heartbeat and the rhythm of your soul. It's because of the exquisite detail that makes you -you- that no one else can accomplish what you can. No one else can meet a need in the specifically same way as you. No one else can love as you love. Your gifts, skills & compassion differ from mine. What breaks my heart may not break yours. 

If you find yourself longing to "do something"  to serve your neighborhood, your city, your county, your campus, but you don't know what said something is can I encourage you to pray about it? To ask God what breaks your heart? He will be faithful and reveal something to you. He did to me. Years ago it was human trafficking that first gave an awareness to the myriad of needs of our world, country, state, county. And I began small. Sending letters & cards to a shelter in Greece that housed women freed from trafficking. Then it was building an awareness of what went on in our county and connecting with local resources.

 Since that time there have been many different opportunities I've been able to take part in: from giving my credit at a consignment store to a homeless woman so she could buy clothes with dignity, to having garage sales for at-risk-teens, to providing Christmas presents to kids whose parents were unable to provide one of their own.. I don't share this with you as a "look-at-me-I've-got-it-all-figured-out" kind of pat on the back, because truly, I am pretty sure I mess up & miss opportunities on a regular basis. 

What I hope to do by sharing with you is to encourage you. I too once wanted to love others. I wanted to "do something," I wanted to help to serve to make a difference. Sometimes I wonder if that is what Jesus meant when he told his followers: "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:34,35)  He didn't say people would know we were set apart because of the fish logo on the back of our cars. Nor by the verses & well-meaning quotes we share on Facebook. Not even by the in-depth knowledge of doctrine we may have. None of which are insignificant.  But by our love. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's by the feeling of love, but rather the action. An outpouring of activity regardless of the outcome. Regardless of what we gain in return. Love as He loved us.

 If your heart is to love others (Or you want to have that heart) and you'd like to serve alongside those in our county who are already meeting a need here are some possibilities. The list is by no means exhaustive, but it's a start. And isn't that what we need sometimes? Just a start?

http://www.engedirefuge.com/engedi_house.html

http://www.skookumkids.org/

http://www.bellinghamhopehouse.com/

http://www.amysplaceforyouth.org/

http://thewhatcomdream.org/

http://www.reboundwc.com/who-we-are

http://www.pass-the-hat.org/

(Written by Theresa Adams)

Serving our city has been an ongoing conversation at Redeemer. We wanted it to be something tangible and something that would foster relationships with those in our community. We looked around and as you can imagine Bellingham has many needs. It can actually be overwhelming to consider all of the needs and even immobilizing to know where to begin. We hope you agree that by choosing to serve Roosevelt Elementary this summer in our first ever Backpack Drive that it will be a great stepping stone to serving our beautiful Bellingham. 

To some Roosevelt Elementary is known for it's tough (some might call it neglected) exterior. To others it's known for it's Title 1 Reputation. To me (and a few other Redeemer parents) it's known for far more than it's brick & mortar exterior. It's more than it's untended or out-of-date flowerbeds. It's even more than the staggering percentage of kiddos who qualify for free lunch.  You see the school itself has very little to do with the building at all. The heart of the school is the vast array of kiddos & the staff, administrators, teachers & parents who love these kids. They work together tirelessly to ensure the students not only have a high-standard of learning but that they also get to do things like garden or paint a mural. Such simple things many of us would take for granted, but when experienced by so many kiddos who come from homes that just don't have quite enough you're able to see what a special place it is. 

Roosevelt would love to be able to provide back packs to new registering students who don't have the option to go out & buy one. The school would also love to be able to replace back packs for kiddos who are unable to do so but who's bags have seen better days. We hope that by joining together, as the church and provide backpacks for these students that we will be able to lift a bit of a burden from some of these families. The school also has a need for underwear, leggings (for girls) & sweats (for boys)  Often times kids need replacement items throughout the day and unlike many schools Roosevelt chooses not to ask for the items back. Quite simply they believe that the kiddos need the clothes more than the school does & it's evidenced as the kids can usually be found wearing the items the remainder of the year.

Here Is How You Can Help

Over this next year we will have three giving stations located at Redeemer Church (Sanctuary, Redeemer Kids and Commons Building). Every Sunday someone will take those items that you purchase to Roosevelt Elementary School. So if you are out shopping for yourself or your family, please pick up one of the following items listed below and bring it to Redeemer Church for Roosevelt Elementary.

If you are super busy with life and have no time to shop, don't worry, you can still help out. Below are links to Amazon.com and if you purchase these items through these links, Amazon will donate a small amount of the proceeds to Redeemer Church so we can put money back into Roosevelt Elementary. And if you are still to busy, and don't want to forget to bring the items you purchased online feel free to have the items shipped to: (Dane Burgess 820 32nd St Apt 57 Bellingham, WA 98225) 

And he will make sure to take the item to Roosevelt for you. 

Boys Backpack

Girls Backpack

Boys Underwear

Girls Underwear

Boys Sweat Pants

Girls Leggings

Each week, Redeemer Church is going to post 2 blog posts each week from a dear family who has been a part of the Redeemer Church family here in Bellingham for years moved to Africa to do medical education for 9 months. The Sund Family, Greg, Stephanie, Ella, Biniyam, and Mekdes have lived in Burundi for the last 8 months and we wanted you to be up-to-date on all that they are doing and all that is happening in Africa.

Below is the Sund's blog post in September from Africa called "Making History Can Be Painful". You can find more blogs from there personal blog here > Beyond Our Backdoor 

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The anesthesia students have been very excited this week.  That is because today, we scheduled the very first surgery under general endotracheal anesthesia at Kibuye hospital.  There has been an anesthesia machine in the OR since I arrived, but it had not been set up or used until today.  This week, Jason and I worked on getting it ready to go, connecting an oxygen tank to one port, an air compressor to another and filling it with expired halothane and expired CO2 absorbent.  So what could go wrong?

After discussing the plan with the students, drawing up the medications and preparing the intubation equipment, I handed my ipad to one of the students and asked him if he would take a couple pictures of the intubation to memorialize this historic event.  So, we injected the induction drugs, and this patient turned out to be one of the most difficult intubations I have ever encountered.  The reason for the surgery was to remove a tumor on his neck.  This tumor was apparently distorting his airway, making visualization of his vocal cords almost impossible.  So, what should have been a 15 second induction of anesthesia turned into a 45 minute scene of chaos and mayhem.  At one point I could not ventilate the patient and so his oxygen level dropped to undectable  levels.  The medical student with my ipad continued to take pictures this whole time, 133 photos to be exact.  And I remember thinking at one point that I REALLY wished I had not asked someone to take photos of this historic event.

Alas, by the grace of God, the endotracheal tube finally found its home, the man had his surgery, woke up and appears to be doing fine, and hopefully our next general anesthetic will go a little smoother than this one.  

A few of the less incriminating photos ..... (Photos below are a slide show, click through them)

Each week, Redeemer is going to start posting weekly blog posts from a dear family who has been a part of the Redeemer Church family for years who moved to Africa to do medical education for 9 months. The Sund Family, Greg, Stephanie, Ella, Biniyam, and Mekdes moved to Burundi for the last 7 months and we the people of Redeemer to be up to date on all that they are doing and all that is happening in Africa. In Greg's own words, he has shared below why they wanted to go.

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” - Mark 10:42-45

(Greg) This is the paradox and the beauty of the Christian faith, that God Himself became meek and lowly to serve us, and to adopt us into His family.  That is why we go.  We go, because He came to us.  We serve, because He first served us. 

Below is the Sund's latest blog post from Africa called "Walking With The Poor".

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“Poverty is about relationships that don’t work, that isolate, than abandon, or devalue.  Transformation must be about restoring relationships, just and right relationships with God, with self, with community, with the ‘other’ and with the environment.”

What is poverty?  One topic that has become of great interest to me since coming to Burundi is that of transformational development.  The above quote is from a book that I have begun reading called Walking With The Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development by Bryant L. Myers.  This book has helped me better understand the complexity of  poverty as well as the importance of approaching development work from a holistic perspective.  In addition to this, more and more I am realizing how confused my thinking about poverty has been and how much I still have to learn.  

Walking With The Poor starts with a brief history of the idea of development work, an idea that did not even come into existence until the mid 1900s.  While the idea of “charity” existed long before this, the idea of working towards development and poverty alleviation was not articulated until  more recently.  Even once this idea began to be discussed, for decades many considered poverty just in terms of material wealth.  Over the last 20 years, the discussion has shifted as our understanding of what poverty is has become more complex. 

The idea of poverty being about broken relationships has shifted the entire paradigm of development work, and I have seen how this shift in thinking is playing out here at Kibuye and among other development groups working in East Africa.  As an example, the long-term missionaries we are working with at Kibuye spent an entire year of language study before settling here.  They did this because they understood that one cannot develop meaningful relationships with people without understanding and speaking their own “heart language”.  They also have committed to being here for many years, because as well, relationships are not developed and nurtured over a few weeks but rather over months, years and decades.  While I have learned enough French to get by in the hospital and teach the points I think are important for my students, my fluency in French is far from being at the point where I can truly relate to the people I am working with (aside from the few who speak English).  And my Kirundi is almost nonexistent, which prohibits me from developing relationships with my patients, our guards and our house-helper (all people who I desperately want to know more deeply). 

I will confess that to my shame, my motivation for coming to Africa has often been because I want to rescue needy people.  The problem is, I am just as needy as the people I came to rescue.  And I am learning that, historically, it is the people and groups who have come with this very attitude who have done the most damage.  My thinking, my attitude, and my heart all need changing.

Another aspect of poverty that this book discusses, which was new to me, is the “poverty of the non-poor”.  While those living in poverty are often trapped in a web of lies about their own self-worth and value, the non-poor are often equally entrapped in a web of lies about the significance of their (our) wealth and material possessions, believing that it is our cars, homes and retirement savings that define us, and sometimes believing that because we possess these things, that our value and worth is greater than that of those without these possessions. As Brad Pitt said in Fight Club, “eventually, the things we own, begin to own us”. Sadly, this has often been (and still is) true of my own heart, and is often reflected in how I live.  Oh Brad Pitt, you are as wise as you are handsome.

This idea of poverty being about broken relationships also is a great reminder to me of the Gospel.  It was God who has done the ultimate work of restoring our broken relationship with Himself, by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to save, to redeem and to restore us to our Creator and Father, who loved us enough to not leave us in our impoverished condition.  This is for me, the ultimate motivation to continue in this labor.  This is the source of our drive, as well as the goal for which we strive.  May God receive the glory for His work.  

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not." - Dr. Seuss

photo credit: Overture ll via photopin (license)

The following is an excerpt from the Worship Sourcebook regarding Corporate Worship's meaning and purpose. This book was written and published by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; Faith Alive Christian Resources; and Baker Books.

Each week Christians gather for worship in mud huts and Gothic cathedrals, in prisons and nursing homes, in storefront buildings and village squares, in sprawling megachurches and old country chapels. In these diverse  contexts the style of worship caries greatly. Some congregations hear formal sermons read from carefully honed manuscripts; others hear extemporaneous outpourings of emotional fervor. Some sing music accompanied by rock bands, some by pipe organs, some by drum ensembles, some by rusty old pianos, and some by no accompaniment at all. Some dress in their formal Sunday best, others in casual beach clothes.

Yet for all the diversity of cultural expressions and worship styles, there remain several constant norms for Christian worship that transcend cultures and keep us faithful to the gospel of Christ. Especially in an age that constantly focuses on worship still, it is crucial for all leaders to rehearse these transcultural, common criteria for Christian worship and to actively seek to practice them faithfully. Without attention to these basic norms, the best texts, best music, and best forms for worship can easily become distorted and detract from the gospel of Christ that is the basis for Christian life and hope. Though volumes can be written to probe these transcultural norms, even a brief life is helpful for setting the stage for everything that follows in this book.

1. Christian worship should be biblical. The Bible is the source of our knowledge of God and of the world's redemption in Christ. Worship should include prominent readings of Scripture. It should present and depict God's being, character, and actions in ways that are consistent with scriptural teaching. It should obey explicit biblical commands about worship practices, and it should heed scriptural warnings about false and improper worship. Worship should focus its primary attention where the Bible does: on the person and work of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of all creation and the founder and harbinger of the kingdom of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. Christian worship should be dialogue and relational. In worship, God speaks and God listens. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God challenges us, comforts us, and awakens us. And by the prompting of the Holy Spirit we listen and then respond with praise, confession, petition, testimony, and dedication. Scripture constantly depicts God as initiating and participating in ongoing relationships with people. A healthy life with God maintains a balance of attentive listening and honest speech. So does healthy worship. This is why our words matter in worship: they are used by God to speak to us, and they carry our praise and prayer to God.
3. Christian worship should be covenantal. In worship, God's gracious and new covenant with us in Christ is renewed, affirmed, and sealed. The relationship that God welcomes us into is not a contractual relationship of obligations but a promise-based or covenantal relationship of self-giving love. It is more like a marriage than a legal contact. Worship rehearses God's promises to us and allows for us to recommit ourselves to this covenantal relationship. One question to ask of any worship service is whether it has enabled us to speak to God as faithful and committed covenant partners.
4. Christian worship should be trinitarian. In worship we address the triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - one God in three persons, the God of holiness, love, beauty, and power. God is the one who graciously invites our worship and then hears our response. God is the one who perfects and mediates our praise and petitions. God is also the one who helps us comprehend what we hear and prompts us to respond. In worship, then, we are drawn into relationship with God (the Father) through God (the Son) and by God (the Holy Spirit). Worship is an arena in which the triune God is active in drawing us closer, using tangible, physical things like water, bread, and wine; melodies, rhythms, and harmonies; gestures, smiles, and handshakes to nurture and challenge us. In worship we focus out attention on this self-giving God. This God-centered focus also keeps us from the temptation to worship worship itself.
5. Christian worship should be communal. The gospel of Christ draws us into communal life with other people. Worship is one setting in which we see the church in action and we attempt to demonstrate and deepen the unity, holiness, and witness of the church. Worship is a first-person-plural activity. It is extremely significant in worship that otherwise remarkably different people nevertheless offer praise together, pray together, listen together, and make promises together.
6. Christian worship should be hospitable, caring, and welcoming. Christian worship must never be self-centered. In worship we pray for the world and offer hospitality to all who live in fear, despair, and loneliness. Public worship sends us out for worshipful lives of service and witness. Worship not only comforts us with the promises of the gospel but also disturbs us (in the best sense) as we realize the significance of fear and broken in our world and the world's desperate need for a Savior. Worship stokes the gratitude of our hearts that leads naturally to serving the needs of our broken world.
7. Christian worship should be "in but not of" the world. Christian worship always reflects the culture out of which it is offered. Patterns of speech, styles or dress, senses of time, rhythms and harmonies of music, and styles of visual symbols vary widely depending on cultural contexts. At the same time, worship must not be enslaved to culture. it must remain prophetic, challenging any dimension of local culture that is at odds with the gospel of Christ.
8. Christian worship should be a generous and excellent outpouring of ourselves before God. Worship should not be stingy. Like the perfume that anointed Jesus' feet, our worship should be a lavish outpouring of our love and praise to the God who has created and redeemed us. Worship calls for our best offerings. When we practice music, prepare words to speak, set aside gifts of money and time to offer, and ensure that we are rested and ready to give our undivided attention, we are practicing the kind of excellence worthy of our great and gracious God.
9. Christian worship should be both expressive and formative. It should honestly express what a community already feels and has experienced - imitating the biblical psalms in their vividly honest expressions of praise and lament, thanksgiving and penitence. Yet worship should also stretch us to take to our lips words that we would not come up with on our own that- like the Lord's prayer - will shape new and deeper dimensions of faith and life with God. In this way, words become a tool of Spirit-led discipleship, forming us to be more faithful followers of and witnesses to Jesus Christ.

These norms, which are more illustrative than exhaustive, point to enduring lessons of Christian wisdom drawn from two thousand years of practice and reflection. And because they are so important, these basic norms must not simply reside in introductions to books of resources. They must function habitually in the working imaginations of worship leaders each week. Each week people who are responsible for worship have the joyful tasks of imagining how worship can be truly biblical, dialogue, covenantal, trinitarian, hospitable, and excellent.

Also important is that these norms come together. Christians need worship that is simultaneously trinitarian and hospitable, covenantal and "in but not of the world." All too often we make choices that, for example, either deepen our theological vision at the expense of hospitality or weaken our theological vision int he name of hospitality...Page 17-18 (The Practice of Christian Worship) of the Worship Sourcebook

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