We’re praying for our friends in the Southern United States. What devastation in New Orleans and beyond.

This will keep you updated. CNN.com

I also encourage you to watch for something.

In the midst of disaster and suffering, the dark sides of humanity will come forward. Suffering doesn’t so much form character as it does expose the character that is already there.

Yet, something else comes forward in the face of suffering. The imago Dei (image of God) that men and women are created in tends to shine through.

People show love, kindness and courage when we as a human family are suffering significant loss together. The Image breaks through the surface, time and time again, in these times. A firefighter runs into a burning building. A stranger risks her life to save a stranger.

We can run but we can’t hide; our eyes betray us — we are made in the image of God. Watch and listen for it in the news.

Poor Dorothy.

There she is, standing in pain, with her hopes dashed. Toto is yapping at this unfortunate turn of events.

She now sees that that the mysterious, wish-fulfilling, sacred Wizard is just a little man guiding a big machine. She is seeing the underbelly of it all, and her heart has fallen.

Dorothy has a choice to make in the moment. Four options leap to her mind:

She can run to help the little man.
Sensing her shared community in the broken human family with the little man, with compassion (and even appreciation) filling her heart, she can help both him and her become something neither of them could ever be without each other. She can be a Catalyst From Within.

She can simply stand there.
Disoriented by her awakening, and conflicted over whether her compassion should call her inward to help or her anger should call her out and away from the mess, she chooses neither. She can be a Watcher On The Border.

She can leave.
Realizing she never should have trusted any part of the Wizard’s story, she can simply run away and leave the Wiz to himself, never to visit again. She can be a Forgoer Of The Story.

She can leave for a time.
Astounded by the lack of substance in the outward form, yet realizing a strange and powerful attraction to the story the Wizard represents, she can seem to all to be leaving. However, she just needs some time — she’s still in the gravitational pull of the story represented; she’s just cutting a wide arc for the moment.

She needs time to see the Wiz as the world sees him, and time to catch a fresh vision for herself of what the Wizard represents. She can be a Reformer Of The Wizard/Reteller Of The Story.

I’m preparing to teach a new course, Contemporary Worship Leadership, at St. Stephen’s University in a week or so.

It’s exciting to finalize the syllabus, and to consider the gift of contemporary worship expression in enriching both the full body of worship work done through the ages, and in enriching our emerging communities of faith in the world.

Writing the chapter and responses for Broadman Holman’s new worship book (to be released next year) continues to be an exploration both of what is evident in the 21st century Church, and what is less evident in my own heart — namely the nature of worship that arises from people saturated in postmodern cultural milieus.

I am also reconsidering the necessity we all have to learn, relearn, and unlearn in our process of growth.

Learning is usually exhilarating, if the subject holds our interest.

Relearning can be renewing, as we remember core truths that have inspired and centered us in the past.

Unlearning is a grueling process requiring humility, forgiveness, mental effort and spiritual strength.

I’m praying for my students to have the maturity it takes to embrace all three of these growth opportunities, and to reliquish their minds to God as they develop both philosophy and skills that will serve the Church and the culture.

All my life I’ve struggled with swimming. I’ve almost drowned twice, and I would add one more time simply due to the terror that swept through me that I might go under.

I typically chalked up my lack of water-favor and water-fervor to my lack of swimming lessons when I was a child, or my sinus issues when freestyling. My wife and friends swim across a lake, and I only join them if I’m wearing a life preserver or sporting a raft.

Then, a friend informed me that because of bone density, there are some people who tend to sink, while others tend to float. I never heard such a thing; but it explained alot. I’ve always struggled to stay above the water, in every setting.

As far back as I can remember, I sunk. Add to this that I hate getting cold, and you understand why I happily watch my children spend hours in the water while I watch from the sidelines.

Then, my friend Brian bought a BodyGlove. $35 CAN at Costco. Big end of summer sale.

He said, “I float. I’m warm. I want to swim.”

After much deliberation, I bought one.

I float. I’m warm. I want to swim, too.

My life has changed this summer. I want to swim. All the time. You can’t get me out of the water.

A simple truth. A risky purchase based on a simple truth. An outward change that others would find fodder for uninvited commentary. Old fears displaced by a fresh sense of possibility.

As an unwitting evangelist for BodyGlove, I now have 4 friends interested in buying one themselves, and none of them surf.

One man’s hope precipitates another’s; not a work that is so hard to do when one has fully bought in, and taken the risk. Thanks, BodyGlove.

P.S. My wife is diggin’ the new look. Smokin’.

Over this past week, my two daughters have caught my attention once again.

Both are beautiful in their own mysterious, sweet way — reminiscent of their radiant, dark-eyed mother.

Both play my heartstrings like a master plays a strativarius, and both are young girls rapidly flowering into young women.

Often, one of them comes up behind me, puts their hand through the crook of my arm, and nestles their head on my side.

To say that my heart leaps with fatherly delight in those moments is a supreme understatement.

In those moments, I realize that I am changing the world with a glance and an embrace.

To reach the next generation with a sacred way of living, strong ideals and a faith that is sustainable through the storms of cultural and sociological shift (both personal and global), is to reach our children.

They are the first Church given to me to pastor, nurture and celebrate.

To deeply reach our children, is to deeply reach our grandchildren, great grandchildren and generations beyond.

This is the gift we bring today, to the future family of mankind.

There are so many quick thoughts about God’s judgement, His decision-making, in the world.

Some jump on the judgement bandwagon whenever there is disaster (that doesn’t impact them significantly), and declare God’s judgement is being enacted. Their mouths should be wired shut.

Others, a kinder, gentler segment of the race, will never even allow the language of God acting in macro-history to cross their lips, or enter their minds. They are empathic toward individuals, yet find it difficult to consider that course-corrections in humanity may be being made by an outside Source. For these, random acts of disaster are just that - random.

I lean toward the latter, but do believe that God acts in ways that are beyond our perception and reason. I.e. There is a bigger Story, though I choose not to even try to state it in the face of personal or corporate disaster.

A glance at the scriptures shows a few key elements that may help us be more silent in the face of what we perceive to be God’s declaration of endorsement or refusal:

Biblical Ideas On God’s judgement:

true

impartial

It is based on:

What is actually done,

Something is based on “day of Jesus Christ” - i.e. the day when secrets are revealed.

Their mission: to knock off as many tin cans as possible from their precarious perch on the rotting log. To catch and release water dwellers with flies and lures of brightest hue.

Their arsenal: a crossman bb gun, a wrist-rocket slingshot, 3 conventional rods (various) and 1 fly rod (Shakespeare).

Their haven: a friend’s cabin in the ever deepening woods of New Brunswick.

I’m on vacation this week with my brother’s family here, and at least two young male cousins (and two older brother/dads) are in little boy heaven. Back later this week after we’re done hittin’ and catchin’ stuff.

PLUNDER UPDATE:

SuperSon Of Author: 3 steel can lids (dented and pierced by the youngest with a crossman air rifle), multiple trees struck and left standing, 1 squirrel that is now wary of young humankind, and one small-mouth bass that lived on the hook for 3 minutes - then got away (first catch ever).

Big Brother Of Author: 2 small-mouth bass, “Man-I-Need-Some-Waders” award, and constant rescuing of young fishermen from their unwieldy rods and lack of “DangerSense.”

PowerCousin Of SuperSon: 3 small-mouth bass, and at least 15 that “hit the lure hard and got away.” Note: The latter fish were all large, 13-18 inch prehistoric beast-fish.

Author: 8 small-mouth bass (personal best; caught and released on a beadhead fly for all my fellow fly-fishing enthusiasts), and one deeply satisfying, familial getaway.

I live in a place where seeing the stars on a crystal summer night is commonplace; the edison lights of strong cities are distant and enveloped in the blackness of velvet, maritime nights.

The beautiful truth about gazing at the stars is not that one simply looks at their shimmering beauty and appreciates their gift, but rather that their aged beauty looks into us.

Seeing what it can see, the entering starlight parts the soft curtains of our soul, scintillates the lifewaters it finds, and draws from our lips a breath of thanks.

At Brian McLaren’s blog, he shares some of his journey in participating in the emergent Church conversation, and some of the misunderstandings he’s wrestled with as a pioneer leader.

Some rich insights into human nature, and how we respond to views that challenge us, can be found here.

Brian McLaren’s blog.

Another friend introduction seems fitting for today (even if they don’t have a blog).

HEWIT is a band made up of some dear friends and musicians I’ve had the privilege to play with, pray with and laugh with many times through the last 15 years.

Each member is incredibly skilled and talented, and they come together with a brilliant sonic/lyrical synergy.

Many labels have been courting them lately (Sony and others), and they’re committed to being Kingdom people in the midst of culture.

If you’re tastes are even remotely like mine, you’ll love their work. Click the Hewit Player on the site to listen.

Joel, Brad, Tony, Curtis and Darryl — keep your eyes clear and your hearts true.

Vicki Beeching is a friend who many of you will know of from the Hungry CD from Vineyard Music UK (she sings Come Now Is The Time To Worship on the project).

We were both leading at an event in Toronto recently, and here is her music and blog connection (along with some of her recent music). She’s a Great Heart.

Vicki’s MySpace Site.

Vicki’s Blog.

I’m in the middle of preparing the next Inside Worship magazine today, with a working title of “Worship & Community.”

Author Phyllis Tickle and others are putting together some great material for me on this topic.

Any thoughts on worship and community life that you may want to deposit here, I’m in the mood.

Here’s one of the last issues in .pdf form: IW Ancient Ways In Worship (Brian McLaren contributed to this issue).

I place a Pear in the middle of a room, and that Pear is my content.

I invite a poet, dancer, novelist, winemaker, businessman, gardener, painter and sculptor into the room, and ask them to create something related to the Pear. The myriad creations are different forms that embody the content. Form (the Pear creations), and Content (the Pear).

While pop-church continues to tweak the forms (the Pear creations) in which we express and engage the content (the Pear) of the Kingdom message, many of us are suggesting that the pear is beaten, bruised and in need of examination.

We have numerous, and significant content issues to address related to what the Church is expressing is the “Kingdom” message.

The content (the Pear) of our theology (what is God like?), anthropology (who is man/woman at root?) and biblical perspective (what did Jesus’ really say?) need to be signficantly reflected on if the Church is to grow in power in the world.

God is doing His part. We must do ours, and use all our hearts and minds to their fullest to do so.

When we mess with the Pear, the pain begins; it’s called reformation. Not all reformations are bloody, but they are all costly, and they are all painful.

But the Pear is worth it. It will heal the world.

Note: When in doubt what the Pear is — we love and feed and clothe and care and act like we refuse to believe Eden has changed. The Pear will start to take shape again.

Recently I was standing on the stage floor of the amphitheatre in the ancient city of Phillipi.

Within the 50 or so square feet where I was standing, Paul would have been one of many whose blood would have soaked the soil centuries eariler released by the ripping force of bone-laced whips.

I never identified much with Paul. He represents for me the bold, in-your-face, driver personality, love-him-or-hate-him type.

I’ve always tended to identify more with the classic portrait of the apostle John — head on Jesus’s chest and comfortable with the nickname “beloved.”

In that moment of standing where individual courage (nurtured in community) met systemic hatred (nurtured in culture), I found myself believing something that I think that Paul believed.

I believe that greatness is not a state of personal affairs meant solely for high-achievers and seed of royalty.

Rather, greatness is a normal state of affairs for the human being - living an expansive and generous life both in public and in private.

We are “indisputably bent” as Shaeffer put it, but greatness remains indigenous to the Image within.

I’ll be out on some vacation in Prince Edward Island over the next week, so I may not have net access to post.

I’ll do what I can, but expect next Monday to be the next kick at the can. Till then, I’d love your thoughts on today’s post below, friends.