quick other link...

...we just received another example of the kind of "extension ministry" we are privileged to play even a tiny part in. If you know how to make your way around "Youtube" we think you'll find this link pretty stirring.
This video is called Heal India and it shows HCJB's "Voice and Hands ministry" in India. It is a great example of integration in a country.
Just "cut and paste" this into your browser and you should be away (although as with most "Youtube" videos you'll likely need to let it cycle through once before playing it through without interruptions: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wyTiZj3U1k

Peace!

"...a pencil in His hand."

If you've tracked our journey at all over the past couple of months (years?) I hope you have caught glimpses of the transformation that God continues to do in and through English Fellowship Church. A significant part of that has come through the ebb and flow of life in an exceedingly transient community.
As we have tried to share over the past few years, many of the mission agencies that had deep and historic roots in this community have been recasting their visions for other parts of the world. That has increased the flow through the "traditional revolving door" in the community... and has led to a lot of heart-wrenching "good-byes." At the same time, there is still more than a "remnant" of that missionary core and reaching into/nurturing their hearts and minds continues to be one of our most unique privileges/responsibilities. A huge part of our role as a church is lived out as we seek to "feed and care for" a wide array of people that are involved in some extraordinary ministries throughout the week.
I was reminded of that in a very individual and personal way on Monday morning when I received a very unexpected email from a friend and fellow missionary. He has been enduring some intense and extended strain in his home and as hard as it has been to watch from the outside I cannot fathom what it might be like on the inside. I cannot describe what went on inside of me as I read his email...which included, in part: "I just wanted to say that the Holy Spirit touched (his wife) today in the service. We had a great time of crying forgiveness and open conversation after church . We hugged and she said that she loved me it was the best hug and kiss that I have had in several months. It was one of those hugs that you could tell it was from the heart. God is in control, Praise God. Please continue praying for us because I know the devil will be attacking again."
That is a humbling example of the way God has seen fit to use us over the years to contribute to many of the ministries that extend across the country. Ironically, one of the last things I mentioned in Sunday's message was a quote from Mother Theresa who once said, “I don't claim anything of the work. It is His work. I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all.” Isn't that a great statement?

With that, I wanted to pass along an opportunity for you to get a closer look at one ministry in particular. The couple that God stirred to come and launch it arrived about the same time I did (1990). Over the years we have had the privilege of supporting them personally and corporately as a church...as well as serving as a "spiritual triage center" for many of their short and long-term missionaries. By God's grace, the founder of that ministry has also become one of our most cherished elders. I had the privilege of going back into a recording studio (after more than just a couple of years!) to provide the narration for their latest video (I think/hope I've learned enough to attach it here! I hope it gives at least a small glimpse into another example of the ministries that God allows us to walk closely beside.)

On the Potter's wheel (Jer. 18),
Len

I have mentioned before that I am a self-labeled "Bummer." That is, if you track the sort of things that track this sort of thing, you will see that my age (44) has me on the line that separates "Busters" and "Boomers." So, the Buster part of me is almost technologically giddy at the toys, gadgets and opportunities that abound in the ever-changing worlds of communication and information. The Boomer part of me is more inclined to be intimidated and frequently frustrated by the reality that my 11 year-old daughter knows more about or can pick up any piece of technology far more quickly than I can...and often need to.
So last week I was trying to come up with some kind of a multi-media gimmick that would underline the point that I was trying to make in Sunday morning's service. The following is a rewrite of part of the message, which sets the stage for the "gimmick" that I came up with after almost nine hours of wrestling with technology!

EFC is an international, intercultural and interdenominational church that is truly and visibly in the process of transformation. On any given Sunday, we have people from all across the spectrum of faith.

Some of our people have been around long enough to remember that our first service used to be called “contemporary.” The second was called “traditional.” The challenge with labels like that started to become pretty apparent a few years ago.

Some people would come to the contemporary service with a picture in mind of what “contemporary” is, knowing that the word means “up-to-date; modern; new.” They found the music and the whole “feel” of the place not exactly what they would consider contemporary.

People like me who didn’t grow up anywhere near a church would get to the traditional service and hear song after song that we had never heard before. For us, it was “new” music. I did some research and found that some of the “contemporary” songs were older than some of the “traditional” ones.

Then we started trying to do what many churches have – and “blend” our services. In many churches that has basically meant a mixture of “choruses” and “hymns.”

Then we started getting into trouble if someone led what was considered a “hymn” with what might be considered a “contemporary” beat.

One morning, four high school girls sang Acapella and made a “contemporary” song sound pretty darn “traditional” (and they did it quite fabulously, I might add!)

Then it really got tricky when we started singing some songs in Spanish. Many of the songs seemed totally new to a lot of people (aka: gringos) yet they were well known to a growing number of the people that were finding their way here.

At that time, someone loaned me a book that turned a huge light on for me. It talked about how what is generally considered “traditional” church music has as its primary feel (or theme) awe, reverence and amazement.

What is generally considered “contemporary” music has celebration and joy and freedom as its main flavors.

So we decided that rather than trying to mix music styles, we would seek to bring together awe, joy, reverence, celebration, amazement and freedom.

Not long after we started doing both services the same, I talked to a first-time visitor after the first service and found out he was from a pretty big “C” conservative and pretty big “P” Presbyterian church background. In a rare moment of honesty, he asked if our services were always so wild.

Then we did the second service…the same as the first. Afterward, I talked to another first-time visitor who had come from a pretty big “C” as-in-charismatic background and he wondered if our services were always so dead.

Some of the people that make their way to EFC are from churches where the man in my place wore a robe. An organ was the only instrument.

Some come out of churches where I could wear shorts and flip-flops…and had never seen an organ like ours before coming here.

Some come out of churches where women often stand where I do and teach. Some come from churches where a woman could only come up to announce next Friday’s bake sale.

Some feel uncomfortable if someone says “Aaaamen” out loud. Some think it is a little strange if no one says it.

Some would appreciate it if we would hand out cotton balls with the bulletins (for their ears); some wonder why we keep the music turned down so low.

Some are longing to worship like King David in 2 Samuel 6 and strip down and dance through the place.

Some are still so new to the whole “church thing” pretty much everything is kind of weird to them.

Yet I am increasingly convinced that authentic worship happens when we respond freely and genuinely after having seen or been reminded of the Living God; it is what happens when I respond freely and genuinely after deciding or remembering who Jesus is to me.

There isn’t a formula or model of what it should “look like” each and every time it happens.

For some, being led in a liturgical reading that they learned as a child stirs it.

For some, being reminded of the Living God leads them to bow their head or silently close their eyes.

For some, it is all they can do to keep their body still.

Things like mutual respect, concern for being a distraction, sensitivity to those around us, need to play a part in what happens when we come together.

At the same time, the leaders of EFC long to see us continue to nurture an environment that allows for genuine responses when people encounter the Living God.

Spending an hour or so together once a week, trying to remember and respond to the Living God really should be a time that draws us together…yet I don’t know if there is another time of week where the enemy tries as hard to pull us apart! (It can be really easy to treat a church service like your iPod or radio dial: tune in to the songs you like and tune out the ones you don’t.

I thought about all of that after the previous week’s service. The song we used as we wrapped up the message was “Because He Lives.” It got me thinking about my favorite version of that song; one that brings together two very different traditions and styles of music.

I spent a full day pulling pictures off “Google Images” to try to visually illustrate the way that song blends music—and worship.

...okay, so last Friday evening we finally took down the Christmas tree and decorations. That is not the reason I switched to a green font today; I think you'll catch the connection to the green as I make my way through this.
Beth made this awesome "pizza dip" for us to devour while we got the living room back to "normal" on Friday evening. Sunday evening is traditionally "leftover" night in the Kinzel home, so with Friday's work behind us, this Sunday I happily chowed down on what I thought was the last of the pizza dip.
I went on to spend the night and all day Monday dealing with my stomach (and at least one other unmentionable body part) letting me know that there was something foreign and extremely unwanted in my body. I automatically linked it to either where we had lunch on Sunday or brunch on Saturday.
This morning I happened to notice the untouched container of "pizza dip leftovers" in the fridge. It was still very early in the morning and my body was still rebounding from the "internal conflict" of the previous 36 hours but my brain was still able to make the unpleasant connection: I had not eaten the pizza dip on Sunday night. I don't know about your fridge, but there are times when ours becomes host to long-forgotten Tupperware containers and their contents. Disgusting conclusion: I had rediscovered one of those on Sunday evening.
This morning, I watched Beth and the girls eat breakfast as we tried to recall what "could have been" in that container. The "eewwwwwww!" factor grew as we remembered meals from days and then weeks ago...and still couldn't come up with anything that sounded like it could have resembled that pizza dip.
As I click this, the unpleasant reality is that I have no idea whatsoever what I ate or how long it had been lurking in the back of our fridge.

Note to self: buy a grease pencil so you can put dates and contents on all Tupperware containers
that make their way to the fridge.

Dry but expectant, so...

...it must be Monday. That has been the rhythm of my weeks for as long as I can remember. It is late Monday night and I feel about as creative as a flannel graph from the seventies. Still, the weekly pressure looms. Sunday's message needs to be in the hands of the translator by Wednesday morning.
It still staggers me how positive the response has been since we began offering written copies of my messages on Sundays. Being an old radio dog apparently has some benefits. I teach pretty much straight from a manuscript; I have all along (despite the efforts of some to break me of it!). About two years ago, as God began to drastically transform the make-up of the church (with a staggering in-flux of "exploring Ecuadorians") we began making written copies of the day's message available for ESL folks as they came in on Sunday. They were more thrilled than we could have imagined; saying that being able to listen while following with their eyes was a major boost to their comprehension. Many mentioned how they would take the script home (or to the office) to keep going over it during the week -- and even share it with people around them. About three months ago we got the idea to tap the brilliance of our extremely bilingual secretary and began putting out the script in parallel, bilingual form -- side-by-side in English and Spanish. Response has stunned us; not only the gratitude of the people but the way many are spreading the messages around long after they leave here -- some even by leading their own Bible studies! Plus, many of the "gringos" are grateful to have the opportunity to continue to polish their Spanish.
We never could have guessed that God would use something like this as such a uniquely powerful tool. Between 100 and 150 scripts leave here every Sunday morning. Encouraging yet humbling and occasionally intimidating, especially when it involves getting a lesson written so early in the week. Still, literally every week I am stunned as God leads me from dryness to inspiration to insight to polishing to presentation. Ironically, even this blog feels as dry as dust. I suspect I will be back to it in the coming days, for a little more refinement...of me and of it!