Creation Care

well, i don’t even know if i can put this experience into words, but i’ll try, because, well this is a blog after all.

a few weeks back, i was invited to meet with some folks from the evangelical environmental network. this is a non-profit organization that is mobilized to raise awareness among churches about creation care and the environment. they also work on some policy initiatives.

based upon friendships that i have made there, i was invited to attend a dinner that was based around a meeting of several different people and organizations centered around a new partnership that was forming. i was kind of just an objective observer, you might say. what is this partnership you ask? well it is certainly one of the most unlikely ones that i could have ever imagined… it is the christian coalition of america and the national wildlife federation… yes, you read that correctly.

so, last night, i sat there, with folks from places like world vision, food for the hungry and others, jaws dropped, listening to things that we never would have thought possible. the presidents of both organizations applauding each other for the willingness to have a conversation about ways to work together in the future to cut the drastic effects leading to climate change.

it was surreal indeed- and full of noteworthy moments, that if it were not so unprecedented, would have been awkward- but there was a sense that people were happy to be in a place of progress, so they just went with it. like for example, when we had to pause and delay the start of the meal because the coalition wanted to say the pledge of allegiance before we prayed and ate… and the hotel staff was scurrying around trying to track down an american flag… or at the end of the meeting, and people were asked to join hands and pray, lifting up a wide array of requests and words of gratitude… and finally, what might have just been the cap of it all- the president of the coalition requesting that we sing and leading us in an a cappella version of ‘God bless america.’ i aint lyin’…

today the event was capped off by a lunch meeting with senator lindsey graham. he explained to us a new course for bi-partisan work on the environment- which he had hoped both the ccoa and the nwf could get behind and mobilize their networks of people to support. all in all it was an interesting few days.

only in d.c.

*hasler

Humility

humility seems to be a recurring theme in my life and prayers lately.
last friday at our staff prayer/fast, i shared what i thought the Lord was speaking to us through our union station predicament. (see my last post)

now, this morning, i gave one more reminder. i was up for leading our tuesday staff meeting devotion. i read out of 1 peter 1:23-2:3

the message in this text is that we have two lives happening simultaneously. one is the biological life we have been given through our parents. the other is the spiritual re-birth through Christ. both of these things require nourishment and develop growth, and i think there is an important lesson here.

because the ‘new life’ occurs within the context of the old dying one, there are things that work in opposition with one another. in the passage, peter writes about five characteristics that have been developed through our sinful old life.

malice–deceit–hypocrisy–jealousy–back-stabbing
**these things are all matured characteristics developed in the old life. and through the maturation of these characteristics, pride is developed and thrives.

on the other hand, the craving of spiritual milk is a posture of dependency- a dependency on God for spiritual growth.

now, because we don’t physically change, it can be difficult to discern the old and new- that’s why he says “rid” and “be done with” the old characteristics- because the matured fallen way of thinking will not allow for the new humility driven posture of craving and crying out; which will appear weak to the old way.

therefore, peter reminds us to think upon the first taste of God’s goodness, which will inspire us to the new cravings of the spirit. and this will lead to spiritual growth in the new life.

*hasler

Union Station

so i have yet to blog on some of the biggest news we have been dealing with here at ncc over the past week. in the business of traveling, etc, i have not had the time to give it a worthy post.

during catalyst last wednesday evening, pmark pulled us all together as a staff to announce that union station had revoked the lease on the theaters there, permanently and immediately. this meant, that as the theater closed, so would our operations there as a church as well.

this came as a huge shock, at least the immediacy of it, to all of us. there was silence, some tears, and of course some encouragement. this past sunday morning was our last day of meeting at the theater there, after 13 years. we will temporarily move our services to ebenezers coffeehouse.

since then, we have had all hands on deck for logistics, but beyond that, we have corporately gone into a season of fasting and prayer- not only for the immediate situation, but for guidance on what is next.

so this afternoon, the staff decided to fast together and meet to pray. we had a time for personal prayer and then a time to share and reflect what the Lord was speaking to everyone. 2 chronicles 20 is something that came up and it is our chapter to move forward no.

however, the word that i got was a combination of ezekiel 25 and 26 and 1 john 1:5-10. and i asked that as we look forward and pray for guidance, that we would not ignore the ‘warning’ or ‘discipline’ that God might be trying to communicate to us… a message about humility. that we would be sure to examine ourselves, confess and repent anything that might have been out of line in regard to our situation at union station. it was a hard thing to bring up, but pmark commended me for the boldness to speak a tough message… and we all took it seriously, got on our knees, and asked for God’s forgiveness in any areas where we may have been in sin against Him or been proud. this, i believe, could have been the most important thing that we could have done- and it might just allow for the Lord to open up His favor in moving us forward.

i’m excited to see what is going to come of this situation. i think that it can be an integral moment in the life and future of ncc.

*hasler

Calvin in the Capital

the trusty group of men i have been meeting with every other week ventured over to the world of northwest dc to attend one of the ‘calvin in the capital’ events.

the speaker was reverend ken jones, a reformed pastor from compton, ca (yes, the dr. dre compton) and presented on calvin’s anthropology or the doctrine of man. it was a very interesting and highly academic presentation on calvin’s ideas. the main points of his talk were the following:

1. the imago Dei
2. the union of the two adams
3. the eschatological vision of man
4. broader implications

i thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and subsequent q&a session, not to mention the nice reception afterward. we then headed out for a pint to discuss all of the implications of the talk and of course ventured off into many other topics. i appreciate those guys.

*hasler

Where I’ve Been

i know that i’ve been mia for a few days- but it is all for good reason. i meant to leave a message before i left because i knew i’d have very limited internet.

first stop- atlanta, ga…
our entire team at ncc went down for the catalyst conference. it is always a great time of renewal and excitement. the teaching there is amazing and inspiring. i usually get my spiritual butt kicked several times. this time around it was rob bell and matt chandler. both had tough, straight shooting messages to church leaders. it was refreshing.

then it was back to dc for a day to help facilitate services at union station (more on that later) and then back off to florida. had a few days or rest and relaxation in siesta key. i love the gulf- it was 90 plus every day. it was also full of memories from the times that i would go down that way to visit my grandparents as a kid.

so now it’s back to the office and a very cold rainy day in dc. i’m excited to get caught up with everything and hopefully put some of my new found excitement and revelation into practice. we have a lo going on around here at ncc… from a18 missions stuff, to rethinking discipleship, and more.

should be a full and interesting fall-

*hasler

Animals and the Environment

one of the things i enjoy most about my job is connecting with people who are doing some very interesting things here in dc on behalf of the Kingdom. the people that are typically steered in my direction are those who are working on justice related issues.

today i was able to connect with some individuals from the evangelical environmental network. they were discussing their work in promoting ‘creation care’ among churches and believers. their ideals and the way that they try to approach the issue was very reminiscent of when i met with the woman from the humane society. the idea that there are some core things in our theology, like mercy and self-control, that can and should be integral in our character. if they are, then they will have natural consequences on the way that we look at things like animals and the planet.

just to remind you about the food dilema- here is the the link for the humane society mini-doc on factory farming.

if you are interested in a more feature style doc- check out food, inc.
i personally have not yet seen it. so that’s my disclaimer
http://www.foodincmovie.com/

*hasler

Off-Site Day

yesterday team d took a day off-site to pray and plan and recalibrate our minds and hearts to the work we are doing here at ncc. discipleship can be tricky, and it takes a lot of day in and day out work with things like answering emails, meeting with people, and thinking through structures and models. so we are now really trying to get in the habit of getting away now and again- letting the daily tasks stay out of the way of our true focus.

so we took off on a beautiful fall day for some lunch and then an afternoon at great falls. it is an amazing piece of american scenery overlooking the potomac river.

during the time wandering the trails and climbing some rocks- i really caught a breath of fresh air, both in my lungs and in my spirit. after weeks of having a hard time really listening to the Lord, i got a fairly clear earful, perched up on a boulder overlooking some rapids.

specifically i was lead to psalm 32-

and it was right on par with what pheather told me at the beginning of my discernment process… she basically said that i shouldn’t be surprised if the Lord speaks to me about some other things during this time that seem unrelated to the decisions that i am trying to make. and she was right. so now i am trying to be attentive to what i’m hearing and sensing- getting to some places of repentence- hoping that this obedience will lead to greater comprehension of the bigger things after which i seek.

*hasler

The Vast Human Race

is it really october…? really?

as the crisp air descends, and football rules the tube, you realize that fall is in full step. pretty hard to believe how the time has gone by this summer. and changing of the seasons is often a remarkable time.

around here, my head has been swirling, with cynics, optimists, conspiracy theorists, and down right rude people. in the middle of it, life hangs in the balance.

*hasler

A Homeless Man Stole My Coffee

so here’s the story… the first thing i thought after this happened, was how blogworthy it was-

i had already had a long morning up until this point. i had gotten up early, fetched two of our homeless friends from the nursing home to bring to church, realized that the passenger window of car i was borrowing was stuck open, and in general was running late. but as i walked in the doors of union station, i figured, what the heck- i’ll get a nice cup of coffee from corner bakery, go in for worship and all would be in order…

so i spent $2.08 on a medium coffee (which is absurd by the way) and made my way down to the theater. i greeted several folks on the way in and thought before going into service- i’d stop in the bathroom to wash the grease off of my hands that was left from my feeble attempt to get the window up…
and for some reason i thought it was a good idea to leave my coffee outside the bathroom on the concession area. it was too hot to drink anyway- and i’d only be a few seconds… and since i was late, there was absolutely no one around.

so i wash up- and after less than a minute, i walk out drying my hands and see a very dirty man, in tattered clothes standing there, my beautiful hot cup of coffee in hand, a mere inches from his lips…
‘hey!’ i yell- it was the only thing that could come out of my shocked mouth… and he froze- and i froze- and said that it was my coffee- to which he profusely apologized… stating that he thought someone had left it. not knowing if he had already taken a sip before i saw him- i told him he could have it… however begrudgingly…

and i have to confess- i was pissed. all of the selfishness inside of me boiled up- i had thoughts like- ‘hey, we give out free coffee and donuts already, he only had to wait a few more minutes.’ i thought, ‘hey, he knew it wasn’t his, why did he think he could just take it, i mean it was hot and full…’ and finally, ‘what the heck was i thinking just leaving it lying around- how stupid- what a stupid morning…!’

then just as fast as my frustration and annoyance came, so did the conviction in my spirit. i thought- what am i thinking? i mean, i’m the homeless guy- i’m the compassionate one- mr. justice… and here i stand- totally stuck in a moment of flesh, cursing over a 2 dollar cup of coffee. and it was a wonderful example of how impossible it is for us to ‘be good enough.’ it was a beautiful humbling moment. me, the guy who has been working to reach out and show mercy to the least of these around the union station area for over five years- is not good enough.

and it is just one more reminder of how much our flesh fights against the Spirit of God in us. that no matter how much we think we are on the right path, we are always just a few moments or events away from having to make decisions in our hearts about following that very Spirit or the flesh. and it is in the spontaneous, unprepared moments, that we get a glimpse of how things are really shaping up inside… and it pushes us to press on, pray and cultivate the true fruit of the Spirit-

*hasler

Walk to End Child Slavery

human trafficking is modern day slavery. well over a century after the emancipation proclamation was signed, there is more slavery in the world today than during the time of the civil war.

this weekend ncc participated in a walk to end slavery here in dc. there were a ton of local organizations and hundreds of walkers. funds were raised, along with awareness. it was truly awesome to be able to go out and support the event with over 25 nccers. it is an important statement for our congregation and for the body of Christ for us to be there. it is a sign of solidarity and concern. it is truly an answer to prayer that we have become so active and aware over the years.

if you want to find out more about how to combat slavery and the dc event, you can check out the website for today’s walk. you can also continue to contribute and make a donation to the cause. see dc stop modern slavery

here is a pic from a few of us who were there… thanks min-

*hasler