William Howard Derges

Last week, on October 3rd, we said goodbye to Julie’s dad.  It was a bittersweet occasion.  On the one hand, we knew he was in heaven, partying with Jesus.  On the other hand, we’re not going to get to see him for a while.  He’s really going to be missed!

Not only was he a friendly, caring man, but he was a true servant.  He worked for 26 years as the Brown Township road commissioner - “digging ditches” as he liked to call it.  He was the guy behind the scenes who made sure a lot of the “little” things got done - like painting the high school football field, mowing a remote cemetery, landscaping a local park, managing the demolition derby track at the local fair, and providing meals for the football team.  He also counseled people as part of the Stephen’s Ministry.

We can learn a lot from Bill’s life, especially his desire for justice.  It’s easy to shrug our shoulders when something doesn’t go right, but Bill did everything he could to make sure things were fair.

Thank you to everyone who has sent messages, cards, and prayers.  It has meant a great deal!

3:10 to Yuma

Last night we saw 3:10 to Yuma. It has received a lot of good press, so I was excited to see the “rebirth of the western.” Well, it wasn’t the best western I’ve seen, but it was pretty good. Plenty of good action and an engaging psychological element. The most intriguing thing to me was that it’s one big Christian allegory. That’s right, buried deep down is what I think could be seen as an overarching messianic theme.

BELOW IS SPOILER INFORMATION READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

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Obviously the Christ figure in the story is Christian (coincidence?) Bale, who plays a rancher and father of two sons. He struggles to keep the ranch running, but is faced with loan sharks who burn down his barn. His children have a hard time respecting a father who prefers on honest way of living and chooses not to take violent measures against evil doers. The oldest son has a rebellious streak and admires the outlaws he reads about.

While the father and boys are out herding, Russell Crowe (the embodiment of evil) and his men rob a stagecoach. Crowe is a very evil man who is very knowledgeable about the bible, but uses it to justify is evil deeds. The father rescues a Pinkerton agent at the scene, takes him to the nearby town, and haphazardly helps his lenders capture Russell. The local head of the railroad company, which I’m thinking is the “God the Father” figure is pleased to finally have Crowe captured and have him punished and put to death. He asks Bale to help him escort Crowe to prison.

The plot then centers around Bale’s quest to bring Crowe to justice and earn a $200 reward, which would save the ranch and earn his sons’ respect. The railroader symbolizes the desire for justice and the one who brings civilization to the West. At the end, Bale barely makes it through a gunfight to get Crowe on a train to Yuma prison. Bale would have had more help to accomplish his mission, but the marshall and his men were unwilling to fight a group of outlaws much larger than theirs. They were willing to sell out to save their own lives.

At many points Bale had the opportunity to let Crowe go and create the illusion that he tried but was overcome. Even the railroader said he could just go home, but was eager to offer Bale $1000 and a guarantee that his ranch would be saved if he accomplished the mission. Throughout, Bale refused to “cheat.” He knew that he couldn’t live an honest life if he lied. We also learn that as a child, Crowe read the bible from cover to cover, but was abandoned by his parents. So, his life was lived with a complete knowledge of Christianity, but he had never seen or experienced a Christian life lived out. At this point, Crowe so admires Bale that he almost willingly runs with him to the train.

As Bale is putting Crowe on the train, Bale is shot dead. His son, who aided in the escape, witnessed his father’s heroism and, at an earlier, point recognized Crowe’s admiration for his dad. The son is tempted to shoot Crowe in revenge, but Crowe willingly boards the train while looking at the crucifix that is emblazoned on his pistol handles. At this point, Crowe (evil) is defeated and realizes the power of the cross - that the father would die for his family out of love. Thus, the power of the father’s love defeats evil and leaves his family stronger than before.

What’s remarkable here is also the idea of Bale accomplishing the mission, even when it meant death. It brings up the issue of gnosticism - where it is believed Christ was only a spiritual being and never really died a physical death. Christ’s physical death is much more meaningful and effective than a Christ who “cops out” at the last minute.

Update: See my debate with a writer at DCist.

West to Holland

In my last post, I was praising the wonderful Michigan Flyer bus for its offerings of great comfort while taking me to the Detroit Airport. Getting to the airport was a breeze. However, getting home proved to be a bit difficult. My plane was scheduled to arrive in Detroit at 7:30pm on Sunday and I was to catch the last bus back to Lansing at 9:20. However, with the edge of a hurricane over Virginia and a storm system over Detroit, my plane didn’t leave Washington DC until 7:30. At that point, I figured I’d have just enough time to get off the plane and run to the bus. When the plane landed and we were approaching the gate at 9:15, I had high hopes. I called the bus company and had them wait an extra 5 minutes for me. But then, as we were nearing the terminal, the plane turned around and parked a few hundred feet away. The pilot told us that because lightning had been sighted, the ground crews weren’t allowed to get to our plane and let us off! We waited until 9:20 and finally got into the gate. By then it was too late. The bus company refused to wait any longer and I was left to find my own way home.

I started asking all kinds of people at the airport if they were headed for Lansing so I could hitch a ride. Unfortunately, either nobody ever goes to Lansing, or no one was willing to give a strange guy at the airport a ride home. I got online and looked at how much a rental car was ($90) and headed for the rental agency. A taxi driver approached me and asked if I needed a ride. I said, “yeah, how much to get to Lansing?” He said it would be $230. I kindly refused and he said, “well how much would you be willing to pay,” and I said, “well, I can rent a car for $90,” and the driver quickly motioned to the rental bus stop and moved on to another potential customer. I ended up renting a Saturn Ion and began the long drive home. The next day after work, I dropped the rental car off at the Lansing airport and took a couple of buses back to East Lansing to get my car. What an ordeal! I still can’t believe that the bus wouldn’t wait maybe 10 or 15 minutes.

Next weekend I will take my last flight out of the Detroit airport, for at least a while. I’ll take the bus because I won’t have to worry about flying back into Detroit. I’m flying into Reagan and we will pack up and drive a U-Haul back to Lansing! This Sunday, Julie is flying into Detroit and on Monday we are closing on the house! I’m so ready to move out of my smelly, dirty bachelor pad. I’m still convinced it was worth the cheap rent, though

Today was my first Saturday spent in Lansing. Every other weekend I’ve spent in Illinois or back in Virginia. This was the first weekend in a long time, too, where I’ve been able to sleep in and not do anything when I wake up. It was refreshing. Every other weekend I’ve had some kind of engagement or work to do. This afternoon, I went to my parents’ old friends’ son’s graduation party. Yeah, it was awkward with no one there that I knew, except the family. I made some conversation with an older couple, and it was still enjoyable to chat a bit with some friends. I had a roasted pork dinner, too. My hopes weren’t high for it because I had heard earlier (when I had visited the family a few weeks ago) that the pig was going to be cooked with gas. Roasting a pig with GAS?! Yikes! What’s the point? Well, I tried it and it was OK. It was certainly tender and juicy, but it was missing the flavor. Sure, you can slop on some BBQ sauce, but the meat should stand on its own. Instead, it was bland and the crisped skin tasted like burning, not the good, wood flavor of real BBQ. Plus, with all the special breeding they do with pigs now days to make it more lean, there’s no good pork flavor, either.

After the party, I thought about what to do next. Nothing came to mind, so I pulled out my US road atlas and looked to Western Michigan. I would take a road trip to Holland! I drove a little over an hour and reached Zeeland township and then headed into downtown Holland. Being in Dutch country, I half expected to see a plethora of windmills and tulips, but I was disappointed. However, downtown Holland is very nice. They have a lively shopping district reminiscent (to me) of Annapolis or Fredericksburg. Lining Lake Macatawa were several glorious mansions. Detroit, Flint, and Lansing neighborhoods may be suffering, but Holland is doing very well. I passed by the H. J. Heinz plant, and I was sure I could smell Ketchup in the air. On my map, I had seen a marker for Saugatuck State Park, but there was nothing on the map showing me how to get there. I decided to wing it, because I wanted to see the beaches of Lake Michigan. I had been to the beaches of Ogden Dunes in Gary, Indiana, but I was disappointed by the fact that my view was spoiled by the surrounding steel mills (still worth seeing, though - a nice break from my trip back to Lansing from Champaign a couple weeks ago).

Getting to the beaches in Indiana was difficult because most of the shoreline was occupied by private developments and access was obtained via a confusing mess of roads. This adventure was equally difficult. I followed the afternoon sun west as far as I could and headed south when forced to a dead end. Eventually, I reached the park entrance and parked near the Felt Mansion. The mansion was built by the man who patented the comptometer, an early adding machine. I wandered around the grounds for a bit, trying to figure out how to get to the beach. I followed a dirt trail past an abandoned building and saw several people walking toward me wearing beach clothing. I knew I was on the right track. I followed the path over some large, wooded sand dunes. On the other side, I came to the lake shore. It was very pretty - white sand, calm water, and hardly any people. In the summer, this would rival the Gulf Coast! I waded in the water, walked along the shore, and took some pictures with my Nikon FG20 inherited from my dad. As I walked through the sand, it squeaked! I remembered that the dunes were “singing sand dunes.” Sweet! I headed back to my car and headed back to Holland.

On my way into Holland, i had seen a couple of guys selling BBQ Chicken next to a gas station. They had a couple of large, barrel grills set up next to a wooden shack. Hungry, I decided to give it a whirl. I bought a bottle of Faygo “Rock & Rye” pop at the gas station and headed over to the BBQ shack. I bought a quarter chicken dinner and talked to the owner. He says he was selling Texas style BBQ chicken. I asked him what kind of wood he used and he says he uses mesquite and brings up bundles of the wood from Texas every year. With my food, I headed to a park in Holland I had passed back in Holland. I sat at a picnic table overlooking Lake Macatawa and ate. The chicken was pretty good, but what caught my attention was the sauce. It was almost like sweet and sour sauce and was very tangy. It was different, but good. The chicken hadn’t acquired much smoke flavor, but it was good. With mesquite, I don’t think you want too much of the smoke, since it tends to turn acrid. I then headed home on a full stomach.

On my way home, I was listening to Sufjan Steven’s Michigan album. I heard these lyrics:
I always knew you
In your mothers arms
I have called your name
I have an idea
Placed in your mind
To be a better man
Ive made a crown for you
Put it in your room
And when the bride groom comes
There will be noise
There will be glad
And a perfect bed

I thought about the recent passing of Dave Cho, a pastor at my “old” church and the recent illness of my grandfather. I also thought about how anxious I am to see my wife and move into our new house. I thought about how exciting it will be to finally see Jesus! I thought about our current situation as humans on earth, and how everyone (including God) is anxiously awaiting the day when we finally meet God and how much rejoicing there will be. I thought about how excited I used to get at concerts, finally seeing great artists in person and the feeling I would get of pure joy and excitement. I thought about all the weekends when I see Julie at the airport after being gone for a week and how absolutely wonderful it is to see her after being so long apart. I thought about our engagement and the excitement I had about being married and sharing a home together. I really hadn’t thought about God that way in a long time. It really will be more amazing than all of those experiences combined. I’m so excited! It’ll be the greatest homecoming ever! It’s going to be flippin’ sweet!

Monasticism

This entry is cross-posted at the VeNture Nicaragua Missions Blog.

One of the things I think Christians tend to do, as I myself have done to some extent, is to become modern-day monks. We cut ourselves off from non-Christians and “cloister” ourselves among fellow Christians. We have our own lingo, our own substitutes for pop culture, and our own trips and activities. We treat the world as a dirty place that will stain our clean, white, Christian garments if we get too close. Some people call this the “holy huddle.”

An idea that Myers writes about in his book is that many of the world’s ills stem from the marred relationships we have with each other and God due to sin. The human race started out in the ideal condition — complete fellowship with God and complete harmony between humans. However, sin entered the picture and we are now separated from God and there is enmity between us and our fellow humans. The Earth is also in a fallen state - rife with natural disasters, disease, and man-eating creatures. When Christ came to earth, he showed us that his prerogative was to restore his relationship with us and to lead us to restore our relationships with others. He actively seeked out and ministered to sinful and needy people to prove his point. In fact, his mission is our mission: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I had never really considered the relational aspect of Christ’s sacrifice before. This concept has started to revolutionize the way I see the world. God isn’t just restoring our relationship with him, but he’s also restoring our relationships with our friends, family, random people on the street, the poor, and even our enemies!

I always tended to write off the poor as people who don’t try hard enough or who need to grit their teeth and kick out their dictators. I thought to myself, “if anyone comes to me and asks for something, sure, I’ll be happy to help out.” But then even when people approached me for money, I was always hesitant or suspicious that I was being scammed. My heart was hardened.

God is calling me to break out of my cloister and build relationships with people. I think we as Christians have to realize that we are sinners and that talking to and loving other sinners isn’t going to make us “dirtier.” We also have to realize that Jesus didn’t just sit around in Nazareth and wait for the lepers, blind men, disciples, sadducees, and pharisees to come to him. He sought people out. He talked to the outcast woman at the well. He reached down and touched the leper.

It’s all very difficult, but that’s why God is there to help. I know that I will have a hard time relating to people who can only dream of living in Reston, Virginia and could care less whether the Mac OS really is better than Windows. Please pray that God gives us humility and open hearts.

Water Becoming Scarce in Some Areas

This entry is cross-posted at the VeNture Nicaragua Missions Blog.

I saw this article today and it reminded me of the need for water worldwide — and just how urgent the need is for people to get out and help solve the world’s biggest crisis.

As other Nicaragua team members have said before, and as Living Water reports, there are 1.1 billion people in the world without access to clean water and an average of 14,000 people die each day from preventable water-related diseases.

As the article above reports, the Christian group Tearfund estimates that by 2050 there will be 200 million more people living in drought-stricken areas. The problem is preventable, however, as Tearfund stated that in many places, simply constructing dykes and better drainage prevents these areas from losing water. Someone just has to do something about it!

So that’s why we’re going to Nicaragua - to do something about this water crisis. As we’re studying the body of Christ’s role in helping the needy, it’s interesting to see how technology applied in the right ways can go a long way in helping people. It can be a well in Hato Grande #2, a dike in Niger or a drainage ditch in India. We are called to use our technological abilities to care for God’s creation. Hey, even this blog can be a tool!

Hebrews 1:5-14

Today we finish chapter 1 of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Something I’ve learned is that I learn things much better if I write about them. I guess that old adage is true: “If you want to become an expert in something, write a book about it.”

Well, this is my attempt to become at least better versed (no pun intened) in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Julie and I are now attending a bible study group and we’ve chosen to go through Hebrews a few verses at a time. Our plan is to really dig deeply into the text and share with the rest of the group what we have learned.

I figured my blog is a good place to keep my writings and perhaps any readers out there might enjoy it as well and share in the fruits of my labor. So, each week I will strive to post a study of the verses assigned to me.

CProg

No, this article isn’t about C programming, but a trend that’s been emerging over the last 20 or so years.

Read more below!

The 100-Minute Bible

For those who don’t have time to read the whole thing: The 100-Minute Bible. An Anglican teacher and a bishop got together and condensed the bible into something that can be read under two hours.

While this will never replace the rich, complex word of God, I think it would be a great way to show people what the Bible is all about, to get them interested in it and hopefully spur Christians and non-Christians alike to want to know more and read the full, no-holds-barred versions.

What will be interesting to see is how they summarize some of the more controversial topics. But by looking at their online sample, I’m getting a good vibe about it.