January 27, 2012

What am I afraid of? And what can I do about it?

By Rob Karch

What are you afraid of?

We are all afraid of something, without exception:

  • I’m afraid of failing.
  • I’m afraid for my children.
  • I’m afraid facing cancer.
  • I’m afraid of being abused.
  • I’m afraid of hurting others.
  • I’m afraid of losing my job.
  • I’m afraid of being influenced.
  • I’m afraid of dying.
  • I’m afraid my life doesn’t count.
  • I’m afraid of conflict.
  • I’m afraid of not having enough money to go around.
  • I’m afraid of being single for the rest of my life.
  • I’m afraid of being married for the rest of my life.
  • I’m afraid I don’t have what it takes.
  • I’m afraid of speaking in front of people.
  • I’m afraid of being in crowds.
  • I’m afraid of being alone.
  • I’m afraid of the future.

In a broken world, we cannot love fully without fear of and for those we love. Conversely, fear is one of the primary obstacles to giving and receiving love fully. Either way, we’re stuck with fear in this life. But does that mean we should be passive and let these fears dominate our lives? One of the most-repeated commands throughout the Bible is “fear not”. Obviously, fear is not what God desires for us.

So what do we do? Do we simply repeat “fear not” a dozen times and hope our fear disappears? Before attacking fear, let’s try to understand it.

Six realities about fear (from Ed Welch):

  1. The Bible speaks often of fear: Everyone has fears. Fear is normal in a broken world.
  2. Fear is expressed differently in men and women: Women generally relate their fears to real-world situations more easily than men. Men generally express their fear through anger, depression, and addictions, not always realizing fear can be one of the root causes of these symptoms.
  3. Fear is primarily a spiritual phenomenon, and secondarily a psychological one. Therefore, the solution is not simply to condition my thoughts or actions, but to trust.
  4. Only the God of the Bible can calm my fears. He is in control.
  5. Prayer is the medium by which we make known our fears to God and receive His peace.
  6. We need the church, our brothers and sisters, to pray with us, and continually reveal the truth of the person of God.

After some reflection on the substance of fear, how can I attack the fear in my life? How can I help someone walk through their fear, honestly helping them and not denigrating their fear?

Five ways to attack our fears (or walk with someone as they attack theirs) (from David Powlison and Jacob Mathieu):

  1. Listen: What, exactly, are you afraid of? (my children’s future, my health, my reputation, lack of money, lack of comfort)
  2. Reflect: What is under your control and what is out of your control?
  3. Read: According to the Bible, who is God and what has He done? (Example: Isaiah 40, Psalm 71, Romans 8).
  4. Pray: Pray together, express our fears to God and ask for His peace (Phil. 4:6-7)
  5. Act: What can you do today that is under your control? (Matt. 6:34)

In 2012, let’s not be passive about our fears, but attack them.

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January 21, 2012

A Lifetime of Agony, Overpowered by Hope

By Rob Karch

Jesus answered “ If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?  You must follow me.”  Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die.  But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

Perhaps this was the cruelest sentence of all.  Yes they all died.  For some of them it was a quick beheading.  Others were tortured mercilessly until cries of “Father forgive them” were reduced to spasmic gasping.  But they found relief.  Every last one of them. . .

How he longed for that same relief!  But it was not to be.  One after another.  His friends.  His brothers.  The only ones in the world who could truly understand.  The brotherhood of the twelve.  Well, eleven.  They were so normal.  So ill-equipped.  So naïve.

“Follow me”

Those two words will echo into eternity.

All of this madness.  The world, overwhelmed, shuddering.  Thousands dying.  Some say millions.  More suffering than one should see in 100 lifetimes.  . .  It all began because of Him.

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

I could see it.  A lifetime of agony, overpowered by hope.  He continued.  He continued.  He continued.  Tasting the morbid death that hunted them.  An empire on its head.  Evil  seething.  . .  never quenching that defeat.  The one, final. . .

Perhaps the first wound was the deepest.  Absolutely, he believed with all of his heart before.  He had already stood up to the chief priests and Pharisees many times.  He himself had been hunted with many trying to murder him.  It was nothing new.  And yes, there was Stephen. . .  but this was different.  The stakes stretched infinitely higher now.

That day.  That day he paused. . .  walked out of the synagogue, and kept walking, drenching his clothes with tears, until he fell over, shaking from exhaustion.

That day.

His brother was murdered.

Now, 45 torturous years later, the wrinkled brow and scarred hands began to write.  No one must forget why.  No, they must know why.  They must know why he never turned back, why it was worth it.  Why there is still hope.

“In the beginning was the Word. . .”

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January 16, 2012

Drug-Using Polygamists…

By Rob Karch

Do you know what a Mandrake is? It is a plant found in the middle East. Here is a Wikipedia definition:

Mandrake roots

The parsnip-shaped root is often branched. This root gives off at the surface of the ground a rosette of ovate-oblong to ovate, wrinkled, crisp, sinuate-dentate to entire leaves, 5 to 40 centimetres (2.0 to 16 in) long, somewhat resembling those of the tobacco-plant. A number of one-flowered nodding peduncles spring from the neck bearing whitish-green or purple flowers, nearly 5 centimetres (2.0 in) broad, which produce globular, orange to red berries, resembling small tomatoes. All parts of the mandrake plant are poisonous.

Do you know what a Mandrake plant does? Again from Wikipedia:

Parasympathetic depressant, hallucinogen, and hypnotic. Most hypnotics produce low alphoid and spindle alpha brain-wave activity, similar to that found in REM sleep, or the dreaming state. This rhythm does not allow deep sleep to occur although it does lower brain patterns into a dreamy visionary mode, known in magic as an astral plane experience. Mandrake root causes delirium and hallucinations. In high doses, it can even send the user into a coma.

What does this have to do with anything?

Today, while reading through the full-on childbearing competition between Rachel and Leah in Genesis 30. I came across this text:

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

Here’s what struck me: God listened to Leah. She was in the middle of a less-than ideal situation: married to a dude that never took a premarital class or read a book on how to love his wife. She’s taking various drugs trying to medicate through the situation, getting pregnant to try to get his attention; introducing other women to him in an insane servant/wife-swapping situation (Bilhah and Zilpa’s situations are even worse), she prays… and God listens.

And God is working through these drug-using polygamists to build for Himself a people for His glory.

There is hope.

No matter how bad the situation. No matter how horrendous the sin. No matter how messed-up my life is… God not only listens, but He can even build something beautiful, for His glory, that will last for generations.

This doesn’t mean drug-use or polygamy are all right. But it does mean that when I cry out to God He is capable of breaking through the worst situations imaginable and making something beautiful.

Thank you God for examples like Genesis 30.

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January 13, 2012

Winter portrait: Van in Ditch

By Rob Karch

This isn’t our van (In the interest of protecting the guilty, the culprit will remain unnamed).

Winter Portrait: Van in Ditch

Winter Portrait: Van in Ditch

It’s been snowing for two days nonstop. And yeah, there is more on the way. I love it. This is livin’

And here’s the artistic version:

Van in Ditch portrait

For those with a more artistic bent

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January 11, 2012

The building dilemma

By Rob Karch

The church is people, not a building. A building is only a tool.

This month we’re celebrating 4 years as a new church. Over that time we’ve changed buildings once… because we haven’t found another one. We are currently renting an elementary school gym (see photo).

So here’s our dilemma (and food for prayer):

We've since added more chairs.

The gym is packed nearly every Sunday. We’re also meeting in homes every week. There are hardly any more spaces to sit.

So what do we do? Each chose offers specific challenges:

Do we plant a daughter church?

  • We would love to! This is part of our original 5-year plan… so, concrete plans should begin to take place this year to do that (we don’t yet have a qualified church planter to send out). But in the meantime… what do we do?

Do we go to multiple services?

  • We already have people setting up and tearing down from 7:30am to 12:30pm. We may have to do this, but we don’t want to burn anyone out.

Do we rent a larger space?

  • We can’t yet find a large enough place to rent for less than $6000/month.
  • Currently we’re paying $2000/month for a few hours Sunday morning.

Do we buy?

Old Theater in St Jerome: for sale for $765,000 (they already refused a $500,000 offer, however, we aren't sure if it is worth more than that yet)

  • We can’t find a large enough place, in the general vicinity of downtown  for under $750,000… not including renovations.
  • Most places are for sale for well over a million.
  • Though it may be possible to raise the $$, do we want to invest that kind of effort to find $$ right now? Or do we want to continue investing in people?

Do we build?

  • We have enough resources to build something that may not give us much time to grow. Again, do we want to invest our limited resources in something that may possibly be too small in a couple of years?

We aren’t saying “no” to any of these options. I’m simply asking you to pray for us as we pray and look.

Thanks for praying.

7 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Church Planting, Prayer, St Jérôme

January 9, 2012

Looking ahead to 2012: “Make the most of your time, because the days are evil”

By Rob Karch

-Ephesians 5:16

NOTE: I’m not saying things will go badly, or that there will be a global meltdown, etc., I’m simply saying not to sweat it, there are more important things to worry about.

Jacob knocked it out of the park yesterday (in his sermon at our church, you can watch it here) with these three observations (I’m taking a lot of liberty in melding his sermon with my reaction to it):

1) Paul doesn’t exhort us to make the most of our time because the future looks so bright, but because the present and near future look so bleak.

I’m not complaining. (My life is phenomenal in every sense. I’m married to an amazing woman..we just celebrated 10 years! I bless God for my two children. Friends and family are spotted all around the globe. Our local church is healthy and growing, regardless of the myriad of challenges.) I’m just saying that Paul’s is an anti-prosperity message. Are you worried about what lies ahead? Are you worried about the ramifications of a collapsing Euro? An indebted USA? Global unrest? Sickness? A loss of a job?

Paul tells us that these are actually the sources of unique opportunities.

These are all reasons to make the most of my time, investing in what will never fade. When bad times came, Paul didn’t encourage the church to hunker down. He encouraged the opposite. Times are bad? Get out and engage into our mission with gritted teeth, armed with hope that surpasses death. Are we on the verge of global collapse? Stand up and be counted, don’t hide in a ditch.

2) Paul’s exhortation is not to more action, but to intentional action.

Making the most of my time doesn’t mean sleeping less. It means opening my eyes to the unique opportunities around me during bleak times. What really counts? What doesn’t? Maybe I need to spend less time at work and more time with my family. Maybe I need to spend less time in a softball league and more time loving on those hurting in my community. Maybe now is the time to sell it all and move to another community, or country.

Losing a job may be the biggest blessing of my life, causing me to reevaluate what life is for. Cancer may be what shatters the chains that attached my heart to what matters least. An exploded marriage may be what forces me to my knees for the first time in years.

As a pastor and missionary, this is exactly what I’ve seen. I can give multiple names for each one of these examples. When times are evil, my frenetic life screeches to a halt as I wrap tearful arms around the few things that count. Thanks you Jesus for the evil times.

3) The evil times will pass, the investments we make in what really counts will last forever.

The stakes in 2012 are eternal. What this means is that I can stop sweating the small stuff… (like the strength of the Euro/Dollar/Yuan, a global economic meltdown, or a stupid Mayan calendar), and begin investing in what matters: the people all around me: my wife, my children, my neighbors, my fellow image-bearers in Cairo, Guayaquil, Paris, and Phnom Penh: their physical needs, and their current and future relationship to their Savior.

Let’s sweat the big stuff in 2012: loving on our fellow image-bearers: weeping over their physical and spiritual situations. Jesus did not conquer death for the benefit of a stable global situation in the present era. He conquered death to save people, now and forever.

Close your eyes. Do you see their faces? Do you see your Savior?

Evil times will pass. These investments will last forever.

Thank you Jacob for yanking us back to reality yesterday.

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December 24, 2011

Christmas Misconceptions

By Rob Karch

First, Dan Kimball, over at Vintage faith has a great list of three common Christmas misconceptions:

  • Jesus was likely born in the Spring or Fall not December
  • There is no indication the star was there on Christmas Eve
  • The Wise Men weren’t at the manger scene and Jesus was likely up to 2 years old when they visited Him

Dan speaks out against letting misconceptions slide… (and I agree with him):

“If we are having a play or art piece about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and in the artwork or actors in the play we have Peter, James and Thomas standing there with Jesus – we would be thinking “What are they doing there? They weren’t in that scene and there when Jesus was in the wilderness?’. Or if we had an art piece or play portraying the Last Supper and in the art piece or play we also put in Pontious Pilate being at the Last Supper with them. We would be like “What is Pontious Pilate doing there? He doesn’t come into the story until a little later after Jesus was arrested?”.  It feels like as we put the Wise Men and the star in our Christmas portrayals is basically the same.”

I’d encourage you to read the whole thing

Secondly, the the team over at I-Monk debunk the myth of the Candy Cane:

“Besides, the “true story of the candy cane” is not true. Not one bit. (Snopes is your friend in these kinds of things.) Here it is, as passed on in emails by well-meaning Christians this time of year.

False Legend of the Candy Cane

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker then shaped his cane into the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd” with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Ok, first of all, think about this for a minute…” Keep on reading here

Lastly, I uncovered a short, informative video from Focus on the Family a while back:

  1. Jesus was born in the shadow of one of Herod’s greatest fortresses, though today we only remember Herod for one thing: the evil king who tried to kill the baby Jesus, massacring many innocent children in the process.
  2. A stable and a manger are not what we thought they were (see the video)

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Reflection, Video

December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas from the Karch family, just north of Montréal!

By Rob Karch

Rob, Martine, Caleb and Constance (overlooking part of St-Jérôme)

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December 22, 2011

200+ for our Christmas Celebration

By Rob Karch

There may have been as many as 275 as we celebrated the birth of our Savior. It was the largest gathering we’ve ever had.

  • A phenomenal brunch cooked up by a team of men from our church
  • We sang Christmas carols
  • A skit: “What if Jesus was born today in Québec?”
  • 4 giant paintings representing original Christmas scenes, painted throughout the celebration.
  • A kids triangle where they could color their own Christmas themes.
  • Songs and skits by our Sunday school classes.
  • Sermon: “The original meaning of Christmas: Jesus came to live, die, be resurrected, so that we can become God’s children”

Praise God for working through a new and very imperfect church like us.

Here are a few photos:

The light from a baby Jesus swallowing up the evil of Herod the Great

Multiple Magi arriving from the East

The Herodian (one of Herod the Great's fortresses) overlooking Bethlehem

Shepherd children looking after the sheep

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November 30, 2011

Revolution II in Egypt: the largest prayer gathering in 1,000 years

By Rob Karch

71,000 Christians praying in Egypt... the largest prayer gathering in 1000 years!

You’ve heard all about the Arab spring. Revolution I. Now, Revolution II is ramping up… this time a spiritual revolution. Here’s what eyewitness Andrew Jones has to say:

We left Egypt a week ago, right before Revolution II broke out.

Something is happening there.

Egypt tshirt revolution

BOB DYLAN THIN MAN

In some ways I wish I was still there but at the same time, I feel we were present for the beginnings of a spiritual revolution that is just as important as the political changes, and instrinsically linked to it.

You don’t read that in the newspapers.

That’s not to knock the newspapers. In fact, one newspaper has consistently delivered the the most accurate coverage of the Arab world protests including Egypt. Articles from the English news source, The Guardian, are forwarded to me almost daily friends in Cairo. These articles have come in the past few days from friends in Egypt.

Nov 22: Egypt’s military rulers continuing Mubarak-era Abuses

Nov 23: Revolution II

Nov 23. Egypt has halted the drive to derail the Arab revolution

But more than just reporting from the scene, The Guardian has provided aninteractive twitter map of the Arab Protests to plot the tweets from the on-location reporters.

Guardian interactive map of arab protests

And if you want some history of this movement then check out The Guardian’s interactive Path of Protest Timeline.

Path of protest guardian

Thats impressive! HUGE KUDOS to The Guardian. Reminds me of CNN’s role in the Gulf War.

However, the newspapers in general have neglected some essential pieces of the larger puzzle. One piece in particular is the movement of prayer, the 11.11.11 prayer gathering of 71,000 people in Cairo on Nov 11,2011 which was Egypt’s largest Christian gathering in over a thousand years [how did they miss that?], the movement of unity among the churches themselves and between Christians and Muslims, 

Go to his blog to read more…

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