tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-935109742386222202024-03-07T00:49:26.422-08:00SankofaMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-15569629371493599852009-12-04T14:20:00.000-08:002009-12-04T14:21:43.524-08:00What God saysThird posting of robbery incident...<br /><br />Zephaniah 3:16-20 New Living Translation<br />...Cheer up Zion! Don't be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears.(He will be silent in His love or He will renew you with his love.) He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!"<br /><br />It's amazing to me that as I read through the minor prophets that I happen to "stumble" upon these words. It's as if God Himself knew of my predicament and my need and He is there and He is Here right now speaking LIFE over me and my family. Why someone doesn't follow God baffles me.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-16750914355146473362009-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:002009-12-04T14:20:46.528-08:00In the AftermathSecond posting of our robbery incident...<br /><br />First of all, many thanks to so many who have reached out to our family in prayers, concern and support. Our Ghanaian and ex pat friends here have reached out in so many caring ways and our friends abroad have made themselves available to help us in any way. So reassuring. We indeed have a great team of family and friends who love and intercede. <br /><br />Reality sets in like a stone. The whole experience was surreal when it was going on and yet throughout the whole ordeal, there was a supernatural sense of peace of God's presence with us.<br /><br />Things we have rejoiced over:<br />Maggie was surrounded by all three of our dogs while the thieves took Claire inside the house<br />She has no visual memory of strangers in her room.<br />Luke had a friend with him in his room so he was not alone when we left his room,<br />(he jumped from his bed to his friend's bed and said, "We need to pray."), <br />Claire was bold and protective of her kids and made the thieves allow her to go out and check on Maggie, <br />My phone which was on my waist but covered by my t-shirt rang just as they were asking for it and I was able to slip it off and slide it under the bed...they never saw it or heard it.<br />It has every phone number, email and address of all of our contacts in the U.S. and in Ghana, <br />Most especially no foul words were spoken, no harmful act of violence was ever leveled against us.<br /><br />God was good, God is good and God will be good, no matter what. I have probably struggled the most in the night with memories of retribution but in my heart there is peace and I have no tinge of bitterness towards them. My anger rises up when I see Luke afraid in the night and needing someone to be with him while he is showering or going to sleep and him telling me, "I'll never sleep in my room again." I believe this too will pass.<br /><br />Maggie and Claire are doing really well and each of us is dealing with this in varying ways...we were glad to have a debrief with a team of counselors who are experts at dealing with this very type of trauma.<br /><br />We trust in Psalm 91:15 which says, "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him IN TROUBLE. I will take him out of trouble and honor him." We were in trouble but God was with us in it and will continue to be with us. <br /><br />Thanks for praying<br /><br />Michael for the MozleysMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-65201028122027072352009-12-04T14:18:00.000-08:002009-12-04T14:19:18.457-08:00Joining the ranks of the violatedThis is an old note from Facebook but wanted to put it on my blog...<br /><br />Dear Family and Friends,<br /><br />Greetings from the great country of Ghana. Though the image is now slightly tarnished...Robberies happen all over the world and people are violated at different levels in each instance. Thankfully ours was mostly emotional and nothing physical really happened to us...<br /><br />On Wednesday night five armed robbers pushed through our gate and our night watchman to demand all the money we had on us and in our house, as well as every electronic thing they could put their hands on. Claire and Maggie had just returned from an evening program at Maggie's school and it was 8:30 p.m. When they pulled into the gate, armed robbers folllowed close behind and made their way into our compound. They took Claire and Maggie's phones and dumped their purses on the driveway looking for money then made their way inside to look for me and all of our money. I was in Luke's room about to have prayers with Luke and his spend the night friend Seth. Claire walked in looking frantic and saying, "I need help." Just behind her was a young man not more than 20-25 with a shot gun and another young man holding a machete (cutlass). They ordered us to sit down and then asked where all the money was. We told them to leave our son's room so it wouldn't frighten them. Claire and I showed the two robbers our room and gave them all the money we could find....thankfully it was no more than a couple hundred U.S. dollars and about $600.00 in Ghanaian cedis...then they started picking through all of our belongings taking cameras, every laptop available, four of them and lots of incedentals...watches, earphones, ipods, i-touch that Maggie got for Christmas...the most devastating loss was my laptop and all my PhD work gone...most of which has been backed up but some of it was backed up on another computer, which they also took. After 20 minutes they were gone. At one point I said to one of them, you know I'm a pastor and I love Jesus and He loves you. He said, "Oh I know, I'm a Christian too, He's my savior." I said, My friend you are not a Christian or you wouldn't be doing this to our family.<br /><br />Maggie was probably the most traumatized because she was left in the front lot of our home while Claire was taken inside being held at gun point.<br /><br />I'll write more later, but in the mean time, just pray for our family, our memories, and our healing...<br /><br />Thanks, <br /><br />Michael for the MozleysMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-63153304795450175102008-11-26T01:18:00.000-08:002008-11-26T01:35:49.714-08:00Simple Update on Life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wfcvPplnCb5I0QPyp1G1w3y6T2qdAxeJevJ7SlBN_tIeP7Ir5P2SC48AisulCbHcBLeX_hIZD_kanSNsy_Ozt3fDZu-ZUZfIPcVnryVcYYrSjVOjYi1_rP5HJOaf2L4mQ3DgX8OkVEc/s1600-h/DSC_0258.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5wfcvPplnCb5I0QPyp1G1w3y6T2qdAxeJevJ7SlBN_tIeP7Ir5P2SC48AisulCbHcBLeX_hIZD_kanSNsy_Ozt3fDZu-ZUZfIPcVnryVcYYrSjVOjYi1_rP5HJOaf2L4mQ3DgX8OkVEc/s320/DSC_0258.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272895182503273298" /></a><br /> I just wanted to give you an update of my life and family and where God is leading us.<br /><br />In late 2005 I was appointed by The Mission Society to be the African Regional Coordinator; that is, to give visionary oversight to all of our fields on the African continent. We have folks working full time with The Mission Society now in Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. There are families that are soon to be sent out to Senegal and perhaps South Africa. We also have seconded relationships with folks that are serving in difficult places on the African continent. It is exciting to see God at work here.<br /><br />Since January I was also appointed to be the missionary observer participant on the board of The Mission Society. This has been a dream fulfilled for many of us serving on the field to have some voice and interaction with the governance board. Our president, Phil Granger, recently went through a life threatening surgery and was in ICU for many days and we can say that God truly brought him back from the brink of death. We are thankful that he is back in operation and working hard throughout the world.<br /><br />The most ominous and yet rewarding thing in my life at this moment is my PhD study. Even though I’ve continued to give guidance and leadership to many of my coworkers here in Ghana, I have really been a full time student at Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture here in Akropong, Ghana. I started my course work in the Fall of 2006 and completed that portion in June of 2007 and was approved to continue my work on my PhD. My studies have led me into the bowels of the archives here in Ghana, London and Oxford. I have found some incredible letters that were written from 1835-1890. It is in those letters that I have found incredible insight into missions, life, applications that will assist me in my current ministry and in my future. One quote that I cannot forget from Thomas Birch Freeman, the man that I am studying for my PhD said when he was 28, “It is necessary for me to go (on the mission field) but it may not be necessary that I live.” He is the man that I want to emulate and it compels me to ask the question, “Where are the men and women who have that passion and zeal any more to proclaim the Gospel?!” I am thankful to work with many who have considered their lives and put all on the altar in answer to HIS call.<br /><br />Recently I attended a seminar by a Ghanaian woman who’s name is Mercy Odudoye. She said, “If we don’t know where we’ve been, how can we know where we are going?” It is the essence of my passion to learn history! At the same time it is essential for me to realize the situation we are in as a nation and as a world. Christianity has indeed shifted in our direction in the southern hemisphere, including South America, Africa and parts of Asia while Europe and North America fade in their Christian fervor. Africa is the fastest growing continent in Christianity today.<br /><br />I still continue to preach at my home church of Asbury Dunwell every third Sunday and our family shares the Gospel once a month at Pram Pram to a childrens’ home. I continue to travel as African Regional Coordinator and will be visiting our people in Kenya in December and assisting a new family to determine if Senegal is the place God has called them in January.<br /><br />Our family is blessed. Anna is thriving at Asbury, Maggie is loving being a sophomore at Lincoln, in the winter play and playing soccer, Luke loves his school and all of his friends, especially Momo, his best friend from South Africa. Claire continues to manage our home, the kids, short term teams, discipleship of her Muslim friend Suaba, prayer groups and Bible Study. She always amazes me.<br /><br />God is good, we continue to pray for all of you in the midst of these economically challenging days. We love you and seek God’s Highest for you in all things.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-56420022473922668282008-11-09T00:10:00.000-08:002008-11-09T01:32:57.263-08:00Attacked by a mother henI've lived in Africa for the past ten years. I've seen a lot and done a lot of very interesting things. I've sat on the back of a crocodile, held a crocodile's tail, thrown a live chicken into a crocodile's mouth (don't tell the animal rights people), but I've never been attacked by a mother hen. I have walked hundreds of miles in dusty villages, seen thousands of animals in those villages, chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, cows, monkeys, parrots, mice, rats, dogs and cats. In all those miles and with all those animals, I've never been threatened once until now, by a chicken!<br /><br />This past weekend our family travelled to Kumasi to visit some of our very ill colleagues who were diagnosed with terrible malaria and to pass on the generous contributions of a church in California to over 200 orphans at Adullam Orphanage by purchasing beans, rice and fish for them. While Claire and our intern Rebecca went to deliver the food items, Luke and I stayed behind in Kumasi to meet with some of our leaders. Luke and I went to lunch with our dear friend Joe Otsin and then decided to take a nostalgic walk through our old village of Adiebeba. As we got down from Joe's car and crossed the road we decided to walk on the back side of the village between the houses rather than go on the main road. Usually this is the place where people direct their run off water from their houses so it's very narrow, undulating and smells interesting. As we were making our way up the alley I saw a bevy of chicks drinking the run off water and the mother hen was close at hand. As I started to step in their general direction, the mother hen went into attack mode, threw her wings out and went bezerk on my feet. Thankfully she didn't draw blood and I decided to back up and start over. When I backed up, a sweet Ghanaian lady had heard the commotion out the back door of her home and she was laughing hysterically at my predicament. Luke was standing just behind me and said, "Daddy, I'm not going that way." I started up again and she went after me a second time. But, I persisted and made it through, Luke had no choice but to follow suit and he was right on my heals as he didn't want to meet the fury of a mother hen feeling threatened.<br /><br />Great life lesson. God says he will cover us in his wings...I know that experientially now. God really loves us and doesn't want anything evil to happen to us. Luke and I have a new appreciation for mother hens and for how much God longs to protect us. We finished our walk through the village felt the extreme heat that Ghanaians live in everyday. We loved the old scenes of banku being boiled, sellers selling their wares and school children buying their snacks during their break.<br /><br />We made it to Ankaase later that afternoon to find our dear friends and colleagues, the Dalenbergs, prayerfully concerned for their son Samuel. He originally had +5 Malaria which is very dangerous and his body had reacted to the treatment of quinine and damaged his liver and kidneys so he was jaundice, weak and on a drip. We prayed for him and spent time with the family. Since that time they've had to move him to the teaching hospital in downtown Kumasi. Samuel is not out of the woods yet and desperately needs your prayers. If you read this, pray for Samuel Dalenberg and his family.<br /><br />Blessings,<br /><br />MichaelMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-6119697954880078002008-08-02T00:18:00.000-07:002008-08-02T00:34:03.580-07:00What's in a name?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfn1XwzJKPZw_yJMok5xm00XVHdIW5VaSB-LmYMaX8AF0D0hyphenhyphenZJxMIvt5TRgE12GOExcIrMpOpxWKJiRlAs9q6BEcbKqijfuq1DX2R9PKHNuY_ChiHaKnR_r9eoJiqltr5L_GFbm_E3f8/s1600-h/DSC_0703.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfn1XwzJKPZw_yJMok5xm00XVHdIW5VaSB-LmYMaX8AF0D0hyphenhyphenZJxMIvt5TRgE12GOExcIrMpOpxWKJiRlAs9q6BEcbKqijfuq1DX2R9PKHNuY_ChiHaKnR_r9eoJiqltr5L_GFbm_E3f8/s320/DSC_0703.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229820067219604866" /></a><br />It has been a few years since I sent out an email declaring my name change. For many it seems weird because for the first 43 years of my life I've been Mike. My mother named me James Michael Mozley, though I don't recall her ever telling me why. When I was young she would say she loved the name James and she was going to call me that but of course I was always Mike so I protested strongly and she succumbed to my wishes. For most of my life people have only known me as Mike Mozley, even though in high school I think the preferential name was just Mozley.<br /><br />In the winter of 2005 I was back in the States and traveling like mad all over the Southeast speaking in churches and as Jackson Brown says, "I was running on empty." So I went to see a friend and we began to ask God what was going on and of course God responded. Here is what he said in a nutshell...."Michael, I want every stone of your life overturned. I want nothing hidden, no secrets, no hidden motives, no dark places and I want to be back in your name." So as I thought about it, there was something cathartic about hearing the name Michael and it spoke deep within me every time I heard it. Michael is the Hebrew word which when broken down is Mi-cah-el. And of course EL is the Hebrew word for God. And it means, "Who is like God." I have also been told that it is also a question, "Who is like God?" Because Michael in the Bible is the greatest Archangel, perhaps God was saying, "Who can be like Me?" <br /><br />So in the winter of 2005, I didn't change my name but God did! So for those of you who have known me as Mike, I'm now Michael. I know it sounds weird to many and if I'm called Mike, I don't ask people to change in public, only if they ask. So instead of going through a mid-life crisis and buying a new sports car, I got a name change and it fits me perfectly.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-51077535533711703722008-02-16T11:26:00.000-08:002008-03-01T19:55:34.506-08:00Here we go again!Who knows about all these blog spots? Who reads them? Who has time to read them or check back like in my case who doesn't write in several months...life is too busy and too much going on to blog. But I'm sitting in the Pitts Library at Candler School of Theology or Emory University as it is better known doing more research on my doctorate. And so here it goes again...one more blog on my belt. I don't like this very much honestly...I'd rather talk to people than just write these random thoughts hoping to get a rise out of that close knit group of people who seem to read my blog. <br /><br />What a weird world I live in. I travel to the States for three weeks, do a missions conference, do research, sit in on The Mission Society Board meeting and I fly home. See my family, go to school, do my research and have to present a paper that is heavier than that albatross that that guy talked about in his famous poem...part of growing old is forgetting names and where they came from. Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner is the name of the poem and he is starving on his boat for water and he feels like an albatross is around his neck...me too.<br /><br />The research is incredible, the writing is the grind but that is where the gold is refined and the diamonds are made. Press on dear friends. Take deep breaths and don't forget to dance in front of Jesus! He needs a good laugh every now and again!<br /><br />MichaelMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-32820407462253073752007-05-02T01:09:00.000-07:002007-05-02T14:54:47.323-07:00Long Time ComingIn the lulling moments of down time, I was very excited about blogging and posting thoughts from my head and heart but as the reality of my doctoral studies crashes in on me, that excitement has waned considerably. I'm sitting at home this morning and my Lukie boy has Malaria or Strep Throat so I have some few moments to put some thoughts down.<br /> The world I live in now is Gospel and Culture and studying the aspects of Jesus in his culture in first century Palestine and the impact of his interaction with women...was he challenging the cultural norms of his day? Was he setting a precedent for modern culture to give honor and value to women, knowing they would be put down and disregarded as second class citizens? Is it their reaction to this oppressiveness that has caused so much radical feminism? <br /> The other world I live in is Bartolome de Las Casas! Now how many of you have ever even heard of his name? He was the Dominican priest that stood against the Behemoth of Spain as they were conquering and simultaneously destroying the cultures of the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America...one book I was studying verified that during the 16th Century there were 80,000,000 Indians alive during that century but by 1600 there were only 10,000,000 remaining. They weren't all killed by the sword, many died by the European epidemics, thousands did die by the sword and by trained dogs from Spain. This is history that isn't written about in our history books. We have a picture of the gallant Christopher Columbus arriving somewhere in America, which was actually Haiti and bringing his flag and Bible and establishing a new land...He was not as brutal as Cortes or Pizarro but nonetheless, he wanted gold and the heathen to be converted to Catholicism. I'm learning deeper things than I ever imagined...the history we know is so limited...<br /> So that is the world I'm living in right now...here is a thought to ponder..."Standing at the doorway into a new world, they nonetheless share their contemporaries' hopes and fears and seek to lead their people out into what is to come. Their words speak to their contemporaries condition. They may meet with opposition and incomprehension, but they also address their people's hopes and desires. In their preaching and their deeds they seek to transform people's understanding of themselves and their world and prepare them to embrace the world to come. It is in this interaction with traditional, inherited beliefs and practices that they are able to experience extraordinary power over their contemporaries. And it is in this that their power to create new worlds resides." (John E. Riches--The World of Jesus.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-53574547780758424162007-03-10T03:31:00.000-08:002007-03-10T03:58:16.897-08:00Men of Athens!Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I was creating a new post and in the midst of trying to type after the picture, the internet cut off and I wasn't able to finish my posting. So I'm not going to tell you but I'll give you the Word, "While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.<br /> He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, 'What's this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he's picked up?' Others said, 'He seems to be preaching about som foreign gods.'<br /> They they took him to the high council of the city (this would be the place where that big rock is just below the Acropolis).'Come tell us about this new teaching.' They said. "You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it's all about." (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)<br /> So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: 'Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this incsription on it: 'To the Unknown God.' This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I'm telling you about.<br /> "He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, and human hands can't serve his needs--for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need...." Acts 17:16-25<br /> And so it goes that Paul stood on that rock that you saw and explained the Gospel to a bunch of pagan philosophers. All the time I have now. Enjoy a window with a view and if you ever need place to get away, have I got the place!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpN66zeUs_ZQ4mr_qUVk-KHrTA2226_TdRJJ0VQPSm5rnTixph10eaaWx2YXuJa5qD_4bhEbAWohfDbdZ5WR1i6sZEjo-uSaZvJWE2cb-D1qQlYw8NZUpVCn9RJKmi2j2y6_kl9J6-38/s1600-h/Greece+2+168.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpN66zeUs_ZQ4mr_qUVk-KHrTA2226_TdRJJ0VQPSm5rnTixph10eaaWx2YXuJa5qD_4bhEbAWohfDbdZ5WR1i6sZEjo-uSaZvJWE2cb-D1qQlYw8NZUpVCn9RJKmi2j2y6_kl9J6-38/s320/Greece+2+168.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5040263041318749778" /></a>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-64280171463186692842007-02-28T09:54:00.000-08:002007-02-28T10:02:26.483-08:00Guess Which Rock this is?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgqRep5Te9EBBiTHqVe_f4fTBHJQMcBt-YUMYDEaty2PRMAPj9ZaBFVMeL90ODL7CVk5HTWMSc4h56h1Q9-SU7Bt-3ve89lmcuTuCwoFeWPKPWvRPPPOubbrVk19vThEUhgOCGXb5WFE/s1600-h/Greece+2+140.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgqRep5Te9EBBiTHqVe_f4fTBHJQMcBt-YUMYDEaty2PRMAPj9ZaBFVMeL90ODL7CVk5HTWMSc4h56h1Q9-SU7Bt-3ve89lmcuTuCwoFeWPKPWvRPPPOubbrVk19vThEUhgOCGXb5WFE/s320/Greece+2+140.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5036646416243737618" /></a><br />Some time last summerMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-87514358173571165702007-02-16T16:04:00.000-08:002007-02-16T16:32:00.761-08:00California DreamingOkay so this is the way it will go for me. Two blogs back to back and then a huge hiatus as I travel from Ghana to the U.S. I had six days with my buddy Andy and my spiritual mentor Al in Santa Rosa. Great time, great church...look up www.newvintagechurch.org. Things are different here. They have people in recovery coming off the street and people who own corporations in San Francisco and they all hang out together under the same roof. Lots of tatoos and lots of nice clothes and they all mix together. I met at least two people maybe more who said, "this is the first time that I've ever been to church." I don't know about you but man do I love that. I love hanging out with people who know nothing about God or church. They don't know the stuff that goes into the history. They are fresh and open and hungry. I love giving Bible illustrations and talk about relationships and I say, "Adam had...." One or two said "Eve." And then I said, "Moses had...." and most had no idea who went with Moses...Aaron. Wow, pure and simple ignorance that is not stupidity, just not knowing something. <br /><br />Wouldn't you love to walk along people who know nothing about God and everything you share with them is fresh and new...you have to talk differently, say things differently. I love that. You can't speak Christianese around these people. They don't get it. The other side of that is the staleness that happens in churches where everybody is the same and you speak the same language and the word that comes to mind is redundant. I think about Christianity in most churches and it seems redundant, lacking passion, lacking diversity.<br /><br />Now, let me tell you the miracle...I preached and it was pretty good in my opinion but that's not the point. We talked about "coming to the table" and my points were: 1.You don't have to come alone, 2.You don't have to get it all right before you come to the table and lastly, 3.Jesus is the chair that meets you at the table that wants to take your whole being on HIM. That was okay and I think they got it and then I said, "I want to invite everyone to the table." So I just asked the whole congregation to get up out of their seats and come up on stage and come around the table and hold hands and I prayed for them and it was one of those holy moments. Everybody came because they didn't know better and they felt safe and not condemned and they felt love in that moment.<br /><br />So I'm California dreaming. Dreaming of a time when we'll begin to reach out to the lost. When was the last time you hung out with a lost person? You might find it quite interesting.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-67694266755440977242007-02-02T00:48:00.000-08:002007-02-03T02:52:26.328-08:00Searing Memory<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYI7Hpok5ZvlqP7a8W4m7ZU9gzWr1lfUr7gnUs2NOH_Ow-zev2ApYQ6DVYr-FtukvCRJ2RosWH7k-_0i_sa_FFIOmZWikOreWsHDRCG0KWa7oyoEA2ZtaNIQnRPAcOezOI09YsxWU9_8/s1600-h/kids11.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5026869971441134290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYI7Hpok5ZvlqP7a8W4m7ZU9gzWr1lfUr7gnUs2NOH_Ow-zev2ApYQ6DVYr-FtukvCRJ2RosWH7k-_0i_sa_FFIOmZWikOreWsHDRCG0KWa7oyoEA2ZtaNIQnRPAcOezOI09YsxWU9_8/s320/kids11.JPG" border="0" /></a>This picture is of two little Ghanaian boys who go to school in a rural village. Maybe their parents make about $300-400 a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year</span>, not a week or even a month...a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">year</span>. But they go to school and they are trying to make a way to succeed in this world that is not waiting or helping in any substantial way...That's life here in Ghana.<br /><br />But the message for this one is not about those two boys or the abject poverty that is prolific throughout the country, it's about Claire and I going for a walk in our neighborhood the other night. We were walking down our street which happens to be one of the few that is unpaved in our neighborhood. We live in East Legon which is a nice area with a lot of nice houses that wealthy Ghanaians have built through the years. Most of them rent them to foreigners from anywhere from $800-3500 per month. Our rent is actually the cheapest of all our fellow co-workers in the area. We were blessed to find such a place. In the midst of these houses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, 200 yards from our house a family of five or six, one mom and several small children, live in a wooden hut, cook outside all the time and survive day to day. So that's the look of things.<br /><br />As we rounded the corner there were two young kids studying by kerosene lantern right off the road and they were keeping the "shop" of dry goods their mom had set up to sell sugar, canned fish, oil, peanuts, Milo and tea bags. It was probaly 7:30 and they were straining to do their homework with that one kerosene lantern. Of course my beloved stopped and said in Twi, "What are you studying?" And they replied in perfect English, "English." So she encouraged them to keep studying hard. And we walked on.<br /><br />How many of you growing up griped about homework in your rooms with carpet, desks, lamps, a/c, heat, everything you needed. You know why my Ryan loves Ghana? You know why we love Ghana? Because everyday we see incredible things like this, two little kids straining at a kerosene lantern to learn and do well in school in hopes of going further than their mom or dad and hoping they can afford school fees for junior high or high school.<br /><br />Just be grateful. Try not to gripe or whine as much.<br /><br />Now you know why Ghana ruins us.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93510974238622220.post-10610076739428347952007-02-01T02:34:00.000-08:002007-02-01T03:00:34.621-08:00First things First<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtszRF5kxqr_iLIELyI-fLJXLLjcG1Nvn6BbBSDOKSFzC1iooCCjn8K5VXFK788j2KED8DyAm3Xlfjegjb-MeNFE0-7JXS_ZUODqYIXtOX_2fV1f54c0VBGtkeCGOtg-53EN3V-ssFcYY/s1600-h/family404.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtszRF5kxqr_iLIELyI-fLJXLLjcG1Nvn6BbBSDOKSFzC1iooCCjn8K5VXFK788j2KED8DyAm3Xlfjegjb-MeNFE0-7JXS_ZUODqYIXtOX_2fV1f54c0VBGtkeCGOtg-53EN3V-ssFcYY/s320/family404.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5026513652364323522" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Welcome to my blog. Who came up with the word blog and what does it really mean? Let me introduce my family...I'm Michael, Anna is right behind me (17), then Luke,(8), and Maggie is our blond 14 year old and then my beautiful Claire.<br /><br /> </span></span><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don't really understand all of this but my incredible assitant, Ms. Tatum Downs is trying to thrust me into the post modern world. So I'm launching out into unknown territory for me. This originally struck me as an excercise in narcissism, feeling like the words we write are somehow valued, special and important. I didn't like the original concept, especially the comments thing because if no one comments, does that mean what you said wasn't worthy of response or no one loves me or what. And as I've read through many different blogs, I now realize it is the random thoughts of folks who just want to throw it out there and see what happens.<br /><br />First the explanation of Sankofa...of course it comes from Ghana where I live and it is an Adinkra symbol which literally means "return and get it." But the deeper meaning is "return to your roots." Or in my words don't forget where you come from. Family is of course high on my list of priorities. So that is that.<br /><br />My second reason for blogging was that I kept getting these great thoughts and sermon ideas and scribbling them on paper and then they get accumulated in some pile and I eventually just threw them away. Now I'm going to throw them on my blog and maybe they'll have some value for someone, including myself.<br /><br />That's it...not too painful...still feels weird...that you post words on a screen for your friends to read and respond or not respond to.<br /></span></span>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11793342949975284159noreply@blogger.com11