Small Man Big God

Basically, the Bible is Not About Me

2010-08-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Great video from Tim Keller on how to view the Bible.

This truth hit me hard when I taught Exodus a couple of years ago, for I had been wrong in how I viewed that book: the overall message is not how God rescues us from our "Egypts", but how God takes action to place his presence with (in) us. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14a) Jesus is the true Exodus.

(HT: Collen Hansen)

BSF Headquarters

2010-07-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

As a Teaching Leader (TL) for Bible Study Fellowship, there are some points deep into the study year when I feel there is not much left to sacrifice (this is not a bad place to be), but a God great in mercy and love and faithfulness extends his character to me and I am blessed. I am blessed far beyond the small amount I give.

At least every three years, as a TL, I make a trip to BSF Headquarters in San Antonio, TX; this is one of God's blessings. A seminary professor is brought in for five days to teach us on the study we will be teaching come Fall. This year's study is Isaiah and the professor was Dr. Carl Laney. As usual, BSF only brings in the best. I had the opportunity to share a cottage with Dr. Laney and his wife this trip and I let him know that I was like the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 trying to understand Isaiah (impotent and confused), but instead of sending Philip, God sent Carl. I am excited to teach Isaiah and looking forward to witnessing some of the presumptions of God that will be ripped away by the men who will study this book.

Gary, a fellow TL in my cottage, forwarded some photos from the trip:

An Illustrated Bible Background Commentary

2009-11-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

I have been given the opportunity to review one volume out of a set of five Old Testament commentaries that have recently been published: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. As I will be teaching Isaiah next year, I jumped at the chance to review Volume 4, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel.
First impression: the “illustrated” aspect of this commentary is done well as the photographs displaying the landscape, cultural artifacts, murals and museum pieces give additional perspective to ancient scripture. The photographs are complemented with drawings and graphs to help with the history and setting of the particular passage.
This set of commentaries would make a great set to place next to your primary commentaries as they add some visual life and background insight that can make your study or teaching crisp with detail. For example, when Jeremiah prophesies about the new covenant God will make with his people, he writes in 31:33, “I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts.” The ancient inhabitants of Judah would have had understood this, perhaps, a bit differently than us, for the pagan cultures that surrounded them practiced Extispicy. Extispicy is the practice of slaughtering a young ram to dissect it and “read” the message from the god(s) written on the liver, lungs, colon or heart. Jeremiah proclaims the Israelite’s hearts had been inscribed with sin, but the new covenant will be written by God and has to do with our insides. God will forgive and “remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34).
This little section enriched my understanding, for when I teach on this passage, I will ask the application question: “When you die, and your heart is read by your Creator, what will it have written on it?

July 4th in Eugene; then and now

2009-08-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

2007
2008
2009

Tim Tebow - Man of Many Missions

2009-07-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

On the Light Rail, on my way home from
work, I read from David Wells' book, The Courage to Be Protestant:

"God is not only near to us and related to us through creation and his preservation of it, but he also rules over all of life, guides it to the the end he has in mind for it, and holds all people accountable for their lives."

From this quote, I was convicted on how I segregate my own inner spiritual life from my outside living-in-the-real-world-life; they do not always match up.

I walk in the front door of my home, kiss my wife, rough up my two sons in an affectionate loving manner and spot the latest Sports Illustrated on the counter. It is good to be home. On the cover is Tim Tebow, not his first time to grace the cover of SI, but the main story on him is great, for it portrays a man who lives his life in truth - he serves a God who rules over all of life. I am encouraged. The author of the story, Austin Murphy writes:

"Having covered Tim for three years, I would say he's the most effective ambassador-warrior for his faith I've come across in 25 years at SI. Why? A big reason, Tebow believes, is his style of play."
To read the full story go here.

Uganda Trip Makes Army Web Site

2009-06-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Army posted an article on my Uganda trip.

Uganda - A Trip "Well" Worth It (part 2 of 3)

2009-06-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Friday, 8 May 2009, our next possible well location is around 45 minutes northeast of Gulu. This is the home village of Pastor Alfred. Alfred interpreted for me the day I spoke at the youth conference. He is a kind-hearted, engaging man who has a heart to serve God.

Two young men from Gulu Baptist Church, Kimara (photo above) and Martin, join us again for the day. Hal and I are teaching these guys how to do this on their own, for we will leave the equipment with the church. They are both quick learners, hard workers with strong backs (very helpful when auguring by hand) and posses a common faith in a great God.

Martin, at the age of fourteen, was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistant Army (LRA). The LRA is a rebel guerilla-type-army based out of Southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Uganda. They are responsible for inflicting great evil in the last two decades.

I did not ask Martin many details, but for five years he was forced to fight and at the age of nineteen, risking his life, he escaped on his own. The grace of God reached into the the soul of Martin, a choice of belief was made and Martin became a Christian.

I travel to the other side of the world, meet up with two guys who have backgrounds as different as our skin color, and I find I have more in common with them than many of the people I work with daily - the reason: we know and serve the living God.

A photo of Martin below at typical drinking water source.

A couple other Africans join us from a local village and we hike out to investigate the likelihood of placing a well.

A short twenty minute hike and we are ready to drill once more. Through my work back home, I have overseen the drilling of over 100 wells and not once did I ever think about praying beforehand. In Uganda we pray before we drill – I like it.

We auger down throughout the morning and the formation shows moisture, but not enough to yield substantial water.

We move to a topographically lower area and start the slow process of hand auguring again. Not much better, but a couple hours into it Hal heads of with a local who is going to show him a water source. We finish off the day with the same results as the day before: hard work to produce a four-inch diameter hole extending down into the ground that does not give enough water for a well. Hal brings encouragement that evening with the report of the site he observed.

Saturday, 8 May, we make the trek back out to our next location - not far from the previous day's location.
Two feet below ground surface, we hit water - not that big of a deal if the formation does not transmit the groundwater to sustain a continual pumping. As the auger makes its way down, and we inspect the material we are pulling up, enough sand is mixed in with the clay to indicate this could be a "producer". We drill over 30 feet below ground surface.

The sun goes down, as does our physical work, for the day. The church has asked me to give the message at their Sunday morning service; when the body of Christ asks me to do something I must have a good reason to say no. I have reasons, but none are good. One lesson I am learning over the years, or truthfully decades: my action is not to be driven by my desire; my action is to be driven by God's desire.

Usually it takes me at least ten hours to prepare a 40-minute lecture for BSF. My weekly effort for BSF includes a computer, commentaries, a bible with cross references, a wealth of wisdom from the men I study with, my wife and electricity. I have none of these as I sit down at the white plastic table in the hotel lobby with a flashlight, pen, paper and Bible at 8:10 P.M.

The next four hours in the dark are memorable as I pray and work through God's word. God is faithful and helps me get down on paper what I will speak in the morning. The sermon comes together from Numbers 21:4-9 - Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. The text sounds like witchcraft and, hopefully, will engage the listener. Most Ugandans in this area have spiritually come out of witchcraft and currently live among it in their villages. The symbol of evil, a snake, is fashioned by Moses lifted up on a pole and any Israelite who looks at it will be saved from the plague that is killing them. The symbolism does not make much sense until around a thousand years later when a homeless Jew, who is getting everyones attention through his incredible teaching and healing, is asked privately by a Jewish ruler named Nicodemus, "Who are you?" Jesus tells the Jewish ruler, "I am the snake Moses lifted up."

Sunday, 9 May.

Jesus becomes the snake, he takes on evil, my evil, your evil, he becomes a curse, he is lifted up on a pole and all of us who are dying need to look at this for life. Jesus explains this in John 3:14,15 and then he states perhaps the most well known verse in the Bible, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

The pastor interpreting for me continues on with an invitation after I finish and step down. A few people come forward to pray with some pastors - for what I do not know, perhaps God called them, they responded and they tasted the living water God offers: life through Jesus. One does not need a hand auger to get to that water.

Uganda Trip - the First Half

2009-05-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Thank you friends and family for your prayer and financial support for Uganda 2009.

Short version: Great trip; Hal and I located, augured by hand and installed a well with a manual pump to supply some people with clean water.

Long version: 1 May - Arrived at Entebbe International at 7:30 A.M. Our checked-in baggage included the equipment needed for hand drilling a well, thus it was good to see all six of our bags arrive. We took a taxi up to Kampala (Capital City of Uganda) to Darrie and Debbie Turner's home. Dad and Mom know the Turners, for they are from the Portland area, and my parents have been supporting and following the Turner's missionary ministry for over a decade.

To reinforce the notion that this large world can be small, a team of men were at the Turners and were getting ready to fly out - they had been helping Darrie build a beefed-up electric fence to keep the elephants from eating and destroying the garden at a Bible school. The garden produce is vital for supplying the students with food as they attend the Bible School. The men helping were from the Coos Bay, Oregon. The youth pastor of the group, originally from Esticada, was a former High School student of my brother-in-law Chad.

For the next couple of days, we procured a pump, well casing and supplies (no small feat in a developing country), Hal reunited with numerous friends and we attended Kampala Baptist Church on Sunday.

Engineering Ministry International (eMi) loaned us a water level indicator (this instrument is helpful in well development) and it was good to meet some of their top-shelf engineers and hear about the projects they were working on in Uganda.

Monday evening provided one of the highlights of my trip: I attended a men's BSF class. For the first time in a very long time I was able to attend as a member. The Kampala class is similar in size to our Sacramento class - around 300 men. The discussion leader of the group I was placed in, a local MD, did a superb job with the group. It was sobering for an American to hear some of the weekly struggles of these men - they identify with the Israelites wandering in the wilderness in a manner I cannot. The Teaching Leader's (TL) name was Patrick . After enjoying and being challenged by his lecture, I approached him, identified myself as a fellow TL - his eyes came alive as we shared about the classes we serve. With all the sights and stories and poverty I came into contact with on this trip, I cried twice (some of this may be blamed on lack of sleep): once was being a part of a worship service with the Africans in Gulu and the other was while I was praying for Patrick and the BSF class in Kampala that evening.

Tuesday, 5 May, we departed the big city and the hospitality of the Turners for Gulu - six hours to the north. The Turners loaned us their four-cylinder, four-wheel drive; with well casing and pump rod straped to the top we made the journey. Our new home is to be Hotel Roma - a small concrete block room, populated with cockroaches, no ventilation, intermittent power and mosquito nets with as many holes as a Barry Bonds steroid denial. It did have a toilet and thus no complaints from me about the room.

Wednesday, 6 May, was to be our first day in getting out into the brush to look at some possible well locations. The church was holding a youth conference in one of the Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Camps - families have been living in these camps for years as they were displaced from there home villages by the waring rebel army. The church asked me to to speak at the youth rally on marriage. Through an interpreter, I spoke on the Old and New Covenant God made with us, how the covenants build on each other and give us a picture of the future. Then I tied in another covenant: the marriage covenant and how it also points to something bigger - the covenant Jesus has with his bride (the church). The relationship agreement of marriage is to be taken very seriously, and thus placed above our own selfish desires. It is a common practice in Northern Uganda for a husband to "return" his wife to her family, and get a refund for the price he paid if she does not produce a child with in a year or two. The church was doing a good work by holding a youth conference on marriage.

Literally, moments after I finished speaking, and Hal was giving an illustration on marriage, my lower GI tract was introduced to a small African organism. The meeting did not go well. I spent the next half-hour squatting over a hole in the ground as my inside expressed its anger at meeting this new acquaintance. Hal, who knew the drill from previous trips to Uganda, got me back to Gulu, straight to a pharmacy (no prescription necessary in this country) and I was back to working order in no time. I did have to miss the meeting with the church pastors that evening to discuss our plans for locating and installing a well as I spent the evening in the hotel room. The toilet was a great luxury.

The next day we traveled north of Gulu for a couple of hours until the dirt road transitioned into a walking trail and we came to the home village of David - one of the pastors of the church. This was off the beaten path. As with all the villages outside of the Gulu, sun-dried clay bricks held up a thatched roof to make the circular huts composing the living quarters for the families. First impression: the amount of children numbered or out numbered the adults and the poverty was profound. A number of the children had no clothes; I tried to make a point of ignoring the action of some of the older boys I was conversing with as they attempted to cover their nakedness with the rags they wore. The lack of pigment in my skin is not something the children saw often and some, it appeared, saw a white man for the first time as a couple of the younger children starred with wide eyes and broke out in frightened crying as they ran off to their mothers.

From the village, we hiked for a mile or two out into the brush to observe a potential well location. A stream provides surface water that keeps the people living. Near the stream, and topographically above the flood level, we augured down for an hour or so to explore the possibility of placing a well. Not feasible at this location for the groundwater was too low and soil too rocky for our low technology. The day was not wasted, for Pastor David walked us over to a tree and explained this was the tree his mother knelt down and accepted Jesus as her
God and Savior. I will gladly give up a day to see and hear the story of a soul coming together with my living God. I look forward to meeting David's Mother in eternity and I can let her know I visited the tree were her life begin.

Uganda Update - 6 May

2009-05-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Not much time to make a post, but we have made it to Gulu in N. Uganda. Stories to tell later from the past week in making it here. As they say here: nothing going normal is a normal day.

Some impressions: absolute poverty...beautiful country...God works in many many lives (their stories are encouraging).

We will scout some locations tomorrow for installing the well. Pray for God to give a couple geologist a good eye for where this will work the best and fulfill the greatest need. Pray we are true representatives of the love of God. Also, I just got hit with an intestinal bug, as I had to run out of a youth service we attended this morning and spent the next half hour over a hole in the ground in a grass hut four feet tall. Hopefully the drugs kick in soon. I most likely caught this from all the hands I have shaken and you eat food here with your hands (no silver ware).

Uganda Plan

2009-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

I am off to Uganda. If you think about Hal and I please pray for saftey, health and effective use of our time and efforts to do a good work for God.

Itinerary:

· April 29: TRAVEL DAY depart from San Francisco 6:50 p.m.
· May 1: TRAVEL DAY arrive in Entebbe, Uganda 7:45 a.m.
· May 1 – 3: get our internal clocks turned around and gather materials, filter sand/gravel for filters in Kampala, worship with Kampala International University students
· May 4 or 5: TRAVEL DAY - drive to Gulu, approximately 6 hours north of Kampala
· May 6 – 7: scout locations for filter/well, hand-drill test borings, possibly around Gulu, Pader, or Kitkum; meet with local Christians at Gulu Baptist Church
· May 8-11: install filter(s)/well(s) in best locations, worship with local believers
· May 12: TRAVEL DAY - drive to Kampala
· May 13: TRAVEL DAY for Tim – departs from Entebbe, Uganda 9:05 a.m. (arrives in San Francisco May 14 at 2:25 p.m.)

Uganda Bound

2009-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

My triceps are still a little sore; Saturday morning, a fellow geologist from church and I hand-augured twenty-two feet below ground surface and installed a well in the backyard of a friend.

The purpose: this was a dress rehearsal for what we hope to accomplish in northern Uganda. We are physically prepared.

The well we installed Saturday produced two gallons per minute - perfect for a well that will be finished off with a hand pump and provide clean water for a small village.

In one week I will be traveling to Africa - this is made possible by family and friends who have contributed financially - Thank You!

Please pray for Hal Hansen and I as we prepare for the ultimate goal of this trip, not only finding and bringing to the surface clean physical water, but pure spiritual water that gives life to the soul.

Please pray for (1) our spiritual preparation and protection this week before we depart, (2) God to be working now in the Ugandan men and women we will come into contact with in the field and (3) for unity in our families before separation.

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

2009-04-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Does not God do this with Israel - strength and beauty comes out of the unexpected - does not God do this with all his children who allow God to work through them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXX_gMFeWlc

HT: Justin Tayl0r

A Wedding Weekend

2009-04-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

April Fourth, in the year of our Lord 2009, Sam and Heather became one - God did this. Some photos (click on them to enlarge) surrounding the celebrated event:

Rob, Julie, Nate, Chet, Maia and Tyler.

Chad, Crissa, Luke and Hannah in front of their 32' Ford.

We are happy to be a part of it

A kiss

A toast to my brother: I believe I said about half of what I planned and I did not finish it off the way I thought I was going to, but I hope truth was conveyed through my words that Sam is a guy who will cramp you up because you are laughing so hard at his antics, but he will also draw your thoughts to the eternal with depth that can only come from God. Heather got a good one.

Johnny Cash

2009-02-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

The following post on Johnny Cash, a man who continues to speak to me on my iPod, is worthy to pass on to you: Justin Taylor provides some good links here.

I would like to see the worship leaders in our Churches be a little more Cash-like; two examples:

and

A Fast Guy on a Bike

2009-02-14T20:58:00.001-08:00

Lance made his return to the cycling world today in Sacramento:

Mark Driscoll

2009-02-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

Love him or hate him the Seattle preacher, Mark Driscoll, is not afraid to throw it out there.

Susan and I heard him speak in Minneapolis last year on "How Sharp the Edge? Christ, Controversy and Cutting Words", you can watch it or listen here.

If you want to see him on CNN click here or on Nightline a couple of weeks ago:

Christmas in Underwood, WA

2009-02-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

Some family photos from Christmas time:View from the front Window

Christmas Dinner

Jacob, Hannah and Ryan

Papa, Ryan and Big Brown

Uncle Sam with Luke, Ryan, Hannah and Jacob

Ryan, Hannah and Jacob (they wanted to know what it felt like to be trapped in an avalanche)

Ryan is Three and Rolling on Two

2009-02-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

Kurt Warner

2009-01-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

One of the upcoming Superbowl quarterbacks reminds me a little of King David: a teenage boy bagging bears and lions as he made his living in the hills of Israel living with sheep. He was unexpectedly grabbed and ordained the new King of Israel.

Kurt Warner was bagging groceries in Ceder Rapids Iowa as he made his living after washing out of football. He was unexpectedly grabbed and now will make his second Super Bowl appearance.

I read this story a couple weeks ago and identified with Kurt as he struggles with communicating his love for Jesus, but at the same time struggling with the fact that Jesus is offensive and repels people: he invited his entire team over for a party but only a handful showed up. Kurt inquired of a teammate and the prevailing view was they were afraid he was going to get up on a podium and preach at them.

Fortunately, we have been given Jesus' Spirit and it has the same effect as 2,000 years ago: draws some in like a magnet and others do not only not want to show up at your party, they want to murder you.

Some people love Kurt Warner and some hate him; then (2000 years ago) and now - not much has changed.

The Shack: The Good, the Bad and the Scary

2009-01-17T20:29:00.000-08:00

This is by no means a thorough review of the book. I promised my cousin I would read it, for he is friends with the author. The thoughts I posted in an earlier blog have not changed. The following are some current thoughts from a small man with a big God:

The Scary
To build a false image of God is not just sloppy writing, but scary. The author builds this she-male god in a gripping manner, but constructs some subtle falsity into the image: Papa (this is God if you have not read the book) is portrayed as not just peace-loving (which is true), but anti-violent. Papa detests the gun as she holds it out at arms length.

God is a great warrior. Listen to Moses worship God on the shore of the Sea of Reeds after the exodus from Egypt. God, with his creation-power, gives salvation to his new chosen nation with violence that surpasses what any gun could do:

The Lord is a man of war;the Lord is his name. (Exodus 15:3)
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. (Exodus 15:6,7)(ESV)

The Shack scares me, for an image of God has been erected that takes God’s glory, his powerful right hand that inflicts violence, and portrays the glorious hand of God falsely.

I am not condoning violence or guns, for I doubt we will see either in God’s ultimate kingdom. More important than societal problems, or my feelings, is the image of God – never add to it and make God into something he is not. Sometimes God deals with this by his right hand.

The Bad
God created man and woman in his image; every race and gender bares a resemblance to their creator. Though God is spirit and is not composed of the mass of biology we live in, he does have an image – Moses is a witness to this and his face fell to the ground when he saw God’s back. God’s image is important - he has one and it is good to be cautious on how one portrays it.

I can identify with the author in desiring to paint a picture of God as an African-American woman: my next door neighbor is one and her love and service to our family will echo into eternity. There are four women I kiss: my wife (of course) my Mom, my Mother-in-law and my neighbor of whom I speak. This African-American woman demonstrates God’s love in a manner that we could all learn from. I have learned much more from her than a love for collard greens.

Nonetheless, I believe it is good to not venture from Jesus’ example of painting the picture of God as anyone other than the Father.

The Good
The author does a great job of answering the age old question, “how could a good God allow evil?” He also gives the reader a grasp of a world existing beyond our myopic view.

I loved the scene were Mack has been introduced to the Trinity. They explain who they all are and in a puzzled manner he looks from one to the other and asks, “Which one of you is God?” They all answer in unison, “I AM”.

Uncharacteristically, I cried as I read a part of this book: Mack was preparing to leave his incredible experience, just before he departed Jesus met him in a room and on the table were bread and a cup of wine. Someday we (if you are a believer) will share bread and wine together with Jesus. The thought of what it represents and anticipation of the future event brought emotion.

If you desire, comment with your thoughts, for I would be interested to hear them.

Now and Then - Actions Speak Louder than Words

2008-12-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Now: Three years ago we brought Ryan home from the hospital following his birth, Jacob who was three at the time, did not want to have much to do with this new sibling, but he told us, “he loved his new little brother”. Ryan was only a couple of days old, I laid him on his back on a blanket in the living room and Jacob was playing with a die-cast metal space shuttle, flying it around the living room. I was half paying attention to him as he was walking around the living room, flying his metal toy, saying, “running out of gas...running out of gas...running out of gas”

At the exact moment he flew it over his newborn brother… “Out of gas" and the shuttle free falls and tags Ryan on the forehead. Ryan screams as a red mark grows on his forehead.
“Jacob”, I say in surprised displeasure and Jacob answers, “but dad, it ran out of gas”.
Actions speak louder than words: Jacob’s words of, “I love my brother” rang hollow as he inflicted pain with his action.

Then: The Israelites at Mt. Sinai promise with their words to do everything the Lord has commanded – they enter into a covenant relationship and then with their actions they begin breaking commandments. One commentator likened the golden calf incident to committing adultery on your honeymoon. You take the marriage vow in front of many, promising to be faithful until death and then on your honeymoon your spouse finds you in another’s bed. Your spouse hears and discovers. Actions speak louder than words. This is what Israel did to God; this is what we do to God.

This gives us a feeling for the depth of God’s justice (sin was atoned on the cross) and the depth of his grace (salvation was given on the cross).

An Old Testamant Resource full of Riches

2008-11-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

In studying and teaching Exodus this year a resource that continually provides deep and insightful truth is Bruce Waltke's An Old Testament Theology.

My brother Sam and brother-in-law Chad, turned me on to him, for they sat under his teaching at Regent College.

A little taste from Mr. Waltke regarding God's gift to us from the Old Covenant:

At Mount Sinai Moses mediates God's word that seals God's covenant relationship with Israel and defines Israel as a nation set apart from the other nations. Israel's ratification of it empowers them to construct an earthly replica of heaven itself for the worship of their God. No other nation is defined by its holiness or by its obedience to a moral law. The United States repealed its only constitutional moral law, "Thou shalt not drink."

Veteran's Day Excursion

2008-11-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

The Crummett boys spent Veteran's Day in San Francisco. First stop was the newly remodeled ($500 million worth) California Academy of Sciences. Jacob's favorite was the Philippine Coral Reef; Ryan's was the turtles.

Second stop was Rodeo Beach: Ryan flew his first kite, found a dead sea gull that he carried over to show me, Jake and I threw a football around and we all played chicken with the waves for hours.

Dr. John Piper is Real and so is God.

2008-11-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

A Christmas gift from Dad and Mom addicted me to this author. From books, over the years, I got to know this man, but in September I met him face to face, shook his hand and told him thanks – John Piper is real.

A gift from God in the form of a burning bush addicted Moses to God. From personal conversations and interaction over the years Moses got to know God, but on Mt. Sinai he met him personally. God passed before him and showed himself to Moses – God is real.

We will not all have the privilege of meeting our favorite author; we all will meet God some day - face to face. It will be the climax of our lives or it will be the deepest disaster?

The Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-06T21:39:00.001-08:00

Expelled DVD is Available

2008-11-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

My degree names me as a scientist, and my job classifies me as one. I have been looking forward to watching Ben Stein's DVD "Expelled". I found some time and watched it with Susan. It focuses on the scientific educational system and its view toward intelligent design. If you are interested in this, or want to know what your children will be up against in higher education, give this DVD a couple hours of your time.

I gave one example in an earlier post. The following are a couple more examples from my own, so be it very limited, experience with the scientific elite:

1) One morning in Historical Geology class, as I was focusing on keeping my eyes open more than the content of what was being taught, the teacher called me by name and asked how I could just explain everything we observe using no science, but answer everything with "divine intervention". I assured the class this man knew nothing of what I believed. I looked at the professor and told him, "just because you try and shove something down my throat does not mean I have to swallow it. Do you desire for your students to think or just swallow?" He did not answer.

2) Another professor, on a field trip, asked me in front of the class about my belief in God. I asked if she believed in right and wrong. She answered, "no". I asked her if she condoned Hitler's action. She answered, something like, "we now know a reduction in the gene pool is not healthy for the overall species". I made sure I understood her answer and repeated back to her, "the only thing Hitler did wrong was reducing some genes that may have been passed on to the future species?" She answered "yes".

Just two examples, and overall I was not a very good apologist - nor a very good student. My concern was for my fellow students; a few did come to me with questions about life and God. Sadly, they literally came to me under the cover of darkness and I could feel the fear, for if their professors or other Darwin-bumper-stickered classmates found out, there would have been a price to pay. I pray for two fellow classmates in particular; I had some good conversations with them about who Jesus the Christ was and is. I pray their souls have evolved since then and their eyes have been opened to their creator.

Road Kill Kitty Cake

2008-11-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Of the five Crummett kids, Sam has the highest education; he is also the only one of us who could win the prize at his work’s Halloween Potluck for the “spookiest dish”.

A True Coach

2008-10-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

I was on the couch or in bed all day yesterday with a cold - for the first time this year I was able to watch some college football. I watched Georgia beat LSU. After I saw the following video, I am happy Georgia won. As long as Mark Richt remains the head coach, and they are not playing a PAC 10 team, I will root for Georgia.

The Shack

2008-10-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Everytime I peruse the book isle at Costco I am tempted to buy it, for it must be quality writing with its current residence at the top of the New York Time Bestseller List. Obviously I am interested in the subject. I have no trouble buying things I should not at Costco, but I have refrained on this one.

My hesitation from the start: with a subtle twist, the essence of God is changed via the powerful literary form of a narrative.

God has chosen, through the Bible, to teach us about himself through story - the narrative. Why? It taps into our emotions and connects our heart with our head. God does not teach us theology by only stating principles for us to learn. For example, he brings us into the scene to watch, feel and understand what happens when an eighty year-old man named Moses approaches Pharaoh, the most powerful King on earth, and ridiculously requests to let a couple million of his slave laborers go. When we leave the scene we not only know God is sovereign, we feel it.

God does not tell just tell us to believe he is our redeemer, he wants us to feel it through the beautiful love story of Ruth and Boaz.

God does not just tell us to love our wives, he wants us to feel it through the sensual intimacy of the Song of Solomon.

God does not just tell us he loves us, he wants us to feel it as it is described four times in the New Testament narrative of the Crucifixion.

The Shack is wanting you to feel some principles about God that are false.

If you care to read more, Gerald Hiestand has a good review here.

I will most likely end up reading it, but remembering to guard my heart as I do. If you have read it, am I off base?

A Wedding Ceremony

2008-10-14T17:07:00.001-07:00

Communion, baptism and the wedding ceremony; why is it that some ceremonies elicit emotion from us no matter how many times we take part or witness it? All have been instituted by God and they point to something greater (our souls knows this). The wedding ceremony may be the greatest:

it points to the past, for we witness God create a new oneness before our eyes as two become one - we think of creation

we celebrate the present, for the closest communion between two individuals has taken place and it is based on a vow - our relationship with God is based on his promises to us.

it points to the future, for we are the bride of Christ and some day we will come together with our redeemer

Thank you David and Amber Austin for giving us strength from the past, joy in the present and great hope for the future.

Humpty Dumpty

2008-10-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Pre-wedding activities for David and Amber's wedding - run the kids at the park. The Oregon and California Crummett cousins had fun at Bidwell Park in Chico.

Smoke Detector

2008-10-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

This may have been the Crummett's smoke detector when we lived in "the cabin" decades ago:

The Power of Words and the Wonder of God

2008-09-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Susan and I fly home tomorrow morning from Minneapolis. We are grateful God worked it out and allowed us to attend John Piper's conference titled "The Power of Words and the Wonder of God".

I plan to make additional posts in the future as I meditate on the six speakers we heard; it may take six months to soak in the six messages.

All of the messages (print, audio and video) are here.

ESV Study Bible

2008-09-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

I made the switch from the NASB to the ESV around three years ago and have never looked back, for it is a very well done word for word translation. A study Bible has been in the works for a while and I placed my order last spring. The delivery date is approaching:

The figures and notes look great and the essays contained in the back appear to be worth the price of the Bible. Two of the authors, J.I. Packer and John Hannah both have a small connection with my family, for Sam (brother) had a one-on-one semester study with Packer at Regent and I was blessed to sit under Hannah for a week of teaching at BSF Headquarters. I enjoyed sharing a dinner together with Dr. John Hannah one evening - a very gracious, humble, down-to-earth man who has been touched by the grace of God (he is also quirky, but brilliant).

Poetic Justice - Now and Then

2008-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Jacob and Ryan were instructed to get ready for bed. Jacob, as stealthy as a six year old can be, throws some objects into the doorway of his bedroom. Mom questions - no answer. Mom investigates - a couple of die cast miniature airplanes have been thrown on the carpet. Mom questions again, "so you will step on them", is the answer given in a bratty voice.

I assume this is an attempt at humor from a six-year-old. It is a good thing Dad did not hear, for there would have been a quick readjustment of his sense of humor. Mom, with motherly intuition, waits for him to finish brushing his teeth. He has a disagreement with his brother, forgets about the trap he has lain, walks down the hall in bare feet and steps on a plane with full force. Jacob immediately cries out in pain and the volume of his cries double when he observes his mom unsuccessfully attempting to suppress her laughter.

Poetic Justice.

The Pharaoh of Egypt has a plan to break the divine strength that has multiplied the Israelites from 70 to two million. He instructs the midwives to abort on the "birth stool" the innocent sons of the Hebrews. His plan fails. He commands his nation to throw the new born boys into the Nile - death by drowning. His plan is thwarted, for God has a greater plan.

God is not mocked: Within a generation, a cry arises from Egypt that would turn your spine cold as the Egyptians discover their own eldest sons have all been killed by God.

The final separation from Egypt occurs when a Pharaoh, surrounded by the might of his army, has the life leave his body after the water from the Red Sea fills his lungs; death by drowning.

Poetic Justice.

Stop and Listen.

2008-09-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

A story from the Washington Post:

Joshua Bell emerged from the Metro and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript—a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money and began to play.
For the next 45 minutes, in the D.C. Metro on January 12, 2007, Bell played Mozart and Schubert as over 1,000 people streamed by, most hardly taking notice. If they had paid attention, they might have recognized the young man for the world-renowned violinist he is. They also might have noted the violin he played—a rare Stradivarius worth over $3 million. It was all part of a project arranged by The Washington Post—"an experiment in context, perception, and priorities—as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste. In a banal setting, at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?" Just three days earlier, Joshua Bell sold out Boston Symphony Hall, with ordinary seats going for $100. In the subway, Bell garnered about $32 from the 27 people who stopped long enough to give a donation.

How often we do this with God; if only we would stop and listen, for beauty would transform our soul.

A Conversation

2008-08-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

As I was watching the Democratic Convention last evening, Jake asked me if I was going to vote for Obama. "No", I replied. "Why", Jake asked.

I ended up having to explain abortion to a six-year old. He had trouble comprehending how a doctor could kill a baby that was inside the tummy of its own mommy. "Why would a doctor do that?" He had greater trouble comprehending that it was the mommy and daddy's idea to do this. I found out abortion is a great way of explaining evil: people can rationalize what is obviously an horrific act (especially in the eyes of a child - someone a little closer to being in his own mom's womb) by becoming so self-centered that their own desires are more important than the life of a little one.

John Piper gives some of his thoughts:

A prayer by Miller

2008-08-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

Donald Miller, a member of my brother and sister's church in Portland, author of Blue Like Jazz, will be giving the closing prayer at tonight's Democratic National Convention.

I will traveling for work and may have to tune in.

Update: Here it is...

Steven Curtis Chapman and Family

2008-08-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

I can not imagine losing a child; I can imagine the loss would be compounded if your son was at the wheel of the SUV that ran over your daughter. There is a god who is even bigger than this tragedy. The Chapman family gives testimony:

An Upcoming Trip

2008-08-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

I have an airline voucher soon to expire and combined with some frequent flyer miles, Susan and I will be traveling to Minneapolis in late September to attend Piper's Desiring God Conference titled The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. One of the six speakers, Mark Driscoll, will be speaking on using controversial words (Driscoll has some experience on this subject):

Patrick's Point 2008

2008-08-10T22:20:00.001-07:00

Some photos:

J.I. Packer and Mark Driscol

2008-07-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

Packer sits down with Driscol: http://theresurgence.com/node/1080

The Fourth of July

2008-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

A video clip (Papa's firecracker dance) and a couple of photos from the Crummett family in Eugene:

Nate:

Jacob:

The cousins, minus two, July 4, 2008:

Last year the cousins, minus two, July 4, 2007:

Don't be a Me Monster

2008-07-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

Giants @ A's

2008-06-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Susan is in Philadelphia for her grandmother's funeral; she has been gone for three days, with one more to go - we are ready for her return. The boys, keeping themselves busy, made it down to the Bay Area for some interleague action. Ryan discovered nachos (he ate more than Jake and I combined). Jake was disappointed things did not go his way, for the Giant's lost and his favorite players, Omar Vizquel and Tim Lincecum were not playing, but that is baseball.....and also like life: things do not always go our way.

Mt. Shasta 2008

2008-06-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Crummett "boys", for the the first time together, climbed Mount Shasta. You can find the locations referenced below here.

From the trail head (7,880 ft.):

From our camp at Lake Helen (10,400 ft.):

Rob climbing along "the heart" (12,000 ft.):

Coffee break at Red Banks (12,400 ft.); thanks to Sam for packing up a thermos:
Sam possing at Thumb Rock (12,923 ft.):

From here the weather deteriorated into blizzard conditions and thus I did not pull the camera out much as we made our way to the summit. We estimated the winds were gusting at least 70 mph near the summit, for we were occasionally on all fours - holding on with with our crampons and ice axes.

The summit (14,162 ft.):

Sam finding a little break from the wind and snow:

From the small percentage of God's creation that I have witnessed, Mt. Shasta is one of my favorites. From this trip, the mountain displayed a little of God's character: beautiful, very large, not easy to get to know, powerful, respect requiring, joy giving, discipline demanding and sometimes painful. I am a small man with a big God.

Ryan at the Sacramento Rivercats

2008-06-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ryan and his idea of how to enjoy a baseball game:

Mount McLoughlin

2008-06-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

My brother Rob and I climbed Mt. McLoughlin (located between Klamath Falls and Medford Oregon) a couple weeks ago. There was so much snow that we had to park and hike an extra mile from the trail head. The weather did not give us much of a view, for it rained/snowed/hailed on us most of the trip. A couple photos from the summit:

Hopefully we, along with an additional brother (Sam), will be on the summit of Shasta this weekend.

Photos from an Iowa City Church

2008-06-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from inside an Iowa City church: DEO GLORIA

The rains came down and the floods went up....in Iowa

2008-06-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

Currently I am in Williamsburg Iowa to visit the Wriglesworth's: the Iowa River, taking it's path through the University of Iowa in Iowa City, is predicted to crest this weekend above historic levels (Hannah is pointing out the expected high water mark below) . Fortunately, Chad's office is on the fifth floor in the English building and we helped Chad remove some of his books that may be damaged from the humidity.

Fundamentalists

2008-06-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

Though I would not refer to myself as a fundamentalist, I was raised for the most part, under a fundamentalists banner (like John Piper) and there are aspects of it that are great.

John Piper gives 20 reasons he does not take potshots at fundamentalists:

1. They are humble and respectful and courteous and even funny (the ones I've met).
2. They believe in truth.
3. They believe that truth really matters.
4. They believe that the Bible is true, all of it.
5. They know that the Bible calls for some kind of separation from the world.
6. They have backbone and are not prone to compromise principle.
7. They put obedience to Jesus above the approval of man (even though they fall short, like others).
8. They believe in hell and are loving enough to warn people about it.
9. They believe in heaven and sing about how good it will be to go there.
10. Their "social action" is helping the person next door.
11. They tend to raise law-abiding, chaste children, in spite of the fact that Barna says evangelical kids in general don't have any better track record than non-Christians.
12. They resist trendiness.
13. They don't think too much is gained by sounding hip.
14. They may not be hip, but they don't go so far as to drive buggies or insist on typewriters.
15. They still sing hymns.
16. They are not breathless about being accepted in the scholarly guild.
17. They give some contemporary plausibility to New Testament claim that the church is the "pillar and bulwark of the truth."
18. They are good for the rest of evangelicals because of all this.
19. My dad was one.
20. Everybody to my left thinks I am one. And there are a lot of people to my left.

The House that Dad Built

2008-05-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Traveled to Alturas for a meeting with USFS and passed through McArthur.

The Crummetts should recognize the house that was a home for portion of our childhood. Not much has changed. The house seemed smaller and I did not remember the grand view we had of both Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen from the front windows.

Brian Reagan

2008-05-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

This guy is hilarious (Jake and Ryan even think so).

2008-05-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

For the past two months Susan and I have been reading the The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago, to the boys. I recommend it - it not only covers the major stories from Genesis to Revelation, but it interweaves in some great theology. The artwork is interesting enough (and a little quirky) to keep Ryan interested and engaged.

To give you a taste, the second page reads:

"Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done."

2008-05-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

Spotted this video on Jollyblogger. It is a video of football coach John Gagliardiof of St. Johns University in Collegeville, MN. We played St. Johns every year when I played football for Pillsbury. I believe they beat us each year; my freshmen year we only lost two, maybe three, games. For decades, under this coach, St. Johns has had a very successful program.

This man understands grace. He does not create a performance based environment with manipulation like so many coaches do (player messes up - coach yells, intimidate with a dominate presence, or run everything by rules). From the interview, you can tell this coach cares more about his player's hearts than anything. Get to the heart and then you can build the knowledge and performance is a by product.

I pray this for my family.

Why Study The Bible

2008-04-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

A lesson from the apostle Peter and my son Ryan:

From Peter:
It is a cold night in Gethsemane. The Jewish leadership, taking Jesus to be an opponent they would not want to take on physically, show up with a contingent of Jewish and Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus. They were frightened of the power of this man. In comes Peter, leading with his swinging sword, Malchus barely avoids getting his head lopped off as he ducks to avoid the sword, but his ear gets clipped. What was Peter thinking? I think he still had the words of Jesus’ prediction that he would deny him – Peter loved Jesus, he loved Jesus more than the world. Peter loved him more than his own life as this was suicide to attack a group of men protected by Roman soldiers. Roman soldiers could do one thing well - kill. Peter probably felt his critical moment of testing had arrived, and with great bravery, courage and boldness he was showing, with his sword, there was going to be no denying his Rabbi. He did not anticipate that his real test would not be from soldiers, but from a lowly servant girl.
Jesus, in complete control of the situation, miraculously stops the violence, saves his disciples’ lives by his healing touch; in what would take a surgeon, eight hours – the creator of all life reattaches the ear of Malchus. Jesus is in control of this situation – Peter did not realize this. Peter did not realize the sovereignty of Jesus and has his thinking corrected as Jesus informs him he could call 72,000 angles.
Peter’s heart was in the right place – he will do anything for his Lord, but his understanding was deficient. Peter needed to come to a head knowledge that Jesus was in control.
When the heart and mind are separated there will be problems.

From Ryan:
Like Peter, my son Ryan has a great heart; Ryan, also like Peter, lacks knowledge. After church not too long ago, before he turned three, I looked over and Ryan was in the middle of a freshly planted flower bed picking flowers. I excused myself mid-conversation and removed my son from the flower bed. He had three flowers in his hand and multiples of three are left crushed in the bed. As I pulled him from the flowers and questioned him with not the nicest of tone (although I am at church with people watching so I am on my best behavior), Ryan answered with words and with eyes that gave away his heart – “they are for mommy”. His heart was perfect, but his understanding was deficient. God wants our hearts, and like Peter we must give our hearts to him, but our understanding, our knowledge of Jesus must be there also or we can do some very foolish things. Knowledge increases our faith. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

Expelled

2008-04-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Ben Stein’s movie, Expelled opened this weekend and I am interested in watching it. From what I hear it exposes the scientific elite stomping down any ideas that threaten evolution.

I recall sitting in the back row of Historical Geology class at my University and the professor yelling at me with a barrage of very foul curse words after I asked a simple question of why the fossil record, with warehouses upon warehouses full, does not reflect evolution, but reflects what we see today - distinct species.

Defeating evolution will not open up the flood gates for people to become Christians. The majority of people who have lived never encountered this theory, for the theory of evolution is new on the historical scene. A rebellious and prideful heart will not be convinced of God through the defeat of a scientific theory; they will be convinced by the grip of the gospel.

As a scientist and a Christian (not a Christian Scientist) I hate evolution, for it is bad science and it steals glory from God.

Our next SUV

2008-04-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

A co-worker, currently working in Afghanistan, just sent me some photos…with the price of gas this may be our next family car:

Behold the Lamb

2008-04-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Today, April 19, is passover. Time echos to us through this holiday from an evening in Egypt: a lamb was sacrificed and eaten by each Jewish family as they prepared to leave slavery for a promised land. Blood from this lamb was applied to the entrance of each house; God passed over and did not kill the firstborn son (his wrath). The holiday has been celebrated ever since.

This year in Jerusalem, some Jewish priests sacrificed a lamb in the same manner. You can watch the video here.

Be warned - the footage is graphic, but not as graphic as every Jewish family witnessed and participated in every year. Passover pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus was crucified on passover.

"For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."
I Corinthians 5:7

Birthday, basball and airplanes

2008-04-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ryan received a pool for his third birthday. Jacob is 0.3 seconds away from a push.

Jake is a couple of weeks into little league. He has fun, but takes his role very seriously.

A couple weeks ago our windows were shaking, for the California Capital Airshow came to Mather. Jake and I had a great view from the peak of our roof as the Blue Angeles were making their rounds.

New Blog

2008-04-09T21:05:00.001-07:00

A new blog: for family and friends who may be interested in recent photos to help us all seem closer than we are. Also, I hope to post links, articles or words that move us toward God.