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    Where is your citizenship?  To what land do you belong?  It’s hard for most of us to imagine being citizens of any other country than the place of our birth.  We know the customs of our country; we all have a stake in seeing that our country is profitable and secure; we absorb the political opinions, habits, and preferences of our citizenry.
    Early Christians shook up their neighbors because they marched to the beat of a different drummer.  They refused to take their cues from the prevailing social culture of their neighbors.  The need to “fit in

I attended a candlelight vigil for peace tonight.  There weren't many
of us there.  Of those 25 who attended, perhaps half were Christians. 
I don't know what exactly made it a vigil...we weren't that vigilant
about anything...but I guess we did show up, met some people, signed up on a list, etc.  The woman who called us
together read a great piece by Garrison Keillor.  Allow me to reproduce parts of it...it was written in 2003...2003 for crying out loud.  Tell me what you think.
Garrison Keillor's Letter on the War

The opposition to this war is not about George Bush, or pacifism, or flabby
thinking by liberals, so much as it is a simple sense of dread at the thought
of the United States of America entering into a religious war against Islam.
The idea strikes Republicans and libertarians as well as Democrats, that our
crusade in Iraq may lead to a place we don't want to go, and that is the Fifty
Years War in which suicide bombers become a routine part of American life and
we are trapped inside a bad movie that doesn't end. A war that my grandsons
will dread as they grow old.

Hello from Jerusalem! Enjoy these accounts and pictures of our latest journeys.

Bethlehem

This trip led us into the West Bank, an incredibly troubled place. We passed the wall the Israelis erected...note the competing messages stuck on either side of the wall. I’ll write more about that at some point, but suffice it to say that things are difficult for the Palestinean inhabitants of Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank, most of whom are unable to travel outside their own home towns.

Jerusalem!
 
February 19, 2007-My Birthday!
 
Greetings all! We pulled into Jerusalem tonight, singing "We’re marching into Zion!" We are staying just outside the New Gate (new as in 1880's) at the Notre Dame Monastery and Guest House (which was finished over 100 years ago). Within half an hour of arrival, the priest in charge had taken us all to the roof on the fourth floor and underneath the chilly night sky oriented us to the city. Across the street is the city wall, built in the 1500's. We’re about a ten minute walk away from the old temple site, the Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditional site of the crucifixion. Bethlehem and Bethany and the Mt. of Olives are all in sight...and we take off early in the morning for our first real day in Jerusalem.

    What a week it’s been in Israel.  As you probably know, I’ve been serving as spiritual director for 20 pastors and a few teachers here in Israel.  We’ve had a wonderful time.  We’re still in Galilee, visiting new sites from Jesus’ life and ministry.  Today we took a two hour boat ride on the lake.  We didn’t try any wave-walking.  It’s been raining here, but we had pretty good weather today.  Not sunny and warm, but no rain either...cool and beautiful.  Galilee is just tremendous.  So many things have happened here.  In addition to the feeding of the 5000, calling of the discicples, healing of the Gadarene demoniac, etc, we have seen the mountain where Saladin defeated the Crusaders.  Here we see the mountain where Rome defeated the Jewish rebels.  Here we stand at the foot of the Golan Heights, captured from Syria, and hear stories of how rockets from Lebanon recently rained down upon Galilee.  Today we went past the Jordan River, and ate St. Peter’s fish on a Jewish kibbutz.  Check out what we found in its mouth!

Greetings to all:
Just a quick note from Tim to let you know that we are safe and sound
in Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee!  It's beautiful here.  Our retreat
with 20 pastors is going well.  Travel was fine, bus ride up was good
too.

This morning we went to Capernaum, on the northern side of this lake. 
It's green and lush and even raining a little...the greenest time of
the year.  This is the country's fruitbasket, apparently, as there are
banana farms and mangoes and citrus and grain and figs and lots and
lots of olive trees.  The yellow mustard is also growing like crazy. 
Our guide, Claudia, said it just grows a couple weeks out of the year. 
Capernaum is an amazing place.  There are the ruins of a fair sized
town there, and the remains of a fifth century church built around a
first century house church built around a first century house that
folks speculate must have been Peter's house (according to third
century source...Egeria, a Spanish woman who came on pilgrimage here at
that time).  It's right on the sea.  There is also a fifth century
synagogue that has been partially rebuilt using the beautiful old
stones that were lying around...the whole area was badly damaged by a
number of earthquakes through the years.  We dined on St. Peter's fish
at a local retaurant...spiney but tasty, and a host of magnificent
dishes.

“Like one untimely born.

Last night I went to the graduation of a six month residential substance abuse rehabilitation program in Bristol. It was an emotional night for all. The graduates consisted of drug dealers, forgers and thieves. All were felons. One man had spent fourteen years of his life in prison. He entered the hospices of the Tennessee Department of Correction at the age of twenty-two. The program included a rigorous schedule of worship times, Bible study and service. For some it was the longest they had ever been sober since they were in their early teens. All gave credit and thanks to God. “I am a new creation,

We finished the roof Friday, Nov. 10. It looks great. Thanks to all who helped. If you'd like to see more pictures, click here to visit the "Faith Works" album.

Doin' His Job...Malcolm Holcomb

up on a roof down in a ditch
workin' in a plant it don't matter what shift

Following is a talk given at a Fall 2006 Adoration service, with a story about a man who wiretapped his son and an encouragement from Augustine to quit following the lead of the flesh.  Read on...

16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
Galatians 5:16-25