Intro to this blog
Hi. Welcome to my "blog". I've never written anything "for the internet" before, other than information for our church web site. In this blog I want to share with you my preparation and my experiences of this trip to the Holy Land on March 8-19. I don't do much online, such as facebook, emails, etc., because I don't have the time and interest to do a lot of that. However, I have decided to write this because this trip that Lori and I are going on is a trip for us, but it is also a trip for our whole congregation. This is not one of those trips that a group from our church is going on. Rather, Lori and I have received this trip from our church, to benefit my teaching ministry and encourage us in our walk with the Lord. So if you'd like to follow along through this and future posts on this blog, welcome. If you are not that interested, or if getting to your computer to follow our progress through this trip is a bit of a challenge, you can just pray for us as we prepare and embark on this trip. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have the time to read everything that I will be writing here. But if you enjoy that sort of thing and would like to follow us through this journey, I'll do my best to give you some insights of what's happening with us. Here we go....
How this all got started
This church member asked me if I would be open to going on such a trip with Lori. If Lori and I were interested, she would contact others in the church to see if money could be raised for this trip. After a few days of prayer and discussion, I responded back that Lori and I would be interested. My parents would be available to watch our kids. Because a gift such as this is substantial, I also said that our Elder Board would need to approve the gift. The Board meeting was about two weeks away. The deadline for the funds to be collected was at the end of November. If this was going to materialize, clearly God would have to bring everything together.Amazingly, God made it happen. The Board approved my receiving such a gift from the congregation, and all the money was pledged and eventually collected to make this trip a reality. There were about 50 people from our church (couples and individuals) who provided this trip for Lori and me on behalf of the whole congregation. Lori and I are blown away by the generosity and the opportunity that this trip provides us. It's hard to know even how to receive such a gift. We simply say thank you. All of us are dependent on the Lord providing for us, in whatever circumstances we have. Sometimes God even provides in ways that surprise us. This is one of those times. I have always wanted to go to the Holy Land. I thought it might happen after my kids were out of the house and I was leading a trip from a church where I was serving. This trip is clearly being provided in God's way and in God's timing.
How do I prepare?
I have been preparing for this trip by doing some reading and getting some information about the sights that we will be seeing. I also want to prepare spiritually. One of the books I picked up includes Bible reading and prayer suggestions
for an Israel trip. I am using this in my daily devotional life. Another book that I am enjoying is by NT Wright, The Way of the Lord. Wright gives a theological understanding of pilgrimage. In fact, this is the one book that I would highly recommend to anyone going on a Holy Land trip. It does not go into details about different sites, like other travel books. Instead Wright talks about what it means to experience the Holy Land. What are the Christian implications of a trip to Israel? Here are some of NT Wrights thoughts that have jumped out to me.My thoughts on pilgrimage -
as informed by NT Wright, The Way of the Lord
The Christian faith is not territorial. It is not a necessity to experience God by going to a place. The angel said to women at Jesus' tomb: "He is not here; he has risen!" Jesus is not defined by a particular place. In John 4, as Jesus is at the well with the Samaritan woman, he tells the woman that it is not a place for worship that is important, either in Samaria or Jerusalem. Instead, God is seeking worshipers who will worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24). Going to the Holy Land is not a necessity, nor is it a mark of superiority in the Christian faith. We do not have a "works-righteousness" with our faith. Neither do we seek to worship locations and relics that might present themselves as idolatry to the worship of the true God.
However, as I embark on this trip, I anticipate that a pilgrimage to holy places will be valuable in many ways. Walking where Jesus walked will be an amazing experience. Being able to actually see the places that are recorded in the Bible will open up my Bible reading personally. My teaching ministry will be enhanced by this experience. As many who have already experienced the Holy Land have warned, I also anticipate the commercialization. When Wright describes Jerusalem, he says that it is really the focal point of four religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Tourism. I also am aware that there are churches on every one of these holy places. Yes, things have changed in 2,000 years, but that is okay. I also anticipate opportunities for prayer and growth through this trip. Being able to pray in these places where saints for hundreds of years have gathered to pray will be a great experience.
You can pray for us as we prepare
This Sunday I will announce to the whole church that Lori and I will be going on this trip. I will ask them to pray for Lori and for me as we continue to prepare. You can pray for us in these ways right now.
1. For our children while we are away. My parents will be with them, but it is still difficult to leave them for 11 days.
2. For peace in the preparation and eventually in the travel.
3. For everything that has to do be done before leaving - ministry, things around the house that I'd like to get done before my parents arrive, a paper for a class I took in the fall, and other things.
4. For us spiritually, that God would use this trip to open up our eyes to a bigger picture of God.
