contextualization.

"Mission consists in incarnating Christ in the given time and place, allowing him to be reborn in the given lifeway. A true Christian is but another 'Christ.' The all-important question that faces the Church and all engaged in mission action, be it in a ministry or in witnessing one's faith, is, What would Jesus teach and how would he behave if he were born today, say in Japan, Brazil, Kenya, or for that matter, in my home parish in London, Paris, Rome, Bonn, or Washington -- not two thousand years ago but today here and now? Contextualization is the process by which a local Christian community integrates the Gospel message (the 'text') with the real-life context, blending text and context into that single, God-intended reality called 'Christian living.' By 'Christian living' we mean living as Christ would live here and now -- that is, as he would behave, what he would teach here and now, and what his values and emotions, his underlying premises, attitudes, and drives would be if he belonged to the particular community we are dealing with."

-- Louis J. Luzbetak, The Church and Cultures

chris and i moved to norman for the purpose of helping plant a new church, providence road. we are very much trying to view ourselves as missionaries here -- just as if we had moved to asia or africa or something. you may think that sounds crazy since oklahoma is in the southern part of america, but 80-85% of normanites are not involved in church -- that's about 92,000 people!

so... a huge aspect of mission must be contextualization. as luzbetak explains above (yes i busted out an old seminary textbook for this one), contextualization involves incarnating christ in your culture, integrating the gospel message with your given context. how would jesus christ live in norman in 2012? how can two texans who didn't attend the university of oklahoma reach the people of norman with the gospel? these are our questions. maybe pictures will help explain our answers.

a good example of contextualization:

an OU football ornament on our first christmas tree.

a bad example of contextualization:

cheering for the opposing team at an OU basketball game. oops. sic 'em bears.

okay so clearly we're still learning here... pray for us!

ora et labora.

i miss this place:

that's the christ of the desert monastery outside of santa fe, new mexico, where i spent a week in may with dr. gloer and a few students from truett. so many things have made me think of that place recently, and it's not that i necessarily want to go back right now -- although at some point i do! -- i think it's just that i miss their way of life. here's an excerpt from my journal on our first day there:

the schedule here is fascinating -- six prayer times each day. i just love how they move straight through the psalms. every prayer time is flooded with scripture and adoration of the trinity. it's such an incredible rhythm of life -- pray, eat, work, pray, eat, rest... repeat. it's so bizarre to me how such structure can be so liberating.

one of the main points of st. benedict's rule (which the monks there live by) is ora et labora, "pray and work." we talked a lot about how the monks' priorities are to pray... and then to work, while in the "real world" our priorities are usually to work... and then to pray if you think about it.

in one of jim denison's daily emails last week, he cited 2 chronicles 31.21, which describes king hezekiah: "in everything that he undertook in the service of god's temple and in obedience to the laws and commands, he sought his god and worked wholeheartedly." denison then wrote, "note the order: first the king sought his god and then he worked wholeheartedly. we can work with fervent passion, but if god is not working through us, nothing we do will be significant." sounds a lot to me like ora et labora.

while i don't live in a monastery and maybe i can't stop to sing and pray and be silent at six set times each day, i think i can live with a similar mindset in my normal, everyday life. i want to seek him above and before all else -- to know him and his desires instead of living by my desires and hoping he's okay with it. i want prayer to be my first response instead of my last resort.

"but seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -- matthew 6.33

"you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -- jeremiah 29.13

wedding photos.

a recent highlight for me has been receiving, analyzing, sorting, posting, playing with and loving our wedding photos. i know this probably seems lame, but after putting SO much thought and planning into that one big day, it's nice to have visual documentation of it instead of just trying to remember all the details. so, as much as we loved that special day, going through all the images has been like living it all over again... and again... and again... (cheesy, i know.)

anyway, i just wanted to share some of my favorites on here (i limited myself to 5 -- ugh!). HUGE thanks to WhenItClicks photography.

also, here's our wedding highlight video made by WhenItClicks. they're SUPER talented. enjoy!

Chris + Cara Jane // the highlights from WhenItClicks Wedding Films on Vimeo

thoughts from a map.

this is my view from the little green chair i sit in (almost) every morning:

i've always wanted a big world map, so when we moved into this apartment and couldn't figure out what to do with that massive wall space above the couch, i knew it was time to find the perfect map. i love how HUGE it is. i love that i can't avoid it -- i have to look at it every day.

things i think about when i look at our big map:

1. people: i remember certain faces from every place i've traveled... and i imagine the faces of people living in countries where i'd love to travel. i want to know their stories. i want to know if they know jesus. i want to know what their language sounds like, what their food smells like, and what their culture feels like. i think about all the crazy stats we hear... 140-something million orphans... 20-something million trafficking victims... they just sound like numbers until you think of them as individual faces.

2. perspective: you can't even see oklahoma on that map unless your nose is practically touching it. needless to say, it makes me feel super small, and it makes me wonder how BIG God is if he claims that the earth is his FOOTSTOOL (isaiah 66.1). i mean, that is completely mind-blowing... and a much needed daily reminder.

3. adoption: (yes, i thought about coming up with a third p word, but come on, that would be way too baptist preacher-ish of me.) back to those 140-something million orphans... ever since i first traveled internationally and was face-to-face with some of those sweet children that make up that statistic, i've wanted to adopt. praise the lord, i married someone who shares that desire. so when i look at the map, i just wonder if there's a child out there who will one day be ours -- or if he or she is even born yet (probably not?). it would certainly be long way off -- and may not ever happen -- but it's definitely fun to dream about!

these are my thoughts: if you don't own a map, i think you should invest. the end.