A most harmful phrase

I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on a phrase that has become ubiquitous, at least in the subcultural pond in which I happen to swim. Maybe it’s in your pond, too.

It’s a phrase that I believe emerged as a euphemism for more blunt phrases, like:

• I don’t like that
• I disagree
• That’s not true
• That makes me mad/sad/scared/confused/etc.

It’s a phrase that, I believe, emerged as secular humanism has seeped into our subconscious, like water from a dripping pipe eventually destroys an entire wall. The same secularism proclaims emotions we find challenging are by definition “bad for us.” And being bad, they are to be avoided. Bad feelings are the sin of secularism — they are to be avoided by you, and when possible, you are expected to enjoin others to avoid them, too. Bad feelings are secular sin because they are an obstacle to secular salvation, i.e. discovering and celebrating one’s true self.

So what is the phrase?

“I’m not comfortable with that.”

Does it make you uncomfortable that I’m naming that phrase one of the most destructive deceptions that has infiltrated our culture and is slowly eating away at it like dry rot?

If it does, I’m afraid I’m not sorry. Discomfort is our growth medium.

There is a place for comfort! “Comfort! Comfort my people, says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). Comfort heals.

But there is a place for discomfort. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27).

Discomfort is a necessary step in the process of maturity.

If one believes oneself to be progressive, one must embrace discomfort, not avoid it or disdain one who introduces that discomfort. Discomfort should be welcomed by the true progressive, for it is necessary for progress.

_{Photo credit: Suzanne D. Williams, unsplash.com}

Government, Rights, Trust, and the Unsettling Middle

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to protect religious rights in California reminds me of a definition I once read of the government’s purpose: to protect people’s rights. But protection of rights can become management of rights. And management can become infringement. A couple observations about the unsettling dilemma our city, state, and federal governments have faced this year.

1) It’s temporary…right? I know there are historical precedents for tyrants promising their rulings were temporary, only to have them last far too long. But I have not heard or seen anything that makes me honestly believe that there is someone twisting their mustache and conspiring to be our new queen or king.

2) Leadership requires trust. And our leaders at all levels have failed to earn so many people’s trust. People are so ready to mistrust, leaders can barely blink without someone accusing them of nefarious intent. Some people continue to trust, and that’s grand. But the erosion of public trust in elected leadership (and in their own neighbors) is, in my personal opinion, the most concerning phenomenon of this entire pandemic and election cycle. Trust takes years to build and moments to destroy.

Moreover, not enough is being said about the nature of leadership during all of this. Here’s Tod Bolsinger’s definition, which I’ve been contemplating for a while:
“Leadership is energizing a group of people toward their own transformation in order to accomplish a shared mission in the face of a changing world” (Canoeing the Mountains).

Where do you or don’t you see this kind of leadership in our elected leaders over the last 10 months?

3) There’s a precedent for a sacrifice of rights for the greater good. The example that comes to mind is rationing during WWII. But people tended to trust that it was needed and worthwhile. And even then, there were lots of ads and newsreels designed to persuade people that their rations were their way of fighting evil overseas. The ads tell me that people needed constant reminding or convincing. Of course, we can hope that today people might be willing to voluntarily give up some rights. But because of the erosion of trust I talked about in #2, people are frightened and suspicious that if they are or become unwilling to relinquish their rights, they will be forced to. So they’re digging in their heels now, many without even considering a reasonable amount of voluntary relinquishment.

In the end, we are compelled to trust that the stranger next to us has enough common sense or basic human morality that they will make choices that not only benefit themselves but others, too. Do the math: how many people do we interact with in an average week who make choices that allow us to remain free to live our lives?

Actually, in the same area of public health, a person’s choice to gather with others during a pandemic is in the same category (not the same thing, but in the same category) as someone who refuses time tested vaccinations (e.g. the annual flu vaccine). Sure, that person (or their child) is safe from what they fear from the vaccine. But they’re also vulnerable to what the vaccine protects against and thereby put others at risk by potentially being a virus carrier. And yet, as a society we have chosen to let people remain free to refuse vaccinations despite the risk. We also choose to let people remain free to drive cars while using their phones. Is there a risk? Sure, a ticket. Yes, a deadly accident. But no troops are doing random security checks to make sure you don’t have your phone with you when you drive. The government hasn’t required you to carry a phone that turns off when it’s moving over 5 MPH. It’s your right to take that risk. We choose to let people own and carry deadly weapons. Is it their right to defend themselves? Of course. But is the result a potential risk to public health? Duh. Seatbelt laws? Helmet laws? Health inspections of restaurants? I’m a fan of anything that protects public health. But they all fall on a continuum between making us “totally free” and “totally controlled.”

As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Ultimately, thinking about this conundrum doesn’t interest the masses or sell media airtime. Even higher education sometimes fails to explore the unsettling gray area these irreconcilable dilemmas force us into. Maybe this is why so many people would rather just wave their team’s flag–it’s easier, and it sells a lot of tickets.

#transcendpolitics

I thought I’d share this feedback I recently gave to KUOW Seattle, regarding a well-intended guest and his slight misquote of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40 and/or 45. What you’ll read is just a paraphrase of my message to them. Also please note: I listen to their podcast, Seattle Now, almost daily and appreciate its local focus. I’d recommend it for anyone living in western Washington, but remember to listen to diverse points of view in your news media.

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Sean Goode was the guest on Nov. 9, 2020, to discuss what it means to consider reconciling our differences in the wake of this enormously divisive presidential election cycle. Mr. Goode was well spoken and humble, I thought, and I appreciated his point of view! But…

Right at the end of his time, he wrapped up the notion of egalitarianism with what I thought would be a quote of Jesus from Matthew 25: “Whatever you did for the least of these…you did for me.” Mr. Goode got the first part right, but the second had a notably secular humanist twist. Instead of the recipient of people actions being Jesus himself, Mr. Goode’s version was “Whatever you did for the least of these…you did to the rest [of people.]” It’s not bad deduction and echoes Dr. King’s famous words “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” But Mr. Goode’s misquote missed the essential distinction between a spiritual foundation for social justice, and a merely human foundation.

When a person believes that what Jesus said (the way he said it) is true, it must fundamentally reframe not only their behavior toward their fellow human beings, but also the reason for their behavior. Throughout the Bible, from start to finish, God is after people’s hearts. Religiosity (one of my favorite words) is of little consequence in God’s economy, i.e., God doesn’t need our church attendance or offerings only. But worship and giving, amongst other practices like prayer and community, are meant to be among the fruit that grows in a person’s life when they have been reborn by God’s grace and indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit.

So when we consider the choices we make every day, we are meant to always be ready to serve the well being of each of our human brothers and sisters (and frankly the rest of creation we’re meant to steward, too). But we’re not meant to be motivated merely by their well-being, but more importantly by the heart of God who desires their well-being.

In a merely secular humanist worldview, one’s only motivation for benevolence is an honest desire for others to prosper. But that falters and fails all the time. Like, ALL the time. What then? What might motivate us? If there is not a transcendent reason to love one’s neighbor, one quickly runs out of reasons and instead regresses to the more base instinct of self preservation only.

One final note here, as I always remember I speak about these things into a world full of “church hurt.” Note that I have not mentioned divine retribution, i.e. God’s anger or punishment for sin. Lots of people have been hurt in the past by pastors or churches giving “fire and brimstone” messages. Even though there are plenty of warnings about God’s anger in the Bible, that’s never been a good motivator for people to change their behavior. Just read the Bible and any history, and you’ll see for yourself. Curious to learn more about how the Bible talks about God’s anger? Check out Bible Project’s excellent podcast and resources.

_{https://focuspocusnow.com}

#transcendpolitics

I’ve been thinking a lot these days about whether or not I should “engage” online. So many pros and cons to consider.

Pro: I could speak my mind.

Con: Other people might hate what’s on my mind.

Pro: Other people might love what’s on my mind.

Con: I might become frighteningly proud.

Pro: I could become a viral sensation.

Con: My career might peak after a moderately high number of people read my posts for two weeks and then move on because the guy who engineers squirrel obstacle courses is way, way smarter and more fun to watch (his name is @markrober, and you should check out his stuff).

Anyway, I digress. The point is that I don’t want to engage online because I don’t want to contribute to the white noise and have no impact. And I don’t think most people online necessarily know who their intended audience is.

But that’s when I realized that when it comes to national and global events, I didn’t want my intended audience to be the nation or the globe. I want my audience to be other followers of Jesus like I claim to be. Then I might be able to make observations and comments that at least had a chance of getting traction and inviting helpful dialogue.

There are so many worldviews (even as many as 7 billion if you adhere to Gandhi’s belief), that to make comments about current events into that pluralistic maelstrom can only increase, not decrease, the net confusion. But what if…what if I made some comments that were intended only for a Christian audience?

Has anyone ever thought of that before? Hmmm?

So I thought I might offer some brief thoughts as we gallop boldly into a school-less presidential election Fall…but as a Christian, to Christians. My hope is that we might #transcendpolitics. And get down to some spiritual nitty gritty.

Are religious folk just a bunch of dummies?

I like Star Trek. I’ve liked it since high school when I was pretty sure Jean-Luc Picard should like run for president or something.

So I was excited when Star Trek: Discovery came out on CBS All Access. But I have mixed feelings about the show. There are several reasons why, and I won’t geek out about them all here. But the most recent struck a nerve in terms of my faith in God.

In season 2 episode 2 the crew jumps unthinkably far away only to find a small white church on an unusually Earth-like planet. The people living in this “New Eden” are descendants of humans from the year 2053, who were inexplicably transmigrated there in the middle of the devastation of World War III. As a result of their miraculous salvation (yep, that’s not a religious word. It’s what happened) the people have ever since been deeply religious, albeit syncretistic. They naturally believe that they were delivered to this peaceful location by the mercy of God.

The senior crew of Discovery are so sure it couldn’t have been God that they don’t stop to analyze that they’re guided by presumptions about what those three letters in that sequence (G-O-D) represent, rather than by open-minded inquiry. Do they think God is a big guy with a beard? What are their parameters? Or have they considered that God isn’t what they think? That God is much, much more? Such closed-mindedness from scientists looks eerily familiar, i.e., exactly what they criticize religious people for.

So, with no critical thinking in that area, they move ahead based on their presumptions and are morally ambivalent. Should they break the Prime Directive and reveal their true identity as warp-capable and from the Earth which still exists? Or let these pre-warp humans persist in their ignorance and evolve on their own?

My issue is with the constant either-or definition of the relationship between faith and science. There is an assumed cognitive gap between what one can “know” by science or by faith. Moreover, there is an arrogance among those who purport to believe only in science that only that which is known (the meaning of the word “science” after all) actually exists. And yet the practice of science, certainly in the Star Trek universe the purpose of Starfleet, is specifically to DISCOVER (wink…its the title of the show) what could not be known before.

In a scene late in the episode, Burnham admits she has seen an inexplicable angel-like being (though she won’t call it an angel because of the “religious” connotations.). She asks Pike if he thinks it’s a “revelation.” He dodges and reframes the question…

But WHY? The simple answer is YES. Despite the as-yet undiscovered nature of the being, or its source or purpose, it REVEALED itself to her. Thus it is a revelation! Why must the character deny the revelatory nature of the incident because she didn’t discover it with her instruments, or come to a conclusion about it? There is a deep and troubling hubris afoot when one is only willing to admit one has experienced something when it fits their personal criteria! Hopefully the cosmos is much, much more interesting than that.

Finally, the tone and some of the actual dialogue in the episode show the writers’ cards. They perceive religious folk as dumb. In the dark. Unimaginative. Even their leader, upon seeing the crew transport, offers a wispy-voiced “The angel has returned!” Like an idiot. Rather than what even believers would say upon seeing three people vanish into thin air: “What was THAT?!”

Best case is that the show sees people of faith as in denial. Taking a mental opiate (I thought we were past Marx on this). But definitely wrong about what they believe in. And that, ironically, is an ancient rather than advanced way of thinking.

(Oh yeah, SPOILER–then Discovery saves the planet, which obviously means there’s no God. Right? Cuz there’s no way a super-cosmic being could do what some mortals on a spaceship could do.)

Bible Jazz!

Recording from the Gray Room 2 in the beautiful town of University Place, Mike welcomes guests to play games and candidly explore the week’s teaching. Our conversations are always improvised, sometimes obscure, and always smooth…just like jazz.

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Host: Mike Moffitt

Producer and tortoise tamer: Randi Downs

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Twitter: @biblejazz

Email: uppcbiblejazz@gmail.com

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Day 7: Homeward

Day 7: Homeward

Yep, I didn’t sleep much again.  Awake before my 5:30am alarm, I figured I’d just get up and have no problem being ready.  I even had a shower.  I awoke my roommate from a significant sleep, but it was okay as he slept a good part of the 2.5 hour drive to Shanghai.  Here’s how bad the Monday morning traffic was – Pudong International Airport is only 65 miles from our hotel.  And yet it took two hours and forty minutes to get there.  I slept a little.  We arrived, checked in, had a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks, and bought a few gifts to bring home.

I like buying gifts when I travel, although I didn’t have a lot of time to do that on this trip.  We really did no “touristy” things except for visiting Tiger Hill.  Thankfully while we were there, we found a little booth run by an old Chinese woman and a young girl, about Sophia’s age.  They sold small wooden toys, many with moving parts.  The price was insanely low at 40 yuan, or about six bucks.  But it was the kind of gift that echoed the way one might think of old China, and something one wouldn’t pick up at just any store at home.  So that is for my daughter.  Also on Tiger Hill, I found a silk ornament containing lavender for fragrance.  I thought it was be a nice homage to this experience for our Christmas tree, and my wife likes tree ornaments that have meaning.  I also found two nice jade earrings for her in a different shop.

When I wrote this entry, I was sitting 40,000 miles above the Pacific Ocean after about five hours of flying.  My watch said it was 17:13, but of course in a way there’s “no time” in the air.  Flying over time zones and the international date line gets a little more normal the more one does it, I’m sure, but it’s still interesting to think about.  The rest of our team were probably finding dinner in Suzhou.  My family at home, however, should have been sound asleep at 02:13 in the morning.  I should have slept on the flight probably, to try and reset my internal clock.  But that would end up taking a few days.

I am thankful for this opportunity.  It was a road that didn’t become clear to me until about a week beforehand.  I mean, I went to meetings, etc., but it didn’t feel real.  My primary goal was to gain more thorough understanding of UPPC’s partnership in China.  I think that goal was met.  And I’m grateful to have been supported in seeing yet another country and culture that until now has really been a combination of pictures, movies, and myth.

God is transcendent and created a complex and fascinating world.  It’s a privilege to serve Jesus by loving the world he loves so much.

Day 6: Translations of Grace

Day 6: One God, One Church

I didn’t sleep much.  But that was nothing new at this point.  On this last full day in China, I looked forward to worshiping in a new context and of course, to preaching.  I did not write a sermon from scratch for this one, which was for two reasons.  First, I have no problem “recycling” a sermon when I know it’s a congregation who has never heard it.  If the fundamental concept of the message changes, then it may not have been biblical or relevant to begin with, right?  That said, circumstances change and so I did make some revisions.  Second, I am quite fond of this story from Mark 9:16-29: “I do believe, help my unbelief!”  I was sure that the central proposition would be universal: our doubts are not obstacles but opportunities to strengthen faith.  The sermon I wrote about three years ago also revolves around a personal story of mine, and I was confident that narrative was a language every culture speaks.

One of our new friends translated, which I was very glad about since he not only has a command of English but is also animated and fun to listen to.  I opened with a joke: “Nihau,” I said, which warranted a vocal reaction and applause from the congregation of about 900 – a sign of their appreciation of my feeble attempt to speak their language.  I quickly followed: “That’s all I know,” which when translated got quite a laugh.  The message went well.  I felt relaxed and enjoyed what seemed like a good amount of trust and attention.  There is a remarkable community generated simply by our common desire to know God better.

Afterward, there were church announcements, read by an energetic young professional-type woman who spoke probably the fastest I had heard anyone speak Chinese.  I mean, auctioneer-style fast.  Like the old Micro Machine guy.  If you get that reference, then you’re my age and like me, watched too much Saturday morning TV.

Then there was a tradition I had never seen: first-time visitors are invited to the front to introduce themselves.  “This would never fly in our context,” I thought.  But it worked there.  Each of the twelve or so people had a short story about themselves.  As one elderly woman shared, she began to get choked up.  My friend translated.  During the service she said she had confessed her sins, and literally said to God in prayer, “Help my unbelief.”  It was moving to witness her honesty and vulnerability.  And of course, it is always gratifying to see how the Holy Spirit translates my limited words into unlimited grace for anyone, anywhere, anytime.

We had lunch in the senior pastor’s office/sitting room and commenced to have about a two-hour conversation about Mountain Lion Church and the kinds of culture that the Three Self Church exists within at present.  We shared some about our context, too, mostly ways our churches face similar challenges within the congregation.  It was very calm and pleasant, although the room got warmer and more muggy as the afternoon went on.  Eventually we wrapped it up, got a group photo on the front steps, and said our goodbyes.

Back to Dushu Lake and the hotel, we could freshen up and have a bit of “me time.”  An hour or so during which I took a walk around the area.  Found a movie theater and an archery range.  In fact, I think there was a sort of Olympics training type complex.  There wasn’t much else to see, but I did notice that dozens of young adults were all around the area – evidence that there was some sort of college nearby.  No wonder DLC has so many young adults.  I also noticed that the further I got from the hotel, the more vulnerable I felt.  I speak basically no Chinese and my phone was at 1% battery.  Better head back, I thought.

Dinner was at a café situated in the corner of a business college.  Four young adults took us there and chose the place because it was “American style.”  It was a great two hours of conversation about their hope that the Christian life in China can continue to grow more and more authentic, welcoming young people’s questions and faults as they journey toward life in Christ.  It was so helpful to see how the strategy meets reality.  These were real people, with normal jobs, limited time, and yet are trying to find ways to let God redeem their time and use them to bless God’s world.

Also, it was nice to have lasagna.

Homeward to the hotel for a final night, albeit a short one.  The car that would drive John and me to the airport would arrive the next morning at 5:50am.  He and I said our see-ya-laters to the rest of the team, who will continue in Suzhou 2-3 more nights and then fly to Beijing.

Tomorrow, homeward.

Day 5: Teaching and Tiger Hill

Day 5: Discipleship Exchange and visit to Tiger Hill

Somehow, no matter how tired I was all week, I didn’t sleep well.  Just one normal night the entire week.  No different last night, as I slept fitfully and was wide awake by about 5:30.  Whoa, what if it’s not jet lag?  What if I’m just old enough now to be naturally waking up well before dawn?

Thankfully, as with the other days, the cobwebs eventually vanished helped by some breakfast and coffee.  I do like the adventurous eating.  After all, why strive for the familiar when one is only temporarily in a foreign land?  Lean into it!  But I have to admit, there was no way I was eating seafood and sautéed veggies for breakfast.  Oh yeah, it was readily available at each hotel.  But it was eggs, toast, cereal and coffee for me each morning, and I loved it.

Off to Dushu Lake Church we went for the Discipleship Exchange, a little nervous because we had no precedent.  The three of us had never taught together.  I had never spoken through an interpreter.  It’s not every day that you do something which you’ve never done, as though you know exactly what you’re doing.  Wait.  Maybe that is what every day is like.

We did exactly as we planned and felt good about the strategy and content.  The attendees from the church also shared some of their challenges and approaches to “making disciples,” i.e., helping people learn and grow.  My favorite part was when a young office admin shared her story of becoming a Christian in college, then moving home to work but being unable to shake her sense of God’s calling to return to her church and make her vocation into her occupation.  Now she works for the church and was clearly excited to be doing what she felt God had called her to do.

We had lunch in the church cafeteria and then headed to the van to go to Tiger Hill “Church.”  (That’s when we saw all the brides getting prepped for their photo shoots, remember?)  More riding through traffic and visiting, and more surprises.  Turns out Tiger Hill isn’t a church at all.  It is a large public museum/memorial of an ancient Buddhist monastic site.  At the top of the hill sits a seven-to-nine story tall pagoda that dates back a thousand years or so and leans like the tower in Pisa.  The experience really is one of walking slowly up the hill and seeing several items with features from previous dynasties.  The oldest and coolest of them all is in a stream that runs at the bottom of a deep valley down the hill.  In 1955 the government wanted to clean the water, and in the process stumbled onto about a 2500-year-old tomb almost 10 meters underwater.  Because it sits directly beneath the foundation of the pagoda, they couldn’t open the tomb for fear of compromising the already-leaning pagoda.  What a fantastic mystery!

We were tired when we returned to the hotel.  The road to Tiger Hill had been closed, which meant a mile-walk there, then the two hours up the hill and back, and another mile back to the van.  I realized I hadn’t even sat down for about 4 hours and logged 3-4 miles of walking.  And this was, of course, while carrying a backpack loaded with supplies for teaching, and carrying my sport coat over my arm.  See?

We reconnected with two team members that evening for dinner.  They had spent the morning in English Bible Study at DLC.  The hotel’s dining area was reserved, so we found a side dining room of the hotel that was quiet.  Too quiet.  The menu looked unpromising.  But we found a few items with one team member’s Chinese-speaking help, and the meal was very delicious!  Success!  We wrapped up the evening with some dessert and a rousing game of categories back in our team leader’s suite.  A really fun and important evening of team bonding.

Tomorrow – worship at Mountain Lion Church, and my first experience of preaching a sermon with an interpreter.  It would prove to be a wonderfully unique and encouraging day.

 

Day 4: Bathrooms and Black Bean Beverage

Day 4: Travel to Suzhou, church visit, and dinner with the pastor

Well it happened!  Night three had me sleep from about 9:30pm to about 5:30 am!  So I’m feeling good today.  Breakfast at the hotel and a bit of devotional time with four from our UPPC group, then we boarded the bus to Suzhou.  That’s where I was while writing this, actually.  The trip should be about 2.5 hours long, and my only concern is having to use the bathroom…!

…Well we made it.  The trip was closer to 4 hours, though.  And we think traffic on I-5 is slow…  I did have to go to the bathroom pretty badly in what looked on the map like at least an hour before we would arrive in Suzhou, so I was trying to stay in conversation and focus on something else!  But our driver intuitively knew to pull off at a sort of huge highway stop.  Tons of people there, so it’s obviously designed for travelers.  We had a chance to stretch and use the bathroom.  Tried a little Chinese “sweet” biscuit that a friend in our group was sharing, and yep, it was another example of “interesting.”

When I travel, I try to notice the little things.  The things that make you feel like you’re in some kind of parallel universe.  Like, we all have public bathrooms, right?  But pretty much all of the public restrooms I used in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Suzhou had live plants in them.  A remarkable consistency with the live plants.  No difference at this highway stop, except that there were way, way more plants.  Hanging plants, potted plants on shelves.  I figure it has something to do with air quality, you know how plants emit oxygen?  But even if they were doing that, the place still smelled like…well, you know.

Another small difference I’d never seen before were ashtrays filled with coffee grounds.  I noticed that there is a lot more public smoking in the three cities I visited, and public places accommodate smokers so they aren’t motivated to just litter their cigarette butts on the floor.  I grew up in the 80s and saw plenty of ashtrays.  But this was the first time I’ve seen coffee grounds instead of sand to put smokes out in!

We finished at the stop and in only another hour or so were pulling into our third hotel in Suzhou, right across the street from a large, beautiful park that borders the east side of Dushu Lake.  Our trip leader obviously chose this hotel because it’s an easy walk to Dushu Lake Christian Church where we would spent a portion of our time in Suzhou.  The lake is really large – not “great lakes” size but pretty huge for being in the middle of a city.  The park offers a nice respite from the crowded busyness of Shanghai and downtown Nanjing we had experienced until now.  And then, there were all the brides and grooms.

Turns out that this pastoral context is a popular place for couples to get their wedding pictures.  Really popular.  But in this area they get their pictures in advance of their wedding.  Very different from home.  These aren’t “engagement photos.”  The bride is completely done up: hair, make-up, dress.  Sometimes even multiple dresses.  The groom is wearing a suit or tux.  And the photo crews!  It’s like a magazine shoot.  When we walked to the van that would take us to visit Tiger Hill, we even walked through a parking lot LINED with cars, each with a bride, groom, and photo crew, using the parking lot as a dressing and prep area for their shoot.  Seriously, each of the three days I was in Suzhou, I saw multiple photo shoots for multiple couples.  They must have hundreds per year.

After an hour to settle in, we met with a pastor at DLC who would also do some translating for us.  We walked to the church and marveled at the grounds and the size of the buildings.  The massive brick and stone gothic church looks like something out of medieval Europe.  But it was built only in 2011.  Only eight years old!  They’re experience growth in the congregation due to a combination of new believers, internal migration for work opportunities, and the 14 colleges that fill Suzhou with young adults.  The congregation is about 30% people between 18 and 30 years old.

During our visit to DLC, we also met the lead pastor and also a senior member of the CCC.  He spoke with us for a while and then we all walked to a fancy dinner.  The food was adventurous, of course, and included eel, a complete fish (with head and tail), eggplant, and shrimp in a warm cream sauce, among other things.  It was quite good for the most part!  Although I did find myself very warm in the muggy Suzhou evening, in a room with no airflow, in a culture that almost never provides cold drinks.  It’s room temp or hot drinks for the most part.  That includes water and Coke – room temp.  It’s all right, though, as we weren’t supposed to drink the tap water, and that includes not having ice in one’s drink.   The one beverage we did have was a kind of pureed black bean liquid.  It looked a little like chocolate milk, but more purple and with lots of little specks in it.  And of course, it is also served warm.

After dinner a few of us got together and prepped for what we thought would be our big morning – the Discipleship Exchange.  By the time I went to bed, I was so tired I could hardly see straight.  Tomorrow, the Exchange.