Students arrived on Wednesday and they have been going through orientation activities.   Classes begin on Tuesday…and I’m not ready.  Fortunately I only have one session of each of my courses next week (one Wednesday and one Friday), so I still have some time to prepare.

But enough of all that small talk…I actually started this post to show you some pictures of my new home.  I found a little cabin for rent just about a mile away from the school (which means that I could walk to work if it would ever stop raining).  It’s basically a one room, loft-for-a-bedroom, plus-a-bathroom arrangement with a tiny little kitchen, a gas fireplace (which will be great in the winter), and a nice rustic feel.  The Kenai river is only a short walk-through-the-woods away and I’ve already had several moose coming through the yard.  I feel very Alaskan right now.

Here’s some pictures:

I’m back in Alaska!  I made it…actually I made it a week and a half ago.  I made the drive north again and this time I was alone.  Very alone.  Alone for FORTY-FIVE HOURS OF DRIVE TIME…THREE WHOLE DAYS!!!!  I was having some good conversations with myself by the end.  I also ran into (not literally) a herd of buffalo and several reindeer…so check ‘em off the Alaska Wildlife Checklist!

But I made it…only to find that the housing that I thought I was moving into is not going to work out, i.e. the cabin currently consists of only exterior walls with little hope of being finished before winter.  So, I’ve been looking around for others options and I think that I’ve found a nice, cozy little cabin just a mile away from the school.  Should be just enough space for me…a loft to sleep in, a little kitchen/living room downstairs complete with a gas fireplace.  I’ll be moving in later this week.

I ran a race on Saturday: the Lost Lake Run.  It was a nice mountain, trail run…about sixteen miles, nine up and seven down.  Next up, Kenai River Marathon on September 26.

I’m currently spending my time trying to prepare courses, working on the spiritual life component of the year, and generally getting settled and revved up for when students show up in a week and a half…woah.

Anyway, that’s all the news for the moment.  I’ll be in touch again before too long…but now I need to get to work.

Dear friends,

Well, the summer is certainly flying by.  Here we are, approaching mid-July and I am already confronted with my imminent return to Alaska in just a few weeks.  During this summer break, I have had the opportunity to do some traveling to California and Minnesota to see friends and family, to do some backpacking in the mountains, to linger over long morning cups-o-coffee and books, and to do some much-needed refreshing and preparation for the coming school year at Alaska Christian College.

As many of you know either from my emails or from personal conversations, at the end of this last year in Alaska, I came to the conclusion that my time in Alaska was simply incomplete, that God was not finished with me in this place.  And so, I decided to return to this ministry for a second year, taking on the role of interim Campus Pastor in addition to my teaching.  This is a position that will certainly challenge and stretch me as I seek to help guide and lead the students and the rest of the staff in worship and spiritual life.

The challenges of ministry at ACC are quite significant.  As many of you may be aware from previous emails, the Alaska Native community which composes the bulk of our student body has some deep-seeded issues.  I do not believe that I am at all exaggerating when I say that probably 75% of our students have experienced physical or sexual abuse in the past; that 75% of our students have dealt with alcoholism, either in their parents or in themselves; that probably every single one of our students has had a close friend or family member commit suicide.

As campus pastor, it is my responsibility to choose a “theme” for the year and the theme that I am leaning towards is the idea of transformation. Because it is only through the fundamentally transformational power of Jesus Christ that I believe these problems can be addressed; it is only as we allow Christ to metamorphose (yeah, I looked it up…that’s the correct form of that word…) our lives that we can address our deepest hurts and find a more abundant life.  This is what I desire my students to see this year: that Jesus Christ changes, transforms everything…here and now, not just in the future.

Many of you helped to support me during this last year, through your prayers, your encouragement, and your money.  I am truly grateful to all of you and I could not have served during this past year without you.  But I am writing to request, once again, that you would consider partnering with me; I am asking that you would, once again, send me to serve God and God’s Kingdom. I have spent a good deal of my summer speaking with churches and individuals about helping me out and that has led to some good success.  Approximately 65% of my financial need has already been committed with some more perhaps on the way.  But now, I am coming to you to ask if you might help me to fill in the gap. As I’ve said before, our friendship is in no way contingent on whether you are able to offer me financial support, but if God has blessed you with the ability, I would ask you to consider giving out of your abundance to help me serve at ACC.
Additionally, this year promises to be very busy and very full.  In addition to teaching two and a half classes in the Fall, two to three classes in the spring, and serving as Campus Pastor, I have plans to be applying to doctoral programs (which also means I have to start learning German!), serving at The River Covenant Church, and helping to coach a masters cross-country ski program.  I could sure use your prayers as I try to juggle this all and for wisdom and discernment as I go through the process of seeking out further education and opportunities to serve the Kingdom of God.

Thanks to all of you for your time and for doing me the honor of reading through this.  Again, I would truly appreciate whatever support you might be able to offer.

Grace and peace,

Luke

If you are able to donate to support my ministry, please send a check to Community Covenant Church (with my name in the memo line) at P.O. Box 919, Twisp, WA  98856.  Thanks again.

I think it’s safe to claim that Bailey was mine from the start.  Yeah, it was a team effort with my sister to convince our parents that a dog would be a good addition to the family (our previous experience had yielded a giant of a beast that might have come from Greek mythology), but being a fifth-grader, I had lots of spare time with which to play with a new puppy…we both became attached.

Bailey and I (in my shaggier days) go sledding

She became my alarm clock…my mom used to bring her in and set her on my bed when she woke me up for school.  A little later, she started sleeping next to my bed, my arm dangling down to pet her in the night.  When I left for college, my parents told me that she would sit at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me to come down.  I used to say (partly joking) that I missed my dog more than I missed my mother (sorry Mom).

At fifteen and a half years, Bailey was a part of our family for more than half of my life, but even more, she was that quintessential “boyhood dog.”  She lived a good long life, filled with adventures, fetching sticks, catching frisbees, and eating dead carcasses…everything a dog could want.  I’ll miss you, Bailey.  Good dog.

I apologize for forgetting about this blog for far too long.  But never fear, I am back with a short update.

Last time I posted, I was gasping toward the finish of my first year at ACC.  Well, I made it.  And as we went through graduation weekend, reflecting back upon the school year, I made the decision to return to ACC for another year.  After months of deliberation and looking for other jobs, I finally decided that I simply didn’t feel that my time at ACC was complete.  And so I will be returning to Soldotna in August to teach Ethics (again), Biblical Interpretation, and College Survival, and also to take on the role of Campus Pastor at ACC.  This basically means that I am somewhat in charge of spiritual life on campus.  It will most definitely be a challenge and push me in some significant ways, but I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue helping to shape and mold the lives of our students.

Until August, I am down “south.”  I will be mostly in Portland for the summer, trying to raise support, doing some backpacking, seeing friends and family, and other exciting things like that.

Well, that pretty much sums up where life has been and is going for the next few months.  I will now make a promise which probably won’t be fulfilled about how I am going to be better about leaving updates and posts on this blog.  Let’s just face it…I’m a mediocre communicator.  Until next time…

Luke

Teaching at ACC has been a…well, I guess the best word is “educational”…experience.  I mean, I have learned a lot.  It’s been up and down.  I’ve certainly enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to spend some good time really digging into the subject matter…but it’s left me wondering if I am really desiring/cut-out to do this.

I’m really good at having information and talking and being able to sound like I know what it is that I’m talking about…yep…certainly got that going for me.  But my problem is that I’m not (yet) a good teacher.  For the couple of students that are from a more “Western”-style school system (we’re talking Greco-Roman-philosophical kind of “western” here, not high-noon-shootout, by the way) I think I’m good; those who are used to long lectures and note-taking have done well.  But there are very few of them.  The majority of my students tend to not respond well to this sort of teaching, as evidenced by the glazed-over looks that I receive after about the first ten minutes of each class period as well as the mad rush to the door the moment I give even a hint of wrapping the class up.  I’ve tried to incorporate more teaching techniques to communicate in different ways, but I think that I’m certainly going to need to do more of that in the future.

Ethics worked well for me.  It was a discussion-oriented type of class.  I could bring in different elements to help break up the monotony.  It was also more concrete.

New Testament and Deuteronomy are much more information-oriented (thus my lectures) and abstract subjects.  I didn’t have the resources available for as much video usage and all that.

I’m glad the semester is done.  I feel as though I’ve been trying to coast to the end…or maybe claw my way…I’m not sure which.  In one class I felt as though I was running out of things to say; in the other I felt like I had plenty to say but that my class’s brains were all full.  Neither is a good situation.  But I’ve made it.  Now I can go about figuring out how to do it better…

For about the past two months, I haven’t even bought bread from the store and I’ve just been baking about a loaf a week to keep me going.  But yesterday I ran out.  And then I ate a piece of store-bought that I’ve had in the freezer for a while now.  It was thin and crumbly and light.  It just didn’t compare.

I baked a fresh loaf this evening.  It was tasty.  There truly is nothing like fresh-baked bread, hot out of the oven.

I would like to vow to never buy bread from the store again…but let’s be honest, it’s just more convenient sometimes…but I’ll do my best.

Will winter ever end?

What I find fascinating is that this one hasn’t burned away like previous ones.  Glenn Beck, instead of retreating or apologizing or actually thinking about the absurdity of his remarks, has heaped more fuel onto the fire by continuing to insist and emphasize his claim that the term “social justice” or “economic justice” in the church is akin to “Marxism,” “communism,” and “Naziism” and that if you hear such terms spoken in your church, you should run and hide and report your church to “the authorities” (sounds more Big Brother-ish than anything he’s fighting against!).

Now, I don’t want to just be another blogger going off on a tirade about how wrong Glenn Beck is…I don’t want to be the guy who’s helping to heap fuel on the fire…and I’m not going to try and defend the place of “social justice” or “economic justice” in Christianity or in the Church (mostly because I think it’s pretty plain to see if you actually read scripture…try Deuteronomy 15, Leviticus 25, Amos, or Micah…or for those of you who prefer the words of Jesus himself, try Matthew 23 and 25 or the entire book of Luke)…and most of all, I’m not going to try and weigh in on the national health care debate, the so-called “wealth distribution,” or any other issue (even thought I have lots of opinions).

But in an era of highly polarized politics and religion, I just want to toss out the question: Who is speaking for you?  Who is speaking for your Church?

Is it the Glenn Becks?  Is it the Pat Robertsons?  Is it the Conservapedias with their “conservative Bible project” (which is an abomination to me as an “aspiring Biblical scholar” and should be to anyone who wants to read the Bible well)?  On the other hand is it the “social gospel”?  Is it “tolerance”?  Is it President Obama and the Democratic party?

Or is it Jesus?  Do you (and your Church) stand above the polarized national debates and outside of American conservative/liberal culture to call out that culture wherever it needs to be called out?

I realize that most of the people that read this blog are probably a) my family or b) my friends who already mostly agree with what I think.  And so maybe this is futile or simply worthless. But I’ve got to get something off of my chest…

Our current national dialogue—be it regarding politics, religion, natural disasters, or basically anything—is riddled with sensationalism, fear-mongering, mud-slinging, misinformation, personal and national arrogance, and a whole lot more.  Every conversation, every issue is so clouded by hate and fear that there is no dialogue.  But worst of all, you have a bunch of people who are given a pulpit from which to preach slander and sheer distortions of the truth and of the Gospel!

The Gospel I read is a message of restoration, redemption, and renewal.  It is a story of hope and love and peace.  It is the story of God turning the world upside down with the coming of his son and the bringing of his Kingdom to earth.  That Gospel forces me to care about the poor and marginalized and to seek “economic justice” and “social justice.”  It forces me to care about the environment, to seek the preservation of species, the reduction of pollution, and the sustainability of my lifestyle. It forces me object to wars and oppression.  It forces me to sympathize, to understand and pursue relationship with those who are broken and sinful, even as I am broken and sinful. And it forces me to love those who disagree with me and to seek Truth and engage in civil dialogue and debate.

I’m pretty sure most people in the Church would agree with (most of) that.  I’m pretty sure that most of those who identify themselves alongside Jesus were cringing at Rev. Robertson’s words regarding Haiti and that most would also disagree on some level with Glenn Beck.  Yet, the mentality that they espouse—a mentality of suspicion, fear, individualism, selfish interest, American superiority, and capitalistic idealism—is destructive to the national dialogue, to the American Church, to the message of Jesus Christ, and to everything that we are called to be and do as Christians.  If we continue to tacitly endorse these folks and others like them (even if we think they represent the extremes) by our attitudes, our actions, or television viewing, our money, or our theology, then we are in grave danger of totally misunderstanding who Jesus was and of getting in the way of the Kingdom of God coming to earth.

You don’t have to be a “Christian leftist,” a “liberal,” a fan of Jim Wallis and Sojourners, or a “socialist” to agree with that.  You don’t have to give up Evangelical Christianity.  You don’t have to like President Obama.  You don’t have to give up on “conservative” stances on some issues such as abortion.  But you do have to seek to love your neighbor and promote truth-seeking and -telling…and I’d suggest that you prayerfully consider how those might impact how you view some other issues on our national table.

Who speaks for you and your church? Be sure it’s Jesus.