Southern Cuisine Explained, Part 1

Last night, at our church's "Seekers" dinner/fellowship group, the theme was New Orleans/Cajun cooking. It ended up being a bit more generally Southern. A lot of questions came up about Southern cooking such as grits, Frogmore Stew, etc. I'm not from the South (unless you count Hawaii as the southernmost state in the Union), but I have spent a fair amount of time there and I have many friends there. Most influential is the Styers family of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I spent a week with them during my seminary years and gained 10 pounds in six days eating unbelievably delicious Southern cooking. It was there that I first learned to love chicken and dumplings, fried okra, real fried chicken, and coconut cream pie. So I'm not an authority, but I do love Southern cooking a lot, and here's a little primer on some basics:

1. What are grits? Grits is a corn based side dish that is often served at breakfast, but is also served anytime. The most traditional version is hominy grits, corn that has been soaked in a lye (or other alkaline) solution that removes the hulls, and is stone ground. It is then simmered to reach a porridge-like consistency. Cream of Wheat is a consumer product that looks the most like grits (but isn't the same). As I said, you often hear of grits served at breakfast (remember My Cousin Vinny, where grits were an important part of the defense strategy), but one of the most delicious dishes imaginable is Shrimp and Grits, which I first tasted at the famous Crook's Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Bobby Flay also lost a Shrimp and Grits Throwdown in a recent episode.

Here in Hawaii, you can get grits at Denny's in the Windward City Shopping Center.

2. Sweet Potato Pie versus Pumpkin Pie. At the dinner last night, many people mistook a sweet potato pie for pumpkin. Definite differences! I suspect that for Southerners, pumpkin pie is Yankee food, and sweet potato pie is superior. I happen to like both, and it's kind of like comparing apples with pears. They are kind of similar, but definitely different, and usually you are going to prefer one over the other. Or maybe it's just regional/seasonal. With Southern food, I couldn't imagine anything other than a sweet potato pie; but for Thanksgiving, pumpkin.

3. Frogmore Stew. This was served last night as well. No, it doesn't have any frogs in it. I learned that the name comes from the place it originated in South Carolina. It is technically a boil, a soup-like broth with crab boil, Old Bay Seasoning, new potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp, and smoked sausage. It's terrific - I especially found the combination of the Old Bay based broth with the sweetness of the corn to be wonderful.

4. Louisiana Hotlinks. For many years, I thought Louisiana hotlinks were from Louisiana. Nobody from Louisiana that I've ever met understood what I was talking about. I have received the exact same reaction: confused silence, then the question, "Do you mean Boudin (a brand name) sausage?" No, I replied, I meant something called Louisiana hotlinks. Each person from Louisiana would shake their heads and said there was no such thing. But everyone I knew in Los Angeles knew exactly what I was talking about. Well, a couple of years ago, I saw some at Costco. I looked carefully at the package and learned that it was called Louisiana (Brand) Hotlinks...made in California. Okay, so they aren't authentically Louisiana, but these plump, spicy sausages are my pick over a hot dog or even a Polish dog any day.

5. Country Ham versus City Ham. Okay, we didn't have ham last night, but when I think of the South, especially Virginia, I always think of country ham. It is a salty, flavorful bit of heaven, and served on a biscuit with a slice of bursting ripe tomato, it is one of the world's great delicacies. Smithfield hams must be made from one of the four approved manufacturers around Smithfield. Originally required to be made from peanut fed hogs (as compared to the also superb Italian ham called prosciutto di Parma, which is traditionally made from chestnut fed hogs), country hams are prepared painstakingly and for a period of several months.

City hams, which are what we get most often here in Hawaii, are produced by a far quicker process (days instead of months). The flavor is milder, is usually prepared to be much sweeter, but for me, is generally an inferior product.

The knock on country ham is that it is too salty (this shouldn't be a problem for people from Hawaii, should it?), but my good friend from Virginia says that if you soak the ham in water a couple of times for several hours, up to a couple of days, it will lower the salt content to a palatble level without losing the great flavor. Real country ham is just fabulous. Smithfield hams are the best, but for a milder, less salty ham, consider Williamsburg country ham, originally from another town in Virgina.

As long as we're talking about pork...here's a good one from the internet: if you get an email warning you not to eat tinned pork because of swine flu threats, ignore it. It is....






ready?





SPAM

I welcome your comments.

Grace and aloha,

Tom

P. S. As long as we're talking about the South: former president Jimmy Carter of Georgia has reiterated his break with the Southern Baptist Convention after nearly a lifetime of membership. His dissatisfaction with the Southern Baptist leadership's denial of women to be ordained and the insistence that wives be submissive to their husbands and what Carter believed to be major (and unbiblical) changes to Southern Baptist policies led to the break. Take a look at these links: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4984885 (this is a breakdown of his initial dissatisfaction in 2005), and http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality (his most recent statement). I applaud Mr. Carter for being an alternative (and correct) voice to speak out against using the Good News of Jesus Christ to exercise control and subjugation of people. The Gospel I know is about the grace (unconditional love) and servanthood model of Jesus Christ.

Best Chinese Food on the Windward Side?

I was asked this morning which restaurant had the best Chinese food on the Windward side of Oahu, in Hawaii. I have an incomplete opinion, as I have pretty much settled on two restaurants as having the best. I invite others to respond with their opinions. For example, many people think that Kin Wah restaurant in Kaneohe is the best, but I haven't been there for a long time, so I can't give an informed opinion.

Anyway, I think for everyday Chinese food, my favorite is the New Mui Kwai Chop Suey Restaurant in Kailua: 132 Oneawa St, Kailua, (808) 262-7800 (next to Checker Auto Parts and near the Jack-in-the-Box). The prices are reasonable, and the food is very good. Try the shrimp with crispy garlic (it's not on the menu, but it is on the additional menu items page underneath the glass table tops), anything with black bean sauce, the beef sin choy (sliced beef with a kind of Chinese vegetable prepared in a sour/sweet sauce, vaguely reminiscent of bread pickles, but better), crispy gau gee (long dumplings, deep fried), and the Singapore style noodles (rice noodles in a somewhat spicy, curry based preparation). Note: I am only referring to the Kailua location, as I have not tried the other locations of this small chain.

For a special occasion, Pah Ke's Restaurant in Kaneohe is the place: 46-018 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe, (808) 235-4505. There are really two types of food prepared there: standard Chinese fare and creative, contemporary takes on Chinese food. The thing to focus on is the page that says Hawaiian-Chinese specialties, such as the scallops with deep fried spinach, the asparagus beef, and other great choices. A great off of the menu item is the Chinese "Nachos," which is a bed of seasoned mashed potatoes with deep fried wonton skins, sweet potato chips, etc., and surrounded by triangles of deep fried wonton skins topped with a little guacamole, Chinese roast duck, hoisin sauce, and scallions (you usually have to order these in advance).

The best thing to do is to is to speak to Raymond - the very personable owner - in advance and order a special menu or special dishes. Every time I have done so, it has been fabulous. My niece had her wedding rehearsal dinner there and we got an amazing banquet, with some of the dishes I mentioned above plus others. I will never forget the whole fish served two ways. Even though the wedding reception was at the Halekulani Hotel, and the meal was impeccable, my family members still rave that the Pah Ke's dinner was the most memorable and still ranks among the best meals they have ever had.

Also, don't skip dessert. Raymond was once the pastry chef at the Halekulani and his desserts are truly outstanding. For example, the soy milk custard sounds unappetizing and aimed for the health conscious (which anytime I see health conscious menu items, I usually interpret it as insipid and bland). In Raymond's hands, it is opulent, and absolutely delicious - not to mention vegan, too! But all of his desserts are good (you won't believe what he does with chocolate).

One final note: neither restaurant is very fancy looking, but the food is great, and that's the most important thing.

Grace and aloha,

Tom

P. S. In Acts 2, the writer (Luke) specifies that the early church people focused on four things: Apostles' teaching, prayers, fellowship, and the breaking of bread. To me, that means that eating food with others is spiritual! I definitely agree. After all, the word "companion" means "the one I eat bread with." Or in the case of this post, the one I eat great Chinese food with. I definitely have grown closer to everyone I've eaten with at these restaurants. And after a great dinner in places like this, I just thank God for delicious food - it is unquestionably evidence of God's love for us!

The Jaccard

As I promised, the new approach to this blog will sometimes not resemble a church blog at all (which is part of the idea). It will often focus on my love of food, which I share with most people in the world. This post is an example of that.

Our Wednesday evening church group called the Seekers has kind of morphed (for the summer, at least) into a fellowship/dinner group. I volunteered to bring grilled steak this week.

One of the challenges in feeding a large No. of people (15+) is that steak is pretty expensive. Buying expensive cuts of meat like New York strip, Ribeye, etc., is not possible. But serving tougher cuts of meat is not acceptable.

Happily, I've been using - for some time now - something called a Jaccard meat tenderizer. It is basically a spring loaded device which has 15 thin blades. You stab the meat with the Jaccard all over. The idea is to break up the connective tissue, which makes the meat very tender.

I bought both top sirloin (the cheapest cut in this case) and some tri-tip steak. Both were very tender using the Jaccard. I grilled them using a Weber grill and charcoal (more on grilling in a future post). It ended up costing 1/3 to 1/2 less than more expensive cuts.

Those who live on the island of Oahu should be able to find one at the Compleat Kitchen. You can also find it online at Amazon.com. One of the church people (who always looks for a better deal), saw it cheaper on EBay. I have the 15 blade one with a black handle. There is a 45 blade version (with three rows of blades) which is more expensive, but might be worth it, as you triple the "Jaccarding" with the same effort as the 15 blade version.

Happy "Jaccarding"!

Grace and aloha,

Tom

P. S. In honor of a post dedicated to meat, I share a poem by George Herbert, which is an invitation to sit at the table of God (portrayed by Herbert as love). The person invited keeps giving excuses, not feeling worthy enough to come to the table. One thing about God: we are always invited and are always loved.

"Love Bade Me Welcome" by George Herbert

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.

A New Blog Approach

Needless to say, it's been a long time since my last blog post. I've decided to take a different approach to the blog and talk about a number of subjects...as Rob Bell, one of the most popular Christian preachers says (among others): everything is spiritual. So this blog will focus on different things, sometimes with a more specific spiritual reference, and sometimes much less so.

The new title of the blog reflects my new approach. Those who know me are well aware of how much I love food. So a lot of times, I will talk about food that I've actually eaten.

But I will also talk about things that are just food for thought: trivial things, how-to ideas, commentary, etc. Hopefully, I will tie it all up with something that leads us just a little bit closer to the divine.

Anyway...glad to be back blogging.

Grace and aloha,

Tom

All Saints Day

So...did you have a good Hallowe'en? Did you know that the ghoulishly identified celebration actually has a Christian connection in some ways? The name itself is a shortening of the term "All Hallows Even," which would translate to "All Saints Evening." Take out the "all" and the "v", and you have the name we have today: "Hallowe'en" (That's why the apostrophe is there: because of the missing "v").

November 1 is All Saints Day. In the Catholic Church, there are days set aside for those in Christian history who have been chosen to be saints, or specially venerated people. Probably the best known would be St. Patrick, whose day is March 17.

Since there are only 365 days in the year, there would eventually come a time when the saints would outnumber the days. So November 1 was set aside as a day when all of the saints, including more minor and future saints, would be recognized.

In the Bible, the terms saints was used more to refer to Christians in general. That's how Kailua United Methodist Church uses the term. The Sunday which falls on or just after November 1 is called "All Saints Sunday," and we kind of use it as the Christian Memorial Day. We will have some special worship elements, including a slide show of those who have died since the last All Saints Day, or for those whose loved ones were not included in a previous year.

We will conclude with Holy Communion. A part of the celebration of this sacrament (a sacred sign of God's unconditional love; in the United Methodist Church, the two sacraments are baptism and communion) of the church is the recognition of the "communion of the saints." It is a belief that though death may part us with our loved ones, the eternal hope is that one day we will be reunited.

It's a comforting thought, and one of the big reasons I remain a Christian: the hope not only for eternal life for me, but the far more exciting prospect of being reunited with those whom I love, and to finally meet in person, God my Creator and God my savior in Jesus Christ.

Endangered Species: Church

One of my colleagues in ministry in the United Methodist Church is Pastor Erika Gara, who pastors in Southern California. She has a great blog called Endangered Species: Church. What a great title for a blog! It reflects perfectly what is a reality: that many churches are in danger of extinction if we don't address very carefully the needs not only of the present generation which dominate church attendance (those over 50, but also, if not more so, the ability to address the needs of the generations which are under 50.

I like Erika's post on Pink Floyd and Psalm 23, on how a professor at Boston University (Peter Hawkins, from whom I was privileged to take courses during seminary - although at a different school than BU) read the 23rd Psalm and asked young people where they had heard of it. Their answers were interesting: few of them knew that it was from the Bible. Check out her blog to learn some of the surprising places this scripture passage shows up: http://www.endangeredspecieschurch.blogspot.com.

I also like her post on "Tinkerers," which talks about how younger people like churches which tinker with different approaches and ways of thinking. This can find a lot of resistance among older people, many of whom really like to keep things the way they always were.

I'm grateful that Kailua United Methodist Church, for the most part, has kept an open mind and allowed for experimentation and new ideas.

Hot Dog Eating Contests and Spirituality

Take a look at this YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4BU2pOLvxA. It features Takeru Kobayashi, many time champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest (since dethroned by Joey Chestnut) at Coney Island, New York. In the video, you see that he consumes 53 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes, and you see at the end a chart which reveals that he consumed the equivalent of 8 1/2 days worth of the average daily caloric intake (2000 calories per day).

Now...what if they said to Kobayashi: "Congratulations! Your grand prize is a gourmet meal right now at any of the finest restaurants in New York City."

No matter how good that gourmet meal would be, I'm sure that Kobayashi or any of the contestants would not care for or want that meal.

Here's the point: it doesn't matter how wonderful and satisfying Christianity is. If you and I are filling ourselves with other things in our lives that we are so full...it's likely that we will not care for or want Christianity.

Maybe if we unclutter our lives, we just might find that following Christ is the most wonderful, satisfying thing in the universe.

Trying to find a Bible passage?

One of the things that a lot of people don't like to let on is how little they know about the Bible. One of the best ways to become more familiar with the Bible are the online sites, such as Biblegateway.com or crosswalk.com.

The easiest way to access this is to go to our website, kailuaumc.org, and in the lower right hand side, there is a search panel. Just put in a key word or passage, and you will transported to Bible Gateway and the verse will come up!

Happy searching!

Hello from L. A.

It's morning in Los Angeles. Pastor Mike Tolbert and I are here for something called Leadership Academy #8. One of the best pastors in the United Methodist Church, Rev. David Bridgman, is here to teach the 150 or so pastors and laypeople from various United Methodist Churches in Southern California and Hawaii. The basic theme is how to grow a church beyond the 150+ range.

It's been very refreshing and revealing to both of us. The basic question is, "Is yours a pastor driven church, where most of the ministry is done by the pastors, or are you a lay driven church, where much of the ministry is done by the laypeople?" Rev. Bridgman said in no uncertain terms that if a church is mostly pastor driven, it will get to a certain size and stay that way. It will create a bottleneck that will prevent the church from growing larger.

I have to confess that ours is definitely a pastor driven church. Pastor Sam, now Pastor Mike, and I pretty much handle most of the ministry duties, such as pastoral visitation, worship leadership, leadership of groups and studies, and a lot of the administration.

What's wrong with that? Isn't that the way it's supposed to be? Isn't that why we hired the pastors? Well...in one form of church culture, that's true. But I have come to believe that the true purpose of the church is for pastors to train and encourage laypeople to do ministry leadership.

And the main reason is that the laypeople can experience the amazing joy of being in active ministry for the sake of Jesus Christ. And that is an incredible experience indeed.

Back to Blogging

It's been nearly a year since my last post! A lot has gone on since then: my twin daughters are in kindergarten; the church has added a great new associate pastor in Michael Tolbert; one of my best friends, Grant Hagiya, was elected biship; and I turned 50 this year.

As I look at the date of my last blog (October 26, 2007), I realize that this corresponds with the trip I took to visit my mother for the last time with all of my sisters and my uncle, my mom's only living sibling. I think there is a lot to this, because the grieving process for my mom probably started in earnest then, reached its culmination on March 27, 2008, when her body joined her mind (she had had Alzheimer's Disease for many years).

I'll be talking more about this in future posts (hopefully not a year from now!). But I think blogging is a sign of a new stage in my grieving process. So thanks for being there for me.

Grace and aloha,

Tom

P. S. Today is my lovely wife Becky's birthday!

Being Christian and Being a Disciple

I was attending a seminar and the thought came to me (either by the speaker, Brian McLaren, or the random firings of my brain) that being Christian can be approached the way people sometimes approach being an American.

If you think about it, what does it take to be an American? For most people, all it takes is being born on American soil or of American parents. At the most, the minimum requirements to being an American are a period of residence and passing a test to see if you know some basic facts about American, plus a pledge of allegiance to the nation.

While it would be nice if there were more to it, that really is all it takes to be considered an American. You really don't have to do anything else for the rest of your life to be considered an American.

I think there is a significant number of people who have a similar idea about being a Christian. Being Christian is something that you are born into, or at the most, when you have your confirmation of baptism, you pass a test and make a vow of allegiance.

And pretty much after that, while it would be nice to do more, the attitude becomes that you really don't have to do anything else for the rest of your life to consider yourself a Christian.

That certainly is not what Jesus intended for his followers. To be Christian is to pursue a life that become closer and closer to Christ so that your life is as nearly interchangeable with the life of Christ as is humanly possible.

Maybe what we should do is change the name we most use. The term "Christian" appears in the Bible only 3 times. The term "disciple" and its derivatives appear in the Bible 261 times (this one I did get for sure from Brian McLaren). That means, as far as I'm concerned, that being a disciple is 87 times more important than being a Christian.

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ or a Christian? It makes a huge difference.

Between the Trees

If you look through the Bible, you will notice that there is one object that basically begins the story of faith and ends the story of faith. From the beginning in Genesis 2, to the end of Revelation, the tree of life is mentioned. It’s the key to life and anyone who touches it will have life everlasting.

One problem: in Genesis, there is another tree, the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve, goaded by the serpent to become like God, take a taste of the fruit of that tree, and suddenly, there is no access to the tree of life.

Incidentally, the fruit of this tree has traditionally been the apple, although the exact fruit is never mentioned in the Bible. One theory is that the Latin word for evil and for apple is the same: malus.

The wonderful thing about the Christian faith is that time and time again, the story is about failure, death, and hopelessness being completely turned around.

In 1 Peter 2:24, it says: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

The tree that the writer is talking about is the cross. Think about that for a moment. The crucifixion cross was the most horrific method of execution of the Roman Empire. It was known by some to be the tree of death. The crucifixion was such a horrific symbol, that it was not used as a symbol of Christianity for the first 300 years of the faith, until the Roman Emperor Constantine had a dream about the cross, and when he decided to follow the Way of Jesus, he made the cross the symbol of Christianity.

The reason? Because Jesus Christ, by his resurrection and triumph over death, has turned the tree of death into the new tree of life! We live between the trees but no matter what challenges face us, through Christ we have the possibility of that turning around for good. And that’s wonderful assurance.

Passing on the Faith

For those who missed the sermon series at the church, :Passing on the Faith," here's a recap of the important points:

1. The realization that our society is becoming more individualistic and inwardly focused. Listen to the words of the song "The Greatest Love of All." A previous generation would have said "the love of God," "a mother's love of children" or "love of country" as the greatest love of all. The song says that the greatest love of all is "me."

This is good in creating self-expression and creativity. But it also leads to vastly increased rates of depression and anxiety. It also lowers the ability to relate to others effectively.

Look at the narcissism in a song taught in preschools all over the nation (sung to "Frere Jacques"):

I am special, I am special
Look at me, you will see
Someone very special, someone very special
It is me, it is me

Our task as parents and mentors: teach that it is the love of God that is greatest of all, and move the focus from ourselves to God.

Listen to this great song: "Jesus, Lover of Me Soul" ("It's all about you, Jesus...it's not about me, as if You should do things my way").

A great book: "Generation Me" by Jean Twenge, which gives facinating (and sometimes frightening) analyses of research done over the past 50 years of college freshmen and their attitudes.

2. Is God a hobby for you? Are church and faith in the optional category? In passing on the faith, you need to move church and faith from the optional to the essential category.

3. Learn to communicate Gary Chapman's Languages of Love:

a. Words of encouragement
b. Quality time
c. Gifts
d. Acts of service
e. Physical touch

Which one of these is what you prefer to receive. It may be that you commuicate love in this manner as well. It's important to learn how the other person prefers to receive love, and learn to express it that way as well.

4. Grace (unconditional love) and Hesed (steadfast love) are important biblical understandings of love to keep in the forefront of your mind and to instill in your children and loved ones.

Wooden Excellence

I just back from Kansas City for the second time in two months. Yes...I did have more barbecue, this time having Jack Stack's and Gates' versions. Now that I've had the top rated barbecue places (see my earlier post), I have to say that Arthur Bryant's is the best, with Jack Stack second.

But I didn't just go to eat barbecue. I learned a lot at the School of Congregational Development. Here are two things:

1. One of my workshop leaders, Doug Anderson, shared a story about Coach John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA basketball titles at UCLA in the mid 60's through the mid 70's. One of the things he always reminded his players: "Gentlemen: never substitute activity for achievement." In all of life, we often are busy and do lots of things, but what do we do that is truly noteworthy? Especially when it comes to our faith? We might pray, read the Bible, help out...but is it with passion, is it with excellence?

2. In many places, including and especially church, we often lose effectiveness. Why? A common cause, according to Doug Anderson, is that there is an emphasis on personal preference and a tendency to stay within your own comfort level, instead of focusing on the mission and purpose you have for your life, your church, your career, etc. Move toward a mission focus in all things, and you'll be surprised at how much more your life has focus, direction, and effectiveness.

A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition

In my sermon for July 8, I mentioned the below printed prayer, which is just key to finding a fulfilling faith life, which is to take the attention from one's self and put into covenant with God. A covenant is a mutually beneficial, mutually responsible, mutually faithful agreement between two parties. Here is a Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition. It's not an easy prayer to say, but if you can incorporate this into your life, it will make all the difference in the world:

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield

all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

Cathedral Thinking

I found this great article called Cathedral Thinking. If you've ever been to any of these great buildings, you are amazed by the scale, the beauty, and the engineering that went into it. The Washington National Cathedral (pictured here) is a good example. It's just down the street from where I go to school a couple of times a year. It is a magnificent example of Gothic architecture and was voted one of the three most beautiful buildings in America by the American Institute of Architects (The Empire State Building was ranked No. 1, and the White House, No. 2; go here for the full list; the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island was the only Hawaii building listed)

The article pointed out that many of the great cathedrals were built in a span of time that exceeded the lifetime of any of the participants of the planners and original builders.

For example, the Washington National Cathedral was first envisioned with the setting aside of land for a national church in 1792. Plans to build the cathedral weren't renewed until 1891, and construction didn't begin until 1907. The cathedral was completed in 1990. This means that 198 years passed from the beginning of the vision to its completion.

The people who first thought about building the cathedral knew that they might never see their ideas and dreams come to complete fruition in their lifetimes. That did not keep them from going ahead and putting this dream into reality. They wanted to build a place that would serve untold generations of people.

In anything in life, I think that cathedral thinking is important. Our thinking, planning, and dreaming should have the future in mind - what we do now will affect future generations, for good and for bad.

May what we do be remembered as something that was a blessing.

Of Barbecue, Strip Steak, and Resurrection

I made it home to Hawaii last Friday afternoon, bringing along a little cough. I was in the Kansas City area for my Doctor of Ministry program.

It was great to be able to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.

Those of you who know me also know that I am always interested in the local cuisine. Kansas City is known for two things: barbecue and the famous Kansas City Strip Loin steak. Over the two weeks I was there, I tried three barbecue places: K. C. Masterpiece, Gates, and Arthur Bryant's. Arthur Bryant's was by far the best, but to be honest, either of the other two places would be considered the best barbecue in Hawaii.

I was also able to find a delicious, but reasonably priced steak for lunch at Plaza III, where the price goes up double for dinner. Great steak, full of flavor.

Of course, I didn't go to Kansas City just to eat. For this session, we were blessed to spend time at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in nearby Leawood. It is one of the largest churches in America, with over 14,000 people. What it is unique to me about the place is that it is proud to call itself United Methodist.

The pastor of the church, Adam Hamilton, spent the entire second week with us. It was a great experience to be with someone who built up the church from just his family to that size.

What's his secret? I don't think there is really a secret. He has a strong vision, he is well thought out, and plans out ahead of time in great detail.

Oh yes...and it seems that everything his church does is dedicated to letting people know about the good news of Jesus Christ in some way. It isn't a hard sell like the stereotypical televangelist. Hamilton's way is invitational, low pressure, and friendly.

I learned a lot about how to do ministry there. It may very well be the most influential visit of my ministry. I've been to Willow Creek Church and Saddleback Church, and they are very impressive, but it seemed that what they did was just so out of reach, it was almost surreal. There is nothing about the Church of the Resurrection that any church couldn't do; maybe not as fancy - such as super high tech video - but they even taught us how to take consumer level equipment and produce good stuff.

I'll be unpacking a lot of stuff as we head into a great future at our church.

P. S. their website is cor.org.

Backup

I'm here in the Kansas City area for my Doctor of Ministry program. It didn't start out too well. Two days before I left, the hard drive on my laptop computer crashed. This would ordinarily be cataclysmic, but I had backed up my hard drive shortly before and I was only missing a couple of weeks worth of work. Fortunately, I have drafts of most of the missing work because I e-mailed the office or in the case of sermons, I have the podcasts.

I packed very carefully, and I was proud of myself that I had forgotten nothing. Then, when I got to the TSA screening at the airport, I was horrified to discover that my laptop was missing! I had packed the power cord, but forgot the computer itself!

A call to my wife was to no avail. She had already gone to her hula class and the calls went to voice mail.

Fortunately, I called my assistant, who agreed to pick up the computer and deliver it to me. I am so incredibly grateful to him!

Backing up a computer is very important. But also knowing that you have people who will back you up is a great comfort.

And knowing that Christ is backing me up at all times is the greatest comfort and blessing of all.

Father's Day Article

I'm in the L. A. area today. but I wrote an article for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. They asked me not to post the article here, but here's the link: http://starbulletin.com/2007/06/16/features/onfaith.html

Happy Father's Day!

A Real Man

Since I am going to be traveling for a few weeks, I'm not sure when I'll be able to post on the blog. So here's something I wrote a few years ago you might find interesting:

"REAL MAN"?
I read in a newspaper about a man who burst into a restaurant in New York, shot two people (fortunately, none were killed) and while brandishing a shotgun, began dousing the patrons with gasoline. He pulled out a fireplace lighter and apparently was about to ignite the people, when two brave women rushed at him and stopped him. Police arrived and in a struggle wounded the man.
In the initial interview with the police, he explained that he had hoped to be shot and killed by the police. It was also discovered that he had been living with AIDS and he said, "A real man chooses when he is going to die."
This is just another example of an unfortunate trend: people willing to die in the act of killing others. I think the answer boils down to this: they had lost a sense of the sacredness of life, and they had lost hope that living in the world was better than death.
A truly "real" man lived to show us a truly better way, truth and life. I believe what many people have been saying: that the church is the hope of the world, because we carryJesus' message of faith, hope, and love. This is the importance of sharing the message of Jesus Christ. I hope that this will be our growing conviction in a world that needs it so much.