So how did my Lenten goals play out? I'm glad you asked ;-)

1. No movies; more reading. A+/B-
I hit a home run in the first category by not watching a single movie over the 40+ day period. If you saw this post then you know that's a big deal for me these days.
Compared to what I was expecting I only did "OK" in the second category. This looked like finishing two books (Blue Like Jazz & Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry) and reading three others (The Secret Message of Jesus, The Desire of the Everlasting Hills, & Youth Ministry in Small Churches). I poked around in a Luke commentary and read quite a bit of Scripture. Particularly the first half of Lent my non-movie-watching-time was going toward posting rather than reading.

2. Post on the blog every day. A-
Let's have some fun with this. From Wednesday March 1 to Sunday April 16 there were 47 possible posting days. Traditionally Sundays are not included in fasting requirements during Lent (those who do continue the fast over Sundays are that much more zealous I suppose). So that brings the number down to 40 days of Lent. I posted 30 times over that period for a 75% rating. I joked around with some of my friends that by the letter of the law I was a failure, but by the spirit/intent of the 'law' I was a success!
For the first half of Lent my commitment to writing daily was flawless. Although it did taper off a bit the latter half, I certainly experienced what life is like as a daily blogger. I was pleasantly surprised with the ability for fleshing out interesting series ideas as well as the quality of writing (I thought it would be junk going into it). Thanks for coming along in the journey.

Lent Table of Contents:
::::Thinking/Theology::::
Force for Good in the Community Series :: Thoughts on bringing the kingdom of God to your community
1. Questions/Guilt Ignorance
2. Moving Toward a Plan
3. Theological Undergirding
4. Information Gathering
5. Biblical Undergirding
6. Taking Action
7. Missional Partnerships
Going Global Series :: Thoughts on bringing the kingdom of God to your world
1. Some Initial Sparks
2. Millennium Development Goals
3. How We Can Change the World
4. Living It Out
The Impact of Movies Series
1. My Movie Rundown
2. They Change Us
3. Ingroup Bias
4. They Help Us 'See'
Secret Message of Jesus/McLaren Series
1. Intro
2. Full Review
Random
-- What Does Communion Mean to You?
-- Catholic Ash Wednesday Experience
-- Genocide Yesterday & Today
-- Importance of Clarity
-- Power of our Words

::::Culture::::
-- 10 Things You Should Know About
-- University of Kentucky Basketball!

::::Mountains/Hiking::::
-- Snowshoeing Adventure
-- Easter Hiking

::::Humor/Amusement::::
-- Elephant Ride in Thailand
-- Rapid City, SD
-- Paul the Pre-Marital Counselor?
-- You Ate What?

I have found that I not only enjoy backpacking myself, I also love helping other people get into it more. So, I am making myself available to aid you in your hiking/backpacking/outdoors needs. I'm sure there are others who are more qualified, but after having hiked well over a thousand miles of trail in nine states and across four continents, including summitting the two highest mountains in the 48 states and a dozen other 14ers, I'll probably be able to help you out. (Not to mention I worked for an outdoors store for four years and have read extensively on the subject; this is what I do.)

Types of question I can help you with:
- How do I plan a week long hike?
- Do you have suggestions of where I should go?
- What gear should I take? What do I do about food and water?
- Can you help me plan some killer day hikes?
- I'd like to do some winter stuff, any tips?
- I'm thinking of taking a longer trek (3 weeks to 6 months), any thoughts?
- Are there any good hiking options in other countries?

Write me at pauldkind@hotmail.com - let me know what you're interested in and we'll go from there. Trust me, getting into the outdoors will change your life!

Below is a collage of pictures from Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, Montana, Alabama, California, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Scotland, Greece, and Laos respectively.

It was a bit odd for me to celebrate Easter within the walls of a church this year. Four out of the last five Easters I was in the great outdoors. For three of those years Easter was a multiday spiritual journey while hiking on the Knobstone Trail in southern Indiana (alongside my dad and great friends from IWU). Last year I was on a boat traveling from Cambodia to Thailand with Keith. The hikes were what transformed my view of Holy Week. Easter went from being a special Sunday morning service to a narrative that was retold, meditated upon, and ultimately entered into. On Good Friday we would set aside three hours of silence as we hiked to remember Jesus' time on the cross. On Sunday morning we would huddle together amongst rocks and trees and dramatically portray the Easter account from various perspectives (i.e. Peter, the Centurion, an angel, etc). The story of Jesus' death and resurrection is more than just a historical event some 2000 years ago; it is a reality that we are invited into. New life and transformation await those who enter into the Easter story.

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I attempted a hybrid experience this weekend. Seeing as how I'm a paid pastor and all I figured it'd probably be a good idea if I showed up on Easter Sunday morning. But that didn't stop me from walking in the woods all day Friday and Saturday.

The Centennial Trail blazes its way north and south through the heart of South Dakota's Black Hills for 111 miles. This excites me! Instead of driving for hours to reach a worthy hiking destination, my Honda registered a measly 25 miles from my house to the trailhead. In 14 miles of hiking I walked through portions of a National Forest, a Wildlife Preserve, a designated Wilderness Area, and a State Park. I had a conversation with an otter, saw turkeys rock climbing, and noted why white-tailed deer earned their name. And of course there was boundless solitude. In roughly 30 miles altogether I saw about half a dozen folks and really only talked with one of them. Outwardly it was beautiful and peaceful; inwardly it was worshipful and rejuvenating. I'm looking forward to exploring the remaining 97 miles of the Centennial Trail in the coming months.

There's a picture below, but a story is in order. I was hiking along through the Black Elk Wilderness well aware that I was within a couple miles of Mt. Rushmore. At one point I had a fantastic vista overlooking the Black Hills and its pondorosa pine, granite rock formation goodness. As I was taking it all in, I suddenly realized that George Washington was staring at me from across the way! HA! All this untainted beauty (no buildings or power lines or roads or anything) and there was George. I forgot my camera so this cell phone shot will have to do:

The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything
By Brian McLaren

Key Strengths:
- Approachable and conversational writing style. Plumbing the depths of the realities of Christ in a way that is accessible to every reader.
- I TRUST Brian. I may not agree with every iota of what he has to say (certainly most of it), but I trust his motives. He loves Jesus and strives for every leader to come to love Jesus and to align with Him.
- He’s a visionary idealist who calls us to something more.

Potential Weakness:
- If you’ve read the New Kind of Christian trilogy then you’ve already been exposed to most of the key content of this book (the peacemaking and Revelation bits will be fresh).

Don’t let the title throw you off; the secret message of Jesus is one that is neither new nor hidden. McLaren contends that it has been available to all since the days that it was both spoken and lived by Jesus himself. It is aptly described as a secret message because of the unorthodox way that it was communicated: through parables, metaphors, questions, signs, and wonders. Jesus certainly wanted his message to get out, but in a subversive rather than straightforward manner. Maybe because this sparked humility and questioning on the part of the listener. Maybe because it was the best way to bring about transformation. Maybe because it caused the hearer to hunger for more. Whatever the reason, the secret message of Jesus has been available to all people but has been overlooked by most.

The first third of the book – Excavation – strives to put us in the time and place of Jesus. We learn about the political milieu of his day, his Jewishness, and how his message must have struck some of his original listeners. (These brief chapters amount to the best on-ramp reading I have come across on these topics. Granted you could pull a 600 page N.T. Wright book off the shelf and go much deeper, but recommend these chapters to your friends who are on the front-end of learning about Jesus’ political, ethnic, and cultural setting.) Here’s a couple quotes:
“In my religious upbringing, I was not taught the public and political dimensions of Jesus’ message – only the personal, private dimensions.” (I wrote in the sidebar, “I agree!”)
“The kingdom of God, the empire of God? What could Jesus mean by this? One thing is sure: he did not mean what many – perhaps most – people today think he meant. He did not mean ‘heaven after you die’.”

Part 2, Engagement, tangles with how Jesus communicated and embodied the message, the nature and content of the message, its early adopters, and who is invited into the message. Jesus founded/continued/fulfilled a reconciling movement that moved forward in weakness, vulnerability, love, and sacrifice rather than force and intimidation. It is a movement that everyone is invited into, a movement of blessing the whole world in the way of the Master. Rooted in an interactive relationship with God, it transforms, reconciles, unifies, and turns no one away. Standout quotes:
“We are under a gentle, compassionate assault by a kingdom of peace and healing and forgiveness and life.”
“Jesus was master of making the music of life.”
“. . . the secret message of Jesus is meant not just to be heard or read but to be seen in human lives.”

The final third – Imagination – brings it home for us. What does the message ask of us? How do we counter other demanding impulses in our culture? How do we communicate the Kingdom of God with others? Did Jesus give us hints of what is to come? He explores these questions first by walking through the Sermon on the Mount. He uses every ounce of his creative juices to translate “Kingdom of God” into images that connect today. He inspires us to live for a world where war and violence are intolerable. In the mix Brian has some surprising things to say about the Just War Theory and the Book of Revelation. He closes with the truth that there is much to be done, so let’s embrace the Kingdom of God and live in it. More quotes to chew on:
“What counts is fruit, action, putting his message into practice, building a way of life upon this message.”
“The Kingdom of God seeks to include all who want to participate in and contribute to its purpose, but it cannot include those who oppose its purpose . . .The kingdom’s purpose is to gather, to include, to welcome everyone into reconciliation with God and one another.”
“The Kingdom of God is intended to be a liberating, barrier-breaking, domination-shattering, reconciling movement . . . God’s dream is for freedom and creativity, kindness and justice, generosity and peace, diversity and harmony.”

Discussion Questions:
1) What are your reactions to some of the content laid out here?
2) What are your thoughts on Brian McLaren (his writing, theology, or leadership)?
3) Does this particular summary make you want to read the book in its entirety or pass altogether?

If I could dare to splice out two random paragraphs to summarize Brian McLaren's latest release, The Secret Message of Jesus, they would look like this:

"The dimensions of the secret message of Jesus become clearer and clearer. Jesus forms a movement of people who trust him and believe his message. They believe that they don't have to wait for this or that to happen, but rather that they can begin living in a new and better way now, a way of life Jesus conveys by the pregnant phrase kingdom of God. Life for them now is about an interactive relationship - reconciled to God, reconciled to one another - and so they see their entire lives as an opportunity to make the beautiful music of God's kingdom so that more and more people will be drawn into it . . . everyone can have a role in this expanding kingdom." --p.83

"We've said it again and again in these pages: the secret message of Jesus isn't primarily about 'heaven after you die.' It doesn't give us an exit ramp or escape hatch from this world; rather, it thrusts us back into the here and now so we can be part of God's dreams for planet Earth coming true." --p.183

That ought to whet your appetite. (Buy the book HERE.)

When a truly unique experience comes across your path it is a real treat! Seriously, so much of life is routine, even mundane. Every day we wake up, brush our teeth, shower (some of us), dress, etc. I got to mix it up a little bit this past Saturday.

Dean Hamm, a lively fellow in our church, happens to have an April Fool's birthday - that must explain his sense of humor. He's certainly at an age where one doesn't ask the age anymore, so I can't tell you how old he turned this weekend. But I can tell you he had a kicking birthday party! He had everybody (church folks, family, past co-workers, politicians . . . everybody) up to his place for a big tent party. There were about four tents setup, each one packed full of its own tasty food. At any given time roughly 100 folks were around, migrating back and forth between tent and table for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc.

The catch was that just about all of the meats were wild game - hunted and prepared by Dean and his family & friends. I partook of venison, elk, antelope, fried walleye, and grilled salmon! Let me tell you about the chili tent. Dwayne, the chili chef, has entered his chili in a local competition for the last eight years. Four out of those eight years he has won the "People's Choice Award"! For what it's worth, I have Dwayne the "Paul Kind Award" this weekend; his chili was amazing. Just beyond the chili tent was the dessert tent. Your imagination will not come close to the contents of that particular tent.

As if all that wasn't enough, there was one other rather unique meat that was dished out: mountain lion. A few tags are given out each year to keep the population of these sometimes pesky felines at a proper level. One of those tags resulted in a mountain lion lunch for me this weekend. Story goes that they had to call the game warden to get a preparation recipe. You know you're eating something odd/unique/weird when you're getting your recipe from the local game warden.

Happy Birthday to ya Dean, and many more to come!

A Practical Example

This past Friday night our student ministry raised $1100 for AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa! That's pretty exciting! Here's the story:

Last December we were diving into Philippians 2:1-5, a part of which reads like this: "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." As a group we were fleshing out what this might look like in our day-to-day lives. We talked about our relationships with brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends, teachers, etc. Then I challenged them to think beyond their day-to-day interactions. What would it be like to live out this teaching in a global sense?

That's what got us thinking about those around the world who are in dire need and what we might be able to do to help. I was aware of the One Life Revolution, a student focused arm of World Vision that is doing some incredible stuff to share God's love with AIDS orphans in Zambia. After watching a couple short videos and talking about it, I asked my teens a simple question: "So what are we going to do?" I was surprised how quickly my students started throwing out ideas, "We're a small group but I think we can do a lot" and "I think if we work together we can raise $2000" and "No, I think we can raise $5000". I was excited for their enthusiasm and their new-found hunger to help those in need. I suggested that we shoot for a preliminary goal of $2500 and see what happens.

We made our endeavor official by signing a covenant; check it out HERE (800kb).

Three months later we've raise over $1400 and I don't even feel like we've tried very hard yet! Friday night we hosted a Family & Fun Night at the church that really was a blast. We enjoyed home-cooked lasagna, a parent vs. teen trivia competition, and a challenging 9-hole putt-putt course! On top of all that we were able to share with the whole church about the One Life Revolution and what they're doing to share the love of God with children in need in Africa. Through the generosity of our church, we raised $1100 in a single night!

I'm so proud of my students. For a student ministry of twelve to sixteen on any given Wednesday night that just started meeting together last September, they're already catching a vision of what it looks like to be in tune with what God is doing around the world. They're learning that they can have a great blast and make a difference at the same time.

Student Ministry Website