A few days ago, the blog Bird-Brain? asked why, instead of “normal” progression from infant -> children -> young adults -> parents…

…in many churches the pastor looks out and sees a sanctuary full of baby birds, beaks open, saying, “Feed me! Feed me!” and both the pastor and the people like it like that?

Blog reader Laura McGlothlin’s answer was:

Hmmm, great question!
Because making disciples takes lots of time, hard work, and patience? Maybe it’s easier just to nurse them along!

Good answer. Maybe it’s an example of the Shirky Principle, which I just discovered the other day. What’s the Shirky Principle, you ask? Here’s an explanation by Sahil Bloom:

The Shirky Principle, named after writer Clay Shirky, states, “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.”

In simple terms, companies (or people) have a tendency to avoid fully eliminating the problem that they sell a solution for, lest they become obsolete.…Potential examples of the Shirky Principle in action:

• Pharmaceutical companies see more money in treating lifelong illness than in curing it.

…

• Personal trainers make more money from clients remaining slightly unfit than from clients who become fit and no longer need their services.

And maybe we can add something like:

• Some pastors would rather their members stay untrained so the pastors can be the permanent authority figure.

This attitude, of course, is in direct violation of 2 Timothy 2.2 in which there are no permanent learners. Learners progress to become teachers:

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (NIV)

Speaking of Vision and Execution with respect to Mount Rushmore, I’m looking back on my Blog Log (yes, I have a list of all blogs!), and I’m shocked I didn’t write about the Hoover Dam that we visited when we were in Las Vegas last February. Built from 1931 – 1936 while Mount Rushmore was being carved (1927 – 1941), the Hoover Dam project is an incredible feat of engineering, persistence, and plain hard work:

Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned the dam over to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. [“Six Companies” was the creative(!) name of the consortium that built the dam] – Wikipedia

The workforce consisted of 3,000 – 5,000 men, and we were told they had two days off per year, Christmas and the 4th of July. It was during the Depression, so men needed the work. Read the whole article. The technical details are astounding from temporarily rerouting the Colorado River, to pouring the concrete incrementally and figuring out how to cool it. It goes on and on. It was a massive project.

A total of 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete was used in the dam before concrete pouring ceased on May 29, 1935. In addition, 1,110,000 cu yd were used in the power plant and other works. More than 582 miles of cooling pipes were placed within the concrete. Overall, there is enough concrete in the dam to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York.

The dam is worth a visit if you’re in the area, about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas.

I admire what can be done with a “can-do” spirit and men who are willing to work as part of a team. Today, with all our advanced technology, we probably couldn’t find the workers nor could we jump through all the legal and bureaucratic hoops to do such a thing. Seems a shame.

The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” (Genesis 11.6, NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, NIV) – And they were Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth…without radio, television, Internet, air travel, all the things we have at our disposal!

I began yesterday’s blog thinking I would tell you about two urgent prayer needs, but I wanted to go in-depth on both, ergo: two blogs!

Our pastor, Dr. David Jordan-Irwin, who answers to “Pastor Dave” is a wonderful pastor – not because he’s a fantastic speaker, but because he has a fantastic heart. I wrote about this before. Please take time to read, especially my conclusion to a vignette of his ministry:

There was a time I would have assessed the quality of a sermon by the depth of Biblical insight, clarity of the outline, and effectiveness of the delivery. No more. How about the ability of the pastor to actually apply the scripture to a real-life situation, showing by example how to love others and live out the gospel? 

Pastor Dave is sick. His wife, Becca, also a pastor, was diagnosed with breast cancer a year or two ago. She has come through just fine. In the meantime, Dave has ignored or pressed through pain that he had…until he couldn’t. Here’s a portion of a note he wrote to me after asking me to preach on September 3:

Bob, for Becca and me, this is definitely a season like no other…not sure if you heard the encouraging news from our time with the Pancreatic Clinic. The team thinks I may have two different cancers which if true may mean…that the pancreatic cancer hasn’t metastasized (the other in the Colon). (I can’t tell how often I’ve heard, “Medicine is not an exact science.”)   This is why I now qualify for surgery which is scheduled for next Thursday (August 3rd). I was preparing myself for Chemo treatment, now I’m preparing for surgery (removal of the tail of the pancreas, spleen, and 1/3 of the Colon – this will then be followed with chemo treatments). Appreciate your prayers (both yours and June’s) as always!

Well, the surgery on August 3, serious as it was projected to be, didn’t go like that. They opened him up, took one look, and closed him up again. The cancer was everywhere. They’re talking about chemo now, and I haven’t had an update since.

Pastor Dave and his wife, Becca

It’s going to be a rough go. Please join me in praying for a miracle. Dave is one of the good guys. We’d like him to stick around a little longer. It’s what Paul wanted, not for himself, but for the Philippians:

I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (Philippians 1.19 – 26, ESV)

I don’t normally devote space in this blog for prayer requests, especially for people I know and you don’t, but it seems that death or the threat of it is all around.

I’ve written before about my long-time Navigator friend Mike Schmid, first-class guy who’s been battling cancer for several years now. Here’s the blog I wrote July 5, 2021. Of late, he’s been doing better until this update that came in yesterday. As always, it’s positive in tone in the midst of what he calls “the storm.”

Since my last update we have had some smooth sailing, improved health and expanding ministry. Then suddenly we were hit by a “furious squall” and our little boat is being swamped.  Please join us in calling out to Jesus for us like you have so many times in the past. 

Recently Lorelei has had a procedure to ease her endless sacroiliac pain and the injections have helped but she is still having some pain.  Then in early July skin cancer was discovered and she had MOHS surgery and will have another procedure in mid-August to remove more cancer.  It was a chance for me to care for her as she has so tenderly cared for me through my long cancer journey.

Then, last week I had an MRI and it was discovered that cancer has spread to my brain.  The tumor is deep, so surgery is not a good option.  On Monday, 14 August I see a radiation oncologist to assess my next plan of treatment.  

When caught in life’s terrible storms we can quickly go to Jesus who alone can bring the rescue we need in the midst of raging seas.  Now in our storm, as the first disciples on the stormy sea of Galilee, please go to Jesus with us.  Please tell Him of this tempest and listen with us for Him to again say, “Quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39)

We are so thankful for God’s unending grace and God’s love shown to us through you.  Your words of encouragement, gifts and faithful investment in our continuing ministry are touches of Father’s love.

We are thankful too for you who pray for, encourage and help us continue in ministry with all the strength God so powerfully gives us.

Please join us in prayer for Mike and Lorelei. I have another urgent request about another of my heroes. Stay tuned.

Some of God’s best people have gone through tough times. Here’s what Paul said:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4.7 – 18, ESV, emphasis mine)

Yesterday we looked at Mount Rushmore, a finished project (at least it was declared to be finished when the four presidential heads were done). Near Mount Rushmore is the Crazy Horse Memorial, a monumental statue, which is planned to be 641 long and 563 feet high and look like this.

A model of the Crazy Horse Memorial

It is not finished. In fact, very little of it has been completed. Started in 1948, the head of Crazy Horse wasn’t completed until 1998, 50 years later.

Here’s how it looks today. The face (97 feet high) and outstretched arm (over 220 feet long) are done.

I have mixed feelings. I admire a gigantic goal, but it seems that on some level it ought to be doable. On the other hand, just because it’s not finished now, doesn’t mean it will never be finished. For example, St Peter’s Basilica in Rome was built between 1506 and 1626, 120 years.

Speaking of 120 years, some people believe that the 120 years referred to in Genesis 6.3 is the time it took Noah and his sons to build the ark.

Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” (ESV)

Like the Crazy Horse Memorial, Noah’s Ark was a family project with no outside funding and took a VERY long time.

Global rebellion calls for global response. God tells Noah that he is going to destroy everything on earth. Then he gives Noah the blueprints for a massive building project that will call on every known feat of human engineering and technology to build an ocean-worthy ship. Within a society that used only small boats to navigate rivers, the ark defied all existing categories of engineering. By sheer size, it exceeded all practical use. And by sheer necessity, it forced Noah to begin blazing new paths in engineering and technology in a building project that would require over a century to complete. – Tony Reinke, God, Technology, and the Christian Life, pages 33 – 34.

And like Noah’s building project, the folks working on the Crazy Horse Memorial are using the time to educate people on Native American issues and culture.

…God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. (1 Peter 3.20, ESV)

…he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. (2 Peter 2.5, ESV, emphasis mine)

We just visited Mount Rushmore for the first time last week.

The pictures don’t do it justice; it’s a remarkable achievement of art and engineering, built from 1927 – 1941. The heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln are each 60 feet high.

You can read a version of the history here. Carved into a mountain on lands held by Native Americans, the memorial is not without controversy. However, it’s inspirational to see what a combination of vision, leadership, and funding can do to conceive and complete a major project.

Tomorrow I’ll share thoughts on the Crazy Horse Memorial, near Mount Rushmore. An even grander vision, but the “completion” part isn’t there yet.

A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. (Proverbs 13.19, NKJV)

Surely there is a lesson here.

Three teenagers having breakfast together:

Five geezers in the same restaurant having breakfast together:

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another… (Malachi 3.16, ESV, emphasis mine)

Yesterday, I shared this profound quote:

Education without application is just entertainment. –John W. Crane, quoting Tim Sanders in The One-Number Budget

When you think “application” of scripture, what comes to mind? Maybe…

• The 10 Commandments, especially the last five:
  • Don’t take your neighbor’s life
  • Don’t take your neighbor’s wife
  • Don’t take your neighbor’s stuff
  • Don’t lie
  • Don’t covet
• The spiritual disciplines like Daily Time with God that I talk about from time to time
• “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6.8)

Those are all good things to do. But is that all?

I was struck by this paragraph from Jesus:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14.12 – 14, LSB)

Very powerful words…linked to works. Do I believe? Where are the greater works?

The “entertainment” quote was in the context of money management, and how to save enough for retirement. It’s not enough to know, you have to act! Makes sense. What are some actions with respect to money?

• Don’t steal it (8th commandment)
• Earn it and give some away (Ephesians 4.28)
• Put it into a savings account to earn interest (the minimum form of obedience in the parable of the talents)
• Intentionally invest significant amounts for the future
• Risk it to start a business so it can be doubled or more (the commended behavior in the parable of the talents).

With respect to the Kingdom, I think most of us are content with the lower (easier) forms of obedience. Don’t do bad stuff. Try to do a little good stuff. But do I really believe Jesus wants me to do “greater works” than he did? Do I live as if I believe “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it”?

William Carey, pioneer missionary to India said:

Expect great things from God! Attempt great things for God! -William Carey

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. (Isaiah 54.2, 3, NIV)

Jesus was clear when he was talking with the disciples after he washed their feet and told them to do likewise:

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. (John 13.14 – 15, ESV)

But the kicker is what he said next: disciples put into practice what they know:

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (John 13.17, LSB)

As always, the blessing is not in the knowing but in the doing. Here’s a line from a secular book on money management:

Writer and former Yahoo executive Tim Sanders has a saying that really resonates with me: “Education without application is just entertainment.” John W. Crane, The One Number Budget

Wow. “Education without application is just entertainment.” Ezekiel said it first:

As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, “Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.” So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. (Ezekiel 33.30 – 32, NKJV, emphasis mine)

James echoed it:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)

What might it take to be doers of the Word? The answer may surprise you. Stay tuned.

As I wrote earlier, we can just hit a few highlights of John’s gospel – there’s so much there. I really love John 8 and 9, stories that fit together as we’ll see shortly. The chapter opens with the woman taken in adultery, something I’ve written about before. Check it out. After that event, Jesus speaks again to the Pharisees, the conservative religious elite of his day:

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are bearing witness about Yourself; Your witness is not true.” (John 8.12, 13, LSB)

The Pharisees’ response makes no logical sense. They could say, “We don’t know if what you say is true. We need another witness.” Just because they perceived there wasn’t another witness doesn’t make Jesus’ witness untrue. The conversation goes on and some actually believe:

As He was speaking these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8.30 – 32, LSB)

There it is again. “Abide in My word.” I did a two-part series on “eat my flesh, drink my blood,” which I believe is less about how we do the Eucharist and more about “abiding” — obedience to the word.

There follows a long argument on Jesus’ relationship with the Father contrasted with their relationship with their father, the devil. (See John 8.34 – 59.) When he says, “I AM,” they pick up stones to throw at him, and Jesus goes out of the temple…where he passes a blind man. The conversation on “I am the light of the world” is illustrated beautifully.

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might be manifested in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9.1 – 5 LSB)

“I am the light of the world.” Watch. (You can read the whole story here.) And Jesus heals the man’s blindness. The Pharisees are furious because it happened to be a Sabbath. The seeing man doesn’t know any theology. He’s not “smart” like the religious leaders. But he does know one thing:

Therefore, a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9.24, 25, LSB)

And, as usual, the humble and uneducated are in while the educated proud are out:

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9.35 – 41, ESV)