Some things in life cannot be explained.  They can only be experienced.

I was reminded of this traveling through Peru, South America.  We were about 200 miles east of Lima.  Think mountains, snow caps and deep breaths (elevation about 12,000 feet).  Forget any notions of jungle climates or decent roads.  

Arriving at a mountain village (so remote the switchback roads dictated we abandon our small bus and walk a path to the village), we attended church in a mud brick structure dimly lit by five fluorescent fixtures.  Blue tarps formed the inelegant ceiling and hardened dirt was the floor.

We sat on flimsy plastic chairs as villagers streamed inside through twin corrugated doors.  A preacher wearing sunglasses (his left eye deformed) spoke with great passion in the local language: Wanca, Quechua.  The capacity crowd was riveted.  Even the moths I saw seemed to pay attention.  

Personally, I was lost (happens a lot when you travel).   I couldn't follow along except for a word here and there (it's tough to miss the name of Jesus in most any language).

Sitting there trying to pay attention as dogs trotted in and out of the church, it finally clicked.  This experience—not being able to fully understand—was their experience before these Quechua villagers had a Bible in their own language.   They wanted to follow along, to grow in Christ, but a language barrier stood in their way.

Thanks to the vision of Wycliffe Bible translators, they now understand.  They have the New Testament in their own language.  The difference it makes is remarkable.  But until you are lost in a language you do not fully understand, you will not fully appreciate your own Bible.

By our standards, these villagers are quite poor.  It's been awhile since I have laid eyes on so much “nothing.”  Yet they are rich in their praise of the Living God and their lives bring to mind 2 Corinthians 6:10, “having nothing, yet possessing all things.”

For loving these people enough to give them the Word of God in their own language, I offer my hearty salute to the men and women who call themselves Wycliffe Bible Translators. 

If Barbie dolls bother you, get ready to be really bothered.

The iconic American doll, first introduced in 1959, has achieved mega status on a global scale.  More than a billion Barbies have been sold in 150 countries.

In a toy career spanning 56 years, Barbie has survived seas of stormy controversy for being too sexy, too blond, and too inappropriate for young children. But get ready for a new wave of controversy.

The latest generation of Barbies will be equipped with Wi-Fi and speech recognition.  Meaning little girls (who have always talked to their dollies) will now be able to have them talk back.  Intelligently. 

According to Mattel, the doll’s maker, “Hello Barbie” uses speech recognition and over time, actually learns a child’s preferences.  Pushing a button on Barbie’s belt buckle records the conversation and sends it over Wi-Fi.  

At a toy fair in New York City a spokeswoman asked Barbie, “What should I be when I grow up?"   The response related to an earlier part of their conversation: "Well, you told me you like being on stage, so maybe a dancer?"

In theory, it’s all harmless fun.  But I agree with Susan Linn, Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "Kids using 'Hello Barbie' aren't only talking to a doll; they are talking directly to a toy conglomerate whose only interest in them is financial."

Then, too, there’s my own observation of Barbie’s demonstrated history of valuing cuteness over character. 

Not to worry, says a Mattel spokesperson.  The company is only giving girls what they have always asked for: having a conversation with Barbie.

Yet in a Christ-centered world view, giving girls or boys what they want—just because they want it—has never been wise.  Or biblical.  Besides—shouldn’t we be teaching them more about having a conversation with God?

When it comes to “Hello Barbie,” I think it’s time we said goodbye.

I am concerned about the theology being taught in today's evangelical churches.
(If you are yawning, you may be part of the problem).

Notice I am not complaining about our poorly attended prayer meeting services.  I am not expressing concern about worship music that glorifies the musicians, or outreaches that never mention the gospel. I am not attacking our youth groups that are increasingly as much about pizza as they are biblical truth.  Nor am I bemoaning the death of the Sunday evening service.

No, I am concerned about the theology being taught in today's evangelical churches.

Exhibit One
A well respected church pastor in our community did a message series that went for several months....with almost no Scripture content, week after week.  I know, because I was there.

Exhibit Two
Another evangelical church (with a grand reputation for biblical foundations) allowed a worship leader to stand in the pulpit and disagree with the guest preacher's truly biblical sermon on sexuality.  Worse yet—the leadership of the church has refused to post the message on their website. 

Exhibit Three
A friend attended a spiritual retreat recently where the leader announced that though she didn't have a Bible verse to support her claim, she believes that after a person dies, God will still welcome him or her with open arms—and offer them one more chance to believe.  So much for Hebrews 9:27- “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.” 

Increasingly, 1 Peter 4:17 stands out as it reminds us judgement must indeed, “begin with the household of God.”

And we haven't even touched on Christian books.  Like a devotional I've seen that doesn't even mention God until more than 30 pages into the book.  Or a major publisher's biography of a Christian missionary that never ever mentions a thing about conversions. 

I have not gone out of my way to find these troubling experiences.  But they are here.  They are not good.  They are, I fear, the tip of the ice berg.

Their mission was over.   The plane, racing away after bombing oil refineries in Blech hammer, Germany, had just one final obstacle to clear—a lone flak gun in Hungary.

It was not to be.

When a piece of shrapnel severed a critical fuel line, Wally Volkman remembered hoping the plane could make it to the Yugoslavian border.  The captain finally gave the order to bail and Wally jolted out the door of the bomber at 20,000 feet. 

When his parachute failed to open Wally began to panic.  “Time goes slower than you’d think,” he told me.  “I remember pondering how I would soon be in heaven, that I would never get to marry my sweetheart, June.”   At about 1000 feet--at the very last possible moment--the chute finally opened, gently landing Wally between two trees.

The dramatic dive may have sacred him half to death, but it likely also prevented his death.   The Copilot who jumped out just after Wally was fatally shot out of the sky as his parachute—an easy target—floated downward.

Pondering his options, Wally hid himself in a mound of roadside brush until a friendly partisan discovered him that night, offering to secretly transport him in a wooden wagon piled high with hay.  He was reunited with his surviving crew members—after enduring a pitchfork search of the hay wagon by German soldiers. 

For six weeks, Wally and his crew worked their way through Yugoslavia, traveling 300 miles on foot—mostly at night. Finally, they met up with Allied forces at the Adriatic Sea.

Wally reflects, “I’m thankful to my mother who prayed for me all the time. The ironic thing was, at the same thing, my brother—a paratrooper—went missing at the Battle of the Bulge.  He, too, survived and went on to become a minister.”

In the years since I interviewed Wally, he has passed away.  But I'm convinced there's a lot more to his story.  And because this World War 2 vet loved Jesus even more than he loved his country, I'm looking forward to getting all the details when time shall be no more.

Until then, here is my salute to First Lieutenant Wally Volkman—an America Hero.

People who read are a dying breed.  

Fact is, if you read much of anything, you are in a distinct minority in America....just because you read.
 
One in four Americans didn't read even one book last year.  More than 50% of today's teens never read for pleasure.
 
According to a 2012 study by the National Endowment for the Arts, the number of Americans reading fiction has fallen to 44%--down from 50% only four years ago. Just a decade ago, about a third of us were “light readers” (between one and five books a year).  That number shrank to 23% by 2012.  More disturbing yet, the Pew Research Center suggests nearly 25% of Americans didn't read any books last year (whether print, digital or audio), a number that has tripled since 1978.
 
The two largest circulating magazines in the United States are AARP--The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. The number three slot, formerly occupied by Better Homes and Gardens, now belongs to Game Informer—the fastest growing magazine in America.  Ironically, it is a magazine that encourages readers to stop reading and play video games!
 
What does all this mean to followers of Christ?
After all, we have a message we want to get out there.
 
First, there is no need to panic.
But there IS a need to change. Evolve.  Strategize.
 
In Isaiah 55:11, God promises, “My Word will not return to me void.”
 
Digital platforms...mobile delivery...YouTube...and yes—traditional paper and ink books--are ALL going to be needed. Because that's where people are going...and that's where God's Word needs to be.
 
Thankfully, the destiny-changing gospel message is equally true whether conveyed in a papyrus, paperback, pdf, podcast...or erson!