VIDEO POST FROM CREATION

Check out my video post on the last two days of Creation--from 27,000 feet!

http://gallery.mac.com/robschenck#100512

The Third and Fourth Days of Creation

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Days 3 and 4 of Creation (The festival version in Pennsylvania--not Origin of the Universe Version of much greater substance!)

I wound up my part in this year’s Creation music festival by tossing the second half of my afternoon seminar to my twin brother, Paul. I had originally planned to finish it up and literally run for my waiting car so I could get to the Baltimore airport in time for my 6:50 flight to Tampa. I’m speaking Sunday morning at the wonderful Calvary Chapel South Orlando where my friend Charles Nestor II is pastor. The trip between the festival site and the airport was over three hours, making it a bit too close for comfort. So, at the last minute I asked Paul to take the second half of the presentation. To be honest, I felt he had a better handle on the material than I did. The title of my talk was “Juno’s Moment: It Has Fingernails.” Festival founder Harry Thomas had told me he was hoping for a pro-life message this year. I was all too happy to comply. As you know, Paul and I have given the last 20 years of our lives and ministries to championing this very first of our God-given human rights.

The title was taken from the film “Juno,” written by “Diablo Cody” (a pseudonym for writer . . .) and starring the precocious Ellen Page. It follows the most-time hilariously quirky main character, Juno McDuff, who at 16 discovers she’s pregnant. Her first impulse is to get an abortion, but after encountering a classmate holding a pro-life sign outside the clinic, she thinks twice about her “choice.” “Juno’s Moment” comes when Su Chin calls out to her, “Your baby has a beating heart ya’ know!” And then the zinger, “It has fingernails!” At that, Juno pauses but shrugs her shoulders. (It’s worth watching this scene on YouTube.) The idea germinates, though, and ultimately she decides to keep the baby and adopts her out to a well-deserving couple.

The film is enormously popular with young people. It garnered four Oscar nominations. (Although I’m not sure it won any.) When I asked the hundreds of kids who attended how many had seen it, a whoop when up and so did an overwhelming number of hands. The point of my talk was to come at this paramount moral issue from a completely different angle, and that is the question of “human rights.” One thing I discovered talking to kids at Creation is that they don’t list “abortion” or “the sanctity of life” as one of their top concerns. (We did scores of audio and video interviews.) When we asked them what they were concerned about, they said things like, “the economy,” “the war in Iraq,” “AIDS and poverty in Africa,” and “free health care and college tuition.”

As with any generational transition, these kids don’t use the same language or pursue the same associations as their parents. They want to make their own mark on the world—and serve Christ in their own way. I fully understand that. It was true of me 35 years ago. Back then I was a longhaired, counter-culture, last vestige of a hippie. Conventional “church religion” wasn’t appealing to me. The “Jesus People” movement was—and I grabbed on to it. Jesus was a radical who challenged the status quo. This generation is looking for a similar Savior—one who will buck the system and “speak truth to authority.” I don’t know about you, but I definitely see that Jesus in the Gospel. We can start there.

My brother made an interesting observation: The sin, sadness and problems of this time in world history is different from what shaped him and me as Christians. It goes without saying that it is that much different from what shaped their grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ worlds. The “enemy” in the world today is not communism or fascism, but killer diseases, tribal conflicts and what they see as rapacious capitalism that exploits the ignorant for financial gain. Whether they are right or wrong in these assessments, it is what is motivating them. Like the early apostles, we need to connect with those concerns and use them as platforms to deliver biblical and historically Christian truth in a way that connects with them.

My time at Creation was much more for listening and learning than for preaching and lecturing. I’m far from an expert in how to talk to these kids, let alone disciple, train and mobilize them, but we must. The average age of our Faith and Action support base is 55. We “senior Christians” may be older and wiser, but lack the energy, time and skills of these young people. The work of God needs them. “Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said.

I thank God for the thousands of kids who committed their lives to Christ this year. (Our own Tanie and Jacqueline Guy supervised the extremely demanding prayer tent ministry.) Yet, these kids need a lot of spiritual care, teaching and training and direction. Pray for them and pray for us. I may be turning 50 this year, but I’m only now resolving to spend a lot more time with this emerging generation.

Thank God for our friend and Faith and Action trustee Harry Thomas who is older than me but more committed to kids than ever. He founded the Creation festival 30 years ago and is still giving it his all. Thank God for his partner Tim Landis and the more than 2400 volunteers who poured their lives into Creation this year. If you want to get the full impact, you have to come next year. If you’re over 45, bring earplugs—and an open mind and heart!

(Register now for a big discount at www.creationfest.com.)

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

FIRST DAY AT CREATION

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting from deep inside the woods of middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania!

I've posted my first video blog from the fantastic Creation music festival in Mount Union, PA. Enjoy!

http://gallery.mac.com/robschenck/100483

Back with more video posts as this wonderful event unfolds. For more info visit www.creationfest.com

Rob Schenck

Faith and Action

www.faithandaction.org

109 2nd St, NE

Washington, Dc 20002

202-546-8329

CREATION IN FOUR DAYS RATHER THAN SIX!

Your missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Tuesday I head up from Washington to Mt. Union, Pennsylvania, where I will once again experience Creation. (This is the four-day music festival version, not the far more dramatic Six-Day Origin-of-the-Universe version!) It all gets underway Wednesday, June 25 and concludes Sunday morning, June 29.

Creation Northeast '08 is the largest, longest running Christian music festival of it's kind. Started by my good friend and board member of our ministry, Harry Thomas, Creation draws tens of thousands of young--and old--people from every kind of Christian background. (It draws plenty of non-Christians, too.)

Harry asked if I would bring a pro-life message this year. As you know, Life is one of my passions, so it was easy to say, Yes! I speak on Saturday, June 28, at 3:00 PM, in the Woods II natural amphitheater. There's still time to register--just go to www.creationfest.com.

During the entire event I'll also be in our booth in the exhibit area conducting interviews for National Pro-Life Radio.net. To listen in logon at www.nplr.net.

Hope you'll be at Creation '08--Be there or be square! If not, hope you'll logon to www.nplr.net and listen in to my conversations with young people. If you're like me, you want to know what's on their minds and hearts, expecially as we approach the coming presidential election.

Meet you in Mount Union or online!

Your grateful missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rob Schenck
Faith and Action
www.faithandaction.org
109 2nd St, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-546-8329

THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Last night I had the time of my life. No, it wasn’t some swank soirée on the Hill with movers and shakers—it was a night with the worn and weary men of the Central Union Mission.

The “mission men” have long and tragic stories. They wear those stories in the deep crevices of their leathered faces and in their rumpled clothing. Many of them suffer from alcoholism, drug addictions, violence and mental illness.

My responsibility was to preach their evening service in the chapel. It’s a bit of a raucous group, but only because of half the men. These are the ones who “call out” to the preacher in typical black church style, or yell and even complain. The others keep silent—utterly silent—and stoic or asleep.

I’ve gone to the mission before and I’ll do it again for two reasons:

One is, the Lord commands it (see Matthew 25:36). He instructs us to visit those in prison. The “mission,” of course, is only sort of a prison—but a very gracious one. Of course, anyone can leave if they wish. Some are put out prematurely for flagrantly violating the stipulated rules upon entrance. Yet, for the most part, the mission is a tough-love, regimented environment for broken human beings. Some feel trapped there because they have no other recourse.

Second is because I love being with these guys. They often have intriguing life stories and I collect those stories like stamps! (Others have sagas you don’t even want to ask about!)

Suffice it to say, the Central Union Mission is a wonderful collection of humanity that is delightfully transparent, genuine and humble. In other words, they are “real people.” The world is made up of a lot of pompous, pretentious people impressed with themselves, so, it does me good to get out with the “real people” and continue to experience the world from their perspective.

Because I don’t have a lot of money to give away (beyond my tithe, outgoing missionary support and my own little outreach project to a homeless woman at the Union Station rail depot), I try to offer something of intangible value to these men, but something that will last forever. I offer them God’s love through His Word as I preach it. More importantly, I give them respect and acknowledgment of their human dignity because they are made in the image of God.

What does it really cost us to show a person respect? A deferential handshake, a “Sir,” or “Madam,” a simple compliment: “You’re looking good my friend!” “Man, what a handsome smile you have!” “With that voice, you could sell anything. That’s worth money, man!” “God bless you, Sir!”

When somebody’s used to being blown off, ignored, insulted, demeaned, treated like a child or as if they don’t matter or don’t even exist, these simple verbal affirmations go a very, very long way.

Last night, one man, a disabled Viet Nam vet, cried when I addressed him as Sir and thanked him for donning the uniform and risking his life in service to our country and me as a citizen.

Earlier in the evening, as I had made my way over to the mission, my cab driver had asked, “Why would you go there?” It was clear he thought it highly unusual—maybe even improper—for a man in a coat and tie from Capitol Hill to go to such an unseemly place.

“Because Jesus is there,” I explained. Then I gave him a preview of my sermon. For my text, I took St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5 – 10. Part of that passage reads, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

I told the cab driver, and later the men in chapel, “When I read these verses, I think of the lady at the US Supreme Court I call my ‘Kitchen Mama.’ She cooks up the best eggs you’ll ever eat, but she’ll never have a title beyond ‘cook.’ She’ll never wear a fancy robe, sit on a high mahogany bench or have reporters and photographers chasing after her, but she’s more like Jesus Christ than the Chief Justice of the United States. The Bible says Jesus emptied himself of his reputation and took on the form of a servant. That’s where you’ll find Jesus, among the servants!”

I got much more out of last night than I know those men did. A visit to a mission, especially after a day on Capitol Hill, centers me spiritually and in every other way.  I love the Central Union Mission!

All this has made me think about the mentally ill homeless lady outside Union Station. When I passed her yesterday, she looked up from the broken magnifying glass she uses to read discarded newspapers and said, “Hi, Honey. You got anything for me today?”

She always asks so innocently. (Don’t worry, I’ve shed all my naiveté about homeless people—there are most certainly victims and victimizers among them. I have an almost airtight method for identifying the con artists, but that’s for another blog post.)

This time I said what I always do, “Of course, Madam, you’re my favorite spiritual partner.”

“How’s that?” She responded this time with a big smile.

“Because Jesus said there’s two things that really matter. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second is like it; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. When I take care of you, my neighbor, it’s like loving God Himself, and I like to do both.”

“Thank you, baby,” she said matter-of-factly, putting the $5 bill I gave her into her frayed bag. Then she went back to reading.

Of all the stuff I experience here with presidents, members of Congress and Supreme Court Justices, the men at the mission and the lady at Union Station bring me closest to God. They are the things that keep me focused and centered.

Gotta’ go now—I’m taking a small group to the Chinese Embassy to pray for the victims of the recent earthquake. Please pray our presence and our words will be a witness to this atheist communist regime—and more importantly—a sign of God’s love in Christ for the Chinese people!

 

Back later . . .

 

Rev. Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2nd Street, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329

ALL OVER CREATION!

Your Missionary to Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, Rob Schenck, reporting:

Well, not exactly all over Creation, but I will be at Creation—Northeast, that is. If you’ve been there, you know Creation is the biggest, best and oldest Christian music festival in the world. If you haven’t been to Creation—you need to go! Make this year your year to be at Creation!!

You actually have two choices: Creation ’08 Northeast (where I’ll be, in Mount Union, Pennsylvania) and Creation ’08 Northwest, in Moses Lake, Washington. (I call Moses Lake’s gorgeous gorge the Grand Canyon in miniature!)

Creation co-founder Harry Thomas is a great friend to Paul and me, and a trustee of Faith and Action. Harry and his wife Margery are two of the most wonderful people in our universe. Besides being a talented musician himself, Harry is a retired pastor, missionary leader and Christian humanitarian—building orphanages and schools in Ghana and Haiti, and singularly boosting Compassion International’s child sponsorship program to exponential levels.

The Creation festival lasts four days, Wednesday, June 25 – Saturday, June 28, with an optional Sunday morning worship for stragglers who stay on. Creation is fabulous—but rustic--very "outdoorsey!" It’s a true camping experience. As you crest a hill outside the tiny hamlet of Mount Union, PA, you suddenly come upon a gigantic open field that always looks to me like a Christian refugee camp. (But much cleaner—yes, there are modern showers and bathrooms.) More and more people seem to be bringing RV’s. If, like me, that’s your style of camping, Creation can accommodate your machine.

In any case, I hope you’ll at least come on Saturday because that’s when I’m doing my seminar. This year I’ll address the sanctity of life in a session entitled, “It Has Fingernails!" I'm aiming it at young people (the vast population group at Creation) but more mature adults will like this message, too.

My seminar's at 3:00 in the afternoon and lasts about 45 minutes. I’ll also have a booth in the artists’ area (though I am hardly an artist) where we’ll feature the official launch of two new weblogs: revrobschenck.com and paulschenck.com. While this blog will continue to deal mostly with happenings here at Faith and Action, “revrobschenck.com” will allow me a forum to fully explore deeper subjects. My prayer is you’ll be helped and even delightfully surprised by what you find there. It’s not up and fully operative yet, but you can get a look at the framework at www.revrobschenck.com.

Please check out all the reports on recent Faith and Action events at our website: www.faithandaction.org. There’s been a lot going on lately. And, if you happen to be a pastor in town for Watchmen on the Wall, please come by today (Friday, May 9) at any time, 9-9, for a quick tour of our ministry center and a conversation about what’s going on behind the scenes—especially with the presidential campaigns and at the Supreme Court. (Which, of course, is just across the street, so you can see that, too!)

OK, I’ve typed enough. Please pray for us—these are very intense days in Washington. We’re grateful for your partnership and support!

Your Missionary to elected and appointed officials,

Rob Schenck

www.faithandaction.org

Faith and Action

109 2^nd St, NE

Washington, DC 20002

202-546-8329