tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84943149429502142042024-03-05T17:34:13.325+09:00............Life Abroad @ HandongCordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-74363879584790307562014-01-15T16:01:00.000+09:002014-01-15T16:01:20.640+09:00Happy Birthday, Honey!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since it is now, in this moment, the morning of the 15th of January here at Handong in Korea, i am sending the Happiest of Birthday Wishes to the most amazingly grace-gifted woman, friend, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, Registered Nurse, Physical-Therapist-Assistant, baby-sitter, elder-care giver, piano-teacher to her grand daughters, Sunday School teacher of the Deaf, home re-modeler, "pioneer-woman", and Sign-Language (both American and Korean) Interpreter (just to begin to describe her), i now know or will ever know. i love you, Honey! <span class="userContent" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_52d62eef5a47e7178716803" style="display: inline;">
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</span><span class="userContentSecondary fcg" style="background-color: white; color: #89919c; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-56188902791554062202012-03-20T14:22:00.013+09:002012-03-28T21:35:46.956+09:00Though He Fall, He Will Not Be Utterly Cast Down . . . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8k4btqaOHoiy809UZQmPlyA6Loe0F-GeDgCqaI01lrE1TmrzOp_Uf_UFoefgqGqhC0oD2DNN2EhjOTZL5AuZXtXDA-aUAHSarN-Jir-6zBFTPFjajDz476vJwAgOAJZNakhyphenhyphen0kDOPiTY/s1600/unbalanced01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8k4btqaOHoiy809UZQmPlyA6Loe0F-GeDgCqaI01lrE1TmrzOp_Uf_UFoefgqGqhC0oD2DNN2EhjOTZL5AuZXtXDA-aUAHSarN-Jir-6zBFTPFjajDz476vJwAgOAJZNakhyphenhyphen0kDOPiTY/s200/unbalanced01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
I have done my fair share of stupid things, but this past Friday afternoon will have to go down in the annuls of my life experiences as one of my stupidest. Here's the picture of the "unbalanced man." I was hurrying across campus heading back to my apartment. In one hand, I was carrying an over-weight bag of groceries and in the other, my mobile phone.<br />
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My first mistake: hurrying. My second: carrying too many groceries in just one bag rather than separating them out into two. My third: attempting to retrieve a text message while walking too fast and carrying too many groceries in one bag. These three added together caused me to be distracted from the path I was upon and consequently, to completely lose my balance when I stepped-up upon a large rock that leads up a small hill along a short-cut to the faculty apartments.<br />
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In this unbalanced state, I fell back and to my left landing with a resounding thump upon the cold, hard Handong ground. The mid-section of my left rib cage absorbed the brunt of the impact and pain immediately followed. How more stupid could I have been? That was the persistent question that pressed hard upon my dizzying thoughts as I laid there catching the breath that had been knocked out of me. In time, I rolled over and sat up, still a bit light-headed, though.<br />
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Eventually, I regained my footing, gathering up the groceries that had been strewn about by the fall, and resumed my journey, now walking much more slowly and deliberately along the sidewalk and up the road to my apartment. I was able to prepare the lunch that I had been rushing to complete, but with a new found awareness of the realities of life -- a new thorn in my flesh for which I now need Christ's sustaining grace all the more to bear.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2gxG570bxMfx2wqxGcfrwtjj4MEp3JsQUfIGjO2ZRPVx4nSvTroj2TFsmjeTbL8TTyFsVSf1b9DE1mr0M-sFg3Ojaagmvhvcw90an_dA6t_BCRovOtYIZVq7FeHDtd-IGnujdPIozi8/s1600/20120316_Rib_series_LT_1+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2gxG570bxMfx2wqxGcfrwtjj4MEp3JsQUfIGjO2ZRPVx4nSvTroj2TFsmjeTbL8TTyFsVSf1b9DE1mr0M-sFg3Ojaagmvhvcw90an_dA6t_BCRovOtYIZVq7FeHDtd-IGnujdPIozi8/s200/20120316_Rib_series_LT_1+(1).JPG" width="173" /></a></div>After heeding the wise advice of a caring colleague, I went later in the afternoon to the hospital and found from the doctor's exam and x-ray's that the fall had caused nearly inch-long cracks in two of my left ribs. Now, four days on, the pain in my side persists reminding me night and day of my on-going need to slow down and give thanks for the goodness of our God.<br />
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That goodness has been lavished upon this poor miserable, stupid, unbalanced man by the gracious, tender kindnesses of his students, family and friends who have been attending to his care with many visits, thoughtful prayers, meal preparations, dish-washings, house-cleanings, telephone calls, and the sweetest text and Facebook messages throughout his days and pain-filled nights.<br />
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Through these and in so many other ways, I have been overcome by the love of our God who promises that, though I fall, and surely I do every day, I will not be utterly cast down, because the Lord upholds me by His hand. Psalm 37:24Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-55437735196135319312012-02-29T23:46:00.001+09:002012-02-29T23:56:59.628+09:00Some might say . . . ."Well, its about time!!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTa1uVQqZbX2N5vq8x2CFLHNNxcPx6ZinNmaHcIkM8PMudbNurhlT66cBjEHZL557BDzuJfoPu1yaR-MhHNAsi8UpYQJBnEnpXOWk_uhGkthYQjbAXNnQfZBuq7U_T7gtzn5ZFK_Htmg/s1600/King_Sejong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTa1uVQqZbX2N5vq8x2CFLHNNxcPx6ZinNmaHcIkM8PMudbNurhlT66cBjEHZL557BDzuJfoPu1yaR-MhHNAsi8UpYQJBnEnpXOWk_uhGkthYQjbAXNnQfZBuq7U_T7gtzn5ZFK_Htmg/s200/King_Sejong.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here I am at the beginning of my fifth semester of teaching at Handong. When I first was thinking about teaching abroad, (more than three years ago) colleagues who had done so strongly urged me to make the most of my experience by learning the language of my host country. </span><br />
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But, I've never been very good at learning, and even worse at speaking, modern languages. Give me Koine Greek or Classical Latin -- you know, those dead languages that no one speaks any more!! "Semper ubi sub ubi!!" I still remember that maxim from my high school Latin teacher at St. Paul's in Concordia.</span><br />
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So . . . I've resisted the counsel of my colleagues and the advice of my loving spouse, who, by the way, started her language lessons within two weeks of arrival here in the Spring of 2010. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">Within one semester, she had already excelled far beyond my "An yong ha se yo" and "Gam sa ham ni da</span><span style="color: #666699; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">!</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">" -- which have been my main stays for the past two years! </span><br />
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I've resisted that is, until now. This evening, I experienced my first lesson in Korean!</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And while I've been told that Korean is one of the most difficult languages to learn, and even with my built-in, hard-wired, left brain-right brain-disability with language-learning (primarily, I would contend, because I'm a visual rather than an auditory learner) I found my lesson this evening to be exceptionally fascinating as well as intellectually stimulating. </span><br />
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Korean is a very "scientific language" -- that is, the formation of both the consonant and vowel sounds follow a very rational, logical progression. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My tutor demonstrated how the vowel sounds progress from those made with the mouth wide open to those made with it increasingly closed. As I saw the sounds being produced and heard them expressed, they began to make sense even to this lingua-dumbie! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, I must confess that I find other Asian languages, such as Chinese and the Chin language of Myanmar, to be much more melodious. But, the precision of Korean is beginning to rival what I had previously believed to be only the province of the ancient classical tongues.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There was, however, one very disappointing discovery. I say disappointing, but it was also a very enlightening insight into how language shapes our view of the world. I asked my tutor to tell me the Korean word for "dove." The word is <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">비둘기 </span>(pronounced "bi dool gi"). It means "pigeon." </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is no separate word in Korean for "dove." So if I were to quote the Song of Solomon to my beautiful wife telling her that she had "dove's eyes" (see Song of Songs 1:15), I would say in Korean, "You have pigeon's eyes." Not as romantic as Solomon's words to the Shulamite.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, in this case, it might not work for me to advise my young male Korean students to master the poetry of Solomon as they make their preparations to woo the woman of their dreams. Well, so much for Korean as a language of love; at least that is, in translation. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hear, though, that I still have much to learn both about and from the Korean language, which admonition I readily accept and yield to. So . . . . off to start my homework! It is indeed about time that I started!</span></span></div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-37697047102273364502012-02-12T19:34:00.000+09:002012-02-12T19:34:28.041+09:00“People of Yangon, I perceive that in every way you are very religious."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAQkVwYzJ0zfc73SASyyjTv-2QSy08xC_42j3jcuCuRWiP3LhVqocPiRICu12JNdkQgU-9p2JtcHt1GhqkcmwDles8rzjc0q96OVLavQ1xUQnGKCh6iZekf_voljIqF4NQzrLEjoYPZw/s1600/DSCN2093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAQkVwYzJ0zfc73SASyyjTv-2QSy08xC_42j3jcuCuRWiP3LhVqocPiRICu12JNdkQgU-9p2JtcHt1GhqkcmwDles8rzjc0q96OVLavQ1xUQnGKCh6iZekf_voljIqF4NQzrLEjoYPZw/s400/DSCN2093.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I've just returned to Handong after spending 16 days in Myanmar -- "the Land of the Golden Pagodas." This photo was taken during my walk through the shines of <a href="http://www.shwedagonpagoda.com/">Shwedagon Pagoda</a>, the largest Buddhist pagoda in the entire world. I felt that I had a greater sense of what Paul experienced when he walked through the shines and temples of Athens (Acts 17:16-34). I was invited to Myanmar to help teach and train pastors, church leaders and missionaries who serve among the ethnic tribes and native Burmese. What I found, though, was a study in contrasts.<br />
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Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) was once one of the most well-developed countries in all of Southeast Asia. Now, it is re-emerging from third-world status that has characterized it over the past 50 years. As a result, contrasts between wealth and poverty abound. On one street, you may find a brand-new high-rise building under construction next to a derelict, dilapidated structure. Rather than repair and renovate them, most buildings are left to deteriorate. On one side of the river, a modern city is rising, while on the other side, the people of a primitive village eek out an agrarian existence.<br />
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But the greatest contrast of all is a spiritual one. The vast majority of people are cultural Buddhists and over 1.8 million are monks or nuns who daily walk the streets offering prayers in exchange for gifts of rice, fruits and vegetables. There is, though, a substantial minority of Christians who are the spiritual children of such servants of God as <a href="http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/giants/biojudson2.html">Adoniram Judson</a>. While their numbers may be small in contrast to the followers of other faiths, the devotion of believers in Myanmar was a true encouragement and challenge to my heart.<br />
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Many of these believers gather in small home churches in the villages to worship and hear God's Word. Others meet in well-established churches within Yangon and other cities. Bible colleges and seminaries have been founded throughout the country to form and equip leaders for the churches and workers who take the Gospel to the un-reached Burmese Buddhist in the villages. As I visited among the believers in Myanmar, I realized that the needs of the churches in this country are, in fact, the same needs that exist in churches in all countries, whether developed or emerging. <br />
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There is first the need for servant leaders among the churches. The church in Burma, as well as in Korea and America, already has its fill of men and women who seek to dominate and compel the obedience of others not by their Christ-like example, but by an appeal to institutional position and title. What is truly needed, though, are followers of Christ who seek to serve others according to the pattern of Christ's life -- by bearing the burdens of others.<br />
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Second, there is the desperate need for the teaching of God's Word. All too often, ministries are started and churches are operated according to human ideas and worldly practices. There is a sad lack of Biblical teaching beyond the fundamental truths of the Gospel. When church policy decisions must be made, most appeal to the intuition of men rather than to the principles of Scripture. And once decisions are made, there is a lack of willingness to subject those decisions to the scrutiny of Scripture. These two needs, though, are no more prominent in the churches of Myanmar than they are in the churches of America. <br />
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In contrast to what I've found in American churches, however, Myanmar has in abundance among its believers those who desire and are willing to follow their Lord wherever He leads without attachment to this present world. And it is the evidence of that desire in the words and actions of these dear brothers and sisters that compels my heart to remain open to future calls for further service to the people of this beautiful land.Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-1362224625500653012012-01-17T05:37:00.000+09:002012-01-17T05:37:42.237+09:00Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing<div style="text-align: center;">This is a study session I was asked to lead for our Handong students this past semester.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Part 1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvwlYNCMDSE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Part 2</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/3XqZdFeWH7U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Part 3</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fee8KIrs0Es?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-27273100662371928142011-09-03T17:08:00.007+09:002011-09-04T00:40:26.157+09:00I would rather Speak Five Words with my Mind . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B7q4t11rA0kjTlxikFy2QuDRhq3CaTtlkwdFwqzaH1oNlWH_yIGEIXpZwDplCESEWV2phYqCN7IYT_e8Wj6I_MZ5i-fbQIGargulwktnUfQA8O0i9UtTquMx4YB7U-cD7TvYd9FUOUs/s1600/early-church-worship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B7q4t11rA0kjTlxikFy2QuDRhq3CaTtlkwdFwqzaH1oNlWH_yIGEIXpZwDplCESEWV2phYqCN7IYT_e8Wj6I_MZ5i-fbQIGargulwktnUfQA8O0i9UtTquMx4YB7U-cD7TvYd9FUOUs/s200/early-church-worship.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><br />
One thing that I love about my life abroad @ Handong is the depth of spiritual devotion that I find in nearly all my students and faculty colleagues. There are represented here a wide variety of faith traditions within the Church -- the Body of Christ. Such diversity is, without a doubt, a strength of our university community.<br />
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With diversity, though, comes the potential for an unbalanced, over-emphasis on certain dimensions of spiritual life and experience. I have recently become even more aware of this likelihood, and my heart is burdened by the possible harm that out-of-balanced teaching and practices may cause, especially in the lives of young people whose hearts are seeking after God and desiring to experience his presence and power in authentic ways.<br />
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This, however, is not the first time such a concern has arisen in my mind. Early on in my walk with other believers, I encountered several brothers and sisters who taught that the only way to "know" that you were blessed and empowered by God to live a life following after Christ was to have a special spiritual experience where you spoke audibly in the hearing of others with ecstatic utterances -- what these teachers called "unknown tongues" -- that is, not an actual human language that one had not previously learned, but rather a series of sounds emanating from your mouth that they claimed were an evidence of God's presence and work through your physical body. <br />
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After first encountering this teaching, I asked my spiritual mentor to help me understand whether this was a pathway of spirituality that I should pursue. As a wise mentor and guide, he pointed me to the Scriptures, and in particular to First Corinthians, chapters 12, 13 and 14. He said this was the portion of the New Testament that spoke most directly to the exercise of spiritual gifts, including what the Bible calls the "gift of tongues."<br />
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He explained that the Apostle Paul was actually answering questions in this passage that had been previously raised by the believers at the church in Corinth. Paul's main point in response, my mentor said, was to remind the Corinthians that all of the gifts of the Spirit of God were given so that followers of Christ might be enabled to build-up and strengthen others. Their purpose is not individual benefit, but rather the benefit of the whole body.<br />
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He also stressed that whatever spiritual gift I may think God has given me that gift must always be exercised out of a heart of love for others. He taught me that this is the main point of Chapter 13. Speaking in tongues, whether they be the languages of men or of angels, is worthless unless it is an expression of love to others. He then went on to show me that love is demonstrated when we speak in such a way that others who hear us understand what we are saying. <br />
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If I speak aloud in the hearing of others in a way that they do not understand, I am not loving them. I am not edifying them. Only when the unknown language is interpreted and others then understand the message is there any potential for their benefit -- their edification. My mentor also taught me that some Christians practice speaking in tongues as a private prayer language when they are alone. <br />
<br />
He noted that there was even a mention of this type of private "prayer language" practice in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 2, where Paul describes the one who is "speaking to God and not to men." Such a private practice of tongues, when not in the hearing of others, is consistent with the overall point of the instruction that Paul is giving in this passage, however, it is a practice that focuses the believer's attention inward rather than outward toward others.<br />
<br />
In contrast to private expressions, in the cases where audible words or sounds are spoken in the hearing of others, my spiritual mentor said, those words and sounds should either be directly understood by the ones hearing them (that is, they should be spoken in a known, common, human language) or they should be interpreted immediately so that all may understand and benefit. (See 1 Corinthians 14:26-33). <br />
<br />
The aim of all audible expression among gatherings of believers should be mutual edification and common blessing. In fact, Paul also warns that if this practice is not followed, then unbelievers who might happen to come in to the gathering would be confused and think that those speaking in expressions that are not understandable are out of their minds. (1 Corinthians 14:23). As followers of Christ, we are charged to pursue the well-being of others before our own individual spirituality. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #ffe599;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i>So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.</i>" (1 Corinthians 12:12)</span></span><br />
<br />
At the conclusion of this passage, Paul reiterates the importance of doing all things that can be seen and heard by others in ways that will build them up. He evens uses a proportional argument to show how important it is to speak in an understandable manner whenever what we say can be heard by others. Five words that can be understood -- spoken with "my mind" -- are more important than speaking 10,000 words in uninterpreted and unknowable expressions.<br />
<br />
The proper balance is struck when we pray and sing with <i>both our spirit and our mind.</i> (1 Corinthians 14:15). If we truly desire to be loving others as Christ loved us, then we should pursue practices that build others up with the clear and understandable proclamation of God's Word. Let us press on to maturity as we seek to live our lives for others, even as Christ so lived for us!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #ffe599;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #363030; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #363030; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.</span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #363030; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> (1 Corinthians 14:19-20)</span></span>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-33717091157670546482011-08-19T08:41:00.008+09:002011-08-29T22:29:23.534+09:00"Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnMNyVQtieoh8e9PiLwH7uZOPZ5x-Tvt52EQxkESgAuGRP58q7uGzhjHO5lEh5eFiR2M72ZJ4gElHh6paBmpQ8NIT8TH1djK5YTgHJSLOfwpvEpnCmMC_0R5klAsrZEywb_MMYHJyHxw/s1600/sextus-propertius.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnMNyVQtieoh8e9PiLwH7uZOPZ5x-Tvt52EQxkESgAuGRP58q7uGzhjHO5lEh5eFiR2M72ZJ4gElHh6paBmpQ8NIT8TH1djK5YTgHJSLOfwpvEpnCmMC_0R5klAsrZEywb_MMYHJyHxw/s200/sextus-propertius.JPG" width="169" /></a></div><br />
According to one source, the Roman poet Sextus Propertius gave us the earliest form of this saying in his <i>Elegies: </i>"Always toward absent lovers, love's tide stronger flows." Personally, I thought it must have been Shakespeare or Guillaume de Lorris, but no matter. Is it true?!?!? <br />
<br />
Does spacial separation deepen authentic love? And if so, does the greater the distance and longer the time of separation prompt an even deeper devotion? I do believe it does, and I say this not just as an intellectual contention or an emotional aspiration, but rather, based upon lived-experience.<br />
<br />
On the 26th of August, my wife and I will celebrate the 33d anniversary of our marriage. We will, however, be half-a-world away from one another. Sandy in St. Louis, and me here, once again, at Handong. But in the most true sense, only space separates us. I've just returned to begin preparations for another semester's teaching this fall. The wonderful seven weeks of our time together this summer during my leave in the States passed all too quickly, but it did afford delightful times of refreshment and strengthening of our relationship.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm looking ahead to the third semester that I will be here teaching in the absence of my Beloved. But periods of separation from family are not uncommon in these present times. Last semester, Sandy would often remind me during our Skype calls that the men and women who serve us so faithfully in the military are frequently duty-bound to lengthy times of separation from their loved ones. <br />
<br />
Our good friends, Kurt and J.Sun, with whom we enjoyed wonderful <a href="http://lifeabroadathandong.blogspot.com/2010/03/souls-refreshed-in-seoul.html">visits in Seoul</a> last year, are even now separated due to Kurt's one-year deployment in Afghanistan. And just this past Sunday, I met Seth at our Pohang International Community gathering. He has begun a six-month tour of duty here with the U.S. Navy and will be separated from his wife and three young children for that entire period of time.<br />
<br />
When country calls, soldiers and sailors obey. Would it be any less the duty of a follower of Christ to heed his command even though it meant parting from loved-ones for that time of service? Jesus has promised his followers this: "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:29-30).<br />
<br />
But he gives more grace, and by God's grace and mercy, I'm continuing to learn each day the truth that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-36788128043307309772011-06-14T09:36:00.003+09:002011-06-16T09:27:37.830+09:00Campaign for a Balanced LifeI've undertaken a campaign. Its not a political one, nor is it military, nor even a campaign for social or economic justice. Each of those may very well have their own time and place and possibly an appropriate demand for my attention, but the campaign that has gripped me especially during these last weeks of the semester here at Handong is a campaign for living a more balance life.<br />
<br />
The busy-ness of life, especially in the life of students and professors alike, has been advancing with menacing force over this past month. The campaign I have undertaken is my small attempt to thwart this advance. And how might you ask am I mounting such a campaign? What tactics and strategies am I employing? My chief weapn is the camera function on my mobile phone, and my subjects are the flowers of the field.<br />
<br />
As I walk about campus each morning, I purposefully search out beauty -- the beauty Jesus taught us to behold when he said, "Consider the lilies." When I find beauty, I photograph it. And then as I go about my day, I display the photo I have most recently taken on my mobile's wallpaper and simply ask the student or professor I have encountered along the way whether they know where on campus this object of beauty may be seen, and when seen considered. <br />
<br />
If they know, they have already joined the ranks of my campaign. If they're willing to search it out, they are well on their way. If, though, they do not know nor care to discover, then they have been overcome by our common enemy -- the tyrany of the urgent. I seek to persuade them that a life balanced with the pursuit and appreciation of beauty might actually enhance their performance of those duties that they seem so burdened to fulfill. It might just help to lift that burden that has so captured their attention that all around them seems a haze or what's worst, a grayness.<br />
<br />
Here are a few of my recent photo's of the flowers that have caught the gaze of eyes that have been gracious opened by the belief that one thing is necessary and when we choose it, we will have chosen the better part of life -- a more balanced life.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, <span class="woc">yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.</span></em></div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-83434323663250769932011-05-10T17:03:00.008+09:002011-05-11T15:10:47.620+09:00My Korean Birthday . . .Quite An Auspicious and Lengthy Day!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinu0lWOlWfjjMZIsVVIctGRX-p-TVpomuLu5GKB-wBWMm75_oeMB8CSJm-On8ARJSxIpSVj6BF5qzcL1BAELvJeiS2CQP1rPNlD6yt4IpNiR5nT4kc4wBgdHsfKIugoXTeIqtLh1fhs9Y/s1600/227009_1995812290530_1100151666_32501697_6082481_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinu0lWOlWfjjMZIsVVIctGRX-p-TVpomuLu5GKB-wBWMm75_oeMB8CSJm-On8ARJSxIpSVj6BF5qzcL1BAELvJeiS2CQP1rPNlD6yt4IpNiR5nT4kc4wBgdHsfKIugoXTeIqtLh1fhs9Y/s400/227009_1995812290530_1100151666_32501697_6082481_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>What can I say? I think Sandy put it best in her email to me, "Koreans really know how to celebrate!" And so began the celebrations this past week on Tuesday evening with a "Pre-Birthday Pizza Party" @ one of my students' favorite spots -- "Mr. Pizza" That's a Hawaiian Special with the candles atop it in front of me.<br />
<br />
After enjoying our pizza and endless salad bar feast (the true attraction here -- all you can eat salads!!), we played a hilarious game of "Pictionary" using words and phrases from the case these Law & Advocacy students are preparing for Mock Trial in a couple of weeks. So, what picture would you draw if the phrase you were given was<i> "in loco parentis"</i> ?<br />
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But, the celebrations didn't end there, even though that would have been an amazingly fabulous time. No, from Mr. Pizza we all walked down the stroll through Yukkuri (the downtown shopping and entertainment district) to what you in the States would call a karaoke club, but what is here called a noraebang (singing room).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F-uoJTwtDB7CtDqFpOsLNaiMzbo8nJCcMm8_UuyDiseaAjx5FnbtoXHtoY-MNIAjH0eqCG3N5udmsDDCYeGBnRPtrnMB6SPouLx1xNqW3ykd3TTon0OcO_Ci80uFFsOq2tk1QnJCB94/s1600/228717_1995817210653_1100151666_32501732_6009886_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3F-uoJTwtDB7CtDqFpOsLNaiMzbo8nJCcMm8_UuyDiseaAjx5FnbtoXHtoY-MNIAjH0eqCG3N5udmsDDCYeGBnRPtrnMB6SPouLx1xNqW3ykd3TTon0OcO_Ci80uFFsOq2tk1QnJCB94/s400/228717_1995817210653_1100151666_32501732_6009886_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>That's right, each group that comes in gets its own room equipped with an amazing karaoke machine housing literally tens of thousands of favorite songs from all generations and genres! I'm told this is the number one form of party entertainment in Korea. I was happy to join right in. It was my birthday, right?? Well, pre-birthday, at least!! Ms. YeEun Han, Mr. Vu and I crooned "My Heart Will Go On" together. What a blast!<br />
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The pre-birthday party was so overwhelming that I had to take a day of rest on Wednesday! Several students stopped by my office during the day, though, to drop off wonderful little gifts and cards. One, Ms. Ha, even presented me with some home-made rich dark chocolates!! Couldn't even eat half a bite without a glass of milk!! Amazing! <br />
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Another student, Ms. Grimi Kim, brought me two small cactus plants for my office. Each gift was accompanied with a beautiful card containing more than just the ordinary "Happy Birthday" wishes you find on American cards. Every card conveyed a hand-written expression of good wishes and prayers. Then, about 9:30 Wednesday evening I received a call from Ms. Shin, the president of our Law & Advocacy study group asking if she and another student might drop-off "something" at my apartment later on that evening.<br />
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"Later on" turned-out to be nearly 11:30pm and the two students turned into over a dozen carrying with them a cake, presents and a large decorated envelope full of birthday cards. They sang the "Happy Birthday" song twice as the midnight hour approached, and we all enjoyed pieces of the delicious cake. At the stroke of the new day, they all became the very first to wish me "Happy Birthday" on the Fifth of May! What amazing students I have!!<br />
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Their presents included a beautiful orchid plant for my office and a jar of hard candies that one very special and preceptive student had noticed I particularly enjoy. They do not miss a beat!! When I started to open their cards, though, everyone said that I should wait until after they left. I think they knew that when I read them I might very likely start crying. And, after they did all depart around 12:30, I read them all and I did.<br />
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So now, I have been given a "pre-birthday" party and a strike-of-midnight birthday party, but the celebrations are, in fact, still just beginning. On the morning of the fifth, I awoke to a beautiful day and took my regular break-of-dawn walkabout campus and was serenaded by some of the most unusual bird songs I have yet to hear here in Korea. Could it have been that my birthday made me a bit more attentive to their tunes??<br />
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By eight, I was seated on the sidelines of the soccer field with students and fellow colleagues to watch our Law Department men engage the Engineering Department on the pitch. Unfortunately, our men could not engineer a sufficient number of successful shots on goal, and this one went into the books with disappointment. It was, though, a hard fought match, and after all, that is what we are daily called to give!<br />
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At eleven, I joined with my dear friends from the Pohang International Community core group and we journeyed the short distance from campus to Chilpo Beach, and what a beach party it was!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpptUUhb4xw5b0xPv_H10UneQzA-PIhk5yXyJTmYkwjY8xlu96YzmpEeMDyTzshBis6676UbckjjeoxgOpeNZ7fXEIszyuBYe8DdADBOZ5fgUdaoyitcKKEL7oAcWBhl4I_XnQr1-n_6w/s1600/DSCN0245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpptUUhb4xw5b0xPv_H10UneQzA-PIhk5yXyJTmYkwjY8xlu96YzmpEeMDyTzshBis6676UbckjjeoxgOpeNZ7fXEIszyuBYe8DdADBOZ5fgUdaoyitcKKEL7oAcWBhl4I_XnQr1-n_6w/s400/DSCN0245.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>We cooked-out and enjoyed a great meal together with the sea breeze blowing in our hair and the sun <br />
beaming down on us!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYitKrR71R39dxyjywEoY76rp7nHWVwvaBSiuL4lf93PlTxkHkOTebA_NvjUraV7okqdXTmaQIQMkR9M8VuwGareTa8DPG2Nmz7Cc_8LazCILk-lh9OnFapylUy1fCA3v9f1jm1M1lSTg/s1600/DSCN0322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYitKrR71R39dxyjywEoY76rp7nHWVwvaBSiuL4lf93PlTxkHkOTebA_NvjUraV7okqdXTmaQIQMkR9M8VuwGareTa8DPG2Nmz7Cc_8LazCILk-lh9OnFapylUy1fCA3v9f1jm1M1lSTg/s400/DSCN0322.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> Pastor Richie's son, Joseph, presented me with one of my most precious birthday gifts -- an original picture drawn and colored by Joseph to remind me of our day at the sea. (It has now been posted to a prominent spot on my refrigerator).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYiVCyfelTxLz4oWC8kqonGXRGDYbBTPNnfl7tvB80eP6Ih4s9oi6pz0ozgFdN3B7Vop_M4xKSz7wXv5NoNfTN-f246HtVrrc2s44qFIp92pQsfchNFc-QmCCiLyk3lfcxC2s0ly-GXHY/s1600/DSCN0236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYiVCyfelTxLz4oWC8kqonGXRGDYbBTPNnfl7tvB80eP6Ih4s9oi6pz0ozgFdN3B7Vop_M4xKSz7wXv5NoNfTN-f246HtVrrc2s44qFIp92pQsfchNFc-QmCCiLyk3lfcxC2s0ly-GXHY/s400/DSCN0236.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I even tried to convince Richie that it was a great day to join me in taking a swim in the ocean, but my powers of persuasion were not (fortunately for him and me) sufficiently potent on this occasion.<br />
But wait, . . . . it was my birthday!!! . . . . don't I get to do what I want to do on my birthday??? Rest easy Sandy! I didn't end up going swimming, but I did have a thoroughly good time with the best of friends on an amazingly beautiful day at the beach!! I even jumped for joy!! Thanks, Boyeon, for convincing I could!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLx2724q7R2RO9oXy27mqD3lreDxirwBvOLs3iJ9EeCyCr1ShiaUTbxF5niwvupldxO3aiN_slECY8GRHWaHLhA5T3AciHgL999jWv-QuIyTs43nsmAAru3bu1dcHBdg_wj3nP38wrJI/s1600/RSCN0271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnLx2724q7R2RO9oXy27mqD3lreDxirwBvOLs3iJ9EeCyCr1ShiaUTbxF5niwvupldxO3aiN_slECY8GRHWaHLhA5T3AciHgL999jWv-QuIyTs43nsmAAru3bu1dcHBdg_wj3nP38wrJI/s400/RSCN0271.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>And, you might think the celebrations had reached their zenith, but you would be wrong!! We're not done yet!! After returning to campus, cleaning off and out the sand I brought back in my clothes and on my legs and feet, I enjoyed a nap. Well, it was my birthday, right! I had to rest because I was due to meet my TA, Ms. Juyoun Han, and three other students for a birthday dinner at Hyoam Restaurant -- the nicest restaurant on campus.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJLCr7kFv0OS-dyf3M0PMRXWRBbqR_6etqotVA7HXYG-xbez6Vvamn_9JygIh_HRV5nDd91_UlNaX2VSMssYiv6EkDofZ9oRW8XS-s5mueN0KMufiHJQLX0YC4e338r4f-yrX9OoxDBc/s1600/DSCN0268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJLCr7kFv0OS-dyf3M0PMRXWRBbqR_6etqotVA7HXYG-xbez6Vvamn_9JygIh_HRV5nDd91_UlNaX2VSMssYiv6EkDofZ9oRW8XS-s5mueN0KMufiHJQLX0YC4e338r4f-yrX9OoxDBc/s400/DSCN0268.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel & Hojong<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">While it was much more reserved and definitely less rowdy (for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ms. Han would have no other way) than my midday celebration at the beach, we did enjoy our fair share of laughs as I tried to give Daniel and Hojong, who are now both law students at Handong International Law School, some pointers on wooing women. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I don't think they thought my idea of a first-date walk in the cemetery was all that helpful, though. Yet, they could not dispute that it at least worked for me. Just goes to show you how loving and caring my dearest Sandy was and continues to be! So, as Daniel practiced his French to himself ("mon<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><em style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">chéri</span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>amour"), Hojong wasted no time in getting closer to one of the fairest young ladies on campus, Ms. Shin, who had also joined in my celebratory dinner.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEtFBgRaEB3SsPlMZzs0KrUHs45l-SeGoOIVIOuIp1grruiQXjO6LWD3I3LxeKtWajSTelpOlpS_zcvyhpO4c5-RcFRhlhudxwOKpO4mh5_tazzKoVQgldSMjzChpsWDTdjiAsS2oHjI/s1600/DSCN0270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEtFBgRaEB3SsPlMZzs0KrUHs45l-SeGoOIVIOuIp1grruiQXjO6LWD3I3LxeKtWajSTelpOlpS_zcvyhpO4c5-RcFRhlhudxwOKpO4mh5_tazzKoVQgldSMjzChpsWDTdjiAsS2oHjI/s400/DSCN0270.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hojong, you should really smile a bit more! I know your brute handsomeness is your strong suit, but a winning smile can go far toward melting her heart! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">At the end of the dinner, the four disappeared for a few minutes only to return with a birthday cheesecake adorned with several candles less than 52 -- they would have needed special permission from the fire marshal </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for that! It topped-off an amazingly fun and delightful evening. But wait, there's still more . . . .</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After departing Hyoam, we walked across campus to the playing field to cheer on our Law Department girls' wild horse team in their match against the Design Department. Wild horse is a game combining the intensity of American football, the speed and agility of soccer and the ruggedness of rugby (sometimes). The team presented me with a great present -- a thoroughly decisive victory! Go Law!!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So that was it! I barely made it back to my campus apartment before collapsing! Although completely exhausted as I was, I couldn't have been happier to have enjoyed such an auspicious day! Sandy was indeed right: Koreans really do know how to celebrate! I only wish you could have been here to join in on all the fun, Honey!!</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-19212746300352152452011-05-07T05:54:00.002+09:002011-05-07T10:10:27.030+09:00Living More AND Less<i>(I wrote this brief piece about ten years ago. I'm recently finding, though, that I need to take heed to its "suggestions" even more so during my life abroad this semester @ Handong).<br />
</i><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">A common reply to the everyday question “How are you doing?” is often, “Well…okay…more or less.” <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Most of us find our day-to-day lives to be somewhere in between the “more” and the “less” of health and wellness, spiritual wholeness and, if we are honest, mental sane-ness. </span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 27pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">May I then make a few humble suggestions to encourage us all to live “more<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b> less” as a means of growing beyond the “more<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>or</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>less” of life? <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I offer these as suggestions, not reproofs. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I readily admit that the biggest beam resides in my own eye as I regularly fail the more’s and much too often practice the less’s. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>To some, they may seem trite and clichéd, but I trust to others they may prove helpful in some small way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">With that said, may we all be living by doing . . .<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 27pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Reading,</st1:place></st1:city> Less Watching </span></i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"></span></i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 15px;">Good books are a treasure. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Search them out!</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">TV (films, the web) can be a trap. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Watch, above all, your step.<br />
<br />
<b style="font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Listening, Less Talking</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Do I really listen?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Or, just wait to talk?<i style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Walking, Less Sitting</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">What wondrous things we can see and ideas ponder on a daily walk!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">But, oh how stresses seem to weigh us down as we sit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Drinking, Less Eating</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Water, that is. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Cool, clear water!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Food, yes, food. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Start by reducing portions.<i style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Helping, Less Hounding</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">“How may I help you?” is a wonderful way to encourage someone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">“What can you do for me?” is an attitude that often prompts us to pound someone.<b style="font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Asking, Less Accusing</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Seek to understand before expecting to be understood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Attribute the best motives to others, rather than accuse them of the worst. </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i> <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><u1:p></u1:p> </i></b></span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Giving, Less Keeping</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Remember Jesus said that you will be happier by giving than by expecting to get.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">The less things we hold on to, the less hold things have on us.<i style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 27pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -27pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Thanking, Less Expecting</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">The way we thank others reveals whether we truly thank God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">So, see the acts of others as their gifts to you, not as efforts to fulfill your expectations.<i style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Singing, Less Sighing</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">When a song is first in our heart, then it authentically resounds in our voice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Sighing, however, is a true downer wherever it resides.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><u1:p></u1:p> </i></b></span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Conserving, Less Consuming</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">The good things in life are few – they are to be savored.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">The fast things in life are plenty – they favor by fattening.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">More Serving, Less Summonsing</span><u1:p></u1:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus summed-up his life’s purpose in the words: “to serve and to give.”<i style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt;">Don’t expect someone to wash your feet; take up the basin and the towel – today.<i style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-62568143371021068822011-04-21T23:13:00.005+09:002011-04-21T23:30:59.998+09:00What a Wonder a Walk Can Be . . . When Only We Open Our Eyes and Look Up!Ordinarily on Thursday's my lunch hour is spent with faculty colleagues, but this week's midterm exams prompted the cancellation of our regular departmental meeting. I was delighted, then, to receive an invitation to join two of my best students for a relaxing lunch on the patio of the campus restaurant. We sat outside to enjoy the sunshine and the increasingly warmer temperatures that have finally started to make their way to the eastern coast of Korea -- a bit later this spring than usual, I am told.<br />
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As our lunch progressed, though, the wind started to pick-up and even blew some exam review papers from the books on our table. I had to make a quick dash to dab them before another gust took them over the wall and into the woods. It also started to get a bit darker as some clouds rolled-in. Today's forecast is calling for rain tomorrow, but it appeared now to be on its way to making an earlier arrival.<br />
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Following lunch, one of my students accompanied me on a walk back across campus. We continued the conversation from our time around the table as we walked. Then, all of a sudden, she stopped and said, "Professor, look up!" As I did, I saw what can only be described as a broad brush stroke of blazing color across the clouds. It wasn't a rainbow. Yet, the full spectrum of light, from violet through every hue to red, was flowing over the clouds that had gathered above.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_2WrpZxiFrztYg0hileNvW0ulrnrUmHUC8R_jKdMokMFGZE41G5cI4WrrTWG6kKFmURbEPKCiEDxuiokw-GFGIElHomGUhxYeY6w6qsE7qAHEqZBIeEZPb46LYEAHBkaZXbokGiSgXE/s1600/Floating+Rainbow+21+Apr+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_2WrpZxiFrztYg0hileNvW0ulrnrUmHUC8R_jKdMokMFGZE41G5cI4WrrTWG6kKFmURbEPKCiEDxuiokw-GFGIElHomGUhxYeY6w6qsE7qAHEqZBIeEZPb46LYEAHBkaZXbokGiSgXE/s400/Floating+Rainbow+21+Apr+11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We were both stopped flat-footed, awestruck. It was as if the Aurora Borealis were dancing in the midday sky. As we stood gazing into the heavens, a few other students came walking by. Some passed by without a pause, but a few wondered what we were looking at. As they turned and looked-up, their mouths dropped open. What a sight! And, it didn't disappear in a few moments. It lingered as the clouds moved slowly across the sky. This "floating rainbow" stretched out its waves of brilliance.<br />
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Had I stayed in my office today and done what I ordinarily do -- focused my view on what is below -- the demands of the day -- I would have entirely missed the beauty that was shining above. I'm thankful I was invited to take a walk. I'm thankful I was urged to open my eyes and look-up!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LV6OcjBwQpjrXkJKzbTD4V2DevFQNH-oaVpy_UR3ZX2hijceXcREqR6KH46D4WQCZqD8wwe-nEq-eENigTnpCJ44GlQR2pk1H9gcJkd3ZVabyeG_eFuHhG_RiPTd3bQB2RbPhUYRJXE/s1600/Floating+Rainbow+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LV6OcjBwQpjrXkJKzbTD4V2DevFQNH-oaVpy_UR3ZX2hijceXcREqR6KH46D4WQCZqD8wwe-nEq-eENigTnpCJ44GlQR2pk1H9gcJkd3ZVabyeG_eFuHhG_RiPTd3bQB2RbPhUYRJXE/s400/Floating+Rainbow+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
In one of his most precious songs, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL712w2OUPM">Michael Card</a> sings to his children and tells them of his prayers -- a father's longing for his children to see increasingly the wonder of life that will bring the sunrise of their smile.<br />
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Now close your eyes so you can see,<br />
Your own unfinished memories,<br />
Now open them, for time is brief,<br />
And you'll be blest beyond belief,<br />
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<strong><em>Now glance above you at the sky,</em></strong><br />
<strong><em>There's beauty there to blind the eye,</em></strong><br />
I ask all this then wait awhile,<br />
To see the dawning of your smile.<br />
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Looking ahead to Easter morning's sunrise, may I always be reminded to glance above me at the sky!<br />
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<em>If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. </em>~ Colossians 3:14Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-66373660551746726702011-04-19T22:12:00.003+09:002011-04-19T22:19:18.903+09:00If I Stand, Let Me Stand Upon the Promise . . .Something dawned on me the other week. Actually, it has hit me like a ton of bricks! I'm at Handong this semester teaching without Sandy. She's back in the States continuing her nursing studies -- and doing quite well in them, I might add. When we thought about me returning to teach here this semester, we thought that I could once again make it through a semester even though we would be separated by half a world's distance.<br />
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That expectation was based upon the fact that I've done it before. In 2009, I taught here for a semester while Sandy was still back in St. Louis. When I returned over the Christmas break that year, Sandy then joined in our return to Handong for the new semester that began in February 2010. But, there is a big difference now. Why it hadn't struck me before, I will never know. But, I know the difference now.<br />
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My first semester's hermitage here at Handong in 2009 was during a Fall term. This time I'm here in hermitage during the Spring! You know, that time of the year when trees blossom, flowers bloom and birds begin to sing. On top of the seasonal impact, there are also the many vivid memories of times Sandy and I spent just one short year ago exploring the Korean countryside and culture together. Consequently, I find myself "longing for my home" a whole lot more these days than ever before while I've been here.<br />
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When I get into one of these increasingly more frequently-occurring "down" times, I have resorted to listening to my favorite musicians as a means of encouragement and comfort. One particular concert given by Rich Mullins and his band back in the late 1990's is available in its entirety on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py1kFQv07c4&feature=related">YouTube.</a> His songs have become favorites and reliable sources of strength in these days when physical weariness only compounds a deeper psychological and spiritual disheartenedness (if that is even a word).<br />
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Here's one of Rich Mullins' songs that has been a special blessing to my soul during these cloudy days. "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py1kFQv07c4&feature=related">If I stand</a>, let me stand on the promise that <i><b>You</b></i> will pull me through . . . . "<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/72L-bDOozNY" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
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. . . and if I weep, let me weep as a man who is longing for his home."<br />
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<i>Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.</i> (1 Peter 1:3-8)Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-45585594203420472742011-04-02T19:02:00.003+09:002011-04-03T07:28:38.052+09:00Playing the Fool . . . and Teaching, too<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xh-62ouPE2UH7X572-gLblJ-YmyYubq3RKwdPRfI7wvggA5pNwRf2OF5iUtxn7SRn_Gv8a7ZomkFI4LYrNRrZaMtVE_-ZXEFtMaD6KzksSC66Sx0hb0AQyUiXFB5ZnvtAghiGnOzVyg/s1600/April+1+Fool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xh-62ouPE2UH7X572-gLblJ-YmyYubq3RKwdPRfI7wvggA5pNwRf2OF5iUtxn7SRn_Gv8a7ZomkFI4LYrNRrZaMtVE_-ZXEFtMaD6KzksSC66Sx0hb0AQyUiXFB5ZnvtAghiGnOzVyg/s320/April+1+Fool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;">I'm always trying to engage my students through new approaches that I hope will prompt them to examine different perspectives on the persistent questions of life. </span>So, this past Friday I thought I might take a slightly different approach to April Fool's Day. I came to class dressed in a brown Franciscan-like habit and without my glasses or shoes (and sockless, too!).</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;">To say my students were taken aback would be putting it somewhat mildly. Now, you have to understand that in Asian culture in general (and Korean culture in particular), students are taught to accept what their teachers present to them. That being said, many were still trying hard to suppress their laughter. Has professor gone completely crazy? Has separation from his wife and family driven him mad? Does he really think that he has become a monk?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbthy2C7qbVFMRKopvpwzmkjwjjM4_5RCX39nv-Tq8jNnk7e6LJixHbs10l_fO-TAKUmw9CaD0qo_b7aZxo5N83cKUhycpPR4R9cjpyqX_5UlUS0w4xEHdC7h0qu-SkC6NaToP8fsgzc/s1600/2011-04-01+10.03.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbthy2C7qbVFMRKopvpwzmkjwjjM4_5RCX39nv-Tq8jNnk7e6LJixHbs10l_fO-TAKUmw9CaD0qo_b7aZxo5N83cKUhycpPR4R9cjpyqX_5UlUS0w4xEHdC7h0qu-SkC6NaToP8fsgzc/s200/2011-04-01+10.03.19.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span style="color: black;">None of those questions were expressly stated, but you can be sure most of them were puzzling more than one student's mind. So what was the point of this first of April performance? I wanted to do for my new students at Handong what I had first done for students at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Missouri</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Baptist</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> seven years ago on another April fool’s Day. In the attire of a follower of Francis of Assisi, I told them his story and how he came to be known as Francis the Fool.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: black;">I had been assigned the responsibility of giving the message for the student chapel service at MBU on the first of April. Earlier that year, I had read G.K. Chesterton's<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Life of St. Francis. </i>Chesterton's portrayal of Francis challenged me to think more deeply about what it means to follow Jesus fully. Francis sought to live as Jesus lived and to love as Jesus loved. He reached out and touched the leper just as Christ had done. He left behind the wealth and security offered him by his family in order to find the fullness of life as he took seriously Christ's teaching to consider the birds of the air and the flowers of the field.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;">Having been so challenged by Francis' life, it was quite obvious to me that I was meant to tell his story in that chapel service on the first of April seven years ago. I thought it would make a more memorable impression if I told the story as Francis himself. So, now here at Handong, I wanted to continue the tradition and pass along the lessons from the life of the one who was called "Francis the Fool" -- a name that I'm sure he did not resent since he was seeking to follow the one who many had regarded as "God's own Fool."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZvejyvnEidY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;">Evidently that chapel message seven years ago was memorable. When one of my Handong student's posted the picture above to facebook during our Friday morning class, one of my former students from MBU, who was on-line at the time, commented within minutes: "I remember that robe!" I guess, playing the fool can sometimes be an effective means of teaching.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-17841259143118876592011-03-29T17:11:00.002+09:002011-03-29T18:57:04.756+09:00A Most Delightful Place, A Sacred Place, My Favorite Place!Do you have a favorite place? A place that you would go if you had the opportunity? A place that brings you joy? A place of delight? A place that brings you refreshment? When my wife Sandy and I first began traveling abroad in the summer of 2001, we tagged along on a mission trip sponsored by Missouri Baptist University where I had been teaching, by that time, for a number of years. <br />
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We traveled to England and spent two delightful weeks doing physical labor as we worked on the rehab of a 16th century manor house that had been transformed into a youth camping center. That place -- The Oakes -- became one of my first favorite places.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMa0wffUZXFkJkTkFzcWOvQu3Puaxu03-w6w4E5S0GpvbAUkmK9uXgErLeLQD46Ll_90ucobhIVbp1MjbFfm40ZIgARRwPxlrrpIwMZbIwmloQMl60MAfgo8UK6oI2sdeUaLDmDScWk4/s1600/IMG_5170_1_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMa0wffUZXFkJkTkFzcWOvQu3Puaxu03-w6w4E5S0GpvbAUkmK9uXgErLeLQD46Ll_90ucobhIVbp1MjbFfm40ZIgARRwPxlrrpIwMZbIwmloQMl60MAfgo8UK6oI2sdeUaLDmDScWk4/s400/IMG_5170_1_0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Sandy and I were able to return there in May of 2004 and see first-hand the on-going development and growth of a wonderful community led my our good friends, Dan & Billie Thaw. We experienced a true sense of joy as we visited the Oakes and met even more people who were continuing to contribute to its renewal. It has become a special place where the light of truth is being shared with many young people from across the entire United Kingdom.<br />
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On that same visit to the UK, Sandy and I were also able to travel to Ireland for the first time. There we spent a delightful time touring in Dublin, Bray and the surrounding Counties. One place, though, completely captured me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtbPsL7teEW-FrUHQp4kiQxuo_TzL6x5eOMLMQ1c2DnXA856aLRRAif2K6qn13RiaaDfYzvrttj5SfRGaLeoL0R1Vd-19dYKY8AFC15whmE1eQQAH771VHBtDUqQFsbDzMLNlWj9bsaQ/s1600/Glendalough.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtbPsL7teEW-FrUHQp4kiQxuo_TzL6x5eOMLMQ1c2DnXA856aLRRAif2K6qn13RiaaDfYzvrttj5SfRGaLeoL0R1Vd-19dYKY8AFC15whmE1eQQAH771VHBtDUqQFsbDzMLNlWj9bsaQ/s400/Glendalough.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>It became my favorite place in all of Ireland (granted, I have been everywhere in Ireland, but I'm quite confident that this place will be hard to beat if I ever get back to the Emerald Isle). The place is called Glendalough -- the valley between the two lakes. It is the site of an early Celtic Christian community founded by St. Kevin, who lived in the generation just after Patrick.<br />
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Later during this tour of the UK, Sandy and I were invited to visit friends in Brecon, Wales. Our hosts took us out for a day of sight-seeing in the South of Wales. We drove along the Wye River Valley and came upon one of the most sacred sites in all of Wales -- Tintern Abbey. It was just above and overlooking this Abbey that Woodsworth wrote his "Few Lines . . ." My heart had been captured my yet another special place.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGH8AWufJIWJp9kwpVyjCSxp0Ky5uYgxM5UW-g2e36iyIQ8YKHdQbC6W6l4qCu3vL-hViwH5rbXKAHPnXUDVSXyeIQz7EGIKoSrfuzFJnLErtOAMMgfbtSk2gDu8mgeKM8Xw4KjVmDdA/s1600/tintern-abbey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGH8AWufJIWJp9kwpVyjCSxp0Ky5uYgxM5UW-g2e36iyIQ8YKHdQbC6W6l4qCu3vL-hViwH5rbXKAHPnXUDVSXyeIQz7EGIKoSrfuzFJnLErtOAMMgfbtSk2gDu8mgeKM8Xw4KjVmDdA/s400/tintern-abbey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Though the Oakes, Glendalough and Tintern Abbey remain my favorite places in England, Ireland, and Wales, my fondness for them has, I must confess, grown somewhat dimmer these days. Having now returned to the East, one place in all of Korea has become and I'm sure will continue to remain, my most favorite of all. I first visited this place in July of 2004 when the students who were taking my short summer course at Handong International Law School (HILS) suggested that we take a break from our studies and enjoy a Saturday touring sights in a nearby town.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnVIsY8E_8pXxUvkBQ7EePgQEvnUwfbsJ9g8U9pNMBWePWzeALtfyGCyJIrkDRwZscc_XyKjlXndbFscFv1D3ax_e7f2__4rhKHxe8KOEUUzmOC4xX8e6Vtq4E45_BnBNM9Wdlsnci4k/s1600/DSCN0162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnVIsY8E_8pXxUvkBQ7EePgQEvnUwfbsJ9g8U9pNMBWePWzeALtfyGCyJIrkDRwZscc_XyKjlXndbFscFv1D3ax_e7f2__4rhKHxe8KOEUUzmOC4xX8e6Vtq4E45_BnBNM9Wdlsnci4k/s320/DSCN0162.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>They drove me to Gyeongju -- the ancient capital of Korea -- and then up the mountains surrounding Gyeongju to a place called "Bulguksa" -- a Buddhist monastery. The experience I sensed upon walking up to the central structures of this place was much like the feeling I had had at Glendalough and Tintern Abbey -- I knew that I was venturing upon a sacred place. Interestingly, Bulguksa's founding dates back to about the same time as the founding of Glendalough -- around the 8th century.<br />
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This past weekend, I had the privilege of making my fourth visit to Bulguksa. Each time I've been there, I've seen something new. This time I paused along a path and looked back toward the main stairway that leads up to the central worship area. I took the picture you see here. <br />
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On my three previous visits, I followed the guide book and stopped at a point well to the far west of this main stairway. This is the perspective you see in all the photo's. Its a beautiful sight, no doubt (just take a look below), but I now realize that this view does not convey the fullest sense of the beauty of Bulguksa -- the beauty that shines as you see how the structures built there are so carefully balanced with the surrounding natural setting. I had unknowingly limited my perspective by just looking from the well-known perspective. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKdkVwYJUm4tL1x6X3X3SJoPvb_JO7qnFrHI8tRkjAtCeXUb_v2H6IXZw_f5zQtWEYeDq9XbPDc3agoN4boKSpLHIBEnHDrVUiFX6eAnJb1dPnkC1A2DCSJyr1y8n21pUClPssnfPI-k/s1600/DSCN0159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKdkVwYJUm4tL1x6X3X3SJoPvb_JO7qnFrHI8tRkjAtCeXUb_v2H6IXZw_f5zQtWEYeDq9XbPDc3agoN4boKSpLHIBEnHDrVUiFX6eAnJb1dPnkC1A2DCSJyr1y8n21pUClPssnfPI-k/s400/DSCN0159.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">What I needed to do was to look at things from a new perspective. When I did, the wonder and beauty of this place only expanded in my mind. It has become my favorite place in all of Korea in a new way. The early blossoms of Spring hint at a coming beauty that will explode across the hillsides as more and more of the cherry trees bloom.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdT6ewWVYye319Q4PoK3sJ_8rpYMMswpJhUDNhXs35Dvg6jSbO5J4N_4kdev3BhXTK8hWu2W2AKufivs9wIvV2IvkAn9mDIqsf3tqLTr52OU4-otBrI7WPTvsc36IQIm9-taqYHUKR0c/s1600/DSCN0166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdT6ewWVYye319Q4PoK3sJ_8rpYMMswpJhUDNhXs35Dvg6jSbO5J4N_4kdev3BhXTK8hWu2W2AKufivs9wIvV2IvkAn9mDIqsf3tqLTr52OU4-otBrI7WPTvsc36IQIm9-taqYHUKR0c/s400/DSCN0166.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>As you walk along the paths that lead you through the grounds, the delight and beauty of this place only become more and more apparent. Each time I visit, my spirit is lifted and I feel a sense of refreshment that is much more that just what comes from a vigorous walk on a brisk day. It is more than a physical rejuvenation, it is truly soul sustenance. In fact, it is difficult to put it into words, because words in themselves seem a too limited means of conveying what the whole of my person experiences in this place.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkAiMG9xwpwmSf3a7MGAGLdc1lBqvswqE29y19Ip3FGcvDrLgl2cKNUvjEKSDLqCtOa5bN2q0uUmC6kBz2_vodtDnuVxgrRTVV7ZynVocfnvehOl9Z_dbPvkRy0E28QQ5FkdatZHC5TU/s1600/DSCN0177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkAiMG9xwpwmSf3a7MGAGLdc1lBqvswqE29y19Ip3FGcvDrLgl2cKNUvjEKSDLqCtOa5bN2q0uUmC6kBz2_vodtDnuVxgrRTVV7ZynVocfnvehOl9Z_dbPvkRy0E28QQ5FkdatZHC5TU/s400/DSCN0177.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Simply put, it is now my favorite place. I can't wait to go back!Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-79740656694831420852011-03-24T20:37:00.003+09:002022-04-27T00:18:57.272+09:00Truth is Truth whether from the Lips of . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZN-LwJ6ABuiQAe7EEQ5lmxoU_eAwXMssT5ttDLJulfAe5ZQ_bZL9VePc2Zh-a-p1nAF2cgD60LeIPKpNdUm9V1ijWKMbjfgwfBRHdyJ69yzv2khmj81bpMk9C-ak2GZ9t5lC0MtHcOI/s1600/cs-lewis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZN-LwJ6ABuiQAe7EEQ5lmxoU_eAwXMssT5ttDLJulfAe5ZQ_bZL9VePc2Zh-a-p1nAF2cgD60LeIPKpNdUm9V1ijWKMbjfgwfBRHdyJ69yzv2khmj81bpMk9C-ak2GZ9t5lC0MtHcOI/s200/cs-lewis.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><br />
I look to C.S. Lewis as one of my model teachers. The portrayal of Lewis' tutorial with his students in the film, Shadowlands, is one of the finest displays of formation-in-process that I can point to in contemporary culture. He challenges his students to explore the significance of a rose as a metaphor for desire. Through a series of questions, he guides his students to ponder a persistent question: "What is desire's one essential quality?" When one of his pupils shrugs-off the answer proposed, Lewis exhorts him into a deeper debate. The student though, at this early point in their relationship, is reticent to take up the gauntlet.<br />
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Now, I don't know if Anthony Hopkins' Lewis is an accurate portrayal, but it is an authentically inspiring one to me, and I think it is quite consistent with the Lewis we come to know in his books, especially <i>Mere Christianity</i> and his essays contained in <i>God in the Dock</i>. Lewis' thinking (and his teaching, I would imagine) was significantly formed by the works of the Scottish pastor and novelist George MacDonald. One of the books by Lewis I ever purchased after reading <i>The Screwtape Letters</i> in my high school years was a little paperback entitled, <i>George MacDonald: Anthology</i>. In the preface to this collection, Lewis wrote: "In making these extracts, I have been concerned with MacDonald not as a writer but as a Christian teacher" (14). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rk8kXSeBDlVeBbGvbtnuWhRI7znh9fsjRpgxKNLNMiUPn221OL9e5KFWwjQfssT0nf5jsYxZQudEmC8ojw3cr6BkQmTCTmXZkPK8nFzRVU4BI3XSQDPuSZ7cYBfjiR4Tg4aTW2wi7EA/s1600/george+mac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Rk8kXSeBDlVeBbGvbtnuWhRI7znh9fsjRpgxKNLNMiUPn221OL9e5KFWwjQfssT0nf5jsYxZQudEmC8ojw3cr6BkQmTCTmXZkPK8nFzRVU4BI3XSQDPuSZ7cYBfjiR4Tg4aTW2wi7EA/s200/george+mac.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>Though he had never met MacDonald, Lewis recounts how his works and life, as told by MacDonald's son in the biography he wrote of his father, substantially shaped his approach to writing and to living. One of the most telling quotes that Lewis includes among the 365 extracts (most coming from MacDonald's sermons) composing this little volume is this: <i><b>"Truth is truth, whether from the lips of Jesus or Balaam"</b></i> (27). From the very first time I read that line nearly 35 years ago it was indelibly impressed upon my thinking. MacDonald's words have continued challenged me to listen carefully to many speakers, to read thoughtfully many authors, and to watch observantly many actors.<br />
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The search for truth -- true truth, as Francis Schaeffer has called it -- will take us in a variety of directions. I was reminded of this just last evening. As on nearly every Wednesday evening, I was engaged in a discussion of the Scriptures with some of my fellow colleagues here at Handong. Our focus was the first chapter of James, and someone pointed out how this passage emphasizes the need to look into the Scriptures as a mirror that can reveal to us our true selves. This comment led another participant in the study to mention a book entitled The Man in the Mirror. When I heard that phrase, my thoughts turned to a pop song with the same title from the 80's by Michael Jackson. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAe9UQYO6BGvgZgQoBP7sI0cvEz27x6Yv8gY95lPpI6Bd9vQcGM8tGZmw_aDh57Yr82tUDz5uOVlEHyqP6XZW66DcX2F3n8tITyTmFBG_G2HxQWKI7b0qpuhYIL5R-aSZFhBd1kYLNNIA/s1600/Man+in+the+Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAe9UQYO6BGvgZgQoBP7sI0cvEz27x6Yv8gY95lPpI6Bd9vQcGM8tGZmw_aDh57Yr82tUDz5uOVlEHyqP6XZW66DcX2F3n8tITyTmFBG_G2HxQWKI7b0qpuhYIL5R-aSZFhBd1kYLNNIA/s200/Man+in+the+Mirror.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>And being the sort of "quick to speak" guy that I am, I told the group that Jackson had written a song about the "man in the mirror." The mention of the "king of pop's" name must have struck a dissonant chord though, because another of my colleagues promptly declared, "But Michael Jackson got it wrong!" I replied, "Did he? Didn't he just express what Gandhi had said -- "Become the change you wish to make in the world"? Well, my mention of Michael Jackson and Gandhi in the same sentence seemed to be quite enough to alert the group's leader that we (read "I") had now gone way too far afield in our discussion. It was a Bible study for heaven's sake!<br />
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But hold on! Truth is truth, right? Whether spoken from the lips of Jesus or Balaam, right? Whether spoken from the lips of Gandhi or sung by Michael Jackson? -- Well you tell me. Did Jackson get it right or not? Here's what he sings:<br />
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"As I, Turn Up The Collar On My<br />
Favorite Winter Coat<br />
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind<br />
I See The Kids In The Street,<br />
With Not Enough To Eat<br />
Who Am I, To Be Blind?<br />
Pretending Not To See Their Needs<br />
"A Summer's Disregard,<br />
A Broken Bottle Top<br />
And A One Man's Soul<br />
They Follow Each Other On<br />
The Wind Ya' Know<br />
'Cause They Got Nowhere To Go<br />
That's Why I Want You To Know<br />
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"I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror<br />
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways<br />
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer<br />
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place<br />
Take A Look At Yourself, <br />
And Then Make A Change.<br />
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"I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love<br />
It's Time That I Realize <br />
That There Are Some With No Home, <br />
Not A Nickel To Loan<br />
Could It Be Really Me,<br />
Pretending That They're Not Alone?<br />
"A Willow Deeply Scarred,<br />
Somebody's Broken Heart<br />
And A Washed-Out Dream<br />
They Follow The Pattern Of The Wind, Ya' See <br />
Cause They Got No Place To Be<br />
That's Why I'm Starting With Me<br />
<br />
"I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror<br />
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways<br />
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer<br />
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place<br />
Take A Look At Yourself, <br />
And Then Make A Change."<br />
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That's what Michael Jackson sang. Here's what James wrote:<br />
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<em>But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.</em> ~ James 1:22-25<br />
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If truth is truth no matter from whose lips the message is spoken or from whose pen the words are written, then it would appear to me that a question of first importance is indeed: Have I made a change in my life?Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-11219532409645870352011-03-18T17:03:00.007+09:002011-03-19T18:02:21.616+09:00They Could Not Keep Their Eyes Open<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kzv9z1xqZl3MR4TM4mLlSQWTWDifXPwmSj03540FDWRgPhRzTmRa77hwdjhWtcXupuCPnRVQSkpJT9NmCz3Fsbnewls7BqBJyFBa5qxrSmAE-kdBmN8TUxsiqY8hstwzTwO8GfSGjv8/s1600/sleeping-disciples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kzv9z1xqZl3MR4TM4mLlSQWTWDifXPwmSj03540FDWRgPhRzTmRa77hwdjhWtcXupuCPnRVQSkpJT9NmCz3Fsbnewls7BqBJyFBa5qxrSmAE-kdBmN8TUxsiqY8hstwzTwO8GfSGjv8/s200/sleeping-disciples.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During my morning readings a few days back, I came across this phrase. It suddenly dawned upon me that Jesus' students encountered the very same struggles that students today face. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At one of the most important times in their life, when they had been asked specifically by their teacher to stay alert, they were found falling asleep! And we're not talking about one of the stragglers at the back of the class. No, these were Jesus' three top students -- the inner circle -- the creme of the crop -- the "summa cum laude" guys -- who couldn't keep their eyes open!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, if that was the case with Peter, James and John, this poor teacher should not be surprised nor offended when even some of his most diligent students occasionally can't seem to keep their eyes open during class. Now, I try to provide some incentive for them to stay awake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rather than standing in one place at the front of the classroom (which I have observed seems to be the norm among many of the local prof's here), I try to infuse some variety into the discussion by walking about through the aisles and even sometimes taking a place at the back of the room in order to challenge the students to adjust to a new posture in order to engage a new perspective. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In addition to these peripatetic tendencies, I also take some pains to restrain my natural inclination to speak up and so try to lower my volume a bit. As you might imagine, though, this strategy tends to have the opposite effect than the one I'm seeking. So, those short periods of soft tones are usually followed by an abrupt exclamation or the invocation of some Latin maxim whether it is application to the legal issue under consideration or not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But you might be asking at this point, why is it that my students are having such a struggle to stay awake. Am I that boring??? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well --- I’ll let you ask my students to answer that one. I will only say that I'm trying to be ever interesting and engaging. I'm trying to talk less and ask questions more -- to encourage dialogue and eliminate monologue. That said, though, there is another possible cause. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You see, students here are very conscientious about their studies that they will often stay up quite late diligently studying in preparation for the next day's classes. They study so much, that when they come to class, the struggle to stay awake -- not because they're uninterested in the subject under discussion or just bored -- they're EXHAUSTED!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since that is indeed most often the case, I just might start bringing a couple extra pillows to my classes and offer them as rewards (not to be used during lectures, however!) to the most diligent disciple who, like Peter, James & John, find that they "could not keep their eyes open."</span>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-64727184580512667582011-03-17T12:31:00.001+09:002011-03-17T12:44:23.804+09:00The Breastplate of St. Patrick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmH4vSd8xzW4C_9LOwmoVkEpIdjN2Iq2oT0k-zXyRtkYDq_g5ZEractWEpIYLJBi2zA_5qmeVxg7T9mbm5Cixdo6smRT82RCrSGNmHjavSrMxj1xzuVCDHHro30SH18VAaNXznX6WB-p4/s1600/Glendalough.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmH4vSd8xzW4C_9LOwmoVkEpIdjN2Iq2oT0k-zXyRtkYDq_g5ZEractWEpIYLJBi2zA_5qmeVxg7T9mbm5Cixdo6smRT82RCrSGNmHjavSrMxj1xzuVCDHHro30SH18VAaNXznX6WB-p4/s200/Glendalough.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I bind unto myself today<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">The strong Name of the Trinity,<br />
By invocation of the same,<br />
The Three in One and One in Three. <br />
<br />
I bind this day to me for ever.<br />
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;<br />
His baptism in the Jordan river;<br />
His death on Cross for my salvation;<br />
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;<br />
His riding up the heavenly way;<br />
His coming at the day of doom;*<br />
<br />
I bind unto myself today.<br />
I bind unto myself the power<br />
Of the great love of the cherubim;<br />
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,<br />
The service of the seraphim,<br />
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,<br />
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,<br />
All good deeds done unto the Lord,<br />
And purity of virgin souls.<br />
<br />
I bind unto myself today<br />
The virtues of the starlit heaven,<br />
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,<br />
The whiteness of the moon at even,<br />
The flashing of the lightning free,<br />
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,<br />
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,<br />
Around the old eternal rocks.<br />
<br />
I bind unto myself today<br />
The power of God to hold and lead,<br />
His eye to watch, His might to stay,<br />
His ear to hearken to my need.<br />
The wisdom of my God to teach,<br />
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,<br />
The word of God to give me speech,<br />
His heavenly host to be my guard.<br />
<br />
Against the demon snares of sin,<br />
The vice that gives temptation force,<br />
The natural lusts that war within,<br />
The hostile men that mar my course;<br />
Or few or many, far or nigh,<br />
In every place and in all hours,<br />
Against their fierce hostility,<br />
I bind to me these holy powers.<br />
<br />
Against all Satan's spells and wiles,<br />
Against false words of heresy,<br />
Against the knowledge that defiles,<br />
Against the heart's idolatry,<br />
Against the wizard's evil craft,<br />
Against the death wound and the burning,<br />
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,<br />
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.<br />
<br />
Christ be with me, Christ within me,<br />
Christ behind me, Christ before me,<br />
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,<br />
Christ to comfort and restore me.<br />
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,<br />
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,<br />
Christ in hearts of all that love me,<br />
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.<br />
<br />
I bind unto myself the Name,<br />
The strong Name of the Trinity;<br />
By invocation of the same.<br />
The Three in One, and One in Three,<br />
Of Whom all nature hath creation,<br />
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:<br />
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,<br />
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.</div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-47695164857458896712011-03-16T10:55:00.001+09:002011-03-20T08:14:33.197+09:00There Arose a Reasoning Among Them . . .<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGJU6G4JclxRYjZq5rX-AvcBOWRrkK2F7TqiD1qJBg5aVOjM_MqF9X0VM-vTB5rhK83B2qZwgkYlRaMQ-mOypoiSpSctBRjGT3Urfk3DoKR7LdHL6SXubKeg_eBNHS5YRFjsIHucdRSQ/s1600/bonfriends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGJU6G4JclxRYjZq5rX-AvcBOWRrkK2F7TqiD1qJBg5aVOjM_MqF9X0VM-vTB5rhK83B2qZwgkYlRaMQ-mOypoiSpSctBRjGT3Urfk3DoKR7LdHL6SXubKeg_eBNHS5YRFjsIHucdRSQ/s200/bonfriends.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonhoeffer & his students</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In every community of faith and learning there come times of conflict. Conflicts arise because these communities are composed of humans who are finite and fallen. At every university where I've taught over the past sixteen years there have been conflicts – conflicts between students and faculty members; between faculty and fellow faculty; and between faculty and university administration.<br />
<br />
A university is in many respects like all other human communities that experience conflict from within among its members. Universities founded upon a common faith are no less prone to experience conflicts since, like every church fellowship, such a university is made-up of humans. So it should come as no surprise that a Christian university, especially one that is in its early years of growth and development, would experience conflict between some of its faculty and its administrative leaders.<br />
<br />
Brother Bonhoeffer knew the reality of conflict from within a fellowship. During his days leading the <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Confessing</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Church</placetype></place>’s seminary at Finkenwalde, he experienced it. When he wrote about this experiment in Christian community in his little book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life Together</i></b>, he began the fourth chapter with this warning:<br />
<br />
“'There arose a reasoning among them, which of them would be the greatest’ (Luke 9:46). We know who it is that sows this thought in the Christian community. But perhaps we do not bear in mind enough that no Christian community ever comes together without this thought immediately emerging as a seed of discord. Thus at the very beginning of Christian fellowship there is engendered an invisible, often unconscious, life-and-death contest. ‘There arose a reasoning among them’; this is enough to destroy a fellowship” (90). <br />
<br />
Bonhoeffer’s insight exposes the root cause for many, if not most, of these conflicts in our communities. It is the human desire for greatness or ascendancy over others. He continues, “It is vitally necessary that every Christian community from the very outset face this dangerous enemy squarely, and eradicate it. There is not time to lose here, for from the first moment when a man meets another person he is looking for a strategic position he can assume and hold over against that person.”<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UfjkhAiyruq6VHNuPnFKEafnDzurs9rEzoarYyT9Narsc_wGYIr-IU-t5oJEEDC9iCYFEf8WCERZFtwErZImpD_dVBpchivAKZGZtQpmf0PgJEs9jCX3HNQHm18xf1AG2J1QGyRCOsw/s1600/bonhoeffer_bild3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UfjkhAiyruq6VHNuPnFKEafnDzurs9rEzoarYyT9Narsc_wGYIr-IU-t5oJEEDC9iCYFEf8WCERZFtwErZImpD_dVBpchivAKZGZtQpmf0PgJEs9jCX3HNQHm18xf1AG2J1QGyRCOsw/s1600/bonhoeffer_bild3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bethge & Bonhoeffer - student & teacher</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">“There are strong persons and weak ones. If a man is not strong, he immediately claims the right of the weak as his own and uses it against the strong. There are gifted and ungifted persons, simple people and difficult people, devout and less devout, the sociable and the solitary. Does not the ungifted person have to take up a position just as well as the gifted person, the difficult one as well as the simple? . . . Where is there a person who does not with instinctive sureness find the spot where he can stand and defend himself, but which he will never give up to another, for which he will fight with all the drive of his instinct of self-assertion?”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“All this can occur in the most polite or even pious environment. But the important thing is that a Christian community should know that somewhere in it there will certainly be ‘a reasoning among them, which of them would be the greatest.’ It is the struggle of the natural man for self-justification. He finds it only in comparing himself with others, in condemning and judging others. Self-justification and judging others go together, as justification by grace and serving others go together “ (91).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If this then is indeed the case, how may members of a community who are presently experiencing such conflict eradicate it? Bonhoeffer offers a potential path in the remainder of his chapter. There he addresses seven “ministries” that we owe to one another in community. Each bears upon me and my colleagues here at Handong if we would be peacemakers and ones who are committed to the growth of our community of learning into wholeness and mutual blessing that flows to all.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Those within our Handong community who would advance and seek to protect the students’ “right to learn” owe the ministries Bonhoeffer commends to professors, students and fellow administrators. Those, on the other hand, who uphold and see to maintain the professors’ “right to teach” likewise owe these ministries to all others within the community of learning. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rather than dispute over issues of control and authority, the ministries that Bonhoeffer teaches us to engage express avenues of service that lead toward mutual edification and the ultimate achievement of the goal of our community – the forming of whole persons who act responsibly in the service of others according to God’s calling upon their lives.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFR-6s_kYEPHIJeuh5yBIW8KDmGK5e1C6GCQ3QFvrjGotoHuQRNgtxnNEf6-lkM6997Mw2XtwPDNj3bKtV47KjDlyMON_GOQTL2Z94g_PWULhXb-j3BEvM_Cf4VE4xsZLr5AFYpsk4UqY/s1600/Bonhoeffer+%2526+students.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFR-6s_kYEPHIJeuh5yBIW8KDmGK5e1C6GCQ3QFvrjGotoHuQRNgtxnNEf6-lkM6997Mw2XtwPDNj3bKtV47KjDlyMON_GOQTL2Z94g_PWULhXb-j3BEvM_Cf4VE4xsZLr5AFYpsk4UqY/s320/Bonhoeffer+%2526+students.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The first of these ministries, as Bonhoeffer describes them, is “the ministry of holding one’s tongue.” “Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words” (91). We are admonished in Scripture to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19), so we would do well to hold our tongue and think thoroughly we express comments, especially when they are criticisms of others.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bonhoeffer advises that “where this discipline of the tongue is practiced right from the beginning, each individual will make a matchless discovery. He will be able to cease from constantly scrutinizing the other person, judging him, condemning him, putting him in his particular place where he can gain ascendancy over him and thus doing violence to him as a person. Now he can allow the brother to exist as a completely free person, as God made him to be” (92-93).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The second ministry is meekness. “He who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of himself” (94). This is not self-loathing, but rather a proper view of self. “Only he who lives by the forgiveness of his sin in Jesus Christ will rightly think little of himself” (95). Such a perspective, Bonhoeffer acknowledges, leads to a challenging conclusion: “To forego self-conceit and to associate with the lowly means . . . to consider oneself the greatest of sinners. . . If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. . . He who would serve his brother in the fellowship must sink all the way down to these depths of humility” (96). <br />
<br />
Holding one’s tongue and meekness lead naturally to the third ministry we owe one another in community – that of listening. “Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren [i.e. for others] is learning to listen to them” (97). To be an effective listener, though, is a skill we must be devoted to developing. Our tendency is merely to “wait to talk” when in conversation with others. What we need to be doing is authentic listening. Bonhoeffer warns that “he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God” (98). <br />
<br />
By listening we are enabled to understand the needs of others and so reach out to them with the ministry of helpfulness. “This means, initially, simple assistance in trifling, external matters . . . Nobody is too good for the meanest (i.e. lowest) service. One who worries about the loss of time that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail is usually taking the importance of his own career too solemnly” (99). <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KCbPOSGQSX8NiOgqL7DEAH_-grWpLlOJujgSXXyPrsqmvFP5joGXrUn8c-Ezg1Yy9TTnxTDY_281OhTeKT7VpDtJbzIJxmtAUApVhtqweyruM3hISCT-O8ZLavhM5PA4JKTF45JdVD0/s1600/dietrich_bonhoeffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KCbPOSGQSX8NiOgqL7DEAH_-grWpLlOJujgSXXyPrsqmvFP5joGXrUn8c-Ezg1Yy9TTnxTDY_281OhTeKT7VpDtJbzIJxmtAUApVhtqweyruM3hISCT-O8ZLavhM5PA4JKTF45JdVD0/s320/dietrich_bonhoeffer.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>The next service we owe is the ministry of bearing. “’Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ’ (Gal. 6:2). . . Bearing means forbearing and sustaining. . . The Christian . . . must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated” (100). As we extend this service, Bonhoeffer calls us to bear both the freedom of the other person as well as his sin through regularly practicing forgiveness. <br />
<br />
The thoughtful engagement of these first five ministries – holding one’s tongue, meekness, listening, helpfulness and bearing – provides the only sure foundation for the next – the ministry of proclaiming the Word. This ministry is not the “preaching of the Word” but rather “that unique situation in which one person bears witness in human words to another person, bespeaking the whole consolation of God, the admonition, the kindness, and the severity of God” (103-104). “We speak to one another on the basis of the help we both need. We admonish one another to go the way that Christ bids us to go. We warn one another against the disobedience that is our common destruction” (106). <br />
<br />
Bonhoeffer concludes with the ultimate service we owe -- the ministry of authority. This ministry, however, can only be exercised by those who have first fulfilled the all that come before it because “Jesus made authority in the fellowship dependent upon brotherly service” (108). “Every cult of personality that emphasizes the distinguished qualities, virtues, and talents of another person, even though these be of an altogether spiritual nature, is worldly and has no place in the Christian community . . . The Church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus and the brethren” (108-109). <br />
<br />
Indeed, no community of faith, no community of learning, needs brilliant personalities. What we need are faithful followers of Christ who seek daily, by His grace, to serve one another according to the call of God. What is needed to eradicate the attitudes and actions that destroy our community of learning are men and women possessed with the mind of Christ that seeks not their own interests and rights but those of others. Such an approach to sustaining our community of learning and faith will not pit the right to learn against the right to teach. Rather, it will serve others by taking seriously the responsibility to teach and the responsibility to learn as we seek together to obey the call of Christ and serve the needs of others in the here and now.<br />
<br />
</div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-77858420346568383722011-03-13T20:59:00.000+09:002011-03-13T20:59:37.152+09:00Two Weeks Into the New Semester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju10s5Lt7oEwN45WjSTJPG-atoXwz0YaxyDZVhJCHvNY0df7dPfjpNqTysUaoWHeKe1k4m6lZd27eJgRQmn0mg8SDuwb7pHHGvzPRtLOu5iWCXYCOJOHaWNHjHtPIftAwSUw-8hgUNdQg/s1600/Scenes+and+KEBS+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju10s5Lt7oEwN45WjSTJPG-atoXwz0YaxyDZVhJCHvNY0df7dPfjpNqTysUaoWHeKe1k4m6lZd27eJgRQmn0mg8SDuwb7pHHGvzPRtLOu5iWCXYCOJOHaWNHjHtPIftAwSUw-8hgUNdQg/s1600/Scenes+and+KEBS+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju10s5Lt7oEwN45WjSTJPG-atoXwz0YaxyDZVhJCHvNY0df7dPfjpNqTysUaoWHeKe1k4m6lZd27eJgRQmn0mg8SDuwb7pHHGvzPRtLOu5iWCXYCOJOHaWNHjHtPIftAwSUw-8hgUNdQg/s200/Scenes+and+KEBS+033.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<br />
This weekend marks the completion of the first two weeks of the new semester. I feel like I've "hit the ground running," as we say back in the States. But, I need to be careful in choosing my phrases when speaking with my Korean colleagues and students. They tend to take each word quite literally. <br />
<br />
I'm not literally running. I'm not in that good of shape just yet. I am, though, doing quite a bit of walking. In fact, that is one of the prime factors that draws me to life at Handong. Here, I can live a walking-paced life. This morning, I walked to church, and later walked to lunch outside where I "helped" grill hot dogs and enjoyed a beautiful Spring-like afternoon with many who live on campus.<br />
<br />
Each morning (or, nearly every morning), I get out and talk a walk-about. I head down road toward the main entrance and overlook the valley that stretches out between Handong's campus and the East Sea. If you look carefully at the picture above, you'll see the sea just beyond the rolling hills in the distance. I then make my way back up the long hill and around the road that circles the entire campus before returning to my apartment. The whole walk is nearly two miles.<br />
<br />
After preparing a breakfast of either fruit and cereal or -- on days when I'm a little more hungry -- French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, I take another walk, much shorter though, over to All Nations Hall, and up to the third floor where my office is located. I usually arrive in time to check my email while listening to the latest news from St. Louis via KWMU's streaming audio on the web before making final preparations for my morning class.<br />
<br />
After class, its back to the office for meetings with students and then off to lunch, usually with a colleague or two or on occasion, like this past Friday, I'll be invited to lunch by a group of students. There is a tradition here where students take their professors to lunch or dinner. It gives the students an opportunity to get to know their prof's in a more informal setting as well as being good practice with English conversation skills.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIXGIA3XFviGVyhsS-OdLl1C69QG7rlInUjVlzGsGKRTFrHHBO46hY_u0nilr5Zfrj5OuJ6Tlaw1VJkZ233PxkxfdIeRaUP7n5fN0xioSAGHAn5KSrCjfhO-EiZgzHhmWXLhoQjW7FrQ/s1600/Bulguksa+Apr+2010+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIXGIA3XFviGVyhsS-OdLl1C69QG7rlInUjVlzGsGKRTFrHHBO46hY_u0nilr5Zfrj5OuJ6Tlaw1VJkZ233PxkxfdIeRaUP7n5fN0xioSAGHAn5KSrCjfhO-EiZgzHhmWXLhoQjW7FrQ/s200/Bulguksa+Apr+2010+063.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Following lunch, an afternoon walk tends to keep my energy level up and helps to ward off the drowsiness that might otherwise tempt me back to my apartment for a little nap. Just a couple of days ago, I noticed another sure sign of spring when walking across campus. Some of the trees are already starting to blossom out.<br />
<br />
Eventually, a whole host of cherry and pear trees across campus will be filled with delicate blossoms. Some will be white and others pink. It's an absolutely gorgeous sight! By then, I'll be walking even more since the temperatures will regularly be in the 60's and the rainy days of the late winter will have passed.<br />
<br />
The afternoons are filled with classes on Monday's and Thursday's, a faculty seminar on Wednesday's and a lively round table discussions with other international faculty on Friday's. My days are very full but not hectic. These first two weeks have begun to settle me in to a pattern and flow that I trust, by God's grace, will be both meaningful and productive as I seek to encourage my students to grow not only in knowledge but also in responsible service to others according to the callings on their lives.Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-77639878133991052942011-03-08T14:16:00.000+09:002011-03-08T14:16:18.590+09:00May I Talk to You about My Plans? <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfKCY36GGqj-HtkV26_CyaUWYpdq8_2f7QOWMpMMm751kwDbVaOlUJKGaRtpqrWR9ebv4Etx2zTkDipnjCJIBFp5vn2hVoPCvXbIO0X_KT1XMDgebBgkVFTA6OI_bal8ARGBRRZnJfLI/s1600/Handong+Aug+09+025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfKCY36GGqj-HtkV26_CyaUWYpdq8_2f7QOWMpMMm751kwDbVaOlUJKGaRtpqrWR9ebv4Etx2zTkDipnjCJIBFp5vn2hVoPCvXbIO0X_KT1XMDgebBgkVFTA6OI_bal8ARGBRRZnJfLI/s200/Handong+Aug+09+025.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Nations Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
This is a question that is posed to me by my students several times a week. I've found that the typical Handong student is much more inclined to be thinking about her or his future than the run-of-the-mill student in the States. That's not to say, however, that I didn't have many exceptional students during my days of teaching at both Fontbonne and MBU who were quite serious about making their lives count. <br />
<br />
But, in general, I'm finding that the vast majority of students here think about making a difference in the world in the -- to borrow a phrase from Brother Bonhoeffer -- "the concrete realities of life in here and now." As a result, I've had many students visiting my office (on the 3d floor of All Nations Hall -- my window is the first one on the wing that extends off to the right of the corner tower), even within the first week of classes this semester, to talk about the plans they have made or are seeking to make for their studies and future roles of service. <br />
<br />
Quite a number of them are interested in discussing whether the major in U.S. & International Law ("UIL") would help to equip them for positions in government or non-governmental organizations within their home countries or in developing third-world countries.<br />
<br />
In fact, just I was started composing this post yesterday afternoon, I had a knock on my office door and a freshman came in to discuss this very question. All the freshman here at Handong start as "Global Studies" majors, and then within their first two semesters, they are required to declare two specific majors they wish to pursue through their studies. That's right, every student at Handong declares two majors! Many of the freshman are stopping by my office to discuss the UIL major.<br />
<br />
Often, students will tell me of a personal "vision" they have for their lives. They describe the positions they imagine themselves occupying in leadership roles within major international corporations or political parties. Others have a strong commitment to developing countries and during their university studies use holiday breaks to work in Cambodia or Kyrgyzstan rather than travel to the sunny beaches of Phuket. In nearly every case, though, they have carefully thought through their plans and are looking ahead with very specific expectations.<br />
<br />
After recounting to me their plans and expectations, these students will then sit quietly with a slight smile on their faces as they await my comments. What should I say? Do I affirm their plans? Should I suggest alternatives? Should I encourage them or try to dissuade them for their proposed path, if I think it might be unwise? Because the Asian culture puts such a strong emphasis on young people respecting the advice and guidance of their elders, I'm put in quite a precarious position. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwUlrI2aRT6m4lk65WvXGSEALPnkpkS9sruaPyN-KYuMZMsd_oMmpeiGzYemhlhGYGULZel7g0zEaENLuAiAiA1smNedaM9_7UPAcaRyZ4zF7BMf6JWcF4Wv0DutNgCjvdqKpsK-U798/s1600/Korean+buddhist+monk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwUlrI2aRT6m4lk65WvXGSEALPnkpkS9sruaPyN-KYuMZMsd_oMmpeiGzYemhlhGYGULZel7g0zEaENLuAiAiA1smNedaM9_7UPAcaRyZ4zF7BMf6JWcF4Wv0DutNgCjvdqKpsK-U798/s1600/Korean+buddhist+monk.jpg" /></a></div>I don't have any fixed answers for them. I don't offer any formulas for success, nor do I try to tell them what God's will is for their lives. Instead, I feel like the Korean Buddhist monk, well-known for his silence and meditation, who when he was asked for a "word of wisdom" by his students told them, "Never trust the word of a monk." So rather than try to offer them specific counsel regarding their plans and choices, I encourage them to seek out the path where they can best serve the purpose to which they have been called.<br />
<br />
I suggest that success in life can only be found as we, individually and with others, seek to discover how we have been designed and equipped to serve others, and then start doing that service now in the midst of the concrete realities of life. Plans for the future can provide guidance for the way we live out today, but what is of even greater importance is living fully in the present -- making the most of each opportunity to serve that we are provided today.<br />
<br />
<em><strong>"The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." ~ Proverbs 16:9</strong></em>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-22464404015576443752011-03-05T12:43:00.000+09:002011-03-05T12:43:29.334+09:00What's That Beeping, Creeping That I Hear . . . ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
(With deepest apologies to E.A. Poe)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVIdxFoJaO5uCqti2gsB1atlxkNyvkCbf7CPVxltF914CFlU_ev7HYzfPJrQSM23cEidwKBlSAKIHZXD6WnSGU8SqxnwaEuDcMC9jVGuzL_q3VD8NCtnVRZmGgGTwclzc8tCXXbyjPSw/s1600/DSCN0155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVIdxFoJaO5uCqti2gsB1atlxkNyvkCbf7CPVxltF914CFlU_ev7HYzfPJrQSM23cEidwKBlSAKIHZXD6WnSGU8SqxnwaEuDcMC9jVGuzL_q3VD8NCtnVRZmGgGTwclzc8tCXXbyjPSw/s200/DSCN0155.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,<br />
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,<br />
While I nodded, nearly sleeping, suddenly there came a beeping,<br />
As of something gently creeping, creeping along my chamber floor.<br />
<br />
No, I won't go any farther with this, but the beeping that pierced my nights for the past two days did nearly inspire a Homeric epic. That beeping, beeping, beeping continued nearly every five minutes through-out the entire night! What a way to be welcomed into your new apartment, though, I must say, the apartment that I've been provided this time is a great improvement over little (did I say little) studio apartment last year.<br />
<br />
What could it be? Was it the first faint taunts of a fire alarm or, maybe worse, a carbon-monoxide alarm that I had inadvertently activated by using the gas cook stove incorrectly? Was it coming from the radiant heating system that warms my floors? Was it my water heater? Had I forgotten to turn it off? I looked and looked, tried this and tried that, and I just couldn't get that beeping to STOP!<br />
<br />
My only recourse was to go to bed and pack a pillow over my ears. Thankfully I was still so exhausted from the re-ordering of my circadian rhythm that I was able to sleep though the beeping, beeping -- at least for a few hours at a time. Yet, each time I awoke, I waiting anxiously, listening, hoping, and then the silence of the night was fractured again with that incessant BEEPING! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8pyOtVm7iE1jgLX9MLOzTb2uKwL9Gybz7bOysv_VF7d-jhYU4ydbjjTIutfsAeijBuUNeBxxsZcbq1A6CDyOWJ3iyf8lwiHtJBIOt_J1xzWPuBQZHOff7E6BgF-AaKtm6PKPl5oD0-M/s1600/DSCN0157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8pyOtVm7iE1jgLX9MLOzTb2uKwL9Gybz7bOysv_VF7d-jhYU4ydbjjTIutfsAeijBuUNeBxxsZcbq1A6CDyOWJ3iyf8lwiHtJBIOt_J1xzWPuBQZHOff7E6BgF-AaKtm6PKPl5oD0-M/s200/DSCN0157.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I just can't go through another day with this beeping. I'll have to move into my office until I can get someone who knows how to make it stop. Or, is it just in my head? I'm I just imagining this or is it really real?? There's only one way for me to find out. The way that any good foreign faculty member at Handong begins his search for true knowledge.<br />
<br />
I must call my TA! Now, as any regular reader of these postings might think, it would be a very difficult task for me to find someone who might have the potential to measure up to <a href="http://lifeabroadathandong.blogspot.com/2009/09/meet-mr-mok.html">Mr. Mok</a>. He was my most excellent TA who served me faithfully during my two semesters as a visiting professor here in 2009-2010. Now, upon my return to Handong, though, I did not have to look for a replacement -- for my new TA came to me. <br />
<br />
Ms. Han was the top student in my Legal Argumentation class last year. She also was the driving-force organizing and directing the Law & Advocacy study group with whom I served as a faculty sponsor. Over the past winter break, she and two other top law students from Handong traveled to the Netherlands for a research project at The Hague and the University of Utrecht. A more outstanding student I could not find if I had tried.<br />
<br />
So, I placed a call to Ms. Han asking her to investigate the piercing beeping that was pervading my apartment. With just one short telephone call (in Korean) to the University's Housing Authority, she advised me that the beeping was a signal that the batteries powering the igniter for my gas stovetop were soon to lose power and needed to be replaced. Amazing, all that needed to be done was to remove the old batteries from the back of my stovetop (they were hidden back there) and replace them with new.<br />
<br />
Relief! No more beeping, beeping throughout the night. It is such a good thing to have an excellent TA!Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-78669934980217474762011-03-01T17:35:00.001+09:002011-03-06T07:53:49.770+09:00A Good Place to Start -- Realizing Our End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hbd0A4jadN_bEaV82h-dK0nDNfXA7WnrlLYbiEcJP_3CnH_5FIS4BklRnPw005Hh17vu0qhi7K7_Kny8lcGlu3_CXIpwTUOvirC0OaN6YzPvQkKUavgUbn2DBdVdQHhIoqD9lmoDOJA/s1600/fir+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hbd0A4jadN_bEaV82h-dK0nDNfXA7WnrlLYbiEcJP_3CnH_5FIS4BklRnPw005Hh17vu0qhi7K7_Kny8lcGlu3_CXIpwTUOvirC0OaN6YzPvQkKUavgUbn2DBdVdQHhIoqD9lmoDOJA/s1600/fir+tree.jpg" /></a></div>I consider Prof. Richard Hughes a mentor though I've only met him twice -- once at a conference hosted by Baylor and a second time on the campus of Missouri Baptist University when he visited there as a part of the Rhodes Fellowship. In his book on the vocation of the Christian scholar, Hughes explains that he has one primary objective in every course he teaches -- to convince his students that they are going to die.<br />
<br />
I was vividly reminded of Hughes' principal objective yesterday when, in between my first day morning and afternoon classes, I attended the funeral of a 22-year old Handong student who had died while serving on mission trip last month in Israel. The student, Ms. Park, was one of a team of Handong students who were in Israel to work on a kibbutz. She died as a result of a tractor accident. It was her second mission trip to Israel.<br />
<br />
As I sat in the funeral service and listened to the words of encouragement, comfort and hope offered by our campus pastor, I realized that this was the third funeral I had attended in the month of February. The first was my mother's. She had lived a very full and meaningful life that had even exceeded the "four score and ten" of Psalm 90:10 by nearly two years. Her funeral was a celebration of the reality of Christ's promise of resurrection and life in him.<br />
<br />
The second funeral was for a friend, Rodney -- the son of the Lutheran pastor who served the congregation where I grew up. I was confirmed under Rodney's father's instruction. Rodney had also been my family's life insurance agent and financial advisor. He died suddenly in middle-age of a rare brain disease. As a follower of Christ, though, he and his family had a settled trust in God's wise and good care. He peacefully yielded to his Lord's final call.<br />
<br />
Then, within three days of my return to Korea, I was sitting in yet another funeral service -- this one, though, for a bright, energetic young person who had died at what most would readily say was the very beginning of her adult life. From the testimonies of her fellow students and her professors, Ms. Park had a devoted sense of mission and commitment to living her life for others. She was a psychology and counseling major at Handong and hoped to soon begin serving others as a counselor.<br />
<br />
Her sudden death has had a significant impact upon the Handong community. We have all been reminded of the brevity of life and the necessity of living each day to the fullest according the grace and calling of God. There is a tradition here in Korea that is practiced as a memorial to those who have died. A tree is planted to commemorate the person's life and a small memorial stone is placed near the newly planted tree. <br />
<br />
This morning during my reflective walk about campus, I stopped by the memory tree that had been planted yesterday for Ms. Park. It is a beautiful 3-foot fir tree. It reminded me of three lives that had all been rooted in Christ and continue even now to bear fruit in the lives of others. May I be mindful each day of both the brevity of life and the certainty of death so that I might be living wholly and meaningfully today -- and, teach my students to do the same.<br />
<br />
<strong><em>So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. </em></strong>~ Psalm 90:12Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-34928976120597205432011-02-27T14:30:00.003+09:002011-03-01T16:47:43.274+09:00An Emerging Korean Call<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEAu-akdMHidZ7pqG0BCJRzoaxyNo9GYQTmnAtUBQmW4LdFF0n-bbNZYiqA1ytItdUBFxYZAY58HmU8QU6JGChX4S8Cb9zxG-jPCO2PZzjT11qYL7U2VE5ngLROe4u1Kas3JkwMtObpg/s1600/HGU+seal.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEAu-akdMHidZ7pqG0BCJRzoaxyNo9GYQTmnAtUBQmW4LdFF0n-bbNZYiqA1ytItdUBFxYZAY58HmU8QU6JGChX4S8Cb9zxG-jPCO2PZzjT11qYL7U2VE5ngLROe4u1Kas3JkwMtObpg/s1600/HGU+seal.bmp" /></a></div>Today marks my second full day back on the campus of Handong University in Pohang, Korea. When I departed from here last June, I expected to be coming back sometime in the future, but not so soon. I had returned to Missouri last summer first and foremost to be close to my mother whose health was failing. I also returned to resume my teaching position at Fontbonne and to continue PhD studies at Concordia Seminary, both in St. Louis.<br />
<br />
At that time, I believed that there would likely be a position opening on the full-time faculty at Fontbonne and the PhD studies were helping to bolster my credentials for that hoped-for appointment. In early November, however, I learned that the position would not be available and so, I suspended my graduate studies at the close of the fall quarter. Within days thereafter, my mother's health took a decided turn for the worse.<br />
<br />
I spent most of December and January caring for my mother through three hospitalizations and intervening home convalescences. Earlier this month, Mom's time on earth drew to a close, and she entered her eternal rest on the 4th of February. Earlier in December, I had spoken to my mother about possibly returning to Handong and, even as her own health was fast fading, she was still encouraging me to respond to God’s call.<br />
<br />
My decision to return, though, did not come in an inspiring vision nor a challenging dream. Instead, it has been developing over the past eight years from my first meeting with Professors Lee Kuk-woon and Lee Hee-eun at an academic conference in the fall of 2003 all the way through my months of service as a visiting professor just last year. It has been an emerging call that has, in turn, both gripped my heart and puzzled my mind.<br />
<br />
Having once again left behind in the States those who are most precious to me, I am, none the less, now more convinced than ever that this is the time and this is the place where I have been designed and equipped to serve others through the gifts God has given me. So I’ve come in response to what might aptly be described as my emerging Korean call. May God’s sustaining grace keep and fortify me for each day. Classes start tomorrow!Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-86778007664169726272010-12-30T07:30:00.005+09:002011-02-04T23:31:39.729+09:00Living to Teach Rather Than Teaching to Live<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IMeDfMp2PfTcBDf901NrG59_sEeGBhmwNbTwrldLBa0oCvUGLSuwqbVeTlQkwSpXVX55tC4ThbSGxnBFoAvbTmNe6hZy0HZP8ZWT3U1Rb5J7GZkajNJ72TrR2Yw39Ea9OTbcNmlrS0g/s1600/Confucius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6IMeDfMp2PfTcBDf901NrG59_sEeGBhmwNbTwrldLBa0oCvUGLSuwqbVeTlQkwSpXVX55tC4ThbSGxnBFoAvbTmNe6hZy0HZP8ZWT3U1Rb5J7GZkajNJ72TrR2Yw39Ea9OTbcNmlrS0g/s200/Confucius.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As I ponder the possibility of returning to teach at Handong University in Korea, I have been revisiting the Analects of Confucius. One in particular is especially applicable to anyone who senses that the calling upon their life is a call to teach.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span">Of his own role as a teacher, Confucius said, </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">For anyone who brings even the smallest token of appreciation, I have yet to refuse instruction."</span></b></i></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></b></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">This responsibility to the one seeking instruction was again impressed upon me when I read this morning these verses in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i>The Wisdom of Solomon: </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her." So when one is met with a request from those who are sincerely seeking instruction, the one who has a call to teach must give the most deliberate consideration to responding.<br />
<br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">This type of thinking challenges me to confront the question: Do you teach to live or do you live to teach? Another way to put the question</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i> </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">would be to examine whether I am accept the offer to teach primarily and principally as a means to make a living, or do I view the opportunity to teach as an open door through which God is directing me to proceed in faith depending upon him and him alone to provide for my earthly needs?<br />
<br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Am I taking no thought for tomorrow, anxious over what I will eat or where I will live or how I will be clothed? Am I willing to follow on trusting the one who is my Guide, not only to make the way clear, but also to provide all that will be needed for me to progress along that way? Here Bonhoeffer instructs: "The only way to win assurance is by leaving to-morrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from him all we need for to-day" (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i>Discipleship, </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">178).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div>Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494314942950214204.post-30560063195811888732010-12-22T03:49:00.000+09:002010-12-22T03:49:47.094+09:00"Watch and Pray"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYwsModTboqAnZ3Jv5aT3ukSsd1WJ2pX4vKrjRF8aJLRrRViTH9d9BXjDvBDZPVdkfShPgkrAsBddoamu15RU8MTzd8UDiJBCC1ufPeoEiAEugPaY8SUvJR_Ib_a3T-c2PrkpmCXP1co/s1600/dietrich_bonhoeffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYwsModTboqAnZ3Jv5aT3ukSsd1WJ2pX4vKrjRF8aJLRrRViTH9d9BXjDvBDZPVdkfShPgkrAsBddoamu15RU8MTzd8UDiJBCC1ufPeoEiAEugPaY8SUvJR_Ib_a3T-c2PrkpmCXP1co/s200/dietrich_bonhoeffer.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>I find myself in a time of waiting. As I ponder the options that are before me, I continue to wait on the responses of others to clarify what opportunities are presently open to me. While prayer is always essential to the one who seeks to follow Christ, I'm realizing even more how necessary it is during these times of waiting. <br />
<br />
Bonhoeffer's comments on the petition "Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth" are particularly poignant as I seek to practice living a submitted, singular and sacrificed life. He writes: "In fellowship with Jesus his followers have surrendered their own wills completely to God's, and so they pray that God's will may be done throughout the world. No creature on earth shall defy him. But the evil will is still alive even in the followers of Christ, it still seeks to cut them off from fellowship with him; and that is why they must also pray that the will of God may prevail more and more in their hearts every day and break down all defiance" (Discipleship 166). <br />
<br />
Psalm 40 echoes this theme -- "my delight is to do your will, O Lord!" -- and so may my heart and mind! Show me your way, O Lord; lead me in the path you have set out ahead of me. Again, Bonhoeffer speaks to the heart of the matter: "It is always true of the disciple that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and he must therefore "watch and pray" (Discipleship 170).Cordell P. Schultenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505136741664824827noreply@blogger.com0