Muddy Waters

An Observation on Art

2010-10-31T22:07:00.002+08:00

Though I love to "consume" art... and am a glutton of it...
I find that I am really only at that place where I feel a religious experience, a relation to the Godhead, is when I am creating art. Either in my newfound love of watercolor, or in Asian style inking, in 3d computer building, or paper model design, I feel the presence of the rough scarred hands next to me. What draws me to consume other's art in painting, music, writing or sculpture is knowing that they too, consciously or not to them, are expressions of that same set of callous, nail crippled artist's hands.

When the idea arises that we are made in God's image, there are all the various arguments about language and spirit/soul divisions and civilization that most people use to divide us from the animals and plants in God's workmanship... but for me, its the creativity, the expressions of the freedom from the bonds of the hum-drum that express worship of the One whose ultimate expressive power is the very power of creation itself. Art is the place where we come the closest to "out of nothing, everything" that only God can truly achieve. Our great creative power displays His, our limitations in that creative power but insistence in trying magnify God's limitless and mighty power.

The gift of Christ not much opened

2010-06-13T07:35:00.001+08:00

This is a post from the fine weblog of Dr. John Stackhouse:

An 18C Exhortation to 21C Zealots

May 4, 2010

Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) was one of the leading lights of the 18th Century revival, a protegé of Isaac Watts whose writing helped convert William Wilberforce.

Hear what Brother Doddridge has to say in his great work of devotion, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, as if he were writing to us here in the blogosphere. (His frame of reference is Christianity, but the implications of his wisdom go out to everyone.)

How does your mind stand affected toward those who differ from you in their religious feelings and practices? I do not say that Christian charity will require you to think every error harmless…. But to hate persons because we think they are mistaken, and to aggravate every difference in judgement or practice into a fatal and damnable error that destroys all Christian communion and love, is a symptom generally much worse than the evil it condemns.

Do you love the image of Christ in a person who thinks himself obliged in conscience to profess and worship in a manner different from yourself? More than this, can you love and honor that which is truly amiable and excellent in those in whom much is defective–in those in whom there is a mixture of bigotry and narrowness of spirit, which may lead them perhaps to slight or even to censure you? Can you love them as the disciples and servants of Christ who, through a mistaken zeal, may be ready to “cast out your name as evil” (Luke 6:22) and to warn others against you as a dangerous person?

To show such love, says Doddridge, is one of the great triumphs of the work of God in one’s life.

I aspire to showing it much more…

(The quotation is from David Lyle Jeffrey, ed., English Spirituality in the Age of Wesley, republished by Regent College Publishing.)

The Logic of Buying Apple

2010-03-24T14:37:00.000+08:00

Hearing God's Voice

2010-03-10T09:47:00.001+08:00

Dear Pastor Michael:

How do you know it is from God and not your own voice? - Miss LAMMM

A very good question.

There are three principles that one must always use in hearing God's voice and knowing that it is him and not you.

1] The Eternal,
2] The Plan, and
3] The Word

1] The Eternal. God (Christ) is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and he is not a man that lies or the son of a man that needs to be sorry for what he has said, he speaks and he makes it happen just like he said (Numbers 23:1) What does that mean? If you hear God's voice in your head you must review it and study it. Faith is not blind and God is not after blind faith. He gives evidence. Hebrews Chapter 11 is all about knowing how God works by reviewing past performance. Use what you know about God to judge what you are hearing him say to you. He will not contradict himself. He will not ask you to do something that is contrary to his own ways and methods and will. Now, the next two are closely related to this first one.

2] The Plan. God has one plan... one will... That all things that breath and think come to know him and be known by him (Philippians 2:10; Romans 14:11; Isaiah 45:23). People are always worried about "What is God's will?" but that is simple... he told us... his will is that all people come to know him. Anything at all that God asks you to do, or any voice you hear that says it is God will ask only one thing of you... Do THIS (whatever this is) because it will bring more people to know Jesus. That is all. Period. God will not speak to you about what color of car to buy or what length of hair to wear. He will ask you to do things that are clearly for the growth of his kingdom.

3] The Word. Since God is the same every time, his Word is the same every time (Psalm 119:89 and 2 Timothy 3:16). If a voice tells you it is God speaking to you: Listen to what it says and study it, know it inside and outside: "Don't believe every spirit! but test them!" (1 John 4:1) What is the standard to test them by? The word of God. No voice of God or his angles will EVER contradict the Bible. That means you have to KNOW the bible... not the traditions of the Church. You have to hear what God is saying in the Bible first, not the opinions of others, and then see if the voice speaking to you is the same voice. When all the sheep are mixed together, the owners will call them and all the sheep will go to the right owner. When we know Jesus, we will hear HIS voice as different than all the others out there (John 10:27) but if we only SAY we know Jesus and we don't really spend time with him and his words, then any voice can come along and we will follow it.

That's my plan for understanding if a voice I hear is God's voice.
MOST of the time - the voices are NOT God's voice!
But oh - great day when it is!

Then.. sometimes... I test the voice even further... like Gidion (Judges 6) who asked God to show some signs that this voice really was from Him. This is not doubt saying "I don't believe you," this is faith saying, "I would like to believe you but I want to make sure it is you." When I came to Taiwan, I asked God if he was asking me to come, then he should show me three signs. I even told him what the three should be! I said, first cure my allergy to fish, second make Sandy want to come, and third find us jobs here BEFORE we come AND find people to take over our jobs in America BEFORE we leave.

God cured my allergy to fish immediately. I still get a sore throat and sometimes my eyes swell, but a month before I asked this, I would stop breathing if I ate fish.
Then Sandy, who hated the idea of moving anywhere at all, much less to an Asian country, fell in love with Taiwan and heard God too.
Then she had the right man apply to her job and get it, and I had the right guy apply for my job and get it.

Now some may say this is all coincidence. Sure. It may be. But people are convicted of crimes by "a preponderance of the evidence." All that means is that when there are too many coincidences then you have to assume that it is NOT a coincidence.

When you hear God speak... there will be too many coincidences for it to be a mistake... there will be too much evidence in his WORD for it to be uncertain. It will still be weird and hard for other people to understand... but you will understand it and there will be little doubt.

FINALLY -
He will never tell you WHY he is asking you to do this until you obey him and do it. DON'T make that the reason that you obey him. Use the principles above for the reason you obey... just realize that he reason he is asking is not given to you until you obey. That's okay. What's more important is that the things he is asking you to do WILL be in agreement with his Word and with his past performance. It may be dangerous... it may be no fun... but it will always agree with the three principles - if you know them, you don't NEED the reason why he is asking. He does this to get perfect obedience rather than assisted obedience. If we know the reason he is asking, we may try to do things "a better way" than he has asked us to do it. We think we know better how to get to the goal than he does. But if we don't know the reason, we can only do what he asks. Just like a starship captain or a doctor in the Emergency Room... he knows, the people who obey just need to follow him, later they will see why.

Hope this helps with whatever it is you are hearing Him say.

-Blessings
Michael

The Possibilities of 2010

2010-01-11T09:00:00.001+08:00

So, do you say Twenty-Ten or do you say Two thousand and ten? Me? I say Twenty-Ten because it sounds all Sci-Fi and such. I expect my personal rocket pack and ray gun any day now. My application to live on Mars is in the mail.

I feel cheated.

When I was 12, all this cool stuff was to happen by 2010. Oh the possibilities we knew! We were sure that man would never leave the surface of the Moon and that the outer planets would be the frontier of our middle ages. Though we did get some cool Sci-Fi predictions, and some of them better than we had imagined (internet, laptops, PDAs, DVDs and digital cameras), the "future" has been mostly a disappointment. Why? not because of what IS but because of what COULD HAVE BEEN and is not.

It is the way I feel about 2009. I had great plans for 2009. Really, grand plans. There were plans to video some events going on in missions in Taiwan to send back home; plans to build up the campus presence of our Bible studies; and plans to make our presence even more known among the locals...
...all pushed out of the way for kidney stones. No kidding. A year of hospital visits and doctor shopping, a year of constant flank pain and frustration. Amazing how selfish and inward looking we become when there is pain involved. An 8cm rock in my side pushed away ALL my plans for a full year.

The dreams of 2010 to my 12 year old eyes may have been pushed away by the economy or by the wrong guy in office or by the apathy of the people... but that does not mean the people wont be sipping around in jet packs and shooting ray guns in my lifetime!

A rock in my side may have pushed away the plans of 2009... but that does not mean that 2010 is a wash! I can't wait to see what happens. Perhaps God's schedule is right on time.

Stewart the Wonder Dog

2009-12-14T09:41:00.005+08:00

I have a new Dog! He is Stewart the Wonder Dog! He is a young Shiba Inu pup. He was rescued off the streets of Kaohsiung by a volunteer group called BARK. He was furless from scabees and nearly deaf from ear parasites. Now he is healthy, wealthy and wise and living in my house. In just a few days we were the best of friends and he is my shadow in all endeavors. Even the clerks and the local 7-11 know his name and welcome him into the store. The local computer shop even lets him into their store and they "baby sit" him while I shop. There is a lot of love in a dog... and there is even more in a rescued dog. He was clearly someone's dog at some point because he knew things about house living and riding a motorcycle (which he cannot get enough of). But he was homeless for a long time. Many people will get a puppy because they are cute, but after a year, they lose interest and will just turn them out into the streets. Shibas are known as wanderers so Stew wandered off and got lost for at least 6 months to a year judging from his illnesses. Go out an rescue your own homeless dog or cat today! Get them cared for and spay or neutered. Show them that they have a home and that they are loved... and they will return that love 100s of times over. They may just make you into a happier and more merry person as well!

English Worship and Mental Hospitals

2009-12-14T07:51:00.002+08:00

We are now 5 weeks into leading the English Worship Service. Some of you know about Pastor SS and the small town he ministers to. Pastor SS came to me recently with a dream of his to have an English Worship service. In his mind, there were enough foreigners in the area now to justify it, and he hoped some of his youth group would attend as well. He asked me to lead it. I was hesitant at first… I didn't really come here to lead an English worship for foreigners.

On our first Sunday we had around 30 people, half foreign and half locals Hakka youth and young adults. The local colleges and English cram schools supplied the foreigners. Local interest was better than I had imagined. We average about 20 to 25 each Sunday and new faces show up all the time. Because of the nature of college students, their research, and their part time jobs, we don't see them as regularly as we would like, but none of them have been one-time-only visitors! We have even had a few Hakka and Taiwanese state that this was becoming their primary worship time because they appreciated the message being preached there.

Our little congregation has been praying for Mr. R for a few months now. Mr. R is a Hakka man that has some strong anger issues and depression that have caused him a great deal of sorrow in his life and forced him into deeper and deeper isolation. He once came to my house, where I shared the Gospel with him and he pretty firmly rejected it because Buddha would just "give him what he wants," rather than having to "serve" Jesus. Mr. R stopped coming to the house even though he often asked about me when he saw friends.

Last week a friend informed me that Mr. R has been hospitalized in another town for his deepening mental illness. Ms. T, a devoted Hakka believer some of you may know, took a group of four Taiwanese Christians, including herself, up to see Mr. R. She drove the hour and a half to take some folks to see a guy that is not really all that lovable and who had shown them a lot of anger and rejection.

While visiting Mr. R in his hospital room, Ms. T took the opportunity to share the Gospel message with him again. This time things were different. This time Mr. R knew of his own sinfulness, the pain that it had caused him and his family. This time Mr. R had a few weeks of the Holy Spirit reminding him of the things he had heard from Mr. E and Michael and others. This time Mr. R prayed to receive Jesus Christ into his heart.

The man in the next bed over also prayed to receive Jesus into his heart!

Mr. R says he will be joining us now in Bible Study and Worship, just as soon as he comes home. Ms. T did some discipling too, telling him to listen to the Doctors and continue his medications and counseling, and that we would be there to help him.

Pray for Mr. R and his hospital roommate as they face their own issues… and give thanks that they do not have to face them alone now. Give thanks that they can now face them with a new life in Christ.

Pray for Ms. T and give thanks for her boldness to share. Praise the Lord that we are seeing people like Ms. T and Mr. E… just as we have always hoped… Taiwanese Christians sharing Jesus with Taiwanese in their own language and with their own culture but with the full life of Jesus guiding them.

Pray for our new English speaking congregation as they grow and learn to be a family in Christ, serving their community and sharing Jesus.

Merry Christmas!
Michael & Sandy Haggard

Airport Logic

2009-10-20T10:41:00.002+08:00

Drug Side Effects

2009-09-16T13:15:00.002+08:00

Photo of the STONES!!!

2009-09-16T11:29:00.004+08:00

Aren't they lovely? Shown here on a 1x1cm graph grid next to an EPIC model for wargames (6m scale). You can click on the photos here for a full resolution photo.

NOT Stone free... but close!

2009-09-16T11:19:00.002+08:00

Test of Vlogging

2009-09-16T11:13:00.002+08:00

I am thinking that I might blog more if I video blog... vlog.
Here is a test to see how the system works.

Waiting after waiting

2009-08-20T04:40:00.000+08:00

So now after three years of arguing with doctors in a language other than my own I lay awake in the hospital, unable to sleep because I will start the day that finally sees the kidney boulders removed. I shall report levels of success as soon as I am able. Thank to all the well well-wishers who have written and thank all of you who have prayed for me through out this ordeal.

They Shall Know We are Christians by Our...

2009-08-06T11:50:00.002+08:00

There are few things in the life of a Christian that show the change, that comes from God alone, than in the way they give. Christians should be givers. Christ set the example; he gave his life for us. Not only that, he gave up comfort and safety to live among the dangerous lives of men... and often with the unlovable. He gave up not just life, but living abundantly, so that we might live without fear of judgement. Too bad that so much of the Christian world is not willing to give, to lose their lives for others, to give up their comfort, or to abandon judgement so that others might live.

Giving is the sign of the Change Life in Christ.

We have a student that became a Christian recently. This student is now out of college and living in the "real" world. The job this student took pays about $6 (US dollars) an hour. It was the best offer given in the job hunt. After a year of bible studies and a serious discipleship, this student is out of daily contact with the Church that was home.

Today I went to the post office to check the mail and there was one envelope. Inside was a thick fold of paper hiding about $50 (US funds again), and a note that said, roughly; There is no better way to share what God has given than to give back to those who helped the student to find God in the first place. Please use this for the summer mission team coming next month.

We had rarely talked to this student about giving other than when it came up in bible reading. So much of the Christian world has to be told, begged, to give. But the changed heart that has recognized what Christ has done desires to give. That old saw of the Tithe, the %10 giving of your income, is often used to beat people into guilt, "You don't give enough." In reality, God set the %10 as a limit! Those with his heart want to give it all away, but they should stop at %10 so they don't go broke themselves!

Our student received the first paycheck of post-college labor... and immediately felt the need to give. At once obeyed the call of God on the heart. This was done alone, without pressure, without guilt or request... all in love.

Oh! For a church of 100 of these givers. They would change Taiwan. They would change the world.

The Latest on the Stones of South Haggard

2009-07-30T13:09:00.001+08:00

At the suggestion of a dear friend, last Friday I visited a private practice urologist in Taipei with high hopes. The nurse at the clinic immediately changed my appointment to a different doctor in the clinic because she thought he had better experience with sonic bombardment. Uh... that was what I was NOT coming here for. Once again, repeat tests and x-rays and wait. The doctor calls me in and says he wants me to go to a different doctor.

I am sure my face turned a shade of light purple that is not found in the rainbow or color wheel.

He quickly added that he thinks my stones SHOULD come out and soon because he understands that the infection they are causing is bad for my kidneys as a diabetic. Wow.... a doctor finally GETS it. However, there is another doctor that he thinks is better at removing multiple large stones like mine. And this new doctor is on the national health care so it will be nearly free.

So, my all too helpful and dear friends, St. Steve and Angel Amy, help to bring my blood pressure down by nearly carrying me through the convoluted subway systems and train-to-bus changes to get to this hospital. A hospital laid out much like an Escher painting... if Escher has been asleep and on mind altering drugs while painting it.

We find out that this doctor is SOooo popular that he has a waiting list. I can't get in until Wednesday. This is Friday. I live 4 hours away and made the special trip for TODAY. My Taipei friends encourage me to stay the week with them. There was a croquette mallet involved in the negotiations that finally convinced me to stay and wait. They were wonderful. They were having their own issues that week and really didn't need me around but they were self-sacrificing and hospitable. They will be honored in the halls of records for eons to come.

So, first thing Wednesday morning, Amy and I go to the hospital (Steve must work)... the first time I have EVER had to pay first. Granted it was only $10 for the day, but pay first??? Then Amy hands my appointment to the nurse at this doctor's wing and the nurse says that I need to go get my blood pressure checked. "You don't do that?" I asked and I see wall of self-service machines. I stick my arm in, write down my numbers on my chart and go back. Irritated, she says, "Now I need your weight!" Again, self service in another place. I end up getting almost all of my basic vitals and measurements on my own at self service desks. Finally she takes my form and tells me to wait for my number.

The number comes up, I go in, the doctor listens for a few seconds and declares that I MUST be mistaken because kidney stones do not cause this kind of pain. I need to go see a orthopedist.

Visible smoke rises from my ears as my eyes begin to glow a deep orange. Amy reaches for the mallet... I am not sure who she intended to convince with it.

The doctor pales and stutters, "Well, we can also do some tests to see if your kidney stones are bad." He FINALLY looks at my past x-rays that I brought and suddenly changes his tune. Now, with some real concern, he orders tests and for the FIRST time in my journey he orders a CAT scan.

I cool down... until I hear the next part.

"Go schedule the CAT scan and find out when they can do it and I will make an appointment for you after that to see the results."

Schedule? Me? Can't you do that?

"No, you must go down there and find out when they can do it."

Will that be today, you think?

The doctor laughs, "No, no chance. There is a long waiting list for CAT scans."

The smoke is billowing now. Open flames break out on loose papers on his desk from the heat.

The doctor goes white... "Perhaps we can get you into the ER's CAT scan today if they have an opening."

So I get all my labs... another lesson in patience and hospital navigation using GPS and Laser Guidance. Had Amy not been there to ask questions in Chinese for me, I might have given up. I have NEVER been in a hospital in Taiwan less foreigner friendly, which is very odd for a hospital in a town with the most foreigners in Taiwan. Who would have thought that the LAB would be next to the cashier, or that the CAT scan would be on the first floor but the office to schedule the scan would be on the 5th floor. Who would know that to PAY for the CAT scan would be one window, but to get the stamp to say you had paid would be the next window... and that the cashier cannot hand the payment slip to the girl next to her, but you must get out of line, go to the next line and hand it to her yourself.

So I wait 5 hours for an opening to get into the CAT scan. When finished, laying nearly naked on the table, the man OPENS THE DOOR TO THE WAITING ROOM and tells me to stand up and get dressed. When I look at the door where Amy and all the people waiting look at me with smirks, the man says, "Sorry" and then walks away without shutting the door. The stones nearly shoot out my back from the tension.

Now, with all the heroic feats accomplished we must call the Doctor's personal nurse, as instructed, to get back into see him today. The nurse is confused, "The results of the scan will not be published today. Why so see him?" Again, Angel Amy be honored in the record books of time, it was argued that the doctor TOLD us to come back.

Back in the doctor's office, he says that all is done and that he will have the nurse call me later.

For what? I ask.

"For the next step," he says.

And what IS that?

"To see what we will do next..."

And that IS what?

"The next treatment..."

Which IS......

He drops his shoulders in defeat, hangs his head the loser and whispers, "To schedule you for surgery."

I CAN'T HE-AR YOU!

"TO SCHEDULE YOU FOR SURGERY!" The lab tests showed pyuria (puss), blood and infection... which I had told him... so he wants me on some stronger antibiotic than I have been on. It is likely that I have not had many different UTIs over the last few months but one big UTI that the other doctors had not given me enough treatment for. This doctor wants as much of that infection GONE before he cuts into me.

Amy guided me out of the hospital and onto the train home, not returning my knives and other weapons to me until there was no chance of me going back to somewhere were I could vent and blow up emotionally. Steve and Amy had thoughtfully disarmed me when I got off the train on Friday. Even though I am closer to getting what I need and want, the journey has been something of a stressor.

So, I walk away a little tired from the psychic warfare with a promise that I WILL get surgery to remove these stones from one of the best urologists in Taiwan. I await his phone call. Until then, I wait...

Prayers encouraged,
mostly to keep me from running out into the night screaming at the insanity of it all.

Onward and upward.
-The Haggard

Church asks Obama to prevent China takeover

2009-07-20T07:57:00.000+08:00

From http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/07/18/2003448968

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jul 18, 2009, Page 1
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan yesterday issued an open letter to US President Barack Obama, reminding him not to sacrifice Taiwan’s national interest as the US develops closer ties with China.

“We urge the US government to review its policies concerning Taiwan and China, recognize the fact that Taiwan and China are two separate countries, and take a leading role in calling together all peace-and-justice-loving countries in the world to prevent China from taking over Taiwan through military or any other means for any reason,” the Church’s statement said.

“The Taiwanese are a people who enjoy democracy and freedom, and we cherish our achievements [in freedom and democracy],” the statement said. “At the moment, more than 80 percent of the people are opposed to unification with China, thus we insist on defending our right to self-determination under peaceful means and wish to participate in international affairs as an independent country.”

The statement said that if China were to take Taiwan by force, it would not only destroy the hard-earned democracy in Taiwan, but could also jeopardize peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

The statement was issued following a decision made during the church’s 54th General Assembly meeting that began on Thursday and ended yesterday, said Leonard Lin (林宗正), a pastor of the Church who presided over the meeting.

“According to a report by the Taipei Times, US President Barack Obama may meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao [胡錦濤] at the G20 meeting to take place in Washington in September,” Lin told the Taipei Times.

“We’re worried that Taiwan’s national interests may be sacrificed as the US’ new cross-strait policy forms after the meeting and thus wanted to make sure that Taiwan’s voice is heard beforehand,” he said.

In 1977, the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan also issued a statement calling on former US president Jimmy Carter not to overlook the interests of Taiwanese as Washington established formal diplomatic ties with Beijing.

The Church had not yet completed an official English translation of the letter, but it plans to deliver the letter to Obama by the end of this month, Lin said.

“Besides handing the letter to the American Institute in Taiwan, we will also ask Christian organizations friendly to Taiwan to help deliver the message to other political leaders and peoples of the world,” Lin said.

THE KIDNEYSTONE SO FAR

2009-07-07T15:55:00.005+08:00

JUNE 24th:
Today I went to the emergency room because my 28 month old quintuplets residing in my right kideny started kicking far more seriously than before. On a pain scale of 1 to 10 it was a "Oh (explicative)," for about 24 hours. So, in the ER of my hospital they dope me up through an IV (hep-lock) and do all the tests. High white blood count, blood in the urine, acute pain. "Come back to see your urologist next week.". Uh, could you call one in? "We did. He said since your stone has not moved there is nothing he can do. Want a pain shot again before you go?" No, I want a second opinion because I am diabetic... Remember? "Oh... OH! You should go get a second opinion," the ER attending said with sudden understanding.

So an hour later I am in a hospital that is older, closer to my home, and owned by the Presbyterian Church. The ER doctor there says, upon seeing my x-Ray and having NO other history, "Wow! Those will have to come out with surgery. No way those can be disolved sonically. Come see the urologist first thing in the morning and see if we can't get those out soon."

Tomorrow I will go to the urologist and HOPEFULLY get my octuplets... Yes, octuplets now that someone is bothering to count more closely... Get my octuplets delivered. So far the largest is 2.5cm and the smallest is just under 1cm. I am hoping this can be done early next week because I don't want to be on pain meds all that long. It could even be tomorrow.

Will let everyone know.

-in His grip,
Michael The Haggard

JUNE 25th:
New doctor... new headaches.
So this urologist sees my x-ray and says that those stones need to come out by surgery but that he is also troubled that there is hydronephrosis in the other kidney as well. So, ultrasound and contrast study later...

... I have bilateral Uretero Pelvic Junction Obstruction, congenital, due to ureters that are too thin. So, Monday I go for a gamma-camera study of my kidney fluid production for possible surgical correction of BOTH kidney pelvic joints.

"What about the stones?" I asked remindingly.

Oh. Those can't be bothering you. Let's just leave them alone. Even if we go in, we would only get the three or four largest ones.

"But I have blood in the urine, bacteria and WBC elevations and acute pain."

No (he smirked) you CAN'T be having pain from those 9 (yes 9) kidney stones. Ha Ha Ha. Just take these pain pills.

"Doctor... I DONT want Pain Pills."

Oh... okay... just come back to the ER each time the pain is too high.

"So... you wont take them out."

No. "Kidney Stones do not cause pain. I can't imagine why you would think 9 kidney stones, each the size of of a Buick, would cause any pain at all. I think you have a congenital birth defect."

Uh... Doc, I am 45 years old. Wouldn't such a birth defect show up by now?

"Come back later for a gamma scan and we will see about fixing the defect in both kidneys."

NEXT (next Doctor, that is...)

JUNE 29th:
So Sunday night I get back from a long trip on the train to the North of Taiwan. I am starting to get unbearable flank pain again, so I go to KMUH's (Kaohsiung Memorial University Hospital) ER at about 9:30pm... luggage and all (since I am on my Scooter from the train to home).

I give the triage guy my National Health Insurance Card and sit down. As he is filling in stuff on the computer and communicating through pantomime and semaphore communications that resemble the mating dace of the Red Crested Mockingbird, he finally asks me through the group of candystripers' collective english, "How will you pay for this?"

"Uh... the National Health Insurance."

Surprised, he asks, "You have?"

I point to the card he is holding. Oh, yes. "Okay, follow me," at which time he walks away briskly through a crowded maze that in my state of mind made the Minoean Labyrinth seem like a simple two rights and left. Just before I lost him he turned to wonder why the old guy with luggage from a recent trip who was bent over with flank pain could not keep up.

Neither my doctor nor the nurses spoke much english and often had to have me repeat many times and much more slowly what it was I was there for. A couple of hours sitting, an IV of normal saline and a pain shot later I was told to go home now. WHAT??? I am still in pain and I haven't seen a urologist! Confusion sets in. The foreigner is confused. He clearly doesn't understand that he should be pain free now.

At 2am I finally see a urologist that looks to be about 22 years old. That would be 3 years younger than my ER doc. He wonders why I would have pain from just 9 renal stones. I begin to wonder if the majority of Taiwanese walk around with multiple large, non-passible kidney stones regularly because it sure seems to shock all the doctors I see that this might hurt in some way. Finally he agrees to let me see a urologist in the morning. Wait... aren't YOU a urologist? Yes, but this is the ER, we only deal with unstable patients. If you had acute pain, infection, unstable vitals, then I could help you. DID YOU READ THE CHART??? I have acute pain, infection, blood in the urine, elevated white blood cells, and a BP of 160/110... I think THAT is in your criteria!

But this is the ER. You need Outpatient.

So, I wait until 11:30 am to see the Outpatient Urologist.
Yes... until 11:30 am - I was in the ER for over 12 hours.

When I leave the ER I almost have the police called as I have seemed to seek drugs and medical attention with a false name. My chart says "Hagga Mi" but my Health Card says "He Mai Ke" (My correct name in Taiwan is He Mai Ke for those of you who know me but have always used my false name of Hagga Mi or the Americanized Michael Haggard)- I have NO IDEA where the Hagga Mi name came from but sure enough it is on ALL my paperwork. Now understand, every time I got an injection, and x-ray, a tissue or a deep breath I was asked by a nurse, "What is your name" and I would answer, "He Mai Ke" at which they would nod and give me said treatment. Now I find out that no one has bothered to actually READ the name on my charts. After we get that all cleared up, I sit in the outpatient waiting for an hour...

... I get called in, tell the doctor my history... wait as he explains everything I already know about Kidney Stones and the like... and get told he will see me next monday.

What?

Next monday we will discuss treatment options.

"Can we talk treatment options now?"

Of course not! You have to go to all your other ER visits from other hospitals and get your x-rays on CD for me!

You see, all medical data in Taiwan is digital. Xrays and the like are transmitted to the doctor's desk from the other departments instantly. EVERY hospital does this... and they have no way to do that between hospitals??? I have to go to the hospitals myself and ask for a CD???

So, I have a week's worth of Pain Pill which I will most likely NOT take because I already have something stronger (I have a bottle of Aspirin already, thank you), and instructions to not come back until I have all my ducks in a row and why didn't I think about having all those with me at the time (having just gotten off the train from a trip and running to the ER, mind you).

So tomorrow I will go to the other hospitals, each an hour away, to get a CD from a department that speaks no english and always has attendants that start acting like either junior high students all giggly and shy or like judges who can't figure out how badly I should be punished for having so little Chinese skill.

I really need that bottle of 12 year old scotch now.

JULY 6th 2009
Today I visited my seventh doctor, the third urologist, in my quest to be pain free from kidney stones through removal of said.

I drove the one hour from my home to Kaohsiung Memorial University Hospital and got there at 9am. According to the waiting room chart, I was to be number 48... the counter said the doctor was seeing patient 6. I got some studying done.

When I finally saw the doctor, I handed him my CDs from the two other hospitals showing the history of my kidney stone progress. He studied them for nearly 8 minutes without saying a word to me. Finally, he told me that there were two paths we could take in treatment. The first would be to watch the diet, drink more, and avoid infection. I told him that this had been the treatment since January 17th 2007 when I first was seen for this problem. Now I have had 3 infections and the pain worsens. Okay, he said, the other option would be surgery. But, that would be complex because you have so many, and it would traumatize the kidney too much. So, he said with finality, I think there is nothing we can do.

What?

"Yes," he said, "we shall use option one, the conservative approach! However... wait... what country do you come from."

I live in Taiwan.

"No, no, I mean originally."

America.

"Oh! Well then, you could go to America and talk to an expert. Perhaps they would remove the stones."

Uh... Doctor, YOU are an expert at a teaching hospital.

"Yes, Well, I will have the nurse cancel the appointment today." (At which point she did, immediately and erased my visit from the computer, deleting any evidence that I had been there today) "So, you have no bill. You may leave now." (he said pleasantly and with a giant smile.) "Pay nothing. Don't see the cashier."

I must have looked pretty dumfounded because the nurse also then said, "You may go now."

Ah... no pain meds, no antibiotics? No labs? No vitals? I mean, hey, you gave me meds last week for an infection... don't you want to see how I responded?

The doctor might have said, "No, we are hoping that you go to another hospital and die before anyone finds out we saw you." But I was still in shock so I am not sure I really heard that.

I sat there a moment longer, the doctor and the nurse just smiling at me and sweating... either hoping I would get the hint and leave soon before I came unglued and did the American thing on them... or hoping I would in fact first "thank" them and leave.

I thanked them and left... Because I can't own a gun in Taiwan and do the American thing. This may be the reason.

So I wandered aimlessly around Kaohsiung in a stupor from shock. I came to suddenly in a Pizza Hut buffet with a sore tummy and about a dozen empty dirty plates before me on the table... I blacked out again then and found out later that I had gone to the Game Store and bought a new box of Assault Marines for my table top wargames and a magazine after having broken several of the models that were on display by violently throwing them across the room and into a wall. The store owner, James, wondered why I was breaking things but since I spend so much money there he really lets me get away with murder...

... OH....

I hope he didn't let me get away with that...

Anyhow...

I found myself at home, drooling on the couch, Sandy rocking me in her lap and cooing, "It will all be okay." The numbness is fading...

Now I am going to just take handfuls of Naproxen Sodium (Hey Mom, send me a case of it, will ya?) and drink vinegar until my eyes ooze sour wine in an attempt to self medicate and dissolve the nine slabs of granite in my side. I have informed Sandy that a bottle of Glenfiddich and a hobby knife are in our future and she is now reading "Urological Surgery for Dummies" that we got at the library... it is in Chinese but its all greek anyhow.

Onward and upward,
The Haggard

Taiwan is NOT part of China!

2009-05-20T13:03:00.002+08:00

From Author Michael Richardson at:
http://tiny.cc/5iUMf

Taiwan's freedom march censored by U.S. news media--the photos they don't want you to see
May 19, 1:59 PM

The streets of Taipei and Kaohsiung were crowded on May 17th with Taiwanese seeking an independent Taiwan free from Chinese domination and those critical of Ma Ying-jeou, the Kuomintang leader of the Republic of China in-exile.

America's failed treaty obligations to the people of Taiwan under the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952 were the subject of many demonstrators' shouts and signs. Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean in the United States the public was unaware of either the protest or unmet U.S. obligations.

U.S. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals is aware of the unmet obligations. Judge Brown declared the treaty lapse to be the result of "strategic ambiguity" by the United States and has led to "political purgatory" for the residents of Taiwan.

Judge Brown is prepared to act "expeditiously" on the request of Taiwanese plaintiffs in the lawsuit Roger C.S. Lin, et al vs. United States for a determination of rights under the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Plaintiffs are seeking U.S. supervision of a self-determination process free from coercion and use of U.S. passports in the interim since they are denied nationhood by the "strategic ambiguity".

The longstanding "Taiwan question" is an artifact of the Cold War, ignorance of the historical record, and lucrative profits from the arms race that the unresolved national status has triggered.

Taiwan, commonly called Formosa, was a Japanese colony at the end of World War II when Japan surrendered to the United States. The U.S. Navy 7th Fleet landed Republic of China troops on Formosa in October 1945 to process Japanese soldiers. The civil war in China and the Cold War caused United States to prop up the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek allowing them to occupy Taiwan as the U.S. occupation proxy. And then the Chinese never left.

After the 1949 revolution and the People's Republic of China was born, the United States went along with the fiction that Chiang was the legitimate ruler of China and the people of Taiwan were subjected to forty years of harsh martial law and never did get an internationally sponsored referendum.

Not only has the U.S. government been silent on Taiwan's "political purgatory" but also the U.S. news media either ignores or provides misinformation about Taiwan's status. There was virtually no reporting on the Taiwan freedom marches to the American public. The Associated Press played down the events and said it was the first large protest of Ma's administration when it is actually the fourth massive demonstration.

Some of the signs in the protest, kept from the American public, refer to unmet U.S. treaty obligations. President Barack Obama has been silent on the matter and has not responded to Judge Brown either in court or by public announcement.

2009-05-18T09:13:00.005+08:00

My buddy Lemon from Pingtung University of Science and Technology really gets into this Video Game... a game with the largest touch screen I have ever seen in a game. What a great way to overcome stress and relieve aggression!

Empty Nest Fears

2009-05-18T08:58:00.003+08:00

Time is growing short. It is a month of good byes. Man, I hate those.

Sandy and I moved to Meinong, Taiwan five years ago... at that same time Dana and Karen moved to Meinong for the same reasons. For five years Dana and Karen have labored in Meinong to being the good news to the Hakka and they have become dear to us and to the people of Meinong. This week, Dana and Karen pack up and leave for the USA for some rest and training before going on to a mission elsewhere. Last night was the big Good Bye party. More than a couple dozen people tearfully told Dana and Karen what they meant to Meinong. They leave behind a church in Meinong that was not there when they arrived. They will be missed.

Also this month are the college graduations. In Taiwan, seniors graduate much earlier than other class would end their term. We have three college campus Bible studies, and two of them will be completely vacated by the seniors moving back to their home cities. Many of these young men and women are personal blessings to Sandy and I. They come to our home for dinner and talk often completely aside from Bible Study. I am not looking forward to those final dinners. Sure I will see them past those days, but not as much.

However, that means that next term I will be able to cultivate new relationships, meet new freshmen, start new Bible Studies and dinner & a movie nights in my home.

God bless you all as you find new paths on God's direction for your lives.

-The Haggard

Why Are People Reluctant to Go into Missions?

2009-05-04T16:01:00.001+08:00

Why Are People Reluctant to Go into Missions?
John Piper

When I spoke at Missions in the Main Hall Sunday night, I tried to give a biblical response to possible obstacles that are in the way for some people that may keep them from moving forward toward missions. My prayer is that God would use these responses to call more of you to go. Here are eight objections and a biblical response.

1. "I am not smart enough."

"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe." (1 Corinthians 1:20-21)

"Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise." (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

2. "My body and my personality are not strong enough."

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." (2 Corinthians 4:7)

"[Christ] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

3. "I am not a good speaker."

"Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." (1 Corinthians 1:17)

"Moses said to the Lord, 'Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.' Then the Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." (Exodus 4:10-12)

4. "I am afraid of the horrors I read about in the newspapers."

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore (katartisei--"mend" or "repair" your horribly disfigured body when the lions in the coliseum are through with you), confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Peter 5:8-10)

5. "I am afraid I won't be fruitful"

Your responsibility is not to be fruitful but to be faithful. "And said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29)

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

6. "There is plenty to do here."

True, but there is a division of labor and God calls some to MISSIONS, not just evangelism. The difference is seen in Romans 15:19-24: "So that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I [Christ] have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named. . . Now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions . . . I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain."

How could Paul say there was no room for work when there were millions in that region to be evangelized? Because evangelism is not missions.

7. "I am not married."

The best spouse is found on the path of obedience. "An excellent wife [or husband!] who can find? She [and he!] is far more precious than jewels" (Proverbs 31:10). The finding is exceedingly hard. It will happen on the road of obedience.

8. "I fear that when I get there it might turn out I made a mistake and will come home with shame."

Which is worse, shame for having endeavored to follow Christ in missions, or fear to venture? Shame before others for making a mistake will not hurt you; it will humble you and can make you more useful in a new situation. But fear will make you useless everywhere.

Consider Ecclesiastes 11:4 and what it says about risk: "He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap." Meaning: without taking the risk of sowing when the seed might be blown away and reaping when the rain might ruin the harvest, you will starve.

Oh, how precious is the freeing word of God,

Pastor John

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.

I come to the Tea Stand alone...

2009-03-23T09:59:00.002+08:00

I sat down at the Tea Stand Cafe' in front of the College Library preparing myself for the Thursday afternoon English Bible Study. It had been a rough day and I was mentally tired. I had about 5 minutes to close my eyes and just relax before the class started trickling in.

Then I saw four high-schoolers walking toward me with purpose.

Oh man...

You see, living as the only american in Neipu can gain us some attention. Many times, the attention is kind of useless... the local group of kids that come to say "hi" don't really want any real conversation, they just want to have fun saying the three english words they know to the foreigner. I really wasn't in the mood for that! I was tired, I had some things on my mind, and I needed to get focused on the Bible Study that was about to start.

The two young men and two young women giggles and said, "Herro!" I played nice. "Hello," I said, and then in Chinese I asked, "Do you speak English?" They laughed and looked at each other nervously until one said, "no." Oh boy, I thought, more laughing and giggling with the foreign man. I was weary.

They spoke no English, and my Chinese is still pretty weak. But for the next few minutes I tried my best to turn this from the silly encounter with a foreigner into a more useful discussion. I found out where they lived, what they were learning in school (all nursing students in a technical high school 5 year program), and a few more items of small talk. As we spoke, more of the Bible Study students showed up... but not as many as I had hoped! Sandy came first and talked with the two girls a while... one of the College teachers that works with Sandy showed up. But really only a couple of the regular students showed up this time. I was getting more bummed.

But then the Holy Spirit poked me in the side with His rather SHARP elbow and said, "Tell them about the Son!"

I reached down to my bag for the Bi-Lingual Gospel presentation book we use, when Sandy said to me, "Should we tell them the Gospel with the Purple Book?" I smiled and held it up, and said, "Just what I was thinking." But then, I realized, there was a better way. A more productive way. I handed a purple book to one of the Bible Study students, a seeker named Ted. Ted is a school teacher in ChouJou how drives over to our study. At first just to practice english, but later because he is considering following Jesus.

"Tom," I said with a sly smile, "You tell them about Jesus." He didn't hesitate. As he started to tell the two young men about the gospel, I handed Sandy another copy of the Purple Bi-lingual Gospel Tract and said, "Have your co-teacher tell the girls about the gospel."

For the next 30 minutes, two people who just 3 months before said in class that they did not know that Jesus claimed to be God, were now telling people in their own heart-language that Jesus was God in the flesh come to take them out of the world of bowing to idols and asking for luck. I looked over Tom as he taught and Sandy looked over the girls. Occasionally we would offer some helpful illustration or clarification. It was the first time these students had ever shared the gospel and it was the first time these High Schoolers had ever heard it. In the end, the High Schoolers took copies of the Gospel Tract and a couple of New Testaments and promised to come back next week!

God's timing is not my timing any more than His ways are not my ways. He will choose to encounter you and use you where ever HE deems fit, in the garden alone, or in the cafe' crowd.

Pray for these folks. Pray that the joy of sharing the gospel infects our group. Pray that these High Schoolers return next week to hear more... and come to believe.

-In His Grip
Michael

Hakka Pestle Tea

2009-02-18T21:19:00.002+08:00

Sam, Tracy, Sandy and Michael all enjoy a Winter Tea made from old an Hakka Recipe. This restaurant preserves this old custom for its patrons in Meinong, Taiwan. Hilarity ensues.

2009-02-12T10:50:00.004+08:00

Erik is a good buddy who was a Senior in Sandy's class two years ago. Here he is at Chili's getting a taste of his FIRST REAL American Hamburger. Up to now, all he has had is McDonald's.

I USED To Love Flying

2008-08-28T13:59:00.001+08:00

I remember when I was 18 or 20 years old and I would take trips across country by air. I loved it, I looked forward to every trip. My love of flying started with a trip to Hawaii when I was 5. It was magical. I found every excuse I could from then on to travel by air. A trip to India for college at 21 made my love full. No, really! The feelings and sensation of flight energized me... And they still do. But that love of flying, though still strong, is now hurt and nearly broken by the fooliishness and irrationality that is the air transportation industry. The safety and security culture of the modern airport is nothing more than a C.Y.A. measure that demoralizes passengers, stresses everyone, and delays the entire traveling process. A determined hijacker would laugh at what goes on. The entire prosses is like the patter of a magician on stage trying to distract you: the hijacker has so much to hide behind now that EVERYONE is distracted by the stress and ritual of the security screening. And still we are no safer. And now we are more cowed and afraid. And now we are more exhausted by travel. The goal of terrorism is to disrupt and cause fear as energy is wasted on useless and costly security measures that force a government to control is own citizens as potential criminals... So... The terrorists have won!

Posted with LifeCast

Taiwan Tea Time Podcast Update

2008-07-13T11:21:00.002+08:00

This is a very busy time and I am not getting good feedback on the podcast... I also want to take it in a new direction. So it MAY be a while for the next podcast. We will travel to the USA for August and then have house guests for a bit... But I think I can sqeeze in a newfangled Tea Time podcast in there. Keep watch.

Posted with LifeCast

New Blog Tool

2008-07-13T11:11:00.003+08:00

I am a Macintosh enthusiest... And now I have a cool new blogging tool from Apple! The iPod Touch and iPhone are now full PDAs and there are blogging tools. I am writing this post from my iTouch now and I can do that anywhere... If I will just write!!!

Posted with LifeCast

Last English Class in YenZhou

2008-06-25T12:09:00.007+08:00

I have been teaching the Bible in English at a church in YenZho. Its a little village next to the fishing town of Donggang. It is famous as the poorest village in all of Taiwan. The church there is great and the Pastor, Abraham, is a joy to work with. This year I am ending my classes there after two years teaching. I need to focus on my master's degree and there is a new missionary actually living in that area who will take over the class for me. This year's party at the end of class was extra special because one of the students owned a bakery!

I will miss this gang. But I am sure I will see them. Pastor Abraham is one of Sandy's students at college and I promised that I would come visit sometimes next term.
-The Haggard

Taiwan Tea Time Podcast News

2008-06-25T12:05:00.002+08:00

Well... not getting too much feedback on the podcast... and as my big trip to the USA is coming - I MAY change the format of the podcast ALL TOGETHER. It may become more about me teaching theological idea that are relevant to Taiwan Evangelism and only occasionally have conversations from Taiwan people. We shall see. The next podcast in the original format IS coming soon.

-Blessings
The Haggard

The Solution is the Problem

2008-06-04T07:10:00.002+08:00

"These people were just disrupting society. ... The government will solve their problems."
-Zao Ming, official from The People's Republic of China
Commenting on police removal of grieving parents forcibly
removed from public land for protesting the government's
use of substandard construction materials in schools,
discovered after the death of their children in the 2008
earthquake.

Exactly, how will the government solve the problem of a child dying because of government corruption?
$144 per year per child to each family who lost a child in the earthquake. Parents who lost children have first dips on adoption and may apply with the government to wave the one child per family law on this occasion.

Death toll to date: 69,107

source for above quote, figures, and news - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake

Podcast #2 Posted

2008-05-26T14:42:00.002+08:00

Taiwan Tea Time number 2 has posted. Go here for the feed to download or subscribe:
feed://ourmedia.org/mediarss/user/153642

This episode of the Tea Time is all about Taiwanese feelings about the Taiwan Government sending aid to China in the wake of the devastating earthquakes.

UPDATE: If you are downloading the file directly rather than subscribing to it, you may find that it came as an MP3... and that will not work! Rename the end to M4A and it will work. -M

Podcast Posted

2008-05-10T08:25:00.006+08:00

Taiwan Tea Time Podcast #1 is finished and posted! Not the most gripping conversations but some interesting tidbits of some teachers talking about Obama and the American Elections, some kids talking about school, and some college students talking about laziness.

Listen to or Subscribe to this podcast at feed://ourmedia.org/mediarss/user/153642

The PodCast is in ACC audio, so iTunes and most media players will play it... if you have trouble, try a PodCast program (search for podcast at http://download.com for Windows or at http://macupdate.com for Mac)

Taiwan Tea Time Podcast

2008-05-02T14:10:00.000+08:00

I am starting a new podcast that can be found here:

The Ugly Truth of Forgiveness

2008-04-30T22:39:00.002+08:00

Forgiveness COSTS. It costs big. It is quite expensive and, in fact, few can afford it. Truly, there is no such thing as forgiveness without cost.
For a perfect God who must keep all his own laws and promises, there is only atonement, then forgiveness. The atonement is paying the price, then the issue is forgotten and expunged from the record... you have paid your debt, done your time.

With man, this is also true. When the benificent uncle who loaned you $50 or $50,000 says “your debt is forgiven,” you may think that there is an example of absolute free forgiveness. Your uncle paid. He paid big. The criminal thief may be forgiven his crime by the victim but the victim pays... even with the return of goods stolen! There is loss of time, effort, security, and trust. Over time the loss can be cumulative if it happens often and cynicism creates scar tissue of the soul. He indeed pays for the criminal’s sin.

My sin is forgiven only due to the death of Jesus on the cross. He is the example of forgiveness. No greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for another.

If I am to forgive others... I must pay... and the perfect payment is death.

I died to sin so sin no longer has its hold on me. We often think in self-centered ways about that verse. That I, myself, will not be tempted to sin... or that sin’s payment is not applied to me (forgetting all the while that Jesus’ death did that, not my own “work” at dying). But there is also a social aspect to that verse. The sins of others have no affect on a dead man. If I am to forgive as Christ forgives, then I have to be willing to pay the price for other’s sins in a local, social, temporal sense. If someone sins against me, the only way to forgive is when I die to myself in atonement for their sin against me. Indeed, I cannot die FOR him as Christ does. But I can die for his benefit, and mine, in a social and corporate sense. Without this ugly truth, that I must die to ALL sin, even another’s, there is no forgiveness. AS you forgive, so you shall be forgiven. AS you die to sin, so sin shall die to you.

Without the self-death and the personal resurrection of Jesus within us, not only is there little ability to forgive others, but there is little ability to live under a “go forth and sin no more” lifestyle as Jesus instructs. Surely I am not literally dead and truly I am not in a literal “sin no more” life... these states of being are from Grace as I live under the obedience to Christ. His death is sufficient to assure my death. His resurrection is powerful enough for me to be assured of my resurrection. His forgiveness is complete enough to cover my inability to forgive. I am not perfect. But I am being perfected in Him, I move in that direction as it were. If I am to be under grace then I give my failures to him... and again, it costs me (in submission to Him) and I must die to the self.

There is no forgiveness without personal cost.

Go forth and sin no more, dead man.

-The Haggard

My "Life Cannon"

2008-04-30T07:27:00.001+08:00

Aaron Stoller had a great idea on his blog: list off ten texts that make up your personal canon at the moment. Go here to see the rules and then post your own and tell me, or Aaron... or Tripp Fuller at http://trippfuller.com/?p=143 (where I first saw this idea).
“each one of us operates with our own canon. In other words, acknowledged or not, each of us operates with a set of guiding texts (or pieces within texts) which influence our paradigm and our lives moment-to-moment. And of course these text change as we pass through periods of our lives”

So here is my own Life Cannon, according to the rules:
1 - The Boxed Set DVDs of FIREFLY
2 - The Special Edition DVD of SERENITY
3 - The novel DUNE
4 - The Movie “Stop Making Sense” by The Talking Heads
5 - “The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer” (in one book)
6 - The Homebrewed Christianity Podcast
7 - The original Japanese TV seres “Mobile Suit Gundam”
8 - The Japanese TV seres “Gundam Seed” and “Gundam Seed Destiny”
9 - “Christian Apologetics” by Cornelius Van Til (because it hurts my brain)
10 - “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis (because it soothes my brain)

So, what’s in your cannon?
-Blesssings
The Haggard

Interesting Music at the Vegi Buffet

2008-04-22T11:31:00.003+08:00

Today I heard Jesus being declared in a Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant. I eat there because the food is good, the price is great, and I get to be a Jesus Guy around a group of non-hostile non-believers. Who knows where that relationship will lead? I was amazed at the music; “He Carried Me” and “He was my Sacrifice” and “Everlasting Arms” and “People need the Lord” and “I Need Thee Every Hour” sang through the store. I asked the waitress if I could see the CD case for the music... she popped out the disk from the player and it was a home made DVD of MP3s. I was there two hours studying and never heard a song repeated and I never heard a song that was not instantly recognizable as Christian. I saw Buddhist monks tapping their toe to “Jesus is the Only Way” and patrons hearing about “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” Alas, it was ALL in English and most people there had no idea what they were hearing. I asked the waitress if she knew what kind of music this was. She didn’t. Nor did her co-workers. I told them it was Christian Music. They looked a little frightened and I thought I may have poisoned the well, that they would remove the songs. They looked at me with soulful eyes and asked “Doe Ke Yi?” (is that okay with you?) I smiled and said YES! So they popped the DVD back in the player and continued. I asked if they were Christians and they said no. They just like the sound of the music. I have come across that a great deal in Taiwan. People who will not become Jesus people for whatever reason, still seem to appreciate the Jesus Music. There is nothing like it here. There are NO songs in praise to Buddha or Matzu or to the Tao. The shear joy and peace that some hear in singing to Jesus, live or on tape, draws them. It is so cool. Yet, how can they believe unless someone goes to them?

More Vacation Photos

2008-02-27T10:08:00.001+08:00

Here are a few more vacation photos. (Really, I am trying out some new Blogging software) View the entire photo by saving the image to your own computer. -M

Here is a Marble Canyon at Toroko

And here is a Pavilion and covered bridge at Toroko

And here is my new friend from Heualien’s Ocean Park... for a few more dollars I could have swam with him, but it was too cold... You KNOW I am going back!

The Holidays are Over

2008-02-27T10:00:00.001+08:00

We had a grand time during Lunar New year. The nation takes a week off, the schools take two weeks off, the colleges take 4 weeks off. Sandy and I used the opportunity to drive around the entire coastline of the island. Here we are at Toroko Canyon. But now it is back to work... and there is so much going on. Watch here for more!

-Michael

Where are the Answers?

2008-01-14T13:26:00.000+08:00

I present this article without comment. I think it speaks volumes on the current state of spiritualism in the world, Christianity as well. Read, take what you can. -The Haggard

Buddhist priests hit the bars to reach out to skeptical youth
By Justin McCurry
THE GUARDIAN, TOKYO
Monday, Jan 14, 2008, Page 9

Dressed in dark cotton robes, a bracelet of prayer beads hanging from his wrist, Gugan Taguchi certainly looks the part. But as he kneels to chant a sutra before an altar in the corner of the room, the people around him continue to chat, and his rhythmic prayers can only just be heard above a Blue Note jazz track.

Minutes later Taguchi is back in his seat, glass in hand. A bottle of rum sits on the bar in front of him, next to a half-filled ashtray as his tobacco smoke mingles with the aroma of incense. Some of his peers may disapprove of his methods, but amid a dramatic decline in interest in Buddhism among young Japanese, Taguchi is prepared to go almost anywhere to reach out to the skeptics, including the Bozu ("monks") bar in Tokyo.

"I can understand why younger people aren't attracted to Buddhism," says Taguchi, 46, a former office worker from Hokkaido, who turned to the priesthood after his sight became impaired in his late 20s. "Most priests are getting on, and I'm not sure young people want their advice. I'm happy to come here and listen to people talk about anything they like. It's up to them if they decide whether to heed my advice."

In the days ahead, millions of Japanese will visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to mark the arrival of the Year of the Rat. For many, this will be the only contact they have with their spiritual roots for the entire year. More than 1,200 years after its arrival in Japan from mainland Asia, Buddhism is in crisis. About 75 percent of Japan's 127 million people describe themselves as Buddhists, but new year apart, many see the inside of a temple only when a local head priest is asked to arrange a traditional (and expensive) funeral for a dead relative.

As a result, public donations are drying up and many of the country's 75,000 temples are in financial trouble. Applications to Buddhist universities have fallen so dramatically that several schools have dropped the religious association from their titles.

Bozu's owner, Yoshinobu Fujioka, a Buddhist priest who can also mix a decent cocktail for those in search of a quicker path to nirvana, says that Japan's mainstream sects must shed their conservative image to broaden their appeal.

"There was a time when people would go to their local temple for advice on all sorts of problems, not just spiritual matters," said Fujioka, 31, who belongs to the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) sect. "This bar is just the same, a place where people can come and talk freely about their problems."

Being served sake by a priest is just one of the novel ways in which sceptical Japanese are being encouraged to get in touch with their spiritual roots. Baijozan Komyoji temple in Tokyo has opened an outdoor cafe in front of its main hall and, in Kyoto, Zendoji temple operates a beauty salon. At Club Chippie, a jazz lounge in Tokyo, the saxophone makes way for Sanskrit once a month as three shaven-headed monks wearing robes chant sutras and encourage bemused customers to join in.

And recently, dozens of Buddhist monks and nuns took to the catwalk in colorful silk robes as part of a public relations exercise at Tsukiji Honganji temple in Tokyo.

The event, called Tokyo Bouz Collection, opened with the recital of a Buddhist prayer to a hip-hop beat and ended in a blur of confetti shaped like lotus petals.

"Many priests share the sense of crisis and the need to do something to reach out to people," said Kosuke Kikkawa, a 37-year-old priest who helped organize the event.

"We won't change Buddha's teachings, but perhaps we need to present things differently so that they touch the feelings of people today," Kikkawa said.

Taguchi believes that the pressures of modern life mean Buddhism's message is as relevant as it ever was.

"These days there is constant pressure to appear happy, and to keep fulfilling your desires to stay that way," he said.

"You could easily get the impression that people don't need advice from priests, but that's not the case. Everyone experiences times when they're not at their best, when things don't go according to plan," Taguchi said.

Jack's Big Day

2007-11-21T13:25:00.001+08:00

This has been a GREAT week. We have seen five people come to call on the Name of Jesus and take the Lord into their heart! Five people have chosen, publicly, to be called "Christian" and to follow the Lord. More and more people are asking us about the Good News and more and more Bible Studies are getting started. The Holy Spirit is active, I pray that I am obedient to His call.

I have written about Jack for a long time. I have prayed about Jack for a long time. I don't have to worry about Jack anymore. Something has happened... something wonderful.

I met Jack the very first time I came to Taiwan back in 2002. He was not interested in Jesus at all. But he loves music and wanted to hear the Christians singing their songs. He seemed a very pleasant man, quiet and with a constant smile. I lost track of him after that. I did not see him on the two subsequent visits that I made to Taiwan the following summers.

Then, after I moved to Taiwan, I was sitting at a 7-11 having a morning tea before class when Jack showed up and reintroduced himself. We have meet weekly ever since. Jack is a music teacher, holds a masters in music, studied under the father of Yo Yo Ma, and owns a Bed and Breakfast in Meinung. He is an avid mountain hiker and the two of us climb a mountain every week. When the weather is bad, we go swimming at a local sports pool.

I have shared the gospel with Jack on numerous occasions and he has translated my English into Hakka, Taiwanese and Mandarin as I witnessed to others on many more occasions. Yet, he has never chosen to accept Jesus. One day he toyed with it... he and his wife asked Jesus to live in them, but the next morning they did not feel any different so they assumed they were still Buddhists. Oh, the door he opened that day! Some people worry about if they are or are not within God's Will... once you ask Him in, I dare you to TRY and get out of it!

Jack was never happy with Buddhism. All his life he has searched. The writings of the Tao and of Buddha never gave him comfort. He tells me that they are not able to answer the really important questions of sin, forgiveness and mercy. They play at them, demand them, but offer no cure that is lasting. He sees no hope in Taiwan's temple worship culture as it is so self-centered on luck, money, health and personal glory. He is hungry for a faith that not only saves, but reaches out to the world and heals it... not in works that fall short, but in a healing balm that is universally curative.

Christianity seemed different and attractive... but he was never sure. Catholic priests, Mormon missionaries, Baptist evangelists, and various campus ministries all touched his life through High School and College but somehow they fell short of answering his questions. The work of Wes Thrush, Dana Smith and myself came the closest to helping him understand Christ than any other, but still something nagged at him and kept him from obeying Christ as Lord.

Last week, after some sessions of intense Bible studies that our Friend Rolland had started with the help of Dana Smith... Jack was faced with the dead end, the cross road; now is the time to choose, there is nothing else to know or learn. Still, he could not. he said, "I would be a liar to say I could follow Jesus as Lord."

Two things happened the next day that changed him.

He had a dream in which his family were facing judgement, lost without hope, and with no answers. He woke to hear that this day was the day in which they had to exhume his mother's body from the grave. In Taiwan, bodies can only be buried a short time and then they must be exhumed and cremated. The dream, the exhumation of his mother, seeing his family's lostness in all of this... changed him.

For years he assumed that he could not escape the culture of being Chinese, of being Hakka. He assumed that he could not have Christ and give up these things. He assumed, as many of us do, that when we gain Christ, we give up too much. And he is right. We do give up too much! We give up our life!

Jack saw that his life was already lost. Giving it to Jesus and losing it fully was the only way to gain life abundantly.

He called Dana, Rolland, myself and others and said, "I want to be baptized now."

On Saturday, November 17, 2007, Jack and another man, James, both were publicly baptized in the Meinung Municipal Swimming Pool with their families and friends in attendance. Both men offered their own confession of why they wanted this. They asked their families to consider the Good News.

This week Jack gave me his own lesson that he had learned from all this. With a joy I have NEVER seen on his face, he told me how he can now see how God was at work in his life. All the Catholic priests, Mormon missionaries, Baptist evangelists, and college ministries all worked together to bring him to the growth and fruition that allowed him to be affected by Christ "at this time." He praised God for His faithfulness and tenacity in loving His children and calling them to His kingdom.

Jack has a lot of new questions, but I don't have to worry about him anymore.

I Am a Cheap Plastic Doraemon Bookbag

2007-11-05T16:24:00.001+08:00

I love an aspect of Taiwan that many other foreigners can't seem to get past. There is a pop-culture mindset here that plasters cute cartoon figures on everything. You can see a big muscular Taiwan guy with a $50 haircut and $100 sunglasses step out of a store in his new muscle shirt and leather jacket only to sit upon a pink motorcycle with the "Hello Kitty" logo on the side... and he looks cool doing it.

This aspect of Taiwan culture is nowhere more evident than it is in bags, purses, backpacks and briefcases. I have seen teachers come to class with all of their tests, lecture notes and text books in a cheap, falling apart, Pokemon vinyl bag. I see business men and women going to work and their briefcase is nothing more than a Snoopy & Woodstock bookbag from a 7-11 give-away years ago. I have seen guys carry valuable art work to exhibitions held in nothing more than a plastic bag printed with Doraemon's face all over it. I have even seen people carrying their precious laptops in old, cheap plastic and vinyl bags with nothing more than a weak strap and an open top... but they like it because it has Gundam or Doraemon or Pokemon all over it.

My buddy Jack goes mountain hiking with me... and he carries a valuable ceramic tea set in his old army surplus back pack with no padding and with straps broken off. He ties them down with old shoe strings. It works.

You would be wrong to judge the value of the contents of a bag in Taiwan by only noting the outward appearance.

Great treasures are being housed in those cheesy bags. It is a matter of practicalities. These bags are given away for free in many places, they are very cheaply had in stores, and by golly, they are just so cute.

We Westerners would never transport our laptop computer in such a bag! We need the executive, double-platinum, mega bag with wheels and doohickies that cost almost as much as the laptop itself. Then we feel we have come into the world, we are of means!

The Taiwanese just want to carry their stuff from one place to the other. The look of the bag has nothing to do with the value of what is inside.

Jesus told a story about a man in Matthew 13. This man found a treasure that was buried in a field. The man wanted that treasure but it was not his field... he could not claim that treasure. So he went and bought the whole field to obtain that treasure. The field was nothing to him, and clearly not so big a deal to the original owner. But what the field held inside was of value.

You would be wrong to judge the worth of a treasure by looking at the dirt it was buried in.

Jesus wanted those people who would love and trust him... but in order to do that, he had to buy the entire human population with his own blood. He got them all... but frankly, he is after only those who would love and trust him. Oddly, we can never judge just how much of that field is dirt and how much is treasure. We don't have the eyes to see past the dirt.

So much of the world today rejects the message of Jesus because it is delivered to them by slimy, offensive, failure-in-life, nerdy, pushy (the list goes on) Bible Thumpers. They look at the Church and rightfully judge that the Church is full of hypocrites who can't live up to the standard of perfection that the law of a just God would give. So they won't look at the message of Jesus because they see his messengers and find them to be cheap plastic copies of something that is valuable.

They are wrong to judge the value of the message based upon their opinion of the worth of the messenger.

2nd Corinthians 4:7 tells us that Jesus hides his treasure, or rather trusts his message to be delivered by, nasty clay jugs. This is to show that the excellency of the message is independent from the vessel that delivers it. He puts his message in fallen, sinful, imperfect people who will break your trust and hurt your feelings... to show that his message is better than the ones who carry it and receive it.

WHY?

Because his very message is that the vessel is only made valuable BY the value of what is put into it by the owner. We broken, fallen humans are not made valuable by covering our clay jar exteriors with bling-bling and paint and color. We are made valuable to God by what HE PUTS IN US. It is the grace of God, his gift to us, so that no one can boast of their own works of perfection.

That cheap plastic Doraemon bag at the lady's feet at on the bus... is not a cheap plastic bag to her... it is a store house for her valuables. It is worthy to her because what is inside is worthy. She judges the cheap bag as worthy because it at least is able to carry the things she does find worthy. In that act, the bag gains value-added worth. To her, the collective "IT" that is the bag and its contents is precious to her. She would never leave the bag behind as long as it holds her precious things... and by that the bag itself becomes valuable.

I am a fallen man, a cheap plastic copy of the Maker who made me. I have lost all objective worth because by image is cheap, my seams are weak, by handles are falling off and my material is thin. But into me, God places the Spirit of himself. When I trust and obey him for the first time, he judges me as useful to carry his valuables. He puts himself into me. In so doing, I become his valuable vessel no matter what I look like on the outside.

You would be a fool to judge the value of Jesus and his message based upon me.

Though you could see some wonderful things about God by watching me, it is only because of how he holds me close and how that affects my life! It is not because I am special or perfect. I can tell the cheap vinyl Hello Kitty bag is valuable to the man at the 7-11 check out desk because of the way he holds it, the way he keeps an eye on it, and the way he protects it from others. Its look alone is of no second glance, but the man's claim on it marks it as valuable. I am not worthy of your second glance. But watch how the Lord claims me, holds me, protects me, and lifts me up. You will see that the cheap plastic Doraemon bag holds something dear inside it.

Don't judge the message by the worth of the messenger... you will miss the most important thing of value in your life if you do.

Here's Your Card

2007-10-13T09:06:00.000+08:00

Sure... it has been a while since I last bogged. Summer is over, time to get back to work.

Cards. I am sick of cards. It seems like that every store in Taiwan requires you to have a card.

From left to right starting at the top: Office supply store, art & office store, home DIY store, computer store, McCafe' club, book store, second computer store, hobby store, arts & crafts store, pharmacy. These are just half of the cards I have to carry to shop. It is getting maddening. These are not cardboard cut outs, these are credit card style I.D. cards that ONLY give you a membership to their discount services. Hey! Just give the discount and save the money from making these dang cards. My right hip is killing me from sitting on a wallet that is four inches thick.

I FULLY expect to get pulled over by a Taiwan Police man, to hear him say, "May I see your card?" Then, after giving him my Drivers License, hearing him then say, "No, your Driver's Club Card." After explaining that I do not have such a thing, he will say, "Oh, that's too bad. Now I will have to enter your information into the system by hand and you will not be eligible for the Traffic Ticket Discount until your next violation."

Lord, save us from plastic and databases.

Sandy and I were in a town near us called ChouJou (say Chow-Joe) and were buying drinking water when a man stopped to talk to us. His English was pretty good and he wanted to ask some foreigners some questions. In the course of the conversation we of course told him we were Christians and wanted to talk about Jesus. He said he was a Christian and suddenly took on a very serious facial expression. "What church do you go to?" he asked. When I said that I was not bound to a building or a denomination, and that I only wanted to talk about the Bible and about Jesus he became even more serious. He pressed the issue. No answer I gave satisfied for the longest time.

He was asking to see my card.

Taiwan culture is very big on labeling people. People fall into groups. School children even have their level of accomplishment embroidered on their school uniform so everyone can look and see if a child is smart or stupid... no kidding. This man wanted to label us, thus the label "Christian" was not enough. We were not going to get his "premium serivce" of listening and valuing our words until we showed him our membership and repeated relationship with a particular "Flavor" of Church.

When we share Christ we must strive to never share "Christianity." We are not to tell people about how "our" church does it... we are to tell the world what Jesus said and did - and then let them respond to Him in their manner. We use the Bible to teach, we use the Church to fellowship. Cutting people off because they do not carry the card of our own flavor of Church is to deny the most ardent prayer Jesus ever spoke, the one that caused him to sweat blood, "keep them united in love."

-The Haggard

Swimming In Busy

2007-06-15T07:56:00.000+08:00

Wow... seems that I haven't blogged in a long while. Well... ya see... I been busy! Yeah, that's the ticket! I have been very busy. First off, I have been dealing with kidney stones and I think the drugs have made me loopy and lethargic. Second, I have been churning out paper models for Teacher Ker at an unheard of rate these last 6 weeks. Lastly, I was stressing over some Master's Degree papers I have been working on. So... I just kinda... well... you know... slacked off.

Aside from all of that; it is the end of the school year and we are often involved in graduation parties, cook outs, get togethers, and a major weekend holiday trip. We went to Taitung, on the east coast, and sent the weekend with some adult learners who are graduating this year. We had a blast.

So, I really have nothing deep or insightful to write about at the moment. Perhaps a jump start is just what I needed to get back on track.

THE FUNNY STORY-
I have often teased the wives of friends of mine back in the States about giving their husband "the look." When the husband does something wrong in public and the wife cannot openly argue or debate him without further damage to the situation, she will give him "The Look." Some of you know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Some things are just FULLY cross cultural...

I was eating lunch with my friend Teacher Ker. He was telling me that he has turned in his resignation and will be leaving the academic life of college. As a dean of a department and as he is only 45 years old, it is a shock. He wants to become a farmer and have a "simpler" life. (I have told him that farming is not all that simple) So, I was teasing him, "You will retire and just sit with your friends and play Mahjong and drink tea all day!" No, he said, I have to work hard to avoid the look. A little shocked, I asked for clarification. "I have to work hard so that my wife will not look over the top of her glasses and glare at me and say nothing."

It must be inate in women.

More later,
-The Haggard

The Most Important Day

2007-04-08T06:41:00.000+08:00

My birthday was observed recently. I am not a big fan of my birthday. Not that I am aging... more that I don't like the attention. So I celebrated by going to the big city of Kaohsiung alone for the day and hanging out in my favorite places (Sandy was at work). That is how I am with most holidays. Leave me alone and I am happy.

Not so this day.

I don't know what day it was that I realized that the whole story of Jesus was real and that I would have to deal with him on his terms... but I know the day that I died to myself and let him take over. It was Resurrection Sunday. His day. The day that he came out of that tomb and showed that he was just exactly who he said that he was. That anniverary is also the day that I came up out of the tomb of my life and started walking in the new life of his love.

It is especially a great day for me today, because one of the Hakka men that Sandy and I helped lead to the Lord has now become a bold teller of Jesus' love. Now Mr. R. is telling everyone who cares to hear about Jesus. He is telling people who don't care to hear about Jesus. He is telling people today that this is the Lord's Day of Resurrection, that Jesus is alive and has power over death and the Grave.

This week was tomb sweeping week for Taiwan. This was the week that people got off of work to go and clean the tombs of their ancestors, to worship their spirits, burn spirit money, and remind each other how scared they are of death and of dead spirits. They clean tombs and burn money and worship in this manner out of respect, sure... but mostly out of fear that dead ancestors will bring them bad luck and haunting if they are not worshiped.

Mr.R. is telling people what Jesus showed him... that there is power over death. That life comes from losing your own. We can let the dead bury the dead as we are walking around with new life in Jesus.

This is a great day.

So today, unlike my other enforced holidays, I will celebrate this day! Sandy and I will spend the morning with our Hakka friends at church, and then we will spend our afternoon with the English speaking Church in Pingtung. We will all talk about how Jesus has changed us and we will show that He has made us into something different. We will not be resurrected when we die... we were resurrected on the day we believe. Our body will die someday. Our spirits have already been renewed and they will received new bodies on that day.

What a day!

Photos of The Pingtung English Language Fellowship at dinner in Meinong:

Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to the Lord. Do not greive, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10

Take a Pill

2007-03-05T10:48:00.000+08:00

There is an interesting emotional response to waking up. When one wakes up there is a joy at facing a new day with all its potential, and a dread that I have to get up out of the comfort of a good bed and sweet dream. This is not just true of literal beds and wakings.

I have been waking up to a problem of language in the church. It is one of those problems that some will say is just nit-picking... but I think it is truly deeper than just semantics. However, waking up to this knowledge brings me both the joy of knowing God’s heart and the dread of having other’s resist the observation.

I am sick of, and becoming offended by, the ideas “accept Jesus” and “allow Him” and the ever present question to struggling believers “are you letting Him be in control?”.

Jesus is God. Jesus is King. Think on that for a bit before you read on.

Do you accept (ask in, invite) the police to search your home when they execute a warrant? Do you allow the judge to pass sentence on you? Do you let the government authorities enforce laws over you? I am sure that some of you may argue that in a free society that we do allow, let, accept these things... but stop the theoretical and work in the reality. Those in authority exercise their authority without our assistance. In fact, applying the rules of a free society to the actions of a dictatorship will bite you in the gluteus every time.

Jesus is the King. He will go where ever he wants and do as he wishes. He has already died for all your sins. He has already invaded your mind and knows what is in there. He has already taken hold of history and WILL work out his plan to the end no matter what you do. You have only one option. You get to submit. Those that resist are brushed aside by history and those that submit join the parade of victory.

Oh! How distasteful that idea is to us! That is the VERY POINT! Our sinful nature wants to say that I am free, I am in control, I get to choose my own destiny.

There’s the rub!

We have turned Christianity into idolatry. We choose our own life as the focus of God’s work. We “accept” him into OUR life, then we “allow” him to make OUR life better, then we “let” him answer OUR prayers. No matter how you slice it, we have placed ourself on the alter as an idol that we want the will of God to bow down to. We have all the control in that language. It is all on us to have the right kind of faith or the right kind of knowledge to get what we want out of him.

Look at the church today. It is more a human-potential movement than an army of servants. The best selling Christian books and the most popular Christian speakers tell you how to get rich, get happy, get well, get ahead, get the Spirit, get the gifts, get, get, get, get.

We even go to church to GET Jesus, and our evangelism focuses on telling people that they need to get faith and get Jesus.

Jesus went to the Cross and died, doing two great things. First, he paid for all sin for all time in all people and became the deed holder to their souls, the lien holder of all our hearts and minds. We OWE him. He is not a choice, he is the King who will have his way no matter what we do. The fact is that the bill is so high that we can’t pay it back, so it is his free gift to us... but we understand this and walk in faith of this only by being bound to him, owing him all that we are and can be. Therefore, we must die to ourselves so that he rules us. The only thing we can do towards salvation is to get out of his way, to let our own will die, and submit to his control.

The second thing he did was to show graphically that his faith is one of giving. We don’t imitate Christ by going to Church to GET anything. We show the faith by GIVING. We start by GIVING up our idols and our will. We live by continuing to give up to Jesus so that he can use us to give to others. We should be people so wrapped up in giving (time, money, effort, concern, love, forgiveness) that we seem to hate all those NORMAL obligations of life (job, personal comfort, or as Jesus says: wife, child, father, mother).

It is no wonder the Church is sick. So much about the Church today is “feel good.” People come to learn how to stop hurting and stop suffering and stop worrying. A great line from a recent TV show I was watching comes to mind: "You want to feel good, take a pill. You want to get right, deal with the truth." We have Churches full of people that want to feel good. Sin makes you feel good! The whole problem is people trying to feel good. Do you really think that following Jesus FEELS better than drugs, sex and Rock-n-Roll? Jesus isn’t in that business! Look at how bluntly and (lovingly) frank he spoke. He wants you to be right. You are here to get fixed from your problem and the cure can be quite painful at times. And the only reason you are getting fixed from your problems is so that he can use you the way he wants to.

No one of the faith in scripture felt good about what they were doing. It was madness! It was frightening! The church should not be marked with a line of successfully “normalized” people who are comfortable and stable now that they have accepted Jesus. The Church should be seen as a terribly destabilizing force that drives people mad with unbridled forgiveness and indiscriminate love that crosses so many cultural taboos and mores that no one is quite sure what “rules” these people live by other than the love and forgiveness.

The Roman solders, professional and orderly above all other forces, broke ranks and ran at the site of Celtic warriors coming at them. The Celtic tribes ran into war with abandon, disorderly and wild. They were naked and painted blue, woman and men fought together, all thrust into the battle with NO FEAR of death because they were already dead to the NEEDS of the tribe.

We need that abandon! Rushing into the danger of loving and forgiving people that are enslaved to their own flesh and to the world. Teaching them that Jesus is already here and in control. They just need to strip off the clothing of civilized selfishness and paint themselves as dead men with no concern for their own needs and feelings. The King is in control and we are here to do his will, and his will is that we love others more than ourselves. If you are not willing to do that simple thing, then no amount of belief will save you... because you have rejected the lien that the King has against your holdings and you are rebelliously trying to take that which you do not own.

You cannot ask Jesus into your heart. There is not enough room. You can only die so that Jesus can finally control what he has bought and paid for! Then you will have a life of danger, adventure and power. You just have to sit back and watch what he does with you.

If you love your life, you will lose it... but to those that die to the self, there is everlasting life.

A Day at the Hospital

2007-01-17T11:53:00.000+08:00

With my odd and varied history, I have some experience with working in hospitals. Having been a patient in many of them as well, I know them from the service side and the working side pretty well. With my personal politics, I am morally opposed to Socialized Medicine. There are many anecdotal evidences the Political Right and the Libertarians point to in order to show Socialized Medicine does not work. With the Libertarians I agree, but only in philosophy... no longer in simply by examples.

When something works, it simply works despite the moral or political motivations behind it. A well made gun works no matter how you use it, for hunting or self defense, or for intimidation or murder. Taiwan seems to have a system that works fairly well at the moment regardless of how ones views socialism. However, the Westerner might have some cultural problems with it.

Last month I went to my local doctor for something pretty minor. In Taiwan you make no appointment, you just drop in. Typically, you have no more than 10 minutes to an hour wait... much better than most Stateside doctor’s offices even WITH an appointment. The first time we went to the doctor here, Sandy had the flu and we did not have our nation health cards yet. The receptionist told us that it would be “very” expensive without the card, but that we could bring the card in later and get a refund. The total price for the visit without the card? $10us. We got $9us back later.

Anyhow, my little checkup last week turned up some lab problems, so the doctor gave me a referral to a Urologist. Unlike the states, He just hands me a letter and I get to choose where to take it.

I chose E-Da Hospital. It is clean and new and has some good english speaking doctors. I walked up to the info desk with my referral letter and a nice volunteer (of which there are dozens throughout the hospital) guided me to the Urology Department. There I just take a number and wait for the first urologist available. Soon I was consulting with a Doctor Lim. He gave me a dozen receipts, numbered in order. I was to take these to the different departments and get labs done. One receipt got my labs done; one got my x-rays; the next my ultra sound; the next my EKG; so on and so on. It is up to ME to find these places, to get the work done, and then to go on to the next one.

Some cultural troubles for an American were [1] in X-ray, I was to disrobe and put on a gown. No gown fit well. Typical. But then I was to walk down a busy and public hallway to wait in front of the X-ray room door, in the hall, until the next radiology tech was available. Kind of embarrassing. But, hey, everyone there was doing it. Then [2] if the doctor wanted to give me an injection, I have to go get the med for him. I take a receipt down to the pharmacy and get my med. Most of the time, I can just go around the corner to Chemotherapy and the nurse there will give the injection.

After all this... I went back to the Doctor’s waiting room thinking it would be a while for him to get the results and review them. I was in a chair 2 minutes when the nurse noticed me and flagged me to come in. The doctor had ALL my labs, x-rays and results there with him on multiple computer screens, complete with radiologist and consulting doctor’s findings. Start of process to this step, one hour.

It was decided that I had a 5mm kidney stone! Ouch. So it was off to the sonic zapper to try and shatter the invading irritation. After 30 minutes of being hit with an invisible hammer, I was done. The let me rest there a while to make sure I was okay, and then an hour later I was let loose with a referral to come back in a week for further tests and x-rays.

So, from cold call - seeing the doctor for the first time, to diagnosis, advanced treatment, to prescriptions and on my way home was a total of 6 hour. That includes an hour of rest in the doctor’s office with a nice lounge music set piped in through cordless headphones.

Cultural trouble [3] is: though it is speedy and convenient, some westerners might think it is TOO speedy and convenient. I was being seen, moving rooms, looking for rooms, getting labs drawn, and getting invasive treatment all in the short time span of the day. I like that! But I can see that some people want time to absorb it all. Westerners are more used to a doctor making a diagnosis and then scheduling a day later (perhaps much later) for a procedure. They like time to think. Not here. The plan here is to get it done now, after all, you are HERE now.

The doctors and nurses were all quite helpful and concerned. The doctor listened to all my signs and symptoms. He personally would show up at labs and treatments to make sure I was okay and understood what was going on.

The total price with a national health card? $10us. Without that card would have cost me a whopping $75us. No Kidding.

Now, despite my moral opposition to stealing money from people (taxation) under penalty for non-compliance (which most laws call extortion)... I have to admit I was impressed. I have been billed tens of thousands of dollars for similar tests, consultations, and treatments in the USA and not had NEAR a quick and human a response as this.

Historically, socialized medicine falls apart everywhere it has been done. The nature of red tape enters in and human touches turn to flow chart medicine. Some of that is evident now in the over-worked general practitioners in the cities that may see well over 100 patients a day in their office. But for now, Taiwan is doing an interesting job of it.

I haven't got time for the Pain

2006-12-08T12:50:00.000+08:00

Tuesday morning I woke up in excruciating pain. Not a good time to be sick! Tuesday is when I climb the mountain with Jack and get a chance to tell the mountain climbers about Jesus. Jack has been busy for two weeks and we have missed climbing. Today we the return to our habit and I would have hated to cancel. So I didn’t.

One the way to the mountain to meet Jack the pain got worse. I wasn’t worried. I get this pain once a year or so. It seems to be pancratitis, related to being a Diabetic. I know from experience that it will get nearly unbearable and then go away in 24 hours. Intellectually, I know that laying down or working make no difference to the pain. So I might as well bite the bullet and go do what I should do.

However, the pain can start speaking to you. It started telling me that I have been speaking to Jack for nearly 18 months about Jesus and still he is not interested. The Pain told me that I would not be a very good communicator when I thought more about the hurt than the message. But still I drove on to the mountain.

Jack met me there right on time and I could tell he was glad to back on schedule. He could see on my face that I did not feel good and started once again to lecture on the virtues of mountain climbing for health. Thankfully, Jack had a lot to tell me and I did not have to talk much on the climb up. He told me about his household projects and remodeling. He told me about his son and his wife and all their comings and goings. He told me how he started to raise rabbits last year, but had to give them all away this year because he can’t bring himself to kill them for food (though he loves to eat rabbit meat still).

As we ascended the mountain my pain got closer and closer to its peak and I got less and less anxious to do any talking. Jack happily took up the slack. He acted like a good friend, being there as a comfort and making no demands on his friend who clearly was having a bad day.

On top of the mountain, Jack made way for a tent with table and chairs that was not inhabited. For once, we did not join the others despite their invitations. I thought Jack was just being considerate to my needs. I was wrong.

Jack started to make tea after he could see that I would not be eating the breakfast he brought. After getting all the tools ready, he realized that he was out of tea! So he went scurrying around to the other climbers asking for tea. I almost fell asleep! He came back with some nice Roasted Tea and fixed us a pot. As we settled back to enjoy the tea Jack asked the most philosophical question he has ever asked me.

“What do you think is the reason for this life?” he said slowly and seriously.

For the next hour we spoke of Jesus with a seriousness and depth that Jack has never shown before.

For the next hour all the pain in my chest and belly fell to a numbness akin to a minor headache. I barely noticed it.

Jack finally admitted to me that he and his wife have been talking about their beliefs a lot lately. They have talked to their Catholic friends and to some Mormons that knock on their door from time to time. Jack admitted that the Buddhism from his family and the Catholicism from his wife’s youth just don’t seem to be giving them any answers. They have talked together about all the things Jack has heard me say about the Jesus of the Bible.

So, last week, Jack and his wife prayed that Jesus would come and live in their hearts!

But this week, as they talked about it, they said nothing had really changed. So they don’t have any confidence in their faith. They are not sure that they really know what they are doing or if the Lord answered them.

We talked about faith verses feelings, and promises verses circumstances. I asked Jack some very pointed questions about asking Jesus to be Lord. Jack said that he WANTS to see Jesus make a difference, but he just doesn’t want to be “sold-out” and called a “Christian” yet.

Though that may sound disappointing... this is actually INCREDIBLE! I didn’t do anything to change Jack’s attitudes... it was the Lord, the Holy Spirit working in his life. It was prayer from the Saints for Jack that changed his world view and is now leading him down the razor’s edge of Faith in Christ’s Sacrifice and Resurrection! This is the power (the dynamite) of the Gospel! Not that men can go and change other people, but that the message can cause the heart to change and that the Spirit can cause the mind to open.

Pray for Jack that he can gain CONFIDENCE in his faith. Remember Romans 11:1 - Faith is the confidence in things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Pray that the Lord places evidences in Jack’s path so that he can gain the confidence in things Jesus has promised.

Christmas Musak

2006-12-08T12:17:00.000+08:00

Today I sat in a McDonald’s and munched on a nasty cheeseburger and waxy fries. Hey, sometimes you need the comfort food from home. Besides, Mickey D’s has A/C and wireless internet. I had a couple of hours to kill and a laptop full of homework to finish, so I sat down to eat lunch and knock off some chapters of my Hermeneutics Class.

Sometimes it is hard to know what holidays from home are coming up, because all of the cultural markers that we grow up looking for a simply not present here. But Christmas seems to be a year round event here. You can hear Christmas Music and see Santa Clause everywhere in Taiwan all times of the year. I know a couple of churches and stores that have “Merry Christmas” banners up year round. It speaks more to a cultural seeking of good luck charms rather than any particular love for the holiday.

As I sat in Ronald’s house of arterial blockage, I noticed the music was almost totally Christmas Music this time. OH! Sure, it is Christmas time for real now. I soon notices something else. This was REAL Christmas music... not the typical Jingle Bells and You’d Better Be Good silliness that I hear the year through. They were playing songs that spoke of the Lordship of Jesus and the Salvation that he brings!

I was overcome in the Holy Spirt! Here I am in the middle of a restaurant with other people, as we all eat our cheeseburgers (a kind of cholesterol communion) and we are all totally oblivious to the declaration of the Good News of Jesus Christ that is being pumped into our ears. It was just noise. It was just a feel good, toe-tapping, emotional engineering SOUND that helped one to digest the meal.

I wanted to run around the room and ask people if they understood.

Are we just a noise that people associate with Christianity? Are we just a sound that helps the world be diverse and multicultural? Or are we the messengers of Good News that is above and beyond culture, nationality, race, religion, and culinary tastes?

Oh Lord, that my message is more than musak in the department store.

Changing Lanes

2006-11-11T06:49:00.000+08:00

Many people have heard of Culture Shock. Anyone visiting a foreign country faces a shock to the core in that basic “cultural truths” are out of kilter for them. The daily assumptions of existence are violated in a place where everyone else has different assumptions of existence. There are stages of culture shock that are similar to the stages of grief. Culture shock has a duration that is different for most people by usually lasts no more than a year, though various events can cause culture shock as they become newly discovered over time.
        There is another issue that is less well known; culture stress. This problem occurs when, rather than discovering cultural differences, you are facing differences that are well known but still just too hard to deal with. You find yourself about to face a place in cultural dealings where you know the host country sees these things differently, you understand why thy do, you have learned how to deal with it... but it still causes you a kind of stress like fingernails on a blackboard. Culture shock goes away and turns into acceptance. Yet there are small parts of the cultural differences that you can never seem to accept as correct or right and these events stress you.
        Let me offer and example.
        Most of Taiwan has a culture view of lines, ques, and lanes that is much different than westerners. In a restaurant cafeteria, an American waits in line and takes their turn, never cutting in front of others. In Taiwan the american waiting in line is elbowed out of the way by everyone. The concept of personal space and order in line does not exist in Taiwan and the westerner is often stress by this due to their upbringing that you do not shove into a line to serve yourself until it is your turn. For me, this is a culture shock that I have overcome. I can elbow to a degree, but I am not offended that I have to wait for someone who has elbowed their way in.
        However, I have a culture stress. It has to do with traffic. It is a similar cultural thinking as the restaurant issue. Rather than lines, it is lanes. The lines on the road are somewhat optional most of the time. This too is not a big issue for me now... until it gets to intersections.
        Most of Taiwan has no protected left turns and nearly no left turn lights. Left turns in large cities is a danger. On a recent visit to Taichung I noticed that some new left turn lanes and lights had been added! Yowzers! That is so cool. NOT.
        First of all, understand that when there are three lanes in your direction at an intersection, it will quickly turn to five lanes. The break down lane or parking lane will become a lane. The natural space between cars in lanes is cramped together to allow for a fifth lane. Then, when the light turns green, the five lanes race like dragsters to all fit into the oncoming three lanes.
        The left turn lane adds a new dimension and danger to this equation. The new left turn only lanes were great in my mind... until I was in the middle lane at a read light and there were cars in the left turn only lane waiting as well. As soon as the green light came on, the left turn lane suddenly became the 6th lane to go straight! Now all six lanes are squeezing into thee lanes. Understand that these three lanes are really only two lanes, as the far right lane is really for parking. So, now there are cars parked, people from perpendicular lanes are making through right-on-red turns into our traffic without stopping and all six lanes are now coming into two and a half lanes. Ahhhh! All of them RACING to be the first there.
        What happens in the left turn lane when the light turn Green Arrow Left Only and the car in the front wants to go straight? Well, he goes straight! he has a green light in that lane after all... so as he is dodging the on coming left turn traffic and causing them to stop and go in that dance of the uncertain, those behind our offended must wait. But oh no! The left turn light goes out and is now red and the offender is long gone. No problem. Those in the left turn lane that were robbed of their green light take it in credit against the now red light. A dozen cars slip through causing the on coming straight traffic to join the dance of the uncertain (stop go stop go stop go).
        Oh, the horror... the horror.

-The Haggard

Dancing in the Streets

2006-11-06T09:40:00.000+08:00

it wouldn’t happen in the USA this way. Oh, it happens, but not THIS way.

Over the weekend, Sandy and I were invited to a Church that is pastored by one of her english students. The Church is about 30 minutes away from our home and on the sea shore. It is a famous town, we are told, because at one time it was the poorest town in Taiwan and the most densely populated. Now it is a thriving little fishing village.

The Church has a sunday evening english conversation class that is taught by the pastor. That evening, a dozen of the church members sat around the table and practiced their english on Sandy and I by telling us their names, ages, family constructs, and hobbies. They also asked us questions. It was really a joy. They were surprisingly friendly and open.

Afterwards, we were told that the youth were having an evangelistic even on a bridge near by. So, we all hopped in the car and drove over to support them. I expected a little two lane bridge in the middle of town. But once we got there I was greatly surprised!

About 20 youth and young adults were holding a concert with bass, drums, keyboards and more accompanying about 8 singers and they were doing a GREAT job singing the name of Jesus and telling of his glory. They were clearly happy and wanting to share their joy. One every corner of the intersection before the bridge, there were people handing out information about the church and tracts about Jesus to the waiting cars.

Now, you might say that you have seen this in the States and elsewhere. But you’d be mistaken...

They were IN the street.

The bridge turned out to be a large 4 lane main artery highway over the harbor. We were at an intersection of 5 roads totaling 18 lanes! The band was standing IN the corner lanes of the road blocking two whole lanes in two directions, giving them the most incredible coverage of the cars and business. I was a little stunned. Wont they get in trouble for blocking lanes on a busy road? the pastor informed be that the local leader (the Shay Zhan, kind of like an american City Councilman) had given them permission to do this every two weeks.

So for two hours every other Sunday night, travelers and shoppers are treated to some rather good musical performances and to some friendly and not overbearing witnesses who are genuinely EXCITED about Jesus. This is a rarity in Taiwan. The worship of idols through local Buddhism and Taoism (and others) is very personal and individual. You never see the local religions having excited and loving praise heaped upon their gods. They are not concerned with advertising the idol’s glory and attributes. Mainly that is because NONE of the idols “love” anyone on earth. They do not forgive, they do not love, they are not concerned. Worship for these idols is reduced to a basic Santa Claus list of “I wants” and “Please help me withs” and “don’t hurt me please” bowings and kowtowing.

These Christians are clearly different and it draws a crowd. Not an angry crowd of motorists! The crowd is of people pulling over to listen, people standing around to hear, and motorcycles that miss their green lite a few times to try and understand.

Oh, Lord, that more Taiwan Churches would show the JOY of the Savior. Perhaps then people could SEE the difference in the Living God.

-The Haggard

Music to my ears

2006-11-02T10:17:00.000+08:00

A while ago, Sandy and I were invited to go out to coffee with some of her Senior college students. They are a great group of English Majors who like to hang out with each other outside of class. They often call us up and ask of we will join them. This coffee shop was about 30 minutes away and on top of the mountain near the town of Sandimen.

Some of the reason I love this culture was seen this night with these students. Taiwan is a friendly culture where strangers will invite you to their homes, out for dinner, and over to their table. There is just a part of the culture that simply enjoys each other. This is odd for me, since I am really an introvert who tries hard to LOOK like an extrovert (the Myers-Briggs test says something about this condition but I forget what... perhaps it just confirms my schizophrenic status). They enjoy the conversation and company of other people’s viewpoint and existence.

What happened after the coffee was nearly gone and the tea was getting cold was amazing to Westerners such as Sandy and I. The natural leader of the group stood up and said that we were going to play some games now. Okay, I thought, some kind of variation of “truth or dare” or “spin the bottle” because that was the only college level game I could think of. Soon they were carrying the chairs out to the parking lot, 9:00pm on a school night, and they were telling us, “we will play some music and walk around the chairs, but there is not enough chairs, then we will stop the music suddenly and people will sit down. Whoever does not have a chair will be sitting out next turn. Then we will take away one chair. Do you understand?” YES! We know this game... we played it as little kids.

I was stunned. They were stunned. They were stunned that Americans would know this game. I was stunned that people THIS age, Seniors in college, were not only playing this game, but that they thought of playing it on their own. We had a blast! It was fun, we laughed, we teased, we will have memories to last a lifetime. I am still stunned.

Can you imagine a group of American College Seniors sitting around at a hang out in the evening and suddenly saying, “Let’s play Musical Chairs!” And I mean that they would say this in all seriousness and not as sarcasm.

As I drive and bike around I see adults playing bat-mitten and table tennis with each other. I see groups of people sitting around parks and drinking tea, or singing songs, or practicing calisthenics together. People walk in groups, they eat in groups, they travel in groups. Just the other day, Sandy and her students began to walk to class and the students where troubled (really troubled) that one of their number was still in the bathroom and might have to walk alone!

Our neighbors who speak no english are always helping us, trying to communicate with us. So different from when an immigrant moves into a neighborhood in suburbia-west.

Has the west lost its love of the neighbor? Have we grown so distrustful of strangers that we cannot “break the ice” with them anymore to convert them from “stranger” to “acquaintance?” Have we become so “mature” that college students must drink alcohol watch porn to have fun in groups, and adults must be dignified and not sing to their friends?

Despite all the Taiwanese lack in knowing Jesus and knowing assurance of salvation (they fear the night so much, they fear bad luck so fully) they are rich in knowing each other and trying hard to de-strange the stranger.

Commin' Round the Mountain

2006-10-31T21:28:00.000+08:00

Mountain hiking is a very popular pastime in Taiwan. I have made a dear friend with a man who's english name is Jack and he loves to climb. Jack and I have hiked up mountains for two years. When I moved from his town of Meinung last July, he suggested that we meet each other every week at a mountain in between our two cities. This seemed like a good idea at the time. In Meinung we climbed ChaSan (tea mountain) and it was nice. It was steep but maintained most of the way. The gentle incline got your heart rate up and caused some strain but the 300 meter path was not so bad.

Now we climb up LeeDengSan. This mountain is a training mountain. That means that people climb this mountain every day for a week before the tackle the highest mountains in Taiwan. LeeDengSan is a 900 meter hike up a 45 degree incline of slippery mud and rocks. It takes Jack and I about an hour now to climb it... but in the beginning it would take us two hours and some change. I still sweat like a fish the whole way. (but my blood pressure and heart rate are the best they have EVER been)

LeeDengSan is popular with retired school teachers. They drive from many cities to this mountain to climb. Many climb it every day... that is e-v-e-r-y day. Some of them climb it twice in one day. Here I am in my $100 hiking boots and $50 climbing sticks with a $25 Camelback... and they are passing me like I am standing still as they wear $2 rubber rainboots or go barefoot with no stick and no water. They are usually 20 to 30 years older than me.

The Taiwan openness is so refreshing. "My, you are fat! You need to loose that weight." Yes, thank you, I did not know that. I am a 38 inch waist with a belly, but hardly obese. I was a firefighter for 10 years. But these thin and strong people have all sorts of suggestions on how I might improve my health. "Drink a glass of water every morning," one man said yesterday, "and then lie down on the floor and pretend to swim for 30 minutes. Put a pillow under your belly and that will push your intestines back into your abdomen." Sure, I'll get right on that.

But the fact is that these people are NOT offensive. They are like extended family. Their observations and assistance, though blunt by Western standards, is kind hearted and loving. I take no offense... well... not actively.

At the top of the mountain there is quite a community. On one's first climb up the path, one is stunned and upset to find that there is a road on the back of the mountain that allows small trucks to deliver water and furniture to the top of the mountain. Here, there are shelters made of canvas with tables and chairs all over. Next to the shelters are locked cabinets full of water, food, gas stoves, etc. On top of the mountain people have lunch parties and drink oolong tea.

Without fail, one or two groups excitedly invite us to join them. It isn't just because I am Y-gworen (foreigner), they do this for everyone that makes it up the mountain. Before lone there are a dozen ore more people around the table eating dumplings and rice and all sorts of fruit and drinking gallons of hot tea. They are laughing and joking and giving all sorts of political and weather reports. It is a hoot.

Upon leaving, people say their thanks and offer their wisdom until we all meet again. And as I walk away with Jack, if often say, "Yesu Eye Nee" (Jesus loves you). Without any hold outs, they all respond, wide eyed and appreciative, "Thank you, we are honored!"

Now these folks are Buddhists, Taoists, and various other "local" religions (mostly idol worship)... and they are VERY appreciative when I simply let them know that Jesus loves them. Sure, many of these religions are "inclusive" and allow for Jesus to be one of the many God's they worship. That isn't the point of my blog today.

How many times in the West have you shared the love of Jesus even in so small a greeting as "Jesus loves you," only to be met with sour faces, scoffs or even ridicule. Here in Taiwan there is resistance to conversion, but there is great respect for other people's faiths. No one is teased or ridiculed for having a faith, even when it is disagreed with.

Isn't it odd that in the nations where "everyone" says the KNOW that Jesus loves them because grandma beat it into their heads as a kid so please don't unload that crap one me that's offensive and violates civil law yadda yadda yadda... that here in the land of idols and god that DO NOT love their worshippers and have no time to really hear their prayers unless they pay enough money, that they respond favorably to the simple message that Jesus loves them.

Their response is not just a "thank you"... it is a true amazement at the possibility that a god (THE God in this case, but they aren't sure of that yet) would have the time, emotion, and willingness to actually be LOVING toward them. There is some fear in their voice as well because to have a god notice you in this culture is not always favorable. They have the kind of respect that is mission in the West, the true knowledge that a powerful God, able to make and destroy all things, LOVES them and caress for them. They are not always convinced of this fact, but the communication of this fact is treasured and met with gratitude.

Ah, what the "Christians" could learn from the Pagans about the Fear of the Lord.

-The Haggard

No Peace on the Beach

2006-10-30T21:27:00.000+08:00

Today my wife, Sandy, and I drove the scooter down to the beach. From our home in Neipu, the Kenting (pronounced Kun-Ding) beach area is only about 45 minutes by scooter. We took a portable tea set and some sandwiches and had a picnic. Sandy read from the Scriptures (I Timothy as I recall) and wrote in her journal. I brooded and talked to God about this place. Taiwan can be overwhelming.

Taiwan has 23 million or more people crammed into an island 90 miles wide at the widest and 250 miles long. Only about 1/3 of the island is habitable as the rest is rugged mountains. This makes some parts of Taiwan (the cities of Taichung and Kouhsiung in particular) some of the most densely populated places on earth with upwards to 5,000 people per square kilometer.

Of that mass of scooters, cigarettes and tea; only about 1% of the population can be called any flavor of evangelical Christian. Oh, the number crunchers like to say there is about 5% Christianity on the island, but this number comes from people who are NOT Christens and do not come from a Western/Judeao-Christian culture. Therefore, they do not have the cultural baggage that helps to define what a "Christian" is. They count every flavor of religion that includes a "Christ" within its mantra.

Even with that most liberal of figuring... Taiwan is pretty lame in the salvation department. There have been active missionaries here for at least 5 decades working diligently on this problem. Racially, the aboriginal population does well at a nearly 50% Christian population (but there are only 100,000 of these subjugated people left). And at the other end of the spectrum is the Hakka. The Hakka are a racial group from the Han people of mainland China. They emigrated here mostly at the end of the Ming dynasty (apx 1644). These people rate at lest than 0.2% Christian. Books have been written on the Hakka's nonviolent resistance to conversion.

These numbers are numbing for a Christian convinced that God has called the Taiwan population to His throne and shelter.

But there are worse numbers.

Every 15 minutes in Taiwan a teenagers "successfully" completes a suicide.

The abortion rate per capita is greater in Taiwan than in the United States.

The majority of Taiwanese married couples are not faithful to their spouses. This is an open situation where verbally they don't see a problem... but emotionally they are torn apart inside.

Pornography is practically available to anyone of any age simply by turning on the TV late at night or by going to the local pirated DVD store where such DVDs cost only a buck in US currency.

In Taiwan, one is brought face to face with an argument that has raged in the USA for decades: Do you legislate morality or do you teach morality and show people how to legislate themselves?

The legislation of morality in the USA has an interesting variable that Taiwan does not have. In the USA we have a history of Lex Rex, Rex Lex: the philosophy of "Is the Law King or is the King Law?" We have chosen Lex Rex as a people for more than 200 years... really even further back to the Magna Carte and even the 10 commandments! But the Taiwanese people have lived for 2000 years under Rex Lex, where the Emperor or the Minister's WORDS were the law of the moment.

For example: In Taiwan many American and Canadian english teachers have been frustrated by the fact that they came here on a contract only to see the contract change at the whim of the employer. They started with 20 hours a week on paper but after a few weeks there are "just one more class" arguments. This is because as a culture the Taiwanese see the Boss as the authority more than the Contract.

Because the King is Law, policemen are in an entirely different light here than in the West. People will SPEED past a cop here because today may not be the cop's day to catch speeders. Today he feels like only catching jaywalkers. Tomorrow he will catch speeders. Because of this, traffic LAWS that are ON THE BOOKS are rarely enforced unless the cops feel like it or are facing a quota for the day. Everyone, even cops, run red lights and drive on the wrong side of the road as they feel the need.

The laws are there... and they don't matter. No one is afraid of the law here.

Now, put that in the "Legislating Morality" argument. Can you pass an anti-abortion law in Taiwan that will be obeyed? Can you put a law on the books that limits teen access to smokes, porn, and beer and expect it to be followed?

Robert Heinlien wrote in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" that one of the main character's political leaning was "Rational Anarchist." In other words, he argued, that people will do just whatever the heck they WANT to do... but they rationally try to get along and follow the rational laws. He argued that no matter the political system employed, that most people are in fact Rational Anarchist and just don't know it. it is up to them how much of the law they will follow based on their "rationality" of the use of that law.

So the key in his political view, and in my view of missions, is not to make laws or create "dos and don'ts" but rather to show/teach people what the rational truth is. Let them legislate themselves.

Well, not everyone is really very smart... but everyone acts in their own interests. Yes, they will fail, that is why there is grace. But they will not TRY to act rationally if all there is is force and law to guide them.

I sat on a mountain top, near a temple, drinking tea one day. A man who was a retired school teacher stopped to talk. Upon hearing I was a missionary, he asked many questions about Jesus. He assumed, as many do here, that Buddha and Jesus are basically the same in their theology and teaching. I explained to him the trap of Karma and how Jesus paid the price so that sin (or even Karma) cannot be counted against us. He took it upon himself. Buddha said he could not do that for us. Jesus said that only he could do that. Sin (even Karma) cannot be paid for in our own lives because the sin (or karma) has already devalued that currency.

With wide eyes and a pale face, he declared, "That is probably the most important thing I have ever heard in my life."

No law passed by any government is going to get THAT description.

Jesus changes lives.

-The Haggard

Well, it's about time I did...

2006-10-29T21:27:00.000+08:00

Computers and me get along. Always have... most likely always will.

I got my first Atari 400 in 1982. Kicking and screaming I was drug into owning my first WINDOWS computer in 1990 after owning every Atari model made. Now I am a Macintosh man without ashamedness.

Computers are my art. I design 3d sculpture on the computer and build it from the plans. I write on my computer; novels, stories, letters, lessons, sermons. I store my photos, my books, my albums... everything in computers.

As a young pastor and bible college student in the early 80s I butt head with colleges over using computer in my dorm room and turning in dot matrix printed assignments. Now those school require computers in the dorm and turn in pages over internet.

As a pastor of 22 years I filed, researched, wrote, and more on computers when church brethren and cistern though the computer was of the devil or worse.

So why in the world haven't I been BLOGGING?

Not sure. But now I am.

Who am I?

Besides the obvious "nut-case" moniker I often wear, I am a thinking Christian. I am philosophical missionary. I am a libertarian speaker. I am passionate listener. I am a wild eyed prophet.

After 22 years of ministry and 14 years of marriage, I move my wife and me to Taiwan to be missionaries to the Lost of Taiwan. I do not work in a church or a mission. We are english teachers. She in a college and me in a kindergarten. We tell people about Jesus. We tell them about liberation from sin and fear. We see lives changed.

After many decades as a freedom loving American, as a libertarian thinker and speaker, as a gun enthusiast... I now live in a land that does not value those things because they do not have the historical baggage that brought me to that way of thinking and that world view.

Seeing things from this side of the ocean and this side of the culture, there are many things about Church and Politics that I want to talk about. I have changed. Perhaps more wild and nutty than before. Perhaps not. Perhaps something else.

So now I am here to blog.

There is NO predicting what I will write on or at what length a subject will be dealt with. I just need to vent.

So, nothing here on this first message other than introductions and howdies. Come back and see what happens.

-The Haggard