tibungla's Xanga

Just a thought...

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 02:58:58 GMT

...and I'll keep it short because it's late and I want to go to bed.

I read in the news this weekend about protests in Lhasa, Tibet, China. This isn't new or unusual. In fact, China keeps a large standing garrison of troops and equipment in Tibet for just such an occasion. These riots were more interesting to me now because I've been there. I know where the protests were. I have walked the streets that are now littered with rubble and charred with ashes. I know people who were there...

Today as I saw more news of how China is once again cracking down hard on the protests I realized something for the first time. What happened in Tibet this week wasn't at all like a political rally in the United States. Here we decide if we want to go by who is speaking, what else we might do that day, how busy we are, or whether or not we want to take a few hours off work. This is not so in Tibet. Every single person who walks out into the square in front of the Johkang Temple makes him- or herself an enemy of the state. When they join a protest, they are not deciding if they like the weather, but rather are weighing the value of their lives and families in the light of national freedom.

It was not all that long ago in the scope of human history when people in my country made decisions like that as well. Today George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin are national heroes. Their faces decorate the front of our currency. Their names grace our stores, cities and states. Their words stare down from our monuments lifting up the age of challenge of freedom to a new generation. But this was not always so. Once upon a time these men, and so many others, were hunted as rebels, insurrectionists, and criminals who would face death if caught.

I think I'll leave this as a complete-the-story thought, because there are a lot of ways I could end. Here are a few... you decide the rest.
-George Washington gave up everything to stand for something. Funny how today's presidential candidates trip over themselves to give up everything in order to stand for nothing.
-Once upon a time, in stepped France, for whatever reason, to help the Americans cast off British rule. Is it time someone did that in Tibet? Sudan? Afghanistan? Iraq? Iran? Cuba?...
-Freedom on Earth is great, and yes... it is probably worth dying for. How much greater is the spiritual freedom that comes from Jesus Christ, and should I not be willing to die, every day, that others might find freedom for eternity?
-Why do I hear more in the news about Paris Hilton's clothing, or lack thereof, than I do about people dying for the cause of freedom?
-...

Movie Fast

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:04:07 GMT

I have not sat down to watch a movie in over a year. Sure, I’ve seen bits and snatches of things here and there, and there was that one Christian film we showed at a retreat, but I’m just finishing a year-long movie fast.

At first, when my brother suggested such a preposterous idea, I wasn’t even sure it could be done. Is that even healthy? But as I thought about it, I realized that it was something I would like to do with him, and even more, something I’d like to say that I had done! I had a couple of concerns going into the fast: I work with young people, will this make me culturally irrelevant? Will this make me a social burden to my friends? Bourne Ultimatum is coming out this year! They seemed pretty small in the scheme of things, so thrusting them aside, in I dove.

I actually gave myself a caveat so that if, after three months, I felt like the fast was hindering my ministry in any way, I could be done with a clear conscience. The first three months of the fast flew by in a flurry of activity such that there would not have been time to watch something even without the fast. When I paused to consider the road I was walking, I found that there was no indication of hindrance to my ministry, so onward I plunged.

Time was one of the first benefits I noticed about this fast. As I am now able to look back over the whole year, I don’t know when I would have had time to watch very many movies. Suppose one was to watch one 2-hour film a week. Over the course of a year, that is more than 100 hours of film-watching. I am honestly not sure where I could stuff two and a half work-weeks of movies in the past year.

Another thing that I began to notice was that movies are not as important as I thought they were. I was genuinely afraid that I might lose touch with people because I would not have seen the things they had seen. And yes, it happened, I would be in a conversation where someone would say, “Have you seen _____?” I’d say no. We’d move on. It was amazing…

More surprising to me was the realization of how many movies people haven’t seen. I grew up in a pretty conservative movie-watching environment, meaning that out of a group of my friends, I was the one who probably did not see whatever it was. However, I realized that my presumption that everyone saw most everything was completely false. Though they get around, movies really are not as all pervasive of society as I thought.

There were times when the fast got long—It’s another how many years ‘til I’m done? But really things moved along rather quickly. The times when I wanted to watch a movie the most were when I really did feel like the social inhibitor for a group of friends. They were good though, and understanding, but usually not jealous. Yes, I did get left out of a few movie events, but more often than not we found something else to do and were better off for it. In fact, I escaped from Hercules and Power Rangers several times due to my convenient movie fast!

Today I find myself thinking more, deeper, and better than I was a year ago. I cannot in good conscience attribute that solely to a movie fast, but I am sure it has played its part. In addition to completely fasting from this source of entertainment, I have also sought to deliberately slow down my life, and not fill every moment of every day with busyness, entertainment, or obligation. Sometimes I just let life be empty, and that’s OK. It took a while, months actually, to flush the rush of disjointed thoughts that would flood my mind whenever I stopped, but after a while I started to think, well… better. I like that.

I will admit that I am excited to watch movies again. I miss stories, good stories, that invite you to experience life with the characters and that you can think about long and hard afterwards. I do miss being able to veg after a long week or as a cure for jet lag. And yes, I am excited about going out to a movie with my friends again.

I do not regret my year-long movie fast. Not even a little bit. Up next: a year-long fast from the internet! Ok... maybe not...

Of Wills and Planning

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:04:15 GMT

It’s that time of year again. That time when we look back over the past year and think about the things we hoped to do or to be, and resolve ourselves to do and be more in the coming year. ‘Tis a noble thing to do, and I’m grateful for a formal calendar reminder once a year to stop and take stock of life.

As a Christian, I can never evaluate the past, or look far into the future, without invoking the “Will of God.” I find that this phrase comes up often in conversations regarding plans and preparations, natural disasters and global warming, and predestination or free will. As I too look back on 2007 with grins and regrets, and forward to 2008 with resolve and trepidation, I want to share some thoughts on the elusive will of God.

Thought #1: God’s Will always starts where you are. It’s impossible to find ourselves in a place where we cannot do the right thing. The attentive will notice that I’ve just equated the Will of God with the Right Thing. It’s true… one definition of the Will of God, is the Right Thing, for you see, the Will of God is always the right thing to do. James puts it this way, Anyone then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. It is impossible to sin while doing the Will of God, yet not doing the right thing is sin, thus doing the right thing and the Will of God run on very parallel tracks. The point here is that no matter what happened yesterday, it is possible for me to take the next right step and walk forward in the Will of God.

Thought #2: Do not confuse God’s goals with His sovereignty. It is a fairly orthodox position to view God as sovereign—having control over His creation. Nothing surprises Him. Nothing happens that is beyond His ability to influence or control. This however should not be confused with His desires regarding circumstances on Earth. Islamic extremists may have shouted in the name of Allah as they flew airplanes into U.S. buildings in 2001, but it was not the desire of Jehovah. How do I know this? Jehovah’s desires are not in conflict with His laws, and even the most religious atheist knows that Jehovah forbids murder. Does this mean that the Will of God was thwarted? Yes, but not His sovereignty. This is the mystery embedded in the very nature of mankind. Sin occurs when a human exerts its will over the Will of Jehovah. If God’s Will were unimpeachable we would live in a very different creation. Needless to say, this article does not contain sufficient room to fully contain my thoughts along this point… Let me move on with this—God’s Will does not result in anything contrary to the character or nature of God.

Thought #3: God’s Will always comes to pass. This is in direct contradiction to the previous thought, but is not diminished because of this. God really is sovereign and on a bigger and higher sphere than I can understand He is working out His will on Earth. Tolkien described this idea in The Silmarilion as a master composer whose music was so deep, rich, and full that a malicious instrumentalist trying to play his own thing found that he was simply playing into the hands of the master. I cannot explain how Romans 8:28 which says that All things work together for God to those who love God and are called according to His purposes, but I believe it is true.

Thought #4: Be clear what you mean when you say God’s Will. The first three thoughts deliberately use God’s will in three different realms. One is small and personal—just me. The second is bigger, but still falls within the jurisdiction that God has given to man. The third is big, and speaks of God as the creator and ruler of His creation. It’s important to understand the jurisdiction in which we operate and that is under discussion!

A definitive discussion of God’s Will is far too big and divisive for a short blog post, but I want to leave you encouraged. You can live in God’s Will today; God is not wringing His hands up in heaven because people are trampling all over His will; and God is accomplishing His good purposes no matter what things look like around us!

Please note: You probably don’t agree with everything I’ve said… that’s OK! However, remember that this is my blog—you can comment, but write any books on your own blog.

Of Galleries and Celebrations

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:51:50 GMT

“How did your gallery go?” one might ask. It would be a good question… There were some very cool things that happened, and some, uh, not as cool things.

By far the most amazing result of yesterday’s gallery was the salvation of one of the workers at the hotel. A Christian on staff at the hotel had been witnessing to her coworker for some time, but the woman was never willing to make a commitment for Christ. Yesterday that changed as she talked with Pat and Cathy Walsh and prayed to receive Christ as her savior. Thus add angels to the gallery celebration!

I spent some time talking to a rather drunk man about his relationship with Christ as well. I believe that he was already a Christian, but is in a place of need. When I asked the man if he had any good Christian friends who could stand by him, he immediately burst into tears. I prayed for him, got his email address, and hope to be able to keep in touch.

The gallery opened at 8am and went until 10pm. Things started and ended very slow, but we had an estimated 250 people visit throughout the day. 35 images, printed on canvas and stretched over wooden frames, ranged in size from 20”x20” to 48”x36”. We also had one huge panoramic shot of the Great Wall that was nearly 8 feet long!

Everyone who came was very enthusiastic about the images and seemed to enjoy looking at them, but no one bought a thing. Yup… there was not a single sale! Many times throughout the day we would come to the place where a sale should go through: there was a buyer, the right image, the right price, etc., but it just wouldn’t. As I thought about this yesterday, I feel like I can see God’s hand in keeping sales from going through, but I don’t know why.

All in all it was a very cool experience. I’ve never seen a collection of my own work like that before. It was a good opportunity to put on an event and learn something about advertising, marketing, and sales. Thank you all for your prayers and support! Let’s do it again sometime!

The Big Break

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 23:11:08 GMT

It was the same night I heard that Enterprise had my backpack. I had been out for coffee with my dad and returned to find more than a dozen missed calls on my cell phone. When I checked the numbers I discovered they were all from one person, so I figured something was up, and called him back. I was blown away to hear that someone was interested in sponsoring a one-day gallery event near Orlando, FL to feature and sell my photography.

For the past week I have been feverishly pulling together a collection of my best images. The 4GB of RAM in my laptop has been tested and tried. A media blitz has hit the radio stations and newspapers of central Florida. Several photo labs have been tried and found lacking in the desired quality. Countless details have been worked over, and hopefully fallen into place. And right now 40 canvas wrapped prints up to eight feet long await their international debut at The Waterfront Inn at 8am tomorrow morning.

I am humbled by the realization that I could not do something like this on my own. I do not even have the money to print the images, much less pay for advertising, facilities, and the sundry other expenses that are going into this gallery. I am so grateful to those who are paying for this event, to those who have critiqued my work, and to those who simply believe in me when my own thoughts become dark and depressed.

I was talking with another friend last night about favorite scripture verses. There are a lot to choose from, but one of our mutual favorites was Romans 5:1 which says: Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Tomorrow’s event has the potential to be my “big break” in photography, but it does not have to be because I have already had my big break spiritually. Someone has paid for me to have peace with God, and I really cannot ask for more.

Please pray for me, my sponsors, and this event. We will be on the floor from 8am to 10pm EST showing and selling pictures. Pray that God would bring a lot of people to the gallery. Pray that they would buy lots of images. And pray that God would continue to direct and bless my photography for His Kingdom.

Of Backpacks and Miracles

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:11:33 GMT

I am doing something today that I have not done since July. I am doing something today that I never expected to do again. You see, at this very moment in the overhead bin on my Ted flight from Chicago to West Palm Beach sits my green Crumpler backpack. Today, I am traveling once again with my bag.

Most of my readers probably know that in July I was in Sacramento, CA, finishing up an IPS workshop. At some point that afternoon—in the process of dropping students off at the airport, shuffling gear, returning rental cars, and wrapping things up—my backpack, and nearly $9000 worth of gear, went missing. As you can imagine, I spent hours trying to track it down, all to no avail. I had plenty of identification in the bag, so when I didn’t hear from someone within a week or two, I figured it had been stolen and gave up on ever seeing it again.

Thursday of this past week I checked my voicemail to find a call from Enterprise Car Rental at the Sacramento Airport. Dirk informed me that he had my backpack, and had left countless messages for me. In fact, this would be the last message and if I wanted my bag back I needed to call him. Needless to say, I called him… It was true, he had my bag and everything was in it!

My bag arrived at my house on Monday, two days ago, completely intact. I am truly amazed at God’s goodness.

What happened? As near as I can figure out, my bag must have been returned with one of our rental cars. Despite my best efforts to communicate, I had no luck in getting Enterprise to track it down. Why I never received their messages, I’ll never know, but I’m really glad I got the last one!

The middle of the story is amazing as well. So many people expressed their love and support to me. I didn’t even express a need, but friends gave me more than $1500, enabling me to continue my ministry throughout the summer and fall. I can truly say that the images and experiences of this fall have far surpassed anything I have experience before, but I was just the point man, representing hundreds of friends and fellow Believers around the world.

Thank you for your love, your support, your faith, and your encouragement. Let us continue to stand strong for the King!

This week in the news...

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:17:30 GMT

This past week had several news items that were rather interesting to me. I’m not a very diligent news sleuth, but I figure that it is my civic and religious duty to at least pay attention to what makes headlines in the United States. Unfortunately, most of our culture seems either consumed with what Fox News calls “Pop Tarts,” or with the latest grisly police discovery in small town America. I do not think that sensationalism makes good news, but that is another issue.

This week’s top issue was the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, MD, and I’m pleased to note that due to a relatively quiet week from Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, and O.J. Simpson the peace accord actually made headlines. This conference, sponsored by the United States, was attended by 44 nations, including a surprise showing by Syria. However, in the words of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “Soon, even the most politically doltish individuals will understand that this conference was a failure from the beginning.” For once, I agree with this man, and here is why:

Syrian diplomats were offended that President Bush referred to Israel as a "Jewish State."
Muslims do not negotiate for land. Once territory has been under Islamic rule, it is forever destined to be thus. Israel will never gain peace in exchange for land.
Even negotiating with Israel brings dishonor to Arab nations.
Arab nations are unwilling to aid their Palestinian brothers.
Ahmadinejad believes that his role is to usher in the Mahdi, who will destroy Israel and the United States. He also believes that the Mahdi’s appearance is eminent.
Arab children are fed a diet of hate propaganda from the time they are born. They grow up believing the same lies that led to Hitler’s holocaust.
In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Gold Meir, “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

My second news interest comes from Sudan. A female British teacher, Gillian Gibbons, was arrested and sentenced to 15 days in prison. While in prison, mobs numbering in the thousands beat on the doors demanding Gibbons’ death. Gibbons’ crime?—allowing her class of 7-year olds to name their mascot teddy bear “Muhammad,” and thus insulting the last prophet of Islam.

British diplomats are currently in Sudan negotiating for Gibbons’ release, and perhaps her life. This case is interesting to me because it illustrates the difficulty in interacting with Islamic regimes. Yes, this is simply one person could be viewed as an isolated case. There are too many isolated cases. The U.S. populace needs to observe the behavioral patterns in Islam and start making some intelligent decisions. Here’s what I mean: We’re a very tolerant society, it is perhaps our number one virtue. So, we allow immigrants to bring with them their own traditions, practices, and laws. Oops… Islam isn’t so big on the freedom of speech and we have major ideological issues trying to resolve the freedom of speech with teddy bear naming conventions.

Here’s some other things going on in the news this week that are interesting, but I’ll save you the commentary:

What does Russian Prime Minister Putin’s party winning the elections mean for peace in the Middle East?
Will Venezuelan leader Chavez win a reelection bid that would put him into power for life?
Where were the feminists when a Saudi Arabian judge sentenced a woman to 200 lashes for being a rape victim?
Why did the blackout of the Packers-Cowboys game get more media attention than the Middle East Peace Conference in Annapolis?
Did the withdrawal of a U.N. Resolution in favor of the peace process by the United States save it from a natural disaster?

And finally, for the interested, here are a few websites that are worth checking out to keep up on some key Middle East issues:

Good luck changing the world this week!
Rowan

Rowan's Newsletter! Sign up now!

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:08:29 GMT

So, I'm writing a newsletter... it's not necessarily news about me, but news from me and other photographers I work with. It'll be telling stories about cool places, showing off cool pictures, and otherwise highlighting a few of the cool things God is doing around the world.

I'd love to send you one, but chances are good that I don't have your address! So... if you're interested in receiving a copy of this, and future, newsletters, please respond via email to: newsletter@tibungla.com. Please send your address like this:

Rowan Gillson
Address Line 1
Address line 2 (if needed)
City
State
Zip
COUNTRY

That'll make it so much easier to put it all into a nifty mailing list or something.

Cheers!
Rowan

Ancient Thanksgiving

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:58:01 GMT

Tian Tan, The Temple of Heaven

Thanksgiving is over and I’m sure I weigh more now than I did when it started. I was thinking that eating a lot was kind of a funny way to celebrate a holiday of thankfulness until I remembered that God initiated a lot of feasts for the ancient Israelites to give thanks.

The recognition of some deity’s influence upon daily life is a core theme of religion, and thus traditions of giving thanks are as ancient as religious humanity itself. The offering of sacrifices was an attempt at influencing said deity to behave in a positive manner towards the pious worshipper. I guess even the gods need a little appreciation every now and then.

Earlier this year my travels took me across China. Much of my time in Beijing was spent visiting the key tourist locations that every veteran traveler to China must check of his list. And then I went to Tian Tan.

Tian Tan means “Temple of Heaven” when translated into English. The Temple of Heaven is one of the few temple complexes to remain in the heart of Beijing after the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, but its uniqueness does not end there. At the center of the many-acred complex is a large circular building 38 meters in height, known as the “Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests”. In the hall of prayer you will not find any idols, images, or effigies representing the traditional Buddhist deities. In fact, the entire complex is devoid of such images. Perhaps the only such temple in the whole of China.

It is difficult to trace beliefs back through history as they are so often tainted by today’s views, but the story I have been told goes like this. In ancient days the Chinese worshipped Sheng Di, the God of Heaven. Once a year the emperor would come to the Temple of Heaven to worship this God of Heaven and pray for a good harvest. Throughout the ages the Chinese people have turned away from the Creator to Buddhism, but Tian Tan has remained. Even into the 1900s the emperor would return once each year to worship the God of Heaven.

It is difficult to express to you what it felt like to stand outside this ancient testament to the Father. No idols mocked his image. No writings marred his truth. Here in the center of Communist, atheist Beijing lay a massive monument to the God of Heaven. I stood outside the door of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and looked upon an altar 4,000 years old, upon which countless sacrifices had been offered to my God. And then it happened. I heard His name. It was spoken by Chinese people. It was voiced freely in public. It was the only time I heard it in the streets of China. Someone read aloud the writings above the altar, and called upon the name of the God of Heaven: Sheng Di.

A Big, Red, Bouncing Ball

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:35:44 GMT

Hungry monks return from the morning's foraging run.

Several years ago I was traveling across the United States with a children’s ministry team. As the team leader my responsibilities were many and varied. On any given day I could be found driving, setting up, tearing down, training teachers, telling stories to children, counseling teachers, children, and parents, and any of a dozen other things. One of the things that I enjoyed the most about my ministry was the opportunity to train young people to be more effective in living out their relationship with Jesus Christ.

There were dozens of lessons that I taught, and learned, during the years I traveled with the Children’s Institute, but few were more important than the Garden of the Mind. Scripture is pretty clear that one day every man, woman, and child who has ever lived will give an account of their lives before a Holy God. Every word, thought, action, attitude, and motive will find itself under the scrutiny of One who can never be deceived. This is a scary idea, but not one without hope, for this concept of responsibility gives us identity as suddenly who we are—and what we do—matters. (That, however, is a topic for another post.)

I taught countless youths and children about the principle of responsibility and the need to guard our thoughts, taking each one captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5) Part of being responsible for our thoughts means that we are to be careful about what we let into our minds—not everything we have opportunity to see, read, or hear is edifying. Part of being responsible for our thoughts means knowing what to do with those things that enter our minds “by accident.”

To illustrate this point to the students I would begin talking about a large, red, bouncing ball, vaulting its way down the street. The students, and you, my dear reader, didn’t have a lot of choice about whether thoughts of this ball would enter the periphery of their mind. However, they did have a choice to make about whether to continue bouncing down the road with my ball, or to return their attention to me.

I had all but forgotten about oversized crimson rebounding spheres when I arrived in Thailand, but the lesson had not fallen upon deaf ears. I arrived to meet my hosts, who I didn’t know. After talking with this missionary family for some time their oldest son suddenly exclaimed, “You’re the guy with the big, red, bouncing ball, aren’t you?!?” I was stunned to realize that not only did he remember the lesson, but he had shared the message of a large, red, bouncing ball all over Thailand.