Top Songs from the 1980's

Everyone knows that I'm 80's guy.  I live and breathe the 80's.  I still wear pastels and Izods.  In my free time I play with a Rubick's Cube.  The only video game I'm good at is Asteroids.  It's all 80's for me.  Consequently, I've been inundated with requests by our legion of diary readers all asking the same question:  "Patrick, what were the top 10 songs of the 1980's?"

After much badgering, I have agreed to make THE OFFICIAL LIST OF ALL-TIME BEST SONGS FROM THE 1980's.  But here's the rule.  These are NOT MY PERSONAL FAVORITE 80's songs.  These are the Top 10 songs that best exemplify the 80's.  Specifically:

*The song must have been a top 40 hit

*The song must be a technically well-crafted song.

*The song must exemplify the 80's sound (musical technology, mood, artist).

Okay, so here is my totally, awesome, tubular, and gnarly list to the max which is official for all time. No one else's opinion counts.

1) "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson.  Of course the 80's belonged to Jackson and this song and this video ushered in the smooth, very produced, dance sound that Jackson would ride through the 80's.  The throbbing base line and the catchy dance groove was instantly memorable and it flirts with minor keys and has dark lyrics.  Total nerds tried to moonwalk, the video blew people away, and dorks like me ran around with one glove on their hand. 2) "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.  This song may have been the biggest #1 hit of the 1980's and is the 2nd most played song of all time on the radio (John Lennon's "Imagine" is number one).  The song is about someone in denial about their divorce, but it so easily could be anyone's song to the person they love.  Andy Summer's repetitive guitar part is one of the best rock hooks ever. 3) Purple Rain" by Prince.  Every decade needs a sing-along anthem and Purple Rain was both and anthem and a slow love song.  The closing guitar part is considered one of the greatest guitar solos in rock. Clocking in at 8 minutes, Purple Rain (along with "Hey Jude: by the Beatles---another anthemic but slow song) is the longest pop song in history.  It was also the song playing when I first danced with a girl.  I was later arrested and given a restraining order.  Oh my. That was nearly 30 years ago.

4) "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran.  Along with Michael Jackson, Duran Duran were the closest thing the 80's had to the Beatles, as far as fan hysteria was concerned.  Their best album was and still is "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf" which came out in 1982 began the so-called "Second British Invasion." By the mid-80's, 40% of the songs on the charts were from Britain (explains my obsession with Britain eh?).  The video for "Hungry Like the Wolf", like Billie Jean, ushered in the age of MTV and music videos.  Filmed on location in Sri Lanka on 35 mm film, "Hungry Like the Wolf" looked like a minature "Raiders of the Lost Ark." And everyone can sing along to the "doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo" part. 5) "Girls Just Want to Have Fun " by Cyndi Lauper.  The 80's are often thought of for their upbeat, catchy, non-substantial lyrics and sounds and this song definitely epitomizes that.  It's a great song for a sunny day and a sing-a-long.  It's also a very well-produced song being backed by great studio musicians who went on to form "the Hooters."  Cindy Lauper's loud, 5 octave range gives the song its chirpy, teenage joy. 6) "Careless Whispers" by George Michael.  Although released on a Wham! album, it was George Michael's first solo hit.  This slow song can still be heard in elevators, restaurants, and easy-listening stations everyday.  This slow song about the betrayal of a lover has a saxophone line that may be one of the most memorable hooks in pop music history(certainly 80's pop music).

7) "Borderline" by Madonna.  This may be Madonna's most simple, and beautiful song.  Most people (including me) heard it on the radio and thought it was being sung by an African-American girl.  It is a black, R & B song sung in Madonna's nasal voice.  It's a wistful song about a relationship in trouble.  It's not one of her slow ballads or fast, sardonic shock-hits.  The instrumentation really captures the 80's sound--some computers and some genuinely good musicians playing together.

8) "Take on Me" by A-ha.  This band from Norway was actually very talented but got pegged as being a one-hit wonder in the USA because of this song and its forever memorable video which is half-cartoon and half real.  The song is quintessential 80's with its upbeat tempo, catchy hook, and excess of computerization.  Sadly the success of this song really diminished Pal Savoy Waaktar's recognition as a writer.  Pal, the keyboardist, would go on to write some of the most gorgeous slow ballads in pop music over and over again for the next 20 years, but none of them really got a fair hearing because of the success of Take on Me. 9) "Walk This Way" Run DMC with Aerosmith.  Hey, this isn't my favorite song list..it's the songs that best exemplify the 80's.  The 80's opened the door for Rap.  Although it was around in the late 70's and there were a few minor rap hits in the early 80's, it wasn't until the middle of the decade with this song that Rap started to go big.  The use of then-nearly-dead rockers Aerosmith brought rap to a white audience and along with the Beastie Boys, rap was about to take over the music industry within the next 6 years. 10) "Sweet Child O' Mine."  There was a lot of heavy metal and so called "hair metal" bands in the 1980's.  But those bands got blown off the stage by the hard-driving, dark music of Guns n' Roses.  The pride and joy of Indiana, Axl Rose, became a household name with his raspy, demon-possessed sounding voice.  This song really ushered the end of the 80's.  Released in the summer of 1988, music after this would be darker in rock, darker in rap, and completely computerized in R & B. Well, that's it.  The official list of Top Songs from the 1980's from the 80's music king himself.  By the way, what were my favorite songs in the 1980's? that would go something like this:

1) "Fascination Street" by the Cure  (mind-blowing guitars plus throbbing base-line = greatness).

2) "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2. (truly an anthemic song)

3) "The Winner Takes it All" by Abba. (the same 4 notes over and over yet no one notices--genius songwriters)

4) "Save a Prayer" by Duran Duran. (beautiful and exotic)

5) "Voices Carry" by Til' Tuesday (truly a perfect pop song)

6) "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung (a cool, underrated song).

7) "Hunting High and Low" by A-ha.  (one of Pal Waaktar's many gorgeous ballads beautifully song by Morton Harket)

8) "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (the best of the totally computerized songs...total early 80's Britain New Wave).

9) "With or Without You" by U2  (you can feel the pain of  love heart-all over this one. Lovely understated guitar part).

10) "Rapture" Blondie/"Another One Bites the Dust" Queen:  Get a two-fer here, since both songs kind of rip-off one of my favorite 70's songs, "Good Times" by Chic as they try to mimic the guitar of Nile Rodgers and the bass line of Bernard Edwards.  It's all about the bass line.

Wow!  And how many of these are Americans?  Zero.  No wonder I'm so crazy about the U.K., Ireland, and Northern Europe in general.  It explains so much eh?

For the one person still reading this post (me!), My favorite albums would be:

Roxy  Music-"Avalon."

The Soundtrack of Chess the Musical

Frankie Goes to Hollywood-"Welcome to the Pleasuredome"

Duran Duran "Rio."

Prince "Sign O' the Times."

U2 "Unforgettable Fire."

The Cure "Disintegration."

The Next Christendom: Discussion 8 (Final)

We now turn to Chapter 9 and 10  in our discussion of Philip Jenkins' book, "The Next Christendom."

The final two chapters are pretty thin compared to the rest of the book.  Chapter 9 discusses the divide between the "conservative" non-Western blocs of the Catholic Church and Protestant Church and the more liberal Western blocs.  Jenkins points out (as he has before) that the church is growing must faster in Non-Western countries than in Europe or North America even though these are still viewed as the home of the Catholic , Anglican, Lutheran, and other churches.

The most interesting section of this chapter is the section that focuses on efforts by Non-Western missionaries to re-Christianize Europe and North America.  One-sixth of priests in American parishes come from another country.  Ireland is full of African priests.  Great Britian has 1,500 missionaries from fifty nations.  The Nigerian-based Redeemed Christian Church of God states: "...We will plant churches within five minutes walking distance in every city and town of developing countries, andwithin five minutes driving distance in every city and town of developed countries" (p.204-205).

Can these ethnic churches make inroads with the majority populations in Europe and North America?  It is challenging because of the unique cultural expressions that these churches take.  Jenkins gives numerous examples of non-Western churches creating a large presence in Western cities, however, to make this non-Western Christianity part of the natural landscape may require time and occur through mixed-ethnicity marriages.

Jenkins closes the book by peering into the future a bit.  He thinks its vital that Westerners learn more about Islam since Islam and Christianity (and the West in general) will continue to have the potential to clash--and have a long history of clashing.  Jenkins also feels that Christianity has gotten short-shrift in universities.  While other religions are valued, taught and respected, Christianity is presented in a one-dimensional negative light.

The Western church also remains ignorant of the breadth and scope of non-Western Christianity.  Jenkins points out that many years ago Ron Sider wrote a book entitled "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger."  Today it could be called "Rich Christians in an Age of Hungry Christians."  Jenkins is pointing out that the average Christian today is not a wealthy westerner, but a poor person from an underdeveloped or developing nation.  He concludes by pointing out that the Biblical stories of exile, immigration, oppression, persecution, famine etc. are highly relevant to the majority of the world's Christians.  Consequently, the Bible has a special relevance to them that it does not to wealthy Westerners (this was the subject of Jenkin's follow-up book which is also worth reading).

So is Christianity on its way out:  Jenkins concluding thoughts are worth quoting in full:

"In 500 AD, CHristianity was the religion of empire and domination; in 1000, it was the stubborn faith of exploited subject peoples, or of barbarians on the irrelevant fringes of teh great civilizations; in 1900, Christian powers ruled the world.  Knowing what the situation will be in 2100 or 2500 would take a truly inspired prophet.  But if there is one overarching lesson from this record of changing ortunes, it is that Christianity is never as weak as it appears, nor as strong as it appears.  And whether we look backward or forward in history, we can see that time and again, Christianity demonstrate a breathtaking ability to transform weakness into strength."

Concluding Thoughts:

Re-reading/reviewing the Next Christendom makes me glad we are doing Three Worlds.  It seems highly relevant on many levels.  About 10 days ago we had our National Leader from the Netherlands here.  The churches there represent the Three Worlds of Christianity with a traditional church existing just a few miles from a Post-Christendom church, which is just down the way from a Congolese non-Western Church.  It is into this mix that Daniel and Christy Kihm will be placed.  They will have to navigate all three worlds all the time.  Each church has its strengths and weaknesses---each worldview has its strengths and weaknesses.  There is a dynamism and relevance that can arise out of the church at this particular time in history---if it is navigated correctly.  That is why I think the work at Three Worlds is important.  Because when the church can unify and express itself in a variety of ways, it has the power to moblize and change the world for the better.  I'm excited to see what happens in the Netherlands and in the other places where we are seeing the re-invention of Christianity--always old and always new.

Thanks for following us on this in-depth book review.  There will be others to follow.

Highlights from our Trip to Spain

 

We had a very intresting trip to Spain.  It started out with a silly mistake.  We missed our plane.  This is the 3rd airplane incident for me in a row.  Perhaps its a sign that it's time to slow down the travel schedule--which is what we have done starting this month.  I have just one small 36 hour trip (by train to central Germany) in the next two months.  Hooray!

In the Ukraine, my plane aborted the take-off because of birds around the runway.  I then missed my connecting flight back to Berlin.  On our way to Egypt, our Lufthansa plane was next in line to take off, but because it turned 10PM in Frankfurt and there's a curfew, the flight was postponed until the next day.  And then on this trip to Spain, we decided to go to Starbucks and get something to eat before our early flight.  We took about 3 minutes too long at Starbucks and arrived at our gate late.  We would have to fly out the next day.  Stupid, stupid mistake.

But part of me was actually relieved.  It would mean one more day at home between the Egypt and Spain trips.  We spent that extra day doing nothing which was great.  We then flew out the next day and arrived in Madrid at noon.  From the airport, we started our 5 hour drive South toward the coastal city of Almeria in Andalusia where our 3W Event was to be held.

On our way there, we stopped in Granada, Spain.  Granada is considered Spain's most beautiful town and it is rich in history.  Spain for a long period of time was conquered by Muslim invaders.  For 800 years, the Muslims ruled much of Spain and Spain was a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived peacefully side by side.  All of that ended when the Spaniards retook Spain cumulating in a giant battle in Granada in 1492.  Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II then set about unifying the country and turning it into Modern Spain.

It was at Granada that Christopher Columbus received his orders to set sail to discover the passage to India.  Instead, of course, he discovered the New World and all that the Spanish explorers discovered in the ensuing years was claimed for Spain and the Catholic Church.  This ushered in the age of European global empires with Spain eventually having territories from Costa Rica to the Philippines.

This period of Spanish history is my favorite historical period, so it was a great thrill for me to visit the crypts where Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand are buried together.  It was hard to believe that in those little wooden boxes were the remains of two of the most significant monarchs (perhaps the most significant global monarchs) in history.  I wanted to ask for an autograph but it was useless.

Granada still has an old town on the hill that is knows as the ancient Muslim quarter--the Albayzin.  We wandered through the alleys and streets, and Marco and I drank from a well that is still functioning even though it was built in the 1100's by the Muslim conquerers.  One of the reasons Granada became the center of Spain for a time was because of the availability of natural spring water in what is otherwise a very dry, waterless region.  High on the hill is the famous fortress/palace of Alhambra.

From Granada, we headed to the coastal city of Almeria where I met the Fernandez family last year.  The Fernandez family are missionaries for a German mission agency, but Juan Carlos is from Bolivia originally and his wife Arely is from Honduras.  Their 12 year old daughter Kayla and 8 year old son Iker were born in Europe.  Last year, I had such a nice time getting to know their family and I was deeply impressed by them.  I was very excited to have Jamie and Marco meet them because I had a feeling our two families would hit it off despite the language barrier (they don't speak English).  Just as I suspected, the language barrier was no barrier at all and we all enjoyed a great time together.

The Fernandez are a wealth of information.  For twenty years they have worked in Spain and they have lived in about 5 different locations.  They have been particularly fascinated by the Three Worlds concept because they find themselves living and working in the Three Worlds, but were unaware of it.  They work with German retirees who are very much part of the Traditional church.  But they also work with South American immigrants that represent non-Western Christianity.  And in their own church in Almeria, they often have post-modern/post-Christendom youth attending.  All three communities of believers are very different and the framework is very different.

We have many ideas of how we could partner up with the Fernandez family in the future.  We are enjoying getting to know each other and look forward to what the future has in store for us.  We also met some German youth who are spending time working in various mission-fields in different countries.  It's an idea that we are doing with our 3W internship, but we hope to really unveil it in its completed form once we have our next 2 couples on the mission-field.  It was great to get input from them about what not to do. Sweet kids too.

Andalusia, is, of course, a very famous part of Spain.  Much of this area looks like Southern Arizona (not the beautiful red Northern Arizona--Sedona).  It is dry, dusty, and full of barren mountains.  This is where many Westerns like "the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" were made.  The landscape looks like the Western United States, but it is also an area of beaches and resorts.  Next to Almeria are two resort towns: Aguadulce and Roquetas del Mar.  We didn't explore as much as I thought we would because we all went into this trip exhausted (particularly me) and the temperature was about 110 degrees.  Sometime I'd like to go back to this region when it is not the peak of summer.  Supposedly the weather is fantastic for about 10 months of the year.

After the seminar, we packed up and drove back to Madrid--a city that Jamie and I once explored when Marco was still in the womb.  He was there, but doesn't remember any of it.  We went to two bullfights, and of all my travels, the bullfights are still about the most interesting cross-cultural experience I've ever had.  It is a fascinating, multi-layered cultural experience.  Jamie and I were absolutely riveted throughout the whole thing.  This time around, we didn't have the time or the energy to get back out there, and Marco would have protested fiercely.

All in all, the trip accomplished what I had hoped for, and I really am very curious about what further things await us all in Spain.

Enjoy my usual poorly-lit, non-creative, fuzzy photographs.

Marco at the place where Christopher Columbus received his commission to go discover the New World.

Islam Secularizing

To go along with my recent post on how Islam is not immune to secularization (as opposed to just being pre-disposed to radicalism) a new, massive Pew Research study makes the point that the Islamic world is increasingly losing its religiousity.

To begin with, Muslims 35 years and older have a higher level of committment than Muslims between the age of 18 and 34.  The difference is most stark in the Middle East and North Africa.

There is an increasing divide between Sunni and Shia Mulsims with 40% of Sunni's not acceting Shias as fellow Muslims, particluarly in the Middle East and North Africa.  An example of the divisions within Islam.

There is quite a bit of uniformity on the idea that there is only one way to interpret Islam, however, --once again the center of Islam is breaking down with Tunisia, Morocco, and the Palestenian territories saying their are multiple interpretations.  American Muslims share that more liberal attitude towards Islams absolutes.

As with Christianity, Africa shows a high level of religiousity compared to other regions.  However, it's key to note that Muslims in Europe and the Former Soviet Bloc tend to have a much lower degree of committment toward the faith than other regions.  Going back to my point---Islam is not immune to secularization.

Another key factor which is predictable:  Turkey's traditional separation between Church and State has kept Turkish people pretty committed to religion despite modernization.  Expect this number to drop if Islam is increasingly forced down people's throat in this democracy.

Islam's fierce absolutism and the fact that it is so deeply embedded in local culture means that committment levels (or at least identifying as a Muslim) remain high.  It is significant, however, that in the heart of Islam (the trend setting region of Islam) we are seeing swift declines in religiosity.  The internet, Al-Jazeera, satellite dishes, the "democratic" revolutions, and the global branding of Dubai, Qatar and others as they attempt to move away from oil economies to service economies is having an impact.

What Young Clergy Want You to Know

My friend Stephen sends me this post on "What Young Clergy Want you to Know."  It sounds right on the money to me.  Some highlights.

• They love Jesus and they love the Church
• They understand they are presiding over the death of American Christendom
• They are okay with that
• But they want the church and their leaders to be honest about where we are.
• The sooner we can come to terms with our dyings, the sooner we can live into the new life that is emerging from it. Despite their concerns, they remain hopeful.

• They are native to a culture that the church, on the whole, does not fully - or hardly - understand or engage. That doesn’t just go for parishioners. It goes for clergy, too.
• They are never going to act or sound like previous generations of clergy.
• They feel the church needs honest self-assessment, but feel they can’t be critical because their next job depends on the people they may critique.
• They feel the expectations placed on younger clergy are not enforced among older clergy

• They are no less theologically committed than their predecessors,
• But their work looks different and their language sounds different.

They are worried about job security - not just about getting paid (which is not always a given) - but whether they can do the job they feel called to do in congregations that don’t want to change. Being prophetic is an attribute we laud in seminary, but it can get you fired in the parish.

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Very intersesting.  Read the whole thing.

Muslims Converting to Christianity in Europe

  Here is a fascinating audio interview with a man who is documenting the fast growth of conversions by Muslims TO Christianity in EUROPE!  In Germany and Austria, Iranians (ethnic Persians) and Afghans are converting in large numbers.  Many baptisms are occurring and the trend seems to be growing.  Many are from the well-educated classes.

As is common with Non-Western experience, many of these Muslims (as in happening in the Middle East and Africa) are having dreams in which they encounter Jesus.  In these cultures,  dreams are taken very seriously.

This report is a good counter to the constant Muslim panic that is often in the Christian media.  "The Muslims are taking over the world!"  "All of Europe will be run by Muslims!" and the hyper-ventilating from commentators like Mark Steyn etc. etc. etc.

These kind of straight-line demographic projections are silly and don't ring historically true.

1) First of all, it works both ways.  Christianity can grow (and is growing) in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe amongst Muslims.  I find it strange when the Christian media (and Christians) seem to give all of this power and influence over to another religion.  It's very ironic when the "Good News" is treated as so fragile it can be easily dismissed by a billion Muslims.

2) Muslim birthrates are slowing dramatically across the Middle East and Asia.  From Iran (where they are now asking people to have more babies) to Bangladesh,---birthrates are dropping.  Globalization 3.0 (or Hyper-Globalization as I call it) is seeing more women enter into the work force, the Middle Class expand, and the nuclear family get smaller and smaller.  This is even happening in Europe, even if Muslim families start from a higher birthrate than the natives.

3) Secularization and materialism is a powerful force on Muslims too!  It's not just "Christian Europe" that can see a decline.  "Muslim Europe" (and the Islamic world) can also see a decline of religious ferver.  Once again, materialism, individualism, and integration often means that the second and third generations of immigrants are not nearly as religious.

4) So why all the hysteria?  Because Christian media and the news media spend a lot of time fueling the conflict and ignoring other trends.  The real clash occurring in the Islamic world is between an emerging modern Islam comfortable with Capitalism and free markets and a fundamentalist Islam that doesn't know how to integrate into a globalized world.  Always painting it as one giant, monolithic Muslim movement is just not accurate.  You think it's hard to get an American Calvinist and an American Armenian to agree---try getting 1 billion Muslims to agree!  Not going to happen.

Read this carefully:  Yes, there is persecution of Christians (and other faiths) by Muslims.  Yes, there are conflict zones like Nigeria, the Philipines, possibly Syria in the immediate future where Muslims will wage war on Christians.  But this is taking place within a larger context:  Islamic people are increasingly living in societies where Islamic Theocracy doesn't work and governments are under great pressure to provide the kind of upward mobility other parts of the world are seeing (China, Brazil, India).  Even more difficult for fundamentalist Islam is the fast economic growth of places like Turkey and Indonesia which puts even more pressure on Islamic countries to succeed and not hide behind the Islamic excuse.  Furthermore, all of this is displacing tradition hence the counter-reaction of Fundamentalism.

Fundamentalism is an attractive ideology because it's not rooted in concrete realities.  It's easy to talk about on the internet or in mosques when you don't have to actually deliver the goods to the people.

Islamic Fundamentalism may win some elections and it may convert some youth and even create terrorist brigades and networks, but it is impracticle in governing and creating the stability that people (no matter what their culture is) crave.  Sidenote: And aren't Christians supposed to believe people are by their nature rebellious? So why wouldn't there be rebellion by Muslims against the rigid rules of fundamentalist Islam.

A big question for the whole world in general right now is:  What option is there to Liberal Democracy and Free-Market Economics?  As messed up as the USA and Europe are right now economically (because of excessive greed and a lack of safeguards--naivete about the justness of the markets), there are no better options.  Socialism really doesn't exist anywhere anymore but in North Korea and Cuba---and there are now signs that North Korea is prepping the way for a turn toward China-style economic integration.  This is where Francis Fukuyama's "End of History" thesis becomes relevant again.  There's capitalism and what else?  There's free-market economics and what else?

Islamic countries are running out of options.  It was easier to try and have theocracies instead of democracies when Islamic countries were barren places devoid of much connection to the global world and unable to build modern economies.  But 20th century modernization and globalization have changed that .  We do have Islamic Democracies (Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey) however non-Western they may be.  Indonesia, Turkey, and Pakistan have all had women leaders unlike the United States.  Quite a few "Islamic nations" already  have pretty secular populations who would rather party that pray.

In Passport of Faith, I wrote about the inevitable counter-action to globalization which occurs, and Islamic fundamentalism is going to be (and is) a tool in that counter-action.  But just as Christendom was bound to end up in secularization and cynicism, so will the forced institutionalization of Islam.

This Civil War within Islam may last a generation or several hundred years, but we shouldn't think the outcome is so easily predictable and that militant Islam is an unstoppable force.  As the audio shows, other forces (yes, including Jesus) are at work in the world.

THANKS to Pastor Obrad Nikolich in Serbia for forwarding this link to me.

Fascinating! What the Ancient Olympics Were Like...

Like most of you, it's been fun watching the Olympics.  But what were the original Olympics like?  National Geographic has a fascinating interview with a historian that discusses what it would have been like to have seen the Olympics 2000 years ago.  It's riveting.  Here are some highlights, but read the whole thing.

**

The Olympic Games were held every four years from 776 B.C. to A.D. 394, making them the longest-running recurring event in antiquity. What was the secret of the games' longevity?

Today's Olympics is a vast, secular event, but it doesn't have the religious element of the ancient Olympics, where sacrifices and rituals would take up as much time as the sports. And there were all these peripheral things that came with the festival: the artistic happenings, new writers, new painters, new sculptors. There were fire-eaters, palm readers, and prostitutes.

This was the total pagan entertainment package.

**

How popular were the male athletes?

They were as close as you could get to being a demigod in the mortal world. You would gain incredible prestige and wealth from an Olympic victory. You never had to work again.

Officially, the winner was given an olive wreath. But your home city would give you piles of money, honors like front seats at the theater, lifetime pensions, vats of olive oil, maybe even priesthood. Your name would be passed down from generation to generation. You became part of the very fabric of history.

**

What was it like for the spectators?

To be a spectator at the Olympic Games was an incredibly uncomfortable experience. It makes modern sports fans seem like a pretty flaky bunch. First of all, if you came from Athens, you had to walk 210 miles [340 kilometers] to get to the site.

Olympia is in the middle of nowhere. It's a beautiful place, very idyllic. But it's basically a collection of three temples and a running track, with one inn reserved for the wealthy.

The organizers had it pretty easy in ancient times. They only had to chase a few sheep and cattle off the running track and temples. Everyone just turned up and had to look after himself. If you're rich, you put up a tent and you had servants. But the rank-and-file spectators plunked down anywhere.

In the high summer it was incredibly hot. The two rivers that converge at Olympia dried up. Nobody could wash. There was no drinking water, and people collapsed from heat stroke.

There was no sanitation, so the odors were quite pungent. Once you got into the stadium, there were no seats, only grassy banks. The word stadium comes from the Greek stadion, which means "a place to stand." But it was an incredible atmosphere with an amazing sense of tradition. People were standing on the very hill where Zeus wrestled his father [according to legend].

How many people showed up?

There were an estimated 40,000 spectators, and probably as many hangers-on, like vendors, writers, artists, prostitutes, and their shepherds.

They didn't have some of the things that we associate with the games today, like the torch relay.

The torch thing was really devised for the 1936 Nazi games. Hitler was fascinated with the ancient Greek world. He had all these theories that Spartans were this Aryan super race. Carl Diem, a sidekick of his, came up with this idea of carrying the torch from Olympia to Berlin.

But the torch and the opening ceremony transcended those rather sordid origins, and it became this wonderful tradition.

Running was the oldest event, but what about the marathon?

The ancient games didn't actually have a marathon. The three-mile [five-kilometer] dolichos was the longest running event in the early ancient games.

The marathon is a Victorian invention, based on a story about the Battle of Marathon. A courier, Philippides, who fought in the battle, dashed from the battlefield to bring news of the Greek victory to Athens. Once there, he collapsed and died.

The 26.3-mile [42.3-kilometer] distance from Marathon to Athens is the length of the modern marathon races around the world.

A few thoughts on the last 4 years

I can't believe it!  I'm home.  On September 31st , July 31st, we returned from Spain and came home to Berlin.  Since we took this job in 2010, my schedule has been absolute madness.  For those of you that follow the diary, you are quite aware of that.  Much of this was due to the need to introduce Three Worlds to the countries in our region (all 18 of them), meet the national leaders, and visit our 3W team on the field.  At points over the 2 years (really only 2 times) I tried to carve out a 4 to 6 week stretch of being at home.  I think it only happened twice in 2 years.  Once something came up and interfered with that "break."  All the meantime, the regular paperwork and correspondence is constantly ongoing.

This most recent stretch (May-July) has been brutal.  Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Florida, Indiana, Ukraine, Egypt, and Spain with only a handful of days "at home" in Berlin.  To be honest, Berlin is like Heathrow Airport to me.  It's a place where I transfer from one plane (or train or car) to another, buy some snacks, and pick up my luggage.  I hardly know the city at all.  When I am home I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and I just want to be at home NOT moving anywhere with my family.

Prior to taking this job, I spent 2 years on the road writing "Mosaic" which meant going to a new country or city every 10 days for 24 months.  Yes, it was quite the adventure as you know if you followed this blog or read the book, but that means that i'm going on 4 years of this kind of insane schedule.  I'm not complaining (really I'm not)-- just saying that it has taken its toll and it can't go on like this indefinitely.

So now with 3W celebrating it's 2nd birthday and the team growing, I can finally slow it down.  Teammates have covered for me in Russia and Greece and with the Care-a-Van this past year which greatly helped (thanks Philips, Varners and Simpsons), and I envision that continuing as we add the Kihms and Langfords.

All that to say that I am now in Berlin for at least 7 weeks  (if you don't count a short 36 hour trip to Western Germany).  It has been years since I've been home for 7 weeks.  Even in Hong Kong, there were frequent trips to China or other parts of Asia.  And overall, I think fall 2012-2013 will be more reasonable than the past 4 years.  I cannot even fathom not having to pack up a suitcase (actually Jamie packs it, but you know what I mean).

Do I love travel?  Absolutely.  Has the novelty of visiting other countries worn off after visiting nearly 70 on 6 continents?  No.  Am I tired of traveling?  Yes.  Do I need a break? Yes.  I think the body can only handle so much.  Constantly being in different cultures and languages every few days, and in constant transit is a weird, weird way to live.  It's become normal for me, but it's also incredibly strange.  It has to take a toll on your psyche and your body one way or another, even if it's in your subconcious.  I think it does because I do feel completely worn out.

But you know, I've never met anyone that loved traveling more than me.  I know that's saying a lot since many people love to travel--but really--since I was 4 years old, I had a deep passion and obsession for the countries of the world.  I memorized city maps at 4, drew world cities all over my desk in elementary school, and knew all the flight schedules of every airline by 6th grade.  It was a COMPLETE and TOTAL obsession.  So I never take it for granted and I thank God for this amazing opportunity.  Do I deserve the good fortune of so much travel.  No.  But I'd like to think God gave me this opportunity because I absolutely marinate in every experience wherever I am.

I've tried to use this honor of traveling so much to do good in the world.  I've worked for the church, written books to help the church, and tried to bring love and appreciation to all the cultures and people I've visited.  I hope I'm living up to my end of the bargain.  Many years ago when I was 19 or 20, a Pastor came from out of town into our church, put his hands on me, and prophesied and told me this was exactly the kind of life I would live.  I didn't know the guy from Adam (much like the woman in the Ukraine), but little did he know that that was my greatest desire.  Anyway, it has come to pass and I hope I've done positive things with this great opportunity.

My greatest desire at this point in my life is to see the younger generation take the global stage in the church.  I have high hopes for the Kihms, the Langfords, and others coming up behind.  I hope they go farther and accomplish more than I have.  That shouldn't be difficult, really.  They may not match the miles, but they can easily surpass the impact.  I just hope we are constructing something here that will be an avenue for the next generation to do global ministry.

The "Mosaic" experience exposed me to a lot of dysfunction.  I was very candid about that in the book.  I wrote in there that it left me depressed.  It was an emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausting experience.  I have not recovered from that even though the writing of the book finished nearly 3 years ago.  I met a lot of very lonely pastors, missionaries, and broken churches on every continent.  There was a lot of unnecessary damage and brokenness.  It ripped my soul to shreds in many ways.  However, it has helped us to try and focus on health in the last 2 years and to create space for the next generation to take us some place better.  Neither Jamie nor I have a desire to be at the center of Three Worlds.  We're Gen-Xers.  We think that kind of obsession with position, power, and legacy is moronic.  We really don't get it and it's been horribly destructive in the church.  If that becomes the case, then 3W will have been a failure.  We'd like to see God lifted up and our regional missionaries (whatever their age) flourish as they empower the church and make the world a better place.

So I really hope that I have reached a place where I can regain my center of gravity after 4 years (minimum) of total upheaval.  It will not be easy.  This job (the mission-field) is not made for people that crave stability and predictability.  It is a job of extremes by nature.  But I would like to recover that center of gravity---some semblance of stability.  So this August, I hope is a bookend.  Hopefully, what comes after this is a different kind of season.

August will not be work-free.  Not in the least.  Both Jamie and I have a back-log of work due to our trips.  I am especially behind on a number of projects which I have not been able to deal with since hitting the road hard in May.  And we have a lot of things coming up such as our 3W Staff Retreat, 3W Roundtable, hosting visitors from around the world in our home, and dealing with the many work issues and requests from our region that have piled up over the past few weeks.  Much of 2013 will be mapped out in the coming weeks as well.  Hopefully it will be sane.

While catching up on work in the coming weeks, I plan to listen to a lot of 80's music, ride my bike, spend a lot of time with Jamie and Marco, actually do exercise, and continue to read books that lower the stress level instead of heighten it.  A little less "War and Peace" and more "Anne of Green Gables." Although my next book is about the Vietnam War so...

T0 my two diary readers left after 10 years of writing here (Dad and Charles Manson), thanks for going on this journey with our family.  We appreciate your love, support, and belief in us.  There really are a lot of people, hundreds if not thousands when you factor in the churches, who support us and make all of it possible.  And thanks for supporting our 3W Teammates.  They are amazing and gifted people--every one of them.

So now...Back to work....with some bicycle rides to the lake thrown in for good measure.

In Spain, So Here's London

We are in Almeria, Spain after having visited Granada, Spain.  We are here for the 3W Seminar.  More on that later.  Both the cities of Almeria and Granada were at one point conquered by the Muslims.  These cities were filled with mosques for centuries, until "the Catholic Kings" reversed the tide and Spain became "Christian" again.  The walls and fortresses are still present in Almeria and Granada.  It is so European in that there are layers and layers of ancient, complicated, fascinating history everywhere you look.

My favorite place on Earth---London---is the same exact way.  Here's a video that shows how this ancient layered history still has effects in the present day.  So much of Europe is exactly like this video.

Greetings from Sunny Spain

Greetings from the Southern half of Spain.  The P, the J, and the M have arrived in the land of the Conquistadors and the World Cup/Euro Cup champions.  We're on our way south from Madrid to meet up with our friends the Fernandez family.  We'll be talking a lot of business and potential ministry opportunities, but it's nice to be able to do this trip as a family instead of being separated. All is fine here.  It's always fun to come to Spain since I can speak Spanish.  But I also feel that Spain is one of the least friendly countries in our region.  It's surprising since it's more of a hot weather climate/culture, but usually it's just not that friendly of a place.  We'll see how it goes this time around.

The weather is hot, but not uncomfortably so.  The closer we get to Almeria and the Fernandez, the hotter it will get.  That area is desert and it's actually where a lot of those old Clint Eastwood westerns were filmed like "the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."

This is Marco's first visit to Spain.  He was actually here before once in 2002, but he was a a zygote in the womb.  Thus far he's really enjoying the climate. I think we all are.