Why Subiaco?

A few years ago, I read a series of books that started me on a journey. Today, as I stand in front of a 20 foot tall statue mounted over the imposing doors to Saint Benedict’s Abbey Church at the Subiaco Abbey, I feel that I must be heading into a memorable part of the ride.

Kathleen Norris’ book, The Cloister Walk really rang a bell in me when I read it a few years ago. Basically, it tells the story (through journal entries) of a protestant woman who is tired at life and completely broken down with religion, finding personal relationship with God through the love and hospitality of the Benedictine Monastic tradition. Norris’ book emphasized some recurring themes in my life at that point, mainly humility, contentment, and quiet contemplation. The chapter on celibate passion especially challenged the way I viewed my relationship with the Father. Probably the most lasting effect of the book in my life was the introduction of the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office.

I learned that Benedictine Monks prayed 7 times a day from a liturgy that involved reading the scriptures, and praying the psalms. These prayers weren’t long drawn out services, but moments of pause in the rhythm of the day. The monks prayed these prayers individually and in community and always coupled with times of silence and meditation. I bought a copy of the Liturgy of the Hours called Christian Prayer and with no formal instruction began in some small way to pray like the Benedictine monks.

For a while I followed the schedule with a watch. I set alarms to remind myself of my appointments with God. I thoroughly enjoyed praying the scriptures. Although reading prayers did not keep me from adding my own personal thoughts, I found that the written prayers and especially the psalms guided my thoughts and helped me pray in the right direction. To me, the pause from activity helped keep me calm. Even if just for 5 minutes in the middle of the afternoon, I felt somehow at peace.

Along the same time, Jennifer was pregnant with Zoe, our 4th. Many complications and lots of doctor’s visits found me relying on prayer times to make it through. I will never forget the night that Zoe was born. We had been involved in a 2 day ordeal that ended in Jennifer being induced. The evening was spent in stress, as Jennifer began to have contractions, and the doctors and nurses worried about our baby’s heart rate and brainwaves. It all came to point around midnight, when it seemed that our baby, yet unborn, might be dying. They rushed Jennifer out to perform an emergency C-section. I was abruptly told that I could not come with them, and was left in the room with Jennifer’s mom, Judy.

We began again to pray, as we had been all night. I picked up my prayer book. As I paced nervously around the room, I prayed:
Out of the depth I cry to you, O Lord
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
To the voice of my pleadings. (Psalm 130)
I told the Lord that I was afraid, that I feared for the life of my wife and for the life of our baby. I cried and my heart raced.

It would make a great story to tell you that everything slowed down, and all became immediately calm, but it wasn’t just like that. It was more subtle, but nonetheless very real to me. In that 15-20 minutes while we paced around the hospital room, I was more aware than ever before in my life that God was hearing my prayer. I didn’t know how He was going to answer, or what the next word that I would hear from the doctors would be, I just felt so sure that God was being very attentive to our prayers.

Almost daily as I pray I hear the voice of God speaking to me. Although it seems sort of strange, I have found a sense on stability and reality in observing the hours. I haven’t always been completely diligent. I don’t pray every office right out of the book, right on time, but it has helped me make prayer a larger part of my life.

It was this introduction in the Benedictine spirituality that has led me to research and learn more about the Benedictine rule and the monk way of life. When the opportunity came up for me to go and have a sabbatical/work week, I immediately thought of going to a monastery, basically to watch, learn firsthand about their way of life, and listen to God in that type of environment. Subiaco Abbey, near Paris, Arkansas was closest and had quite a rich history. When I first made contact with the Abbey, they informed me that they had facilities for accommodating people like me who would like to visit and spend sometime in quiet. I was excited and just a little apprehensive. So that is what brings me here. What might happen this week, only God knows.

I spent last week at Subiaco Abbey. I thought that I might post some of my journal entries from the time I spent there. I'll try to post them one a day for a few days and see how that goes. For more info check out the very interesting Subiaco and OSB sites.

Changing of the Colors Rally

This past week has been incredible in a number of ways. Incredibly rewarding and incredibly demanding. Jennifer and I had about 12 days of early morning, all day, and late night responsibilities. The great thing is that we used that time to make relationships with a large number of students and potential leaders for the future. We had a large number of kids that we prayed with. We are always floored by the issues that young people are dealing with. It was very obvious to us that God was working in the lives of teenagers in a real way. And that is why we do this.

The worship band from our church's youth group helped out and provided some great atmosphere, and Jacob's Ladder from here in Arkansas put on a great show Saturday night. Here are a few pics.

Sometimes you just like to rock

Saw Staple the other night. One word...serious. Check out their site. They rock hard.

Also along the musical note these three worship albums are great. We are especially busy trying to steal Crowder's stuff.



Facedown - Matt Redman, Ten Thousand Charms - Robbie Seay, and Illuminate - David Crowder Band. You might want to check out Ecclesia Houston's site also. Robbie Seay's brother Chris is the pastor.


And now on to my favorite CD of the month. Without a doubt...GC. Listen for yourself. These guys are so honest, it hurts to listen to it. And while it may be dark at times, this album is saturated with hope. Anytime you honestly talk about the 'culture of death' (borrowing a phrase from the Pope) it is going to be kind of disturbing. Yet Good Charlotte manages to point out that life and light can sometimes punch a hole in the darkness. Even if you don't like punk or pop/punk or whatever label you want to put on Good Charlotte, you should give this one a listen just to hear the song that is being sung by the hearts of alot of teens in America. It may not be high art, but it is real.

A Very Fun Week

Once again, Jen and I count our blessings. We have had the greatest few days this last week. We have just got back from National Youth Workers Convention put on by Youth Specialties in Dallas.

While we can go anywhere and have a great time, it helped that we were staying in the Adam's Mark in Downtown Dallas. We got a chance to eat at a few of our favorites including Dickies Barbeque and the absolutely most crowded On the Border I have ever seen in my lifetime. (OU and Texas Weekend in Dallas).

We spent a long time listening to Rob Bell, teaching pastor of Mars Hill in Michigan. All I can say is, "...dude." We also wildly enjoyed The David Crowder Band. We learned a lot of new things and tried real hard to listen for the voice of God in all the noise.

We also got some new CD's and Videos, watched some movies, and read a few books. All of which I will attempt to blog in the next few days.

Best thing that shook out of the entire week, was the time that I got to spend with Jen. One day we spent the entire afternoon in one store, just talking. After it was over, I said, "I can't believe that we have been talking and discussing stuff that long...It didn't seem like twenty minutes." To sum it up. She's wonderful.

Some days you just wake up with so many things on your mind. Things you have to do, people you need to call, work that has to be caught up. When you feel that God has given you a task to do, it sometimes weighs on you even heavier. I'm not ashamed to admit that sometimes I feel a little afraid. That I can't cut the mustard or that I'll never get the job done.

But then these come along.






Joby, my son, drew these. He never showed them to me, I just stumbled across them laying around. This is the smiling savior that I know. And in 3rd grader print, he is saying what I needed to hear. Very cool.

After a terrible, unexcusable, summer long hiatus from blogging, I've returned. And I would like to begin catching everybody up, by sharing the pictures of my newly painted bike.

Time to Catch Up

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. So I will attempt to bring you up to date on the last few months of travel and Mcpherson business. I have learned that it is awful hard to stay current on my blog while we are on the road. So let's get started.

The Weapon of Prayer

During the last few weeks as news of more casualties from Iraq continues to pour across our news, I have been troubled. My personal position is one of support for the war effort to protect our freedom. I am however, upset when so many people die. I know that the simple answer is that "war is a necessary evil." and "that is the price you pay for freedom." However true those statements may be, I still get upset when I read of people dying.

I had a conversation with some friends at work this week about the war. Some were vehemently supportive of the war, and others were slightly against it. At the end of the discussion, the conclusion we came to was, that as Christians we should be praying about this war and all of its aspects. I was convicted. I read about a few dying here, a few there, and for a split second I feel sad. But it doesn't impact my life too much, and I tend to be over my concern in a matter of seconds.

All through the Scripture people's prayers have been connected with military matters. Prayer wins battles and sometimes causes them never to be fought. I began to think, "There is a world aspect to my prayers, and maybe my prayers could make a difference in the present situation in Iraq." I decided to pray for the entire Iraq conflict, all the soldiers on both sides, all the countries involved, all the religious sect, all the unseen spiritual powers. I have decided to pray for the whole deal.

Then I ran across this article by Johann Christoph Arnold. It definitely comes from an anti-war pacifist position, but he retells a story from the life of Gen. George Patton, that I wanted to share here.

As a history buff intrigued by the potential lessons of the past, I recently stumbled on an interesting story about General George S. Patton. An ardent believer, Patton noted that in times of battle, his men all prayed, but that when things quieted down, the praying stopped. This disturbed him and, in a nutshell, led him to write a “training letter” that was eventually distributed to every unit under his command. It read, in part:

Those who pray do more for the world than those who fight; and if the world goes from bad to worse, it is because there are more battles than prayers. Hands lifted up, smash more battalions then hands that strike. Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for our Army, and pray for peace.

We must march together, all out for God. The soldier who ‘cracks up’ does not need sympathy or comfort as much as he needs strength and prayer. We are not trying to make the best of these days. It is our job to make the most of them. Now it is not the time to follow God from ‘afar off.’ We need the assurance and the faith that God is with us. With prayer, we cannot fail.

These words were written during the Battle of the Bulge, when a sudden break in the weather handed the Allies an unexpected victory over Hitler’s forces. Patton, and many others, attributed the outcome to prayer.

Citizen King

Boston public television producer Henry Morgenthau III's "The Negro and the American Promise," featuring interviews with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, made headlines in spring 1963. The program aired in a climate of racial conflict, just months after Alabama governor
George Wallace's defiant support of "segregation forever," and before the March on Washington.

PBS is airing these interviews with Dr. Kenneth Clark, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin as part of their Citizen King program. These interviews are great history, interesting philosophy and cutting commentary on race relations in our day today. Watching Dr. King and Malcolm X comment on each others respective movements is especially interesting. Check out these great videos at the PBS web site.