Archive for May, 2008

A Blessing and Prayer Tribute to all Mothers
Blessed be all mothers
Who have come into our lives
Whose kindness, care and loving
Remain with us to guide.

Your inspiration in us
Made us strive in every way
Especially to remember
Helping others makes our day.

Mothers, this little tribute
Flows directly from my heart
You are so loved and cherished
Invaluable, one and all, you are.
-Susan Kramer

I love and miss you Mom! Happy Mother’s day to each mother stopping by zACHhARROD.com today! Blessings to you!

(My beard and I at Acrocorinth in February, this is just above where Ancient Corinth sits and it is where the infamous temple of Aphrodite sat, that housed a whole lot of sketchiness!)

Little wonder, in light of the accumulation of worldliness in Corinth, that one commentator likens this city to “at once the New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas of the ancient world”! And another finds Paul’s principles in addressing the Corinthian church as a paradigm for how to do urban ministry in the modern world. (Bloomberg)

Tomorrow I will be tackling the second section in 1 Corinthians, as I preach, at the church I attend here in Prague, Faith Community, and I have been getting my nerd on all week studying! Thursday as I met with my pastor, Phil, I told him, “The more I study this book, the more I fall in love with it and how it lays a model for doing ministry in OUR urban context of Prague.” As I’ve studied and had my noes in my Bible, journal, Logos and commentaries it would seem that people far smarter than me would agree. Tomorrow, I will be speaking from 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16, which is a hefty section, and I’ve had to sift through a lot of information and plead that God would direct me to what to zero in on. With that being said, He should up and has provided some much needed clarity in the midst of all of it.


One of the things I’ve found most intriguing about the background of Corinth, is how it has some parallels with the Prague I love. NOTE: I think most major urban centers parallel Corinth, thus it being a perfect manual of sorts for Urban Ministry, but here is my spin on the parallels.

- Crossroads – Corinth had a port and was the go-between when it came to shipping and trading. Prague, look at a map of Europe. What is the most centralized city – Prague. Prague has been, and will be, a crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe.
- Both cities and cultures have a reputation for sexual immorality. A “Corinthian Girl” was a the phrase used when discussing a loose woman. (Not to mention, the temple that supposedly housed 1,000 temple prostitutes.) It has been written about and studies show that Czechs have a very laid back attitude about adultery, sex in general, the sex industry and etc. It could be said that both cultures celebrate a Hedonistic or Bohemian Lifestyle.
- Strong Arts communities – Czechs have always had a great appreciation and natural pride for their artists.
- Greek Ideals – Individualism, Equality, freedom, & distrust of authority. Um, yeah lots of places hold to these ideals but I would say it hits Prague right on the head.
- Corruption – people in Corinth used their wealth, standing and etc. to leverage for position in sketchy ways, even in the church! Similarly, in post-communist Prague there have been obvious cases of corruption from government to business to sports to culture as a whole.
- Pagan Religions – Obviously in discussing Corinth this is without question, but Prague (and Czech at large) still have undertones of their pre-Christian pagan heritage. You can see this in their reverence for “the nature”, eastern religions (there are new ads for a large meditation conf. all over the city right now), and old pagan traditions that have been absorbed into the larger culture.
- Corinth was demolished and resettled with almost completely freedman (former slaves), which brought a form of equality or egalitarianism that was highly valued in Corinth. Prague, and Czech, lost it’s upper class after Battle of Bílá Hora, thus putting people living Prague, and the country, on level ground with no class distinction, thus equality or egalitarianism was (is) highly valued in Prague and beyond.
- Well educated people.
- Perhaps an inflated view of themselves – the Corinthians saw themselves as the superior city in ancient Greece for many reasons, which compares to the Czech idea that they are the cream of the crop of the Slavic people who live throughout Europe.
- Both cities were/are in the process of transitioning from a large city to a “1st Class Urban Center.”

That is my spin on it and it really makes me want to dig deep in this book and see what God is telling me, us as an AIA movement, us as a missional church and the church at large about how to reach this emerging world class urban center that is Prague. Oh yeah, I noted earlier in the week my excitement about the alpha test of Logos for Macs, it has been a blast using this tool to study once again, here is a screen shot!

Nice… Off to put some finishing touches on the notes. Have a revolutionary weekend!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, last weekend we had our AIA Czech Planning Retreat/
Conference/Weekend (I’m not quite sure of what to call it), and it was a FULL weekend. We talked vision, purpose, mission, planning, schedules, personality profiles (I’m a super-high D, in the disc deal.), and much more. It was a good weekend, even though it was so full. To be honest, we could have used a full week for this all, because we tried to sink our teeth into some pretty meaty things. It was also great to get outside of Prague and into “the nature,” as Czechs say. This country’s beauty is so amazing to me. Here is a morning view from my window at the hotel.

I also enjoyed and found the soap they had for us rather amusing!

Nothing like a little Romance Soap! Don’t ask, I really don’t know what this was about, but it was funny! Anyway, I did want to blog about something that I has been haunting my thoughts all week! That is, What is a Spiritual Movement? What marks a Spiritual movement? I ask this, because Campus Crusade’s (the org I work for) mantra is now, “Helping Grow Spirit-Led Jesus Movements Everywhere – So That Everyone Knows Someone Who Knows Jesus.” Part of the problem, is that there hasn’t been a nailed down definition that I have heard, and I kind of feel uncomfortable thinking of there being a “nailed down” definition. I think that the term “spiritual movement” and what it looks like is very much organic and dependent upon where people are. For instance, the definition and out-working of this will look very different in Oshkosh, WI than in Prague, Czech Republic. Do we use the same definition there as we do here? I don’t think so.


This evolved into a big discussion during our meeting because I would say there is a Spiritual Movement taking place amongst the Prague Lions (the American football team I play and coach for), but it isn’t marked (YET) by two words – “evangelism” and “discipleship.” Now these two things are happening, but not on a wide scale and certainly not with a cute-defined bow tied on them. This is what I am seeing: 1) Guys open and talking about God, Jesus and/or spiritual things with each other and with me; 2) Guys praying to God even though they are not yet believers, on their own!; and 3) Guys approaching me and saying things about Jesus, God and etc. (Perfect example – last night at practice we watched a mean storm roll in and guys were saying, “Jesus is coming! It’s the end!” Things like this have happened on many occasions this year.). Now there isn’t a necessarily defined evangelism and discipleship movement going on, but there, in my opinion, is movement! God is stirring something is happening. Guys are talking. Guys are praying. Guys are bringing God up without me initiating it. MOVEMENT! But is this a Spiritual Movement? As we were talking, I drew this:

My thought was that every River of Spiritual Movement has to have a starting point. Something has to start a movement. So what does the start of a movement look like? When can we call it a Spiritual Movement? I would argue that what we see amongst the Prague Lions is a Spiritual Movement and just because it might be at the head waters and merely a stream doesn’t make it NOT a Spiritual Movement. But some questions came from this, that I haven’t had answers to yet…

1. What about the head waters? What about the snow melt? That is, what about the stuff above the head waters? Is this part of the movement? Is this a precursor to the movement?
2. What defines the banks of a River of Spiritual Movement? Must it be clear and calculated evangelism and discipleship? Or can it be more organic in nature?
3. What about the streams that join a River of Spiritual Movement as it grows from a stream to a full-fledged river? What about the streams that break off of it?

This is what has been consuming extra thought over the last few days. My mind wanders to trying to answer these questions. It might seem like methodological or philosophical banter but it matters. It matters, because it defines our mission here. What does it look like living missionally as “insiders” amongst the sports world and the sports university here in Prague? This question is partly answered by answering these questions about the River of Spiritual Movement. What are your thoughts? Can you bring some clarity? Or maybe you can bring some better questions to the table. Let me hear it! I’m off to the grocery store….

Today while I was studying 1 Corinthians for a talk I am doing at Church next week, I was bouncing back and fourth on BibleGateway.com and I had a deep ache. That ache was for my Logos Bible Software that I bought and owned back in the dark ages of being a PC user in my life. So I wandered over to the Logos site and discovered that the Beta Test Version for Macs is out! JOY! I haven’t missed my PC at all, except for the ease of study and preping in Logos, well today that has changed! I have friends who have sited one of the reasons they haven’t made the glorious switch to a Mac is because Logos doesn’t run on Macs, well that is about to, or has, changed. So my dear friends what excuse do you have now? Have a great weekend!

Sorry it has a bit of a talking head feel to it, and I didn’t get some video inbetween the moments that I wanted to, but I think you will get a good idea of the visa process here. Have a blessed day!

Yesterday, I was catching up on a few things and I found an article from the Prague Monitor, entitled Poll: Czechs increasingly tolerant toward foreigners, very interesting. “Why?” you ask. Well, Czechs, as a whole, aren’t known as the most friendliest people in Europe, especially towards “outsiders”. You can’t blame them though. Look at their history. I don’t want to recount all of Czech history here, but to sum it up, they have been repeatedly attacked and/or conquered from “outsiders” for centuries! I would imagine after a few hundred years of this it would create some resentment, if not distrust, towards presumed “outsiders.” I do want to defend many of my Czech friends, because I have many warm and deep friendships. However, as a whole you can see some trends. Here is what the Monitor had to say,

Czechs become more and more tolerant of foreigners staying in the country and nearly nine out of 10 Czechs said they believe foreigners should be allowed long-term stays in the Czech Republic, according to the latest CVVM agency’s poll released Tuesday.

But adversely, “Two-fifths said anybody who wanted to permanently stay in the country should have the opportunity.” Which seems a little strange compared to the poll above. I don’t quite understand the rational in the two polls, but as someone who plans, Lord-willing, to spend the rest of his life here, it is good to hear that the tide is changing. It will be interesting in the next 10 years or so, because the people in their teens and twenties have a much different attitude than older generations in many ways. We shall see… But for now, I’m excited because they like us! Or they like us a little bit more that is!

The First of May or the “Day of Love” is upon us, and it really doesn’t mean anything more than a day off of Czech class for me and I guess getting some work done (tear, sniff… Not really.). Maybe some day, I will join in the festivities, but until then I will enjoy it as a day to sleep in and get some work done. So where does this “Day of Love” come from? One of the most renowned, if not the most renowned, Czech poets, Karel Hynek Mácha, wrote a poem entitled, Máj (May), and for the last two centuries this poem has led to much love. Today, I wanted to share a piece of this Czech literary gem with you on this Day of Love. I’ve been told, and read, that the majority of Czech students are required to memorize the beginning verses of Mácha’s poem. Here is some information about Mácha and his famous poem from myczechrepublic.com:

On May 1st, lovers gather at the statue of Karel Hynek Mácha, the Czech Romantic “poet of love”, in Prague’s Petřín park where they lay flowers and spend a few moments. Then they kiss under the blooming cherry trees of the park. Karel Hynek Mácha (1810 – 1836) was a great Czech Romantic poet and author of the epic poem Máj (May). The poem, written in a remarkably beautiful style, tells about the tragic love of two young people and has become a poetic masterpiece of the Czech Romantic period and Czech literature in general.

And now to the poetry. Click here to read more.

Late evening, on the first of May—
The twilit May—the time of love.
Meltingly called the turtle-dove,
Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay.
Whispered of love the mosses frail,
The flowering tree as sweetly lied,
The rose’s fragrant sigh replied
To love-songs of the nightingale.
In shadowy woods the burnished lake
Darkly complained a secret pain,
By circling shores embraced again;
And heaven’s clear sun leaned down to take
A road astray in azure deeps,
Like burning tears the lover weeps.

A haze of stars in heaven hovers—
That church of endless love’s communion—
Each jewel blanches and recovers
As blanch and burn long-parted lovers
In the high rapture of reunion.
How clear, to her full beauty grown,
How pale, how clear, the moon above,
Like maiden seeking for her love,
A rosy halo round her thrown!
Her mirrored image she espied,
And of self-love, beholding, died.
Forth from the farms pale shadows strayed,
Lengthening longing to their kind,
Till they embraced, and close entwined,
Coiled low into the lap of shade,
Grown all one twilight unity.
Tree in the shadows writhes to tree.
In the far mountains’ dark confine
Pine leans to birch and birch to pine.
Wave baunting wave the streamlets move.
For love’s sake—in the time of love—
Anguished goes every living thing.