Turkey -- Continuing the Tour

When we reached Cappadocia, a region of "central Turkey", we were able to tour a Pottery showroom as well as the production areas.  I was amazed at the handwork that produced beautiful pieces.  Here is just a sample of the intricate designs, many dating back hundreds of years.  Remember this painting and design work is "freehand" and not machine produced or guided. 

Illustrative of the four step process (1 at top, 2 at bottom, 3 at left and 4 at right)

A finished plate

Close up for detail

 Remember you can get larger views of the pictures by just clicking on the picture.

Thanks for stopping by.  Next time I'll tell you more about this "magical" area of Turkey.

Back to Tarsus, Paul's Hometown

In Tarsus, under a few feet of dirt and rubble accumulated during the last 2000 years, there is an excavated section of a town road which was in extensive use during the time of Paul, Cicero, Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, Augustus and Hadrian.

The section pictured is something like 20 feet wide and 200 feet long.  It has a cambered surface and drainage tubes under the "curb" which were to carry runoff water into the "sewer". 



















There is also a working well in the same area, an area called the "Jewish Section".  It is known as "Paul's Well."  Now, whether Paul actually used the well is up for debate.  But it is cool to stand in the area of what was once a bustling city center.

"Through New Eyes"

This is a piece I wrote for "We Do Mission", an on-line communication of the Nebraska Synod, ELCA.

Thanks for visiting....

First of all, “Thank You!” for the opportunity to serve with and among you as the Director of Evangelical Mission in the Nebraska Synod.  I have been blessed in so many ways as I see the church in mission and ministry, as I witness the inner passion this Church has for mission and ministry and as I share in the resolve to transform lives and raise up missional leaders, faithful stewards and healthy disciples.

In so many ways, I get to witness our Church at work through new eyes.  As I make my way around the Synod and into the Churchwide offices, I’ve seen our Church in a new way.  I’ve discovered how much mission and ministry takes place behind the scenes.  I’ve found so much that doesn’t make for slick marketing or catchy “sound bites”.    Instead, across the Church significant mission and ministry is being accomplished in and through people who may go unnoticed, yet, who, in their faithful service, are heroes for the sake of the Gospel!  Through my new eyes, I’ve been blessed to see how profound our work is and the difference we make through our “mission share” in “sharing the mission” of the risen Christ.

Seeing the Church from this vantage point has caused me to say, “I wish I would have had this experience 25 years ago.  My ministry would have taken such a different shape.”   The fact is it has been easy over the years to be myopic, seeing only what is close at hand.  It has been easy to pass up opportunities to deepen connections with Synod and Churchwide expressions of our Church.    It has been easy to say, “Oh I know about that” and then quickly move back to the routines of parish life.

For example, early in this position I had the opportunity to travel to Churchwide offices Chicago.  Can you believe this was the first time in my ministry that I’ve visited Churchwide?  Wow!!  In standing in the offices on Higgins road I was overwhelmed at the work that is being done there.  My eyes widened as I saw the Church in mission at this level.  What I learned first hand is that “Chicago”, as we call it, isn’t a building or a bureaucracy.  Instead I saw people, very competent and committed people, who are daily involved in ministries that support and enhance the mission of this Church.  In meeting many of these people, I learned first hand the connections that are being made between our Church and our ministries throughout the world.  I met a young woman who literally beamed with excitement about her mission in connecting talented youth to global mission opportunities. 

In the field of my work, I have learned that our ELCA executives don’t just hole up in 11^th floor offices, but get out into the synods and congregations to encourage leaders, learn about successful ministries, suggest alternative strategies for mission and “get their hands dirty” in some of our most challenging areas of ministry and mission.

In relating to my peers from other synods, I’ve heard stories and witnessed first hand the kind of renewal that is moving through our church to deepen personal faith, challenge congregations to focus on their neighborhood (rather than on themselves) and deepen the commitment of individuals and mission centers to reach out with the resources with which God has blessed them.  For example, I had the opportunity to worship with a congregation in suburban Seattle that is renewing their historical presence in the neighborhood with a ministry focused on the hunger needs of the community by establishing a community garden plot and a Sunday morning ministry that serves up a healthy dose of the Grace of God for a diverse and changing community. 

And moving about the Nebraska Synod, I’ve seen something I’ve only glimpsed before:  that each mission center has a profound “back story” that motivates mission, that inspires ministry and that finds its expression in the way ministry is shaped.  Mission Centers are finding creative ways to deal with new immigrants and declining populations; to fight hunger with a community garden or a mobile food pantry; or to renew the spiritual life of “20 somethings” or a more mature leadership base. 

Through these new eyes I know that I haven’t always made it easy for people to connect to the larger mission of the church.  I haven’t even been very attentive to taking advantage of opportunities to broaden my own experiences. 

Having seen through these new eyes I know that I’ll be more conscientious in sharing stories, painting pictures and being a “cheerleader” for our Church and for the mission and ministries that we so faithfully tend from individual to mission center to synod to church wide and even into the global community.

Again, thank you for this opportunity to serve with you.  Please be in touch if there is any way that I might support your ministry and mission.

Tom Miller

Director of Evangelical Mission (ELCA)

Assistant to the Bishop (Nebraska Synod)

Nebraska Synod, ELCA

Grandson Owen

On the beach; St. George Island, FL

Here's the smile I've got to enjoy the last several days.

Public Witness

There are many ways in which we can declare our faith and witness to the work of grace in our lives.

Here is the way that the folks at "Jonah's Fish and Grits" Restaurant in Thomasville, GA chose to share their faith and their mission statement.  This statement was included in their menu, right below "Jonah's Prayer" from the book of Jonah.  That section ends with "Salvation Belongs to the Lord."

In case this isn't clear for you it says:
Jesus provides this
GRACE
(unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor and ability)
so we can do this
BRING YOU WONDERFUL FOOD
MADE FRESH DAILY AT A GREAT
VALUE IN AN ALCOHOL FREE,
FAMILY FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE
thank you Jesus.

By the way their "Shrimp and Grits" special is very savory!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a blessed "Labor Day."

Fresco's In Cave Churches

"Fresco" is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid lime plaster.  Water is the vehicle for the pigment/color and, with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall.  Since the painting is integral to the wall, and since these frescoes are from cave churches and therefore away from , they are well preserved.  Many of the frescoes in Turkey are from the 10th and 11th centuries A.D.  By the way, the word fresco (Italian: affresco) is derived from the Italian adjective "fresco" meaning "fresh".

Most of the frescoes we saw in underground churches were of Biblical scenes and/or Biblical persons.

Here are a few examples from the Gümüşler Monastery in a previous blog.

Above the Altar