Category: faith

Shane Claiborne on Buy Nothing Day & Black Friday

Shane Claiborne posted a guest blog entry on the Sojourner blog today and recapped his thoughts on Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day. Loved this story ::

I love the story of one pastor who got fed up with all the decorations and clutter. He began to see that we are in danger of losing the very “reason for the season,” Jesus — the Jesus that was born in the middle of Herod’s bloody genocide, the Jesus who was born a refugee with no room in the inn, the Jesus who knew suffering from the cradle to the cross. This pastor went through the sanctuary the night before the big Christmas service and spread out manure all over the floor — nasty, stinky piles of turd. As folks came in the next day in their best attire, he preached — and did he ever. He preached about how the original story of was not about malls and decorations. He preached about a story that was not pretty. He preached about a God who enters the s**t of this world and redeems all that is ugly and broken. It is a story they will never forget. It is the story of our faith.

Here’s a video from Buy Nothing Day events in Philly – posted by our friend Jamie Moffett – (look for Shane on stilts) ::


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World AIDS Day

Today is Dec. 1, 2008. Two big events take place today.

Rosa Parks in 1955 with Martin Luther King in the background (via Wikipedia)

The anniversary of Rosa Parks taking a stand, by taking a seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, and World AIDS Day.

Two great movements/issues of our day — the civil rights movement and AIDS awareness/treatment/elimination.

I almost hate to compare the two movements (simply because I think they’re both worthy of their own attention and comprehension) but I think both are issues the church should be actively involved in and actively working to make change in. We’ve come a long way in both arenas but there’s still a long way to go as well.

I just started reading “On the Side of Angels” by Dr. Joseph D’Souza and Benedict Rogers. It talks right to this issue.

“Each person facing abuse of their own human rights is a fellow human being of eternal value, created by God in his image. Each one is our neighbor.”

For too long, we’ve delegated titles and stereotypes to people who are different than us. We’ve avoided people because of their different culture, or because of a disease that they might have contracted because of “immoral behavior.” And we’ve ignored the fact that each of us have contracted our own disease of sin that we DID contract because of our own immoral behavior.

Far too long we’ve said that you get what you deserve and you get what’s coming to you.

But as D’Souza and Rogers write, “Unless and until Christian life and witness actually becomes involved in individual lives and society, we cannot authentically carry out kingdom mission in this world.”

So here’s to my creed and the prayer that I live it out both today, and all the days to come ::

rather than seeking revenge, i will seek reconciliation
rather than repaying violence with violence, i will seek creative transforming nonviolent alternatives
rather than focusing on external conformity to moral codes, i will be internally transformed by love
rather than loving insiders and hating outsiders, i will welcome outsiders into a new “us” and “we”
rather than anxiety about money or security or pleasure, i will trust myself to the care of God
rather than living for wealth, i will live for God who loves all people, including our enemies
rather than hating our enemies and competitors, i will them and do unto them not as they have done unto me – or before they do unto me – but as i wish they would do for me

And to the mission of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah ::

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

resources ::
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Drug abuse by any route can put a person at risk for getting HIV. This is because drug and alcohol intoxication affect judgment and can lead to unsafe sexual practices, which put people at risk for getting HIV or transmitting it to someone else. NIDA has developed the following resources to help educate, share and increase awareness of the AIDS issue.

NIDA’s Learn the Link Campaign ::

More Resources ::

AIDS.gov

The Federal government has developed a wealth of HIV/AIDS testing, prevention, treatment and research information. In addition, the following are some of the many resources you can use to help response to HIV/AIDS.

St. Peter’s Brewery :: #Nanowrimo comes to an end

Yup, that’s it. My month long challenge of writing a novel has come to an end – a full day early. M$ Word says I finished with a 50,737 word count. Nanowrimo says I finished with an official 50,849 word count and Google Docs says I finished with a 51,716 word count.

I’ll be honest, I like Google’s number better, but Nanowrimo is the official score, so I’ll stick with that for now.

At times it was much harder than I imagined (aka writers block) but at other times it was as if the words just jumped off pages. It was an enjoyable process none the less and depending on how the editing process goes, I may just do a followup next year – we’ll just see if Laurie lets me :-).

As for now, I’m putting my writing on hold and plan to spend the month of December catching up on sleep and enjoying some books I’ve been putting off.

Jan 2, 2009 I plan to start the horrible process of editing the book and then we’ll go from there. I’m looking to self-publish the book either with Lulu or CreateSpace and depending on the editing process, I’d love to have it ready to go by March? We’ll see how it goes.

(BTW if you’re glutton for punishment – I might be looking for some copy editors in 2009 :-))

I’ll end this post with another passage from the book. I haven’t decided if I absolutely love it, or if I’m scared of it yet (that probably makes no sense to anyone else) ::

“You know, I realize this week has been rough for various folks in our group,” Matt began. “But as I was reading this weekend and then talking with Julie about politics and other random malarkey, I began to think how different the Kingdom of God is, compared to the kingdom of man. It’s this upside down, twisted kingdom that I don’t know if we’ll ever really wrap our minds around.”

Jimmy looked up from his plate and listened carefully as Matt continued.

“I hope that no matter what happens politically, no matter what happens in the world around us, it can be said that I serve the king of an upside down kingdom. A kingdom where the meek shall inherit the earth, where those who morn are comforted, where the last are first, where the oppressed shall be freed. Where rather than appearing in a palace to lead his kingdom with a sword, my king came and appeared in a lowly manager — surrounded by animals.”

Matt continued strumming his guitar as Julie opened a Bible and began reading a passage that Jimmy was surprised sounded very familiar to him.

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat…”

As Julie continued reading, Jimmy leaned over and whispered to Kim, “What is that she’s reading, it sounds familiar.”

“It’s from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew’s Gospel,” Kim replied with a smile. “I think the beginning of the fifth chapter.”

As Julie finished her reading, Matt continued telling his story.

“So as I’m thinking about this upside down kingdom and reading this passage in Scripture it brought me hope to know that when we’re at the end of our rope, that’s when God can really go to work. And when we lose what’s really dear to us, that’s when we’ll be embraced by God. Because God loves us all, especially those who suffer and mourn, in fact he says he will comfort them.”

Matt continued strumming his guitar as he sat looking at the various faces in the room. Jimmy tried to focus on his food again, hoping not to make eye contact with anyone else in the room.

“And so for those of you who have had your kingdom and your world collapse recently, I want you to know that God offers a different kind of kingdom for us all,” Matt said. “And I want you each to know that not only does God suffer with you, but each of us suffer with you as well.”

Chains shall He break

I serve the king of an upside down kingdom. A kingdom where the meek shall inherit the earth, where those who morn are comforted, where the last are first, where the oppressed shall be freed. Where rather than appearing in a palace to lead his kingdom with a sword, my king came and appeared in a lowly manager — surrounded by animals.

May we conspire to be an active part of this kingdom this advent season.

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!


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Merry Advent

As December approaches and we put up our traditional Christmas tree, I’ve been moving my thoughts away from writing #nanowrimo and towards the Advent Season.

As I child I remember lighting the Advent candles at church, and occasionally at home. But I don’t remember much behind the meaning or ideas of the Advent season vs the Christmas season. Is there a difference, does it matter? Advent is truly a word we don’t hear too often, but I’m planning to delve in and examine it more this month — even more so as I plan to speak at encounter on Dec. 7th (the 2nd Sunday of advent).

I found this explanation online helpful (that seemed to be repeated somewhat in the Wikipedia entry as well) ::

The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we now participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture reading for Advent will reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment on sin, and the hope of eternal life.

In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. So, as the church celebrates God’s inbreaking into history in the Incarnation, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which “all creation is groaning awaiting its redemption,” it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

So Merry Advent to you and yours. May we continue to celebrate Christ’s first Incarnation and look forward to his second appearing.

What’s your Popeye moment?

Posted this question on Twitter and Facebook today. Interested to see what responses I get. I’ll try and post them here. Or you can visit search.twitter.com to see the Twitter responses.



question for today :: what’s your Popeye moment? what makes you say, “Thats all I can stands and I cants stand no more?” tweet with #popeye

Bill Hybels talks about this Popeye moment in his book Holy Discontent. He refers to the Popeye moment (see roughly 5:45 into this video) as an analogy for our Holy Discontent, or Passion Groove. It’s that moment when we see things going on around us and we simply can’t not do anything. We have to act. We have to take a stand for what we know is right.

Here are some thoughts I had on the idea from August of last year ::

  • What is it that motivates people to work where they work, volunteer their time to the groups they serve, and donate money to the causes they support? Simply put, why do people do what they do?”
  • That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more!” – Popeye.. What happens when we reach the point where we can’t “stands no more?” What is is that you “can’t stands no more?”
  • The trouble with contentedness is that, when lived out in isolation, it can be lethal! If you’re not careful, you will become lulled into a state of satisfaction, safety and serenity, and you’ll altogether neglect needs in the world that should elicit deep discontent when you see them going unmet.
  • “I refuse to accept the idea that the “is-ness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “ought-ness” that forever confronts him.” (- Martin Luther King, Jr) Friends, this is what it looks like to live from a place of holy discontent – where ought-ness simply overtakes is-ness.
  • On MLK: “The holy discontent that had taken up residence inside him simply wouldn’t allow him to give anything less than his entire life.”
  • Have you ever wondered why, when you turn your life over to God, you don’t get express-freighted right to heaven? Or, to put it a little more crassly, if you’re so heaven-bound, then why are you still sucking air down here? I love that question. It really makes you question why we’re here. What is it that God has placed us here for?
  • Eph. 2:10 says that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
  • If you’re alive and kicking today, then there is a specific work that you are expected to do. There is a set of tasks with your name on it that God has given you to accomplish.
  • The goal is to cultivate your soul’s soil so that this doing-of-good-works process can unfold in your life.
  • “None of your tears or anguish will be wasted; I (God) plan to use every ounce of what you’ve been through for good in this specific area.” Can I make that first part any bigger? Go back and read that one again. Think on it. Trust in it. Believe in it. That’s one of God’s greatest promises to me and one that I hold to day in an day out.
  • How will you know when your one thing shows up? It will be the pesky preoccupation that vies for your undivided attention during the day and keeps you wide-eyed at night as is captures your heart and ignites your imagination. It will be the thing to force you to the floor, heaving sorrowful tears the whole way down. It will be the thing kicking and screaming inside of you, squawking for all it’s worth to be addressed.
  • My applecart got completely overturned by the thought of seekers going to hell simply because Christians refused to break out of their holy huddles long enough to embrace them… Seekers matter! And people far from God deserve better local church options that the ones available to them today!
  • When you find your holy discontent, feed it! Don’t run from it. Move toward it. If poverty is your holy discontent, don’t move to the suburbs to avoid it – move to the inner city where you can see everyday and night how it affects people until your blood simply boils over.
  • The pastor described how gut-wrenching an experience it had been to be told blatantly who mattered and who didn’t at church — and then to realize that his family was part of the “who didn’t” category — racism in churches is not acceptable.

So what is your Popeye moment?

From Facebook ::

Dave writes ::
“Oh man! How about the entire of city of Waco who continues a downward spiral of poverty. Worst of all the people equiped to help would rather help zoo animals and kennel Dogs! Ahhhhhggghhhg!”