free convection

G.K. on Democracy and Revolution

A Parable

The American Spirit

Tradition

Liberty - A Human Right?

Wagner on Liberty

Getting my eyes fixed

Biblical Justice

Currently Reading

Community - shining a light

Christian Community Development

Life Update a la Motor City News

you always have the poor with you

Current Reading

Government, Gay Marriage, and Moral Authority

Tyranny and the US Government

Life Together

Authority

Fear

The War Against Girls

The Sermon on the Mount

A Kinetics Experiment

Prayer

When Helping Hurts

dollars and cents

relevance

Motor City Summer Journal Quotes :: Bob Lupton edition

Motor City Summer Journal Quotes :: John Perkins edition 2

Motor City Summer Journal Quotes :: John Perkins edition

When Helping Hurts

Water

Motor City Summer Journal Notes

Blog Action Day

2 Corinthians 1:8-9

this morning on the way home

riddles

When Helping Hurts

a divided nation

shoe shelf

When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts

When Helping Hurts

Brisingr

gooey

Little Boy

Where can you find...

I know Duffy

Wild Wool

Introducing....

Another Country

a note

5am ramblings

Practical Ways the Suburban Church Needs the Urban Church

On church and neighborhood (Part 1)

Beaver Stadium 50% Louder?

Raison d'être

Jamaica, in further review

freedom and service

wood

True Liberation

Jamaica, in review

Jehova Jireh

Jamaica!

scheming

Motor City News #6

Google search suggestions

on poverty and dignity

goodbye again - featuring Beausoleil

goodbye again

New Blog

Tonight we can be as one

Identity

Chilean Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers II

Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers

on mirrors, writing, and memory

Detroit In the News

Intersting Encounters

heartbreak

love

Welcome to Palestine!

tears

Viva Palestina

Back from Urbana

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

the plants are alive!

1000 anarchists arrested in Copenhagen

Motor City News #5

Engaged

I want to be famous

Halloween Fantasia Music Video

Halloween Story 11

Halloween Story 10

Halloween Story 9

Halloween Story 8

Halloween Story 7

Halloween Story 6

Halloween Story 5

2012-02-16T11:04:00.001-05:00

I've been getting into G.K. Chesterton recently, in a very peripheral manner.
Regardless, here's an interesting quote:

2012-02-03T10:33:00.002-05:00

I actually got to do some story-writing for work the other day. I'm not sure what I think of the result. I'll let you judge for yourselves.

I heard a story once about a poor blind man who lived nextto a mountain, famous for its hiking trails and amazing views. At the top ofthe mountain were a wide field and the ruins of an old castle. During the busymonths of the year families would make the long, difficult trek up the mountain.Children would climb all over the ruins while their parents soaked in the view.

Every day the blind man made his way to the base of themountain with a cooler full of bottled water and sold it to the hikers passingby. He was a man who had made some bad choices, and life hadn’t given him manygood turns, but he liked to think of himself as a pretty decent person, justtrying to make a buck. He was trying to save enough for a cart and stand tomake his little shop a more permanent fixture.

One hot summer day the trials were busier than ever, whenthe blind man began to hear the voice of a young boy calling out to the hikers,“Excuse me, sir! Will you please take me with you? Excuse me, would you pleasehelp me to the top?” He was curious, and the boy’s persistence after twentyminutes of constant rejection tugged at his heart.

Finally, he called the boy over. It took a bit longer thanhe expected for the boy to come close. “I admire your determination, kid. Whydo you need someone to take you up the mountain?”

The boy hesitated at first stumbling over his words, butthen it came out in a rush. He was crippled in an accident when he was justtwo, and every year since, on his birthday, his dad had brought him to themountain and carried him up to look at the amazing view. Today was his tenthbirthday, but his dad was…away. The trail was too steep and narrow for hischair. “I just wanted to see the view from the mountain on mybirthday, just one more time!” he finished.

Well, I’m sure you can see where this story is going… theblind man had to make a choice. The climb would be treacherous with a boy onhis back. He’d have to trust the boy to steer him the right way. And he’d missout on a big day of sales. Today might just give him the cash he needed for thecart he wanted! Plus, he thought tohimself, I couldn’t even enjoy the view at the top. I don’t owe this boyanything!

But, in his heart, the blind man knew what was right. Sure,it would be hard, it would take some serious self-sacrifice, but he knew hecould take the boy up the mountain.

“Well boy, if I walk for both of us, you’ll have to see forboth of us.”

The boy thanked him over and over, the excitement and joy inhis voice contagious enough to put a smile on the poor man’s face. It made himfeel stronger, noble. For a day, and forever in the memory of that child, onepoor blind man was a hero.

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

One of the attractions we saw on our recent trip to Disney World is the Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom. Strikingly patriotic. However, as I sat and watched and listened, and particularly as I looked around the room I was as equally saddened as I was grateful. Steve Burns of StartedByAMouse.com writes this:

The different moments portrayed in the attraction show that the main characteristic of America is its spirit. The American people have had the spirit to keep pressing on, whether in good times or bad, in peace or in war. Along each side of the theater are statues representing these spirits of America: adventure, compassion, discovery, freedom, heritage, independence, individualism, innovation, knowledge, pioneering, self-reliance, and tomorrow.

As I walked passed those spirits the last one before the exit struck me profoundly: individualism. As much as I love my country, and I do love her, the fact that we celebrate individualism as an essential aspect of the American spirit nearly brought me to tears.

And I had to admit, individualism is an essential aspect of our culture, at least today. Lord God, have mercy.

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

I fear that protestants in general and evangelicals in particular have lost something sacred in their rejection of the traditions of the Church. Tradition is a tool like any other. We haven't stopped using hammers because someone used a hammer as a murder weapon once. Throughout the Scripture God consistently instructs his people to remember, to set up memorials, to celebrate feasts... developing traditions to pass on the great stories of God and his redemptive history to the following generations. We fear that traditions will become as rote and meaningless to us as the words of the liturgy are to lukewarm Roman Catholics. But the words of our sermons are just as meaningless to lukewarm evangelicals. Let's not throw out the baby with the bath water. Traditions do not create lukewarm believers. Lukewarm believers render traditions meaningless. I want to be a husband (and eventually a father) who continues and creates meaningful spiritual traditions for my family. But I'm not sure we need to reinvent the wheel... Christians have been celebrating advent and lent for centuries.

I'm not sure how this thinking will bear out for me practically, but I felt the need to get it down "on paper."

2011-12-16T10:24:00.001-05:00

Human Rights are difficult. Let me just be clear that this post is more of an exploration than a conclusion. I'm interested in your thoughts.

R N W brought to light the question of whether Liberty is really a human right based on the Wagner quote in my previous post. Wagner indicates that only those who are self-controlled can breathe the air of Liberty without getting drunk on it and being "morally slain." We see this throughout history and in our own culture. When given freedom to do whatever they wish, and unconstrained by an "inner law" based on a Judeo-christian ethic, the people become increasingly enslaved to their desires and passions. As Plato said so long ago, pure democracy always ends in tyranny, because a government must great tighter and tighter regulations to control a people who will not control themselves. That is exactly what Wagner is saying, and what C.S. Lewis prophesied in The Abolition of Man.

But what does this have to do with Human Rights? Should we selectively withhold Liberty from those who are not self-controlled? In a sense we do this already; it's called prison. But is Liberty still a Human Right?

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most profound documents of our time. A true game changer.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The founding fathers are saying here that Liberty is a right by God's law, and cannot be given or taken away by government. In a sense, even if we wanted to take away someones Liberty, we really can't do it. See China. Mao's revolution was designed to control the people by forcing them to think a certain way. But he couldn't do it. It didn't work. [As an aside, it's interesting to note that China is now partnering with very capitalistic organizations like... WalMart. Why? What reason would a still-communist China have to bring the largest corporation on the planet inside its borders? To control the people. Consumerism is the great opiate of America, and it may just work in China too...]

Back to Human Rights. Alexander Hamilton makes an interesting point about liberty, rights, and government in Federalist No.1:

It will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgement, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.

This, in a letter that is arguing for the acceptance of the newly published Constitution. Hamilton argues on the same theme as Plato, which Wagner would later pick up, that the elevation of individual liberties above all else ends in tyranny.

I'm still circling the question. Is Liberty a human right?

Let's see what the Bible says. We know that mankind is depraved and rebellious, bent on evil (pursing not-God), and is thus deserving of Death (eternal not-God). In that sense, we have no "rights." Zero. The only human right before God is Death. There is nothing else we "deserve."
However, we also know that humans are created in the Image of God, and that Christ is the perfection and completion of that Image. This bears significant impact on the way we treat each other. God created you; in your face I see the image of my Creator. Therefore, out of respect for Him, I respect you. I respect your ability to make autonomous choices, and until proven otherwise, I respect your ability to control yourself. Liberty, I think is the right and responsibility of all humans to treat each other with justice. Liberty does not say, "Give me mine!" as secular humanism is teaching us today. Liberty is not an individual sport. True Liberty does not say, "I demand my freedom to do whatever I want. Respect me." it says, "I respect you, because God has made you free."

We must follow the example of Christ. He never stood up for his own "rights." Instead he freely gave them up and chose to wield his power on behalf of those who before God are powerless, without rights.

Liberty is Human Right. But to experience true freedom we must not demand Liberty for ourselves. Instead, we bow to the "inner law." We control ourselves out of deference to Christ and his image in others.

Thoughts?

2011-12-13T09:19:00.000-05:00

I've been reading Plato's Republic and now Wagner's The Simple Life. Both reflect the immorality of man and the resulting tendency of democratic peoples toward tyranny. I want to share this Wagner passage at length (the entire work is available from Project Gutenberg), without further comment.

So it is with liberty. It is fatal or lifegiving according to the use made of it. Is it liberty still, when it is the prerogative of criminals or heedless blunderers? Liberty is an atmosphere of the higher life, and it is only by a slow and patient inward transformation that one becomes capable of breathing it.
All life must have its law, the life of man so much the more than that of inferior beings, in that it is more precious and of nicer adjustment. This law for man is in the first place an external law, but it may become an internal law. When man has once recognized the inner law, and bowed before it, through this reverence and voluntary submission he is ripe for liberty: so long as there is no vigorous and sovereign inner law, he is incapable of breathing its air; for he will be drunken with it, maddened, morally slain. The man who guides his life by inner law, can no more live servile to outward authority than can the full-grown bird live imprisoned in the eggshell. But the man who has not yet attained to governing himself can no more live under the law of liberty than can the unfledged bird live without its protective covering. These things are terribly simple, and the series of demonstrations old and new that proves them, increases daily under our eyes. And yet we are as far as ever from understanding even the elements of this most important law. In our democracy, how many are there, great and small, who know, from having personally verified it, lived it and obeyed it, this truth without which a people is incapable of governing itself? Liberty?—it is respect; liberty?—it is obedience to the inner law; and this law is neither the good pleasure of the mighty, nor the caprice of the crowd, but the high and impersonal rule before which those who govern are the first to bow the head. Shall liberty, then, be proscribed? No; but men must be made capable and worthy of it, otherwise public life becomes impossible, and the nation, undisciplined and unrestrained, goes on through license into the inextricable tangles of demagoguery.

2011-11-22T08:18:00.001-05:00

"My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release me from the snare." Ps. 25:15

If I was walking along and suddenly got my feet caught in a trap, my first reaction would not be to look at God. If it was a painful or scary trap, I might think, "O God, help!" But even then, my focus would be on the trap. I'd examine it, struggle with it, talk to it, wack at it... Searching for a way to slip out or break free.

And all too often that's what I find myself doing with sin. When there is a sin that I seem trapped by, that I just can't shake, I spend so much time focused in the sin. How can I escape it? What strategies can I employ to avoid it or fight it? And I forget, only the Lord will release me from the snare.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."

2011-11-21T14:42:00.001-05:00

Christ lived, died, and rose for me, a sinner powerless and without standing or station before a holy God. That is biblical justice: wielding power on behalf of the powerless. That is why I do my job and pursue excellence in it. That is why CompassCare exists. I am passionate about erasing the need for abortion because of what I believe about God.

2011-11-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

I'm consuming literature and ideas like it's my job these days (and it kind of is... after all, leaders are readers), so it's time for another edition of Currently Reading.

Finished!
The Peloponnesian War
Thucydides
You can learn a lot about human nature from history!

The Republic
Plato

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
John C. Maxwell
Half way though this with a mentor at a rate of 2 laws/month. Maxwell is "leadership lite," but provides good talking points at the very least

Depression: A Stubborn Darkness
Ed Welch

Finished!
The Abolition of Man
C.S. Lewis
The dangers of a valueless society are expose in this series of lectures by Lewis. Read this book before you send your children to school!

Finished!
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
This is an absolutely fascinating look at how ideas catch on, how massive cultural changes can occur over very short periods of time the way diseases become epidemics. I think the chapter on group sizes has very practical implications for churches. Groups cannot maintain cohesion and connectivity beyond 150 people...it's programmed into our brains. Hence the extreme importance of small group communities for churches to grow beyond that barrier (and I'm convinced one of the reasons that campus fellowships very often approach an attendance of 120-150, but rarely grow larger).

2011-11-04T09:31:00.000-04:00

In my experience--

In my experience, there is nothing like a community of believers to shine the light of truth on the state of my soul, the depths of my depravity, and then to reawaken me to the hope of the Gospel and the amazing grace of our God.

I was reminded this morning of an old Ross King song (when did 2002 become old?) called Clear the Stage. One of the great lines is

Shine the light on every corner of your life Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open.

The context in the song is deep personal soul-searching, one-on-one with God. While that is certainly an absolute necessity, I found the light pointed at my sin this morning through relationships. And we know what "everything exposed to the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: 'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'"

The light of Christ shone on me this morning through my brothers. Darkness cannot abide in the light.

2011-09-20T18:46:00.000-04:00

The CCDA poem:

Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have:
But of the best leaders When their task is done
The people will remark "We have done it ourselves."

relationships.

2011-08-02T20:55:00.000-04:00

I’ve had a recent rash of requests for an update a la Motor City News, so here goes…

When I sent the final episode of Motor City News I was preparing to move back to Rochester and get married. These I have accomplished!

The last 16 months have encompassed some of the biggest transitions of my life, and I think the perspective of over a year makes this much easier to write than a month or two—I won’t get bogged down in the details.

I learned important lessons of humility, rest, and patience on a trip to Jamaica. Since then, the project has floundered, and God has led Belinda and I to spend more time focused on the ministries we’re already a part of.

We had a wonderful wedding, and honeymooned in Puerto Rico. Unforgettable, of course.

In August 2010 Belinda and I began unofficially taking on the responsibilities of Service Coordinators for our church, and have recently become part of the local missions committee with a focus of helping our church and its small groups connect and serve in our city. In some ways, this is the beginnings of the fulfillment of a dream.

At the end of last summer Belinda began working in electrical engineering, giving me permission and freedom to spend time finding a career which I would enjoy. A period of confusion and joblessness ensued. After a few months without success in finding a job in engineering or otherwise, I began working part time at an amazing little used bookstore (Small World Books—check it out if you’re in Rochester). I started there in February.

By the middle of March God made it clear to us that Belinda should not continue working at Harris. After a lot of prayer and counsel, she put in her two-weeks. At that time all the job leads I had had dried up, and we expected to be without an income for a while.

But God provided. I got scheduled for a second interview for the day before her last day with an organization called CompassCare Pregnancy Services. They’d interviewed me months before for a COO position (which I was clearly not qualified for). After repeated attempts to follow-up, and receiving little feedback, I’d given up. Now I was being called back for a second interview.

In the preceding months as I’d been attending career fairs and the like I’d taken to introducing myself this way: Matt Sones, Mechanical Engineer. I want to change the world. The mission of CompassCare is to erase the need for abortion by turning a woman’s fear into confidence. Sounds a lot like changing the world.

I got emailed the job offer that night (the night before Belinda’s last day)—a position as Assistant to the President, since I matched the organization in values, but not the COO position in experience. I feel blessed beyond measure to say that at 25 years of age I am in my dream job.

In other news, Belinda and I are both involved in children’s ministry at church, and we’re co-leading the best small group ever—sometimes very challenging—the highs and lows of life can be oh so high, and dreadfully low. But we walk through them together with Christ behind, before, and beside.

Learning to be a husband is fun, hard, and rewarding. I am stretched more and more to forget myself. And I’m deliriously happy.

Current spiritual thought: evil is evil. It’s really, really bad. Terribly, awesomely, wickedly bad. And that’s what I was. I am so bad Jesus had to die for me. But I’m so loved that he was glad to (these thoughts significantly influenced by Denes House and Mike Donehey).

In Christ,

- m a t t

2011-07-26T13:43:00.001-04:00

Jesus said, "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me" (Mark 14:7).

It seems to me that our churches (in "our" I include constituents of the mid- to upper-class Western church). have a problem; namely, the poor are not with us. It's not that we intentionally avoid the poor (although that certainly is the reality in some cases), but rather that we do not intentionally seek out the poor.
Yes, many of the passages that have been mis-interpreted to form a doctrine of "social justice" are meant to apply to service of the poor within the Body of Christ. Yet how can we legitimately fulfill these commands if the poor are not with us? Can we legitimately call ourselves the Body? Our society has divided rich and poor by class, and divided class by geography. There's little interaction.
Now, I don't want to suggest that there is some conspiracy among GPS navigation programmers to keep the rich disconnected from the sights and sounds and smells of the American ghetto, but consider this personal anecdote:
Several weeks ago I was driving back to my apartment from the west, approaching Rochester on 490. There are two primary routes which I could take: around the city on the highway, or through the city (one of the highest crime areas). The highway or the hood. I generally choose to go through the city, preferring the more direct route. On this occasion, I had my phone's GPS navigation on, and it told me to take the highway. I decided to experiment. As I approached the exit my phone indicated it would take 15 minutes to reach home. I passed the exit, intending to take my normal city route. The computerized female voice said, "recalculating" in the most condescending tone imaginable ("you went the wrong way, you idiot"). The recalculation occured quickly and suggested that I get off at the next exit (less than 1/4 mile) and turn around. Now it would take me 16 minutes. I ignored that direction as well, and again heard "recalculating." This time, it showed my chosen route through the city, and predicted that it would take 11 minutes.

The whole incident occurred within a single minute of driving time. And I have to wonder, if my GPS is set to pick the fastest route, why didn't it take me through the city in the first place? Is it programmed to naturally avoid less savory neighborhoods?

2011-07-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

You've heard the proverb "leaders are readers." I intend to be a leader. It is my hearts desire to change the world. My mission: To please God, fearing only Him, serving those he loves, and advancing his kingdom of light in a world of darkness. To that end I read.

Here's my current list (and yes, I am reading all six concurrently):
The Federalist and Anti-federalist Papers
Life Together by Bonhoeffer
The Republic by Plato
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by Maxwell
Getting Things DONE by David Allen
The Histories of Herodotus (nine books)

Just finished:

The Constitution of the United States of America
The Declaration of Independence
The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership by Steven Sample.

Sample's book may be the best modern leadership text I have read. For every book you read, you choose not to read 1000 others. If you consider yourself a leader, exclude 1000 books for this one.

2011-07-01T15:15:00.000-04:00

A week ago today the NY State Legislature legalized re-defined marriage, allowing same-sex couples to marry.

All people should be given the same rights before the law regardless of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or the size of their ears. Morality and legality are different animals. Adultery is immoral, but not illegal. Adulterers should have the same civil rights as the faithful. For the purpose of maintaining civilization, the government declares some acts which most consider immoral to be illegal (see murder) and also some acts which most consider moral (or amoral, but that's another discussion entirely) to be illegal (see underage voting).
Regardless, homosexuals should have the same legal standing as heterosexuals. Ideally, a civil union would be the legal equivalent of marriage, distinguishing between the moral/religious idea of marriage and the civil structure. For some reason, that is not the case. If a non-religious heterosexual couple wants to make a legal partnership, they get "married" in court. The unfortunate reality is that marriage is understood by most inhabitants of the United States as an inherently moral/religious institution. Consider these results of a 2008 Newsweek poll:

Two-thirds of our population believe that marriage has something to do with religion.

Interestingly, marriage rates across the country have been dropping, while the incidence of cohabitation rises. Marriage is dying, primarily because it is seen as a religious institution. [This also confuses me--what do homosexuals see in marriage that so many heterosexuals do not? I think it's more than just a tax cut.]

According to the same poll, 77% of people in the US say their religion has some influence on their views of gay marriage:

"How much, if at all, do your religious beliefs determine your views on the issue of gay marriage? Are your religious beliefs very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not at all important in determining your views on gay marriage?"
					.
	Very Important	Somewhat Important	Not Too Important	Not at All Important	Unsure
	%	%	%	%	%
	41	21	11	23	4

Of course, that shouldn't mean too much. One would hope that a person's religious belief (worldview) would affect their thoughts on all parts of life.

Regardless, the question remains--who defined marriage in the first place? It certainly wasn't the government. And yet now they presume to have the authority to re-define what is considered by the majority to be primarily a moral issue. Government's redefinition of the basic unity of human community amounts to a declaration of moral authority.
In Roe v. Wade the Judiciary did not legalize abortion. In 1973 the Judiciary re-defined human life. They claimed the authority to decide when a being with distinct DNA is a human (thus having unallienable rights) and that being is not. Roe v. Wade dehumanized the child in the womb. Last week, NYS redefined the family.
Bit by bit, the government is making itself the final moral authority. "Legislator with a capital L," as my boss (@compasscare) likes to say.

This is democracy plunging toward tyranny. For the government to maintain control of a people, those people must be ruled by a uniform set of moral standards. Otherwise, chaos reigns. Since we have eliminated God as the transcendent authority, the government has appointed itself in His place.

For our civility to be maintained, the primary relationship of each individual must be to their final moral authority (by definition). If my primary responsibility is to a god, I may not obey government. If my primary relationship is to my wife, I may have occasion to disobey government. The only way the government of a people not self-controlled can maintain order is to make itself the primary relationship for every individual, and the final moral authority. This is tyranny: government over the individual.

Then, it will employ terror and fear (see abortion, climate change) and find ways to placate the enslaved population (see consumerism and entertainment media).

I've said enough, for now.

2011-06-29T11:13:00.000-04:00

Complex, impartial, evolving thoughts mar these lines. Bear with me as I explore the designs behind the issues of our time.

I've come to believe that the current moral turmoil in our society are the result of a fundamental shift in transcendence (that being the thing beyond and above us which sets standards for life). As the result of enlightenment thinkers like Kant and later American influencers like Whitman, we have a war of ideologies. Kant declared that is is man's brain, his own ability to reason, which is the highest standard. We call this materialistic rationalism. There is nothing beyond that which we can see or perceive, and our ability to make rational judgement is itself that which makes us valuable as humans. It is no longer the image of God stamped on us that gives humans dignity, but our ability to make rational judgments. Whitman carried it further. We are all "leaves of grass," individuals whose transcendence goes no further than our own reason.

Now, government has a problem. How do you manage a population of individuals no longer self-controlled by a Judeo-Christian moral standard? In The Republic, Plato wrote, "tyranny naturally arises out of democracy." Why? With democracy there is freedom, "And where freedom is, the individual is clearly able to order for himself his own life as he pleases." With no moral standard which binds a nation together in common principles, the end of freedom is anarchy: "democracy...is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder." Yet, humanity will not tolerate anarchy. Chaos is one of five universal fears of humans. To avoid chaos, we give away our freedoms. In the case of the United States, we give freedoms to the tyranny of government legislation, which poses tighter and tighter restrictions on our actions.

Perhaps it is wrong to say we give freedoms away. They are taken from us by government, and by and large we the people seem completely unaware, being placated by consumerism and swayed by the compelling and entertaining media.

Please express your thoughts. I intend to use this as a backdrop to explore some of the "issues" which are currently in the national discussion (abortion, same-sex marriage, etc).

2011-06-27T12:11:00.000-04:00

On the top of the list of "things I wish I had read before Detroit" goes Bonhoeffer's Life Together.

This passage in particular struck a chord, as a fault of mine own walking in to an intentional experience of Christian community:

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God's grace speedily shatters such dreams. ...

Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his cream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial. ...

The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. ... When things do not go his way...he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

In many ways, I this was the reality of my community experience.

2011-06-24T09:47:00.000-04:00

Matthew goes to considerable lengths in his biography of the life of Jesus in chapters 5-10 to demonstrate the Christ's authority.

The Sermon on the Mount, among many things, shows Christ's authority over the Law, and his authority to teach.
He has authority over incurable disease (8:1-4)
Authority of command, to heal from afar (8:5-13)
Authority over spirits and demons (8:14-17)
Authority over the weather (8:23-27)
Authority over a multiplicity of demons, and over animals (8:28-34)
And finally, we come to chapter 9, where the description of Jesus' authority culminates in his authority to forgive sins.

It is also worth noting that in the very next chapter Jesus delegates authority over demons, sickness, and disease to his disciples, and it is in that context that they are first called "apostles."

2011-06-23T09:00:00.007-04:00

I was recently introduced to the concepts of Donald Brown's book, "Human Universals." He is an anthropologist who after a study of cultures historic and modern, globally, and at various stages of technological advance, published over 200 human traits which he found among them all.

I found it facinating that these five fears were found in all cultures, in this order:

Death (one's own, or that of another)
Outsiders
Chaos
The future
Not leaving a mark (his words... I like the word "Insignificance" to describe this fear)

I find all of these present in my life. And it seems that with these in mind the actions of the individuals around me, as well as many of our cultural and governmental systems and structures make a lot more sense.

2011-06-22T14:14:00.001-04:00

Jonathan Last's review of Mara Hvistendahl's book "Unnatural Selection" is a must-read. Hvistendahl, despite being very feminist and pro-abortion, may have written the most influential anti-abortion publication of the decade.

Read it here.

"Today in India, the best predictor of violence and crime for any given area is not income but sex ratio."

2011-06-15T11:00:00.002-04:00

The sermon on the mount flipped the current cultural and religious understanding on its head. We are in need of a good flipping today. Our nation (I use the term loosely... we are quickly becoming a state, an empire) needs revival, new life. Benevolent thought leaders must rise up to renew the cultural understanding of who God is, who man is, and who the Church is.

The beatitudes?
We avoid persecution and suffering at all costs.
We might try to be peacemakers in the office, but not on the street.
Ambition is virtue. We honor those who claw their way to the top. God honors the meek.
Mercy is weakness, foolishness. "I can't believe you let him get away with that!" As though we need it not ourselves.
Comfort is king and Entertainment his queen. We drink and drink and swallow down deep the dregs of their cup, and yet are not satisfied.
What if we thirsted for that which fills?
Our fear of the poor is nigh our fear of poverty. Like it might rub off on us.
The poor condemn us, and we flee lest they topple the thrones of our royalty to make way for the kingdom of heaven.

2011-05-31T12:51:00.000-04:00

This is how Belinda and I spent approximately 5 hours last evening:

2011-01-05T10:08:00.002-05:00

It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.
Thomas Aquinas

2010-11-19T16:18:00.000-05:00

Chapter 5: ABCD

Too often we who are trying to do community development come to the economically poor with the question, "What do you need? What is wrong with you?" The implication is "You have problems, I can fix them." Corbett and Fikkert write:

Given the nature of most poverty, it is difficult to imagine more harmful questions to both low-income people and to ourselves! Starting with such questions initiates the very dynamic that we need to avoid, a dynamic that confirms the feelings that we are superior, that they are inferior, and that they need us to fix them."

This is the biggest area where we failed on the first trip I took to Jamaica with my church. We held a big meeting at the church and opened with the question, "What are the needs in your community?"

Instead, the authors suggest Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD -- cute, right?). Start with the question, "What do you have? What are you good at?"

What is wrong will come out soon enough; but by starting with what is right, we can change the dynamics that have marred the self-image of low-income people and that have created a sense of superiority in ourselves.

In all this it is important to remember that community development and poverty-alleviation are NOT attempts to put band-aids over "manifestations of underlying brokenness." No, we want to bring wholeness and reconciliation to all relationships (God, self, others, creation), and address the underlying causes of poverty. This is a much harder, longer task.

A summary of the four key elements of ABCD from the authors:

Identify and mobilize the capabilities, skills, and resources of the individual or community. See poor people and communities as full of possibilities, given to them by God.
As much as possible, look for resources and solutions to come from within the individual or community, not from the outside.
Seek to build and rebuild the relationships among local individuals, associations, churches, businesses, schools, governments, etc. God intended for the various individuals and institutions in communities to be interconnected and complementary.
Only bring in outside resources when local resources are insufficient to solve pressing needs. Be careful about bringing in resources that are too much or too early. Do this in a manner that does not undermine local capacity or initiative.

I know from experience that number 2 is hard. In Jamaica, in Detroit, in Cairo--the expectation from the poor is that I have money, they do not, and therefore I should give it. It's hard to say, "Is there a way for your community to fund this project?" knowing that it will take great sacrifice, when I could write a check on the spot.

2010-10-28T09:41:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of the Harvard Political Review's Annual Report of the United States of America (ARUSA), a bipartisan student-run political magazine.

2010-10-25T12:43:00.000-04:00

The middle class in the US is slowly becoming more and more racially integrated. More and more young people go to college and then work in increasingly racially integrated environments.

The primary areas where we remain segregated are in housing/neighborhoods and in religion.

I'm fairly convinced that if nothing changes the white, middle-class church that has been the foundation of US evangelicalism will be irrelevant within a few generations. My grandchildren will enjoy the diversity of their school and work environments, and will look for that in their church.

It's also interesting to note that while white evangelical churches in America are for the most part declining in attendance over the last decade (with notable exceptions, such as my own church), attendance of multi-racial and non-white evangelical churches (particularly Asian, African, and Latin American immigrant churches holding bilingual or non-English services) are growing.

2010-10-21T16:00:00.000-04:00

At this moment in American history, poverty is suburbanizing. Gentrification brings wealth back into the city and pushed poor renters into 40-year-old apartment buildings in first-ring suburbs.

Without the participation of the Church in the unstoppable process of gentrification, it will be an unjust process.

Handouts are the kindest way to destroy people. Why exclude the poor from bargaining? Let's re-tool our charity to develop reciprocal systems. "There is no loss of dignity in finding a good bargain."

You don't get appreciated for this kind of work. In fact it's often the opposite. Disappointment asks: "What am I doing this for?" I do it because God loves those who suffer.

A public school in Atlanta:
When my kids enrolled, school average 21% on standardized tests.
12 years later, school average 79% on standardized tests.
How? investment in school by volunteers and the revival of the PTA.

2010-10-16T16:00:00.001-04:00

it costs more to keep people in jail than to send them to college.

Eight Components of Christian Community Development:

Relocation - be incarnational

this is hard work. if God hasn't called you, if it doesn't bring you joy, don't do it.

Reconciliation - assumes equality. this is the Gospel!
Redistribution - $ is not the most important. this is redistribution of all kinds of socioeconomic resources
Leadership Development - indigenous development: "natives" must be leaders. DISCIPLESHIP is key
Church-Based - the Body must act. authority matters, and it must come from love, not fear
Felt-Need Concept - listen. Don't use gifts to make ourselves feel superior. affirm dignity.
Wholistic Approach - reach the soul: body, spirit, emotion, mind
Empowerment - again, affirm dignity

design a plan
give responsibility
always remember: don't do what they can do for themselves

[for a better description of these check out the ccda website. Reflecting on these things now, they seem to be exactly the practical out-workings of When Helping Hurts. They share the same philosophy. Then I realized, "duh, John Perkins wrote the Forward."]

know the people you are helping.

our giving and charity should create responsibility and thanksgiving, not dependency

2010-10-15T16:00:00.000-04:00

The Church is to be the continuation of Christ's body on earth. This is a foundational truth--not just "issues."

To develop a racialized society in light of the declaration of independence is witchcraft.

The black church in America is a result of white oppression.

Prayer:

we need to 'dehyjack prayer'
prayer is not for me
prayer is God preparing us for responsibility and action
take prayer back from individualism

naturally, it's easier to develop a church without the gospel

a racialized gospel is only a form of the gospel, but denies its power.

2010-10-15T12:57:00.000-04:00

Chapter 4: Relief, Rehabilitation, and Development

This chapter is basically a description of these three states of poverty, and an assessment of how material-poverty alleviation efforts should be designed to meet the very different needs therein.

In fact, the failure to distinguish among these situations is one of the most common reasons that poverty-alleviation efforts often do harm.

Relief is stopping the bleeding. Helping someone incapable of helping himself. The mentally ill homeless person, the orphaned infant, the tsunami victim whose entire neighborhood is gone.

Rehabilitation seeks to restore communities to their pre-crisis conditions. It begins as soon as the bleeding stops.

Development is moving all parties involved "closer to being in right relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation...to levels of reconciliation that they have not experienced before"

Relief is done for people, Rehabilitation and Development are done with people.

How do you spell "effective relief"? S-e-l-d-o-m, I-m-m-e-d-i-a-t-e, and T-e-m-p-o-r-a-r-y.

The people being assisted must be involved in developing the assistance program! This is scary, because we like to be in control.
The authors are all about helping people help themselves. Considering how we should run programs at a homeless shelter, how and when meals should be served, how food should be purchased or otherwise procured: "As much as possible, we need to treat people as the responsible stewards that we want them to be, even asking their opinions once in a while! Homeless men might actually know something about, well, being homeless."

In all of our efforts, an attitude of humility and brokenness is everything. We must work hard to prevent ourselves from developing a god-complex as we help those who have less than us materially. "Avoid Paternalism," they say. "Do not do things for people that they can do for themselves." The authors present these types of paternalism: resource, spiritual, knowledge, labor, and managerial paternalism. knowledge struck me as particularly difficult when I'm considering the Jamaica missions project that we're planning with our church, and then I read that they agree:

Handling knowledge is a very tricky area in poverty alleviation, because the truth is that we often do have knowledge that can help the materially poor. But we must recognize that the materially poor also have unique insights into their own cultural contexts and are facing circumstances that we co not understand very well.

But personally, I think managerial paternalism is the most difficult for me. I like to lead things. I find myself accidentally in charge of things. It just happens. In the context of poverty alleviation effort, I have to work very hard at developing, championing, and submitting to the leadership of those who are in rehabilitation or development.

Remember, the goal is not to produce houses or other material goods but to pursue a process of walking with the materially poor so that they are better stewards of their lives and communities, including their own material needs.

It is much simpler to drop food out of airplanes or to ladle soup [into] bowls than it is to develop long-lasting, time-consuming relationships with poor people, which may be emotionally exhausting. [It] is easier to get donor money for relief than for development. "We fed a thousand people today" sounds better to donors than "We hung out and developed relationships with a dozen people today."

My thought is, "wow, a dozen people!"

2010-10-15T11:09:00.000-04:00

It's not 11 am yet, and I estimate that I've used approximately 7 gallons of water, just for my own personal hygiene and thirst.

approximately 1.8 million people live with access to water within 1 km of their residence, but no access within their yard or home. People in that particular circumstance use about 20 liters (5.28 gal) per day on average.

The average toilet flush costs 3-5 gallons of water. Put a brick or a bottle of water in the talk of your toilet to save water.

If you really want to conserve, detach the pipes under your sink and replace them with a bucket, so the waste water from the sink fills the bucket. Dump that water directly into the toilet, and it will flush. I've been doing it with my shaving water. I shave with a mixing bowl. It keeps the sink from clogging with hundreds of tiny hairs, and saves a little water.

2010-10-14T16:00:00.001-04:00

God has been taking me back to the summer when I first moved to Detroit and challenging me again with many of the issues that he brought to my attention a year-and-a-half ago. I've been going back through some of my journals, and it's full of so much good stuff that I want to remind myself of, that I've decided to post a series of quotes from my journal.

Here's the first one:

"expectations are resentment under construction"

When God gives you a glimpse of his plan, a piece of the puzzle, resist the temptation to fill in details that God hasn't provided.

2010-10-12T15:45:00.001-04:00

Blog Action Day is October 15. This year the topic is water.

I don't know if a bunch of people blogging about global water issues really makes any difference, but perhaps it will educate some who will make a difference. This year more and more blogs of note are getting involved (including the White House, apparently).

I read somewhere that more people have cell phones than access to clean water. Who decides that kind of thing? I don't know what kind of severe estimation goes into that analysis, but nevertheless, I believe it's probably true.

When I was in Mokattam, a slum of Cairo, Egypt, it seemed like more families had satellite dishes for their TVs than they had food to fill their dishes.

2010-10-12T09:26:00.000-04:00

It is very good to be in a place that requires complete dependence on God. When my own faculties are overwhelmed I can cling only to the hope I have in Christ, only to his death and resurrection, only to the Father who is strong in my weakness, who binds up the broken-hearted, who defends the powerless, who loves.
O is it ever hard! but it is good to depend on God. Would that he did not have to force me.

We were under great pressure, far beyond out ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

2010-10-07T09:31:00.000-04:00

I can feel it.
The subtle pressure
A hat just a wee bit tight.
The blister growing on your heel
A long, wet hike.
The first rays of dawn
On morning's eyes:
A touch of pain
A warm caress

I can feel myself slowly
Slipping under
The weight
The culture of mediocrity
Where dreaming is
Youth and Idealism
It's the new shirt that
In a day is
The old shirt you always wear
Cause it's so comfortable.

Dreaming is easy.
Pursuing dreams.
Pursuing.

Hope is hard, today.

2010-10-04T09:50:00.000-04:00

I really like riddles.

Here's an easy one, but beautifully written, from Cloud Kingdom Games:

A beast that grows upon the wind
Isn't winged, isn't finned.
Slays the witch, feeds on death
Poisonous its every breath.
The mighty smith will learn its ways.
The mystic seeks within its gaze.
Always feeds, or else it dies.
Leaving naught but glowing eyes.

2010-09-28T16:00:00.000-04:00

Chapter 3: What is success in material poverty-alleviation efforts?

I grew up in a church environment where I mistakenly understood my teaching to mean that God was only concerned with our souls and moral purity. I do not blame any of the spiritual authorities of my youth. Over the last 5 years God has corrected my mistaken notions. The authors of When Helping Hurts express my current doctrine of Christ's redemption quite well:

Jesus is not just "beaming up" our souls out of planet Earth in Star Trek fashion; rather, Jesus is bringing reconciliation to every last speck of the universe, including both our foundational relationships and the systems that emanate from them.

This reconciliation of all things comes from Colossians 1:19-20, among others. And it has a direct impact on our understanding of the "solution" to poverty":

Poverty is rooted in broken relationships, so the solution to poverty is rooted in the power of Jesus' death and resurrection to put all tings into right relationship again.

I really appreciate that the authors put the responsibility for the condition of the materially poor on sinful individuals and the broken systems of our society.

DEFINITIONS

Poverty alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation.

Material poverty alleviation is working to reconcile the four foundational relationships so that people can fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work.

By defining poverty as a lack in these four relationships, the authors must produce a definition of alleviation that heals the brokenness. Aside from this key aspect (which begins to become burdensome by its repetition: "Okay, OK! I get it already!"), they really define material poverty alleviation as "empowering people to earn sufficient material things through their own labor."

We were created to bring God glory, and we were created for good works. "How we work and for whom we work really matters."
Side note: The motive thing really gets me. Why do I want an engineering job? Is it for me, or for God? James 4:1-3

"Our perspective should be less about how we are going to fix the materially poor and more about how we can walk together, asking God to fix both of us." I want to particularly note the walking together. Relationships, real relationships with materially poor people, are what changed my heart in Egypt (of course through the power of the Word of God and his Holy Spirit). Relationships were particularly powerful for me when I encountered and was befriended by those who had nothing physically, but knew God far better than I might have ever dreamed of knowing him on earth.

A note on the american ghetto, which I have found all too true:

Living in the context of violence, some ghetto children correctly assume that they will not live very long. This can make them very present-oriented and give them little incentive to invest in their futures through such things as being diligent in school. And of course, a failure to get a good education contributes to their long-run material poverty.

In Detroit we knew a man in his late 20s who was trying to turn his life around. For the first time in his life, he was looking into the future and actually believed he might live into his 40s, and it sobered him. He said, "I don't want to be 45 and have people calling my cell for weed." Last I knew he was coming back to church.

Remember, the goal is for everyone involved to glorify God and to enjoy him forever, not just to increase people's incomes.

Next: Part II, general principles for helping without hurting.

2010-09-28T13:53:00.000-04:00

Check out these startling visualizations of the racial make-up of two cities I love:

Detroit, MI

Rochester, NY

To match his map, Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, Orange is Hispanic, Gray is Other, and each dot is 25 people. Data from Census 2000.

HT: MattMarsh

2010-09-28T10:47:00.002-04:00

I love building useful things out of other people's trash.

In Detroit I built a shoe shelf out of two tree limbs that we cut up, and some plywood and drywall that we found in our basement.

But as cool as that was, it won't compare to the masterful artistry of the shoe shelf I'm preparing to put together now. Our neighbors had some pretty awesome trash!

2010-09-22T10:21:00.000-04:00

Chapter 2, part 2

One of the things that my pastor and the authors of this book stress is the poverty of all people before God. The argument is that if we truly recognize our own poverty, we will not be able to look down on the materially poor. The author relates a story of discovering his own spiritual poverty in the midst of powerful saints living in the midst of one of the worst slums in the world.

But that "everybody's poor" mantra rubs me the wrong way. I know that if people truly accept it, such a view would eliminate economically based prejudice that is ingrained in our culture. However, it seems to me that "everybody's poor" just gives me another excuse to do nothing. It allows me to dismiss passages of scripture which speak of poverty as if they were simply about spiritual poverty, and return to trying to solve all problems by the proclamation of the Gospel, without its demonstration.

Then, at the very end of chapter 2, the authors finally addressed this issue! I was delighted to read these paragraphs:

...while "material poverty" is rooted in the brokenness of the four foundational relationships--a brokenness we all experience in different ways--this does not mean that there is nothing unique about "the poor" in Scripture. Although there are places in the Bible in which the term "poor" is used generically to describe the general plight of humanity, there are a host of texts in which the term is referring very specifially to those who are economically destitute. We cannot let ourselves off the hook by saying to ourselves, "I am fulfilling the Bible's commands to help the poor by loving the wealthy lady next door with the troubled marriage." Yes, the lady is experiencing a "poverty of community," and it is good to help her. But this is not the type of person referred to in such passages as 1 John 3:17.

The economically poor are singled out in Scripture as being in a particularly desperate category and as needing very specific attention (Acts 6:1-7). The fact that all humanity has some things in common with the materially poor does not negate their unique and overwhelming suffering nor the special place that they have in God's heart, as emphasized throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Amen!

2010-09-22T10:01:00.002-04:00

Chapter 2 :: What's the Problem?

In this chapter the authors address the question, "What is poverty?"

Through the research they present from the World Bank, as well as my personal experience in Detroit and Cairo, it seems that people who are NOT poor tend to define poverty in terms of material possessions, while those who are poor define it more psychologically and socially. Here are some definitions throughout the chapter:

Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meaning.

It is this lack of freedom to be able to make meaningful choices--to have an ability to affect one's situation--that is the distinguishing feature of poverty.

Poor people tend to describe their condition...in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness.

The authors define poverty as a lack in one or more of the basic relationships of life: the relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation. Brokenness in these relationships lead to a Poverty of Spiritual Intimacy, Poverty of Being, Poverty of Community, and Poverty of Stewardship, respectively.

I know that I struggle with a certain poverty of being, a wrong view of myself that says because I have something material, I somehow have more worth than those who do not. The authors claim that most North Americans struggle with this same poverty of being they call a god-complex.

When we define poverty as a material lack and try to meet it that way, we exacerbate our own god-complex, and contribute to the poverty of being of the poor... feelings of worthlessness and shame.

One author writes, "It makes me feel good to use my training in economics to "save" poor people. And in the process, I sometimes unintentionally reduce poor people to objects that I use to fulfill my own need to accomplish something."

One of the biggest problems in many poverty-alleviation efforts is that their design and implementation exacerbates the poverty of being of the economically rich--their god-complexes--and the poverty of being of the economically poor--their feelings of inferiority and shame. The way we act toward the economically poor often communicates--albeit unintentionally--that we are superior and they are inferior.

I have other thoughts about this chapter, but they come in another post.

2010-09-17T12:58:00.000-04:00

Chapter 1

1. Why did Jesus come to earth?
2. For what specific sin(s) was OT Israel sent into captivity? "Disobedience" is not a valid answer. Be specific. Example: "The Israelites were constantly robbing banks."
3. What is the primary task of the church?

Three big questions are asked at the beginning of this, the opening chapter, and the authors spend the next pages answering them biblically. These are all things that I believe and I really want other Christians to consider. I ate this chapter up! Since I like these points so much, I'm just going to reiterate them with some of my own thoughts thrown in.

1. Luke 4:17-21. This is how Luke records the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. Later that same chapter: "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (Luke 4:43).

And what was this gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached? The authors quote Tim Keller's definition:

"The kingdom is the renewal of the whole world through the entrance of supernatural forces. As things are brought back under Christ's rule and authority, they are restored to health, beauty, and freedom."

Since Cairo and even more so Detroit I firmly believe that the gospel Jesus preached was not only the salvation of souls, but the salvation and redemption of all creation through his death and resurrection. Col. 1:20 says "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or tings in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed of the cross."

2. Check out Isaiah 1 and Isaiah 58.

Yes, God disciplined his people for rampant idolatry, but these passages seem to indicate a people who go to church on Sundays and are seeking to please God, but have turned their backs on the poor. I met a guy last summer who was reading Amos on his own (the book we studied in Cairo), and declared, "I think Amos is talking about the North American Church!" (just as we determined in Cairo).

3."The task of God's people is rooted in Christ's mission. Simply stated, Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom in word and in deed, so the church must do the same. ...Jesus particularly delighted in spreading the good news among the hurting, the weak, and the poor." I love 1 John 3:16-18.

Next up: Chapter 2. What is poverty?

2010-09-14T12:03:00.000-04:00

Preface

I've just started reading When Helping Hurts by Corbett & Fikkert. It's the book that much of my pastor's recent sermon series "The Gospel, Politics, and the Poor" was based on.

This is a book that I want to take notes on as I read, so I'm going to try to post something from each chapter, whether it's just a quote or a thought. They also have questions at the beginning and end of each chapter, which I may or may not post my answers to here.

The Preface:

If you are a North American Christian, the reality of our society's vast wealth presents you with an enormous responsibility, for throughout the Scriptures God's people are commanded to show compassion to the poor.

I was just reminded at small group on Sunday night that "to whom much is given, much is required."

...each of us is responsible to participate at some level in helping our congregation to be everything Scripture calls it to be, including fulfilling its biblical mandate to care for the poor.

I feel that responsibility, and it seems to me that God has called me to be one who helps others in the Church "wake up" to it.

2010-09-14T09:29:00.000-04:00

I hope that most of the things that seemed completely unnecessary in Paolini's 3rd installment of the Inheritance Cycle actually end up meaning something for the 4th book.

2010-09-07T14:03:00.000-04:00

Part I
gooey
oven warm chocolate-chip cookies
melting clumps of oozing chips
soft, sweet dough

Part II
gooey
the underside
of the fifth-row desk
green, sticky, still sodden
with the unknown saliva
of a freshened mouth

2010-09-01T16:33:00.000-04:00

Part I

little boy
cold sweaty palm
thin fingers, age 10, strain
drip
three too-large holes
grey marble, weigh 16, strain.

strain spindle arms
strain shoulders, neck, and back
lift carry sway
thin lacquered wood lines

strain will to prove
over alley roar
of crashing pins
of rumbling balls
of sullen cheers
laughter, smoke
strain silence
mad heartbeats

courageous boy, let swing your ball!
small fingers, sweat slick
strain!

slip

Part II

Little Boy
Fat Man
plutonium-239

courageous boy, let swing your ball!

"Now I am become Death,
The destroyer of worlds."

Oppenheimer -1967

2010-08-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

...White people, Black people, Hispanic people, and Asian people?

My block!

(Note: any university campus also qualifies as a valid answer)

2010-08-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

LinkedIn thinks I know Mayor Duffy:

2010-08-30T14:36:00.001-04:00

Belinda and I discovered that LEGO is making board games now that you build and play. With the description online we created our own version of Wild Wool. Here are the directions.

Objective: To be the player with the most wool at game end.

Set up: Each player will build two sheep, one normal, one alien. The sheep should have space for at least 5 2x2 lego blocks, the "wool"

Build the Wolf. A terrible, nasty creature. It can look however you want. Ours had yellow eyes.

Each player should receive a flat 2x8 LEGO piece to be the foundation of the "wall" which will protect them from attacks of the Wolf. Players should also have an additional flat piece at least 4x6 to serve as their purse.

In the center of the playing area, between players, place the wolf and find a way to mark off 6 spaces of the "wolf-path" leading from one player's area (sheep pen?) to the other. Also place in the center piles of 2x2 LEGO bricks, separated by color. You should have about 12-15 bricks each of White, Black, Blue, Yellow, and Red.

Get 4 dice. Designate one as the ACTION die, another as the DRAW die, and the remaining two as the WOLF die.

Here's a sketch of the playing area, fully assembled:

What's with the five colors?
Black and White blocks represent regular wool. Only the regular sheep can grow this wool, and only one color at a time. If you are already growing white wool and get black, you must return all the white to the bank and put the black on your sheep.
Blue blocks represent alien wool. Only the alien sheep can grow this wool.
Yellow blocks represent gold. Sheering your sheep isn't free. Each sheering costs two gold.
Red blocks form the bricks of your wolf-wall. If you have three or more bricks on your wall, the wolf will take down 3, but he will not be able to attack your sheep.

Play:
The youngest player goes first.
Turn begins by rolling the ACTION die and the DRAW die simultaneously.
DRAW die:
Assign a number to each of the color blocks, and pick up one block of the color rolled. In our game it was something like this:
1 - white: your regular sheep grows one white wool
2 - black: your regular sheep grows one black wool
3 - blue: your alien sheep grows one blue wool
4 - yellow: put one gold in your bank
5 - red: add one brick to your wolf-wall
6 - wild - pick one of whatever block you want.

ACTION die:
Also assign actions to each number, as follows:
1 - grow an additional white wool.
2 - grow an additional black wool.
3 - STEAL a wool from your opponent's sheep, or steal the block indicated by the draw die (Ex. If the draw die shows 5 and Action die 3, I draw one red from the pile, and I can also steal a red from my opponent, or choose to steal a wool.
4 - Sheer. You may pay two Gold to sheer one of your sheep. Any wool on that had grown on that sheep is now yours to keep. It cannot be stolen. Player with the most shorn wool at game end wins.
5 - x2 - pick up two wool of the same color, or pick up two additional blocks of the color indicated on the draw die.
6 - WOLF! Roll the two wolf dice that were set aside. If doubles are rolled, the wolf jumps over any wall your opponent has and directly attacks the sheep. If doubles are not rolled, the wolf moves from it's current position on the path the number of spaces indicated by the higher of the two die (When you roll the wolf for the first time, he begins on the space closest to you). If the wolf reaches your opponent's pen, he will either take three bricks down off the wall, of if there are not 3 or more, carry off one piece of wool. the attack scares the sheep so much that he looses all his remaining wool and returns it to the appropriate pile in the middle. The wolf is picky about wool. He likes white best, then blue, then black, and will take them in that order of priority. The wolf keeps any wool that he has stolen.

You may draw or act in either order. At times you may want to draw before you sheer, and other times sheer before you draw.

Note: A 1 and a 2 rolled together is a sad combination. Your regular sheep must grow a white wool and a black wool, but then cannot be grown together. All current wool must be discarded and one of either color grown.

Play passes to the next player after draw and action required by the dice have been completed.

Game End: It's all over when the last White wool block is taken from the pile. All sheep are then sheered, and the player with tallest stack of LEGO wool wins! If the wolf has more wool than either player, both loose.

There are only two of us, but I imagine it could be played with more. Have fun!

2010-08-18T09:32:00.000-04:00

Hometown in Motown.

This is my new favorite blog! Tyson gets some deep thoughts in his head, they build up, and suddenly there is a deluge. Take a gander.

His latest story is one of deep personal pain that has ultimately led him to deeper faith! Praise God!

2010-08-12T08:37:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to free convection. It's been a while. Since I've last written, I've:
-moved to Rochester (and found an apartment)
-got married to the most amazing woman on the planet
-gone on a honeymoon to Puerto Rico

Since returning, I've been looking for a job, collecting books, building bookshelves, and interviewing ministries that serve "the least of these" in Rochester. It's a fun existence, but lonely while Belinda is working 10 hour days at Harris.

I just finished reading Another Country by James Baldwin. The following is about a page of it, near the end of the book. Two women, one black, one white, talking about race relations in the US. It moved me.

WARNING: some of the language used here is pretty... descriptive. If you have a problem with swearing, don't tempt yourself.

Cass looked at the dark, proud head, which was half-turned away from her. "Do you hate white people, Ida?"

Ida sucked her teeth in anger. "What the hell has that got to do with anything? Hell, yes, sometimes I hate them, I could see them dead. And sometimes I don't. I do have a couple of other things to occupy my mind." Her face changed. She looked down at her fingers, she twisted her ring. "If any one white person gets through to you, it kind of destroys your--single-mindedness. They say that love and hate are very close together. Well, that's a fact." She turned to the window again. "But, Cass, ask yourself, look out and ask yourself--wouldn't you hate all white people if they kept you in prison here?" They were rolling up startling Seventh Avenue. The entire population seemed to be int he streets, draped, almost, from lamp posts, stoops, and hydrants, and walking through the traffic as though it were not there. "Kept you here, stunted you and starved you, and made you watch your mother and father and sister and lover and brother and son and daughter die or go mad or go under, before your very eyes? And not in a hurry, like from one day to the next, but, every day, every day, for years, for generations? Shit. They keep you here because you're black, the filthy, white cock suckers, while they go around jerking themselves off with all that jazz about the land of the free and the home of the brave. And they want you to jerk yourself off with that same music, too, only, keep your distance. Some days, honey, I wish I could turn myself into one big fist and grind this miserable country to powder. Some days, I don't believe it has a right to exist. Now, you've never felt like that, and Vivaldo's never felt like that. Vivaldo didn't want to know my brother was dying because he doesn't want to know that my brother would still be alive if he hadn't been born black."

"I don't know if that's true or not," Cass said, slowly, "but I guess I don't have any right to say it isn't true."

"No, baby, you sure don't," Ida said, "not unless you're really willing to ask yourself how you'd have made it, if they'd dumped on you what they dumped on Rufus. And you can't ask yourself that question because there's no way in the world for you to know what Rufus went through, not in this world, not ask long as you're white." She smiled. It was the saddest smile Cass had ever seen. "That's right, baby. That's where it's at."

2010-05-25T19:28:00.000-04:00

My roommate and now co-worker found a piece of paper at school with the following written on it:

you asked me what was wrong
& i smiled and said...

NOTHING

Then I turned around
and said...

EVERYTHING

2010-05-24T14:26:00.000-04:00

I typed this into my phone's notepad on a train at 5am, and I'm recording it for my own amusement. Please don't feel that you must suffer through it. I did actually feel more tired after typing it, and fell asleep shortly after.

5am and i'm wide awake.
Slept about a wink on this swaying train.
Woman in her middle age beside me.
Stranger's shoulder, tempting pillow.
If i pretend i'm already sleeping...
How familiar will a stranger be?
Will writing this tire me
Enough to sleep?
A beautiful, elusive necessity.
The family, sex, great coffee.

Three things two wonderful four me.
Five firemen filet frostbitten fingers.
Fools!

2010-05-13T10:00:00.002-04:00

Alternate Titles:

On church and neighborhood (Part 2) [See Part 1]

Jamaica, in further further review [See review and further review]

How can Darliston Baptist Church in Jamaica help its North American partner, Northridge Church? How could my Detroit hood church New St. Peters help a potential suburban partner from the metro Detroit area? How could a church from the city of Rochester help Northridge?

Often its clear how help can be passed one way in those partnerships. One church is far wealthier than the other, and usually far better resourced in many ways.

What practical ways can the under-resourced church (URC) help the over-resourced church (ORC)?

I give away one of the answers by using the word "over-resourced." In partnership the URC serves the ORC by providing an opportunity to be generous in a connected, relational way. Whenever Christ talked about serving the poor, it was always in the context of being with them, or relationship. I'm also reminded of Paul's praise for the Philippians (Phil 4:10-20, particularly v.17).

The URC had been among the poor and knows how to serve its neighbors effectively. It is easy for the ORC to be tempted to view themselves as reaching down from on high to lift up the weak. The URC can teach humility by leading the ORC into service and outreach in their community in ways that are culturally relevant and effective for them. The last century of missions has proved the damage of outsiders coming into a community and trying to do things their own way.

The URC can teach the ORC a deeper understanding of the gospel. In many ways I believe the poor know the truth of the gospel better than we do. It's hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. We don't really know what it means to trust God only, and have nothing else to depend on (no money, no social network, no government). Even if we consider the Jamaicans, of whom the majority are not suffering in dire poverty, their lives are much more simple and close to the land than ours, and I believe we have something to learn from them that sheds light on the gospel, particularly in issues of justice for the poor and oppressed (Luke 4:16-21; 6:20-31).

And finally (and dearest to my heart), both churches help each other battle racism. Rasicm (not overt, individual malice but systemic and structural oppression of minority ethnic groups) is in the air we breathe in America. When Northridge sends teams to Jamaica, they can help us breathe air that is a little different for a time. And cooperation between churches of primarily different colors in the same geography can lead to overcoming ignorance and anger. Here's a poem I wrote last summer that describes some of my thoughts about race.
To me this is a crucial issue for Northridge in particular. Looking at the location of the church (see the map below) and considering the demographics of the attendees, we have a problem. Perhaps it is youthful idealism, but I believe Paul when he writes that Christ has destroyed the barrier between people of different ethnicities, and has made the two one (Eph. 2:11-22). And though racial reconciliation it is a very difficult issue, the challenge makes it no less our responsibility.

2010-05-12T14:45:00.005-04:00

In looking for a place to live I came upon the 2000 census data for 14621, the zip code that we are moving into, and where our church is. Out of curiosity, I compared several of the statistics that stuck out to me to the same census data for Irondequoit, our neighbors on the north side of the church.

	14621	14617 (Irondequoit)

vacant housing units	13.40%	3.00%

renter-occupied housing units	68.20%	13.00%

high school graduates over 25	60.90%	89.50%

college grads (bachelors or higher)	8.00%	37.30%

people with disability status	30.80%	13.60%

Median household income in 1999$, compared to $41,999 nationally	$22,107	$53,929

individuals below US poverty line	31.80%	3.00%

Sorry the table isn't in the greatest format. But you get the picture.

2010-05-06T17:28:00.000-04:00

This is amazing. Go science.

Penn State's New Twelfth Man is Science

2010-05-04T19:55:00.000-04:00

Invariably, when I tell people about living in Detroit or about my quickly approaching move to the city of Rochester, NY, people ask me, "Why?"

In fact, after showing us several houses for rent in the specific area of the city that Belinda and I are moving to, the rental agent finally stopped and said, "Can I ask you why you want to live in this area?" And a very nice discussion ensued.

One of my housemates, Michael, wrote an amazing article answering the question, "Why did I come to Detroit?" It's a beautiful, compelling, scholarly work (and he may try to add a bit more personal flavor in a second edition).

Please read Mike's Raison d'être.

2010-05-01T10:00:00.001-04:00

Partnership.

Partnership is one of the words that characterized this trip for me. I mentioned in my last post about Jamaica working on some construction projects with one of our Jamaica brothers. We were a team. Partners.

The primary purpose of the trip was to determine whether we should attempt to create a partnership between churches, between Northridge Church in Rochester, NY, USA and Darliston Baptist Church in Darliston, Westmoreland, Jamaica.

For us, and for the pastor of Darliston Baptist, partnership doesn't just mean that we come and do things for them. Partnership means we help them do what they see their community needs, and they help us.

It was exciting for me to hear people from Northridge speaking with this language. Here in Detroit, the guys and I have been discussing how talented many of the people at New St. Peters are... but how much our church and our people are held back in ministry by lack of resources and training. As we prayed, God moved us to the idea of partnership. Our church has a lot to offer to a predominately white suburban church somewhere in the metro Detroit area, and they certainly have a lot to offer us. [I plan on writing a future post about some of the specific ways the suburban church in American needs the city church, and vice-versa.] I believe that God is already preparing a pastor or church leader in a predominately white suburban church in Detroit to find New St. Peters and partner with us in ministry. And as a house we have been praying toward that end.

Then I went to Jamaica with Northridge, and I heard the partnership dialogue from the perspective of the suburban church.

In Jamaica, partnership looks like Zach fixing computers and installing some donated ones in three schools around Darliston--but not just doing it himself. He took a woman from the church who is interested in computers, and taught her as much as possible in three days of computer work. Now, if the schools run into a problem with their computers, she might be able to help. That's one aspect of partnership. We come alongside Darliston Baptist Church to further their ministry in their town. And they help us.

Jamaica is not a place of desperate poverty and apparent need. Most people are not starving. They have clean water and good health care. They don't need us as much as man other villages in nearby nations where basic necessities are lacking. So why should we go to Jamaica at all? I'm convinced that we need them. This is the first project of its kind that Northridge is undertaking. And Jamaica is a really easy place to take people who are not adventurous and have little cross-cultural experience. Sending them to a slum in Cairo would be disastrous. In Pastor Thompson at Darliston Baptist we have a comrade who really gets the idea of partnership and desires it as much as we do. And so as a first step into short-term missions projects, Jamaica is a good place for our church.

I hope that five years from now we are sending teams to other places with more desperate needs.

For now, God is sending Belinda and I to 14621, and we long to connect our church to its neighborhood [which is also another post]. Toward that end, the doors of partnership are open. If we can partner with a church in Jamaica, why not a church across the street?

2010-05-01T00:10:00.000-04:00

The Christian is a person who recognizes that our real problem is not in achieving freedom but in learning service under a better master. The Christian realizes that every relationship that excludes God becomes oppressive. Recognizing and realizing that, we urgently want to live under the mastery of God.

~Eugene H. Peterson, in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

2010-04-29T18:25:00.000-04:00

Today the city of Detroit sent a team of six men and two heavy machines to take down a tree across from our house. It was cool to watch the guy in the bucket truck with a chain saw. For branches leaning toward the house they would tie a rope and use a branch over the street as a pulley, kind of, so nothing crashed onto the house.

I'm convinced that a team of two could have had the tree down in less time than it took six of them to get most of the tree down. I'm happy that the city is employing them. But I'm sad that they're not using the labor more efficiently.

I went out and asked if I could take some of the wood that they were cutting off the tree, branch by branch, and they said i could have as much as i wanted.

Which was sweet. I then spent an hour in the backyard with an axe. There is something incredibly satisfying about chopping wood with an axe.

2010-04-29T12:38:00.000-04:00

"For this revolution is not, in fact, concerned with liberating us from our poverty and misery, but rather from our wealth and our totally excessive prosperity. It is not a liberation from what we lack, but from our consumerism in which we are ultimately consuming our very selves. It is not a liberation from our state of oppression, but from the untransformed praxis of our own wishes and desires. It is not a liberation from our powerlessness, but from our own form of predominance. It frees us, not from the state of being dominated, but from that of dominating; not from our suffering, but from our apathy; not from our guilt, but from our innocence, or rather from that delusion of innocence which the life of domination has long since spread out in our souls." - Johann Baptist Metz, Christians and Jews After Auschwitz

I don't claim to know much about Metz, nor do I know to what "revolution" he refers. But is this not the power of the gospel, to free us from self? I say amen. Let us be truly liberated.

From "Liberation from Wealth" posted by Boyd on Nonviolent Jesus

2010-04-26T18:35:00.000-04:00

Our team of 8 adults and 2 babies (4 and 6 months) returned to the USA on Friday. It had been six days of new experiences, of learning, planning, thinking, building, dreaming, and fun.

I'm not sure how much I will blog about the trip over the next weeks, (for there are many stories to share) but here's a taste.

One of the great things that I experienced in the last two weeks was seeing God actively working at drawing people to himself in three very different places. I left (and have now returned to) Detroit, where God is working through the ministries of New St. Peters to bring several people back to himself from the streets.
In Rochester, the opening of a new church building has brought hundreds of new people. Over this trimester, 41 different new people have attended our "Starting Point" class, for people who are seeking God and may or may not know him as King and Savior.
In Darliston, Jamaica, they have had a dozen baptisms in January and Febuary, and many first-time professions of faith.

One of the Jamaicans that I spent many hours working with as we built a couple walls and hung doors together just recently gave Christ his life. He's about my age, a welder by trade. After an accident which left his legs badly burned he was in the hospital. Pastor visited him, and when he was released he came to church. The next week he came back, and decided to follow Jesus. Now he's struggling in the midst of an economic downturn to support his family. He had planned to go deep into the hills this season with many of his friends to plant marijuana. It's the most lucrative cash crop they can grow. But now he has a moral dilemma. How can he do the right thing and still provide? His only answer is to simply trust in God.

Praise be to the God of Jamaica, of Detroit, of Rochester. He is One, and his mighty hand is at work all across our globe. I am thankful for a small glimpse.

2010-04-13T12:49:00.000-04:00

God provides.

Yesterday I wrote about my trip to Jamaica next week.

Today, I went to work, and the things that my boss had planned for me to do didn't work out, so at about 10am he told me I could go home. It was raining, but I checked the forecast and it said it would clear up by noon. So I decided to wait.

Because I only found out about going to Jamaica about a month ago, I haven't been able to do much fund raising. And weddings are expensive.

Yesterday, I found out that one of the teachers at the school had gone to Jamaica with her church over spring break last week through an organization called Jamaica Link. I don't know much about them, but I've heard good things.

So, while I was waiting for the rain to stop, I joined her and several others in the teacher's lounge during their lunch. We got to talking about her trip to Jamaica, and then about mine.

Toward the end of the conversation, the music teacher (whom I know to be a Christian -- he got a masters degree in Biblical Studies or something like that) said to me, "Are you still taking donations for that trip? I meant to give something. Who do I make a check out to?"

Now, as far as I know, the only time I mentioned going to Jamaica at school had been the day before when Ms. Reeves and I discovered that she had gone and I was going. And I'd never asked for a donation. And my boss didn't have any work for me to do and sent me home at 10am, but I was still there at 11:30.

God provides.

2010-04-12T18:16:00.002-04:00

If you missed it in my latest newsletter (I know most of you won't suffer through that much rambling ;) ), I'm going to Jamaica!

Logistics:
WHO: Team of 8 from Northridge Church.
WHAT: An exploratory short-term missions trip. The church is preparing to implement a short-term missions program which involves two trips each year (for the net 5-10 years) to an impoverished village somewhere in Central America in an attempt to practice Christian Community Development.
WHERE: Darliston, Jamaica. A mountain village of about 1600 south of Montigo Bay. We think this could be the place our church commits to partner with for the next several years. The key connection is Pastor Leroy. He's the i-can't-wait-to-meet-you leader of a local church.
WHEN: April 17-23
WHY: Mission statement: To humbly establish a long-term relationship with an impoverished community in order to alleviate the physical needs of the community, encourage spiritual growth of the local church and foster an attitude of service and evangelism at Northridge. The italics are for the part that Belinda and I are most excited about, as God has called us to primarily be missionaries to Rochester.

Please pray for the wisdom and unity of the team, and the development of vision for the ensuing projects. Belinda and I were asked (just last month) to join the project leadership team, which is why I'm suddenly heading to the Caribbean on this exploratory mission!

2010-04-07T12:32:00.000-04:00

Scheming is one of my most favorite activities. I absolutely love it. To dream, to plot, to plan -- it makes me come alive, puts a spark behind my eyes.

A few nights ago Luke and Mike and I ( who have been the only ones at the house for the last week) sat down together and started dreaming some more about what our church could do or become in the next few years. God has given us new prayers to pray.
Monday night at Bible Study our pastor mentioned how our presence as White people in a primarily Black church makes our church a little bit better picture of the true Body of Christ. That statement excited me, particularly since I'm reading More than Equals right now. The guys and I discussed a need for greater racial reconciliation.
We also talked about how there are so many gifted people (particularly the leader of NuVision, Damon, whom God is calling to preach -- he did the first of seven words from the cross on Good Friday, and it was amazing!) that have a powerful witness but who are stymied because of financial difficulties.
Wouldn't it be amazing if New St. Peters could partner with a suburban church in the metro Detroit area?

And so we've started to pray that God would be working on a pastor or church leader in that church He already has picked out to be our partner. They would could serve us by providing resources and energy. We serve them by leading them in how to do justice in our city. And both parties receive difficult racial healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

I love scheming.

Belinda started to like me after we spent a week scheming together one Basileia.

Scheming is good.

2010-03-30T17:00:00.001-04:00

A steady morning drizzle trailed off during the waning minutes of Michigan State's victory over Tennessee, and left the empty lot next to our neighbors' house a soft, muddy mess. But we would not be deterred. Luke, Mike, and I had met the folks who live right next to our church. The house next to theirs had been torn down shortly after we moved onto the block last fall, and a somewhat-flat swath of bare dirt remained. The woman of the house bought some grass seed to help beautify the lot. So with rake, shovel, pick axe, and hoe her husband led the three of us in an attempt to level the ground to prepare it for grass seed. The ground was soft from the rain, and easier to move, but also heavier. Our feet sunk in an inch or two. After only an hour of work we were all worn out!

I welcomed the soreness in my body the next morning, thankful for an opportunity to serve our neighborhood and interact with our neighbors. The folks that we were working with are the neighborhood parents—they take care of many of the young single men in the neighborhood who have nowhere else to go. We’re so thankful that it’s almost barbecue weather. More people outdoors means easier interactions with our neighbors.

Hello friends and relations. Welcome to the 6th episode of Motor City News

Old Episodes: [1] : [2] : [3] : [4] : [5]

My time in Detroit is rapidly coming to a close, and with every thought of Detroit there is a twinge of sadness—is there a better word than bittersweet? I will officially be moving back to Rochester, NY the last weekend in May in preparation for getting married to the love of my life, my Beautiful Dragon, Belinda. We will be married June 18! There is much yet to do—find a place to live, find a job, finalize honeymoon plans, and of course there’s the wedding itself (and flowers, and rings, and… ;) )! But we know that a wedding is a moment, a marriage is a lifetime, and a soul is eternal. Perspective lowers stress.

It’s been a few months since my last update, and I want to share some great things that are happening, especially through New St. Peters, the church I go to on the corner of my block. Several new programs are starting through the church (and particularly the young adult group called NuVision).

We are staring a free tutoring program for the community. The city is actually funding the program for each student from a particular list of struggling schools, but it is open to anyone.
We are also in the late stages of planning a youth mentoring program, in an effort to reach out to many of the young guys in the neighborhood who have no positive male role model. The rate of fatherlessness in our neighborhood is upwards of 80%.
One of the most exciting projects to me is a vision for come community housing development. The church has been gifted the empty lot on the corner across the street. Of the next five lots, two more are empty and three have abandoned houses. That’s six lots that are “up for grabs” in a sense. We’re imagining what our block could look like if we were to acquire those lots and redevelop them. Some storefronts with housing on the second level, maybe a large hall with a kitchen that we could use to better serve community meals and host celebrations. Mike has a background in community planning and urban development, and he’s created some awesome models that we’re preparing to present to a member of the city council! He’s also attending a meeting today with the church secretary where the city is explaining how faith-based organizations can acquire land for community gardening and development. It’s awesome to see the church mobilizing behind this vision for change and development.

Work. I’m still working as a substitute in the Hope of Detroit Academy. I do everything from art and music with kindergarten to middle school math. I get three or four days of work each week, which is perfect. I really enjoy my job. I’ve been around long enough now that some of the kids are opening up to me a bit. It’s exciting to be able to impart some real life wisdom that’s bigger than adding two and two.

As I’m thinking about leaving Detroit well, I’m taking some time to reflect on ways that I’ve changed in the last year. One small thing I noticed just last week. During the week I was in several different settings where I was the only white person among a large group of black people. And I didn’t really notice it until someone else pointed it out. I have become much more comfortable with my place in black culture (at least, Detroit Black Baptist culture). I feel like I belong. Part of that is my growing acceptance of my own ethnicity, part is my growing understanding of this culture, and part is the acceptance of friends that I have made here.

And the biggest news: Jamaica. In early March God dropped an opportunity to go to Jamaica this April right into my lap. Here’s the story. Northridge Church (where I attended during college, and will attend when I return to Rochester) is developing a vision for short-term missions projects under the leadership of Brad, a member of the small group that Belinda and I are in. The idea is to send a team from the church twice a year for several years to an impoverished community in Jamaica, in an attempt to help the community address its spiritual, social, and economic needs. The project is also focused on developing a spirit of outreach and service in the people of Northridge.

Brad realized that he and his wife would not be able to go to Jamaica twice each year, and so he asked Belinda and I to join the leadership team. We’re excited about being part of developing the vision of the trip and being able to have some influence in the direction of the church’s mission.

God has made Belinda and I missionaries to Rochester. A part of that is to connect the mostly-suburbanites of the church to its city neighborhood. I know how much God changes me when I participate in short-term missions. I wouldn’t be in Detroit right now if I hadn’t gone to Cairo. And so we’re delighted that Northridge is taking this step in missions—because people who have crossed a sea to serve might be a little more willing to cross the street.

I will be going to Jamaica April 17-23 on an exploratory trip. We will be staying in a mountain village called Darliston, Jamaica, and working primarily through a small church there. We will be working to set up and network computer labs in several local schools, doing some construction projects, helping to equip some of the local teachers, and generally getting to know the community to determine if it is a place that God would have us commit our church to for the next five to ten years.

Thanks for enduring a long update! I love you all. Peace be with you.

For the prayerful, please pray that:

· God would bless the new ministries of New St. Peters.

· For the unity, hospitality, prayerfulness, and peace of our house.

· For the wedding and marriage of Belinda and I to please our Father.

Shalom.

2010-03-26T17:01:00.000-04:00

2010-03-20T14:29:00.000-04:00

Here are some interesting thoughts that I'm just kind of putting together right now--

I think one of the major problems that we face in trying to serve the poor (in any context) is cementing a feeling of a lack of dignity. When I have nothing, it's easy to feel like I am nothing. And when we give handouts without relationship, I think we contribute to that feeling of indignity.

[Aside: Interesting correlation between the words lack of dignity and indignation: "the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect" and "anger or scorn aroused by something felt to be unfair, unworthy, or wrong"]. I don't think that needs explanation.

A few weeks ago 11 people from Shippensburg University in PA stayed in our house while they did an "Urban Plunge" in Detroit. Two of their work days they spent cleaning up trash from the street and empty lots in different neighborhoods and boarding up abandoned houses. I wonder what people think when we do things like that.

I was just walking down our street, coming back to our house from church. And I was noticing just how much garbage had accumulated unnoticed under the snow, and how dirty and littered the block looks now that the snow is gone. I picked up a few things from our front yard as I walked in the door. But if there was a large group of outsiders that came in for a day and cleaned up the whole block, how would I feel? I would be grateful, in part, but I would also feel guilty for not taking care of my own neighborhood. It would feel particularly bad if I saw people picking up trash in my own yard. I'd feel belittled. undignified. I can only imagine what years of that kind of treatment from "rich, powerful" outsiders would do to my perception of myself.

And as I am sitting here thinking of these things, I am reminded of the desire (need) that God has put into every man to be the provider for his family. It is a strong desire, and there is an equally strong sense of shame that men feel when they are unable to provide for their families. And I wonder if that doesn't play a large part in why men are so quick to abandon their families in situations of poverty. In some ways, if I stay to be with the people I love but cannot provide for, I live with a daily reminder of my own shame and failure. I run, to escape my shame.

This has strayed far from a discussion of poverty. But I think my desire is strengthening to serve my neighbors in a way that dignifies, that makes them feel loved and valued and valuable, not worthless or used, not the project that makes me feel better about all the good stuff I have.

2010-03-20T14:08:00.001-04:00

Michael sent me a rewrite of my last poem, and it's much better than the original version, so here it is:

goodbye again

train Rumbles track

I bounce along

crying babe on

his mama's knee

bounces

each.second.carries.me.

farther

away

2010-03-19T16:32:00.002-04:00

train rumbles track
I bounce along
crying babe on
his mama's knee
bounces

each second carries me
farther

away

2010-03-19T14:53:00.000-04:00

Belinda and I have started a blog to write a bit about what we're experiencing as we prepare for marriage: Matt and Belinda Get Married.

Belinda actually started writing! (and very well, I might add)

2010-03-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

Over the last 18 months this has become one of my favorite songs.

2010-03-03T22:00:00.001-05:00

Sunday night I experienced a fundamental shift in my understanding of myself and God.

For the last few weeks I've really struggled with an increasing desire for intimacy with God in the midst of a debilitating fear of the same thing. I was torn in two directions. I'm not sure exactly what it was that I call fear, but something within me kept me from really seeking God. I still carried a strong desire for intimacy. Over the past weekend my fiancee was (and will be) in Guyana (until Sunday). Tyson was driving back from Florida in a minivan his grandparents gave him. Mike and Jon were basically gone for the weekend working with the Detroit Urban Plunge with InterVarsity. So if Luke wasn't home, I was alone. And even when Luke was home, he spends a good portion of his at-home time alone, so I was still alone. Vulnerable.

On and off for the last six months I've desired a mentor - an older man to be able to share my heart with, who would speak the Truth into my life. But that desire has intensified over the last three weeks or so. Several things contribute. I see how blessed those around me who have mentors are by those relationships. I want to be able to be a mentor for those behind me, but I feel a certain emptiness or dryness. I've realized that throughout my college experience I relied on InterVarsity and church for external spiritual input, and I don't think I've adjusted to the lack of IV (and a completely different church environment) as well as I thought I had. Additionally, as Belinda and I approach marriage this summer I'm confronting changes in my relationship with my parents that I don't always understand.

So two strong desires culminate within me, for intimacy and for a mentor.

Luke and I were the only ones home for House Dinner Sunday night. So I was sharing many of these things with him. And he prayed for me. God gave him an image that completely broke me.

God -- God himself, my Father -- he wanted to come over for coffee.

I am a sinner. And for my whole life, I've believed in the total depravity of man. I still believe it. But the sinfulness of man has been so emphasized by my Christian tradition that I came to believe that I was bad, and bad came to mean not valuable.
Oh, I know that God loves me. I know it. And I know that God when God sees me, he sees the righteousness of Christ, not my sin.

But I don't think I really believed it. In my heart I didn't really believe that God took delight in me. And to suddenly feel it, to feel that my Father just wanted to come over and hang out, to be that mentor - the perfect mentor... I cannot describe the joy and relief and hope. I felt so completely loved.

I tear up over somewhat emotional things fairly regularly. This is the first time I've openly wept in as long as I can remember. It takes a long time to pray aloud when you're weeping. ;) I haven't felt like that since God met me at the Red Sea and gave me the vision for living in community in an American city.

Monday afternoon when I came back from school, God came over for coffee. Neither of us drank any. I'm still learning, but he's promised that if I continue to invite him over and be diligent in writing to him, he'll teach me intimacy with him.

2010-03-02T22:23:00.002-05:00

Chilean Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Posted using ShareThis

2010-02-27T23:46:00.000-05:00

More notes and quotes.

Here's Part 1.

I often pray that God's Kingdom would come to my city, my neighborhood, my block. But I wonder what I expect God to do. What am I really praying for. Sometimes it's this:
"Unfortunately, many Christians seem to be hoping that the kingdom of God will come in triumphal greatness, expanding God's territory and taking over the world with glory and power. But that's the very temptation that Jesus faced in the desert."
I want God the Spirit to come in power and break the chains of my neighbors captive to hanger and poverty and addiction, to overturn their oppressors, to clear the air of racism and injustice. But what do I imagine a place looks like when all this has happened? I usually think of economic development. Restore 12th St. to it's former glory in the '50s, lined with thriving local businesses so that you could get everything you could ever need within a mile of your house.

Is that really what the Kingdom of God looks like? No. I mean, maybe. If that is what happens when people practice shalom. One intentional community of new monastics printed T-shirts that say "Everybody wants a revolution, but nobody wants to do the dishes." God's kingdom grows smaller and smaller as it takes over the world. "The revolution must begin with little acts of love, like washing feet or dishes." Like Mother Teresa said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it."

"Where you pray matters."

And this, from Rich Mullins: "God spoke to Balaam through his ass, and God's been speaking through asses ever since."

Unity and love are the goals of Jesus prayer for his disciples in John 17. When asked how many people live in his house, the authors like to respond, "On good days, one."

"While we are eager to ask what we can do for the world (justice and advocacy work is so important), Jesus is more concerned with who we are in the world. He wants us to pledge our allegiance, before anything else, to the Church." I honestly didn't expect this commitment to the Church, but it makes my heart so glad. As Belinda and I approach marriage I'm more and more amazed that this is the relationship that God compares Christ and the Church to. I'm falling more and more in love with the Bride.

2010-02-25T23:46:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading this book by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. The take a look at prayer through three examples: the Lord's Prayer, Jesus prayer in John 17, and Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23.

Here are some scattered thoughts and notes and quotes that I've decided to share:

"Prayer is not so much about convincing God to do what we want God to do as it is about convincing ourselves to do what God wants us to do." This rings true for me. I know that sometimes God uses my prayers to change the world around me and the situations I pray for, but far more often he uses my prayers to change me. If I pray and remain unchanged, was I really praying? As Lifehouse sings, "How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?" "Prayer is less about what we say and more about being with the one we love." And if we're really with him, when we really open ourselves to his love, to boldly approach his throne and sit at his feet, we cannot remain unchanged.

"When we pray to God asking, 'Why don't you do something?' we hear a gentle whisper respond, 'I did something. I made you.'" And not only made us, but loved us, moved in with us, died and conquered death for us, and empowered us with the Holy Spirit.

The Lord's Prayer begins with "Our Father..." The very first word indicates that we are praying in community. God's name is honored first, our community is called into his holiness, and his Kingdom is called to earth. In that Kingdom was are to live as instruments of shalom. God's kingdom (unavoidably political) is not of this world. It is invading. [Lots of themes from another book Shane co-authored, Jesus for President, fit here.] Next Jesus jumps right to economics: daily bread and forgiving debts. These remind us of mana in the desert and the beauty of the year of Jubilee. Earlier in Luke (during Jesus inaugural address) he made the claim that Jubilee was fulfilled in him, in his Person.

When people ask Shane or Jason questions about living in the hood -- why they aren't afraid of living in such 'dangerous' places -- they usually respond with this:
"We're more afraid of shopping malls."
I love that.

Part 2 coming soon.

2010-02-19T12:06:00.004-05:00

James 1:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it ways. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -- he will be blessed in what he does.

Pretty early on in high school I learned that I needed to take notes in order to learn the material I was being taught. I never looked at my notes again after I took them. Simply the process of writing things down helped me to learn and remember what I was taught. I had the thought, "I never look at these notes after I take them. Why take them at all?" But if I stopped writing, I also stopped remembering.

On and off though the last 8 years of my life I've kept a journal where I record significant events of my life, take notes on sermons or my own bible study, write prayers or prayer requests, jot poems, etc.

I generally write in spurts: more now, less later; a lot for a month, not at all for a few weeks; and on it goes.

Recently I've begun to notice a coloration between my writing frequency and my intimacy with God. The more I write, the closer I feel to my Father. I remember more of his word, and practice more. It's like I'm putting more effort into the relationship, and it has an effect.

I've written very little for the past two or three weeks, and it's been more and more of a struggle to be disciplined in reading scripture, to avoid temptation, to love and serve my brothers.

Gracious God, discipline me to write, that I might not gaze into the mirror and forget my face.

2010-01-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

Teach for America May Return to Detroit! TFA places college grads who don't have teaching degrees in inner city school districts. They came to Detroit for two years back in the early 2000s. The amazing thing is that tfa is designed to serve poor urban schools, and they had to leave Detroit because it was too bad here. Very few of the teachers lasted.

A Possible End to a Favorite 'Ruin.' Previously I wrote about exploring the Packard plant, which has been empty for 40+ years. Now, investors are looking into using the building once more! Between blowing it up for Transformers 3 and retooling it to manufacture new green energy vehicles, I'd vote for the latter.

2010-01-30T14:30:00.000-05:00

Two interesting encounters of the last week:

First, as jon and I were biking out to a CDC youth event last Friday night, we were only a block from our house when we saw a woman laying on the side of the road. I'd guess late 40s, early 50s. We stopped, helped her up, and walked her to the house she'd been trying to get to, just three down. Just as we were arriving at the house, a man pulled up in his SUV and knocked on the door. He looked at her, looked at us, and said, "gettin' some help?" with a complete lack of surprise. It seemed strange to both of us that he did not seem to find the situation unusual.

Turns out it was a good thing that we were delayed. I had left a check at home for the Roto-router guy, who had just pulled a pile of poopy tree roots out of the pipes under our house.

Two days later, our neighbor's tires were slashed by her husband. She'd filed for divorce, and he didn't want to sign the papers. It gave us an opportunity to get to know Mary and help her out. God showed his provision in the presence of Slippey, who was visiting with a trunk-full of useful tools. He and Tyson did most of the work, and Slippey actually drove Mary to the shop and back twice, with two tires each time.

God is definitely proving faithful in helping us meet and serve our neighbors.

2010-01-14T22:53:00.001-05:00

I nearly cried at school today. The words of a second grader broke my heart.

Demographics by ethnicity, Hope of Detroit Academy, one 2nd Grade class:
White: 2/25
Black: 6/25
Latino: 17/25

With the majority of students speaking Spanish at home, and kids being so brilliant at learning language, most of the class is somewhat bilingual. Even those who only hear Spanish from the other kids at school.

This week I've been teaching second grade while the teachers are pulling kids out one-by-one for literacy testing.

During a period of independent and/or small group work today, I had to talk to a few of the boys who were getting out of control. There was some kicking, some stealing pencils... all the normal bored second grade boy stuff. It happened that this time it was the only three black boys in the class. They hang out together (there's a good book called "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D. if you want to know why).

After I sent them away, a very cute girl with big green/brown eyes came up to me. We'd connected a little bit at recess before, so I think she felt comfortable talking with me. She came close, with a very serious face, and said in the voice of one divulging a dear secret:

"My mama says that I can't get close to those mean dark boys. I shouldn't get close with them."

I was shocked, scared, angry... but mostly heartbroken. I nearly cried. I might have said any number of things, like "Just because they look different doesn't make them mean." But in the moment, I had no response for her.

2010-01-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

LOVE: an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person.

Today Belinda and I had our first pre-marital counseling session with our pastor, David Whiting. It was fun, which wasn't the adjective I had in mind on the way in. Of course, it was not only fun, but also challenging and exciting and wonderful and a slew of other positive adjectives.

2010-01-08T14:22:00.001-05:00

The Viva Palestina Convoy that I reported about previously was finally allowed into Gaza yesterday. Though many were arrested and/or wounded in clashes with the Egyptian police, no one was left behind. Many vehicles were not allowed to cross, but all the supplies were unloaded and taken in.

Here's the personal report of an RIT student who is a part of the convoy.

Check out this video of the crossing:

2010-01-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

Tears for our sisters and brothers in Egypt.

Is there anything lower than drive-by shootings at a funeral?

2010-01-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

I just got word that an RIT student is involved in a convoy of relief vehicles that has traveled from London to bring aid (in the form of US$1 million of food, medicine, and school supplies). The Egyptian government would not allow them to cross the border into Gaza, so they staged a demonstration. The government responded with force. Ten members of the convoy have been hospitalized, and their encampment is basically under siege.

It's in the news.

Rochester Activists are gathering at 4:30pm January 6th by the Federal Building to "demand the US government pressure the Egyptian government to let the Viva Palestina humanitarian convoy deliver its aid into the Gaza Strip and release any convoy members currently being detained."

2010-01-04T15:52:00.000-05:00

Hello Internets!

There are al kinds of lessons from Urbana. We were encouraged not to talk about how awesome the worship experience was, or how great the speakers were, but about who God is and what God did and said through Urbana.

The theme verse of Urbana09 was John 1:14: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The convention focused on Jesus incarnation as a model for missions. He moved into our neighborhood.

Through Urbana God made it plain to Belinda and I that his primary call for our lives is to be incarnational missionaries to the city of Rochester. And that, my friends, is a very exciting call.

2009-12-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

Beneath the falling Christmas sky

Each perfect flake drifts slowly by

Like diamond drops from heaven sent

In celebration of Christ's advent

Near Bethlehem the angels spoke

Dreams fled, the shepherds quickly woke

And light filled men with peace and hope

Between Man and Maker a bond is formed

Emmanuel, the God-man born

"And the government will be

Upon his shoulders"

The Lord of the universe

In a lowly cattle stall

"For unto us a child is born

Unto us a Son is given"

Lord of lords, a babe so small

Delight to know this Savior's plan

Rejoice in Christmas once again

A birth-life-death, then victory

God's love story of eternity

On Calvary he paid our price

Noel, we sing, with Easter's eyes

--------------------

10 points available.

2009-12-24T18:30:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve.

This is the first Christmas that I've celebrated with my family in Rochester, NY. Last year we still went back to Lewisberry, PA. So new things. New ways of celebrating old traditions. Dad and I made our usual peanut butter blossoms, but we made them in a different kitchen with different equipment. For as long as I can remember, we've had a different family over for dinner or desert on Christmas Eve. We tried again this year, but were unsuccessful in finding someone who was available (and whose family would fit in our small apartment)!

The moments are precious for me. This is the last Christmas that I will celebrate as a member of my parents household. Next Christmas Belinda and I will be starting our own traditions. There is a bittersweetness to it, like closing the back cover of a great story, but knowing the sequel is waiting at the library, fresh off the press.

And in the midst of all this, I am full of joy and awe at the birth of Jesus Christ. The Great Light has come into the world! The Author wrote his own name into his story.

2009-12-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

Interesting article in the New York Times about plants: they have senses ("touch, sight, hearing, speech"), and their own versions of immune response systems.

What does this do to the vegetarian or vegan who opposes killing intelligent beings for food or clothing?

2009-12-13T15:02:00.000-05:00

I'm not an anarchist, but I've made friends in Detroit who lean that way. If the global climate summit was in Detroit, I probably would have been arrested too.

Read the story.

Politics are so frustrating.

Today after church Luke, Jon and I joined five others from NuVision (the young adult group at New St. Peter's) to pray on the four corners of our block. It felt so good to join hands with my brothers and sisters and intercede for our church and our block. It's exciting to me to see God beginning to put a fire in the hearts of the people in our group to see real change in our community. And I know that as we continue to pray (now every Sat. morning at 10am) God will shape our wills to his own. As we pray that God would restore the vacant and broken homes of our neighborhood, how long until God puts in on the hearts of others to move into the very homes they're praying for. Jesus commanded his disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers. And in his next sentence he sent them.

I've also been praying for friends from Detroit, people my own age who aren't other suburbanites moving into the city. And after the meeting yesterday and praying today I think God is answering that prayer through NuVision.

2009-12-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

Dear ones,

May the peace and joy of Christ be with you this Christmas season!

It's past time for an update, so here we go...

The biggest news in my life is that Belinda and I are now engaged to be married! We have a great story, but it's much better when we both tell it. ;) We plan to marry early summer 2010 and live in Rochester, NY. It was a difficult decision for me to make, to cut short the time I planned to be here in Detroit, but this is the direction God is clearly moving us. There are four primary reasons that pushed us to make the decision to start our life together in Rochester, in order from least to most compelling (for me):

Living in Rochester is easier than Detroit, particularly in terms of friend and support networks. I'm beginning to develop one here, but Belinda would come and only know me. Marriage is a big enough transition in our lives that it seems wise to make the externals easier.
Belinda was just offered a job at in Rochester at the company she wants to work for doing the kind of engineering she wants to do.
Our church in Rochester, North Baptist Church (soon to be renamed Northridge Church) is situated strategically right on the border between the city and the suburbs. The leadership of the church is interested in getting more connected to its neighbors in the city--one of Rochester's poorest neighborhoods is basically just across the street. Belinda and I want to live in the city, and would love to move into that neighborhood for our personal outreach, as well as to help connect people from our mostly suburban church to God's heart for the poor and marginalized in our city.
One of our friends in Rochester has been carrying a vision for a type of engineering missionary work. The idea is to get connected with overseas missionaries who are encountering technical problems on the field. They would send us their problem (e.g. this village needs reliable electricity, or pure water, or we're having trouble drilling this well), and we would try to develop a solution to meet their needs (hopefully with materials that are readily available in their area). We hope to help missionaries do missions by being engineers who do engineering. That is exactly the type of thing that Belinda and I would love to do with the engineering education we've received.

So, I'm moving back to Rochester in about six months.

There's plenty of interesting and exciting things happening here in Detroit, too.

I am still commuting via bicycle to my job as a long-term substitute at a charter school in southwest Detroit. I think this Wednesday was the first time I got ice-beard on the way. It actually adds a decent layer of insulation.

Work is going well. One half of the 8th grade in particular is behaving with increasing disrespect for me as an authority, but I've got the principal involved now, so hopefully they'll shape up a bit. Amazingly, the other 8th grade has become the most well-behaved class.

I've decided that I'm just going to continue to substitute teach for the remainder of the school year. I had tossed around the idea of going to school to get my teaching certification (NY does accept a MI certification), but the fact that going to school full time would not allow me to work as much and would cost money combined with my increased desire to get an engineering job in Rochester (based on #4 above) has led me away from that.

New St. Peter's is the church on the corner of our block. I am in the middle of the process of becoming a member. Church membership means something a little different here than it does in places I'm accustomed too. Back in Rochester, the church had a larger regular attendance than membership. The opposite is true of New St. Peter's. This is a first step in getting involved in the ministries of the church.

Pastor Cheeks preached a sermon about prayer last week that really convinced me personally and set our house back in the rhythm of praying together each night. It's been really good to turn the focus of our house back towards Christ, and actually being a community together rather than just living side by side. Pastor Cheeks is pushing his flock to pray with expectation that God will actually work and answer our prayers for the coming year.

I'm really pumped about being a part of the young adults ministry called NuVision. Mike, Luke and I went to a meeting of the young adults today, and it really became a brainstorming session for ways that we could reach out to the community. We decided that first, tomorrow after church we're going to go out and prayer walk through the neighborhood (as a response to Pastor's message). We want to couple prayer with action, and are going to try to put together some kind of bargain clothing sale at the local rec center just two blocks away. I like the idea of selling a shirt for 25¢ rather than just giving it away. It allows the recipient to keep some dignity that is generally squashed by hand outs.

Prayer Requests:

house friends. We're praying as a house that God would send us people from our area who we could enjoy and who would enjoy us. We don't really know many people our age.
wedding plans. Belinda and I both actually enjoy planning, so it's fun, but it can still be tricky.
legacy. That I would be leaving a positive spiritual impact on my students.

Thank you! I always enjoy hearing your stories, too!

Shalom,
- m a t t

2009-11-23T18:26:00.000-05:00

as of 2:15 (ish) Wednesday November 18, 2009.

Belinda recorded the allegory.

Of all the things people told us about being engaged, no one mentioned how much fun it is to tell people about it.

2009-11-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

NOTE: I started this post a week ago. Sorry for lateness and lack of posts. I've been a bit occupied.

A long time ago I wrote a poem that I've shared on this blog before titled "I want to be famous."

This weekend I'm at the Great Lakes East InterVarsity fall retreat called Compelling. I'm helping to lead a small group in one of the freshmen tracks, Dynamic Discipleship. We're talking about what it means to make Jesus the leader of all of your life, about spending time in relationship with him, and about sharing Christ with the world.

I've felt that in the last few weeks I've been on a cycle of working and playing and working and playing, and I've done very little resting. I was physically and spiritually sick for a week about two weeks ago, and God brought me through that. But I still was feeling very tired spiritually. And this weekend I've finally had a chance to stop and rest.
I found a small conference room for my quiet time, and discovered it had a cabinet white board equipped with markers and an eraser. Needless to say, it was an expressive and colorful experience of prayer, which I really needed.

One of the areas that God really challenged me in is my desire to be famous. It's still around. It plagues my motivations. But at Compelling I was finally able to surrender my desire for fame to Christ. It was not even a very emotional experience, just a clear understanding that my true desire is to serve Christ and advance his kingdom, to please God, because I love him. And that's enough. I will do whatever he asks. I will live with purpose and conviction. And whether people notice or not has no bearing on the way I live. The love of Christ compels me.

2009-11-10T21:46:00.001-05:00

My roommate Mike created this incredible music video for our Halloween Extravaganza of Creativity.

It is an original creation of both sight and sound.

I'm amazed at the creative talent of our house. Mike wrote and recorded the music and edited the video. The rest of the housemates were hapless participants.

2009-11-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

First
Previous

Okay. I think this is on.

12:00 am exactly. I'm pulling out of my spot on the berm just before the construction zone. No traffic. I'm keeping the headlights off. Light from the moon is enough.
O God, I can't believe I'm doing this.

There he is, holding that stop sign, looking the other way. You think it's just another day, don't you, Benito. It's not! It's Halloween, Benito Halloween! Hahaha. Here I come. Fabiola, you're free! Free to love me!

O God O God! It's not him!

It wasn't him.

2009-11-06T23:47:00.001-05:00

First
Previous

Construction zone.
Energy brew empty.
O God.
Construction zone.

Switching to voice recorder.

Next

2009-11-06T22:22:00.008-05:00

First
Previous

Tapas 321 Nightclub. In through the front door, talked with the bartender who was dressed like a kitten. Out through the kitchen.
Left my credit card with the homeless guy in the alley. Hope he knows how to use it.

Time for the drive. This is it.
Nerves of steel. This is it.
O God. Nerves of steel.
Time for the drive.

Next

2009-11-06T22:09:00.000-05:00

Previous

In the car. 3/4 of a tank will be enough. New oil, new filter. Death on iPod shuffle. 64oz. of energy -- my own personal mixture -- a perfect blend of coffee, AMP, and moonshine.
Ready. O God.
Ready.

Next

2009-11-06T21:44:00.005-05:00

First
Previous

I tried Fabiola's phone. No answer.
It's him, I know it. He won't even let her talk to me!

Next

2009-11-06T21:00:00.003-05:00

First
Previous

Benito is arriving at work. This very moment.

Next

"Now thinking about marriage more generally: Some people think of marriage mostly as a legal matter and others think of it mostly as a religious matter. Do you personally think of marriage mostly as a legal matter, or mostly as a religious matter?"

Mostly
Legal

Mostly
Religious

Both Equally
(vol.)

Unsure

2009-11-06T20:13:00.003-05:00

First
Previous

That's one ninja and fairy princess who will know better than pound on my door! Hahaha! You should've seen their faces when I dumped those roaches in their candy! Annoying little brats. Got what they deserved, that's all.

Next