Speaking of Faith

“We had all kinds of baggage from the church... you know recovering Evangelicals and disenchanted Catholics...and we just said ‘we’re going to stop complaining about the church that we’ve experienced and try to become the church that we dream of.'”
-Shane Claiborne

NPR's show Speaking of Faith explored New Monasticism in an interview with Shane Claiborne last week. Check it out here. Download the MP3 here.

By posting this, I am in no way suggesting that I've figured out how to "...become the church that we dream of." Yet I can't help but wonder, What happens when we stop defining church as the building in which we worship on Sunday mornings and start thinking of church as a body of people from every tongue, tribe and nation who put their hope in Christ? My friend, Matt, has some excellent thoughts on the subject.

Life as an Oil Painting

I’ve begun to think of life as an oil painting. Let me explain. According to Wikipedia, “Most artists paint in layers...The first coat or "underpainting" is laid down first, painted normally with turpentine thinned paint...Many artists use this layer to sketch out the composition...After this layer dries, one way the artist might then proceed is by painting a "mosaic" of color swatches, working from darkest to lightest. The borders of the colors are blended together when the "mosaic" is completed. This layer is then left to dry before applying details. After it is dry, the artist will apply "glaze" to the painting, which is a thin, transparent layer to seal the surface. A classical work might take weeks or even months to layer the paint...”

There are a lot of layers of paint (i.e. people, experiences, influences, paradigms, beliefs, philosophies etc.) in this painting (i.e. my life, your life...). Each layer rests on an earlier coat; each stage [hopefully] gives birth to something deeper, clearer and more developed than before. All of these colors and layers meld together to reveal a beautiful painting in progress.

“So, how does it feel to be back?”

Being back in NH feels like I’ve slipped into an old, comfortable, favorite pair of jeans I had forgotten about. The roads I drive, the people I interact with, the places where I spend my time... This is a comfortable, familiar, safe, loving environment – one that I will always treasure! But here’s the thing: I think I’ve lost a bit of weight since the last time I wore these “jeans". They don’t fit me the way they used to...or, perhaps, I don’t fit them the way I used to...

Sisters

I’m not exactly sure when my little sister stopped being a spoiled brat and became one of my best friends, but somewhere between her running into my bed when scared at night and me running to her for fashion advice, this shift occurred. There is, without a doubt, a special bond between most sisters. It’s hard to explain... Meg just “gets me”, and I just “get her”, though we are two radically different people. I’m so grateful for this special bond that we share. This girl is invaluable!

Derek Webb Concert

Sometimes I forget how much music unearths deep places in my heart -- places I forget, deny and ignore in the midst of the business of everyday life.

I went to a Derek Webb concert on Sunday night. It was my all time favorite kind of concert - a small venue, raw, unpolished music, lyrics that lodge themsevles in my head and demand my attention, such as...

"I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
and I join the oppressors of those I choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder its suicide
and this too shall be made right"
(From the song: This too shall be made right)

"I am so easily satisfied by the call of lovers less wild..."
(From the song: Wedding dress)

"there are two great lies that i've heard:

the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die

and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican

and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him"

(From the song: A king and a kingdom)

I also discovered a new, up-and-coming artist -- Alli Rogers. Part of what endeared her to me was a song she wrote/sang entitled "Tanzania". Definitely worth checking out.

So, I'm a "Generation Y Millenial"?

I’m not real big on labels because I hate feeling boxed in, but I suppose they can serve as a useful tool for explaining, understanding and grouping people. I recently discovered that, depending on which definition one uses (some say the cut off date is 1982; some say 1980), I am a “Millennial."

This weekend I camped out on the National Mall with ~ 6,000 Millenials and a [select] few Gen-Xers. I felt like I was back in highschool, or youth ministry or something. You know you’re getting older when you are NOT a part of the crazy group of people up chanting and dancing around to the pulsating beat of djembe drums at 1:30AM and instead are the person having to make a conscious effort not to yell “SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP!” Alas, the joy of youthful enthusiasm... Perhaps I’ve lost a bit of this, but I think there’s quite a bit still present in this “tail end Millenial.” Despite the lack of sleep, it was good to be part of the Displace Me event this past weekend and inspiring to see so many standing up as a voice for the voiceless.

So Saturday night I made my political statement and Sunday night I cheered Derek Webb on at Jammin’ Java as he sang, “We’ll never have a savior on Capitol Hill”. The irony of these two events, back-to-back amuses me. Pictures have been uploaded to flickr. :)

Sleeping out on the National Mall

This weekend I will be sleeping out on the National Mall along with thousands of others. We are choosing to be "displaced" for one night as an act of solidarity with the Acholi people living in IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in Northern Uganda. Our hope is to make a statement (to the U.S. government, the media and the country) that will bring about change for the Acholi.

Thousands of Acholi children (most sources seem to indicate somewhere between 20,000-30,000) have been abducted to serve as child soldiers and sex slaves in what is known as The Lord's Resistance Army, a group of rebels fighting the Ugandan government for power. Further, a significant portion of the Acholi (most sources seem to indication 1.7-2 million people, approximately 80% of the population) have been removed from their homes and forced to live in "government protected" IDP camps. This has been going on for twenty years. It's time for the oppression to end.

There is a short A/V clip on Invisible Children's Displace Me web site that offers a thorough explanation of the situation in the IDP camps in Northern Uganda. Toward the end of this clip, James Otto, Executive Director of Human Rights Focus asserts, "Uganda government simply needs a very strong statement from the White House that this conflict has become a nuisance and it should be stopped..." He goes on to suggest, in his thick, beautiful African voice, "If US government decides that this conflict is ended and they desire it at breakfast, by dinner time it wouldn't be there."

In the gospel of Luke Jesus proclaims, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48b). Lately, I've begun to redefine the "much" that I have been given. For me this concept refers to more than just material resources. I think the "much" that I have been given also includes components such as
a) Status - the fact that I'm an American citizen opens so many doors that are closed to others...
b) My voice (ability to vote, freedom of speech, life in a democratic nation etc.)
c) Experiences I've had (opportunities to travel, exposure to new ideas etc.)

Honestly, for better or worse, I'm not much of a political activist. But living in the DC area has been good for me; I've come to recognize and appreciate the importance of political advocacy. So it is with this in mind that I will sleep out on the National Mall tomorrow night and pray for relief for the Acholi in Northern Uganda.