An Inspiring Friend

I had a great conversation last night – one of the most refreshing conversations I’ve had in a long time. It was actually with an old friend whom I had met at a leadership camp as a thirteen year old just out of seventh grade. She and I were put into the same small group throughout the week at camp, we became friends and kept in touch for several years. Last night for the first time in a long while we caught up completely – discussing each other’s summer jobs, school arrangements, and future plans.

She was raised Catholic in a home that was not particularly religious. But nonetheless she had always felt a deep yearning to be morally strong and to draw close to God. She attends both Catholic and Baptist services and feels like she has found great strength and depth from certain aspects of both church communities.

As I listened to her tell the story of the past two or three years, I couldn’t help but to think of how our experiences and thoughts paralleled throughout high school. She encountered struggles and distractions in her faith journey when faced with puzzling theological questions about social issues such as homosexuality, abortion, poverty, starvation, and even questions surrounding Catholicism itself. She faced Christians who told her that a same-sex attraction, having an abortion, or even being Catholic would simply result in one way tickets to hell. And she told me that she was so overwhelmed and frustrated at the meanness and close-mindedness of those who could make such audacious statements without having ever heard-out or befriended one of those whom they were damning. She told me that it wasn’t as much their beliefs that disturbed her – it was their insensitive, judgmental, even cruel attitude.

And yet she finished by telling me that she has still stuck with it. In the midst of the bad impressions and hurtful comments, she has continued to strive for a healthy spiritual life and for a community of believers that challenge and encourage her with loving and gracious hearts. As we spoke, she told me that she had found such a place: a strong faith community and a caring group of friends that supports one another and walks alongside each other through their spiritual thick and thin.

After this story, she told me that she is hoping to finish school and possibly join the Peace Corp with aspirations of doing social work among the poorest of the poor in Central America.

She finished with her conviction that followers of Christ desperately need to stop the “mission work” consisting of an obsession with handing out tracts and collecting converts, but should instead focus time, energy, and funds on feeding empty stomachs, distributing needed medication, and empowering people to rise out of the depths of poverty.

I believe this attitude is truly Christ-like.

I believe this attitude can truly change the world.

Beyond Religion

“The greatest enemy of the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity.”
-Erwin McManus, pastor of the Mosaic church community

The other day I was flipping through my Bible as I prepared some material for our youth group devotions this week and I came across one of those rare passages that suddenly pops off the page and smacks me right in the face. I guess this can happen just about anytime: when listening to a song, reading a book, studying poetry, or singing a hymn. You read, hear, or sing words and as your mind absorbs them, they strike a personal chord deep inside and the experience just stops you in your tracks.  It’s almost like we were just meant to read or hear those words. I read from Isaiah:

 ”The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

Now I don’t want to turn this into some mini-commentary, but these words struck me as I read and reread this passage. You see, I had always pictured the prophets as speaking out against the heathens, the murderers, the unclean, the adulterers, the liars, the greedy, etc, etc. But Isaiah sidesteps those obvious culprits and points directly at who?

At the religious people.

At the church goers.

At the tithers.

At the scripture readers. 

At the church.

At me.

And perhaps at you.

Let’s make sure that our vision isn’t obstructed by the pulpit, the pews, the steeples, the wafers, the juice, the hymns, the bulletins, the offering plates, the potlucks, the banners, the gyms, the classes, the meetings, and the services. Let’s make sure we can see through our religion to fix our eyes upon justice, humility, peace, compassion, and love.   

The Delayed Departure

Today is my fourth day helping lead the youth group at First Baptist, D.C. on their annual mission trip. We are on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and I must say that after four days of this I have a much greater appreciation for my former youth pastor and volunteers. Youth work is very unique in a variety of ways and it takes a special person to enjoy it and do it well.

We were scheduled to leave at 12:30 Saturday afternoon from the church parking lot. Everyone was there at 12:18 – loaded up and ready to go – except one kid: Wesley. As we were waiting next to the van at 12:18 the youth leader, Skye, gets a text message. She opens up her cell phone to read a text message from Wesley:

“Do we leave today or tomorrow?”

With a huge sigh, Skye text messages him back kindly bringing to his attention the six reminders he had received, all of which informed him that the group was to leave on Saturday, June 21st at 12:30. He sends back a text message with the depth of a typical 8th grade boy:

“Oh crap.”

To make a long story short, we left the church parking lot at 2:07 with Wesley and a bag full of damp clothes since (as he put it), “I still had clothes in the dryer.”

Nonetheless, I am glad to be out of the office for a short while and get the chance to revert back to my own youth group days - days that seem like they were just yesterday.  In spite of the occassional mishap like the one described above, these kids in the youth group are great and it has been a joy to work and talk with them. And as I deal with being constantly tired and easily frustrated, I appreciate the patience and dedication that my own youth workers gave to me and my classmates as we made our way through middle school and high school. I admire the time and energy of Francis, Bob, Todd, Carla, Chad, Shanna, Drew, Darla, Jim, and so many others who regularly put up with the likes of me, Austin, Daniel, Ryan, Joe, and Christian.

I’m just lucky that my kids this week aren’t giving me the same torment that I and my friends gave our youth workers.    

A Simple Request

“I know it is what you’ve always heard, but I don’t believe that Hate is the opposite of Love – I have always felt that the true opposite of Love is Apathy.“

-Ms. Jane McMullin, my friend and high school history teacher who took this couple of seconds to teach my class some theology just as effectively as she teaches history

Today is a busy day and it marks the start of a busy weekend. All day Jean (the administrative assistant) and I have been scurrying around the office complex completing the programs and covering the details a funeral, a concert, and the Sunday service – all to take place this weekend. After work I will head down to a capital conference center to attend an event that my school, William Jewell College, is hosting here in D.C for alumni and friends of the college.

Tomorrow I will pack my bags (again) and head down to Macon, Georgia to help lead a youth group mission trip. I am happy about this for a number of reasons. First, it will be nice to spend some extended time outside the office and have a change of pace with a week of youth work including painting a house or serving at a homeless shelter. And second, if I were not going on this trip I would be spending the next three days helping my hostess collect a sizeable urine sample from one of her four cats (which has not been de-clawed).

Anyhow, I will return to D.C. on June 28^th, which will mark the halfway point of my time here at First Baptist, Washington. The time has moved incredibly fast, and has been accompanied by numerous eye-opening experiences.

I usually don’t do this, but after some personal reflection of the past weeks I would like to make a request to each of you. I ask that perhaps as you read some of my eye-opening experiences of the past weeks that your eyes would too be opened. I ask that each of you may be a little more aware of the need that exists so prevalently all around us, whether we live in Washington D.C., Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, New York, or Africa, China, or Burma. And the “need” I refer to is not some old Christian cliché about the sinners’ need to be “washed by the blood” or for “a spiritual revival.” I am referring to something more basic – the need for respect, awareness, and love in the way we treat others, view our world around us, and live our lives each day.

When you go to class, to work, or to church remember those in need – the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the oppressed, the abused, the impoverished, the lonely, the desperate, the rejected, the grieving, the insecure, and the fearful. Remember that the same needs that exist on the streets of downtown Washington or in the neighborhoods of Missouri or in the villages of Myanmar are all essentially the result of the same terrible cause – apathy, disrespect, and greed.

So please remember those people. Remember them today, tomorrow and the next.

A Glimpse Through the Gate

The church in Washington, D.C. has a Child Development Center – a day care that is funded by the church and located in the lower levels of the church building. Sometimes it’s nice for me on a stressful day to suddenly be approached by a three year old who wants to know my name and give me a high-five.

The other day as I was walking to work I passed the children’s playground located next to the church parking lot. The playground itself is surrounded by a large wooden privacy fence that is tall enough that the young kids can’t see over the top of it. Most of the kids were playing on the various equipment – slides, swings, and teeter-totters. But as I walked by I noticed what a couple of the kids were doing in the corner of the playground and laughed. Five or six kids were gathered in the corner around a chain link gate the faced Massachusetts Ave., along with all the signs, lights, cafés, and restaurants. And it was funny because these kids were gathered around this see-through gate just standing their with their eyes fixated on the cars zooming by, the people quickly walking to work, a vendor stand selling snacks and drinks, and a man selling newspapers yelling loudly, “Get your news here! Fifty cents – get your news here!”

These kids probably never stood still for five seconds the rest of the day, but when they got a chance to glimpse the outside world – so distant from their small little playground – they couldn’t help but quietly stand and stare in wonder and curiosity.

I think that’s a pretty good picture of my trip here this summer. I have my own small, comfortable world back home with my family, my car, my friends, my school, my church, my values, my demographic, and my subculture, and now I suddenly get a small glimpse of the outside world – a glimpse full of traffic jams, metro stations, homeless people, constant walking, ethnic diversity, tall buildings, taxi cabs, different values, and wide ranging religious perspectives. And all I can do stand and stare in wonder and curiosity.

Working here in the city has been a great experience for me and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It has caused me to long for the day when I have grown up enough in my education and experiences to see over the top of the wooden fence surrounding my own little world – the day when I can finally journey out of my comfort zone into the outside world.

Because It is Right: Part Two

Today I had to finish my responsibilities in publicizing a church benefit concert being held to raise funds for relief to Burma. A while back (June 5th) I wrote about the task of having to find pictures of the Burma disaster in order to help publicize this benefit concert, which takes place this Sunday. It was surprisingly uncomfortable for me to sit in my comfortable office as I strolled through image after image of violence, poverty, and devastation now present in the ravaged country.

Today I have been putting together the program for the concert. This afternoon I had practically the entire thing done. It is going to be a great concert, and I had listed all the songs and musicians along with the church contact information and charity information, which even includes representatives from the local Burmese church to come and accept the offering. Many of these individuals are family and friends to those who are suffering in Burma, and so there presence will be a meaningful element to the event.

However, just as I was finishing, I was instructed to insert one last sentence:

“This is the second concert celebrating the acquisition of our Steinway concert grand piano in December, 2007.”

I inserted the sentence where I was instructed, near the top under the names of the soloists and right above the information for the Burmese church. As I reread the newly revised program, I felt another twinge of guilt and discomfort: “…the second concert celebrating the acquisition of the Steinway concert grand piano…” How will the Burmese people read that? Are we really celebrating?

Now don’t get me wrong, the new piano is beautiful – one of the best in the entire city. The new piano will enhance the worship experience of the church members. The new piano will attract people to come into our doors. It gives us another tool with which to minister. And honestly, the church really did need a new piano – they had gone many years without one. Yes, all of that is true.

But I fear that the day has come when churches would rather spend $100,000 on a piano than for the people who truly need it. To be honest with you, as I ponder that last sentence I just don’t have anything more to say.