CCDA day 3 – the A.M. of justice and big bags of smell poo

so this morning Halle Berry [well not quite, Michelle someone, but she looked a bunch like Halle… no, I’m not saying that the speaker looked like Halle which if you say it out loud is a  lot more humourful but moving on] gave a standing ovation worthy [not from me cos great amazing speech and all but i tend to keep my standing for Jesus unless something really does something different to me] talk on the topic of incarceration and it really was incredibly good and gave a lot of insight and [shocking] information on the topic but for most of the talk i was sitting there thinking internally ‘okay i get it – we have a big bad bag of smelly poo here – i really get it – but please don’t leave me with a big bad smelly bag of poo – tell me something i can do about it’ – and towards the end she did a little bit but then there was a panel afterwards [with her on it] that dug a little bit deeper and got a little bit more practical and story-full on the what we can do aspect [although she called for a movement, so pretty much something huge is needed cos the issue is so flippen smelly-bag-of-poo big and bad!] but ja quite a heavy topic. i didn’t take a lot of notes cos it was needing to be munched as a whole rather than appreciated as sound bytes, but did get a few thoughts:

# Charity is not enough. We have to work for justice!

# We have to take on the system.

# There needs to be [and I’ve thought this for years] a shift from a punitive approach when it comes to incarceration to a more compassionate and restorative approach! 

The system is the way it is… but it’s not the way it has to be… Such a powerful statement which a group or tribe or nation need to take on for it to gain much momentum [o a congregation, denomination, fraternal or city-wide collection of church congregations i guess]

# I liked this one – we have to care for the victim… AND the perpetrator AND the community… 

Michelle told a story of speaking in a church and saying “We’re all sinners” and everyone cheered… and then a little later she said “We’re all criminals” and there was silence… [but think about it – speeding, pirating, tax stuff etc etc – a large majority of us have committed criminal acts] so there seems to be this huge aspect of shame linked to being a criminal or even having that in the past…

What hit me was what someone commented to her: “How come we are so eager to admit we violate God’s laws, but shamed when it comes to mans.” Oof, right between the eyes!

Yeah. A lot of work to be done here. And going to take a concerted effort from a unified group of people and groups. So good to hear from some people on the panel who are working with prisoners, and former prisoners in various ways. Some inspiring people.

[For most powerful samplings of this evening click here]

CCDA day 2, the P.M – how great God art and the purpose of waiting on baking bread.

continuing with thoughts and reflections from my time at the 2013 CCDA conference in New Orleans:

the evening started with a rendition of that powerful hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’ and what was so powerful about it was that the band completely held back [what? a worship band not taking centre stage?] and so it was just a room of 1000 plus people lifting their voices to God and just felt like such a thick and worshipful Presence in that room – really set a great tone for the evening.

then a lady called Laura came up and spoke about the sabbath and it was really great.

she began by speaking about she found herself often in a place of fear and of anxiety  and of burnout… she’d be crying out to God, “God, when do I get to soar like an eagle? Walk and not be weary? When do I get to run and not grow faint?

And God responded with, “I gave you the sabbath, what else do you want?”

Exodus 20.8-10:

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

It is important to remember that it is a commandment. And not one of those we like to put a spin on as in ‘had a place in the Old Testament but we don’t have to do it any more cos Jesus abolished it’ – this is one of the ten that we all hold fast to.

The majority of the remaining commandments begin with the words, ‘Thou shalt not…’ but this one begins with the word ‘Remember’ and then promotes something that we should be doing… The message of ‘Remember’ echoes Psalm 46.10 of ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Stop. Keep this.

Some of us need to start by stopping.

Had to think about what God meant when He said, ‘Remember.’

# The Lord gave you the sabbath – were you expecting something else?

The first thing I heard was, “Laura, you are not indispensible.” WHAT? REALLY?

# We give in to the deception.

Did God ever say to anyone in the Bible, ‘This command. It isn’t for you. You’re too important. Please keep working.’

No, He didn’t. And not even to Jesus.

# God has shown me through this how so often I am bowing down… but not to Him, to others or other things…

# I need to remember this – that if I never produce anything else for the rest of my life, God will not love me any less.

# And if I made the most excellent thing, or accomplished the biggest successful looking thing, He won’t love me any more.

STOPPING HELPED ME REALISE

[1] The world already has a Saviour [and big newsflash – it’s not me!]

[2] Let me Love you. That’s what I heard God saying to me. Let Love love you. Because that is what it does. That is what He does.

  # I created you a rest

  # I didn’t create you to do, I created you to be!

[3] I realised that God was calling me to Real Love  – love that wasn’t a quickie devotion

Rather Love that was like pulling up a chair in God’s kitchen and waiting for the bread to bake. 

Not for a particular reason. Just to visit some.

[4] Call to remember that God is God and I am not.

# Jesus was the first one who knew how to stop.

WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF YOU HAD THE COURAGE TO STOP?

– then we had a minute of silence… to listen to God…

Let the body of Christ be the body of Christ – let us encourage one another, hold each other accountable, life up each other’s arms. Love one another.

And it was good.

How is your sabbathing going?

[For snippets from the next morning of the conference, click here]

CCDA conference in New Orleans, 2013: Cultivate the soul… day 2, the A.M.

Okay, so wanted to share some more sound bytes from the CCDA Conference i am currently attending in New Orleans…

highlights of day 2 so far was really just connection with people before and after sessions – old friends, new friends and even old friends of new friends… someone spoke out on the leadership panel this morning against the idea of people being called “human resources” but whatever the word or phrase they would like to use to describe the phenomenon, there is certainly an abundance of great resource contained in a lot of the humans i have met here… so just a wealth of experience and understanding and creativity and really trying to connect with a bunch of quality folks this week and hoping something will rub off somewhere.

after preaching about God being hot a few weeks ago [not really] i am learning to contextualise my speak now that i am among local foreigners and especially after lunch when i was telling the story of how i once took a third class train from Cape Town to Johannesburg in South Africa and it was so hectic that at one point this drug dealer in my cabin offered me protection… i meant that he would protect me from danger [not that he was offering me a condom, Erin!] and so always good to make sure people get what you’re offering them.

so fun times, good food, dangerously placed Starbucks, but it has good wi-fi so think of all the “money i am saving”

this morning’s worship time was again a powerful time – a very diverse crowd makes for diverse expressions of worship and although i’m sure we’d all love a lot more, it has been great to at least sing one song per session in a different language… this morning was Spanish and it was stunning.

DEVOTIONS WITH JOHN PERKINS AND COACH GORDON 

Looking at the message to the church in Ephesus from Revelations 2 the message was pretty simple but powerful.

Mark 1.35 – Jesus got up early to go and pray – and as much as all the pastory and leadery types [myself included] nod vigorously when this is spoken, we can not hear enough cos i will bet you there is a considerable number of people in that hall [me included] who could do with ‘being still and knowing’ a lot more regularly and intently. So encouragement and gentle challenge to deepen your walk with God by spending time with Him. Help me, God.

The idea that Jesus had no Lone Ranger mentality – the interesting note that the only time we see Jesus alone once He has started His ministry is when He went off to spend time with His Father. Rest of the time He surrounded Himself with people. The idea that ministry is done in the context of community. And if you are out there doing it on your own, you are more that likely doing it wrong [easy clues are when you refer to what you are doing as “my ministry” or “my church” or perhaps when the ministry website is your name dot com?]

The idea that WORD plus DEED is the theological understanding [building on last night – PROCLAMATION plus DEMONSTRATION]

# be close to God

# be in community with others

# know your mission [proclaim the word of God. demonstrate it]

Powerful statement by John Perkins that “This is the first generation that values diversity” and I suspect that for the most part he is probably right [to a much greater extent than previous generations at least]

LEADERSHIP PANEL OF LEADERY TYPES

Calling this ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ might sound offensive towards those participating on the panel, but i am not talking looks here – just that that phrase does justice to the overall of how i felt about the panel this morning being asked a bunch of questions relating to community development and then interacting on their answers. Some really good stuff, some random in-between stuff and a little bit of “uh-uh you didn’t.” But for the most part medium to good, with some gems.

# Someone reminded me of the Jewish proverb “May the dust of the rabbi be upon you,” the idea that you are following so close behind your teacher and mentor that you literally wear their dust. Reminded me of Paul’s “Follow me as I follow Christ.” 

# A call to anglo-white leaders that we need to be know this – that God does not show up when i show up. He is already working in all these neighborhoods. i don’t “bring God”

 [Maybe we can add to that the knowledge that God loves these people way more than i ever will and He is more amped about His Kingdom than i will ever be!]

# In an answer dealing with how various culture groups view other culture groups a one liner that someone one lined was ‘The demon of superiority is there. We need to overcome it’ which is as self-explanatory as you need.

# Building on last night again we heard that the purpose of you moving into a community [one of the big pillars of CCDA is RELOCATION] is not to change it. It is to find a person and to pour yourself into them and watch as they change the community. [Isaiah 61]

# This was an interesting point which i don’t think i have considered before. As the dominant culture [white people] we don’t need to learn other cultures [that is the reality that is, not the one that should be] whereas the minority cultures always have to learn the predominant culture [one example is westernised time and the idea that a meeting has to start on time which you don’t find so much in the Latino and African communities – we come in with the assumption that our idea of time is right and the minority culture has to learn that or be left behind or severely judged or corrected]. And this was accompanied by the idea that there are a bunch of assumptions to challenge. One of them would be the question of ‘What is success?’ and another one that came out quite a bit through different questions and answers was ‘What is a leader?’

The importance of asking, ‘What did you learn from your family and from your community about leadership?’ And a bunch of other important questions we need to give time to.

# The idea of needing to course correct. Not 180 degrees which is what it often sounds like people want. Realisation that as with the church in Ephesus [Revelations 2] there is a bunch of stuff we are doing right or have gotten right… but we definitely need to slightly alter the direction of this ship in certain ways. The assumptions of one cultures superiority over another being a huge one. The question of who mentors you and the need for non-white mentors. So ask yourself this: Who were the authors of the last ten books you read? Who were the last ten speakers you listened to sermons from? Who is shaping your worldview? And if you are serious about desiring diversity then that is a good and probably quite easy place to begin.

Just some snippets, but hopefully you managed to find some gems in there that spark something in you.

[For even more from evening 2 of the conference, click here]

CCDA conference in New Orleans, 2013: Cultivate the soul… day 1

This is my third Christian Community Development Association conference and definitely a highlight of the year meeting people from all over Americaland of all shapes and backgrounds and sizes involved in all kinds of different areas of community development dealing with things from poverty to human trafficking and from education to incarceration and more.

A high percentage of quality people all squeezed into one place for a couple of days… and just so much goodness. Today was pretty much a registration day and intro to the thing and yet i feel like already there has been so much to take away. Connecting with Erin [who was hugely involved in running CCDA the last 6 years and is now working at the Simple Way where we used to be] and catching up with old friends and having dinner with bossman, John and ‘the beard’ [aka Scott who we met a week ago at our friends Mark and Lisa’s place] and having some great conversations…

And then two powerful talks… i don’t want these blog posts to be a blow by blow account of what I’m experiencing at this conference but i hope to share some glimpses and potential gems that will hopefully be an encouragement to whoever reads these:

NOEL CASTELLANOS

Noel Castellanos, president of the CCDA, a man i have come to respect a lot over my last two conferences, gave the opening address which was really powerful. Had a diagram which highlighted different areas of how CCDA gets involved and how each area is not enough without the next one. So CCDA has been really good at incarnation, which i blogged about the other day in terms of living in the communities of the people you are working with. He made an interesting point about Jesus linked to both Galilee and Nazareth with the question ‘Which neighborhood did God move into?’

He spoke about Proclamation and Formation. So it is not enough to just proclaim a message but you have to live it out and it has to be able to bring transformation in people as well. He made what was probably his most between-the-eyes point when he proclaimed that ‘Evangelism from the outside feels like drive-by evangelism.’ [I feel like this is a point tbV would have loved!] But that’s exactly what a lot of it is – without any kind of long-term relationship a lot of well intentioned ministry can feel a lot by driving into neighborhoods, dropping stuff off and then hightailing it out of there. [We don’t want to be contaminated by those we’re serving, after all?]

He said that when you add Formation to Proclamation then you see a demonstration of compassion.

Compassion [crisis help] is not the ultimate cure for poverty. If ten years later you are still ‘helping this family out’ then perhaps that isn’t the best thing. It is important for a while but you need to move on to Restoration and Development. 

Then he finished by saying he thought all of those things were the picture, but that he had come to realise over 30 years of doing community development stuff that there was another one. “When you put the poor at the heart of our concern like it is at the heart of God’s concern, the forces of hell will come against you.” The last one that needs to be taken on is Confrontation of Justice. Taking on the systems and mindsets that have helped create the problems that you are facing.

LEROY BARBER

Leroy Barber was head of Mission Year and has just become the Global Director for Word MadeFlesh and he is also, i believe, the chairman of the board of CCDA. He preached some heat off of Isaiah 61:

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.

And the most powerful point i got out of his message came from the whole comparison where ashes have become beauty, mourning has become joy and despair has become praise… which is all great and fine and good, but then he followed it up with something i had not thought of before… Firstly there is the transformation of these people [formerly the ones with the ashes, mourning and despair] becoming oaks of righteousness, but then it is THEY [verse 4] who will be the ones who rebuild the ancient ruins.

Leroy got so excited and animated about this point and rightly so. Looking at the audience he shouted at them, ‘That’s why so many of you get burned out.’ ‘That’s why you need five holidays a year.’ Because the focus has always been on you rebuilding the city from the ruins… when this passage seems to indicate it is those who have been transformed [by the work you have done/been involved in] who are the ones who will do the rebuilding.

He challenged all the leaders at CCDA that next year he wants to see each person having brought one of those upcoming leaders with them. Those are the ones who need to be here.

Ooh. Wow. So good. My soul already feels somewhat cultivated. Can’t wait for a full day of this tomorrow…

[For more from Day two of the conference, click here]

what will you celebrate as your head hits the pillow?

one day you will be old. and then dead. hopefully in that order. preferably without skipping the first part.

and a lot has been said about that… like the much shared list of top 5 regrets of the dying according to a nurse who hung out with a lot of dying people and got to hear a list of their regrets apparently [no Patch Adams noodle baths from this fun lady it seems] and these are the top 5 that emerged:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

we were also given that Baz Luhrmann ‘Sunscreen’ song/speech that reminded us of the long term benefits of wearing sunscreen, which contained such gems as:

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.

And then one of the most classical of them all:

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

And on it goes – lists about climbing more mountains, picking more flowers, taking less photographs and living more in the moments you are capturing and so on…

Which is all great and important and true but can end up being another overwhelming set of ideals and wish lists and if onlys that you never actually really get to and will one day end up on your regret list.

So what do i want to suggest?

2 simple things – CELEBRATION and GRATITUDE:

The title of this post is ‘What do you celebrate as your head hits the pillow?’ – I remember one year where i kept a journal for a whole year and all that i wrote in it was at the end of each day one thing that i was grateful for from that day. From as simple as a friendly note from a friend on Facebook to something more powerful like witnessing life transformation in a friend or an answer to prayer or being able to resist temptation in a moment. Being intentional about taking a moment to stop in your day and celebrate a win or a thing to be grateful for. There is always one thing.

The second one has been noticing in tbV’s Facebook feed this last week or two what has felt like an intentional daily or close-to-daily moment of ‘Today i am grateful for…’ and usually a list of two to seven things that she has gratitude for on this particular day. i have found this so encouraging and it spurs me to consider my own list every time.

Regret is such a useless emotion/feeling/state because it accomplishes nothing except making you feel like a tit. And i don’t know anyone who enjoys that feeling particularly. So rather replace it with celebration and gratitude, even just of the small things that are worth celebrating and you might be amazed at how the bigger picture starts to be affected as well.

What will you celebrate tonight as your head hits the pillow? Take a minute and share one thing below in the comments that you are grateful for. Let it start here. 

How to raise your children as world changers: Meet Lara, Chris, Alexa, Moriah and India

apart from having one of the greatest full names known to personkind [say Lara Harler Lahr out loud or sing it to the tune of ‘Deck the Halls’] Lara and her husband Chris and their daughters Alexa, Moriah and India are good friends of ours that we met in Philly in our previous season of life…

having made some very similiar decisions to Nigel and his family in the previous post and demonstrating some true inspiration of what incarnation is really about and how perhaps more of us are called to live like this, here is Lara Harler Lahr…

from left: Moriah, Lara Harler, India, Chris, Alexa

We started raising our kids to be world changers before they were even conceived. The day we returned from our life changing summer in  India in 1997, we decided to live differently. It was that experience that led us to name our first daughter Alexa, which means defender of mankind. Soon after, we moved from Wilmore Kentucky to Philadelphia PA. We sold everything except what we could load into our van and bought a house in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Philadelphia 13 years ago. I knew that bringing an almost 1 year old to the ghetto of Philadelphia made no logical sense to our family or much of our friends…and there were days that I thought we were crazy as well!

Our next door neighbors fought a lot. I remember fearing for the woman next door and for those sweet boys of hers. As the screaming went on for hours on end, all we could do was pray…or so we thought…. We started talking to our neighbors a little here and there and eventually decided to take down the little gate between our two back “yards.”  We went in halfsies and bought a baby pool.  I never had any deep conversations with them during that first year, and never pried into their problems. One day Chris was on the front porch hanging out when he saw our neighbor talking to other neighbors. Afterwards she came to Chris and said “Did you see that?! I just talked to a neighbor!! I never talk to neighbors, but I have been noticing you and Lara talking to neighbors and I decided I shouldn’t be the neighborhood bitch anymore!” Then she went on to say that she had noticed our relationship and it really brought hope for a healthy marriage!!

We realized at that point that having a healthy marriage and a healthy relationship with our kids does change the world!  Especially in the area where we live…where hardly and kids have a two parent home!!

Fast forward 13 years to today. We have three daughters who go to a local charter school. We have been part of a local church in the heart of the “Badlands” of Philly.  They witness the reality of poverty, drug addiction, prostitution, incarceration, shootings, and other violence. We have had to listen to our girls share heart breaking stories that they have heard from friends at school. My younger ones love to play homeless like most kids like to play house! This is just the world they know. Because my girls are exposed to such difficult and seemingly unchangeable circumstances, we put a lot of energy into teaching them to pray.  We have had morning devotions every morning for several years now and we are teaching them to pray and believe.

Two years ago we were able to travel to India to visit with our friend and her 48 kids and the child that we have been sponsoring for years. I had been in a car accident that left me with a settlement that covered our trip, and I wanted to go there more than do anything else so that my kids could witness and be a part of the faith of these kids in India. I could go on and on with stories of how much faith these children have and how God answers their prayers. I want my girls to know that closeness with God and to have that kind of faith. My girls hearts were changed. They are being molded more and more every day by their experiences which give them love for people and a deeper reliance on the power of prayer that does change the world.

[For another exciting story on raising children as world affecting people, click here for the story of Lisa Scandrette and her family]

 

The Gospel according to Pearls: Communicating the message you mean

As we’ve already seen recently, the importance of communicating the message you are trying to get across can be as important as the message itself. If people don’t receive the message that you were trying to send to them, it doesn’t really matter how amazing that message was in the first place, As important as ‘Guarding your heart’ may seem, you just sent a bunch of confused people wrestling with the idea of ‘God, you’re hot?’ being something they need to consider more…

Leave it to cartoonist maestro, Stephan Pastis, to find an easy and effective way to communicate this importance of communication thing:

# What message are you wanting to say?

# What message are people hearing you say?

Two great questions to keep as your constant companions if you are someone who communicates to any great extent…

[For other fun, inspiring, satirical, nonsensical or just plain educational Pearls before Swine strips, take a look over here]