Do we offer Liberty or Libel?

Moving so much, I became fascinated with sociology long before I knew it’s name.

It’s definition:  The science of society, social institutions, and social relationships;  specifically :  the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of      organized groups of human beings.

So this is what  I’ve learned of the development of my East Colfax community:

Currently we are 37% Nepal refugees, 30% Hispanic & it shakes down from there into tribes from Burma, Rep of Congo, Sudanese, etc.  The 15% black community is only 3% African American. The rest are natives of Africa where English is not their 1st language. Three years before now our highest  percents were Hispanic; before that Katrina survivors; before that Korean immigrants; before that…  how far should I go back?

Growing up moving around a lot, I knew early on, people are the same and very different all at the same time.  Regions, cultures & history created ebbs & flows, yet there is always a desire for health, work, a mate, children...

Now I live in an international community in an America that welcomed over31  million immigrants since 1994, (one year before Prodigal opened it’s doors), 75% of which are legal & documented.  It’s that last 25% that can harden our hearts, if we’re not careful.

www.tolerance.org/immigration-myths

Living as a gypsy with my family moving so much, it paid to pick up things fast and put prejudice aside to make friends.  Kids are just better at this than anyone.

Despite the labels we adults may use, our kids start out wanting to know more without fear.  Maybe because bonding with someone is more fun then isolation, in their eyes?

All I know? I was a stranger in a strange land most all my life.  God is very specific about every tribe & every nation, even in my backyard. And I find meeting someone and learning something new, fascinating.

Karma vs Grace

Humanity is in love with the idea of Karma.  Do bad things, pay the price.  Do good things and good things will come to you.  Except there isn’t much of that that I see in the real world outside of Hollywood movies.  I think it’s our hunger for justice that gets corrupted by our flesh, where it all breaks down and falls apart.

Karma says:  Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and future suffering.

Yet it stops at the water’s edge when someone’s bad karma ends up killing you, whatever your good karma.  In my flesh, I’ve even used new testament scripture to sooth my anger over an abusive parent by quoting: “better a mill stone be put around your neck if you should cause even one of my children to fall.”

But that abusive parent is a child of God, too.  He wants to redeem her life.  I should rejoice if He allows me even a small part in loving her as she learns to break her cycle of sin through Christ.

When I look at my own sin, I don’t want to be bound by the dictates of Karma.  What if I had to pay the cost for all I have damaged or even destroyed?

What of the loving, encouraging, quiet spoken Hindu man that shared with me his story?  His father who died when he was 3, his mother who died when he was 6.  The woman he fell in love with that died of cancer while he was far away with relatives.  The wife he married and the 3 miscarriages that their marriage didn’t survive; and on and on and on.  What did he do to warrant this?

Whether Buddhist or Hindu flavored, our refugees were not the first to bring these beliefs. Sharing with them why I don’t believe in Karma has created deep relationships.  Sharing that the closer I draw to Christ, the more I am in awe of the debt He paid, so that salvation and grace are, not only possible, but crucial.

I recently read an old book review from 2005 on “Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas.”  Take a moment to stretch your mind and share a chuckle.

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/augustweb-only/bono-0805.html

Trials = Joy

Watching the freestyle skiing, a new event in this years Olympics I was introducing to one of our teens, we talked a little about what it takes to win gold.

She kept questioning me about the event and I confessed I didn’t know much of anything since it was the first time it’d been included in the games.

She was confused since the announcer kept referring to the long careers in the sport that many of the participants had before the Olympics.

As he filled the audience in about the history and the perseverance of the women, a scripture popped into my head and fell out of my mouth.

She gave me a shocked look and  asked me what trials had to do with it.  Just then the next competitor’s story was shared about all the injuries she was recovering from in order to compete: broken arm in two places, broken wrist, busted hip, etc.

We talked about how it’s the failures, the pain, and the cost that we continue to rise above that develop the strength and the wisdom to become the winner of our race.

“You mean the joy of winning is greater because of all she survived?”

I thought for a moment, “More than that, in considering the trials & pain itself, as well as, the joy, (all part of what it takes to get better,) then she had the strength to not walk away from something she loved. She could shine her light for the world to see and inspire others.

The quote my pastor used...

One of the things I love about my church is that we can laugh at ourselves.  We are all sinners saved by grace!

This month my pastor has started a new sermon series on the book of James.  He had a lot of great things to say.  Yet, the one that stuck with me is the Mike Tyson quote he used.  He used it to launch into an explanation of what a "corner man" does for the boxer.

In all my years as a missionary, I shudder to count how many times I’ve played “corner man” to adults and youth in my community.  I have such a short time in their schedule to help them shake off the punches, gain perspective and then refocus on what’s important before the bell rings for the next round.

No matter where we live & what our background, we all need a good corner man.

That’s one of the other things I love about my church: I feel like they get me!

The L.I.E. the World Tells Us

How long has it been since you thought about critical thinking?

My heart grieves for the teachers pressured to “teach to the test.”  I think God blesses the ones that find a way to still include critical thinking and teaching our students the skills to learn and evaluate the world for themselves.

I feel it’s critical for us to teach how to hold our faith despite the media / social networking / Google driven society we live in today.  And learn to use these tools rather than the tools using us.  

Media says, “Use this toothpaste to help someone love you.”  “Drive this car and the girls will want you.”  “Promote this cause, if you’re a good and reasonable (read sane) person.”

Social media is overrun with the gossip of the world, in cute quotes & pictures.  YouTube is the way to an audience, whether or not you have any truth to share.  Even the fact that you can fulfill your need for community and interaction on social media alone, is a big lie.

We, as safe Christian adults, cannot drown out the lies of the world.  Yet, Christ didn’t come to shout down Rome, much to the Jews’ dismay.

Instead, He worked on making us think, find the hidden truth, dig into our faith and access the power of our Holy    Father to stand against the world by using God’s Word.  He called us to go into the world with faith, discipling the sheep in love and not judging or condemning the lost.  Yet there is truth in these tools, too.  They are now the new mission fields of our time.

The questions I’ve used the most in my 11 years as a missionary are, “what do you think?  Do you think it’s true?”  Listening and then asking more questions.  No one wins when we preach “at” someone, even if it’s truth.  How much stronger the skill becomes when they learn to get there themselves with God.

We talk a lot about the result of following the world’s L.I.E. : Loneliness, Isolation, Emptiness.

Has social media made you feel more alone?  Has a product or entertainment ever filled an emptiness?  God calls me to be in the world, but not of it.  How do I use critical thinking & God’s truth to lift Him up and love the lost?

Where is the Dream?

I had the pleasure of listening to the President of the  Barber Shop Talk program this morning at a special MLK, Jr Breakfast held for city and faith leaders across Aurora.

He talked about the father of MLK, Jr and his life of service & sacrifice.  Teaching his son by word and example, at home, about the worth in being a leader through character rather than through fame and wealth.

He spoke of our generation of parents that feel drowned out with their kids technologies.     Witnessing the role models being all about fame & financial gain.  That lose each other to the din of progress and materialism.

He spoke of the peace that comes with living with less when our lives have purpose and are a service to others.  When we seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly.

When we begin to turn off the noise and speak to each other about the things that really matter.  Help each other find the ways we can allow our actions and our characters to count.

Our Comfortor

Every new year, I pray a deeply sincere prayer for our Colfax community.  I pray a prayer that there may be no deaths due to suicide, abuse or violent crime.

In my eleven years in serving this community I have only had two years in which none of our youth have met their end in any one of these manners.  There has not been one year that we have been totally free of some violent passing among our community.

This January, I was contacted on Facebook by one of our alumni teens, sharing that his brother & the brother’s girlfriend had   succeeded in committing suicide together after a previous attempt that failed.

He confessed that his family didn’t feel that a pastor or church would pray with them.  They asked if I would come sit with the family and say something at the funeral.

I offered to bring a pastor along with me, but they said they didn’t want to feel any worse than they did and trusted me to be with them.

At these times, my heart aches for the damage people have felt when dealing with loss due to suicide.  I fear that I am so inadequate and unschooled.

I hit my knees in prayer long before I made my way to their house.  I thank God that I am not alone as I strive to lift Christ’s love up in this, my community.