It's Not All Bad. In Fact, It's Delightful
A few days ago I met with a group of men, most of whom I had never met. The fellow who called the meeting knows all of us through different relationships, and invited us to meet with one another.
He made a few brief comments and then said, “Let’s begin with introductions. Please say your name, and one thing about yourself that you believe God loves and delights in.” What was funny was that it caught me off guard.
Nearly every group I’ve ever been in like this begins with talking about struggles, failures and what areas we want to work on in our lives. But I’ve never begun with what’s right with us. Then I began to think about how God, our loving father, thinks about us.
I grew up in a world where what was talked about most was how bad we were. What was subtly caught and taught was that deep down inside we are awful and we are lucky that God even glances in our direction. A proper response then is to grovel before the feet of God, and never stop thanking him for his love, because we certainly don’t deserve it.
This way of thinking, of course, is rubbish. What we can never forget is the fact that “God is love.” He is our loving father, and he does, in fact delight in us.
My wife and I have three kids, and I am always gushing about them. Anytime, anyone asks me about them I waste no time in pulling out my phone and showing every picture I have. They make me laugh and smile. The best part of my day – everyday – is coming home to hug and kiss them. To ask them about their day. To hear them laugh. To eat dinner with them. There is so much I love about them, and I want them to know it in their bones.
Sitting with that group of men it dawned on me – that’s what God feels about his kids. Why then do we spend so little time sharing about his delight in us? That time of sharing was one the richest things that I have experienced in a long time.
So I ask you, “What’s is it about you that you believe God loves and delights in?” Spend time on that one. Tell someone else. Never forget that we have a father in heaven who gushes about us.
Thoughts on Denver's Proposed Urban Camping Ban
A recent piece of proposed legislation in the city of Denver has proven controversial. BR12-0241 - commonly referred to as the “Urban Camping Ban." It would prohibit “any temporary habitation on public or private property accompanied by the use of any form of shelter from the elements” (read the Executive Summary here).
There have been many who have opposed this ordinance. It seems that this it is a case of "cart before the horse." Why put a law in place when there are no services to provide for the health and welfare of the homeless? Is it right to enforce a law that prohibits urban camping when there are not currently enough shelter beds in the city of Denver?
The City Council claims that homeless men and women will not be arrested, and therefore claim these are not valid concerns. Well, if no one is going to be arrested then why create the law?
Many who have voiced approval of the bill have done so for the sake of business and tourism. They argue that the presence of the homeless keeps visitors and business away. Their arguments are often myopic, in that their chief concern centers on economic growth and their own profit. Some of their arguments have even shown a flair for the dramatic.
The Lodo Neighborhood Association drafted a letter "imploring" the Denver City Council to do something before the city reaches a "tipping point where no one wants to live or work in downtown Denver." They concluded the letter by saying, "This community has worked too hard for too long to see it all disappear."
The logic in their letter strikes doom and fear suggesting that the the homeless could, in the end, make the community vanish. Overstatements such as these only create and us / them mentality, and causes the discussion to be either / or instead of pursuing any real solutions that can benefit everyone. Perhaps it's this kind of sensational talk that has some on the City Council claiming this is an emergency.
Since they feel it is an urgent matter, they have shown no intention of allowing the bill request to be slowed or delayed for any significant amount of time. Their eagerness to pass the bill, and continued refusal to accept any amendments to the bill create cause for concern.
The City Council claims that homeless men and women will not be arrested, and therefore claim these are not valid concerns. Well, if no one is going to be arrested then why create the law?
Many who have voiced approval of the bill have done so for the sake of business and tourism. They argue that the presence of the homeless keeps visitors and business away. Their arguments are often myopic, in that their chief concern centers on economic growth and their own profit. Some of their arguments have even shown a flair for the dramatic.
The Lodo Neighborhood Association drafted a letter "imploring" the Denver City Council to do something before the city reaches a "tipping point where no one wants to live or work in downtown Denver." They concluded the letter by saying, "This community has worked too hard for too long to see it all disappear."
The logic in their letter strikes doom and fear suggesting that the the homeless could, in the end, make the community vanish. Overstatements such as these only create and us / them mentality, and causes the discussion to be either / or instead of pursuing any real solutions that can benefit everyone. Perhaps it's this kind of sensational talk that has some on the City Council claiming this is an emergency.
Since they feel it is an urgent matter, they have shown no intention of allowing the bill request to be slowed or delayed for any significant amount of time. Their eagerness to pass the bill, and continued refusal to accept any amendments to the bill create cause for concern.
This concern is expressed well by John Parvensky, the president of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. He wrote an Op-Ed piece titled, “Homeless Aren’t Criminals” in which he points out why this ordinance is inhumane (read here).
However, not everyone holds Parvensky’s viewpoint. Denver’s Road Home has outlined a plan to address the needs of those who are homeless under the new camping ban. Using the acronym CAM they believe their plan would go hand-in-hand with the camping ban (see the full plan here).
Albus Brooks, the councilman who has sponsored the bill, believes this will further work to solve the problem of homelessness here in Denver. In a recent interview with Kelsey Whipple in Westword he shares why he believes this is a good idea for the city and why it will benefit everyone (read the interview here).
So what do we make of all of this? Should something be enforced? How do we even begin to address such a complex issue? What do you think? Below are a few thoughts. I’d love to hear more from you.
- What can you do? This is the first thing that all of us should ask. Complaining and objecting feel good for the one doing it, but rarely create any sustainable solutions. We must first seek to learn what we can do to assist and address the problem of homelessness.
- Are you sure about that? In the conversations surrounding this bill, many have made misleading statements about “the homeless” that are rooted in ignorance. They have made sweeping generalizations about linking the to crime. This causes fear to grow, and is why many feel “unsafe.” This is an unfair caricature of the homeless population. Let's not allow bigotry to guide our thoughts and language.
- Love is greater than fear. Instead of complaining about that person sleeping in front of your business, or being scared of those who sleep on concrete in our city, why not buy two cups of coffee tomorrow morning and share one with a person who is homeless? You may just come to see that they are people just like you. And when you show them love, you’ll find your fear is on the run.
- People or profit? Many have stated that the problem of homelessness hurts their bottom line. But this does not have to be about profit over people. If you are business owner take time to speak with other business owners, call your city councilman and find out what role the business community can play to contribute to a solution. You may just find out that in the end, it not only helps business, but it serves the marginalized too.
- Let's work together. This is not just a problem for government or churches or businesses or the social sector. Each of us have to work together to do our part to make this work. What networks are you a part of that can reach out to others? How can you serve as a catalyst to enable all of us to serve the most vulnerable in our city?
To learn more, and to get involved here is a short list of Denver based resources and organizations that are serving the homeless:
The Power of a Friend's Words
St. Francis wrote about how his father would treat him when he would return to his home town. As he would approach the town his father would come out and curse him publicly ... in these times he explained what he would do. He would bring a friend with him and told him the following:
""When my father hurls curses and abuse at me, I will hear them painfully in one ear, but I ask you to walk on my other side, and whisper God's favor into my other ear. 'Franics, you are my beloved son. You are a son of heaven and a son of God!' Just keep repeating it until I can believe it again!"
Doing is Believing
Yesterday during our time of teaching at Denver Community Church we explored the idea that what we do reflects our most deeply held beliefs. We may be those who like to speak about alleviating and eradicating poverty, but if do not serve the poor the reality is we don't believe in helping the poor at all.
Peter Rollins, in his book Insurrection speaks to this very thing. He writes, "… our practices do not fall short of our beliefs, but are the concrete material expression of them. In other words, our outer world is not something that needs to be brought into line with our inner world but is an expression of it."
Many commented that they don't want to talk anymore, but they desire to do something - anything. What they were expressing was they want to live their way into a new way of thinking.
With this in mind, I came across an article at Relevant by Lorie Newman. In it, she gave practical ideas for things anyone can do to serve others. These ideas are just the beginning. What are things that you can do, or have done, to care for those in our world? Here are some of her ideas from her article, "7 Simple Ways to Meet Big Needs."
We live in a world with overwhelming humanitarian needs: 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 per day, 1.1 billion people lack access to potable water, 19 million people in America are considered “working poor” and a child dies of hunger every 5 seconds.
With so many needs, where do we even begin? Does helping just one person really matter?
(Is It) Bad Christian Art?
During his teaching at Denver Community Church this past Sunday, Dave Neuhausel, our Pastor of Outreach, referenced an article that addressed Christian Art. In the article titled, "Bad Christian Art," Tony Woodlief reflected on why Christian movies are considered "awful" by many.
His contention is that "bad art derives, like bad literary theory, from bad theology." From there he shares the ways in which this is seen in Christian art.
What are your thoughts about Christian Art? Is it bad? Can it be redeemed? Is Christian a bad adjective in describing art?
Take a moment and read the article, and share some thoughts.
Bad Christian Art
by Tony Woodlief
“Why,” asks the title of a recent movie review by Salon writer Andrew O’Hehir, “are Christian movies so awful?” He asks this after watching Soul Surfer, a film targeted at American evangelicals, about a one-armed surfer girl. It’s supposed to be a true story, insofar as anything can be true once it has been plucked from the web of human interdependence and stretched across a fifty-foot screen.
It Doesn't Have to Be Like This
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| The Malaria Parasite that ravages the human body. |
“Malaria sucks.” This is all I could think as I sat discussing this disease with my friend Adam Philips who works with the ONE Campaign. We were dreaming about world without malaria. It is a preventable, treatable, curable disease, yet, at that time, it was killing one child every thirty seconds.
It was then that I decided it was time to join in the fight against this insidious disease and see an end to malaria in our lifetime. You might say that I’m a dreamer, and you'd be right.
Today, is World Malaria Day. Two years ago today local churches throughout Denver along with multiple organizations came together to start the Ten Thousand Nets Campaign. Through the efforts of people all over the city of Denver money was raised to purchase life saving bed nets.
Because of this and many other efforts hundreds of thousands of bed nets are in place, and lives are being saved. The good news is my dream appears to be coming true.
Today, just two years later malaria deaths have been cut in half. Now it’s one child dying every sixty seconds. This is wonderful on the hand, but on the other it’s still too much. Malaria still sucks and it still needs to be fought.
The areas of the world that are the most vulnerable to malaria are the same that are stricken with extreme poverty. Malaria deaths and poverty go hand in hand.
For those living in extreme poverty the little money they do have, often goes toward treating malaria. When this happens they don’t eat and have nothing left for basic necessities.
While malaria itself causes deaths, when money is spent by the world's poorest to treat malaria it ends up leaving them hungry, malnourished and keeps families shackled in the chains of crippling poverty. More than 1 billion – that's 1,000 million – people live like this every day. Their budget is less that $1.50 per day.
As a show of solidarity with the world’s poorest I’ve decided to join with Live Below the Line and Malaria No More and stand with the those who have no choice but to live below the line every day – and who have to make $1.50 cover a lot more than food.
From May 7-11 I, along with people around the world, will only spend $1.50 a day on food. You can join and support me in this in multiple ways. Some ideas are:
- Skip lunch one day that week and take the money that you would spend on lunch and give toward the fight against malaria.
- Call four friends and each take a day where you live on $1.50 per day.
- Join with me and Live Below the Line for one week and fight to end malaria.
- Pass this blog on to everyone you know. Post it on Facebook. Tweet it. Tell everyone about how we, together, can end malaria.
- Support me as I live below the line. A simple gift will save a life.
If you want to sign up and live below the line, click here (In the Network Box on the sign up page please write "Ten Thousand Nets"). If you would like to skip lunch and give the money to Malaria No More or support me as I live below the line click here.
One day we will have a world without malaria, and that means today we still need to fight. I’m up for it, are you?
Remember Stop Kony?
On March 5, 2012 the Stop Kony campaign from Invisible Children exploded onto the scene. The nearly 30 minute short film quickly accumulated over 80 million views of YouTube. It was tweeted by some of the most famous people in the world and received massive amounts of media attention.
Along with all of the popular support there was significant, insightful criticism. Some claimed that awareness was not enough, others said that the film was incomplete and lacked good (and correct) information.
The goal of the film was to mobilize people to make Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, famous. The proposed solution was an event on April 20 called "Cover the Night." In cities around the world, people were invited to bring attention to Kony, the most evil of warlords.
Today, just a little more than a month and half from the film hitting YouTube, and four days after Cover the Night there are some questions we ought to consider.
1. Do you remember Stop Kony?
We live in a media and information saturated world. While millions of people watched the video the response seemed rather underwhelming. Since Kony hit the newswire there have been newer stories that have captivated our minds, and we can only hold so much information.
2. Does social media work?
Along with all of the popular support there was significant, insightful criticism. Some claimed that awareness was not enough, others said that the film was incomplete and lacked good (and correct) information.
The goal of the film was to mobilize people to make Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, famous. The proposed solution was an event on April 20 called "Cover the Night." In cities around the world, people were invited to bring attention to Kony, the most evil of warlords.
Today, just a little more than a month and half from the film hitting YouTube, and four days after Cover the Night there are some questions we ought to consider.
1. Do you remember Stop Kony?
We live in a media and information saturated world. While millions of people watched the video the response seemed rather underwhelming. Since Kony hit the newswire there have been newer stories that have captivated our minds, and we can only hold so much information.
2. Does social media work?
Perhaps Malcolm Gladwell was right in his essay in The New Yorker. Is is true that "social media can't provide what social change has always required?" While YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are wildly popular can they really effect social change?
3. Was/Is the campaign a success?
Well it did generate great discussion, raise awareness and shed light on many who are in dire need ... but did that solve anything? Asch Harwood's blog suggests that yes, some good did come. However, Rory Caroll's blog suggests otherwise. What do you think?
4. What did you have for dinner?
How many people felt a tug at their heart while watching the video, and then did not act on it? Every time the gospels speak of Jesus having compassion he acted on it. What do we do? We say, "that's terrible and then go about eating our dinner."
5. Now what?
So there was a video, an event on April 20 ... and then we are supposed to do what? Invisible Children just released a video that addresses this question. But is it too little too late? Perhaps what we really want is not a rally that requires little. Maybe, something inside us like to contribute when it costs us something or when we have to sacrifice for a cause.
It's Hurts So Much, Because It's So Beautiful
Pain comes to us all. If we are honest, some pain hurts much worse than others - especially pain that has been given to us by men and women who are in the Church.
Not too long ago, I met with someone who told me of the pain that he and his wife had been put through. The betrayal he experienced from the lead was unfair and shameful. After our conversation I began wondering why it is so ugly when the Church behaves so badly? Perhaps it is related to what the Church is supposed to be when compared to what it often is.
The Church is the Body of Christ. She is physical embodiment of the Jesus in our world today. As such, we ought to look, think and act like the person Jesus. For the people in his day he was a sign of grace, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, hope and healing. This is why the crowds ran to him.
Too often it is a different story today. Many run from the church, and with good reason. They have experienced judgment, condemnation, hypocrisy, callousness, and indifference. Instead of being a place of healing they have seen many in the Church shoot their wounded.
It’s so heart wrenching because when the Church looks like Jesus there is nothing more beautiful. When we mar that picture it’s devastating. Destroying something that is ugly is painless and sometimes even pleasant. The same cannot be said about something, like the Church, that is beautiful. When she is torn apart it is awful to watch and brutal to endure.
It is much worse to see a magnificent stained glass window in an ancient church building shattered than to see a dilapidated, fragmented window in an old barn fall out of its once secure position, isn't it?
There was a time when I wanted to point at the Church as a group of indifferent, hypocritical, two-faced jerks. I wanted to walk away from it altogether and never have anything to do with it again. But something kept me close.
That something was seeing and experiencing the love of Jesus through his people, which is the true beauty of Church. As deep and real as my pain was - the love and grace I have seen and been shown far outweighs the pain. In God’s economy, a little beauty is far greater than massive amounts of ugly.
This perspective has helped me work through my own pain, and given me great hope in the Church. It’s helped me to see that she is beautiful. Now, when I see the things that are not right I still run, but not away from the church.
I run to God. I want him to remind me of how beautiful his Church is. I want to ask his forgiveness for the thing I do and others have done to make her ugly. I want to hear him tell me that when the Church is ugly it hurts him too. And then, I find myself running back to the Church.
For it’s in those places of pain, hurt, and disillusionment that healing, wholeness and hope grow. And when that happens I get to see, once again, how beautiful she really is.