lifeasmission
exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same
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Archive for November, 2008
Assaulted by Joy
I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Assaulted by Joy: The Redemption of a Cynic by Stephen W. Simpson from Zondervan a number of weeks ago. I didn’t have a chance to read it right away, but managed to finish the entire book in two sittings between yesterday and today.
My first experience with Steve Simpson came by way of an evening discussion he led at Fuller entitled, Sex in the Seminary. I remember being impressed with him then and since I have been accused of being a cynic myself once or twice, I was really looking forward to seeing what Steve had to say on the subject. The book is essentially the story of his life. It turns out that a proclivity toward cynicism is only the beginning of what I have in common with the author. As he told stories about his conservative evangelical upbringing, the ways in which he wrestled with his faith amidst peer relationships, his first big break-up, the death of a close friend, and his struggles with student ministry, I found myself nodding and smiling on account of how perfectly I could relate. Then it came even closer to home. Steve went to Fuller. We ate at the same restaurants, felt the same pressures, asked the same questions, and shared many of the same experiences. We found a certain sort of spiritual healing through the same Mennonite community and we even both had roommates named Ryan that became great friends!
But that is where our stories diverge and where Steve’s story gets most interesting. After briefly telling the story of how he met and married his wife, he moves quickly into the tales of finding out that they were going to have quadruplets, how they wrestled with that reality, and all that followed. He is incredibly transparent as he describes the toll that the pregnancy and birth of 4 kids took on him, his wife, and their marriage. I am not married and I don’t have any children, let alone quadruplets, but Steve writes in a way that makes it easy for the reader to say, “Yeah, I can feel that.”
In the introduction of the book, Steve writes,
God gave me plenty of opportunities to pursue joy, but cynicism always felt safer. So, instead of offering me joy, he assaulted me with it.
Certainly the assault the author speaks of has primarily to do with his children, but it’s more than this. There is a paradoxical way in which the level of joy we experience in life relates to the pain and suffering we wade through on the way and this is where Steve’s book is most valuable – in describing his journey through pain only to be assaulted by joy.
If you tend toward cynicism like me, or if you are looking for ressurance that you’re not the only who feels overwhelmed by life sometimes, I’d strongly encourage you to pick up this book.
Advent Conspiracy
I am really proud to be part of a church that is participating in Advent Conspiracy this holiday season. We have been talking and praying as a community about rethinking gift giving, generosity, and remembering the poor. Here’s a short promo video for the movement.
And here’s something a few folks from Living Hope put together for our community.
Especially in light of tragedies like this, I think scaling back our spending and consumption and asking God to help us remember the poor and oppressed is perhaps the best possible way us to celebrate the advent of the Savior of the world.Putting the Black in “Black Friday”
A physical example of an all too pervasive spiritual reality. Our need for stuff is literally killing us…
and others.
What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable
Your thoughts?
Young Adult Picnic
This is about a month old, but better late than never right?
At the end of October one of the small groups at Living Hope, comprised mainly of young adults, hosted a picnic at a local park as a way for other young adults to make some connections. It was a really fun afternoon consisting of game playing, chili eating, and much conversing.
The event was significant for at least two main reasons. First, it was a great example of the people of the church (as opposed to merely church staff) taking responsibility and initiative for ministering to others. Second, the event succeeded in a number of these new young adults committing to meet for a number of weeks to discuss issues of life and faith as well as to pray with and for one another with a view toward connecting to a more permanent small group.
I was really excited about the event and look forward to helping people and groups host lots more stuff like this in the future. Here’s a little slide show of great pictures that Brian took.
Malone Thanksgiving 2008
About 10 years ago some friends started a tradition of gathering the Saturday before Thanksgiving to cook a meal together, play football, and to share with each other all that we were thankful for from the previous year. This tradition has become a linchpin in the life of our community of friends.
More than simply attending, it is not uncommon for us as a group to do everything in our power to help others find a way to to be there to share in the day. There is nothing magic about the day, but I do believe that there is something sacred about it. It is perhaps the day of the year that I look most forward to.
Yearly, this community continues to grow. Many people in our community are in the season of life where babies are coming into the picture. These little ones add an incredible dimension to our community. We have had conversations in the past about raising kids together and it was really cool to listen to Caris, the oldest kid in the group (almost 4), refer to all these people as “uncle” and “aunt.”
My friends Ryan and Heather have new born twins and I would venture to say that the rest of us cared for them more during the day – holding them, changing them, feeding them, and attending to their cries, than Heather and Ryan. They are awesome parents, it’s got nothing to do with that, but everything to do with the fact that for us as a community there is no aspect of life that is not shared.
As always, the day of feasting on food and fellowship was followed up by a big ol slumber party back in Canton at a couple different houses. The event on Saturday is special enough in and of itself, but some of my favorite memories are created after as we play games, continue to share meals, have coffee, share stories, and visit local favorite spots. Man, I am already ready for Thanksgiving ’09!
Enjoy some pictures!
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