• Archive of "decisions" Category

    Kingdom Stimulation

    July 24, 2008 // 5 Comments »

    I received my Economic Stimulus Payment the other day and wondered what I would do with it.  As I thought and prayed, I decided to join the ranks of those who called the whole premise of the program into question.

    Feel free to accuse me for oversimplifying things if you want, but bottom line, the whole point of the Economic Stimulus Payments that virtually everyone received this year, was singular, “The economy is hurting, so please go buy stuff.”

    Sadly, this advice just doesn’t square with those of us who live in a new reality under the Kingship of a God who says, “a man’s life does not consists in the abundance of his possessions” or whose dream for people is to live lives of sacrifice, sharing, generosity, and stewardship.

    God’s economics fly in the face of the dominant American addiction to consumerism illustrated perfectly both by the opening line of a recent credit card advertisement, “We are a nation of consumers….and there’s nothing wrong with that.” (ht: Grete), as well as our President’s advice to the country after the 9/11 attacks of, “Go shopping.”

    So, 1/2 my check went to Geronime, a woman in Benin, Africa, a fruit vendor through Kiva – a group (you definitely need to check out) that makes micro-loans to “entrepeneurs in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty,” and the other 1/2 went to pay down debt.  Guess I will just have to go without that gizmo, gadget, or do-dad that I probably needed sooooo badly.

    Posted in capitalism, consumerism, decisions, God, money

    A Place to Lay My Head

    July 18, 2008 // 2 Comments »

    After 4 months of getting to know Memphis, living with various people and in various places, and living out of a suit case, I have found a place to hang my hat – at least for the next year.

    front of house
    here for more pictures (not my stuff in the house)

    Here’s what metropolitan Memphis looks like

    Downtown Memphis is actually to the west of “the loop” between the Mississippi River and 240.  Inside the loop is generally referred to as midtown, though it has more specific designations in certain parts.  To the east of the the loop is Germantown, Cordova, and Collierville.  Piperton, where our church community has purchased land for some future use is a little more east than Collierville.  I considered living in virtually all of these places.

    Living subversively in a suburban context is something I care deeply about and feel like a good portion of my life will probably go to, but for a smattering of reasons, it doesn’t seem that now is the season for that. I mentioned a slew of factors in the decision making process in my post about being scared to live in the suburbs and I don’t really think that any decision I would have made would have been THE right decision, but here’s why I am pretty excited about this place.

    1) Location.  This house puts me within walking distance (less than 1/2 of a mile) of coffee shops, restaurants, shopping, the largest park in the city, the playhouse, and the only theater I am aware of in Memphis that shows Indy films.  Here’s a little map I started to put together of all the stuff I can walk to easily.  There’s a ton more that is easily within biking distance (1-3 miles) such as the YMCA where I’ll work out and my bank.

    2) Set-up.  The house is perfectly set-up to invite others to explore intentional community.  There are 3 huge bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms on the 1st floor as well as a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment with its own kitchen and a separate entrance on top.

    3) Neighborhood.  The neighborhood is both racially and socio-economically diverse and by virtue of living here I will be part of the “Tucker-Jefferson Neighborhood Association,” an active group which aims “to maintain and improve the dignity and integrity of the residences and businesses in the area, to preserve the diversity of the area, to insure orderly an compatible land use in the area, to encourage homeowners living in the area to improve their homes, and to work together on problems and issues of certain concern.”

    4) Opportunity.  Living Hope is a primarily white, affluent, suburban church that is asking God how we might engage and be a blessing to urban Memphis as well as to where we are.  Having more people move into urban parts of the city will inevitably be a big part of that.

    I am truly grateful to have found this place and am really looking forward to having a context to engage on a more constant basis.

    Posted in decisions, intentional community, memphis, suburban, urban

    Truth Be Told, I am Scared to Death to Live in the Suburbs

    July 12, 2008 // 6 Comments »

    Update: Just after I posted this, I happened to come across a few relevant posts on this subject.  Be sure to check out David Fitch’s – “The Middle In: The Unique Missional Opportunity,” and Joe Thorn’s, “I Love the Suburbs” on a brand new blog about the gospel in the suburban context, SubText.

    I hear people talk quite frequently about the “dangers of the city” and how unsafe certain parts of town are.  But if I were being honest, I would tell you that I am far more scared to live in the suburbs than I am to live virtually anywhere else.

    By design, suburbs are places of isolation, disconnection, and compartmentalization.  Their very existence is predicated on cultural values of materialism, consumerism , and individualism.  All of this makes it much harder (not impossible mind you) to follow the way of Jesus – a way of simplicity and interconnectedness with those on the margins of society.

    I bring this up because I will very soon need to decide on a more permanent place to live.  I have been looking in mid-town which is more urban, racially mixed, threatened by crime and violence, accessible to pedestrians, affordable, and artistic.  All of this most naturally appeals to me.

    But, I have also been looking in the Germantown/Collierville area which is suburban, predominantly white, relatively free of crime and violence, necessitates a car to go anywhere, more expensive, and culturally bland.

    Complicating these basic dynamics are factors such as these…

    – most of the folks at Living Hope are suburban people thus I feel I should live among them

    – I am a young adult pastor and mid-town is more attractive to young adults

    – we gave bought land and are discussing the potential of building a gathering place on it even further east from urban Memphis in Piperton

    – the idea of our church planting or having more of a presence in urban Memphis is something we are discussing

    – currently, the people I am aiming to really share life with live predominantly in suburban Memphis

    – it maybe the case that more of our folks would head toward mid-town if a few more folks blazed that trail

    … and I could probably list more.  I have been basically paralyzed by this decision of where to live and why.  Maybe I can just rest in the fact that no matter what, I am looking to rent and not buy, which ties me down probably for a year at the most. On top of this, where ever I wind up, I am seeking to be there with the express purpose of taking Jesus’ command to love my neighbors literally and seriously.  So, whether in mid-town or the burbs, I am sure there will be folks who are hurting and in need, and I find some solace in the primacy of this calling.

    So there ya have it – with all the transparency I can muster, the suburbs scare me.  I would much rather live in a place where I could be shot or robbed than in a place that has the potential to chip away at my soul and spiritual sensibilities every so slowly and subtlety.  I welcome your thoughts.

    Posted in consumerism, culture, decisions, individualism, living hope, memphis, spiritual formation, suburban, urban

    Riches in Poverty

    July 10, 2008 // 1 Comment »

    If I had to guess, I’d say that I’ll be posting on “the scandalous impracticality of all that Jesus stood for” really soon as I can’t seem to stop thinking about it.

    As a prelude to that though, I wanted to point to a message Gib offered to the Living Hope community this past Sunday when I was away, “Riches in Poverty.”  Probably my favorite line, “Every time currency changes hands, I am making a spiritual decision.”  How different our lives would be, how different our very understanding on what it means to be a gospel people if we embraced and lived out this Kingdom truth!

    Posted in decisions, kingdom, living hope, money

    29 Changes

    March 12, 2008 // 1 Comment »

    I turned 29 this past Sunday. I had the opportunity to visit my family in California right at the end of February and got to celebrate with them. Then, this past week my brother Alex came in from NYC to see me, or maybe it had something to do with his girlfriend down in Columbus, but either way I got to spend some time with him and my mom. Then, my friends had a little birthday/going-away gathering last Friday night. “Going away?” you ask. Yes.

    29 marks probably the most significant new season of life to date. A newer missional community from down in Memphis contacted a friend and professor from out at Fuller, Ryan Bolger, looking for someone to join their team. Ryan connected us, and to skip over some of the pretty fun, but lengthy details, they invited me to join them as a young adult pastor. Not really thinking that I wanted to re-enter the world of paid church ministry, and certainly having no real ambitions to move to the South, I didn’t really think that much of it initially. But, as we started having conversations and then visits, I was overwhelmed by what it seemed like God was doing amongst this community. Living Hope is the sort of church community that I would move merely to be a part of. That I’ll get to do full-time what I midst want to do anyway – relational discipleship and community formation amongst young adults – is really just a pretty awesome bonus. Though there’s definitely a flood of emotions to wade through in something like this, mainly what I feel is a sense of excitement and anticipation.

    The other big news is that I apparently get to teach an online class with Fuller! I am working right now on writing up the course – The Emerging Church in the 21st Century and it’s scheduled to run this summer. I have had the opportunity to TA a whole slew of courses, but this will be my first crack at being an instructor (that title doesn’t scare me as much as – gulp – professor!). I had the opportunity to take this course with Dr. Eddie Gibbs, and then worked through a lot of the material with Ryan. With so much discussion happening about the emerging church and the group Emergent, it should prove to be a pretty interesting experience.

    I think that’s pretty much all the big stuff. I am still trying to nail down something with my house and making all the moving arrangements, but that stuff will all sort itself out I guess.

    So, thus begins year 29!

    Posted in birthday, christendom, community, decisions, discipleship, Fuller Seminary, living hope, spiritual formation, young adults

    Prophetic Speaking — Prophetic Action

    January 22, 2008 // 6 Comments »

    A friend posted this quote this morning and it got me thinking…

    Prophets yell because their hearts are on fire.  They scream at the world trying to wake us up.  They can’t help it  After all, God is in their throats.

    Steven James

    Having felt something of a prophetic bent in the way God has wired/gifted me, I was struck by the way, at times, I have decided to squelch this fire in my throat for the sake of sustaining relationships and trying to “be more loving” (as if not boldly proclaiming the message God has implanted in you could ever be loving??).

    But as God has used prophets, God has never just given they fiery words to say, God has given them graphic symbols to display – walking around naked to display the shamefulness of God’s people, wearing an ox yoke to symbolize the burden God’s people were placing on others, marrying a prostitute as a way to convey God’s love of Israel the whore, and so on.

    Jesus was a prophet too.  He came with a fiery (anti-empire) message in his throat and it got him killed.  He embodied a message as well, but not primarily one of judgment.  Rather, he embodied the message of the Kingdom of God come to earth.  He healed the sick, cast out demons, restored people to community and fellowship, sought to free people from the burden of wealth, and practiced radical inclusion and forgiveness.  These are not nice or quaint ideals or ways to exist, they are God’s salvation embodied.

    Here’s what I know.  God uses prophetic voices as a means to correct and edify the body of Christ.  I also know that it’s that very church which is most resistant to their message, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how long I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Jesus – MT. 23:37).

    Talk about your all time Catch-22′s.  So, this is my prayer for myself and those like me – looking to Jesus as our example, may God give us the grace to live out our calling with no regard for our own security and safety.  And for the people of God: Father, may you cause us to be open and attentive to your correction and calling.  May we, with Jesus, be willing to lay aside our rights and find our life in dying to ourselves.

    Posted in blogging, church, community, decisions, friends, God, Jesus, kingdom, prayer, prophets

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