lifeasmission
exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same
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Archive of "justice" Category
Jay McKinley is My Hero
Because in a way I have never experienced, his love for those he has never met and his commitment to following Jesus brings me to my knees.
I found this story through my friend Jason, but he got it from the blog of Ben Witherington.
You really need to read ben’s full post, but the long and short of it is that Jay has been positively destroyed by the mass genocide in the Dafur region of the Sudan (almost half a million innocent peple have been slaughtered). In non-violent protest Jay moved from his home in PA to live on the street outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington DC. He has also been fasting for longer than Jesus did. He is in poor health and stands alone outside the embassy praying that others will take notice and be moved to action.
I am hoping to contribute in some small measure to Jay and his cause. This truly is a matter for all Christians everywhere over which to weep and, more importantly act.
PLEASE READ JAY’S STORY, TELL OTHERS, PRAY WITH OTHERS, AND ASK GOD HOW YOU MIGHT JOIN JAY IN BRINGING RELIEF TO A PEOPLE BEING EXTERMINATED.
So Very Awful, but…
This too shall be made right…
when the old order passes away and all things are made new.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Derek Webb: The Ringing Bell
When I first came across the album Mockingbird, Derek Webb instantly became one of my favorite musicians. At the beginning of May he will be releasing a new album, The Ringing Bell. You can pre-order it now and receive an instand download of the cd, which I would highly reccommend. I wanted to offer a sample in hopes that you’ll be inclined to support him as an artist as well as to give you a glimpse into the sort of things which are gripping my heart currently. Here ya go, have a listen, no stealing!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Human Trafficing :: Global Awareness :: Missional Church
Yesterday marked the 200th anniversary of the end of the mid-Atlantic slave trade on the UK end of things. This was largely on account of the efforts of William Wimberforce. If you haven’t already, you really should see Amazing Grace, a movie about William Wilberforce and his efforts.
Sadly, despite the legal abolition of slavery throughout the world, there are still as estimated 27 million slaves in the world today, resulting in a 30 billion dollar a year industry. In order to raise awareness of this awful state of affairs, One Voice rallies were help all over the world today. Some friends and I attended one of these rallies at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA this afternoon.We had the opportunity to view a documentary based on the book, Not for Sale, which was both infomative, in that it exposed viewers to the gravity and intracisies of the problem, and encouraging, in that it chronicled the efforts of various agencies around the world. We were also able to attend a seminar which dealt with local opportunities to get involved.
I could say a lot about the problem of human trafficing itself, but I wanted to mention something broader.
That our would is increasingly becoming a global village, where international issues, policies, and problems are locally accesible and relevant, has implications for the missional vocation of the church. We have an increasing responsibility not only to cultivate communities of global awareness, but an even more important responsibility to imagine and create opportunities for people to become globally involved. Issues like human trafficing are not only our concern becasue of their relationship to the idea of justice, but perhaps even more poignantly, because as American Christians, our standard of living, demands, and the exportation of our ideals all bear guilt for many of the ills in the world.
We desperately need church communities who operate out of a missio Dei sort of vision, which will compel us to be globally aware, conscientious, and involved.
The Oppression of Suburban Youth
I had the chance recently to contribute an article to Fuller’s Center for Youth and Family Ministry e-journal. The title of it is, The Other Side of “At-Risk”: Freeing Youth from Suburban Oppression. It was really fun to write and helped me make some important connections between the the years I have spent sharing life with teenagers in the context of youth ministry and the education I have been receiving at Fuller the past few years. There’s a lot more to be said on this issue than could be included in this article, but if you read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts and keep the conversation going. Also, I should say that it’s an honor to have an article included alondside people like Chap Clark, Kara Powell, and Brad Griffin whose articles are more than worth your time as well.You can see all the articles in this month’s e-journal here.
Trying to Live John 17:21
Ok, I have had a chance to cool down and here’s the deal. I kinda feel bad for lashing out like I did, but not totally. A blogging buddy of mine, Todd Hiestand, recently posted a sermon he delivered. In that sermon he talked about how he has felt convicted over talking badly about other Christians whose styles and methods are an embarrassment to him. His point was that Jesus imagined a world that would be convinced that the Father was in Him on account of the unity of his followers (John 17:21). That should be more than enough reason for us to be weary of doing anything that could hinder that project. So, in that regard, I want to apologize for the harsh way I criticized Mark Driscoll. He is a brother in Christ, he loves Jesus, and is doing his best to live a life that honors his commitment to God and others. In all this we stand united. Truth be told, Mark has some great insights and I even include one of his messages on my resource page.
But true love does not pass over or dismiss differences. Jesus criticized his disciples, Paul never shied away from calling a spade a spade, and Jesus also gave the church the responsibility of binding and loosing, the responsibility of discerning. And though I love Mark and stand united with him in what I said before, I am also embarrassed by some of the things he says, more often, by the way that he says them.
If anyone wants to talk more specifically about what it was that set me off I am open to doing that, but I would rather do it in person, over the phone, or via email. As I am more concerned about presenting a united front than I am with criticizing, I think that would be the wiser way to deal with it.
Sorry Mark, God bless you in your life and ministry. I pray that over and above what I said before, we can stand united in our effort to remain humble in our approach to knowing God and in dealing with others.
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