txting “lol”…..or using a smiley face…it’s so obnoxious sometimes.

Who doesn’t love a well played “that’s what she said” joke….

Recent Picture of Me

15 Interesting Facts:

1. I’m terrified of Chickens and other Foul.

2. I have on several occasions had to convince a teen not to cut herself.

3. I’m a bleeding heart philanthropist.

4. The Kindergarden Cop is one of my favorite movies.

5. I have a thing for older men.

6. I’m a terrible liar.

7. I become obsessed with things I’m not good at until I can master them (recent obsession include but are not limited to: sudoku, call of duty, halo, pool, palindromes etc.)

8. I’ve never had anyone close to me die.

9. I’ve got a thing for lips like sofas.

10. Sometimes, I get the urge to paint murals in my house and i actually end up doing it, however i rarely finish in a timely manner.

11. My neighbor mows our front yard.

12. I’m writing a children’s book.

13. I used to be an amateur magician.

14. I’ve been complemented multiple times on my ability to hold a glass of beer and dance without spilling it.

15. I was awarded Athlete of the Year at my Community College and got Scholar Athlete of the Year for all of San Diego County.

day 1- recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you and your friends
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you’ve been
day 6- favorite super hero and why
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you’re proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11- another picture of you and your friends
day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one
day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- another picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them
day 20- someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future
day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave for a lot
day 24- a letter to your parents
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- what do you think about your friends
day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge
day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?
day 29- in this past month, what have you learned
day 30- your favorite song

Being a people dedicated to breaking the yolk of oppression, healing the sick, taking care of the poor, the marginalized, the widowed, and the fatherless, our call is one of great difficulty. These things are so much easier in theory than in practice. We like the idea of fighting injustice, but really we are far too comfortable in our pews. I suppose unless we are out there to truly experience the need, to hear the cry of the poor and the oppressed, we cannot see the utter and simple truth in Pastor Harvey Carey’s rebuke (as quoted by my homeboy TC) that, “We are like a football team that huddles, huddles some more, huddles for a whole hour on end without ever breaking the huddle to play the game. Our churches huddle on Sunday, huddle at midweek, never play the game. “God has called us to be a people who break from the huddle.” Dang, talk about calling us out on our b.s. And what is our first response to this accusation? We feel the urgency to defend our “huddling”. That should tell us that Harvey just hit us with a nugget of truth. We can say all we want that we are doing well and this may be true in part, but if we are honest with ourselves, it is undeniable that we aren’t doing enough.

 “Strictly speaking, one ought to say that the church is always in a state of crisis and that its greatest shortcoming is that it is only occasionally aware of it.” (David Bosh.) We are in a state of crisis. The Church has lost much of its clout with society. God is calling us to a new norm and the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against us. We have centuries of tradition telling us how to do church, what it should look like, how to evaluate its “effectiveness.” In his book The Prince, Machiavelli states that, “Nothing is more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than achieving a new order of things.” Whew, such truth! The task is not to attract people to our churches. That is the formula handed down to us by tradition; that simply does not work anymore. Our task and our call is to meet people where they are at just as Christ did, and very few if any, can be found inside the walls of our churches.

I can’t say that I have clarity as to what this all looks like for the church; but, what is clear is that there is a movement at hand. We have the choice to participate in this movement or cling onto that which we’ve always known, that which has become a product to be consumed. A product (the Church) that’s aim, very often unconsciously, is to provide us with a sense of identity, purpose, meaning and community. (Which is not to say that those things are bad, but rather they are a byproduct of living life missionally not the purpose of Church.)

I cannot help but think of the Parable of the Talents. With our compulsion to “huddle,” are we any different than the servant who buried his master’s talents in the ground?

With that said, the “Church” that I am speaking of is as Michael Frost puts it, the church that has become a, “static religious institution with its attendant structures, priesthood and sacraments.” Rather than the dynamic, revolutionary, social and spiritual movement it was at its birth. I am talking about the Suburban Church that, “has become both a consumable and a service provider, a vendor of religious goods and services.” (Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways) This is the church that misses the point.  This is the church that will be the target of my rants as I continue to do this life with Christ and figure out what it looks like to live my life as a parable.

(Royal Family Kids camp is a one-week residential summer camp for neglected and abused children ages 7 to 11. Most of the time a 6 or 12 year old sneaks in there but frankly we’d keep them forever if we could.)

I proceed to Starbucks and settle into my regular place. As I cozy up with my coffee I find myself fighting back tears. Anger wells up inside of me. I feel like a little kid throwing angry punches while my older sibling holds me away with the palm of his hand on my forehead.

(I tried really hard in writing this to write about all of the amazing things that took place this week at camp. There are those who did and if I can I would like to include them in this blog. However, each time I sat down to write about it, I couldn’t write about the warm positive feelings I experienced because they were overshadowed by a great deal of frustration)

I am angry at the Church for their ignorant indifference towards this ministry. I am wrong about a lot of things but this I know for certain: When it is easier for me to get my non Christian friends to donate their time, their money and their thoughts to this cause, we have a problem. The Church has dropped the ball. When I am on a trash walk and the pastor of the Church comes out to ask if we can make sure to get the street next to his church, devoid of gratitude, The Church has dropped the ball.

There is more to be said, and believe me it will be said but this is all I could write at this time. So I leave you with this: We may never become the majority or the standard but of this be certain, we will always be the thorn in your side.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” St. Augustine

Dear Self,

Happy Birthday.

I pray that you never lose hope. Hold fast to the belief that things can be better, that the world can be better. There are those who will tell you that these things simply cannot be done. They will try to package their pessimism as “realism” and claim wisdom. But be weary, their agedly wisdom is counterfeit and their capacity to hope boldy has been choked out by the fallacious “real world.” When someone tries to tell you that your efforts are foolish and unrealistic, I pray that you will respond with the same passionate defiance as the little boy with the starfish (http://www.starrbrite.com/starfish.html)

Stick close to those around you who, with their age, have not only grown wise but also increased their capacity for audacious idealism. Continue to believe fervently, as our good friend MLK did, that, “…people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and justice for their spirits….that what self-centered [people] have torn down, other-centered [people] can build up.”

Stick it to the man. Dream big and act often. Love liberally and spontaneously. Reconciliation is possible, peace is possible, justice is possible, the elimination of poverty is possible. Those who say otherwise are heretics and to which faith they belong is uncertain. Our God is one of audacious and attainable idealism.

Keep it Real. Much Love,
Yours Truly.

Now galvanized by injustice, do right!
Lift the oppressive vail that curbs the light;
Remove animosity for the poor,
As they beg for your cash outside the store;
Seek out those marginalized and oppressed,
Plead the case of the widow and fatherless;
Dine with the “dirty”, the “wicked”, the “stained”
Those labeled and ostracized by the vain.
Do for these, that which for us has been done,
For it’s in his likeness we’ve been made one.

“May God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we really can make a difference in this world, so that we are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.”