Where is God not? Responding to the Charleston church shooting

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

Even as we grieve the horrific violence in Charleston, a perusal of the homepage of local ABC affiliate Action News shows at least two local shootings and a man burned alive inside a bus.

As a Christian, I understand that the role of believers is to emulate Jesus and to come alongside those who suffer, those who mourn. However, even before the facts are confirmed, before the victim's names are released, before we have any chance to sort through the wreckage of tragedy and violence, my fear is that people of faith are lining up to be on the "winning" side.

I think this is wrong and a misrepresentation of the way of the cross. The good news of the Gospel is not about winning or being right about gun control, hate crimes, American politics or the pathology of violent criminals. The good news of the Gospel is not about assigning blame or piecing together infallible arguments. The good news of the Gospel is not about defending a position against an onslaught of bad news.

When tragedy strikes, many of us ask the very human question "Where is God?" We wonder how a loving, generous God could allow evil to seemingly triumph. Answers to this question don't come easily. They are ancient and mysterious questions.

Perhaps an easier question to answer is: Where is God not? God is not sitting behind a CEO-sized executive desk going "See, I told you so. If the church members were armed this maniac could have been stopped." God is not preparing his comments to be broadcast globally so he can rally support behind his cause. God is not with the winners. In God's love economy, or kingdom, he is with those who have lost. He comforts those who mourn, he joins in the suffering of those who suffer. And he calls us to do the same.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'

Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'

the overdubs - Blood Test ep

Faith and Football podcast

Faith and Football is my latest media project as part of my work at Northpark and The Way On Campus. Curtis and I have set out to make a show that we are proud of. Eventually it will reach that lofty goal.

Color Bears - Joy To The World

What can we learn from the MIchael Brown Tragedy?

In America, there is a persistent and false cultural assumption that is rarely spoken but widely believed.

Many people believe that we get what we deserve, economically, socially and vocationally. The idea is that if you are poor, you should work harder and be a better (moral) person. If you are affluent, then you must be working hard and be a good, worthy individual.

Nothing could be further from the truth. And the worst part is that many of the people in our churches buy into this worldview, maybe only half-knowingly, but buy it they do. Grace for salvation and all of the material and familial blessings we receive are nothing but a gift. But somehow, we often cannot see that we do not deserve what we have.

Beyond the misunderstanding of why people are poor in the first place, there is an even greater evil.

Those who profit from and intentionally marginalize the needy. There are whole industries run by people, ranging from payday lenders to slumlords to voter suppressors who have put their collective feet on the throat of the poor.

And our system of justice is complicit in the situation as it seems to be slanted towards protecting those who have all the resources and power while ignoring those who find themselves left out of the spoils.

I can't pretend to understand/comprehend the rage that leads to our current situation surrounding the tragic death of unarmed teen Michael Brown. As a believer in non-violence, I grieve the actions of a few criminals souring what could be powerful and peaceful protests.

But I think that we must listen to our brothers and sisters who are speaking out. We should pay attention to the millions of folks who are fed up with a system of "justice" that is clearly bent.

What is our response to racism?

In the midst of all this Donald Sterling hullabaloo, let's not forget that racism and oppression exist in the dark and are rarely obvious. 

Before we congratulate ourselves on being united by blatant bigotry, we should each examine ourselves for subtle prejudice and hatred. 

Love is a hard road to walk and expressing outrage at hate speech is only one tiny inch of the journey. May we not give up on walking it. #pray4America #peacemakers

Noah

Over at TheWayOnCampus.com, Curtis and I have been putting out a regular podcast where we discuss scripture, culture, sports, music and other entertainment happenings.


Download | Duration: 00:25:26

In the latest episode, we share our thoughts on the big-budget epic telling of the Noah story, directed by Darren Aronofsky. Check it out and feel free to chime in via the comment section! Also, one of my projects this summer is exploring the ancient discipline of haiku poetry and then using it to critique films because, hey, who has time to read a paragraph these days?

Wicked washed away

Fierce flood disaster movie 

Watchers named Treebeard?

Color Bears - Hold On

Rebekah Townsend - In The Sun

God is in the slums

A couple days ago, I spent half a day with a friend of mine, Dr. Nzash Lumeya, who is a missionary to Fresno. Originally from The Congo, Nzash studied in France, got a doctorate from Fuller Seminary and somehow found himself ministering among the poorest people in our city. As he spent half a day taking us around the neighborhoods he serves, I was struck by the longevity of this humble man and his impact on families. For over 7 years, he has been selflessly reaching out to those for whom he might be the closest thing to "church" they will ever see, touch, or hear.

One thing he said to me I have not been able to shake.

"When we help people directly, through meeting the needs of the poor, then God's love for them goes from speculation to reality."

Most people have an idea of what they think church is about, who they think Jesus is. Many times this impression is overwhelmingly negative. What I heard from Nzash is this: when we put tangible action ahead of rhetoric then people get to see who God's followers are and hopefully, what He is really like.

This whole business of trying to be faithful to the character of God within the confines of organized religion can sometimes be incredibly discouraging. And yet, where challenges persist, innovations are always possible. Recently, I was at a District Advisory Committee meeting for Clovis Unified School District and we were shown this inspiring story.



And so we press on to find ways to bring the solution into contact with the people who need it. Since we need the solution (Jesus) ourselves, it shouldn't be hard to share with others. As long as we are looking in the right places.

“God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.”― Bono

#HumanRights and Blog Action Day 2013

I haven't written too many blog entries this year. But as I heard about this year's topic for Blog Action Day, I knew that I had to chime in about #HumanRights. The UN's Declaration of Human Rights is a document that I have studied since college and a vital step forward for millions, even billions of people--if and only if, governments and the people of the world agree to do something about it.

While far from a perfect grassroots organization, our efforts here in Fresno/Clovis to shine a light on people who are living in extreme poverty, represents to me a very local and human response to making sure that people, especially women and children DO NOT DIE JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE BORN IN THE WRONG PART OF THE WORLD.

So today, one day late for #BAD2013 I might add, I am thankful for all the volunteers and supporters of ONE. I am thankful to Congressman Devin Nunes office for consistently listening to our concerns and advocacy and building towards Clovis/Tulare CA 22 becoming a voice for the global poor.

In the last several years we have signed up over 1,000 new ONE members through outreach events, concerts and personal sharing. Nearly every basic human right is threatened by extreme poverty and each of us can use our voice for those don't have one!

Meza Films project

This past spring, I had the privilege of being profiled by a local photographer and filmmaker, Enrique Meza, for a project called "Who Cares?"

Enrique is not only a very talented artist, but he is committed to showcasing and supporting a more positive and accurate view of the people and communities that make up Fresno.

View the whole profile here.

Faith Over Fear

A talk I gave recently that focuses on our response when we encounter situations that seem hopeless.

How do we have faith when we only feel fear?
Faith Over Fear from Northpark Community Church on Vimeo.

10 Favorite Albums of 2012

2012 Top Ten Albums in 140 characters each

10. Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror: surprised by how much I enjoyed outrageously abrasive production/infectious melodies. Over. The. Top.

9. Craig Finn - Clear Heart Full Eyes: All my downtime makes me nervous, Finn says. Somehow I get that. Pure gut-punch stories via Nashville.

8. The Jealous Sound - A Gentle Reminder: gently reminding us how needed Blair's heartbroken lyricism is. Heard it before? Yes. Still vital? Yes!

7. Kathleen Edwards - Voyaeur: Sounds like spring in the dead of winter. Folksy, modern, tragicomic songs delivered by veteran songstress.

6. From Indian Lakes - Able Bodies: Making Central Cal proud with mathpop time-shifts, sharp-edged guitars, AND singable, intelligent songs.

5. Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is An Animal: many instruments, voices make a pleasant racket...should sound plastic but instead is sublime.

4. Japandroids - Celebration Rock. If crafting fuzzy, stadium-sized, 3XL anthems is so easy, ask yourself this: Why am I not in the Spin Top 50?

3. The Killers - Battle Born: Brandon Flowers is gifted. Ambitious, soaring, passion-pop songs that tell Our Story, circa '12. Not trendy but timeless.

2. The Walkmen - Heaven: indie music for grownups...family vacations, storytime, and bittersweet love (the only kind). And it sounds amazing.

1. Hammock - Departure Songs: post-rock masterwork. Sprawling, densely layered double album, sounds like planets spiraling over fiscal cliff.

Homily

Love is a gift from God.

A chemical, spiritual, burst of emotion that is capable of changing our hearts and minds.

Love catapults us into a life that we would otherwise not be capable of living.

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams," wrote the gifted philosopher Dr. Seuss.

But love is about more than feelings.

Love is also about choices.

John Lennon famously said "All You Need is Love" but I think that can only be true if we are talking about Love that finds form in right and virtuous action.

Our culture tends to be a little flippant about love.

I love these shoes. I love my iPhone 5. I love burritos. That's not what love is.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

And how did Christ love the church, how did Christ love all of humanity?

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16 NIV)

Jesus showed us love, not as a concept or a feeling but as an action.

He showed us Love IN Action.

Love is sacrificially giving up one's rights, dreams, preferences, ambitions and natural selfishness.

When two people become one, it only works when we prefer the other person over ourselves.

Love is about faithfulness, commitment and friendship.

Some of you are fortunate to have parents who love each other, who are friends, who embody the values of commitment and dedication that are behind every successful marriage.

In a world where we are told to do what feels good and what makes us happy, they have chosen to be faithful. They have chosen commitment. And finally, they have chosen to be friends.

There is a Friedrich Nietzsche quote on friendship and marriage, “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”

The best advice I could give today, is after you've built the right foundation and made the most holy of commitments, is to continue to be friends for the rest of your lives.

That's when the pain, the struggle, the challenges transform into the joy, the fun, and the glory.

New single "Bleak House" by the overdubs

Latter Days by Rebekah Townsend

I am my wife's biggest fan, that's why I decided to try and do her performance of Over The Rhine's heartbreaking masterpiece "Latter Days" justice by creating a music video from footage on my hard drive. We recorded this song live in our living room.

ONE Summit Video

Here's a video from the time I spent in Washington DC last month. Find out more about how you can make a difference at ONE.org.

ONE Power Summit 2012

 

 

Along with over 150 ONE volunteers, last week I traveled from Fresno, CA to our nation's capital for this year's ONE Power Summit. There, we had the privilege of learning from leading voices on extreme poverty and an opportunity to collaborate with other activists to produce catalytic action on behalf of the world's poorest people.

Throughout the conference, I was consistently motivated through thoughtful presentations on policy, advocacy and communications. On Monday afternoon, we heard from Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to The President of the United States and Senior Director, National Security Council. Smith spoke about the administration's commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS, eliminating preventable child deaths and ensuring food security for the world's poorest people. Particularly paying attention to the president's Feed The Future initiative, she said "It's our hope that Feed The Future will last for many, many years until the job's done." She thanked ONE for continuing to let the White House know that preserving funding for life saving programs must remain a priority.

The keynote address was delivered by H.E. Ebrahim Rasool, Ambassador of South Africa to the United States. Rasool spoke about the important role that activists, like all of ONE's membership, play in our current global community. "Activists have the ability to imagine a future that hasn't yet arrived," he said. Recalling firsthand the difference that PEPFAR (begun by President George W. Bush) has made in South Africa, Rasool concluded with an appeal to stay the course on fighting HIV/AIDS. He said, "This is not the time to be tired, this is is not the time to retire."

We finished our time together with preparations for Lobby Day, a time when a diverse group made up of professionals, clergy, students, veterans, moms, teachers and more, will head up to Capitol Hill to let our elected officials know that ONE advocates for people whose lives are on the line!

Awkward people vs. God has a plan

The other night my wife and I were at the movies. The previews started but someone forgot (or intentionally hatched a dastardly plan to sell more popcorn) to turn the lights down. We both remarked that it felt very strange and unnatural to be sitting in a room full of strangers watching a large collection of projected images on the wall.

I sat there thinking, I wonder if that is the experience people have when visiting church? If instead of a we're-all-in-this-together experience, they get a random collection of stranger staring at a stage and two projection screens...

I soon forgot about my concerns because Captain America: The First Avenger came onscreen and somebody remembered to turn off the lights, thus preserving the illusion of intimacy for us on our date night.

I hope and pray that our church is not like going to the movies. I want to be part of something bigger than entertainment, something more personal than marketing and something more genuine than made-up superheroes.

Above is a talk I gave a couple of weeks ago about Paul and Silas in prison in the book of Acts. I don't think anyone who walked into the church in Phillipi could have been considered a stranger...

What do you think?