The Dead Prophets Society

Give a Red Card to Discrimination

2011-07-13T14:41:00.007-04:00

The people of the USA are catching on to the exciting run of the women's national team in the 2011 Women's World Cup. Today USA beat France to advance to the Finals. Also, today is one of FIFA's Anti-Discrimination Days. Hopefully this will catch on as well...

Here's an excerpt:

“We must use our game to educate people, especially the world’s youth, about the importance of fair play and respect... football’s united stance against any kind of discrimination, be it racism, homophobia or discrimination on account of gender, ethnic origin, religion, or any other reason."

Read the entire article here. http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/organisation/media/newsid=1473742/index.html

For more on FIFA's social responsibility and anti-racism click here. http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/socialresponsibility/antiracism/index.html

I, Too, Dream in Color

2011-07-11T22:58:00.002-04:00

We are all here for a reason on a particular path
You don't need a curriculum to know that you are part of the math
Cats think I'm delirious, but I'm so damn serious
That's why I expose my soul to the globe, the world

I'm trying to make it better for these little boys and girls
I'm not just another individual, my spirit is a part of this
That's why I get spiritual, but I get my hymns from Him
So it's not me, it's He that's lyrical
I'm not a miracle, I'm a heaven-sent instrument
My rhythmatic regimen navigates melodic notes for your soul and your mental
That's why I'm instrumental

Vibrations is what I'm into

Yeah, I need my loot by rent day
But that is not what gives me the heart of Kunte Kinte
I'm trying to give us "us free" like Cinque
I can't stop, that's why I'm hot
Determination, dedication, motivation
I'm talking to you, my many inspirations

When I say I can't, let you or self down
If I were of the highest cliff, on the highest riff
And you slipped off the side and clinched on to your life in my grip
I would never, ever let you down

And when these words are found
Let it been known that God's penmanship has been signed with a language called love
That's why my breath is felt by the deaf
And why my words are heard and confined to the ears of the blind

I, too, dream in color and in rhyme

So I guess I'm one of a kind in a full house
Cuz whenever I open my heart, my soul, or my mouth
A touch of God reigns out

- Saul Williams (From "Never Let Me Down" off of Kanye West's Debut album)

The part listed above starts at about 2:45.

"Pale Blue Dot"

2011-07-08T10:09:00.001-04:00

Ubuntu

2011-07-01T10:09:00.004-04:00

Ubuntu.

I've been watching the Women's World Cup this week (go USA!), and was inspired by a commercial spot. It was also played during the men's world cup last year.

Enjoy. (It's very short and very powerful)

On the Idea of Love

2010-10-25T19:46:00.002-04:00

As I have contemplated what it means to love somebody. Specifically as I have felt my heart move in the direction of someone that I have grown to appreciate over time, yet may not be able to do much about that my housemate steered me to a poem by Rumi. Please take a look and contemplate and comment on what you guys think.

"A thousand half-loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home."
— Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

A Contemporary Art Exhibition Exploring Hope

2010-07-21T21:38:00.005-04:00

Hope! is a contemporary art exhibit in Dinard, France. Here's a taste... Click on the links below for more.

"Anxiety is just the other face of hope but it is the heart that now is at the centre of creative endeavours..."

"How would we incorporate the theme of the exhibition into a fastidious history of art? How would we submit it to an objective review in a world of art as rigorous as it is impassioned?"

"And so, here we are with Hope! A voyage of discovery that aims to explore hope through roughly fifty pieces by fifty artists. A trip through four phases whose first three titles were inspired by Biblical culture: Genesis, Exodus and Apocalypse. From birth to death unfolds an existential weft that ties men through their journeys, their tragedies and their destiny. Grace, the last section, reaffirms the thread of hope in a spiritual eschatology during the course of which the artist bestows his entire being to his difference and his vision of salvation. It is that efficacy of art which resurges in this journey: can art help in mourning, and, with that learning, can it restore joy and a taste for life?"

Check out the press release here: http://web.mac.com/communication_dinard/iWeb/Hope%20!/telechargements_files/hope%20dossier%20de%20presse%20uk-br.pdf

Listen to the BBC Strand story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p008lykt#p008ylx8

Si Se Puede!

2010-07-20T16:13:00.002-04:00

Check out this interesting campaign from the United Farm Workers to educate Americans on the employment of farm workers.

http://www.takeourjobs.org/

"....everyone's trying to survive..."

2010-07-13T12:50:00.003-04:00

6 months after the Haiti earthquake.

Listen to this segment from "All things considered" on NPR.
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=128470498&m=128470480

A Ball Can Change the World...

2010-07-09T20:45:00.004-04:00

All you football (as opposed to "hand-egg," click here for clarification) fans check out the "Homeless" world cup. Those who aren't fans can click too.

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/about-us

Very interesting.

David

Hospitality comes when we least expect it

2008-12-26T00:46:00.005-05:00

Sometimes hospitality comes when we least expect it. Sometimes it is the very thing that makes the worst situations bearable. I thought to fire up the blog again I would reflect on my Christmas eve this year where I was stranded in Pineville, KY for 6 hours. Pineville is an incredibly small town with a few auto shops, a school, a small hospital, and some fast food joints. There isn't much to it in fact after two stoplights and a blink you will surely have missed the roaring metropolis that I have driven by for several years. In a town just southeast of Pineville by a couple of miles I realized that my car was having bad problems. I stopped to get fluids to add and realized that my car was dumping out coolant as fast as I was adding it. Consulting a man in the parking lot as well as the guys working in the auto parts store they suggested that I make a run for a shop before it closed out of fear that I may have blown a head gasket or cracked my block. That would be the worst case scenario luckily the man in the parking lot suggested a water pump problem. I having fixed one of those in my former vehicle was much less scared but rushed to get my car to a place for repairs. I so intently watching the temperature of my engine rise drove right past Middlesborro hoping to see a place to roll my car into stopping every few moments to add fluid and let my car cool I prayed fervently not for healing as much as hope to make it where I needed to go. I hoped and prayed that my car would make it to the top of the hill so as to coast down into the town where I needed to go. I state police officer stopped and advised me on the best place to get repairs. Elliot's Auto Parts it fit both my criteria it was well known for being good and it was open on Christmas eve. I rolled me car down the hill in neutral only to be stopped at a light where I would start it again and coast my way to the shop. I rolled up steaming and stumbled out of my car rushing into a small shop that looked a little rough and haphazard only to relay my story and ask if they could get me on the road to Indiana or at least back to Tennessee where I was from. By this point they had heard the noise as I pulled in and they saw the smoke. Attempting to cool it off and do a quick diagnostic they came to the conclusion that it could be really bad or not as bad. It had to cool so I took a spot on the bench went to the bathroom around back and waited. I came back only to be informed the owner had bought lunch and had a couple of sandwiches coming for me. They were hoping to close by two that day. I rolled in at 10:30 there was still hope. Hospitality is funny because sometimes it comes through generosity like a sandwich and sometimes it comes through hearing people out and getting them on their way as best as we can. Glen the owner was full of encouragement telling me not to get to excited because we still hadn't figured out what was wrong. Dooey an old timer working on my car was confident that the water pump was bad and that it was make a lot of noise. Sure enough ASE certified or not they diagnosed the problem got parts of Middlesborro the town I passed and proceeded to fix my car. It was a heck of a job but after pulled out the old parts and examining them we concluded or more so they concluded and I agreed that it was the water pump that was making the noise. The doomsday talk was over. I made the appropriate calls to people and prepared myself to hit the road making a couple of CD's and starting to recount my day. I started this around 2:30 after Glen was wanting to close. He continued to let people come on in and with every phone call offered to help where he could. They finished my car around 4:30 six hours after I had arrived. My day started early so that I could make it back to Indiana and I spent most of my day with Sam a mechanic who worked on my car a lot in fact probably fixed it, Dooey who also worked on my car and encouraged me throughout the day as he told his yarns of life, and finally Glen who owns the shop who stayed open probably till 6 PM that night helping people like me. He warned me of the oil leak and I had I paid him the $200 which was pretty reasonable for the amount of trouble my car he put me on my way telling me to be careful and to have a merry Christmas. You see they were there and they worked to get me back going. I made it home for Christmas arrived at my destination 10ish that night only 8 hours later than I planned but all the more full of understanding about how our prayers are answered by people. I am not saying God didn't orchestrate that experience or use Glen and his workers to fulfill his will I am just challenged by these guys and their willingness to help me out on a day when everybody else had clocked out to go home. The challenge the prophetic message isn't merely that of hospitality but it goes deep it is something that I have learned from a favorite author a contemporary of ours Shane Claiborne when he tells us to be the answer to the prayers of the world because God created us to do his will and his work here on earth. Let's fulfill those needs just as God did through Glen, Sam, Dooey and those guys who worked on my car. Peace and Good Night, Deke.

A Town Called Dobson

2007-10-15T12:58:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends,
I usually link articles and comics instead of placing the whole thing on the blog, but the following home page website updates regularly, so I wanted to make it easy to read this selection. Here is a comic from the website http://www.towncalleddobson.com/. This website is much more deliberately a political alert (and admittedly left-leaning), than a social commentary (not to mention religious) but contains much about mainstream evangelical Christianity and it's affect on the socio-political scene.

You should bookmark it and check it regularly. Good stuff. Here's a heart felt blog from a person that has legitimate questions about God and life on Earth. Why are Christians so good at mowing over people who have questions about God in the name of God?

Enjoy.
David

When I was a teen, I got kicked out of Sunday School. I was not disruptive, drunk, high or violent, my crime for banishment was curiosity.
Actually, I got suspended, then booted for good. Here is how it went down. The teacher was discussing Noah’s Flood and how the water covered all the Earth, then the waters receded and the ark came to rest upon the land.
I asked in all sincerity, “So where did the water go?”
“The water is now frozen in the North and South Poles.”
“That can’t be. If you melt all the water on the Earth, the sea level would rise less than 100 feet. To cover the whole of the Earth with water, you would need to cover Mount Everest with water, thus raising sea level by almost 30,000 feet. That is a large amount of water, so where did it go?”
“Well, Mt. Everest wasn’t there then.”
“Then neither would Mt. Ararat.”
Out I go for three weeks.
Once they let me back in, I sit and mostly ignore the teacher until this whopper came out of her mouth.
“In the Garden of Eden, Adam named all the plants and animals and dinosaurs.”
“Excuse me Ma’am, the dinosaurs didn’t exist when humans were around. That is why you never find dinosaur bones mixed in with human bones. They never co-existed.”
And that was it for me, that was when I left Christianity.
These events were in 1979 and I think the Evangelical movement has become MORE anti-science and MORE separatist since then. In recent years, the only thinking Christians I have come to know have been from liberal blogs. I haven’t met any since 1979 is my offline life, they only get more hard core as the years roll by.
I understand “real” Christian values would support things like universal healthcare, eradication of poverty, world peace, and support the cherished possession of the thing we call The Earth, but “mainstream” Christians embrace war with a callous disregard for human life, support torture of the human body, mind and spirit, support tyrants and seek the raping of all natural resources.
These aren’t “Gore People” and probably never will be.

A good reminder...

2007-09-25T18:52:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like a good ole' satyrical reminder of a harsh reality. I'm the biggest culprit, that's for sure. Let's be careful out there.

Peace,
David

Dear Mr. President

2007-09-24T11:27:00.000-04:00

On the way to work this morning I was awed by what I heard on a local "top 40" station. I heard, for the first time, the song Dear Mr. President by Pink feat. the Indigo Girls which is an open letter to President George W. Bush. I was struck by the autheticity and the care of the lyrics. I feel the song is bold, but humble, unapologetic, but transparent. Kudos to Pink for the clarity, vision, and guts to produce such a song. And double kudos to Kiss 108, Boston's top 40 radio station for airing such a meaningful and seemlingly "un-entertaining" song. I'm encouraged to say the least.

You may not agree with all the lyrics, but I commend Pink for starting a great conversation and treating it so delicately. (The song does bring up some very interesting topics for Christians to think about and makes me think about my Christian response and proactivity to the world around me.)

Watch the video and listen to the song here.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6DEh0eSpNvY

Learn more about the song released in 2006 on Pink's I'm Not Dead album.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Mr._President

Enjoy,
David

The South Will Rise Again...

2007-09-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

As you may know, combating racism is always in the forefront of my mind. Depending on what news you watch, you may have seen this or you may not have. That's part of the problem, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, please visit this site and watch the video. And if you are so inclined sign the petition. Racism is like a flood; it's threat must be proactively eliminated in order to be effective. The levees of racial justice must be strongly reinforced in order to level the playing field. Racism like a flood cannot be dealt with after it has hit, trying to gather water and contain it.

This is not meant to be propaganda. I don't mean to get up on a soap box. I don't want to get caught up in the banter of pointless arguments. My intention is to bring to the surface a meaningful conversation about Justice, Honor, and Racial Harmony.

The article and petition:

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/12/3786/

The video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuoiZnr4jLY

Peace,

David

the times they are a'changin'...

2007-08-24T21:25:00.000-04:00

I was greatly overjoyed to see this article in the Boston Globe about a nearby college in the greater Boston region. It is stories like this that assures me that there is a healthy discussion among Christians about issues of homosexuality. At the very least we, as Christians, need to listen and form relationships and stop supporting the "fortress-like approach to life."
Bravo Gordon. Let's emulate this attitude in our own lives: a real, honest, conversation that leaves us as vulnerable as the other party involved.

View the Boston Globe article here.

Peace,

David

Racial Segregation in 2007...

2007-08-03T10:51:00.000-04:00

In case you thought racial segregation was a thing of the past... read this article. Hard to believe, but it's true. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18034102/?GT1=9246

It's hard to deny that racism is still a thriving reality in the world today. We must always be mindful of its presence, from the "subtleness" of our thoughts of other races to the obvious damage of our words and actions. Those of us who are the "majority" must go above and beyond to build a humanity that is caring and unified, honoring people like Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, and countless others who dared to think that humans were capable of much more than hate, pain, division, and selfishness.

Peace,

David

Some thoughts check'em out

2007-05-15T00:55:00.000-04:00

Hello Gentlemen,

I have a couple of things I would like to share first an foremost I have found a really neat Flash website that is an online Labyrinth. For those of you who don't know what that is I think you should read a little bit on them and then implement them in your ministry ASAP maybe even as a regular think. They don't have to be complex they can be laid out using tape on a floor or they can be a complex rock garden that guides you through a time of prayer that is very renewing and challenging.

Here is the link for the online one which is a good one and also maybe helpful for ideas if you did one in real life.
http://www.yfc.co.uk/labyrinth/online.html check it out.

The next thing is that as many of you know I travel along the road for days and stay a places talk about missions and do it again. Thus because of that I listen to a whole lot of talk radio, music, and podcasts. I recently heard one coming down to Tennessee from Indiana from Mars Hill Rob Bell's congregation and he had several provoking things to say in this time of Q & A.

The thought I want to leave you all with as we participate in ministry and lead ministries and such is this question. Can the church look beyond its own self-preservation to a world that lives in poverty and despair? Can we be the agents of change and finally in our history be the catalyst of change in the world and not it be Bill Gates or some other wealthy man doing sincere good but let it be the church Christians who say no more will we look to our own interests but those people of God that exist all over the world.

What is our purpose?

2007-05-08T21:48:00.000-04:00

I hear what you are saying Kenny. For the past couple of weeks I have had little to do besides finish a few things with CMF and find a job to do the next steps. I felt somewhat disabled from my normal duties and passions with glimmers of light that carried me through that time. But, now i have felt pseudo despair. No, not real despair I still have family, friends, food and transportation but the reality is that I know not what I should be doing. I have always seemed to have a need for purpose in what I do. Even when I was doing jobs that didn't seem to carry me anywhere of significance like the factory or retail they served in funding my education and travels around the world.

Now though after working in marketing where the purpose was almost entirely to help somebody or something look in a way that makes in more appealing so that a status might be reached. Grant it I just unpacked a fundamental concept within a lot of marketing ideals but I just couldn't do it. I also was given opportunity to be creative very often it was a cookie cutter mentality.

Despite that I find myself ending a term with a wonderful organization doing a job that I utterly love. I have been given a great opportunity to connect students and people in general to the part of God's call that is missions. I was hoping to extend that into connecting the opportunity of higher education for students and helping them to cast a vision for their future and how they might plug into the kingdom. Alas something that I thought was a sure thing is now no longer an opportunity but something of the past.

I wish I knew what I am supposed to do. I wish I knew a clear direction like some of you who are minister, students, writers, doctors etc... I wish sometimes that my skills and passions synced in a way that would allow me to simply work and be compensated free of this burden to figure out my purpose in what I do and the burden of doing something purposeful.'

I wish I had enough faith in God at this point not to feel the burden of stress and looming unemployment but to know he has a plan and opportunities in place so that I might eat and live well as he calls us to do.

If you all have suggestions for my life. If you all have encouraging thoughts or ideas feel free to pass them on I could use a few. Most of all though pray for me as I try and figure out where I should be and what I should do.

what defines you????

2007-04-30T22:56:00.000-04:00

i am discovering that it is far more about who you truly are as a person, than what you do with your life that brings definition and meaning to your life. does this make sense? i am defined by many things, both good and bad....my faith in God, my relationships with those around me, society(don't like to admit this one), music, art, love, etc...you get the point. mostly though the society one kills me....literally. i am dying slowly day by day, because i accept that i must look, be, wear, act, live, work, love, die, in way that's appealing to those around me. the worst part is that i believe in God, and i know that i am to be defined by Him alone, yet i am not.

here's the real story....i am looking for a job here in jc, and i am still waiting to here back for a position i am interested in, and i got an email that said it would be two more weeks....i've been waiting for a month., i continue to wait. i feel depressed...worthless...i know i'm not, but that's the way i feel

so tell me, what defines you, your faith or something else. cause all else i consider nothing, for the saking of knowing Christ and making Him known. (someone said that once)

that's all, sorry for the rambling.

kenny

2007-02-20T14:46:00.000-05:00

Auburn Christian Fellowship - The Vineyard

Celebrating African-American History Month

2007-02-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

Friends,
February is a special month. It is a month devoted to honoring African-American history. And being that none of us are of African-American descent, I believe we have a special role to play during this special month, and that role is three fold.

The first is to be quiet. To listen and learn from our African-American brothers and sisters, living or deceased. We must hear their story and let in change who we are. In the spirit of Christ, we must be servants and lift up our brothers and sisters. Use this month to close your month and open your eyes, glorying in a magnificent history, rich with passion, determination, and fervor.

The second is to realize (and help the world to realize) that there may be many races, but there is one humanity. Our histories are tied together into one history of humanity. We must vigorously celebrate the history of African-Americans because without out it we as white men and women are nothing. "We are bound together," sings James Taylor in the song Shed a Little Light.

The third is to learn from our past. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, the same hour when many are standing to sing: "In Christ There Is No East Nor West." I am sad that Dr. King's statment is still true even today. The church has made great strides toward racial harmony and unity, but we still have a lot to do. And let us not forget that the church at large was nowhere to be found in the Civil Rights movement in 1960's America. What about now? Who are we pushing aside and discriminating against today that we will boldly support 40 years from now? Let's stand for justice today and not repeat the injustice that the church participated in.

Friends, we are white, upper-middle class, Protestant, American, males. Like it or not, we were born into a story of opression, and unfortunetly, we are the opressors. Let us take hold of a different story, not in spite of our labels, but because of them. Let us take hold of a story of hope, love, and justice. After all, we claim to be prophets, visionaries. So let us be a voice in the midst of the wilderness calling out, "Prepare the way..."

For a good place to start, check out the life of Will Campbell. Click his picture to learn more about him.

Peace of Christ,
David

Amazing Grace/ The Amazing Change Campaign

2007-01-30T15:20:00.000-05:00

Amazing Grace movie trailer

Hey Friends,
Perhaps you know already, but just today, I was made aware of the movie, "Amazing Grace," which opens Feb. 23rd at select theaters. It is more than just one of those typical "Christian" movies. It is the story of William Wilberforce, a late 18th/early 19th century leader of the British parliamentary campaign against the slave trade. I urge you all to check out the website www.amazinggracemovie.com for more info and to view a list of theaters at which the movie will be playing.

There is also a campaign to raise awareness of modern day slavery world-wide, called "The Amazing Change Campaign".

2007-01-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

Christmas and Capitalism- 1st Christmas in America

Doesn't this ring to true. How crazy is it.

2007-01-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

Me Church

A great video that is almost scary how true it could be.

like a bulletin board without the pushpins...

2007-01-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hey Friends and fellow Visionaries,
I thought it was time for the blog to have a new direction, a new purpose and obviously a new look. The new purpose is this, "A place to encourage, direct, and challenge one another in the prophetic tradition." It's simple really. I'd like this blog to be somewhere where you can look for inspiration (literally, being in-spirited) when you need to be breathed into or as a place where you can breathe into others (i.e. vent/think outloud, inspire, and post interesting content). I think of it as a bulletin board. I hope this blog can be a board in the breakroom of your life where we can communicate with one another at whatever pace you would like (checking in and posting when you see fit.)

Posting thoughts, pictures and links is pretty easy, posting videos however needs a little explanation.
How to post a video: You will need a youtube account, which is very easy to sign up for. Then, we the video is up and playing, click the words "post video" directly below the video and follow the directions to post the video to this blog. The directions are simple and easy and youtube will basically post the video for you (you will have an opportunity to post words along with the video).

If you have any questions, let me know. I hope this can be fruitful and encouraging.
Love and Peace,
David

I'm still dreaming, Dr. King

2007-01-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

Martin Luther King, Jr.: I Have a Dream

Gentlemen,
A prophet if there ever was one. As we prepare to celebrate the day of one of the greatest men ever to live, let us reaffirm our committment to recklessly, vehemently, even ridiculously loving one another in the name of Christ.

Metamorphosis

2007-01-07T00:55:00.000-05:00

Hey friends,
As you can see the blog is changing form. It's definetly under construction, so don't worry just yet. I figured I'd take the new year as a time to give the blog a new look and refocus it's direction. Check back soon!
Peace,
David

Shameless Plug

2006-12-15T12:19:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I spoke to the high school students at our church about the difficult teachings of Jesus. Usually I'm with the Junior High, but this week I spoke with the High School. They are going through the book of John this year (verse by verse) to get a portrait of who Christ is. I spoke on John 6:41-71.
You can find it on iTunes, under Podcasts. Search "e91 Student Ministries" and you should find it.
After you listen to it, let me know what you think. I'm curious to get some reaction and feedback from it. Especially listen to the second half, I think it gets better then. It raises the ultimate question: What does it mean to be a disciple?
Hope you are having a great Christmas!!!

What does it mean for us to invest?

2006-12-13T22:53:00.000-05:00

David and I had an interesting coversation the other night. As I was driving to Indiana from Tennessee I remembered that it had been a while since I had talked to David. I called him and we talked about an array of things but most notibly was the conversation that possibly went way over our heads dealing with money and investing. You see in that conversation we were attempting to unpack the nature of investing and the whole concept of saving for the future even though we would like to apply scripture in a pretty black and white way that complicated life in America.

Having said all that it is this post that is clearly intended to be for a dialogue because David and I would like to not invest in the stock market if we can help it but we are a loss of how we might use our money wisely and not be a burden on society within the future. I think the future of most of us id contingent on how we respond in this very context. We have an opportunity to change the paradigm of how we think in this regard but we might have to be really creative and think outside the box of our culture and upbringing.

That is the challenge for this post to comment in a way that we can work on building a better model for our investing so that we might work co-operatively to better society and how we function without investing in some of the largest and greediest companies in the world.

Peace be with you all during this season.

Deke

What Rights do we really have?

2006-11-28T16:46:00.000-05:00

During the 19^th and 20^th centuries we see a rise in the Lockian ideas about rights. We even find them in our own declaration of independence sent to Great Britain in 1776 There Thomas Jefferson articulates our fundamental natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He adjusted it from Locks original life, liberty and ownership of property. These form the basis of our understanding of rights for various aspects of life.

In western society we often talk of the rights we have or that we should have. We often talk of the freedoms we have and the right to have those freedoms. We use that logic and thought to justify invasion and aggressive political happenings. Then we as “Christian” America come behind these ideas and baptize or ordain them into society as holy and untouchable. It is because of that mindset that we can justify attacking other traditions and chastising them for limiting the rights of its believers. It is that mindset that offers us a gateway to attack ideas or lifestyles counter to our own.

It is now that I want to challenge those notions. I want to ask what rights our faith offers us. I want to separate or at least rearrange our citizenship so that we can clearly understand what rights we have and where they come from. I think that we will find out that the Lockian or the Jeffersonian ideology of natural rights doesn’t apply to us as Christians. I think we would all acknowledge that God wants us to live good happy lives but we all must agree that in this fallen world he we have been given the right to sacrifice much for those around us.

This notion of the right to life could be interpreted in many ways because we are instructed to lay down our lives, to take up our crosses to offer our lives as living sacrifices. Those ideas initially don’t sound very exciting or at least not as appealing as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In other places we are told to rejoice in our sufferings. Suffering seems to be a major part of our existence as Christians but I wonder really how much we suffer and for that matter how much we offer of ourselves.

I heard an old hymn one day that had lines that went something like this “All to the I surrender all to the I freely give.” You know the song don’t you. I heard not to long ago Tony Campolo give an appropriate 21^st century remix of that song that went something like this. “10 percent we surrender, 10 percent we freely give.” That’s a hard line to swallow. I don’t intend to make light of tithing or giving in general but for the sake of understanding our spiritual rights it seems to me that this demonstrates some of the absurdities that pervade 21^st century understanding of life.

I am still in wonder and awe of our rights as Christians because I am still working to find these promises of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You see it isn’t even really there with happiness in Galatians 5 we are instructed to have joy, in Romans 5 we are instructed to take joy in our sufferings. Are these the rights that we signed up for. Our rights seem more present as we are instructed to care for the poor and downtrodden as we are instructed to love our enemies and the Lord God with all our hearts.

Where are our rights well we do have them I suppose being that we are Americans living in the United States but the challenge for us is to be reminded that we live under a different bill of rights we have an amendment to the amendment that Goes something like this.

You Christians have the responsibility to Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, body and soul.

You have the responsibility to Love your neighbor as yourself.

You have the responsibility to love your enemies.

You have the responsibility to care for the poor.

You have the responsibility to care for God’s creation.

You have the responsibility to lay down your life for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Our system of rights doesn’t quite fit does it. We all know that anyone of us could go on and on with different aspects of the Christian life that we are supposed to adhere. You see I don’t think it is always the “hard stuff” like sex, drugs and alcohol that trip us up as much as our complacency our unwillingness to live with relentless abandon. Many of you might say that I don’t know what I am talking about but if that is so why do we throw fits over the Ten Commandments being pulled out of a courthouse on the basis of our rights. Where in the Bible did it say that we would be given equal treatment by the government I believe it tells us that we will face persecutions.

We say we have this down and this is a non-issue but yet there are still poor and homeless on the streets every night. You say that is their own fault and that they should get a job and true as that may be but God didn’t give us an out on those claims we are stilled instructed or called to be Christ to those people to show love and compassion to offer food clothing and shelter when needed.

It seems that for Jesus and the Kingdom of God it is a lot less about the concept of rights and a lot more about the expectations of how we live. Jesus came to this earth not to teach us about a life beyond this as much as he came to demonstrate and teach us how to live. Isn’t it about time we became a little radical. Isn’t it about time we became who we say we are. To be Christians to show them who we are by the love that we give. We are instructed to be faithful not successful. We have an expectation that looks beyond the dimensions of ordinary typical existence but to an idea that demonstrates a life of passion and expression.

Debunking the American Dream, the Problem Behind Sin, and a Role Reversal in American Society

2006-11-15T23:46:00.000-05:00

Hey guys. Sorry I have not been able to comment or post anything before now but school is really busting my chops. School work is getting quite out of hand. I want to thank you, first of all, for creating this group. Secondly, I want to thank you for inviting me into it. Not to make your group sound like an exclusive club (because I know that's the last thing you would want), but I am truly honored that you invited me in. I respect all of you guys as friends and role models and hold you in the highest regard.

Although the workload of school has been overwhelming, there is a string of ideas that have been forming into my head. This began from two books I am reading, a movie I saw recently, and a book of photographs I looked through. The books I am reading are "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," a book by Hunter S. Thompson about two guys who go to Las Vegas looking for the American Dream while consuming a ludicrous amount of deadly drugs, and "Can't Find My Way Home," a book by Martin Torgoff that explores the history of the drug culture from the 1940's to today. As you can tell, the drug culture fascinates me. However, it is not only because of the wild things that emerge from the drug culture but also the fact that drug users can give us a wealth of information about American culture. The most important lesson I have learned from American drug culture is that the American Dream is not rising from the bottom to the top but a search. Not for anything specific but just a search. This is most prevalent in the drug culture.
One of the most addicting drugs out there is heroin. Once you get heroin into your system, your body clings onto it and demands more. It has been used by all classes and types of people from junkies on the street to famous jazz musicians like Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. But the most important thing you can see about these people is the search. The artists use heroin to find self expression. For them, heroin is the path to that goal. The ultimate course to creating great art is by living that art. Jazz manifested in life. The junkies on the street use it for the fix. It started as fun and soon turned to dependency. None the less, its still a search.
In "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," Thompson stumbles through Las Vegas in a drug induced stupor searching for the American Dream. Still searching. What he finds is other searchers so involved in their own self-quest that he is able to slip through the rules and run recklessly through Las Vegas completely avoiding any punishments. The drug culture has taught me like nothing else that we are a searching people. We look through everything from self help books, drugs, relationships, possessions, learning, a paycheck, anything just trying to locate that piece of our puzzle that was taken from us at birth. We try and try to find something that makes us feel good, makes us feel complete, and something that makes us like ourselves but we just can't seem to pull it off. In the words of Mick Jagger, "I can't get no satisfaction."
This search, although put into us to point us towards completeness in Christ, has ironically caused us what many call our biggest problem: Sin. However, I don't think that sin is our biggest problem. I think our problem is desperation: the search gone wrong. In America, we lived in such gross abundance that our opportunities are endless. But what is seen as our biggest step towards success is the biggest pit fall. The endless possibilities of America all point towards one thing: desperation. Materialism will let you down; your parents will let you down; you spouse will let you down; and yes, even your church will let you down. The American Dream is the brand new, just waxed so it shines in the sun, V8 Viper that drives us screaming towards the cliff of disappointment. And we can see this in the people of America. We are all depressed! We follow so many of the spoils of freedom that we end up just being let down and it makes us depressed. That is the true problem behind sin. Desperation to achieve a feeling of completeness by our own means is what fuels the fire of sin. A desperation to be loved is what causes affairs, a desperation to feel comfortable and respected is what causes people to steal, a desperation to feel important is what causes people to put down others. Sin is merely a result of that desperation. It is what's left over, the scars and open wounds we are left with when we play with appeasing our desperate selves. They burn and throb with the reminder that we are not perfect and maybe we are beginning to see into the clouded future that these attempts to appease the angry gods of our desperation aren't going to lead us anywhere.
So what does this tell us? Well for starters, it lets us know that maybe what we thought before as true is not actually the truth. I saw the movie "Borat" recently because I was intrigued at it's claims at being a social satire. Although many of the scenes were probably unnecessary, I think Sacha Baron Cohen achieved his goal at making a satire of American culture. His interactions with the respectable people of America has taught me that we are an impatient; unforgiving; spiteful; and, worst of all, an ungracious people. His character Borat exposed the side of America that we did not want anyone to see. It is kind of like the family alcoholic, everyone knows about it but no one wants to talk about it. We refuse because addressing the root of the problem is too uncomfortable and its easier just to attack the side effects. What great impact has human desperation had on American culture? One major outcome is the reversal of roles. The truth in roles we thought to be noble but now we see are rotten.
I was looking through a photography book that exhibited candid photographs of people all around the world. It opened my eyes to what trouble the world is really in. We are a mess. The human race is in shambles. Children in prostitution, unbelievable and unnecessary poverty, men and women spitting hate at their own brothers and sisters. The pictures of poor families living in Los Angeles, California and children prostitutes in Bombay, India revealed to me that there has been a complete role reversal. The saints who hold the highest capacity for love are in the streets, in the junkyards, getting abused, and getting beaten while many of the damned are preaching the gospel from the pulpit or sit listening in the pews. For us, the American Dream has ended up in the American church where salvation mixes quite well with comfort. Ain't nothing wrong driving a Mercedes as long at we put in our tithe and sponsor a poor child in Brasil.
We better not pray that the Lord come so soon because there is a good chance he won't like what he sees.
So what do we do? How do we stop the devastating machine from razing everything we know as good to the ground? We can't. We can not do a damn thing to stop what has already been in place centuries before we were born. That is the job of Christ to bring salvation, not ours. But we can Love. That is all we can and should do. Love our neighbor, love our earth, love ourselves, and most importantly love our God: the holy glue that keeps our shattered world together and the blessed creator that will one day take us up in our miserable and desperate brokenness and make us whole.

Dream Big

2006-11-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

(This is a re-post of Richard's post. We were having some technical difficulties)

No other time is it more difficult to dream than upon entrance to the "real world" (as many like to call post-graduate life). Friends, the call to unlearn adulthood has hit my heart heavily, as I was recently discussing my felt loss of dreams and visions since graduating. It seems as though it has been progressive rather than reducible to a single moment. I've been pursuing, admittingly with hesitancy, ways that I can "relearn" creativity. Its hard. Creativity demands that we step away from what is comfortable in a culture bent on comfort. There are times, increasingly more common, where I want to throw my hands up and be gone with this world. My heart is heavy, but we must... we must strive for the Kingdom of God to be reconciled. Sadly, it is the difficulty that deters us, again, because it is not comfortable. The world is overwhelming. I think it is helpful to those against the cause of Christ for us who follow Christ to feel this way...overwhelmed, and so we settle for comfort. I have to continually focus my eyes on the ways of Christ, He is the lifter of our heads, our redeemer, indeed he came to redeem all of creation. We would do well to continue asking the very very difficult questions of grace rather than merely settling for charity as Deke previously wrote. May these questions lead to action--that we would learn to become a community bent on love and grace. Wow, the implications of that are grand, and though my dreams cannot comprehend it, we must try.

Read my comment...

2006-10-31T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

I would really appreciate feedback on the comment I posted to deke's "Unlearning adulthood". I could make a post, but it was deke's thoughts that inspired me to write, so I commented, but also, I don't feel like re-posting my comment (ha ha), so seriously, I think this is something we as young creative men could and should wrestle over. Read and comment, or make a new post, let's just see what we come up with.

thanks for your help, let's keep it going,

kenny

unlearning adulthood

2006-10-26T01:55:00.000-04:00

It wasn’t until I started growing up that I realized that I couldn't really do anything to effectively change the world in order to make it a better place. Don’t we all remember that as teenagers and young children we believed that we could actually do something to help the world? I heard it once said that it wasn’t until seminary that they realized when Jesus said “sell all that you have and give it to the poor” he really meant to be willing to. In the same vain it wasn’t till I grew up that I realized that it is important to be willing to have imagination and ideas about how the world should be but that’s it. We should expect to be able to actually affect change in the world as we know it. I think that is absurd to say the least but it definitely may explain the apathy and the confusion about what we think it means to be a Christian in modern culture. It may explain why we align Christianity with a certain set of political ideals that may or may not be Biblical. It may be why we need to seek out good theology as a replacement for the bad and not just throwing theology to the wind. The challenge for us is merely to dream, to be creative, to have imagination and see the world reconciled into the eschatological utopia God willed from the beginning. Simply to say we are responsible for having the vision to be part of the reconciliation of this world into the New Heaven and the New Earth.

The joy of going with Christ

2006-10-25T14:49:00.000-04:00

A book that recently has meant a lot to me is “Revolution Within” by Dwight Edwards (not to be confused with “Irresistible Revolution”). It talks about the heart of the New Covenant. What exactly changed when we became a Christian, because it’s definitely more than just going to Heaven, right? He deals with four main things: a new purity, new disposition, new identity, and new power.
Why were we created…for God’s glory, right? So these new things we receive through the New Covenant are not just for our benefit but for what God is most passionate about…His glory!
A little bit on our new disposition…
“Every command we come across in the Bible is therefore a vigorous reminder to do what we already desire. The Scriptures simply clarify in our minds what we already want to do in our regenerate heart. What this means practically is that you’ll never find a biblical command from God for which He hasn’t already given you a desire to obey.”
This changes the way I view myself. Following God is no longer a checklist of things to stay away from, but instead I am free to live in the satisfaction of following Christ my King… for His glory. I need to be reminded that Jesus is still a King whose kingdom is my heart. That is the joy of going with Christ.

Blog Updates

2006-10-24T15:15:00.000-04:00

Hey friends!
I am very encouraged so far! I hope this is as energizing to you all as it is to me. I just wanted to tell you that I've updated the links on the side bar of the blog. Also, Deke metioned we should have a suggested reading list, so that is up as well. Thanks Deke for the good idea. We would like to keep those rotating so if you stumble across a great site, send it my way and I'll put it up (we aren't limited to 3 either). Same goes for the readings. Even if you have a great article, we can put that up as well. Also, if there are other "lists" to put in the side bar we can do that as well. Just let me know if you have an idea. Let you imagination run wild. After all that's what this blog is for.

I can't express how excited I am about this blog's potential. There are still quite a few people who are going to join!

Peace in Christ,
David

Some quotes that speak to us and our society in America: How might we respond?

2006-10-23T22:16:00.000-04:00

Excerpts from The Irresisitble Revolution by Shane Claiborne

“Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? Would you follow him for the life, joy and fulfillment he gives you right now?’ I am more and more convinced each day that I would. Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited about the afterlife. We are going to party like there’s no tomorrow. And yet I am convinced that Jesus came not just to prepare us to die but to teach us how to live (Claiborne, p.117).”

“And that’s when things get messy. When people begin moving beyond charity and toward justice and solidarity with the poor and oppressed, as Jesus did, they get in trouble. Once we are actually friends with folks in struggle, we start to ask why people are poor, which is never as popular as giving to charity. One of my friends has a shirt marked with the words of late Catholic bishop Dom Helder Camara: ‘When I fed the hungry they called me a saint. When I asked why people are hungry, they called me a communist.’….People do not get crucified for charity. People are crucified for living out a love that disrupts the social order, that calls forth a new world. People are not crucified for helping poor people. People are crucified for joining them (Claiborne, p. 129).”

These are a couple of quotes that I read tonight from Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution. In this book he deals with many things in his story but one of the big issues he discusses is what it means to be Christian and have that played out in our lives. I thought these quotes were particularly interesting because we are challenged to thing about our existence as more than a time seeking a place in an afterlife but being part of the reconciliation of this Earth into the New Earth spoken of in the scriptures the very Earth that we pray as we were taught to pray “on earth as it is in heaven..” Also in looking at what it means for us to not just help the poor by feeding and clothing them but by asking why they are poor. Forcing us also to ask a similar question; in fact if we are bold enough to ask the question why are there poor we must in the same breath ask why are their rich and what does that mean for our society.

Just some food for thought and a teaser to get someone else to read this great book.

a tale of two worlds

2006-10-22T20:14:00.000-04:00

the more i think about it, the more it comes to fruition. I am currently living in two worlds. I constantly step in and out of both and I consistently live by the "laws" of both. One breathes life into me, one sucks life out of me.

John Piper makes the following statement in a sermon entitled, "What are we up againist?", he says, "THE WHOLE WORLD LIES IN THE [POWER] OF THE EVIL ONE...This is what we are up againist. Not to be aware of it, not to be stunned by it, is to be VERY vulnerable to it." ~ J.P.

When will I realize that my spirituality and the way I chose to live life, affects these two worlds or (K)kingdoms? Now, if I am aware that my life counts (not in some "religous, false, christian way") but truly counts in this waging war between worlds, then wouldn't I live differently? Well...I would, could, sometimes do, sometimes don't.

Is there a redeeming quality to these thoughts. Yes and only one, WE HAVE ALREADY WON.

But to not fight, is to die with no real purpose in living. To fight and die, makes a difference. Get off your ass, out of the medical tent, breathe life, and move to the front line, because dying without living, means nothing, but living by dying, is the Gospel.

Both Prophetical and Practical

2006-10-20T09:20:00.000-04:00

Both Prophetical and Practical:

I just read a prayer by A.W. tozer that he wrote as a prayer of dedication for his ordination. Now, usually his stuff is so completely over my head that it's hard to make sense of it all. But this is prayer is as practical as it is prophetic.

"The Prayer of a minor prophet"
Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religous scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity, or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet, not a promoter, not a religous manager--but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and power and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let that one sink over you for a minute,

Only the beginning...

2006-10-19T19:56:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends,
This is a blog for conversations about life, culture and Christ (in no particular order). Feel free to use this as a place to vent, muse, discuss, and/or dream in the community of friends. Through it all, let us more completely become the body of Christ. Enjoy.

To quote (with a few changes) from the movie from which this blog gets its name:

"We don't read and write [about theology] because it's cute. We read and write [about theology] because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

And to quote Christ, the reason why we even have this blog:

"I have come that they might have life, and have it to the fullest."

Listen. Learn. Love. Serve.
David