Saturday, January 27, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
THE ANTI-CONFERENCE
Due to recent events, I've started scheming about putting together an "Anti-Conference" sometime soon.
I started thinking about putting together the sort of conference that I might actually want to go to myself (since I personally hate conferences and yet promoting conferences has been my job description for the last 3 years).
So, at my "Non-Conference" or "Anti-Conference" for example, we'd meet in a large, empty warehouse or an aircraft hanger or a gymnasium and there would be a giant rack of folding chairs at the front door where everyone would grab one on the way in and sit in a giant circle.
We'd have keynotes like Jackie Pullinger (oh, yes), and Scott Bartchy, and others who aren't "safe" for most church conferences)....and we'd have a big name musical guest like Matt Redman but it would just be him in the center on a chair with an acoustic guitar leading us in worship, no big band, no hype, just simple worship...and none of our keynotes would be allowed to speak beyond 15 or 20 minutes without turning over the microphone to anyone in the audience who had a question or a comment. It would be the most interactive thing ever.
The more I think about this the more jazzed I get about it.
I think the theme would be along the lines of living in the Kingdom and what daily taking up your cross really looks like.
After visiting a local conference the other day (there's a bit of that in the article below -"Future Faith", btw.), I just got sick of keynote messages that don't challenge us or inspire us or give us any practical steps to live out the Gospel.
(whew)
Sorry....I've got one of those "wild hairs" now and I'm certain it will eventually find it's way out of my head and into the real world.
Lord help us..
kg
I started thinking about putting together the sort of conference that I might actually want to go to myself (since I personally hate conferences and yet promoting conferences has been my job description for the last 3 years).
So, at my "Non-Conference" or "Anti-Conference" for example, we'd meet in a large, empty warehouse or an aircraft hanger or a gymnasium and there would be a giant rack of folding chairs at the front door where everyone would grab one on the way in and sit in a giant circle.
We'd have keynotes like Jackie Pullinger (oh, yes), and Scott Bartchy, and others who aren't "safe" for most church conferences)....and we'd have a big name musical guest like Matt Redman but it would just be him in the center on a chair with an acoustic guitar leading us in worship, no big band, no hype, just simple worship...and none of our keynotes would be allowed to speak beyond 15 or 20 minutes without turning over the microphone to anyone in the audience who had a question or a comment. It would be the most interactive thing ever.
The more I think about this the more jazzed I get about it.
I think the theme would be along the lines of living in the Kingdom and what daily taking up your cross really looks like.
After visiting a local conference the other day (there's a bit of that in the article below -"Future Faith", btw.), I just got sick of keynote messages that don't challenge us or inspire us or give us any practical steps to live out the Gospel.
(whew)
Sorry....I've got one of those "wild hairs" now and I'm certain it will eventually find it's way out of my head and into the real world.
Lord help us..
kg
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
FUTURE FAITH?
I just met with John O'Keefe of www.ginkworld.net tonight at the "FAITH FORWARD" Conference, which is about six blocks from my house at the Crystal Cathederal.
Honestly, I think something is wrong with me. I am just so DONE with the talking head, listen to someone pontificate for 45 minutes in a large group, concept of teaching or learning.
I can't sit still for it.
A pretty famous "Emerging Leader" gave an address to the crowd and it was just, (forgive me), a gigantic waste of life.
My guess is that no one at that conference will go home after hearing that talk and do ANYTHING signficant in their life or the world they live in.
Am I the only one who has moved on?
Yet, I am currently working to help promote a 2-day conference which will have pretty much non-stop talking-head keynote addresses and workshops stacked on top of workshops for hours on end.
Is this irony? Is this God's sense of humor? Or is this insanity?
There are better ways of communicating. There are better ways of encouraging change. There are more effective ways of motivating people to action.
Attending a conference, or listening to another sermon, is NOT one of those ways.
At some level, I'm not interested in discussing the future of the Church in America. I have already found my revolution. I have already left the building. I have discovered what works for me. I have already found a way to scratch that itch that could never be scratched by the traditional form of church.
Barna says that the future is the house church. I hope he is right, but I suspect he's not. I think that most smart pastors will start to ask why people are leaving their traditional form of church and begin to develop solutions to keep them from leaving.
I call these future forms of church "Hybrid Churches". They will be somewhere between the community-based, peer-led forms of church that the simple, organic, and house church people have discovered and halfway near the emerging, artsy, social justice form of traditional church where the beautiful college crowd likes to hang.
Still, maybe we're all wrong about what the future of the Church looks like. The truth is that there is still a very large majority of that old, modern, traditional form of church that so many of us find boring, out-dated and sometimes even offensive.
This form of church is still the largest segment of our Christian society (or sub-culture). They control the media. They own the large television stations, they own the "safe" radio stations around the nation, they own the publishing houses and they record the songs that make us sing every Sunday morning.
I don't think that the fringe movement, call it emerging or revolutionary or first-century, whatever...I'm not so sure that our momentum will carry us through to permeate the entire cloth of American Christianity.
I wish that was our future. I hope that eventually all of the old guard will die off and be replaced by the new, forward-thinking, outward focused, Kingdom-living, follower of Jesus. But, there is still a very great chance that, twenty years from now, the Church in America will STILL look exactly as it does now, but with more diversity, and perhaps greater division and polarization of extremes.
What the world needs now is not another sermon. Or another conference. It does not need a better Christian televison station or a more progressive form of church.
What the world needs now is for the Kingdom of God to break through our collective consciousness and transform us all into eager disciples of Jesus.
We need to re-discover the Gospel that Jesus came to proclaim, not the one we've turned into a bumper sticker or a sound bite.
We need a fresh injection of pure, hard-core Jesus.
This will sting a little....
kg
Thursday, January 18, 2007
www.children-at-risk.com
Featuring over 30 speakers from 12 nations, with 28 workshops and break-out sessions and representatives from the United Nations, International Justice Mission, World Vision, and many, many more!
Keynote Speakers:
*OS GUINNESS
*TRI ROBINSON
*BERT WAGGONER
*OLARA OTUNNU
*DR. PHYLLIS KILBOURN
*JOHAN LUKASSE
*BRYANT MYERS
Worship Leaders:
*DAVID RUIS (Vineyard Music Group; Basilea)
*RICK MUCHOW (Saddleback Church)
*JOHN THOMAS (Soul Survivor USA)
MORE AT:
http://www.children-at-risk.com
Monday, January 01, 2007
TRUST AND OBEY
Happy New Year!
I can't believe what a year this has been. Only now, here at the end have I started to understand what God might be trying to accomplish in my life.
Since the end of June I've been out of regular, full-time work. Mostly we've survived by the graciousness and giving hearts of our friends and family, Wendy's teaching job, and my ongoing work as a temporary employee at various assignments around town.
When it first became apparent that I wasn't going to get a new job right away, Wendy and I both wondered what God could be up to. We both thought, "We've already been through a time of testing like this once before. Haven't we already learned this lesson? Why would God need to put us through this again?"
Now I realize that this reaction itself revealed my spiritual pride. As if I had nothing to learn about humility from God.
Lately I've been working at a real estate investment firm and sitting for hours on end doing monotonous data entry and repetitious address clean-up. It's become a real struggle for me to sit at my desk, hour after hour, and do my best while my flesh is desperate for even the mildest stimulation or break in the monotony. This has been my cross. Literally, God has been using this assignment, and the others before it, to lay me down upon the cross and nail my flesh into submission.
Recently I came across a great quote from one of my favorite spiritual writers. Here's what it said:
"It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply." — A. W. Tozer; "Glorify his name! Root of the Righteous" Chapter 39.
So far our family has survived on the manna of heaven. Just like the Israelites, we've grumbled about having to eat manna. Just like the Israelites, we've had to learn that eating from the hand of God is really a good thing.
I know that God has something for me and that in His time He will reveal it and provide this new job. Until then, my calling is to learn to submit to Him in humility and obedience.
"Trust and Obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus...but to Trust and Obey" -Hymn
I pray that in this New Year I can learn to really die to myself and humbly submit to His loving care. I need to learn humility. I need to die to myself.
"Conversatio Morem!"
-kg
I can't believe what a year this has been. Only now, here at the end have I started to understand what God might be trying to accomplish in my life.
Since the end of June I've been out of regular, full-time work. Mostly we've survived by the graciousness and giving hearts of our friends and family, Wendy's teaching job, and my ongoing work as a temporary employee at various assignments around town.
When it first became apparent that I wasn't going to get a new job right away, Wendy and I both wondered what God could be up to. We both thought, "We've already been through a time of testing like this once before. Haven't we already learned this lesson? Why would God need to put us through this again?"
Now I realize that this reaction itself revealed my spiritual pride. As if I had nothing to learn about humility from God.
Lately I've been working at a real estate investment firm and sitting for hours on end doing monotonous data entry and repetitious address clean-up. It's become a real struggle for me to sit at my desk, hour after hour, and do my best while my flesh is desperate for even the mildest stimulation or break in the monotony. This has been my cross. Literally, God has been using this assignment, and the others before it, to lay me down upon the cross and nail my flesh into submission.
Recently I came across a great quote from one of my favorite spiritual writers. Here's what it said:
"It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply." — A. W. Tozer; "Glorify his name! Root of the Righteous" Chapter 39.
So far our family has survived on the manna of heaven. Just like the Israelites, we've grumbled about having to eat manna. Just like the Israelites, we've had to learn that eating from the hand of God is really a good thing.
I know that God has something for me and that in His time He will reveal it and provide this new job. Until then, my calling is to learn to submit to Him in humility and obedience.
"Trust and Obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus...but to Trust and Obey" -Hymn
I pray that in this New Year I can learn to really die to myself and humbly submit to His loving care. I need to learn humility. I need to die to myself.
"Conversatio Morem!"
-kg
Friday, December 22, 2006
PJ'S WISH by Keith Giles
Over the last year, my wife and I have been stepping out of our comfort zone to live missionally in our new neighborhood. One of the main expressions of this has been towards the children who come over and play with our two sons on a regular basis.
This last summer we hosted a five week "Kids Club" and invited all of the elementary age children in our cul-de-sac to join us on Sunday Mornings in our den to learn about who Jesus was, and is.
Because all of the kids showed up and participated, we knew that their parents were not attending church anywhere else on a regular basis. Based on the feeback we received from the children directly, we realized that there wasn't a big faith influence in their lives at home either.
After those five weeks ended, the missional aspect of our ministry to these families continued. In fact, it was beyond the more programmatic format where we discovered the real nitty-gritty ministry was really at.
A few weeks ago, after our regular Sunday Morning House Church was over, several of the neighborhood children ran into our house to play with our boys. One little girl ran over to me and begged me to play those "Jesus Songs" on the guitar for her. As my friend Tod and I began to play "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" and "Every Move I Make", she began to do the hand motions as best as she could and sang along at the top of her lungs. It was sweet.
As we played "Undignified" (which usually degenerates into a mosh-pit of flailing, giggling bodies) several other children ran in and joined us in song.
One of the boys, (we'll call him "PJ"), sat down in front of me and pushed my Bible in front me. "Read to us the story about David when he killed that Giant!" he said. I started to tell them the story in my own words and PJ opened my Bible and repeated his request for me to read the words to all of them. So, I did and all of them listened intently, asked questions and marvelled at how God helped a little boy no bigger than they were to defeat an evil Giant.
PJ made me read a few other adventures from the Bible to them and then he suddenly looked up at me and said, "Do you know what I would wish for if I ever saw a shooting star?" It was an out-of-place question and it made all of us pause to consider what he could be driving at. PJ is probably in First Grade, maybe Kindergarten. From the very day we moved into this house, just over a year ago, he was comfortable in our presence. He always asks the most pointed and direct questions, with little or no inhibitions about anything or any subject. I love it when he comes over and I always have fun talking with him.
I decided to play along with PJ and I asked him what he would wish for if he ever saw a shooting star, assuming he was about to tell me he'd like to fly or shoot lasers out of his eyes or something. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said, "I'd wish that my Dad would be home so he could play with me more. He's never home. He's always working".
Tod and I looked at each other, touched by PJ's honesty. I had a moment of clarity and said, "PJ, you know you don't have to wait until you see a shooting star. You can pray right now and ask God to help your Dad stay home more often and play with you." PJ looked up at me and said, "OK!", so Tod and I bowed our heads along with PJ and I asked that God would help his Dad to not work so much, and that PJ would be able to see his Dad more and get to play with him more. When I said,"Amen", PJ looked up at me and instantly asked me, "Do you think it will come true?"
My heart skipped a beat. I realized that for PJ this was serious business, not some cute "Kodak Moment" in time. I took a breath and I said, "Well PJ, I think if you will keep asking God about this, when you say your prayers, that God will help your Dad to see that he needs to spend more time with you. I will pray for you too, PJ, and I think if we both keep praying that it really will come true."
That seemed to be enough for PJ and he was suddenly running off to chase my sons with a plastic claw.
Tod and I talked a little afterward. It made me realize that our missional life in this community was more subtle, and ongoing, than an hour and a half program. Our interactions here with these children are making a difference in ways that will have a lasting, even an eternal, impact.
For the first time in our lives, my family is intentionally living a life of faith in full view of our neighbors. We're sharing life with people, no matter who they are and what they call faith or truth, or home.
At the same time, we know we don't always have it all together. We're not perfect, by any means, and the good news is we're not called to be. We're simply called to love others as we love ourselves. It's up to God to do the rest, unless He directs us otherwise.
So, the next time you say your prayers, I'm sure PJ would appreciate it if you would remember to ask if his father would realize how much his son needs him to play with him more often. Say a prayer for us too, that we would have the love of Jesus for the families on our street.
Peas on Earth!
KG
Over the last year, my wife and I have been stepping out of our comfort zone to live missionally in our new neighborhood. One of the main expressions of this has been towards the children who come over and play with our two sons on a regular basis.
This last summer we hosted a five week "Kids Club" and invited all of the elementary age children in our cul-de-sac to join us on Sunday Mornings in our den to learn about who Jesus was, and is.
Because all of the kids showed up and participated, we knew that their parents were not attending church anywhere else on a regular basis. Based on the feeback we received from the children directly, we realized that there wasn't a big faith influence in their lives at home either.
After those five weeks ended, the missional aspect of our ministry to these families continued. In fact, it was beyond the more programmatic format where we discovered the real nitty-gritty ministry was really at.
A few weeks ago, after our regular Sunday Morning House Church was over, several of the neighborhood children ran into our house to play with our boys. One little girl ran over to me and begged me to play those "Jesus Songs" on the guitar for her. As my friend Tod and I began to play "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" and "Every Move I Make", she began to do the hand motions as best as she could and sang along at the top of her lungs. It was sweet.
As we played "Undignified" (which usually degenerates into a mosh-pit of flailing, giggling bodies) several other children ran in and joined us in song.
One of the boys, (we'll call him "PJ"), sat down in front of me and pushed my Bible in front me. "Read to us the story about David when he killed that Giant!" he said. I started to tell them the story in my own words and PJ opened my Bible and repeated his request for me to read the words to all of them. So, I did and all of them listened intently, asked questions and marvelled at how God helped a little boy no bigger than they were to defeat an evil Giant.
PJ made me read a few other adventures from the Bible to them and then he suddenly looked up at me and said, "Do you know what I would wish for if I ever saw a shooting star?" It was an out-of-place question and it made all of us pause to consider what he could be driving at. PJ is probably in First Grade, maybe Kindergarten. From the very day we moved into this house, just over a year ago, he was comfortable in our presence. He always asks the most pointed and direct questions, with little or no inhibitions about anything or any subject. I love it when he comes over and I always have fun talking with him.
I decided to play along with PJ and I asked him what he would wish for if he ever saw a shooting star, assuming he was about to tell me he'd like to fly or shoot lasers out of his eyes or something. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said, "I'd wish that my Dad would be home so he could play with me more. He's never home. He's always working".
Tod and I looked at each other, touched by PJ's honesty. I had a moment of clarity and said, "PJ, you know you don't have to wait until you see a shooting star. You can pray right now and ask God to help your Dad stay home more often and play with you." PJ looked up at me and said, "OK!", so Tod and I bowed our heads along with PJ and I asked that God would help his Dad to not work so much, and that PJ would be able to see his Dad more and get to play with him more. When I said,"Amen", PJ looked up at me and instantly asked me, "Do you think it will come true?"
My heart skipped a beat. I realized that for PJ this was serious business, not some cute "Kodak Moment" in time. I took a breath and I said, "Well PJ, I think if you will keep asking God about this, when you say your prayers, that God will help your Dad to see that he needs to spend more time with you. I will pray for you too, PJ, and I think if we both keep praying that it really will come true."
That seemed to be enough for PJ and he was suddenly running off to chase my sons with a plastic claw.
Tod and I talked a little afterward. It made me realize that our missional life in this community was more subtle, and ongoing, than an hour and a half program. Our interactions here with these children are making a difference in ways that will have a lasting, even an eternal, impact.
For the first time in our lives, my family is intentionally living a life of faith in full view of our neighbors. We're sharing life with people, no matter who they are and what they call faith or truth, or home.
At the same time, we know we don't always have it all together. We're not perfect, by any means, and the good news is we're not called to be. We're simply called to love others as we love ourselves. It's up to God to do the rest, unless He directs us otherwise.
So, the next time you say your prayers, I'm sure PJ would appreciate it if you would remember to ask if his father would realize how much his son needs him to play with him more often. Say a prayer for us too, that we would have the love of Jesus for the families on our street.
Peas on Earth!
KG
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Almost over....
The year of 2006 is nearly complete, soon to be a faded memory in the chapbook of our minds as we awaken to the first wee hours of 2007.
What did you accomplish? What did God teach you? What is it you still hope to discover about Him in the year ahead?
For us, we learned that God really was calling us to leave the traditional church to start a house church. He has blessed our "Mission" gatherings each Thursday to overflowing. Soon we'll have to consider splitting off into a second group, possibly one in Long Beach as several from that city make the trek each week to gather with us.
Our addition of a Sunday morning Mission House Church meeting was a welcome blessing. I always intended for us to meet on a Sunday morning, but honestly wasn't prepared for it coming so quickly.
Now we have two groups meeting each week in our home, with some overlap, but two distinct groups none-the-less. It is still the best thing I have ever done with the word "Church" on it!
The year of 2006 also saw my exit from Soul Survivor Ministries and into the world of temporary contract employee job seeker. Since the end of June I've been working various temporary assignments and searching for a full-time position.
As hard as it's been, I know God has been so gracious to us. In fact, the crazy thing is, we have more peace and financial security now than we did the first half of this year when we had a full-time job! God is that good!
I've had several good job ops which didn't develop the way I had hoped, but I still know that God has something for us, in His time. We have heard Him clearly say "Wait" and not much else. So, as He continues to bless us and provide, we will keep seeking His face, putting out resumes and praying for a new job...soon!
I have personally learned a lot about pastoring through our close community at The Mission. Very intense but also very rewarding experiences. I wish I could more fully explain all that God has taught me about myself, about ministry, about His Church through our Mission House Church experience. Maybe I'll write a book?
Speaking of which, I started out this year with the goal of finishing the text for one complete book project. As of today I have two book projects, one of which is about 98% complete ("The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?") and one which is about 85% complete ("The Power Of Weakness"). My goal for 2007 is to publish at least one of them into an honest-to-goodness paperback book!
One of my proudest accomplishments this year has been the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] newsletter which started almost exactly one year ago at about 30 people and is now just about 100 subscribers! I'm very proud of the weekly articles that have come out of this experiment and I know that without this weekly e-newsletter responsibility I would not have written most of those (which was why I started the thing in the first place...to force me to write something substantial each and every week of this year).
The new year is wide open to me. I have no sense of what it might hold. Wendy and I are praying that 2007 will be more about stability and gainful full-time employment. We'd love to have things like medical insurance, a savings account, maybe a car that was built in the last ten years...you know, frivolous stuff.
But, whatever 2007 brings, we know that God is good and we place all our hope in Him alone.
Peas,
Keith
What did you accomplish? What did God teach you? What is it you still hope to discover about Him in the year ahead?
For us, we learned that God really was calling us to leave the traditional church to start a house church. He has blessed our "Mission" gatherings each Thursday to overflowing. Soon we'll have to consider splitting off into a second group, possibly one in Long Beach as several from that city make the trek each week to gather with us.
Our addition of a Sunday morning Mission House Church meeting was a welcome blessing. I always intended for us to meet on a Sunday morning, but honestly wasn't prepared for it coming so quickly.
Now we have two groups meeting each week in our home, with some overlap, but two distinct groups none-the-less. It is still the best thing I have ever done with the word "Church" on it!
The year of 2006 also saw my exit from Soul Survivor Ministries and into the world of temporary contract employee job seeker. Since the end of June I've been working various temporary assignments and searching for a full-time position.
As hard as it's been, I know God has been so gracious to us. In fact, the crazy thing is, we have more peace and financial security now than we did the first half of this year when we had a full-time job! God is that good!
I've had several good job ops which didn't develop the way I had hoped, but I still know that God has something for us, in His time. We have heard Him clearly say "Wait" and not much else. So, as He continues to bless us and provide, we will keep seeking His face, putting out resumes and praying for a new job...soon!
I have personally learned a lot about pastoring through our close community at The Mission. Very intense but also very rewarding experiences. I wish I could more fully explain all that God has taught me about myself, about ministry, about His Church through our Mission House Church experience. Maybe I'll write a book?
Speaking of which, I started out this year with the goal of finishing the text for one complete book project. As of today I have two book projects, one of which is about 98% complete ("The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?") and one which is about 85% complete ("The Power Of Weakness"). My goal for 2007 is to publish at least one of them into an honest-to-goodness paperback book!
One of my proudest accomplishments this year has been the [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] newsletter which started almost exactly one year ago at about 30 people and is now just about 100 subscribers! I'm very proud of the weekly articles that have come out of this experiment and I know that without this weekly e-newsletter responsibility I would not have written most of those (which was why I started the thing in the first place...to force me to write something substantial each and every week of this year).
The new year is wide open to me. I have no sense of what it might hold. Wendy and I are praying that 2007 will be more about stability and gainful full-time employment. We'd love to have things like medical insurance, a savings account, maybe a car that was built in the last ten years...you know, frivolous stuff.
But, whatever 2007 brings, we know that God is good and we place all our hope in Him alone.
Peas,
Keith
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
SO...YOU WANT TO BE A PASTOR?
SO...YOU WANT TO BE A PASTOR?
by Keith Giles
What does it mean to be a Pastor?
Well, honestly, it's about helping people to follow Jesus. The truth is, it's a lot harder than you think.
Most of us, when we think of the word "Pastor" get a mental image of a guy in a suit who stands up on the big stage each Sunday and gives a long, power-pointed speech right after the offering plate is passed. That is not what pastoring is about at all.
In fact, guess how many times the word "Pastor" appears in the Bible....go ahead, guess.
Once. That's it.
(Bonus points if you can tell me what book, chapter and verse)
Yet, we've made the office of "Pastor" the single most important position within the Body of Christ. Yes, it is a very important, and difficult office to work at effectively. However, our mental pictures are way off base. We picture a CEO in a power tie, but the Scriptures suggest a simple man who knows how to wash feet.
The word "Minister" implies one who serves, and yet in our society we've made the position into a professional office where all authority and power, prestige and wisdom flow down from on high.
Jesus modelled something so much greater for us when he put on the robes of a slave and knelt down to wash the feet of his disciples. He served them. The scriptures say that, He expressed the "fullness of his love" to them in this simple act of service and humility.
What's more, when he was finished he sat down and asked them, "Do you know what I have done for you?" He wanted them to understand the importance of serving one another, not "Lording it over" their subjects as the Pharisees were known to do.
If we're honest, most of what passes for Pastoral leadership today looks a whole lot more like the "Lording it over" process modelled by the Pharisees than it does like the "putting on the robe of a servant" like Jesus.
Honestly, the office of Pastor is one gifted to a person by the Holy Spirit. He is the One who calls people and then gives them the spiritual gift of pastor. This means that you could go to seminary and get a degree, but still not have the spiritual gift of "pastor".
It also means you could be a twelve year old girl and have a greater spiritual gift to pastor than the guy who is standing behind the pulpit in the suit and tie with the seminary degree on the wall.
My experience as a pastor has involved a lot of private meetings with people where I have to perform the un-rewarding task of helping people to repent for things, or to help them understand pain, or to speak truth to them even though I know that they will probably hate me for it when I am done.
This is what it means to be a pastor. It means to serve, to minister to others, to shepherd people, and to love them so much that you're willing to do what's best for them, even if it kills you.
So...who wants to be a pastor?
kg
by Keith Giles
What does it mean to be a Pastor?
Well, honestly, it's about helping people to follow Jesus. The truth is, it's a lot harder than you think.
Most of us, when we think of the word "Pastor" get a mental image of a guy in a suit who stands up on the big stage each Sunday and gives a long, power-pointed speech right after the offering plate is passed. That is not what pastoring is about at all.
In fact, guess how many times the word "Pastor" appears in the Bible....go ahead, guess.
Once. That's it.
(Bonus points if you can tell me what book, chapter and verse)
Yet, we've made the office of "Pastor" the single most important position within the Body of Christ. Yes, it is a very important, and difficult office to work at effectively. However, our mental pictures are way off base. We picture a CEO in a power tie, but the Scriptures suggest a simple man who knows how to wash feet.
The word "Minister" implies one who serves, and yet in our society we've made the position into a professional office where all authority and power, prestige and wisdom flow down from on high.
Jesus modelled something so much greater for us when he put on the robes of a slave and knelt down to wash the feet of his disciples. He served them. The scriptures say that, He expressed the "fullness of his love" to them in this simple act of service and humility.
What's more, when he was finished he sat down and asked them, "Do you know what I have done for you?" He wanted them to understand the importance of serving one another, not "Lording it over" their subjects as the Pharisees were known to do.
If we're honest, most of what passes for Pastoral leadership today looks a whole lot more like the "Lording it over" process modelled by the Pharisees than it does like the "putting on the robe of a servant" like Jesus.
Honestly, the office of Pastor is one gifted to a person by the Holy Spirit. He is the One who calls people and then gives them the spiritual gift of pastor. This means that you could go to seminary and get a degree, but still not have the spiritual gift of "pastor".
It also means you could be a twelve year old girl and have a greater spiritual gift to pastor than the guy who is standing behind the pulpit in the suit and tie with the seminary degree on the wall.
My experience as a pastor has involved a lot of private meetings with people where I have to perform the un-rewarding task of helping people to repent for things, or to help them understand pain, or to speak truth to them even though I know that they will probably hate me for it when I am done.
This is what it means to be a pastor. It means to serve, to minister to others, to shepherd people, and to love them so much that you're willing to do what's best for them, even if it kills you.
So...who wants to be a pastor?
kg
Monday, November 13, 2006
Quagmire
My life is stuck in the mud these days.
I feel like I can't manage to accomplish anything with my writing because of my new life as a temporary employee.
At work I cannot access the internet (no, not even on a break or during my lunch) so my creative muse has to sit quietly from 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
When I get home I'm too tired to write, and I need to sit down and eat dinner with my family. So, after the boys are in bed all I feel like doing is sitting in front of the television and letting my brain relax.
I fondly remember those days when I was posting articles and columns here on my blog, publishing weekly e-newsletters (which I still do, and hopefully will get this week's edition out tomorrow), and writing columns at SeedStories and Ginkworld.net every other week. Those were the days....
Now it's all I can do to post here every other week, and then it's just the typical, boring, "Here's what I did today, blah, blah" blog entry (which I apologize for even now).
It's not that I don't have a long list (two whole pages worth) of really great article and column ideas. It's not that I don't have motivation to write (I have a weekly newsletter. I have a new monthly column over at Ginkworld.net. I know people are reading this blog...or at least they were a few days ago..before my brain got stuck in the creative mud of temporary assignment hell.)
Hopefully this week I'll get hired somewhere full-time again and I can take back my lunch-time blogging habit.
Plus, I could use a new full-time job to pay those bills too.
Yeah...there's that.
peas,
keith
I feel like I can't manage to accomplish anything with my writing because of my new life as a temporary employee.
At work I cannot access the internet (no, not even on a break or during my lunch) so my creative muse has to sit quietly from 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
When I get home I'm too tired to write, and I need to sit down and eat dinner with my family. So, after the boys are in bed all I feel like doing is sitting in front of the television and letting my brain relax.
I fondly remember those days when I was posting articles and columns here on my blog, publishing weekly e-newsletters (which I still do, and hopefully will get this week's edition out tomorrow), and writing columns at SeedStories and Ginkworld.net every other week. Those were the days....
Now it's all I can do to post here every other week, and then it's just the typical, boring, "Here's what I did today, blah, blah" blog entry (which I apologize for even now).
It's not that I don't have a long list (two whole pages worth) of really great article and column ideas. It's not that I don't have motivation to write (I have a weekly newsletter. I have a new monthly column over at Ginkworld.net. I know people are reading this blog...or at least they were a few days ago..before my brain got stuck in the creative mud of temporary assignment hell.)
Hopefully this week I'll get hired somewhere full-time again and I can take back my lunch-time blogging habit.
Plus, I could use a new full-time job to pay those bills too.
Yeah...there's that.
peas,
keith
Monday, November 06, 2006
BAPPY HERFDAY!
Yes, this Thursday, November the 9th, I will turn 40 years old. That's simply unreal.
Wendy threw a surprise party for me on Saturday. We had a house full of dear friends, and I am again reminded about how blessed I really am.
For old times sake, here's a little birthday poem I wrote last year. It's work a re-post I think (with a slight edit).
**
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to me)
Yes, forty years ago this very week the fabric of space and time pulled back to reveal this fragile and yet strangely troubled soul.
It was a day of wonder and tears.
Cigarettes were burned. Laughter echoed down the hallway. A mother's heart slid into gear.
The angel's sighed, and one of them farted, but no one knew which one it was so they pretended not to hear.
It was a day of love so great it hurt to breathe.
Glad to be here, friend.
Hope to be here a bit longer before I join the flatulent angels.
Wubba,
Keith
Wendy threw a surprise party for me on Saturday. We had a house full of dear friends, and I am again reminded about how blessed I really am.
For old times sake, here's a little birthday poem I wrote last year. It's work a re-post I think (with a slight edit).
**
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to me)
Yes, forty years ago this very week the fabric of space and time pulled back to reveal this fragile and yet strangely troubled soul.
It was a day of wonder and tears.
Cigarettes were burned. Laughter echoed down the hallway. A mother's heart slid into gear.
The angel's sighed, and one of them farted, but no one knew which one it was so they pretended not to hear.
It was a day of love so great it hurt to breathe.
Glad to be here, friend.
Hope to be here a bit longer before I join the flatulent angels.
Wubba,
Keith
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
GOD IS GOOD: LUCKY US
Since the end of June I haven't had a regular, full-time job. I've been doing temporary work for half what I was making at Soul Survivor and Wendy has been teaching at Spirit Academy twice a week, but still we're far short of my previous take-home pay.
How have we made it this long? Simply by the Grace of God. I wish I had been keeping a record of every gift from a friend, or check from a family member, or random check we've received throughout this time frame. It's truly astounding to me how God has been our provider all this time.
I was thinking about how good God is. We kind of lucked out on that one, as a created race of people. The Supreme Ruler of the Universe could very easily have been harsh and demanding, or even evil and sadistic, yet He is Good. He is kind. He is faithful. He is loving. He is forgiving. He is willing to sacrifice his own position and even His life to save us.
God is Good...and aren't we blessed?
-kg
How have we made it this long? Simply by the Grace of God. I wish I had been keeping a record of every gift from a friend, or check from a family member, or random check we've received throughout this time frame. It's truly astounding to me how God has been our provider all this time.
I was thinking about how good God is. We kind of lucked out on that one, as a created race of people. The Supreme Ruler of the Universe could very easily have been harsh and demanding, or even evil and sadistic, yet He is Good. He is kind. He is faithful. He is loving. He is forgiving. He is willing to sacrifice his own position and even His life to save us.
God is Good...and aren't we blessed?
-kg
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
DAILY FAITH
Daily Faith by Keith Giles
I'm learning a very valuable lesson these days.
Jesus seems to spend a lot of his teaching ministry trying to get his followers to take things one day at a time.
He talks about praying for "daily bread", he tells his disciples that they cannot follow him unless they die to themselves and "take up their cross, daily", and he urges them not to worry about tomorrow but to trust God for all you need each day.
As for me, I'd prefer to have God provide me with "Weekly Bread", or better yet, "Yearly Bread". You know, where He would provide everything I need all at once so I could rest in comfort and avoid the anxieties of wondering where the next day's bread is coming from.
Of course, if this were the case I'd also have no need for faith. I wouldn't really need to trust God for anything because I'd already have it.
Chances are, in time, I'd also begin to forget just where my bread was coming from. Maybe I'd start to think that it was I who had actually provided all this bread. Maybe then God would become my buddy and my pal, not my Lord whom I desperately cling to for dear life.
Maybe that's why the Scriptures tell us that God's mercies are new every morning? So that we'll know that we can face each day in His strength, and not our own.
Jesus is always trying to get us to live in the here and now, not in the security of our life or the "what if?" of tomorrow.
As you may have heard before, God's name is "I Am" and He wants us to wake up each day and walk with Him, one day at a time. With our faith firmly placed in Him and our minds focused on today, not on yesterday, and not on tomorrow.
Today is all we have.
Seize the faith.
peas,
kg
I'm learning a very valuable lesson these days.
Jesus seems to spend a lot of his teaching ministry trying to get his followers to take things one day at a time.
He talks about praying for "daily bread", he tells his disciples that they cannot follow him unless they die to themselves and "take up their cross, daily", and he urges them not to worry about tomorrow but to trust God for all you need each day.
As for me, I'd prefer to have God provide me with "Weekly Bread", or better yet, "Yearly Bread". You know, where He would provide everything I need all at once so I could rest in comfort and avoid the anxieties of wondering where the next day's bread is coming from.
Of course, if this were the case I'd also have no need for faith. I wouldn't really need to trust God for anything because I'd already have it.
Chances are, in time, I'd also begin to forget just where my bread was coming from. Maybe I'd start to think that it was I who had actually provided all this bread. Maybe then God would become my buddy and my pal, not my Lord whom I desperately cling to for dear life.
Maybe that's why the Scriptures tell us that God's mercies are new every morning? So that we'll know that we can face each day in His strength, and not our own.
Jesus is always trying to get us to live in the here and now, not in the security of our life or the "what if?" of tomorrow.
As you may have heard before, God's name is "I Am" and He wants us to wake up each day and walk with Him, one day at a time. With our faith firmly placed in Him and our minds focused on today, not on yesterday, and not on tomorrow.
Today is all we have.
Seize the faith.
peas,
kg
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
My New Column
So, after my six-part series (The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?) concludes over at "Ginkworld.net" my new column will replace it in the same spot at the upper left of the main page.
I think we're calling it "Subversive" (kinda catchy, eh?) and it will be yet another place you can read my rambling articles on issues of social justice, spiritual formation, and the Kingdom of God.
I've also been extended administrative privleges over at "SeedStories.com" too. That means I can help edit other submitted articles and, of course, publish my own at will.
So, other than here and my weekly [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] newsletter, you can now read articles at Ginkworld.net and SeedStories on a regular basis.
I will probably continue to submit articles to places like TheOoze.com and at Next-Wave Magazine, and anywhere else that will publish my stuff, but these are good places to start.
I've still got about a half dozen good articles in my head that I have yet to find time to sit down and write. Our lives our a bit crazy these days, with me temping and my wife teaching First Grade.
Now I need to start thinking about my first article to launch the column at Ginkworld. Hmm....what shall it be?
At least I've got a few weeks before I need to loose sleep over it.
More later...
peas,
kg
I think we're calling it "Subversive" (kinda catchy, eh?) and it will be yet another place you can read my rambling articles on issues of social justice, spiritual formation, and the Kingdom of God.
I've also been extended administrative privleges over at "SeedStories.com" too. That means I can help edit other submitted articles and, of course, publish my own at will.
So, other than here and my weekly [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] newsletter, you can now read articles at Ginkworld.net and SeedStories on a regular basis.
I will probably continue to submit articles to places like TheOoze.com and at Next-Wave Magazine, and anywhere else that will publish my stuff, but these are good places to start.
I've still got about a half dozen good articles in my head that I have yet to find time to sit down and write. Our lives our a bit crazy these days, with me temping and my wife teaching First Grade.
Now I need to start thinking about my first article to launch the column at Ginkworld. Hmm....what shall it be?
At least I've got a few weeks before I need to loose sleep over it.
More later...
peas,
kg
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
de la soul
“de la Soul” by Keith Giles
Wedged between the high-end cars that surround your car at a stoplight on Newport Boulevard, a drive through "the O.C." might seem like something out of a popular television show. With the beach only a mile away, the sunny sky of Southern California above, and the sunlight bending to kiss the horizon just right, it's almost like you’re living in a dream world.
For many in Orange County, California, life really is a dream. Bills are always paid, cupboards are always full of food, and it seems that the only real danger might be the possibility of a bad sunburn. But for a growing number of people in this part of Southern California, this dream is only that; a dream. A quick turn onto 18th street does well to remind us that there are others who are living in a different reality, yet not in a different city.
Not further than a few side streets from beautiful Newport Boulevard is the neighborhood of Shalimar, a close-knit series of streets blocked off by the Costa Mesa Police Department a few years ago in an effort to crack down on the growing criminal activity there. Today, only one street is open into Shalimar by automobile. All other streets have been sealed shut by concrete dividers, preventing drug dealers and gang-bangers from escaping should police cruisers need to roll in on them. Now a single police car can block the only exit and entrance to Shalimar all by itself, making drug busts easier, and escape impossible.
For many of the children growing up in Shalimar, those concrete dividers do suggest an impossible escape from the harsh realities of this community. But Shalimar is also the central location for MIKA’s youth development program, run by Crissy Brooks and Lindsy Pike. This non-profit community development ministry provides holistic youth programs for the children who find themselves living within those invisible walls.
A few years ago, Soul Survivor’s congregation partnered with MIKA to co-host a youth group which has since become known as “de la Soul”. An extension of MIKA's youth development program, “de la Soul” serves as a youth group for the teenagers of Shalimar and other similar Costa Mesa neighborhoods.
Jarred Rowland works a full week at Soul Survivor Ministries as their Youth Pastor liaison, but every Tuesday night he’s leading thirty Jr. High and High Schools kids at “de la Soul” in a Bible Study.
Many of the teens in “de la Soul” have come to regard Rowland as more than just a youth leader or volunteer. To many he’s become a mentor, and a friend. “My job,” says Rowland, “Is to let my kids know they have a friend in Jesus who loves them, who’s concerned about them, and who will always be there for them. I am also here to show these kids some good, clean, crazy fun.”
Rowland often calls up some of the teenage boys in his youth group to see how they’re doing, or just to hang out with them during the week. Although getting the kids to trust him took some time. “I had volunteered within the community for about a year before starting ‘de la Soul’,” explains Rowland. “So when we started the youth group, I wasn’t just some random guy. So often these kids have been victims of the ‘One-week White Evangelists’, you know, the one’s who come to the street just to save souls, and then leave after they have saved enough kids to merit their next Christian badge,” he says. “These kids have been accustomed to people like that and they recognize who is legit or who is not. Therefore it took some time for me to gain the trust of the community.”
When Rowland initially began volunteering he stuck out like a sore thumb, being that he is very white, six foot four inches tall, with blond hair, and blue eyes. “On occasion I even had racial slurs spewed at me. But now when I roll up to the neighborhood, people recognize me and there is a shared feeling of respect between myself and the community,” says Rowland, “And people know I am not there to exploit them, but to learn and to share with them about the love of Christ.”
Since the beginning of this year, Rowland has begun to recruit small group leaders and incorporate a stronger relationship within the community. “It is the example and the fervency of my small group leaders that have affected these kids the most", says Rowland. "This is the first year to incorporate small groups. We want to do our best to disciple these kids, and within the small group format, our kids have a chance to tell us what they really think about the issues."
Rowland has seen some great progress over the last two years. “When I was the same age as these kids, my parents made me go to church, there wasn’t a choice,” he says. “These parents don’t make them come, and yet the kids still choose to come week after week, and that is a direct result of my small group leaders’ influence.”
Rowland isn’t alone in his passion and dedication to the kids in Shalimar. Just over a year ago, Crissy Brooks and Lindsy Pike decided to move into the neighborhood itself, rather than just commute to and from their duties at MIKA. “Ever since I started working at the learning center I had wanted to move into that community,” says Pike. “Crissy and I had been working in the neighborhood at the Shalimar learning center together for a couple of years. We had both had previous experience in community development and we had both expressed a desire to go deeper into the community at Shalimar.”
After about two years working at the learning center, Pike and Brooks began praying together about how they could make a deeper connection to the families in Shalimar. “That was in the summer of 2003,” says Pike. “By January of 2004, we had rented a house on the corner of Wallace and Shalimar streets which is dead in the center of the neighborhood.”
Renting a prominent house on the corner, these two single Caucasian women became more than just volunteers, they became friends, neighbors, even family to those in Shalimar. “It's been great,” says Pike, “I’ve gained a whole new understanding of the community and the culture, things I never would’ve learned, even by working there for 50 hours a week. We’ve become more accepted by the community and they respect us more and they see us differently. They know we're there to stay and that makes what we do that much more powerful.”
Of course, living in the heart of Shalimar has also provided the two girls with a measure of challenge, as well as reward. “Sometimes,” says Pike, “I just need to get away from the community. Finding alone time and privacy has been a challenge. Plus, it's not like living by the beach, it is a sacrifice,” she says, “but I'm very glad about our decision”.
“Their problems have become our problems, we experience it all along with them. If we come home and there are police cars blocking the street, we know about it on the spot, we don’t have to find out about it on Monday morning,” says Pike. “The kids know they can always drop by our house and they know they can find us whenever they need us.”
The structure of MIKA is geared toward transforming communities from the inside out. Instead of bringing foreign programs into communities, volunteers take the time to better understand the needs of the people. “MIKA exists to help families move from a relief mentality to a mindset of personal and community responsibility,” explains Pike. “Meaning, we don't come in and give them five programs that are going to change their life. We allow them to tell us what their problems are, and then we help them to solve those problems on their own”.
MIKA focuses on community organization and youth development. “It's not about outsiders coming in with the solution, it's about the neighbors themselves understanding these things,” says Pike. “We work with partner churches to assist the community. We're not looking for churches to come in and do charity but to help the community meet the needs that they've identified, using the plan of action they’ve determined for themselves.”
Pike and Brooks are also working very closely with the youngest members of the Shalimar community. “We try to develop indigenous leadership from within the community, and that's done through our youth development programs. We get the kids enrolled in mentoring groups, such as “de la Soul” and the “ExpressYourself” Urban Arts Program,” she says, “And we also have various sports programs”.
“de la Soul” is already having a huge impact on the lives of the young people in Shalimar. Not long ago, Rowland had a chance to influence the life of Armando, an 8th grader who was facing some very challenging decisions. Having grown up in Shalimar, Armando has become accustomed to the reality of drive-by shootings, drug deals, and gangs. Armando is also a natural leader, which makes him the perfect target for gang recruitment.
About the time Armando began spending time with the gang leader in the neighborhood; Rowland began to teach Armando how to play the guitar and began spending more time with him. Rowland even went so far as to introduce himself to the gang leader just because he was becoming Armando’s friend too.
Armando began to share with Jarred about his interest in becoming a leader within the local gang, mostly for the status it could afford him to others within the community.
Several weeks later, Armando had a decision to make. He had been officially asked to join the gang. To Rowland’s delight, Armando denied the offer. Rowland’s years of investment in him began to pay off. Armando believed that he was the kind of leader that everyone had been telling him he was and he realized that if he joined the gang, so would his friends. He realized that he would not only destroy his own life, but also the lives of those around him.
Without the influence that Rowland and others within “de la Soul” were providing, Armando’s choices would have been severely limited. Now, because there were people like Rowland involved in his life in such a significant way, Armando realized he could choose a different path than the one being offered him by the local gang leader.
“I’m committed to being there for Armando,” says Rowland, “Through Junior High and into High School, and beyond. I really want to see him make it. My heart is to encourage my kids to dream, and to help them to see past their current situations.”
The lives of these students in “de la Soul” are quite different when compared to those of other students who live in better neighborhoods down the street. The kids in “de la Soul” come from homes where the living room couch might serve as a bed for the night, or where several families squeeze into a two bedroom apartment, and older siblings default to caretaking while the parents work their second, or third, job to make ends meet.
Because of initiatives like “de la Soul”, because of volunteers like Rowland, Pike and Brooks, a handful of students, like Armando, have expressed an interest in something beyond their ordinary life; a desire to go to church and to learn about God.
Today, as the kids in Shalimar ride their bikes or shoot basketball on these troubled streets, many of them now have eyes that are able to look beyond the invisible walls and to believe in a better tomorrow.
*previously published in "The Noise" magazine, 2005
Wedged between the high-end cars that surround your car at a stoplight on Newport Boulevard, a drive through "the O.C." might seem like something out of a popular television show. With the beach only a mile away, the sunny sky of Southern California above, and the sunlight bending to kiss the horizon just right, it's almost like you’re living in a dream world.
For many in Orange County, California, life really is a dream. Bills are always paid, cupboards are always full of food, and it seems that the only real danger might be the possibility of a bad sunburn. But for a growing number of people in this part of Southern California, this dream is only that; a dream. A quick turn onto 18th street does well to remind us that there are others who are living in a different reality, yet not in a different city.
Not further than a few side streets from beautiful Newport Boulevard is the neighborhood of Shalimar, a close-knit series of streets blocked off by the Costa Mesa Police Department a few years ago in an effort to crack down on the growing criminal activity there. Today, only one street is open into Shalimar by automobile. All other streets have been sealed shut by concrete dividers, preventing drug dealers and gang-bangers from escaping should police cruisers need to roll in on them. Now a single police car can block the only exit and entrance to Shalimar all by itself, making drug busts easier, and escape impossible.
For many of the children growing up in Shalimar, those concrete dividers do suggest an impossible escape from the harsh realities of this community. But Shalimar is also the central location for MIKA’s youth development program, run by Crissy Brooks and Lindsy Pike. This non-profit community development ministry provides holistic youth programs for the children who find themselves living within those invisible walls.
A few years ago, Soul Survivor’s congregation partnered with MIKA to co-host a youth group which has since become known as “de la Soul”. An extension of MIKA's youth development program, “de la Soul” serves as a youth group for the teenagers of Shalimar and other similar Costa Mesa neighborhoods.
Jarred Rowland works a full week at Soul Survivor Ministries as their Youth Pastor liaison, but every Tuesday night he’s leading thirty Jr. High and High Schools kids at “de la Soul” in a Bible Study.
Many of the teens in “de la Soul” have come to regard Rowland as more than just a youth leader or volunteer. To many he’s become a mentor, and a friend. “My job,” says Rowland, “Is to let my kids know they have a friend in Jesus who loves them, who’s concerned about them, and who will always be there for them. I am also here to show these kids some good, clean, crazy fun.”
Rowland often calls up some of the teenage boys in his youth group to see how they’re doing, or just to hang out with them during the week. Although getting the kids to trust him took some time. “I had volunteered within the community for about a year before starting ‘de la Soul’,” explains Rowland. “So when we started the youth group, I wasn’t just some random guy. So often these kids have been victims of the ‘One-week White Evangelists’, you know, the one’s who come to the street just to save souls, and then leave after they have saved enough kids to merit their next Christian badge,” he says. “These kids have been accustomed to people like that and they recognize who is legit or who is not. Therefore it took some time for me to gain the trust of the community.”
When Rowland initially began volunteering he stuck out like a sore thumb, being that he is very white, six foot four inches tall, with blond hair, and blue eyes. “On occasion I even had racial slurs spewed at me. But now when I roll up to the neighborhood, people recognize me and there is a shared feeling of respect between myself and the community,” says Rowland, “And people know I am not there to exploit them, but to learn and to share with them about the love of Christ.”
Since the beginning of this year, Rowland has begun to recruit small group leaders and incorporate a stronger relationship within the community. “It is the example and the fervency of my small group leaders that have affected these kids the most", says Rowland. "This is the first year to incorporate small groups. We want to do our best to disciple these kids, and within the small group format, our kids have a chance to tell us what they really think about the issues."
Rowland has seen some great progress over the last two years. “When I was the same age as these kids, my parents made me go to church, there wasn’t a choice,” he says. “These parents don’t make them come, and yet the kids still choose to come week after week, and that is a direct result of my small group leaders’ influence.”
Rowland isn’t alone in his passion and dedication to the kids in Shalimar. Just over a year ago, Crissy Brooks and Lindsy Pike decided to move into the neighborhood itself, rather than just commute to and from their duties at MIKA. “Ever since I started working at the learning center I had wanted to move into that community,” says Pike. “Crissy and I had been working in the neighborhood at the Shalimar learning center together for a couple of years. We had both had previous experience in community development and we had both expressed a desire to go deeper into the community at Shalimar.”
After about two years working at the learning center, Pike and Brooks began praying together about how they could make a deeper connection to the families in Shalimar. “That was in the summer of 2003,” says Pike. “By January of 2004, we had rented a house on the corner of Wallace and Shalimar streets which is dead in the center of the neighborhood.”
Renting a prominent house on the corner, these two single Caucasian women became more than just volunteers, they became friends, neighbors, even family to those in Shalimar. “It's been great,” says Pike, “I’ve gained a whole new understanding of the community and the culture, things I never would’ve learned, even by working there for 50 hours a week. We’ve become more accepted by the community and they respect us more and they see us differently. They know we're there to stay and that makes what we do that much more powerful.”
Of course, living in the heart of Shalimar has also provided the two girls with a measure of challenge, as well as reward. “Sometimes,” says Pike, “I just need to get away from the community. Finding alone time and privacy has been a challenge. Plus, it's not like living by the beach, it is a sacrifice,” she says, “but I'm very glad about our decision”.
“Their problems have become our problems, we experience it all along with them. If we come home and there are police cars blocking the street, we know about it on the spot, we don’t have to find out about it on Monday morning,” says Pike. “The kids know they can always drop by our house and they know they can find us whenever they need us.”
The structure of MIKA is geared toward transforming communities from the inside out. Instead of bringing foreign programs into communities, volunteers take the time to better understand the needs of the people. “MIKA exists to help families move from a relief mentality to a mindset of personal and community responsibility,” explains Pike. “Meaning, we don't come in and give them five programs that are going to change their life. We allow them to tell us what their problems are, and then we help them to solve those problems on their own”.
MIKA focuses on community organization and youth development. “It's not about outsiders coming in with the solution, it's about the neighbors themselves understanding these things,” says Pike. “We work with partner churches to assist the community. We're not looking for churches to come in and do charity but to help the community meet the needs that they've identified, using the plan of action they’ve determined for themselves.”
Pike and Brooks are also working very closely with the youngest members of the Shalimar community. “We try to develop indigenous leadership from within the community, and that's done through our youth development programs. We get the kids enrolled in mentoring groups, such as “de la Soul” and the “ExpressYourself” Urban Arts Program,” she says, “And we also have various sports programs”.
“de la Soul” is already having a huge impact on the lives of the young people in Shalimar. Not long ago, Rowland had a chance to influence the life of Armando, an 8th grader who was facing some very challenging decisions. Having grown up in Shalimar, Armando has become accustomed to the reality of drive-by shootings, drug deals, and gangs. Armando is also a natural leader, which makes him the perfect target for gang recruitment.
About the time Armando began spending time with the gang leader in the neighborhood; Rowland began to teach Armando how to play the guitar and began spending more time with him. Rowland even went so far as to introduce himself to the gang leader just because he was becoming Armando’s friend too.
Armando began to share with Jarred about his interest in becoming a leader within the local gang, mostly for the status it could afford him to others within the community.
Several weeks later, Armando had a decision to make. He had been officially asked to join the gang. To Rowland’s delight, Armando denied the offer. Rowland’s years of investment in him began to pay off. Armando believed that he was the kind of leader that everyone had been telling him he was and he realized that if he joined the gang, so would his friends. He realized that he would not only destroy his own life, but also the lives of those around him.
Without the influence that Rowland and others within “de la Soul” were providing, Armando’s choices would have been severely limited. Now, because there were people like Rowland involved in his life in such a significant way, Armando realized he could choose a different path than the one being offered him by the local gang leader.
“I’m committed to being there for Armando,” says Rowland, “Through Junior High and into High School, and beyond. I really want to see him make it. My heart is to encourage my kids to dream, and to help them to see past their current situations.”
The lives of these students in “de la Soul” are quite different when compared to those of other students who live in better neighborhoods down the street. The kids in “de la Soul” come from homes where the living room couch might serve as a bed for the night, or where several families squeeze into a two bedroom apartment, and older siblings default to caretaking while the parents work their second, or third, job to make ends meet.
Because of initiatives like “de la Soul”, because of volunteers like Rowland, Pike and Brooks, a handful of students, like Armando, have expressed an interest in something beyond their ordinary life; a desire to go to church and to learn about God.
Today, as the kids in Shalimar ride their bikes or shoot basketball on these troubled streets, many of them now have eyes that are able to look beyond the invisible walls and to believe in a better tomorrow.
*previously published in "The Noise" magazine, 2005
Saturday, October 07, 2006
My Name Is Love...
My Name Is Love...by Keith Giles
Last night I was treated to a wonderful gift from my friend Jarred Rowland who invited me to join him and a friend as they went to see a live, solo performance by Rob Dickinson.
Rob Dickinson is the former lead vocalist for a band that should have been huge but never quite caught on here in America called "The Catherine Wheel". Rob has now put out a solo record called "Fresh Wine For The Horses" with a killer single called "My Name Is Love".
Anyway, on the ride out to Hollywood to see the show, Jarred and his friend Brett (also a huge Catherine Wheel fan), and I talked about culture, about the Church, about serving the homeless, about living the Gospel, etc. It was exhilerating. I always love talking with Jarred about this sort of stuff. He's got a brilliant mind for these things and a genuine heart for people that I wish I had when I was his age. (He's just 21, I'm nearly 40...next month..)
Jarred shared an idea with us that I won't mention in detail here (unless he gives me permission to later on), but it was one of those ideas that could make the network news if he can pull it off. Basically it would bring the conversation about what it means to be a follower of Jesus to the top of the network news broadcast and the topic of every water cooler conversation at your work. I would love to see it succeed, if just for the opportunity to bring this conversation between the Church, the media and political activists into being.
At any rate, after fighting traffic and getting turned around (twice) we finally found the Hotel Cafe off of Sunset blvd and walked into the tiny club, just about ten minutes before Rob hit the stage.
Jarred paid my way in, (the whole trip was his gift to me), and the three of us fumbled our way in the dark towards the bar, and the bathroom (which smelled like a nursing home).
After Jarred and Brett got a drink (I stayed clean and sober), we walked towards the tiny, intimate stage in time for the opening acts final song. In a moment, Rob Dickinson took the stage.
He was phenomenal. He wowed the audience with his clear, emotive vocals and an acoustic guitar. The gorgeous power of his voice is found in the tension between one note and the opening syllable of the next. His command of the audience, and the dynamic range of emotion within the chords, was mesmerizing and beautiful.
I was struck by the simple power of music. He played several new songs off his solo record (which I've never heard) but the assemblage of chords played on his guitar alone was music enough to evoke a pervasive, resonate, air of wistful abandon. It was truly a remarkable experience being in the same room with this artist, listening to his soul screaming out, whispering pain, soaring over the top of our heads and into the night.
He played "Crank" off of the CW Cd "Chrome" (my favorite), and a brand new song ("still newborn") about the end of the world that left the audience in appreciative awe.
The highlight of the evening was when Rob played his song, "My Name Is Love" which lyrically is one of the best things he's ever written.
After the show we drove home and talked about the power of music, about how great talent, fused with humility and confidence, can make any performance amazing. Whether you hit every note or not, the sincerity of true art is undeniable.
I came home at about 11:30pm. My family was sleeping quietly when I walked into the house but I wasn't sleepy. I poured myself a ginger ale and went into our den and sat down on the floor next to the fireplace. I pulled out my old guitar and started strumming it. I accidently found a few new chords and just sat silently strumming the chords, stringing them together and feeling more than thinking about the day, the evening, my friends, my family, how I'm so loved, and how blessed my life really is.
After playing a few worship songs, playing with a few songs I'm writing and going back to those first experimental chords, I put down the guitar and just sat quietly in my den for about twenty minutes. I had no words for my feelings. I still can't quite describe it. It was like peace, but peace feels heavy somehow and this was much lighter. It wasn't melancholy because there was no trace of sadness in the moment, only freedom, joy tempered with acceptance and contentment.
I thought about several issues in my life now which had earlier been causing me sadness and frustration. As I mentally cycled through the various problems and challenges in my life right now, I had no anxiety about any of them. I felt a simple contentment about my life in every way.
I felt like God had given me a gift, through music, through my friend Jarred, even through an admitted pagan like Rob Dickinson and his songs of yearning and hope.
"My name is love I can't be bound..no...no"
**kg
Last night I was treated to a wonderful gift from my friend Jarred Rowland who invited me to join him and a friend as they went to see a live, solo performance by Rob Dickinson.
Rob Dickinson is the former lead vocalist for a band that should have been huge but never quite caught on here in America called "The Catherine Wheel". Rob has now put out a solo record called "Fresh Wine For The Horses" with a killer single called "My Name Is Love".
Anyway, on the ride out to Hollywood to see the show, Jarred and his friend Brett (also a huge Catherine Wheel fan), and I talked about culture, about the Church, about serving the homeless, about living the Gospel, etc. It was exhilerating. I always love talking with Jarred about this sort of stuff. He's got a brilliant mind for these things and a genuine heart for people that I wish I had when I was his age. (He's just 21, I'm nearly 40...next month..)
Jarred shared an idea with us that I won't mention in detail here (unless he gives me permission to later on), but it was one of those ideas that could make the network news if he can pull it off. Basically it would bring the conversation about what it means to be a follower of Jesus to the top of the network news broadcast and the topic of every water cooler conversation at your work. I would love to see it succeed, if just for the opportunity to bring this conversation between the Church, the media and political activists into being.
At any rate, after fighting traffic and getting turned around (twice) we finally found the Hotel Cafe off of Sunset blvd and walked into the tiny club, just about ten minutes before Rob hit the stage.
Jarred paid my way in, (the whole trip was his gift to me), and the three of us fumbled our way in the dark towards the bar, and the bathroom (which smelled like a nursing home).
After Jarred and Brett got a drink (I stayed clean and sober), we walked towards the tiny, intimate stage in time for the opening acts final song. In a moment, Rob Dickinson took the stage.
He was phenomenal. He wowed the audience with his clear, emotive vocals and an acoustic guitar. The gorgeous power of his voice is found in the tension between one note and the opening syllable of the next. His command of the audience, and the dynamic range of emotion within the chords, was mesmerizing and beautiful.
I was struck by the simple power of music. He played several new songs off his solo record (which I've never heard) but the assemblage of chords played on his guitar alone was music enough to evoke a pervasive, resonate, air of wistful abandon. It was truly a remarkable experience being in the same room with this artist, listening to his soul screaming out, whispering pain, soaring over the top of our heads and into the night.
He played "Crank" off of the CW Cd "Chrome" (my favorite), and a brand new song ("still newborn") about the end of the world that left the audience in appreciative awe.
The highlight of the evening was when Rob played his song, "My Name Is Love" which lyrically is one of the best things he's ever written.
After the show we drove home and talked about the power of music, about how great talent, fused with humility and confidence, can make any performance amazing. Whether you hit every note or not, the sincerity of true art is undeniable.
I came home at about 11:30pm. My family was sleeping quietly when I walked into the house but I wasn't sleepy. I poured myself a ginger ale and went into our den and sat down on the floor next to the fireplace. I pulled out my old guitar and started strumming it. I accidently found a few new chords and just sat silently strumming the chords, stringing them together and feeling more than thinking about the day, the evening, my friends, my family, how I'm so loved, and how blessed my life really is.
After playing a few worship songs, playing with a few songs I'm writing and going back to those first experimental chords, I put down the guitar and just sat quietly in my den for about twenty minutes. I had no words for my feelings. I still can't quite describe it. It was like peace, but peace feels heavy somehow and this was much lighter. It wasn't melancholy because there was no trace of sadness in the moment, only freedom, joy tempered with acceptance and contentment.
I thought about several issues in my life now which had earlier been causing me sadness and frustration. As I mentally cycled through the various problems and challenges in my life right now, I had no anxiety about any of them. I felt a simple contentment about my life in every way.
I felt like God had given me a gift, through music, through my friend Jarred, even through an admitted pagan like Rob Dickinson and his songs of yearning and hope.
"My name is love I can't be bound..no...no"
**kg
Monday, October 02, 2006
PATTERNS OF EVANGELISM (from part 5 of 6)
PATTERNS OF EVANGELISM by Keith Giles
(from part 5 of "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?", a six-part series running over at www.ginkworld.net)
One thing that’s also helpful to me is to realize that, contrary to popular opinion, there is not a formula to evangelism found in the New Testament. Several times in the Gospels we see various people who come to Jesus and ask point blank, “What must I do to be saved?” One of the most shocking things is that Jesus never gives the answer that all of us have been trained to give. Not once. Jesus never says, “Confess your sins, believe in me and repeat this prayer after me.”
What we see is that Jesus gave a different answer to this question every single time. He never gave the same answer twice. It’s as if Jesus goes out of his way to demonstrate to us that evangelism needs to be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, being sensitive to the specific heart of the one person we are speaking to, and not applying the cookie cutter approach to preaching the Gospel.
Let’s look briefly at the various answers Jesus gives to those who approached him asking about what must be done to inherit eternal life and see what we can learn from Him.
To Zaccheus Jesus simply acknowledges him in the crowd, invites himself to dinner and when Zaccheus repents of skimming from the taxes he’s collected, Jesus proclaims that salvation has come to his household. In the case of the Rich Young Ruler, Jesus commands him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and become a disciple under Jesus. The man refuses and is allowed to walk away, seemingly unconverted. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, is told he must be born a second time. This confuses him and Jesus does little to explain what he means, leaving the teacher of the Law to work it out on his own time. The Woman at the Well is boldly confronted with the promiscuous lifestyle she’s been living and yet never feels offended or condemned by Jesus throughout the conversation. Finally, the Thief on the Cross is converted and welcomed into Paradise simply for realizing that Jesus was the promised Messiah. His only part in the process seems to be the amazing good fortune of being crucified for his crimes on the same day as the Son of God.
Many other examples of salvation in the New Testament reflect this same lack of pattern and tailor-made response to the Gospel message.
How does your personal conversion experience compare to these found in the New Testament? Do you see a common pattern in your own story?
When I look at this amazing variety of conversion experiences in Scripture it really puzzles me as to why we’ve made evangelism so predictable and uninteresting.
(READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE, AND THE ENTIRE SERIES, OVER AT HTTP://WWW.GINKWORLD.NET)
-kg
(from part 5 of "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?", a six-part series running over at www.ginkworld.net)
One thing that’s also helpful to me is to realize that, contrary to popular opinion, there is not a formula to evangelism found in the New Testament. Several times in the Gospels we see various people who come to Jesus and ask point blank, “What must I do to be saved?” One of the most shocking things is that Jesus never gives the answer that all of us have been trained to give. Not once. Jesus never says, “Confess your sins, believe in me and repeat this prayer after me.”
What we see is that Jesus gave a different answer to this question every single time. He never gave the same answer twice. It’s as if Jesus goes out of his way to demonstrate to us that evangelism needs to be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, being sensitive to the specific heart of the one person we are speaking to, and not applying the cookie cutter approach to preaching the Gospel.
Let’s look briefly at the various answers Jesus gives to those who approached him asking about what must be done to inherit eternal life and see what we can learn from Him.
To Zaccheus Jesus simply acknowledges him in the crowd, invites himself to dinner and when Zaccheus repents of skimming from the taxes he’s collected, Jesus proclaims that salvation has come to his household. In the case of the Rich Young Ruler, Jesus commands him to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and become a disciple under Jesus. The man refuses and is allowed to walk away, seemingly unconverted. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, is told he must be born a second time. This confuses him and Jesus does little to explain what he means, leaving the teacher of the Law to work it out on his own time. The Woman at the Well is boldly confronted with the promiscuous lifestyle she’s been living and yet never feels offended or condemned by Jesus throughout the conversation. Finally, the Thief on the Cross is converted and welcomed into Paradise simply for realizing that Jesus was the promised Messiah. His only part in the process seems to be the amazing good fortune of being crucified for his crimes on the same day as the Son of God.
Many other examples of salvation in the New Testament reflect this same lack of pattern and tailor-made response to the Gospel message.
How does your personal conversion experience compare to these found in the New Testament? Do you see a common pattern in your own story?
When I look at this amazing variety of conversion experiences in Scripture it really puzzles me as to why we’ve made evangelism so predictable and uninteresting.
(READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE, AND THE ENTIRE SERIES, OVER AT HTTP://WWW.GINKWORLD.NET)
-kg
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
DAILY BREAD
This week I've been home waiting for the phone to ring with a new job opportunity or a temporary work assignment.
Monday I had an interview with another temp service. This one specialized in "Creatives" like writers, editors, graphic designers,etc. Still, the outlook was not so promising. We'll see if they can round up any jobs for me or not.
Yesterday I went with the family to Disneyland. It was nice to get my mind off the lack of work and to relax with my wife and our two sons.
Today my wife and sons went to school together and I stayed home to catch up on some writing for the book-in-progress "The Power Of Weakness". I also spent time alone singing worship songs and praying for wisdom and guidance.
A few friends called me to check up on us and to let me know they're praying for us. That was very encouraging.
Still, I know even less now than I knew before. All I've gotten back are letters of rejection, or just silence, leaving me to wonder about whether or not a new job is just around the corner or if I need to keep on looking and hoping and praying.
So far I know that God has us in His hand. I've experienced His daily bread. Our family is sustained by the goodness of God, I know. Especially since the money I'm earning at the temp assignment is less than half what I was making before, and we've made it since the end of June on this...and the generosity of family and friends.
God has faithfully provided us with daily bread. Today I need nothing. We are blessed with all the things we need...and honestly we're blessed with a lot of things we don't need too.
In two weeks Wendy and I will celebrate our seventeenth anniversary as husband and wife. We will most likely spend it together praying and wondering about what God has next for us as a family and seeking God for direction in my employment.
Still, I know that God is good. I know that He will carry us. I know that He has a plan to provide for us and to bless us.
Thank you all for your prayers for us during this time. We really couldn't make it without your support!
Blessings to you all!
Peace,
Keith
Monday I had an interview with another temp service. This one specialized in "Creatives" like writers, editors, graphic designers,etc. Still, the outlook was not so promising. We'll see if they can round up any jobs for me or not.
Yesterday I went with the family to Disneyland. It was nice to get my mind off the lack of work and to relax with my wife and our two sons.
Today my wife and sons went to school together and I stayed home to catch up on some writing for the book-in-progress "The Power Of Weakness". I also spent time alone singing worship songs and praying for wisdom and guidance.
A few friends called me to check up on us and to let me know they're praying for us. That was very encouraging.
Still, I know even less now than I knew before. All I've gotten back are letters of rejection, or just silence, leaving me to wonder about whether or not a new job is just around the corner or if I need to keep on looking and hoping and praying.
So far I know that God has us in His hand. I've experienced His daily bread. Our family is sustained by the goodness of God, I know. Especially since the money I'm earning at the temp assignment is less than half what I was making before, and we've made it since the end of June on this...and the generosity of family and friends.
God has faithfully provided us with daily bread. Today I need nothing. We are blessed with all the things we need...and honestly we're blessed with a lot of things we don't need too.
In two weeks Wendy and I will celebrate our seventeenth anniversary as husband and wife. We will most likely spend it together praying and wondering about what God has next for us as a family and seeking God for direction in my employment.
Still, I know that God is good. I know that He will carry us. I know that He has a plan to provide for us and to bless us.
Thank you all for your prayers for us during this time. We really couldn't make it without your support!
Blessings to you all!
Peace,
Keith
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
FREE AS A BIRD
How would you like to hear one of most lyrically potent and spiritually challenging set of songs put to record this year?
How would you like to download the complete CD, every single song, totally free?
What if it were 100% legal? What if the copyright holder, the artist himself, was giving his songs away, on purpose, so that as many people as possible could hear his songs, download them to their computer or Ipod, and not pay a dime...no strings attached?
Starting now, Derek Webb is giving away his entire "Mockingbird" Cd online totally free. Go to "http://www.freederekwebb.com" now and download the entire Cd, every single song, totally free. Burn it to a Cd, copy it for your friends, tell them to copy it and hand it to their friends. It's all good!
Seriously, the "Mockingbird" Cd is one amazing work of musical genius worth listening to and talking about with your friends.
Go to "www.freederekwebb.com" now and get your free copy of "Mockingbird". (Offer good from now until November).
Who loves ya, baby?
-kg
Monday, September 18, 2006
AHEAD OF OUR TIME OR OUT OF OUR MINDS
A few years ago, my friend Scott Laumann and I were scheming with a guy named Bill Burgess to create a subversive arts underground thing like nothing you've ever seen before.
Out of this series of late-night discussions and prayer sessions came several projects, some of which never got off the page, or out of our heads, but some of it did. Like this blog/website for example, and the Parabolic Journal (www.parabolicjournal.com).
I don't know if we were out of our minds or simply too far ahead of our time, but I ran across these old notes and emails the other day and thought it might be worth sharing it with everyone.
Who knows? Maybe you and a friend are just crazy enough to take these ideas and run with them?
After meeting together we determined that was NOT an Arts Ministry, it was a subversive communications ministry.
It's sort of like taking the Gospel and using a revolutionary
method of communicating it that employs elements of Fight Club, Global Frequency, The Blair Witch and Matrix marketing campaigns and Guerilla-Tactics as a delivery system to reach the Culture we live in with the Truth. (Bonus points if you know what "Global Frequency" is).
This is like being a covert agent in a communist country trying to
subversively round up revolutionaries against the oppressive
regime.
If this thing had a soundtrack it would be Rage Against The
Machine and POD.
Here's the Manifesto:
WARNING: SUBVERSIVE
OUR VISION is to be a revolutionary-minded group of Christians who are dedicated to communicating the Truth by using the most covert, subversive and creative means possible.
OUR PURPOSE is to facilitate a profound shift in the culture at large and in the Body of Christ to embrace and accept the calling of Jesus.
To this end, we will shock, shake and awaken those within the Body of Christ who are blind to the needs of the lost around us. We will disturb, intrigue and provoke our world with the reality of God’s Truth. We will challenge, question and inspire other Christian artists and thinkers to pursue a life that is surrendered to Christ.
OUR GOAL is to be as radical in the culture we live in, as Christ Jesus was to those He came in contact with.
OUR ASSUMPTIONS:
THIS IS NOT AN ARTS MINISTRY.
We will not use our God-given talent to create a "Christian version" of anything.
People need to discover their own faith, not have it spelled out for them.
The mysteries of God cannot be reduced to a bumper sticker.
There is no box.
This is not about one person or any group of people. It is, and always will be, about Jesus.
The Parables of Jesus are the most effective model for how we should approach evangelism.
Dialog is good. Thoughtful, inspired dialog is better.
Today's ecclesia must create spaces of opportunity for meditation, thinking, and safe discussion on matters of Faith.
Art has the power, and the responsibility, to frustrate, confound, and challenge the culture.
It’s often more effective to ask the right questions than to give the right answers.
The Church today needs to wake up and start doing the things that Jesus instructed.
The Body of Christ needs to abandon its empty pursuits and self-serving programs.
We want to emulate Jesus’ model for confronting the Church and the Culture.
OUR VALUES are to be set apart from the world around us, to confront the status quo inside and outside the Church, and to effectively communicate the gospel in unexpected ways.
PRACTICAL WAYS OUR MINISTRY WILL OPERATE:
1-We will employ Guerilla Evangelism tactics through flyers, stickers, websites, magazines, books, articles, etc. that provoke inspire and challenge those who are thirsty for Truth to dig deeper and encounter the living Christ.
2-We will meet in small groups, pray together, and plan creative outreach tactics on a regular basis.
3-We will create various tools designed to awaken the average Christian to the urgency of Christ’s call and the seriousness of His message.
4-We will attempt to contact, identify, inspire and challenge other Christians who have a heart for a radical change in the Body of Christ and the world at large.
5-We will create avenues of dialog with the Culture around us to expose the Truth about God’s character as revealed in the design of the Universe.
6-We will confront the lies of moral relativism in fresh, creative ways.
IDEAS FOR MINISTRY:
(Including, but not limited to)
1-Publish short, eye-catching booklets that ask questions and demand serious thought. Then direct readers to a website that also inspires and challenges, but witholds the punchline in favor of asking difficult questions and demanding consideration of logical concepts that align with the Gospel of Christ.
2-Guerilla Evangelism Campaign involving flyers, stickers, posters, t-shirts, websites, graphic design, art, film, etc., utilizing a consistent logo on all materials.
3-Create short, one minute video presentations designed to disturb and challenge Christians, allowing God’s Spirit to trouble and motivate them to action.
4-Publish one-sheet documents that introduce radical ideas of Truth through a dialog.
CURRENT NEEDS:
1-A website presence
2-A name for this crazy thing. (SUBVERSIVE, 42, LATRONIS, PARABOLIC, ETC.)
3-More agents of change to join us.
4-A place to meet and pray, strategize, interact and reach out.
**
My friend Bill Burgess (see link at left) is a genius. One day I'll have to tell the story of how we met but he is the first true subversive I ever met in person.
One day he sent me this email about a dream he had concerning my writing and the subversive plan to change the culture with the arts.
Here it is:
"Keith I don’t know where this fits into the scheme but the night we met I dreamt about you for most of the night it seemed. So......here it is. (or..“Hit Me” as James Brown would say).
The setting was as if it was the next day after our meeting. In the dream you were somewhat discouraged and I sensed it. The more I started looking at you, (you were standing next to a wall with hands in pockets), the more I could see what you were. It was so clear to me that your WORDS, written words, were like the mortar that held the artwork together. As if each of the contributed pieces (Like Parabolic, but that wasn’t even in the dream) were separate bricks. So I began to excitedly tell you what you were and as I spoke, man did the revelation come. I kept encouraging you over and over and you were beginning to emerge. Kind of a huge sense of self disqualification was heavy over you, like you were struggling to know your part in the very things you had started. The last I saw of you, you had taken on a look in your eyes like, can this really be true? At that point I could see even more clearly that your WORDS were like a steel structure that goes up first, and then the artwork was literally hung like concrete panels on a building, except the building was your WORDS.
I woke up around this point and as I was thinking about the dream and some of that revelation was still with me, although not as intense. I began reflecting on how early 20th century artists like DuChamp and Man Ray and those kinds of guys were big with manifestos and how the statements in their manifestos were the lighting rod for getting their art noticed. Then I thought how as Christians literally our whole lives hang on the superstructure of Christ's words, and creation and alpha and omega hang upon Gods words.
I got up and made coffee and Journaled some video ideas with words I had been thinking of and that was it. I forgot all about it until tonight.. So God speed my friend. I don’t care if you want to forward this to Scott, I didn’t want to do it for you. I think it’s pretty clear. Let me know how your prayer time went this eve and I hope that this is useful to your thinking and your soul.
Press On
-Bill Burgess
August 12th, 2003"
**
THOUGHTS THAT INSPIRED US:
“One role of the artist is to provoke and even disturb us so that we can see in new ways. As the ancient prophets did, art frequently condemns the values and concerns of its surrounding culture-often in a loud, harsh voice. In consequence, the artist is often outcast, rejected, or unpopular.”-- Steve Turner in Image: Journal of the Arts and Religion
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”. –Jesus, Matthew 10:16
“(Christian subculture) is a bad Xerox of the mainstream, not a truly distinctive or separate achievement. Without the courage to lead, it numbly follows picking up the major media’s scraps and gluing them back together with a cross on top.” (GQ MAGAZINE- “What Would Jesus Do?” by Walter Kirn, September 2002).
**
SO...anyone interested?
kg
Out of this series of late-night discussions and prayer sessions came several projects, some of which never got off the page, or out of our heads, but some of it did. Like this blog/website for example, and the Parabolic Journal (www.parabolicjournal.com).
I don't know if we were out of our minds or simply too far ahead of our time, but I ran across these old notes and emails the other day and thought it might be worth sharing it with everyone.
Who knows? Maybe you and a friend are just crazy enough to take these ideas and run with them?
After meeting together we determined that was NOT an Arts Ministry, it was a subversive communications ministry.
It's sort of like taking the Gospel and using a revolutionary
method of communicating it that employs elements of Fight Club, Global Frequency, The Blair Witch and Matrix marketing campaigns and Guerilla-Tactics as a delivery system to reach the Culture we live in with the Truth. (Bonus points if you know what "Global Frequency" is).
This is like being a covert agent in a communist country trying to
subversively round up revolutionaries against the oppressive
regime.
If this thing had a soundtrack it would be Rage Against The
Machine and POD.
Here's the Manifesto:
WARNING: SUBVERSIVE
OUR VISION is to be a revolutionary-minded group of Christians who are dedicated to communicating the Truth by using the most covert, subversive and creative means possible.
OUR PURPOSE is to facilitate a profound shift in the culture at large and in the Body of Christ to embrace and accept the calling of Jesus.
To this end, we will shock, shake and awaken those within the Body of Christ who are blind to the needs of the lost around us. We will disturb, intrigue and provoke our world with the reality of God’s Truth. We will challenge, question and inspire other Christian artists and thinkers to pursue a life that is surrendered to Christ.
OUR GOAL is to be as radical in the culture we live in, as Christ Jesus was to those He came in contact with.
OUR ASSUMPTIONS:
THIS IS NOT AN ARTS MINISTRY.
We will not use our God-given talent to create a "Christian version" of anything.
People need to discover their own faith, not have it spelled out for them.
The mysteries of God cannot be reduced to a bumper sticker.
There is no box.
This is not about one person or any group of people. It is, and always will be, about Jesus.
The Parables of Jesus are the most effective model for how we should approach evangelism.
Dialog is good. Thoughtful, inspired dialog is better.
Today's ecclesia must create spaces of opportunity for meditation, thinking, and safe discussion on matters of Faith.
Art has the power, and the responsibility, to frustrate, confound, and challenge the culture.
It’s often more effective to ask the right questions than to give the right answers.
The Church today needs to wake up and start doing the things that Jesus instructed.
The Body of Christ needs to abandon its empty pursuits and self-serving programs.
We want to emulate Jesus’ model for confronting the Church and the Culture.
OUR VALUES are to be set apart from the world around us, to confront the status quo inside and outside the Church, and to effectively communicate the gospel in unexpected ways.
PRACTICAL WAYS OUR MINISTRY WILL OPERATE:
1-We will employ Guerilla Evangelism tactics through flyers, stickers, websites, magazines, books, articles, etc. that provoke inspire and challenge those who are thirsty for Truth to dig deeper and encounter the living Christ.
2-We will meet in small groups, pray together, and plan creative outreach tactics on a regular basis.
3-We will create various tools designed to awaken the average Christian to the urgency of Christ’s call and the seriousness of His message.
4-We will attempt to contact, identify, inspire and challenge other Christians who have a heart for a radical change in the Body of Christ and the world at large.
5-We will create avenues of dialog with the Culture around us to expose the Truth about God’s character as revealed in the design of the Universe.
6-We will confront the lies of moral relativism in fresh, creative ways.
IDEAS FOR MINISTRY:
(Including, but not limited to)
1-Publish short, eye-catching booklets that ask questions and demand serious thought. Then direct readers to a website that also inspires and challenges, but witholds the punchline in favor of asking difficult questions and demanding consideration of logical concepts that align with the Gospel of Christ.
2-Guerilla Evangelism Campaign involving flyers, stickers, posters, t-shirts, websites, graphic design, art, film, etc., utilizing a consistent logo on all materials.
3-Create short, one minute video presentations designed to disturb and challenge Christians, allowing God’s Spirit to trouble and motivate them to action.
4-Publish one-sheet documents that introduce radical ideas of Truth through a dialog.
CURRENT NEEDS:
1-A website presence
2-A name for this crazy thing. (SUBVERSIVE, 42, LATRONIS, PARABOLIC, ETC.)
3-More agents of change to join us.
4-A place to meet and pray, strategize, interact and reach out.
**
My friend Bill Burgess (see link at left) is a genius. One day I'll have to tell the story of how we met but he is the first true subversive I ever met in person.
One day he sent me this email about a dream he had concerning my writing and the subversive plan to change the culture with the arts.
Here it is:
"Keith I don’t know where this fits into the scheme but the night we met I dreamt about you for most of the night it seemed. So......here it is. (or..“Hit Me” as James Brown would say).
The setting was as if it was the next day after our meeting. In the dream you were somewhat discouraged and I sensed it. The more I started looking at you, (you were standing next to a wall with hands in pockets), the more I could see what you were. It was so clear to me that your WORDS, written words, were like the mortar that held the artwork together. As if each of the contributed pieces (Like Parabolic, but that wasn’t even in the dream) were separate bricks. So I began to excitedly tell you what you were and as I spoke, man did the revelation come. I kept encouraging you over and over and you were beginning to emerge. Kind of a huge sense of self disqualification was heavy over you, like you were struggling to know your part in the very things you had started. The last I saw of you, you had taken on a look in your eyes like, can this really be true? At that point I could see even more clearly that your WORDS were like a steel structure that goes up first, and then the artwork was literally hung like concrete panels on a building, except the building was your WORDS.
I woke up around this point and as I was thinking about the dream and some of that revelation was still with me, although not as intense. I began reflecting on how early 20th century artists like DuChamp and Man Ray and those kinds of guys were big with manifestos and how the statements in their manifestos were the lighting rod for getting their art noticed. Then I thought how as Christians literally our whole lives hang on the superstructure of Christ's words, and creation and alpha and omega hang upon Gods words.
I got up and made coffee and Journaled some video ideas with words I had been thinking of and that was it. I forgot all about it until tonight.. So God speed my friend. I don’t care if you want to forward this to Scott, I didn’t want to do it for you. I think it’s pretty clear. Let me know how your prayer time went this eve and I hope that this is useful to your thinking and your soul.
Press On
-Bill Burgess
August 12th, 2003"
**
THOUGHTS THAT INSPIRED US:
“One role of the artist is to provoke and even disturb us so that we can see in new ways. As the ancient prophets did, art frequently condemns the values and concerns of its surrounding culture-often in a loud, harsh voice. In consequence, the artist is often outcast, rejected, or unpopular.”-- Steve Turner in Image: Journal of the Arts and Religion
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”. –Jesus, Matthew 10:16
“(Christian subculture) is a bad Xerox of the mainstream, not a truly distinctive or separate achievement. Without the courage to lead, it numbly follows picking up the major media’s scraps and gluing them back together with a cross on top.” (GQ MAGAZINE- “What Would Jesus Do?” by Walter Kirn, September 2002).
**
SO...anyone interested?
kg
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
"DAWN TO DAWN" - Art in Orange
DAWN TO DAWN
All last week there was an amazing show here in Orange called "Dawn To Dawn" hosted by St. John's Lutheran and presented by Seeds Arts Ministries.
My dear friend Heather Wright provided two exceptional pieces, one of which was painted outside on the street during the annual street fair on opening night.
Here's a glimpse of those two pieces:
*If you want to get a better look at these and a few others, go to her website (linked at the left-hand side under "Art of Heather Wright")
Karen Scmidt also had two bronze sculptures in the show. One was Jacob wrestling the angel and the other was a stunning piece showing Joseph holding the baby Jesus as his arms are held out in a cross. Mary looks up at him with wonder in her eyes. It's powerful stuff...
Some other favorite images were...
*This one was about Thomas and Jesus. The distance between them is the focal point.
*The story behind this one had me in tears. The artist's father is the subject. The night before he died he said he dreamt he was an astronaut on a rocketship.
This was a seriously amazing show. The exhibit is traveling throughout SoCal over the next few months, and then it's on to Nebraska.
Cal-Baptist University is one stop, along with Concordia University and Coast Hills Community Church...not in that order. Not sure of the dates. But it's worth digging it up to catch up with this show.
More posts on The Arts and cultural subversion coming soon...
peas,
kg
All last week there was an amazing show here in Orange called "Dawn To Dawn" hosted by St. John's Lutheran and presented by Seeds Arts Ministries.
My dear friend Heather Wright provided two exceptional pieces, one of which was painted outside on the street during the annual street fair on opening night.
Here's a glimpse of those two pieces:
*If you want to get a better look at these and a few others, go to her website (linked at the left-hand side under "Art of Heather Wright")
Karen Scmidt also had two bronze sculptures in the show. One was Jacob wrestling the angel and the other was a stunning piece showing Joseph holding the baby Jesus as his arms are held out in a cross. Mary looks up at him with wonder in her eyes. It's powerful stuff...
Some other favorite images were...
*This one was about Thomas and Jesus. The distance between them is the focal point.
*The story behind this one had me in tears. The artist's father is the subject. The night before he died he said he dreamt he was an astronaut on a rocketship.
This was a seriously amazing show. The exhibit is traveling throughout SoCal over the next few months, and then it's on to Nebraska.
Cal-Baptist University is one stop, along with Concordia University and Coast Hills Community Church...not in that order. Not sure of the dates. But it's worth digging it up to catch up with this show.
More posts on The Arts and cultural subversion coming soon...
peas,
kg
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